History Characters / Transmetropolitan

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: More subtle than The Beast, but his 'new way' politics and consistently grinning public figure alludes to UsefulNotes/TonyBlair, who became Prime Minister just as the comic began. American readers will probably interpret him as a Kennedy, given his vague physical resemblance, good publicity in spite of a sordid personal life, and opposition to the Nixon-like Beast. (He also quotes the same passage from ''Ulysses'' that Robert F. Kennedy did on the campaign trail in 1968, before his assassination.)

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: More subtle than The Beast, but his 'new way' politics and consistently grinning public figure alludes to UsefulNotes/TonyBlair, who became Prime Minister just as the comic began. American readers will probably interpret him as a Kennedy, given his vague physical resemblance, good publicity in spite of a sordid personal life, and opposition to the Nixon-like Beast.

[[caption-width-right:I said before: Just because you don’t like what I believe doesn’t mean I have no beliefs.]]

[[caption-width-right:I want to be president because I hate you. I want to fuck with you.]]

%%* CheshireCatGrin

%%* DeadpanSnarker

%%* DeadpanSnarker

%%* GonzoJournalism

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: More subtle than The Beast, but his 'new way' politics and consistently grinning public figure alludes to UsefulNotes/TonyBlair, who became Prime Minister just as the comic began.

* BackInTheSaddle: After years of being a famous journalist, he had had enough with his fans, fame, and celebrity life. He went up to a private residence in a mountain to retire away from people, presumably, for the rest of his life. He only went back because he still owed an old publisher 3 books and had already spent to advanced money. Even when he goes back and begins writing again, he's just going through the motions and trying to just get the books done so he can go back up to his mountain. Then the Smiler has a friend of his Vita Severn murdered and vows to fuck over Spider, anyway he can. Suffice it to say, [[ItsPersonal this made things personal]] for Spider and the Smiler unknowingly [[AwakeningTheSleepingGiant forced Spider to become]] [[HesBack the passionate journaist he once was]], the bane of everyone in authority and a man who wouldn't be [[TheDeterminator deterred even from threat of death.]]

'''Kristin:''' Can I get you some pills spider? On the house. Anything you want. Let's relax and talk a little her. There's some rare stuff coming out of old Vilnius. I have some. It's yours.\\

* BaldOfAwesome: Spider loses all hair on his body in an accident with a shower. (although the artists don't always remember.)

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Incredibly he appears to be capable of being this at times; when Spider completely loses his temper during the interview with the Beast and attacks him, one of the Secret Service bodyguards comes in and stops him at gunpoint. The guard is about to take Spider down the hall and summarily execute him for attempting to kill the President, but the Beast tells him to leave Spider alone, even though he could easily get away with having Spider killed under the circumstances[[note]]although admittedly he'd lose the interview[[/note]].

* [[ACupAngst A-Cup Angst]]: She claims that for her to fill out the kinds of dresses that look good on Channon she'd "need to be shot in the back by two cruise missiles" first. Which, given Channon's rather more spectacular figure, doesn't necessarily mean much. Still, Yelena seems to have a preference for wearing clothes that understate her figure, seemingly so as not to call attention to it.
* DeadpanSnarker: See Channon's entry.

* BackInTheSaddle: After years of being a famous journalist, he had had enough with his fans, fame, and celebrity life. He went up to a private residence in a mountain to retire away from people, presumably, for the rest of his life. He only went back because he still owed an old publisher 3 books and had already spent to advanced money. Even when he goes back and begins writing again, he's just going through the motions and trying to just get the books done so he can go back up to his mountain. Then [[CompleteMonster the Smiler]] has a friend of his Vita Severn murdered and vows to fuck over Spider, anyway he can. Suffice it to say, [[ItsPersonal this made things personal]] for Spider and the Smiler unknowingly [[AwakeningTheSleepingGiant forced Spider to become]] [[HesBack the passionate journaist he once was]], the bane of everyone in authority and a man who wouldn't be [[TheDeterminator deterred even from threat of death.]]

* MisanthropeSupreme: He wants to be President because he hates everyone and wants to fuck with them.

--> You take care of yourself, man. You never did anything wrong by me.

* {{Stripperiffic}}: Quite often.

* NotEvilJustMisunderstood: Spider saw the man as pure evil. What he finds is a lazy, venal and incredibly cynical man, but one who has genuinely done his best.

* BodyguardBabes

* StatuesqueStunner

* NotEvilJustMisunderstood: Spider saw the man as pure evil. What he finds is an incredibly cynical man.

* KnightInSourArmor: The key to his Jerkass facade. The reason he's so pissed all the time is because he's been MaddenIntoMisanthropy at how the powerful abuse the powerless for money, power, votes, or just for the hell of it, and all he can see is how ''pointless'' all that is in a world full of wondrous technology that could cure all ills but somehow hasn't managed to do so. His entire reason for being an IntrepidReporter is exposing such actions, praising human achievement, and asking why the latter is necessary in light of the former.

* PresidentEvil: He has people killed to promote his own image, and then invents a pseudo-religion based on them to further aid his career, [[ArsonMurderAnJaywalking he masturbates into the American flag]]. Definitely evil.

* AntiHero [[VillainWithGoodPublicity With Good Publicity]]/HeroWithBadPublicity: Spider's fans either love him and more often hate him, and most public personalities hate him to an extreme. It was so bad that there was once a petition to put a mark out for Spider's life that reached ''500 signatures''.

* CheshireCatGrin: ''SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker'' might be unnerved by Spider's. Then again, the Joker might also be unnerved by Spider's typical drug intake.

* {{Expy}}: His job, heavy usage of drugs, and even some of his looks are based on Creator/HunterSThompson. The personality and vitriol are like a magnified, pissed off version of Hunter S. Thompson.
* GonzoJournalism: He is based on Creator/HunterSThompson, after all.

* IconicOutfit/LimitedWardrobe: Though he has access to any clothes he can think of, he's usually wearing at least some of his trademark clothing (or nude), which consist of black pants, shoes, jacket, no shirt, and his shades.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: 99.9% of the time he's an asshole through and through. He'll cuss at you, assault you and brag about how he can get away with it because he's Spider Jerusalem. But he is capable of genuine empathy, remorse, or gratitude, which particularly comes out in his columns (the non-political ones anyway. The political ones tend toward just repeating the word FUCK over 8000 times).

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: He looks like a cyberpunk Creator/HunterSThompson ([[{{Expy}} fittingly enough]]).

* CheshireCatGrin: TheJoker might ''run'' from his.
** In his first in-person appearance, he quotes [[Creator/AlfredLordTennyson Alfred, Lord Tennyson]] without much prompting. Most of the entire following passage is the same unnerving panel of the Smiler doing what he does best. He does not move his lips, blink, or emote at all:

* {{Jerkass}}: All the time.
** JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Glimmers of it under the Jerkass exterior, but they're generally far enough between that any kind of genuine empathy, remorse, or gratitude from Spider comes as a shock.

* DeadpanSnarker: [[RunningGag See Yelena's entry.]]

* {{Expy}}: Very clearly based on UsefulNotes/RichardNixon.

* BigBad

* PresidentEvil

* TheDogBitesBack: More literally in this case. His entire motivation is that he had a [[BiggerIsBetterInBed "huge wanger"]], and Spider had it removed for tring to extort strippers.