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This villain was proposed but was rejected by the community for not being heinous enough or lacks what is necessary to be a Pure Evil villain. Therefore, this villain shall be added to our "Never Again List", where proposed villains rejected by the community shall be placed to prevent future proposals of the same evil-doer. They can be proposed again (with the permission of an administrator) if new elements appear in their series that can change their status as non-PE villains.

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Villain Overview

Kent Mansley, I work for the government.
~ Kent Mansley introducing himself.
...And all that implies.
~ Kent Mansley's famous phrase.

Kent James Mansley is the main antagonist of Warner Bros.' 1999 animated feature film The Iron Giant.

He is a paranoid federal government agent who was sent to investigate a gigantic iron robot coming from outer space and into Rockwell. However, Mansley secretly plans to boost his career once he gains evidence of the Giant's existence.

He was voiced by Christopher McDonald, who also played Shooter McGavin in Happy Gilmore, Hourglass in Superhero Movie, Travis Cole in Dirty Work, Harold Coyle in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Wilson Croft in Flubber, and Carl Nesmith in the Ben 10 franchise. In the Japanese dub of the film, he was voiced by Hochu Otsuka, who played Zephyr from One Piece Film: Z.

Description[]

Appearance[]

Kent Mansley is a handsome, clean-cut, and generally good-looking man. Well above the average height of other characters, he is thin and relatively large compared to Dean. He has fair skin and auburn hair with a very pronounced chin and light blue eyes. Throughout the film, he generally wears a grey suit with either a normal coat or dark grey trench coat and a dark grey fedora with a crimson tie and a white long-sleeved dress shirt along with black dress socks and black leather shoes. While at the Hughes' home and interrogating Hogarth about the location of the Giant, Mansley wears a green blazer, with a red tie, the same white long-sleeved dress shirt and black dress socks and yellow slacks along with brown leather shoes instead of his grey suit, crimson tie and black leather shoes.

Personality[]

Although suave, respectful, and well-mannered on the outside, Kent Mansley is a paranoid, cunning, self-centered, sinister, and manipulative agent with a hunger to further his own career. Scripted as a lowly agent in Washington, Kent has spent most of his life as an unnoticed federal government agent working in a cubicle. With the possibility of a "monster" in Rockwell, Kent hopes to advance his career and become a hero by destroying the creature lurking in the woods of Maine. Through his charm and charisma alone, he is able to fool both Annie Hughes and General Rogard into trusting him, proving his power of manipulation. However, like many villains, Mansley is very relentless and harsh in his quest to seek his ultimate goals; contrastingly, he is also afraid. Mansley mainly exemplifies the era of Cold War fear over the creation of the Soviet Sputnik 1; he does not care who created the Giant or whether it is actually dangerous: it must be destroyed for the safety of humanity while at the same time expressing an extreme level of short-sightedness of not realizing how the technology of the Giants can be used to benefit mankind or even tip the favor of the Cold War to the US. However, his paranoia is also his greatest weakness as his own foolishness causes him to launch a nuclear missile toward Rockwell and its citizens in his attempt to destroy the Giant.

Mansley also appears to be rather aggressive, quarrelsome, cantankerous, argumentative, and quite short-tempered. As time passes, Mansley's techniques become more vicious in desperation to find the giant. Mansley not only harasses Hogarth Hughes for his knowledge of the Giant but openly loses his temper and corners Hogarth on two separate occasions. After finding a photograph of the Iron Giant, Mansley even traps Hogarth in the shed by his home and interrogates him, while his mother is away at work. He even threatens to take Hogarth from his mother to pry the information he needs out of him before cruelly knocking him out and trapping him in his room to prevent him from helping his friends. Furthermore, when the army was attacking the Giant.

Kent was approached by Dean McCoppin who says that Hogarth was with the Giant and safe in order to stop them from attacking the giant, but Kent lied to the general that the Giant killed the boy, so that the army would still attack the Giant out of paranoia and possibly revenge against Hogarth for deceiving the military earlier to make them think that the Giant was an art piece in the junkyard, causing the general to plan his dismissal and ruining his career as a federal agent. His cruelty is only rivaled by his cowardice, though. Even after dooming the town of Rockwell, Mansley refuses to take note of the town's fate and tries to escape Rockwell in order to save himself, leaving the rest of the citizens to fend for themselves and likely perish.

