James Ironwood

"I will sacrifice whatever it takes to stop her."

- Ironwood to Arthur Watts

"Sometimes, doing the right thing means making tough decisions."

- Ironwood to Team RWBY before declaring martial law

James Ironwood is an anti-hero/anti-villain in the American animated webseries RWBY. He is the headmaster of Atlas Academy, the general of the Atlas Military, holder of two seats on the Atlas Council, and a member of Ozpin's group. Although not inherently evil and his genuine attempts to stop Salem, recent events after the Fall of Beacon have caused him to become increasingly paranoid and take villainous actions to protect Atlas at the cost of many innocent lives in Mantle for the sake of keeping the Relics away from Salem and her forces.

He is voiced by Jason Rose.

Past
James Ironwood became associated with Ozpin and his group, learning the existence of Salem and her control over the Grimm, as well as the many secrets of Remnant, including the existence of the Relics and the Maidens. Ironwood eventually served a dual role for Ozpin by becoming the general of the Atlas Military and the headmaster of Atlas Academy.

Beacon
Prior to the Vytal Festival, Ironwood arrives in Vale with his military forces and several students from Atlas in preparation for the Grimm. Ozpin and Glynda Goodwitch disagree with Ironwood's military approach for the festival, believing it to be an unnecessary display of hostility for an event that is meant to unite the four kingdoms. Nonetheless, they allow Ironwood's forces to remain in Vale in the event of a Grimm attack.

After Cinder Fall manipulates several events behind the scenes that trigger the Battle of Beacon, Ironwood deploys his full military force and takes part in the battle as well, only for Cinder to steal the Fall Maiden's powers, kill Ozpin, and hijack the Atlesian androids to fight the Huntsmen and Huntresses, causing the Fall of Beacon.

Haven
After the Fall of Beacon, the world becomes increasingly hostile towards Atlas, blaming them for the Fall of Beacon. Out of fear of the world declaring war on Atlas, and based on reports from Winter Schnee (Weiss's sister) about growing unrest in Mistral, Ironwood closes Atlas's borders and puts an embargo on Dust, which puts him directly in conflict with Jacques Schnee, who owns the largest company in Atlas (and arguably the world) that exports dust. Ironwood also secures an additional seat on the council, which he uses to increase military presence in both Atlas and Mantle.

Atlas
By the time Team RWBY and Team JNR arrive with Qrow Branwen and Oscar Pine (Ozpin's reincarnation) to Atlas, Ironwood has all but locked down Atlas and maintaned near-dictatorial influence over Mantle, inspiring local vigilante Robyn Hill of the Happy Huntresses to run against Ironwood and Jacques Schnee for a seat on the council. Ironwood welcomes Team RWBY and JNR into his inner circle, consisting of Winter, a rebuilt Penny Polendina, and the Ace Ops, for his plan to rebuild Amity Arena as an alternative communications tower to reveal to Atlas, and then the world, the existence of Salem. However, he uses the limited resources of Mantle to build the communications tower.

Between the combined efforts of Watts manipulating the poll results to elect Jacques, Tyrian assassinating Ironwood's political dissenters, and Robyn Hill hijacking and stealing the supplies Atlas is using for the new communications tower, Ironwood grows increasingly paranoid about his ability to protect Atlas and the Relic from Salem. During a tense dinner at the Schnee Manor, Ironwood defends his aggressive tactics to a newly elected Jacques Schnee and his fellow council members before Weiss barges in and reveals Jacques was secretly allied with Arthur Watts and that he had unwittingly helped Watts shut down Mantle's heating power, endangering their citizens and attracting the Grimm towards the city.

Ironwood and Robyn Hill briefly unite to tell Atlas and Mantle about the existence of Salem in order to unite everyone against the incoming Grimm invasion. Ironwood mentions the Amity tower is complete in order to lure Watts there and take him down. After their battle, an injured Ironwood apprehends Watts and tells him he will do whatever it takes to stop Salem, something Watts has been counting on.

Ironwood goes back to his office to find a black chess piece on his desk from Cinder...the same signal he got that indicated the Fall of Beacon. He calls Team RWBY and the Ace Ops back to his office to protect Atlas when a Seer Grimm from Watt's bag jumps out and casts a mirage of Salem, who taunts both Ironwood and Ruby herself, saying her henchmen were never meant to win, but rather to set the stage for her arrival. Blindsided by Salem getting the upperhand and angry that RWBY lied to him about Salem being unkillable, Ironwood reveals his new contingency plan; use the Staff of Creation to raise Atlas high in the sky where Salem's forces cannot reach, coldly abandoning Mantle citizens who have not yet been evacuated and leaving them to die. Ironwood officially declares martial law and places Team RWBY under arrest, leaving the Ace Ops to apprehend Team RWBY.