Stoick the Vast (Franchise)

"That's Stoick the Vast. Chief of the tribe. They say that when he was a baby, he popped a dragon's head clean off of its shoulders. Do I believe it? Yes, I do."

- Hiccup, introducing Stoick in his narration

Stoick the Vast is the late father of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, the late husband of Valka, and the former chief of the Hairy Hooligan Tribe. He was also the deuteragonist — behind Toothless — of the first film and and the tritagonist of the sequel.

During Riders and Defenders of Berk, his dragon is a Thunderdrum named Thornado, but he was released so that he can raise three adolescent Thunderdrums.

In the second film, Stoick has a new dragon; a Rumblehorn named Skullcrusher, whom he is later revealed to have met and partnered with during Dragons: Race to the Edge, Season 1. He then reunited with his wife Valka, who was believed to be dead. Near the end of the film, he sacrificed himself to save Hiccup from a plasma blast by Toothless, who was under the control of Drago's Bewilderbeast. Hiccup then succeeded his father as the new chief of Berk.

Official Description
"Stoick, 50, is the mythic and mighty Chieftain of Berk — a great, shaggy mountain of a man whose conquests have become the stuff of Viking legend. A reformed dragon fighter, Stoick's job as protector of the people is decidedly lighter since Hiccup ushered in an era of peace. Boastful and gregarious, Stoick is now the proudest father in Berk, forever singing Hiccup's praises, even as his absentee son is off mapping the world instead of showing up for work. But when Stoick's plan to retire and anoint Hiccup chief is disrupted by rumblings of a terrible foe's return, Stoick wastes no time in breaking out the old armor and charging off to defend what is his."

- Viking Guide

Development
Stoick in the Franchise stayed fairly true to the physical form of his original Book counterpart. Stoick in the Books has a bright red beard and a large stocky frame. The beard, however, is a great messy tangle, but is much more managed in the Franchise. Dean DeBlois says that in the first film, "Stoick's beard was an accomplishment itself" and he "wanted to have a wrap party just for the beard."

Physical Appearance
Stoick was a big man, with green eyes and red hair. Like almost all Viking men, he had a very muscular figure that intimidated those who cross his path. He had barely visible freckles (a trait that his son inherited), and his red hair was braided at the back. The trend of braiding carried on his beard which was intricate in its many strands. His usual attire consisted of a large fur cloak draped over his shoulder, a chainmail tunic with striped pants and fur boots, and a large horned helmet that is supposedly crafted from half of Valka's breastplate. He also wore spiked braces over his wrists. During his appearances in the TV series, Stoick didn't wear his cloak.

In the second film, he altered his beard to have the front portion tied to one knot in front of the rest of it, and his hair had begun noticeably to grey. He maintains his previous look's former features, having a brown fur cover up.

In the How to Train Your Dragon Live Spectacular, Stoick wears similar clothing as he does in other areas of the Franchise. He does have on the dark fur hung about his shoulders, as well. However, the actor that plays him — Robert Morgan — is of a less stocky build so Stoick was thinner in this theater production.

Personality
"A chief protects his own."

- Stoick

Stoick had a strong sense of responsibility and took pride in being a chief; he always tried his best to keep Berk peaceful and safe. In the episode, "How to Pick Your Dragon", he commented that he had spent his entire life on Berk and was determined to make it a better place. He had been trying to look for a reliable and suitable chief to run the village when it was his time to step down, as seen in "Cast Out, Part 1" and the second film when he said that Hiccup would be a great chief. But as a chief, he adhered to certain "Viking ways" at times, believing that it was better for the village.

This, however, also gave him the flaw of being rather close-minded and inflexible, with a strong lack of perspective. He tended to do things the straightforward, "Viking way" and dismiss alternatives, even if it was ultimately detrimental. Furthermore, he was extremely stubborn and head-strong, making it difficult for others to change his mind when setting on a certain course. It was easy for him to get upset or emotionally riled up, which, combined with the aforementioned traits, often lead him to make rash and uninformed decisions when he thought what he was doing was right, ignoring the advice of even those he trusted the most. This mindset almost cost him most of his tribe's warriors when he decided to use Toothless to find the dragons' nest, ignoring both Hiccup's and Gobber's warnings. Nevertheless, though this attitude made him seem unintelligent at times, he was shown to be able to listen and take advice, even use it when needed.