History[]

Past[]

Nothing is truly known about Kent's past, except that he was born in Washington, D.C. where he was raised by Mr. and Mrs. Mansley. While it wasn't confirmed though, it might imply that one of his parents might've died, leaving him presumably living with one of them.

Sometime before the events of the film, he began working for the Government.

The Iron Giant[]

Kent first appeared following an unidentified object that has landed near the city of Rockwell and fed through a power relay station. He heads over to investigate the incident himself, where he finds a broken BB gun, unaware of who it belongs to. He is later seen at a railroad crash site, where two engineers explain that they saw a giant metal man (known as the Iron Giant) before the collision on the tracks. At first, Kent does not believe them, but is shocked to see his car chomped off (presumably by the Iron Giant himself).

Kent goes over to Annie Hughes' residence to use their phone, where he explains his discovery to General Rogard. However, Rogard doesn't believe him, but suggests to Kent that he get some evidence first before hanging up. Eventually, Kent learns that the BB gun actually belongs to Annie's son Hogarth (the protagonist of the film), so he decides to rent a room in the Hughes residence to keep a close eye on the boy, much to the latter's anger. With Mansley always present, Mansley keeps constant watch over Hogarth as Kent asks a few questions until Hogarth tries to leave the house. Unfortunately for Hogarth, Annie suggests he take Mansley with him to see the city sights. While visiting Eddy’s Rexall, after Hogarth shows Kent how to make a landslide (a chocolate bar called coca-lax crumbled and mixed with an ice cream sundae), Mansley begins to speak of the Sputnik and his fears of the thing lurking in the woods and asks Hogarth if he feels safe. When Hogarth acts oblivious to Mansley’s obvious hint at the giant, Mansley explodes into a rage and corners Hogarth in front of other people, angrily saying that the Giant is going to be destroyed before it destroys them (even though he has no proof the Giant is a threat and that his reasons are short-sighted and even xenophobic to an extent). However, before he is able to interrogate Hogarth any further, he is forced to the bathroom by the coca-lax that Hogarth spiked his ice cream soda with, giving Hogarth the opportunity to flee.

With Hogarth gone from his sights and the coca-lax still in his system, Mansley heads out into the forest surrounding Rockwell again to find more evidence of the giant's existence. Heading through the woods, Mansley talks with a farmer named Benny who shows him the half-eaten end of his truck, a damaged silo next to his barn, and damaged trees on the west side of his property. Mansley takes notes on the destruction before his irritated bowels force him to use the farmer's outhouse.

Traveling deeper into the woods, Mansley comes across the boulders and the uprooted tree that the Giant had pulled from the ground when Hogarth was trying to teach him words. Mansley also finds the bent shut off switch from the power station that the giant had presented to Hogarth in gratitude, before his bowels force him to use a pair of bushes. After a long and exhausting evening, Mansley strikes a camera hanging from a tree branch, the very camera Hogarth took into the woods while searching for the Giant.

Eventually, Kent manages to get hold of a picture of Hogarth and the Giant, so Kent interrogates Hogarth of the Giant's location, threatening to have him permanently removed from Annie's care if he refuses to oblige. Dejected, Hogarth confesses that the Giant is currently in the local junkyard owned by an old friend and beatnik artist named Dean McCoppin. Delighted by this, Kent chloroforms Hogarth and confines him to his room (even nailing his window shut to prevent him from escaping). He sends over the evidence to Rogard, who agrees to send in some soldiers to the junkyard tomorrow morning. Trying to escape to warn Dean and the Giant, Hogarth runs into Mansley in the hallway, who is now done with the call. Rather coldly, he brags to Hogarth that the army will be arriving in the morning and forces Hogarth back into his room. Satisfied, Kent confines himself to his room, keeping a close eye on Hogarth all night. However, it is revealed that Hogarth snuck out and made a decoy in his room while Kent fell asleep.

