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Affiliation[]

Atlas Military[]

Vol3op 19

James Ironwood serving as the General of the Atlas Military

Ironwood hailed from the Kingdom of Atlas, where he was the Headmaster of Atlas Academy. He also served as the leader of the Atlesian military, where he held the rank of general, and he additionally held two seats in the ruling council. His military constantly cooperated with the Schnee Dust Company to produce robotic soldiers.

While Ironwood had been the General for some time, he did not have knowledge of certain things that his predecessors in the military had such as the identities of the Keepers of Arrowfell. Because his predecessors took this information to the grave with them with even the council unaware of their identities, he had no way of accessing the abandoned military base Fort Arrowfell.[1]

In the Volume 2 Opening, he was seen standing alongside members of the Atlesian military, including soldiers and androids, as well as students of the Atlesian academy and a nervous-looking Penny Polendina. He was also seen at the head of a large formation of Atlesian soldiers and androids in the Volume 3 Opening.

While all of his soldiers originally respected him, by the time of Volume 8 however, they became nervous around him due to his actions. Even some of his most loyal soldiers like Winter Schnee and Marrow Amin became horrified by his extreme decisions and eventually turned against him.

Ozpin's Group[]

Although Ironwood was previously a member of Ozpin's inner circle, he took many actions that his fellow members didn't support, such as bringing his large military airfleet to Vale, a move that Ozpin, Glynda Goodwitch and Qrow Branwen deemed indiscreet and was likely to cause serious fear and concern amongst the populace.

Nonetheless, he was still a valued and loyal member of Ozpin's cadre, and his links to Atlesian research into Aura capture came especially useful to the group, despite their moral compunctions. His technology was necessary to enact their plan to transfer Amber's power of the Fall Maiden to Pyrrha Nikos, and was also Atlesian medical equipment that kept Amber alive.

In "The Enemy of Trust", Ironwood severed his ties to the group when he shot Oscar Pine off the Atlas Vault after the former opposed his plan to abandon Mantle.

Ironwood's Group[]

Following the Battle of Beacon, and without Ozpin to guide him, Ironwood had to trust his own judgement on how to stop Salem, and decided to use a new approach to fight her.

With this in mind, Ironwood created a group consisting of Penny Polendina and Winter Schnee, as well as the Ace-Ops, informing them about Salem and the Relics. The goal of the group originally was to restore global communications by replacing the CCTS by using Amity Colosseum as a satellite and tell the world about Salem. Additionally, the group decided to make it so that Winter would replace Fria as the next Winter Maiden.

After they learned that Ruby's Group lied to them and that Salem was on her way to Atlas herself however, their plans changed to use the Relic of Creation to raise Atlas out of her reach while leaving the people of Mantle to die in the process. This put them at odds with Ruby's Group, who Ironwood ordered to be arrested. As Ironwood began making even more extreme actions however, some members of his group like Marrow Amin and Winter lost faith in him and decided to help Ruby's Group stop him instead.

Ozpin's Group[]

Ozpin[]

Ironwood was shown and stated to be a very good friend of Ozpin, calling him by his nickname "Oz" and taking a familiar mode of speech with him. They spoke rather freely to each other, and both could pick up on subtle cues from each other rather easily. However, on their meeting in "Welcome to Beacon", there was some tension in the air between the two.

Ironwood was not afraid to question Ozpin's judgment, pointedly asking him if his "children", the Huntsmen-in-training at Beacon Academy, would be capable of winning a war. Ironwood also didn't care about Ozpin's rules which was shown when he created the Ace-Ops, a five person team that lacked a color theme because he'd rather have an efficient team.[2]

In "Field Trip", Ironwood stated that he had served Ozpin faithfully for years, showing that they were not on even ground, with Ironwood working under Ozpin's authority within the inner circle.

In "Breach", it was revealed that Ironwood had sent the Vale Council what they described as "disturbing" reports about Ozpin's handling of Roman Torchwick's activities with the White Fang. As a consequence, following the Grimm outbreak in Vale, he was made chief of security for the Vytal Festival. Whilst he was conciliatory in conversation with Ozpin, promising to protect their people to the best of his abilities, he later mused to himself that Ozpin brought what might be seen as a humiliation upon himself.

