History Characters / FrozenHans

* TenderTomboyishnessFoulFemininity: Genderflipped. Hans is seeming gentlemanly but is actually a sinister villain while Kristoff is nice under his rugged exterior.

* FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse: In ''A Frozen Heart''. Anna, Kristoff, and Elsa [[DramaticIrony are fully unaware of Hans's upbringing]] as he didn't divulge much and don't know if they can trust whatever he talked about it given his dishonesty. [[DiscussedTrope They wonder if it drove his decisions]], but conclude that he should be responsible for his crimes instead of blaming others.

* FriendlessBackground: He's never known love since childhood and downplays it as [[WorseWithContext "what brothers do."]] By the time he's an adult, he is fully estranged with his family and planned on inviting them over so he could rub his achievements in their faces.
** Expanded upon and deconstructed in the spin-off novel ''A Frozen Heart''. While he gets along with Lars and his mother, they're unable to intervene when he needed help. The dysfunction in his family also led him to think LoveIsAWeakness and warped his view on familial relations, choosing to become TheUnfettered after accepting the dirty tasks his father assigns him. Due to this, he never accepts a potential loving relationship even when offered a chance with Anna.

* EvilHasABadSenseOfHumor: After TheReveal, he cruelly mocks Anna for being so desperate for love that she agreed to marry him "just like that", which made his plan that much easier.

*** While Kristoff was HappilyAdopted by trolls who raised him with love and genuinely cares for Anna, Hans grew up in a human family that never cared for him, causing him to become self-centered and fake his romance with Anna. Plus, Kristoff has the warm love of family that Anna needs (and gets after she and Elsa are able to be together), while Hans has the cold family relationship that Anna wouldn't want. Also, as they race back to the castle with Anna freezing because of the curse, Kristoff puts his hat on her head, but Hans doesn't help Anna feel warmer while she's visibly shivering, instead pulling his own jacket tighter to him.

* FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse: In ''A Frozen Heart''. Anna, Kristoff, and Elsa [[DramaticIrony are fully unaware of Hans's upbringing]] as he didn't divulge much and don't know if they can trust whatever he revealed about it given his dishonesty. [[DiscussedTrope They wonder if it drove his decisions]], but conclude that he should be responsible for his crimes instead of blaming others.

** Envy: Grew up resenting 12 older brothers, all of whom are more successful than he is.

* BlackAndGrayMorality: In ''A Frozen Heart'', he starts off as an AntiVillain driven to escape the tyranny of his homeland while simultaneously trying to please his father at all costs. But as the story progresses, the abuse brings out the worst of him and he [[BecameTheirOwnAntithesis becomes very similar to his violent family]].

** A wise thing to do before attacking a borderline [[PhysicalGoddess Goddess of Winter]] with a sword when she knows he is coming is to mentally break her. It effectively leaves her suicidal, because being told that her sister is dead due to her own actions is her worst fear come true. Luckily, Anna isn't dead, and saves Elsa in the nick of time from his attempt to decapitate her.

* TheChainOfHarm: In ''A Frozen Heart''. His father is a DomesticAbuser, most of his older brothers do the same thing on their spouses, and they also harm each other. Despite loathing the dysfunction in his family, he repeats it by exploiting Anna's desire to be loved for his own gain.

* CorruptedCharacterCopy: In ''A Frozen Heart''. Minus the lack of pyrokinesis, he has a backstory similar to [[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender Prince Zuko]]: Hans and Zuko are the sons of sociopathic despots who openly abused them emotionally and physically while showing favoritism to their siblings for being more competent and loyal, both of them have a mother in an AwfulWeddedLife that they genuinely care for, both have have one relative who served as a confidant (Iroh for Zuko, Lars for Hans), and both of them don't want to do harm yet want to prove themselves to their fathers. But whereas Zuko was a teenager who had his uncle as a ParentalSubstitute to be a positive influence and would pull off a HeelFaceTurn upon realizing his father is a terrible man, Hans is a grown adult who embraced cruelty to the point of caring only for power and respect as a means of earning his father's love while lacking a positive influence of his own.

