CHARACTER
Gregor the Overlanderby Suzanne Collins

Henry

Henry

Quick Facts

  • Role: Sixteen-year-old Regalian royal and quest member; ultimately a key antagonist
  • First appearance: Chapter 4, in the stadium—“a cocky-looking guy on a glossy black bat”
  • Family: Cousin to Luxa
  • Bond: Sworn to the black bat Ares
  • Public face vs. secret: Charming ally masking a covert alliance with the rats under King Gorger
  • Opposes: Gregor, Vikus, and Ripred
  • Quest context: Travels to rescue Gregor’s Dad
  • Core themes: Betrayal and Loyalty; Prophecy and Destiny

Who They Are

Bold, witty, and seemingly generous, Henry is the golden boy of Regalia—the personable foil to Luxa’s steel. That gleam is a mask. Underneath is a ruthless strategist who believes survival belongs to the powerful and that moral compromise is the price of safety. His character embodies the seductive logic of allying with strength at any cost—an ideology that turns charm into camouflage and turns kin into collateral. Through Henry, the story refracts the allure of authoritarian security and the intimate violence of betrayal.

Personality & Traits

Henry’s charisma draws people in, but it also hides how thoroughly he has rationalized treachery. He mistakes cruelty for pragmatism, and he rebrands fear as foresight. The result is a boy who can joke in the morning and set a trap by nightfall, convincing himself it’s the only reasonable path.

  • Charming and witty: He instantly eases social tension with humor—grabbing Gregor’s arm to whisper, “Beware the fish, for Luxa plans to poison you directly!” (Chapter 6). The lightness earns trust that he later exploits.
  • Arrogant and prejudiced: He dismisses “weaker” creatures, sneering, “I would as soon as bond with a stone” (Chapter 6). His contempt for crawlers telegraphs his creed: align upward, discard the vulnerable.
  • Deceptive and calculating: He maintains a loyal façade while secretly guiding the quest toward a rat ambush and even attempts to kill Ripred in his sleep (Chapter 22)—an attack timed for maximum deniability.
  • Ruthless “pragmatist”: Declaring that Vikus would ally Regalia with “the weakest,” he argues the only sane course is siding with the most powerful (Chapter 24). He recasts betrayal as policy.
  • Status-poised confidence: From his poise on a glossy black bat to his easy banter, he carries himself as someone used to being obeyed—making his eventual overreach feel inevitable.

Character Journey

Henry enters as the confident senior cousin who seems to balance Luxa’s severity with warmth and bravery. Early acts—like fighting off rats alongside the group (Chapter 8)—solidify his image as a stalwart ally. The first crack appears when he tries to assassinate Ripred in his sleep (Chapter 22), an act the group can’t square with the loyal boy they thought they knew. After the party rescues Gregor’s dad, Henry reveals the truth (Chapter 24): he has orchestrated an alliance with the rats to secure human survival through strength. He summons the gnawers, unmasks his convictions, and hunts those he called friends. The chase into the canyon (Chapter 25) ends with the ultimate moral verdict: when the ledge collapses, Ares abandons Henry to save Gregor, breaking their sacred bond and letting Henry fall. His arc isn’t transformation but revelation—a mask shedding scene by scene until only the ideology remains. Whether shaped by grief over his parents’ deaths or by naked ambition, Henry chooses power over kin, and the Underland answers with a fall—literal and ethical.

Key Relationships

  • Luxa: Their teasing closeness makes his betrayal a uniquely intimate wound. Henry openly courts her allegiance to his plan, imagining they might rule together; when she refuses, his willingness to let her die shows how thoroughly politics has replaced family in his moral calculus.

  • Ares: The bond with Ares should be unbreakable, a mutual pledge of life-for-life. Henry’s treachery forces Ares into a choice between oath and conscience; Ares’s decision to save Gregor instead is a devastating indictment of Henry’s values and a rare public rupture of a sacred vow.

  • Gregor: Henry initially plays genial mentor—older, funnier, easier than Luxa—so Gregor relaxes around him. That friendliness was tactical. By the end, Henry treats Gregor as an expendable piece on the board, hunting him through the canyon once the rats arrive.

  • Ripred: Henry’s snarling contempt for the “gnawer” seems to prove his loyalty to humans—until it’s revealed as misdirection. The attempted murder in Chapter 22 masks his collaboration with the rats’ leadership, exposing the hollowness of his posturing.

Defining Moments

Henry’s story is a sequence of masks dropping. Each reveal is a step from charm to creed to consequence.

  • First impression on the bat (Chapter 4): Introduced as a “cocky-looking guy on a glossy black bat.” Why it matters: Frames him as glamorous and capable—perfect cover for duplicity.
  • The crawler slur (Chapter 6): “I would as soon as bond with a stone.” Why it matters: Articulates his hierarchy-of-worth worldview, foreshadowing his alliance-by-power logic.
  • Attempted murder of Ripred (Chapter 22): Sneaks up with his sword while Ripred sleeps; Gregor’s shout stops him. Why it matters: Shatters the illusion of simple loyalty and signals premeditated violence.
  • The betrayal and whistle (Chapter 24): After rescuing Gregor’s dad, Henry summons an army of rats and lays out his plan to ally with strength. Why it matters: Converts private ideology into public treason; redefines safety as domination, reframing Betrayal and Loyalty.
  • Death in the canyon (Chapter 25): The ledge collapses; Henry calls Ares, who chooses Gregor instead. Why it matters: A literal fall that mirrors his moral plunge, echoing Prophecy and Destiny and proving some bonds are broken by the betrayal they were meant to withstand.

Essential Quotes

“Beware the fish, for Luxa plans to poison you directly!”
— Chapter 6
This quick, conspiratorial joke establishes Henry’s social fluency and instant familiarity with Gregor. The intimacy of humor functions as camouflage, making his eventual treachery feel like a personal ambush rather than a political maneuver.

“I would as soon as bond with a stone. At least it could be counted on not to run away in battle.”
— Chapter 6
Here Henry articulates his ethic in a single sneer: worth equals usefulness under fire. It’s not just arrogance; it’s a philosophy that devalues the weak and justifies sacrificing them for the “strong,” laying groundwork for his alliance with the rats.

“He is not a person, he is a rat. If you cannot make the distinction, you may surely count yourself among the dead.”
— Chapter 22
Henry’s dehumanizing language presents as battlefield realism, but it doubles as misdirection. By loudly policing boundaries between species, he hides his own boundary-crossing alliance and legitimizes violence that he will soon direct at his own people.

“I am tired of having cowards and weaklings as allies. The rats, at least, are not guilty of that. Together, we will protect each other. Together, we will rule. Together, we will be safe. It has been decided.”
— Chapter 24
This manifesto distills his creed: strength guarantees safety, and ruling is the only true protection. The rhythmic “Together” sells domination as mutual care, revealing how Henry weaponizes rhetoric to make betrayal sound like duty.