However, the area where his stubbornness and rigidity did the most damage was the relationship with his son. Though he cared deeply for him, to the point of being overprotective (due to Valka's presumed death), his inability to adapt rendered him incapable in connecting with Hiccup, unable to even hold a proper conversation with his out-of-the-ordinary offspring. His patriotic ways also at times lead him to act the same, dismissive way to him as the rest of the villagers, uncaring of Hiccup's opinion and callous towards his feelings. Most of their conversations consisted of Stoick talking and Hiccup trying, but unusually unable, to get a word in edgeways.

His overprotectiveness worsened things, to the point it grew to unintentional hypocrisy and counter-productiveness in his parenting methods. Though he had wanted Hiccup to be a successful Viking and future chief, at the same time he was the one who sheltered him the most from the world and any sort of experience that would have been helpful, not allowing him to even join the fire brigade when they were still fighting dragons, and giving up on his training early on. As he failed to see this, it caused them to drift even further apart, since he tended to blame his son's faults and failures solely on Hiccup, never considering his part in them.

While his years as chief had taught him to deal with certain matters tactfully, when it came to the more delicate elements, Stoick had little in the way of emotional intelligence. He often said hurtful or offensive things without intending to or even realizing their effects. Again, his son suffered the brunt of it. He didn't notice his discomfort and sadness when talking about his years of being "the worst Viking Berk had ever seen", nor the time when he openly agreed that Bucket's much more muscular depiction of Hiccup was how a chief's son should look like.

Stoick's personality had developed significantly during the first season of DreamWorks Dragons: The Series. He was at first still uncomfortable with the dragons, and in "In Dragons We Trust" he actually banished them from the island, and he remained relatively callous towards Hiccup. All of this changed as the series progressed. His relationship with his son steadily improved, and Stoick became more and more willing to trust Hiccup's advice.

Stoick's idea of dragons changes dramatically after he trains one of his own. Initially, he was willing to order a dragon to be killed just because it was on a rampage. ("Viking for Hire") That began to change after training Thornado, quickly rushing to Toothless aid even when the whole village disagreed with him. ("When Lightning Strikes") He was extremely attached to his own dragon and was willing to risk war with Dagur the Deranged for the sake of the dragons on Berk, preparing to attack Dagur to stop him from killing Barf and Belch. ("Twinsanity") He also treated them more like people than enemies as shown when he walked up to the Alpha Speed Stinger in "Frozen", and asked him, "Remember me?" as if he was talking to a human enemy, and referred to it as him when he ordered the Dragon Riders to get it off Berk.

Stoick was shown to be prone to aggressively taking out his frustrations on others when stressed, upset or in another particular mood, such as in "Crushing It". Only the return of his son and him bonding with a Rumblehorn was enough to snap him out of it.

Abilities, Skills, and Talents
Stoick, like most characters in the How to Train Your Dragon franchise, has many talents and abilities that set him apart.

Strength: Stoick's superhuman strength is extremely obvious throughout the entire franchise. When the Hooligans were at war with the dragons, his skills were unmatched. Just minutes into the first film, he is seen tossing a large wooden cart at great speeds into the air without any difficulty. Stoick was able to defeat a Monstrous Nightmare with four hits by jumping to use both of his feet to attack it away from Hiccup, two punches, and another kick in a short fight. He defeated a Thunderdrum in a few seconds with only two punches that were powerful enough to do great distance off the ground and was able hold Thornado by the tail and bring him back to earth despite Thornado weighing about 900lbs in "How to Pick Your Dragon". Stoick was also able to bring down Skullcrusher by pulling him down with rope in "Crushing It".

Stoick is able to lift a massive fallen pillar in the food storage building and angrily tosses it aside. He even could catch a boulder that was fired from a catapult and throws it back in "Live and Let Fly". It was shown he could rival Alvin's strength in a fight, and win, too. It was shown in "Cast Out, Part 2" that with just one arm he was able to throw Alvin in the air.

