Analysis of Norton Campbell
P.S.: This is largely for fun and to organize my thoughts, I hope you have fun reading too!
I wanted to get my thoughts about Norton down because I noticed certain things about him that I find interesting and worthy of note. Norton is a very cautious, patient and goal-oriented man, and it really shows. Norton is very selfish, due to his coming from poverty, and we are reminded of this in one way or another in his other AU selves as well.
Ronald is a people pleaser and on account of his efforts towards such pleasantry, he gains better roles. He worms his way up the ladder to get to director Scrooge, for the sole purpose of his revenge. I believe him to have committed some crime to gain wealth (maybe even eliminating Scrooge) and he keeps himself safe by remaining on Inference's good side, who as we know, is affiliated with the police. For further caution, Ronald shows off his fortune to Inference himself before abruptly inviting a girl who diverts Inference's attention to D.M.
Revenge is something interesting about Norton. If he is intelligent, why would he want something futile like revenge? It could be that Norton's frustration and desperation that built up over the years exploded in that moment when he lost everythingー the gold in the mines (for Norton), the death of his father in prison (for Ronald). He is so selfish and bitter that he ends up taking it out on anyone he thinks or knows wronged him. Norton is usually much calmer, but as we all know, he is extremely fickle and has an explosive temper. So why don't we see it more?
Nymph Norton and even Ronald are called gifted actors or talented. Acting comes naturally to Norton as breathing, because he has acted his entire life to get what he wants. Ronald is "silver tongued" and we know Norton flattered his way into Uncle Ben's confidences to take advantage of him. Norton puts on confident and reliable airs around everyone to show them they can trust him.
He then conducts the next step, one we see in Cage of Yesteryear and Atropos' Ropes. He flatters or acts more open towards whoever he is talking to then slowly or surely gives them someone else to be wary of, dislike or suspect (Melly/Kroto). For being so open about his intelligence and "caring" about his conversation partner's interests, he is then given more trust than before.
This is where Ronald is very important. Allow me to elaborate. In Ronald's trailer, we see Ronald's main character, the "Facade". Now, Facade is very joyous and is seen enjoying his life, looking attractive the way others want him to be. Blonde hair is attractive, and we see Ronald complain about dyeing his hair but does it anyways, maybe to keep up Facade (this line is a bit of a reach but I really don't see Norton as one to care about a particular part of his appearance and meticulously work to look a certain way for his own happiness). The fanservice here is not just to sell his package in-game but to show who Facade is and how people see Ronald as Facade and desire him for it, as is seen with the spotlights on him and multiple cameras clicking photos of him.
At the party, Ronald is with D.M., showing how he isn't really interested in playing the hero. He's pleasing even dangerous people so they don't target him. This shows Norton's own cautiousness very well, its not that he fears them, but its a solid way of protecting himself since Norton mainly cares about his own survival (even T&I Norton who has served in the war and hence has high survival instinct). The public sees him as an object of desire as stated earlier, and this objectification is crucial to Ronald's survival, as it ensures a majorly positive public opinion of him. Ronald doesn't like Facade or this objectification, but he allows it all to survive.
There's not much to be said about the fighting scenes but it does show Ronald's strength, which further proves that Norton is not at all afraid of people but rather of the possibility of losing everything he has and having to experience pain and suffering again. He doesn't want to, not when he's already come this far. It explains his loss of temper and his taking it out on others when he does realize all his efforts were in vain.
Turning back to Ronald, we see a shot of him looking sexy in the shower and get too distracted by it to even notice the important things preceding and succeeding this frame. Succeeding it, we see Facade seeing his old self in his reflection in the mirror, looking tired and subdued as Facade is suppressing him. But in the end, Ronald can't change or erase who he truly is and its always his true self who will be reflected in the mirror because Facade will always only be a superficial display.
Preceding this scene, we see Ronald's gun being picked up, and we know from later scenes that its the culprit who took Ronald's gun. Now, Ronald is smart and cautious, he wouldn't be so careless as to leave his gun lying around while he goes for a leisurely shower then not even question its disappearance or inform Inference about it.
In the comic, Ronald was sent death threats and a chandelier was made to fall on him. Prior to Inference arriving, its highly likely that Ronald already deduced the culprit's true identity. He put on the airs of a distressed victim in front of Inference. Then he left his gun out on purpose to lure the culprit to acquire it.
Now, Ronald knows the risks of doing this. His public image is of a reckless and thrill-loving gambler but Facade is far from an accurate look at Norton's thought process. Ronald is very cautious, and hence, as we can see in the comic, the culprit is overdosing on drugs. Its highly likely that Ronald forcefully drugged the culprit, causing him to lose intelligence. Ronald had the culprit who we shall call C, be pushed to the stage. In his state of drugged disorientation, C only saw someone he wanted to kill and lunged with the gun he "stole". Ronald had C's intelligence destroyed to guarantee his survival beforehand.
