Viggo Grimborn

"I've spent my whole life hunting dragons, killing them, and I've come to respect them as equals."

- Viggo Grimborn

Viggo Grimborn is the main antagonist turned minor protagonist in Dragons: Race to the Edge and an archenemy of Hiccup. He is the leader of the Dragon Hunters who wants to use the Dragon Eye in order to wipe out all dragons for profit. In the last episode he was redeemed and learnt to respect dragons as equals. He is voiced by Alfred Molina.

Official Description
"Calm and collected, Viggo knows that knowledge equals power - especially when it comes to dragons! Unlike his older, more outwardly barbaric brother, Viggo Grimborn prefers finesse to brawn. An expert trap designer and manipulator of friends and foes alike, Viggo always plays the long game for power. As such, he has developed a twisted plan to use dragons to trap other dragons and sell them to the highest bidder. Viggo often lets Ryker handle the dirty work, but is not above administering his own cruel and unusual punishments from time to time. The younger Grimborn will stop at nothing to obtain the Dragon Eye. And if the Dragon Riders cannot stop him from doing so, they will surely witness the devastation wrought when absolute knowledge falls into the wrong hands."

- Viking Guide

Physical Appearance
Viggo wears a black tunic with red scales on his shoulders and around his waist. He also has spiked shoulder pads and a silver belt buckle with Dragon Hunters' tribal crest on it, and black wrist guards.

Viggo has short black hair, large brown eyes with what appears to be eye-shadow, thick full lips, and a French cut beard. He has three scars on the left side of his neck supposedly from a dragon.

As a result of a burn injury sustained inside the volcano while attempting to retrieve the Dragon Eye, the left side of his face is severely scarred and he is blind in his left eye.

Personality
Viggo possesses an extensive expertise on dragons that rivals, if not outshines Hiccup's. He often clashes with Hiccup and the riders over the Original Dragon Eye, which has belonged to his tribe for centuries. Unlike his brother, Ryker, he's very intelligent, cunning, and incredibly devious. Viggo is a master tactician, using his intellect to outwit his enemies and having dangerously uncanny foresight. While caring for his brother, Viggo also takes pleasure in mocking him over his inferior intelligence and manners.

Viggo is ruthless and has a low tolerance for failures and betrayals: In his first two appearances, he has one of his men dragged away as punishment for selling precious things without his permission. He was also probably the one who ordered Heather to be executed after he discovered that she was in truth a spy. In "Return of Thor Bonecrusher", he wanted Jarg to be thrown into a Whispering Death tunnel for failing to acquire fish (though Krogan instead had him taken away to be tortured as punishment). After Ryker betrayed Viggo and took control of the Hunters and Project Shellfire for himself, Viggo showed no remorse over the latter's presumed death by the Submaripper and was instead apparently pleased. Viggo also appears to have very little care for his own men and is willing sacrifice them to get what he wants. He let many of them die from the Scourge of Odin just so he could capture the Buffalord in "Buffalord Soldier". After sustaining his burning injury in the Edge's volcano, however, he seems to have changed somewhat on his views, as seen when saved one of his men from failing into the lava in "The Wings of War, Part 1". As revealed in "Dawn of Destruction", Viggo hates taking orders from others.

While Hiccup is an adversary, the two of them share a mutual respect and Viggo thinks of him as a worthy foe. However, unlike Hiccup, Viggo has no sense of honor. This changed after Johann and Krogan betrayed him, when a Monstrous Nightmare rescued him from a collapsing cave. Through this experience, Viggo starts to have a new perspective on dragons and helps Hiccup in thwarting his former associates’ plans, with the cost of his own life.

Abilities, Skills and Talents
Unlike his brother, Viggo does not like using strength to defeat his opponents but relies on his intelligence to find a path to victory, as he shown successfully.

Acting: In "Triple Cross", Viggo acted and managed to fool Johann and Krogan for a short while.