Fighting Skills: Stoick is almost certainly the greatest Hooligan warrior. Along with his strength, Stoick does have a little bit of strategic ability as well. He displays this in his tactics against Alvin. Stoick's weapon of choice in the original film is a hammer. He uses an axe in the second one, using it to devastating effect against Drago. In "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", he has also been seen wielding a sword which he also seems quite good at. He has defeated numerous adversaries such as Outcasts, Berserkers, Dragon Flyers, Thornado, Alvin the Treacherous, as well as Drago Bludvist on his own. The only time so far where he has been bested in a one-on-one was with Toothless in the first film, which can be attributed to his anger clouding his judgment.

Dragon Training and Riding: Though he had a slow startup, Stoick has gotten better at dealing with dragons. He and Thornado fly and fight well together. He is also able to calm the angry Hookfang with a calming touch in "Defiant One". He thought that Toothless would do what exactly what he was told by being chief but until he rode on Toothless he was wrong. With a lot of struggle at first to make turns and working together, he got better at riding Toothless until he got his own dragon in "How to Pick Your Dragon". He then released Thornado and, three years after, in "Crushing It", he tamed a new dragon, a Rumblehorn named Skullcrusher.

Leadership Skills: The village usually seems to trust Stoick fully. He terrifies many of the villagers, but they all admire him. The only time the village has disobeyed his orders was during a riot was started by Mildew in "When Lightning Strikes". His leadership skills are very necessary during the franchise, and he uses them every day. He is called upon to use tact and diplomacy to mediate disputes, as seen in "Viking for Hire", manages Berk's resources for future needs, as mentioned in "Last Auction Heroes", and lends a hand where ever possible, from taking down a fence, to driving off a wild dragon attack on their fishing boats as seen in "How to Pick Your Dragon". He states to Hiccup, in How to Train Your Dragon 2, that as chief, "No task is too small when it comes to serving your people." It was shown he is a great sea captain, and it was hinted he is also an experienced fisherman. In the past, according to Gobber in "Cast Out, Part 1", most people on Berk didn't believe he could handle it.

Wisdom: Tied to his leadership skills, Stoick is shown to be wise and thoughtful when it comes to problems, despite his stubborn nature. This wisdom often comes in the form of advice to his son when he runs into trouble leading his academy. He is cautious when dealing with madmen like Alvin, Dagur, and Drago Bludvist. He even gave some advice to his son, that there will be hard choices in life as his son couldn't think of a way of trusting Snotlout to work as a team in combat. He can't be someone's friend and be their leader as well at the same time, knowing that the person might not listen. Stoick told his son in "Turn and Burn" he won't be able to do that at all that he must find a way that is best for his people.

Carving: Stoick has a fondness for whittling ducks out of wood, which is partially shown throughout the series. He finds it to be a calming hobby that he likes to do in the morning, as seen in "We Are Family, Part 1".

Reflexes and Coordination: He is shown to have great reflexes. When someone snuck up on him, he grabbed them by their tunic and lifted them off the ground to grab his weapon. His balance is so great that he is able to stand on Thornado's back with a boulder in his hands with no sign of struggle, as seen in "Live and Let Fly".

Intelligence: While he is not quite as intellectually inclined as his son, Hiccup and his wife, Valka, he has proven to very crafty. This was shown in his advice to Hiccup in "A Tale of Two Dragons" on how to deal with Astrid and Snotlout's bickering. He gave him three options: the first two involved weapons, while the third one involved tricking the two arguers into working together. He also thought of ideas for the dragon race in Dawn of the Dragon Racers for improving it by adding face paint to give the "warriors" feeling, and adding a black sheep which was worth 5 points later changing it to 10 points. In "Crushing It", he figured out that Skullcrusher wasn't causing harm to others and that it was only trying to scare them off the island.

Endurance and Stamina: Stoick's muscular body is able to resist great attacks such as getting body slammed by Meatlug flying full speed causing him to be stunned on the ground in a lot of pain but still able to roll. With great stamina, he can fight for long periods of time without being exhausted. He has also shown that he is able to take attacks from other Vikings such as Alvin or Drago and still be able to continue to battle for long periods of time. He is also shown capable of surviving fire, at least to a limited degree. In "Frozen", he was the last man standing when a pack of Speed Stingers attacked Berk and put up such a strong fight that it took six of them to completely paralyze him and he could still make unintelligible grunts, impressive considering one sting is sufficient to completely paralyze a full-size dragon.

