Line #91 Characters/BlackLeopardRedWolf


1	Characters in Marlon James' fantasy novel Black Leopard, Red Wolf
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3
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5	!!Tracker's Group
6
7	!!Tracker
8
9	The main protagonist, and narrator of the story. The 'Red Wolf' of the title.
10
11	* AbusiveParents: [[spoiler: Abusive grandparents to be precise, but still]], he eventually flees from home to find the Ku people, who he belongs to. Unfortunately, his actual father and uncle don't prove to be any better.
12	* AmbiguouslyBi: He claims in one of his stories that he slept with a woman in order to gain entrance into the underworld, even though we see throughout the novel that he is exclusively attracted to men. Then again, [[UnreliableNarrator considering Tracker's often suspect reliability]], this may not be true.
13	* AntiHero: Tracker's pretty rough around the edges, but he's generally one of the more moral members of the group... [[UnreliableNarrator or so he says.]]
14	%%* CrazyJealousGuy:
15	%%* TheCynic:
16	%%* DarkAndTroubledPast:
17	* DeadpanSnarker: Tracker has a very acerbic wit and loves to use it toward anyone he dislikes.
18	%%* DesperatelyCravesAffection:
19	* EnemyMine: He teams up with Nyka and The Aesi to take down the boy once and for all after [[spoiler:the boy and Sasabonsam kill Tracker's whole family.]]
20	* EtTuBrute: The poor guy gets betrayed so often, it's hardly a wonder he treats most people with suspicion and distrust.
21	* EveryoneHasStandards: He thoroughly disapproves of slavery, and generally despises most slavers that he meets.
22	%%* EvilUncle:
23	* EyeScream: [[spoiler:In one of the most infamous and graphic scenes in the book, Tracker gets gang-raped by a pack of werehyenas, and then one of them ''sucks his friggin' eyeball out'' for good measure.]] He ends up getting a new eye from a wolf, which just creeps everyone out.
24	* FatalFlaw: The guy holds a grudge like it's nobody's business, and after [[spoiler:his lover Mossi and their adopted children are brutally murdered, and one driven insane by the trauma of the attack]], he's driven insane with revenge. He ends the story a bitter, broken man as a result.
25	* HairTriggerTemper: He gets pissed off really quickly and is quick to react violently.
26	* HeartbrokenBadass: [[spoiler:After Mossi and his adoptive family die at the hands of Sasabonsam and the boy.]]
27	* IJustWantToBeLoved: Deep down, Tracker wants a family who'll accept and love him for who he truly is. [[spoiler:He gets his wish, which makes it all the more heartwrenching when its taken from him.]]
28	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Tracker can be a prick, and he's a misogynist to boot. But he's not a bad guy at heart, his immense amount of trauma keeps him from trusting people. [[CharacterDevelopment He gets better though.]]
29	* ManlyTears: He openly weeps alongside Mossi after [[spoiler:Sadogo sacrifices himself to save their lives.]]
30	* NameAmnesia: Tracker has forgotten his birth name. As it was given to him by his abusive father, he left it behind when he left the house.
31	* TheNoseKnows: Tracker's main power. His sense of smell is so acute that he can follow people anywhere. This makes him an extremely effective tracker.
32	%%* PoliticallyIncorrectHero:
33	* ProperlyParanoid: Given Tracker's [[TheCynic cynical streak]], he's often suspicious of many of the people around him, and often he's right to be suspicious.
34	%%* PrivateDetective:
35	* RedOniBlueOni: He is the red to Mossi's blue.
36	* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Tracker has everything he wants: a family, a loving partner, and a nice home where he can spend the rest of his days peacefully right? [[spoiler: Sadly, things are not meant to be and the past proves to be far from done with him. The boy and Sasabonsam return and wipe out Mossi and their adoptive family, one being spared but so traumatized by the ordeal that she's driven insane.]] Tracker is driven insane with grief and rage, and spends the rest of the book taking revenge on the boy and Sasabonsam.
37	* SanitySlippage: After [[spoiler:Mossi and their adoptive family all die]], Tracker gradually becomes more mentally unstable, focusing only on his revenge.
