“ | He's worked for me for a dozen years and although his appearance may be displeasing, he is loyal and efficient. Don't try to talk with him, by the way. He has no tongue | ” |
—Herod Sayle describing Mr Grin to Alex Rider |
Mr. Grin is the secondary antagonist in Stormbreaker. He is Herod Sayle’s butler and henchman.
Role in Series
Stormbreaker (and Mr. Grin Receives Special Education)
When Alex is discovered to be a spy investigating Sayle's Stormbreaker computers, Mr. Grin knocks Alex out and takes him to Sayle. While Sayle explains to him his plan, Mr. Grin threatens Alex with knives in order to intimidate him and make him reveal everything he knows. Alex manages to escape from their capture and confronts Mr. Grin on a plane full of some of Sayle's Stormbreaker computers. He aims a gun at Mr. Grin and forces him to fly him to London so that he can stop Sayle. As Alex parachutes from the plane, Mr. Grin swerves round to try and ram Alex, but Alex has left the Bomber Boy cartridge from his Game Boy on board (given to him by Smithers). Alex activates the cartridge and it lets off a cloud of tear gas which fills the plane, leaving Mr Grin temporarily blinded. The plane hurtles towards the ground and crashes into a dock, and Mr. Grin dies in the resulting explosion by the dock.
In a short story about Mr. Grin, he receives special pronounciation lessons from Nadia Vole and his master Herod Sayle, who use a pronounciation card that has eight words (created by spy gadgets creator Smithers.) In this narrative, it is revealed that he doesn't like being told what to say, because of an action that is not being revealed here.
In the movie Stormbreaker
Unlike the novel, Mr. Grin isn't killed from an explosion. In fact, it is unknown where he dies at all. From Smithers , Alex gets a new gadget that shoots out a dart which makes the victim do whatever the attacker wants. Alex uses this and sees Mr Grin collapse after telling him to take Alex to London. Even though he collapsed, it is presumable that he did what Alex asked since Alex doesn't know how to ride a helicopter.
Appearence
Tall and thin, with ginger hair and a very pale face - almost white. He has two horrendous scars, one on each side of his mouth, twisting up to his ears. The scars are a gruesome shade of mauve. He acquired these scars long ago during a novelty knife-throwing act in a circus. For the climax, he would catch a spinning knife between his teeth. One night, however, when his elderly mother came to see the show, he was distracted by her wave and ended up getting his timing wrong. He was left with no tongue and two scars on each side of his mouth, forming a Glasgow smile. As well as this, he can no longer talk. Instead, he makes howling or grunting noises in order to communicate. Mr. Grin is occasionally referred to as being 'vampire-like'.
Career
After his accident, he changed his name to Mr. Grin and started working for Herod Sayle as his personal assistant.
Personality
"I've already told you that Mr Grin used to be an expert with knives. He still is. Tell me what I want to know, Alex, or he will cause you more pain than you could begin to imagine. And don't try to lie to me, please. Just remember what happens to liars. Particularly to their tongues."
-Herod Sayle warns Alex Rider about Mr Grin's abilities
Grin was sadistic, short-tempered and cruel. He was highly intelligent but callous and violent. He was an expert with throwing knives and was a capable enough marksman, devoting from his past career in the circle. He was also a skilled martial artist as he easily overpowers Alex Rider, who was himself a capable combatant. Despite being an incoherent wreck, Grin showed extreme tactical and intellectual ability and also an uneasy degree of self-control.
Trivia
- He is strikingly similar to Oddjob in that both do not speak. They are also proficient at throwing lethal objects.
- He is one of the few characters who have differing statuses based on whether people believe in the novel or the movie.
Sources
- Photo:
- General information: various sources, including but not limited to:
- Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz (primary)
- The Stormbreaker film (2006) (primary)
Stormbreaker Characters | |
Main Characters | |
---|---|
Alex Rider • Alan Blunt • Tulip Jones • Jack Starbright • Herod Sayle • Yassen Gregorovich | |
Other Key Characters | |
Ian Rider • Smithers • Nadia Vole • Mr. Grin • Wolf • John Crawley |