Charles Peizer, better known as "Chuck Hankins", is one of main antagonists of the Prime Video series Just Add Magic, serving as the overarching antagonist of Season 1, the one of two main antagonists (alongside Caroline Palmer) of Season 2 and the supporting protagonist in both Season 3 and spin-off series, Mystery City.
He's one of the past protectors of the Cookbook, who tried to keep it for himself and his sister Rose by cooking up an immortality spell, but it backfired when Rose got trapped in the book itself as the downside, now planning to undo the spell to return Rose back.
He was portrayed by Zach Callison in all of his appearances.
What Makes Him Magnificent?[]
In General[]
- Zach Callison provides a very charismatic performance to his character and really sells as character as a affable foe, but still a dangerous threat.
- When nobody's trying to interfere with his plans, or treating him as a monster, he's usually a pretty nice and civil person. Plus, he typically only targets protectors and those involved with magic in some ways, and doesn't try to harm random innocent civilians.
- Despite losing access to the cookbook after previously misusing its abilities (the book would burn him whenever he touched it), he never lets that setback hold him back as he'll just find alternative ways to threaten the protectors (the OCs and the main trio), such as getting Ida's father fired from his job.
- He's a master of improvisation and coming up with plans on the fly. Anytime one he runs into a drawback or one of his foes counters a plan of his, you can bet he'll usually have a back-up plan.
Background[]
- After Charles accidentally made Rose disappear into the cookbook as an unintended side-effect of an immortally spell he was using as an attempt to make them both the permanent cookbook owners, he felt great remorse for what he had done, feeling ashamed of himself for what he did to Rose and he'd spend nearly a century studying spices and recipes and trying to find a way to reverse the effects and free Rose.
- He also avoided outsiders getting involved with the magic, by coming up with a lie that Rose was innocently playing outside, only to suddenly disappear without explanation
- He also changed his name to Chuck Hankins at some unknown point as he didn't want to draw attention to himself by somehow managing to maintain the same appearance for decades.
- He started using a trailer at some point which he'd intentionally leave in West Peizer Park since he'd have access to a lot of magic spices he'd use for cooking magic recipes.
- He was best friends with Willy Thompson despite being a serious prankster and a free-range child.
- He was a very close friend of Gina and her boyfriend once, which would lead to her being the only member of the OCs to see the good in Chuck and that he had a hidden heart of gold.
- He convinced her to keep playing piano when she thought about giving up, while also said she could be a concert pianist. This would lead to Gina becoming a musical prodigy in the future,
- Shortly after Gina told Chuck about the magic cookbook, he proved to be a expert at the magic with vast knowledge of the spices and their properties. Makes since considering he had decades of practice.
- He had an A average in history class during the mid-1960s
Season 2[]
- As Chuck began to regain his memories, he'd go to the Quinn residence, and introduce himself to Mr. Quinn as a friend of Kelly's. Then he'd win the family's trust over by saving Buddy's life, pushing him out of the way when he was skateboarding and a speeding car nearly ran him over.
- In addition to that, upon Mr. Quinn finding out Chuck was a fan of vintage rock like he was, the two of them are quickly able to hit it off and get along very well. Talking about their personal favorite music and checking out vintage records. And especially after Chuck explained that his family was no longer with him (and the passing of his mother). It's possible -- though not confirmed -- that Chuck was trying to get Mr. Quinn fired from his job like he did with Mr. Perez.
- Also, when Mr. Quinn sees through Chuck's deceptions and states that the job was filled, he stays perfectly calm, even as he's walking away from him and leaving the restaurant he was in.
- Upon Kelly confronting Chuck after he officially regained all of his memories, he would commend Kelly for being so smart, and wasn't intimidated by her threats in the least, as he just walked away telling Kelly to enjoy the cookbook while she still had it.
- Before leaving the Quinn residence, he managed to smuggle a photograph of Kelly, Hannah and Darbie in his pocket. Then he'd go to an abandoned forest, where he had a trailer that he had made invisible, grab two pieces of tree bark, and some string. Then once he was in the trailer, he used the bark, string and the photograph to create his own cookbook that would steal recipes from the original cookbook as they were used. That way, he could use the recipes from the book without getting burnt.
- He's shown attending Mama P's grand re-opening, and gives some money to Ms. Silvers after hearing her beautiful piano performance, even saying she was as good as he remembered. This showcases that Chuck still has a hidden heart of a gold underneath his rough exterior, and was still Gina's friend.
- He broke into Gina's earth spice cabinet and stole very specific magic earth spices. (Nakaian, Tengu and Culangut)
- In the unlikely event that someone would find the forest he was hiding in and potentially come across his trailer, he used an invisibility spell on the trailer so nobody on the outside would suspect anything. Even Kelly and the girls were only able to find the trailer's location due to the cookbook having a step-counter written within its pages, that counted down when the holder got closer to the trailer, and reached zero when they were officially at the trailer. And even then, Kelly had to use a spell from the cookbook to be able to see the trailer.