* AmbitionIsEvil: His whole plan was to make himself king, and he's neither squeamish nor apologetic of how he empties a throne of its previous occupants.

** Turned up even further in ''A Frozen Heart''. Except for one, who tries to help him leave home to find a better life, he sees most of his older brothers as obnoxious jerks. And he has ''twelve'' of them.

->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/SantinoFontana (English); Erik Segerstedt (Swedish); Creator/TakehitoKoyasu (Japanese); Liron Lev (Hebrew)

* FallenOnHardTimesJob: In ''Frozen Fever''. He is demoted to [[DefeatMeansMenialLabor cleaning horse manure]] for his crimes. Just then, a sick Elsa accidentally launches a giant snowball, where it pummels him into a wagon full of RoadApples. The horses laugh at his misfortune when he's covered in poop.

* FieryRedhead: {{Inverted|Trope}}. Hans is pretty calm and rational, even in high-stress situations.
* FinishingEachOthersSentences: Anna completes his line about how people who are in love finish each other's - sandwiches, and Hans [[EyeTake appears baffled for a moment]], and then exclaims that that's just what he was going to say. It's part of his manipulative prowess, as he's trying to get her to marry him as part of his plan to usurp the kingdom.

*** While Kristoff was HappilyAdopted by trolls who raised him with love and genuinely cares for Anna, Hans grew up in a human family that never cared for him, causing him to become ruthless and power-hungry, and fake his romance with Anna. Plus, Kristoff has the warm love of family that Anna needs (and gets after she and Elsa are able to be together), while Hans has the cold family relationship that Anna wouldn't want. Also, as they race back to the castle with Anna freezing because of the curse, Kristoff puts his hat on her head, but Hans doesn't help Anna feel warmer while she's visibly shivering, instead pulling his own jacket tighter to him.

* ClassicVillain: Represents Ambition and Envy. Knowing that he'll never inherit his own kingdom's throne, he intends to take over Arendelle by marrying into the royal family and then killing both sisters. Although not the direct cause of the movie's main conflicts, it's his deceptions, i.e. pretending to be Anna's FalseSoulmate and giving her the push to confront Elsa over the closed gates, that trigger the plot into such direction. He also shares a number of similarities to both Anna and Elsa: like Anna, he doesn't get along with his older siblings, and like Elsa, he hides his true emotions. But while the sisters wish to reconcile with each other, Hans clearly doesn't wish to reconcile with his own family, as he's willing to abandon them to get Arendelle. While Elsa tries to control her emotions to stop herself from harming her loved ones, Hans hides his in order to manipulate others.

* DeconstructedCharacterArchetype: The adaptation ''A Frozen Heart'' deconstructs the PrinceCharmless archetype through him, exploring how growing up in an abusive family corrupts him into a power-hungry and ruthless man hellbent on seeking fame and personal glory at all costs. This even causes him to assume LoveIsAWeakness.

* PlotIrrelevantVillain: His plot to take over Arendelle is largely unconnected from the actual main conflict of the film, which is driven by the sisters' separation. While Elsa's outburst is caused by an argument she has with Anna about him, Hans spends the bulk of his screentime discreetly taking advantage of the circumstances rather than directly contributing to them. After TheReveal, he mainly exists so that Anna can protect Elsa from him as her ActOfTrueLove.

** He is also this for Elsa, who fears becoming a monster, but is able to keep a grip on herself with the support of her family. While Elsa [[NiceJobBreakingItHero hurts people accidentally and fears doing so]], Hans embraces villainy and has nobody to rely on for moral support. Also, while both hide key aspects of who they are, he does so to manipulate others.