38	* ScarilyCompetentTracker: Because of his nose, also it's his name.
39	* SexSlave: He's betrayed by Nyka and sold to a group of werehyenas who, in one of the book's most infamous and graphic scenes, [[spoiler:gang rape and suck out Tracker's eyeball.]]
40	* SourOutsideSadInside: Tracker's a prick, but it's revealed that this is mostly a defense mechanism after all the trauma and pain he's been through in his life. Deep down, he wants nothing more than to [[IJustWantToBeLoved have a family who accepts him for who he is.]]
41	%%* StraightGay:
42	* TookALevelInKindness: With the good influence of Mossi, Tracker [[spoiler:reconciles with his long lost mother]] and becomes much happier after they get together and [[spoiler:start a family with the mingi children. But sadly, this doesn't last.]]
43	* UnreliableNarrator: Most of the plot is Tracker relating his quest for the missing child to an interrogator after the fact. However Tracker's tangents and somewhat obvious bias puts a significant amount of the story into question.
44	* UnresolvedSexualTension: A one sided example with Leopard, Tracker clearly has feelings for him that go beyond friendship, but his jerkassery as well as his and Leopard's complicated friendship puts a damper on any romance that may happen.
45	* VengeanceFeelsEmpty: After taking his revenge on [[spoiler:Sasabonsam]], he remarks he doesn't feel much better after what happened; it doesn't help that [[spoiler:Leopard dies in his arms]]. Broken by the experience, he starts wandering the earth until he's arrested.
46	* VitriolicBestBuds: He and Leopard snark at and insult each other often, but it's clear that it's in good fun and the two are good friends despite their differences. [[spoiler:Tracker takes it particularly hard when Leopard dies, made worse that he died in his arms.]]
47	* WalkingTheEarth: After [[spoiler:killing Sasabonsam, losing Leopard, and watching Nyka kill the boy]], Tracker wanders the world alone for some time before being captured by the Inquisitors.
48	* WouldHurtAChild: Downplayed, as said child [[spoiler:helped murder his adoptive family]], but still.
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50	!!The Leopard
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52	An old friend of Tracker's who asks him for help on this journey. The 'Black Leopard' of the title.
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54	%%* AntiHero:
55	%%* DeadpanSnarker:
56	%%* {{Ephebophile}}:
57	* DiedInYourArmsTonight: [[spoiler:Sogolon mortally wounds him, and he dies in Tracker's arms.]]
58	%%* FaceDeathWithDignity:
59	* JustFriends: Despite both being gay and Tracker clearly having some feelings for him, Tracker and Leopard are nothing more than close friends.
60	* GoOutWithASmile: He dies laughing and joking with Tracker.
61	%%* MasterArcher:
62	* TheMentor: He serves as one to Tracker, showing him how to defend himself and use a bow.
63	* OurWerewolvesAreDifferent: He's more of a shapeshifting wereleopard, but it still counts.
64	%%* StraightGay:
65	* VitriolicBestBuds: He and Tracker snark at and insult each other often, but it's clear that it's in good fun and the two are good friends despite their differences. [[spoiler: Tracker takes it particularly hard when Leopard dies, made worse that he died in his arms.]]
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67	!!Sadogo
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69	An giant ([[BerserkButton oh, I mean Ogo]]) who is hired alongside Tracker and the crew to find the boy, and eventually forms a friendship with Tracker.
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71	* TheAtoner: He feels intense remorse and shame for his past as a hired killer, and he hopes this mission to find the boy will be his redemption.
72	* BerserkButton: ''Don't'' refer to him as a giant.
73	* BewareTheNiceOnes: Sadogo's a sweetheart, but piss him off at your own discretion, as The Aesi discovers.
74	* TheBigGuy: He is an [[OurGiantsAreBigger Ogo]] after all.
75	%%* DarkAndTroubledPast:
76	%%* GentleGiant:
77	* HeroicSacrifice: He sacrifices himself to save Tracker and Mossi, fighting The Aesi and his shadow creatures.
78	* InsistentTerminology: He prefers to be known as an Ogo, not a giant.