Singing and Dancing: In How to Train Your Dragon 2, Stoick has shown to have a raspy, but lovely singing voice, as he sang to Valka when they were reunited. He is also depicted as being a good dancer with a partner like his wife.

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III
"I'm sorry, Dad. I'm not the chief that you wanted me to be, and I'm not the peacekeeper I thought I was. I don't know..."

- Hiccup, apologizing to his now-deceased father

Stoick and Hiccup shared a very complicated relationship which evened out as Hiccup grew older and more secure in his position. Their biggest misunderstanding was built on how Hiccup thought his father perceived him. It had been made clear from the beginning of the first film that Stoick's main problem with Hiccup wasn't what he looked like, like Hiccup wrongly assumed, but that he never listened or followed any orders. Stoick considered him reckless and rash and often had to leave his own chores to save Hiccup from the dangers he got himself in.

Even after winning his father's respect and pride, Hiccup still harbored the same insecurities for a while and some of them resurfaced in the television series. Most notably during "Portrait of Hiccup as a Buff Young Man" when Stoick told Bucket to draw Hiccup considerably more muscular than he actually was. Since Hiccup was convinced that Stoick still looked down on him because of his size, he went out of his way to prove himself to his father again. The episode, however, ended with Stoick realizing his mistake and assuring Hiccup he accepted him just the way he was.

Stoick and Hiccup also had trouble communicating at first and often ended up upsetting one another. During the first film, their conversations were abrupt and one-sided. After Stoick learned of Hiccup's secret, he refused to let his son explain and disowned him instead. He immediately regretted it though and once Hiccup caught up with him again during the battle with the Red Death, Stoick apologized for his earlier words by saving Toothless' life and telling Hiccup he was proud of him.

It is implied that they weren't very talkative while Hiccup was growing up but once they found common ground as Stoick started to resonate with his son, he began to make more of a conscious effort to start up conversations between the two of them. In return, Hiccup started to rely on his father more and confided in him about his ideas and plans. At one point, Hiccup even asked his father for his permission before leaving Berk to travel outside the Archipelago with his friends. ("Imperfect Harmony")

Slowly but surely, Stoick began to realize how strong his son truly had been all along, and that strength came in different forms. It still never made him any less protective of Hiccup. Throughout the entire second film, he showed deep concern for his son and in the end, sacrificed his own life to protect him from harm.

During Stoick's funeral, Valka revealed that Hiccup was born too early and she had feared he would not have survived for long, but that his father never doubted. He always knew Hiccup would become the strongest of them all.

Toothless
"Thank you... for saving my son."

- Stoick, to Toothless who has brought Hiccup back alive

Stoick and Toothless got off to a really bad start with Stoick seeing him as a threat to Berk and very "unholy offspring of lighting and Death itself". And Toothless, on the other hand, tackles Stoick, but before he can kill him Hiccup stops him from doing so. The Vikings finally capture and pin down Toothless, Stoick decides to spare Toothless' life for now. Stoick shows his great refusal to Hiccup's appeal of not hurting his dragon, because of his witness of the dragons killing his people, or because the dragons even took the love of his life. After this, Stoick used Toothless to find Dragon Island. But Stoick accidentally leads the Viking fleet to the Red Death where they were greatly unnumbered and was stranded, luckily Hiccup and the other Viking teens, save them from certain death. During the battle Hiccup attempts save to a chained Toothless from drowning but loses consciousness, upon seeing the awful mistake he made, Stoick saves them both, even share a brief but powerful gaze with Toothless before setting him free. This symbolizes that Stoick has put his hatred for dragons and his own pride aside because he knew that Toothless was special to his son and the two of them make an unstoppable team that could defeat the Queen dragon. In return, rather than killing Stoick, Toothless carries him to the surface safely in his claws.

Throughout the course of the series, Stoick's friendship with Toothless started to grow due to their mutual love for Hiccup. They often fought alongside one another whenever they were in danger. However, whenever the topic of banishing the dragons came up, he did not make any exception for Toothless. In "Imperfect Harmony", Stoick entrusted Toothless to take care of Hiccup while they were out exploring new lands.

