History Characters / DespicableMeFeloniousGru

[[header:[[center:''Franchise/DespicableMe'' [[Characters/DespicableMe franchise character index]]\\
[-[[Characters/DespicableMeTheGruFamily The Gru Family]] ('''Felonious Gru''') | [[Characters/DespicableMeTheAntagonists The Antagonists]] | [[Characters/DespicableMeOtherCharacters Other Characters]]-]]]]]
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!!Felonius Gru
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/felonious_gru.png]]
[[caption-width-right:250:''"Life is full of disappointments... for '''some''' people. [[EvilLaugh Hmhmhmhmhmhm]]!"'']]

->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/SteveCarell
->'''Dubbed by:''' Creator/GadElmaleh (European French), Florentino Fernández (European Spanish), Andrés Bustamante (Latin American Spanish), Leandro Hassum (Brazilian Portuguese)

->''"We are going to steal...[--pause, for effect...--]THE MOON!!! And once the moon is mine, the world will give me whatever I want to get it back! And I will be the greatest villain of all time!"''

The strong, smart, big, hot-tempered, yet reluctant and serious protagonist of the ''Franchise/DespicableMe'' franchise who has a Russian accent. A supervillain whose previous schemes included stealing the Times Square Jumbotron, the Art/StatueOfLiberty (actually the Las Vegas one), and the Eiffel Tower (also Vegas). When another villain shows him up by stealing the Pyramid of Giza, he decides to top that by stealing the moon. This will require a {{shrink ray}}, and to get his hands on it, he comes up with a plan involving three little orphan girls...
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[[folder:A-C]]
* {{Acrofatic}}: Well, while he's probably more bulky than fat, he can be far more agile than one would think. [[spoiler:At the climax of the first movie, he is able to use his acrobatic skills to maneuver around a group of rockets sent his way and when Vector's aircraft is taking off with the girls inside, Gru scales up the entire Pyramid of Giza that is behind the fortress in pretty much no-time to catch a ride.]]
* ActionDad: Gru eventually becomes a true father figure of Margo, Edith, and Agnes as well as going through action-packed moments in order to accomplish a goal or [[PapaWolf protect his family]].
* AffablyEvil: While Gru is a {{jerkass}} to anyone he personally doesn't care about, he shows a friendly side to his loved ones.
* AllOfTheOtherReindeer:
** Judging from his flashback in the sequel, the children of Gru's elementary school didn't like to be near him. They even said that being near him would give them "Gruties".
** Gets this treatment in ''Despicable Me 2'' by the AVL agents, except Lucy. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] given that the organization are a group dedicated to fighting evil, and Gru was a villain.
* AlwaysIdenticalTwins: He and Dru are near identical, the only differences being in hair color (Gru had black and is now bald while Dru has a full head of blonde hair) and different color wardrobes (Gru is black and grey, Dru is white).
* AmazonChaser: For Lucy. Initially, Gru was completely annoyed with working with her in the sequel... until she shot [[JerkJock Shannon]] (his obnoxious date) with a moose tranquilizer. Cue his LoveEpiphany.
* AmbiguouslyEvil: He was a villain in the past, and would still be a full-fledged one if it weren't for his PetTheDog moments with his adopted daughters. In the sequel he's turned his back completely on his villainous ways and has a legitimate business as a jelly maker.
* AnimalMotifs: Gru's profile resembles an emperor penguin because emperor penguins (male ones) take very good care of their young.
* AntiHero: After turning in his villainous ways, Gru switches to the hero side, but still keeps his negative qualities.
* AntiVillain: He started off as a villain, but he was still kind to Professor Nefario, the Minions, and eventually, the girls.
* AttentionWhore: He especially wants recognition from his mother.
* BackToBackBadasses: With Lucy in the sequel; they were posed this way in one of the sequel's posters.
* BadassAdorable: Child Gru at the end of the Minions film.
* BadassArmFold: He even does it in the movies' logo....and does the arm fold with his body turned sideways.
* BadassBiker:
** In the sequel, Gru is one of these as she reveals his apparently custom-made motorcycle when he goes to rescue Lucy from Eduardo.
** In ''Minions'', he was one of these as a child.
* BadassBoast: At the end of ''Minions''.
-->'''Scarlet Overkill:''' [[YouHaveNoIdeaWhoYoureDealingWith You have no idea who you're messing with!]] I am the greatest supervillain of all time!\\
'''Young Gru:''' ''(Chuckles)'' Oh! ''Were'' you? ''(Chuckles again)''
* BadassBookworm: Smart enough to build his own rocket as a child. Strong enough to punch a shark with one arm.
* BadassInANiceSuit: Wears a snazzy black suit at his and Lucy's wedding.
* BadBadActing: When Gru and the two remaining Minions Stuart and Dave sneak into El Macho's base. "Curses! Foiled again! These guys captured me!" While striking exaggeratedly-upset poses and waving his fake handcuffs around.
* TheBadGuyWins: Gru succeeds in stealing the moon. Subverted in that Gru puts it back into orbit after finding out that shrink ray's effects on the moon are only temporary.
* BadLiar: Gru doesn't seem to understand how to tell an effective lie. It's like he doesn't put any effort into making them convincing, because he doesn't even know he needs to work at it.
** In the first film, when the girls first come to his house selling cookies, his attempts to convince them he's not home become steadily less believable.
** Later, when he goes to adopt the girls for his plan, Gru claims that he wishes to adopt to fill the void left by his deceased wife Debbie. Not only did Gru take a pause when coming up with the name of his "wife," when the orphanage's owner brings her up moments after, he's already forgotten who Debbie is supposed to be.
