Doctor Claw

Dr. Claw is a partially seen character that is the main villain in the animated television series Inspector Gadget and the films that followed. He is the primary antagonist in every episode of the original series, as well as for the majority of episodes of the spin-off, Gadget and the Gadgetinis.

Character

Dr. Claw is the head of a criminal syndicate named M.A.D. The syndicate is headquartered in a mysterious castle, first seen in the episode "Winter Olympics". Thunderstorm activity is often depicted outside of the castle in the television series. He is frequently seen accompanied by his pet cat, known only as "MAD Cat". When carrying out operations away from the castle, he travels using the "MADmobile". The "MADmobile" is a custom red and black vehicle that has the ability to transform and function as a car, submarine, or jet and enables Dr. Claw to travel easily through almost any environment and is armed with rockets, lasers, and other weapons. In the original Inspector Gadget series, Dr. Claw was only ever shown from behind, sitting in a large armchair. Only his right hand, clad in a metal glove, was ever shown.

Claw frequently concocts various evil plans, usually involving large-scale thefts or other plans to set up bases or procure resources to further his activities, usually involving the death of Inspector Gadget when he is sent to disrupt Claw's plans. Occasionally, his plans revolve entirely around getting rid of Gadget (particularly in the second season). Invariably, the Metro City police department learns of his plans in advance and assigns Gadget to stop them. Claw's plans are foiled in every episode, normally due to the efforts of Penny, Gadget's 10-year old niece, forcing him to flee from the scene and thereby evading arrest while yelling "I'll get you next time, Gadget! Next time!"

In "Gadget and the Gadgetinis", more of Claw's past was revealed, as well as his hideout: a beachfront mansion with a fancy futuristic design. His first name was revealed as George, and the villain was given an extended family, including an equally evil brother, Dr. Thaw, and career-criminal parents, mother Marilyn and father Gordon Claw. As tradition dictated, the faces of Gordon and Thaw were kept hidden. Claw also has a nephew, William "Billy" Thaw, who befriends and has a crush on Penny (which his Uncle George would not allow).

Voice

Dr. Claw's low, ominous, raspy and cryptic voice was usually supplied by Frank Welker, who also provided the vocals for MAD Cat--and Brain the Dog. In the original series, Pete Lee provided the voice, although he wasn't credited.^{[citation needed]} Don Francks supplied the voice in several episodes. In the episodes "Mad Trap", "Basic Training", "Gadget Goes West", and "The Coo-Coo Clock Caper", Welker wasn't available to voice Doctor Claw, and Don Francks voiced the character in his stead. One episode, "Race to the Finish", featured both Welker and Francks portraying Doctor Claw, resulting in the voice noticeably switching back and forth. Brian Drummond voiced Dr. Claw in Gadget and the Gadgetinis, Inspector Gadget's Last Case, and Inspector Gadget's Biggest Caper Ever. MAD Cat was voiced by Lee Tockar in these productions.

Usually, Dr. Claw's voice would be given reverb effects for a dramatic effect, except in some earlier episodes nor in the second season.

Frank Welker has provided the voice for various characters in other movies. Dr. Claw's voice is actually the unedited voice of Soundwave from The Transformers. This was revealed in a few episodes of Transformers when mistakes were made in the voice editing. It was also the same voice that Frank Welker used for Darkseid on Super Friends, Emperor Krulos in Dino-Riders, Shao Kahn in Mortal Kombat, The Cave of Wonders in Disney's Aladdin and the voice of The Devil in both The Golden Child and Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey. The same voice was used in the live action movie Spawn for Malebolgia. The voice was used for Soundwave once again, only without the vocoder modulation, for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. In the Garfield show he uses the voice for a talking scale that comes to life and makes fat jokes at Garfield (another character he now voices). According to Frank Welker in the commentary for the Robot Chicken episode "Adoptions An Option," the voice originated from an impersonation of Barry White.

Most of the dubbed, localized versions of the cartoon used deep voices similar to the original Claw's but sometimes, as in the Polish version, the dubbed voice was even deeper than the original. In some countries, the Doctor's voice was quite different; for example, the Greek version adds a robot-like effect to his voice, which was a trademark of the dubbing studio and in one dubbed version, he speaks high pitched tone, much like a comical impotent villain.

