So! Something I'm noticing while watching the series on my own in the last few days is how much of a public presence Blakk Industries has...
...but it isn't seen at all passed passing mention.
And to me, that public presence makes sense!
Blakk Industries is the heart and soul of Slugterran infrastructure, they make everything from mechabeasts to at least two publicly-recognized train lines: one for passengers and one for industry. I am willing to bet they also produce other things people use, such as blasters and mass-produce various S-tubes that will go in these blasters; it's commonplace for companies to make custom dimensions of things that require accessories, so you buy more accessories rated for it, thus keeping the company funded and going. That makes the Industries a necessity for everyday living in Slugterra.
Now, I'm sure a lot of the lower class people of the 99 Caverns know what Blakk Industries is actually up to, to a degree. Thaddius himself is hardly more than a glorified gangster, moving out the riff-raff when they get in the way of his ambitions. The Ghouling underbelly of the company is mostly secret to the grander public, I think, mostly because we really only see handfuls of mercenaries and/or slingers with them, people likely funded in some way by the Industries on the downlow. We see it the most as the audience because we are following Eli around, and he deals with that deep shady business more often than a majority of the common man around him.
But something was really nagging at me during my second re-watch, and it started during Slug Run. Vance Volt specifically states he is sponsored by Blakk Industries. Eli is automatically suspicious, which is fair given what he's experienced so far. But by the end of the episode, it turns out Vance is literally just a racer, doing racing things. It's not uncommon for big-name sports celebrities to have sponsorship if they need it, and for someone as big as he is, Blakk Industries is the straight up best in terms of financial support.
We see similar in Slugball, where we meet the team that has the Industries backing, and while they are stereotypically big and brutish football players, they seem to be otherwise decent guys playing a sport with the biggest financial backer in the region. So it has me thinking:
Blakk Industries has a very good public face and funds much of the community to keep that face. Thaddius likely wears at least two masks in his own daily routine:
-One that is the benefactor of Slugterran industry that the general public sees, a no-nonsense innovator with the heart of progression of the common man in mind
-The other is the one we get to see in show because he is usually in the privacy of his own labs and offices, and the one that interacts the most with Eli as our main protagonist. Who is not the general public he's trying to dazzle with the next great thing.
Like I said, there is still a known criminal underbelly here, but the demograph who sees it is not the one he's marketing to, and his illicit activities known to this crowd is not the same as the Ghouling operation our heroes and their allies know most about.
wherewasigoingwiththisohyes
Thaddius as I play him based on this is equally dual-faced.
He's surprisingly charismatic when the time comes for it, capable of softening his features to seem like the man you want to trust for all your everyday needs. He likely actively goes out of his way when in public eye to actually help people, regardless of whether or not it's genuine. He is the face of the Industries, and the Industries' public image keeps the bills and schemes paid for far in advance.
That is not to say he also can't turn on a dime and be our favorite angry hulking asshole, but he will begrudgingly swallow impatience if he is visible. He is still not a man to cross paths with, no matter how amiable he may seem at the time, and he is not afraid to get his hands dirty to make sure dissenters are silenced.
There's more to the first line of thought too, but I was after a small character study and headcanon string, so that's for another time.