If you rely on I.R.I.S. for everything, you better not be an agent!—Rudy, to Ali, in MISSION: PURPOSE
Rudy is a young INVISO agent under M.A.T.A. Training Academy and is introduced in Agent Ali Season 2. He initially dislikes and acted cold towards Ali, as he sees Ali as a person who purposefully painted a bad image on Djin, his savior.
Appearance
Rudy is of average height, has light brown skin with subtle freckles and has black hair that is styled to look like Djin's hair when he was younger. Since he is in the INVISO Pillar, he wears a hood which is black, and has metal plates on it which are white. For his casual wear, Rudy wears a dark grey hoodie with black pants.
In his short cameo in the movie, he wears an I.R.I.S. Neo similar to Bobby and Fit.
Although it is unknown which school Rudy goes to, his uniform is quite simple, with a black shirt along with a grey sweater with their school crest and black pants.
Personality
Rudy is cold, emotional, arrogant, and not fond of Ali upon hearing about how he had defeated Uno with the I.R.I.S., whom he idolizes. Although he is anti-social, Rudy can work with other agents in a team as he helps Alicia, Khai, and Mika to complete their mission in the episode "MISSION: ORIENTATION".
Having been rescued from a life of hardship by Djin, Rudy idolizes him deeply—going so far as to mimic Djin's hairstyle. This shapes much of Rudy’s worldview and sense of loyalty. Before joining M.A.T.A., Rudy survived through pickpocketing and sharing with others, revealing both a survival instinct and a sense of responsibility. In missions like MISSION: CHALLENGE, he excels in agility and stealth, showcasing his natural talent.
According to Moon, he idolizes Djin; he corrected Jet, Iman, Ali, Khai, and Moon for thinking Djin can turn into smoke and reappear suddenly, which is impossible. He explains that Djin is the fastest agent, and the smoke is used to cover up his tracks. He also says that Djin is unbeatable and is not convinced that the I.R.I.S. makes Ali a super agent who can defeat Djin.
Rudy and Moon are not fond of each other. Rudy thinks Moon does not know how to cover up her tracks, which is an essential skill that must be mastered by INVISO agents. They do not interact much throughout the show; however, in a promo artwork, it is shown that Moon is sitting close to Rudy, laughing, showing their sibling-esque relationship.
History
Pre-Series Life
Rudy's backstory is revealed in "MISSION: HOPE". When he was young, he lived in the poor sector of Cyberaya. He is very skillful in pickpocketing food and wallets to survive. He also shared his stolen items with some other poor kids. One day, he caught Djin's attention when he tried to pickpocket him. Djin later saved him from Komeng and his gang. Seeing Rudy has potential, Djin recruits him to M.A.T.A. Academy, saving him from his miserable life.
Ever since then, Rudy looks up to Djin very much and sees him as his savior. He admires Djin so much that he even styles his hair to look like his.
Season 2
Rudy makes his first appearance, along with the majority of the agents, in season 2, in which he plays the role of a bully to Ali (although it is said he is like that to everyone). Previously mentioned, Rudy looks up to Djinn (Uno) because he saved him from a miserable life, and this idolization of Djin is one of the reasons that Rudy hates Ali for the majority of the season. In the final battle, Rudy disobeys Roza's command to use his cuffs and instead tries to reason with Djinn, asking if he remembers him, to which is met with attempted murder. Ali saved him in time, but there is evident pain and shock shown on Rudy's face, and later, while he still undermines Ali in the final episode, he shows to be genuinely scared that Ali and the rest of his teammates were hurt.
MISSION: NEO (Movie)
Rudy appeared along with the other agents in the final battle between Niki's and Ali's team, he wears an I.R.I.S. Neo and used his wireless shackles and hood to fight against her group.
After her first defeat, her I.R.I.S. Neo starts to Override Mode. When Dayang attempts to attack her, she's controlled now by Niki's Override, followed by Ganz. Not taking for so long, Rudy felt a headache while being transmitted by Niki's Override until his I.R.I.S. Neo turned into Override Mode as well as he lost control of himself and attacked Ali until he turns his original I.R.I.S. into Override Mode too. Ali freed him from her control when he triggered Override Blue.
Season 3
In season 3, Rudy is a more of a supporting character than a main, and they are now on a team with Rizka, Alicia, and Khai. While he is still cold, it is mostly directed towards the international agents instead of Ali, and this is shown when he expresses considerable frustration and a grudge against Rizka specifically for injuring Chris, who is close with them. He gives advice to Ali in the Arena, as well as trying to protect and get back at the international agents for him after they continuously pick on Ali, showing that they are now on friendlier terms. Later, during Mission: Blackout, he, Ali, Khai and Sam are locked in their dorm, and Rudy (along with Khai's insults) take Sam down, calling him "nothing" and a "tin can". This leads Sam to confide in them that he was actually a weak kid back in his agency, and Rudy is shown to feel shock and remorse for hurting him. He is on better terms with the international agents, however still is shown to hold a grudge against Rizka. After episode 7 of Season 3, Rudy is severely injured, causing him to be out of commission and unable to participate in the arena. He is absent for the majority of the season, and makes a re-appearance in Mission: Camp, along with the other injured and expelled agents.
