Master Control Program (Tron)
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The Master Control Program (MCP), voiced by David Warner, is the main villain of the Disney movie Tron. It was a rogue artificial intelligence created by Ed Dilinger (also played by Warner) that ruled over the world inside ENCOM's mainframe computer. During the rule of the MCP, many programs were enslaved and forced to play games against its henchmen, led by Sark (also played by Warner).
Ed Dillinger, a rising exec at ENCOM, wrote the MCP to administer the company's computer network (in effect an AI Superuser). However, the MCP had the capacity to learn and grew beyond the confines of its original programming. It began to steal data from other systems, and took control of several companies and institutions. Its intelligence - and ambition - grew nearly out of control, and the MCP grew to desire nothing less than world domination; with the information at its command, the MCP believed it could run things 900 to 1200 times better than any human.
Eventually, however, the MCP caused its own downfall. It digitized former ENCOM programmer Kevin Flynn, who had come dangerously close to uncovering Dillinger's schemes. Flynn, in the computer world, allied himself with Tron, a security program; their combined efforts resulted in the deresolution (death) of the MCP by destroying his heart which is at the center. The MCP then reverted back to its original chess program appearance (which, in the digital universe, appeared as an old man in a control chair) followed by this program vanishing as it was deleted.
The MCP would end most of its conversations with Dillinger and Sark with the phrase "End of line".
[edit] Kingdom Hearts II
In Kingdom Hearts II, the MCP was based on the ENCOM program when it was transferred into a super computer created by Ansem the Wise, who then modified the ENCOM program, which made the computer vulnerable for the MCP to take over, apparently rebooted by Xehanort, Ansem's corrupt apprentice to be in control of the Hollow Bastion OS. Taking over the Space Paranoids with "virtual Heartless", the MCP intended to take over the Radiant Garden as it evolved to the point that it sees "Users" of no more use. To that end, the MCP intended to unlock the DTD Program, only for Sora and company with Tron to interfere. After that, the MCP began to materialize his Heartless into the "real world" and reprogrammed the security system to attack non-Heartless beings. To counter it, Tron was upgraded with a program created by Cid and company that will destroy the MCP. After defeating Sark, the MCP took actions directly and fused Sark with some of his functions, and placed a protective barrier around himself that could block enemy attacks. However, even after fighting Tron, Sora and company directly, the MCP was destroyed, Sark ceasing to exist after the MCP's death. Tron then took its place in managing the Radiant Garden's computers with the MCP no more. David Warner was approached to reprise his dual role as Sark and the MCP for the game, but due to a previous commitment, he was unavailable. Sark and the MCP were both voiced by Corey Burton.
[edit] Parodies
- In the South Park episodes "Jewbilee" and "Super Best Friends", Moses took the form of the MCP.
- In the Dexter's Laboratory episode Game Over, a dangerous videogame called "Master Computer" takes over Dexter's Computer. The Master Computer speaks like and resembles the MCP, and forces Dexter to play a game similar to the lightcycles in Tron.
- In an episode of The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, Billy, Mandy, and Grim get locked in a "house of the future" controlled by a computer similar to the MCP with a similar hatred of humanity. There is also another man in there who explains everything about the computer, imitating the scenario of Tron.
