James Ironwood

General James Ironwood is a major antagonist from the American animated webseries RWBY.
At first, James started out as a supporting character, being the headmaster of Atlas Academy, the general of the Atlas Military, holder of two seats on the Atlas Council, and a former member of Ozpin's group. He was aware of the existence of Salem and did everything he could to help the heroes stop her.
However, in Volume 7, he has resorted to extreme actions in order to protect Atlas, even at the cost of those who once called him a friend and by the end, and was willing to actively murder millions to do so. He served as the final antagonist of Volume 7 and the main antagonist of Volume 8. In the Volume 8 finale, he was defeated by Winter and left by Salem and Cinder to die in Atlas' collision with Mantle with him being killed by the crash.
He is voiced by Jason Rose. In the Japanese dub, he was voiced by .
== His Greatness and Evil Rankings ==
=== What Makes Him Great? ===
* He started out as a genuinely heroic character, as he was aware of the existence of Salem and wanted to stop her. He even allied himself with the heroes and attempted to prevent Cinder Fall from destroying Beacon Academy.
* He is genuinely tragic, as he got PTSD from the events of Volume 3 after the Fall of Beacon, which blinded him to any mistakes he made and he was exploited and manipulated by the villains into turning against his allies, leaving him to die alone.
* Even if he subverted his anti-villainous motives, he is still an extremist to an extent, as his ultimate goal is to stop Salem regardless of the circumstances despite how cruel and horrid his methods are.
* He is generally a very brave character, as he almost never shows fear even before his death.
* Even though he has zero care for anyone but himself, the only person he still genuinely cares for is Winter, as despite almost hurting her, he still gave her a chance to leave, and when she refused to take advantage of the offer, James sheds a tear. This shows that he was greatly saddened by the betrayal and wanted to keep Winter safe even after becoming a villain.
* He is astonishingly smart, as he always has a backup plan and he doesn’t complain about the failures of his plans.
* He has a cool fight against Arthur Watts in Volume 7, and he stood up to Watts when he angrily told him that he never appreciated his genius and stood atop it, to which James replies with saying that he gave him everything he could have wanted.
* He usually keeps his composure and recovers from the moments where he gets angry.
* He killed Jacques Schnee to make him pay for everything he had done. Even Weiss and Winter agreed that their father deserved his demise due to abusing his wife and turning her into an alcoholic, enslaving numerous Faunus and indirectly causing Tyrian and Arthur’s massacre at Robyn Hill’s victory party.
=== What Makes Him Heinous? ===
* Even prior to his descent into villainy, Ironwood demonstrated a willingness to engage in morally questionable actions. For instance, he subtly offered to provide Atlas' technology to the criminal Roman Torchwick in exchange for information about his employer.
* Although Ironwood did not start out as a villain, his transformation unfolded gradually as he repeatedly resorted to attempts on the lives of individuals who simply disagreed with him. This included targeting Oscar, Marrow, and Councilman Sleet, with the latter falling victim to his scheme.
* In the case of Oscar, Ironwood reacted adversely to being told that he was becoming as dangerous as Salem. This led him to sever his friendship with Ozpin, who resided within Oscar, and ultimately shoot the young boy.
* Ironwood's plan to protect the Relic from Salem involved launching the city into orbit, essentially leaving Mantle and the rest of Remnant at the mercy of Salem and the Grimm for the sake of preserving his own city. Furthermore, there was no guarantee that he could sustain the survival of the people in Atlas indefinitely, as the city relied on resources from Mantle. It is likely that he would have resorted to dictatorial measures to prevent rebellion against his decisions.
* He declared martial law in the city and branded Ruby and her friends as public enemies (even ranking them #1), arresting those who refused to comply with his orders. He also used the excuse that Yang and Blake had acted behind his back by informing Robyn Hill about the Amity Project, thereby solidifying their status as enemies, despite Robyn having proven herself trustworthy.
* When Penny rejected his demands to join him, he essentially held the entire city of Mantle hostage, threatening to destroy it with a nuclear strike unless she cooperated. This action was particularly heinous considering he had appointed her as the Protector of Mantle, fully aware of her commitment to her duty. It was this act that led Marrow and Winter to turn against him and collaborate with the heroes to overthrow his regime.
* He tried to have Marrow executed just for complaining about his plan to bomb Mantle.
* Even as Atlas was collapsing and its citizens were being evacuated, Ironwood remained fixated on retrieving the Relic of Creation in order to save the city itself, displaying a complete disregard for the well-being of the people.
* While Ironwood's Semblance, Mettle, suggested the possibility of him struggling with moral agency by making him more inclined to make extreme decisions and fueling his paranoia, it is important to note that this does not serve as conclusive evidence of his moral agency issues. Additionally, his knowledge of right and wrong persists despite all his actions.
* Ultimately, Ironwood displayed no remorse for the atrocities he committed, firmly believing in the righteousness of his actions until the very end. It remains unclear whether his remorse in his final moments stemmed from the recognition of his heinous crimes or simply the failure of his plan due to unforeseen circumstances.
* Overall, while he started out as a noble hero, his paranoia got the best of him and caused him to become an enemy to everyone. Even Winter Schnee points out that he is no protector but an enemy to Remnant. Plus, his worst act that enables him to pass the high heinous standard of RWBY is a combination of attempted mass murder and nearly sacrificing the majority of humanity.
== External Links ==
*
*
*
*
== Navigation ==
Category:TV Show Great Baddies
Category:Cartoon Great Baddies
Category:Manga Great Baddies
Category:Internet Great Baddies
Category:Science Fantasy Great Baddies
Category:Comic Book Great Baddies
Category:Fallen Heroes
Category:Male
Category:Military
Category:Extremists
Category:Leaders
Category:Honorable
Category:Homicidal
Category:Destroyers of Innocence
Category:Betrayed
Category:Tragic
Category:Traitors
Category:Mechanically Modified
Category:Evil Vs. Evil
Category:Wrathful
Category:Damned Souls
Category:Opportunists
Category:Protagonists
Category:Charismatic
Category:Protective
Category:Jingoists
Category:Torturers
Category:Totalitarians
Category:Would Hurt a Child
Category:Guardians
Category:Sympathetic
Category:Sophisticated
Category:Disciplinarians
Category:Gaolers
Category:Bond Destroyers
Category:Terrorists
Category:Masters of Hero
Category:Chopsocky Great Baddies
Category:Fighters
Category:Strategic
Category:Faux Affably Evil
Category:Wealthy
Category:Brutes
Category:Hypocrites
Category:Paranoid
Category:Great Baddies with Cooling-Off Periods
Category:Lawful Evil
Category:Necessary Evil
Category:Delusional
Category:Cheaters
Category:Murderers
Category:Evil Former Friends
Category:Blackmailers
Category:Failure-Intolerant
Category:Mentally Ill
Category:Tyrants
Category:Vandals
Category:Control Freaks
Category:Debased
Category:Homicidal
Category:Polluters
Category:Master Orators
Category:One-Man Armies
Category:Deceased
Category:Pawns
Category:Archenemies
Category:Martial Artists
Category:Posthumous
Category:Redemption Rejection
Category:Hidden Great Baddies
Category:Deal Makers
Category:Remorseful
Category:Game Changers
Category:Misanthropes