- “I've spent my whole life hunting dragons, killing them, and I've come to respect them as equals”
- ―Viggo to Hiccup after his redemption.
Viggo Grimborn is the central antagonist turned anti-hero of Dragons: Race to the Edge. He is the younger brother of Ryker Grimborn and the genius chieftain of the Dragon Hunters, a group of individuals who do anything to harm dragons and sell them on the black market.
Background[]
Personality[]
Viggo Grimborn is a mysterious figure, often hiding in the shadows and letting his followers do his dirty work. He knew everything there was to know about dragons, clashing with Hiccup and his friends over the Dragon Eye. Viggo is willing to make sacrifices to get what he wants. He let his own men die from the Scourge of Odin just so he could capture the Buffalord.
Usually, he remained calm and collected whenever a situation goes awry. Unlike his brother, Ryker, who uses brute strength, Viggo prefers to use his head. In season 6, when he briefly dueled with Hiccup, who was infuriated, Viggo remained calm firing their entire duel, He was intelligent, cunning, and incredibly devious. He is one of the villains to outsmart Hiccup and the only one to see him as a worthy adversary. He mostly uses wit to outsmart his enemies, being able to trick Hiccup in every way.
Despite their mutual respect for each other, unlike Hiccup, Viggo has no sense of honor, risking innocent lives. He willingly let a Submaripper to live in the middle of the sea and the trade route to Berk for the traders to go sour when it attacked the traders' ship. it deprived the people of Berk for their trade and endangering the lives of Hiccup's people. He meant it as a warning to Hiccup if he continued to free dragons and an attempted to hurt him. Stoick identified this act to Hiccup as an act of cowardice, as a coward for endangering the lives of innocent men, women and children. To Viggo, everyone is expendable, even his own men and believed anyone could be replaced. However, he did not appear to show it in season 5, when he went back and saved one of the men.
However, until the last days of his life, Viggo came to see dragons as equals. He showed that he never wanted to harm Toothless, especially only lying about the red olliander being poisonous to gain Hiccup's help. He came to respect them and said that Hiccup taught him that dragons and Humans would be equals. He along with his Skrill fought the Dragon Hunters to give Hiccup and Toothless time to escape.
Physical appearances[]
Viggo wears a black leather 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. He also wears a single holster strapped across his back. The holster is metal and looks like a dragon's head, with a jewel as an eye.
Viggo has short black hair, large brown eyes, 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.
Abilities and Powers[]
Though being a regular human with no special powers or abilities, Viggo does have a wide enough set of skills.
- 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.
- 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.
- Strength and Fighting Skills: Viggo is well trained in the use of unarmed combat as he was able to fend of Heather - a warrior on par with Astrid - effortlessly and with his bare hands. He carries a large sword on his back, which bears a slight resemblance to Hiccup's sword, Inferno. He shown his strength to be able to hold Heather easily but he was stated by his older brother, he 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 by ropes with a large boat, using large heavy hammers to control the vibrations of two Catastrophic Quaken's, and summoning a Submaripper by using the vibration of a dagger by dropping to the sea where it was located.
Weapons[]
- Sword: Even when Viggo prefers to use his mind to outwit and fight his enemies, he still carries a short but rather solid and heavy sword on him. The hilt shape is rather simple, but is bejeweled with a row of - presumably - rubies. Viggo is frequently seen with his sword carried on his back. At the end of "Sins of the Past", when inserting Heather's lens in the Dragon Eye with Krogan, Viggo is shown to have regained his sword, wearing it once again on his back. How he regained it is currently unknown, but it is possible that Johann (who is revealed at the same time to be evil and working with Viggo, Krogan and the Dragon Hunters) could have at some point managed to either buy or steal it back.
- Daggers: He also has daggers that he uses to fight his enemies and to call/lure or tame dragons, as he had dropped one of them into the ocean to call the Submaripper and to lure a wild Skrill to him with a metal dagger, which is an old Berserker trick that they had used to lure Skrills into their traps.
- Fire Sword: While having been inspired by Hiccup's Inferno, Viggo made himself a sword that can ignite itself. He briefly used it against Hiccup, with the fight ending when Viggo released gas from the sword and ignited it, making a small explosion. Viggo then put his sword down as a sign that he doesn't want to hurt Hiccup. Later, when Johann figured that Viggo is not on his side anymore, the latter released gas and ignited it, creating a big explosion to mask his escape. He then found his Skrill and freed him by cutting its chains with his sword. Viggo is seen with his sword in his hand while talking to Hiccup. As his final act, Viggo ignites the sword and attacks a group of Dragon Hunters.