Film co-director Jennifer Lee has described Hans as "sociopathic" but also as a "tragic figure", adding to the confusion. She confirmed that he was partially based upon the concept of the Evil Mirror in the original story, as he was tailoring his behavior to ''mirror'' that of whomever he interacts with. To clarify, he acts sweet and goofy towards Anna, a would-be MoralityPet towards Elsa, a ReasonableAuthorityFigure towards Arendelle's citizenry and the dignitaries, and a harsh and mean JerkAss towards the Duke. The only time the viewer sees his real persona is a scene where he looks at his own reflection during TheReveal.

* SpareToTheThrone: The youngest of ''thirteen'' princes, giving him a very slim chance at inheriting the throne. Unlike Anna, [[TheCreon who doesn't take advantage of the snowstorm to depose her sister]], Hans doesn't have any qualms using shortcuts to become king.

->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/SantinoFontana (English); Erik Segerstedt (Swedish); Creator/TakehitoKoyasu (Japanese)

** To the Duke of Weselton. Hans is a young man who does his plans on his own and is very good at hiding who he really is. The Duke is an elderly man who orders his two henchman to follow his orders, and he is ''horrible'' at hiding his true intentions. This is taken further in spin-off materials, which often treats Hans as a HateSink. Both are deported from Arendelle for their respective attempts on Elsa's life in the movie, but while the sisters are avoiding [[PersonaNonGrata Hans]], they have had several meetings with the Duke in spin-offs and seem more willing to make peace with him.

*** While Kristoff is an orphan HappilyAdopted by trolls who raised him with love and genuinely cares for Anna, Hans grew up in a human family that never cared for him, causing him to become ruthless and power-hungry, and fake his romance with Anna. Plus, Kristoff has the warm love of family that Anna needs (and gets after she and Elsa are able to be together), while Hans has the cold family relationship that Anna wouldn't want. Also, as they race back to the castle with Anna freezing because of the curse, Kristoff puts his hat on her head, but Hans doesn't help Anna feel warmer while she's visibly shivering, instead pulling his own jacket tighter to him.

** As the snow starts falling, he pulls his coat tighter to himself instead of offering it to Anna when she's shivering, another sign of his true nature.

* FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse: In ''A Frozen Heart''. Anna, Kristoff, and Elsa [[DramaticIrony are in the dark on Hans's upbringing]] as he hasn't divulged much. As he's manipulative and dishonest, they don't know if they can trust even what little he revealed about it. [[DiscussedTrope They wonder if it drove his decisions]], but conclude that he should be responsible for his crimes instead of blaming others.

* HatedByAll: After being outed as the villain, [[HateSink he]] is viewed negatively anytime he's mentioned in the franchise. He isn't even safe in ''other Disney films'' as shown in ''WesternAnimation/BigHero6'', when Baymax's RocketPunch destroys a statue of his.

** However, the TieInNovel ''A Frozen Heart'' downplays this and portrays him with some sympathetic qualities. It shifts the total HateSink treatment to his BigScrewedUpFamily, particularly his father — whose status as an [[AbusiveParents abusive parent]] who enables his older sons to physically and emotionally bully Hans and a [[EvilOverlord totalitarian who routinely tortures and kills his subjects for minor reasons]], be it criticizing him or not providing favors, provides a foil for the [[EvenEvilHasStandards relatively]] reasonable Hans.

** When he's punched off the boat by Anna, everyone claps at the sight when he turned out to be a two-timing backstabber. A wooden bucket falls and lands on his head just as he's thrown aboard the brig of a ship. The French dignitary even calls him a scoundrel.
** In ''Frozen Fever'', he's been [[DefeatMeansMenialLabor condemned to forced labor]] back home and his trademark white suit is dirty as one of his punishments involves shoveling manure at the royal stables. Just then, a sick Elsa accidentally launches a giant snowball, where it pummels him into a wagon full of RoadApples. The horses laugh at his misfortune when he's covered in poop. While not appearing in the ''Frozen Ever After'' dark ride attraction itself, a news article mentions that his own countrymen found it funny when the "disgraced" 13th son was covered in muck.