The next day, Kent arrives with Rogard and his soldiers to the junkyard to capture the Giant. However, Dean manages to have the Giant pose as an art sculpture to avoid attention, resulting in an angry Rogard to berate Kent for wasting millions of dollars over a silly investigation. Rogard then tells Kent to pack up and leave for Washington to face dismissal. However, the town becomes aware of the Iron Giant's existence after he was forced to reveal himself to save two boys from falling from a balcony. Spotting the Giant walking through town before crashing his vehicle, Kent points him out to Rogard and the soldiers, blindly lying to them out of paranoia that the Giant is attacking the town (even though the Giant was only looking at the people around him and he's not really moving much) and trying to get his job back. This led the army to attack the Iron Giant with their gunfire, forcing the Giant to run off with Hogarth in his hands. Dean arrives to tell Kent to tell the army to not shoot. Although Kent says he'll take care of it, he lies again to Rogard right after Dean drives away to help the Giant and Hogarth, saying the Giant killed Hogarth (refusing to admit that the Giant is harmless), convincing Rogard to call the Navy and Air Force. Eventually, the Giant is struck down by several aircraft, allowing Kent and the army to close in on his location after Rogard congratulates Kent on a job well done and giving him his job back.

Upon seeing Hogarth having seemingly died from the gunfire, the Giant grieves as the soldiers arrive seeing the Giant still alive. Kent orders the soldiers to continue shooting at the Giant, who gets angry as he regains his memories (with the dent on his head being fixed as well) and attacks Kent, Rogard, and the other nearby soldiers in revenge. Shocked and horrified, Kent, Rogard, and the other soldiers hurriedly drive away while the Giant chases them while using his weapons at them. Rogard's soldiers try to shoot down the Giant but its immense durability made him immune to any of their attacks, and the Giant easily destroys their tanks using his advanced weaponry. Rogard orders all battleships to fire at the Giant, but none of their attacks leave a single scratch on the Giant. After getting hit by the battleships' missiles, the Giant walks to the direction of the battleships, attempting to blast them. Rogard worries that nothing can stop the Giant, even after using everything they've got, but Kent says that they still haven't used the nuclear missile, and he plans to have the Giant lured away from the town before launching it at its current position. Rogard agrees and tells one of his soldiers to radio a nearby submarine, which will be the one to launch the missile.

Fortunately, Hogarth regains consciousness and arrives to calm the Giant to his normal state while Dean informs Rogard of the self-defense mechanism that the Giant can't control (along with reminding him of the bad outcomes that will happen from the missile launch). Kent, afraid of his lies getting exposed, strictly tells Rogard not to listen to Dean, demanding him to continue on with the plan of the missile launch. The Giant then presents Hogarth to the army to prove that he's not a threat, making Rogard and the soldiers realize that Kent lied to them. Shocked that Hogarth is still alive (and the fact that his paranoid lie has been exposed), Kent quickly comes up with another lie by claiming that the Giant is tricking them into thinking he didn't kill Hogarth by using a decoy, but Rogard refuses to accept this and instead orders his men to stand down, as he doesn't want to provoke the Giant into attacking them again.

Rogard then tries to call the submarine to abort the missile launch, but Kent (still blindly believing that the Giant is nothing but a threat) refuses to back down and after seeing the Giant narrow his eyes at him (which was really because of Kent's cruel nature), he jumps to the conclusion that this as a sign of hostility towards everyone in Rockwell and then furiously snatches Rogard's radio, foolishly ordering the submarine to fire the missile at once. As the missile is launched, Rogard angrily berates Kent by informing him that it will result in not only the Giant's death, but also the destruction of Rockwell and the death of everyone in it (since the Giant is still residing in the town, and the missile is locked on the Giant's current location). Kent turns to see the Giant standing a few feet away from him and groans as he realizes his foolish mistake. He suggests that they can duck and cover inside a fallout shelter, but the General furiously points out to Kent that survival is impossible and that they are all going to die for their country, thanks to Mansley's foolishness and stupidity.

Now finally humiliated and with his reputation ruined in front of the whole town, Mansley angrily renounces his patriotism before attempting to escape from Rockwell in a stolen jeep in order to save himself while leaving the rest of the townspeople to their imminent fate. Fortunately, Kent is stopped by the Giant (who blocks him in his tracks and damages the jeep he's using, rendering it unusable), allowing Rogard's soldiers to arrest Mansley for his actions before the Giant had to sacrifice himself to the missile in order to save Rockwell. After the Giant flew to the missile and collided with it, most of the people in Rockwell are happy that the Giant saved their lives, but Kent's reaction is not shown onscreen, though he's most likely feeling defeated and humiliated more after it is proven he is wrong about the Giant being nothing but a threat. Plus, he's most likely ungrateful of the Giant's action because although he did save his life, it would mean he would spend many years of his life in complete misery. On the other hand, Hogarth and a few others (especially Rogard and the soldiers) are saddened by the Giant's supposed death. However, Hogarth finds out months later that the Giant is still alive as its parts were only scattered by the explosion and are moving by will to reassemble themselves.