** In the ending bedtime scene, Edith notices that the three little kittens in Gru's book look like the girls.
--->'''Gru:''' What are you talking about? These are kittens! Any resemblance to persons living or dead is completely coincidental.
--->'''Edith:''' (''[[SilentSnarker gives Agnes a sidelong "Yeah, right" look]]'')
** In the second film, when Director Ramsbottom indicates that the AVL knows that Gru was the one who stole the moon, Gru first claims there's no proof he did that. He then adds that after he ''did'' do that, he put the moon back.
** Later, after El Macho catches Gru spying on him, Gru tries to convince El Macho that he's up for joining the latter's EvilPlan. Needless to say, it doesn't work.
** Dru clearly shares this part of Gru's personality. When they try to switch places in the third film, neither one is any good at pretending to be the other.
* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: It is heavily implied that he killed his neighbor's dog and turned its corpse into a pair of binoculars [[DisproportionateRetribution all because it did its business on his lawn]].
* BaldOfEvil: He's the VillainProtagonist who plans to steal the moon. And it's been repeatedly noted on how bald he is.
* BattleCouple: After he and Lucy marry in the sequel, they have become this as the third movie shows them going on a mission to stop Bratt from stealing an important diamond.
* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: The main reason behind Gru's LoveEpiphany is Lucy doing a parody of RescueRomance (see section below for more details) and after helping return the date home, Lucy comforts him about the disastrous date and then tells him that she personally likes his original appearance (i.e., his bald head) and then giving the guy a kiss on the cheek before leaving for the night.
* BecomingTheMask: Gru as the girls' adoptive father -- at first he only adopted them for his plans to steal back the shrinking ray from Vector. However, spending more and more time with the girls allows Gru to come and care for them like a real father to his daughters. Case in point, he ''gave up the moon'' for them so Vector would release the girls.
* BenevolentBoss: The Minions adore him... and the feeling is mutual. He knows each of the almost-interchangeable Minions ''by name'', they have holiday ''weeks'' and love their work. In the sequel, he was horrified to see the majority of his Minions locked in cages, and acting like a bunch of wild animals, and when he, Dave and Stuart try to infiltrate El Macho's base, he sends them up an antenna to get away from the mutated Minions that are surrounding them even though it meant there was no room for him.
* BerserkButton: Do '''not''' outshine him in villainy. It will get your head frozen, just ask Vector.
* BigBrotherInstinct: Gains this for Dru -- when his younger twin brother is seemingly [[spoiler:killed by Bratt]], Gru goes into TranquilFury to fight [[spoiler:and defeat Bratt]] before frantically searching for his brother.
* BigEgoHiddenDepths: Gru may act like the usual villain: Egotistical, rude, selfish, dreams of achieving great evil, little empathy, and an all around {{Jerkass}}......get to actually know him and your opinion might change.
* BigOlEyebrows: Has thick eyebrows.
* BoyfriendBlockingDad: Become this in the sequel as he's against Margo having a relationship with a boy.
* BrainyBrunette: It was seen clearly in Gru's flashback in the sequel that he had black hair in his youth. Plus, at only 8 Gru was able to build a prototype rocket with some scraps he managed to find.
* BrattyHalfPint: Gru definitely counts as a former one when he steals a crown from Scarlet, after freezing her and Herb, and not returning said crown to the Queen.
* BreakingTheCycleOfBadParenting: Gru's mother was extremely abusive to Gru via deliberate neglect, while his father was a non-entity due to Marlena and Robert refusing to allow the other to see the child they got out of the divorce. Gru, however, actively cares for Edith, Agnes, and Margo and willingly humiliates himself for their sakes.
* BreakTheCutie:
** His mother not being emotionally supportive during his childhood.
** The sequel reveals he was harshly rejected by his crush, who was a part of [[KidsAreCruel the rest of mean children who]] [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer actively shunned the young Gru.]]
* BrokenAce: Introduced as the number one supervillain in the world, has the command of 10,000 Minions, and is a GadgeteerGenius. And beneath his arrogant and jerkass nature, Gru has many insecurities that stem from his [[ParentalNeglect emotionally neglectful mother]] and [[FriendlessBackground lonely childhood.]]
* BrokenPedestal: For El Macho. He was inspired by Gru's villainy and tried to persuade him into ruling the world with him. But when El Macho catches on that Gru is not a villain anymore, he wants him dead.
* BroodingBoyGentleGirl: The Brooding Boy (anti-social and secretly insecure) to Lucy's Gentle Girl (comforting and energetic).
* BumblingDad: {{Subverted|Trope}}. He's far from an idiot and his initial poor parenting skills of the girls was mainly an attitude of indifference since he was using them in his scheme. After standing up for them at Super Silly Funland, he starts taking his fatherly duties more seriously and turns out to be ''very'' [[GoodParents good at it]].
* ButtMonkey: Gru gets the most {{Slapstick}} inflicted on him out of everybody. No wonder he's so grumpy.
* CainAndAbel: [[spoiler:{{Downplayed|Trope}}. He opposes Dru at the end due to returning to the AVL while his brother becomes a supervillain, but they are still friendly with each other.]]
* CallingTheOldManOut: In the third movie, Gru calls out his mother for the latter not telling him about his long lost twin brother Dru.
* CallingYourAttacks: Gru has a habit of announcing his FreezeRay, which Lucy lampshades.
* CannotSpitItOut: To Lucy. To the point where he gets mad at the ''phone'' and burns it with a flamethrower.
* CardCarryingVillain: In an EstablishingCharacterMoment, he makes a balloon animal for a sad child and then pops it. He lives in a world where card-carrying supervillains are common enough to have their own bank to finance their schemes.
