While it can be said that the universe of TRON revolves mostly around the activity of
its human users, the programs found in the digital world often play a critical role in
the outworking of events.
In this video I’d like to talk about the history of Tron, the most famous program to
be loaded on the Grid and the legacy he left as a relentless warrior who fought for the
users.
TRON is a self-monitoring security program created by Alan Bradley, a programmer employed
by the American multinational computer technology corporation ENCOM.
Alan continued working on the TRON prototype until he discovered that his access to the
ENCOM system had been suspended.
This suspension was the result of a security measure taken by Senior Executive Edward Dillinger
to lock out Kevin Flynn, a hacker who was trying to expose Dillinger’s nefarious deeds.
During this time, inside the system, Bradley’s TRON program, which mirrored his resemblance,
was taken captive by the MCP, a rogue program serving as system administrator.
To assist the administrator, another one of Dillinger’s creations, Sark, served as the
commander of the MCP's army and overseer of the games fought on the Games Grid.
After his capture, Sark forced Tron to participate in gladiatorial games on the Grid.
As a security program, Tron possessed formidable combat skills, proving himself quite capable,
achieving victory in the games even when pitted against multiple opponents.
Through his time in the arena, Tron gained the reputation of being a program who fought
for the users.
In a failed attempt to regain access to Tron, Alan Bradley met with Dillenger and explained
his program’s capabilities suggesting that it could serve as a watchdog for the MCP.
Unbeknownst to Alan, the MCP had already spoken out against the development of the TRON program
as it would only work to combat the System Administrator’s illegal activities.
Alan and his girlfriend Lora then conspired with Kevin Flynn to break into ENCOM and grant
Bradley the ability to unleash his Tron program which could shut down the MCP and release
the evidence needed to expose Dillinger.
As this plan was carried out, the MCP recognized Flynn at Lora’s terminal and used her digitizing
laser to transfer the user into the ENCOM system.
Flynn was then captured and sent to fight on the game grid where Tron was also being
held.
Tron was taken aback when Flynn called the program by his user’s name, but Flynn then
realizing who Tron was, claimed to be a fellow program similarly tasked with destroying the
MCP.
Tron and Flynn, along with a fellow combatant Ram, were then loaded onto the light cycle
grid where they went up against three programs from Sark's army.
Tron forced one of the programs to crash into a wall of the game grid, opening up a fissure
through which they could escape.
In order to erase the MCP and change the system, Tron needed data from his user Alan to be
encoded on his identity disc.
To accomplish this, the program would need to access an Input Output Tower.
The trio were separated shortly after an attack by an enemy tank and presuming his friends
to have been derezzed, Tron continued on to the tower.
He first made a detour to free Yori, a program created by Lora, who had connections with
a Tower Guardian named Dumont.
Dumont and allowed Tron the time required to communicate with his user.
After acquiring the information he needed, Yori and Tron made their way to confront the
MCP on a solar sailer bound for the heart of the ENCOM system.
As they made their journey, they ran into Flynn who then revealed his true status as
a user.
Tron assumed that as a user, Flynn would have some grand plan, but was disconcerted to learn
of the users’ lack of control within the system.
After Commander Sark crashed his carrier into the Solar Sailor, Tron was cut off from Yori
and Flynn.
He survived by clinging to the outside of the carrier as it made its way to the Mesa
of the MCP.
Sark was then sent to confront Tron, culminating in a disc battle between the two.
After Sark’s initial defeat, the MCP channeled all of his functions into reviving the fallen
commander in an attempt to stop Tron’s advance.
In the meantime, Flynn was able to disorient both the MCP and the resurrected Sark long
enough for Tron to cast his disc through the shields and derez the MCP.
After the destruction of the MCP, the system was restored and subsequently freed from any
tyrannical oppression.
In the years that followed, Tron would see several upgrades.
His data was eventually copied over to Flynn's personal server where he was tasked to oversee
the security of the Grid, Kevin’s newly built digital frontier.
Flynn also recreated his old hacking program CLU to continue working as system administrator
in his absence.
Tron, Clu and Flynn worked together in developing and securing the infrastructure of the Grid
and all three were present for the first appearance of the Isomorphic algorithms.
The manifestation of the ISO’s proved to be a divisive event as Flynn viewed them to
be a miracle however Clu saw them only as a threat.
Clu sought to destroy these beings through the creation of the Abraxas virus.
To fight against Abraxas, Tron worked with a prototype system monitor program named Anon.
Tron decided that it was too dangerous for Flynn to remain in the system.
While on their way to the portal, the two were attacked by Clu and his black guard,
forcing Tron to draw their attention allowing Flynn to escape.
Following Tron’s defeat, Anon continued to resist Clu's forces and fought to survive
the spread of the Abraxas virus, ultimately sacrificing himself to preserve the life of
the last ISO Quorra.
Severely damaged from Clu’s attack, Tron was kept alive and his code was further degraded
as he was tortured by his former friend Dyson in an attempt to get him to serve Clu willingly.
After garnering sympathy from a guard named Cyrus, Tron was allowed to escape into hiding
after the recognizer carrying him crashed in the Outlands.
Tron’s disappearance led to a common assumption of his death.
Because Tron’s injuries prevented him from taking action, he began to train a young program
named Beck who he intended to serve as his replacement as the new protector of the Grid.
Over time, Tron's desire for retribution grew and he began to neglect himself, resulting
in his injuries worsening.
Tron eventually set off to exact his revenge on Dyson, but he ultimately spared the traitor’s
life allowing him to deliver a single message to Clu: "Tron lives."
Eventually Tron would be recaptured, repurposed, and renamed Rinzler.
Wielding twin identity disks, Rinzler served as Clu's primary enforcer, and regularly appeared
as the final opponent for programs forced to fight in the Games.
Although he was repurposed, Rinzler retained Tron’s relentless nature as well as his
superior combat, driving and piloting skills.
Although much of his old personality had been stripped away, remnants of his former memories
persisted.
While in pursuit of Quorra, Flynn and his son Sam, Rinzler briefly came face to face
with Kevin, triggering the degradation of Clu’s reprogramming.
Rinzler began to experience flashbacks and became disoriented.
After he realized his true identity, Tron stated his determination to fight for the
users once more and piloted his lightjet into Clu’s destroying both vehicles.
This maneuver left the two falling over the Sea of Simulation.
Clu was successful in wrestling away the only spare light jet baton, leaving Tron to fall
into the Sea.
As he sank, his restoration appeared to complete as his circuitry blinked out before reactivating
with its original white glow.
While the first two Tron films have centered around the activity of the Flynns, it is ultimately
Tron who stands out as a beacon of loyalty, determination and selflessness.
Tron consistently proved himself willing to do anything for the users and showed a unwavering
resolve in his work to protect the users and achieve freedom for his fellow programs.
For these qualities, in my opinion it's quite fitting for the entire franchise to bear his
name.
But I’m curious to know what you think about Tron.
Is there a moment from this program’s history that stands out as your favorite?
Do you expect to see more from this character as the franchise moves forward?
Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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TRON and other sci-fi and fantasy news and lore.
Thank you all so much for your support and as always, have a very nerdy day.