Tron (character)

Tron is the deuteragonist of the film of the same name. Tron is a security program, created by his user, Alan Bradley, whom he resembles physically, initially leading a digitized Kevin Flynn to believe that Tron was Alan himself. In Tron: Legacy, he was reprogrammed by "CLU" and transformed into the evil enforcer, Rinzler, serving as the secondary antagonist.
==Background==
===Personality===
Tron's personality is that of a determined warrior, willing to do anything for the users and for the freedom of his fellow programs. He is usually serious and task-focused and has a deep reverence towards users, especially his own user, Alan-One. Tron displays a particularly high loyalty to Kevin Flynn, who is both his friend and a user. Tron bravely stood his ground against a superior number of soldiers, including Clu, to protect Flynn.
After his reprogramming, Rinzler is obedient to CLU, always carrying out his orders. He is reserved, never speaking unless necessary.
===Physical appearance===
As Rinzler, he wears black body armor with orange circuitry, with four orange squares arranged in the shape of a "T" on his chest and lines on his fore and middle fingers. His face is covered by a black helmet. Like his former self, he wields an Identity Disc, though this one is a black chakram-like weapon with a white outer border and an orange inner border that can split into two discs.
==Appearances==
===Tron===
A prototype of "Tron" was completed in January 1980 by ENCOM programmer, Alan Bradley as a self-monitoring security program. The full name of this program was "TRON-JA-307020". Work continued on Tron until 1982, when the program was complete. During a meeting with ENCOM's then Senior Executive, Ed Dillinger, Alan explained how Tron worked:
After Dillinger asked if Tron was part of the Master Control Program, Alan said no and added that it could "watchdog the MCP as well."
This meeting took place shortly after Alan found out that his access to Tron and the ENCOM computers was suspended after Kevin Flynn tried to hack his way into ENCOM to get his video game copyright data that Dillinger stole from him. It was during this time that Tron was held captive under Commander Program Sark and the MCP and forced to play gladiator video games on the Game Grid.
After Flynn explained to Alan why he tried to hack into ENCOM to rightfully get back his data, Alan and his girlfriend, Lora Baines, decided to help him by using Tron to shut the MCP down and let him get the evidence that Dillinger stole Flynn's data. Shortly after this, Kevin Flynn was digitized by the MCP to fight the same gladiator video games that Tron was playing.
When Flynn finally met up with Tron, Flynn thought he was Alan, to which Tron responded, "Where did you hear that name?" Flynn replied, "Well, that's your name, isn't it?" Tron said, "The name of my User!"
Shortly after this, Tron, Flynn, and another conscript, Ram were forced to play a gladiator game of light cycles against three programs from Sark's army. As Flynn wrote the "Light cycle" game, he had complete knowledge of the game's AI and routines and caused one of the programs to crash into a wall of the game grid, leaving a crack in the wall. Flynn knew this was the way out and drove his light cycle through the hole and escaped out of the game grid. Tron and Ram escaped as well. As Flynn looked behind to see Tron and Ram behind him, he yelled out, "Greetings, Programs!"
In order for Tron to destroy the MCP and change the system, he needed data from Alan-One, his user, to be encoded on his "Identity Disc". To do this, he would have to communicate with Alan-One via the Input/Output Tower, which was strictly forbidden by the MCP. While on the way to the I/O Tower, the three conscripts were spotted by one of the tanks of Sark's Army. The tank fired and hit Flynn and Ram's light cycles, mortally wounding Ram. When Tron looked back to see if Flynn and Ram were still alive, there was no trace of life and no response. Upset with the loss of his friends, Tron drove off to the tower and an armada of Battle Tank were firing at him.
With the help of his "girlfriend", Yori and the Tower Guardian Dumont, Tron communicated to Alan-One and escaped with Yori by stealing a simulation and flying it towards the heart of the ENCOM system, where the MCP was located.
While traveling towards the MCP, Tron was reunited with Flynn. Flynn had survived the attack, but Ram didn't.