In How to Train Your Dragon 2, when Toothless was under the control of Drago's Bewilderbeast, he accidentally killed Stoick when the latter pushed Hiccup out of the way. Seeing Stoick's body, he nudged his hand trying to wake him. After realizing what he had done, Toothless was greatly devastated by what had happened. Later, when Drago and his Bewilderbeast attacked Berk, Toothless in a way avenged Stoick's death by defeating Drago's Alpha.

Valka
Valka is Stoick's wife, as well as Hiccup's mother, in the films. Despite their very different opinions of dragons in the past, Stoick loved Valka very much. When she was taken by a four-winged dragon, Stoick was devastated and heartbroken. In "Imperfect Harmony", it is revealed Stoick went in search of her, but to no avail. His helmet is crafted from half of her breastplate, the other half was also made into a helmet for Hiccup.

In the sequel, Stoick discovers Valka is alive, and while she expected him to be furious at her for abandoning her family and living among dragons, Stoick showed no anger and said she was a beautiful as the day he lost her, and even kisses her. Stoick rekindles his love with Valka by singing their song, "For the Dancing and the Dreaming". Stoick abandons his fight with Drago to save Valka from his Bewilderbeast, not wanting to lose his wife again. When Stoick sacrificed himself to save Hiccup, Valka was very saddened by his death. Stoick's helmet was placed on his chest for his funeral and cremated along with his remains.

Gobber the Belch
"May the Valkyries welcome you and lead you through Odin's great battlefield. May they sing your name with love and fury so that we may hear it rise from the depths of Valhalla and know that you have taken your rightful place at the table of kings. For a great man has fallen, a warrior, a chieftain, a father, a friend."

- Gobber's final farewell to Stoick

Gobber is a good friend of Stoick's and acts as a bridge between Stoick and his son, Hiccup, both nearly polar opposites of the other. Gobber convinces Stoick to allow Hiccup into the Dragon training program, reasoning he can't protect him forever — he can only prepare him. When Stoick decides to sacrifice himself to the Red Death to buy the villagers time to escape, Gobber elects to stay with him to the end, further hinting at their strong friendship.

In the second film, Gobber is still Stoick's right-hand man and best friend. They worked together when tracking down Hiccup and fight alongside one another against Drago Bludvist and his minions. Gobber was greatly saddened when Stoick died to save Hiccup and delivered a eulogy during the chieftain's funeral in honor of his best friend.

Spitelout Jorgenson
Spitelout is Stoick's apparent second-in-command. Stoick seems to trust Spitelout to lead the villagers to safety, though their relationship in the films is never truly explored. Stoick and Spitelout are shown to be previous rivals, like their sons. Spitelout beat Stoick every year when they competed, as the Jorgensons have never lost the Thawfest Games. ("Thawfest") Though they had a slightly difficult relationship and could argue severely, Spitelout still had great respect for Stoick and was visibly shocked and saddened when Drago announced Stoick had been killed.

Thornado
"Oh, look at us. We're bonded!"

- Stoick laughs as he bonds with Thornado

Thornado is Stoick's dragon in the series. Stoick begins searching for a dragon for himself but rejects the known species on the island. That's when he meets a blue Thunderdrum that had been attacking the fishing boats. Stoick is impressed by the dragon's strength and picks him while he was fighting this dragon. However, the Thunderdrum is very stubborn and continues to try to escape. Hiccup tries to tell his father that training a dragon is about trust, but Stoick appears not to listen. Thornado manages to escape and Stoick and Hiccup find him near a cave. Stoick intends to fight the dragon until he sees that he was just helping his injured friend. After helping protect the injured Thunderdrum from a pack of wild boars, Stoick and Thornado bond and become friends. Although they are not always seen together, Stoick cares about Thornado. He is very worried about his dragon when he gets sick like the others. He even told Thornado that he used to kill dragons in the past and now he truly feels sorry for what he has done. When Thornado recovers, Stoick is very happy as he gives him a head tap. ("Dragon Flower") The two have similar personalities, as both are stubborn and strong, but have a soft side when protecting their loved ones. Sadly, Stoick had to set Thornado free so that he could protect and take care of the three baby Thunderdrums: Bing, Bam, and Boom. Even after three years, Stoick still missed his first dragon terribly and kept his saddle in prime condition,

Skullcrusher
Skullcrusher is Stoick's new dragon in the second film, and is very loyal and helpful towards Stoick, as he helped him find his son. He is as close to Stoick as Stoick was to Thornado; as with his predecessor, Stoick bonded with Skullcrusher when he recognized that the dragon was a fellow protector, as Skullcrusher's "attacks" on Dragon's Edge were actually attempts to warn the residents of the island about an upcoming tidal wave. After Stoick's death, Eret became Skullcrusher's rider at the end of the film.