* CelibateHero: It was revealed in the sequel, that due to a childhood incident, Gru feared rejection and gave up seeking a romantic relationship as a result. Then, he met Lucy Wilde; he became a subversion after they fall in love, date, and marry.
* CharacterCatchphrase: "Light bulb..." But this only applies to the first movie.
* CharacterDevelopment: Over the course of two films, he goes from a Jerk with a Hidden Heart of Gold to Heart of Gold with some jerky tendencies.
* CharacterTics: He often puts both of his hands behind his back.
* CharlesAtlasSuperpower: This is one strong man. He can deliver a OffhandBackhand punch to a Shark and crush a glass wih his bare hand, to say nothing of his capabilities as a [[PintSizedPowerhouse child]]. Nothing in any movie establish why Gru has so much strength, suggesting that it's all due to hard training. It could, however, be something he inherited from his mother, who seemed to function the same way judging by how strong she was during her karate training scene in the first movie.
* ChildProdigy: Gru managed to build a working prototype rocket at the age of ''eight''.
* AChildShallLeadThem: The Minions have been following Gru as their boss when they saw him defeat their former boss, Scarlet, via freezing her (along with Herb) when he was eight.
* CoolBike: It's like the motorcycle version of the Grumobile.
* CosmicMotifs: Of the moon, especially in the first movie. His main goal in the movie was to steal the actual moon (which he succeeded) and his childhood dream was to be an astronaut. Furthermore, his freeze ray brings to mind the freezing cold of the moon and he dresses in black, the colour of space surrounding the moon.
* CrazyJealousGuy: {{Downplayed|Trope}}. He was visibly annoyed and angry at his twin brother Dru for charming Lucy while holding her, but doesn't do anything violent.
* CrazyPrepared: When the fairy princess doesn't show up for Agnes' birthday party in the second movie, Gru fills in for her with his own fairy princess costume. And it fits perfectly, to boot.
* CreateYourOwnHero: When Vector stole the shrink ray from him, Gru adopted three orphan girls in order to get back the shrink ray, which led him to his redemption and to become a crime fighting hero.
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: The trailers of the first film make him out to be an exceptional villain, but in the film, he's fairly low-key and far too nice to be an effective villain. It takes Vector kidnapping the girls for his true potential to show up.
* CruellaToAnimals: {{Implied|Trope}}. The main example is the ''crocodile'' couch in his living room.
* CutLexLuthorACheck: Manages to set up a surprisingly effective jam-and-jelly manufacturing plant using his old inventions, though there are some teething problems. Turns out that making a jelly out of ''every known kind of berry'' doesn't yield a particularly tasty product.
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[[folder:D-G]]
* DarkAndTroubledPast: His early life wasn't easy. [[DisappearedDad His father left him after he divorced his mother]] [[SeparatedAtBirth and his father took his brother away as well]]; during his childhood his mother was [[AbusiveParents emotionally abusive]]; [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer all of his peers rejected him]]; [[UsedToBeASweetKid and he at some point turned to villainy.]]
* DarkIsEvil: Gru wears dark clothing and is evil, or more precisely 'despicable', anyone can get.
* DarkIsNotEvil: What Gru truly is due to his HiddenHeartOfGold. It was finally brought out with the adoption of his three girls.
* DeadpanSnarker: If there's one thing Gru loves to do, it's snarking it up.
* DefrostingIceKing: His basic M.O. on how he gets close to people -- He initially acts like a jerk to them, but after a significant turning point he grows to care for them a lot.
** In the first movie, he initially only takes in the girls as a way to further his scheme of stealing back the shrinking ray from Vector. But after winning Agnes a unicorn toy and bonding with them more, Gru gradually falls in love (platonically) with the trio.
** In the second movie, his first meeting with Lucy wasn't ideal as he attempted to freeze ray her and he retaliated by using her lipstick taser on him. And even when they working together, he maintained a cold attitude towards her... until Lucy saved him from an obnoxious date and told him she liked his bald head better than the wig. Cue LoveEpiphany.
** In the third movie, Gru has trouble with his younger twin brother, Dru, but then they bond and when Bratt hurts and seemingly kills Dru, Gru's BerserkButton about his loved ones being hurt is pushed and finally gives him the motivation to defeat Bratt. When he sees Dru alive, Gru is overjoyed. At the end of the movie, Dru seems to have moved into Gru's house.
** The credits in ''Minions'' show that he was initially cold towards the Minions but gradually came to love them.
* {{Determinator}}: When he wants something, he'll stop at nothing to get it.
* DiabolicalMastermind: Gru's plenty smart, and he comes up with a plan to ''steal the moon'' (although has to put it back since the shrink ray was temporary).
* DotingParent: To all his daughters. He gives them all the love he has.
* DrivesLikeCrazy: He's extremely aggressive and drives a massive tank of a car.
* ElaborateUndergroundBase: His lab located underground of his home.
* EmbarrassingFirstName: It's ''Felonious''. There's a reason he's just Gru to nearly everyone.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Gru is shown to be AffablyEvil as he makes a balloon for a crying boy only to pop it and when he goes into a coffee shop, he freezes everyone around him so he could be first in line but [[NiceToTheWaiter tips the cashier]] before he leaves (though he doesn't actually pay for the coffee or muffin).
* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: The ''whole'' reason Gru wanted to steal the moon is to [[WellDoneSonGuy finally impress his mother.]]
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Gru truly cares about his Minions and later begins to truly love the girls. Then, he falls head over heels with Lucy. He grows to love and be very protective of his brother, Dru, in the third movie.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: He was appalled that a carnie cheated Agnes out of a stuffed unicorn (that she won legitimately) on a technicality. This, and his smile shortly after are the first signs of him BecomingTheMask.
