Line #197 Characters/TheIronGiant


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8	!This page contains unmarked spoilers. Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned.
9	----
10	[[foldercontrol]]
11
12	[[folder:The Iron Giant]]
13	!!The Iron Giant
14	->'''Voiced By:''' Creator/VinDiesel[[note]]'''Other Languages:''' César Soto (Latin American Spanish), Creator/DaisukeGori (Japanese), Creator/AdamFietz (Swedish)[[/note]]
15	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/iron-giant-film-2.jpg]]
16
17	A fifty-foot-tall metal-eating robot of uncertain origin. He arrives on Earth slightly damaged and with no recollection of his function. Judging by the capabilities he shows later on, he was designed as a vanguard unit for planetary invasions... although it's not clear if Earth was his original intended target. Unaware of his own purpose when he arrives, he eventually encounters and befriends Hogarth.
18	----
19	* AdaptationalBackstoryChange: Partially. His true origin is never specified in either medium, but in the book he just appears having no weaponry beyond his durable iron form and it's never mentioned if he came from space, even when a Space Bat Angel Dragon shows up. The movie makes it obvious he's an extraterrestrial creation.
20	* AdaptationalDumbass: Downplayed. Due to the damage The Giant incurs during his crash to Earth, he is initially left in a childlike state and rarely utters full sentences. As the story progresses, we see him understanding abstract concepts like death and the soul so that he intentionally chooses to do a HeroicSacrifice at the end. In the book, however, he's quite intelligent right from the start, capable of speaking loud and profoundly, and demonstrates wicked cunning in dealing with the Space Bat Angel Dragon.
21	* AdaptationalHeroism: The Giant was not innocent or noble in the original book. He only steps up to save the world when Hogarth tells him that no humans means no scrap metal to eat.
22	* AfraidOfTheirOwnStrength: As the Giant becomes aware of the destructive power of his defensive programming, he has to actively choose to avoid giving into it.
23	* AmnesiacDissonance: The Giant loses his memory at the start of the film thanks to a dent on the left side of his head. A scene added in the Signature Edition implies that, had he not, he would've been a mindless planet destroyer.
24	* AntiAntichrist: A scene added to the Signature Edition, as well as the nature of the Iron Giant's weapons, heavily implies that the Giant was originally created to destroy entire planets, and that either he was just one out of a huge line of robots who were created for this purpose or had managed to destroy quite a large amount of planets prior to arriving on Earth. However, the Iron Giant eventually manages to reject going down/continuing down this path.
25	* ArmCannon: Among the Giant's plethora of weapons, also the first one he deploys when he turns his rage on the Army.
26	* BadassAdorable: Despite being 50 feet tall and possibly sent to soften Earth's defenses for an invasion, the Giant's childlike naivete about the world makes him an endearing hero.
27	* BewareTheNiceOnes: Despite his child-like naivete, when the Iron Giant is attacked while he is grieving the apparent death of Hogarth, his grief turns to rage, the dent in his head pops out and a CurbStompBattle ensues with the army.
28	* CharacterTitle: The tale follows the friendship that develops between ''The Iron Giant'' and Hogarth the {{Deuteragonist}}.
29	* ChestBlaster: When he goes into full battle mode, he has a powerful WaveMotionGun type weapon in his chest.
30	* DefenceMechanismSuperpower: The Iron Giant is a massive alien war machine that, due to damage caused during his initial landing on earth, is left completely unaware of his true purpose. Unfortunately, the Giant's weapons and more destructive mindset can be triggered against his will if it perceives a threat.
31	* {{Dieselpunk}}: Though ostensibly from outer space, many elements of his design resemble the parts of a steam engine, tying into the sci-fi throwback nature of the narrative. The weapons he has concealed beneath the hood are pure sci-fi, however.
32	* DoesntLikeGuns: When the Giant learns that guns can kill, he gains an immediate dislike of them. This creates an intense internal conflict because he was designed to be one.
33	* EyeBeams: The Giant has these and they deployed automatically as a defense mechanism when he was threatened by Hogarth's toy gun.
34	* FourFingeredHands: The Giant only. But then, he IS an alien (and a robot).
35	* GentleGiant: The Giant when not in the thrall of his defensive programming.
36	* GoodEyesEvilEyes: In his amnesic state, the Giant has yellow-white eyes and "eyelids" more or less like a human's. In his Weapon mode, he has red eyes and DilatingDoor-type "eyelids".
37	* GrewBeyondTheirProgramming: Thanks to Hogarth's nurturing, a lost, giant robot designed to be a planet-killer chooses to be Superman [[MessianicArchetype and saves the town of Rockwell]].
38	* HeroicSacrifice: He flies into the path of the nuclear missile Mansley stupidly fired onto the town, blowing himself apart but saving countless lives. However, it's revealed at the end that he's capable of resembling himself from even ''that'' amount of damage.
39	* HumongousMecha: The Giant being a sapient, non-piloted version.
40	* IAmNotAGun: The venerable TropeNamer.
41	* IOweYouMyLife: The Giant's bond with Hogarth developed when the latter saved him from a power cord.
42	* TheJuggernaut: The Giant is shown to be very durable against weaponry like tank shells and battleship guns which allows him to curb stomp the Army, however we are also shown that he can be damaged by Earth-level technology. Impact trauma from a train or nuclear missile can blow him apart and high voltage electricity causes him pain and can render him temporarily "unconscious".
