Grimmel the Grisly

"I am the Night Fury killer. I've hunted every last one but yours."

- Grimmel

Grimmel the Grisly is the main antagonist of the film How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. He was a dragon hunter who believed that dragons must be exterminated, and was responsible for bringing the Night Furies to near extinction, leaving Toothless the last one of his kind.

Official Description
"Grimmel is a smart dragon hunter who is outraged at the idea that dragons can live alongside humans. Having believed that he had previously killed all the Night Furies, Grimmel is maddened to learn that the Alpha — Toothless — remains alive and free."

- How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

Night Fury Genocide
"Well, unlike you, when I was a boy and I came upon a Night Fury, I killed it where it slept. That simple act of courage made me a hero in my village. So, I decided to kill every last one, bringing real peace to the people of this world."

- Grimmel revealing why he went on a Night Fury genocide Grimmel originally came from the continent, and when he was a boy, he came across and killed a Night Fury in its sleep. His village hailed him as a hero for this act. Motivated by this, Grimmel decided to hunt down every Night Furies in existence. Once he completed his genocide on Night Furies, he moved on to do the same to every living dragon species. At some point, he managed to drug a pack of six Deathgrippers with their own venom and trained them to become vicious killers that would only listen to his commands. Grimmel also became acquainted with Eret, Son of Eret and Stoick the Vast, for he even complimented the Viking chief as one of the greatest dragon hunters to have ever lived. His intelligence, skills, and extermination of the Night Furies made him famous.

Partnership with Eir Stormheart
Eir Stormheart, seeking revenge on Drago Bludvist and the tyrannical people like him, formed a partnership with Grimmel after the death of her father. He supplies her with dragons to experiment on, and she supplies a special drug formula to subdue and control dragons. However, Grimmel betrayed her, taking her ideas and concocting a dragon control serum for himself, building on her idea for harnesses and bridles for drug delivery, and most significant — steals her one major scientific accomplishment, the Chimeragon. However, the Chimeragon has an unforeseen side effect — rapid aging. Grimmel then traveled to Scriven Rock, an island of scholars, in his airship with the Chimeragon in tow. He hoped to find a way to stop the aging process amongst the knowledge of the people and the large collection of scrolls there. One islander, Scribbler, sees the elderly Chimeragon, and sets him free, both fleeing to the dragon sanctuary on Havenholme. Grimmel sends some of his Dragon Trapper lackeys after him, but is unsuccessful in retrieving the dragon.

Hunt for Toothless
"Look, Berk's dragons will follow their Alpha. So, we'll pay you to capture him and bring the flock to us."

- Ragnar hires Grimmel to capture Toothless

Grimmel was hired by the Warlords because of their problem with dragon poaching to capture Toothless, the only known Night Fury he hasn't yet killed. Whilst accepting the offer, Grimmel has his own intentions towards Toothless. He decides to use a female Light Fury as bait for the dragon, freeing it at Berk. He also hides a trap and leaves a poison dart nearby.

Whilst Hiccup is looking through his father's notes, Grimmel approaches him. He walks down the stairs and pours himself a glass of tea before explaining how he killed all the other Night Furies and shoots a sleeping Toothless underneath a blanket. After Hiccup proclaims that he will never give Toothless up, the Dragon Riders burst out of hiding and into the room, revealing that it was Fishlegs that was shot, not Toothless. Grimmel responds by commanding his Deathgrippers to attack the Dragon Riders and burn the house down with their acid before disappearing with an ultimatum: if Toothless is not surrendered the next day, everything that Hiccup loves will be destroyed. This prompts the Berkians to leave Berk on a quest to find the Hidden World. But unbeknownst to them, they're doing exactly what Grimmel wants them to do. Soon after the Berkians' departure, Grimmel meets the Warlords by the Great Hall, where he reveals he knows exactly where the Berkians are going.

Later, Hiccup and the Dragon Riders head to Grimmel's base to capture him. But Grimmel has anticipated this and traps them inside the building with his Deathgrippers. A confused Hiccup asks Grimmel why he is trying to hurt them, to which Grimmel explains his past and his belief that humans and dragons cannot live together, deriding Hiccup's opposite beliefs as complete nonsense. When Hiccup points out the hypocrisy in his statement by reminding Grimmel that he has his own dragons (referring to the Deathgrippers), Grimmel reveals that the Deathgrippers are basically his slaves, brainwashed with their own venom. With that, Grimmel orders the Deathgrippers to kill the Dragon Riders. The Riders barely manage to escape with their lives, and unknowingly leave Ruffnut behind.

