History Characters / SlyCooperTheMainTrio

* KirkSummation: He calls out [[spoiler:Penelope]] for her selfishness, telling her that she's an idiot for siding with Le Paradox for petty reasons, and is now his puppet [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness who's strings will be cut when she's outlived her usefulness]]. [[spoiler:Penelope responds [[ShutUpKirk by attacking him]], proving that she's never truly cared for Bentley but saw him as a mere object, and always acted purely in self-interest. Bentley ends up leaving Penelope in 1301 to die, convinced she is BeyondRedemption]].

* SuperDrowningSkills: Sly, Bentley, and Murray can't swim. It was lampshaded in the manuals that they probably shouldn't have skipped swimming lessons during their orphanage days. Oddly, Murry swims in a scuba suit in game 4 during a cut scene.
* TokenEvilTeammate: In ''Honor Among Theives'', the Panda King, one of the Fiendish Five who killed Sly's father, is recruited into the gang. Whereas his teammates are simply thieves, he's expressly guilty of domestic terrorism, having buried entire, innocent villages in snow during the first game. While the tensions between them ease over time, Sly never outwardly forgives the Panda King. [[spoiler: Penelope retroactively takes his place as the true Token Evil Teammate before she defects to Le Paradox's group.]]

* GentlemanThief: Fits several aspects of the trope: he steals for the challenge of it, leaves behind {{Calling Card}}s, limits his targets to other crooks, and often halts the operations of more dangerous crooks.

* JustAStupidAccent: As lampshaded by Bentley, Sly does a ''very'' terrible Italian accent while disguised as a Venetian crook. Does this again in Sly 4, and even more awkward since he was supposed to be disguised as an Arabian deliveryman.

* LoveEpiphany: Sly has always harbored a crush on Carmelita, but it's not until ''Honor Among Thieves''' final episode that he realizes how serious his feelings are. The catalyst for this realization occurs in the episode's intro cutscene. Near-death and reflecting on his life, Sly explicitly recalls [[spoiler: Bentley and Penelope's loving relationship and decides that's what ''he'' wants, too. He vows to confess as much to Carmelita if he escapes Kaine Island alive. Sly ultimately makes good on his promise, leaving his thieving lifestyle behind to live with Carmelita as a changed man (until ''Thieves in Time'', that is)]].

* StickyFingers: Though he seems to enjoy his thievery and [[KarmicThief limits his targets to other criminals]], ''Thieves in Time'' shows it's a bit of a compulsion: while he gave it up at the end of Sly 3, he's got the itch to pull another heist even before Bentley informs him of the historical mishaps.
* StrongAsTheyNeedToBe: When Sly wears the jailbird outfit in Sly 4, he can use a huge ball and chain as a weapon. The ball is nearly as big as he is, and yet he's able to throw it far and with enough force to break things. You'd think if he were this strong, he'd be able to grand-slam enemies with his fists.

* TeethClenchedTeamwork: In Sly 3 with Panda King. Both eventually get over this.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: In Sly 4, Sly gives this to Le Paradox [[spoiler:when told of his revenge plan regarding the Cooper lineage -- to be known as the world's greatest thief by stealing their canes. Sly calls him out on this, pointing out that Le Paradox never did the ''actual'' stealing; rather, he got his "partners" to do all the dirty work before tossing them aside and claiming credit for what ''they'' did. Furthermore, Sly also mentions that going after the Cooper line for such a petty reason -- for no other purpose than to feed his ego -- was just downright stupid, because it not only ended up drawing Sly's attention (and thus interference) in the first place, it also drew Carmelita's attention to his stolen treasure smuggling ring. Put straight, Le Paradox lost everything because he couldn't resist showing off.]]

* WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer: In Sly 4, Sly is locked in an area, facing off against a giant mech knight. He managed to destroy the huge thing using only arrows sniped at crucial points.

* WoundedGazelleGambit: Does this in Sly 3 with Carmelita where he had to charge up a battery, and how? By getting Carmelita to shoot him. He pretends to be down for the count, but once the battery is fully charged, he makes an easy escape.

* BreakTheCutie: Literally in [[spoiler:the end of Sly 2. Brutally straight in Sly 4]]. See HeroicBSOD below.
* BreakingTheFourthWall: In Sly 4, when Bentley fights against [[spoiler:Penelope]], he will sometimes taunt, "That mech design is so 2005!", which was the release year of Sly 3.

