James Ironwood

James Ironwood is the head of Atlas Academy and a leader of the Atlesian military, holding the rank of General.

He was introduced in "Welcome to Beacon", where he is shown speaking to Ozpin about Qrow and his message.

Appearance
Ironwood is shown to be well dressed and clean, much like Ozpin. He wears a white overcoat, with a gray undercoat, alongside a red tie, and a white glove on his right hand. In "Mountain Glenn" Ironwood mentioned that his arm was acting up.

His hair is black, with some areas being silver or gray in coloration, while his eyebrows are a single, black color. He has what appears to be a strip of silver metal above his right eyebrow.

Personality
Ironwood appears to be rather respectful and courteous to his allies, as shown by his first onscreen interaction with Ozpin and Glynda. He is also far-thinking and tactical, wondering about the future, as seen when he speaks to Ozpin about Qrow's message.

Ironwood has a jovial and friendly public persona. His skills as a communicator sees him acting as a spokesman for the weapons manufacturers of Atlas. In this role, he is easy-going and humorous, able to easily draw a crowd into his presentation.

Yet however courteous Ironwood may appear, he can also be incredibly blunt and generally prefers the direct approach. When he feels it is necessary Ironwood is not afraid to bring the full might of his military command to bear, which can spark disagreements with both Glynda and Ozpin when they urge caution and restraint. Glynda herself displayed dissatisfaction in Ironwood's bravado attitude as well. Nevertheless, Ironwood is extremely loyal to his comrades and however questionable his methods may be he seems to have genuinely good intentions behind them.

Ironwood also seems to question his own trust as well, as seen when he told a concerned Glynda about how he felt he was losing his trust in Ozpin, although Glynda told him, instead of talking about it, he should show it more.

Trivia

 * "Ironwood" is a common name applied to a number of types of wood known for their hardness. Alternatively, Ironwood (Járnviðr) is also the name of a location in Norse mythology.
 * Ironwood seems to have a liking for alcohol, pouring some into a coffee cup Ozpin handed to him during his visit to Beacon. He owns a circular metal hip flask with decorations containing the distilled beverage, and he keeps it in the inside pocket of his jacket.
 * Ironwood was mentioned as a general of Atlas' military. It is currently unknown if there are other generals alongside Ironwood, or if Ozpin was referring to him with the generic title of "general".
 * It's likely Ironwood is an allusion to the Tin Man from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz as it would correspond with Ozpin and Glynda's Oz motifs. This would also explain his surname, Ironwood, where iron is a metal similar to tin, with the same color and it would correspond with his gruff nature that some may call heartless as The Tin Man was thought to possess no heart. The Tin Man was also a woodcutter, creating a connection with the latter part of his surname as well.
 * According to Monty Oum, Ironwood was mostly conceived of by Miles Luna and Kerry Shawcross.