[[Characters/FrozenArendelle Arendelle]] | [[Characters/FrozenAnna Anna]] | [[Characters/FrozenElsa Elsa]] | '''Hans''' | [[Characters/FrozenWeselton Weselton]] | [[Characters/FrozenNorthuldra Northuldra]] | [[Characters/FrozenMagicalCreatures Magical Creatures]] | [[Characters/FrozenAnimals Animals]] | [[Characters/FrozenExtendedMedia Extended Media]] | [[Characters/AFrozenHeartExclusive A Frozen Heart Exclusive]]-]]]

* SignificantGreenEyedRedhead: Marks him as a person of interest, and he becomes Anna's first LoveInterest and is also later [[BaitTheDog revealed to be a threat]].

* TyrantTakesTheHelm: Zigzagged. After Elsa flees the kingdom in panic and Anna goes after her, he is given the authority to take care of the people in Arendelle. Despite his status as an EvilPrince who attempts regicide against the sisters, he proves himself to be a far better ruler[[note]]Examples include giving blankets to citizens, going after Anna when he notices she's missing, and also trying to reason with the former queen and only deciding to execute her when he realizes that she cannot stop the EndlessWinter[[/note]] compared to the Queen of Arendelle, whose first act after the coronation is to accidentally freeze over all of Arendelle and then abandon the kingdom, leaving the populace to suffer. This is expanded upon in ''A Frozen Heart'': due to the tyranny he saw back home, he's determined to be a better king than his father, despite using questionable means to achieve his goals.

* IndyPlot: While he prefers XanatosSpeedChess (see below), it reaches this level at Elsa's ice palace. If you look carefully when he knocks away the guard preparing to shoot Elsa, he glances up at the chandelier at the same time he starts moving.

** It's ironic for him to ask Anna whether she can trust Elsa and not wanting to see her harmed as he ''is the one'' who dumps Anna for his selfish political ambitions.

** He is also this for Elsa, who fears becoming a monster, but is able to keep a grip on herself with the support of her family. While Elsa [[NiceJobBreakingItHero hurts people accidentally and fears doing so]], Hans embraces villainy and has no one to rely on for moral support. Also, while both hide key aspects of who they are, he does so to manipulate others.
** Inverted with Kristoff, who represents what Hans could have been if he was driven by altruism and a sincere love towards Anna, rather than exploiting her via deception and lies.

** He exploits Anna's FatalFlaw of being naive and needing affection by faking a romance with her so he can get closer to the throne.

** As the snow starts falling, he doesn't offer Anna his coat when she's shivering but pulls it tighter to him, another sign of his true nature.

* FriendlessBackground:
** He's never known love since childhood and downplays it as [[WorseWithContext "what brothers do."]] By the time he's an adult, he is fully estranged with his family and planned on inviting them over so he could rub his achievements in their faces.

** When Elsa's powers are revealed, he asks Anna if she can trust her sister. This is the same guy who cons ''everyone'' into thinking ''he'' is trustworthy.
** His climatic betrayal is this in ''A Frozen Heart'' because of the [[SchrodingersCanon additional backstory the book gives]]. He was on the receiving end of years of cruel pranks from most of his brothers, making him faking his romance with Anna, somebody who DesperatelyCravesAffection, one giant cruel prank on her in return, and his BreakHerByTalking to her becomes this as the book also implies that he hates the way his brothers and father treated their spouses, yet he treats his fiancé cruelly once he no longer thinks it's useful to manipulate her.

* InferioritySuperiorityComplex:
** Growing up in the shadow of 12 older brothers, he feels it's better off ruling another country. He's perfectly okay taking any shortcut that will lead him to power.

** Justified and deconstructed. As he never bonded with his family in youth, he craves the recognition he felt he deserved and would take any shortcut that will lead him to power. While noticing his reflection through a window, he only sees his own face, which shows that he cares only about himself. He only did charitable acts [[VillainWithGoodPublicity just to build public trust]]. But as pointed out by Anna in her KirkSummation to him, he is the only one with a [[TheSociopath "frozen heart."]] His selfishness keeps him from genuinely befriending others.