* CassandraTruth: In Sly 2, he explains that the water tower in the Contessa's prison area is a robot. Sly doesn't believe him until the end of the mission.

* HeroicBSOD: Once Bentley realized that [[spoiler:the reason why Penelope vanished in the beginning of Sly 4 was because she was TheMole for Le Paradox and that she betrayed him and the gang. Needless to say, he did not take it well, tucking inside of his shell. Due to this, Carmelita, Sly, and Sir Galleth were the ones narrating the chalk talk plan, which was usually exclusive to Bentley being the planner and all]].

* RemovableShell: While he's never seen outside of it, he's capable of withdrawing all his limbs and sitting curled up inside it with room to spare in Sly 4. It's definitely BiggerOnTheInside.

* ShockAndAwe: Bentley can upgrade his crossbow darts and bombs to be electrical in Sly 4.
* ShyShelledAnimal: He's an {{Adorkable}} ally to Sly, who originally acted as his MissionControl. Subverted in later games, where he starts to take a more active role.

* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: In Sly 4, Bentley really doesn't like penguins for some reason.

* AchillesInHisTent: The third game, due to his guilt over Bentley's crippling. It stops when [[spoiler:Murray sees Octavio kick Bentley out of his wheelchair, and he exclaims that the Murray is back.]]

* BrainwashedAndCrazy: In Sly 2 when he was in solitary confinement in The Contessa's correctional facility where he was turned into a raging berserker. Sly managed to break him out of it, though.

* DisguisedInDrag: In Sly 3's in-game hidden short, "Goodbye My Sweet", Murray is dressed as a bar maid, complete with blonde curly locks.

* HalfDressedCartoonAnimal: His lack of pants is immediately noticeable. Murray even addressed the issue in one of the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwB0Ew9MmEA promotional videos]] for ''Thieves in Time.'' It's apparently because he can't find any pants that fit a husky hippo frame.
* TheHeart: This is shown best in "Honor Among Thieves", as he’s the one who convinces Bentley to let go of his resentment and jealousy towards Sly.

* HeroicSeductress: A {{Crossdressing}}, PlayedForLaughs example during ''Thieves In Time'' when he had to pose as a geisha and do a dance to distract some guards.

* HotBlooded: As part of his character development from the first game. Murray started as a meek goofball, and then by the second game became the hotblooded masked bruiser due to a confidence boost.
* InstantWakingSkills: Just look at the safe houses in ''Sly 4''. If Murray isn't selected by the player, he'd just be seen snoozing in his chair. The ''second'' the cursor selects him, he's geared up and ready to go.

** Like Sly, Murray did ''not'' take [[spoiler:Penelope's betrayal]] well. This motivates him into walking into a moat in scuba gear to blow up a drawbridge, all while sporting a PsychoticSmirk. ''Never'' mess with The Murray!
** No matter how Murray feels, he'll always have a big appetite. In Sly 4, when it was decided that Bob would be better suited for the ice wall climbing (since Murray obviously can't do it), he felt rather dejected. When Bentley tried to cheer him up by offering him food once returning to the hideout, he stated that he wasn't feeling hungry.

** Averted in the England job in Sly 4 as he was seen swimming in the castle moat to detonate the drawbridge. Doubles as both GameplayAndStorySegregation and CutscenePowerToTheMax.

* WrestlerInAllOfUs: Though not formally trained, Murray's bulk and strength let him do this. He then becomes one officially in the epilogue of Sly 4.

* InformedAttribute: Supposedly they only steal from other criminals and never civilians, but numerous cutscenes throughout the series say otherwise. [[JustifiedTrope Of course]], Sly does say the Coopers ''specialize'' in stealing from criminals not that they ''only'' steal from them.

* NoChallengeEqualsNoSatisfaction: Sly and his entire family have spent all of their lives robbing master criminals rather than ordinary people, as the latter poses absolutely no challenge at all. Sly sums up their attitude in the first game:

* TheHero: He is the main hero of the series, even though he's a thief. Even though he's considered a criminal because he steals, he only steals to save the world from criminals who actually are evil and have devious intentions.

* KarmicThief: He usually only steals from dangerous criminals.

* NotSoDifferent: Sly makes this exchange with Carmelita in the comic, as since he only targets criminals and crime lords, they are technically on the same side. [[KnightTemplar Carmelita]], however, is quick to point out that since said criminals nonetheless steal the loot that Sly steals for himself, he's still breaking the law regardless.

* ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules: Sly makes it a rule to never steal from honest citizens as not only is it not fun or challenging, it is also immoral and wrong.

* BadassAdorable: Look at that picture of the {{Adorkable}} little turtle, and know that he's blown up or otherwise destroyed enough property and landmarks that he could be classified a terrorist. In the second game alone he heavily damages one bridge and outright destroyed another, and that's not even mentioning the time he destroyed a dam. He's also something of a MadScientist, given that his arsenal consists of gadgets designed to shrink people and many, ''many'' variants of bombs. In the fourth game, his bombs can be upgraded to ''home on enemies'', turning him into a wheelchair-bound nerd with robotic arms, impressive movement capabilities in every direction and homing missiles.

* BirdsOfAFeather: He and Penelope connect over seeming to have many things in common: technological genises, apparently having similar interests, looking for love, etc. [[spoiler:Subverted in ''Thieves in Time'', when Penelope reveals her true colors as a ruthless, power-hungry villain in contrast to Bentley's loyalty to Sly and Murray. It turns out Penelope was faking her feelings to take advantage of Bentley and get make a huge fortune in weapon designs]].

* LoveEpiphany: Sly has always harbored a crush on Carmelita, but it's not until ''Honor Among Thieves''' final episode that he realizes how serious his feelings are. The catalyst for this realization occurs in the episode's intro cutscene. Near-death and reflecting on his life, Sly explicitly recalls [[spoiler: Bentley and Penelope's loving relationship and decides that's what ''he'' wants, too. He vows to confess as much to Carmelita if he escapes Kaine Island alive. Sly ultimately makes good on his promise, leaving his thieving lifestyle behind to live with Carmelita as a changed man (until ''Thieves of Time'', that is)]].

* LoveEpiphany: Sly has always harbored a crush on Carmelita, but it's not until ''Honor Among Thieves''' final episode that he realizes how serious his feelings are. The catalyst for this realization occurs in the episode's intro cutscene. Near-death and reflecting on his life, Sly explicitly recalls [[spoiler: Bentley and Penelope's loving relationship and decides that's what ''he'' wants, too. He vows to confess as much to Carmelita if he escapes Kaine Island alive. Sly ultimately makes good on his promise, leaving his thieving lifestyle behind to live with Carmelita (until ''Thieves of Time'', that is)]].

* LoveEpiphany: Sly has always harbored a crush on Carmelita, but it's not until ''Honor Among Thieves''' final episode that he realizes how serious his feelings are. The catalyst for this realization occurs in the episode's intro cutscene. Near-death and reflecting on his life, Sly explicitly recalls [[spoiler: Bentley and Penelope's loving relationship and decides that's what ''he'' wants, too. He vows to confess as much to Carmelita if he escapes Kaine Island alive. Sly ultimately makes good on his promise, leaving his thieving lifestyle behind to live with Carmelita in a loving relationship (until ''Thieves of Time'', that is)]].

* LoveEpiphany: Sly has always harbored a crush on Carmelita, but it's not until ''Honor Among Thieves''' final episode that he realizes how serious his feelings are. The catalyst for this realization occurs in the episode's intro cutscene. Near-death and reflecting on his life, Sly explicitly recalls Bentley and Penelope's loving relationship and decides that's what ''he'' wants, too. He vows to confess as much to Carmelita if he escapes Kaine Island alive. Sly ultimately makes good on his promise, leaving his thieving lifestyle behind to live with Carmelita in a loving relationship (until ''Thieves of Time'', that is).

* LoveEpiphany: Sly has always harbored a crush on Carmelita, but it's not until ''Honor Among Thieves''' final episode that he realizes how serious his feelings are. The catalyst for this realization occurs in the episode's intro cutscene, where Sly explicitly recalls Bentley and Penelope's loving relationship and decides that's what ''he'' wants, too. He vows to confess as much to Carmelita if he escapes Kaine Island alive.

*

* TheResenter: Briefly shown, but it's made clear [[spoiler:at the beginning of the final episode of the third game]] that Sly does somewhat envy the [[spoiler:[[DestructiveRomance apparently]]]] happy relationship between Bentley and Penelope, and wishes he had treated Carmelita a lot better.

* CaperRationalization: They only target criminals, usually for the challenge.

* ChallengeSeeker: One of the reasons they only steal from other criminals. As Sly puts it, stealing from innocent people is boring, and the ''real'' challenge comes from beating criminals at their own game.