It is unknown what happened to Kent afterwards, but it is presumed that he was removed from his position permanently and incarcerated for his crimes and treachery. Furthermore, due to the seriousness of his actions, which include his harassment and threats towards Hogarth's life, his lies which lead to some destruction of private property and the near-death of Hogarth (even potentially more had his lie not been exposed as soon as it is), and his paranoid move which led to the near-deaths of everyone in Rockwell after carelessly getting the nuclear missile launched at the town in his foolish attempt to kill the Iron Giant (including the fact that he attempted to selfishly leave everyone to die from the missile), it is likely that Kent was given a near-life sentence in prison. He could've also received a death sentence for saying "Screw our country" as it counts as treason. Furthermore, his actions were likely made viral all over the news, which would lead to people hating him for everything he's done, and Kent would spend many years in prison in despair and humiliation (and even frustration after his plan to destroy the Giant backfired); instead of advancing his career, Kent ended up ruining his public image.

Quotes[]

Kent Mansley: Kent Mansley, United States Government, Unexplained Phenomena department.
Marv Loach: Marv Loach. I'm the foreman here.
Kent Mansley: What happened here?
~ Kent Mansley's first lines after arriving at the Power Station.
Marv Loach: Not sure. Sometimes the line'll snap if the weather is bad, sure. But for a whole tower to get twisted up like that....It's got me beat. It's almost like it was bitten off by some enormous beast.
Kent Mansley: [writing his notes down] Enormous beast, yeah. What do you think? Escaped gorilla?
Marv Loach: Err, what department is that again?
Kent Mansley: Frankly, I'm not at liberty to reveal the particulars of the agency I work for...and all that that implies.
Marv Loach: You mean the National Security?
Kent Mansley: Let's put it this way. Every once in a while, things happen that just can't be rationalized in a conventional way. People want to know that their government has a response. I am that response. So were there any witnesses?
Marv Loach: Well, sir, if you'll just follow me.
~ Kent Mansley to Marv Loach.
Marv Loach: We did find this. [gives Kent the smashed BB gun.] United States Government, huh? Guess that means something big's happening here, eh?
Kent Mansley: No, Marv. Big things happen in big places. The sooner I fill out my report, the sooner I can get back to them.
~ Kent Mansley retrieving the smashed BB gun, unaware of who it belongs to.
Enormous beast, yeah....Biggest thing here is probably the homecoming queen...[notices there is a hole in his car and gets out of it] OH MY GOD!
~ Kent Mansley noticing that there is a massive bite out of his car.
Kent Mansley:Come on Marv, I need a witness. It's around the corner.
Marv Loach: Don't pull so hard.
Kent Mansley: It's like a big "chomp" out of the side of the car. It's like a bite out of a ham sandwich, like a... [sees only his fedora and the smashed BB gun]
~ Kent Mansley bringing Marv to show him half of his car chomped up, only to discover that it's not there.
Marv Loach: What err- What are we looking at here, Mr. Manley?
Kent Mansley: Something big, Marv. [picks up the smashed BB gun] Something big.
~ Kent Mansley realizing that the Iron Giant ate his entire car.
Two nights ago, at approximately 1900 hours, S.A.T. com radar detected an unidentified flying object entering Earth's atmosphere, losing contact with it two-and-a-half miles off the coast of Rockwell. Some assumed it was a large meteor, or a downed satellite, but my office in Washington received a call from someone reporting an actual encounter with the object. This is no meteor, gentlemen. This is something much more serious.
~ Kent Mansley discussing about the information to the mayor of Rockwell and his associates.
Kent Mansley: What happened here?
Ollie Johnson: Go on. Tell him what you saw, Frank.
Frank Thomas: You're not gonna believe this. But it was a giant metal man.
Kent Mansley: Does anybody know where I can get to a phone nearby? [Ollie points at Hogarth's house]
~ Kent Mansley asking one of the engineers if there is a phone nearby.
Hey there, scout! Kent Mansley, I work for the government.
~ Kent Mansley first meeting Hogarth.
Kent Mansley: Hey there, scout. Kent Mansley. [frowns] Work for the government. Your parents home?
Hogarth: We're eating.
Kent Mansley: Mmm, boy.
Annie: Who's there, honey?
Kent Mansley: Oh, hello there. Do you have a telephone I could use?
Annie: Yes, there's one in the kitchen.
Kent Mansley: Well, thank you. Thank you very much. Here. [puts his fedora on Hogarth's head] Pretend you're a gangster. [chuckles]
~ Kent Mansley asking the Hughes if he can borrow their telephone.
General Rogard: Damn it, Mansley. You call me at home for this?
Kent Mansley: You don't understand, sir. It ate my car.
~ Kent Mansley first calls General Rogard on the phone.
