The Iron Giant (character)

"Giant" by what Hogarth names him

""You decide what you want to be SUPERMAN""

- The Iron Giant Remembers That Phrase While Preparing to Sacrifice Against the Missile The Iron Giant is the deuteragonist of the Warner Bros. 1999 animated science fiction film of the same name, voiced by Vin Diesel. He is a whopping 50-foot tall autonomous "Metal Man" from another world that crash lands on Earth before becoming friends with a young boy named Hogarth who rescues him from his own internal defensive mechanism. The Iron Giant is loosely based on the title character of The Iron Man, a 1968 novel by Ted Hughes.

Official Warner Bros. Website

 * A 150-foot, metal-eating metal man with a pleasant, inquisitive demeanor enters Hogarth's life and changes everything. With eyes that change color according to his mood or mechanical action of the Giant's suit, parts that transform and reassemble, and an innocent heart, he becomes a best friend, coolest toy, and immortal hero to Hogarth. He learns that you are who you choose to be and uses his strength for good rather than destruction, proving to the world that he recognizes the value of human life.

Personality
While capable of incredible destructive powers and equipped with highly advanced and destructive weaponry, the Iron Giant would not ever want to harm anyone or any living thing. When he first came to Earth, the Iron Giant had a bump on his head, holding back the protocol his metal suit was trying to force. The Iron Giant's suit would activate in defense against weapons, but he can control it later on. It was hard to control his suit's defensive programming. The Iron Giant may be very big and tall and might also contain weapons more deadly than anything Earth has ever seen... but he does enjoy playing with Hogarth, pretending to be Superman with him, and help make amazing, beautiful-looking sculptures and art with Dean. While normally peaceful after Hogarth saves his life, the Iron Giant's suit reacts defensively if it recognizes anything as a weapon, immediately attempting to destroy it in the protection of the Iron Giant, but at first "Giant" (also known as The Iron Giant) couldn't stop his suit until later when he had learned how to control it. The Iron Giant's eyes have a bit of personality; his eyes color would change to different colors for different reasons: At night, his eyes are normally blue for a possible alien type of night vision; in the day, they turn yellow or white for a more normal type of vision to see regularly with the current light at hand. His eyes also turn red when his metal suit gets triggered into a defense mode by the spotting of a weapon and when he is being attacked.

Role in the Film
The Iron Giant is a large 50-foot tall metal man of alien origin and the film's deuteragonist, adapted from the original novel by Ted Hughes, "The Iron Man." The Giant's crash landing on Earth caused a bump on the Iron Giant's head, making his suit not enforce its' protocol for planetary invasion and then was not able to control him, allowing the Giant to be his exploring, kindhearted, childlike self also leaving him with a childlike sense of wonder to find out more about the planet he'd crashed on. The dent on his head indicates that his suit is restricting certain protocols and actions that it would normally commence. The Giant is well-armed, but his suit will only use its weapons in self-defense since the Giant keeps control over it until the end of the movie, when he let his suit fully take over. He is capable of flight and can also repair himself with a homing beacon in his head that will communicate to all of the pieces of his suit to come back to him. The Iron Giant has eyes that glow in different colors depending on his mood and time of day, and if his suit goes into a defensive mode, and his suit can part/transform and reassemble. He is also indestructible to almost anything. The Iron Giant's diet consists of only metal and mostly metal consisting materials.