Henchmen

In the series, Claw's henchmen are M.A.D. agents. A new agent would be introduced in most episodes, along with a set of generic agents who appeared repeatedly.

In Inspector Gadget, Claw's henchmen are Sikes, Kramer, and RoboGadget.

In Inspector Gadget 2, Claw's henchmen are McKibble and Brick. Claw's other henchmen are Jungle Bob, Squintz, and the Ninja.

MAD Cat

MAD Cat is Dr. Claw's pet Feline. Since the viewers never saw Dr. Claw's face (or his body) in the cartoon series, MAD Cat was another way to reinforce Dr. Claw's emotions. When Dr. Claw was happy, MAD Cat would laugh and snicker along with him, or for him. When Dr. Claw was angry, MAD Cat would follow through with a terrible yowl.

Dr. Claw showed great affection for MAD Cat, who is very rarely seen away from his side. He often tends to stroke the sinister feline which became a trademark of his on the show (other than this "hands" shtick, the two are often indistinguishable). though at times when Dr. Claw gets angry, He would strike MAD Cat by either hitting, choking or throwing MAD Cat away. This was because Dr. Claw was angry with MAD Cat or if he was angry with one of his plans failing and chooses to take out his anger on MAD Cat.

MAD Cat seems to understand English well: in Launch Time, MAD Cat takes instructions from Dr. Claw and operates the controls of the M.A.D. Jet (firing a missile). It is unknown if MAD Cat is male or female.

Non-Traditional Appearances

Frank Welker reprises his role of Doctor Claw in the Robot Chicken episode "Adoption's an Option." He uses Skynet as similar to the movie Terminator 2: Judgment Day to take over Inspector Gadget in order to eliminate Penny, at the same time, MAD Cat comes down with the feline leukemia virus (when Doctor Claw gets a call from the vet) and dies. While at MAD Cat's funeral in the post credits, Doctor Claw says to the mourners that he wants to say a few words which happened to be "Next time, Gadget. Next time."

Dr. Claw appears in the iOS game Inspector Gadget's MAD Dash by XMG Studio. Users can unlock the mysterious Dr. Claw's face by unlocking puzzle pieces throughout game play.

Toys

The original Inspector Gadget action figure line included a Dr. Claw toy with a sticker on the packaging that covered his face. When opened, the toy featured the face used in the video games.

Films

Inspector Gadget

Main article: Inspector Gadget (film)

Portrayed by Rupert Everett, Dr. Claw (originally Sandford Scolex, the world's youngest billionaire) kills Dr. Artemus Bradford and steals the "foot" of the Gadget Program. Security Officer John Brown chases him and, after an exploding cigar blows up Brown, Scolex's hand is crushed by a bowling ball that was kept in Brown's car. He makes a prosthetic "claw" and dubs himself Dr. Claw. It is revealed during a public event that Scolex is revealed to have been enormously obese in the past, during a friendship (and romantic obsession) with Dr. Brenda Bradford (Artemus' daughter). Eager to get revenge on Gadget for crushing his hand, and woo Brenda, Claw creates a "RoboGadget" doppelganger to ruin Gadget's image while he attempts to kill Gadget. Still obsessed with Brenda, he uses the foot to create a robotic replica of her called "RoboBrenda", though she is a bumbling idiot and very annoying, unlike the real Brenda. In the end, he is defeated by Gadget and Brenda and is arrested. He swears his revenge on Gadget.

Inspector Gadget 2

Main article: Inspector Gadget 2

Scolex escapes prison and writes a letter to Gadget, stating that to catch Claw he has to go to the science convention the next day. He is able to control Gadget like a puppet at this point. Gadget gets fired for this, as the police department are unsuspecting of him being controlled. Claw steals the ruby of the Indian Maharajah to power a laser which freezes time. He then robs Riverton Bank and keeps Penny as hostage, he escapes with time still frozen. Gadget, G2 and Penny finally stop his plans, though Dr. Claw himself manages to escape. He was portrayed by Tony Martin. Unlike the first film, his face is never seen and he appears to be older in age than he was in the previous film. He's never referred to by the name "Sanford Scolex" but his communicator clearly is labeled "Scolex Industries".