General Rogard: And you saw this happen?
Kent Mansley: No, I didn't actually see it. It went off into the woods.
General Rogard: So you don't have any evidence?
Kent Mansley: But sir, I've got an eyewitness!
General Rogard: An eyewitness with a concussion?
Kent Mansley: This thing...This thing is a menace. It tore up the power station. It caused a train wreck.
General Rogard: What did? Tell me again, Mansley, and this time...listen to yourself.
Kent Mansley: A giant metal monster. [sees a funny face oven mitt and turns it around as Rogard starts to laugh] Please, sir. I've got a feeling about this one.
General Rogard: That's lovely, Kent, but let me try to explain how this works: If you told me you'd found, say, umm, a giant footprint, I might sent over an expert to make a plaster cast of it. Hell, you get me a photograph of this thing and I could probably get some troops over there! But you tell me you've got a feeling?
~ Kent Mansley trying to explain to General Rogard about the Iron Giant destroying the power station and causing destruction at the train wreck with General Rogard mocking him at first.
All right, fine. You want evidence? I'll get you evidence! And when I do, I'm gonna want a memo distributed. And I wanna have that memo carbon-copied and REDISTRIBUTED!! AND--
~ Kent Mansley arguing with General Rogard on the phone at the Hughes' residence before Rogard hangs up.
Kent Mansley: [puts his fedora back on] Well, thank you for the use of your phone, Mrs...?
Annie: Hughes. Annie Hughes. And this is my son Hogarth.
Kent Mansley: Thank you Annie. Hobart.
Hogarth That's Hogarth. Jerk.
~ Kent Mansley thanking the Hughes for using their telephone.
"Hogarth?" That's an embarrassing name. They might as well have called him "Zeppo" or something. What kind of a sick person would name their kid "Hogar...? [stops and looks over to Hogarth's smashed B-B gun which Kent found at the power station. It reads part of Hogarth's name: Hog- Hug] Hog Hug? HOG HUG? HOGARTH HUGHES!! [screeches his car to a stop]
~ Kent Mansley discovering the B-B Gun he found at the power station belongs to Hogarth.
Hogarth: Kent Mansley. You work for the government.
Kent Mansley: I wasn't gonna say that. I have something for you, Hogarth. [gives Hogarth his smashed BB gun]
Annie: Your BB gun. Where did you find that?
Kent Mansley: Up at the power station.
Annie: Hogarth was out there the other night.
Kent Mansley: [surprised] Really? See anything unusual, Hogarth?
Hogarth: Nothing...unusual, really.
~ Kent Mansley giving Hogarth back his smashed BB gun after discovering the owner of the BB gun.
Annie: Strange, he's so tightlipped now and the other night he couldn't stop talking. I mean, 100-foot-robots and whatnot.
Kent Mansley: A 100-foot robot? That's nutty! What else did he say? [hearing Hogarth in the upstairs bathroom, struggling]
Hogarth: No, wait, stop!
Annie: Excuse me.
~ Kent Mansley asking Annie of what else did Hogarth said about the 100-foot robot.
[puts his fedora back on again] Thank you, again Annie. Good night Hogarth. I'm sure we'll see each other again...[closes the car door shut] real soon.
~ Kent Mansley telling Hogarth that they will see each other again, foreshadowing his stay at Hogarth's house.
Morning sport. [puts down the newspaper] Sleep well?
~ Kent Mansley revealing to Hogarth that he rented a room at Hogarth's house.
Kent Mansley: Hey, mind if I ask you a few questions, buckaroo? Now, why would you tell your mom about a giant robot Slugger? What'd you see at the power station huh? Tell anyone else Buddy? How big is this thing Ranger? Been in the forest lately? Champ? Slugger? Hey, Cowboy? Where are you going?
Hogarth: I'M GOING OUT!
Annie: Why don't you take Mr. Mansley with you? Show him the sights.
Hogarth: Aww, Mom the sights?
Kent Mansley: [puts his fedora on] Hey, I'd love that. Give us a chance to get acquainted, swap some stories. Huh, Chief?
~ Kent Mansley questioning Hogarth about the incident at the power station.
Kent Mansley: You know, Hogarth, we live in a strange and wondrous time: the Atomic Age. But there's a dark side to progress, Hogarth. Ever hear of Sputnik?
Hogarth: Yeah. First satellite in space.
Kent Mansley: Foreign satellite, Hogarth, and all that implies. Even now, it orbits overhead. Watching us.
~ Kent Mansley tells Hogarth about the satellite at the Pharmacy having an ice cream shake, unaware that Hogarth spiked his shake with "Coco-Lax".
We can't see it, but it's there. Much like that giant thing in the woods. We don't know what it is or what it can do. I don't feel safe, Hogarth. Do you?
~ Kent Mansley tells Hogarth that the Giant was in the woods and thinks he was never safe.
Hogarth: What are you talking about?
