History Characters / AmericanGods2017

* [[Characters/AmericanGods2017OtherDeitiesAndMythicalFigures Other Deities and Mythical Figures]][[labelnote:Click to Expand]]The Jinn, Nunyunnini, The Virgin Mary, Jesus(s), The Buffalo, Iktomi, The Penny-Scouts, The Bookkeeper, Alviss, William "Froggie" James, Dvalin, One-Eyed Balor[[/labelnote]]

* [[Characters/AmericanGods2017OtherDeitiesAndMythicalFigures Other Deities and Mythical Figures]][[labelnote:Click to Expand]]The Jinn, Nunyunnini, The Virgin Mary, Jesus(s), The Buffalo, Iktomi, The Penny-Scouts, The Bookkeeper, Alviss, William "Froggie" James, Dvalin[[/labelnote]]

* [[Characters/AmericanGods2017TheNewGods The New Gods]][[labelnote:Click to Expand]]The Technical Boy, Media, New Media, Mr. World, Mr. Wood, The Children, The Caretaker, Mr. Town[[/labelnote]]

* [[Characters/AmericanGods2017TheOldGods The Old Gods]][[labelnote:Click to Expand]]Bilquis, The Zoryas, Czernobog, Mr. Nancy, Mr. Jacquel, Mr. Ibis, Vulcan, Easter, Mama-Ji, Argus, Bast, Baron Samedi, Maman Brigette[[/labelnote]]

* [[Characters/AmericanGods2017OtherDeitiesAndMythicalFigures Other Deities and Mythical Figures]][[labelnote:Click to Expand]]The Jinn, Nunyunnini, The Virgin Mary, Jesus(s), The Buffalo, Iktomi, The Penny-Scouts, The Bookkeeper, Alviss, William "Froggie" James[[/labelnote]]

* [[Characters/AmericanGods2017OtherHumans Other Humans]][[labelnote:Click to Expand]]Low Key Lyesmith, Audrey, Robbie, Salim, Essie, Sam Black Crow, The CEO, Ruby Goodchild[[/labelnote]]

* [[Characters/AmericanGods2017OtherDeitiesAndMythicalFigures Other Deities and Mythical Figures]][[labelnote:Click to Expand]]The Jinn, Nunyunnini, The Virgin Mary, Jesus(s), The Buffalo, Iktomi, The Penny-Scouts, The Bookkeeper, Alviss[[/labelnote]]

* [[Characters/AmericanGods2017TheOldGods The Old Gods]][[labelnote:Click to Expand]]Bilquis, The Zoryas, Czernobog, Mr. Nancy, Mr. Jacquel, Mr. Ibis, Vulcan, Easter, Mama-Ji, Argus, Bast[[/labelnote]]

* [[Characters/AmericanGods2017OtherDeitiesAndMythicalFigures Other Deities and Mythical Figures]][[labelnote:Click to Expand]]The Jinn, Nunyunnini, The Virgin Mary, Jesus(s), The Buffalo, Iktomi, The Penny-Scouts, The Bookkeeper[[/labelnote]]

* [[Characters/AmericanGods2017OtherDeitiesAndMythicalFigures Other Deities and Mythical Figures]][[labelnote:Click to Expand]]The Jinn, Nunyunnini, The Virgin Mary, Jesus(s), The Buffalo, The Penny-Scouts, The Bookkeeper[[/labelnote]]

* [[Characters/AmericanGods2017TheOldGods The Old Gods]][[labelnote:Click to Expand]]Bilquis, The Zoryas, Czernobog, Mr. Nancy, Mr. Jacquel, Mr. Ibis, The Jinn, Vulcan, Easter, Mama-Ji, Argus, Bast[[/labelnote]]

* [[Characters/AmericanGods2017OtherDeitiesAndMythicalFigures Other Deities and Mythical Figures]][[labelnote:Click to Expand]]Nunyunnini, The Virgin Mary, Jesus(s), The Buffalo, The Penny-Scouts, The Bookkeeper[[/labelnote]]

[[foldercontrol]]

!Main

[[folder:Shadow]]
!!Shadow Moon
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/moon_shadow.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:250:''"I feel like there's a fucking axe hanging over my head."'']]
->'''Portrayed By:''' Ricky Whittle

->''"Best thing, only good thing about being in prison, is the relief. You don't worry if they're going to get you when they already got you. Tomorrow can't do anything today hasn't already managed."''

Shadow was about to finish three years in prison and come home to his wife, Laura -- until with three days to go, Laura is killed in a car accident. Now adrift and with no one to turn to, Shadow is approached by a grifter calling himself Wednesday, who needs a bodyguard and errand runner. But since he reluctantly accepted, Shadow's been seeing all kinds of unexplained things -- and he's not sure if he's going crazy, or if the world truly is more bizarre than he was led to think.
----
* AdaptationPersonalityChange:
** Shadow was an UnfazedEveryman in the book, but here he's more emotional and engaged with the events surrounding him.
** He also comes off as somewhat more clueless than in the book. Due to the AdaptationExpansion of the show, it takes him longer to come to grips with the idea that the gods are real. He also doesn't guess who Mr Wednesday really is until Wednesday tells him.
* AdaptationalVillainy: In the book, Shadow was reluctant to take part in the robbery that sends him to prison until Laura convinces him, because it's implied he's never committed a crime before. Here, he's using his gift for misdirection to try and cheat casinos, well before meeting Laura.
* AffectionateNickname: He's nicknamed "Puppy" by Laura. [[DeconstructedTrope Audrey suggests it's a sign that Laura considers Shadow more of a pet than a husband.]]
* AudienceSurrogate: Like the audience, he's taken on a trip with Mr. Wednesday into a strange world beneath the world.
* AwesomeMcCoolname: Lampshaded by Wednesday, who laughs and remarks at what an improbable name "Shadow Moon" is, guessing that his mother was a hippie.
* BadassBookworm: Shadow got through his sentence with intense workouts and reading. Leaving him very well read, and able to go toe to toe with Mad Sweeney in a fistfight.
* BaldOfAwesome: A bald badass and our hero.
* BerserkButton: Much of the time, Shadow has pretty good judgment but mentioning Laura is a good way to provoke him.
* ChessWithDeath: More like checkers with the Slavic god of darkness and evil. Shadow says he'll let Czernobog kill him with his hammer if he loses, but Czernobog has to join Wednesday if he wins. [[spoiler:Shadow loses, but then gives another wager that he will give another swing for Czernobog if needed if he loses, but Czernobog will come with them if not. He wins this time, but still has to have his one swing later down the line.]]
* DreamingOfThingsToCome: Shadow seems to have some precognitive ability, with future events (such as his failed hanging) glimpsed vaguely in strange dreams.
%%* GeniusBruiser: He can punch out a six-foot-tall leprechaun and Wednesday hired him to act as muscle, but he's a well-read, he was working as a con artist before he met Laura, and at the very least he's a better checkers player than Czernobog, easily beating him after losing their first game.
* GentleGiant: He might be absolutely huge, but he's also an intelligent and introverted man who carefully considers his actions.
* NiceGuy: Shadow's just a good guy, through and through. He tries to be pleasant and accommodating with most people.
* OnlyInItForTheMoney: He makes it pretty clear that he finds Wednesday borderline aggravating, but the pay is too good to refuse and he doesn't have any other options. That said, [[spoiler: Media's job offer is ''too'' suspicious and alarming for him to take up.]]
* RaceLift: [[AvertedTrope Averted]]. In the book, Shadow's mother was African American, and [[spoiler: his father was white]]. Ricky Whittle is [[FakeAmerican British]], and his father was African Jamaican while his mother was English (and white).
* RetiredOutlaw: Shadow has zero desire to go back to prison, and has no wish to start committing crime again. Unfortunately, working with Wednesday often puts him at odds with that desire.
* ShipTease: With Easter, who he seems quite smitten by while she calls him sweet in return.
* TakingTheHeat: He was offered a plea bargain where he would receive a reduced sentence in exchange for ratting out Laura. Shadow refused the deal to protect Laura, even after she tried to convince him to take the deal.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Laura]]
!!Laura Moon
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/laura_6.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:250:''"Death hurts. I mean, mostly that hurt is just absences of things."'']]
->'''Portrayed By:''' Creator/EmilyBrowning

Shadow Moon's wife. In life, she was an apathetic and nihilistic woman suffering some kind of depression, who seemed to only love her husband like a pet -- even to the point of calling him Puppy. Her boredom with their lives drove her to talk Shadow into robbing the casino she worked at, which cost Shadow three years of his life in jail. Her death is ultimately what kicks off the plot -- and then [[BackFromTheDead she came back.]] Sort of -- now she's essentially an animate corpse, able to move, talk and think, but slowly decomposing, and she's looking for a way to come back, for real.
----
* AllergicToRoutine: A dramatic example. She can't stand living a life where she does the same exact thing every last day, even if she has everything else she wants. This first causes her to [[DrivenToSuicide attempt suicide]] because she was stuck in a crappy and repetitive job and later to attempt to rob her employer with Shadow's help because she was bored with her life despite being happy with her marriage.
* AmbiguousDisorder: It's implied she was suffering from depression before her death. She's apathetic to life, full of self loathing, and suicidal (which she expresses as a means to find peace); all signs of clinical depression. Most of her actions in life were driven by the need to drive away the emptiness for even a moment, no matter how terrible the consequences.
* AnimalMotif: Flies -- starting from the one she kills with bug spray at the start of her episode, to the ones that tend to follow her around, because flies are attracted to rotting flesh.
* BackFromTheDead: Shadow putting Mad Sweeney's lucky coin on top of Laura's grave eventually revives her, although her body is still decaying and filled with stitches and embalming fluid.
* BodyHorror: When she refuses to give his coin back, Sweeney graphically describes how she will rot until her flesh literally falls from her bones. Mr. Jacquel and Mr. Ibis patch her up as best they can, but they too inform her that "You will need to tend to your flesh, as it can no longer tend to itself." By the time she and Sweeney arrive at Easter's mansion in "Come To Jesus", her skin is blotchy and mottled, her speech is slurred due to her tongue's decay and she's throwing up maggots.
* CameBackStrong: After her revival, Laura becomes strong enough to [[spoiler:rip apart the Technical Boy's goons with light punches and force open a locked door with one arm and no effort, despite her small frame, not to mention give Mad Sweeney a CurbStompBattle.]]
* DrivenToSuicide: Shortly before meeting Shadow, she attempted to kill herself by inhaling bug spray.
* GlassCannon: She packs a hell of a punch... but she's still a tiny woman (and a decaying corpse at that). One of Technical Boy's goons was able to break her arm off at the shoulder socket with a crowbar. Fortunately, [[FeelsNoPain she didn't feel it]].
* HollywoodAtheist: She is told that since she believed in nothing in life, she will go to nothing in death. That being said, it seems that the problem wasn't her atheism specifically, but rather her violent refusal to believe in ''anything''. She didn't believe in love, or her husband, or her friends, or even herself. Contrast with Shadow, who is a more even-handed portrayal of an atheist, and who believes in plenty of things even if he is skeptical of the supernatural.
* HugeGuyTinyGirl: She is the tiny girl to Shadow's huge guy (and later on, the tiny girl to Robbie's huge guy). Finally, she strikes up a platonic [[TeethClenchedTeamwork partnership]] with Mad Sweeney, becoming the tiny girl to his huge guy. Clearly, the showrunners love pairing up the petite Browning with tall, looming acting partners.
* InhumanHuman: Laura is animate and as intelligent as she was alive -- but her body is slowly decaying.
* IronicHell: [[spoiler: Anubis sentences her to sit in the hot tub filled with bug spray gas she once used, either as a passageway [[CessationOfExistence to nothingness]] or [[AndIMustScream for eternity]]. Laura isn't [[OhCrap pleased]] when she sees it.]]
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold:
** While still alive, she makes many questionable and immoral choices thanks to her troubled mental health, but she really does love Shadow and once undead, feels remorse for the pain she's inflicted onto her loved ones.
** After figuring out where the Old Gods meet, she tells Salim, thus releasing him of being the driver for her and Sweeney.
* LadyMacbeth: When Laura has become bored with her life, and wanting nicer things, she goes to Shadow with a plan to rob the casino she works at, while Shadow is content with Laura and what he has, a reversal of when they first met. Shadow reluctantly agrees, [[ForegoneConclusion and it doesn't go well.]]
* MsFanservice: [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]]. When she crawls out of her grave, she promptly [[VomitIndiscretionShot vomits copious amounts of embalming fluid]] onto the ground. We later see her in tight jeans, only for her to end up on the toilet [[PottyEmergency with embalming fluid violently erupting out of the other end]]. She does spend a good bit of screen time nude... but her autopsy scars and thick stitching send her right into the UncannyValley. They also [[FanDisservice completely negate her attempt to seduce]] Shadow.
** Even in her sex scenes that take place before her death and resurrection, Laura's own disinterest and detachment from them takes away from any titillation that could be had.
* NeverMyFault: Played with. She ''does'' cop to her mistakes, but she downplays them and tries to play at everything being fine rather than actually face her consequences.
* PosthumousCharacter: Subversion -- Laura's death is what causes Shadow's early release, and kicks off the main plot. Then two episodes later, we see her truly BackFromTheDead.
* SpannerInTheWorks: [[spoiler: Her coming BackFromTheDead and finding out ''who'' killed her puts a huge damper in Wednesday's plans -- mainly it could get Shadow to turn on him, since Wednesday was the one who arranged for Shadow to be sent to prison and for her to be killed all so Shadow would be in a position where he would willingly enter Wednesday's "employment".]]
* SuperStrength: Laura is absurdly strong, capable of tearing through normal men like wet paper and flicking Mad Sweeney across the room with a single finger. Her strength is supernatural in nature, so there seems to be a form of [[RequiredSecondaryPowers super anchoring]] going on so she doesn't go flying or wrench herself apart using it. Notably, she completely lacks SuperToughness (as seen when a crowbar from one of Technical Boy's men is able to tear her arm clean off and when she gets into ''another'' car crash that pulls her Lucky Coin right out of her body).
* TemptingFate: She claims to Shadow she's got the perfect plan to rob the casino without getting caught to convince him to rob the place. One GilliganCut later, she's asking the now imprisoned Shadow how he got caught.
* TroublingUnchildlikeBehaviour: She admits that as a child, when she confessed to her priest she didn’t know how to pray, and when he told her to pray for her family she started praying that they would all die.
* ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend: [[spoiler: She slaughtered Technical Boy's goons while they tried to lynch Shadow]].
* VomitIndiscretionShot: When she throws up maggots.
* WaifFu: [[AvertedTrope Completely averted]], as Laura isn't an exceptionally skilled or nimble fighter -- her strength is magical in nature and thus she can cause tremendous damage with little to no actual fighting prowess.
* YourCheatingHeart: While Shadow was in prison, she was having an affair with his best friend (who was her own best friend's husband).
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Laura talks Salim into driving her to Eagle Point, and Laura ends up spying on her mother and her family -- but they can't (or don't) see her looking through the window. Laura ends up deciding that she needs to break away, now that she's (un)dead.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mr. Wednesday]]
!!Mr. Wednesday
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wednesday.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:250:''"Damn right I'm a hustler! Swindler, cheater, and liar. That's why I need assistance."'']]
->'''Portrayed By:''' Creator/IanMcShane