Role in the series[]
Season Two[]
Viggo was first mentioned by Heather when they debated as to the fate of Astrid Hofferson and her fellow dragon riders, knowing he would want them alive. Astrid told the other riders that Viggo was the true leader of the Dragon Hunters instead of Ryker. According to Heather, he works in the shadows and everyone is afraid of him, including his brother, Ryker. He was mentioned again when Ryker, Dagur, and their forces failed in attacking Dragon's Edge.
Viggo made his first appearance when he met Dagur and Heather for the first time. During the meeting, one of the hunters was discovered to have been stealing the inventory. While it appeared Viggo forgave him, the hunter was taken away to be punished. Viggo spoke to Heather alone about knowledge of a traitor among the Dragon Hunters. Seeming to believe it was Dagur, or even Ryker, he turned to Heather for help in capturing a Flightmare.
However, Viggo knew Heather was the real traitor, and used her to lure the Dragon Riders out. The Hunters were soon able to capture the Flightmare, as well as Heather and Windshear. Viggo left the game Maces and Talons on his abandoned ship, with pieces representing him, Hiccup and Heather, as a challenge for Hiccup.
While waiting for the Dragon Riders to strike, Viggo had Heather locked up, took in preparations for the Flightmare, and even played a live version of Maces and Talons with Dagur. At first, Dagur gains the upper hand, but Viggo nevertheless wins, showing his readiness to make sacrifices. Viggo hid among the trapped dragons where he encounters Hiccup, who was searching for Heather. His men manage to paralyze Hiccup and Toothless, while Viggo takes the Dragon Eye. After using the Flightmare's mist to unlock the Dragon Eye, the hunters release the dragon, giving Viggo and the Dragon Hunters a chance to escape.
With the Dragon Eye back in the hands of the hunters, Viggo now sets his sights on selling and killing every dragon, including Toothless.
Season Three[]
Viggo then had one of his ships infected with the Scourge of Odin in order to create an outbreak to demand a cure. Viggo was able to follow Hiccup and his riders (most likely using the Dragon Eye) to Odin's Respite to capture the last Buffalord. Hiccup then had Toothless threaten Viggo but Viggo threatened to have Ryker kill the Buffalord. Viggo then agreed to let Hiccup have the cure for Astrid in exchange for the dragon. However, the Buffalord, unwilling to leave its island, inflated and escaped, causing havoc on Viggo's ship. Viggo, realizing that Hiccup knew that the dragon will inflate once it's away from its island, ordered Ryker to free the dragon.
Viggo began a mining operation, using Catastrophic Quakens, to build a dragon-proof metal fortress on his island. However, before it was completed, the Riders managed to free the Quakens and use them to destroy the structure. Viggo began to realize the threat the Riders were to his plans.
Hiccup and the others soon found one of Viggo's fleets hidden in a remote location, and planned to take it out. However, Dagur, who had changed, told them it was a trap Viggo set up to lure them in, but know one believed him since they thought he was still working for Viggo. The Berserker went after the fleet and proved it was a trap. He managed to take it down, but was killed in the battle. Before his death, Dagur left a note for Heather telling her about Viggo's dragon auctions.
Viggo soon planned an auction, where he was expecting a "special guest". Make sure it went perfect, he had Ryker set up extra defenses around the island. The brothers were greeted by a young man named Sir Ulgerthope, who which Viggo thought he had met before, but still let him and his valet enter the auction. Trader Johann soon showed up offering dragons as payment for safe travel in his trade. Viggo noticed the creaking floorboards on his ship and even smashed through one to check it, but found nothing. He accepted Johann's gift and let him pass.
When the auction was about to start, Viggo noticed the man he was expecting in the front. Just as it began, he found the twins under one of the sheets covering a cage, and realized Ulgerthrope was a Dragon Rider as well. The Riders were soon all captured and Viggo took possession of Berk's gold. He made his way off, adding Toothless to the bidding list. Once the Night Fury was brought up, bids started immediately. Viggo told one of his men to get Hiccup, so he could watch his dragon be sold. The cloaked man put up the largest amount and was about to buy Toothless, until the Riders released the dragons, causing a panic and made Viggo lose his customer. He made his was to his ship with the gold he already had. When Hiccup tried to stop him, he threw the chest into the ocean. Hiccup managed to retrieve it, but realized Viggo switched the chests. Hiccup was devastated for losing all of Berk's gold to the Dragon Hunters, but they still saved all the dragons.