Grimmel holds Ruffnut captive even though her constant chatter annoys him a lot. When Ruffnut asks Grimmel for food, she inadvertently reveals her tribe’s current settlement of New Berk, which gives Grimmel the idea to release her and a caged Scuttleclaw so that he can follow her from a safe distance.

After Hiccup and Astrid return to New Berk from the Hidden World with Toothless, they discover the Light Fury has followed them. It's a moment of happiness that quickly turns around as Grimmel finally takes the opportunity to capture Toothless and recapture the Light Fury. But in an attempt to protect their Alpha, all dragons on the island come to save Toothless. But Grimmel, having foreseen this, points a harpoon at the Light Fury and orders Toothless to make the dragons follow them without harming Grimmel. With his love for the Light Fury, Toothless is forced to obey. Having succeeded in his mission he leads the dragons to the Warlords, but decides to go back on their deal and kill Toothless and the Light Fury himself in order to finish his extermination of the Night Furies once and for all.

Hiccup and the other Riders surprisingly come flying towards the armada in their flightsuits, starting a big battle. Grimmel's platform quickly gets destroyed and in an attempt to get away, he puts one of his collars on the Light Fury, which injects her with the venom of his Deathgrippers, gaining control over the dragon. Hiccup frees Toothless and chases after Grimmel. But Grimmel is prepared and fires one of his darts towards them. Hiccup evades the dart by jumping off Toothless, but this results in the dart hitting Toothless instead, causing Toothless to fall towards the ocean below. Hiccup kicks Grimmel off the Light Fury and seeing Toothless is falling, removes Grimmel's collar. He tells the Light Fury to save Toothless and lets go, so he and Grimmel fall towards the ocean far below. Grimmel grabs onto Hiccup's prosthetic leg, not knowing that it is removable. The Light Fury saves Toothless and comes back just in time for Hiccup, who removes his prosthetic leg to separate himself from the astonished Grimmel. The Light Fury carries Hiccup to safety while Grimmel hits the water and dies, ending his threat to dragonkind once and for all.

Physical Appearance
"Grimmel cuts a slender figure and has a shock of white hair. He dresses from head to toe in black, scaly leather and is armed with a deadly crossbow."

- How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

Grimmel is a tall, slender man with gray hair, pale skin, and light blue eyes. He wears leather armor, brown pants, greyish-brown boots, and a hooded jacket.

Personality
"Nothing's accidental when it comes to old Grimmel. He lives for the hunt. To get inside the mind of his prey, to control its every choice. It's all a game to him."

- Eret's assessment of Grimmel's character

Grimmel is a seasoned dragon hunter who lives for the thrill of the chase. He is cunning, determined, single-minded and patient, ready to strike at any opportunity, but perfectly willing to wait until his target is assured. He is adept at anticipating nearly every course of action that his prey will take. He is also ruthless, as he is willing to do absolutely anything to get what he wants.

Grimmel holds great prejudice towards dragons and is of the firm belief that they must be eliminated. Any alternate ideas that involve coexistence are unacceptable to him, as he believes that dragons and humans simply cannot live together and that humans are superior to dragons. He also seems to be quite arrogant due to his intelligence.

Abilities, Skills, and Talents
Dragon Hunting: Grimmel was an exceptionally skilled and experienced hunter who knew how to track down his prey and anticipate their actions. The most infamous example of his hunting skills is the fact that he hunted the Night Fury dragons to the brink of extinction.

Dragon Commanding: Grimmel managed to successfully drug six Deathgrippers and trained them to become vicious killers that obey his every command. He trained them through unknown ways to answer to his whistles and finger snaps. He also forces dragons to do what he demands without Deathgripper venom, such as forcing Toothless to call off his dragon flock from attacking in order to protect his mate.

Dragon Riding: Grimmel was able to ride the Light Fury without any difficulties after drugging her with Deathgripper venom, until he is knocked off her back by Hiccup.

Inventing: Grimmel had a talent in creating devices that would help him in his hunting expeditions. He was able to create devices that are oriented with Deathgripper venom such as his crossbow and collars that he would use on his dragons. It is also possible that Grimmel created his airship to help him travel to various locations.

Intelligence: Grimmel's specialization in hunting Night Furies allowed him to gain a great amount of knowledge about the species' behavior. He was also prepared for nearly every scenario when facing the Dragon Riders by setting up traps or ordering his Deathgrippers to be in certain locations.

Toothless
"Well, it seems one slipped through your fingers."