* EvilIsPetty: Prior to his HeelFaceTurn. Gru hits the cars in front and back of his monstrosity of a vehicle repeatedly while he's parallel parking. Not out of ineptitude, mind you, he parks perfectly; he does it just because it will make two strangers' days a little worse.
* EvilLaugh: Wouldn't be a villain without one. It has even become his SignatureLaugh following his HeelFaceTurn.
* EvilVersusEvil: Him vs. Vector in ''Despicable Me''. Both are trying to steal the shrinking ray for their own reasons.
* {{Expy}}:
** Being a [[Franchise/JamesBond Bond Villain]] parody he takes cues from Ernst Stavros Blofeld, particularly in his visual design and his accent.
** By proxy of being an AntiVillain parody of Blofeld who is LaughablyEvil, he's also one to [[Film/AustinPowers Dr. Evil]].
* {{Facepalm}}: Gru's reaction to Dr. Nefario's "Boogie Robots" and the "Fart Gun".
* FamilyMan: Gru is considered a "family man" because of his treatment of his Minions, not hesitating to rescue them if they're in trouble (as seen in [=DM2=].) This trope becomes straight when he adopts and later cares about the 3 young orphaned girls who ended up loving him as a real father.
* FanDisservice: Some may consider the two separate shots of Gru in a swimsuit to be this too.
* FatBastard: {{Downplayed|Trope}}. He's not fat, but has a lot of muscular bulk that could be mistaken for fatty tissue. And way back in ''Despicable Me'', he's a {{jerkass}}, but is nice to those he cares for, mainly his family, and his CharacterDevelopment has him become more kinder (albeit, still more to his family).
* AFatherToHisMen: On top of being a BenevolentBoss, ''Despicable Me 3'' implies that the minions see him as a father-figure, Mel's flashbacks showing him wrapping his wounded leg after crashing his bike, cheering him up with his paper-plane fails and fishing with him by a pier.
* FemaleFlatfootAndSnarkyGuy: The Snarky Guy to Lucy's Female Flatfoot. In ''Despicable Me 2'', Gru is now a retired villain and he's assigned by the AVL to work with the rookie agent Lucy in a mission. While initially not thrilled to work with her, he comes to get along with Lucy and even falls in love with her.
* TheFirstCutIsTheDeepest: In ''Despicable Me 2'', Gru's fear of romantic love was a result of his apparent first crush, Lisa, harshly rejecting him ''before'' he told her he liked her as she was part of the KidsAreCruel group who alienated a young Gru.
* FreezeRay: His main weapon. He has one that he uses on several customers in a coffee shop. As well as Vector at one point.
* FreudianExcuse: He tried to gain his mother's respect ever since he was little, but she never acknowledged his talents. His school life also wasn't great either, because the other kids treated him like he was a walking fatal disease and didn't want to be near him.
* FriendlessBackground: Before he met Dr. Nefario and the Minions, Gru didn't have any friends, as seen in his flashback in ''Despicable Me 2''.
* FriendlyRivalry: [[spoiler:At the end of ''Despicable Me 3'', his brother Dru keeps on with villainy while Gru stays with the AVL, but they show no open hostility towards each other and view their chases as a fun game.]]
* GadgeteerGenius: Gru doesn't build most of things in his lab, but he was able to build a prototype rocket and hadn't hit puberty yet.
* GagNose: He has a distinctly big pointed nose. During his wedding at the end of the sequel, he and Lucy (who also has a large nose) try to kiss, but they both touch, so they tilt their heads to kiss.
* GeniusBruiser: He's smart enough to build workable rockets out of whatever scrap he can find (or even [[BambooTechnology macaroni]] when he was a kid), and is strong enough to punch out a shark.
* GoodParents: Gru eventually becomes a caring and devoted father to his three girls.
* GoofyPrintUnderwear:
** Gru wears underpants with smileys, as seen in their escape from Vector's fortress.
** In ''Despicable Me 3'', he is shown wearing a skull printed black boxer shorts.
* GroinAttack: A constant victim of this in each ''Despicable Me'' movie.
** ''Despicable Me'' -- Twice from a robotic arm when breaking into Vector's lair, once later on, and a fourth one at the end.
** ''Despicable Me 2'' -- Antonio does this to Gru at the Cinco de Mayo party when the latter keeps the former from dancing with Margo.
** ''Despicable Me 3'' -- Gru gets this again from a pig.
* GunFu: Shows incredible skill for this in the ''Despicable Me 2'' climax.
* GunsAkimbo: In the second movie's climax, Gru wield two guns with the serum's antidote.
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[[folder:H-N]]
* HappilyMarried: To Lucy -- they work effectively as a BattleCouple, provide comfort to one another during a time of stress, and have a healthy communication with each other.
* HarmlessVillain: He doesn't really do anything overly dastardly, at least in the animated film's universe (in RealLife, the consequences of stealing the Moon would be much more horrific). Yes, Gru freezes a few people, but the freezing is implied to be harmless.
* HeartbrokenBadass:
** In ''Despicable Me'', when the girls are taken away by Miss Hattie because Nefario called her. He doesn't clear up the misunderstanding and becomes depressed over his inaction.
** In ''Despicable Me 2'', Gru began to develop romantic feelings for Lucy after she saved him from a very bad date. The next day? He was practically beaming with joy! Then, the whole case they were working on ends and Silas informs Gru that Lucy will be reassigned to Australia. Despite how he doesn't want her to leave, Gru wishes her all the best; and they say their sad goodbyes. Needless to say, Gru immediately became depressed and heartbroken over the strong possibility of never seeing Lucy again; his conversation with Agnes only made it worse.
