Sam Flynn (2024)

Sam Flynn
Biographical information
Username	EightyNine4ever (citation needed)
Aliases	The Son of Flynn
Birth Date	1983
Status	Alive
Physical description
Gender	Male
Hair Color	Golden Brown
Other information
Functions	ENCOM CEO & Shareholder
Equipment	Identity Disc Baton
Vehicles	Light Cycle (5th generation)
Allies	Kevin Flynn Jordan Canas Alan Bradley Quorra
Out of universe information
Actor	Garrett Hedlund[1] Owen Best (young Sam) Ross Thomas (Games)
Appearances	TRON: Betrayal TRON: Legacy Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance Disney Infinity 2.0 Edition (digital version) Disney Infinity 3.0 Edition
Gallery

Sam Flynn is the adult son of Kevin Flynn and Jordan Canas. After his father's disappearance in 1989,^[2] Sam found himself haunted by the loss of his parents and struggled to follow in his father's footsteps until the year 2010, when he discovered the existence of the Grid, a digital world that his father had been trapped in for the past 21 years.^[3]

History

Childhood

1980s

Sam was born in 1983^[4] to then-famous video game creator and ENCOM CEO Kevin Flynn, and architect Jordan Canas.^[5] In 1985, Jordan was killed in a car accident, leaving Kevin to raise Sam on his own. Due to Kevin's absences from the real world, a large part of Sam's childhood was spent in the company of his paternal grandparents, who raised him in his father's place.^[6] On November 3rd, 1989,^[7] Sam's father was on the verge of a major discovery when he suddenly disappeared without a trace, leaving the then six-year-old Sam in the care of his grandparents until he came of age. He inherited his father's vast fortune and his position as ENCOM's primary shareholder.^[8]

1990-2000

After Kevin's disappearance, Alan Bradley, a close friend of Kevin's, acted as a father figure to the now-orphaned Sam, often helping him with his homework and playing catch with him.^[9] As he got older, Sam only lost more people close to him in his life, as his grandfather Mac passed away in 1995 when he was only 12 and his grandmother passed away five years later in 2000.^[10] By the time he was 15, Sam developed a troublesome attitude, although he was eventually able to improve said attitude by learning how to meditate. He graduated from the top of his class at Westminster Academy and was admitted into CalTech in the hopes of following into his father's footsteps.^[11] He later dropped out, likely due to the pressure of filling in for his father and the lingering trauma of losing his father at such a young age.

Flynn Lives

Sometime after he dropped out of Caltech, Sam turned to extreme stunts such as base jumping and parachuting, and started pranking ENCOM with a daredevil stunt every year on the anniversary of his father's disappearance. One of his most famous stunts took place on April 2,^[12] 2009,^[13][14] when Sam crashed the ENCOM Press Conference by jumping out of a helicopter and releasing a parachute with the numbers "89" printed on it. After flying over the crowd with wild cheers from the people down below, he landed right behind the stage and took off in an SUV waiting nearby before security was able to grab him.^[15]

As noted by Alan, Sam pulls these pranks on ENCOM as a way to deal with the pressure of following in his father's footsteps and to get people to pay attention and look deeper into his father's disappearance.^[13]

2010

Pranking ENCOM

On the 21st anniversary of his father's disappearance, Sam broke into ENCOM Tower and hacked into the company's mainframe. He then leaked the company's newest operating system, ENCOM OS-12, onto the internet and then proceeded to base jump from the top of the tower. He was caught by the police after first colliding with a lamp post and then attempting to escape the scene by riding on top of a taxi, but was released shortly afterwards due to his position as ENCOM's primary shareholder.^[8]

Entering the Grid

When Sam was released from jail, he returned to his apartment to find Alan waiting for him. Alan told Sam that he'd received a message on his pager from the telephone number of Flynn's Arcade; the number had been disconnected over 20 years earlier. Reluctantly, Sam headed over to his father's abandoned arcade to find a hidden office, complete with a digitizing laser. While searching for clues as to what his father was working on before he vanished, Sam inadvertently triggered the laser and found himself transported into the Tron system.

