Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III

"This is Berk. It snows nine months of the year and hails the other three. Any food that grows here is tough and tasteless. The people who grow here are even more so. The only upsides are the pets. While other places have ponies or parrots, we have Dragons."

- Hiccup. "This is Berk. A bit trampled, busted and covered in ice, but it's home. It's our home. Those who attacked us are relentless and crazy. But those who stopped them, oh, even more so! We may be small in numbers, but we stand for something bigger than anything the world can pit against us. We are the voice of peace, and bit by bit, we will change this world. You see, we have something they don't. Oh, sure, they have armies, and they have armadas… but we… we have… OUR DRAGONS!"

- Hiccup. "By the way, it isn't really Dragon Conquerer. It's Dragon Trainer!"

- Hiccup to Alvin the Treacherous. "There is a whole other world out there. A world that must be explored!"

- Hiccup.

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, or just Hiccup, is one of the main protagonists (alongside Toothless) of the How to Train Your Dragon franchise. He is a Viking son of the chief, Stoick the Vast, thus making him heir to the Hooligan tribe, he later becomes the current chief of the tribe. His dragon, Toothless, is a Night Fury, the rarest and most intelligent of the dragon species in the film franchise.

He is voiced by Jay Baruchel, who portrayed Dave Stutler in The Sorcerer's Apprentice, and himself in This is the End.

Appearance
His appearance is much different to his book incarnation. In the book series, and the film based off it, he is portrayed with medium length dark auburn hair and green eyes. He is not short, but he is also far from muscular and is weak compared to the other Viking teens in his class. Hiccup is usually seen in dark green pants, a green tunic that reaches to his mid-thigh, a brown belt where he also keeps a small knife, a brown vest-like fur coat, and typical Viking-style boots. At the end of the movie, Hiccup is seen with a spring-loaded prosthetic for his left leg after part of it was lost in the final battle of the film. When he is flying with Toothless, his fur coat is replaced by a riding vest that helps him to stay secured to Toothless so that he doesn't fall off. It is also revealed that when Hiccup writes and draws, he is left-handed. in How To Train your Dragon, he is 14 or 15 years old, TV series of seasons 1 & 2, 18 year old in Race to the edge and Dawn of the dragon racers, and 20 years old in How To Train Your Dragon 2.

Personality
"(Stoick: You're not a man yet, Hiccup.) Not if you don't give me the chance to be."

- Hiccup trying to prove himself to his father. Despite his physical shortcomings, Hiccup does his best to succeed as a Viking. He is very intelligent as he creates inventions for various uses throughout the film, including a bola sling, a prosthetic tail, a saddle, and a riding vest. At first, however, Hiccup is almost obsessed with proving himself to the rest of his tribe; he often doesn't think things through and is more determined to gain the recognition of his peers than he is heedful of others' orders, often causing problems for the rest of the tribe, and himself. Hiccup also shows great aptitude at being a leader and strategist: he leads his dragon training class into battle, using his friends' strengths wisely in the battle against the Red Death. Hiccup also has very good observational skills which come in handy during his time with Toothless and during dragon training. For example, he is able to hypothesize that dragons have a natural disdain for eel when his own dragon companion refuses to eat one himself, and uses this to successfully drive back a Hideous Zippleback later.

Among the other teenage Vikings, Hiccup first comes off as awkward, mainly because he is a poor fighter, and rather scrawny for a Viking. As he becomes more adept at fighting dragons, however, they start paying more attention to him, some even starting to try to talk to him first. Despite this, Hiccup remains shy and secretive, preferring to be alone with Toothless. He also tends to be sarcastic with a dry sense of humor that can sometimes put him at odds with the other Vikings in his tribe.

Abilities, Skills, and Talents
Being one of the main character of the franchise, Hiccup has many varied and useful talents.