* HeelFaceTurn: This is a plot of the first film. It begins when he experiences this at the amusement park. After a Jerkass target shooting booth attendant rips off little Agnes, who hits the target but fails to knock it over, Gru (whom the Jerk Ass also insults, before learning he's been BullyingADragon - or, rather, MuggingTheMonster, since the schmuck had no idea Gru was a Pistol Packing EvilGenius) growls "My turn!", whips an absolutely freaking GINORMOUS disintegrator pistol out of his HyperspaceArsenal and not only destroys the target, but also the rest of the booth and most of the smug Attendant's hair, thus winning the prize for Agnes. ("Knocked O-VER!!!") The look on Gru's face as the girls react by showing true affection for him for the very first time is wonderful. Even Margo, the most skeptical one, pays tribute to his Moment of Awesome. When they arrive back home after a GilliganCut, Gru is laughing along with the girls and his redemption is complete.
* HeroesLoveDogs: {{Zigzagged|Trope}}. Gru is initially terrified of Kyle, his pet "dog" (to be honest Gru isn't entirely sure of Kyle's species). Gru also started off as a villain before his HeelFaceTurn.
* HeroicBuild: {{Zigzagged|Trope}}. Gru does have a broad build, but he starts off as a CardCarryingVillain in the first movie before an official HeelFaceTurn.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Dr. Nefario -- Partners in villainy and close friends for a long time. By the end of the third movie, he's implied to have become this with brother, Dru.
* HiddenDepths:
** Gru spends most of the first film relying on technology to do his dirty work; in almost every case, it doesn't work properly, doesn't work well enough, or isn't what he needed or wanted in the first place. And then he takes on heat seeking missiles, followed by a shark. Bare handed. And doesn't break a sweat.
** His original dream was to be an astronaut.
** Him making pancakes in different shapes for the girls and creating a near-identical macaroni design of a space rocket (as a child) shows that Gru is a pretty good artist.
** He's a pretty good dancer.
* HighSpeedMissileDodge: He pulls this off very impressively. Not only are the missiles in question heat-seeking, but he ''jumps over'' them and even runs '''on top''' of one.
* HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood: The emotional abuse he received from his mother is often PlayedForLaughs.
* HopelessSuitor: To his childhood crush, Lisa [[note]]shown in a flashback in Despicable Me 2[[/note]]. He attempted to ask her out, but she was part of the KidsAreCruel group who [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer wanted to be as far away from a young Gru as possible]].
* HugeGuyTinyGirl: The Huge Guy to Lucy's Tiny Girl. To note, Lucy is taller than Gru because she wears high heels (without her heels she might still be taller than him or just about his height). Gru is still more muscular and bulky than Lucy.
* HuskyRusskie: Gru is a big guy with a thick, Russian-like accent.
* IcyBlueEyes: To represent his aloof, {{jerkass}} demeanor.
* IJustWantToBeLoved: His AttentionWhore attitude stems from the lack of his mother's emotional support and having zero friends in his childhood.
* ImagineSpot: Twice in the first film and one in the third.
** The first one in ''Despicable Me'' -- he imagines the girls carrying out the shrink ray from Vector's house.
** The second one in ''Despicable Me'' -- he imagines sending the girls away via in a rollercoaster and then doing a ballet dance in celebration.
** The only one he had in ''Despicable Me 3'' -- he imagines smugly returning the Dupont diamond to Valerie, who is showering Gru with gratitude before he smacks the diamond in her face. Lucy then playfully squishes his face while congratulating before he lifts her in the air surrounded by applause.
* InkSuitActor: At least in the ''Minions'' movies, where the black haired young Gru could pass for a caricature of Steve Carell.
* InsecureLoveInterest: Towards Lucy. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] because of a traumatic experience he had dealing with his first crush.
* IntergenerationalFriendship: With Nefario. [[https://twitter.com/cincopedia/status/702366909812117504 This]] post from WordOfGod reveals they met in Gru's youth after he created a science fair project that caught Nefario's attention. And they have been close friends well into Gru's fifties and Nefario's seventies/eighties.
* {{Jerkass}}: At first. His first on-screen time is committing a number of KickTheDog moments; he's a DiabolicalMastermind who revels in his status as a CardCarryingVillain. He adopts three orphaned girls for selfish reasons and initially treats them quite poorly prior to his CharacterDevelopment.
* JerkassHasAPoint: In ''Despicable Me 2''. He was quite the BoyfriendBlockingDad towards Margo when she was dating Antonio, but at one point he mentions that they hardly know each other. And seeing how they literally just met, yet are already making googly-eyes at each other, it's hard to call it true love. That's not even getting into what Antonio does later...
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He eventually has a HeelFaceTurn and becomes a true father to the girls he adopts as part of his plan, even going PapaWolf for them in the end. He's also a BenevolentBoss who treats his minions as individuals rather than FacelessMooks (though they are used as guinea pigs for experiments).
* KarmaHoudini: Gru goes unpunished for all of his crimes he committed before and during the first movie. Silas comments in the sequel that had Gru kept on with his villainy, he would've been the AVL's next target.
* KickTheDog: This is even Gru's EstablishingCharacterMoment in the first movie -- In his first appearance, Gru comforts a child who has dropped an ice-cream cone by... giving him a balloon, after twisting it into some kind of four-legged animal. He then produces a pin and pops said balloon, and walks off contentedly. Cut to a shocked child with bits of balloon stuck to his face. Yes, he's despicable. His jerkness is further established in the car he drives, an ugly polluting rocket shaped monstrosity; in the fact that he bumps other cars out of the way to park, and when he goes in to the cafe to get a coffee he freezes all the other customers with his freeze ray and goes to the front of the line to get his coffee (which probably was meant for someone else). At least he tips well.
