RWBY Volume Seven

[Dragonflight]

The leaders of the academies are all drawn from The Wizard of Oz. So it's not hard to see where their faults are.

Lionheart suffered from a failing of courage. Therefore Ironwood (the Tin Woodsman, it's even in his name,) suffers from a lapse of faith. The Woodsman wanted a heart, so his failing is a fault in his ability to have faith in those around him when he needs it most. Siding with Salem and declaring martial law is the one singular act of bad judgement that costs him everything. I don't know if Atlas will literally plummet from the sky when the staff is presumably taken, but even if they can somehow crash-land it reasonably safely with whatever Dust-based levitation it actually has, the destruction will be catastrophic. And that will take Atlas out of the running.

I've been trying to figure out who the Scarecrow is for some time now, but can't think of anyone. Obviously his failing should be a lapse in intelligence at a crucial moment, but I'm not sure how that will play out.