In "It's Brawl in the Family", Ironwood attempted to justify his methods to Ozpin as being necessary to maintain security. However, Ozpin disagreed, stating that these displays of force only breed fear and insecurity in the minds of the people. Ironwood appeared to acknowledge, however unwillingly, that Ozpin might be right.

In "PvP", after Cinder Fall's attack, Ironwood attempted to explain Atlas' questionable robotic experiments, but Ozpin ignored this and focused on the issue at hand, ordering him to employ his army to fend off the Grimm attacking the city.

In "Taking Control", Ironwood was shown to blame the problems Remnant has been suffering since Beacon's fall on Ozpin for 'not listening to him'. Despite the fact that it was the androids that caused a significant amount of damage and Ozpin warned him against bringing them to the Vytal Festival.

In "A New Approach", when he found out Ozpin's recent reincarnation is Oscar, he looked happy to see him, but he felt disheartened when Oscar told him that he's not Ozpin right now and he disappeared.

Despite having betrayed Ozpin after he planned to launch Atlas into the atmosphere, he still desperately wanted him to return so he could give him guidance about what to do.[3]

Glynda Goodwitch[]

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Despite initial appearances, Ironwood and Glynda appeared to be quite close.

Glynda and Ironwood seemed to have some past history, as he warmly greeted her when they met in "Welcome to Beacon". However, Glynda did not return this joviality, rather sarcastically saying "Oh, James" before promptly leaving Ozpin's quarters. Glynda also appeared to disapprove of Ironwood's display of bringing Atlesian Airships to Beacon.

Ironwood was seen inviting Glynda to dance with him at the Beacon Dance. She reluctantly accepted, rolling her eyes when she took his hand.

In "Mountain Glenn", Glynda consoled Ironwood when he voiced his concerns about Ozpin's perceived lack of action. Glynda showed genuine empathy for Ironwood, agreeing that while Ozpin's methods could be difficult to divine, they should still trust him. Glynda also stated that he was a "good person" and called his actions "admirable".

Later, however, in "It's Brawl in the Family", Glynda agreed with Ozpin and Qrow that bringing the Atlesian fleet to Vale was unwise. In "Fall", Glynda also expressed her distaste over the unethical Atlesian Aura experiments that took place under Ironwood's authority, but in light of the Fall Maiden crisis, she acknowledged they may have been necessary.

In "Amity", Ruby declared in her message to the world that Ironwood could no longer be trusted, which Glynda was shown watching. It is unknown what she thinks of him now after hearing that.

Qrow Branwen[]

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Ironwood gives Qrow a relieved embrace.

Qrow and Ironwood were both part of Ozpin's inner circle, however, they did not see eye-to-eye. Qrow perceived Ironwood's appointment to head of security as a betrayal of Ozpin, calling him a sell-out. He also viewed Ironwood's conspicuous and indiscreet security measures for the Vytal Festival as imprudent and doubted the ability of the Atlesian military to protect the people.

Nevertheless, while Ironwood had issues with Qrow as a person, he had none with his skills as a Huntsman. It was in response to Qrow's warning that Ironwood chose to bring his fleet to Vale.

When mistaking Qrow's activation of his scythe during the Fall of Beacon for Qrow believing that Ironwood had caused the cataclysm, Ironwood attempted to placate Qrow by explaining himself, and stood down, showing that he was willing to die facing Qrow then fight his ally.

In "A New Approach", he looked happy to see Qrow again in Atlas. After Penny and the others toured around Atlas Academy, he embraced Qrow in relief. Kerry Shawcross found Qrow's and Ironwood's relationship super interesting and he wished that they could have explored it more.[4]

Their relationship was completely terminated when Ironwood turned against Ruby's Group and ordered for their arrest in "Gravity". Qrow in turn started to view Ironwood as an enemy due to believing his actions led to Clover's death, even vowing to kill him.

In "Ultimatum", Ironwood was informed that Qrow and Robyn had escaped the prison, and orders his soldiers not to return until he was recaptured. Later, he stated his regret over not using Qrow as a bargaining chip to regain Penny.

Leonardo Lionheart[]

Due to their work in protecting the Maidens, Ironwood and Lionheart were allies, however they were not on the best of terms. Ironwood doubted the Headmaster's ability to handle the current crisis in Mistral. Likewise, Lionheart disapproved of Ironwood's recent actions like his Dust Embargo, and how his personality had changed after the Battle of Beacon.