->'''Shadow:''' Who are you, really?\\
'''Wednesday:''' You wouldn't believe in me if I told you.

A con artist and grifter, who happens to also be the Norse Old God Odin Allfather. But no one sacrifices to him anymore, he's forgotten save in history and lore, and so he lives as a grifter, sneaking money wherever he can. But his latest task is to rally the Old Gods -- War is coming, thanks to the New Gods, and the Old Gods may find themselves wiped out unless he can get them together.
----
* AdaptationalPersonalityChange: Unlike the book Wednesday, who seems more relieved than anything that he doesn't have to come with Shadow to Laura's funeral (as he has other things to do), this version offers his sincere condolences. [[spoiler: At least it seems that way, except Wednesday's the one who ordered Laura's death in the first place.]]
* AffablyEvil: He might be an unscrupulous con artist, but damn if he isn't instantly likable. Due in no small part to being played by walking Charisma Bomb Ian [=McShane=], Wednesday charms just about everyone with his wit, his insight, his apparent honesty and his outstandingly genial manner. [[spoiler: He's also casually murderous, imprisoned Shadow, and set up the death of Shadow's wife.]]
* BadassBoast: When he finally introduces himself proper to Shadow in the Season 1 finale.
-->'''Wednesday''': Do you know me? Do you know what I am? Do you want to know my name? This is what I am called. I am called Glad-O-War, Grim, Raider, and Third. I am One-eyed. I am also called Highest, and True-Guesser. I am Grimnir, and the Hooded One. I am All-Father, Gondlir, Wand-bearer. I have as many names as there are winds. As many titles as there are ways to die. My ravens are Huginn and Muninn. Thought and Memory. My wolves are Freki and Geri. My horse is the gallowed. I am '''ODIN'''!
* BewareTheSillyOnes: He may be a charming and eccentric conman, but [[spoiler: he relishes chopping off Vulcan's head after the latter's betrayal]].
* BigGood: SubvertedTrope. He may be the leader of the [[GoodOldWays Old Gods]] in their brewing war against the New Gods, but he's still a ConMan and, by his own admission, a horrible person, so that even his fellow Old Gods are wary of him. [[spoiler: He did after all send Shadow to prison and have Laura killed, all so Shadow would come work for him.]]
* TheCharmer: His method of recruiting his fellow Old Gods to his cause includes showering them with gifts and a ''lot'' of flattery appealing to their {{Pride}}.
* ChewingTheScenery: He absolutely owns every scene he's in thanks to Ian [=McShane's=] performance, and he certainly isn't afraid to [[LargeHam ham it up]] whenever the opportunity arises. His final Season One BadassBoast (see above) is probably the most epic example.
* ConMan: He's a very talented con artist and grifter, with his EstablishingCharacterMoment having him pretend to be senile to get a better seat on a plane. He later orchestrates a rather cunning plan to rob a bank by pretending he's with a security company and pretending the [=ATM=] and deposit box are out of order so people literally hand him their money.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Is first introduced as a senile old man who is trying to get a first class ticket home for his son's christening. His next scene has him confidently enjoying cashews and alcohol in the first class cabin, all pretense gone.
* EyepatchOfPower: Or rather, a glass eye of power. See MismatchedEyes for more.
* {{Familiar}}: He has two, a pair of ravens that act as his messengers. In the finale, he reveals them to be Huginn and Muninn (Thought and Memory), the ravens who accompany Odin in myth. He also boasts of having two wolves named Freki and Geri, one of which appeared in "Head Full of Snow".
* {{Foreshadowing}}: He's constantly dropping hints to his true identity up to last episode of the season, between saying that Wednesday is "his day"[[note]]the word "Wednesday" is derived from the Norse term meaning "Wodan's/Wotan's Day", which is of course one of Odin's ''many'' aliases.[[/note]], his healing touch powers, and his unusual glass eye.
* IHaveManyNames: Grimnir, Glad-O-War, Grim, Raider, Third, One-Eyed, Highest, True-Guesser, The Hooded One, All-Father, Gondlir, Wand-Bearer, and, of course, Odin.
* KickTheDog: In "Come to Jesus", when Easter's rabbits try to physically prevent Wednesday from going to her party, he gleefully runs them over.
* LoopholeAbuse: He's not above this at all. For example, [[spoiler:he takes Vulcan as a sacrifice to himself, since he uses a sword made for him (that is to say a weapon made in his name) that could kill even a god, a technical way to assign a death to himself]].
** Also subverted. [[spoiler: He does the above after Vulcan tries to convince him to wield a firearm instead. Vulcan had long since adopted his own line of firearms as a similar means of tribute to himself, so Odin knew better than to even try to kill Vulcan with a Vulcan gun.]]
* ManipulativeBastard: It was Wednesday who was responsible for [[spoiler: foiling Laura's plan to rob the casino, which got Shadow sent to prison, and it was Wednesday who had Laura killed so that Shadow wouldn't have anyone to come back to, all so that he would agree to work for Wednesday.]]
* MismatchedEyes: His left eye is brown, the right is golden. They both move normally, and considering who and what he is, it is hard to say which one is glass. Even the previews of second season, which show him in OneWingedAngel mode. One eye glows bright, the other does not, but is the glowing eye a godly eye (and the non-glowing glass), or is it an empty eye socket glowing?
* ObfuscatingStupidity: He pretends to be a senile old man to get himself bumped to first class. He does it again when arrested by the police.
** [[spoiler: Repeatedly feigns ignorance of circumstances around Shadow that he himself set in motion.]]
* PetTheDog:
** When Shadow leaves for his wife's funeral, Wednesday tells him to take all the time he needs.
** When the New Gods are discussing how humans can be used, Wednesday snaps that for all the terrible things the Old Gods did, they also gave something back to the humans who worshiped them. The New Gods are just parasites.
* PrecisionFStrike: He's usually talking in a polite manner and rarely curse, but when he do...
-->'''Wednesday''': Serious question my dear, I have no doubt that millions upon millions exchange tokens and observe the rituals of your festival all down to the hunting of hidden eggs but does anybody pray in your name? Do they say it in worship? Well they mouth your name but they have no idea what it means. None whatsoever. Same every Spring: you do all the work, he gets all the prayers.\\
'''Easter''': ''What has gotten into you?''\\
'''Prime Jesus''': I feel terrible about this...\\
'''Easter''': [comforting Prime Jesus] No! No!\\
'''Wednesday''': It's her day! You took it. You crucified her day! When they started following you everybody else got burned! In your name, Happy '''Fucking''' Easter!
** It's a moment of FridgeBrilliance when you remember that [[spoiler: Odin]] was also one of the Old Gods whose source of worship was taken over by Christians.
* ShockAndAwe: Punctuates his intent to wage war with the New Gods by dropping an enormous lightning bolt on the faceless "children" spawned by Technical Boy, killing them instantly as sacrifices to Easter/Ostara.
* TranquilFury: He's good at controlling his emotions, but he is still willing to act on them.
-->'''Wednesday:''' About that little shit in the limo: An insult to you is an insult to me. Don't think that just because I didn't lose my temper doesn't mean I'm not angry -- or am lacking a ''plan''.
* WeatherManipulation: By way of prayer from others, he can manipulate the weather to control the wind, make it snow, or even fire thunderbolts.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Sweeney]]
!!Mad Sweeney
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sweeney.png]]
->'''Portrayed By:''' Creator/PabloSchreiber

->'''Essie:''' You have done me many a good turn.\\
'''Mad Sweeney:''' Good and ill. We're like the wind. We blows both ways.

Sweeney calls himself a leprechaun, despite being over 6' tall. Wednesday hired him to put Shadow to the test as a bodyguard, and... other odd jobs. Too bad his love for coin tricks led Sweeney to drunkenly give Shadow the Golden Sun coin, the source of Sweeney's good luck, now made rotten. Too bad it's also the coin that's animating Laura, and Laura's not going to give it to him. Now he figures the only way to get the coin back -- is to bring Laura back, for real.

