Tex Hanson

Terrence Henry "Tex" Hanson is a big-game hunter who is the villain in the Jungle Book fanfic, Escape. He is voiced by actor Michael Madsen.
== Biography ==
Hanson was born presumably in the mid-19th century in New York City. His father, Josef Mikael Hanson, was born in Norway, from the small town of Hammerfest, while his mother Mary Dianne Hanson (nee O'Connell) was born in Dublin, Ireland. Hanson has an older brother, William. His father died when he and his brother were three and his mother died while Hanson was a teenager. Hanson studied at Yale University, where he was a member of the Sigma Phi Beta fraternity. It was there he also met his wife Alice Hanson (nee Thomson). They married and later had three children; Charlotte, Mary (in honor of his late mother), and Tex Jr. (nicknamed T.J.). At some unspecified date, Hanson went on a hunting expedition to India, where he encountered a family of bears. The father attacked him and gave him a scarred cheek and Hanson killed him while he bought his mate and child (Baloo), time to escape. Hanson vowed he'd get revenge on his quarry's son when he got older. Also, at some time in the expedition, Hanson traveled to Bangalore, where he adopted an orphaned youth called Rajiv, who would later work for him.
== Appearance and personality ==
Hanson is a tall, muscular middle-aged man. He has grey hair and a thick, bushy mustache and his left cheek is scarred, following an attack by Baloo's father. Hanson sports a beige safari outfit and a wide-brimmed fedora. On his feet, he wears sturdy marching boots. Hanson does not appear to look very healthy, as he is seen smoking on a Havana cigar and drinking what looks IPA. Hanson is a violent, cruel and ruthless individual, who shows no sympathy whatsoever for his quarry. He did, however, show some degree of compassion after taking Rajiv in as his own following his parents' deaths. He is also extremely manipulative, particularly towards Rajiv, after warning the boy that had it not been for his "kindness" he would be back on the streets. Although never directly stated, it would appear Hanson is a heavy drinker and a chain smoker. Hanson is also extremely sadistic, as shown when he watches and laughs as Baloo is humiliated in the ring. He also is very ill-tempered, stubborn and cynical. It would also appear that Hanson is, at times, rather childish, as he is seen throwing a tantrum when he sees the children running away with the animals, to which Tony whispers to Lennie, "Geez, get a grip", and the latter yells at him, "I have a five year old son who's more mature than you!"
==Appearances==
Escape
Hanson joins famed circus owner siblings Tony and Lennie Frazetti on an expedition to India to find animals for their shows. Hanson mentions he came to India years before on a hunting expedition. He then sees bear footprints on the ground and they follow the trail. Hanson, Tony and Lennie spy on Baloo, who is feeding. Hanson tells Tony and Lennie he recognizes Baloo from somewhere, but can't remember where. Hanson tries to attack the bear, but when Baloo reminisces of his father dying at Hanson's hands, he attacks the hunter. Tony and Lennie intervene and with the help of circus workers, they manage to incapacitate the bear. He then tells Tony and Lennie to search for more animals for the circus.
Later, at the big top, it is revealed that Tony and Lennie have also captured Shere Khan. Hanson tells the brothers that the task couldn't have been accomplished without Rajiv. After Tony and Lennie leave, he and Rajiv argue about what he does, until Hanson reminds the boy that if it hadn't been "my [his] kindness", Rajiv would be living on the streets, which are, according to Hanson, a "dangerous world" for a boy like him.  He then lets the boy go and Rajiv, by chance, runs into Mowgli and his friends who are searching for Baloo. Rajiv takes them to the circus where the children see Baloo in a cage. Rajiv tells his friends to hide when Hanson enters and asks the boy where he has been. Hanson, believing Rajiv went for a walk, decides to let the matter go, as there is a show to perform.
Rajiv, after telling his friends about Hanson, shows them the performance. Hanson is among the audience, drinking a bottle of beer and smoking a cigar. After seeing Shere Khan-much to Mowgli's amazement-Tony and Lennie drag Baloo, who has been dressed as a baby, out into the ring. They then proceed to shove the bear into a cradle and talk to him like he was a baby. All the while, Mowgli and his friends stare on appalled. Hanson and the audience then add to Baloo's humiliation by pelting him with garbage-Hanson included, who throws his empty beer bottle. The children see Baloo in his cage, dressed up in his outfit, but then hide as soon as Hanson enters with Tony and Lennie. Hanson mocks the terrified bear and then tells him his father attacked him. He then tells Lennie and Tony the show is about to start and drag Baloo out of his cage and into the ring.
