Rufus Shinra is the former Vice President of Shinra, who is promoted to President after his father is killed by Sephiroth. He is depicted as callous, cold-hearted and ruthless during much of Final Fantasy VII and his views on how Shinra should conduct its rule over the world—through fear and intimidation rather than money—were considered dangerous by his father, so great care was taken to prevent them from influencing the company's inner workings. He is encountered shortly after his father's death, claiming control over the company and engaging Cloud in battle alongside his Guard Hound, Dark Nation, and quickly begins running the Shinra through his preferred method. Rufus was thought to have died when his office in Shinra Headquarters was hit by an energy blast from Diamond Weapon, but is revealed to have survived, albeit with sustaining great injury. The novella "Case of Shinra" depicts his survival, as well as his plans for the future and how he contracts the disease Geostigma. He reappears in Advent Children, in possession of Jenova's remains, and claims that he intends to repair the damage Shinra had caused Rufus uses a wheelchair and covers himself with a white sheet for most of the film, and though these are later shown to be a facade, he still uses them after being healed by Aerith's rain. In Before Crisis, Rufus anonymously supplies information to AVALANCHE, while suggesting someone is leaking information. He had intended to have AVALANCHE kill his father, but his plan failed and he was put under house arrest in Junon. Rufus is glimpsed briefly on a stretcher as Midgar is being evacuated in Dirge of Cerberus, and Reeve also hints that he is supplying funding to the WRO. Rufus is voiced by Tōru Ōkawa in the original Japanese publications and Wally Wingert in the English dubs.
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