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#REDIRECT ]
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Infobox character {{r from character}}
| colour = #DEDEE2
| name = Leon Fortunato
| series = ]
| first = '']''
| last = '']''
| creator = ] and ]
| occupation = Politician
| gender = Male
| title = ] Supreme Commander
| religion = ], later ]
| nationality = Italian
}}

'''Leonardo''' "'''Leon'''" '''Fortunato''' is a fictional character in the ] of Christian novels by ] and ]. He is in fact the ], and he is a key member of the inner circle of ], businessman, financier, politician, and ].

== Character history ==
In his native Italy, Leon grew up fascinated with the trappings of ], although he never truly believed in any of the Church's teachings; Leon simply liked the glory. He was fond of dressing in ornate and flowing robes and strutting all over his college campus. After being expelled, Fortunato grew fond of becoming a kingmaker, preferring to work behind the scenes to elevate his chosen candidates to any positions of power they wanted. Carpathia, wanting to enter politics himself, employed Leon on his staff, and grew to value the older man's counseling; although Leon tended to be clingy and sycophantic, he taught Carpathia ] (or more specifically, how to feign humility) which proved to be very valuable on the world political stage.

When Carpathia created the ], he appointed Leon to the position of Supreme Commander, the deputy to Nicolae's Supreme Potentate.

Throughout his relationship with Carpathia, Fortunato continues to fawn over the man, a fact that seems to be driven home when Leon died in the Wrath of the Lamb earthquake. He had been buried and crushed in the rubble of the GC headquarters complex and his mother was calling him home, when he heard a voice – Carpathia's – calling out: ''"LEONARDO, COME FORTH!"'' in imitation of a command that ] gave to ]. Leon is revived, and then becomes more faithful than ever to Carpathia, believing that Carpathia is a god incarnate. Like Nicolae, Leon regularly communicated with the 'spirit world'; it is implied that both men shared the same spiritual 'guide' – ] himself.

Later, when Carpathia is slain and resurrected as prophesied, Fortunato becomes even more important, and is Carpathia's go-to man, his right hand. Leon becomes the Most High Reverend Father of the new religion of ]. He is imbued with power from ] and is able to kill believers (such as ]) with the Satanic ability to call down fire from the sky, either as lightning from a cloudless blue sky (as he did in killing three opposing sub-potentates during Carpathia's funeral) or as a single ball of flame (in the slaying of ]), and is officially identified as the ] that aids the ]. In '']'', he is given the task of training a legion of ], ] and miracle-workers, who are also bestowed with various similar demonic abilities.

Fortunato's "glory days" are short-lived, however, ending in '']'' with the return of Jesus. In Fortunato's final moments of life, he reveals his true self: a babbling, incoherent coward. He knelt before Jesus and acknowledged him as Lord without hesitation. As Jesus laid out his crimes against humanity and the will of God, he pleaded for mercy and forgiveness, even attempting to reject Carpathia and Satan, pledging allegiance to him. However, it was already too late for Leon and Jesus sentenced him for eternity in the ]. Unlike Carpathia, who accepted his fate, Leon struggled with ] as the archangel threw him into the lake of fire.

The world catches a final glimpse of both Carpathia and Fortunato at the end of the ], when Satan himself is thrown into the Lake of Fire. Fortunato is writhing in pain and shouting "Jesus is Lord!" The scene closes and Fortunato's suffering is resumed for all eternity.

==Critical reception==
Leon Fortunato has been described as ]'s sidekick.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=The ''Left Behind'' Series as Sacred Text?|author=Malcolm Gold|journal=Reading Religion in Text and Context: Reflections of Faith and Practice in Religious Materials |editor=Elisabeth Arweck |editor2=Peter Jeffrey Collins|publisher=Ashgate Publishing|year=2006|isbn=0-7546-5482-6|page=38|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YXmINizmbkYC&pg=PA45 |accessdate=26 June 2011}}</ref> Because he is an Italian American, he has been cited as an example of the cultural diversity of the novels' characters.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Prophecy, Politics, and the Popular: The ''Left Behind'' Series and Christian Evangelicalism's New World Order|author=Melani McAlister|journal=Palestine, Israel, and the Politics of Popular Culture |editor=Rebecca L. Stein |editor2=Ted Swedenburg|publisher=Duke University Press|year=2005|isbn=0-8223-3516-6|page=304|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f_xznHf9zFAC&pg=PA304 |accessdate=26 June 2011}}</ref> In '']'', Fortunato is revealed to be the '']'' series' incarnation of ] described in the ].<ref>{{Cite book|title=''Left Behind'' Answered Verse by Verse|author=David Reed|publisher=Lulu.com|year=2008|isbn=1-4357-0873-3|page=123|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N1iDZOdhrWEC&pg=PA123 |accessdate=26 June 2011}}</ref> One critic has condemned the silliness of Fortunato's titles as being ] and ].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Skipping Towards Armageddon: The Politics and Propaganda of the ''Left Behind'' Novels and the LaHaye Empire|author=Michael Standaert|publisher=Soft Skull Press|year=2006|isbn=1-932360-96-4|page=197|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bYdJXHpKsxQC&pg=PA197 |accessdate=26 June 2011}}</ref> There have also been complaints about the farcical characterization of Leon Fortunato when he suffers from the pain of a ] in ].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Marks of the Beast: The ''Left Behind'' Novels and the Struggle for Evangelical Identity|author=Glenn W. Shuck|publisher=NYU Press|year=2005|isbn=0-8147-4005-7|pages=15–16|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lNoQVruqV1UC&pg=PA151 |accessdate=26 June 2011}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Left Behind}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fortunato, Leon}}
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Revision as of 00:12, 15 June 2021

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