Kent Mansley: [begins to snap at Hogarth] What am I talking about? What am I TALKING ABOUT?! I'm talking about your goldarn security, Hogarth! While you're snoozing in your little jammies back in Washington, we're wide awake and worried. Why? Because everyone wants what we have, Hogarth. EVERYONE! You think this metal man is fun, but who built it? The Russians? The Chinese? Martians? Canadians? I DON'T CARE! All I know is, we didn't build it, and that's reason enough to assume the worst and blow it to Kingdom Come! Now, you are going to tell me about this thing, you are going to lead me to it, and we are going to destroy it before it destroys us! [his stomach gurgles]... Just hold that thought and stay right there! [Rushes to the restroom]
~ Kent Mansley's tirade towards Hogarth after Hogarth asks him what's he talking about, only for him to rush to the restroom after hearing his stomach gurgling before Hogarth is forced to flee.
Thanks! I think I'm feeling better now. [grins evilly] Much. Much better...
~ Kent Mansley tells Annie the he feeling little better with the toilet paper, while also finding a photo of Hogarth with the Giant.
You're late for dinner, Hogarth.
~ Kent Mansley catches Hogarth while he is putting his bike in the barn.
[locks the door of the barn to prevent Hogarth from escaping] Your mom's working late tonight, Hogarth. So it's just us guys. And we're gonna have a little chat. Sit down! [pushes Hogarth onto a chair and shines a bright light on him]
~ Kent Mansley preventing Hogarth from escaping the barn.
Kent Mansley: How's that? A little too bright? Good. Forgive me, Hogarth. I wanted you to learn something.
Hogarth: What can I learn from you?
Kent Mansley: You can learn this, Hogarth: that I can do anything I want whenever I want if I feel it's in the people's best interest. The giant metal man... where is it?
Hogarth: I don't know what your talking about.
~ Kent Mansley interrogating Hogarth about the location of the Giant.
You don't? Well… Does this ring a bell?
~ Kent Mansley tossing the photo to Hogarth that he took.
No? How about this? You've been careless, Hogarth.
~ Kent Mansley tossing another photo of Hogarth accidentally taking a picture of Iron Giant.
Hogarth: It doesn't prove anything!
Kent Mansley: It's enough to get the Army here with one phone call.
Hogarth: Then what's stopping you?
~ Kent Mansley planning to get the Army here with one phone call.
[pushes the light in rage] WHERE'S THE GIANT?!
~ Kent Mansley to Hogarth Hughes after Hogarth asks Kent what is stopping him.
Kent Mansley: [grabs Hogarth's jaw] You can't protect him, Hogarth - any more than you can... protect your mother.
Hogarth: My mom? [lets go of Hogarth's jaw and sighs] It's difficult to raise a boy all alone.
Kent Mansley: [becoming more devious] We can make it
more difficult. In fact, we can make it so difficult that it would be irresponsible for us to leave you in her care. And all of that implies... you'll be taken away from her, Hogarth.
Hogarth: You can't do that!
Kent Mansley: [smiles wickedly] Oh, we can… and we will.
Hogarth: He's in the junkyard. McCoppin's Scrap, off Culver Road.
~ Kent Mansley threatens to take Hogarth away from Annie's care if he doesn't comply and Hogarth eventually confesses to Kent that the Giant is hiding in the junkyard.
The junkyard, of course! Food for the metal eater. I wouldn't worry about this, Hogarth. This isn't really happening. It's only… a bad dream. [stuffs Hogarth with chloroform and knocks him unconscious]
~ Kent Mansley getting the Giant's location from Hogarth before knocking him out with chloroform.
Yes, sir. This thing is real, sir. I not only have incontrovertible evidence General, I know where it's hidden. I don't know who built it, but it's here and massive and we're running out of time. There's no doubt we should act. The only question sir is...can you afford not to? Excellent, sir. You won't regret it. Thank you, sir.
~ Kent Mansley having a conversation on the phone with General Rogard about seeing the Giant in the morning.
The army arrives in the morning, Hogarth. Don't get cute. [points at Hogarth] I'll be watching you.
~ Kent Mansley claims that he will keep on eye on Hogarth all night, only for him to fall asleep and discover that Hogarth made a decoy in his bedroom.
Annie: For some reason, the Army is in our front yard, Mr. Mansley.
Kent Mansley: Please call me Kent.
~ Kent Mansley to Annie, saying that he wants be called by his first name after Annie tells him that the Army is outside on the front yard.
Kent Mansley: All right, where is it?
Dean: What?
Kent Mansley: You know darn well what. The monster. The giant thing. The metal man.
~ Kent Mansley describes the Giant that was the metal man.
Kent Mansley: Sir, I... Sir, listen...
General Rogard: Step outside, Mansley.
Kent Mansley: Yes, sir.
~ General Rogard orders Kent to step outside.
General Rogard: YOU REALIZE HOW MUCH HARDWARE I BROUGHT OUT HERE?!! YOU JUST BLEW MILLIONS OF UNCLE SAM'S DOLLARS OUTTA YOUR BUTT!!!
~ General Rogard furiously yells at Kent for wasting millions of government money on a worthless trip to Rockwell.
General Rogard: You'll be chief inspector of Subway toilets by the time I'm finished with you! Now pack up. I expect you back in Washington to clear out your office.

