Sandbox / How To Train Your Dragon Films Human Antagonists

Human antagonists throughout the film franchise and series.

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Outcast Tribe

Lead by Alvin the Treacherous, the Outcast Tribe are made up of various marauders, degenerates, and other reprobates, many hailing from Berk. They now seek to take Berk as their own.

General

• Army of Thieves and Whores: Shades of this; they are generally described as bloodthirsty marauders and compared to Berk's more militia fighting force or the Berserker's organized military, Outcasts seem to be a cobbled together lot with dirty gear.
• Dragon Rider: Somewhat; while they learned how to do so in the season finale of Riders of Berk, they have yet to achieve it as Berk's riders do and settle for simply directing dragons.
• The Exile: A large number of their forces consist of criminals outcast from Berk.
• Mook Carryover: After Dagur seemingly kills Alvin, most of the Outcasts pledge their loyalty to him.
• You ALL Look Familiar: Other than named Outcasts, they are all the same model.

Alvin the Treacherous

Voiced by: Mark Hamill

The Leader of a tribe of Outcasts and serves as the other villain of Dragons: Riders of Berk. He seeks to learn the arts of dragon taming. Which happens as of the "We Are A Family" season finale.

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• Adaptational Badass: Alvin of the books is intelligent and manipulative, but physically weaker than the majority of his men, and he loses an increasing number of body parts as the series continues. Here, he's equally intelligent but also just as large and formidable as Stoick himself.
• Adaptational Heroism: While still a villain, he has quite a bit more depth than the Alvin of the books, who simply wants to kill Hiccup. And he ends up doing a Heel–Face Turn when Dagur takes over as the Big Bad.
• Authority Equals Asskicking: Seems to be a trend in this show. This bugger can swing a Nadder by the tail.
• Badass Boast: By proxy! Given by Gobber in his behalf:
  Gobber: "If there's one thing Alvin knows, it's treachery."
• Batman Gambit:
  • In the two part season finale, "We Are A Family" he sets one up to not only capture Hiccup but trick him into training Mildew how one bonds with dragons, so Mildew can train him in return. This relies not only on Hiccup's trusting nature but Alvin's own tendency to betray people.
  • He continues into Defenders, where he shows up near Berk's shores, knowing the riders would react and leave the island ready for his real ploy of planting Death Whisperer eggs.
• Beard of Evil: He has a massive Viking beard, and he's one of the actually evil ones. At least until his Heel–Face Turn.
• The Beastmaster: Can tame dragons as of Part 2 of the "We Are Family" season finale. He picks a Whispering Death.
• Badass in Distress: Gets captured, somehow, by the Dragon Hunters, necessitating the intervention of the Dragon Hunters.
• Big Bad: With his introduction, he becomes a clear and constant background threat to Berk, making various Evil Plans to take Hiccup or what he knows for his own people. As of Part 2 of "We Are A Family", Mildew is working for him so he is now the undisputed head villain of the series. As of "View to a Skrill", he has been replaced with Dagur after being on the receiving end of many biggajoules of lightning from the Skrill.
• Big Damn Heroes: He saved Snotlout from the Screaming Death, Stoick from a sneak attack by a Berserker and Stoick, Hiccup and Toothless from the Berserkers with the help of Mildew and some Whispering Deaths Part 2 of "Cast Out".
• Brainy Brunette: Alvin has dark hair, and he's equal parts brain and brute strength.
• The Bus Came Back: Returns after a long absence to make his first appearance in the fifth season of Race to the Edge.
• The Chessmaster: This guy has shown his intellectual prowess and is one of the few who rivals Hiccup, sometimes surpassing it.
• Evil Counterpart: To both Stoick and Hiccup. He is a wise, but evil chief who leads through fear and a firm hold on power, where Stoick doesn't abuse his power in such a fashion. To Hiccup, who wants to make peace with dragons and possibly a world where all can be friends, Alvin wants dragons to conquer and destroy his enemies. At the end of "We Are Family Part 2" it is shown the dragon he bonds with is a Whispering Death, Toothless' enemy. But it is revealed it isn’t the same Whispering Death Toothless had a history with.
• Evil Plan: Force Hiccup to tell him the secrets of Dragon Training so he can take over Berk. He succeeds by tricking Hiccup into teaching Mildew, who has defected to the Outcasts.
• Faux Affably Evil: Treats his heinous actions with the same air one would talk about the weather, but nonetheless clearly enjoys performing them.
• Generation Xerox: It is implied that Alvin's relationship to Stoick was much like Snotlout's relationship to Hiccup respectively.
• Genius Bruiser: Equally clever as he is strong; look at his gambit entries for proof.
• Heel–Face Turn: He saves Snotlout from the Screaming Death in the season 2 finale and even helps fight off the Berserkers and saves Stoick.
• He's Back!: As of "Cast Out, Part I".
• I Have Your Wife: Threatened to kill Heather's parents if she didn't do as he commanded. He also used this on Hiccup with his dragon as the hostage, though that was merely part of a larger ploy.
• Knight of Cerebus: Also unlike Mildew, any episodes shown involving him are completely serious. The only thing he lacks to be a true threat is the ability to tame dragons which he learns how to do in the season 1 finale.
• Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Not the Alvin part, but certainly the "Treacherous" as he clearly has little intention of honoring a promise unless he can still get something out of it.
• Smarter Than You Look: He looks like some vicious thug yet he is brilliant strategist when it comes to getting what he wants.
• We Can Rule Together: to Hiccup at the climax of "Heather Report" part 2.
  Alvin: You know, Hiccup, with this book, your knowledge of dragons, and my knowledge of warfare, we could make quite The Team. How does that sound?
  Hiccup: Uh... Insane? Demented? Delusional? Stupid?
  • Alvin admits afterwards he saw that coming. After all who would trust a guy who earned the name "Treacherous"?
• We Used to Be Friends: In their youth, Alvin and Stoick were good friends, but since Stoick was the son of the chief he was always in command. One day, during a dragon attack on the village, Alvin went against orders and did things his way, resulting in high casualties. This ruined their relationship and Alvin's reputation and he was banished soon after Stoick became chief.
• Worthy Opponent: He seems to legitimately admire Hiccup's ability to tame dragons and creating the art of it. He even offered him a chance to join him.
• Would Hit a Girl: Alvin shows zero qualms about killing women.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness:
  • Seems to be his favorite line to use, as Savage has commented he tells him that often if he was to fail. When Astrid disguised as Heather returns to them, he planned to have her killed.
  • Exploited with Mildew. While it looked like he was doing this, it was actually a Batman Gambit learn Hiccup's dragon taming techniques by proxy. It works. Later played straight when Mildew's plan with the Whispering Death eggs failed, but Mildew managed to talk his way out.

Berserker Tribe

A powerful tribe which held a superior position on the negotiating table for many years. They are widely feared and respected for their battle prowess, and generally are considered one of the more powerful forces. The Berserker crest is a depiction of a Skrill.

General

• Badass Army: The prevailing example of the trope In-Universe, with Berk making great pains to avoid provoking them. However, under Dagur's leadership the Berserkers face numerous defeats and Berk becomes more confident in being able to battle them.
• The Berserker: It's in their name, after all.
• The Dreaded: Stoick takes great pains to avoid a war in Twinsanity.
• Fluffy Tamer: Berserkers used to harness and control Skrills, although given Dagur trying his hand at it in A View To A Skrill, there was less fluffy taming and more dragon enslaving. Skrills also serve as their crest.
• Make Way for the New Villains: They take over as the main antagonistic faction in Defenders of Berk after Dagur defeats Alvin.
  • This gets inverted for them in Race to the Edge where their roles are gradually taken over by the Dragon Hunters.
• Proud Warrior Race Guy: Far more into it than Berk is, though under Oswald they rarely launched invasions.

• You All Look Familiar: Similar to the Outcast Tribe, all the Berserkers have the same character model.

Dagur the Deranged

Dagur's appearance in Race to the Edge.

^{Click here to see Dagur's appearance in Riders of Berk and Defenders of Berk.} 

Voiced by: David Faustino

The leader of the Berserker tribe who is known for his insane personality.