Once in the system, Sam exited a technological version of Flynn's Arcade to find himself inside a more advanced and futuristic city. Denying he was inside the Grid, Sam was abducted by a Recognizer and taken to participate in the games. While on the Recognizer, Sam observed the digital city and interacted with the prisoners aboard.

The Recognizer eventually landed at the Game Arena, where a Sentry observed Sam and the prisoners. One of the Programs, fearing the consequences of the games, committed suicide, horrifying Sam before being taken to the Armory. Once in the Armory, Sam confusingly watched as Sirens emerged from the shadows and undressed him, replacing his clothes from the Real World with armor for the games. Upon being dressed, Sam asked a siren named Gem his objective, to which the siren responded "Survive." before Sam went out to participate in the games. Sam played a game of Disc Wars, and he successfully defeated two opponents before being bested by Rinzler, who spared him when he recognized him as user. Rinzler picked Sam up from the ground as Jarvis demanded Sam to identify himself. Sam denied being a Program until Clu himself demanded Sam to identify, provoking Sam to call out his full name, silencing the booing audience watching the game.

Sam was taken before Rinzler's master, Clu, who unmasked himself, surprising Sam and making him believe Clu to be to be his father, Kevin Flynn. Sam informed Clu how he entered the Grid until Clu watched the memory of Alan informing Sam of the page he was sent, assuring Clu before he was asked by Sam if they were able to return to the real world. Clu then revealed to Sam that he was not his father, though he was joyful to see him until he sent Sam to a Light Cycle match. He was then pitted against Clu and several of his enforcers in a Light Cycle duel on the Light Cycle Grid. Sam and Clu were given batons and the two were placed on their own teams, Sam's team being outmatched until Sam began to turn the tables on Clu's team by teaming up with a program he previously met while on the recognizer, although his teammate soon lost his baton while attempting to defeat a sentry. Sam obtained his ally's baton and tried to return it, though he was unable to as his ally was derezzed when crushed by Clu's Light Cycle. Sam, now deciding to finish Clu, tried to defeat him, but he was knocked off his Light Cycle once Clu pulled out his Identity Disc and struck the Light Cycle.

After being knocked off his Light Cycle, Sam pulled out his disc in preparation for the on-coming Clu, though the arena match was interrupted by the surprise arrival of Quorra, who bursted onto the arena floor in her Light Runner and escaped with Sam. Sam questioned who the individual that rescued him was, though Quorra was currently trying to get rid of Sentries chasing them. Immediately there after, Quorra unmasked herself and introduced herself to Sam, Quorra drove him deep into the Outlands to a hidden safehouse and surprised him further by introducing him to his own father, who was very happy to see him. Sam explained to Flynn how he entered the Grid before exploring the safe house and looking at the surrounding items, such as a 2nd generation Light Cycle, the board game "Go", and Flynn's bookshelf, all while being informed by Quorra. Kevin, Quorra, and Sam had dinner together where Sam and his father conversed about Sam's current life, Flynn eventually explained to that the reason he was unable to return to the real world was because the portal had closed soon after Clu revolted against him under the belief that Kevin had abandoned his mission to create the "perfect system", as well as telling him about the Purge.

When his father refused to take the chance to reach the portal before it closed, Sam commandeered his father's old Light Cycle and ventured back into Tron City to find an ally that Quorra had thought might be able to help. He was soon recognized by Gem (a Siren from the Game Arena) who took him to see Castor at the End of Line Club. Charming at first, Castor soon played his hand in a double-cross, withdrawing when Black Guards attacked the nightclub in a bid to recapture Sam. Quorra again made a surprise appearance, adding her combat skill to Sam's in holding back the Black Guards, albeit succumbing to their blows in the process. Kevin also arrived on the scene, just in time to protect Sam and allowing the younger Flynn to carry the incapacitated Quorra to safety. It was then that Sam notice Kevin had lost his identity disc in the conflict.

