Black Clover: Is Asta's Father the Wizard King? (2024)

Black Clover is in its final major arc, with many fans excited to see how the popular series will unfold at its conclusion. A story that began as mildly magical has turned into something deeply supernatural and cosmic in scale. Already, the Magic Knights Captains have either been killed or are on the verge of death, gods have been introduced, and the dead have even been brought back to life to torment their loved ones.

This arc has also answered a lot of mysteries surrounding the series so far, such as the Land of the Sun where Yami Sukehiro originates from. However, one question that has yet to be answered is the identity of Asta's father. According to one fan theory, this arc may be setting this lingering mystery as one final major twist, with the claim that the Wizard King himself is Asta's dad.

Updated by Timothy Blake Donohoo on January 6, 2024: Black Clover remains a popular shonen anime and manga series, with many praising it for its fight scenes. Protagonist Asta is something of an acquired taste to some, but he's still popular in his own right. Thus, many readers of the manga are still wondering who his father is, with the series having yet to confirm the identity of this mystery man. Nevertheless, a popular fan theory has seemingly already decided just who this parent may be, with the father of Asta being the final plot thread that needs to be wrapped up.

Julius Novachrono Could Be Asta's Father — Here's Why

The entire basis of this Black Clover fan theory centers around how Julius Novachrono might be the only possible candidate to be Asta's father. Asta's unfortunate mother Licita was a human born with a body that constantly and uncontrollably drained the magic and life force from others around her. Due to this, she was forced to live on the outskirts of a village and seemingly had almost zero contact with others.

The only being she was able to be around at all was Liebe, a demon who finds himself in the human world after being (accidentally) thrown out of Hell. Further, Licita's ability to engage with Liebe was due to him not having magic but rather Anti-Magic. She eventually adopted him as her son, and coincidentally later empowered her own son when Asta obtained the five-leaf clover grimoire.

It's hard to imagine how Licita could have ever given birth to Asta, let alone conceived him in the first place. In fact, she was so afraid of potentially killing him that she left him at the church in Hage Village to hopefully save his life. In a way, her body wasn't too different from Anti-Magic, which has so far been shown to neutralize all but the strongest magic users. This is how Julius Novachrono fits into the theory of Asta's paternity in Black Clover. Due to Licita's body, the only way she could ever have conceived Asta would be if she had him with someone bearing an abundance of magic and life force, both of which Julius has in spades.

There was a moment after Asta gained his second sword when Julius asked him if he could hold it. Aside from not being able to wield it at all as well as having his magic drained due to his immense magical energy reserves, the devilish Wizard King was practically unfazed by it. He also seemed to know about Asta's unique situation, although he didn't elaborate at all on how he came across this knowledge.

While it may have been due to him taking an interest in Asta while undercover at a bar, it might have also been a carefully placed clue as to how he may have been responsible for Asta's conception. Moreover, as a being that houses two separate souls in one body, Julius' life force is likely twice as strong as anyone else's, making it even more likely that he would be able to survive Licitia's condition.

How Likely Is This Popular Black Clover Theory?

Unfortunately for Black Clover fans, the idea that Julius is Asta's dad has some issues. As manga readers know, Julius Novachrono is the final and eldest of the powerful Zogratis siblings, or at least one aspect of him. Lucius Zogratis was born with the power of Soul Magic, as well as a separate and second soul, which was Julius Novachrono. After becoming the host for the Time Devil, Astaroth, they travel to the Clover Kingdom, where Lucius seemingly grants control of their body over to Julius. From there, Julius finds a way to somehow integrate himself into a noble family, become a Magic Knight Captain, and even become the Wizard King, all while unknowingly using a devil's magic and not his own.

While the part about Julius being one of the few people able to conceive with Licita is plausible, it also implies that Julius "made" Asta as a weapon to use against Lucius, which seems somewhat unlikely. Despite being two souls in one body, it appears as though Lucius is the dominant one of the two, with Julius not even realizing that Lucius was there until he was taken over. He seemingly couldn't even access their Soul Magic, as Lucius apparently locked that away for himself and only gave Julius access to Time Magic.

Therefore, Asta being a secret weapon for Julius Novachrono to use against Lucius seems far-fetched at best, though other theories state different possibilities. One particular theory posits that Asta's father may have been Astaroth, who had taken over the body of Lucius and Julius. As shown before, not all contracts with devils seem to be consensual, so it's possible that Astaroth found a way to take control for a limited time, perhaps to create a weapon that would save him from Lucius. He might have also left the underworld and formed a relationship with Licita, though her later curse to absorb magic and life force split the two apart. This is somewhat ironic given Asta's later luck with love—plus, their similar names further back up this idea that Astaroth is Asta's father.

Another theory in the "Asta father" debate is that Asta doesn't have a dad. This idea supposes that Licita's ability to drain life force allowed her a virgin birth. Thus, Asta's "father" is actually his mother. Other ideas among the Black Clover fandom are that Asta's father is someone who hasn't been shown yet, or that he was simply a drifter of little renown. As always with fan theories, it's best not to put too much faith in them. However, with Asta's rematch with Lucius arguably close to happening, fans can expect to know fairly soon if this particular theory holds a kernel of truth within it. Besides, any revelation regarding Asta's father is bound to be a significant event in Black Clover.

Black Clover can be streamed through Crunchyroll, Funimation, and Hulu.

Black Clover (2017)

TV-PG

Action-Adventure

Fantasy

Asta and Yuno were abandoned together at the same church and have been inseparable since. As children, they promised that they would compete against each other to see who would become the next Emperor Magus.

Release Date

October 3, 2017

Main Genre

Anime

Seasons

4

Studio

Pierrot