Gene

**Gene** is a minor character from the 2012 film Wreck-It Ralph.

## Background

### Personality

The mayor of the Nicelanders, Gene is the most prominent and openly hostile toward Ralph. He is contentious, strict, snobbish, pushy, and outspoken. He carries a heavy grudge against Ralph and strongly believes that his role, and by extension the role of any arcade villain, is simply to cause trouble, and consistently antagonizes him and excludes him from activities. Despite his pompous attitude and issues owning up to his mistakes, Gene is a self-proclaimed man of his word; he allows Ralph to live in the penthouse after he returns home with a medal. At the end of the film, it's seen that he and Ralph have made amends, and in the tie-in comic 'Wrecking Party', the two even seem to become friends.

### Physical Appearance

Like other Nicelanders, Gene is characterized by his short, portly stature and his blocky movements and proportions. He has a round face that is large in relation to his small, pudgy body. He has fair skin, beady blue eyes, a large nose, short brownish-black hair, and a thick black moustache. Gene typically wears an indigo cardigan over a white suit, with a matching blue tie; at the 30th-anniversary party, however, he wore an entirely white outfit.

## Film Appearances

### Wreck-It Ralph

On the 30th anniversary of their game, Gene, Felix, and the Nicelanders are celebrating in the penthouse, along with many video game characters such as Sonic and Pac-Man. Just then, Gene answers the door as he believes it to be another guest. Instead, he finds Ralph and immediately slams the door in his face. Gene then warns the others, who fear Ralph will wreck the party. They tell Felix to send him off, but the bashful hero indirectly invites him in. When the furious Gene begins to ostracize Ralph, the bad guy quickly begins to lose his temper. Ralph then asks Gene if winning a medal will earn him respect. Gene then sarcastically declares that if he won a medal, the entire penthouse would be handed over to him. Gene then declares that Ralph winning a medal would never occur anyway because he's just the bad guy who wrecks the building, causing Ralph to crush the cake in anger and proving Gene right. The bad guy then leaves the party to find and earn a medal.

The next day, a young girl prepares to play the game. However, Ralph is nowhere to be found. Mr. Litwak, the owner of the arcade, places an "out of order" sign on the cabinet, unfortunately telling the player the game will be unplugged in the morning if it can't be fixed. Gene and the Nicelanders run into a panic until Q\*bert arrives and tells them that Ralph's gone to Hero's Duty.

When Ralph earned his medal, he imagines Gene living in the dump, watching Ralph and crying enviously.

Felix goes to save him but never returns, prompting the Nicelanders to flee to Game Central Station. Gene stays behind for one last martini when Ralph suddenly arrives with a medal. Gene explains that because of Ralph's absence, the game has been put out of order and is scheduled to be unplugged in the morning. Gene then gathers his belongings and heads out, handing over the key to the penthouse over to Ralph as promised. Ralph tells Gene that this was not what he wanted and that he was just "tired of living alone in the garbage". Gene responds, "Well, now you can live alone in the penthouse" and leaves, essentially leaving Ralph for dead.

Ralph and Felix, fortunately, return the next day, and the game is saved. Gene and the Nicelanders, finally realizing how important Ralph is, begin to treat their bad guy much better, even giving him his own cake. Gene is also seen attending Felix and Sergeant Calhoun's (the lead character in Hero's Duty) wedding, shown to be perplexed by all of the soldiers aiming rifles at the centre window of the church (clearly unaware of the tragedy that struck at Calhoun's last wedding).

### Ralph Breaks the Internet

Gene returns for the sequel but with a smaller role, and with Raymond S. Persi reprising his role. In the film when Sugar Rush is unplugged, at Niceland, Felix and Calhoun ask people to take in the Racers and Citizens of Sugar Rush, with Gene taking Sour Bill, (which he calls an olive) with them leaving the room.

At the end of the film, he and Sour Bill are seen attending parties hosted by other arcade characters, Gene is then seen in the finale seen, when he is seen holding Sour Bill.