Powers

 * Strength and Fighting Skills: Due to Hiccup's initial size, he's not much of a fighter. In fact, most weapons are too heavy for him and struggles to lift them. Hiccup usually fights alongside Toothless. Their style is more about defense. The only time Hiccup and Toothless attacked first was against Alvin in We Are Family, Part 2. Other than that, it is easy for others to overtake Hiccup. Hiccup was also able to face Dagur with only his new shield in The Night and the Fury. Hiccup was also able to fight Outcasts and Berserkers without a problem using his shield in Cast Out, Part 2. Hiccup has been shown to have an impressive strength when angered or in defense. Prime examples are in The Zippleback Experience when Hiccup punched Snotlout hard enough to knock out a few of his teeth. He was also able to block a Berserker with just his hands. While Hiccup does not do any direct fighting in How to Train Your Dragon 2, he does wield his Dragon Blade, Inferno, with great precision and skill, such as when freeing Stormfly or preventing Drago from reaching his bull hook. It was also shown that by this time he had become a proficient and accurate archer alongside the other riders. He is also able to carry Astrid around.
 * Roar Call: He can make a roar noise that sounds similar to Toothless's roar, as a way for Toothless to find Hiccup.
 * Precision: Like Toothless, Hiccup has amazing aim, like when he was able to shoot Toothless down in the first film and in Appetite for Destruction hit a Deadly Nadder in the chest using his shield while flying in mid-air. He also managed to throw Inferno with enough accuracy that it landed right in front of Drago's hand just as he was reaching for his bull hook to control his Bewilderbeast.
 * Reflexes: Hiccup is shown to have pretty good reflexes. An example of this is in the episode of Race To The Edge, Gold Rush. Ryker is chasing Hiccup while slashing his sword at him. Hiccup is able to roll under the sword just in time to save his head. He is also able to quickly move his hands, so that Ryker's sword doesn't strike him but breaks his handcuffs.
 * Endurance: While it may seem hard to believe at first due to his small stature, Hiccup always manages to bounce back from a severe injury. For example, in When Lightning Strikes, he was struck directly in the head by a massive bolt of lightning, and still managed to wake up the next morning. Also, at the end of How to Train Your Dragon, he was knocked off of Toothless by the Red Death's massive club-tail, and (with the help of Toothless, of course) managed to wake up about a couple weeks later.
 * Persuasion: Hiccup is known to be very persuasive, (Astrid says so herself) as he has convinced his father, the teens, the whole village of Berk, Dagur, Alvin, even Eret to give dragons a closer look and see the beauty of them. In Buffalord Soldier, he also managed to persuade Viggo to give him the cure for the Scourge of Odin, to save Astrid.