79	* IJustWantToHaveFriends / IJustWantToBeNormal: Sadogo would love nothing more than to live a normal life with people who care about him and who he truly is as a person. He does get this wish once he befriends Mossi and Tracker. [[spoiler: Their bitter mourning of his death shows that he at least left a positive mark on somebody's life before his untimely passing.]]
80	* HitmanWithAHeart: Sadogo has been an executioner for much of his life, killing 171 people, including [[WouldHurtAChild children]] and animals. But he feels immense guilt and shame for what he's done, and he [[IJustWantToBeNormal just wants to have a normal life, with friends and people who love him for who he truly is, rather than as a weapon.]]
81	* NameAmnesia: Much like Tracker, he has long forgotten his true name. This is eventually what leads to their strong friendship.
82	* NiceGuy: Probably the nicest guy in the story, despite being a feared killer. Even [[{{Jerkass}} Tracker]] is deeply saddened by his fate.
83	* OddFriendship: Ends up forming one with Tracker, despite their contrasting personalities. Tracker and Mossi [[spoiler: openly mourn Sadogo's death]], proving that Tracker genuinely valued him as a friend.
84	%%* MeaningfulName:
85	%%* OurGiantsAreBigger:
86	%%* UnwittingPawn:
87
88	!!Mossi
89
90	A prefect who befriends and eventually falls in love with Tracker, becoming his primary companion throughout the latter half of the story.
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92	%%* CunningLinguist:
93	%%* DeadpanSnarker:
94	* DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale: Invoked. Tracker doesn't parse the Queen of Dolingo having Mossi's clothes cut off as sexual harassment, despite Mossi's clear humiliation and sense of violation, and originally has a hard time believing that Mossi didn't want to sleep with her. Mossi has to spell out that they're in ''her'' city, surrounded by ''her'' guards, and that just because he got hard doesn't mean he wanted it.
95	%%* GeniusBruiser:
96	%%* ManicPixieDreamGirl:
97	%%* ManlyTears:
98	* NiceGuy: Aside from Sadogo, he's probably the nicest, most considerate guy of the story.
99	* RedOniBlueOni: The more calculating and patient blue to Tracker's impulsive and violent red.
100	* WhatTheHellHero: He calls Tracker out on his misogyny and distrust of women, and eventually gets him to face his many traumas.
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102	!!Fumeli
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104	* DeadpanSnarker: He's got a biting wit to match Tracker's, the latter ironically growing to hate him.
105	* EasilyForgiven: Tracker is baffled at why Leopard keeps Fumeli around, even after [[spoiler:his manipulations]]; Leopard merely replies he needs someone to carry his bow.
106	* {{Jerkass}}: He's a rude little shit, and he gets on Tracker's nerves quickly. Though considering Tracker's [[UnreliableNarrator bias]] and his relationship with Leopard, this is thrown into question.
107	* KidSidekick: He is a teenager, as well as Leopard's constant companion as the story moves along.
108	* ManipulativeBastard: Tracker definitely thinks so, and Leopard acts really different whenever Fumeli is around. It turns out [[spoiler:Tracker is right, and that Fumeli had been drugging Leopard in order to turn him against Tracker.]]
109	%%* MasterArcher:
110	%%* ProfessionalButtKisser:
111
112	!!Sangoma
113	An 'anti-witch' who takes Tracker in and becomes a parental figure to him.
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115	* LikeASonToMe: She seems to view Tracker as a son-like figure, though their relationship is often stormy due to Tracker's jackassery and suspicion of everyone.
116	* MentorOccupationalHazard: [[spoiler: She's betrayed by a jealous Kava and is killed alongside many of the mingi children.]]
117	* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: She takes pity on Kava and gives him a home, and he responds by betraying her and the mingi children when he gets jealous of Tracker and Leopard's relationship.
118	%%* OurWitchesAreDifferent:
119	%%* ParentalSubstitute:
120
121
122	!!Sogolon's Group
123
124	!!Sogolon
125
126	A mysterious moon witch who takes the role of leader of this expedition.
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128	%%* AllForNothing:
129	* BreakTheHaughty: [[DownplayedTrope Perhaps 'haughty' is the wrong word]], but she's utterly flabbergasted when she learns [[spoiler:Tracker located the writs when she, a long lived moon witch, couldn't.]]