Ironwood later learned from Ruby's Group that Lionheart had worked for Salem since before the Fall of Beacon out of fear of her. He later told Oscar that he would not end up like Lionheart did. However, while Ironwood didn't turn like Lionheart, he instead went in the opposite direction and intended on sacrificing anything to stop her.

Oscar Pine[]

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Ironwood tries to speak with Oz after meeting his current incarnation, Oscar Pine.

In "New Approach", when Ironwood first met Oscar, he found out that the boy was Ozpin's recent reincarnation. Despite his relief to see Oz, Oscar informed Ironwood that he's not Ozpin right now and he disappeared, much to Ironwood's dismay.

Their relationship started forming when Ironwood tried different ways to draw Ozpin out of the young farm boy, such as when he suggested the two of them spar. In "Worst Case Scenario", Ironwood brought Oscar down to the Atlas Vault where the Relic of Creation was stored hoping he could provoke some old memories into Oscar since one of his past incarnations had decided to use it to raise Atlas, and that this plan had inspired the Amity project. When Ironwood wondered what Ozpin would think of this path he was taking, Oscar warned that it won't end well, but Ironwood fears ending up like Lionheart. Oscar suggested Ironwood talked to the people he was afraid of, causing Ironwood to comment he was sounding like Ozpin.

In "As Above, So Below", after Arthur Watts shut down the heating in Mantle and Grimm started invading the city, Oscar reminded Ironwood of his advice, and convinced him to tell the truth to the Council and Robyn. When Ruby's Group left for Mantle, Oscar stayed and informed Ironwood of the truth, which stunned him. Ironwood nevertheless chose to focus on the present danger, which Oscar complimented him on, though he asked Oscar for no more surprises.

In "The Enemy of Trust", Ironwood was confronted by Oscar in the Atlas Vault after he learned of his new plan of raising Atlas into the sky instead of Amity Tower, which would result in the destruction of Mantle. Despite Oscar's attempts to reason with him that his plan would leave Remnant even more divided, Ironwood insisted that he couldn't see the big picture just like the others. Unable to get through to him, Oscar told him he was as dangerous as Salem. Ironwood, in turn, told Oscar that only his friends called him 'James', but for him, it was 'General'. He then shot him, breaking Oscar's Aura and causing him to fall into a deep pit.

After this, Oscar stated that he should have known Ironwood wouldn't have listened to him and had become enemies following this. After Ironwood planned to use a bomb to destroy Mantle if Penny did not return, Oscar was part of the group that fought against Ironwood and managed to defeat him.

Ironwood's Group[]

Winter Schnee[]

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Winter saluting General Ironwood

Ironwood was Winter's superior in the Atlesian military. Winter originally held a great deal of respect for Ironwood, following his orders virtually without question, and defending him from the criticisms of others. Ironwood had a professional relationship with Winter, whom he referred to primarily by her surname Schnee. As his subordinate, she stood at attention when he appeared and also saluted him when given orders. Ironwood appeared to have a good deal of respect for Winter, as he told her father Jacques Schnee that he considered her one of his best.

Ironwood was firm with Winter when he needed to be, as seen after she embarrassed herself by getting into a fight with Qrow in "It's Brawl in the Family".

In "A New Approach", it was reveals that he told her, Penny, and the Ace-Ops the whole situation about Salem and the Maidens.

In "Cordially Invited", James and Winter were shown to share a mutual disliking towards Jacques, which they bonded over and joked about as they entered Schnee Manor.

In both "The Enemy of Trust" and "Divide", Ironwood stated to have the upmost faith and trust in Winter, in both cases thanking Winter for her support in him. He he also claimed that he'd be lost without Winter, and was shown to notable soften around her. Unbeknownst to him however, she would become horrified when by his extreme actions following Salem's arrival, as seen when she watched Ironwood kill Councilmen Sleet when he voiced his opposition to his plans.