After several attempts by the MCP and Sark to stop the Solar Sailer from reaching its destination, Sark finally succeeded by ramming his carrier into the Solar Sailer in an ambush. As the Solar Sailer started to derez from the damage, Tron fell off to what seemed to be his death. Yori and Flynn hung onto the remaining wreckage as the remains of the sailor floated in a landing bay of the carrier.
While Yori and Flynn were held captive (along with Dumont who was taken away for helping Tron) Sark removed all of their energy and revealed that the carrier was going to derez after he disembarked in his escape pod. With their very low energy levels, that would mean Flynn and Yori would derez as well. He was also going to take Dumont away and have the MCP derez him and take away his functions.
As Sark left the carrier, little did he know that Tron had survived the ambush and hung onto the outside of the carrier. He made his way to the escape pod and hung on as the pod flew out of the carrier and onto the vast mesa that the MCP sits on.
Due to the fact that he was a User, Flynn secretly had enough energy to survive while the carrier derezzed around them. Yori did not and began to derez along with the carrier, until Flynn grabbed hold of her and transferred his energy to her, thus saving her life. The walls of the prison they were in disappeared and they escaped as the carrier turned into a wireframe.
Meanwhile, Dumont was slowing being absorbed by the MCP. The MCP "felt a presence" and realized that "another warrior" was on the mesa. Sark immediately turned around and saw Tron on the mesa. The two of them fought with their identity discs as they jumped to avoid the crevasses in the mesa. With one mighty swing, Tron threw his disk so hard that Sark's disc broke in two and sliced Sark's scalp, killing him.
The MCP noticed that his ally died and gave all of his functions to him, successfully reviving him. As Tron threw his disk at the base of the MCP, the MCP's shields went online and protected him from the lethal disc. When a hole in the shields finally appeared, Sark appeared from behind. With the MCP's functions, Sark grew 15 feet tall and was invulnerable to disc attacks.
Flynn, while watching the battle from the remains of Sark's carrier realized, that he had to "distract" the MCP so Tron can get his disc in. In order to distract the MCP, Flynn decided that jumping into the "beam" of the MCP would confuse him greatly and would make him vulnerable to attacks. However, Yori said to Flynn that he would derez by doing this, to which Flynn replied, "Don't worry." Flynn then shared a passionate kiss with Yori - something that programs had never experienced before - and jumped off of the carrier.
With Flynn "inside" of the MCP, Tron threw his disc and derezzed the MCP. Dumont and the other Tower Guardians were saved and escaped from the mesa just in time before the MCP blew up in a great explosion. Yori and Tron reunited and shared a kiss, as Dumont remarked that all of the I/O Towers were lighting up again.
Flynn, as a User, really didn't die, but was kicked out of the computer world and returned to his original analog format in the real world. With the MCP deleted, he finally obtained the evidence that proved that Dillinger stole his video games. Dillinger was then fired and Flynn was rehired at ENCOM as Senior Executive Vice President. As he was reunited with Alan and Lora, he greeted them with the same saying he said to Tron and Ram; "Greetings, Programs!"
===Between Tron and Tron: Legacy===
During this time, Tron was upgraded and moved over to Flynn's personal server in order to help protect the Grid and had a cyberspace city named in his honor. He was also present when the ISOs began emerging. When CLU 2.0 gradually started to effect his rule over the Grid, Tron became suspicious of his friend's actions and - on at least one occasion - managed to save a program that had been defeated in the games from being derezzed on CLU's orders.
Tron assisted a prototype system monitor program named Anon to prevent system-wide infection by the viral program Abraxas. He and Flynn were later attacked by CLU 2.0, and Tron was assumed to have been derezzed while helping Flynn escape.
===Tron: Uprising===
Somehow, despite being severely damaged, Tron was able to escape Clu's grasp, resorting to disguising himself as a mysterious program called, "Rinzler", changing his circuitry color and donning a jet black helmet to avoid detection and capture. Tron's sudden disappearance led most programs on the Grid to believe that he was derezzed and Clu encouraged this rumor. Disgraced that he had failed to properly carry out his role as protector of the Tron system, Tron went to hiding, ultimately allowing Clu to begin taking over the Grid.