* {{Leitmotif}}: He has his own distinct theme that plays while wooing Anna, and it's especially noticeable when he pulls in for the kiss. After the betrayal, his theme can still be heard, albeit with a darker tone.
* LonelyRichKid: In ''A Frozen Heart''. Behind his daddy issues and fear of his family, Hans has no friends and few people who care for him due to his father. It was something that hurt him when he was younger. Before going through errands for his father and going on his life-changing trip, Hans legitimately wanted to meet someone and hoped that Arendelle would end his loneliness. This quickly gets overridden by a desire to earn his father's respect no matter the cost.

** Deconstructed in ''A Frozen Heart''. [[FreudianExcuse Growing up in a dysfunctional household]], he's never known real love due to the harsh upbringing that encouraged SocialDarwinism and comes to the conclusion that love weakens a person. When Elsa grieves over Anna, he thinks it's proof that it makes her spineless.

** Deconstructed in ''A Frozen Heart''. To him, the ends justify the means and LoveIsAWeakness that can be easily exploited [[FreudianExcuse due to his dark upbringing]]. He plays a long game, planning his marriage to Elsa for years, but when Anna seems to be the easy path in getting what he wants, he changes gears. He doesn't hesitate to lie and bribe, and starts to dehumanize Elsa so she is viewed as a monster and so that no one questions it when he kills her, and he does everything he can to play into that narrative. He isn't hesitant to use violence if others can be easily manipulated. However, once Anna sees through his lies, she states that he is the only person with a "frozen heart."

** In the film, he is a hybrid of the unstable and empty types. His feigned charms hide his true intent of seizing the Arendellian throne and the internal grudge he has against his brothers. He [[MasterActor mirrors his persona]] towards the person he's talking to [[ManipulativeBastard in a calculated approach]]. The creators even compared him to a [[AnimalMotifs chameleon]].

* GoodAllAlong: Downplayed and subverted with him in ''A Frozen Heart''. While the book is marketed at readers who already know the plot of ''Frozen'' and that Hans is a villain, it starts off with him as a rather decent person [[BlackAndGrayMorality in comparison to his family]]. But as the story progresses, his actions become more morally ambiguous before JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope. While his initial plan [[GoldDigger to seduce either Anna or Elsa so that he could marry]] is dishonest at best, it's partly motivated by wanting to escape his awful life in the Southern Isles and he does legitimately want to do good. By the end of the book though, he goes from selfish with some noble desires to becoming unashamedly cruel.

** He psychologically torments and attempts to murder the heroines, complete with EvilGloating and BreakThemByTalking monologues in which he [[SmugSnake brags]] about having [[TemptingFate "already"]] gotten away with his EvilPlan. The ending shows nobody having a good opinion of him for what he did: the dignitaries and soldiers clap to see him receive a ShutUpHannibal punch (by Anna, whose forgiving nature is one of her defining qualities, of all characters). The French dignitary even offers to return this "scoundrel" to his kingdom.
** In ''Frozen II'', he's the butt of jokes during a game of charades the heroes play out. During a round where it's Anna's turn to act out a word, Olaf guesses "Hans," followed by Elsa calling him an "irredeemable monster" and Kristoff calling him "the biggest mistake of your life!" When Anna reveals "villain" was the word she was trying to act out, Olaf comments that he, Elsa, and Kristoff "all kind of got it". And Elsa dismissively shatters an ice statue of him at one point.