Intelligence: Viggo is an extremely clever individual and noted by Hiccup as a master of deception who battles with his intellect. He is an expert at playing Maces & Talons, even managing to outwit Hiccup - though he admitted that Hiccup had exceeded his expectations and was a brilliant opponent. As an item belonging to his tribe, Viggo has intimate knowledge of the Dragon Eye and - by extension - dragons themselves, on par with Hiccup's.("Maces and Talons, Part 2")

Dragon Hunting: Though he rarely puts himself in danger, Viggo is considered an elite Dragon Hunter, rivaled - and possibly surpassed - only by his older brother, Ryker.

Leadership: Despite being the younger brother, Viggo is the undisputed leader of the Dragon Hunters because of his cunning intellect and effective strategies. He always plans his moves before he makes them, often seeing his battles as a game of Maces and Talons. He leads Dragon Hunters with respect and fear.

Strength and Fighting Skills: Viggo is a skilled fighter as he managed to overpower Heather - a warrior on par with Astrid - effortlessly and with his bare hands. He saw Hiccup's fire sword and created his own inventing the idea of Zippleback gas and then lighting it with the sword. Viggo has shown his strength to be able to hold Heather easily but he was stated by his older brother that he is not as strong as Ryker.

Dragon Information Controlled: He used the Dragon Eye to get a lot of information on dragons to control such as he was able to control the Shellfire by wrapping the dragons with ropes and a large boat, and summoning a Submaripper using the vibrations of a dagger, by dropping it into the ocean, where the dragon was located.

Ryker Grimborn
"Ryker has always been a bit jealous of the power structure among the Dragon Hunters and his role in that hierarchy."

- Viggo talking to Heather about his suspicion of Ryker being a traitor among them.

Ryker is Viggo's older brother. Despite being younger, Viggo leads the Dragon Hunters. The reason why because when their father retired, they played a Maces and Talons game to see who become in charge, Viggo won so he became leader. He does appear to care for Ryker, despite giving him orders and shunning his ideas.("Maces and Talons, Part 2") The two were allies until Ryker convinced the Dragon Hunters to betray Viggo and put him as a new chief of the Dragon Hunters. Viggo then ends up conspiring with the dragon riders to take Ryker down.

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III
"We may be adversaries, Hiccup, but my respect for you is beyond what I could possibly put into words."

- Viggo to Hiccup

As Hiccup's newest adversary, Viggo challenges him in ways he never has been before. In "Maces and Talons, Part 2", he is impressed by the young Viking's intellect and sees him as a worthy opponent, unlike other villains Hiccup has faced.

Viggo tests Hiccup's intelligence, and even manipulates him to his advantage, leaving the young Viking extremely frustrated.

In "Triple Cross" Viggo seeks revenge and asks Hiccup to help him perform it. When Johann and Krogan dropped a mountain on him a Monstrous Nightmare saved him. From then on he respected dragons as equals. He then tells Hiccup this, when it was revealed that he has 4 arrows in his body from the dragon hunters. He then sacrifices himself for Hiccup, buying him time for an escape.

Dagur the Deranged
"Stop thinking. All thinking has been done. You simply need to do what you're told; follow orders. Can you do that?"

- Viggo to Dagur

Viggo treated Dagur the same as the Dragon Hunters. He was seen playing Maces and Talons with Dagur in the episode Maces and Talons, Part 2. While he did seem slightly impressed by Dagur's strategy, he still managed to win. It is unknown if Viggo is aware that Dagur freed Heather, but it is most likely, since he sent hunters to pursue Dagur.("Enemy of My Enemy")

Heather
"Forgiveness. Not really a sound business practice, now, is it? Trust, however, is imperative, Heather. And, there simply cannot be a traitor among us. A man will never know how far he's willing to go until he steps to the edge and looks down."

- Viggo suspecting Heather

Viggo could tell right away that Heather was a spy, possibly because of Windshear. He used her not only to find the Flightmare, but to lure out the Dragon Riders. He did seem a bit disappointed that Heather was not a more worthy opponent. When she was captured, it is possible Viggo made arrangements to have Heather executed. ("Maces and Talons, Part 1", "Maces and Talons, Part 2")

Astrid Hofferson
After realizing Hiccup is in love with Astrid, Viggo tried to use her against Hiccup, first by trying to get inside his head and second by trying to trade her life for the Dragon Eye. He was, however, unsuccessful as his plan ended up leading to his supposed demise.