* InformedAttribute: Supposedly they only steal from other criminals and never civilians, but [[AllThereinTheManual supplementary information]], [[NoodleIncident one-off remarks in dialogue]], and numerous [[CutScene cutscenes]], especially in ''Thievius Raccoonus'', says otherwise.

** Sly's father was murdered and his mother is never spoken of.

* InformedAttribute: Supposedly they only steal from criminals and never normal people, but [[AllThereinTheManual supplementary information]], [[NoodleIncident one-off remarks in the dialogue]], and numerous [[CutScene cutscenes]], especially in ''Thievius Raccoonus'', says otherwise.

* InformedAttribute: They only steal from other thieves, but [[AllThereinTheManual supplementary information]], [[NoodleIncident one-off remarks in the dialogue]], and numerous [[CutScene cutscenes]], especially in ''Thievius Raccoonus'', says otherwise.

* BlackAndGreyMorality: [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed.]] They're professional thieves, yes, but they ''only'' steal from other criminals, never civilians. Most of their targets are crooks worse than they are, such as murderers and "[[GRatedDrug spice]]" dealers. In ''Sly 2'', the Contessa describes their morality as "lopsided."

* EveryoneHasStandards: Being a thief, Sly has no problems with stealing, but usually limits his targets to other crooks. He's utterly disgusted with General Tsao, stating that out of all the bad men he's dealt with, Tsao is undoubtedly the worst of them all. Sly also doesn't condone stealing credit for others' work, which he calls Le Paradox out on, since to Sly, that's the worst kind of theft.

* {{Flanderization}}: His portrayal in ''Thieves in Time'' steps back on some of the maturity he’s gained over the course of the original trilogy, with his playful attitude being given more spotlight via him being more prone to making corny jokes, combined with how his urge for thievery comes back. It’s still relatively downplayed compared to Murray or Carmelita, however, as his sense of justice is still present and he manages to keep his genuine love for his friends intact, such as [[spoiler: vowing to avenge Bentley when Penelope betrays the gang.]]

* StaticCharacter: A [[DownplayedTrope downplayed]], positive flat-arc example. While he does slowly mature and begin valuing the brotherhood with his friends more with every game, most of the character development and change taken by his gang goes to Bentley and Murray, the former especially in his arc of learning to conquer his inhibitions. As such, Sly’s fundamental beliefs about himself and the world around him stay the same over the course of the series: he’s still the same wisecracking and confident, yet honorable, master thief he was from the start.

** Over the course of the games, Sly more openly expresses his faith in Bentley and Murray as teammates and friends, and becomes more focused on their needs as a result. He also goes from smarmy and bitter in the first game, to more openly smug and self-confident in the second. The dramatic events of the second game's plot and the sacrifices that Bentley and Murray go through mature him greatly, and begin causing him to consider the positive and negative impacts he's made on the people around him. [[spoiler: His talk with Doctor M. during the climax of the third game also demonstrates how fortune and wealth were never goals for him to attain, and he ends the trilogy choosing to duck out of a life of crime to live with Carmelita. He also hands over his family's ''massive'' fortune to the Cooper Gang, symbolically rejecting his heritage now that he's satisfied in proving himself.]]

** The bulk of character development is done by Bentley, who changes radically with each game. In the first, Bentley is the MissionControl NonActionGuy, content with giving Sly intel through the binocucom and helping you navigate the levels. During the climax, when Sly is trapped by Clockwerk, Bentley steps up and uses his hacking knowledge to save Sly from certain doom. His growing confidence continues into ''2'', where Bentley becomes a field operative, begins planning the heists that the player goes on, [[spoiler: and saves the day in Jailbreak when the rest of the gang becomes captured]]. After being [[spoiler: crippled]] during the climax of ''2'', [[spoiler: Bentley becomes saddled to a wheelchair. Rather than weigh him down, Bentley uses his ingenuity to become ''much'' more dangerous than ever before, even coming to rival ''Sly'' in mobility and Murray in destructive potential. He also begins to question his relation to Sly and the rest of the gang, with Doctor M. trying to prey on his feelings of [[AlwaysSecondBest inadequacy towards Sly]]. After Murray gives him a pep talk by pointing out how Sly would never abandon them and reminding him of how much Sly values their companionship, Bentley [[ShutUpHannibal rebukes Doctor M.]] and stays loyal to Sly. His reward is a veritable fortune and a new love in Penelope.]]