** His climatic betrayal is this in ''A Frozen Heart'' because of the [[SchrodingersCanon additional backstory the book gives]]. He was on the receiving end of years of cruel pranks from most of his brothers, making him faking his romance with Anna, somebody who [[DesperatelyCravesAffection needs emotional validation]], one giant cruel prank on her in return, and his BreakHerByTalking to her becomes this as the book also implies that he hates the way his brothers and father treated their spouses, yet he treats his fiance cruelly once he no longer thinks it useful to manipulate her.
* IAmNotMyFather: Subverted in ''A Frozen Heart''. Hans vows not to be like his family, but his desire to win their respect leads him to take on the same behavior of theirs he had disliked, including using violence to support his power.

* NobleMaleRoguishMale: Inverted. His true character [[TheUnfettered is Machiavellian]] and uses the noble ruse as a tool to usurp the throne, while Kristoff's gruff exterior hides his inner kindness and goodness.

* SillyRabbitRomanceIsForKids: Deconstructed in ''A Frozen Heart''. Having witnessed the dysfunction and abuse within his family, he thinks this is where all relationships end up and believes love is a laughable concept the weak-willed use to cover their flaws. However, as he's never known true love, it also leaves him [[WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove clueless]] on what an actual happy relationship would be.

* AdaptationalSympathy: ''A Frozen Heart'' portrays him as a more sympathetic and tragic character, who starts off the book capable of caring about other people before becoming cruel, as opposed to TheSociopath of the film.

* BlackSheep: In ''A Frozen Heart''. His father and older brothers see him as this due to his reluctance in conforming to their SocialDarwinist leanings. Ironically, him being against the violence of his family made him the WhiteSheep, but his desire to [[WellDoneSonGuy appeal to his father]] darkened [[UsedToBeASweetKid him]]. Even Hans acknowledges that he's the odd one out in his family.

* CorruptedCharacterCopy: In ''A Frozen Heart''. Minus the lack of fire-based powers, Hans has a backstory similar to [[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender Prince Zuko]]: Hans and Zuko are the sons of sociopathic despots who openly abused them emotionally and physically while showing favoritism to their siblings for being more competent and loyal, both of them have a mother in an AwfulWeddedLife that they genuinely care for, both have have one relative who served as a confidant (Iroh for Zuko, Lars for Hans), and both of them don't want to do harm yet want to prove themselves to their fathers. But whereas Zuko was a teenager who had his uncle as a ParentalSubstitute to be a positive influence and would pull off a HeelFaceTurn upon realizing his father is a terrible man, Hans is a grown adult who embraced cruelty to the point of caring only for power and respect as a means of earning his father's love while lacking a positive influence of his own.

* SuccessfulSiblingSyndrome: In ''A Frozen Heart''. Hans often envies his older brothers, who are favored more by the king. This desire of getting out of their shadow, alongside seeking his distant father's approval, is part of what motivates him.

* AdaptationalNiceGuy: ''A Frozen Heart'' portrays him as a more sympathetic and tragic character, who starts off the book capable of caring about other people before becoming cruel, as opposed to TheSociopath of the film.

* JerkassHasAPoint:
** A strange case in that we don't realize at the time how much of a jerk he can be, but while Hans tells Elsa that if she killed the Duke's guards, she would become the monster the Duke was calling her, he has a point.
** In his BreakThemByTalking monologue, he mocks Anna for agreeing to marry him so quickly and for going after Elsa, believing she could be helped. Given the fact that Elsa and Kristoff expressed shock over the sudden engagement, and that Anna herself repeatedly noted that the speed of their relationship was "crazy", {{Fourth Date Marriage}}s are just as uncommon in-universe as in RealLife, and just as risky. Anna also did have little reason to believe that Elsa was the HeroWithBadPublicity that she really was and was acting out of optimism and UndyingLoyalty, something that the film acknowledges through the questioning of other characters as well, although as a {{Reconstruction}} of TheHeart, she proves to be ultimately right about Elsa.
** Even though he's motivated by wanting Elsa out of the way so he can become king himself, he is well within his rights to accuse Elsa of treason since she did curse the kingdom she was supposed to protect and her sister, who effectively inherited the kingdom as Elsa running away effectively renounced the throne to Anna. Since the only point when Elsa showed her true intentions was when she expressed shock to Anna that the kingdom was frozen (and only Anna, whom at this point Hans has locked up and who doesn't have any proof of her sister's innocence other than her word anyway), he and the rest of the chancellors have no real reason to think anything was an accident. The closest thing they have to one is that Anna vouched for her earlier when the Duke started accusing her of being a monster, and Anna had no proof other than her own faith in her big sister. And they all saw Anna come back with an ice curse before they quickly filed out of the room to give Hans a chance to try to save her with TrueLovesKiss in private.