In 1957, the Giant came to Earth and crash-landed off the coast of Rockwell, Maine. After terrifying a fisherman named Earl Stutz, who called the government upon his return to land, the Giant wandered into the town's nearby woodlands after eating a few abandoned vehicles and set his sights upon devouring a power station. Not a second later, he would have been electrocuted had nine-year-old boy Hogarth Hughes not been searching for the culprit who ate their TV antenna and shut the power down. The Giant continued to eat local pieces of machinery consisting of metal and metal objects and later re-encountered Hogarth, befriends him, and then proceeds to follow him home. The Giant was seen by one of the train's engineers Frank Thomas after the train hit the Iron Giant, who was trying to fix the railroad tracks that he was trying to eat earlier. This event led to him being hunted down by the obsessive government agent Kent Mansley after following the train engineers' suggestion on finding a phone. Kent leaves only to figure out that the BB gun that he had found at the torn apart power station was Hogarth's since Hog Hug was the only thing left of Hogarth's name on the gun. Kent trying to get Hogarth to tell him about the whereabouts of the Giant, rented the room that was for rent at the Hughes's residence.

Slowly, the Giant began to learn, through Hogarth's teachings about how to speak his language, about right and wrong, life and death, and some elements of culture, specifically Superman, who Hogarth thought the Giant could relate to since Superman also crash-landed on Earth and had to learn everything. After relocating the Giant to a Junkyard owned by a beatnik artist Dean McCoppin, Hogarth spent much of his days having fun with the Giant while keeping his existence a secret. Nevertheless, Mansley called the army and General Rogard after interrogating Hogarth into revealing the Giant's whereabouts, but Hogarth and Dean were quickly able to disguise the Giant as another one of Dean's art projects. A short time after, the Giant's automatic defense mechanisms activated when Hogarth was playing around pointing a toy gun at him, pretending he was the evil robot comic-book character, Atomo. The Giant's suit reacted to the toy gun, and the Giant's laser eye beams almost killed Hogarth, but Dean ran and moved him to safety. The Giant didn't know what had just happened, and it seemed like when his suit took over, he was unconscious while his eyes were shooting towards the toy gun because he then started looking around for Hogarth as if he had just vanished.

Being scared for Hogarth's safety, Dean was quick to dismiss the Giant, calling him "a big gun" and pointing at the big hole in the side of the bus he had shot with his laser eyes. The Giant then said, "No, I not gun," and then ran off upset that he almost hurt his best friend, thinking that he was just a gun and not the hero he wanted to be. After Hogarth left in pursuit, Dean noticed Hogarth's toy gun and realized that the Giant was only acting defensively towards the gun, and got on his motorcycle to pick up Hogarth and drive towards the Giant. The Iron Giant felt sad and felt like he couldn't be the superhero he wanted to become and tossed down his "S" symbol, representing himself as Superman and a hero, wandering away, feeling unlike what he wants to be most. He then hears lots of screaming and crying for help and sees two boys 4 or 5 stories high hanging from the balcony of a building from their binocular straps dangling off the side, ready to fall. The Giant then rushes in and catches the two boys before they have a fatal fall, right before the whole town. Seeing the heroic action of the Giant, the people crowd around him in shock of his massive size but also in awe of his heroism; they stand now amazed and no longer shocked by him. Unfortunately, Mansley spotted the Giant behind him after the Giant had rescued the two boys in danger and lied to the army, saying that the Giant was attacking the city. Hogarth found the Giant shortly after he had saved the boy's lives, and the Giant tells him, "I'm not a gun," stating that he realized that he is a hero. Kent pointing the army in the Giant's direction caused the army to start shooting bullets and explosives at the Giant right in front of the townspeople, which made them panic and run for shelter. The Giant and Hogarth then fled, and Dean tried to stop the army by telling Kent that "Would you shut up and listen! The Giant's got the kid with him" but Kent quickly figured out it was Hogarth in the Giant's hands and still didn't care for his life and told the army that the Giant killed a kid hoping that the army would kill the Giant and Hogarth. This event resorted to them flying after falling off a cliff, but when they were in the air, and the Iron Giant had Hogarth in his hands, two US Army Jet fighters were attacking them. After the Giant tried not to harm the Jets that were trying to shoot them down, one of the jets managed to get a shot in on the Giant by shooting a surface-to-air missile and knocked him and Hogarth out of the air. The Giant held Hogarth tight and carefully trying to keep him from getting hurt while they were falling out of the air, but when they hit the ground, Hogarth fell out of the Giant's hands and was knocked out unconscious for a few moments, and when the Giant saw Hogarth laying next to him unconscious he had thought that Hogarth was dead like when they both saw the deer that the hunters killed. Since Hogarth wasn't moving or responding, the Giant was in shock was thinking that he might have killed his best friend until the army rolled up behind the Giant fired at his back. Then the Giant realized that it wasn't his fault, but it was the army's. The Iron Giant's suit was then wanting to enable its defense and attack mode, and the Giant, holding back what his suit was wanting for so long, finally let it go because of his mourning for Hogarth and let his suit take over. The only available option to the army was to fire a Polaris nuclear missile from the USS Nautilus (SSN-571), according to General Rogard and Mansley. Before it could be fired, Hogarth recovered and confronted the Giant. The Giant recognized his friend and stopped his suit's attacking system, and returned to normal after Hogarth told the Giant that he didn't have to be a gun, "Its bad to kill. Guns kill... and you don't have to be a gun. You are what you choose to be. You choose. Choose!" (He said as he was at gunpoint from the Giant until the Giant realized it was him and put his weapons away, and chose to not be a gun saying "Hogarth"). Mansley swiped the radio from the General, ordering that the missile be fired anyway, ignoring the fact that everyone (the army included) was told and shown that The Iron Giant is good, and the missile was targeted at the Giant's current position, which was where everyone was standing.