During "Amity", Winter already knew Ironwood working with Watts to get Penny back was a bad idea. However, she still decided to follow his orders at that point.[5]

Later in "War" when Winter reported that they had arrested Yang's Group, he was pleased and told her to not let them out of her sight. In "Ultimatum" he told her to bring them to him so he could use them as leverage to get Penny back. Their relationship took a turn for the worse, when Harriet informed him that she let them go to try and rescue Oscar before planting the bomb he asked her to deliver, and he was enraged that his most trusted comrade went behind his back. After Ironwood took his hand off Winter's shoulder and smashed the table in his office, Winter began wondering if that attack was originally meant for her.[6] Though they were next seen walking together in "Risk," indicating no action was taken against Winter for her oversight. When Marrow denounced him before the Ace-Ops and Ironwood was about to respond by executing him, Winter physically intervened and offered to incarcerate him for treason instead. The general nodded, granting her permission.

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Ironwood fights his former second-in-command

In "Creation", however, Ironwood was shocked to see Winter turn on him and help Team JNPR defeat him. After he broke out of his cell in "Worthy", he confronted Winter down in the Vault, confessing that Winter was the only one he trusted to never betray him. He asked she stepped aside so he could get the Staff. When she refused, the two proceeded to fight, but not before Ironwood shed a tear, seeing that even Winter had forsaken him. He eventually managed to best her, but before he could win, she gained the Maiden powers, which she used to quickly defeat him before abandoning him to his fate.

Penny Polendina[]

Penny was seen standing uneasily with Ironwood's entourage in the Volume 2 Opening. In "Painting the Town...", it was revealed that Ironwood assisted and sponsored Penny's father in her creation. In "It's Brawl in the Family", Penny was seen following Ironwood around. In "Never Miss a Beat", Penny told her friend Ruby that Ironwood did not want anyone to know that she was a robot. When Penny's robotic nature was exposed in "PvP", he managed to maintain his composure amidst the tragedy.

In "A New Approach", he told Penny, Winter and the Ace-Ops about Salem and the Maidens. In "Cordially Invited", Ironwood defended Penny from Jacques' accusation against her while he told Jacques that the video about Penny murdering the people in Mantle was doctored.

In "Divide", After Penny became the Winter Maiden and betrayed Ironwood by escaping Atlas along with Ruby's Group, Ironwood tried to call Penny and convince her to return to Atlas citing that the city needed her. When Ruby told Ironwood that she wasn't going anywhere until he changed his mind about abandoning Mantle, he retorted that if Atlas fell, then all of Remnant was doomed, and if that happened, all the loss of life will be on their hands, a statement that left Penny visibly distraught.

In "Strings", in his endeavors to reclaim the Winter Maiden powers and have the Vault opened, Ironwood forced Watts to try and hack into Penny's systems so he could return her to his side against her will.

By the time of "Ultimatum", he had started to lose patience about getting her back and declared that, unless Penny returned within the hour, he would destroy Mantle with a bomb. In "Risk," when Ruby Rose told him that Penny had agreed to his terms, Ironwood ordered Penny to come to the academy alone.

Ironwood's cannon was designed specifically with the intention of being able to kill Penny, who was an android and a Maiden, showing that he was prepared to put her down if need be.[7]

After Penny died in "The Final Word" and her powers went to Winter, Ironwood didn't mention her passing when he noticed Winter inherited her powers.

Ace Operatives[]

Clover Ebi[]

As one of Ironwood's subordinates, James held Clover to a high standard based on his long-standing reputation as one of Atlas' greatest Huntsmen, even making him leader of the Ace-Ops unit. As seen during Clover's final moments, he reciprocated Ironwood's faith in him and fully trusted him to do what was best for their home Kingdom and trusted him with his life.

After he retrieved Clover's corpse in "Divide", he allowed his teammates to mourn his death.

Harriet Bree[]

Along with the rest of her comrades, Harriet was trusted to mentor and help train Ruby's Group to similar standards as herself and her own comrades.

After she learned that Ruby's Group lied to them however and that they opposed Ironwood's new plan, she showed no hesitation to follow through with his orders to arrest them and later to retrieve Penny by force.

Although surprised when Ironwood killed Sleet, she decided to still follow through with his orders. However, she was shocked that he wasn't bluffing about his threat to bomb Mantle if Penny didn't return, but later agreed to help him if it meant their plans would succeed.