*** When he decides to talk with his father about going to Arendelle, he forgets the king doesn't like him and considers turning back. But he's determined to earn his father's respect, and decides he must follow whatever order the king may give, even if it involves violence, so he can earn his father's trust in going to Arendelle.

*** He agrees to stay behind in Arendelle, instead of accompanying Anna on her journey to find Elsa, to take care of the people so that he can have a chance to be in charge, only to quickly realize when Anna's horse returns that if she died, then no one would be able to convince Elsa to stop her winter. Add to the fact that if nobody found Elsa or Anna, he would have to contend with a rebellion in his hands, not to mention derailing his plans.

* DisappointingOlderSibling: Inverted and zig-zagged in ''A Frozen Heart''. Hans is the youngest of 13 sons, yet he is seen as a let-down by his family. Conversely, Hans and Lars see their oldest brother Caleb as woefully incompetent for his role as heir to the Southern Isles' throne, as he's a ManChild who takes his role with slackness.

* TheDutifulSon: His ultimate goal in ''A Frozen Heart'' — [[WellDoneSonGuy win the respect of his neglectful and abusive family]] regardless of the consequences he faces.

** In the film, he calls Anna "dumb" for going after Elsa in the first place, showing he never understood Anna's unconditional love for her sister. He becomes even more perplexed when Anna survives the frozen heart curse. Realizing he saw her as a mere pawn in a nasty game of political chess, Anna's rebuttal to Hans even nails it: since anything he did was so he could gain more power, he truly is incapable of loving anyone in his metaphorically "frozen" heart. A JustifiedTrope because he's had a rough and loveless childhood.

** To Anna and Elsa. His [[MeaningfulName name]], which means "God is gracious", reflects his role as a mirror toward Elsa (whose own name has the meaning "God's oath") and Anna (whose name means "gracious"), and unlike the two of them, he became both ruthless and cruel. This is fleshed out a bit more thoroughly in ''A Frozen Heart'', as some of his thoughts regarding his brothers indicate that he even plans to rub his achievements in their faces rather than reconciliation if he did win.
*** With Anna, he even has a physical resemblance to her, and like her, he grew up feeling invisible and rejected by his older siblings. But Anna always remained kind and never gave up on Elsa even when she [[NotEvilJustMisunderstood cursed the kingdom and appeared to do so purposely]]. By contrast, Hans became greedy and malicious. Despite [[SuccessfulSiblingSyndrome her insecurities]] on how she compares to her older sister, Anna [[TheCreon rejects the opportunity to overthrow Elsa]] in favor of trying to help her sister despite the odds. By contrast, Hans thinks he ''needs'' a throne and tries to take it by force, even if it means going out of his way to kill Elsa. Anna also patches up with the sibling who pushed her out, but Hans remains estranged with his brothers.

* ExtremeDoormat: Starts off as this in ''A Frozen Heart''. By the time he's a young adult, [[DespairEventHorizon he's already given up fighting back]] against his abusive family as he thinks it just makes their physical abuse worse, so he just keeps mum, but even this encourages them, too. His father often saw him as a whiner, and [[EvenEvilHasStandards despite his objections]], regularly sent him to do horrific tasks, from beating up critics of the king to killing delinquent taxpayers.

* FallenOnHardTimesJob: You know you've fallen from grace when you were once your country's crown prince and you're forced to shovel horse shit for a living.