Dr. Claw

Dr. Claw is the main antagonist of the Inspector Gadget franchise.

Routine
Claw always sends his group of agents after Gadget to eliminate him, only for his plan to backfire when his men get arrested. This soon drives him to hiring new agents in each episode.

Personality
Claw is evil, menacing, dark, sinister, sadistic, and a threat to all of Metro City. He is a criminal mastermind and will stop at nothing to destroy Inspector Gadget and take over the world. Most of his plots are terrorism and global attacks. Even though he is an evil mastermind, he thinks Gadget's stupidity is an act to mock him and views him as his worst enemy, and has no idea that Penny and Brain did all the work. As revealed in the first live-action film, he lost his left hand in a accident, giving him a mechanical claw. In Gadget and the Gadgetinis, it is shown that he has had his claw since he was a baby, so he probably lost his arm when he was young or he was born without his right arm.

He is usually at a computer terminal where he monitors his various schemes, often in a creepy old castle. Although he's aware of Gadget's idiocy, he believes the Inspector to be his greatest enemy, never realizing that it is actually Penny and Brain who foil his plots in each episode (although he or his M.A.D. agents have captured Penny and her computer book and he has jammed her watch and sometimes Brain a number of times). He is usually seen with his fat pet cat M.A.D. Cat, who reaps the benefits of his brief victories and bears the brunt of his defeats. Claw's catchphrase at the end of every episode is, "I'll get you next time, Gadget! NEXT TIME!!!".

In the 2015 CGI series, he isn't as malicious or as cruel or as evil as he used to be and seems almost as incompetent as Gadget, even though he still retains a certain evilness and cruelty that characterizes him. He is presumably either out of practice or losing his touch.

Claw's Face
Throughout the entire series, Claw is an unseen character, only just his arms and gloved hands are visible, leaving the viewer to guess as to his face and body, though a shadow of his body can be seen in Inspector Gadget Saves Christmas, and The Japanese Connection. Though his face is never shown, evidence suggests that he has the appearance of a mad scientist. Despite sitting down in an executive chair for most of the series, it is clear that he possesses an intimidating physical stature (as others are usually shown cowering when he stands).

There were only 5 instances where his face was visible:
 * In the first live-action film (it was partially hidden in the sequel).
 * In the SNES game where he is fought as the final boss.
 * In the Gadget and the Gadgetinis episode "The Weather Machine," the viewers get to see a closeup of his face while he wakes up from his nap. This version of Claw has a muscular body and a square-shaped head. His face is usually hidden in shadow with only his glowing yellow eyes visible, but in "The Weather Machine," the outlines of his nose and mouth are visible.
 * In the iPhone game Inspector Gadget's M.A.D Dash as an unlockable puzzle. It has the appearance of the face used for the action figure and video game.

Trivia

 * In the live-action film, Claw's real name is Sanford Scolex. However, in Gadget and the Gadgetinis, his real name is George Claw. In the CGI series, his name is Irving.
 * One theory is that he might be the real Inspector Gadget.
 * Frank Welker reprised his role as Claw in the Robot Chicken episode, Adoption's an Option. Cree Summer also returned as Penny.
 * Dr. Claw's voice in the first season is known to have an echo effect, possibly to make him sound scarier.
 * His Polish name is Dr Klauf AKA doktor Szpon and Dr Gang, and dubber is Jerzy Słonka.
 * In the 2015 series, he's not as evil or as intelligent or as malicious as he used to be. He's either out of practice or losing his touch. However he seems to have his evil intelligents & maliciousness back in season 3