----
* AdaptationPersonalityChange: In the book, he stays fairly amicable despite losing his special coin in his other appearance. In the show he quickly becomes more snarky and irate after Laura refuses to give him his coin back. This may be due in part to his role being expanded for the show. He also retains his accent, which he had lost in the book after being in America for so long, and being all but completely forgotten.
* TheAtoner: He fled from a battle after having a vision of his death; he works for Wednesday to make up for it. [[spoiler:That in turn led to him killing Laura on Wednesday's orders, which is one of the reasons he is taking her to Ostara to get resurrected]].
* BloodKnight: He loves, loves, ''loves'' fighting.
-->'''Sweeney:''' Now you're fighting for the joy of it, for the sheer unholy fucking delight of it!
* ButtMonkey: After he gives his lucky coin to Shadow, he nearly gets his head blown off with a shotgun, survives a car crash, gets beaten up by [[spoiler:Laura]], and then arrested by the police. The longer the series goes on, the clearer it becomes that everything that can go wrong for Sweeney ''will'' go wrong. By the end of Season One, and continuing into Season Two, he's basically reduced to the role of ComicRelief due to all the crap that keeps happening to him.
* ClusterFBomb: More or less every time Sweeney opens his mouth, it's accompanied by excessive profanity.
* Fiction500: He has enough gold that he thinks nothing of throwing away handfuls of coins. This backfired when he accidentally gave away his lucky coin, the only one that actually matters.
-->'''Laura:''' How much gold do you have, anyway?\\
'''Sweeny:''' Dunno. How much is in a hoard?
* FightingIrish: A brawling leprechaun with a drinking habit, he's clearly a play on the stereotype. And he's got the accent, which he lacked in the books.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: In ''A Prayer For Mad Sweeney'', when regaining his lucky coin after Laura crashes the ice cream truck that they were riding in, Sweeney decides to give it back and thus revive her.
* TheJinx: Ever since he accidentally gave Shadow his lucky coin, the luck that Sweeney's relied on has gone sour. An angry bartender's gun, which, according to him, should've jammed or backfired, instead shot the bottle in his hand and got glass in his face. Then while hitching a ride with a stranger, the truck in front of them goes out of control and sends a metal pole flying through the windshield and the head of Sweeney's driver. Naturally Sweeney is keen on getting his coin back.
* {{Leprechaun}}: What he claims to be, despite being taller than Shadow. In fact he claims being short is a stereotype, and in mythology the Tuatha Dé Danann -- the supernatural race who would eventually become TheFairFolk of Irish folklore -- were very often taller than ordinary humans.
* MadeOfIron: The amount of punishment that Mad Sweeny can shrug off is honestly incredible. He more or less walks off being beaten senseless by [[spoiler:Laura]] several times and has survived two separate car crashes, at most only managing to knock him unconscious for a short while. In Season Two he outright states that, unlike Laura who's [[DrivesLikeCrazy driving like crazy]], he'll survive a rollover of their car if she keeps going like that. Justified, as he’s not human.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: His reaction after [[spoiler:causing the crash that killed Robbie and Laura under Wednesday's orders]] is a more subdued version of this. In fact, it's this particular memory that makes Sweeney double back and give Laura back his lucky coin.
* PardonMyKlingon: When he realizes that his conscience is going to make him [[spoiler:give Laura the coin back instead of just abandoning her]], he swears violently in Irish.
* PublicDomainCharacter: According to Gaiman, a lot of Mad Sweeney's character is loosely based on Suibhne mac Colmain, King of the Dál n'Araidi, from the Old Irish folk tale ''Buile Shuibhne'' ("The Madness of Suibhne" or "Suibhne's Frenzy"), and thus technically isn't a god -- or even a leprechaun -- at all, but rather is an incarnated folk hero. He confirms this in "A Prayer For Mad Sweeny", when he mentions he used to be a king.
* RefugeInAudacity: This seems to be his primary tactic to doing anything. As he observes to Shadow concerning his [[DoingInTheScientist genuinely magical]] coin tricks:
-->'''Shadow''': How'd you do it?\\
'''Sweeney''': With panache.
* SirSwearsALot: He rarely lets a sentence go by without cussing. He's particularly fond of CountryMatters when referring to Laura.
* TookALevelInJerkass: He used to be a lot nicer in previous centuries; over two hundred years of little to no belief have taken their toll.
* WhatYouAreInTheDark: He's offered the chance to [[spoiler:take his coin back after Laura loses it in a car crash and dies in the process, which lets him retrieve it with nobody there to stop him. He ends up returning it to her anyway, [[BeingGoodSucks cursing his misfortune as he does.]]]]
[[/folder]]

!Old Gods

[[folder:In General]]
The Old Gods of the world, who came to America with their believers. For the most part now forgotten and dying, although a few have found ways to thrive.
----
* DeathOfTheOldGods: They're a dying breed thanks to a general lack of faith, prayer, and sacrifice. They're still hanging on as long as people can remember them, but once they're [[{{Unperson}} forgotten completely]]...
* GodsNeedPrayerBadly: A central tenant of the show, and the main problem facing the Old Gods in America. People still remember them, so they still exist, but no-one really believes in them so they are powerless.
* HazyFeelTurn: The ones who signed up with the New Gods are looked down on by the others as sell-outs at best, but from a human perspective there's no practical difference which group of Gods is in charge. Although Wednesday may argue differently.
* HowTheMightyHaveFallen: While a few of the Old Gods are still quite powerful (with Mr. Ibis and Mr. Jacquel being the stand-outs still capable of filling their traditional roles, as humans never stop dying after all), all of them are shadows of their former selves.
* HumanSacrifice: The gods can be empowered by sacrifices made in their name, and since hardly anyone goes around making sacrifices these days, they're starving. A few of them, like Vulcan, manage to obtain 'technical' sacrifices through LoopholeAbuse. [[spoiler: Although Vulcan did have the New Gods help setting that up.]]
* JerkassGods: They're fairly true to the myths, which means even the best of them are capable of being selfish, wrathful and destructive at the drop of a hat.
* PhysicalGod: Of course. Allied with a few mythological creatures like Mad Sweeney.
* PublicDomainCharacter: All of them are based on either real world gods or mythological creatures.
* TimeAbyss: They exist so long as enough people believe they exist, making them as old as their real world religions. Ostara in particular is noted to have been around for at least 12,000 years.
[[/folder]]


[[folder:Bilquis]]
!!Bilquis
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bilquis.png]]
->'''Portrayed By:''' Yetide Badaki

->''"They forced our queen into the backseat."''
-->-- '''Anansi'''

An Old Goddess of love and sex, said to be half-demon, courtesy of her father.
----
* AdaptationalVillainy: In the book she's a prostitute who preys on {{Jerkass}} clients, but in the adaptation she's a Tinder (actually, a FictionalCounterpart called Sheba) user, so she's preying on a far more unsuspecting crowd. In addition, in the book, Bilquis never [[spoiler:joined the New Gods.]]
* AntiVillain: Wednesday and Nancy don't blame her for making a deal with the Technical Boy, as they would admittedly have done the same thing in circumstances as desperate as hers.
* BiTheWay: During a montage of her devouring her partners, she's shown having sex with both men and women.
* BiblicalMotifs: Bilquis is the legendary Queen of Sheba.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: She uses a Tinder FictionalCounterpart to pick up unsuspecting sacrifices. It seems a humorous SettingUpdate at first... [[spoiler: but ends up being an early sign that she's in debt to Technical Boy.]]
* HumiliationConga: Bilquis' fall from grace was greater than most of the old gods... she didn't die like some of the others had, but she is the only god shown to have ended up living on the streets having [[LossOfIdentity forgotten who she was]]. [[spoiler: She ends up in debt to Technical Boy out of necessity and a misplaced sense of honor as he's the one who found her and plucked her out of obscurity, but she's not happy about it in the least.]]
* LadyInRed: She seems to favor shades of red.
* LiteralManeater: Bilquis is a friendlier version of this: she consumes her worshippers, but blesses them with her powers in return.
* LoveGoddess: Bilquis is a darker version of this. She is the goddess of sexual love, lust and desire.
* RealityEnsues: The main reason of her fall from grace and loss of followers? She stayed near her birthplace of Sheba... in the Middle East, which eventually shifted from as open as the West to a more fundamentalist culture (through violent force). When she opted to come to America, she rode high (if not worshipped) until the 1980s... when the AIDS epidemic killed off most of her remaining worshippers (and closed the door on the lifestyle that kept her alive for ''decades'').
* RichesToRags: From a divine queen in ancient times to a homeless woman following the HIV epidemic. It is implied she may have resorted to prostitute herself based on the herpes on the side of her mouth
* SettingUpdate: A prostitute in the book, Tinder FictionalCounterpart user in the show.
* SexGod: As the goddess of love and sex, she can rewards her worshippers with everlasting, amazing-sexual pleasure and joy.
* VaginaDentata: While it is unknown whether teeth are involved, Bilquis does use her genitals to devour worshippers. Judging by the incident we witness, it seems to be a fairly [[OutWithABang pleasant experience]] that drives her sacrifices into a PocketDimension which the Technical Boy dubs "the Vagina Nebula".
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Zoryas]]
!!Zorya Vechernyaya, Zorya Utrennyaya and Zorya Polunochnaya
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zorya_1.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Zorya Vechernyaya]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zorya_2.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Zorya Utrennyaya]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zorya_3.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Zorya Polunochnaya]]
->'''Portrayed By:''' Cloris Leachman (Vechernyaya), Erika Kaar (Polunochnaya), Martha Kelly (Utrennyaya)

->''"Odin's Wain, they call it. And the Great Bear. It is a thing. It's not a god. Like a god. It's a bad thing. Chained up in those stars. If it escapes, it will eat the whole of everything. So we watch the sky all day, all night, the three sisters. If he escapes, the thing in the stars, the world is over."''
-->-- '''Zorya Polunochnaya'''

Three sisters who are vaguely related to Czernobog, and live with him in Chicago. They are goddesses of the morning (Utrennyaya), evening (Vechernyaya), and midnight (Polunochnaya) stars.
----
* TheAlcoholic: Wednesday brings Zorya Vechernyaya a bottle of vodka as a gift; she chugs half of it immediately and shows no sign that it affected her.
* BadLiar: Despite what Zorya Vechernyaya claims, she shows no finesse with lying after reading Shadow's fortune. [[DownplayedTrope However, it’s implied]] his future is so horrible that it caught her off guard.
* BarrierMaiden: Zorya Polunochnaya says that the three sisters are responsible for keeping watch over a great evil bear that is chained in the sky. If it escapes, it will devour the world.
* {{Bookworm}}: Zorya Utrennyaya seems to be one, since Wednesday brought her a stack of erotic romance novels as a gift.
* CanonForeigner: Zorya Polunochnaya is not actually one of the Zoryas from Slavic myth, having been invented for the novel and the show. It can only be presumed that she was thought up in the world of American Gods but not in ours.
* CoolOldLady: Zorya Vechernyaya is clearly quite old, even by the standards of the Old Gods. However, she still quite friendly, managing to strike up a rapport with Shadow and enjoying Wednesday’s attempts to seduce her.
* DiedInYourArmsTonight: [[spoiler: Zorya Vechernyaya is one of the many casualties of the Old Gods and dies in Wednesdays arms after being shot through the chest. Czernobog declares vengance on whoever killed her and curses them.]]
* DirtyOldWoman: Zorya Utrennyaya appears as a middle-aged woman, and Wednesday gives her a number of erotic novels as a gift.
* FortuneTeller: Both Zorya Utrennyaya and Zorya Vechernyaya do this to keep money coming in. Vechernyaya says she gets more money, because she can lie better, and tell people what they want to hear. Zorya Polunochnaya can also tell fortunes, but she likely doesn't do it for the general public, as they're asleep during the night when she's awake.
* HeavySleeper: Zorya Polunochnaya appears to be one, but that's only because she's only usually awake late at night when most are in bed.
* TheHecateSisters: As in the book, the sisters appear to be different ages. Polunochnaya is the Maiden, Untrennyaya the Mother, and Vechernyaya the Crone.
* NoSenseOfPersonalSpace: Zorya Polunochnaya doesn't seem to have much of one, as she follows up her decision to test out kissing on Shadow by bluntly saying "we do this now" and doing so, then clinically speaking about the experience as if that weren't at all bizarre.
* TheQuietOne: Unlike her sisters, Zorya Utrennyaya never actually says anything throughout her appearance, communicating entirely with expressions and body language.
* RichesToRags: Not quite Rags, as they get by and have a large enough home for all of them. However, even compared to the other Old gods the Zoryas have fallen pretty far, having once been the daughters of their head god and guardians of the morning, evening and night respectively, worshiped and attended to by hundreds of willing followers. Wednesday manages to tempt Zoyra Vechernyaya to his cause by reminding her of her glory days and offering to bring them back.
* SacredHospitality: It's Zorya Vechernyaya's dinner invitation to Wednesday that keeps Czernobog from tossing Wednesday and Shadow out immediately when he gets home.
* SelfDeprecation: Zorya Vechernyaya openly admits she is not a good cook, as when she was young she had hundreds of servants who did it all for her, and now she’s simply too old and set in her ways to learn.
* ThickerThanWater: Zorya Vechernyaya doesn't especially like Czernobog, but she and her sisters stay with him because they're related and "family is who you survive with when you need to survive, even if you don't like them."
* VirginPower: Zorya Polunochnaya says that her fortunetelling skills are the best among her sisters because she's a virgin.
* VodkaDrunkenski: Zorya Vechernyaya is more Slavic than Russian, but the trope still applies, given that Wednesday's gift to her is a bottle of vodka, half of which she seems to finish off in a single gulp.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Czernobog]]
!!Czernobog
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/czernobog_0.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:250:''" So I got job on killing floor as a knocker. It was a good job. Yeah, skilled labor. A cow comes up the ramp. Boom, boom, boom. And you take a sledge hammer, and--Boop! You knock the cow dead. It takes strength."'']]