MISSION: S.A.T.R.I.A (Movie)
Rudy appeared as a hallucination in Ali's nightmare sequence in S.A.T.R.I.A. Dimension.
Gadgets
- Shadow Cuff: He uses wireless shackles that he attaches to machines or people, allowing him to control them with his sensory gloves.
- Camo Suit: He can disguise himself as someone else with his hoodie (a cloaking device).
Relationships
- Djin: It is shown throughout his appearances that Rudy idolizes Djin, and it's revealed in MISSION: HOPE that Djin took Rudy in after "seeing his potential" after fighting off some of Komeng’s gang members. In the short Side Mission Comics in the magazines, Rudy thought that Djin had died after the first instance of PROTOCOL: GEGAS, and had hated Ali and Alicia for beating him. After Djin had tried to kill him, however, in season 2, Rudy hadn't expressed any sort of trauma from that incident, or even a sort of mention. It may be implied that he's trying to purge Djin from his memory, and it may be touched upon in future installments in the series.
- Ali: Rudy and Ali were bitter rivals for the majority of season 2, as Rudy hated Ali for beating Djin, and getting to the top with just a gadget when he had to work himself. After Ali saved Rudy from being killed by Djin, however, Rudy warmed up to Ali, even promising to protect him from pranks and teases from the international agents in season 3. Rudy is also shown to be touch-averse with other agents such as Moon.
- Alicia: Alicia and Rudy both grew up in MATA, and were close with the Pillar Leaders, so it may be implied they knew each other before Alicia got accepted into the academy. They don't interact much, although they always choose each other for their teams, and are shown to have a high admiration/respect for each other, as shown when they protect each other in the season 2 finale. While their interactions in the show are scarce, Alicia and Rudy are much closer in the comics. For instance, in one comic, Rudy, disguised as Ali, tried to ask Alicia out for ice cream, to see how well he'd pass as Ali. However, Alicia saw right through him, even when his Ali disguise has fooled multiple people. This implies that Alicia knows Rudy better than anyone, and that she can tell that he's disguised in a blink of an eye. Or, when they arrived together and sat next to each other during the New Years Special comic. Another example would be when Alicia, like many of the other students, went on a summer vacation. Alicia brought back many gifts for the other agents, but the first person whose gift she gave was Rudy. This may be implying she prioritizes him over others, and vice versa. In the previously mentioned Season 2 finale, Rudy made sure to try to protect her, not Iman or even Ali, who was under control of Override mode, and fighting Djin, as well as being impressed and admiring Alicia's strength and talent, especially using Atlas. They can be considered Djin and Zain's happy ending, showing them breaking the cycle of hostility and murder that their predeceasing Pillar leaders had.
Quotes
- "Just call me Rudy." Season 2, Episode 2 (MISSION: ORIENTATION)
- "If anything wants to blame I.R.I.S., better not to be an agent!" - Season 2, Episode 8 (MISSION: PURPOSE)
- "You don't know everything about Djin!" Season 2, Episode 11 (MISSION: HOPE)
- "Agent Djin, Do you still remember me? I am Rudy." Season 2, Episode 12 (MISSION: DIEZ)
- "Bulat, let's play soccer." Season 2, Episode 13 (MISSION: LEGACY)
- "Cih." Season 2 - Season 3
- (To Ali) "So what? You’re gonna cry? You’re giving up? This is why you annoy me so much. Why do you even care what people say? If you keep thinking like that, you’ve lost even before competing. You made it here. Just do your best." - (MISSION: POSSIBLE)
- (To Ali) "As if that thing’s going to help you win. Don’t do anything ridiculous later." - (MISSION: STING)
Trivia
- His name "Rudy" could be derived from his rude personality.
- Rudy can disguise as someone with his hoodie (which is same as Rizwan, which he can disguise as someone with his suit).
- According to the creator of the series, in the earlier concepts of Rudy, he was supposed to control people's movement using invisible threads. However, this tactic is difficult to render in 3D and it is time-consuming in terms of adjusting the threads for every scene. As a result, Rudy is given something more "wireless" as a gadget in the final concept.
- Although Rudy's origin is still unknown, according to Khai, Rudy doesn't have any living family members left. It's unknown how Khai knows this.
- Rudy styles his hair the same way young Djin has.
- Rudy is shown to not take complements well. Or, at least, he doesn't know how to handle them, as seen when Kim and Ali complement him.
- Rudy's birthdate is July 24, it is also revealed that his body height is 164cm (5'3).
- it is also shown in season 3 episode 1, Mission: Arena, that Rudy is very ticklish.
- Rudy may have slightly bad eyesight, as it is seen in episode 1 of season 3 that he is squinting at something during the video call with the other agents.
- Rudy might be ambidexterous, as he can use his weapons and gadgets with both hands without much difficulty.
- Since Rudy was a poor and starving kid, his speed-eating in season 3 could be a due to his trauma. Or it could just be for comedic effect.
