User blog comment:Aizen.sama/Are Espadas, Vasto Lorde(s)?/@comment-2024865-20100424092550

There are many hints and clues revealed throughout the series to give the viewers an opportunity to deduce who is most likely a Vasto Lorde in the series, previously was a Vasto Lorde among the Espada, or has the strength of a Vasto Lorde at least. Something that seems to be overlooked I noticed is that none of the 1-4 Espadas were defeated by the efforts of a single Shinigami or Vizard; technically including Ichigo's fight with Ulquiorra as well though it was all because of Ichigo's transformation that he was defeated. Vasto Lordes were said to surpass the "average" captain (is there such a thing, really? lol) and all of the top 3 Espadas were in fights with multiple beings. I think Aizen understood that it would take many captains to defeat a single Vasto Lorde so he desired to have 10 initially to leave the Gotei 13 (hinted at by Hitsugaya) forces too stretched and would wear them down for easy pickings. However, as we've all noticed, Vasto Lordes aren't exactly common and was taking too much time for Aizen to find to his liking. Instead, he along w/ Gin & Tousen commit treason and then entrapped Kenpachi, Byakuya, Kurotsuchi, and Unohana (temporarily) inside Hueco Mundo. With the Gotei 13's forces effectively reduced by half, this eliminated the need for a larger number of Vasto Lordes. It's subjected to debate, but I think most of the captains would have been killed by the Espada had not the Vizards shown. Whether or not Aizen took the Vizards into account for his battle plan is unknown but nothing seems to surprise the guy so i wouldn't doubt it. This makes it very apparent that each of the top 4 Espadas had higher strength than the average Captain, making it somewhat safe to assume they were probably Vasto Lordes before becoming Arrancars, although there's no guarantee; the point is that they have the strength of Vasto Lordes. For example, the newest Hollow Ichigo form isn't technically a Vasto Lorde, however he displays strength that could be considered that of a Vasto Lorde. I think that Kubo introduced the concept of the Vasto Lordes into the series so that viewers could have an idea of the level of power Hollows can achieve and felt viewers would have the intelligence to to infer characters were originally Vasto Lordes or possessed Vasto Lorde stength.

Let's use what little clues we have to decipher who among the Espada are capable candidates for having been previously Vasto Lordes before becoming Arrancars. Vasto Lordes are extremely powerful (exceeds Captains in strength), are human shaped (albeit most Espada's releases seem to be human-shaped), and Aizen restricts Espadas 1-4 from ever releasing their Resurrections inside Las Noches due to their immense power. Lastly, in order for a Adjuchas to become a Vasto Lorde, they must consume an immense number of other hollows to strengthen themselves; once they become a Vasto Lorde, they effectively no longer need to consume any more hollows to maintain their strength.

Cuatro Espada: Ulquiorra Cifer Notable Traits: Release is "human-shaped", possesses "Resurrección: Segunda Etapa", initially more powerful than Ichigo who is of at least Captain-level strength. Analysis- Required the group efforts of Ichigo Kurosaki (Vizard w/ Captain-level strength)/Hollow Ichigo (Approximately Vasto Lorde strength), Uryū Ishida (Highly Experienced Quincy), and technically Orihime Inoue (Human w/ supernatural abilites). For the most part, Ichigo was the main combatant vs. Ulquiorra throughout this fight. However, technically speaking Orihime and Ishida contributed in some way during the fight whether it be shielding, attempted healing, or attempted attacking. It's important to note that Ulquiorra is the ONLY Arrancar seen thus far with a "Resurrección: Segunda Etapa" and according to Ulquiorra, not even Aizen knew of this ability. I think this requires a reevaluation of what rank would have been more appropriate for Ulquiorra making him laughably more stronger than Harribel at least and putting him on par with Barragan & Stark in terms of power.

Tres Espada: Tia Harribel - Notable Traits- Release is "human-shaped", capable of fighting with at least a Captain-level of strength Analysis- Required the group efforts of Tōshirō Hitsugaya (Captain-level), Hiyori Sarugaki, and Lisa Yadōmaru (Vizards w/ lieutenant-level). Albeit she's given the finishing blow by Aizen.

Segunda Espada: Baraggan Luisenbarn - Notable Traits: Release is "human-shaped", possesses strength possibly exceeding that of Captain-level, possesses a uniquely powerful ability of manipulating the rate of aging which is considerably more powerful than most antagonists seen so far. Was also the ruler of Hueco Mundo before Aizen's arrival and appeared to have an uncontested rule for the most part putting him amongst the ranks of the most powerful Hollows to have existed. Lastly, during the flashback sequence in which Aizen confronts him, Barragan is complacently sitting on his throne unconcerned with devouring any of the hollows he surrounds himself with, suggesting he has no need to enhance his power any further. Analysis: Required the group efforts of Soifon (Captain-level), Marechiyo Ōmaeda (lieutenant-level), and Hachigen Ushōda (Vizard w/ lieutenant-level) to defeat him. It should be noted however that because of Hachigen's proficiency with Kido he is far more powerful than the average lieutenant especially with his hollow powers amplifying his abilities. In addition, Barragan was defeated through Hachi's insightful prowess, not by anyone's strength alone (including Soifon's Bankai which possesses a devastating power) making him exceptionally powerful even by the Espada's standards.

Primera Espada: Coyote Stark- Notable Traits: Release is "human-shaped", possesses a level of strength exceeding the average captains' level of strength, possesses enough reiatsu to effortlessly produce a countless number of Ceros, and before becoming an Espada he had so much strength other hollows simply died from being too near him. Although his flashback sequence was rather brief, it did shed a little light in that it did not appear that Stark was concerned with consuming any other hollows and surprisingly instead split his power into smaller portions (i.e. Lilynette and himself). This is highly unusual behavior considering adjuchas live in fear of degenerating into a menos suggesting Stark surpassed the point of being an adjuchas. Analysis: Required the group efforts of Shunsui Kyōraku (Captain-level), Jūshirō Ukitake (Captain-level), Love Aikawa and Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi (Vizards w/ Captain-level) to defeat him. To be fair, Shunsui Kyōraku fought Coyote Stark for the majority of the battle and delivered the final blow, but Stark was so powerful he had even the Vizards at his mercy before Shunsui began using his freakish Shikai's abilities. Also take into consideration that Shunsui is one of the most powerful of Captains among the Gotei 13 and Stark was able to fight on even terms with him for the most part.

Point in case, we don't have any confirmation that any of these characters are officially Vasto Lordes, but they were so powerful in the series that its safe to assume that they at least possessed the strength of a Vasto Lorde and were likely to have originally been one at one point in time. For example, those who understand the concept of how a hollow becomes a Vasto Lorde would mutually agree that Hollow Ichigo isn't one, however, most would agree that he at least possesses the strength of a Vasto Lorde which is all that truly matters when you get down to it. There's my two-cents hope I didn't annoy anyone with the lengthy post :P