->'''Portrayed By:''' Creator/PeterStormare

->''"So, at sunrise, I get to knock your brains out, and you will go down on your knees willingly. It's good. A shame. You're my only black friend."''

Slavic god of darkness and evil who suspects Mr. Wednesday's motives and is reluctant to lend his aid.
----
* BloodKnight: He absolutely ''delights'' on killing things.
* CainAndAbel: Zigzagged. Czernobog's brother was considered the good one solely because he had fair hair while Czernobog had dark hair. However, Czernobog is a colossal {{Jerkass}} who loves killing.
* ChessWithDeath: Shadow plays him in a game of checkers (due to it being more of a game of equals), with the condition that if Shadow wins, Czernobog joins Wednesday's cause, but if Shadow loses, Czernobog crushes his brains with his hammer. [[spoiler:Shadow loses, but then gives another wager that he will give another swing for Czernobog if needed if he loses, but Czernobog will come with them if not. He wins this time, but still has to have his one swing later down the line.]]
* CompositeCharacter: Czernobog is the God of Darkness, with the Christianization of Easter Europe equating him to the Devil. In the series, Wednesday refers to him as a God of Death, something Mr. Ibis repeats in the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlGA4l2irbg Season One recap]], a role kept by the god Veles/Volos in Slavic Mythology.
* DarkIsEvil: Since Czernobog had dark hair, and his brother had light, people assumed Czernobog was the "bad" one, an assumption Czernobog eventually decided to conform to. Czernobog says that as they got older, both brothers are now "gray."
* DropTheHammer: His WeaponOfChoice is a cattle-killing old iron hammer. When he wields it, it seems to literally bleed from its prior victims.
* TheGrimReaper: Is referred to as a "god of death" by Wednesday in "[[Recap/AmericanGodsEpisode5LemonScentedYou Lemon Scented You]]."
* HowTheMightyHaveFallen: He hasn't been the fearsome Czernobog, God of Darkness, in a long time.
-->'''Czernobog''': I think in old country, you know, I'm forgotten. Here, I'm like a bad memory.
* {{Jerkass}}: Czernobog is extremely rude, more to Wednesday than Shadow, though he still bets Shadow's life against joining Wednesday's efforts. Though to be fair to him, Wednesday is clearly a conman and a cheat, as he himself admits, and it's implied he has previously screwed over Czernobog. It's no wonder Czernobog is so hostile to him.
* MustHaveNicotine: In every scene he is in he is seen smoking a cigarette. When he finishes a cigarette, he immediately lights up another one and continues with it. He is even offered a large box of cigarettes from Wednesday to bribe his hospitality.
--> '''Shadow:''' Seriously, are you not worried about cancer?
--> '''Czernobog:''' I ''am'' cancer. Do you know why I like cigarettes? Because they remind me of offerings that was burnt in my honor. The smoke rising up to the sky as they begged for my approval. My favor.
* RetiredBadass: Czernobog was a very powerful god of darkness once upon a time, but his days are long past him.
* SacredHospitality: As much as Czernobog hates Wednesday, he won't kick him out of his house because Zorya Vechernyaya promised to make him dinner.
* SocietyMarchesOn: He notes the irony of it to Shadow, as he was considered "black" in his time due to his dark hair which led to him being seen as evil compared to his fair-haired "white" brother, but now that the world's gotten bigger and terminology has changed he's considered white compared to Shadow.
* SmokyVoice: Considering how often he is seen smoking, this is no surprise.
* ThenLetMeBeEvil: The way he tells it, everyone assumed he was the "evil" brother because he was the dark one, so he decided to become the bad one.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mr. Nancy]]
!!Mr. Nancy
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mrnancy.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:250:''"Angry gets shit done."'']]
->'''Portrayed By:''' Creator/OrlandoJones

->''"Once upon a time, a man got fucked. Now, how's that for a story? Because that's the story of black men in America."''

Compe Anansi, spider and trickster hero of West-African folktales.
----
* AdaptationalJobChange: In the book (and it's spin-off), Mr. Nancy doesn't have a conventional job. Here's he's a tailor of fine suits.
* AdaptationPersonalityChange: Anansi in the book (and its spin-off) is an easy-going jokester with a love of tale-telling, music and raunchy humour. In the show, he uses his stories to ''rile people up'' and the lessons he imparts with his stories are much more carefully picked for the sake of whatever agenda he is going for at the time. [[AdaptationalJerkass He is also much more sarcastic, dismissive]] and is more likely to perceive slights to himself based on his race.
* AgeLift: In the books Nancy's preferred form is that of an old man, perhaps in his 70s or his 80s. Orlando Jones isn't exactly young, but he's certainly no geezer.
* AnachronismStew: He appears to the slaves in 1692 in a Jazz Age suit and tie, talking in an old-fashioned New Orleans accent about the racism faced by black people for the next few centuries.
-->'''Mr. Nancy''': Shit, you all don't know you're black yet.
* CatchPhrase: "Angry gets shit done."
* CharacterTics: Whenever he gets [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness especially serious]], he switches from his modern American accent to his original African accent.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Implied in "House on the Rock", his ethereal form within Wednesday's mind sporting many scars on his back, implying Nancy himself was a victim of the slave trade. He claims he has been at war since the Portugese invaded Ghana's Gold Coast in 1482.
* EthnicGod: Being a god from the cradle of civilization brought to the [=US=] through the belief of his enslaved worshippers, he behaves very much like an African American citizen of the states, making various jokes and remarks at the expense of white people and getting offended when Mr. Wednesday brings him a bucket of fried chicken to eat.
* ExactWords: Nancy doesn't mince words when talking to the slaves. He's [[BrutalHonesty very clear on the realities of the situation]]. But he still leaves out a lot of information in order to provoke a specific reaction and get sacrifices for himself.
* FashionDesigner: He's a bespoke tailor, which makes sense since spiders spin silk.
* {{Familiar}}: Not only does he transform into a spider, he also keeps a number of spiders that produce spidersilk and aid him in his work.
* ItsAllAboutMe: Nancy convinces a cargo of slaves to burn themselves and their captors, an act of defiance which is in fact worship of him: burning a sacrifice is one of the oldest forms. By modern times, Mr. Nancy seems to have developed some level of empathy towards his worshipper's descendants.
* LargeHam: Generally used to complement his stories, but going with his overall personality Nancy has a flair for the dramatic, verbally and visually; even conjuring up a spotlight and music to add to the interest before starting one of his stories.
* OhMeAccentsSlipping: Deliberately. In his speech to the slaves, he speaks in a very modern form of African-American ebonics (foreshadowing the black race's future in America), but when he directly gives orders to one of them, his accent becomes distinctly more African.
* SarcasticDevotee: While he is on-board with Wednesday's plans, he is the first to make a quip at his expense as well, especially when someone does something crazy (like parking his car on the tracks to crash the train Shadow was on) or just for fun (calling Shadow an idiot multiple times).
* SeenItAll: In "The Greatest Story Ever Told", he explains that the reason why he does not join with the New Gods is that he knows a good-on-paper deal when he sees one, citing human trafficking, the prison industry and systematic racism that African Americans face as a comparison.
* SharpDressedMan: Nancy wears a colourful suit, which he notes is dyed with indigo that his followers farm.
* SlaveLiberation: His EstablishingCharacterMoment is motivating a ship full of slaves to slaughter their captors by explaining what awaits them in America.
* TheStoryteller: Always has a story to tell.
* TheTrickster: He's one of the original trickster gods.
* UnlimitedWardrobe: He has a nice collection of very fine, very colorful suits.
* VoluntaryShapeshifting: Anansi appears in his spider form several times, once even to free Wednesday from handcuffs.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mr. Jacquel]]
!!Mr. Jacquel
->'''Portrayed By:''' Chris Obi

->''"I wish I were a mere thief, come to steal your valuables."''

The Egyptian god of the dead, Anubis. He runs a funeral home with Mr. Ibis.
----
* DontFearTheReaper: Jacquel is shown to be kind and gentle to the souls he guides to the afterlife, although he can become hostile to those souls that try to bargain with him to reach a better afterlife.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: His first introduction in the show is him visiting a woman who had just died. Before guiding her into the afterlife, he samples the curry she was making, compliments her skill as a chef, and allows her to tidy up her body so that she will be later found by her in family in a more presentable condition.
* ItIsPronouncedTroPay: French-esque pronunciation "juh-kell."
* NiceGuy: Jacquel is quite kind and gentle with the souls he shepherds, such as softly explaining to one woman she had died, allowing her to make her corpse more presentable for her family to find, and even complimenting her cooking before leaving. While he does get angrily with Laura’s disrespect and attempts to escape her fate, when they meet again he gently tends to her decaying body and encourages her to take better care as it won’t heal anymore.
* {{Psychopomp}}: His role in myth; he guides souls of the deceased into the afterlife to be judged.
* SeenItAll: Jacquel has very little patience for obstinate souls he shepherds. As he points out, he's dealt with kings and emperors, and has been bribed, threatened and pleaded with countless times: what can one soul offer that thousands hasn't before. He even doubts that he will remember Laura the moment she has left his sight. This air notably gets deflated very quickly when Laura disappears.
* VoluntaryShapeshifting: He can assume the form of a jackal, and also appears as a doberman pinscher.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mr. Ibis]]
!! Mr. Ibis
->'''Portrayed By:''' Demore Barnes

->''"Gods are great, but people are greater. For it is in their hearts that gods are born, and to their hearts that they return. Gods live and gods die."''

The Egyptian god of wisdom, knowledge and writing, Thoth. He runs a funeral home with Mr. Jacquel. He is also the author of ''Coming to America'', a collection of stories of how the Old Gods arrived at the New World.
----
* CreepyMortician: Not necessarily creepy, but his cheerful black humour [[spoiler:when he and Mr. Jacquel tend to the newly undead Laura Moon]] is rather offbeat.
-->'''Mr. Ibis:''' ([[spoiler:to Laura]]) Don't move -- you're still tacky!
* ItIsPronouncedTroPay: Pronounced "ib-biss" rather than "eye-biss."
* TheNarrator: He narrates the openings for several episodes, which relate a story of how one of the Old Gods deals with the New World.
* TheOmniscient: Possibly. At least a few of his stories end with [[UndeadAuthor no survivors]], and in the case of Nunyunnini, not even the god in question is around to tell it anymore, suggesting he has some form of this when it comes to his stories.
* TheStoryteller: He often writes tales of how the Old Gods came to America with it appearing to be some ability to view the past with each story having some connection to the modern day storyline. "A Prayer for Mad Sweeney" implies that he has an need to write them.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Jinn]]
!!The Jinn
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jinn.png]]
->'''Portrayed By:''' Mousa Kraish

->''"If I could grant wishes, do you think I'd be driving a cab?"''