But to everyone else like Inference, it appears like the assailant is drugging himself out of grief and frustration. Ronald then makes C point the gun and shoot him where he wants, a predetermined safer spot that would help him live, guarantee his survival. (Norton displays this trait even in the fact he is the first to enter and leave the mines, knowing fully of the routes and keeping details to stay safe) He survives, the dangerous assailant is captured and Ronald is seen as a hero for his miraculous feat. Once again, the public only sees of Ronald what he wants everyone to see, gaining their trust even more.
This is something we see in Norton in general, we only see of him who he wants us to think he is until he loses his sanity and crashes out. As for why Norton is openly bitter and cynical, it is likely to victimize himself further so people don't know he's the one who caused any kind of damage; as well as an outlet for him to voice his true feelings. He makes someone else the target of his enemy and make his enemy believe in him as he relays important information. Its how Norton views thingsー people don't value other people but rather what they have to offer. Norton is good at manipulating people, and he will stop at nothing to get what he wants.
Ronald's song is evidently the most revealing of Norton's true nature and intentions.
"Spotlight's on, now here I am.
Dressed in scars with gold and glam.
Dance with lies, I own this game.
Come on down, let me fill all your dreams."
Ronald commercialises himself as a coveted object, even glamorising the scars on him as attractive and worthy of being desired. Norton hates his scars, and so does Ronald, because he is Norton. He hopes that by glamorising himself and even his faults, he will escape criticism and condescension. He wants to hide everything of him that he views as a flaw so he has no visible vulnerabilities. He owns the game by constantly lying to others and manipulating them by effect. He gives them exactly what they want, he fulfills their desires and egos to survive.
"Feel the crowd, feed the flame.
The stage itself's a twisted frame.
Bury the past, to walk this fame.
You want a show, what you gotta do is call my name."
Ronald understands what people want from his years of experience and feeds the flames of their delusions about who he is, just like Norton does. He knows its wrong, but he justifies his actions by saying that the world itself is twisted anyways. He buries his past, constructs Facade and gets what he wants. He acts for others and for his own sake, as this act protects him.
"I kick up gold, its coal beneath.
My mask still fits, I barely breathe.
I'm bad with truth, I'm still what they need.
Take a bad boy out with a bang."
Ronald changed superficially into 'gold' but he is still the same 'coal' as he was before on the inside. Gold is also much, much more valuable than coal, and this shows how Norton severely undervalues his true self because of how society viewed his true self. He is barely breathing because of Facade, which shows he doesn't like doing this, its suffocating to him. He's a liar but everyone, even those who advocate for truth and are morally righteous, need him because he has fashioned himself into a valuable tool.
"Pull the gun, I pull the grave.
Spin the tale, I made it fade.
Call the shot, abandon rules.
Give up truth, just gave 'em what they all be cravin'."
These lines prove my earlier points. Contemplation shall be evidenced by these.
"Lights go down, claim my crown.
He pulled the trigger but I played the game.
I burned the script that crowned the king."
This shows Ronald's, or shall we say Norton's, manipulative tendencies to get the outcomes in his favor by working with what material he has and altering it to suit himself.
"Call the shot, let the stage rewrite the scene.
Burn the lies, let the truth fall in between. "
Ronald lets his made up stories alter reality and rewrite reality itself to suit his purpose. The truth falls in between, he conceals his lies with half truths. On account of this, he becomes a hero and gains a stable place in moral society, successfully concealing his own faults and the stains of his past by using someone else.
"Call the shot, I'm built to reign and hard to tame.
Burn the lies, 'cause I was born without a chain."
Growing up poor, Norton hates having his agency be taken away. In his Nymph song, we see him taking the throne, coveting it. "They want me to fall, they want me to feel small." shows Norton's views on people as dangerous, prone to change and capable of hurting him deeply (modelled by his gruesome experiences in life). Its not that Norton wants to reign or have power, he just wants a superior position where no one can hurt him or look down on him ever again. It is something admirably resilient and strong about him.
Nymph is an AU that is kinder to Norton and Nymph Norton is shown to be kind along with his usual hardworking and intelligent traits. Norton is kind, its just that he's a harsh person shaped by an even harsher world.
Norton also knows he's not a good person, as in his Nymph song, he condemns not only the people who did him wrong but also himself. But ultimately, he does it all to survive.
A.N.: I wrote this in class, I'm so miserable that I remember every scene of his animated trailer now, oh goodness.
