Glumshanks (Skylanders Academy)

**Glumshanks** is the secondary antagonist of the Netflix cartoon series *Skylanders Academy*, which is based on the *Skylanders* video game franchise.

He is Kaos’ servant and right-hand henchman, who gets abused by his master all the time.

## Appearance

He is a green Troll with yellow-brown bloodshot eyes, two tusk-like teeth in his lower jaw, pointy ears, and three stripes of black hair. He wears a reddish-brown vest and beige pants.

## Personality

Unlike his game counterpart, Glumshanks is mostly carefree about his predicament with Kaos, with the exception of an anxiety disorder that requires therapy. When his master is not looking, he always tries to keep up a conversation with other people around him, and greatly enjoys sharing stories, doing his hobbies and having relaxing activities. Even while in servitude, Glumshanks appears to be uninterested about the conflict between Kaos and the Skylanders, only helping in evil plans for as long as necessary. He calls the stage his "first love", and even after leaving theater work he still enjoys acting.

Also unlike the game canon, Glumshanks isn't pure of heart. The butler can use Kaos' plans and disguises for personal gain or that of his acquaintances without hesitating and can lose his common sense to pride, and has mentioned that he'll go as far as to use violence if his cuisine is stolen.

When temporarily freed from taking care of Kaos in Season 2, Glumshanks used every opportunity available to share his knowledge with fellow college students, not noticing how his drawn out speeches had little substance and interested nobody. However, until he was expelled by Kaos, he ignored the unpopularity with pride.

## Biography

Glumshanks, Kaos' loyal troll-servant, attends to his evil master’s every crazy whim: cooking his meals, cleaning his lair, and helping him with target practice... by being the target. And you thought your boss was tough! Even though Glumshanks is the brains of this duo’s dastardly operation, he never takes the credit and goes out of his way to keep Kaos from meeting his doom. It’s a dirty job, but someone’s got to do it.

## Abilities

Despite having no magical or physical abilities, Glumshanks makes acquaintances easily and a lot of stories to tell, allowing him to keep a friendly conversation even with his supposed enemies. He also knows a lot about cooking and appears to have connections to a lot of people unrelated to the villains or the Skylanders. Like his master, something as simple as a beard disguise is infallible even near people who should recognize the troll.

Like other Trolls in the show, Glumshanks is a great source of Life elemental energy, which grants him high regenerative abilities.

## Relationship

### Kaos

Kaos mistreats Glumshanks at every opportunity, but with few exceptions Glumshanks only shows his displeasure in expressions and never questions orders unless he has a better idea himself. He tends to Kaos' every need even if he refuses help, and is at his side whenever possible to keep him out of major trouble.

In *The Skylands Are Falling!*, Glumshanks reveals that he holds a lot of grudges and harsh words against his master, and uses the incoming apocalypse to voice them freely, though later disaster was averted and he had to sit through the punishment for speaking up. In *Assault on Skylander Academy*, Kaos' increased powers proved to be too much for Glumshanks to keep on check with simple distractions and subtle orders, but as the sorcerer was barred out of the house, it is unknown if their dynamic will stay the same.

In Season 2, Glumshanks seems to enjoy his time away from Kaos, even taking an opportunity to roast him when he can, but when he later gets his job back as Kaos' servant, he reluctantly accepts this. When Kaos suspects Glumshanks might be his father, he seems to respect the troll more, not wanting to hurt him. Glumshanks, in return, seemingly willingly accepts his role as a parental figure, though he knows that it's impossible for Kaos to be his son. When it's revealed that the two aren't related at all, their dynamic returns more to how it used to be.

### Kaossandra

Despite his humiliating job, Glumshanks holds Kaossandra in high regard, and the two respect each other even if he lacks any power of his own. She appears to admire his stories and will gladly find excuses to get him out of the guest castle so they can have a conversation over tea and food. However, the relationship is purely friendship, as he mentions the sorceress is not his type.

In *It Techs Two*, Glumshanks reveals to Kaos that he is the only one she trusts with the secrets found within her Book of Dark Magic.

## Trivia

* This counterpart of Glumshanks was voiced by the late comedian Norm MacDonald, who was also known for being the first voice of Norm the Genie from *The Fairly OddParents*.
	+ MacDonald was one of the two voice actors of Norm the Genie to have a role in Skylanders (another being Robert Cait who also voiced Fryno).
* At points, Kaos calls him by the nickname of "Glum-dog", possibly as a reference to hip hop culture.
* Possibly because of the abuse from Kaos, Glumshanks takes anxiety medication.
* Glumshanks' fake beard in *Pop Rocks* is the same pattern and colors as the beards on Troll Welders.
* In the pilot, Glumshanks uses an opening while he isn't needed to tell stories to Snap Shot, fully knowing he wouldn't be able to respond as he was frozen over.
* In the games, Glumshanks is right-handed, while he's shown to be left-handed in the series. This either makes him ambidextrous, or just left-handed in *Skylanders Academy* canon.
* At several points, Glumshanks talks about a Troll massagist named Olaf. According to him, though the other troll has great ability, he "has no sense of personal space" and "gets a little too handsy for my taste", and in *Missing Links*, specifically asks the other trolls in a spa house to avoid calling him, much to their surprise. This is one of the several adult references in the show.
	+ Another recurring character Glumshanks repeatedly talks about is Andre, a friend of his that calls him frequently. First mentioned in *Anger Mismanagement*, Andre tries to get a reservation in Uncle Merle's night restaurant through his connection with the troll, and he begrudgingly accepts it despite the risk to his job. They also discuss movies over the phone.
* Despite the frequent torture sessions from Kaos, Glumshanks' regenerative abilities are most likely the reason he never sustains any injuries for long.