- He'd also used a protection spell for his cookbook so anyone who tried to take it would be unable to lift it, and if someone managed to get the book unstuck, Chuck had a backup plan so the door would automatically lock the person in, so they couldn't escape with the book. Kelly's allies had to cook a spell to get her out.
- He'd confront Mama P in her restaurant ask her for some spices, and when she refuses to give him anything, Chuck reveals he still has her morbium seed as an attempt to have her to give in.
- Upon finding out his cookbook and morbium seed where gone -- despite his extra precautions -- he confronts the OCs and the main trio at Mama P's ordering them to give them back. And when they all refuse, he places a sleeping spell on the gang that made them all tired, and would have them sleep for a full year that moment they fall asleep. This also traps the heroes in a Morton's Fork: If they handed over the cookbook and morbium, Chuck will be able to continue his plan, keep causing mischief and he'd be pretty much unstoppable, but they refused to hand them over, they'd all be too tired to fight back, and eventually scum to the year-long slumber and Chuck will just take them back anyway. He also promised to give everyone a counter-spell for the curse if they gave him what he wanted.
- He took away the OCs' Merwaldian Spring Berries so they couldn't cook a certain spell that would counter the sleep spell's effects.
- When the gang eventually caves in and gives him the cookbook and morbium seed back in exchange for the counter-spell, Chuck actually keeps his promise, claiming he had the counter recipe ready for all six of them and he gives them the Wide-Awake Beef Wellington (which the gang tried and failed to do earlier) and undoes his curse, but it was too late as Chuck had what he wanted, and there was very little that could be done to stop him.
- While Chuck does end up having a breakdown upon his cookbook getting set on (a magic) fire and burning to a crisp, it was mostly because he had just saw his little sister Rose as a drawing within one of the pages, and he had witnessed the book burn down with Rose still in it. So his frustration was less due to his plan failing and more "big brother instinct" and fear of thinking his sister was gone forever. It was a rather appropriate reaction to a situation like that. Plus he'd calm down anyway.
- Not even the OCs magically imprisoning Chuck in Lavender Heights and out of Saffron Falls is enough to hold Chuck back. Chuck just set up a fake order for a man in Lavender Heights to trick Jake into coming to town, and anticipated Jake's presence, so he could use a mysterious recipe towards him that would allow him to possess Jake and use HIS body to leave Saffron Falls. Keep in mind that even Mama P (an MB herself, no less) took nearly 40 years with the help of three protectors to break that curse, meanwhile Chuck was able to get past the curse in one day... by himself! Even P herself admits she wished she had thought of that.
- And as a bonus, his possession spell involved using Ida's morbium seed the OCs had left Chuck with, thinking he'd be helpless with the spell and unable to use it to escape. Whoops!
- When Chuck (in Jake's body) arrives at Mama P's, and Ida discusses how glad she was about Chuck seemingly being trapped in Lavender Heights, saying he deserved it for everything he had done, he would tell her not to take joy in someone else's misery, no matter how bad she thought he was (serving as subtle foreshadowing of Chuck having good intentions).
- And then when Mama P states Chuck was a horrible person, Chuck (as Jake) reminds P that it wasn't too long ago that everyone thought SHE was horrible. This would actually leave her conflicted. The real Jake wouldn't have cared about Mama P being public enemy #1.
- When Mama P explained the main reason she hated Chuck -- not because he stole her morbium, but because he got her father fired from his job and tore her family apart -- Chuck (as Jake) would state he didn't know about her family and apologize, and that he understood how important family was, while still managing to not blow his cover. It makes sense why Chuck would feel pity for Ida's family being broken, especially since he knows what it's like to have a broken family.
- He's able to quickly adjust to being in Jake's body and convincingly pull off being him for nearly 4 days, even taking over Jake's job at Mama P's and proving to be a great chef thanks to his cooking time as a protector. It also allowed him access to the girls, the cookbook, and the spice pantry. Even when there were signs that he was off, he's usually able to make a quick recovery, so he could keep up the act. The only reason the girls and the OCs found out Chuck took over Jake's body was because Chuck accidentally let his guard down when he was writing his entries for Mama P on the menu and used his own cursive handwriting, instead of using different handwriting or trying to learn Jake's style of writing.
- While still in posing as Jake, Chuck was shown to be very friendly and affable towards the main three girls, but also semi-manipulative:
- For Hannah, she told "Chake" she was worried about her new school, and "Chake" states that he knew Hannah for a long time, and consoles Hannah by telling her he didn't think he'd make friends on his first day of grammar school, but he did and that she'd be fine. Hannah would even admit that "Chake" was a good listener.
- For Kelly, she told "Chake" about Hannah and Darbie taking the book away from her, and despite Kelly saying he was sure they meant well, "Chake" stated he'd be very mad as she'd done a lot of good with the book, even asking where they hid it as an possible attempt to get it back.
- For Darbie, "Chake" would give Darbie some free Jake-ritos.
- When Kelly and the gang tries to get "Chake" to take a whiff of the her (magic) soup (a magic recipe meant to remove Chuck from Jake's body) the second time around, "Chake" stops Kelly from taking the lid off midway, reveals he knew the girls were trying to separate him from Jake's body (using Kick-Em Out Chicken Soup) and overall that the gang was plotting against him as they knew who he really was. He refused to smell the soup and brags about how they couldn't stop him from his end-goal now that he had access to the book.