After several confrontations, Viggo invited Hiccup to meet on a remote island. It was covered in blue oleander flowers, thus preventing Toothless to get close. Once he arrived, Viggo offered Hiccup truce, depicting a map of where each would leave alone. Viggo even signed it to make it official, but Hiccup said he would think about it. Knowing Viggo didn't really want a truce, the Riders went to the nearest island on his side, believing he didn't want them to find it. There, they met the Defenders of the Wing, a tribe of dragon worshippers. However, they soon found out Viggo used the Riders as a distraction so his men could capture their dragon protector, the Eruption.
Season Four[]
Viggo and Ryker then kept the Eruptodon aboard their ship. Viggo planned to have the Eruptodon go into it's feeding frenzy and have it awaken Dragon's Edge's volcano. At first, his plan went off without a hitch until Mala, Hiccup, and his riders arrived and used the Edge's Gronckles to bring it back to Caldera Cay.
Following this event, Viggo then placed a bounty on Hiccup, in which failed.
After Hiccup and his riders crippled several of his operations in the east, Viggo became annoyed by this and decided to deprive Berk of its trade routes. Viggo thus had a Submaripper chained up to keep Trader Johann and others away. When Hiccup and the dragon riders try to free the Submaripper he placed in the straits, Ryker, Viggo, and his men came to intercept them. After Hiccup and the Dragon Raiders successfully freed the captured Submaripper, Viggo and the Dragon Hunters were overpowered and forced to flee.
Following Viggo's defeat at the Straits, his hunters were patrolling an island when they found an unknown dragon pretending to be ill. The Hunters tried trick the dragon into thinking that they are his friends in order to bring it to Viggo. But the dragon, a Shadow Wing, managed to kill them easily with help from its pack.
Viggo was then able to capture Hiccup and several of his riders when they attempted to find his and Berk's gold supply. He then spoke with Hiccup. Following that Fishlegs, Heather, and Dagur plan to rescue Hiccup and the captured riders but, their plan fails when Viggo tricked them with dragon-proof ships encased in wood. However Dagur had a plan to best Viggo's dragon-proof ships with the new move he taught his dragon, Shattermaster, the shatter scatter. When Fishlegs and Heather played with Dagur's plan they wrecked Viggo's armada of dragon-proof ships, and rescue Hiccup and the captured riders. After that they find the gold and bring it back to Berk. Dagur gets a share of the gold and he and his sister, Heather, leave to find their father, Oswald.
When Ruff and Tuff go to fix their broken mace at the Northern Markets they accidentally discover a secret operation the Dragon Hunters are building known as Project Shellfire. Viggo made an announcement to his hunters saying that when they complete Project Shellfire, the Dragon Riders would be destroyed along with their allies. later Viggo warned Ryker that their camp has been infiltrated when getting news from a Hunter. The Hunters eventually capture Ruff and tie her up. So later when Hiccup came to attack their operation, Viggo had the gates open to drown Ruff. After that, Tuff was confronted by Ryker. When he got on his dragon he managed to free the dragon riders from Viggo's trap. Unknown to Viggo or Ryker, Tuff stole the plans to Project Shellfire prior to the arrival of the Riders and later showed them to the Dragon Riders. However unbeknownst to them, Viggo's plan was already operational.
At some point, Ryker and the Dragon Hunters betrayed Viggo and chose Ryker as their new chief.
When Hiccup and the Dragon Riders along with Stoick, Gobber and the auxiliary riders and Dagur and Heather attacked, Viggo told them that Ryker and the Dragon Hunters betrayed him. They were vary to trust him, but Viggo told them that he will explain to them what shellfire is, and where the Dragon Eye is but only if they help him stop Ryker and the Hunters. So the Hiccup and his riders brought Viggo to Caldera Cay, where the defenders of the wing imprisoned him, just as Ryker sent the Shellfire to attack the Wing. With the shells of that imprisoned dragon attacking on the Wing, Viggo managed to escape with the cover of the explosions. Later, he appeared at the Edge and made a deal with Hiccup that if Viggo returns the Dragon Eye, Hiccup and the Riders will help him stop Ryker.
