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Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III is the main character of the How To Train Your Dragon franchise. He is the son of Valka and Stoick the Vast (the late Hooligan Chief).
Background
At birth, Hiccup was given a small axe by Stoick so he could start training immediately much to his mom's chagrin. However, the axe Hiccup was using is used as a paperweight. When he was still a baby, Valka sewed Hiccup a dragon toy with his name stitched into the sides. One night during a dragon raid, a Stormcutter dragon broke into their house, finding baby Hiccup in the cradle. Valka rushed to his rescue, but found the dragon curiously playing with Hiccup, leaving the baby giggling in delight, proving that everything that Valka believed about dragons was true. The Stormcutter was startled when he noticed Valka's presence, accidentally scratching Hiccup's chin with a wing claw when he turned to look her direction. Hearing the baby crying, Stoick rushed to the scene. He and the dragon started fighting with each other, resulting in the house being burned and Valka being abducted by the dragon, leaving Stoick to raise Hiccup alone. This experience left Hiccup with a deep fear of dragons, so much so that while he was still very young, he threw the dragon toy his mother made for him into the ocean one day when he and his father were out fishing. After what happened to his wife, Stoick became overprotective of his son. Later on in life, Hiccup grew up and during a dragon raid, he managed to take down a Night Fury (he later named Toothless) and realizes that it was the beginning of his legacy.
Why He's Our Hiccup
- When he enrolled into Dragon Training, he at first starts off weak. After having a bond with Toothless, he learns about the mannerisms of most dragons which lead him to somehow "defeat" every dragon he encounters during training.
- He is shown to use more of his intelligence by creating inventions for various uses before such as a bola launcher or a dragon's prosthetic tail and saddle.
- He shows great leadership like when he would lead his Dragon Fighting classmates into a battle against the Red Death. At first he does have difficulty controlling the rest of the village, but Stoick sees that Hiccup is improving his leadership skills which would picture him as Hiccup being a new Chief of Berk.
- He's really protective to Astrid because he does have a crush on her. As time went on, their feelings with each other grew up and Hiccup never stopped loving her.
- Hiccup is never above admitting when he is or has been wrong and will do his best to make amends with others, showing he has a great deal of humility, and he learns from his mistakes. For example, he learns to listen more attentively to what Toothless is trying to tell him.
- A notable character trait that he does have is his compassion being deep. This is really present when he spares Toothless which would change the world of Vikings and dragons forever. He even redeemed
- His backstory is really tragic since his mom was being abducted by a dragon during Hiccup's infant-hood. Can you imagine this happening to someone you love? Even his dad didn't want to get a new mom after what had happened. Even in his early years, Hiccup was being mocked before and was considered an outcast because he was scrawnier than average and he thought differently. All the kids (except Astrid and Fishlegs) around his age repeatedly made fun of him. His only friend was a man thrice his age, but even he didn't understand him. Then comes his father. The Chief. His own father who wishes his son could be different. Stoick wants him to stop being himself and Hiccup has made it very clear that he knows how his father feels. To have your whole village, peers, and even your own and ONLY parent think that way your whole life.
- In addition, Stoick, after learning of Hiccup's accomplishments, praises him for it and even tells his son on how he thought Hiccup would be "the worst Viking that ever lived". Then, you can see Hiccup with a shocked expression and then looks down at the floor with a sad expression. Stoick was trying to make Hiccup feel proud, but ended up (in a way) hurting his only child's feelings, as Hiccup always knew that his father wanted him to be different, but it never crossed his mind that his DAD considered him "the worst Viking".
- Speaking of his mom, he started to become shocked yet fortunate when his mom was still alive the whole time which leads to the conclusion that all things work for good. Can you imagine reunited with someone you like, especially if it's something serious.
- Hiccup grew up learning new life lessons such as playing some board games.
- He believes that he does not want to kill a dragon and later on in the movie, the rest of the village agrees with Hiccup that they should see dragons as companions.
- He takes good care of Toothless like a pet. This could inspire viewers to take good care of pets.
- Not just Toothless, he also takes good care of his own children Zephyr and Nuffink.
- He does get character development. At first, Hiccup used to be shy yet becomes confident as time flies.
- He tends to be sarcastic with a dry sense of humor that while it can sometimes put him at odds with the other Vikings in his tribe, it also leads to him liking to hide his fear with sarcasm and dry humor.
- Being the central character of How to Train Your Dragon, Hiccup has possessed many useful talents such as being the best Dragon Trainer in the island.
- Continuing with the topic of his intelligence, he's was almost always being able to come up with the solutions to the problems the riders face. You know, a strategist.
- If there is a fact, Hiccup would use them for legit use like solving all of the riddles on Hamish's treasure map.
- In The Hidden World, Hiccup starts to understand that there are times that humanity and dragons will be separated. It is hard to see someone that you like be separated, but friends do come and go you know. Think about it, the human world is too dangerous for the dragons.
Bad Qualities
- At first, Hiccup comes off as awkward due to his poor fighting skills
- His innate friendliness and tendency to give others the benefit of the doubt cause him to be a little too trusting of strangers, leaving him vulnerable to manipulation and deceit by more dishonest characters such as Heather and Mildew.
- In "Thawfest", Hiccup shows an unlikable and hyper-competitive side with him.
- He can be overconfident at times.
- Hiccup is a rather bad liar and seems to be pressured by guilt into admitting things easily.
- As noted above and by Ruffnut and Tuffnut, he's a bad actor.
Trivia
- Hiccup seems to have gotten his name from the fact that he was born early, so he was smaller and weaker than the other babies. The odd name also coincides with the first movie that Vikings are given hideous names to “frighten off gnomes and trolls.”
- According to both the "Making of..." documentary and the film's script, Hiccup was unconscious for "a week or two" after losing his leg.
- Though all official sources state Hiccup's age to be 15 in the first film, it's suggested by Chris Sanders in the film maker's commentary, and at times by Jay Baruchel that originally the idea upon finishing the film was that he was 14. However according to the "Making of..." documentary, they played with the ages 16-18 during earlier phases of the film's development.
- Is ambidextrous.
- Hiccup is the shortest among the gang in the first film but is the tallest in the sequel and beyond.
- As of the first film, Hiccup is the only known Viking to have trained a dragon. However, in the second and third films, it's revealed that Valka, Drago, and possibly Grimmel had actually trained dragons before Hiccup had.
- All three films show Hiccup impersonating his father, Stoick. He has gotten much better in impersonation over time.
- Hiccup loves Fishlegs' mother's crabcakes.
- Hiccup seems to have inherited his mother's connection with dragons, dramatic flair, and crafting skills, along with his father's stubbornness and leadership skills.
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