Astrid Hofferson
Stoick resonates deeply with Astrid's warrior side and the guilt she feels for failing to protect the people she loves. When Astrid was feeling down in "Team Astrid", Stoick offered her comfort and advice on how to deal with her emotions.

Stoick has also made it clear that he fully supports Hiccup's romantic relationship with Astrid, even going as far as calling her his future daughter-in-law. In "Burning Midnight", it is later revealed that he sees Astrid as the daughter Stoick and Valka always wanted.

Astrid eventually became Stoick’s official daughter-in-law when she married Hiccup.

Fishlegs Ingerman
As the leader of Berk, he shows to make Fishlegs very nervous, as he was very close to killing him when thought he was one of the Outcasts who has temporarily conquered Berk. ("Alvin and the Outcasts") He also does show to care of Fishlegs believing he wasn't alone for flying at night to try to get information out of him when he saw Hiccup and his Dragon Riders disobeying his ban on flying. ("How to Start a Dragon Academy")

Torch
He met this new dragon breed that he wasn't really improving to have more than one dragon in his house. But he quickly changes his mind when seeing to obey his order for lighting up the fireplace and decided to name this dragon.

Hookfang
Stoick watches this dragon before he was tamed in the Kill Ring, where he was watching his son trying to train him, but he didn't understand what his son was trying to do that cause this dragon to go berserk when Stoick hit the gate to startle him. He even tried to save his son and Astrid from this dragon. (How to Train Your Dragon) He watched how dangerous this dragon was attacking everything that was around him believing that he must be killed because one bad dragon could be a disaster for Berk. He thought that his son could calm him down but seeing how but wasn't working, made Stoick get Gobber to slay him but he changed his mind when he saw that Hookfang had a toothache. ("Viking for Hire") He was able to get on this dragon's neck when he was looking for his own dragon. He even listened to what Snotlout was saying that the Monstrous Nightmare is most perfect dragon for his type of style of a warrior, but he wasn't too pleased about his saddle being on fire. ("How to Pick Your Dragon")

Stoick was even able to calm down Hookfang when he was angry, a far cry from his fight with the dragon earlier in the series.

Alvin the Treacherous
In the television series, Alvin and Stoick were best friends since childhood and considered inseparable. As young men, they were responsible for defense against dragon attacks, with Stoick, the chief's son, as commander and Alvin as one of his men. During a nighttime Monstrous Nightmare attack, the two disagreed on how to defend the village; Alvin disobeyed Stoick's orders, which caused people to become injured. Everything changed between the two and things were never the same afterward.

When Stoick became chief, he had trouble adjusting: Gobber summed it up as "like a newborn yak trying to find its feet". Alvin was one of Stoick's detractors, constantly saying that he didn't have what it took to be chief. With the two at odds, Alvin would later himself state that it was only a matter of time before Stoick banished him. For the next 20 years, Alvin would remain angry and bitter over being forced to leave Berk. Alvin, angry at Stoick and his homeland, spent the years plotting revenge and eventually became chief of the Outcasts. Aware of this, Stoick became gravely concerned after the armory was destroyed by fire. When Alvin came to attack Berk, Stoick gathered several other Vikings to defend their home and sent the rest of the village to hide in caves. When Stoick found out that Alvin took his son he was very determined to rescue him, as he knew that Alvin would kill anybody to get what he wants. Stoick arrived at Dragon Island to fight Alvin on board the Outcast ship, and he was able to win by entangling him with a weight that pulled him overboard.