43	* LaserGuidedAmnesia: Due to sustaining damage from his planet-fall, we never know what his original purpose was. The "Giant's Dream" deleted scene makes it clear that he is part of a planet-destroying army of robots, but we don't know if Earth was the target, or if the Giant was simply knocked off-course and crashed here.
44	* MadeOfIron: If the title is to be believed, the Giant is made of iron, quite literally. As such, he still manages to reactivate after getting electrocuted, {{No Sell}}s bullets and bombs, and even the ending shows that the only damage the ''nuclear missile'' inflicted was leave him dismembered and inactive for months.
45	* MechanicalAbomination: A downplayed example, but despite being a pretty [[BenevolentAbomination chill dude,]] the Iron Giant is still an otherwordly weapon with extremley bizarre technology with an ambiguous backstory.
46	* MetalMuncher: It's shown that eating metal is his source of nourishment. When he first arrives on Earth he scavenges whatever minor metal objects he can find like TV antennas or the support structures of a power plant. It isn't until he starts hiding out at Dean's scrapyard, that he is able to completely satisfy his hunger.
47	* MysteriousPast:
48	** Creator/TedHughes opens his book with these three questions: "How far had he walked? Nobody knows. Where did he come from? Nobody knows. How was he made? Nobody knows."
49	** In the original release of the film, who he was before meeting Hogarth was a complete mystery. The Signature Edition release includes a deleted dream sequence where it shows he came from another planet and was part of an army of planet killers which served to reinforce the idea that he was created to be a gun. However, why and how he ended up on Earth is still unknown.
50	* NatureLovingRobot: Hogarth and the Giant are shown wandering around the woods surrounding Rockwell. They encounter a deer that stirs the Giant's curiosity and his childlike innocence is such that he is nearly able to touch the deer without scaring it until the peaceful scene is interrupted when the deer senses the approach of hunters.
51	* NiceGuy: When not in the thrall of his defensive programming, the Giant has a genial personality.
52	* NighInvulnerability: He combines being "Made of Diamond" (survives shell attacks from tanks, planes and battleships), as well as a self-repair mixture of "Regeneration" and "External Repair". He is shown reassembling himself after experiencing impact trauma from being hit by a train and blown apart by a nuclear bomb.
53	* NoNameGiven: Oddly, despite insisting that the machine is 'he', Hogarth never bothers to give him a proper name. Though it can't be known for sure, he probably never had a name to begin with.
54	* OneWingedAngel: When the Giant is attacked while grieving over Hogarth's apparent death, he gives in to his rage and turns into a tentacled humanoid war machine.
55	* OrganAutonomy: Pieces of the Giant will return to him when summoned.
56	* PapaWolf: Harm Hogarth at your own peril.
57	* PartsUnknown: It isn't clear where the Giant is from besides not originating on Earth. The book leaves it even more ambiguous.
58	* PercussiveMaintenance: Inverted. A whack on the head damaged him, and wasn't enough by itself to set off his self-repair mechanism.
59	* PlanetKiller: The Signature Edition's dream sequence shows that the Giant is supposed to be this. Even without the scene, the film, especially during the Giant's rampage, heavily implies that this is what he was designed for.
60	* QuizzicalTilt: Tends to tilt one side of his head when he's confused about something.
61	* RedEyesTakeWarning: When his eyes go red, his defensive programming is taking over and he has an insane amount of weaponry to defend himself.
62	* RidiculouslyHumanRobots: Very humanoid for a robot from outer space... He even tends to eat metal by folding it in his hands and biting into it like a ham sandwich, which a few characters lampshade.
63	* RobotBuddy: He's a gigantic, alien robot who forms an inseparable friendship with Hogarth.
64	* StrongAsTheyNeedToBe: How invulnerable he is seems to vary across the movie. Early on, he is knocked out by having a train crash into him, and later he is temporarily incapacitated by anti-aircraft missiles. But during his battle with the Army, he effortlessly withstands tank shells and 16-inch battleship cannons. Possibly justified by being in a dedicated combat mode during the latter. He is also heat resistant in the book, as soon turning his trial with the Space-Bat-Angel-Dragon.
65	* TelescopingRobot: When the Giant reaches his RageBreakingPoint, he is a classic example of the trope as he shifts into battle mode.
66	* TinCanRobot: On the exterior, at least, and his movements looks endearingly human. In full assault mode he is more of a StarfishRobot and much more sinister and alien.
67	* WalkingArmory: Absolutely brimming with destructive weapons.
68	* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: Subverted, although it's revealed that he was designed to be a PlanetKiller, the experiences he has with Hogarth expands his programming to the point he intentionally chooses to be ''Superman''.
69	* YouNoTakeCandle: His grasp on English is broken -- justified as he's an alien robot -- so Hogarth sometimes talks to him this way so he can understand him better. In the book, his English is nearly perfect.
70	* YourSizeMayVary: The scale of the Giant seems to vary in different scenes. Although this is a clear case of RuleOfDrama, you can notice his size difference when he is [[BatmanInMyBasement hiding in Hogarth's barn]] compared to him standing in the middle of town or fighting the military in third act.