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• Alliterative Name: Dagur the Deranged.
• Amazon Chaser: He becomes engaged to Mala in "Mi Amore Wing" and has commented on how he likes it when she hits him.
• Ambiguously Bi: While he does eventually marry Mala, the only other person he has any interest in is Hiccup.
• Antagonistic Offspring: Implied to have been this offscreen for his dad before murdering him. Subverted as of RTTE Season 3. Oswald disappeared and Dagur claimed to have done this in order to avoid looking like a weak successor.
• Arch-Enemy: Regardless which villain is the current Big Bad, Dagur is consistently the biggest thorn in Hiccup's side, something that Dagur himself takes great joy in.
• Ax-Crazy: Dagur has the title "Deranged" for a very good reason. He's a raving psychopath who regularly tries to start wars, sadistically hunts dragons, butchered Heather's entire village, and killed his own father, all for fun. On his return in RTTE Season 3, he's pulled a full-on Heel–Face Turn, mastering his anger... mostly. He's still got the crazy inside him, he's just much better at controlling it.
• Bad Boss: Regularly abuses his henchmen, with throwing them overboard a ship and crushing their hands being just a few of his methods. Character Development transformed Dagur into a Benevolent Boss and The Good King.
• Beard of Evil: Grows one in the Time Skip between Defenders of Berk and Race to the Edge. Doubles as a Time-Passage Beard, a Beard of Barbarism.
• The Beastmaster: Manages to control the Skrill to some degree. Gains some more of this after being stranded on a dragon-filled island.

