Iron

**Iron** is one of Stella's alien caretakers and the Metal Men counterpart to Pearl. His design is mainly inspired by the Iron Giant from a 1999 American animated film produced by Warner Bros by the same name.

## Personality

Iron's simplistic and plain-looking appearance is actually very indicative of the type of person he is, even if in a somewhat roundabout way. The way he looks, paired with a seeming lack of emotion and a no-nonsense attitude, might give off an impression that he's just a simple robot with no mind or consciousness of his own. In reality, however, Iron possess as much capacity for feeling and introspection as everyone else that he chooses to deliberately hide behind his countenance, as he considers this to be the most effective way to go about things. Although, it's worth noting that he does genuinely struggle with expressing complex emotions (like experiencing survivor's guilt over Gold Leaf's passing), a side of him that even Stella rarely sees. Despite that, this mask of stoicism has been known to slip off on occasion, mainly when it comes to dealing with Gems or, in particular, Pearl. In Stella's household, Iron is the backbone, since he handles basically everything required for the family to function that Alice is unable to do herself: from doing (and subsequently delegating) basic chores to keeping in touch with various governments and institutions of similar scope.

Despite coming off as emotionally distant, Iron is the closest thing Stella has to a true father figure. He actually gives her some sound advice, even if the true intent behind it is rooted in simple pragmatism. He also lets her know how much she means to him through various gestures that she's capable to pick up on due to the emotional bond the two have. As the de-facto leader of Metals, Iron tries his best to coordinate with Stella's other two "uncles", which usually results in a disagreement between him and Chrome, thanks to the latter's disregard for authority. Despite that, Chrome will still usually go along with Iron's suggestion, since he actually holds quite a lot of respect for him.

Also, Iron has a deep hatred for Gems and just about everything related to them (with the exception of Steven). This is even more true when it comes to Pearl, his Gem counterpart, whose animosity she returns in full. As such, this mutual feeling of distaste they both have for one another might be interpreted as underlying self-loathing they would rather project on one another, seeing how they went through a very similar trauma.

## Powers and Abilities

* Enhanced strength and durability - Due to the fact that Irons are some of the most common and less sophisticated subspecies of Metal Men, Iron lacks the innate abilities that would set him apart from the rest of his squad. In fact, he is fully aware that he'd most likely lose to almost any other Metal Men/Gem in a direct confrontation, so this applies only when he's compared to normal humans. He would later install some upgrades that would give him more of an edge over his opponents.
* Arsenal - Because of the physical disparity listed above, Iron has adopted the incentive to utilise everything at his disposal to level the playing field with whatever he happens to be up against. As such, Iron gives preference to the long-range weaponry such as cannons and lasers, explosives, traps, AI/remotely controlled drones and other means with which he could come out on top with minimal risk.
* Experience - As Iron has been through a lot of misadventures while traveling with Gold Leaf, the sheer amount of knowledge he's come to possess makes him a deceptively formidable opponent. Pairing it with his practical way of thinking, Iron can come up with a working battle strategy or a way to get what he wants without unnecessary conflict remarkably fast.
* Limited mass/gravity manipulation.