71	[[/folder]]
72
73	[[folder:Hogarth Hughes]]
74	!!Hogarth Hughes
75	->'''Voiced By:''' Creator/EliMarienthal[[note]]'''Other Languages:''' Creator/HectorEmmanuelGomez (Latin American Spanish), Kazuhiro Shindo (Japanese), Leo Hallerstam (Swedish)[[/note]]
76	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/my_son__hogarth_hughes_by_produccionandaluz-d6w3qzx.jpg]]
77
78	An energetic, young, curious boy with an active imagination.
79	----
80	* AdaptationalNationality: While he is American in the animated film, he is British in the book given the nationality of the book and his namesake Creator/TedHughes.
81	* AdaptationPersonalityChange: The original book's Hogarth doesn't seem to share the sentiment that "it's bad to kill" as he appears hunting rabbits in his first chapter. After encountering the Giant, he immediately runs to tell people and doesn't befriend it until ''after'' the monster's escaped capture.
82	* AdorablyPrecociousChild: Hogarth is nine years old, but has the maturity of someone twice his age.
83	* AlliterativeName: '''H'''ogarth '''H'''ughes.
84	* AllLovingHero: Hogarth's empathy is one of most defining traits, enough that his empathy is what changes the Giant into a compassionate being. His {{establishing character moment}} is him rushing to visit his mother at work so he can ask her if he can keep a squirrel as a pet, after meeting the Giant and running away he goes back to save the Giant from a clearly painful experience, he worries that the Giant will hurt a cow and urges him to watch his step, and he ultimately teaches the Giant that killing is wrong and that he doesn't have to be a "gun".
85	* AllOfTheOtherReindeer: Hogarth was picked on by the other kids because he "skipped a grade".
86	* AscendedExtra: His role is small in the original book but he is a main character in the film.
87	* BadassAdorable: Hogarth is smart enough to trick a government agent, brave enough to face off against the Giant caught up in UnstoppableRage, and cute enough to be gushing over the fact of having his "own Giant".
88	* BadassPacifist: Hogarth stops the Giant's UnstoppableRage by reminding him he doesn't have to be a gun and tells the Giant to choose for himself. After a tense moment of Hogarth staring down the barrel of his gun arm, the Giant regains control, agrees with Hogarth and deactivates his weapons.
89	* BrainyBrunette: Brown-haired Hogarth skipped a grade because he "just does the stupid homework".
90	* CoolHelmet: His Air Force fighter helmet that [[TragicKeepsake possibly]] belonged to his father.
91	* {{Fanboy}}: Hogarth is shown to be a fan of ''Superman'', ''Mad Magazine'', and ''The Spirit'', when he shows some of his comics to the Giant.
92	* FriendlessBackground: During his caffeine-fueled rant to Dean, Hogarth mentioned that he had trouble fitting in with other children in school due to his high grades and had even more trouble fitting in after moving up a grade.
93	* FriendToAllLivingThings: His first scene has him begging his mother to let him keep a pet squirrel he found. There's also his friendship with the Giant.
94	* GradeSkipper: According to Hogarth, because "I just do the stupid homework" he was able to skip a grade (his mom deciding he needed "a challenge" also had something to do with it).
95	* HeroWithAUniqueName: While the entire cast have common names, Hogarth's name is very unusual. His OddNameOut is even lampshaded by other characters. It works against him later; the distinctiveness of it helps Kent remember it.
96	* HiddenDepths: Despite his age, Hogarth has a deep and mature understanding of death, the nature of the soul and the ethical implications of what a gun represents.
97	* InnocentBlueEyes: To symbolize his youthful and innocent nature.
98	* IntelligenceEqualsIsolation: He's clearly a smart kid. And has no friends. Until the movie's end.
99	* IntergenerationalFriendship: With Dean -- while Hogarth is the KidHero, Dean is around his mother's age.
100	* InterspeciesFriendship: With the Giant, a 50 foot tall KillerRobot.
101	* {{Keet}}: He's already a pretty energetic kid, but it's exaggerated when he drinks espresso.
102	* KidHero: He's around nine years old and is the main hero.
103	* KidWithTheLeash: He is the Giant's best friend.
104	* MilitaryBrat: Implied. A quick scene of a picture of his father shows him entering a fighter plane and during the time period, the Korean War just ended. This hints Mr. Hughes was fighting in said war during his son's youth.
105	* MotorMouth: Hogarth has a tendency to get into this mode. Besides the scene where he's ranting about his school life while on espresso he has two moments where he talks for an extended period of time. When trying to convince Dean to let the Giant stay at his scrapyard for the night the movie had to state that Hogarth had been doing it for the past 37 minutes. Much earlier in the film Hogarth starts wondering about what he should or shouldn't do about the Giant after their first meeting. He had been going on for so long that he managed to bore the robot to the point that he nearly fell asleep.
106	* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: He has one in the book after the Iron Giant falls into his trap.
107	-->''"Only Hogarth felt suddenly sorry. He felt guilty. It was he, after all, who had lured the Iron Giant into the pit."''
108	* NiceGuy: He's kind, rightful, courageous, friendly, and cheerful.
109	* PrimaryColorChampion: Hogarth's main outfit consists of a red jacket (which has black coloring), blue jeans, a white t-shirt underneath, and red/white shoes.
110	* RedIsHeroic: Wears a red jacket throughout the film and its main hero.
111	* SupportingProtagonist: Hogarth is the main character, but it's the Giant who gets the {{character development}}.