* LargeAndInCharge: A broad-chested man with the loyalty of 10,000 Minions.
* LastNameBasis: Gru is almost exclusively referred to by his last name. Even his twin brother, who shares his surname, calls him "Gru", and not "Felonious".
* LaughablyEvil: Introduced as an exceptional villain and DiabolicalMastermind. Some of his worst schemes include successfully stealing the miniature Statue of Liberty and Eiffel Tower from Las Vegas.
* LaughOfLove: At their wedding, he and Lucy are laughing while dancing together.
* LegacySeeker: Gru plots to steal the moon to cement his place as the greatest criminal mastermind ever
* {{Leitmotif}}:
** In the first movie, notice how the ''Franchise/JamesBond''-worthy soundtrack in the initial stages of Gru's villainy turn into something out of ''Film/IronMan'' to mark his HeelFaceTurn.
** His signature one is ''"[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SohHv0z4K0E I'm having a bad, bad day]]"''.
* LetsGetDangerous: In the first film's climax when he raids Vector's base to rescue the girls.
* LightningBruiser: He's pretty agile for a guy drawn so top-heavy. Of course, this really only comes into play when he [[StormingTheCastle breaks into Vector's compound]] to rescue the girls.
* LooksLikeOrlok: He is bald, has a hooked nose, a hunched back, and a trenchcoat.
* LoveAtFirstPunch: More like love at first lipstick taser zap! Courtesy of AVL Agent, Lucy Wilde. It might have been a more subconscious desire for Lucy, but it began there.
* LoveRedeems: His love for the girls causes him to pull HeelFaceTurn.
* MacrossMissileMassacre: Gru's Villainmobile can do this.
* MadeOfIron: While trying to get into Vector's base, Gru gets repeatedly hit with stuff, bitten, and ''missiled''... but suffers no visible damage other than comically blackened skin. The same thing happens when he breaks into El Macho's base in the sequel, with darts being substituted for missiles.
* MadScientist: Downplayed. He lets Dr. Nefario do most of the scientific/mechanical work but he is seen helping him from time to time (Gru was able to build a real rocket ''when he was a child'').
* AMatchMadeInStockholm: In the second movie, he meets Lucy, who would soon become his wife, when she stuns him with her lipstick taser and kidnaps him.
* MayDecemberRomance: Lucy's age is left ambiguous, but she doesn't look any than older than 20-30. WordOfGod confirmed Gru to be in his fifties, and they end up marrying each other, so it counts.
* MeaningfulName:
** Gru [[CharacterDevelopment grew]].
** You'd expect a villain to be '''Gru'''some.
** He's also a felon named '''Felon'''ious. Alternatively, "felonious" as a whole English adjective means related to crime.
** GRU is also the acronym for ''Glavnoye Razvedyvatel'noye Upravleniye'', the Soviet (and later Russian) military intelligence directorate. Early drafts played the UsefulNotes/ColdWar elements more heavily than the final script, so it may be an ArtifactTitle.
** Grus is the genus for Cranes, which have long, pointed beaks, just like Gru.
* MeaninglessVillainVictory: After spending the whole first movie trying to steal the moon, Gru eventually manages to succeed in just that. However, he quickly finds that the girls he adopted in the process have made him happier and that they were more important than the moon. Plus, the effects on the shrink ray used for the moon theft wear off overtime, making the moon impossible to keep forever.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: At least in the first film before he has a HeelFaceTurn, the "felon" part of his name is indicative of his criminal identity. The girls he adopts do not understand this part of his name while he's still a villain.
* NerdGlasses: In the sequel. When the girls are signing up Gru for online dating, they see a picture of him, in his 20s, wearing glasses.
* NervesOfSteel: Combined with TranquilFury, and ''only'' achieved if someone hurts his loved ones.
* NobleDemon: He ''is'' the supervillain who goes out of his way to support a trio of orphans who seem to have become attached to him. And before that, his treatment of his minions.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:O-S]]
* OffhandBackhand: Gru does one...to ''a shark''!
* OlderHeroVersusYoungerVillain: The older hero to Vector's--and later Balthazar Bratt's--younger villain. [[InvertedTrope Inverted]] with Scarlet Overkill and Belle Bottom. [[spoiler: Although Vector's example ends up being retroactively subverted, when in the second minion movie it is revealed that they were in fact almost the same age.]]
* OlderThanHeLooks: Although his age isn't specifically known, at first glance Gru may look like he's around his early 40s or mid 30s. Gru is actually in his early 50s; the sequel makes this clear by having another kid mention the Apollo 11 moon landing in Gru's flashback.
* OppositesAttract: The sarcastic, JerkWithAHeartOfGold, (near) PerpetualFrowner [[NobleDemon Gru]] fell in love with the bubbly, NiceGirl, (near) PerpetualSmiler [[GenkiGirl Lucy]].
* PapaWolf: Do ''not'' mess with Agnes, Edith, or Margo unless you want to ''suffer''. In general, anyone hurting his loved ones is just asking for a death sentence.
* PaperThinDisguise:
** In the beginning of ''Despicable Me 2'' he dresses up as a Fairy Princess for Agnes' birthday. While Agnes, Margo, and Edith were able to see through the disguise, the other kids are easily fooled.
