Mark of the Dragon

A Mark of the Dragon, known as a Dragon Birthmark in the Japanese anime, is a special mark that indicates that a person is a Signer.

5,000 years ago, an ancient civilization known as the People of the Stars worshiped a mystical light called the Dragon Star, which was prayed on by the leader of the People of the Stars, the Star Dragon King, at the top of the Stairway to the Dragon Star.

When the star shined, the King knew it would be a message from their god, the Crimson Dragon. The dragon was then summoned to imprison an incarnation of an ancient evil in the earth. This evil is represented in the Nazca Lines.

According to legend, the Crimson Dragon could only by summoned with the help of the Signers, whose individual marks either represented the Front Claw, Tail, Wings, Back Claw, and Head of the dragon. These people were being searched for by a group known as Yliaster, disguised as the Public Security Maintenance Bureau. According to what Rex Goodwin told Yusei, he organized the Fortune Cup not only to confirm the identities of Yusei, Akiza and Luna as Signers, but also in order to awaken their powers so that they could fight against their nemesis, the Dark Signers.

Owners
The Head and Tail Marks of the Dragon have been possessed by 3 other individuals in addition to those listed above.


 * Note: All five marks were previously owned by the People of the Stars, and the Signers of present day are reincarnations of these people.

History
Roman's arm once possessed the Head birthmark, but was then severed from his body when Roman became a Dark Signer. Rex then attached Roman's severed arm to himself through the powers of the Dark Signers though he stated that there was some resistance. Regardless he was able to call forth the marks of the other Signers as well. Towards the end of Episode 64, Rex lost his Head mark when it transferred to Yusei, and Yusei's Tail birthmark then selected Crow as its new owner.

In the English dub, Yusei assumes that his mark is the Head (which at the time was the Tail) after seeing Yanagi's sketch of the Crimson Dragon. A similar thing happens in the English dub when Rex speaks to Jack before the Fortune Cup, when he tells Jack that he possesses the left Wing instead of simply the Wings. It is not currently known if these were mistakes, or if they are changes made by 4Kids in the dub's plot.

Behavior
The Marks of the Dragon indicate a deep connection between the Signers, and represent this by glowing and throbbing at certain times, such as when a Signer is about to duel against a Dark Signer.

The marks also rival the Dark Signer's, dark mark. Whenever a Signer is in the presence of one of the Dark Signer, both of their marks react. In this case the Signer's mark will sear into their arm painfully.

Roman and Rex are the only people to have had a Mark of the Dragon appear on their left arm, though technically they both possessed the exact same arm.

Combining Marks
It is possible for a Signer to, at least temporarily, take control of all 5 Marks of the Dragon at once as the entire Crimson Dragon's seal, however the criteria for doing so is sketchy. Yusei, Jack, and Rex Goodwin are the only Signers (past or present) to have done this. Yusei and Jack did so inadvertently while trying to save Kalin and Carly, respectively, and possessing all 5 marks allowed them to summon their respective Majestic monsters. Rex Goodwin was instead able to do so at will during the 3-vs-1 Shadow Turbo duel against Yusei, Jack, and Crow, however doing so did not seem to afford him anything non-cosmetic.

Non-canon
In Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Stardust Accelerator, the player's character has a Mark of the Dragon on their arm. This mark was artificially placed on him/her by Rex Goodwin in an attempt to awaken the Crimson Dragon. Unlike the true marks, this mark bears no resemblance to any part of the Crimson Dragon.