Abilities

 * Dragon Training and Riding: Though he only discovers that he has this ability during the first film, Hiccup has grown to become the best Dragon Trainer on the island. His dragon, Toothless the Night Fury, is the rarest and best dragon in the Academy. Hiccup openly claims to be the best Dragon Rider in the episode Thawfest. He and Toothless clearly have the strongest bond of all the riders and their dragons in the series. Because of his talents, he has been made head of the Berk Dragon Academy. In the franchise, Hiccup is always the one looked to when dragon related problems or needs come up. He managed to train a wild Monstrous Nightmare in seconds in Defiant One. This is noticeably faster than even Astrid who had to train the same type of dragon and does manage to do so but takes longer. He's also able to keep an enraged Whispering Death from running over him by simply putting his hand forward in What Flies Beneath. Still, some dragon challenges (including said Whispering Death) are greater than his ability, but he can always rely on Toothless and the other teens to have his back. Hiccup has managed to devise a more effective method of calming wild dragons with Inferno as it produces the dragon fire of both a Monstrous Nightmare and a Hideous Zippleback. This makes the dragons consider Hiccup as one of their own as only a 'dragon' should be able to wield dragon fire.
 * Leadership: Despite spending most of his life ignored by others, Hiccup is a natural born leader. Most of the time the other riders follow his commands without question. However, he has difficulty trying to control the rest of the village when he is made Acting Chief in Cast Out. In Race to the Edge, Stoick notices Hiccup's abilities as a leader improving, ultimately convinced Hiccup is ready to become Berk's chief by the time of the second film.
 * Drawing: Even before Hiccup begins to train dragons, he practices drawing. He is practically never without his journal and a large charcoal pencil. His sketches are usually quick and slightly messy, but compared to most other Vikings he is quite good. He uses this talent often. He sketches Toothless upon his second encounter with him. He uses his notebook to copy the map to the Isle of Night (unfortunately). He uses his artist talent to aid him in making plans and inventions. His room is littered with drawings of Toothless.
 * Inventing: Hiccup learned a great deal about crafting from Gobber. His many years of apprenticeship have certainly paid off. He has created many ingenious devices throughout the franchise. He uses the forge well (despite his small size), and he's excellent at working leather. His devices were originally weapon like, and the Mangler cannon he designed allowed him to take down Toothless. After training Toothless he shifted in his desires and started working on a new tail for Toothless. This tail has been modified many times and is a work of sheer genius. He even created an auto tail using complex gear systems. Besides that Hiccup has managed to design a plethora of other objects, from winches to telescopes. He invented his own flight suit and his Dragon Blade, Inferno. He was also able to build a set of welding goggles using the Death Song's amber that could withstand the glow of a flightmare and sunrise.
 * Intelligence: This talent is really at the heart of all Hiccup's other abilities. His intelligence is proven many times throughout the film and the series. He's almost always the one to come up with the solutions to the problems that the Riders face. He's shown to be very cunning, resourceful and perceptive and possesses a great aptitude for strategy and tactics. He's also fairly knowledgeable. Unlike Fishlegs who only spews out facts, Hiccup is able to use them for practical use and he does it very well. He was able to solve all the riddles on Hamish's treasure map even when under pressure and the feat is especially notable because it was said that only a most brilliant mind could solve those clues.
 * Swimming: Though he says he's not much of a swimmer, he was able to pull Astrid out of the deep water in Night of the Hunters, Part 1, and with the help of Toothless' tail in Dire Straits, he was able to swim back and forth to free the Submaripper. Though he did start to sink and had to be rescued by Astrid and Stormfly, Hiccup was able to swim a far length downward to save Berk's chest of gold in Last Auction Heroes.
 * Prosthetic Leg: Hiccup's prosthetic leg has it's pros and cons. Unlike his real leg Hiccup can use the metal leg to many different advantages. Other than using it to walk for it's main purpose, he can use it as a weapon as he did in We Are Family, Part 2 when knocking out one of Alvin's guards. He can also get rid of it if it's necessary in a situation. In Dragons: Race to the Edge when Hiccup was kidnapped by Krogan and they got knocked over onto the ledge of a cliff, Hiccup untied his leg to drop Krogan off. It can also not be harmed to hurt Hiccup physically. 2 examples are when Hiccup and Toothless (Franchise) went down to explore a Dragon Hunters ship and his prosthetic leg got caught in a metal claw trap, and after releasing his leg he said "One of the perks of having a metal leg I guess." In Frozen when a Speed Stinger tried to sting him it hit his metal leg instead, causing no paralysis as he would with his original leg. Of course, there are disadvantages to the prosthetic leg. The obvious disadvantage is if he loses the leg or it's damaged from its function he cannot walk at all and becomes vulnerable to attacks. Along with that he will need to replace it if it's damaged like in The Zippleback Experience when Barf and Belch kept destroying it. He also gets teased for it as Snotlout Jorgenson does to him throughout the whole series. It can also be attracted to a strong enough magnet as it was in The Iron Gronckle episode. Hiccup used his leg and his original Inferno to climb up to stop Johann and Krogan, and even saved himself fromn

Stoick the Vast
Hiccup's father is the chief of the village, making Hiccup himself the next in line to become chief. However, the two seem to be complete opposites of each other: whereas Stoick is large, strong, brawny, and the best dragon fighter in the village, Hiccup is lanky, weak, brainy, and perhaps (initially, at least) the worst dragon fighter on the island. Their relationship is strained because of these differences, as Hiccup wants to make his dad proud by conforming to Viking norms and attempting to slay dragons but ends up making things worse most of the time.