130	%%* TheChessmaster:
131	%%* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder:
132	* CruelAndUnusualDeath: [[spoiler: [[SubvertedTrope Subverted.]] She's dragged into a portal ''made of fire'', but she survives. She's not unscathed as it's revealed she was heavily burned.]]
133	* DeadpanSnarker: She rivals Tracker in terms of witty one liners, and isn't afraid to embark on a SnarkToSnarkCombat with him.
134	* HeroOfAnotherStory: She's the main character of the sequel to this novel, Moon Witch, Spider King.
135	* {{Jerkass}}: She's not a particularly nice lady, and rubs everyone the wrong way at one point or another.
136	* MysteriousPast: Her past is not known, though this changes once we hear her perspective in Moon Witch, Spider King.
137	* NominalHero: She does a lot of really shady things throughout the story, and isn't above betraying her companions if it suits her goals, but she goes up against some really heinous individuals as the story moves along.
138	%%* NotQuiteDead:
139	%%* PragmaticHero:
140	%%* Really700YearsOld:
141	%%* UnderestimatingBadassery:
142	%%* WellIntentionedExtremist:
143
144	!!Bunshi
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146	* DeadpanSnarker: Much like Sogolon, she has a good few one liners and isn't afraid to put Tracker in his place when he gets out of line.
147	* ElementalShapeshifter: She can turn into a black goo.
148	%%* PragmaticHero:
149	%%* Really700YearsOld:
150	* UnreliableExpositor: She gives several conflicting stories about who the boy is, and Tracker doesn't trust her for a minute. Then again, this is [[TheParanoiac Tracker]] we're talking about; we'd be shocked if he did trust her.
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152	%%!!Venin
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154	%%* BewareTheQuietOnes:
155	%%* TheQuietOne:
156	%%* SacrificialLamb:
157
158	!!Other Members of the Party
159
160	!!Lisisolo
161
162	The mother of the boy who wants to find her son no matter what.
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164	* HoistByHerOwnPetard: Her attempts to find her son [[spoiler:inadvertently leads her great enemy right to him.]]
165	* MyGreatestFailure: She views her son being kidnapped and [[spoiler:eventually falling under the sway of the inpundulu and Sasabonsam]] to be hers.
166	* TheWrongfulHeirToTheThrone: Lissisolo would be a far better ruler than her brother—but unfortunately, that ''her'' is a crucial sticking point, superior qualifications be damned.
167
168	!!Nsaka De Vampi
169
170	* ActionGirl: Nsaka proves to be a tough member of the group, and one of the few females who can fight on the mission.
171	* DarkAndTroubledPast: She was pimped out by her abusive stepfather and stepbrothers until Nyka rescued her.
172	* FatalFlaw: Quite literally her love for Nyka, which [[spoiler:leads to her death when Nyka feeds on her since he's a inpundulu now.]]
173	* MoralityPet: For Nyka. He genuinely cares about her; it makes things all the more saddening when [[spoiler:he kills her when he becomes an inpundulu.]]
174	* UndyingLoyalty: Her love for Nyka is so strong that she's a ride or die
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176
177	!!Villains
178
179	!!Nyka
180
181	A former companion and lover of Tracker who has a dark history with our main character.
182
183	%%* AmbiguousSituation
184	* AssholeVictim: Tracker plainly states he had it coming, and shows no sympathy for Nyka's fate.
185	%%* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder:
186	* DepravedBisexual: He's a former lover of Tracker, as well as the current lover of Nsaka. He also [[spoiler:sold Tracker into sexual slavery, which cost him his eye.]]
187	%%* EnemyMine:
188	* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: He sincerely loves Nsaka, and he feels some regret for [[spoiler:betraying Tracker.]]
189	* EvilFormerFriend: A vicious bastard who's willing to sell his own friends into sexual slavery if it means getting a buck, and also a former companion of Tracker. Tracker tries to kill him on sight when they reunite years later.
190	%%* FateWorseThanDeath:
191	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Nyka is a treacherous bastard, willing to sell out his friends if it benefits him. But his love for Nsaka is sincere and it inspires him to become a better man as the story moves along.