A mythical being of fire, currently working as a cab driver.
----
* BenevolentGenie: Despite his claim that he doesn't grant wishes, he does grant Salim his heart's desire: [[spoiler:by swapping his and Salim's identities, the Ifrit frees Salim from a life he found utterly miserable and gives him a chance to start anew.]]
* FireballEyeballs: His eyes appear to be on fire. He wears sunglasses to cover them up.
* SharpDressedMan: He's dressed very nicely in the present, when he meets with Wednesday -- [[spoiler: he's still wearing Salim's suit]].
* SunglassesAtNight: He wears them to hide his FireballEyeballs.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Vulcan]]
!!Vulcan
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/vulcan.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"I was a story people forgot to remember to tell. And they gave me a gun. They put power back in my hand, and I gotta tell ya, it feels good. Every bullet fired in a crowded movie theater is a prayer in my name. And that prayer makes 'em wanna pray even harder."'']]

->'''Portrayed By:''' Corbin Bernsen

->''"You are what you worship. God of the volcano. Those who worship hold a volcano in the palm of their hand. It’s filled with prayers in my name. The power of fire is [[MoreDakka firepower]]. Not god, but godlike. And they believe. It fills their spirits every time they pull the trigger. They feel my heat on their hip and it keeps them warm at night."''

The ancient Roman god of fire and the forge, who's found a new niche in America as the god of guns.
----
* AdaptationalVillainy: In the original myths, Vulcan's essentially just a working man's god who does his job and has an unfaithful wife. Here, he's actively encouraging people to make war on each other and die for his name in a town that serves him like a cult.
* AffablyEvil: He's a pretty big jerk, but he's very friendly with Wednesday, even making him a sword just because he asked.
* AppeaseTheVolcanoGod: Updated for the modern age, as workers who periodically fall into the foundry in his town serve as sacrifices to Vulcan. His modern incarnation as the god of firearms is also considerably more bloodthirsty than his Roman counterpart, as he's gone from sacrifices of fish and small animals to the sacrifice of people killed or injured by the ammunition his factory manufactures.
* AuthorTract: He's in there as a commentary on American gun culture.
* BasedOnATrueStory: The basis for his character, as explained in an interview with [[http://ew.com/tv/2016/12/22/meet-american-gods-vulcan/ Entertainment Weekly]].
-->'''Michael Green:''' He’s a brand-new addition who came from an experience Neil had. He was going through a small town in Alabama where he saw [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vulcan_statue a statue of Vulcan]]. It was a steel town and, as he told the story, there was a factory that had a series of accidents where people were killed on the job and they kept happening because an actuarial had done the numbers and realized that it was cheaper to pay out the damages to the families of people who lost people, rather than to shut down the factory long enough to repair, and that occurred to him as modern a definition of sacrifice as there might be.
* CanonForeigner: He's a new character created by Neil Gaiman for the show. Also counts as a GodCreatedCanonForeigner.
* FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler:Vulcan has joined the New Gods.]]
* GunNut: After he reinvented himself as the patron god of guns, he seems to have acquired all the negative stereotypes of American gun ownership. He even discharges a gun in Wednesday and Shadow's presence simply because he enjoys it. It almost seem like the god has started to worship the gun.
* HidingInPlainSight: Vulcan founded a town called Vulcan, which is built around a gun manufacturing company called Vulcan, with "Vulcan" plastered on signs.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler:Wednesday decapitates Vulcan with the sword he forged for Wednesday, and then his body is pushed into a smelter to become part of the bullets his company manufactures, just like the countless workers he's used as blood sacrifice.]]
* IndustrializedEvil: Sort of. He's essentially industrialized his worship ("franchised it", in his own words), as he's the mayor(?) of a factory town populated by armband-wearing militia fanatics and fatal accidents at the refurbished factory serve as blood sacrifices to him.
* IOwnThisTown: Well, the town in question is ''named after him'', so it's probably not surprising he's the undisputed top dog. Given that he took up the divine patronage of guns and his town is home to nothing but gun nuts, his authority is even more absolute.
* JerkassGod: As the first thriving Old God the audience sees, we can witness how self-serving and arrogant they are when it is possible. Vulcan relishes the deaths of his factory workers, and the smaller tributes caused by his guns (such as massacres).
* OffWithHisHead: [[spoiler:Gets beheaded with the very sword he forged for Wednesday.]]
* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Gladly shows Shadow, an African-American man (one that was almost hanged, no less), a noose hanging from a tree. He also refuses to serve him wine and pointedly asks him if he's ever 'seen a man hanged.' Of course, it could easily be InnocentlyInsensitive, as he's actually talking about [[spoiler:Wednesday, who is actually [[Myth/NorseMythology Odin]] of America]].
* UltimateBlacksmith: Despite reinventing himself as god of guns, it’s clear Vulcan has lost none of his skills as a smith, expertly crafting Wednesday a glorious [[{{BFS}} Great Sword]], encrusted with many runes and symbols [[CoolSword capable of killing gods]]: [[spoiler:the same one Wednesday kills him with]].
* RevolversAreJustBetter: His current WeaponOfChoice is a .44 magnum revolver loaded with his company's ammo, which basically means every time he fires it is a small prayer to himself.
* TooDumbToLive: He chooses to reveal his actual allegiance to Wednesday while the latter is holding a sword capable of killing gods, the very one Vulcan just forged for him. No points for guessing [[OffWithHishead what happens next]].
* WeHardlyKnewYe: [[spoiler:He dies in his first appearance.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Easter]]
!!Easter/Ēostre/Ostara
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ostara_4.jpg]]
->'''Portrayed By:''' Creator/KristinChenoweth

-> ''"Folks would paint eggs with dandelions and paprika, for her, to exchange as gifts at the first sign of spring, [[GodsNeedPrayerBadly in her name]]. Ostara."''
-->-- '''Wednesday'''

Easter, an ancient European goddess of the spring and fertility, whose holiday was taken over by Christians as the day of [[SpotlightStealingSquad Jesus's]] resurrection. In modern times, she still has following and worship, but only as leftovers from her holiday, which has become a Christian holiday. The fact she still has worship, and that she was pretty powerful to begin with, makes her one of the most powerful old gods left.
----
* AdaptationalAttractiveness: Book Easter is emphasized as a fertility goddess, so she is quite fat (though definitely noted to be a BigBeautifulWoman). In the show the emphasis is on her "goddess of spring and harvest" title, so she is a thin and beautiful woman with FlowerMotifs.
* AnimalMotifs: Rabbits, naturally. They're everywhere on her estate, both real and fake and she has bunnies who act as her messengers. She also mentions pricking her ears up when she and Wednesday discuss Shadow's notoriety, and compares Wednesday to a tricky rabbit.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: Easter is friendly to everyone, but at the end of "Come to Jesus", [[spoiler:she declares war on the New Gods by destroying all plant life in America.]]
* DarkSkinnedBlond: Kristin Chenoweth has a beautiful tan and blonde hair -- so too does Ostara.
* {{Familiar}}: Rabbits do her bidding and act as her informants. She also keeps a flock of sheeps at her estate.
* FlowerMotifs: It comes with being the goddess of spring and harvest. She has flowers all over her mansion, a floral-patterned dress, flowers in her hair, [[spoiler: and when she takes away the spring and kills crops all over North America, red flowers grow around her, and on her skin and clothes, before spreading to the wind]].
* GaiasVengeance: Mankind no longer worships the Coming of Spring but focuses in on this Jesus fellow? Fine. [[spoiler:Let's see how they manage ''without'' Spring]].
* GaussianGirl: How Shadow sees her when they meet.
* GoodIsNotSoft: Is presented as a generally good-natured woman (if a bit high-strung) to those she meets. She also has absolutely no issue with [[spoiler:stripping all plant life in America]] when she gets pissed.
* IronyAsSheIsCast: An ancient goddess of spring and fertility who is bitter over her name and worship being co-opted by Christianity is played by devout Christian Creator/KristinChenoweth. But then, Easter has nothing against [[JesusWasWayCool Jesus themselves]] and focuses her ire upon humanity itself.
* LettingHerHairDown: [[spoiler: After she takes away spring]], Easter's tight up-do tumbles down. She even gets a flower in her hair.
* MeaningfulRename: She was "rebranded" by Media as Easter, fusing her holiday with a day of Christian worship. Wednesday makes a point of referring to her as Ostara during his visit, [[spoiler: and she re-embraces her role as Ostara of the Dawn when she rebels against the New Gods and takes away the Spring.]]
* PalsWithJesus: Despite her "day" having to be shared with the Jesuses, Easter gets along with him(s) swimmingly and even comforts him when one feels terrible about 'stealing' her holiday. She even sees them as fellow gods, a sentiment that Wednesday and possible other Old Gods may not share.
* TheResenter: Ostara has a ''lot'' of pent-up rage about the redirection of her worship. Wednesday, of course, pushes this button. Despite her jusitifed resentment, it's actually not aimed as Jesus himself since he's such a nice guy that she can't justify hating him (indeed viewing him as a sort of friend). She instead rages at humanity.
** [[spoiler:Though afterwards, Mr. Nancy tells Wednesday that she refuses to attend the summit of the Old Gods, because Wednesday ran over her rabbits.]]
* RunningGag: Twice in her debut episode, whenever one of her bunnies relays a message to her, she responds with "[[OhCrap Oh, shit]]."
* ShipTease: With Shadow, who is instantly ([[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments and hilariously]]) smitten with her and can barely mumble out a greeting when Wednesday introduces them. On her part, she seems a bit sweet on him as well (and walks arm-in-arm with Shadow for most of the episode).
-->'''Wednesday''': Say hello to Ostara.\\
'''Shadow''': ''(mumbles)'' ...hey, Ostara.\\
'''Ostara''': Always a pleasure. ''(grins)'' Wednesday, [[{{Squee}} you brought me a blusher]]!
* SpeaksFluentAnimal: Unsurprisingly, Easter can talk to rabbits.
* StepfordSmiler: She seems very content with her holiday being taken over, and celebrates it with all the Jesuses (and other gods), which she invites for her party, but when Wednesday confronts her about what people actually believe about her holiday, and how they no longer worship or even remember her, she can barely keep her hostess act and (once in private) [[RageBreakingPoint starts threatening and screaming at him]].
* WalkingWasteland: She has the power to give life and to take it on a potentially apocalyptic scale. [[spoiler:When she sides with Wednesday at the end of the Season One finale, she lets ''all plant life'' in Kentucky and probably the whole US wither and die.]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mama-ji]]
!!Mama-Ji/Kali
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sakina_jaffrey_as_mama_ji_trailer_crop.png]]
->'''Portrayed By:''' Sakina Jaffrey

-> ''"You brought the fight to my doorstep. I have no choice but to resume the lopping of heads, drinking of blood and liberating of souls... that is if I can swap the weekend shift with Archer."''
-->-- '''Mama-ji'''

Kali, Hindu Goddess of Time, Creation, Destruction and War.
----
* DeathIsCheap: When Zorya Vechernyaya perishes in Mr. World's attempted assassination, Mama-ji shows little tact in Wednesday and Czernobog's mourning.
* MartialPacifist: While she has long-since lost her taste for battle, Mama-ji decides to join Wednesday's fight when Mr. World sends an assassin to kill them.
* TheOmnipresent: Because nearly every Motel America is ran by or employs her followers, Mama-ji works at every Motel America simultaneously.
* RichesToRags: She was once a great and terrible BloodKnight savior of the world and embodiment of forces that permeate the universe. With Hinduism such a niche religion in the United States, she now spends her week-days scrubbing toilets and folding laundry for a motel-chain.
* SeenItAll: While bitter by her lack of power, she is fully aware of just how temporary the New Gods really are and is not interested in causing needless bloodshed amongst their kind.
* WarGod: Openly identifies as one, hoping to appeal to Wednesday's sense of camaraderie.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Argus]]
!!Argus
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/argus_american_gods.jpg]]
->'''Portrayed By:''' Christian Lloyd

-> ''"Entropy... leads logically to disorder. All systems evolve towards chaos. Even alliances with gods. "''
-->-- '''Argus'''