Though confused as to what to do about Hiccup's peculiarities as a Viking, Stoick is very protective of his son; he is at first reluctant to send Hiccup to dragon training for fear that he will be killed. Moreover, during a dragon raid, it is shown that Stoick, along with everyone else in the village, prefers that Hiccup stay inside and out of harm's way (though this may be because Hiccup is more of a risk to the village than the dragons are to him).

Stoick becomes proud of Hiccup when he hears of Hiccup's success in dragon training and is elated to finally have something in common with his son, although his attempt at conversation with his awkward son ended in failure. However, after his son's relationship with Toothless is revealed, their small progress with one another is destroyed. Stoick accuses Hiccup of siding with the dragons and later no longer considers Hiccup to be his son. Their relationship is later mended when Hiccup comes to the rescue of the older Vikings during their confrontation with the Green Death with the help of his classmates and the dragons used in training, showing his dad his otherwise unseen bravery and leadership. This causes Stoick to apologize for his prejudice against dragons and say that he is proud to call Hiccup his son. Stoick shows how deeply he cares for Hiccup when he believes that Hiccup is dead and mourns, apologizing for not having listened to him before. He shows great happiness when he learns that Hiccup is still alive thanks to Toothless' efforts. Later, Stoick and the village welcome Hiccup as a hero and Stoick finally accepts his son for who he is.

Toothless
Hiccup's relationship with Toothless is similar to that of the one between best friends or a pet owner and his or her beloved pet, perhaps even a sibling relationship. At first, both keep their distance after Hiccup shoots Toothless down with his bola sling invention, but their curiosity leads them to learn more about each other. Hiccup starts to observe Toothless and learns many secrets about dragons from these observations that help Hiccup advance in his dragon fighting classes. Toothless starts to trust Hiccup and even allows him to touch him, and eventually ride him. The depth of their relationship is furthered when Hiccup fashions a fake tail for Toothless, only to discover that the two need each other to use it to fly; Hiccup is needed to manipulate the fake tail while Toothless does the actual flying. Toothless is later very playful around Hiccup, and is also very protective of and loyal to him. This is shown in how before, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get out of the cove without flying, until he heard Hiccup's scream, then manages to climb out and fight off a Monstrous Nightmare in the dragon training ring before it could kill Hiccup, and refusing to leave when the rest of the village joins in on the fight, perhaps seeing them as a threat. Later, when Hiccup is knocked off of him while attempting to escape the explosion that kills the Green Death, Toothless manages to reach for and protect Hiccup by wrapping him in his wings, even without his own fake tail. Toothless is later overjoyed when Hiccup wakes up after the battle, jumping around his house with glee, and tickling him, before helping his human friend to walk on his new prosthetic leg.

Astrid Hofferson
Astrid is Hiccup's closest human friend and love interest in the film franchise. At first, she is unimpressed by his inability to stay focused, and often rebuffs his efforts to speak to her. Although she doesn't make fun of him like the other Viking teens, she appears to think him careless and irresponsible. Unlike her peers, Astrid doesn't fawn over Hiccup for his growing success in Dragon Training or for his popularity. Instead, she becomes jealous of him gaining the upper hand. After losing her victory to Hiccup, Astrid follows him into the forest for a final confrontation. She is furious with him but the moment she spots Toothless, her first instincts are to protect Hiccup. She tells him to make an escape while she intends to keep the Night Fury distracted. When Hiccup ends up revealing his friendship with Toothless, Astrid is appalled and runs off to tell on him, but is snatched off the ground midway.

After Hiccup convinces her to give him a chance to explain, Toothless takes her for a spin during which she holds on to Hiccup in fear until she apologizes and Toothless flattens out his wings. Once the flight turns more harmonious, Astrid is able to regard dragons from Hiccup's perspective and expand her mindset. She also grows a greater respect for Hiccup when he shows his adamancy in protecting Toothless, refusing to tell the other Vikings about their discovery of the Dragons' Nest and his friendship with the Night Fury out of fear that they would take drastic action against the dragons and kill Toothless. Astrid later tries to help Hiccup during his Dragon Training final exam when the Monstrous Nightmare attacks him by distracting it and later holds Hiccup back so that he doesn't get hurt when the Vikings overpower Toothless.