112	* TragicKeepsake: Implied. It's never brought up but a picture of Mr. Hughes shows him wearing an Air Force helmet like the one Hogarth is seen wearing at various points in the film.
113	* WhatYouAreInTheDark: After getting safely away from the power station, he hears the Giant ''screaming'' in pain after getting wrapped up in the power lines and Hogarth can't bear to leave it suffering. He chooses to risk shutting off the power to free the Giant despite not knowing if it even notices or would feel grateful later.
114	* WhoNamesTheirKidDude: Mansley even lampshades this trope.
115	-->Hogarth? What an embarrassing name. Might as well call him [[Creator/TheMarxBrothers Zeppo]] or something. What kind of sick person would name a kid [[EurekaMoment Hogar-]]...
116	* WiseBeyondTheirYears: Hogarth shows a great deal of wisdom and depth when he introduces the Giant to the concept of death and deals with the question of whether the Giant has a soul.
117	[[/folder]]
118
119	[[folder:Annie Hughes]]
120	!!Annie Hughes
121	->'''Voiced By:''' Creator/JenniferAniston[[note]]'''Other Languages:''' Creator/MariaFernandaMorales (Latin American Spanish), Creator/NorikoHidaka (Japanese), Creator/OlgaGolovanova (Russian), Susanne Barklund (Swedish)[[/note]]
122	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/CrHjuLRz4i.png]]
123
124	A widow and Hogarth's single mother.
125	----
126	* AdaptationalNationality: While she is American in this film, she is British in the book given the nationality of the book and her namesake Creator/TedHughes.
127	* AscendedExtra: She only appears once in the book. Her role in the movie is the complete opposite.
128	* BeautyEqualsGoodness: She's as beautiful and cute as she is kind, loving and sweet.
129	* DudeMagnet: Several male characters notice and comment on her appearance. Kent even ends up [[EatingTheEyeCandy staring at her buxom and hips at one time]].
130	* FieryRedhead: Downplayed. Usually Annie is quite mellow, even though she has a {{Keet}} son and stressful job. She gets fiery if [[MamaBear Hogarth's in danger.]]
131	* GoodParents: She may work a lot of hours, but it's perfectly clear Annie cares about her son and has raised him to be a decent person.
132	* HartmanHips: While a few female residents of Rockwell have these, Annie is a notable example.
133	* MamaBear: To Hogarth. If there's any indication that he may be in danger, she will ''immediately'' rush to where he might be and protect him.
134	* MsFanservice: Both played straight and deconstructed. She's a very beautiful, pretty and cute woman, and also quite the DudeMagnet.
135	* NamedByTheAdaptation: She is not named in the original book, nor it's sequel ''The Iron Woman''.
136	* NiceGirl: Annie is devoted, loving, protective, and caring.
137	* OfficialCouple: Refers to Dean as "honey" in the final scene, implying this. The Signature Edition makes it slightly more explicit by adding an earlier scene of Annie and Dean chatting at the diner.
138	* SignificantGreenEyedRedhead: She has green eyes, is a redhead, and is the mother of the protagonist.
139	* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: Annie was married to a soldier. And by the end of the film, she is an OfficialCouple with [[NiceGuy Dean]] who showed her his {{p\|apaWolf}}rotectiveness of Hogarth and [[BadassPacifist peacekeeping nature]].
140	* TheSmurfettePrinciple: The only noticeable female character in the movie. Subtly lampshaded in a deleted scene where Hogarth shows her some of his comic books, and she points out the lack of female characters.
141	* StrugglingSingleMother: She's a single mother who raises Hogarth by herself and works long hours as a waitress to make ends meet. Early on, she also mentions wanting to rent out a room in their house to bring in more money, which gives Kent the opportunity to move in and keep an eye on Hogarth.
142	[[/folder]]
143
144	[[folder:Mr. Hughes]]
145	[[quoteright:258:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mr_hughes.jpg]]
146	->'''Voiced By:''' N/A
147
148	Hogarth's deceased father.
149	----
150	* ActionDad: Implied. Given the timeline of the film and the hints of a photo of Mr. Hughes, this might mean he was fighting in the Korean War during his son's youth.
151	* AdaptationalBadass: A variation. In the novel, he was a farmer. Here, he was a soldier.
152	* CoolHelmet: A picture of Mr. Hughes shows him wearing an Air Force fighter helmet. Justified, as he was a soldier and was required to have one.
153	* DeathByAdaptation: He was alive throughout the book. In the movie, he is long dead.
154	* DisappearedDad: Hogarth's father who presumably died during the Korean War.
155	* FirstLove: He was Annie's husband and a deleted scene shows her remembering him fondly.
156	* GoodParents: Implied. A deleted scene has Hogarth sadly missing his father, hinting Mr. Hughes was a good father. He was also a bit of a PapaWolf in the book's version of events.
157	* PosthumousCharacter: Already dead by the start of the movie. He's only seen in a picture and mentioned in the deleted scenes.
158	* StrongFamilyResemblance: Hogarth gained his looks from his father (judging by the picture on Hogarth's bedside table).
159	* UnnamedParent: His name is never mentioned in either medium and he's Hogarth's dad.