Beck's actions in rebelling against Clu drew Tron's attention, and disguised as Rinzler, Tron tracked down the young program and took him under his wing. He wanted Beck to become his successor as protector of the Grid, emphasizing that a war was raging. Initially skeptical, Beck agreed and began the training that would set him on a path to "become the next Tron".
In "Terminal", Tron was on the verge of dying from his Battle against Cyrus, but was later fully healed by Cutler in attempted to repurposed him to serve Clu, but Beck stop the progressing from being completed. Tron then battle many guards along with Beck, he later stood with him as they witness the Programs of Argon gathered and finally started the Uprising. What happened next is unknown.
===Tron: Legacy===
Kevin Flynn had long presumed that CLU derezzed Tron. However, it turns out that Tron was (at some point after Uprising) actually reprogrammed to serve him as Rinzler, with the familiar "T" insignia on his suit hinting at his true identity. 
Rinzler appeared as the final opponent of the Disc Wars, where he identified Sam as a user after seeing him bleed, and brought him before Clu. He was later summoned when Quorra interrupted the light cycle duel but was unable to prevent her from rescuing Sam. Despite the setback, he continued to assist Clu, acting as a personal enforcer. On CLU's Carrier Ship, Kevin, Sam, and Quorra noticed Rinzler patrolling the area, and Kevin immediately recognized him as Tron, the former System Monitor program of the Tron system.
Quorra allowed herself to be captured by Rinzler in order to lead him away from Kevin and Sam. Rinzler took her to CLU for interrogation, before being charged with escorting her back to CLU's Command Ship. Once there, Rinzler interrupted Sam who had been in the process of liberating his father's identity disc. He pushed Quorra away to engage Sam in a disc fight, but this battle was cut short when he evaded two thrown discs only to be kicked off a nearby ledge by Quorra, lying forgotten at his feet. Rinzler was left dangling only briefly and promptly vaulted back into the ship as Sam and Quorra made their escape. CLU then arrived with four Black Guards in tow, and together with Rinzler set out in pursuit of the fugitives, following their captured Light Jet with smaller Light Jets of their own. In the ensuing fight, Rinzler and Kevin Flynn made eye contact.
From that point on, Rinzler began to experience flashbacks of when he had once saved Kevin and was able to overcome Clu's reprogramming, eventually overriding it all together. Once freed of Clu's control, he deliberately crashed his Light Jet into Clu's, derezzing both crafts and allowing the three heroes a chance to escape. Clu and Rinzler scuffled briefly as they fell, but Clu grappled Rinzler's spare baton away, created a new Light Jet for himself, and left Rinzler to plummet into the Sea of Simulation below. Rinzler's circuitry flickered and died after he plunged into the sea. Then it relit in Tron's white glow as he sank out of view.
==Video games==
===Kingdom Hearts (series)===
Tron, both in his original Tron appearance and as Rinzler from Tron: Legacy, appears throughout the Kingdom Hearts series. Sometime before Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, in an unknown World, Kevin Flynn and ENCOM created an operating system containing their own data-World known as The Grid, which housed several programs such as Tron and the Master Control Program. This OS was later found destroyed at some point before being recovered by Ansem the Wise and copied into his own computers in Radiant Garden, creating the data-World Space Paranoids. Flynn later worked on remaking and improving the Grid on his own, bringing Tron into the new server for help, as well as creating a new Program, CLU 2. From here, the backstory of Tron: Legacy plays out as normal, showing the discovery of the ISOs, CLU's rise to power, Flynn going into hiding, and Tron's sacrifice and reprogramming into Rinzler. The Grid, and its inhabitants, were swallowed by darkness prior to the events of Kingdom Hearts, and were freed alongside many other Worlds by Sora by the end of Kingdom Hearts. However, the Grid remained a Sleeping World upon being freed from the darkness, preventing it from invasion by the Heartless, but instead trapping the World and its inhabitants in a constant dream state, under attack by Dream Eaters.