- Even when the girls then use Gina's morbium to free Jake from Chuck, Chuck would then reveal that while he was giving the girls free food as "Chake", he tricked Hannah into eating a charmed Jake-rito that would have Hannah become part of his latest plan.
- He also knew that for his recipe to work, he'd need mulberries, which had to used immediately or they'd lose their effect. So part of his spell on Hannah had her crave mulberries and tempted go to the West Peizer Park forest where mulberry trees were, and Chuck would be there anticipating her arrival, where he'd complete his recipe for the spell and save the mulberries for last.
- He had a barrier spell set up and ready in case the heroes tried to interfere with Chuck's spell and/or take him down physically. What he lacks in physical strength, he makes up for in smarts.
- Upon being forced to revisit various carefree, happy moments with his sister Rose, prior to the latter being imprisoned, Chuck/Charles stops his spell and starts crying to himself, as he had been reminded that Rose's imprisonment was his fault, accidental or not. Thankfully, the magic's somehow able to reverse itself and Hannah and Rose are both freed from the cookbook.
- When Rose is FINALLY freed from the cookbook, Charles would instantly hug her, and thank the gang for helping him and seeing the good in him, right before he and Rose return to 1868 as their immortality spell wears off. Once back in their time, the two of them would start up a new timeline where Chuck never cooks the immortality pie, and Rose never gets imprisoned and gets to properly live her life. Rose would even become a beloved model citizen who lived to be 82 and had a park named after her in her honor.
Season 3 and Mystery City[]
- In the new timeline, he became a ranger in Saffron Falls to make up for his past mistakes, showing he fully regretted his actions.
- He'd also put his vast magic knowledge to good use, and informed the main trio about magic spices have patterns on their leaves, which was how one could tell magic spices from normal spices.
- He frees the main trio when they get wounded up in 1875 and get locked up for being unfamiliar outsiders, using lockpicks (claiming Ida taught him how to use them back in the 1960s) as a way to repay them for helping him with Rose.
- He had a hidden cellar underneath the family's mansion where he hid his spices. Plus, even if various people manage to find it, he had a hidden compartment within the bunker for the spices, cleverly hiding the room by using an optical illusion of a brick wall, for a secret passageway hidden in plain sight. Even Darbie admits it was very clever.
- Plus his spice cabinet was very expansive, containing more spices than even Mama P's cabinet in the present.
- He'd work alongside Ian Maddox to protect a powerful spell from getting into the wrong hands of his rogue partners the Wessons. With him personality taking the hands off Ian's pocket and putting a spell on the hands claiming whoever held the hands, held the secret. He's also gave Ian the idea to hide the box somewhere into the future, where the Wessons couldn't access it, and he overall played an indirect, posthumous role in Zoe Chua and her partners becoming the new protectors and being able to save the city from the Hamilton family, descendants of the Wessons.
Other[]
- Sometime after their protector era ended, he and Rose would go on to become philanthropists who would use the family's wealth to improve the lives of the poor. A noteworthy act of theirs would be that they developed a program to curb hunger, and they've used their amazing culinary skills to form one of California's first soup kitchens, where they fed hundreds of impoverished citizens.
What Makes Him a Baddie?[]
- He was known for being a serious prankster who was always messing around, and getting away with most of it due to lack of parental figures looking out for him. He super-glued Willy's glasses to his face once, for instance.
- He was also a heart-breaker who gets into a lot of drama with some girls, with Gina Silvers being one of the most noteworthy examples, as Chuck cheated on her with Rebecca "Becky" Patterson
- Even though Chuck was a well-intentioned extremist who just wanted to get his litter sister back from the cookbook, that still doesn't change the fact that he used a number of unethical methods during his attempts to get the cookbook:
- Prior to the series, he stole money from the store where Ida's father worked using magic, which would subsequently get Ida's father fired from his job, and indirectly destroy the Perez family. He didn't even know Ida's father and it was meant to a threat to Ida and the OCs to scare them into giving him the book. Ida had a grunge on Chuck and what he had for a very long time.
- He cursed the main trio and the OCs with a sleep spell that would make them sleepy and have them sleep for a year the moment they fell asleep, just so they'd give them his cookbook back. (He gave them a cure before the curse could officially kick in, but still)
- When he gets trapped in Lavender Heights and out of Saffron Falls, he tricks Jake into coming to town, and uses a recipe on him so he could possess Jake and use his body to leave Saffron Falls.
- At some point when "Chake" was giving the girls free food, he tricked Hannah into eating a charmed Jake-rito that would make Hannah feel ill and near imprison her within the cookbook as an attempt to replace Rose with her.
Trivia[]
- Chuck's the only Just Add Magic Magnificent Baddie to be male as all of the others are female.
- He's also the only one to die.
External Links[]
- Chuck Hankins at the Villains wiki
- Charles Peizer at the Heroes wiki
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