• Big Bad: In A View to a Skrill, he seemingly killed Alvin and usurped control of the Outcasts, making him the primary antagonist of the series as a whole until Viggo Grimborn shows up. He later pulls a Heel–Face Turn, ceding the role to Viggo.
• Big Brother Instinct: His one redeeming trait prior to his genuine heel face turn is his protectiveness over Heather.
• Blood Knight: He is eager to fight and by ''eager' we mean "looking for any excuse to declare war". He brings an armada with him everywhere just in case, and claims there are fifty thousand soldiers in it, going so far as to bring the armada to hunt dragons with him on Dragon Island later on.
• Broken Pedestal: Of a very strange sort with Hiccup. After "Twinsanity" where he sees Hiccup fighting "a Night Fury", he comes to see Hiccup as this awesome Viking who succeeded against something no Viking had ever before won. When they meet in "The Night and the Fury" he wants to kill a Night Fury together with Hiccup, going so far as to call Hiccup his "brother." Upon learning Hiccup had deceived him and was no longer killing dragons but training them, he goes back to hating Hiccup but on a more personal level.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: After his turn to the good side, Dagur reveals a surprising amount of talent in dragon training. He does so while holding one-sided conversations with them.
• The Caligula: They don't call him "Dagur the Deranged" for nothing. He grows out of it.
• Card-Carrying Villain: It's right in his title, Dagur "The Deranged". He grows out of it in RTTE Season 3. Somewhat.
• Character Development:
  • Dagur was something of a Dirty Coward in Defenders of Berk, but toughens up by Race to the Edge.
  • In a more general example, he starts off as an easily angered, destructive, sociopathic-like antagonist against Hiccup and the dragon riders. But after learning Heather is his sister and saving her from being hurt by Viggo, he goes off on his own and do some thinking. And the next time he and Hiccup meet, Dagur has totally changed. He's learn to control his anger which allows him to become nicer. He even becomes a dragon rider.
  • Following from the above, Heather's influence also helped Dagur want to be a chief who leads with reason instead of violence.
• Character Tics: Whenever Dagur is angry or annoyed, he sings a song to help him calm down.
  "I am the sea, calm and wide, my sense of peace comes from the inside."
• Deadpan Snarker: Occasionally, and with increasing frequency in Race to the Edges. In Dragon Eye of the Beholder Part I, he remarks (about the other dragon riders), "still haven't got rid of the Greek chorus, I see."
• Demoted to Dragon: Becomes Viggo Grimborn's subordinate in the latter half of Race to the Edge. This doesn't last, as Dagur promptly turns on him when he realizes Grimborn considers him and Heather expendable.
• Dirty Coward: He never goes anywhere without the Berserker armada close at hand and in the season two finale, he begs Hiccup for help when Alvin captures him. He's outgrown this by Race to the Edge, as part of his generally stepping up.
• Easily Forgiven: To an extent in the second half of Race to the Edge. Most egregious with Heather, whose adopted parents had been murdered by Dagur - or at least, his soldiers (just what happened is rather unclear) - yet as of Gold Rush she's off looking for Oswald with him. On the other hand, despite several proofs to the contrary, she consistently suspects up to that point that he's ready to step back through the Heel–Face Revolving Door. However, most of the Riders regard him with definite suspicion, and their unwillingness to trust him leads to his Heroic Sacrifice. He survives, but it looks very much he doesn't.
• Embarrassing Nickname: He was mockingly nicknamed "Dagur the Dainty" by his childhood bully, Anson.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Even prior to his Heel–Face Turn, he genuinely cares for his sister, Heather, threatening Ryker with death if he hurts her and going out of his way to save her life in Maces and Talons: Part 2.
• Even Evil Has Standards:
  • Hates traitors, even those who work for him.
    "I hate traitors."
  • He dislikes Dragonroot arrows for being cheating.
  • It's revealed that he did not kill his own father, though he had no problem letting everyone think so. He also would not kill his own sister Heather, even when she tried to kill him.
• Evil Counterpart: To Hiccup. They are both sons of Viking Chiefs, but while Hiccup is intelligent and compassionate, Dagur is psychotic and brutish. While Hiccup respects his father and seeks to earn his approval, Dagur utterly despised his father (to the point of killing him) and often insults his memory. Ironically, Dagur considers Hiccup to be very similar to himself. As it turns out, they're more similar than they appear, especially after Dagur becomes considerably more calculating (and thus, more dangerous) in Race to the Edge, and later following his Heel–Face Turn, he takes on a degree of Hiccup's All-Loving Hero nature.
• Evil Redhead: He has bright red hair and is a complete sociopath. Until Season 5.
• Evil Laugh: He tends to have long, slightly creepy laughs. Considering his mental state, he might be considered Laughing Mad.
• Evil Plan:
  • He thinks Berk is hiding an army of dragons; he wants to find it for a pretext of declaring war on Berk.
  • He later comes up with a number of these, and they get better and better as time goes on.
• Expy: Of Norbert the Nutjob from the books. Both are insane Viking Chieftains with deceased fathers who later become allies with Hiccup. They even have similar helmets.
• Fatal Flaw: Dagur's biggest flaw that ends up hurting him the most is his pride, impulsiveness, and not thinking through his strategies.
• Faux Affably Evil: To the rare person he respects or considers family, he gives off an air of brotherhood and friendliness. Unusually for this trope, it appears he's actually trying to be sincere, but fails due to how clearly unhinged, obsessive and treacherous he is even to people he likes. His welcoming attitude towards Heather, who is actually family to him, is even creepier due to how sincerely he tries to give it even after what he did to her adopted family. As with his other negative traits, he outgrows it.
• Fiery Redhead: In the first two seasons brief shots of the braid sticking out from under his helmet show he has red-ish hair. Starting from Race to the Edge, he's sporting some kind of faux-hawk undercut thing.
• Flaunting Your Fleets: Never travels anywhere without his Armada to back him up.
• For the Evulz: Practically every crime Dagur commits is for his own sick amusement.
• Generation Xerox: His father started out as 'Oswald the Antagonistic' and later became 'Oswald the Agreeable,' which mirrors Dagur's character arc.
• Genius Bruiser: Dagur is an accomplished warrior, but has proven to be surprisingly crafty.
• Good Feels Good: "Family on the Edge" has Dagur try to redeem himself, and to his credit, he does end up getting along with most of his former enemies. Furthermore, it actually sticks.
• Good Scars, Evil Scars: Post-Time Skip, he has a pretty nasty one on the right side of his face.
• Good Taming, Evil Taming: In Defenders of Berk, Dagur tries controlling the Skrill by tying him to ropes and making it destroy things on command, only for the Skrill to electrify him and flee as soon as it is free. He eventually learns to train dragons under Hiccup's instructions, gaining the mutual loyalty and friendship of a Gronckle he named Shattermaster. In the Shellshocked episode, Shattermaster gets injured in the fray, but Dagur joins forces with Sleuther in order to defend him, with Sleuther eventually becoming Dagur's full-time mount.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: Very quick to anger. A long time stranded on an island leads to him actually taking up meditation to control it.
• Heel–Face Turn: To everyone's immense surprise and total skepticism, in Season 5, after a long time marooned on an island.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Possibly. In RTTE Season 3, he repeatedly tries to tell Hiccup that he's flying into a trap in raiding Viggo's shipyard, then escapes to trigger the trap and is last seen charging into the smoke to try and take out the rest of the fleet. One of his throwing knives is seen falling into the water. Season 4 reveals that he's alive.
• Horny Vikings: His helmet in the first two seasons could make Loki envious.
• Hypocrite:
  • He says he doesn't like traitors yet he has no problem with keeping Savage, who has clearly gone from Outcast to Berserker, as his right hand.
  • He hates it when people give him nicknames, but gladly gives them to others.
• Hot-Blooded: A consistent part of his personality.
• In Love with Your Carnage: Somewhat. He mentioned to Hiccup that he couldn't stop thinking about him and how well he handled Toothless (thinking it was a wild Night Fury) and mentions how he thinks he should kill Stoick to become chief, before getting pissed when he learned the truth. He still seems to be this in Race to the Edge.
• Jabba Table Manners: Averted in that he despises people who smack their lips while eating, and threatens to remove Tuffnut's legs for doing so. The only reason he doesn't is because Tuffnut impresses him with a poem.
• Jerkass: The guy is one enormous prick, as well as being extremely unhinged, to put it mildly.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: After his Heel–Face Turn and Character Development, while Dagur still retains some temperamental issues and rudeness, he is a lot more nicer.
• Love at First Punch: How Mala describes their relationship — "It was love at first fight".
• Luke, I Am Your Father: Heather is his sister. He's just as surprised to learn about this as she is, but he welcomes her with open arms even though she tried to kill him only a few minutes before (and kept the invitation open even after she rejected it).
• Major Injury Underreaction: Seems to have an extremely high pain tolerance. Twice, he gets shot with an arrow. The first, he only notices it because the poison on it knocks him out. For the second, he doesn't notice until someone else points it out and he still doesn't react with any sort of pain or even pull it out of his back.
• Manipulative Bastard: Evolves into this in Race to the Edge, and though he's not on Viggo's level, he's dangerously good at it.
• Meaningful Name: With a bit of Bilingual Bonus to boot - his name sounds similar to Draugr, a vengeful undead from Norse mythology (on top of sounding kinda like "dragon"). It is also similar to the English word "dagger", which is fitting for a knife nut character.
• Mood-Swinger: He can go from gleeful to enraged You Have Failed Me directed at his men, to crazy Evil Laughter, and finally to nonchalant snark, all in the span of under a minute.
• Motor Mouth: To go with his mood swings, he often dominates conversations (including with inanimate objects or dragons), and changes between formal heightened speech, and the standard casual tone of the other teens.
• Mysterious Informant: Might have one of these since he knew about the domesticated dragons.
• Names to Run Away from Really Fast: In a stark contrast to his father.
• Never Speak Ill of the Dead: Stoick was close to flipping out and murdering him because he was constantly berating his father, even under the threat of a war. Considering he was seeking war, and his surprising amount of intellect, it was likely on purpose.
• No Indoor Voice: He is rarely heard below shouting level.
• No Sense of Personal Space: He often hugs people too tightly and without warning. Strangely, his affection does seem to be genuine—it simply isn't returned by anyone he likes until well after he turns to Hiccup's side.
• Offstage Villainy: Besides what he did to his father, Oswald the Agreeable, which it turns out that he was lying about so he could take over the tribe he also attacked and butchered nearly everyone in Heather's village at some point after breaking out of prison.
• The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: Gives this order about Hiccup after the events of "The Night and the Fury."
• Papa Wolf: Becomes extremely protective towards his Gronckle dragon, Shattermaster. He even works with the dragon hunters to find a clue as to where they kidnapped Shattermaster.
• Pretext for War: His goal is to find one, just for the sake of war. As of "The Night and The Fury", he has it now that he knows that Berk has dragons.
• Psychopathic Manchild: He's about the same age as Hiccup or older and throws violent tantrums when he doesn't get his way.
• Reformed, but Rejected: In RTTE Season 3. He proves his benevolent bona fides by repeatedly saving Hiccup and Toothless and performing a Heroic Sacrifice to trigger a trap set up by Viggo. To his credit, he understands why his enemies don't trust him.
• Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves: Does so to one guard in Eye of the Beholder: Part One who was also the one who set him free.
  Guard: I'm the one who freed you!
  Dagur: Which makes you a traitor. (BONK!) I hate traitors. (Slasher Smile)
• Sanity Slippage: He starts off crazy and gets even worse after being shipwrecked and stranded alone on an island after betraying Ryker. On the other hand, his appearance after that in "Family on the Edge" shows that his sanity has largely improved.
• Screaming Warrior: Quite often, but most notably in 'The Night and the Fury' where, mid-conversation (albeit one about hunting dragons), he drops to all fours and howls like a wolf in excitement. Hiccup is quite disturbed, even moreso when Dagur asks him to join in.
• Self-Made Orphan: It's heavily implied that he killed his father, as he says he "retired," repeatedly refers to him in the past tense, and (most tellingly) does a mock impression of his father cowering while telling Dagur to put down the axe. Implied no more in "The Night and The Fury" where he mentions 'disposing' his father and being willing to do so to Stoick so Hiccup could take control. And then "Family on the Edge" reveals this isn't true, but Dagur did let everyone think he had killed his father as to not look weak. RTTE Season 4 reveals that he's been looking for his father, later with Heather's help, and Oswald died defending dragons after being marooned.
• Shipper on Deck: He seems aware of Hiccup and Astrid's attraction to each other, given this line.
  "Relax, blondie! I was just trying to talk some sense into your boy Hiccup here!"
• Sibling Yin-Yang: With Heather. He's violent, crazy, and an antagonist to the riders; she's peaceful, sane, and an ally to the riders.
• Significant Green-Eyed Redhead: He has bright green eyes, fiery red hair, and acts as a recurring villain, and later Big Bad, for Hiccup.
• Slasher Smile: A surprisingly creepy one for a kids show.
• Smarter Than You Look: Though undoubtedly an Ax-Crazy lunatic, his conversation with Hiccup in Twinsanity, along with his knack for outsmarting the Riders throughout the series, shows that Dagur is far savvier than his brutish tendencies would suggest. Following the time skip, he progresses into a fully-fledged Manipulative Bastard, with a particular knack for playing Hiccup. While he's not on Viggo's level, he's good.
• The Sociopath: Even though The Berserkers are mentioned to be psychotic in battle, they're all well-mannered compared to this guy. He overcomes this in RTTE Season 3, having spent a long time marooned on an island reflecting on and consciously restraining his violent impulses.
• Stab the Scorpion: Throws a knife past Hiccup that sets off a trap behind him.
• Suddenly Shouting: Quite often.
• Tattooed Crook: He has two tattoos of three lines like claw marks, one across his left eye and the other on his upper right arm. He's also a recurring antagonist for Hiccup.
• Teens Are Monsters: He appears to be a teenager, is batshit insane, is known to have been rude to Hiccup and others, and is stated to have killed his father.
• Terms of Endangerment: Loves to refer to Hiccup as his "brother". Upon finding out Heather is his biological sister he refers to her as "sister" in the same way, then taking it one step further to give her the moniker Heather the Unhinged. To be fair, it does kind of fit.
• Took a Level in Badass: Becomes significantly more dangerous following the three year time skip.
• Took a Level in Kindness: Discovering Heather is his sister was the first step that would change Dagur into a more heroic and kind-hearted person.
• Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: While "ugly" might be a little much, Dagur's features are much more exaggerated and cartoonish compared to Mala's.
• We Can Rule Together: Delivers one to Heather after discovering that she is his sister.
• Would Hit a Girl: He shows no qualms about fighting and/or possibly killing a female as his fights with Heather and Astrid show.
• Young and in Charge: The same age as Hiccup and is already the chief of his tribe.