Argus Panoptes, formerly a many-eyed giant in service to the gods of Olympus, reborn in America as the god of surveillance in-service to the New Gods.
----
* BlindSeer: His role as "all-seeing" is more metaphorical at this point, having been rendered near-blind by Zeus and his "rebranding" by the New Gods needing an update. With that said, it is implied that he is far more knowledgable than he appears, this being a reason why Wednesday has him killed.
* DeathIsCheap: He has taken many forms throughout the years, each of them dropping dead at some point. After [[spoiler:Laura kills him]], Wednesday is assured that he will come back in some new form.
* EyeMotifs: While looking humanish most of the time, eyes open and close across his body at random.
* EyesDoNotBelongThere: This guy has dozens of large eyes ''everywhere'' on his body. They're invisible while closed, but when he gets agitated and opens them all, "creepy" doesn't even begin to cover it.
* FantasticArousal: When New Media touches the tips of his wiring, both become physically aroused, one of the cords slipping up her skirt so that they could "interface" properly.
* GovernmentConspiracy: Wednesday claims that Argus's facility is a site of many conspiracy theories, including the Deep State to the Illuminati.
* RevengeByProxy: When Hera has one of Zeus's mistresses turned into a cow to keep her away from him, Zeus takes his vitriol out on Argus, the being assigned to protect her.
* SinisterSurveillance: Has become the god of such.
* StrawNihilist: Argus is uncooperative with Technical Boy because he believes that no matter who wins the war, it will all eventually fall to chaos in the end.
* TeamSwitzerland: Despite (or because of) being an Old God rebranded as a New God, Argus has no interest in helping either side. Wednesday claims that his habit of "playing both sides" is why Wednesday had him killed in the first place.
* WetwareCPU: When he is introduced, Argus is seen wrapped in wires connected directly into his spinal cord.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Bast]]
!!Bast
->'''Portrayed By:''' Sana Asad

Bast, Egyptian Goddess of Cats and Protection. She lives as a cat in Ibis and Jacquel Funeral Parlor.
----

[[/folder]]

!The New Gods
[[folder: In General]]

->''"We're the coming thing. We are already here. We are self-driving cars and 3D printers and subdermal time-release insulin. And your old boss is still selling oranges on the side of the road. Not even organic. We are now and tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow. And he ain't even yesterday anymore."''
-->-- '''Media'''

The New Gods of the world. Younger and more powerful than the Old Gods, the New Gods embody modern concepts and beliefs.
----
* BigScrewedUpFamily: Fittingly as a new pantheon, they give of this impression, despite not technically being related. With [[TheDreaded Mr World]] and [[ManipulativeBitch Media]] as the AbusiveParents and [[TeensAreMonsters the Technical Boy]] as the problem child.
* DysfunctionJunction: The Old Gods are odd, there's no doubt about that, but they're also very human. The New Gods act in ways that imply they might be legitimately insane. The Technical Boy is violent to the point of trying to hang a black man from a tree, Media always appears in the persona of a famous character, and Mr. World's incredible [[LargeHam speech about individualism and salsa]] speaks for itself.
* InterfaceScrew: Occasionally when one of them is on screen the audio or visuals will distort strangely, with bursts of static like a bad radio signal. It usually only happens when one of them gets particularly emotional.
* GodsNeedPrayerBadly: However, unlike the Old Gods, they don't seem to need direct prayer and sacrifice. Dialogue throughout the first season implies that this is because they're getting small amounts of belief from all seven '''billion''' humans on the planet. A question of quantity over quality.
* JerkassGods: The three of them slaughtered an entire police station just to make a point to Shadow and Wednesday, and the Technical Boy tried to hang Shadow from a tree.
* OddlySmallOrganization: For being the new rulers of the world, there only seem to be three actual New Gods. Media, the Technical Boy, and Mr World. However there are also [[FacelessGoons the Children]] and the various Old Gods they've coerced, bribed, or bullied into joining them, like Mr. Wood, [[spoiler:Vulcan]], or [[spoiler:Bilquis]].
* SettingUpdate: They offer a version of this to the Old Gods as a form of bribery, 'rebranding' them to fit into the modern world. Ostara became Easter, Vulcan became the god of firearms, Mr. Wood became a parasitic EldritchAbomination, they offer Wednesday the 'ODIN guided missile system', [[spoiler: and Bilquis was given access to a Tinder-like app called Sheba to find new worshippers to feed on.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Technical Boy]]
!!The Technical Boy
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/technical_boy.jpg]]
->'''Portrayed By:''' Bruce Langley

->''"Wednesday is history, forgotten and old. He should just let it happen. We are the future. We don't give a fuck about him or anyone like him. They are consigned to the dumpster."''

New God of computers, smartphones and the Internet.
----
* AdaptationalAttractiveness: Appearance-wise, he's the character who's changed the most from the book. In the book, he's an overweight, pimply teen. Here, he's clear-skinned and thin, although still unmistakably a nerd. JustifiedTrope per Creator/NeilGaiman in a [[https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2017/04/27/neil-gaiman-starz-american-gods-ian-mcshane/100941760/ USA Today interview about the show.]]
-->"Technical Boys in 1999 were living in their moms' basements and trying to figure out how to order a pizza through the Internet. (Now) they are abusing people in the back of Ubers or monetizing fake news."
* AdaptationalHeroism: A self-serving example, but he makes a deal with Bilquis in the show and lets her live and prosper at the cost of her allegiance, while in the book he just [[spoiler: runs her over with his limo while taunting her]].
* AdaptationalVillainy: This Technical Boy seems more ruthless than his book self. In the book, he tells his men only to slightly rough up Shadow in their first meeting and he comes out just with a few bruises. In here, he outright orders his men to ''lynch him''. This goes hand in hand with the above-mentioned update to the character from the late 1990s to the late 2010s.
* BullyingTheDragon: Despite being afraid of Mr World, and knowing he's at the bottom of the new gods' pecking order. He's simply too arrogant and aggressive to be unable to voice his disbelief that his superiors want to negotiate with Wednesday, or that Mr World is willing to let him live after he turns down his offer. This eventually leads to Media knocking his teeth out for being disrespectful.
* CharacterizationMarchesOn: In a meta sense, the changes seen in Technical Boy's character are understandable when you think of [[TechnologyMarchesOn the way the]] [[SocietyMarchesOn internet itself has changed]]. When the book was published in 2001 the global internet was young, relatively harmless, and used for only a few specific things. The internet now however is everywhere in everything, full of violence and hatred, and seemingly all-powerful. Ergo Technical Boy is now more dangerous, violent, and powerful than his book counterpart.
* DudeWheresMyRespect: He hates that the other gods do not show him much respect. When Shadow, a mortal, talks back to him, he has Shadow lynched. He hates that World and Media are willing to negotiate with Wednesday, someone he sees as powerless and obsolete but who treat him as a child. He frequently checks in on Bilquis in order to enforce his power dynamic onto her and threatens Argus when he proves uncooperative.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: He had his goons try to lynch Shadow because he was upset with him ''personally'' -- apparently not realizing the obvious UnfortunateImplications of lynching a ''black man''. After Media berates him for this, he is awkwardly embarrassed at how racist it seemed and apologizes to Shadow:
-->'''Technical Boy:''' We're in a weird place racially in this country right now, and I don't want to add to that climate of hatred.
* FashionVictimVillain: He has a [[UnlimitedWardrobe seemingly-limitless]] selection of truly horrendous outfits and hairstyles.
* FauxAffablyEvil: He makes a token attempt to be congenial, but drops it quickly when Shadow is unable to tell him what Wednesday is planning.
* GoodSmokingEvilSmoking: He smokes synthetic frogskins out of a vape pen.
* TheHandler: Acts this way towards [[spoiler:Bilquis]] and [[spoiler:Argus]].
* InferioritySuperiorityComplex: It is implied by Media that the Technical Boy's habit of meeting every problem that surfaces with threats and violence is born from an antisocial anxiety, especially towards people he has not gotten used to.
* SettingUpdate: In the book, Technical Boy reflected the common perception of the internet at the time Gaiman wrote it: a pimple-ridden and obese teenager who apes ''Film/TheMatrix''. Here, while still fairly young, he's more of an obnoxious, Mark Zuckerberg-esque hipster douchebag who vapes in his pure white limo, and is far more violent, in representation of the overly hostile {{GIFT}} populace and how they have led to increased real-world violence.
* SmugSnake: Especially when compared with Mr. Wednesday or Media, who are charming in their manipulations, the Technical Boy has a high opinion of himself despite acting like an obnoxious brat.
* ThatCameOutWrong: When he had Shadow hanged from a tree, he didn't realize how racist it was to do that to a ''black man.'' After being scolded by Media for it, he apologizes to Shadow for his behavior. See EvenEvilHasStandards.
* TheToothHurts: Media knocks out his front teeth as punishment for his behavior toward Shadow and Wednesday.
* UnfortunateImplications: InUniverse, Media advises the Technical Boy to consider how it might reflect on his image that his temper led him to hang Shadow, a black man, from a tree.
* UnskilledButStrong: In terms of raw power, he's on his way to being the strongest of the New Gods. But he's also the ''newest'' of the New Gods -- to the point that he appears as just a bratty post-adolescent. As a result he isn't very experienced and can be impulsive -- he's used to just getting what he wants through blunt force. Compare this to the Old Gods like Wednesday and Nancy, who might not be as powerful as they used to be but have much more experience with deftly manipulating people do to what they want. Even the other New Gods tell him he needs to work on his public image.
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: When Mr. World's attempts to sway Wednesday to the side of the New Gods fail, Technical Boy angrily asks him why he doesn't just kill Wednesday while he has the chance. Mr. World declares Wednesday to be a WorthyOpponent and when Technical Boy scoffs at him, Media (here appearing as Creator/MarilynMonroe) in retaliation blows him a kiss that knocks his front teeth out.
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: [[spoiler: He is forcibly 'retired' by Mr. World, but not before his creator forgets him, courtesy of New Media]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Media]]
!!Media
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/media.png]]
[[caption-width-right:250:''"The screen is the altar. I'm the one they sacrifice to. Then till now. Golden Age to Golden Age. They sit side by side, ignore each other, and give it up to me. Now they hold a smaller screen on their lap or in the palm of their hand so they don't get bored watching the big one. Time and attention: better than lamb's blood."'']]

->'''Portrayed By:''' Creator/GillianAnderson,

->''"Mass delusions are as old as I am. I was there when the [[Radio/WarOfTheWorlds Martians invaded in 1938]]. What a panic. Powerful panic. Now there are starmen waiting in the sky. They believed it was true, and it was."''