Fleeing the city in a Solar Sailer, Sam learned that Quorra was an ISO, a spontaneously evolved program and the breakthrough Flynn spoke of years earlier. All conversations were silenced when it became apparent that their course intersected with a giant carrier ship, the "Rectifier". Stealing aboard the enormous vessel, the trio soon learned that Clu's purpose was to use Kevin's disc to launch an invasion on the real world. Quorra allowed herself to be captured, leaving Sam and Kevin to foil Clu's plan. Sam retrieved the disc and was able to rescue Quorra in the process. The three then fled in a captured Light Jet.^[8]

Light Jet Battle

Main article: Light Jet Battle

Clu, Rinzler and a quartet of Black Guard pilots pursued in Light Jets of their own, leading to a protracted battle over the Sea of Simulation. Sam fought off their flank attacks using the tail gun of the larger craft. The Black Guards were systematically eliminated from the fight while the escapees' Light Jet gradually succumbed to their onslaught. Just when the craft began to fail under critical damage, Rinzler remembered his long-forgotten purpose of protecting the users and turned his attack on Clu.^[8]

Escape

When Sam and the others finally reached the portal, they were again confronted by Clu. Sam attempted to attack him, but was effortlessly swatted away. Quorra stepped in to protect him, urging him to the portal while Kevin faced Clu alone. Sam was forced to leave his father behind when Kevin sacrificed himself to save both his son and Quorra.

Sam escaped the Grid with Quorra and found himself back in the basem*nt of Flynn's Arcade. He transfered data from the Grid onto a microdrive and paged Alan. Sam declared to Alan he was now ready to take over ENCOM and promoted him to chairman of the board. Exiting the arcade, he found Quorra waiting for him next to his motorcycle and together they rode off to show Quorra her first sunrise.^[8]

Aftermath

Sometime after promoting Alan to chairman of the board, Sam drove to the ENCOM office, making it his most recent public appearance. A crowd of supporters and many other followers of the Flynn Lives movement surrounded and questioned Sam. One female reporter of the crowd asked Sam if he had any statement for the press and in response, Sam unzipped his jacket to reveal a shirt reading "Flynn Lives" as the elevator doors in front of him closed.^[13]

Sam opened a second gateway to the Grid, the first of these portals being in Shanghai Disneyland,^[16][17] as well as co-creating a piece of technology called an Upload Conduit.^[18]

Other appearances

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance

Sam appears in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance. In Riku's story, Sam's story stays mostly the same except for the fact Sam befriends Riku and the two experience the events of TRON: Legacy with each other. Sam's role in Sora's story is primarily the same, with the one acception being that Sam doesn't appear for the remainder of Sora's story and his role within the story is reduced. Sora befriends Quorra instead and the two go on their own adventure to find Tron's source code without Sam or Kevin.

Spoilers end here.

Personality and traits

Ever since Kevin disappeared, Sam has been deeply affected by both the loss of his mother and father. He is also the heir to the largest software company in the world, which makes him feel that he can't follow in his father's footsteps. He is somewhat rebellious, reclusive and lives modestly with his pet dog, Marv, in a shipping container reconstituted into a home on the river with a beautiful view of the city and the ENCOM Tower itself. He has a pronounced technical aptitude inherited from his father, and has applied this towards fixing Kevin's motorcycle.

Notes

• Sam's username, EightyNine4ever, suggests a tribute to his father who disappeared in 1989.

Trivia

• Sam Flynn was designated as "Combatant 3" in the Disc Wars arena. His name on the rotating match display was listed as "<Unknown>".
• Early pieces of concept art and other media designed for TRON: Legacy (such as the book jacket for Kevin Flynn's Digital Gaming) suggest that Sam's name was originally going to be "Sean".
• Early on in the opening scene of TRON: Legacy, Sam's younger self is named "Boy" by the Disney+ subtitles for the film.
• In Chapter 1 of TRON: Betrayal, Sam's mother Jordan Canas as well as Kevin Flynn, both have an appointment with Dr. Springer about their child's gender (soon to be Sam) on approximately April 17th, 1983, at 8 AM. This insinuates that Sam was born sometime during late 1983 since Jordan is shown to be pregnant with him as early as April.

External Links

• Sam Flynn (Disney Infinity)
• Sam Flynn at Heroes Wiki

References