Hazel Rainart

"Don't let such a small obstacle block your path."

- Hazel Rainart "You don't like me. You have no reason to like me. But you don't have to like me to get the results you want."

- Hazel, to Sienna Khan.

Hazel Rainart is a member of Salem's Faction and a major antagonist in the American web cartoon series RWBY.

He is voiced by William Orendorff, who also provides the vocals for the Grimm.

Appearance
Hazel is a tall and muscular middle-aged man. He is also unusually large and broad, as he is shown to tower over Adam Taurus who stands 6'4". He has short brown hair, a beard and hazel eyes.

He wears a two-tone olive green coat over a black 3/4 sleeve shirt, and a large belt. His pants are black and his boots are brown with white fronts. His hairy arms appear to have some scars near the edges of his sleeves.

Background
Not much is known about Hazel's past except that he had a sister named Gretchen who desired to become a Huntress under Ozpin's guidance. However, Gretchen died during training, and Hazel holds Ozpin responsible for her death. At some point after this (and most likely because of it), Hazel became part of Salem's faction.

Volume 4
In "The Next Step", Hazel attends a meeting at Salem's Domain with fellow associates Watts, Cinder and Tyrian. He questions how Cinder was able to lose against a "novice" like Ruby Rose, stating that they've dealt with silver-eyed warriors in the past. Salem later instructs Hazel to meet with the White Fang leader, Sienna Khan, and ensure that they fall in line, to which he complies.

In "Kuroyuri", Hazel is seen in Mistral walking past a train station until he notices Oscar failing to get a train ticket from the machine. He helps Oscar by slamming on the machine with his hand, causing it to malfunction and shoot out a ticket for him. Hazel then tells the child not to let something as small as that hold him back before leaving.

Volume 5
In "Dread in the Air", Hazel appears before Sienna Khan during her meeting with Adam Taurus, standing his ground against her threats and prepared to convince her to cooperate with Salem. However, to his surprise, Adam commits a coup and murders Khan to usurp her position as High Leader of the White Fang. Hazel confronts Adam about his actions, angered that he withheld his plans from him and acted without his approval. Adam justifies his actions as it removes Salem's concern about Khan's willingness to cooperate. Hazel then states that no one needed to die, before leaving the meeting, to which Adam disagrees.

In "The More the Merrier", Hazel enters the meeting room to join Cinder, Emerald, Mercury, Raven and Vernal in their confrontation with Qrow, Team RNJR, Oscar, Weiss and Yang; closing the door behind him and revealing that the White Fang is beginning their assault on Haven and planting explosive charges across the school grounds. While everyone begins fighting, Hazel is confronted by Ren and Nora. Hazel tells the two he does not wish to fight them, but upon hearing their refusal to back down, accepts their challenge and engages them in battle.

In "The Vault of the Spring Maiden", Hazel next seen berating Lionheart over being humiliated by Oscar. Though once he learns the boy is actually Ozpin, he drops Lionheart and completely loses his composure, recognizing the cane in Oscar's hand. Vowing to kill him repeatedly, Hazel jabs two shards of Lightning Dust into his arms and attacks, intent on avenging his sister who he proclaims was killed by Ozpin. Though Oscar tries reasoning with him, Hazel refuses to yield, but soon finds himself on the defensive when Ozpin takes over. Qrow Branwen tries to intervene, but Hazel sends him flying with an lightning-enhanced punch.

Personality
"He’s wounded in a way that cannot be healed."

- Ozpin, describing Hazel.

Hazel has a calm composure compared to the rest of Salem's associates. He is reserved and rarely speaks unless there's something important or he's given an assignment from Salem. He has a low tolerance or acceptance of failure, and does not let minor obstacles get in his way or stand by convention when there is a goal to be accomplished. Hazel is shown to have a sense of respect, being courteous and polite when speaking to Sienna Khan. However, he is not intimidated by Khan's threats, meaning that he has a distinct level of self-confidence.

Unlike the rest of Salem's associates, Hazel is not cruel nor resorts to violence to get what he wants, insisting to Sienna Khan that he doesn't aim to cause trouble and no one needs to die. His reaction to Khan's murder is a saddened look and verbal condemnation to Adam for his lack of communication about his plans and the needlessness of Khan's death. Showing that, despite his allegiance to Salem, he is a man with morals and empathy who takes no pleasure in pointless slaughter.

However, this changes when he encounters Ozpin. When he does, Hazel becomes filled with rage and killing intent, vowing to kill every reincarnation of Ozpin for the death of his sister, Gretchen. He holds no remorse in attempting to murder Oscar, stating that his blood wouldn't be on his hands, but rather on Ozpin's for choosing the child as his host. This shows that in spite of his typical reluctance to fight that he is quite capable of vengeance and terrifying bouts of rage.

Powers and Abilities
Hazel is an incredibly strong fighter who prefers to fight with his bare hands. He is shown to have no issue dealing with multiple opponents, as seen when he is able to block attacks from Nora's Magnhild while simultaneously contending with Ren.

Hazel's Semblance makes him completely immune to pain, allowing him to take powerful hits from opponents and get back up with no discernible effort. Because of this ability, whenever Hazel deems the situation appropriate, he is able to inject himself with raw Dust crystals. Once he injects himself, the veins in Hazel's arms glow, his eyes shine, his voice becomes distorted, and he is able to discharge the elements of the Dust crystals from his entire body to enhance his attacks. Despite Hazel's massive frame and staggering physical might, he is quite agile in combat, able to move quickly and precisely without any noticeable effort, as well as land multiple solid hits on even a remarkably fast opponent like Qrow Branwen.

He is also able to cause a machine to dispense a train ticket by pounding it with his bare arm, leaving a dent.

Quotes
"We've dealt with their kind before."

- Hazel, talking about Ruby.

"Nobody needed to die today."

- Hazel to Adam Taurus regarding the murder of Sienna Khan.

"The White Fang is prepping demolition and securing the school grounds. No one’s getting in, and no one’s getting out."

- Hazel, to everyone.

"You’ll pay for what you did, you’ll die over and over again!!"

- Hazel, to Ozpin.

"He didn’t tell you my tale, did he, boy? I thought you looked familiar, to think that evil was inside you when our paths first crossed. Your blood won’t be on my hands, it’ll be on his."

- Hazel, to Oscar.

Trivia

 * Hazel can refer to a color, usually in relation to eyes. Hazel eyes often appear to shift in color from a brown/gold to a green.
 * Rainart is a name of Old German origin and can translate as either "Brave Counsel" or "Strong Judgement".
 * Hazel is thus far the only known member of Salem's Faction to have met Ozpin before the events of the series, excluding Salem herself (though the circumstances behind their past were not revealed until the Volume 5 episode "Vault of the Spring Maiden").
 * In the Japanese dub, Hazel is voiced by Akio Ōtsuka, who is best known for his role as Solid Snake in the Metal Gear Solid series.