====Kingdom Hearts II====
During a trip to Hollow Bastion, Sora, Donald, and Goofy encounter the computer of Ansem the Wise. Looking to seek information about their quest, they are accidentally transported into Space Paranoids, Ansem's own copy of The Grid stored within the computer. Once inside, the three are arrested by Sark and the MCP, and placed into the Pit Cell, where they meet Tron, a fellow prisoner. After escaping the cell and enabling access back to the real world, the four companions proceed to find a way to unlock the DTD (Door To Darkness). After activating a power core, Tron sends Sora and the others back to Hollow Bastion to locate the password required to access the DTD. They locate the password behind a large painting of Xehanort (thanks to Tifa moving it aside), the password being the seven names of the Princesses of Heart. Tron hacks into the DTD and changes the password to Sora, Donald, and Goofy, to bide himself time before the MCP attacks again. Sora, Tron, and the others reach the I/O Tower where they fight a Hostile Program, which they defeat. Tron reveals to the three that Ansem is his user (although which Ansem it remains a mystery). He also explains Ansem rebooted the MCP, suggesting "Ansem" to be Xehanort.
During the group's return visit to the mainframe, Tron has been forced onto the Game Grid to fight for his life, while Hollow Bastion is being overrun by digitized Heartless by the corrupted town defense mechanism. Sora and the others save Tron and he learns all the Hollow Bastion residents are supporting him. Cid creates an Eradicator Program to stop the MCP's threat for good, which Aerith later passes on to Tron at the I/O Tower. Using the Solar Sailer vehicle to reach the core of the mainframe, Tron, Sora, Donald, and Goofy battle an upgraded Sark and the MCP. The MCP is eventually deleted and Sark dies with him. Tron is overjoyed and shows off his "funny side" to his friends, who he hugs in a term of goodbye, before jumping into the core to take over the MCP's programming. He locates old footage of Hollow Bastion when it was first built and reminded everyone of its former name: Radiant Garden. 
Tron is last seen in the end credits, where he apparently downloaded other software and happily "danced" back to the data space.
====Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance====
During Sora's Mark of Mastery exam, one of the Sleeping Worlds he must awaken is The Grid. Immediately drawing parallels between this World and Space Paranoids, Sora eventually encounters the brainwashed Rinzler, who runs from a fight. Sora, looking for his friend Tron, learns from Flynn of Tron's reprogramming into Rinzler, and, along with the help of Quorra, sets out to free Tron from CLU's control. Sora attempts to get Rinzler to remember his past as Tron but fails as Rinzler sends his discs towards Sora, but Quorra manages to block the attack for him. Quorra proceeds to engage Rinzler but is defeated and seemingly captured. However, it turns out that Sora indeed managed to get through to Rinzler to an extent, causing him to hesitate long enough for Quorra to escape.
After Sora's encounter with young Xehanort, he finds himself in a Disc Wars stadium (as contestant number 13), where he encounters CLU and Rinzler. CLU later offers Sora to release Rinzler in exchange for the Keyblade, which Sora refuses. CLU then makes Rinzler fight Sora who then fights back per Quorra's advice, since Tron is able to hear him. Sora defeats Rinzler, and reprograms him, freeing Rinzler and allowing him to remember his past, like Tron. CLU angered by it and attempts to take out Sora with his disc. Rinzler manages to protect Sora by pushing him aside and take the hits, before the floor beneath him derezzes, causing Rinzler to fall down, despite Sora's attempts to save him. CLU then leaves to recapture Rinzler, saying he'll deal with Sora later.
Later on, Sam, Kevin, Quorra, and Riku find themselves at the Solar Sailer dock and noticed Rinzler patrolling the area with Quorra allowing herself to be captured by him and taking her to the Rectifier. Sam and Riku knowing that they can't leave her behind insist that they should rescue Quorra and steal back Flynn's disc. After they managed to steal back Flynn's disc, they are interrupted by Rinzler who pushes Quorra aside and prepares to fight them, but Riku performs a Flowmotion leap and knocks him off in a nearby ledge, leaving his fate unknown.