Kent Mansley: Yes, sir.
~ General Rogard telling Kent that he is fired from the government as Kent Mansley becomes defeated.
Stop! Look! Look behind you! The giant, it's attacking! It's stomping the town! I was right! Look, damn you!
~ Kent Mansley lying to the army after noticing that the Giant is in Rockwell.
Kent Mansley: This is all your fault, beatnik!
Dean: Will you shut up and listen?! You gotta make them stop! The Giant's got the kid with him!
Kent Mansley: I'll take care of it. [Dean leaves] He said the monster has killed the kid. Sir, we must stop it at all costs.
~ Kent Mansley lying to General Rogard that the Giant killed Hogarth.
Gotcha
~ Kent Mansley after one of the soldiers shot the Giant causing him to fall out of the sky.
Just shoot at it!
~ Kent Mansley orders one of the soldiers to shoot towards the Giant.
Let's get out of here!
~ Kent Mansley escapes from the Giant.
Drive, baby, drive! Step on it! Floor it! It's gaining on us! Faster! Faster! Faster! HURRY!
~ Kent Mansley continues yelling at the soldier driving a Jeep.
Kent Mansley: Not everything, general. The bomb. The Nautilus has first strike capability and is not far off shore.
Rogard: You scare me, Mansley. You want us to bomb ourselves in order to kill it?
Kent Mansley: General, the giant seems to follow whatever it attacks it. We can lure it away from the town, then destroy it.
~ Kent Mansley convincing Rogard to use a missile to destroy the Giant.
Rogard: What are you saying? He's friendly?
Dean: Yes, attacking him is triggering a defense mechanism.
Kent Mansley: Don't listen to him, General! Destroy the monster while we still have the chance!
Dean: General, you shoot now, and the whole thing starts all over.
Kent Mansley: Stop it now, General! Our future's at stake!
~ Kent Mansley begs the General to destroy the Giant despite Dean's objections.
Solder 1: It's getting closer!
Soldier 2: Orders, Sir!
Iron Giant: (Presents Hogarth to everyone in town)
Hogarth: Don't shoot! Don't shoot!
Annie: Hogarth!
Kent: (Shocked that Hogarth isn't dead)
Rogard: Hold your fire! (Looks at Kent) The boy's alive?!
Kent Mansley: It's a trick! Launch the missile!
Rogard: Are you mad, Mansley?
~ Kent Mansley tells the General to launch the missile after his lies are exposed.
Rogard: All units, stand down! (Calls submarine) Rogard to Nautilus. Come in Nautilus.
Nautilus: This is Nautilus standing by.
Kent: (Snatches radio) LAUNCH THE MISSILE NOW!!!
~ Kent Mansley's villainous breakdown as he orders the nuclear missile launched at the Giant.
Rogard: That missile is targeted to the Giant's current position! WHERE'S THE GIANT, MANSLEY?!
Kent Mansley: [Mansley looks to see the Iron Giant standing five feet away from him. He groans as he realizes his mistake] Oooh... We can duck and cover! There's a fallout shelter not far from-
Rogard: THERE'S NO WAY TO SURVIVE THIS, YOU IDIOT!
Kent Mansley: You mean we're all going-
Rogard: To die, Mansley. For our country.
~ Kent Mansley being humiliated in front of everyone in town after Rogard angrily informs him that they are all going to die for their country due to Mansley's foolishness.
Kent Mansley: SCREW OUR COUNTRY! I WANNA LIVE!.......... (grunts in pain)
Rogard: Hold him, men! Make sure he stay here like a good soldier!
~ Kent Mansley's last words before he tries to escape Rockwell to save himself, only to be stopped by the Giant and gets arrested by the army for his crimes and treachery.