* TokenEvilTeammate: In ''Honor Among Theives'', the Panda King, one of the Fiendish Five who killed Sly's father, is recruited into the gang. Whereas his teammates are simply thieves, he's expressly guilty of domestic terrorism, having buried entire villages in snow during the first game. While the tensions between them ease over time, Sly never outwardly forgives the Panda King. [[spoiler: Penelope retroactively takes his place as the true Token Evil Teammate before she defects to Le Paradox's group.]]

* TokenEvilTeammate: In ''Honor Among Theives'', the Panda King, one of the Fiendish Five who killed Sly's father, is recruited into the gang. Whereas his teammates are simply thieves, he's expressly guilty of domestic terrorism, having buried villages in snow during the first game. While the tensions between them ease over time, Sly never outwardly forgives the Panda King. [[spoiler: Penelope retroactively takes his place as the true Token Evil Teammate before she defects to Le Paradox's group.]]

* TokenEvilTeammate: In ''Honor Among Theives'', the Panda King, one of the Fiendish Five who killed Sly's father, is recruited into the gang. He's also expressly guilty of domestic terrorism, having buried villages in snow in the first game. While the tensions between them ease over time, Sly never outwardly forgives the Panda King. [[spoiler: Penelope retroactively takes his place as the true Token Evil Teammate before she defects to Le Paradox's group.]]

* TokenEvilTeammate: The Panda King is this, as he had been a member of the Fiendish Five who killed Sly's parents, and had buried villages in snow in the first game. Sly still refuses to forgive him. [[spoiler:However, Penelope retroactively takes his place as the true Token Evil Teammate before she defects to Le Paradox's group.]]

[[quoteright:280:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/s23685_ps2_11_4114.jpg]]

* CharacterDevelopment: Over the course of the games, Sly more openly expresses his faith in Bentley and Murray as teammates and friends, and becomes more focused on their needs as a result.

* StealthHiBye: He's a master at this, somehow he's been able to: [[spoiler:handcuff Carmelita to a rail after the ten second head start -- 9 he used to get to her and one to kiss her on the lips, no less! -- escape Rajan's palace and leaving a calling card in her hair, and even escape just as Carmelita wakes up from being possessed by an ancient mask.]]

* CharacterDevelopment: Murray starts off as a LovableCoward, but develops more confidence in the two-year TimeSkip, and becomes "The Murray", but his deeper voice tone implies this is all an act for the sake of his friends. [[spoiler:It comes crashing down when Clock-La cripples Bentley, and it takes Octavio kicking Bentley out of his wheelchair and insulting him for Murray to toss his cowardice (and pacifism) for good, and his voice returns to the way it was in the first game]].

* {{Flanderization}}: His portrayal in ''Thieves in Time'' steps back on some of the maturity he’s gained over the course of the original trilogy, with his playful attitude being given more spotlight via him being more prone to making corny jokes, combined with how his urge for thievery comes back. It’s still relatively downplayed, however, as his sense of justice is still present and he manages to keep his genuine love for his friends intact, such as vowing to avenge Bentley when [[spoiler:Penelope betrays the gang.]]

%%**Neyla (athletic, different reasons for using the Clockwerk parts, loyal vs. manipulative)

** And, of course, being a raccoon, he still has a similar mask even when he's not wearing one.

* NotSoDifferent: Sly makes this exchange with Carmelita in the comic, as he only targets criminals and crime lords they are technically on the same side. [[KnightTemplar Carmelita]], however, is quick to point out that since said criminals nonetheless steal the loot that Sly steals for himself, he's still breaking the law regardless.

** ShockAndAwe: And later he gets an upgrade that allows him to channel electricity while rolling. Another upgrade allows him to charge electricity into his cane for instant [=KOs=].
* ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules: Sly makes it a rule to never steal from honest citizens as not only is it not fun or challenging, it is also immoral and wrong.
* SpectacularSpinning: His rolls and his {{spin attack}}s.

* AncestralWeapon: His cane.

* DisappointedByTheMotive: How Sly viewed Le Paradox's motive for the whole time debacle in ''Thieves in Time''. He would have at least accepted Le Paradox [[AvengingTheVillain doing it in revenge for what happened to his father]], but when he heard the [[EvilIsPetty real reason]], Sly just calls him an idiot. See TheReasonYouSuckSpeech below.

** ShockAndAwe: And later he gets an upgrade that allows him to channel electricity while rolling. Another upgrade allows him to charge electricity in his cane for instant [=KOs=].

* WeaponOfChoice: The Cooper Cane. His father's version, anyway.