Although Viggo keeps his end of the bargain, the riders, Dagur, and Heather are wary to trust him. For that reason, Hiccup has him locked up in the dragon stables. When Ryker and the Hunters attack, Viggo's cell and the stables get caught on fire, so Hiccup rescues him and agrees to accept his help in defeating Ryker. So when they arrive on Toothless in the middle of the sea Viggo drops his dagger into the water to attract the attention of a Submaripper.
Viggo then admits to Hiccup that he learned from the Dragon Eye that the Submaripper is the natural and hated enemy of the Shellfire. Since the shellfire began battling the Submaripper the shellfire was broken free of it's imprisonment and Ryker sank to his death. Later, Viggo held Astrid hostage and threatened to kill her if Hiccup didn't give him the Dragon Eye, but Hiccup defied him and cast the Dragon Eye into the volcano.
Viggo quickly chased after it and failed to prevent it from being destroyed. Now furious, Viggo planned to kill them for ruining his plans, but the ledge of the volcano upon which he was standing became unstable and he fell screaming to his fake fiery demise yelling "No! Hiccup.". After that, the volcano erupted, eliminating whatever trace of Viggo might have been left.
Season Five[]
However, Viggo manages to survive the fall but gains a burned mark on his face and a blinded eye. He soon forms a partnership with Krogan (the second-in-command of Drago Bludvist's army) and the two of them lead the Dragon Hunters during the events of season 5. And they took over the base also for some time. Eventually, a battle ensues between the Dragon Riders and their allies and the Dragon Hunters & Flyers. Eventually thanks to Hiccup and Spitelout, the Dragon Fliers present were incapacitated and Viggo and Krogan retreat and were chased by Astrid until she recognized that Viggo was alive and informs the other.
In the final episode of the very season, Viggo and Krogan sees a dragon eye projection after Krogan got a lens from Heather to which he tells to handle it carefully until Johann enters the scene and explains his grand plan to find the King of Dragons, to which they smile at each other.
Season Six[]
In the first episode of season 6, which directly happens after season 5 cliffhanger, they see that the projection doesn’t lead them to the Bewilderbeast, Viggo says that they need all lenses representing each Dragon class. Krogan suggest to have his men scour every island for the lenses to which Viggo taunts him and they almost get into a bitter fight, but Johann throws soem daggers between them to stop the fight and orders Krogan to send the flyers while asking Viggo what idea is he suggests, to which he tells about the fact that Hiccup has a stockpile of lenses, to which Johann gets and then decides to deal with Hiccup himself.
In “Triple Cross”, Viggo brought Johann to a cave where he claims that the last lens was here, but it turns out it was false and Johann tells the flyers to seal him in. Virgo manages to escape and lured Hiccup into helping him saying that he put red oleander into a fish he gave Toothless and said it was poisonous.
They both went to the Dragon Hunter base, and staged Hiccup to be arrested and was taken to Trader Johann. Johann knew Viggo was up to something and escapes as he unleashes the Zippleback gas.
Hiccup and Viggo came across a room, saying that fooling Johann wasn’t as easy as he thought. Hiccup demands for the antidote, while Viggo says that there isn’t one. Hiccup misunderstands until Viggo says that red oleanders are harmless and said that he now gave up his life of crime. He told Hiccup and Toothless to leave and gave him a pawn from Maces and Talons. He told his Skrill to leave, but he insisted to come. Viggo attacks the Dragon Hunters and the Skrill made an explosion, which killed Viggo.
Trivia[]
- The roles of Hiccup and Viggo are the second time that Jay Baruchel and Alfred Molina worked on a project together, preceding The Sorcerer's Apprentice as Dave Stutler and Maxim Horvath respectively. In both cases, their characters are enemies, and at one point, Molina's character hold the girlfriend Jay's character to achieve a certain object.
- Viggo shares several similarities with Grimmel the Grisly, as they both use their wits to try and defeat Hiccup. They are also some of the most deadly and dangerous enemies he has ever faced.
- Both characters rely on their wits to swindle and outmaneuver their enemies.
- Both of their professions are hunting and killing dragons.
- While Viggo hunted and killed dragons for profit and power, Grimmel hunted and killed dragons for pleasure, out of hatred and to become recognized as a hero by the Vikings.
- Viggo was betrayed by his allies first, while Grimmel betrayed his allies before they could do anything.
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