The children then witness Tony and Lennie continuing their torment (having force fed Baloo milk from a baby bottle, having a strongman throw him into the air and deliberately miss him and "changing" his diaper) before Baloo is led back to his cage. They undress Baloo and release him as well as Shere Khan before making an escape. Hanson enters with Tony and Lennie talking of their dreams of wealth, until they see the empty cages. Tony and Lennie quickly exit as Hanson goes ballistic and destroys the big top. After yelling at Tony and Lennie, the three men go off and search the jungle for the children and escaped animals.
At King Louie's palace, Baloo talks about witnessing Hanson as a young man shooting his father in front of him and his mother, and he bought them time to escape. Rajiv also talks about how he lost his parents in a fire and after the incident spent a few months at an orphanage in Bangalore. He then turned to living on the streets, where by chance, he encountered Hanson who took him in. Baloo also recounts the treatment he was subjected to during his time at the circus, and among the unpleasant memories, was when Tony and Lennie forced him to dress as a baby, while Hanson simply stood back and did nothing to stop them. As they settle down for the night, they are unaware that Hanson has been eavesdropping on them. He vows to Tony and Lennie he'll get his animals "if it's the last thing [he] does".
The next morning, as the children and animals wake up, Hanson encounters them. He tells Rajiv that "[he] made a big mistake to steal my [Hanson's] animals" and threatens that they can either do it the easy or hard way. The gang run away, with Tony, Lennie and Hanson in pursuit. Hanson starts firing his rifle haphazardly and the children run off into the jungle. Hanson throws a childish tantrum-to the exasperation of Tony and Lennie-before resuming the chase. The three men corner the children and animals, and Hanson mockingly tells them they're out of luck. As he prepares to fire, the animals of the jungle-including Baloo and Shere Khan-rally together and fight off the men. Baloo knocks Hanson to the ground, rendering him unconscious. When the poacher comes to, he struggles to right himself as it is revealed that Hanson has broken his right leg. In anger, he turns to Baloo, and yells to the bear, "I'm gonna do what I should've done ALL THOSE YEARS AGO!!!!" (i.e. shoot and stuff Baloo and send him to the Natural History Museum). When Tony and Lennie protest about not sending the bear to their circus or to a zoo, Hanson yells at them, "Heck with your circus!"
As Hanson readies himself for the kill, he trips over a rock and just manages to hold on to the cliff edge, which is perched high above the river. When Hanson protests to Tony and Lennie to save him, they refuse. Hanson falls, taking Tony and Lennie with him. They fall into the river, and while Tony tend Lennie safely swim to the next bank, Hanson tries clinging to a piece of debris in the water, unable to swim because of his bad leg. Hanson is too busy cursing Tony and Lennie to notice them warning him of the waterfall behind him. Hanson then notices it too late. The poacher is thrown screaming in anger over the falls where he quickly drowns. Lennie then yells, "That's what you get for treating us like animals! Like they say in mother Italy, ciao!" The group then celebrate and afterwards Tony and Lennie are attacked by the circus audience.
== Trivia ==
* Michael Madsen beat out Denis Leary, Kiefer Sutherland, Robert De Niro, Liam Neeson, Paul Bettany, James Woods, Russell Crowe, Kevin Spacey and Willem Dafoe for the role of Hanson.
* Other actors who auditioned for the role were William H. Macy, Clancy Brown, Eric Bana, Mel Gibson, Bryan Cranston and Martin Mull.
* One of Madsen's sons makes a brief appearance in Escape.
* Hanson is of Norwegian descent; Hanson is a common surname in Norway, although it is spelled Hansen.
* His surname could possibly be an indirect nod to the family band, Hanson, who had a 90s hit with "MMMBop".
* Hanson uses his shotgun at least twice in the fic.
Category:Males
Category:Humans
Category:Human villians
Category:Deceased characters
Category:Poachers
Category:Bullies
Category:Fathers
Category:Husbands
Category:Killers
Category:Gunmen
Category:Murderers
Category:European characters
Category:Characters who fall to their deaths