Trivia[]

  • Although it is never mentioned in the film, Mansley is said to work in a small windowless office on Capitol Hill and his desire to catch the Giant stems from his want to further his own career.
    • Later scrapped in the final version, it appears that the army jeep stolen by Mansley was originally owned by him.
  • In the original script, Mansley was troubled by the peeling "Bureau of Unexplained Phenomena" emblem on his car and had to fix it manually, illustrating the neglect and insignificance of his position in the eyes of the government.
  • Originally, Mansley was supposed to meet Annie Hughes at the Chat n' Chew Diner after overhearing the waitress saying Hogarth had told the children that he went to the power plant the night of the incident.
  • According to IMDb, Arnold Schwarzenegger, known for playing the Terminator from the franchise of the same name, was considered to voice Kent Mansley.
  • Kent appears to have been originally scripted to woo Annie Hughes more than he does in the film to appear as the perfect father figure, much to Hogarth's irritation.
  • In an alternate ending, Kent was told by General Rogard that he was "under arrest... and all that that implies" as a crack at his signature phrase.
  • In the original script, a scene was to take place where Mansley and General Rogard go out to eat at Chat n' Chew Diner for a meeting, but both forget their wallets. The scene bears striking resemblance to the missile scene, which made it to the final cut. Mansley's original call to "dine and dash" is later replaced with the more conventional "duck and cover" as seen in the final cut.
  • Rather than holding Hogarth hostage in his room like in the movie, the script originally had a scene where Kent spent “family” time with Annie and Hogarth where it is revealed that Hogarth’s father died in the Korean War and Hogarth goes to bed after arguing with Mansley.
  • It is unknown of what Kent's past was like but it was implied that his past was difficult where he was raised alone by one parent just like Hogarth was as revealed when Kent Interrogates him.
  • Though he is a government official, Kent Mansley isn't a military commander to the U.S. Army and doesn't use any weapons as a lethal force against the Giant; instead, he relies on the military and General Rogard to do the dirty work for him.
  • During the Cold War, the penalty for treason in the United States was death. However, since capital punishment in Maine was abolished in 1887, it's unlikely that Kent was killed for his actions.
  • Kent serves as a dark parallel to Hogarth Hughes. Both characters were able to encounter the titular Iron Giant, to which they got terrified of the robot at first, although they were still able to handle him. However, while Hogarth later treated the Iron Giant as being part of the boy's family, Kent only saw the robot as a huge threat without giving any second thought, simply out of paranoia. Had Hogarth never saw the Iron Giant in a different way after being initially afraid of the machine, he would've ended up becoming like Kent.
  • In the last scene of the movie, since the Giant is revealed to have never died (as it is revealed that none of its parts are broken and were only scattered by the impact of the explosion), Kent would eventually realize that the Giant is still alive once it returns to Rockwell after it finishes assembling itself, and he would most definitely be surprised. Additionally, Kent would also realize that even if his missile launch plan did go the way he planned it, it wouldn't kill the Giant at all and he still wouldn't advance his career. In the end however, Kent would still spend many years of his life very miserable (not feeling any better or worse) once he finds out the Giant still lives.
  • Brad Bird had Christopher McDonald in mind to voice Kent.

External Links[]

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