Vorg

Voiced by: Brook Chalmers

A Berserker who acts as Dagur's second-in-command during Riders of Berk and Race to the Edge.

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• Co-Dragons: Seems to share the role with Savage after Dagur seeminglly killed Alvin and took over the Outcast Tribe.
• Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: The last anyone's seen of him is Season 2 of Race to the Edge.

Savage

Voiced by: Paul Rugg

Alvin's second-in-command. Later becomes one to Dagur in season three and four. By season six, he's struck out on his own to become a bounty hunter.

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• Bad with the Bone: Was often seen using a bone as a weapon in Riders/Defenders of Berk.
• Canon Foreigner: Like Astrid, he was made for the franchise. Unlike her, however, he has no counterpart in the books.
• Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Disappears late in season two of Race to the Edge.
• Deadpan Snarker: Has his moments, not that snarking is a good idea in the face of who he serves.
• The Dog Bites Back: After serving Bad Boss after Bad Boss, Savage becomes a bounty hunter and plays by his own rules.
• The Dragon: The head minion to Alvin and later Dagur.
• Meaningful Name: He's an evil barbarian who delights in the misfortune of others. He was looking forward to Heather's You Have Outlived Your Usefulness fate.
• Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Subverted for the most part, as he's less dangerous than his bosses. Then season six rolls out, and Savage starts living up to his name.
• Sanity Slippage: After working for Alvin and Dagur, it's not a surprise that Savage went a little nuts.
• Yes-Man: He learned very quickly that disagreeing with Alvin, unless one has absolute proof Alvin is wrong, is a very poor career choice. Later subverted when he gets fed up with bosses like Alvin and Dagur and becomes a bounty hunter.

Dragon Hunters

The Dragon Hunters are a group of Vikings that make their debut in Race to the Edge.

General

• Early-Bird Cameo: While they didn't appear until Season 2 of Race to the Edge, their insignia appeared on the Reaver, an abandoned ship that Hiccup and the others investigated in Season 1.
• Evil Poacher: They hunt dragons for resources and profit, but they're not your run of the mill Great White Hunters. These guys have tactics and equipment that prove that eventually, humans could wind up driving dragons to extinction.
• Good Taming, Evil Taming: In contrast to the Defenders, the Dragon Hunters not only capture and sell dragons for parts, but they also use live dragons for labor. Forcing them to fight in gladiatorial arenas for entertainment, using Quakens as wrecking balls, chaining a Submaripper to the sea-bed to obstruct Berk's trading routes, attaching the Shellfire to a warship, etc. Because of their objectifying behavior, this backfires on them every time.
• Knight of Cerebus: Things generally get much darker when they show up, especially Ryker and Viggo. Among other things, Viggo is the first antagonist to have someone explicitly killed, even if we only hear it.
• Outside-Context Problem: While they are regular humans, their tactics and gear throw the Dragon Riders off significantly. When finding an abandoned ship of theirs, Hiccup remarks that he's not seen anything like that for some time. They are also the first enemies the Riders have faced that actually have knowledge of dragons.
• Siblings in Crime: Two brothers.
• Villain Decay: When they were first introduced in Season 3, they were treated as the greatest threat faced by the Dragon Riders so far. In addition, their dragon-hunting weapons and specialized tactics typically forced the Riders to either improvise or come up with a way to outsmart them. Come Season 5-6, where they have been reduced to The Usual Adversaries, and the Riders are able to take them out as easily as they did with their other enemies. In addition, their dragon-hunting equipment becomes gradually less effective as the series goes on. To some degree justified, as the Riders learn to exploit their weaknesses and most of the hunters aren't smart enough to adapt their equipment in return unless their leaders tell them what to do.

Ryker Grimborn

Voiced by: JB Blanc

The oldest of the Grimborn brothers, he takes charge of the main Hunter armada and scours the archipelago in search of dragons to turn into profit. He also has an interest in the Dragon Eye, which is a family heirloom of his.

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• Awesomeness by Analysis: A calm professional who knows dragons inside out and is. For example, he was able to identify Stormfly's dragon species just by the smell in the air.
• Bad Boss: Frequently violent towards his men.
• Bald of Evil: Not a hair on his head and pretty evil.
• Brains and Brawn: The brawn to his brother's brains, though he's plenty intelligent himself - indeed, with the possible exception of Alvin and occasionally post Time Skip Dagur (who's less a strategist, more excellent at manipulating Hiccup), he's the smartest of Hiccup's adversaries until Viggo shows up.
• Bows Versus Crossbows: He uses a Dragon Hunter bow that shoots Dragon Root arrows to knock dragons out.
• Burial at Sea: He is last seen being drowned by the weight of the detached Shellfire ship into the mouth of a Submaripper.
• Cain and Abel: Averted. The season six finale has Ryker and Viggo having a falling out with Ryker seizing control of the Dragon Hunters. At first, it looks like it might be a trick, but it is confirmed by Viggo's line of Hiccup helping put Ryker "back in his place". However, while Viggo may have had a falling out with Ryker, both now willing to kill one another and the former is helping out Hiccup and the Riders, Viggo is still an enemy, as he used Astrid as to get the Dragon's Eye from Hiccup.
• Cold Sniper: A master marksman.
• Cool Sword: Ryker wields two blades made of dragon-proof metal.
• Deadpan Snarker: From time to time. For instance, when Dagur tells him not to get crazy...
  You are talking to me about crazy?
• The Dragon: To Viggo, as Ryker is the Number Two of the dragon hunting business.
• Dragon Ascendant: So Viggo would have us believe in "Shell-Shocked Part 1." He claims that Viggo finally snapped in his obsession to take down Hiccup - which, to be fair, is entirely plausible at this point.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Despite how his brother treats him, he cares about him because they're family, though this is later subverted when he betrayed Viggo and even became fine with killing him. He also seems to care about his cousin, Lars, who is also part of their dragon hunting team.
• Even Evil Has Standards: When Dagur asks if Ryker could defeat his brother, Ryker says he could and it would be easy, but he won't. Why? Because you don't harm family. He says this with such conviction it actually affects Dagur.
• Evil Counterpart: To Astrid. Like Astrid, he is the more physically capable Number Two to a genius yet physically weak leader (Ryker to Viggo, Astrid to Hiccup), who, nonetheless, is quite intelligent in their own right.
• Genius Bruiser: Shown to be more muscular than his brother and one of the bulkier characters, after Stoick and Alvin, he is shown to be strong enough to handle his foes. He also stated about his strength that he can easily hurt his brother. For the "Genius" part, while he's not as great compared to his little brother, he appears to know a lot about dragons, as he claims to his men that dragons are smarter than they appear. As he is able to come up few ideas against the Dragon Riders that seem to work out and knowing that the riders were acting to be captured on the ship, he is also a good tactician, where he outsmarted Hiccup several times. No wonder why Hiccup thought Ryker was the leader of the Dragon Hunters.
• Good Scars, Evil Scars: Has a scar underneath his right eye.
• I Lied: When the hooded Bounty Hunter brings Hiccup to Ryker for the reward, he reveals that the gold he promised was actually just a bag of rocks, intending on taking Hiccup without paying.
• Meaningful Name: "Ryker" means "strength" and "rich", referring to him being a Genius Bruiser and desiring money, respectively.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: His aforementioned speech about family inadvertently causes Dagur's Heel–Face Turn.
• Strong Family Resemblance: Despite being bald and more muscular than Viggo, they do share a remarkable resemblance that is seen in their skin complexion, eye shape, and similar jaw structure.
• Undying Loyalty: To his brother, because he's family - even if he doesn't like him very much. This seems to fray in Series 6, however, as Viggo increasingly starts to lose it.
• Unflinching Walk: A big fan of doing this.
• Would Hit a Girl: Has no problem fighting Astrid.

Viggo Grimborn

Voiced by: Alfred Molina

The younger of the Grimborn brothers, he is a master of both psychological warfare and mind games. Devious and a brilliant tactician, he is the brains of the Dragon Hunters, directing them from behind the shadows.