- Chaghatai informing Grimmel of Toothless' existence

Grimmel has claimed to have hunted down every Night Fury except for Toothless. This causes the latter to become the hunter's most coveted trophy, particularly since capturing Toothless simultaneously allowed him to capture all of Berk's dragons.

His Deathgrippers
"Save your breath. The only Alpha they respond to is me."

- Grimmel to Toothless

Grimmel has subjected six Deathgrippers to his command by using their own venom against them. He did this by sticking vials of their venom into their heads through a collar that each one wears, drugging them into absolute obedience. Grimmel possesses no personal attachment to his Deathgrippers and views them only as tools instead of living creatures.

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III
"You wish dragons to live free among us like equals? A toxic notion, my boy. History has shown that we are the superior species. What if word of your misguided ideas were to spread? It would be the undoing of civilization as we... know it."

- Grimmel to Hiccup

Being the best friend of his ultimate prize, Grimmel knows that Hiccup is an obstacle in his hunt and threatens to destroy everything the young chieftain loves if he does not give Toothless up.

Grimmel revealed himself as the antithesis of Hiccup, as he killed the first Night Fury he encountered instead of saving and befriending it, subsequently convincing himself that humans and dragons could never be friends. However, in their final confrontation, Hiccup's views on the potential friendship between humans and dragons are proven correct, as he risks death to let the Light Fury save Toothless and she subsequently returns to rescue Hiccup while leaving Grimmel to fall into the ocean.

Unnamed Light Fury
"The only dragon they left us from last night's raid."

- Chaghatai presenting the Light Fury to Grimmel

Grimmel first saw the Light Fury caged at the Warlords' base, and he would use her as bait and as a distraction for Toothless. Once the Light Fury has served her purpose, Grimmel recaptures her and drugs her with Deathgripper venom in order to ride her and control her more easily. Fortunately, Hiccup saves the Light Fury by kicking Grimmel off her back.

Ruffnut Thorston
"Most annoying creature ever to cross my path!"

- Grimmel to Ruffnut

After Ruffnut is left behind by the Dragon Riders at Grimmel's base, she is thrown into a cell next to a Scuttleclaw. Ruffnut annoys Grimmel by talking non-stop about herself and her love life to the point where he decides to free her from her cell (along with the Scuttleclaw) and use her to discover the location of New Berk. Grimmel hates Ruffnut, and claims he has never met a creature so annoying, and Ruffnut makes it her responsibility to annoy him as much as possible.

Stoick the Vast
"Your father knew of me. Now, there was a chief. One of the greatest dragon hunters to have ever lived! What would he think of you?"

- Grimmel telling Hiccup about Stoick

When Grimmel first confronts Hiccup, he notices Hiccup has never heard of him. He tells Hiccup how Stoick, who has heard of him, was a great chief and one of the best dragon hunters of all time. He also states Stoick would be ashamed of the way his son is ruling Berk. Grimmel then goes on about how Stoick did the right thing by killing dragons so that Hiccup could live in a better world. Hiccup retorted back by stating that his father changed his mind about dragons, and Grimmel simply countered by saying that it was Stoick's new opinions that sent him to his own death.

Trivia

 * Grimmel's full name resembles that of Grimbeard the Ghastly.
 * Grimmel's intentions to exterminate all dragons are similar to that of Alvin the Treacherous from the book series.
 * Grimmel's hairstyle is similar to that of Gellert Grindelwald from the Fantastic Beasts films.
 * The two characters also believe that their actions are for the greater good of the world.
 * Grimmel's accent seems to indicate that he is of Russian origin or descent.
 * Grimmel shares several similarities with Viggo Grimborn.
 * Both characters rely on their wits to swindle and outmaneuver their enemies.
 * Both characters' main profession is hunting dragons.
 * While Viggo hunted and killed dragons for profit and power, Grimmel hunted and killed dragons for pleasure and out of hatred.
 * Grimmel is referred to as "G" in Dreamworks Dragons: Dawn of New Riders, as well as the "pale poacher", and has "an odd ship, one that seemed better suited for the skies than seas". He was never mentioned by full name, due to a spoiler embargo on the third film while the game was in production.
 * When Ragnar the Rock refers the female Light Fury as Grimmel's favorite bait, it is implied that Grimmel used captured Light Furies or Night Furies in his past hunts to lure others of their kind into his trap.
 * Since Grimmel knows that Toothless has met and is attracted to the Light Fury, it is possible that he is present and hiding somewhere when the former found the latter.
 * The cover of The Art of How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World supports this idea.