Hogarth explained to The Iron Giant that when the missile hits, that everyone was going to die. The Giant was saddened by what would happen and looked up at the missile as it was going up in the air and made his decision by saying, "I fix." After telling Hogarth, "you stay, I go... no following", mirroring one of the first things Hogarth said to him, he took off into space, heading straight for the missile. Bracing himself for impact, Hogarth's words of "you are who you choose to be" rang through the Giant's head, and he said his decision to himself before the crash, saying "Superman," meaning he wanted to help and save people like Superman and that's what he'd chosen to do.

Sometime later, Dean had built a statue in the Giant's memory, which was placed in the town park, and Hogarth received a package from General Rogard, which was the jaw bolt from the Giant; it was the only part the army could find. However, that night, the bolt began tapping against the window and glowing as though trying to get out. Remembering that the Giant can repair himself and the different pieces of him that glow when they're trying to get back to him, Hogarth let it go free and opened the window for it to fall out, saying, "see you later." The Giant's parts were converging upon a part of Iceland, where the Giant's head was, still alive and lying in the snow and smiling. He was repairing himself again and possibly would return to Rockwell with hopefully a better greeting and get to see Hogarth and everyone else once more.

Relationships
Hogarth: The Iron Giant becomes best friends with Hogarth, from him saving his life and showing The Iron Giant good, and teaching him to not be just a mindless soldier (or just a gun).

Dean: After thinking Dean was trying to kidnap the only person that was The Iron Giant's friend and the only person he had known at that time but Hogarth showing him that he was just scared, he quickly friends him and gains another best friend. Dean also teaches The Iron Giant the fundamental difference between artwork made and thought of from the inside... and just delicious scrap metal. Dean also provides The Iron Giant a place to sleep and a place to eat and kept him well fed. He had helped him as any good friend would and should do.

