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This Villain was Headlined on August, 2021. | ||
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This Villain was proposed and approved by Villains Wiki's Pure Evil Proposals Thread. Any act of removing this villain from the category without a Removal Proposal shall be considered vandalism (or a futile "heroic" attempt of redemption) and the user will have high chances of being | ||
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| “ | Careful, I'm contagious. | „ |
| ~ Thrax's first and most famous line, as he prepares to kill a white blood cell.
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| “ | Ebola? Let me tell you something about Ebola, baby. Ebola is a case of DANDRUFF compared to me! | „ |
| ~ Thrax expressing his strong dislike when Scabies compares him to the Ebola virus. |
Thrax is the main antagonist of the Warner Bros.' 6th animated hybrid action comedy feature film Osmosis Jones and the overarching antagonist of its 2002-2004 sequel television series Ozzy & Drix.
He is an extremely virulent and contagious anthropomorphic virus and gleeful serial-killer, who strives to mark medical history the deadliest virus ever known, until he is foiled by his arch-nemesis Osmosis Jones when he attempted to kill Frank DeTorre.
He was voiced by Laurence Fishburne, who also played Jimmy Jump in King of New York, the Silver Surfer in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Baines in Armored, Omar in Ride Along, Sade in Standoff and Bill Foster in Ant-Man and the Wasp.
Description[]
Appearance[]
Thrax is a humanoid virus sporting dark red skin, purple dreadlock-like tentacles instead of hair, yellow eyes with darker yellow sclera, sometimes covered with a pair of shades, and dark red claws (with a long red one on his index finger which glows when it kills cells at contact). He wears a long black coat, a grey turtleneck sweater, black pants, and black shoes. He also carries a DNA chain with him.
Personality[]
At first glance, Thrax appears as someone collected, sophisticated, charismatic and polite, being even laid-back and with a sense of humor, but he is actually cruel and heartless, with an intimidating and threatening presence. He is notable for being a very dark and creepy villain in an otherwise light-hearted comedy.
He lives for the kill, expressing disturbing pride in the deaths he caused, fondly recalling every gory details, like a hunter and their trophies. He is determined to gain his own chapter in medical books, and break the record number of deaths in the shortest possible time, which he views as a challenge. With all humans of the story having their every cell alive in a city, he kills billions of them for each victim. Thrax is horribly vicious and sadistic, taking great delight in spreading death and suffering to people and cells alike, often poking fun and bragging about his many victims, among other displays of macabre dark humor. He tends to be sarcastic, making dry jabs towards the poor quality of Frank's criminal underworld, deriding it as "scum", and pretty much anyone he speaks to.
Thrax always keeps a chain made of the DNA of all of his victims as a gloomy keepsake and singsongs Peggy Lee's Fever song when spreading his disease, as a twisted irony. He had a brief comedic moment upon discovering Frank's memories, remarking that he was sick long before he entered his body.
More importantly, Thrax is extremely over proud and self-important, yearning for the infamy he feels entitled to. He regards himself as the deadliest virus to ever exist and devotes his entire existence to his desire to be recognized as such and suitably feared by everyone, people and cells alike. Which means that he cannot stand his anonymity, taking great outrage at being compared to recognized deadly viruses he dismisses as below him.
This makes Thrax's poised veneer only skin-deep. In truth, he is obsessive and laser-focused on the course he set, with an extremely volatile temper, flying into short yet fiery rages at the slightest contradiction. He prides himself in having never been spotted (until Osmosis found out about him), and opposition only enrages him more. Although he first keeps his temper in check, reacting to detection with controlled fury, Osmosis' persistent resistance makes him increasingly reckless, erratic, unhinged, vindictive and violent. This shows when he slaughters his remaining recruits for suggesting to lay low, and his vow to kill Osmosis in a gruesome way just for doing his job and interfering with his plans.
Despite his violent tendencies, Thrax is meticulous, intelligent and knowledgeable about human anatomy, knowing perfectly well how to how to cover his tracks, divert suspicion, and when to strike as efficiently as possible. Yet, his blind obsession with keeping his perfect record at all costs would lead to his downfall.
Powers and Abilities[]
Thrax is an especially virulent virus, who kills his targets by attacking their hypothalamus gland, causing a violent fever. Down to microscopic-size, he is way taller, stronger, faster, sprier and more resilient than other cells. He is a deadly fighter, able to overpower germs stronger than him and be evenly matched to the white blood cell policeman Osmosis Jones, as well as being a stealth expert blending in shadows until the last second and easily passing as a banal disease.
His deadliest weapon is the long claw on his left index finger, which burns every organic or material cell it touches to the point of melting. He is also able to float and glide in the air, using his coat as makeshift wings.