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• Annoying Younger Sibling: Deconstructed. Viggo is the younger sibling between him and Ryker as well as the head of their dragon-hunting business. However, their relationship is strained thanks to the former's Insufferable Genius nature, treating the latter as nothing but Dumb Muscle. And their relations only worsen with Hiccup and his friends defeating them more often. As such, the two end on nasty terms with Ryker betraying Viggo.
• Arch-Enemy: An evil match to Hiccup in brains, especially after Dagur's Heel–Face Turn.
• Awesome McCoolname: Viggo Grimborn. As Tuffnut states, "Scary, but cool."
• Bad Boss: He doesn't believe in forgiveness, but he is certainly willing to let you think he is.
• Beard of Evil: The classic neat goatee, in a contrast with Dagur's growing Beard of Barbarism.
• The Beastmaster: Is able to subdue most dragons due to extensive knowledge of them. In last season of Race to the Edge, he tamed Skrill without any difficulty whatsoever.
• Brains and Brawn: The brains to his brother's brawn, though Ryker is plenty intelligent himself.
• Brainy Brunette: Has brown hair and is frighteningly intelligent.
• Cain and Abel: Averted. The season six finale has Ryker and Viggo having a falling out with Ryker seizing control of the Dragon Hunters. At first, it looks like it might be a trick, but it is confirmed by Viggo's line of Hiccup helping put Ryker "back in his place". However, while Viggo may have had a falling out with Ryker, both are now willing to kill one another and the former is helping out Hiccup and the Riders, Viggo is still an enemy, as he used Astrid as to get the Dragon's Eye from Hiccup.
• The Chessmaster: He is an excellent manipulator and strategist who seems to think of everything as if it were a chess game.
• Complexity Addiction: In contrast to many of the rider's foes, Viggo's schemes have several steps, relying on Batman Gambits and Reverse Psychology to stay several steps ahead of Hiccup and his allies.
• Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: Viggo is patient, creating elaborate plans that succeed in manipulating Hiccup and leaving the dirty work for his brother, as opposed to Dagur and Alvin, who used short-termed plans and was always at the front lines of the assault. In the beginning, he also contrasted them in that he had no personal reasons for antagonizing the Riders other than for business purposes (Alvin holding a grudge against Stoick, and Dagur holding a grudge against Hiccup).
  • In "Shell Shocked Part 1", Hiccup finds Viggo begging for his help, his brother had apparently betrayed him, taken his tribe and resources and is willing to negotiate a truce if he could help him (not unlike Alvin the Treacherous). What makes this different from Alvin's predicament was that the betrayal was all an elaborate ruse Viggo orchestrated, ending with both Viggo and Ryker dying instead of peace being made.
• Cool Sword: Viggo has a large sword he carries on his back. He often uses it to threaten or imitate others. Later, in his final appearance, he gets his own Flaming Sword.
• Crying Wolf: After lying about his Heel–Face Turn in "Shell Shocked Part 1", Hiccup is understandably skeptical when he (sincerely) does it again in "''Triple Cross''".
• Curtains Match the Windows: He has brown hair and brown eyes.
• Deathbringer the Adorable: Before being introduced onscreen some attention is paid to his fearsome reputation and how ominous the name Grimborn is. When he first appears Dagur and Heather exchange a wordless look of surprise that the physically unimposing man talking about games is the feared leader of the Dragon Hunters.
• Disney Villain Death: Viggo is last seen careening into the Dragon's Edge's reignited volcano. The next season reveals he survived.
• The Dreaded: Viggo is feared by his own men and his brother Ryker. He has also become one of the Dragon Riders' most dangerous adversaries.
• Even Evil Has Standards: He's quite unhappy about his partnership with the sadistic Krogan, seen especially when he saves a henchman from falling into lava. The man is surprised, as Krogan would have let him fall, and Viggo spits out in disgust, "I know what Krogan would have done.".
• Evil Brit: Wants to wipe out all the dragons, and, inexplicably, speaks with an RP accent, while his brother speaks with a Scottish accent.
• Evil Counterpart: To Hiccup. Both rely on brains rather than brawn and are expert strategists. However, Viggo is basically what would happen if Hiccup had none of his morality, vision of the world, or respect for Dragons. Also, while Hiccup is a dragon rider who would never abandon his friends unless he had no choice, Viggo is a dragon hunter who merely states that "no one is irreplaceable". His last appearance makes this even more obvious, what with him being even equal Gadgeteer Genius and being effortlessly able to tame one of most aggressive dragons there is.
• Facial Horror: The left side of his face is mildly scarred after he falls in the Edge's volcano, including his eye being blinded. However, his overall look hasn't changed much.
• Fatal Flaw: Being an Insufferable Genius, as Hiccup notes in "Defenders of the Wing, Part 1". Viggo's penchant for telling others how much smarter he is than them was not only a reason for Dagur's Heel–Face Turn, but also the reason for his own brother turning against him.
• Faux Affably Evil: He's invariably softly spoken and polite, but he's also sadistic enough to let a minion who temporarily pawned off a dragon hide to get food think he's being forgiven before having him killed off-screen, he treats his (actually quite smart) brother like an idiot and openly enjoys hunting people.
• Flaming Sword: In his final appearance in the episode Triple Cross, Viggo now owns his own version of Inferno, complete with a rear hilt mounted gas release system, presumably an idea Hiccup borrows in his later versions. The pair even fight using their fire swords! Viggo stated he created his own fire sword after witnessing Hiccup’s. He had some improvements like to generate Hideous Zippleback Gas from the other end. This is probably where Hiccup was inspired to add this feature to his dragon blade, Inferno.
• Gadgeteer Genius: Most of contraptions and projects done by Dragon Hunters are probably from his mind, such as Project Shellfire. He also replicates and improves upon Hiccup's Inferno sword.
• Good Scars, Evil Scars: Has claw-shaped scars on the lower right side of his neck. He later gains burn scars over most of the left side of his face.
• Heel–Face Turn: After having his life saved by a Monstrous Nightmare in RTTE Season 6.
• I Don't Pay You to Think: A common thing Viggo brings up to Dagur and Ryker whenever they want to share an idea.
• Ink-Suit Actor: His hair and beard is based on Alfred Molina's likeness in the film The Sorcerer's Apprentice, where Molina also co-starred with Hiccup's actor, Jay Baruchel.
• Insufferable Genius: Deconstructed. Viggo is quite intelligent and is well aware of this fact, as he mocks the brains of his brother, subordinates, and anyone he considers less of an equal. Over time, this not only plays into his later defeats but also causes Ryker to betray him along with the other hunters.
• A Lesson in Defeat: Viggo openly invokes this as he uses the very cauldron Hiccup and Fishlegs used to enter the Defender's volcano to find the Dragon Eye. He even warns Krogan not to underestimate him.
  Viggo: I have found, Krogan, that it is important to draw inspiration from those who have bested you. Hiccup's ingenuity, it's fascinating. The boy has invented things most could only dream of.
• Lesser of Two Evils: Viggo takes on this role when Krogan takes charge. While both are Bad Bosses, Viggo only ever killed his own men if they have ever tried crossing him in any way (like when one of his men tried selling one of his pelts behind his back), even in spite of seeing his men as expendable. This seems to have lessened in severity after his near-death experience after "Shell Shocked Part 2", briefly turning back from getting the Dragon Eye to save his companion from falling into the lava. Even after his defeat, Viggo has always seen Hiccup as a worthy opponent, having learned never to underestimate him. Krogan, on the other hand, has no qualms about killing his underlings for failure, speaking out against him, they're not as efficient as other minions, the most expedient way to get a job done, etc, and sees Hiccup merely as an obstacle rather than a legitimate threat.
• Manipulative Bastard: Plays Hiccup and Heather like a harp.
• Meaningful Name: "Viggo" means "war" or "battle". And he puts the Riders, notably Hiccup, through a battle of wits in their war against keeping dragons safe.
• No, Mister Bond, I Expect You To Dine: Pulls this on a number of characters, prominently Ruffnut.
• Out-of-Character Moment: When venturing into Dragon Edge's volcano accompanied by another hunter, Viggo was within a short distance of the Dragon Eye, but took the time to save his companion from falling into the lava. Keep in mind that this is the guy who was willing to infect his own men (and possibly the rest of the Archipelago) with the fatal Scourge of Odin with the intent of profiting off of the cure.
• Redemption Equals Death: After he's abandoned by Johann and Krogan and has his life saved by a dragon, he teams up with Hiccup against them and ends up sacrificing himself to cover Hiccup's escape.
• Sanity Slippage: In Season 6, it shows that Viggo is becoming more and more frustrated by Hiccup's interference, dedicating more time and effort in fighting them off and concocting elaborate plans to kill them. This is most evident with his behavior towards his brother, grabbing him by the throat more than once.
• Shipper on Deck: Downplayed. It was more about Viggo trying to get inside and mess with Hiccup's head, but he was aware of the young dragon rider's love for Astrid.
• A Sinister Clue: He's left-handed and a dragon-hunting villain.
• Smart People Play Chess: Or the local equivalent, Maces and Talons.
• Smart People Speak the Queen's English: Has a moderate accent and is the most intelligent villain in the series.
• Soft-Spoken Sadist: He's not particularly sadistic, but he's certainly willing to let someone who stole from him believe he's about to be shown mercy before having him disposed of, and he does seem to enjoy chasing people down.
• Strong Family Resemblance: Despite having a head full of hair and being leaner than Ryker, they do share a remarkable resemblance that is seen in their skin complexion, eye shape, and similar jaw structure.
• Terms of Endangerment: Tends to refer to his enemies as 'My dear'.
• Villainous Breakdown: Over the course of Season 6, as Hiccup starts to dismantle his organization more and more, and his plans start to fail. His behavior becomes more violent and unstable (see Sanity Slippage), and his plans and reasoning start to suffer as he becomes more fixated on killing Hiccup. He even ditches the "game" entirely for a while, hiring bounty hunters to try and kill Hiccup directly instead. Meanwhile Ryker takes note of this and uses the opportunity to overthrow him. When Hiccup defeats Riker, destroying the Grimborn fleet and their superweapon, Viggo is left with nothing and is ultimately reduced to scrambling after the one asset he has left, so desperately and without composure that he literally leads himself off a cliff.
• Villain Respect: Is both slightly surprised and deeply impressed when he realizes that Hiccup figured out his play with the Typhoomerangs and instead of flying around the back flew down the middle of the vortex of their flames. Mostly, he seems pleased that he has a Worthy Opponent to go up against.
• Worthy Opponent: Sees Hiccup as this, openly expressing the hope that they'll go head to head again. Becomes even more apparent in Season 7 where he uses technology created by Hiccup to descend into Edge's volcano while saying he likes to learn from those who bested him and even warns Krogan that Hiccup is a real threat to their plans even if it does not seem like it.
• Would Hit a Girl: Viggo has zero qualms over ordering Heather's execution or threatening to kill Astrid to get the Dragon Eye from Hiccup.

