Ban's Powers From The Seven Deadly Sins Explained

In the shonen anime series "The Seven Deadly Sins," expectations are often subverted. In this series, the eponymous Seven Deadly Sins are a group of warriors spun as the heroes of the story, their quest being the salvation of the Kingdom of Liones from the traitorous Holy Knights and a group of elite villains dubbed the Ten Commandments. With most characters, there's more than meets the eye. Some of the strongest fighters look like they have the bodies of children, and some of the most innocent faces have committed the worst atrocities.

All things considered, Ban, the third Deadly Sin introduced in the show, has a fairly straightforward design. Branded as the Fox's Sin of Greed, Ban actually does appear to have rather vulpine features, possessing a sly grin and lean build. It's not much of a stretch to appraise him as someone who is crafty and dangerous. But what exactly do Ban's abilities entail, and how far do his powers extend?

Each of the Seven Deadly Sins bears their own Sacred Treasure, a powerful weapon that is unique to each Sin. Ban wields the Holy Staff Courechouse, which is a flail device made up of four rod sections held together by chains (via CBR). The chains can warp at Ban's will, elongating and curving through the air to harass distant enemies from any angle.

Ban already boasts strength and speed higher than most mortal fighters, but Courechouse allows him even more potency. The Holy Staff comes imbued with an ability called Super Concentration, and upon activation, Ban maxes out on his physical strength and mental acuity. Compounded with Courechouse's unusual warping properties and the natural ease with which Ban wields the flail, his Sacred Treasure allows him to wreak absolute havoc upon his foes. We witness the Holy Staff's true force during the Demon King arc when Ban uses it to annihilate thousands of Indura offspring in what seems like mere seconds.

When he loses his Sacred Treasure for a time upon being imprisoned in Baste, Ban reverts back to using his trusted three-section staff from his days as a bandit. Although it lacks the property of Super Concentration and doesn't distort in quite the same way as Courechouse, this staff is still capable of crushing bone and even ripping hearts free. It suits Ban's fighting style just fine until his reunion with Courechouse.

Some might say immortality is the best defense. Thanks to a reverse Romeo and Juliet maneuver by his love interest, Elaine, Ban gains the Fountain of Youth's blessing before the main events of the series. All of the Sin's wounds, even the most dire, heal almost instantly, allowing him to be more aggressive in combat. He also does not suffer from aging, hunger, or thirst and has immunity to all poisons. As seen on occasion, Ban can even use his own blood to heal others.

Eventually, after his time in Purgatory, Ban sacrifices his immortality to revive Elaine, losing the Fountain of Youth's benefits. However, there's somewhat of a trade-off. Due to the centuries of time spent in an extremely unforgiving environment, Ban's physiology becomes conditioned into a completely new level of endurance, and his newfound durability enables him to walk away from attacks as powerful as the Demon King's energy storm unscathed.

Just like each of the Seven Deadly Sins has their own Sacred Treasure, they also all possess a distinct power. For Ban, that power is called "Snatch." In a most greedy fashion, this ability allows Ban to pull an object toward him, thus "stealing" it for himself. As long as Ban knows an item's physical location, he can steal nearly anything: a key, a weapon, an internal organ, or even a physical attribute like stamina or speed.

Snatch is especially useful because it is a nonphysical attack that has physical consequences. Ban's special power cannot be stopped by armor or magical shields, and it can be used from a distance, making Snatch very difficult to avoid. When used to steal an opponent's physical attribute, Ban absorbs it himself. Upon robbing their strength, he becomes stronger as they grow weaker — until his own capacity is reached. The technique can also be used on multiple targets at once. When used in a way that combines all of these aspects, Snatch can be devastating, and it makes Ban a unique threat in combat in conjunction with his other assets.