History[]
Background[]
| “ | You see this? This here little DNA bead comes from a little girl in Riverside, California. Didn't like to wash her hands. Took me 3 whole weeks. And this one. Nice lady in Detroit, Motown; 6 days flat. Then there's this old guy in Philly. I killed him in 72 hours. Yeah, I'm getting better as I go along, baby, but the problem is I never set a record! Until my man Frank, that is. I'm gonna take him down in 48 hours! Get my own chapter in the medical books! | „ |
| ~ Thrax talking to a group of germ thugs, explaining his evil plan to break his record by killing Frank DeTorre in 2 days. |
Where does Thrax comes from, how long he has existed and how many victims he has claimed remains unsaid. Before the events of the film, he killed at least three people, each quicker than the last but not enough to his tastes.
Role in the Movie[]
The story starts when Frank DeTorre, a widower zookeeper without care for his health, eats an egg spat out by a chimpanzee onto the ground, stupidly believing the "ten seconds rule" against his daughter Shane's warnings. With that, Thrax, infiltrates the metropolis in which his cells live like humans, with white blood cells as cops and germs as gangsters.
Thrax casually murders the two cells who witnessed his intrusion, using their boat to go down Frank's throat, causing a throat inflammation on his way to the germs' headquarters in Frank's armpit. There, he quickly usurps control of the germs' gang by killing their leader Scabies; and plans to take advantage of Frank's poor health condition to operate undetected.
The titular main hero is Osmosis "Ozzy" Jones, a white blood cell who was demoted from the police after activating the emergency evacuation (i.e., throwing up on Shane's teacher Mrs. Boyd and getting fired for it), to expel dangerous germs from raw oysters. The incompetent Mayor Phlegmming (who is to blame for Frank' slovenly life-style) scorned it as "unnecessary force". Ozzy gets reluctantly tasked to assist a rule-abiding cold pill named Drixenol "Drix" to investigate the throat inflammation.
Phlegmming dismisses Ozzy's warnings, but Chill, a flu vaccine informant, tells them that Thrax is meeting his gang at a zit nightclub. Ozzy uses his body-altering abilities to pass as a germ and infiltrate the reunion. He gets caught, but Drix barges in to save him, destroying the zit with a medicine grenade and killing most of the gang (causing another trouble with Mrs. Boyd). Alas, the virus survived, hiding in an ingrown toenail with his last thugs. Amused that the only organism to spot him is ignoring his threat, he presses on the attack, but one germ suggests to incubate for a while as they are a too few. Refusing to compromise and prioritizing his record over all, Thrax kills them and heads off alone.
The mayor fires both Ozzy and Drix, but Thrax sneaks into the brain right after and steals a DNA bead from the hypothalamus, causing Frank's temperature to skyrocket. Ozzy realizes that Thrax is alive and convinces Drix to stay. Leah Estrogen, the mayor's secretary and Ozzy's love interest, starts believing Ozzy's claims, but the mayor refuses to address the crisis he can no longer ignore. Leah discovers what is going on in the brain and rings the alarm. Thrax avoids security hiding in the memory room, only to get scared away by Frank's memories, before taking Leah hostage. Meanwhile, the entire city is devastated in a fire, much to Phlegmming's disbelieving regret.
Frank is rushed to the hospital in critical condition, but nothing can be done. Thrax hijacks a car to flee, but Ozzy, Drix and the police barge in. Drix freezes Thrax's claw with his cannon, preventing the virus from using it and enabling Ozzy to rescue Leah. Thrax triggers a sneeze to escape, but Ozzy uses Drix's cannon to propel himself after him, and they land on Shane's eye.
Ozzy engages Thrax in a fistfight, altering his body to match his foe's superior strength. Unfortunately, the ice around Thrax's claw shatters, and the virus starts strangling Ozzy with the DNA chain. Ozzy is saved when Shane starts crying, sending both flying. Thrax pins Ozzy, madly gloating that he will break his record with Shane, but Ozzy splits himself to avoid the claw, revealing that he trapped him on the girl's fake eyelash that is about to fall off. Ozzy clings to Shane's real eyelash, with the DNA chain he stole back, while Thrax falls into a bottle of rubbing alcohol, dissolving to death and avenging every human and body cell he killed. Just as Frank reaches 108 degrees and goes into cardiac arrest, Ozzy uses Shane's teardrop to re-enter his body and return the stolen DNA bead, saving his life in extremis.
Ozzy is declared a hero, getting his old job back and starting a relationship with Leah, with Drix being allowed to stay as his partner. The new mayor Tom Colonic prompts Frank to take better care of himself and his daughter.