New Goddess of mass media and entertainment, particularly movies and television. The public face and "mouth piece" of the New Gods, and Mr. World's whip/enforcer among the New Gods.
----
* AdaptationalBadass: In the book, her powers let her talk through a single [=TV=] in Shadow's motel room, and once the set is turned off, she's gone, but Shadow pulls the plug for good measure. Here, she controls a few dozen [=TVs=] at once in a store display, and turns them back on after they've been unplugged. She can also levitate and blow kisses of concussive force.
* AffablyEvil: Unsurprising, given that she's a Goddess of entertainment, but she's very charming towards Shadow. She even expresses regret for the Technical Boy's goons lynching him and respect for Shadow's abilities.
* BitchInSheepsClothing: She's a violent, manipulative and vindictive goddess, playing the role of various hollywood starlets and tv personalities. The mask rarely slips, but when it does...
* BigBrotherIsWatching: As Shadow and Wednesday leave the bank (which they later rob), the static changes to reveal her eye for a moment.
* ConspiracyTheorist: Spouts a popular (if debunked) theory about the death of Creator/MarilynMonroe while wearing her face. Fitting, as she is the embodiment of what is spreading the mass panic in the first place. As she tells Technical Boy...
-->'''Technical Boy''': Not everyone believed.\\
'''Media''': Not everyone ''had'' to. Just enough. That's all Mr. Wednesday needs. Just enough. [[WhamLine Maybe just one]].
* DoNotAdjustYourSet: Justified since she's the goddess of television, she can turn [=TVs=] on and hijack programs to communicate with others. She introduces herself to Shadow by speaking through [[Series/ILoveLucy Lucy Ricardo]].
* TheDragon: "Lemon Scented You" reveals more of her role of keeping the New Gods (particularly Technical Boy) in line with Mr. World's commands.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: She has very little time for the Technical Boy and his behavior towards Shadow and Wednesday, and when he continues to show disrespect to Mr. World, she blows him a kiss that knocks two of his teeth out.
* FalseFriend: She helps old gods "rebrand" themselves to adapt to the new world (and thus becoming dependent on the New Gods) and refers to these gods as her friends. She helped Ostara adjust to the role of "Easter" and helped her popularize the old Easter traditions within the framework of Christianity. However, when Ostara begins protesting about her misrepresentation in the media, she begins to threaten her, and tells Ostara that she owes her life to her. [[spoiler: Ostara reacts by joining Wednesday [[BewareTheNiceOnes taking away the spring]], causing potential famine]].
* FauxAffablyEvil: Partly because she always appears in the guise of a famous movie or tv character and rarely drops the act. She implies that they'd help nuke Korea to empower Wednesday in the breathy voice of Marylin Monroe, and later threatens to destroy Easter completely and then calls her a friend mere minutes apart.
* FemmeFatale: Frequently takes on the form of beautiful film legends to make herself seem more appealing, likable, and seductive to potential allies of the New Gods, but it's very clear that she's up to no good.
* InsistentTerminology: She specifies she's not speaking through Creator/LucilleBall but Lucy Ricardo -- that is, Lucy's most famous character, not the actress herself.
* ManOfAThousandFaces: She appears in the guise of media characters portrayed by entertainers of legendary status, specifically (in order) Creator/LucilleBall as [[Series/ILoveLucy Lucy Ricardo]], Music/DavidBowie as [[Music/TheRiseAndFallOfZiggyStardustAndTheSpidersFromMars Ziggy Stardust]], Creator/MarilynMonroe in her IconicOutfit of "The Girl" in ''Film/TheSevenYearItch'', and Creator/JudyGarland as Hannah Brown in ''Easter Parade''. Made more impressive in that it's all wardrobe, vocal inflection, expression, and body language, as each is still played by Gillian Anderson.
* MarilynManeuver: Uses this in a wrongheaded attempt to seduce Shadow over to the New Gods' side.
-->'''Media:''' ''[as Marilyn Monroe]'' [''gasping''] Ah... Isn't that ''delicious?''
* MouthOfSauron: She's described as being the "mouth piece" for the New Gods as a whole.
* PunnyName: Watch your pronunciation -- she's Media, goddess of modern telecommunications and entertainment, rather than Theatre/{{Medea}}, of [[Film/JasonAndTheArgonauts Golden Fleece]] fame.
* TheVamp: She's not above using seduction to try to tempt Shadow away from Wednesday.
--> "Hey, you ever wanted to see [[Series/ILoveLucy Lucy's]] tits?"
* WaxingLyrical: All the time when appearing as "Ziggy Stardust" to speak to the Technical Boy.
* WeCanRuleTogether: She tries to recruit Shadow over to the New Gods side by offering him a job. Later on, she and Mr. World make a similar offer to Wednesday.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: [[spoiler: She's mysteriously disappeared after the Season One finale. Mr. World tasks Tech Boy to find her, since he can't sell war to the other New Gods without his best salesman. Turns out she hasn't so much disappeared as "evolved"]]
* WithFriendsLikeThese: Media's relationship with Easter seems a tiny bit abusive, considering the way she expects Easter to be constantly grateful for the changes in her day and rather quickly has the Children threaten her, yet she still calls Easter her friend afterwards.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:New Media]]
!! New Media
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/xoupjce2i14k31bdyvdu.png]]
-> '''Portrayed By:''' Kahyun Kim

After Media's mysterious disappearance following Season One, she reemerges as she has "evolved" into New Media -- the New Goddess of global content. She's a cyberspace chameleon, who is also a master of manipulation.
----
* CanonForeigner: She doesn't exist in the book and was only created when Gillian Anderson left the show over CreativeDifferences.
* {{Foil}}:
** To Media. Media always manifested herself as different icons of pop culture, who were rooted in the past. New Media has her own identity and by contrast to Media is more in-tuned with the cyber-age in terms of sheer content and how it be manipulated.
** To Technical Boy. Both are young gods associated with modern technology (Technical Boy the hardware and practicality, New Media the software and recreation). But while the Technical Boy is a SpoiledBrat riddled with insecurities that goes after every problem with vitriol, New Media goes after a problem with honey instead of vinegar, seducing Argus with their compatibility. New Media even comments that they are "redundant."
* GRatedDrug: As a New God based around digital and social media, she craves bandwidth and fibre optics.
* TheNthDoctor: A new incarnation of Media, now with a different appearance and personality.
* TechnologyMarchesOn: InUniverse, the reason why Media "evolved" into New Media. New Media is essentially the personification of the dark side of social network sites brought to life.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mr. World]]
!!Mr. World
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mrworld.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"You're a person. I know people. Everything about all of them. You have a name. Shadow Moon. You have a blood type and a recurring nightmare. B-positive and an orchard of bones. You prefer Swiss to cheddar and can't abide the tines of two forks touching."'']]
->'''Portrayed By:''' Creator/CrispinGlover

->''"I get it. I do. You're an individualist. Rugged individualism. It simply doesn't work any more. Brands, sure, a useful heuristic; but ultimately everything is all systems interlaced. A single product manufactured by a single company for a single global market. Spicy, medium or chunky! They get a choice, of course! OF COURSE! But they are buying salsa."''

New God of globalization, and leader of the New Gods. He knows everything about every person, and tends to leave destruction in his wake.
----
* AdaptationalBadass: In the book he was subservient to Media and Technical Boy (though a bit of a HypercompetentSidekick, despite the fact both the Boy and Media are implied to be stronger than him), here he outright leads them and they're all ''terrified'' of him. His powerset also gets an update, with him being a deity of globalization itself and possessing all the knowledge of the globe stored in his mind, rather than just the leader of the Spookshow, a Men-in-Black-style group of enforcers.
* AdaptationalPersonalityChange: Mr. World is a lot creepier and foreboding in the show, while in the book he's just suave and mild-mannered (though threatening in a subtler way).
* AdaptationalSuperpowerChange: In the book he has no power to speak of besides leading his men. In the show he is TheOmniscient.
* BadassInANiceSuit: He's a SharpDressedMan (fitting his CEO aesthetic), probably the most powerful person in the series and the BigBad.
* BigBad: He's the leader of the New Gods, the faction that Wednesday wants to go to war against.
* CoatCape: How he wears his coat.
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: He comes off as a sleazy CEO, trying to buy out the Old Gods with flashy effects.
* TheDreaded: Wednesday and the New Gods alike are all terrified of him -- for good reason, if the carnage he leaves in his wake in the police station is any indication.
* EarlyBirdCameo: [[https://americangodsedits.tumblr.com/post/160696025656/mr-worlds-cameo-in-the-bank-cameras-in-american Mr. World's silhouette]] can be seen in the bank camera footage from "Head Full Of Snow", along with a [[BigBrotherIsWatching single frame of Media's eye]] spying on Shadow.
* FauxAffablyEvil: Acts very polite and respectful towards Mr. Wednesday and offers Shadow restitution for the Technological Boy's assault, but is completely, horribly indifferent about human lives, slaughtering an entire police station just to make a point and offering to kill the entire population of North Korea in Wednesday's name, if he chooses to join the New Gods.
* GlamourFailure: Happens a couple of time during Season One -- the first when he is explaining his powers to Shadow (his face distorts and pixelates until Media snaps him out of it) and the second during "Come To Jesus", when he projects his form onto one of his mooks (which flickers in and out of existence as if the process is outright ''[[PainfulTransformation painful]]'').
* InterfaceScrew: Both [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall in-universe and out]], Mr. World makes lights flicker and pop in his presence and his face fragments and pixelates as he explains [[TheOmniscient his abilities]] to Shadow. Also, Creator/CrispinGlover is filmed mainly in DutchAngle style (swinging from a slight angle to extreme depending on the scene) with copious use of Bokeh camera effects and AdrenalineTime to create an unsettling image.
* KubrickStare: Mr. World gets a long, sinister stare right into the camera (coupled with AdrenalineTime) just before he introduces himself, telling you [[EstablishingCharacterMoment everything you need to know about him]] before he ever opens his mouth.
* LargeHam: Mr. World gets quite carried away when offering Wednesday the chance to rule alongside him.
* TheOmniscient: He knows, or claims to know, everything about everyone, including Shadow's blood type, his recurring nightmare, the face he makes when he jerks off and how many people his mother slept with in her lifetime. That said, his ability seems to have limits (when it comes to other Gods) as he couldn't perceive Mr. Wednesday until a few clear photos of him came to light, allowing Mr. World to pinpoint his location. Wednesday also implies that even ''speaking'' to him when he doesn't know you will [[SherlockScan let him learn all there is to know about you]].
* OminousWalk: His echoing footsteps precede him as he saunters into the Interrogation Room. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]], as he has a literally captive audience and can take his time intimidating Wednesday and Shadow. Bonus points for his footsteps illuminating the tiles beneath his feet -- it would [[{{Narm}} look silly]] if he wasn't so ''terrifying''.
* PerceptionFilter: Lights fade and cameras die in Mr. World's presence. Ironic, as the God who [[TheOmniscient literally knows everything about everybody on Earth]] cannot be recorded himself.
* SlasherSmile: He's smiling all the time in what appears to be an attempt on his part to seem charming and affable. Instead, it makes him look like a serial killer.
* TheSociopath: While Mr. World tries to market himself as a philanthropist that only wants to help the lost and forgotten gods of the past, it is very clear that [[LackOfEmpathy he is more interested in keeping order under his own regime over the lives and well-being of others]], including his fellow New Gods. He hopes to avoid a war with the Old Gods ''by sacrificing the entire population of North Korea to Mr. Wednesday as a gift''. When New Media manifests, he does not react or show concern that the original Media that he has known all these years theoretically does not exist anymore (something that does not go unnoticed by Technical Boy). He goes to great lengths to "discipline" Technical Boy whenever he gets out of line, but does so by verbally and physically beating him in a manner reminiscent of an abusive father that would beat their kid over perceived insults. [[spoiler:When it is made clear that New Media has made Technical Boy obsolete, Mr. World "retires" Technical Boy.]]
* SoftSpokenSadist: His voice only rises a few times during his sales pitch, after slaughtering a police station and offering to destroy North Korea.
* TotalitarianUtilitarian: He prefers avoiding a war at all costs and accommodates to the Old Gods to bring them into his pantheon. Thing is though is that does what he can to make ''them'' suit ''their'' needs and retaliating with a massacre as a ''warning.''
--> '''[[WordOfGod Michael Green:]]''' Mr. World is also been very, very good at making the correct overtures to the Old Gods and trying to incorporate them because he is a populist. He wants everyone to have a place in the new world, just so long as it's ''his'' new world.
* WeCanRuleTogether: He offers Wednesday the chance to set aside his war and be worshiped with the help of the New Gods.
* WorthyOpponent: When the Technical Boy says they should just kill Wednesday while he's at their mercy, Mr. World says Wednesday deserves their respect on account of his age and wisdom and leaves he and Shadow alive to consider his offer.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mr. Wood]]
!! Mr. Wood
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/david_bocquillon_carrasco_screen04.jpg]]
->''"There's always been a god-shaped hole in man's head. Trees were the first to fill it.[...]Mister Wood was the trees. Mister Wood was the forest. Well, he was a very old god who saw something very new. He saw a god-fearing society turning towards complete industrialization. So... so what did he do? He sacrificed his trees. He sacrificed his forest. And he became [[EldritchAbomination something else]]."''
-->-- '''Mr. Wednesday'''

A god of trees and one of the oldest gods in the world. Mr. Wood realized that the old ways were doomed and chose to join the New Gods so he could continue to thrive in a world of industrialization, becoming something closer to a parasite. Mr. Wood manifests as a giant sentient tree out of any object made from wood.
----
* AdaptationalBadass: In the book, Mr. Wood is simply one of the Spookshow, the Men-in-Black-style agents that do Mr. World's bidding. Here, he's a giant sentient tree god that can appear from any object made of wood, and kills on Mr. World's orders.
* BotanicalAbomination: It was originally an animistic tree god before it sacrificed its own trees to become "something else."
* TheBrute: His debut appearance has him acting as mass murdering muscle for Mr. World.
* LesCollaborateurs: He has joined the side of the New Gods to ensure his own survival, to the detriment of both old gods and his domain of forests and trees.
* FaceFullOfAlienWingWong: He stabs Shadow in the gut and infects him with a tentacled, mandragora-like creature that Wednesday has to pull out of him before the wound will close.
* StealthyMook: Thanks to his ability to manifest from wooden objects.
* WhenTreesAttack: Due to giving so much of himself to the forest, this is the only means by which Mr. Wood attacks.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The 'Children']]
!!The Children

Faceless figures that act as the {{Mooks}} of the New Gods.
----
* TheBlank: They lack faces entirely.
* {{Expy}}: The Children seems to be some unholy combination of Alex De Large and his Droogs from ''Film/AClockworkOrange'' and the ''Film/SlenderMan''
* FacelessGoons: They, literally, lack facial features, including eyes, mouths, noses and ears.
* SelfDuplication: "Come to Jesus" reveals that if needed, a single Child can turn into an army of Children, quickly. Technical Boy can also appear in the place of a dividing Child as well, and Mr. World can simply take one over as necessary.
* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: They don't seem to have any individual traits and can be summoned in potentially infinite numbers, yet are very much mortal. And their deaths do count as human sacrifice [[spoiler: powerful enough to make Ostara take away the spring]].