Unaffiliated Human Antagonists

Johann (Unmarked Spoilers)

Voiced by: Michael Goldstrom

A slightly eccentric trader who comes to Berk's port every once in a while, bartering goods from the reaches of the archipelago and beyond. Generally, the goods he brings inadvertently trigger some sort of adventure. However he is not all that he seems at first glance...

Because Season 5 of Race to the Edge reveals that his entire persona prior to that point had been a farce. In truth, Johann is a cut-throat pirate and villainous man who seeks to capture The King of Dragons and become the richest man in the world.

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• Ax-Crazy: He is revealed to be this in Season 6. He’s clearly unhinged, and very quick to resort to murder.
• Big Bad Duumvirate: Becomes part of a triumvirate with Viggo Grimborn and Krogan. Midway through Season 6, it becomes a Duumvirate after Johann and Krogan decide Viggo has outlived his usefulness, and attempted to seal him inside a cave.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Johnann pretended to care about Hiccup and his friends, when he was trying to kill them.
• The Chessmaster: Season 8 reveals that he is practically responsible for most of the conflict in Race to the Edge. He deliberately let Dagur steal his ship way back in Season 3 (as well as likely bribing the guard that let Dagur free) and his plans to kill Hiccup and the riders dates back to the first Dragons series.
• Chew Toy: When he's not simply appearing to drop off some sort of Plot Device, he's constantly getting lost, attacked, or undergoing some other kind of misfortune that the heroes will have to save him from - or end up causing.
• Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: In between his Non-Action Guy cowardice and ridiculous rambles, it turns out that he's actually far more competent than he lets on - namely, it turns out he really did wrestle squid ink from the giant squid. Twice, even. In Season 7, it turns out that the 'Moron' part is an act, and that the real Johann is sufficiently Badass for both Krogan and Viggo to treat with respect and allow to handle the Dragon Eye.
• Deadpan Snarker: He has his moments.
  Hiccup: Do you know what "trade sanctions" are, Johann?
  Johann: Two words that should never be used in the same sentence.
• Death by Irony: He's frozen by the very dragon he tried to capture.
• Evil All Along: To the surprise of just about everyone in Season 7.
• Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: He finds Hiccup’s constant heroics completely worthless and infuriating.
  "Such heroism. And... for what? FOR WHAT?!"
• Faux Affably Evil: He speaks in a polite, friendly tone when manipulating everyone around him, but is in fact a ruthless murderer and Dragon Hunter. Even after his true nature is revealed, he still sometimes speaks formally as he tries to kill his enemies.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: After The Reveal. Though in this case, it was more that he was a nightmare pretending to be a nobody.
• Good Scars, Evil Scars: Johann has a long scar under his left eye.
• Hypocrite: Johann disgustingly refers to Hiccup as Stoick's "scrawny heir", but is quite scrawny himself.
• The Informant: One of his roles in the show. He supplied Heather with information on Dagur's movements in "Have Dragon Will Travel", and told Hiccup about how Dagur wiped out Heather's village (reluctantly, after Hiccup mentioned "trade sanctions"; see Deadpan Snarker above).
• Intrepid Merchant: Johann is a trader who has traveled most of the world, casually name-dropping everything up to and including a piece of trivia about The Byzantine Empire. This may qualify as Fridge Brilliance, since Nordic merchants really did travel the world, and a particular destination was Constantinople, where the Norse/Vikings actually wound up providing the Cadre of Foreign Bodyguards, the Varangian Guard. Although in Season 8 he reveals that all his merchant stories were stolen from actual merchants before he sank them and their ships.
• Knight of Cerebus: He is one of the most evil How To Train Your Dragon villains, has no lighthearted or comedic moments after his true nature is revealed, and his search for the "King of Dragons" makes him a threat to the entire archipelago.
• The Münchausen: He's got a billion and one long-winded tall tales about his many exploits, most of which the denizens of Berk seem to be a bit tired of hearing. At least some of them, like his personally wrestling squid ink from a colossal squid - twice, appear to be true, however. He admits to Hiccup after he is revealed to be the Big Bad that almost all of them were in-fact stories other sailors told him before he had them killed, possibly as a means of establishing the guise of an honest trader.
• Nice Guy: Johann is a likable fellow, reasonable businessman, and the people of Berk are happy when he visits. Less so about his stories, but they can put up with those. As revealed at the end of Season 7, this was, in fact, a very good act.
• Noodle Incident: The audience never hears his stories all the way through.
• Obfuscating Stupidity: When it's revealed he was Evil All Along, even lampshading how he forced himself to be a foppish buffoon to win over the trust of the Berkians.
• Only in It for the Money: Much like Viggo, Johann only does what he does if it means turning a profit, seeing Drago as a business partner instead of a boss or lord and Krogan and Viggo as his employees.
• Orphaned Punchline: "But it was not a yak. It was his daughter!"
• Punny Name:
  • A possible reference to the Trader Joe's grocery store chain.
  • Most likely unintentional, but still - Trader Johann? Traitor Johann?
• The Reveal: In Season 7, it's revealed that he's part of a triumvirate with Viggo and Krogan, and far more dangerous than he pretends to be.
• Seen It All: A variation of the "weary traveler" variety. While he is amazed that Berk managed to make peace with dragons, he otherwise treats it as if it were just another of the many oddities he's come across in his travels.
• Serial Killer: He's killed a lot of real merchants at various points and stole their stories so that he could deceive Berk.
• Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: His default method of speaking. Retains it, to an extent, even after revealing his true allegiance.
• The Sociopath: Despite his putting up the above Nice Guy act, a lot of Johann's actions (acted or otherwise) towards others can make him this in hindsight.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: After he betrays Viggo and tries to have him killed, Johann take his role just as Krogan takes Ryker's, acting as the vitriolic Brains and Brawn antagonists of the series.
• Team Switzerland: As a trader without allegiances, he takes this role up in most appearances - for better or for worse. Though he will give general aid if needed, he takes no sides in the conflict and while he may not like the Outcasts and the Berserkers too much, he appreciates their business. Unfortunately, he also often asks no questions when offered a good enough deal - which Dagur once used to trick him into smuggling Smokebreaths onto Berk, who ran rampant and nearly got the island destroyed. That said, if sufficiently paid or threatened he will support one side over the other. Subverted when it is revealed that he was secretly in league with Viggo and Krogan the entire time.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: He attempted to have Viggo killed and planned on doing the same to Krogan after he captured the King of Dragons.