Quotes[]
| “ | Think I'll turn up the heat in here. | „ |
| ~ Thrax setting the boat on fire. |
| “ | So, this is where the scum of Frank comes to fester. | „ |
| ~ Thrax upon meeting his soon-to-be minions. |
| “ | Joe Cramp: What sickness do you have in mind, boss? Thrax: Deadly. |
„ |
| ~ Thrax reveals that he is lethal. |
| “ | Joe Cramp: Hey boss, looks like your plan worked. Thrax: That's right. I got the city exactly where I want it. Joe Cramp: So what about the cop and the pill? Thrax: Well, let's just say if they give us a problem: ♪Fire!♪ |
„ |
| ~ Thrax to his minions about dealing with Osmosis Jones and Drix. |
| “ | Well, what do we have here? An officer of Frank's finest. Somebody lay down a towel. This is gonna be MESSY! | „ |
| ~ Thrax making an attempt to kill Osmosis Jones. |
| “ | They're making this too easy! Hahahahaha! You know, in all the bodies I've been in, no-one has ever gotten wise to me, and now for the first time, an immunity cell has figured out everything, and they don't BELIEVE him! Hahahahahaha! Can you TASTE the irony in that? | „ |
| ~ Thrax finding the fact that the first person who ever learned of his plans is ignored amusing. |
| “ | YOU incubate! I said forty-eight hours, I'm gonna MAKE my deadline. Medical books aren't written about LOSERS! | „ |
| ~ Thrax killing the rest of his gang when they suggest laying low. |
| “ | Whew. This cat was sick before I even got here. | „ |
| ~ Thrax after escaping the room full of Frank's memories. |
| “ | Thrax: Hi baby. Leah: What are you waiting for? Shoot him! Thrax: If you follow me, she dies! |
„ |
| ~ Thrax to Leah as he takes her hostage. |
| “ | Enjoy the funeral, boys! | „ |
| ~ Thrax escaping Frank's body. |
| “ | Just don't know when to quit, do ya Jones? | „ |
| ~ Thrax about to battle Osmosis Jones in Shane's eye. |
| “ | You know what, Jones? You want this chain so bad? Big Daddy Thrax is gonna let you have it! Looks good on ya, Jones! You wear it well! It's a shame you had to come this far from home just to die. | „ |
| ~ Thrax strangling Osmosis Jones with the DNA chain. |
| “ | Thrax: Can you feel the heat, Jones? (laugh) Too bad you won't be here to see me break my record when I take down Frank's pretty little GIRL. Ozzy: She ain't going down! Thrax: Huh? Ozzy: YOU are! Thrax: WHAT?! NO! |
„ |
| ~ Thrax's last words upon listening to Ozzy's response before falling into alcohol and dissolving to his death. |
Trivia[]
- Thrax was first named "We Khan", a pun on "we can" and Genghis Khan.
- Thrax's name comes from the real-life disease "anthrax", though Thrax cannot be likened to any real-life virus. However, the symptoms resemble an exceptionally violent version of Scarlet Fever or hyperpyrexia.
- Thrax is described as La Muerte Roja (Red Death), in reference to the Edgar Allan Poe story Masque of the Red Death. However, the symptoms of the disease in the story bear little resemblance to the symptoms caused by Thrax.
- Thrax collecting some DNA from the hypothalamus as a trophy is accurate to real viruses that pick up samples of their host DNA and carry it with them.
- Collecting trophies to represent victims is also common of among real life serial killers.
- When asked what the story is with Frank, one of the doctors replies, "I don't know. I don't know what it is," which means that Thrax could have been a new disease that developed. Moreover, Thrax does not really do what a virus usually does because he acts like a serial killer, more interested in killing rather than multiplying and staying alive, however it's possible that he IS a normal virus but his unique behavior makes the doctors believe that he is a new virus.
- Although he likely did not know it, Thrax getting his own chapter in the medical books would have also been his undoing if not for Ozzy and Drix, since the doctors would eventually discover how to cure him. However, how long this would take is unknown, meaning that Thrax may have been able to kill more victims, as well as Frank. Thus, he had the potential to cause a pandemic, if able to travel around the world fast enough.
- Despite the film's failure for critical viewers, Thrax has been praised, mostly due to the criticism for the film's live-action portions while the animated scenes were praised.
- Thrax's design was inspired by Morpheus from The Matrix franchise, who was also portrayed by Laurence Fishburne. In an additional reference to The Matrix, while Jones and Thrax were fighting, the camera angles mirror that of The Matrix.
- During his fight with Ozzy when he goes into his low-sweep kick, there is an animation goof in Thrax's turtleneck where it isn't filled in the chest region.
- Thrax is the first animated movie character to be voiced by Laurence Fishburne.
- Thrax is shown to be left-handed, as he always slashes with his left hand using his longer pointer finger.
- Like the Joker and the Black Mouth, Thrax has more kills than any other Warner Bros. Animation villain. However, unlike both villains, Thrax has killed quadrillions of sentient cells in spite of killing three humans, thus currently holding the record for having the highest kill count in villain history.
External links[]
- Thrax on the Pure Evil Wiki
- Thrax on the Osmosis Jones Wiki
- Thrax on the Warner Bros. Entertainment Wiki
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 Villains
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Osmosis Jones Ozzy and Drix | ||
