Remember when I said on the Zootopia Arena article that Gregory Foxworth wasn't the leader of the Vulpai Zaibatsu? Well, you've probably been wondering who the leader of the Vulpai Zaibatsu really is. Maybe not, but since I can't seem to decide what I want to do for a Zootopia Arena 3, I think I'll go ahead and clear it up for you. The true leader of the Vulpai Zaibatsu is a gray fox named Garret Grayson. Garret's wife, Gina Grayson, is second-in-command for the zaibatsu. And here's where it gets interesting. Remember when I said Garret and Gina have ties to Richie Grayson? Well, I wasn't kidding. Garret and Gina Grayson are Richie's parents! Richie, at first, had no idea that his parents are the leaders of the Vulpai Zaibatsu. But, after learning that his parents are the leaders of the zaibatsu, Richie is struck with grief and becomes unsure of what to do. He doesn't want to fight his family, but at the same time, he feels he should be the one to stop them from doing their insane deeds.
Now let's go over Garret himself. What's the story? Why does he want the extinction of all who are not foxes? Well, if you've seen the movie Zootopia, it should be easy to see why. Garret wants to end the unjust cruelty and discrimination against foxes and to make the other species pay for what they've done to the fox community. As anyone who's seen the movie Zootopia should know, foxes tend to be treated very cruelly just for being foxes. It was no different for Garret, only he got it much worse than others. When he was ten, both of Garret's parents were murdered and Garret himself was nearly killed, but he managed to escape. He was later found and taken in by another gray fox. Garret continued to experience the other animals' cruelty to foxes and as he did, his hatred for non-foxes festered more and more. Seeing other foxes go through that same cruelty didn't help anything, either. Then, about a couple days after he turned thirteen, Garret got an opportunity to gain salvation. Garret and his stepfather were greeted by a vixen from the Kingdom of Foxtrot. The vixen offered to take them to Foxtrot and allow them to live there. Garret accepted the offer like you wouldn't believe and Garret's stepfather decided that if Garret was all for it, far be it for him to decline. The vixen had the two gray foxes sign a contract and then she took Garret and his stepfather to Foxtrot via a boat that only the foxes of Foxtrot use. Even though Garret was living a better life in a better place, his hatred for non-foxes hadn't subsided. Garret had suffered too much and witnessed other foxes' suffering too many times. He also knew how most of the Foxtrot foxes were like him in that they too were bullied and discriminated against and came to Foxtrot to get away from all that. On top of that, he learned Foxtrot's ways of doing things. Whenever Foxtrot foxes venture into the outside world, they're required to hide their identities by wearing a long coat and a mask and they're not allowed to show their faces to anyone other then their fellow foxes. They do this out of fear of being bullied and discriminated against just as they were before they came to Foxtrot. Even foxes born and raised in Foxtrot are required to wear a coat and mask whenever they leave the kingdom's borders. On top of that, the kingdom itself is obscured by a massive barrier that covers the whole country and makes it invisible to the outside world. Foxes can pass through the barrier just fine, but it's impossible for any other species to get through this barrier. Seeing all this, Garret decided once and for all that the unjust cruelty and discrimination against foxes needs to come to an end and that the other species need to pay for what they've done to the fox community. Thus, Garret began formulating his genocide plan. It took several years, but eventually, the Vulpai Zaibatsu was ready to begin making the world a better place for foxes. In all those years, Garret married Gina, who had been his girlfriend since his first year of high school in Foxtrot, and the two had a son.
Just so we're clear, the Vulpai Zaibatsu's main headquarters is not in Foxtrot. The Vulpai Zabatsu's main headquarters is in a city called Foxtropolis. Or rather, the city is the headquarters. The city lies on the east side of the continent that Zootopia is on. Garret decided it would be better this way since that way, Foxtrot wouldn't have to worry about being exposed or being blamed for the upcoming war.
So, how come Richie isn't a member of the zaibatsu? Well, see, while the Vulpai Zaibatsu was still getting things ready, Richie became curious about the world outside of Foxtrot and decided he wanted to see it. He was around eleven when this happen. At first, Garret and Gina were dead set against this, but then they got an idea. Garret and Gina decided that if Richie were to witness the outside world's cruelty to foxes or be subject to that cruelty himself, they would be able to gain his loyalty to their cause. Now before you say anything, Garret and Gina don't mean any ill will to their son. They love and care about Richie to no end. They just knew that words wouldn't be enough and that Richie needed things that he could see with his own eyes. Even so, as Richie was still pretty much a child, they couldn't allow him to go out there alone and that he needed a chaperone. Garret and Gina decided to choose Annie Artia, a friend of Gina's since Gina's first days in Foxtrot. Thus began Annie's career as Richie's nanny. It was also the day her career as Richie's combat mentor began as since Annie was such a good fighter, Garret and Gina decided it would be a good idea if Annie also took him on as her apprentice. And thus, Richie began his travels around the world. Little did Garret and Gina know that things haven't gone as they'd hoped. Richie actually made some good friends in his travels, many of them not foxes.
So, just what kind of villain is Garret Grayson? Is he a hypocrite? Not at all. Garret's actions and ideals are in perfect harmony. See, one of the Vulpai Zaibatsu's most sacred tenets is that foxes are not allowed to kill other foxes. Even he won't kill other foxes, even if those other foxes have worked or are working against him.
Is Garret an Affably Evil villain? Well, I would hope so. That's kinda what I'm going for here. Let's see.
Garret treats his subordinates like they're his own family. It's because of this that Garret's subordinates are so loyal to him and carry him in such high regard.
Garret, like other Affably Evil villains, has lines he won't cross. In his case, it's about murdering other foxes. Like I said before, Garret will not murder other foxes, even if those other foxes are working or have worked against him.
An Affably Evil villain's niceness must not be a facade used to manipulate others. Garret's niceness to his subordinates? Not a facade at all. Garret really does care about his subordinates and foxes in general.
All that being said, Garret, of course, is merciless to those who aren't foxes. Other than that, I think Garret Grayson has the makings of an Affably Evil villain.
I think that's everything, so I'll stop here.