192	* LoveRedeems: Surprisingly, yes. His relationship with Nsaka brings out his better qualities, and his love for her proves to be genuine. [[spoiler:He's devastated and filled with shame after he kills her in order to become an inpundulu.]]
193	* PetTheDog: He helped his current lover Nsaka escape her abusive family, and he never betrayed her as he did with Tracker. [[spoiler:This is dampened slightly by Nyka killing her when he becomes an inpundulu, but it still counts.]]
194	%%* RegretfulTraitor:
195	* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Almost immediately leaves the fellowship with his new lover Nsaka, realizing that his past with Tracker will only distract from the mission.
196	* TakingYouWithMe: He incinerates himself alongside the boy, wanting this whole journey to be over.
197	%%* OurVampiresAreDifferent:
198	* WouldHurtAChild: Downplayed, as the child is a [[EnfantTerrible vicious little shit]], but still. [[spoiler:He incinerates the boy alongside himself.]]
199
200	!! The Aesi
201
202	%%* AGodAmI:
203	* BigBad: Probably the closest one this story has, considering [[BlackAndGrayMorality the nature of the story.]]
204	* DragonInChief: Though he is ostensibly the Northern King's servant, it's really him who's running the show behind the scenes.
205	* EnemyMine: He teams up with Tracker and Nyka in order to take down a common enemy in the boy and Sasabonsam.
206	* EvilCannotComprehendGood: He doesn't understand why Tracker would still hesitate to kill The Leopard, and tells him to either choose love or vengeance when going after the boy.
207	%%* EvilSorcerer:
208	* HeroKiller: The Aesi [[spoiler: kills Sadogo and Bunshi.]]
209	* LackOfEmpathy: He hasn't a lick of empathy for anyone he's hurt or have been hurt by his actions.
210	%%* NotQuiteDead:
211	%%* NotSoDifferent:
212	%%* PragmaticVillainy:
213	%%* VisionaryVillain:
214
215	!! Asanbosam
216
217	* AssholeVictim: Only his brother Sasabonsam seems saddened about his death.
218	* ImAHumanitarian: He's a vicious beast with a taste for human flesh.
219	* {{Sadist}}: Clearly enjoys toying with the young Tracker, and taunting him about how he'll be eaten until [[spoiler:he is killed by Leopard and Tracker.]]
220	%%* WouldHurtAChild:
221
222	!!Sasabonsam
223
224	* AssholeVictim: He had it coming and that's putting it lightly.
225	* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: He did care about his brother Asanbosam, [[spoiler:taking revenge on Tracker by murdering his lover Mossi and their adopted mingi children.]]
226	* ForTheEvulz: He and the boy had no real reason why they [[spoiler:killed Tracker's family]], rather than the fact that they could.
227	* ImAHumanitarian: As well as being a vampire, he's also a brutal cannibal.
228	%%* OurVampiresAreDifferent:
229	* {{Sadist}}: Sasabonsam cruelly taunts Tracker, [[spoiler:telling him how he killed Tracker's family in detail.]]
230	%%* WouldHurtAChild:
231
232	!!The Boy
233	The mysterious object of the search that makes up the majority of this novel's plot.
234
235	* AddledAddict: He grows addicted to the Inpundulu's vampiric blood, and is described as constantly craving more.
236	%%* AmbiguousSituation
237	* CreepyChild: He's so warped by the inpundulu that he's basically become this. Even Tracker's creeped out by the kid.
238	%%* DeconstructedCharacterArchetype:
239	%%* EnfantTerrible:
240	* ForTheEvulz: There wasn't really a core reason why the kid and Sasabonsam [[spoiler:killed Tracker's whole family]], rather than the fact that they could and it ''amused'' the boy to see Tracker so pissed off.
241	* StockholmSyndrome: Tracker thinks that a kid who has been gone for three years will be so bonded to his captors that rescuing him will be pointless, and he's proven right. [[spoiler:Even after he's rescued, he is taken by Sasabonsam again, though Tracker thinks he went willingly.]]

Context Characters / BlackLeopardRedWolf