Grimmel the Grisly

Grimmel the Grisly

Voiced by: F. Murray Abraham

An evil dragon hunter and the main antagonist of the final movie How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World.

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• Alliterative Name: Grimmel the Grisly.
• And Your Little Dog, Too!: Grimmel threatens to destroy everything Hiccup loves after the latter refuses to give Toothless to him.
• Antagonist Abilities: Played with. He himself is only human and as such has no special abilities, nor does he have a giant dragon to obey his whims like Drago did, which might make him seem underwhelming for a Final Boss. However, he has something very rare among the series' villains - a sharp mind that places him in a league of his own. Add to that some Mind Control and the assistance of six of the most powerful and versatile - if not the most impressive-looking - dragons in the series, and you have one nasty customer on your hands.
• Arch-Enemy: Grimmel is this for Hiccup.
  • He is also this for Toothless, as he wiped his species, leaving only him and mentally scared his mate.

• Badass Longcoat: His apparel consists of long flowing black clothing.
• The Beastmaster: Grimmel has tamed six Deathgrippers. Or so it seemed. He drugged them into obedience with their own venom, and even an Alpha can't break that control.
• Big Bad: He is the main antagonist of the third and final movie. Grimmel is planning the genocide of dragons and threatens Berk in his quest to kill the last Night Fury, Toothless.
• Big "NO!": Lets out one just before he falls into the ocean.
• Bows Versus Crossbows: He uses a crossbow instead of a bow to emphasize his nature as a Gadgeteer Genius just like Hiccup. It also plays into the stereotype of the crossbow as a "sneaky" weapon favored by rogues, allowing him to make a quick first attack without having to nock. The slow reload of the crossbow is usually not an issue since he focuses on making the first shot the last one as well.
• The Chessmaster: Is able to outwit Hiccup twice, even when Hiccup has planned specifically for his ambush for the first time. He also plays the Warlords like a harp.
• Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: So far, he's double-crossed anyone who tries to work with him.
  • He used to work with Eir Stormheart, the main villain of Dreamworks Dragons: Dawn of New Riders, before stealing her Chimeragon and all of her research.
  • He betrays the Warlords after capturing Toothless.
• Combat Pragmatist: He makes use of traps, poison darts, and chains in his pursuit of exterminating the Night Fury race. Even his first kill was this way, where he found a sleeping Night Fury and killed it when it couldn't fight back.
• Contrasting Sequel Antagonist:
  • Drago was a very power-oriented antagonist with dark skin and black hair, having a massive build and an army, being heavily reliant on fear tactics, and using his Bewilderbeast. Grimmel, however, has pale skin and white hair, a lean build, is more intelligent and patient, relying primarily on sneak attacks, and independent, only having six Deathgrippers.
  • To Viggo Grimborn from Race to the Edge as well. Both start basically the same Egomaniac Hunters that see their tasks as a game, though while Viggo's motivation is mostly about money and power, Grimmel's is Fantastic Racism. Also, while Viggo ultimately performs a Heel–Face Turn and a Heroic Sacrifice for Hiccup's cause, Grimmel remains antagonistic until the very end and falls to his doom while fighting Hiccup.
• Crazy-Prepared: He has emergency chain barricades should someone infiltrate his headquarters, and has numerous redundant backup plans, as shown when he shows in Hiccup's house.
• Cruel Mercy: He has no intention of massacring the people of Berk for protecting the dragons. He's perfectly content to leave them unharmed but guilt-ridden with the knowledge that they've lost their dragons and thus their way of life.
• Dark Is Evil: Definitely evil and wears mostly dark clothes.
• Disney Villain Death: He falls to his death after Hiccup knocks him off the Light Fury. Unlike with Drago, there's no ambiguity about it—we see him hit the water head-on after having fallen straight down for at least two-hundred feet (sixty meters).
• Dissonant Serenity: During his meeting with Hiccup he remains completely calm and even seems to enjoy himself while Hiccup threatens him with his flamming sword. Even after Hiccup reveals that he set a trap for him Grimmel and take his crossbow away from him Grimmel is far more amused than worried until he calls his Deathgrippers.
• Divide and Conquer: It's revealed that the Light Fury is a dragon in his possession, and he unleashes her near Berk in order to lure and distract Toothless. As he knew that Toothless is The Dreaded and the Alpha of Berk's dragons, making Toothless distracted and separating him from Hiccup means Hiccup is left without his dragon and the dragon pack is left without their Alpha - removing one of the most dangerous threats from the picture. Also, when Hiccup and his friends attempt to capture him, he laid a trap in a way that separates the riders from their dragons, leaving Hiccup and his friends more vulnerable.
• Dragon-in-Chief: Despite working for the warlords ruling over Drago’s army, Grimmel is clearly more dangerous than they are. He also backstabs them at the end and they can't do natch about it.
• The Dragonslayer: Prior to the third film, Toothless is the only Night Fury anyone ever saw. The reason? Grimmel hunted them to near-extinction.
• The Dreaded: The way how Eret speaks about him definitely gives off this vibe.
• Egomaniac Hunter: He is arrogant and has convinced himself that he is helping humanity by exterminating the dragons. DeBlois refers to him as a "prize hunter" during the third movie's panel at NYCC 2018. The movie clearly shows that the entirety of the plot is one big game to him. Notably, the Warlords want Toothless for their army. Grimmel betrays them and refuses to hand him over after capturing him, because Grimmel's claim to fame is killing all of the Night Furies, of which Toothless is one that he missed, and he wants to cement that reputation.
• Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Because of his hatred towards dragons, Grimmel is absolutely incapable of envisioning any genuine bond between a dragon and a human, believing that friendship between the two can only be an illusion. As a result, he was utterly shocked that Hiccup was willing to dislodge his prosthetic leg so they would BOTH fall to save Toothless and to see the Light Fury return to save Hiccup.
• Evil Counterpart: To Hiccup. Both have tall and lean builds and rely on brains rather than muscles, making use of inventions. However, while Hiccup believes that dragons and humans can coexist in peace, Grimmel hates dragons with a passion and has made it his goal to destroy them all. Furthermore, it's later revealed that, like Hiccup, he was once at a similar crossroad in life when he found a Night Fury in a vulnerable state. But instead of befriending it, he killed it in its sleep and later went on to almost wipe out the rest.
• Evil Sounds Deep: According to a Deadline article, F. Murray Abraham gives Grimmel a deep-baritone voice in the "classic villain sense."
• Fantastic Racism: Despite using trained dragons himself, Grimmel is described as being completely intolerant of dragons. This bit from Dean DeBlois' interview with Screenrant pretty much sums it all up:
  DeBlois: And Grimmel, he's just all about intolerance. [He thinks] dragons are vermin. They are the enemy, they must be suppressed or removed. He cannot tolerate a world in which he has to live with dragons, and the idea that there's some young Viking chief on the island of Berk trying to teach people that they can all live together is personally offensive to him.
• Faux Affably Evil: He has polite manners and a friendly demeanor at the first glance, though behind this polite facade he's generally contemptful and patronizing to others as seen with him stealthily mocking the warlords for their incompetence at taming dragons and conquering the world and him treating Hiccup as a child rather than as a chief, and he likes to threaten others and give them a Sadistic Choice while keeping a calm and polite tone.
• Feeling Oppressed by Their Existence: His hatred towards dragons brings him into conflict with Hiccup and Berk's goal for peaceful coexistence with them.
• Final Boss: He is the final antagonist faced by Hiccup and Toothless in the film trilogy and the entire franchise.
• Final Solution: Toothless is the only Night Fury he hasn't hunted. He wants Toothless so he can finish the job.