Astrid comforts Hiccup and inspires him to round up the other Viking teens to help him with his plan to save the villagers from the Red Death shortly after they depart for the Nest. When Hiccup is believed to be dead, where as everyone else hangs their heads in shame she's brought to tears obviously mourning the loss of her friend (and potentially mutual love interest) meaning she took it the hardest. She finalizes her feelings for him at the end of the film when she kisses him on the lips, implying that the two may have some sort of romantic relationship (emphasized in Gift of the Night Fury where she kisses him again and gives him a hug, and he calls her "M'lady"). However, outside of these situations and despite this mutual attraction, in Dragons: Riders of Berk it's shown that they do not consider themselves to be in any official relationship, often shying away from each other (such as separating after finding themselves holding each other, or scooting away when others point out how close they are sitting together). Nevertheless, the two still have a very close and trusting relationship, Astrid being Hiccup's best friend after Toothless, regularly confide in each other and are usually the first to volunteer aid to each other. By the end of the third they were married and had two kids, Zephyr and Nuffink.

Gobber
Gobber is the blacksmith of the village, as well as a mentor and secondary father figure to Hiccup. Despite acting like all of his other students are expendable or simply paying little attention to their well-being, Gobber seems to have a soft spot for Hiccup. This is obscured, however, by the methods by which he goes about expressing his fondness of the boy. Though his intentions are good, Gobber often gives out comically bad advice that somehow just makes Hiccup feel worse. Most importantly, however, Gobber acts as the bridge of communication between Stoick and Hiccup, since the two seem to be unable to listen to one another otherwise. In fact, Gobber is the one who convinced Stoick to allow Hiccup to enroll in the Dragon Training classes, reminding the latter that he could not always hope to protect Hiccup; the best he could do was prepare him. At the end of the film, Gobber is the one who constructs a new fake tail for Toothless and Hiccup's prosthetic leg.

Valka
Valka is Hiccup's mother. She was believed to be dead for twenty years and that she was taken and eaten by dragons. She was taken when Hiccup was just a baby, so he hardly knew anything about her. In the film, Hiccup was given a helmet made from her old armor. While though he found it awkward at first, it is very important to him, as seen in Gift of the Night Fury. In Breakneck Bog, Hiccup is willing to face extreme danger, and a possible Fog Monster, to retrieve a lost gift from his mother. In How to Train Your Dragon 2, Hiccup not only reunites with his mother, but learns she has been living with, and rescuing dragons. Throughout the second film, she helped him discovering his identity as a rider and a leader. In the end, Valka stays with him on Berk and celebrated along wtih Gobber, Astrid and the rest of the villagers her son's coronation as Chief of Berk. Like his father, Hiccup is shown to love his mother very much and like her to be in his life again and Valka is willingly to sacrifice her happiness for the sake of his.

Official Appearances
Hiccup is in the DreamWorks' Franchise, How to Train Your Dragon Live Spectacular and Cressida Cowell's book series.

Reception
Hiccup was well received for his relationship with Toothless and Jay Baruchel's voice performance in which he received an Annie Award for Best Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production. Hiccup was ranked as #26 on Empire's Top 50 Best Animated Film Characters List, calling him "a character we don't see enough of in animation: someone smart, competent and braver than he gives himself credit for" as well as saying "Hiccup's developing bond with Toothless is one of the most finely drawn friendships ever established in the genre". WatchMojo placed Hiccup and Toothless at #10 on their "Top 10 Best Friends in Movies" list and #4 on their "Top 10 Unlikely Friendships in Movies" list, and placed Jay Baruchel's performance as Hiccup at #7 on their "Another Top 10 Best Celebrity Voice Actor Performances" list. He was also an honorable mention on WatchMojo's Top 10 From Zero to Hero Movie Protagonists and #10 on their "Top 10 Movie Characters with Mommy and Daddy Issues".