After the Ace-Ops are restrained by Qrow, Robyn, and Marrow and are freed thanks to Watts, Harriet decided to deliver the bomb to Mantle herself while the rest of her team tried to stop her. After she was talked out of it, she decided to stop helping Ironwood with his plans.

Vine Zeki[]

Vine was one of the members of the Ace-Ops Ironwood decided to trust with the truth regarding Salem and the Relics. He was also originally loyal to him and helped with trying to train Ruby's Group and later apprehend them after learning they lied to them and that they opposed Ironwood's new plan.

While he was the least horrified of the group after seeing Ironwood kill Councilmen Sleet and that he wasn't bluffing about his threat to bomb Mantle and agreed to help him with it, he was horrified when he almost killed Marrow for trying to leave the group.

After Harriet tried to bomb Mantle herself however, he decided to stop her since it was pointless now that the citizens were being evacuated anyway. He later decided to sacrifice his life to stop Ironwood's bomb from killing the rest of his friends, showing that he lost faith in Ironwood at the end of his life.

Elm Ederne[]

Elm was one of the members of the Ace-Ops Ironwood trusted with the truth regarding Salem and the Relics. While she was considered the best member of her team, she wasn't made the leader due to Clover's Semblance granting him that position instead.

While she was originally loyal to Ironwood and followed his orders to train Ruby's Group and later apprehend them after learning that they lied to them and that they opposed Ironwood's new plan, she was horrified when he killed councilman Sleet and that he wasn't bluffing about bombing Mantle himself. When he attempted to kill Marrow, Elm was horrified and later nervously fell back in line after seeing him attempt it.

She later lost faith in Ironwood after realizing he was going too far and tried to talk Harriet out of helping him bomb Mantle since she considered her a friend.

Marrow Amin[]

As the rookie of the Ace-Ops, Marrow was a considerably skilled Huntsman and soldier. However, his inexperience and excitable demeanor were somewhat of a source of both annoyance and embarrassment for the otherwise stoic Atlesian General. Despite this, however, Ironwood showed no discrimination at all towards Marrow for his Faunus heritage, treating him just like the other Ace-Ops.

During the events of Volume 8, Marrow was shown to have grown increasingly dissatisfied and unsure of his loyalty towards Ironwood as he became more and more extreme in his methods in "saving" Atlas. It finally hit a boiling point in "Risk", when Marrow became disillusioned with Ironwood after he made his ultimatum and called the rank he gave him a collar rather than an honor. After he tried to leave though, Ironwood spared no hesitation in drawing his gun on Marrow with him not anticipating Ironwood's reaction to his outburst being that extreme[8], only stopped from pulling the trigger by Winter who offered to have him locked up instead.

Salem's Inner Circle[]

Salem[]

As a member of Ozpin's inner circle, Ironwood was aware of Salem's existence and the threat she posed to Remnant. His ultimate plan originally was to restore global communications and reveal her existence to first Atlas, and then all of Remnant, in order to combat her as a united force.

In "Worst Case Scenario", it was revealed that Ironwood developed substantial Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder following the Battle of Beacon due to Salem's actions, when his fleet and army were dismantled.

When Salem manifested through a Seer in "Gravity" and revealed she was on her way to Atlas, this led to him attempting to raise Atlas into the atmosphere to keep the Relics and Maiden far from her reach. Ironwood felt like her coming to Atlas was personal and felt like he had to come up with a solution.[9]

In "The Final Word", after Salem obtains both Relics from Cinder, she leaves the Vault without acknowledging him. He attempts to shoot her, but gave up after Cinder declared checkmate.

Arthur Watts[]

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Ironwood defeats Watts

James Ironwood had an antagonistic professional history with Watts. During his time as a military scientist in Atlas, Watts contributed greatly to the automated security of the kingdom. However, when the project that gave rise to Penny Polendina was initiated, Arthur soon after faked his death. Ironwood personally considered him "a pain in the ass" and likely took issue with Watts' arrogance regarding his intellect and scientific contributions to the military. Ironwood found Watts to be spoiled, overindulged, and far too enabled by the Atlesian military in his endeavors.

Ironwood was also known to be familiar with Watts' fighting style, able to keep up with his constant manipulation of the arena and knowing of Watts' tendency to count his shots.