** He and his brother also pretend to act like one another in the 3rd movie. Nobody buys the disguises.
* ParentalAbandonment: {{Subverted}}. He attempts to leave the girls at Super Silly Funland after his scheme was successful, but after winning a prize for Agnes, he doesn't go through with it.
* ParentalNeglect: To the girls in the first movie. Although he is more of a "ridiculously clueless parent" at that point. [[CharacterDevelopment He gets better.]]
* PayEvilUntoEvil: When he obliterates the carny's booth with his plasma cannon after the latter makes fun of Agnes' failed attempt to win her stuffed unicorn.
* PetTheDog: Gru might be a villain, but he is a boss who knows the names to all of his employees.
* PolarOppositeTwins: Gru is a JerkWithAHeartOfGold who only shows his soft side to his family and friends, and wears black and grey, while Dru is a friendly NiceGuy who wears all white.
* PrematurelyBald: It is known that he started balding before the age of 40.
* PsychoticSmirk: Being an ex-villain, he tends toward this expression rather than the CheshireCatGrin when he's up to something. It's most noticeable in the first film, when he decides to take out the "Space Killer" game. The sidelong smirk he flashes just before he draws his plasma blaster would set any sane human who saw it running for the hills.
* PunchClockVillain: Implied. Despite being fairly talented at being a super villain, it does not take much for him to give up the villain lifestyle. His KickTheDog moments come across as more signs of his anti-social behavior and a desire to impress his emotionally-distant mother, eventually becoming more open and less cynical when he bonds with his adopted daughters. While Dr. Nefario and the minions miss committing evil acts, even leaving on occasion to explore new opportunities, Gru shows no signs of being tempted back into the lifestyle. When Dru convinces him to stage a heist, he lies about wanting to get back into villainy in order to use his deceased father's resources to get back into the Anti-Villain League's good graces.
* PunnyName: Gru speaks with a Russian accent. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GRU The GRU]] is one of Russia's intelligence services. When the girls find Gru's underground base, he admits that he's not a dentist, but instead a spy. Likewise, Felonious started out as a felon.
* RealMenWearPink: In the first film, Gru wears a pink astronaut suit by the time he gets to the moon to shrink it. Of course, [[RuleOfSymbolism the reason it's pink is because he washed it in the same load as the girls' pink tutus]], but hey, he still wears it! He also attends his daughters' ballet recitals after some resistance that had more to do with being busy than with not wanting to be seen at a ballet class. In the sequel he dresses up in a pink fairy costume when the woman he hired to come to Agnes' birthday party cancels at the last minute.
* RedOniBlueOni: The deadpan, blunt blue to Lucy's excitable, HotBlooded red.
* ReformedButNotTamed: He may be retired from being a villain, but his villainous tendencies still show occasionally. He can still be an outright {{Jerkass}} on a few occasions and is very much still a badass.
* RefusalOfTheCall: Gru initially refuses to help the AV track down the PX-41 serum, citing that he is now a father and can't get involved in any danger.
* ReformedCriminal: He retires from being a villain after adopting Margo, Edith and Agnes.
* RescueRomance: His relationship with Lucy started to change after she saved him from an obnoxious date via moose tranquilizer; he returns the favor by saving her from a rocket headed to a volcano.
* ReverseArmFold: Tends to do this often.
* RudeHeroNiceSidekick: The Rude Hero to Lucy's Nice Sidekick. In the sequel, Gru may have retired as a villain, but he's still a jerk to anyone who isn't part of his family. His partner Lucy, on the other hand, is a bubbly NiceGirl who's friendly to everyone.
* SavvyGuyEnergeticGirl: The sarcastic, aloof Savvy Guy to Lucy's peppy, spunky Energetic Girl.
* ScarfOfAsskicking: Gru wears a gray and black striped one.
* SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan: Manly Man to Dru's sensitive guy.
* SeparatedAtBirth: Not long after Gru and Dru were born, their parents, Robert and Marlena, got divorced. Baby Gru and Baby Dru are crying and reaching their arms out to each other when Marlena (holding Gru) and Robert (holding Dru) permanently go their separate ways. Robert took Dru with him and Gru stayed with Marlena.
* SiblingRivalry: Gru towards Dru. This happens when Gru immediately sees Dru's blond hair and his wide grin.
* SignatureLaugh: ''"Mm. Mm. Ha ha ha ha ha!"''
* SinisterSchnoz: He has a long and pointy nose and starts off as a full-fledged villain. Subverted on the villain part after his HeelFaceTurn.
* SmartPeopleWearGlasses: [[http://despicableme.wikia.com/wiki/File:1625482_10151875989162592_991185186_n.jpg This old photo]] shows Gru used to wear glasses in youth, presumably at the time he was getting into his villain business.
* SolarAndLunar: A subtle one with Lucy and he's the Lunar. He uses a freeze ray (the moon is known for being extremely cold), has a bald head, his LoveEpiphany for Lucy was at night, and he mainly wears black clothing (the usual color that surrounds the moon).
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: In the first film, when Gru's profile is shown on Miss Hattie's computer, his first name is spelled as "Felonious," and in the Gru Family Tree, it's spelled as "Felonius."
* StoutStrength: {{Downplayed}}. Gru is on the large side (Lucy even called him "fat man"), but it's more broad muscle than actual fat.
* StrongAsTheyNeedToBe: Gru once took down a shark in one hit but struggles a lot against a small chicken.
* StrongFamilyResemblance:
** If you look closely at [[http://orig06.deviantart.net/fb53/f/2010/299/8/c/the_gru_family_by_ares89-d31k42c.jpg his family tree]], he's the spitting image of his father, Robert Gru, just with no hair on his head or chin.
