Hans (Frozen)

Hans is the 13th prince from the Kingdom of the Southern Isles (a neighboring kingdom of Arendelle) and the youngest of the thirteen brothers born from the King and Queen of the desolate kingdom. Much of Hans' past is explored in the novel A Frozen Heart; throughout his early years, Hans received a concerning amount of emotional and physical abuse at the hands of his brothers, who treated him with minimal care due to being the youngest child of the clan. One brother, Lars, treated Hans with considerable difference and was apparently the only sibling in whom the thirteenth prince felt comfortable enough to trust and confide. Hans' father, the commanding King of the Southern Isles, believed that the strong should pick on the weak, so in his eyes, his eldest sons bullying Hans was a show of strength. So while he admired his elder sons (especially the oldest), he thought little of Hans and viewed his youngest son with disgust and distrust. He was widely neglectful of Hans, going so much as to unabashedly acknowledge his lack of interest in his son's presence during family and diplomatic gatherings. Hans' mother, the Queen, was much more loving towards her son and would act as his only true motivation towards concealing his discomfort during family gatherings. Nevertheless, Hans grew to despise his family, specifically the majority of his brothers. He was still hopeful, however, of someday earning his father's respect; not only for the sake of being loved by his parent but to also be the appointed heir to the Southern Isles' throne. With such fantasies seeming impossible, especially due to being the thirteenth in line for the crown, Hans (with some influence by Lars) concocted a scheme to marry into the monarchy elsewhere. Should such an ambition succeed, he could escape his abusive family and finally prove himself as someone worthy of being a king.

After receiving word that Princess Elsa was scheduled to be crowned queen, and with no betrothed suitors, Hans sets his sights on the neighboring kingdom of Arendelle. With Elsa turning out to be an antisocial recluse, however, Hans instead targeted her lonely, less mature younger sister, Princess Anna. After his marriage to Anna, as the plan would go, Hans would kill Elsa and be crowned king thereafter, with Anna as his queen.

Hans is a handsome royal from a neighboring kingdom who comes to Arendelle for Elsa's coronation. With 12 older brothers, Hans grew up feeling practically invisible—and Anna can relate. Hans is smart, observant, and chivalrous. Unlike Elsa, Hans promises he'll never shut Anna out; he just might be the connection she's been waiting for all these years.

Hans is a proud and extremely ambitious prince with a hunger for admiration and chivalrous honor. Despite his desirable appearance and seemingly opulent background, Hans is a victim of severe abuse at the hands of his brothers. This troubled upbringing developed Hans into a remorseless man, bent on bettering his life by acquiring power and the respect that comes along with it. Hans is a physical representation of a silent killer. With a noble demeanor, he presents himself as someone others can trust and confide—a best friend, a significant other, or a reputable authority figure. By establishing himself as someone of virtue, Hans is able to observe his opponents and examine their deepest insecurities, which he would later use against them as a means of advancing his goals. These false impressions won over Anna, and the entirety of Arendelle, thus allowing Hans to seize the throne without giving any premonition of regicide.

Hans has several motivating factors to his schemes. Firstly, he has a selfish sense of entitlement, remorselessly believing it is his right to be king even if it means usurping someone else's throne. Secondly, he genuinely craves respect and recognition, having been denied both as a child. Lastly, Hans is power-hungry as he covets kingship and gets a twisted sense of pleasure from having someone's submission—as was the case with a vulnerable and deathly ill Anna. Hans' most powerful asset is quite possibly his vast intelligence and incredible ability to lie, dissemble, and manipulate. He is proven to be quick-thinking, resourceful, and extremely diligent. However, unlike many Disney villains, Hans constantly has to change his plot accordingly with the shifting events that take place in the film without letting loose his villainous nature. This is indeed an interesting challenge for a Disney villain to tackle, thus adding to his level of intelligence, as he comes dangerously close to achieving his goal in spite of unstable circumstances.

Cold and cruel, Hans has a sympathetic origin but lacks any characteristics one could call redeeming. Instead, he apathetically views others as mere stepping stones to his grand plans, and will callously lie, cheat, and kill his way into a position of sole power, regardless of the casualties made along the way and will do it without remorse.

Hans is of moderate stature and generally good-looking. Whilst he is well-built, he is not as broad-shouldered or as muscular as Kristoff (despite being older than him), though he is definitely physically accomplished, as he was able to defeat the hulking Marshmallow in single combat. Hans has fair skin and a light dusting of freckles across his nose, auburn hair, sideburns, and "dreamy" green eyes. Throughout the film, he wears navy blue trousers, black boots, a magenta cravat, blue shirt, indigo vest, black epaulets, gold aiguillette, and a light gray-and-black blazer with patterns. This is reminiscent of a naval uniform and would be traditionally in keeping with royal siblings of lower birth entering military service. During the day and night of the coronation, Hans dons a lighter version of his formal wear. It is a cream blazer with a yellow shirt underneath and red sash, with black boots, white stockings, red and golden designs and patterns, gold and red colored epaulets with golden fringe, and a matching cream ascot. This lighter-colored suit reflects Anna's warmer-colored clothing in turn. It is also worth noting that Hans is seen wearing this lighter-colored suit for a longer time period than his traditional suit, mainly due to him wearing it for the entirety of the coronation day and night, which features him most prominently in the movie.

While he is in control of the kingdom, to protect himself from the harsh winter, Hans dons a cloak resembling the castle guards' uniforms. However, as the patterning differs from the decorations on the Arendelle guardsmen cloaks and instead resembles the decorations on Hans' own gray tailcoat, and the Arendelle crocus emblem isn't seen anywhere on it, it's likely it's his own coat he brought with him from the Southern Isles. It's a dull, gray cloak with wavy patterns and a purple interior. In Elsa's palace, however, it appears to have more of a green shade.

Hans is well-versed in horsemanship and has tremendous sword fighting skills. It is also shown that he is skilled in using crossbows, or at least capable of diverting their fire when needed.