Springtrap

William Afton was the main antagonist of the Five Nights at Freddy's Scott Games series.

He was the co-founder and owner of Fazbear Entertainment and Afton Robotics, LLC, as well as a serial killer directly and indirectly responsible for most of the incidents and tragedies throughout the series, including being the culprit involved in The Missing Children Incident. He as Springtrap is the main antagonist and the only true animatronic in Five Nights at Freddy's 3. He is the only antagonist that can give the player a Game Over, as the phantom animatronics can only jumpscare the player and impair their vision and/or hearing.

Appearance

Springtrap is William's first true appearance in the series, appearing as a heavily damaged Spring Bonnie animatronic/springlock suit, with Afton's mummified remains still inside.

The suit is a drab olive color, with darker colors on his stomach and the insides of his ears. A great portion of his right ear is missing, with a single red wire sticking out of the stump. Springtrap's entire body is torn and tattered, with gaping holes bearing exposed wires and caging throughout. His green/brown/black nose has an irregular squarish shape due to deterioration. While both of Springtrap's hands and feet are attached and generally intact, his legs are entirely stripped from the mid-shin down, fully exposing the endoskeleton wiring and metal. Several of his finger joints from each hand are missing their suit overlays. The middle and little fingers of Springtrap's right hand are notably missing their fingertips (this is no longer the case for his model in future games). A single black button can be seen on the middle of his chest. If one looks closely at the large hole in Springtrap's chest (which is located under his button), William's broken body can be seen. Springtrap has a wide, permanent grin, as the material surrounding his teeth has deteriorated. His jaw can be seen moving on occasions, such as during his second jumpscare, on CAM 15, his first rare-boot, along with Scott Cawthon's "Thank You!" image. Springtrap's endoskeleton feet appear wedge-shaped, with each sporting five toes. As of the 8th of October 2016, images of an early Springtrap model show his visible endoskeleton torso in the shape of a triangle.

Personality

Although seeming very cryptic at first, William's character traits and nature can be seen via silent actions within retro-graphics and by reading between the lines throughout the games.

William Afton is the textbook definition of evil. He is the sadistic serial killer who sparked the downfall of his own company, Fazbear Entertainment, murdered over a dozen children in cold blood, and started the tragic chain of events that leads players throughout the series. It is heavily implied that William's true motive is to gain the secret of immortality and live eternally. Judging by his actions and appearance within the games, William is wicked, cold-blooded and methodical, clearly showing no remorse for his actions. He was even malicious enough to murder his closest friend and business partner Henry's only daughter Charlotte, an event which caused Henry immense emotional turmoil to the point where he nearly committed suicide, showing that William is more than willing to harm his friends, whether it be mentally, emotionally, or physically. "Dittophobia" shows that William had always been twisted, doing cruel experimentation on innocent children for the sole purpose of getting results, proving he feels no remorse for anyone.

As shown in every minigame he appears in, he always smiles during his killings, and in the Pizza Party minigame in Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted, which appears to be a recreation of one of Afton's murders, Glitchtrap, who is representing Afton, can be seen dancing gleefully after murdering the victim, taunting them while they are trapped inside of a robotic suit and suffering a slow and painful death. Both of these examples show that William is extremely ruthless and sadistic and appears to take delight, satisfaction, and pride in the murder of innocent people while watching his victims suffer in agony. One of William's voice lines in Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator suggest that he is opportunistic and will proceed with his intentions, regardless of the risks.

Heard in the opening cutscene of Sister Location, William shows a rather calm and neutral personality. This is likely to hide his true intentions and evil mindset, while showing that he is a manipulator and seemingly theatrical, being able to easily put on a character to fool people. The fact that he created the Funtime Animatronics, which are very advanced and technological, shows that he has a genius level intellect, a talent for robotics, and is very proud of his creations. He is also fascinated by how they have changed after the events of Sister Location.

Springtrap's voice lines in Five Nights at Freddy's AR: Special Delivery indicate that he is arrogant, boastful, and overconfident, and even suggests that he wants his victims to fear and respect him. This is in stark contrast to his subtle, poetic, and calculated voice. His mannerisms are incredibly flamboyant. It seems that William's hubris grew larger as he became more experienced as a killer, likely due to the fact that he was never convicted for his crimes and always got away with them. This explains his behavior in Five Nights at Freddy's 3 and Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator. Given his nature, William is most likely not insane, he just seemingly does not care for the difference between right and wrong, and simply chooses to be evil for no other reason than to achieve his twisted and unethical desires.

It is heavily suggested that William's greatest fear above all is his own death. This is shown in one of the Five Nights at Freddy's 3 minigames, where he cowers in fear while facing the vengeful ghosts of his victims, explaining why he refused to pass on after his death and became Springtrap to begin with. This fear is so immense that he has developed an unbreakable iron will to live, no matter the circumstances. Ultimately, this is what pushes him to survive even in the deadliest situations time and time again. He showcases his willpower by confidently stating "I always come back". This ironically shows that despite William's immense arrogance, he is at his core a coward when facing his own death and retribution for his actions. William suspects that consequences in an afterlife might await him, and he intends to stay away from it at all costs.

It is implied in Sister Location that he loved his daughter Elizabeth, warning her not to go near Circus Baby, as he had programmed the animatronic to capture and kill children. However, there are indications that this was for selfish reasons. He was aware that Baby was possessed by Elizabeth, yet paid and allowed technicians to shock her for an indefinite period of time. Taking this into account, William's connection to Elizabeth may have not been as genuine as it seemed. Besides that, his relationship with his son Michael Afton seems relatively unknown, other than the fact that he tried to kill him in Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator.

Behavior

Springtrap acts in a very human-like manner, teasing the player to his presence as if he were hunting them. He will go to more secluded areas of a camera area, seemingly attempting to hide from the player or outright stare into the camera. When around The Office, Springtrap will lurk around and even stare at the player through the window. On occasions when he is about to attack, he will peek in from behind the door, simply staring dead ahead at them. He will also briefly appear from the right, only to slink away from the peripheral vision.

As mentioned in the Night 2 phone call, Springtrap is susceptible to audio distractions and will constantly follow the source of the noise the player creates, possibly due to him mistaking the noise for the sound of actual children. He will only follow the sound when it is played in a close location to where he is. He is also susceptible to the vents being sealed, but will commonly use them as means of getting to the player. Springtrap may also be attracted to the sound of The Office's alarm blaring (when the light flashes red in The Office), and after the ventilation system is left with errors for too long, in which the player starts hallucinating and seeing multiple Springtraps in the cameras, and will soon be jumpscared by the actual Springtrap. Unlike the robotic movements of all of the previous animatronics, Springtrap moves in a fluid manner, slinking into The Office in an almost human-like fashion.