** Him and his identical twin brother look almost exactly alike, the only differences are the hair color and the fact that Gru is bald and a different choice in clothing. {{Justified|Trope}} since they are identical twin brothers.
* SugarAndIcePersonality: Gru only acts caring and friendly to those he's closest too, mainly his family. To everyone else, he's indifferent and aloof.
* SuperStrength: He's had this ever since he was young. In ''Minions: The Rise of Gru'', he was able to wield a clock tower's metal arrow to knock out one of the Vicious Six [[spoiler:as a Zodiac animal]] and later throw it into a building far enough so it can hold the combined weight of him and one Minion.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:T-Y]]
* TallDarkAndSnarky: Gru checks all three. Especially in the height department. He looks to well over ten feet tall considering he's about four minions tall and the average minion looks to be 3.5 feet. Officially however, he's only 5'9 according to Illumination Entertainment.
* TookALevelInBadass: He goes from IneffectualSympatheticVillain to PapaWolf who punches out a shark and dodges a MacrossMissileMassacre.
* TookALevelInKindness: His {{character development}} has him developing a real bond with the girls and quitting his life as a villain to become a good father for them.
* TranquilFury: Gru does lose his temper and can yell, but only for comedic purposes. If someone truly enrages him, he won't even raise his voice, the only real exception in the series being when he learns that Otto traded the Zodiac Stone for a pet rock, and even then, he quickly regains his composure...and tells the Minions that they're fired.
* {{Tsundere}}: A male example of a Type A. He acts like quite the uncaring, neglectful jerk to the girls before softening up.
* TwiceShy: With Lucy in ''Despicable Me 2'' -- both have feelings for one another, but don't act on them either out of job getting in the way (Lucy being transferred to Australia) or shyness and insecurity (Gru). Thankfully, they both managed to get their feelings across.
* UglyGuyHotWife: The Ugly Guy to Lucy's Hot Wife. A downplayed example: Lucy is pretty average herself, but she's still more attractive than Gru who is bald, big-nosed and weird looking.
* UglyHeroGoodLookingVillain:
** The Ugly Hero to El Macho's Good Looking Villain. Granted, Gru isn't exactly ''hideous'', but his bald head and pointy nose make him look cartoony, while the second movie has gone to great lengths to show us how attractive El Macho is.
** Less attention is drawn to it, but Balthazar Bratt is also more traditionally attractive, albeit with 80's preferences in mind.
* UncannyFamilyResemblance: His ancestors look surprisingly like him, his brother, and their father.
* TheUnfavorite: His mother claims this to be true of Gru, stating she had "second pick" as to which son she got. However it turns out Gru was actually his father's favorite son.
* UnflinchingWalk: At the first film's near end, Gru does this while raiding Vector's base to rescue the girls.
* UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist: Though the "Unsympathetic" part is gone by the time his HeelFaceTurn came around.
* UptightLovesWild: The serious, stoic Gru fell for the emotional, energetic Lucy. Bonus points for her last name actually being "Wilde".
* UsedToBeASweetKid: Flashbacks in the first and second movie showed he was a nice kid. Unfortunately, [[AbusiveParents his mother]] and [[KidsAreCruel a group of children]] didn't help him.
* VillainousBSOD: What happens to Gru when Dr. Nefario convinces Gru to give the girls away for becoming too much of a distraction. Or Gru when Vector's NoKillLikeOverkill missile targeting lasers fix on Gru.
* VillainProtagonist: A literal example, he's the protagonist and proud to be a supervillain. He later has a HeelFaceTurn.
* ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend: Gender-flipped. In the sequel, to Lucy; when El Macho kidnaps her, he goes to rescue her while under TranquilFury.
* VocalEvolution: Gru's voice becomes slightly gruffer and more gravelly in the second and third ''Despicable Me'' films.
* TheVoiceless: In some of the Minions shorts, you don't hear his voice in his appearances, likely because Steve Carell costed too much money for them.
* WantingIsBetterThanHaving: All his life, Gru fantasized about stealing the moon. This goal ends up clashing with his commitments to the girls. The final shot of the film suggests that Gru has been rewarded with both: the family is [[RuleOfSymbolism silhouetted against the moon]], now returned to its place in the sky.
* WellDoneSonGuy: To his mother. The first movie revolved around him trying to steal the moon so he can ''finally'' impress his mother.
* WhatTheHellIsThatAccent: A funny one, clearly. [[WordOfStPaul Steve Carell]] describes Gru's accent as "a cross between Creator/RicardoMontalban and Creator/BelaLugosi."
* WouldHitAGirl: He shows no qualms about freezing women with his ice ray and he was ready to fight Lucy in hand-to-hand combat when they first met.
* WouldHurtAChild: He uses his freeze ray on Antonio after the young boy was revealed to be KidANova and broke Margo's heart. To be fair, he had [[KickTheSonOfABitch coming]].
* YouExclamation: Gru said this when he discovers Vector stealing the shrink ray from him.
[[/folder]]
----

** In the first film, when the girls first come to his house selling cookies, his attempts to convince them he's not home become steadily worse.

** At the end, Edith notices that the three little kittens in Gru's book look like the girls.

--->'''Edith:''' (''gives Agnes a sidelong "Yeah, right" look'')

** Later, when Gru tries to convince El Macho that he's up for joining the latter's EvilPlan. Needless to say, it doesn't work.

* PsychoticSmirk: Being an ex-villain, he tends toward this expression rather than the CheshireCatGrin when he's up to something. It's most noticeable in the first film, when he decides to take out the "Space Killer" game. The sidelong smirk he flashes just before he draws his plasma blaster would set any sane human running for the hills.