Decades after Tron first appeared on movie screens in 1982, fans still fondly look back at the film. At the time, no studio had produced a film that featured minutes upon minutes of computer graphics. However, Tron’s production team dedicated themselves to bringing the digital world to life. Even though computers were unable to render full animated sequences, they produced frame after frame for the film’s sequences. So, the visuals of the film blew audiences away.
Still, the film would remain largely forgotten if there were no characters to care about. Luckily, Steven Lisberger understood that he needed relatable characters in his break-out film. He also had a basic idea even before he began the film, for his studio had created a character, Tron, to help advertise itself. So, he infused life into this character to give it a purpose, protecting the mainframe of ENCOM’s computer systems.
In the end, he crafted a full cast of characters that brought his adventure to life. Even the most minor characters, like Ram, made an impact on the complete film. So, audiences became invested in these characters as they journeyed from the game grid to the MCP’s citadel. They also sorrowed over the loss of members of the supporting cast.
These same lessons carried on into the film’s sequel, Tron: Legacy. As the filmmakers had a chance to build on the legacy of the older characters, they also brought new characters to life.
Presenting the top ten characters from the Tron films
10. Ed Dillinger
As Kevin Flynn developed the coding for Space Paranoids, he discovered that one of his co-workers was very, very sneaky. As the man had ambitions to build his career, he modified a program to help him claim the work of others, the Master Control Program. So, he managed to steal the finished game and claim it as his own work. After helping ENCOM release Space Paranoids, the company’s profits skyrocketed. Likewise, Dillinger’s career also took off.
As Dillinger became a senior executive at ENCOM, he became even more protective of the file that could prove that Flynn wrote the original code. So, he granted the MCP more control over the system. Unfortunately, he failed to realize the beast that he managed to create. As the MCP grew in power, it overtook multiple systems in ENCOM’s mainframe.
After Dillinger discovered that Flynn came close to uncovering his file, Dillinger ordered the MCP to revoke all access from all Group-7 personnel, stalling the projects of Alan Bradley and Lora Baines. To his horror, he soon learned that the MCP had developed self-awareness as the program blackmailed him. Unwilling to give up his position, Dillinger gave into the MCP’s demands to help him gain power over the Pentagon and other politically important computer systems.
Luckily, Flynn and Tron defeated the MCP before the program could hold the world ransom. When Flynn returned to the real world, he had access to his old files that proved that he was the real coder of Space Paranoids. Thus, ENCOM discharged Dillinger in disgrace.
9. Rinzler
Decades after Tron helped Kevin Flynn helped Tron defeat the MCP, his son, Sam Flynn, entered the grid. There, he discovered a troubling digital world that no longer had Tron nor Flynn to help protect it. Instead of the guardian program, the programs of the Grid cheered for a new hero, Rinzler, who reigned triumphant over the games. Aside from being one of the top combatants on the game grid, Rinzler also served as Clu’s enforcer. So, the programs of the Grid equally loved and feared Rinzler.
Unique to Rinzler, the warrior could use two identity discs in combat. Thus, the games against him became even more hectic, for his opponents had to overcome the additional weapon. Even without his two identity discs, the program retained the skills and determination of his original incarnation.
Unbeknownst to the residents of the Grid, their former protector, Tron, did not die with Clu’s uprising. Instead, the rogue program captured Tron and reprogrammed him into a loyal servant. While the full scope of his reprogramming is unknown, Rinzler barely retained any hints of his original personality.
Still, his old identity began to resurface as Rinzler chased after Sam Flynn. Eye contact with Sam triggered a series of flashbacks that sent the program into turmoil. Eventually, Rinzler overcame Clu’s reprogramming to remerge as Tron once more. Unfortunately, he plunged into the Sea of Simulation after he attempted to take down Clu.
8. Alan Bradley
As a Group-7 programmer at ENCOM, Alan Bradley aimed to design programs to protect the company’s systems from both inside and outside threats. So, he dedicated himself to designing a program that could maintain the safety of the system, Tron. Unbeknownst to him, the greatest threat to ENCOM’s mainframe already had its clutches in the system. So, the MCP’s actions that revoked his access to the system blindsided him. Even though Bradley desired to restore his access, he had his reservations about contacting the ousted programmer, Kevin Flynn.
Not only did Dillinger steal Flynn’s coding, but he also lied about the man as he forced Flynn out of ENCOM. So, Bradley mostly knew negative things about Kevin Flynn, especially when he discovered the man had attempted to hack into the system. Still, he agreed with his girlfriend, Lora Baines, to ask the gifted programmer for assistance. As he met up with Flynn at the man’s arcade, he continued to doubt Flynn’s character. Still, he required a gifted programmer to help restore his access to Tron.
After helping Flynn break into ENCOM, Bradley anxiously waited for the hacker to restore his access. While he was unaware of Flynn’s plight into the system, he happily helped give Tron the power to overtake the MCP when the security program made contact.