V8 03 00030

Ironwood threatens Watts to work for him

Later, Ironwood forced Watts to work under him at gunpoint in order to re-secure Penny. Watts implied that Ironwood had used physical force to get him to work with the group. James lacked trust in Watts, and was easily angered by the scientist's snarky attitude. Later on, when having Watts hack Penny and being angered when supposedly she didn't respond, Watt's was able to trick Ironwood into throwing his scroll. Unaware of the doctor taking it without realization, and once Watts escaped thanks to Cinder, he became upset while claiming that either Watts was incompetent for not being able to hack Penny, or he had betrayed him once more.

When Watts took control of the Atlas Command Center in "Worthy", he freed Ironwood from his cell, which led to him killing Jacques and heading to the Atlas Vault.[10]

Cinder's Faction[]

Cinder Fall[]

Although Ironwood originally did not know Cinder's identity, much of his precautions during the Beacon Arc were an attempt to thwart her plans. When Cinder later announced her plans during the Vytal Festival, she proclaimed Ironwood a dictator who held far too much power, an accusation which visibly angered Ironwood.

Much later, in "Gravity", Ironwood found a black queen chess piece Cinder left in his office, and began to panic in response.

His last encounter with Cinder came in "The Final Word", after she emerged from the portal with both Relics and presented them to Salem. When he tried to shoot them, Cinder turned back to him and declared checkmate before leaving with her master, causing him to give up as they left him to die.

Roman Torchwick[]

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Ironwood speaking with the imprisoned criminal

Ironwood took Roman Torchwick into custody following the Grimm attack in "Breach". He imprisoned Torchwick on an airship, informing him that he'd been given the authority to hold onto him indefinitely. Ironwood attempted to interrogate Torchwick, but was unable to get any pertinent answers. He was, however, confident that there would be plenty of chances to "talk" with the felon.

After Torchwick was broken out by Neopolitan and they commandeered the airship, Ironwood referred to the thief as a "vagabond", though it's unclear if he knew for certain that Torchwick had the ship.

Following Roman's death, Ironwood seemed to not show any concern about his death.

Team RWBY[]

Ruby Rose[]

Ironwood seemed to be grateful for Ruby for her efforts in the incident at the Cross Continental Transmit Tower, believing her actions were just and right, as expected of a true Huntress. Ruby herself seemed to be appreciative of such comments.

When the two met again in "A New Approach", Ironwood informed Ruby's Group of his plan to update the communication system of Remnant through Amity Colosseum and revealing the existence of Salem to the world. He also returned the Relic of Knowledge to Ruby as his biggest sign of trust, believing she and her team were qualified enough to keep it safe.[11] He was even willing to have her and her friend's weapons updated and even officially made them Huntresses in "Pomp and Circumstance" due to how much faith he had in them.

Ruby, for the most part, was grateful for this generosity, and even though she was willing to help with his plan along with her friends, she also lied to him about how the Relic of Knowledge's questions had all been used, and the reasons for Ozpin disappearing.

However, during "Gravity", after Ironwood defeated and detains Watts, discovered Cinder's calling card, and learned that Salem was on her way to retrieve the Relics, in addition to learning the truth about Salem and the Relic of Knowledge from Oscar prior, Ironwood lost his faith in Ruby and their relationship became strained, as shown when he retracted his statement about letting her team keep the Relic of Knowledge. He also ordered she and her team be arrested by the Ace-Ops so he could declare martial law and move Atlas far into the sky with the Relic of Creation.

Following the events of Volume 7, Ruby goes through a major change and realized that Ironwood couldn't be trusted to make the right choices and began steeling herself to stand by her friends instead.[12]

In "Divide", Ironwood questioned why Ruby and her group even cared about Mantle after Salem's arrival, placing the blame that if Atlas fell due to the military's lack of access to the Maiden powers and Relics, the lives lost would be on Ruby's hands.

After he declared his Ultimatum to her group, Ruby was shown to be disgusted with him and lost any respect she once had for him.

Weiss Schnee[]

In "Remembrance", Ironwood was shown to be courteous towards the Schnee heiress, apologizing for "overstaying his welcome." Before he departed, the general invited Weiss to join Atlas Academy. When Weiss unintentionally summoned a Boarbatusk from her glyphs, Ironwood refused when a woman demands that she be arrested, arguing that "she's the only one making sense around here".