160	[[/folder]]
161
162	[[folder:Dean [=McCoppin=]]]
163	->'''Voiced By:''' Creator/HarryConnickJr[[note]]'''Other Languages:''' Creator/ArturoMercadoJr (Latin American Spanish), Creator/KazuhikoInoue (Japanese), Mikael Roupé (Swedish)[[/note]]
164	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/6954.jpg]]
165
166	A beatnik artist and junkyard owner who "sees art where others see junk". He ends up becoming the giant's "caretaker" of sorts, offering him shelter and plenty of metal to eat.
167	----
168	* AllOfTheOtherReindeer: As the cool, artistic resident beatnik of the small town of Rockwell, Maine, 1957, where this film takes place, Dean is sort of an outcast. The rest of the town doesn't really take him seriously, but he's cool with that.
169	* BadassPacifist: Dean is portrayed as a man of action, but not of violence (tying into one of the movie's themes). Culminates with him convincing the military task force that the best way to keep America safe is to ''not'' attack the Alien Menace that's currently blowing things up.
170	* {{Beatnik}}: Complete with a job as an artist, and love of espresso. He's portrayed more sympathetically than actual films of the 1950s would have shown him.
171	* BullyHunter: He helps out a guy from being mocked at by a couple of jerks. Said guy is the same one who saw the Giant earlier.
172	* CanonForeigner: He only appears in the movie version, although his junkyard is present as the Iron Giant's new home after Hogarth pacifies it.
173	* CoolShades: Wears them a few times.
174	* DarkIsNotEvil: His main clothing scheme is black and he's turns out to be a BadassPacifist.
175	* DeadpanSnarker: When you're dealing with a kid and his massive metal muchacho, the deadpan snarkery just flows.
176	-->'''Hogarth:''' ''[after drinking espresso]'' [[MotorMouth So she moved me up a grade 'cause I wasn't fitting in, so now I'm even more not fitting in, I was getting good grades, you know, like all A's, so my mom says, "you need stimulation," and I go, "no, I'm stimulated enough right now!"]]\
177	'''Dean:''' That's for sure.
178	* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Stands up for a guy getting mocked by a bunch of jerks.
179	-->'''Dean:''' ''[to Hogarth]'' If we don't stand up for the kooks, who will?
180	* FriendToAllChildren: His first scene with Hogarth certainly implies this, given how friendly he was with the kid. And whenever danger seems to threaten Hogarth, Dean puts himself bodily in the way.
181	* InkSuitActor: He has his actor's similar hairstyle and PermaStubble.
182	* IntergenerationalFriendship: With Hogarth -- Dean is around Annie's age and becomes friends with her pre-teen son, Hogarth, even to the point of being a [[ParentalSubstitute surrogate father]].
183	* MellowFellow: A laid-back man. His first appearance has him ''asleep'' in a the diner Annie works at.
184	* MrFanservice: Dean, the handsome artistically inclined beatnik with the voice of Harry Connick Jr.
185	* NiceGuy: Believes in people being themselves, defended a man who was being picked on for crazy theories despite not believing him either, a good father figure/mentor to Hogarth, and acts as a gentlemen to Annie.
186	* OfficialCouple: In the penultimate scene, at the park, it shows that he has gotten together with Annie. Dean is sitting on a bench looking at the memorial statue he made of the Giant. Annie comes up behind him, puts her hand on his shoulder and says:
187	-->'''Annie:''' Your best work, honey. No doubt about it.
188	* PapaWolf: He's not afraid to threaten the Giant when he nearly vaporizes Hogarth with his eye lasers.
189	* ParentalSubstitute: He is a father-figure/mentor to Hogarth. He ends up getting together with Annie in the ending.
190	* PermaStubble: Has a constant 5 o'clock shadow to go with the beatnik look.
191	* SecondLove: He and Annie become a couple in the end.
192	* StarvingArtist: At one point he grumbles that turning the scrap in his junkyard into art actually makes it worth ''less''.
193	[[/folder]]
194
195	[[folder:Kent Mansley]]
196	->'''Voiced By:''' Creator/ChristopherMcDonald[[note]]'''Other Languages:''' Raúl de la Fuente (Latin American Spanish), Creator/HochuOtsuka (Japanese), Johan Hedenberg (Swedish)[[/note]]
197	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/MPCharacter5.jpg]]
198
199	An arrogant, ambitious, paranoid and corrupt government agent sent to investigate the Iron Giant. The logo on his official government car says he is from the "Bureau of Unexplained Phenomena."
200	----
201	* AndYourLittleDogToo: He browbeats Hogarth into giving up the location of the Giant by threatening to ruin his mother's life.
202	* BewareTheSillyOnes: His KarmicButtMonkey nature is discarded in the movie's second half, wherein he chloroforms and threatens a child.
203	* BigBad: The antagonist of the film. While regarded as a laughingstock by everyone else, including his superiors, he grows into the role as the film progresses, with his paranoia and obsession with the Giant turning him into a legitimate threat once he gets evidence of its existence.
204	* BigBadWannabe: Mansley initially poses a threat to Hogarth and the Giant with both his determination to expose the Giant and threats to separate Hogarth from his mother. But he's also repeatedly outwitted and humiliated by Hogarth and Dean, and has no real authority compared to the general. When the Giant's true deadly nature comes to light, it's clear he's way out of his depth thinking he can destroy it.
205	* BigotWithABadge: Mansley is a xenophobic, uber-nationalistic agent of the "Bureau of Unexplained Phenomena" whose jingoism is merely a manifestation of his ego.