Krogan
"Alone, each of us, in our own right, are, shall we say, dangerous. But together, think of the possibilities. We need each other, like it or not."

- Krogan to Viggo

While Viggo and Krogan are allies, they do not get along very well. They both give orders to one another and can't agree on a single choice. This led to their multiple failures. However, after they lost the Edge they seemed to start understanding each other and created a stronger alliance.

Johann
It was revealed in Sins of the Past the two are allies, who are after the "King of Dragons".

Trivia

 * The name "Viggo" means "war" or "battle."
 * Unlike all the other villains in the franchise, Viggo is more relaxed when the situation is not under control.
 * Viggo bears a strong resemblance to Maxim Horvath, a villain who was also played by Molina in The Sorcerer's Apprentice.
 * Coincidentally, Jay Baruchel also starred in this movie, and it premiered the same year as How to Train Your Dragon.
 * In both films he also plays the enemy of Jay Baruchel's character and at one point holds his girlfriend hostage in exchange for an important item.
 * Viggo has some similarities with Excellinor the Witch.
 * Both of them have a relative that Hiccup has encountered before them.
 * They are the true masterminds in their families.
 * They both have outsmarted Hiccup several times, as well as obtaining objects in his possession.
 * They both have an interest in certain games.
 * Both of their relatives were killed by dragons that are Hiccup's allies.
 * Since Viggo is the leader of the Dragon Hunters, and he describes the Dragon Eye as "something that has belonged to my tribe for generations", he may be a chief. Further supporting this theory is the fact that he and his grandfather often played Maces and Talons together, which was designed for future chiefs.("Maces and Talons, Part 2")
 * In almost every situation, his face bears a rather neutral expression, with the occasional smile or glare, reflecting his cool and collected nature. The only true exception seen so far is when he promises to sell or kill every dragon alive, as he snarls his words and bears a vicious expression. Even when ordering Dagur to do as he is told, his voice remains neutral, only louder.
 * Viggo is revealed to be left-handed, as he uses his left hand to sign on the map. This makes him the second left-handed character in the franchise, the first being Hiccup. ("Defenders of the Wing, Part 1")
 * Alfred Molina uses the same voice for Viggo as the Multi-Bear from Gravity Falls, albeit with a calmer and more "cultured" accent.
 * Viggo and Ryker's last name, Grimborn, might be an allusion to Grimbeard the Ghastly from the books. For Viggo's part, Grimbeard was deceivingly cunning, almost manipulative in his clues he left behind.
 * Viggo is the only main villain whose goal was never to capture or kill Hiccup until Season 4.
 * Viggo's face has somewhat feminine features, including his full lips and large shadowy eyes.
 * Viggo is arguably the second most evil villain in the franchise, behind Drago Bludvist, due to his goal of wiping out all dragons for profit. However, Drago Bludvist can be considered the more evil villain due to his larger goal of ruling the world and Viggo's more honorable nature detracts from his malevolence. Despite this, Viggo is probably the smartest and most dangerous foe that Hiccup and the Riders have faced, having manipulated and outsmarted Hiccup many more times than all his other foes in the franchise.
 * Viggo Grimborn may have met or had dealings with Drago Bludvist at some point in his life, as evidenced by his quote "I'm not interested in taking over the world, unlike some people." If this is true, then it may be that several of Drago Bludvist's dragons might have been sold to him by Viggo. As one of Drago's men shows up at Viggo's auction, this is quite plausible.
 * Following Dagur's reformation, Viggo appears to have taken over as Hiccup's archenemy.
 * Viggo is blind in his left eye as of the ending of Shell Shocked, Part 2.
 * Viggo is redeemed in Triple Cross and learnt from Hiccup to treat dragons as equals.
 * Hiccup got the idea of using Zippleback gas in his sword from Viggo.

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