Ironwood maintained his courtesy towards her after her return to Atlas alongside her teammates in "A New Approach" by giving the Relic of Knowledge back to her team. In "Pomp and Circumstance", he stood up for her when Jacques started talking back to her and later made her and the rest of her teammates official Huntsman and Huntresses.

In "Gravity", however, Ironwood's faith in Weiss was shattered along with the rest of her team after discovering Cinder's calling card and learning that Salem was on her way to Atlas, as well as all the lies they had told him since arriving. Afterwards he had no qualm ordering her and the rest of Team RWBY arrested when she stood against his extreme plan.

When he later declared his Ultimatum to Ruby's Group, Weiss was horrified at the general's intentions.

Yang Xiao Long[]

After Yang apparently attacked Mercury Black unprovoked, Ironwood was seen breaking the news to her and her team that they had been disqualified from the Vytal Festival. He doubted Yang's claim that she struck Mercury in self-defense, instead attributing her actions to stress-induced hallucinations. When Yang continued to protest, he sternly silenced her before leaving.

Ironwood personally ordered that a replacement arm be built for Yang after the Battle of Beacon, to be given with the message that she fought admirably and should be proud of herself.

After learning that she went behind his back and lied to him however, Ironwood lost any faith in Yang and ordered her to be arrested with the rest of her team after learning that they had no intention of helping him with his new plan.

After Ironwood declared his Ultimatum to Ruby's Group, Yang was shown to be horrified with his actions.

Atlas Council[]

Sleet[]

Sleet had a relatively poor working relationship with General Ironwood. Due to James commanding 40% of the council's power for many years, he had managed to overrule and run roughshod over the remaining members of the council for years.

After Jacques became a member of the council, Sleet and Camilla were among the few council members invited to his manor to question Ironwood over his actions and debate his possible removal from the council. After Jacques' true nature was exposed and learning that the heating in Mantle had been shut off, Sleet ended up learning from Ironwood about Salem's existence and became worried if he could truly stop her.

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Ironwood kills Councilmen Sleet when questioning him over declaring Martial Law

When Sleet and Camilla learned about Ironwood declaring martial law, he tried to confront Ironwood over his paranoid actions and apparent fear of Salem only to be shot dead by Ironwood in front of everyone present.

Camilla[]

Councilwoman Camilla considered many of James' endeavors to have been murky at best, and found his use of his power as both General and Headmaster to be somewhat impudent. She disliked his lack of trust in others outside of his own inner circle and how his actions had increasingly harmed Atlas' worldwide reputation.

Later Camilla would attempt to object at Ironwood's declaration of Martial Law and attempted to stop him with councilman Sleet, however James would then execute Councilman Sleet right before Camilla as a threat to stay out of his way, greatly horrifying Camilla.

Schnee Dust Company[]

Jacques Schnee[]

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The General and the Schnee patriarch during the discussion about Winter's report in Mistral

Ironwood had known the Schnee patriarch for many years, and had worked with him on several projects, including the development of the Atlesian Knight-200 as well as the Atlesian Paladin-290 units. Despite their status as friends, Jacques blamed Ironwood for taking his eldest daughter Winter from him after she joined the military, despite it being Winter's own choice. Relations between the two men grew increasingly strained in light of the Dust embargo imposed upon Atlas by its ruling council, with Jacques openly criticizing Ironwood's decisions and conspiring against him for his own benefit.

Ironwood also seemed to favor Weiss' judgment over that of her father, seeing Jacques as increasingly greedy, and citing that Weiss' outburst was the only bit of sense that he witnessed at the Schnee family fundraiser for the citizens of Vale. Given Ironwood's military background, he seemed to respect the warriors of the Schnee family such as Winter and Weiss substantially more than the purely entrepreneurial Jacques.

Ironwood's relationship with Jacques reached a boiling point when it was revealed by Weiss Schnee that her father had conspired with Arthur Watts to steal the election from Robyn Hill, allowing Watts a backdoor into all of Atlas' power and cyber-security systems. He consequently enforced Weiss' arrest of her father and had Jacques escorted into Atlas Military custody from his own home.