Kent: Fearful of the giant’s massive size, Kent stopped at nothing to get the robot blown up. He kidnaps Hogarth to interrogate him about the giant’s location after seeing Hogarth in a picture with the said giant. Fortunately, Hogarth was able to warn Dean about the military’s arrival and managed to disguise the giant as an art piece greatly humiliatingly Mansley. After he had been let go, he followed the general to get his stuff; however, after briefly spotting Dean and Hogarth heading to a nearby city, Kent pointed out the giant’s location and had accused the giant of attacking said city. following the giant fleeing from his attackers Dean was trying to tell Mansley the giant has Hogarth with him unfortunately still feeling humiliated he fed the general lies by saying the giant had killed Hogarth. When the giant was shot down, Kent, along with the military, confronted said giant, firing at it once again; however, the giant was furious because he had thought Hogarth was killed and let out a powerful roar and unleashed his fury on the military with his Superior weapons prompting the military to retreat. Desperate to rid the town of the giant, Kent suggested the idea of utilizing the USS Nautilus. However, when the giant wasn’t in reach of the town, Hogarth, after reawakening from being passed out, shows images to convince the giant to shut down his weapons in which the giant does in fear that he’d become had a gun. As Hogarth and Dean manage to convince the general the giant is innocent, Mansley, paranoid of the giant foolishly and impulsively without the general’s orders, commands the missile launch sending it to the Giants current position, which is currently Rockwell. Having realized that the missile would kill him too, Mansley attempts to desert Rockwell to save his own life, but it’s halted by the giant leading to his arrest.

Immense Strength and Size
Because of his size, the Giant can perform incredible feats of strength. He is strong enough to rip apart metal structures with his hands, lift boulders like pebbles, uproot trees, and crush vehicles.

Indestructibility
Made from an unknown alloy, the Giant's armor and suit render him completely invulnerable to harm although he can still feel pain, his metal suit hands and all are like skin to him as he can feel something right in his hand. He has survived being hit by an oncoming freight train and can withstand machine-gun and missile fire along with multiple high-caliber rounds from tanks, artillery, and battleships. Perhaps the most impressive display of the Giant's invulnerability was surviving a head-on collision with a nuclear missile.



Self-Repairing Function
Whenever the Giant is smashed to pieces, an antenna on his head sends out a homing beacon to the scattered parts, automatically repairing himself by making his pieces roll, crawl, or move to try to get back to him. There appears to be no known limit to the beacon's range, and it can be detected as far away as Iceland.



Flight
The Giant's feet have rocket thruster's allowing him to fly. The rockets are powerful enough to leave Earth's atmosphere and travel through space at tremendous speeds, and the Giant himself can fly fast enough to outrun and outmaneuver a military fighter jet.



Matter Ingestion
The Giant regularly consumes metallic objects as a form of sustenance. When hungry, his stomach groans, similar to an organic life form.

Dream projection
A deleted scene reveals that the Giant can subconsciously broadcast his dreams and memories on electronic devices, shown when his memories of the deer and a war on an alien world are broadcast on Dean's television.

Weaponry
The Iron Giant is equipped with six different kinds of armaments far superior to any human weapon. The armaments themselves use an unknown type of green energy, enabling virtually limitless ammunition. The weapons themselves do not have official names.



Arm Cannon
The giant's arm retracts to reveal a massive cannon similar to a tank gun on his right arm. The weapon itself fires a blast of green energy that explodes on contact with the target.



Laser Vision
Similar to Superman's heat vision, the giant can emit powerful laser beams out of his eyes that effectively burn straight through metal surfaces.



Tri Scorpion Cannons
Three scorpion tail-like cannons come out of the Giant's back. The tails appear to target enemies with a spotlight before firing. Although the weapons use spotlights, they appear to not be heavily accurate and more designed to maximize destruction.



Energy Claw
The Giant's arm retracts to reveal another cannon with a claw mounted at the end on his left arm. The claw fires a sphere of green energy that appears to levitate and vaporize a target on contact.



Spark Spinner Gun
A rotating disc atop the arm cannon that, when the top spins and is repeatedly contacted by two extendable mechanical needles, fires small sparks at multiple targets. The sparks impact and are implied to destroy the vehicles it hits. It was used on several M41 Walker Bulldog tanks, all of which had a cloud of smoke after impact around them.



