Wild Knuckles and Gru have a special connection in Minions: Rise of Gru, suggesting that the leader of the Vicious 6 and the budding supervillain might be related. Despite being just a boy, Gru is determined to join his favorite supervillain team and seek guidance from Wild Knuckles, and while his initial interview proves disastrous, he does form a strong bond with his hero through unconventional means. When the group throws Wild Knuckles out for being too old, he kidnaps Gru for information about a mystical artifact that will help him return to form, and the two end up forming an unlikely alliance in the end.

For most of Minions 2, Gru is separated from his minions, but they mount a rescue mission to get to him before the rest of the Vicious 6. Unlike the other Despicable Me movies, the minions have to prove their loyalty and their worth before Gru will consider them legitimate lackeys.