Years later, Bradley remained a close friend of the Flynn family. Even though Sam Flynn refused to take control over ENCOM, he trusted Bradley to act as the CEO. Hoping to find clues about Kevin’s disappearance, Bradley directed Sam to his father’s old arcade after he received a mysterious text. He later happily stepped down when Sam decided that it was time for him to take over the company.
7. Quorra
As Kevin Flynn aimed to create the perfect system, something miraculous occurred. Programs began to spontaneously evolve around the system, which he dubbed Isomorphic Algorithms or ISOs. Unlike typical programs, no user wrote the coding for these programs. Their existence mystified Flynn, who discovered that their programming far surpassed any that he understood.
As Flynn witnessed the miracle of spontaneous life, Clu became horrified. For, these spontaneous programs represented chaos, which directly opposed Clu’s primary purpose to create the perfect system. Seeing that Flynn admired these programs, Clu turned against his creator as he led a coup to control the Grid.
Years later, Clu’s efforts had led to the destruction of nearly all the ISOs. Only one remained alive, Quorra, as she remained close to Kevin Flynn. As he helped protect her, she honored Flynn as a sage. Even though she understood that Clu would destroy her if he uncovered her existence, she readily agreed to save Kevin’s son from the Game Grid.
Inspired by Sam, Quorra took risks to help him gain access to the gateway to the human world. Their first attempt, at the End of Line Club, led to betrayal and a critically injured Quorra. Despite her brush with death, Quorra once again put her life on the line after Kevin helped repair her code. She allowed Rinzler to capture her so that Sam and Kevin could sneak away.
After Sam broke her out of Clu’s command ship, she stayed by his side up to the gateway. There, she witnessed Clu and Kevin’s demise as she joined Sam in the human world.
6. Sark
Despite the MCP’s immense power over the mainframe, he required underlings to keep the rebellious programs in line. Luckily, he discovered a program that faithfully followed all the MCP’s commands, even when they went against its own best interests. Since Dillinger programmed Sark as well as the MCP, Sark easily aligned with the MCP’s ambitions. So, the MCP set Sark in charge of subjugating the programs that remained faithful in the power of the users.
Despite preaching that the users had abandoned the programs, Sark became deeply concerned when he learned that the MCP brought a user onto the Game Grid. Still, he agreed to force Kevin Flynn to participate in the brutal and deadly games. Unfortunately, he lost full control of the situation after Flynn escaped from the light cycle grid along with Ram and Tron. Unwilling to let Flynn threaten the MCP’s power, Sark sent out his forces to relentlessly hunt down the escaped group.
As Tron and Flynn neared the MCP’s tower, Sark decided to take matters into his own hands. So, he challenged Tron in direct combat. Not only had Sark loved watching the games, but he enjoyed the chance to show his skill as well. So, he posed a great threat to Tron. Still, he failed to defeat Tron, whose Identity disc ripped through his head.
Even after his defeat, Sark remained a tool for the MCP as the program channeled its power into Sark and revived him. With the MCP’s power swelling in him, Sark became a giant guardian that almost stopped Flynn and Tron. Still, he could not keep both occupied and failed once more.
5. Clu
After Kevin Flynn defeated the MCP and Ed Dillinger, he rose to become the head of ENCOM. Still, Kevin Flynn dreamed of even greater things. So, he began to work on a secret project in the bowels of his arcade. Dreaming of a paradise, Kevin joined up with Tron to create the perfect system. To help him see his dream through, Kevin programmed a new creation, Clu, the Codified Likeness Utility.
Even though this program shared the appearance of Kevin Flynn, it only understood its purpose, to create a perfect system. So, Clu became deeply horrified when he learned that the ISOs spontaneously appeared. Their very existence left a stain on the concept of a perfectly controlled system, in Clu’s mind. He especially hated that Kevin Flynn admired these new life forms. So, he took matters into his own hands and turned against his creator to restore order in the system.
Years later, all residents of the grid felt Clu’s control over the Grid. The only man who could challenge him, Flynn, had gone into hiding, becoming little more than a legend. Moreover, Clu successfully eradicated the ISOs, only missing a single member, Quorra.
With no one left to challenge him, Clu turned his attention to the human world. So, he forged a message that would hopefully draw in someone who could grant him access to the human world. As this message drew in Sam Flynn, Clu became ecstatic. His plans looked promising as Sam lured his father out of hiding, placing Kevin Flynn’s identity disc, the key to the human world, in his reach.
Despite all Clu’s plans, he never stepped foot into the gateway, let alone the human world. Just outside the gateway, Kevin sacrificed his life by reintegrating with Clu.
4. Sam Flynn
As a child, Sam eagerly listened to his father’s tales about the Grid. He learned many things about the digital world, including the existence of the Codified Likeness Utility. However, his father never introduced the boy to the system before his disappearance. So, these tales remained nothing more than stories. With his father’s mysterious disappearance, the world watched as the orphaned boy became the potential heir of ENCOM.
Despite holding the majority stock in the company, Sam Flynn refused to take control of the company. Still, he despised the direction that some executives were taking it. As the executives planned to charge for the latest OS, Sam broke into ENCOM and leaked the program to the public. He reasoned that his father always intended to keep his OS free to the customer.
