Edward Scissorhands is the main protagonist of the 1990 feature film Edward Scissorhands. He is an artificial and ageless man with scissor blades for hands.
He is portrayed by Johnny Depp.
Background[]
Edward was created by an eccentric inventor. The inventor dies before he’s able to complete Edward, leaving him with scissors instead of hands.
After this, Edward lives alone in the inventor's mansion for an unknown period of time. He keeps himself busy by making art out of plants.
Personality[]
Despite his artificial nature and appearance, Edward is a very sensitive, gentle and kind person whose emotions are quite real and the love he has for those he cares for is very strong.
Physical Appearance[]
Edward's appearance is that of a tall and skinny young man. He has a pale complexion with dark sunk in eyes and scars all across his face inflicted by the blades from his scissors. Edward has long and curly black hair that is unkempt due to his years of isolation and is dressed in a tight all body black leather suit that is adorned with belts which keep it in place, Edward when he came to the neighborhood was given a white shirt and grey trousers that where kept up with suspenders that Edward had cut. Edwards most notable feature is that of the scissor blades in place of his hands.
Role in the film[]
One day, Edward is found by an Avon saleswoman named Peg Boggs, who takes pity on him and invites him to live in her house. Peg's neighbors are fascinated by Edward. Edward falls in love with Peg's teenage daughter, Kim.
Edward becomes popular around the neighborhood by giving free haircuts to dogs and women. However, he gets in trouble when Kim's boyfriend Jim convinces him to assist in a burglary by using his hands to pick a lock. His reputation further suffers when his neighbor Joyce falsely accuses him of rape after her unsuccessful attempt to seduce him.
While Kim's family is setting up for Christmas, Edward carves an ice sculpture, whose shavings create snow which Kim dances under.
Later, Jim sees this and realizes that Kim has feelings for Edward. He becomes full of anger and jealousy, believing that is why Kim broke up with him and plans revenge on Edward.
He calls for Edward which makes him accidentally scratch Kim. Jim then tells the townspeople that Edward did this on purpose and he's dangerous.
Jim, jealous of Edward, pushes Edward and yells at him to go away. Edward is initially upset, but after a stray dog calms him down he returns to Kim's house.
When Edward returns and finds Kim alone,because her parents are out looking for him, she asks him to hold her but he fears he will hurt her and walks to a window to avoid seeing hurt in her eyes. Kim reaches under Edward's arms and hugs him and he hold his hands out of reach of touching her and hugs her back.
When a drunken Jim almost runs over Kim's brother Kevin, Edward saves him but accidentally cuts him in the process. Edward's neighbors now believe him to be dangerous, prompting Edward to run back to his mansion.
Kim follows Edward to the mansion, concerned for his safety. Jim has followed her as well. He shoots at Edward and misses and then begins to beat him with a piece of wood. Jim hits Kim when she comes to Edward's aid.
As a result, Edward stabs Jim through the torso and pushes him out a window, killing him in the process.
Realizing he can never return to the neighborhood, Edward tells Kim goodbye. Kim kisses Edward and tells him that she loves him. Kim then tells the townspeople that Edward is dead, allowing him to live in the mansion in peace.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Edward would later be featured in the Edward Scissorhands comics published by IDW, which are set several decades after the film. In the comics, he meets and befriends Kim's granddaughter. It was also revealed through flashbacks that after the film, Kim would visit Edward whenever she could.
- It is still unknown what kinds of energy source Edward runs on to continue living. It is clear that he does not need to eat or drink to survive.
- It is unknown why the police treated Edward as a human being when they arrested him, but it is mostly like his human-like appearance and gentle nature that they treated him like a person.