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Ironwood kills Jacques after he asked if he would help free him

Later in "Ultimatum", he stated that even though Jacques was still in the custody of the military that he didn't care about him. After leaving his cell in "Worthy", he decided to kill Jacques after he asked if he would help open his cell as well.

Others[]

Olive Harper[]

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Olive standing at Ironwood's side

Originally, Lieutenant Colonel Olive Harper served as one of Ironwood's top soldiers in the military and attempted to help deal with the tense situation between Atlas and Mantle.

After she joined Bram Thornmane's conspiracy however, Harper betrayed Ironwood and secretly went behind his back by using her high position in the military to give Amoncio Glass and his goons Atlas Military technology as well as to recreate the Grimm attracting orbs and distribute them throughout the kingdom after Hanlon Fifestone extracted negative emotions to power them.

Once Team RWBY discovered the conspiracy, Harper at first attempted to lead them towards her fellow co-conspirators in an attempt to deflect suspicion from herself before she is eventually discovered after trying to kill them. After meeting her again in Fort Arrowfell however, Harper realized that she was just being used by Thornmane and felt guilty for her role in the conspiracy and decided to turn herself into the military while knowing she would lose her position in the military as a result.[13]

Bram Thornmane[]

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Ironwood arrests Bram Thornmane

Bram Thornmane knew Ironwood for a long time due to originally serving in the military in the past. Originally, Thornmane trained hard and wanted to be chosen as a member of the Ace-Operatives due to thinking his Semblance would make him a perfect fit for the team. Ironwood however decided against this which would lead to Thornmane secretly holding a grudge against the general for years and eventually led him to leave the military. It's implied by Harper that the real reason Ironwood rejected Thornmane for the team was due to his problematic personality and the fact that Thornmane himself admitted he wanted the glory of being seen as a hero.

Many years after developing his grudge, Thornmane managed to gain access to Fort Arrowfell and started using the Grimm attracting orbs he found there in a conspiracy against Ironwood to make him look bad to the people of the Kingdom and cause them to turn against him. Among his conspiracy included one of Ironwood's top soldiers, Lieutenant Colonel Olive Harper, who used her position to help him smuggle the Atlas Military technology needed to mass-produce the orbs. Thornmane at the time pretended to assist Ironwood due to his involvement and grudge being a secret. Due to Amity Communications Tower still being a secret, Ironwood originally believed the perpetrators of the conspiracy were after it instead of him until Harper's betrayal was revealed.

Once Thornmane's conspiracy was exposed by Team RWBY and Harper's involvement was exposed, they both retreated to Fort Arrowfell where Harper willingly decided to turn herself in while Thornmane was eventually defeated by Team RWBY in the deepest part of the base. Once Thornmane is arrested by the Atlas Military and Ironwood himself confronts him, Ironwood bluntly told him that his conspiracy not only exposed more of the corruption in the Kingdom with the involvement of Amoncio Glass and Hanlon Fifestone, but also that Thornmane's remaining allies such as Harper and Team BRIR abandoned him to his fate.

As Thornmane is taken away by the military, he screamed at Ironwood that it was only a matter of time until the people saw him for who he really was. Thornmane's words later became true when Ironwood eventually decided to abandon Mantle to save Atlas from Salem and even his most loyal remaining followers decided to abandon him to die.[14]

References[]

  1. RWBY: Arrowfell
  2. RWBY Volume 7 Crew Commentary - Chapter 3
  3. RWBY Volume 7 Crew Commentary - Chapter 13
  4. RWBY Volume 7 Crew Commentary - Chapter 2
  5. RWBY Volume 8 Directors' and Writers' Commentary chapter 5
  6. RWBY Volume 8 Directors' and Writers' Commentary chapter 10
  7. 2B vs Winter Schnee | DEATH BATTLE Cast #231
  8. RWBY Volume 8 Directors' and Writers' Commentary Chapter 11
  9. RWBY Volume 7 Crew Commentary - Chapter 11
  10. RWBY Volume 8 Directors' and Writers' Commentary Chapter 13
  11. RWBY Volume 7 Crew Commentary - Chapter 2
  12. RWBY Volume 8 Directors' and Writers' Commentary Chapter 1
  13. RWBY: Arrowfell
  14. RWBY: Arrowfell
Characters
BRIR
RWBY/Justice League
Super Heroes and Huntsmen
Other
Minor Characters
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