When Sam learned about a mysterious page from his father’s old arcade, he decided to investigate in the small hope that he would discover his father. Instead, he found himself transported onto the Game Grid after he fell for Clu’s trap. As he escaped from Clu’s grasp with Quorra’s help, he laid eyes on his father for the first time in over a decade.
While his father had resigned himself to a life on the Grid, Sam refused to give up on the human world. So, he rushed ahead to find a way through the gateway. Even though his impetuous mission initially led to the near-death of Quorra, Sam never gave up hope on returning home. His hope inspired those around him, even convincing his father to finally confront Clu. In the end, Sam successfully returned to the human world with Quorra at his side.
3. Master Control Program (MCP)
As Ed Dillinger dreamed of becoming an executive at ENCOM, he set his programming skills to work. While he was not as brilliant as Kevin Flynn, he could develop powerful programs. Thus, he improved Walter Gibb’s Master Control Program to help seize control over ENCOM. To begin, this program helped him steal the files for Flynn’s video game, Space Paranoids.
As Dillinger became an executive, he continued to employ the Master Control Program to keep the system in check. He also tasked it with burying all evidence of his theft. However, Dillinger did not notice his program developing into a sinister, self-aware entity that desired increasingly more control. Seeking to control all digital processes, the MCP convinced Sark to take all programs that believed in users captive. It then blackmailed Dillinger into helping its plans to take over the pentagon and other important networks.
In a moment of hubris, the MCP decided that the best way to handle Flynn’s attempts to hack its systems was to bring him into the network. So, he activated an experimental laser that digitized Flynn. Unfortunately, he did not predict that Flynn would gain immense powers thanks to his programming expertise.
As Flynn teamed up with Tron, the MCP pushed Sark to keep it protected. Despite channeling its powers into Sark, neither program could stop Flynn. As Flynn kept Sark distracted, he activated the process that destroyed the MCP and freed the mainframe.
2. Tron
True to Alan Bradley’s program, Tron faithfully served as a security program in ENCOM’s mainframe. He never lost faith in the users, even when the MCP and Sark closed off contact with them. Unwilling to renounce his trust in the users, Tron became a captive in Sark’s demented gladiatorial games.
Luckily, Tron’s programming gave him the skills he needed to stay alive within the games. Even when Sark pitted four of his best warriors against Tron, the program continued to victoriously survive. Still, Tron could not find a way out of the games on his own.
The tides turned the MCP forced Kevin Flynn, a user, into Sark’s game grid. As a fellow captive, Flynn plotted with Tron and Ram, devising a way to escape the grid. Their opportunity arose when Sark sent the trio to participate in a light cycle game. Breaking through a crack in the grid, the three raced away to freedom. However, Sark’s forces separated Tron from the other two when they destroyed the ship that Flynn and Ram were in.
Determined to contact his user, Bradley, Tron continued his trek to the I/O tower. So, he tracked down his lover, Yori, and freed her before negotiating with the tower guardian, Dumont. There, he communicated with Bradley, receiving the key to destroying the MCP.
As Tron made his way to the MCP, he discovered that Flynn survived while Ram perished. Reunited, the pair tackled the MCP’s defenses. In the end, Flynn distracted Sark and the MCP as Tron slipped in to shut down the MCP for good.
1. Kevin Flynn
Kevin Flynn may appear to be a laid-back man who had few cares in the world. However, he was actually a brilliant programmer who coded ENCOM’s most popular game, Space Paranoids. After Ed Dillinger claimed credit for his work, Flynn had nothing but his arcade, which he named after himself. Still, he sought to hack into ENCOM’s mainframe and prove that Dillinger stole his work.
After the MCP stopped his hacking attempt, Flynn knew that he would need direct access to the system. Similarly, Alan Bradley and Lora Baines discovered that they required Flynn’s help to restore their access to the system. So, they helped him break into ENCOM and have full access to their lab.
As Flynn got to work, he quickly angered the MCP. In retaliation, the MCP activated an experimental laser that brought Flynn to the digital world. Now digitized, Flynn became a captive of Sark, forced to participate in the program’s deadly games. He also made allies with two other captives, Ram and Tron.
After breaking free during a light cycle match, Sark’s forces destroyed the vehicle that Flynn and Ram were in. After witnessing the program perish, Flynn pushed forward to the MCP’s citadel. As he traveled through the mainframe, he learned that his status as a user and a programmer granted him immense power over the world.
In the end, the MCP could not stand against the combined forces of Flynn and Tron. Especially since Flynn could manipulate the mainframe in ways that the MCP nor Sark could not counter. After Flynn helped Tron defeat the MCP, he returned to the human world with the proof of Dillinger’s theft. Soon after, he became the CEO of ENCOM.
Who are your favorite Tron Characters?
We have shared the top ten characters from the Tron movies with you. We chose each of these characters due to their contributions to the overall story. Each either saved the mainframe or posed the greatest threats to the grid.
Still, we would love to hear from you. Who were your favorite characters from the Tron films? Let us know in the comments below.
Do you have old and used Tron toys?
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Made in collaboration with:
Chris Ingledue
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