• Foil: Just as Drago was a foil to Hiccup in the second film, Grimmel is another one in the third installment; he not only controls dragons using drugs (specifically venom taken from one of the dragon species he controls) but Grimmel actually copied Hiccup's feat of shooting down a Night Fury when he was a child, except that Grimmel freely killed that dragon and all other Night Furies he could find where Hiccup was inspired to bond with the dragon and became a dedicated protector of all dragons.
• Greater-Scope Villain: Grimmel, referred to as “G”, plays this role in the video game Dreamworks Dragons: Dawn of New Riders. Despite only being mentioned, he heavily influences the game's events. He is responsible for the main protagonist having amnesia and is revealed to have been former partners with the game's main villain.
• The Heavy: His actions directly drive the plot forward. For starters, he kicks off Berk's mass exodus by burning down Hiccup's house and threatening Toothless.
• Hell-Bent for Leather: Grimmel appears to be wearing a flight suit made of leather. Justified as he may need it to stay warm while flying.
• Hired Guns: He's hired by Drago's old army to capture Toothless.
• Hunter of Monsters: Has dedicated his life to wiping out all dragons, believing that humanity cannot and must not coexist with them.
• Hypocrite: Hiccup accuses him of being one, due to hating dragons and viewing them all as vermin to be exterminated, yet having six Deathgrippers under his thrall. Grimmel reveals that he drugged them into obedience using their own venom and otherwise cares as much about them as disposable tools, in his mind believing humans are the better species.
  • The closest Grimmel gets to justifying his Irrational Hatred towards dragons is when he calls them "thieves and murderers", which may be taken seriously...if he weren't perfectly willing himself to steal from and threaten to kill those who oppose his vision.
• In the Hood: He is shown to wear a leather jacket with a hood.
• Knight of Cerebus: The synopsis describes him as "the darkest threat they've [Hiccup and Toothless] yet faced". In both trailers, the mood instantly darkens when he’s introduced.
• Laughably Evil: Downplayed. He does get a few moments of humor, but for the most part is played completely seriously.
• Lean and Mean: Like Hiccup, Grimmel has a tall, lean build compared to most of the adult male cast's bulkier bodies.
• Nerves of Steel: He doesn't even flinch while shooting a Rumblehorn that's charging at him.
• "Not So Different" Remark: Subverted. He compares himself to Hiccup, having undergone similar experiences when he was a boy. Then he notes the difference between them. When he had the opportunity to kill a helpless Night Fury, he took it.
• Not So Stoic: While Grimmel generally remains perfectly calm during most situations, even when threatened, not even he can bear Ruffnut's endless talking and attitude. He also panics during his final moments.
• Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: Grimmel justifies his killing of dragons as giving real peace to the people of the world, but it becomes quickly clear that it isn't the truth as his crusade against dragons is motivated by his own hatred towards dragons rather than any desire to help others, and he has little if any regard for anyone but himself having no problems stealing, threatening, betraying or trying to kill other humans. It's also worth noting that unlike Drago it isn't even hinted that he has ever suffered because of dragons, thus making his loathing towards them both outright hypocritical and irrational.
• Obviously Evil: Grimmel has white hair,sunken cheeks, a thin, sharp chin, speaks with a Russian accent, his hideout is a dark fortress in some barren wasteland and his clothes resemble a hooded cloak.
• Poisoned Weapons: He fills his crossbow bolts with poison taken from his Deathgrippers.
• Pragmatic Villainy: What makes him so dangerous is the fact he's smart enough not to commit needlessly evil acts in his campaign against the dragons. For example, he honors the bargain he made with the warlords until they are in a position where they cannot do anything towards him for revenge, thus preventing any possible defection or alliance with Berk that brought down Drago in the second movie.
• Psycho Serum: He distills Deathgripper venom into a concoction that renders dragons receptive to his commands when injected.
• Shadow Archetype: Similarly with Drago, Grimmel is what Hiccup could have turned out if he had chosen to kill Toothless in the first movie.
• Shipper with an Agenda: Grimmel releases the Light Fury so she could distract Toothless and separate the latter from Hiccup.
• Slave Collar: His captive dragons wear special collars fitted with syringe mechanisms for injecting his Psycho Serum.
• Slave Mooks: His dragons are drugged into compliance using their own venom, so even an Alpha can't command them.
• Soft-Spoken Sadist: He rarely loses his composure, and speaks calmly even as you wield a flaming sword in his face, or when he tells you to forfeit your dragons to him.
• Stealth Expert: Even without his army and dragons, Grimmel is surprisingly threatening on his own as well because his enemies just won't see him coming. He manages to lay traps near Berk without anyone knowing, and effortlessly sneaks into Hiccup's home. Even if Hiccup knew he was coming, it turns out that Grimmel also brought his Deathgrippers with him, and they proceed to lay waste on Berk before most Vikings knew they were even there. Later in the film, he also followed Ruffnut back to the Hooligan tribe's new home (though to be fair, Ruffnut never bothered to check if there's anybody following her) and captured both Light Fury and Toothless before Hiccup and Astrid can stop him.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Despite hiring him themselves, Drago's warlords are untrusting of Grimmel and his methods, and he clearly has little if any respect for them as well. He double-crosses them in the climax.
• Thin Chin of Sin: He has one of the thinnest chins in the franchise. He's also a ruthless dragon hunter who drove the Night Furies to near-extinction.
• Those Magnificent Flying Machines: His main mode of transportation appears to be some sort of frame held aloft by four chains each attached to one of his Deathgrippers.
• Tranquilizer Dart: His crossbow bolts are filled with a sleep-inducing venom powerful enough to instantly knock most dragons unconscious. This is an effective weapon for a Combat Pragmatist such as Grimmel. Any shot that manages to penetrate the hide of a dragon, even one that would normally only annoy it, leads to rapid drowsiness, whereupon the beast can be either killed off with contemptuous ease or fitted with one of Grimmel's enslavement collars.
• What the Hell Is That Accent?: He has some sort of accent, but it's hard to nail down what kind (it sounds vaguely Russian).
• White Hair, Black Heart: He has light grey hair and appears to be one of the most evil antagonists seen so far.

Nikora Stormheart

A pirate queen and one of the main antagonists of the School of Dragons MMO video game.

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• Arc Villain: Of the Rise of Stormheart and Wrath of Stormheart expansions.
• Canon Foreigner: She is an original character exclusive to the School of Dragons game and doesn't appear in either the movies or TV series.
• Cool Boat: The Tempest, a steam-powered, ironclad behemoth equipped with catapults and ballistas that uses dragons to power its engines.
• Enemy Mine:
  • Subverted. She agrees to help the Dragon Riders take down Grimmel and uses her ship to provide a distraction while the player sneaks into Grimmel's camp. However, she then abruptly betrays the player mid-mission and abandons them to face Grimmel and the Warlords alone.
  • During the "Summarhildr" event, she briefly teams up with the Warlords against the player and Heather after she discovers them spying on their meeting.
• Evil vs. Evil: During The Hidden World expansion, she comes into conflict with Grimmel and the Warlords.
• Exit Villain, Stage Left: After the player defeats her in Dragon Tactics during the Summarhildr event, she flees the scene and abandons her warship.
• Karma Houdini Warranty: After betraying her alliance with the Dragon Riders during The Hidden World expansion and seemingly getting away scot-free, Nikora finally faces her comeuppance during the Summarhildr event where the player stops her from capturing Lumie, forces her to flee after beating her in Dragon Tactics, and sinks her flagship while freeing the dragons she enslaved.

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