Qrow Branwen

Qrow Branwen (pronounced "Crow") is 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, Raven Branwen and Taiyang Xiao Long.

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.

He also wears a ring on his right index finger, two other rings on his fourth finger, and a necklace with a crooked cross-shaped pendant.

Personality
Qrow is a cool-headed and nonchalant individual, unafraid to tell it like it is. It's openly stated that he's an alcoholic, as stated by Glynda Goodwitch 'He's always drunk!' He's also shown to openly despise the Atlas military, apparently for the recent occupation of Vytal and the mistreatment of Ozpin as of late, immediately getting into a brawl with Winter Schnee upon first meeting her and backing down at the last second just for the chance to humiliate her in front of James Ironwood.

While watching the Vytal Festival Tournament, he openly expresses displeasure and lack of impression while observing the matches (even as far as calling one a mess), implying he's not easy to please or possibly shrewd in his own skills and past experiences.

Qrow likely cares 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 a copy of Crescent Rose, as Ruby stated that she designed Crescent Rose herself.

In Yang's flashback, he was shown easily dispatching three Beowolves single-handed, displaying that he has remarkable mastery of his weapon.

In the Volume 3 Opening, he was shown to have what looks like a longsword which contains some gears near the crossguard area (on a regular blade), suggesting that his weapon has an alternate form. In the episode It's Brawl in the Family, he begins to reveal this alternate form, but stops and retracts it before it is fully shown.

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 Branwen'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.
 * Given his name, it's possible he is based on or alludes to the Scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz, with his name being an allusion to crow and his connection to Ozpin and Ironwood.
 * 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 what had been a brainchild of the show's creator for nearly a decade. He had gone through many design iterations, but both his personality and combat style have essentially prevailed over the years.
 * It is unknown how exactly he is related to Yang and Ruby, or if he is simply an honorary uncle to one or both of them. Considering he shares the same family name as Yang's mother, Raven Branwen, it's likely that Qrow is Yang's maternal uncle and Raven's brother.
 * Qrow is the first character in the show to swear without being censored.