Stoick was very surprised to see Alvin on Berk after his former friend saved Snotlout from the Screaming Death. He believed that Alvin only did it for ulterior, selfish reasons and had him locked up. ("Cast Out, Part 1") Stoick was more surprised that he was saved by Alvin from Savage that he entrusted him with a sword. Alvin was later able to help Hiccup to save him from Dagur by freeing him and using his Whispering Deaths against the Berserkers and the Outcasts. After being saved by Alvin, Stoick stated that there was "more than enough blame to go around" for the mistakes they both made in the past, and that is where he wanted to leave them. They became friends once again by shaking hands for peace. ("Cast Out, Part 2")

Viggo Grimborn
Even before Stoick meets Viggo in person, it is clear he has a prominent dislike of him, even so far as calling him a "coward" for "endangering innocent women and children as a means of intimidation". It is shown that Stoick's anger with Viggo stems from the various attacks he had made on both Berk, the Dragon Riders and Hiccup himself.

Stoick's hatred of Viggo is shown best when he first meets Viggo in person, in episode 12 of Race to the Edge, Season 4, "Shell Shocked, Part 1". Stoick immediately walks towards Viggo, angrily mentioning the attacks that were made against Berk and the Riders, before strangling him and lifting him up high into the air by his throat. It is implied he may well have killed him on the spot that instant if Hiccup hadn't stopped him from doing so. Stoick reluctantly drops him from the air, before listening to him with clenched fists a few feet away.

It is unknown if Stoick knew about Viggo's sacrifice for Hiccup and Toothless, or if his opinion on the former Dragon Hunter changed afterward.

Drago Bludvist
Stoick first met Drago Bludvist during a gathering of chieftains some time in the past. When Drago demanded the chiefs’ loyalty in exchange for his protection, everyone laughed at him. Infuriated by the mockery, Drago left the hall before he unleashed two of his armored dragons on them. Stoick was the only one who escaped and realized the danger that Drago posed.

Many years later when Stoick’s son Hiccup revealed Drago’s intention to build a dragon army, the Hooligan Chief wasted no time in protecting his people and warned Hiccup that Drago is an enemy that cannot be reasoned with. Hiccup insists that he could change Drago’s mind, much to Stoick’s frustration.

When Drago and his army laid siege on Valka's Mountain, Stoick attacked the warlord head-on after the latter tried to kill Valka. Drago was surprised that Stoick did not die during their last meeting, and Stoick retorted that it would take more than a little fire to kill him.

As the battle continues, Drago eventually commanded his Bewilderbeast to control Toothless in order to kill Hiccup, which resulted in Stoick sacrificing himself to save his son by taking the plasma blast. Upon seeing Stoick’s lifeless body, Drago merely sighed and smirked with satisfaction.

Grimmel the Grisly
According to what Grimmel said during his first encounter with Hiccup, Stoick knew of the hunter's existence but never told Hiccup. Grimmel seemed to have held some respect for Stoick, as he called him "one of the greatest dragon hunters to have ever lived", until Hiccup changed Stoick's opinions of dragons. Grimmel also stated that it was Stoick's new opinions that sent him to his death.

Trivia

 * Stoick seems to have a knack for naming dragons - Torch in "The Terrible Twos", Thornado in "How to Pick Your Dragon", and Skullcrusher in "Crushing It".
 * Stoick is the first known Viking chieftain to ride a dragon.
 * Stoick is the first to both own and ride two different dragons, Thornado the Thunderdrum and Skullcrusher the Rumblehorn.
 * In the coloring and activity books based off the original film, Stoick's dragon was a Monstrous Nightmare.
 * Stoick is the first Viking to release his dragon, seen in the episode "Bing! Bam! Boom!".
 * If Stoick never met Skullcrusher, Tracker Class wouldn't have existed.
 * Originally, Stoick wasn't going to be killed by a mind-controlled Toothless, It was originally going to be Gobber the Belch but that was changed during production.
 * Stoick is the second character in the Franchise to give a name to a mace as seen in "Crushing It", the first being Tuffnut in "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes".
 * Dragons: Race to the Edge indicates that Stoick's last name is Haddock, not that it was already obvious by Hiccup's last name, but it was never confirmed.
 * Stoick's personality is different between the books and the films. While in the books he is an impulsive and hot-headed raider, in the films and series he is shown as a wise and caring leader who's main priority is protecting his people (in the films) and keeping the peace on Berk (the series). Furthermore, while he remains alive and well in the book series, he dies in the second film.