Qrow Branwen

Qrow Branwen (pronounced "Crow") is a currently unseen (in person) character in RWBY, and the uncle of Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long. He is a teacher at Signal Academy. He was mentioned in "Ruby Rose" as being the one who taught Ruby how to fight and wield her High-Caliber Sniper-Scythe, Crescent Rose.

Ozpin revealed their acquaintance when he deduced that Qrow was the source of Ruby's talent with such an uncommon and highly dangerous weapon, as he knows of no other scythe-wielders of such comparable skill.

At the end of "Black and White," Ozpin, while viewing footage of the aftermath of the battle, receives a cryptic message from Qrow: "Queen has pawns." James Ironwood also knows Qrow and has been in contact with him.

It is revealed in "Burning the Candle" that Qrow was on a team with Summer Rose, Yang's Mother and Taiyang Xiao Long, Ruby and Yang's father.

On August 7th, 2015 during the RTX 2015 RWBY Panel, it was revealed that Vic Mignogna will voice Qrow.

Appearance
In the flashback sequence of "Burning the Candle," Qrow had dark spiky hair and donned a cloak, with predominantly dark or black clothing. Ozpin's description of him being a "dusty, old crow" may give some clues about his age.

In his official design, he has gray, spiky hair, with a red, tattered cloak, wears a gray dress shirt, black dress pants, and black dress shoes.

Personality
Qrow is likely to care for his nieces dearly, as he saved Yang and Ruby from being killed by Grimm when they were very young. He also took Ruby under his wing and trained her in scythe-wielding, allowing her to pursue her dreams as a Huntress.

Abilities and Powers
As mentioned by Ozpin, Qrow is a master scythe wielder, having taught Ruby how to use her scythe. Qrow's scythe is confirmed not to be Crescent Rose, as Ruby stated that she made Crescent Rose herself. In Yang's flashback he was shown easily dispatching three Beowolves single-handed, showing that he has remarkable mastery of his weapon.

Trivia

 * On November 10th, 2013, a Wikia account registered as Montyoum made an edit to this page to indicate that Qrow's full name was Qrow Branwen. As no verification from an official source was provided that this account was linked to Monty Oum in any way, the edit was reverted. Interestingly, however, following the release of the Volume 2 episode "Breach," on October 30th, 2014, it was revealed that Raven's full name was Raven Branwen.
 * Based on an edit by Sheena Duquette (Monty's wife), it is heavily implied that Ruby's silver eyes may be somehow connected to Qrow.
 * Branwen is Welsh, meaning "blessed white crow/raven," which corresponds to his first name. This could also prove the point that Qrow and Raven are connected in a way.
 * Qrow may allude to Brân the Blessed, who was the brother of Branwen, which Raven could be alluded from.
 * The mumbling of the phrase "That's my uncle!" by Ruby is a reference to the Rooster Teeth Animated Adventure "Left 4 Trek."
 * Qrow was first seen in "Burning the Candle," not in a rendered model, but only as stylized artwork.
 * While only officially given a name by Monty when RWBY was created, the character Qrow is based on had been a brainchild of the show's creator for nearly a decade. He has gone through many design iterations, but both his personality and combat style has essentially prevailed over the years.
 * It is unknown how exactly he is related to Yang and/or Ruby, or if he is simply an honorary uncle to one or both of them.