Sympathetic Villains Wiki
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Next, we are going to steal... pause for effect...THE MOON! And once the moon is mine, the world will give me whatever I want to get it back, and I will be the greatest villain of all time! That's what I'm talking about.
~ Gru’s most famous quote, announcing his plans to the Minions.
Listen close, you little punk. When I get in there, you are in for a WORLD OF PAIN!
~ Gru threatening Vector, and his second most famous quote.

Felonious Gru Sr. is the main protagonist of Illumination's Despicable Me franchise. He is an infamous supervillain who drops his career for heroism after adopting three orphaned girls. After meeting Lucy Wilde, whom he later married, he becomes an agent for the Anti-Villain League, a top-secret organization whose goal is to apprehend villains worldwide.

He is voiced by Steve Carell.

What Makes Him Sympathetic?[]

  • His backstory is tragic, as he was separated from his twin brother Dru, constantly picked on by his peers in school, was isolated there just cause he accidentally touched a girl named Lisa when he tried to ask her out, and was raised by a cruel and perverted mother named Marlena who had no regard for him in the slightest, which traumatized him and made him a villain, and all of those scenes were played for sympathy.
  • He gets along with his mentor, Wild Knuckles, and the two bond after all of his henchmen left him, and he even mourned him after he thought Knuckles was dead. He also stole the moon as a promise to his mentor.
  • Even during his time as a villain, he is shown to be honorable as he tipped the cashier of the coffee shop where he froze the people in, despite having no pragmatic reasons to do so. He also tried his best to keep his promise to make it to the girls' dance recital, becoming devastated upon realizing he was too late.
  • He already had standards even before his redemption as he didn't approve of the Carnival Baker after Agnes hit the spaceship without knocking it over after after he mocked her over losing, Gru blasted his game (which he deserved as he may have rigged it) and won Agnes her fluffy unicorn.
  • He genuinely cares about the Minions and Dr. Nefario, his wife Lucy, his brother Dru, his dog Kyle, as well as his three adopted daughters, Margo, Edith, and Agnes.
  • Although he initially neglected Margo, Edith and Agnes after adopting them and even showed no empathy when Edith survived being stuck in the Iron Maiden in his house, he later came to care for them as his daughters, even becoming more protective of them in the sequels.
  • He is genuinely heartbroken when the girls had to be sent back to the orphanage and when Dr. Nefario, and later most of the Minions, left him.
  • After he successfully shrank the moon, he tried his best to make amends for putting his villainous duties over the girls and keep Agnes’s pinky promise in going to her dance recital by using his rocket to get to the dance hall, and he was genuinely upset when he found out he was too late.
  • He was willing to trade the moon, the one thing that he lived years dreaming of obtaining to get the respect he wanted, in exchange for his daughters who were kidnapped by Vector, despite Vector not honoring the deal.
  • He redeems himself from his bad parenting and saves Margo, Edith and Agnes from Vector, taking care of them and making sure they are safe. He also retires from villainy in the process and eventually joins the Anti-Villain League to stop various villains such as El Macho and Balthazar Bratt.

External Links[]

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