206	* CanonForeigner: Although an original creation for the movie, ironically, he appears to have some of Hogarth's father's traits from the book.
207	* CharacterCatchphrase:
208	** Tends to introduce himself as: "Kent Mansley, I work for the government." Lampshaded by Hogarth at one point.
209	** He often ends his threats and inaccurate assumptions with "...and all that that implies." Ultimately lampshaded [[IronicEcho and mocked]] by Hogarth later.
210	* DecompositeCharacter: As Hogarth's father is passed away in this version, Mansley takes his role as the guy searching for a way to capture and destroy the Giant.
211	* DeadpanSnarker: He makes a few sarcastic remarks at the expense of other people.
212	-->'''Kent:''' "Hogarth? What an embarrassing name. May as well name him Zeppo or something."
213	* DeconstructedCharacterArchetype: Kent is a big one for the 1950's archetype of the hard-boiled masculine authority figure. On the surface, he's a suave, patriotic government agent working to protect America, but in reality, Kent is a sleazy, arrogant coward who will go to some very cruel lengths to further his career and is consumed by the paranoia of Cold War-era fears.
214	* DirtyCoward: Although Mansley pretends to be a composed agent of the government, serious danger causes his cowardice to become readily apparent. When the Giant shifts into UnstoppableRage mode, Mansley can be seen shrieking at the jeep driver to flee faster with rising panic in his voice as the Giant starts to gain on them. It culminates when he tries to flee to safety after dooming everyone in the town thanks to his own paranoia rather than FaceDeathWithDignity.
215	* DistinguishedGentlemansPipe: Subverted. Smokes a straight billiard, despite being neither distinguished nor a gentleman.
216	* {{Eagleland}}: Typical of a man living on TheFifties, he's got a beef against anything he thinks is un-American, like being a Beatnik or being a potential weapon not manufactured by America. Subverted at the end when instead of dying like a dutiful soldier, he says "Screw our country, I wanna live!" and tries to run.
217	* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Shows up in his fancy government car, flashes his government credentials, then proceeds to act very haughty and condescending to the friendly Rockwell power station attendant showing him the unusual damage to said station.
218	* EvilIsPetty: Snatches the radio out of General Rogard's hands and orders the missile to be launched, simply because the Giant glared at him.
219	* EvilRedhead: He's a corrupt government agent who has red hair that match his {{fiery\|Redhead}} personality.
220	* FauxAffablyEvil: He tries to put on an affable façade, but it becomes clear that it's all an act as the film goes on.
221	* FatalFlaw: His paranoia. Mansley is very suspicious of everything surrounding the rumors of the Iron Giant. This makes him prone to panic and making extremely impulsive decisions. The biggest example of this is when Mansley orders the missile to be launched on the giant even though it's ''right next to him''.
222	* {{Foil}}:
223	** To Dean, who is very unconventional and hip, while Mansley portrays the ideal manly man of the time -- a hard-boiled detective type with a steel jaw. Dean is also a LOT faster on the uptake and more flexible than Mansley.
224	** In some respects, he's oddly one to the Giant. Both enter Hogarth's life thanks to the Giant's crash to Earth and both are a product of the society that made them. While the Giant overcomes his literal programming to be a hero, Mansley never questions the ''social'' programming of TheFifties that made him the irrational threat to the world that he thinks the Giant is.
225	** To General Rogard. Where Mansley puts on the image of the ideal 50s Manly Man, he is in reality an insecure, cowardly and ineffectual loser. The general on the other hand, is the [[FourStarBadass real deal.]]
226	* HateSink: As a lame, cowardly, ineffectual bureaucrat with delusions of grandeur and spewing 1950s nationalistic, EagleLand rhetoric, Mansley just invites condescension from the audience who delight in his every butt monkey incident and relish in his schadenfreude. Of course when he actually gets the upper hand by proving the Iron Giant's existence, he can't help but to make things worse and ends up condemning the entire town to nuclear destruction.
227	* {{Hypocrite}}: He's from the government, and claims to be very patriotic. But when things get tough, it's "Screw our country, I wanna live!"
228	* ImproperlyParanoid: Kent wants the Giant captured or destroyed just because it is not an American weapon. It does not matter that [[spoiler:the Giant is an alien weapon of conquest that no longer wishes to destroy]] -- his big rant at Hogarth makes clear that even if the Giant came from ''[[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Canada]]'' he would despise it all the same. His paranoia eventually leads to the town nearly getting nuked off the face of the Earth.
229	* IneffectualSympatheticVillain: Subverted -- Mansley is a clear case of NoRespectGuy, a KarmicButtMonkey, and almost totally incompetent, all of which are classic symptoms of the ISV. Despite having -- theoretically -- good motivations for wanting the giant gone, it's made very clear that his paranoia and obsessiveness is the primary ''instigator'' of most of the problems in the story, and almost gets everyone in town killed as a result of his irrational determination to see the Giant destroyed.
230	* InferioritySuperiorityComplex: He loves acting like he's the most important man in the room, but all evidence points to him being massively insecure and glory-hungry. The moment Rogard is convinced that peace with the Giant is possible, Mansley orders a nuclear strike on the Giant's location because he can't handle the thought of his hostility towards the Giant amounting to nothing...completely blind to the fact that the Giant is in a populated town ''that he's also in''.