Energy Cannon
In the center of the Giant's chest, he can charge a big green plasma ball to fire at a large target. The destructive power of it is unknown, as it failed to hit its target - a battleship. However, it can be assumed that it would have at least vaporized its target (or even the group of battleships threatening the Giant), as the blast appeared to be several kilometers in diameter. This weapon is assumed to be the most powerful weapon in the Giant's arsenal.

Origin
According to a deleted scene available in the signature edition Iron Giant Movie (which has an extra scene put in at the first junkyard Scene), the Iron Giant comes from a planet-destroying alien army of metal suited men; the reason as to why this Army exist and their purpose is unknown. It is also unknown whether the Giant came to Earth by mistake or if he was sent here, but when he did come down, it had become obvious that the Giant was not a robot but was alive and in a very large metal robotic suit like a machine. A certain tech device that provides a self-protection program will enable his metal suit to take over and use any means necessary with his foreign military weaponry to protect himself and stop any attacking forces. He eventually learns how to control this later on because he does not want to harm anyone. The Giant's mental age is literally at a small child's level. It seems that the Iron Giant would most likely, on the inside, be at the age of about ten years, which would also explain why he was learning things from when he had first landed. It also seems that he would have to be as old as a normal kid on Earth because if the Giant was sent to Earth and he was to be an adult, he would just proceed with his military protocol for the total annihilation of the current planet he had landed on (Earth). Luckily, the Giant is little and knows right from wrong and doesn't want to hurt anyone and doesn't want to see anyone get hurt. The bump on his head might have been holding back a certain part of his metal suit that keeps trying to force the military protocol that the Giant's people were forced to follow into his metal suit, as it seems the Iron Giant is trying to fight for control of his metal suit through the whole film until Hogarth gets hurt and knocked out and the Giant thinks that his best friend had died because of the Army, he then lets the defense and attack program from his metal suit take over, and this enables all of his weapons. The bump that was on his head had undone itself and before this might have made him forget a lot of things that had to do with his weapons and the program on his suit trying to take control, and it seems that he remembered the weapons he had at the end of the movie. As things had wrapped up and Hogarth showed the Giant that he was still alive and reminded him not to be a gun, that "you are who you choose to be," the Giant thankfully didn't end up harming anyone but then also risked his life to ensure that the town would be safe by throwing himself in the way of the missile and at one point would come back to see his family (Hogarth, Annie, and Dean) and the rest of the town once again.

Memorable quotes

 * "I am NOT a gun."
 * "Souls don't die..."
 * "No Atomo... I Superman."
 * "You are who you choose to be"
 * "Hogarth, you stay... I go... no following."
 * "Superman."

Reception
The character was well received by critics and audiences. Vin Diesel's voice performance as the Giant was praised for being able to deliver a genuine personality to the character. The Iron Giant ranked #1 on WatchMojo.com's Top 10 Saddest Robot Deaths.

Trivia

 * The specific creator of the giant is never revealed and unknown. The only hint comes in the opening sequence, specifically that the giant comes from somewhere beyond the Earth's moon. It can also be inferred from his weapons that the giant was sent to Earth for non-peaceful purposes. (Note: From a deleted scene from the film, he has a brief vision of robots similar to him destroying a different planet, which can suggest that the Iron Giant originally was a weapon of mass destruction and the giant's original objective was to destroy the planet.) However, the dream sequence suggests it arrived on Earth by accident.


 * Vin Diesel voices him with some computer effects added; other actors such as Danny Glover, Robert De Niro, Sean Connery, Frank Welker, and James Earl Jones were also considered to do the voice.


 * The Iron Giant appeared in the 2018 film, Ready Player One. It is first shown as being under construction within the OASIS as a commission for a patron. Later, it is used to fight in the battle to save the OASIS against Nolan Sorento and his army of Sixers.
 * The Iron Giant also appeared in the 2021 film | Space Jam: A New Legacy, as an audience member.


 * Many fans admire the friendship between Hogarth and the giant since it's two people in different sizes and showing that some giants care about small people like humans.