===Disney Heroes: Battle Mode===
Tron, in his original Tron form, appears as a backline Support Hero, specializing in using Hardy buffs to protect allies from incoming debuffs, and removing all enemies' active buffs. Like all characters, Tron has two unique Friend Campaigns, pairing him up with different Heroes. His first, "The Game Has Changed", shows Tron reuniting with the much older Kevin Flynn after being transported into the City, being introduced to other denizens such as Quorra, Ralph, and Vanellope, and attempting to help Flynn determine the origins of the City and the Creeps invading it, while Tron attempts to fit into his new surroundings. His second, "Security Details", has Tron work with Gizmoduck as extra security at Flynn's Arcade, tracking down a thief stealing arcade machines (revealed to be Megavolt).
Skill Type 	Skill Name 	Description
White Skill 	"I/O Barrier" 	Tron removes all active buffs from enemies and deals damage to all enemies. Tron then summons a light barrier, applying 2 stacks of Hardy to himself. 
Each stack of Hardy blocks a debuff from being applied to Tron and is then removed.
Green Skill 	"Distributed Process"	At the start of each wave, Tron summons a light barrier on the frontmost ally which applies 2 stacks of Hardy to them. Tron and his allies receive an amount of Skill Power per stack of Hardy they each have on them. Tron regenerates 1 stack of Hardy every 8 seconds on the frontmost ally. 
Each stack of Hardy blocks a debuff from being applied to the affected and is then removed. Tron can apply a maximum of 3 stacks of Hardy to each ally by summoning light barriers.
Blue Skill 	"System Patch" 	Tron heals himself and the ally with the lowest HP for a large amount of HP.
Purple Skill 	"Firewall" 	After 3 stacks of Hardy block a debuff for an ally, damage is dealt to nearby enemies and they are Stunned for 3 seconds.
Red Skill 	"Shielded in Light" 	"I/O Barrier" also applies 1 stack of Hardy to all allies below 25% of their max HP up to a maximum of 3 stacks of Hardy. Additionally, "Distributed Process" gives allies bonus Skill Power per stack of Hardy, and Tron gets a stat boost to his Max HP and Skill Power upon unlocking this Skill.
Friendship Disk 1	"Uprezzed" 	Tron gains an amount of bonus starting Energy, as well as stat boosts to his Max HP and Skill Power, upon equipping this disk. This disk can only be unlocked and upgraded via Tron's Friend Campaign with Kevin Flynn.
Friendship Disk 2	"Save the Arcade" 	Tank-role allies receive 2 stacks of Hardy at the beginning of each wave, regenerate 1 stack of Hardy every 6 seconds, and can receive a max of 3 stacks of Hardy from "Distributed Process". Additionally, Tron and all Tank-role allies get a stat boost to their Skill Power upon equipping this disk. This disk can only be unlocked and upgraded via Tron's Friend Campaign with Gizmoduck.
===Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout===
Tron appeared as a DLC costume in the Tron Costume Pack for Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout, featured alongside Quorra and Rinzler, purchasable from Steam or the PlayStation Store for $4.99 USD.
==Gallery==
==Trivia==
*Someone is seen dressed as him at a Halloween Costume Party in Hocus Pocus.
*Someone in the alien convention is also seen dressed as him in Race to Witch Mountain.
*Tron's alter ego, Rinzler, is named after late Lucasfilm Executive Editor, Jonathan W. Rinzler author of several books including, The Making of Star Wars, The Complete Making of Indiana Jones, The Making of The Empire Strikes Back, and The Making of Return of The Jedi.
*Rinzler spoke no lines in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, while in the film, he spoke three.
*In the novelization, Tron reappears in the end where he and Yori are above the sea of Simulation looking at the Grid now free from the MCP. Tron is also introduced early in the book after Crom and Ram's talk instead of later after Flynn was captured.
==External Links==
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