231	* InspectorJavert: He is irrationally convinced that the Iron Giant is a threat to America, and does all he can to destroy it before it destroys them, despite growing evidence to the contrary.
232	* {{Jerkass}}: He's constantly throwing his weight around and acting like he's the most important man in town.
233	* JerkassHasAPoint: His paranoia against the giant isn't entirely unjustified. We're in the middle of the UsefulNotes/ColdWar and tensions are high between the Western and Eastern blocks, and from Mansley's point of view, the giant is a potential threat due to being essentially an OutsideContextProblem. When it turns out the giant was designed to be a {{Superweapon}} and starts attacking the city in a blind rage, Mansley's position is a bit more understandable.
234	* KarmicButtMonkey: Kent loses his car in his first scene, frequently suffers AmusingInjuries, falls victim to a LaxativePrank, and Hogarth repeatedly outsmarts him. He deserves every second of it though.
235	* LargeHam: Well since he's voiced by [[Creator/ChristopherMcDonald Chris [=McDonald=]]], calmness clearly ''doesn't'' come easy to him.
236	* LethallyStupid: Ironically, by remaining convinced that the Giant is a threat and desperate to defeat it, Mansley allows his paranoia to turn himself into a more serious threat when he orders a missile to be launched on the Giant who's about 30 feet away from him and ''in the middle of Rockwell''. If not for the Giant's HeroicSacrifice, Mansley's idiocy would have resulted in not only the Giant's destruction, but the deaths of everyone in the vicinity, [[TooDumbToLive including himself]].
237	* MeaningfulName: Kent ''Mansley'' embodies a lot of the typical, celebrated ''manly'' traits of the Ideal 1950s Man. Unfortunately for Mansley, he's in a film out to {{deconstruct\|edTrope}} said traits.
238	* MotorMouth: Whenever he loses it, he slips into this and rants without stopping for breath.
239	* NoRespectGuy: Rogard clearly holds no respect for the guy. Nor does anyone else, and this has resulted in Mansley being massively insecure.
240	* NotSoHarmlessVillain: Starts off as seemingly harmless PluckyComicRelief with shades of IneffectualSympatheticVillain but by the end of the movie, he orders a nuclear missile strike on the town of Rockwell.
241	* NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist: Mansley seeks to destroy what he sees as a threat to America, but it's clearly motivated more by his selfish desire for glory than any love for his country. His growing paranoia, willingness to threaten a child's mother, chloroform said child and potentially endanger his life by lying to General Rogard that the Giant killed him really doesn't help his case. In the end, his obsession with destroying the Giant causes him to launch a missile attack on the town of Rockwell. When he realizes that [[DidntThinkThisThrough this means his own death]], his inherent cowardice comes out and he tries to flee for his life while outright saying "Screw our country, I wanna live!"
242	* OhCrap: A few throughout the film between Hogarth tricking him or the Giant's mere existence and the sight of its violent power, but what takes the cake is when he [[TooDumbToLive calls the nuke upon their position]] out of fear and resentment towards the Giant, only for Rogard to point out that he's just doomed every single citizen and soldier in the region. Mansley's response is initially ''a childish realization'' of ThisIsGonnaSuck before thinking they can just duck and cover in a bomb shelter, before practically losing all his wits upon being told ''there is no escape'' and [[ItsAllAboutMe openly abandoning everyone and America for himself]].
243	* TheParanoiac: Even though he claims to be worried for the safety and security of America, it becomes clear that he's a {{Hypocrite}} and only cares about his own life, which comes to the surface when he launches a nuclear strike on Rockwell and tries to escape shouting, "Screw our country, I wanna live!"
244	* PragmaticVillainy: When the Giant attacks Rockwell, Mansley suggests General Rogard to lure him out of town so they can bomb him as safely as possible. Subverted later when the Giant returns to town to prove Hogarth is alive and unharmed, only for Mansley to order the nuclear missile be launched anyway.
245	* ScreamsLikeALittleGirl: He lets out high-pitched screams many times, but especially when the Giant starts attacking.
246	* TheSociopath: He puts his own needs and desires above everyone else's, cares about no one but himself, and is all too happy to leave his comrades behind to suffer the consequences of his actions.
247	* StupidEvil: Mansley steals Rogard's comm line walkie talkie and screams out a request for a nuclear strike on the Giant, for no other reason than because [[DeathGlare the Giant was glaring at him.]] It didn't register to him at that moment the Giant may as well be a haymaker's distance from the town, let alone the platoon.
248	* ThinChinOfSin: While most of the characters have round faces, he sticks out with his extremely narrow face. He’s also the main antagonist of the film.
249	* TooDumbToLive: He allows his pathetic desire to defeat the Giant to override any type of common sense and orders a nuclear strike on the Giant's current location which happens to be about fifty feet away from him ''in the middle of Rockwell''. If not for the Giant's HeroicSacrifice, his stupidity would have killed everybody in the vicinity, including himself.
250	[[/folder]]
251
252	[[folder:Lieutenant General Shannon Rogard]]
253	->'''Voiced By:''' Creator/JohnMahoney[[note]]'''Other Languages:''' César Soto (Latin American Spanish), Creator/MasaruIkeda (Japanese), Hans Wahlgren (Swedish)[[/note]]
254	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Rogard.jpg]]
255
256	The Army (National Guard?) leader in Washington, D.C. who is the military liaison with Mansley's department. He doesn't like Mansley or feel that this 'giant metal man' thing is anything but a hoax. Once he knows the threat is real, he responds bravely and efficiently -- though it soon becomes clear that his unit is up against something too hot to handle.
257	----
258
259	* TheBrigadier: General Rogard is actually a good guy who is only fighting the Giant because Kent lied to him that it was a killer. Once he learns the truth, he immediately stops attacking it.
260	* CanonForeigner: Only appears in the movie version. Although military forces do show up in the book (every army on ''Earth'', no less) when the Space Dragon attacks, no general is named or given any focus.
261	* CoolOldGuy: He's a FourStarBadass and serves as a ReasonableAuthorityFigure, who finds Mansley's claims outrageous without any supporting evidence.
262	* CoolShades: He wears what appear to be green-tinted teashades in the field.
263	* DeadpanSnarker: He can make snarky comments, especially in regards to Mansley, who he despises.
264	* EnragedByIdiocy: He has very little patience for Mansley's incompetence and chews him out everytime he makes another mistake.
265	* FaceDeathWithDignity: Despite facing an imminent nuclear missile strike thanks to Mansley, Rogard remains fairly dignified the entire time. After [[WhatTheHellHero justifiably calling out Mansley]] for causing their death, he flatly informs him that there is no way to escape their fate. Luckily, the Giant saves them.
266	* {{Foil}}: Is one to Mansley in many ways.
267	** Mansley is a lowly government functionary with an undeserved ego while Rogard is a high-ranking general who is careful in his decision-making.
268	** Mansley is a trigger-happy nutcase who acts on instinct while Rogard is discriminating in his use of military force.
269	** Finally, Mansley is willing to leave others to die while Rogard is willing to FaceDeathWithDignity.
270	* FourStarBadass: Actually only three stars, but General Rogard stays absolutely in control during the battle with the Giant, at one point shooting at him ''with his pistol''. Compare this to some of his more panicky subordinates, and especially [[DirtyCoward Mansley]].
271	* GenderBlenderName: His given name is Shannon and it can also be given to girls. Though the name would have been exclusively male in America at the time the story takes place.
272	* GlassesPull: Does this wordlessly with his CoolShades when Kent suggests taking the Giant out with a nuclear strike, shocked at the implication that he's willing to sacrifice themselves and the entire town to destroy it before Kent clarifies his plan.
273	* HeroAntagonist: Towards the Giant during the climactic battle. Despite Kent Mansley's constant imploring him to destroy it, Rogard holds back and only fires at the Giant when he thinks that it's attacking the town, that it's killed a boy, and later [[UnstoppableRage when it starts attacking the military for real]]. Indeed, Rogard plays this role straight and ceases firing on the Giant when he realizes the Giant is responding defensively and attacking him will only prolong the conflict.
274	* ImprobableAimingSkills: Rogard is quite the marksman. When the Giant goes into UnstoppableRage mode, the jeep he is in tries to outrun the Giant, running roughshod over the terrain, yet Rogard is still able to fire his handgun accurately enough to hit the Giant's narrow tentacles twice.
275	* MartialPacifist: Despite being a military man, he only uses force when absolutely necessary and backs down when he sees the giant means no harm.
276	* MeaningfulName: "Shannon" is an Irish variant for ''Sionna'', which means "possessor of wisdom". The General later serves as the ReasonableAuthorityFigure.
277	* PetTheDog:
278	** Gives Hogarth the only piece of the giant the government recovered, one of the jaw bolts, instead of confiscating it for studying.
279	** After Mansley's claims about the Giant are (from the army's perspective) proven true and he makes a successful plan to strike at it, Rogard does praise the former's decision-making.
280	* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Rogard's shown to be an honorable, level-headed, open-minded leader who keeps his wits about him even as the Giant is curb-stomping his Army unit. On his phone call with Mansley where he dismisses his concerns, Rogard lays out that he'd be more willing to send someone if there was more concrete evidence. He is willing to listen to a beatnik junkyard owner claim the Giant is friendly even after watching the robot nearly destroy a battleship. In the end, he tries to get as much information as he can before making any decisions.
281	* SuddenlyShouting: His temperament is usually even-tempered but he doesn't suffer fools gladly. When it appears that Mansley has called down the army for a giant robot art piece, Rogard orders Kent to step outside and starts yelling his head off at him for wasting the Army's precious time and the government's money before ordering Kent to pack up and return to Washington to empty his office.
282	* SympatheticInspectorAntagonist: In contrast to Mansley's irrational InspectorJavert, Rogard is this due to not attacking the Giant unless necessary to protect his country, and he calls off the attack when he is convinced the Giant only attacks in self-defense and the best way to avoid more destruction is to stand down.
283	* WhatTheHellHero: Utterly and justifiably ''flips his lid'' on Mansley when the latter calls a nuclear strike on the Giant -- who is maybe 50 meters away at best from themselves, in the dead center of Rockwell, before proceeding to perform an arrest on Mansley to make sure [[FaceDeathWithDignity he pays for his crimes with the rest of them.]]
284	-->'''Rogard:''' That missile is targeted to the Giant's current position! ''[[ArmorPiercingQuestion Where's the Giant, Mansley?!]]''
285	[[/folder]]

Context Characters / TheIronGiant