[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Caretaker]]
!!The Caretaker
->'''Portrayed By:''' Eric Peterson

A mysterious old man whom Mr. World meets following his encounter with Wednesday and Easter. He is the leader of Black Briar, a secret government facility that Mr. World uses to monitor and attack the Old Gods.
----
* AmbiguousSituation: While he's the embodiment of Government Conspiracies, its not clear if he causes them or is simply more of a representation of the concept.
* BeenThereShapedHistory: On Mr. World's orders, he orchestrated Operation Paperclip, the Moon Landing, the Roswell Crash, and other such events.
* BigBrotherIsWatching: Can use a surveillance satellite that only the President of the United States has access to.
* GovernmentConspiracy: He's literally the god of this Trope. His facility has access to a above-top-secret spy satellite and can order a hit man.
* NoNameGiven: He's never referred to as "the Caretaker" as it's the name which makes sense as part of conspiracies is not knowing the identities of those involved.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Yes he has access to a beyond top-secret spy satellite but only the President is allowed to use it. He has to be forced by Mr. World to comply and use to locate the Old Gods.
* YoungerThanTheyLook: Despite all the other New Gods looking young and fresh like the ideas they represent, the Caretaker is even older looking than some of the Old Gods.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mr. Town]]
!!Mr. Town
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dean_winters_mr_town_trailer_crop.png]]
->'''Portrayed By:''' Creator/DeanWinters

A member of the New Gods under the employment of Mr. World
----
* TortureTechnician: This seems to be his go-to job, spending all of his on-screen time interrogating, belittling and attempting to convert Shadow while being rigged to a RoboticTortureDevice.
[[/folder]]

!Other Deities and Mythical Figures

[[folder:Nunyunnini]]
!!Nunyunnini
The ancient, and now forgotten, god of a tribe who migrated through the Bering land bridge into America during the last glacial period.
----
* AnimalMotif: He's represented by a mammoth skull. His worshippers, obviously, depended on mammoth to survive and when they migrated to America found little.
* HeroicSacrifice: Nunyunnini tells his last priestess to sacrifice herself to the buffalo god so her tribe may survive, knowing this will mean he'll be forgotten and thus perish.
* {{Unperson}}: Nunyunnini dies after his last priestess, sacrifices herself to a buffalo so the children of her tribe may be fed and adopted by the worshippers of the local tribe.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Virgin Mary]]
!!Virgin Mary
->'''Portrayed By:'''
Jesus's mother. She appears taking care of Baby Jesus at Easter's party.
----
* TheCameo: She only appears once in Easter's party.
* HeavenlyBlue: She wears a blue robe, the staple of Virgin Mary's representations.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Jesus]]
!!Jesus
->'''Portrayed By:''' Creator/JeremyDavies (Prime Jesus), Ernesto Reyes (Mexican Jesus)

->''"I '''am''' belief. I don't know how not to believe."''

The overly empathetic Son of God.
----
* AscendedExtra: He was only mentioned briefly in the book and appeared in an extra scene in the tenth anniversary edition (without it being explicitly stated who he was) but here he's a recurring character -- albeit played by a different actor for each version of him.
* CrucifiedHeroShot: [[TropeMaker Fittingly]], Mexican Jesus ends up in this position when he dies. A bullet wound in his hand looks like one of the nails in the Crucifixion, and the blood stain from a shot to the chest forms the shape of the Sacred Heart. A tumbleweed also rolls over his head and leaves some twigs to look like the crown of thorns.
* DeathByIrony: Mexican Jesus was killed by a militia of fanatic Christians for illegally crossing the Mexican border. But he gets better. Resurrection is kind of his thing, after all.
* DivineIntervention: Mexican Jesus is notably the only god seen so far who actually directly and readily intervenes for his followers with no profit for himself.
* EthnicGod: Interestingly, there are multiple Jesuses, one for each set of believers that Jesus has. Wednesday describes his incarnations primarily along ethnic lines, as various groups brought their own brand of Christianity to America, but as seen later, this is not limited to ethnicity, but to any interpretation of Jesus. In Easter's party there are quite a few Jesuses, some of the same ethnicities.
* HolyHalo: Several of him at Easter's party sport one.
* JesusWasWayCool: He's such a NiceGuy that even Easter, whose holiday was co-opted by Jesus himself, can't really think badly of him.
* LooksLikeJesus: It's easy to tell exactly who Mexican Jesus is from the moment one lays eyes on him. He even gives this a LampshadeHanging.
-->'''Mexican Jesus:''' You already know my name.
* MathematiciansAnswer: Sort of a running joke is that people who encounter Him without introduction are compelled to remark that he seems very familiar, and ask if they know each other - at which Jesus just wryly responds "Yes".
* MesACrowd: A number of Jesuses are in attendance at Easter's party in "Come to Jesus".
* NiceGuy: Jesus exists as a martyr, so it's fitting he's the nicest of the gods so far. Unlike the other gods who demand sacrifice or attention, he just goes around helping people, sacrificing ''himself'' for them.
** Mexican Jesus saved a drowning man from the Rio Grande and died attempting to protect Mexican immigrants from a militia.
** Another Jesus at Easter's party comments that he feels bad that he's taking her worship. Easter notably never blames them for that, and clearly enjoys spending time with them.
* OlderThanHeLooks: One of the Jesuses in attendance at Easter's part in "Come to Jesus" is Baby Jesus, in the care of his mother Mary. As this is Jesus we're talking about, one has to imagine he's quite a lot older than a baby.
* TheOtherDarrin:
** In-Universe per Mr. Wednesday in "Head Full Of Snow":
--->'''Mr. Wednesday:''' Why, you got your white Jesuit-style Jesus, you got your black African Jesus, you got your brown Mexican Jesus, you got your swarthy Greek Jesus.\\
'''Shadow:''' That's a lotta Jesus.\\
'''Mr. Wednesday:''' There's a lotta need for Jesus, so there's a lotta Jesus.
** In a later episode, we get to see several Jesuses attending Easter's party.
* SemiDivine: Played with, as we don't know what the Jesuses' true nature is, and these may even vary depending which denomination or culture spawned each Jesus. Wednesday [[InsistentTerminology refuses to call him]] a "god" as he and Ostara are.
-->'''Ostara''': How dare you. How dare you? [[PunctuatedForEmphasis How. Dare. You]] come into my home and... uncork all over Jesus of Nazareth! And all the other Jesuses who died on the cross and even the ones who didn't? [[SuddenlyShouting HOW DARE YOU!]] These are kind, generous men and they've come to celebrate their day -- my day -- goddamnit, OUR DAY! And you come in here and disrespect them? They're gods for God's sake!
-->'''Wednesday''': ''[derisively]'' They're "son's of", they're men who walk the streets! They shake hands, they take shits!
* WalkOnWater: Mexican Jesus does this to save one of his believers from drowning, while one of the White Jesuses sits cross-legged on Easter's swimming pool in "Come To Jesus". He tries to put his glass down on the surface and it of course sinks to the bottom.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Buffalo]]
!!The Buffalo
->''"Believe."''

First appearing in Shadow's dreams, what he (or it) is isn't all too clear only that he seems to have been around for a very ''very'' long time.
----
* AmbiguousSituation: It's stated repeatedly the gods (Old or New) need at the very least to be remembered in order to not fade from existence and at the most prayers to have any type of power. Yet it's implied that he's been around since Prehistoric times despite similar beings such as Nunyunnini ceasing to exist all together. It's also not clear if he's on the sides of the Old Gods, the New, or so old that he's simply indifferent to the whole conflict.
* AnimalMotif: Duh, he is one. Appropriately, a bison represents fortitude and change among other things which shows in not only the symbolism of appearing Shadow's dreams just before his life got very strange but the fact he's been around so long despite long having stopped having any followers or worshippers.
** As a bonus, the Buffalo was, and still is, sacred to the Native Americans along with the Prehistoric inhabitants of the continent, nowadays its one of the animals most often connected to the image of America. Meaning The Buffalo could very well be an American God.
* FireballEyeballs: Although unlike the Jinn, the fire is spraying out of his eyes like a flamethrower.
* MythologyGag: Anyone whose read the book will know him to be "The Buffalo Man" only as a large bison with flaming eyes as opposed to a man with a buffalo head.
* TheOldGods: In a show where the gods of mythology refer to '''themselves''' as the "old gods" he is this to them: case in point, it's implied that he's the being worshiped by the tribe that Nunyunnini's people encounter...during the ''Ice Age.''
* WhamShot: It's first implied that he's one of the Old Gods like Wednesday, then the "Coming to America" segment from "Lemon Scented You" shows a tribe of Prehistoric humans that appears to worship him establishing The Buffalo to be older than '''all''' of the so-called Old Gods.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Penny-Scouts]]
!!The Penny-Scouts
->'''Portrayed By:''' Sadie Munroe (#1), Ava Preston (#2), Evylin O'Toole (#3)

The Penny-Scouts are a trio of girl-scouts that look normal at face value, they are actually the heralds to the Bookkeeper.
----
* BarrierMaiden: They operate as the middle-man (collectively speaking) to the Bookkeeper.
* EyeMotifs: Each of them possesses a badge that resembles the Eye of Providence commonly found on the dollar bill, hinting at who they represent.
* SpeakInUnison: All three of them speak at once, cluing everyone in that whatever they are, innocent little girls scouts they are ''not''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Bookkeeper]]
!!The Bookkeeper
->'''Portrayed By:''' William Sanderson

The AnthropomorphicPersonification of money, the process of transaction and the American economy.
----
* AllPowerfulBystander: While being one of most powerful beings in the country, he refuses to get involved in Mr. Wednesday and Mr. World's war when they ask for him to invest in their respective sides, citing that there is little opportunity in choosing one over the other.
* ObfuscatingStupidity: He is first introduced as an old man asking for his bill at the Motel America diner. When Mr. Wednesday and Mr. World sit at his table, he drops the act.
[[/folder]]

!Other Humans

[[folder:Low Key Lyesmith]]
!!Low Key Lyesmith
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lyesmith_5.jpg]]
->'''Portrayed By:''' Creator/JonathanTucker

->''"Do not. Piss off. Those Bitches. In Airports."''

Shadow's prison cellmate.
----
* AmbiguousSituation: While in the airport trying to take his plane ahead of schedule, Shadow sees Low Key walking, though it not clear if it's his imagination, a hallucination, or if, somehow, Low Key appeared to him.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Low Key tells Shadow the story about Johnny Larch, who yelled at a airport worker after he was paroled because he refused to be "disrespected", but it ended up barring him from his flight and soon he was back in prison. Shadow responds that the lesson of the story is that sometimes behaviors developed in a specialized environment like prison can be detrimental once removed from that environment. Low Key says the moral of the story is, "Do not piss off those bitches in airports."
* GoodScarsEvilScars: Has a prominent scars running vertically down his lips and chin.
* TrueCompanions: He's Shadow's closest (seemingly only) friend in prison.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Audrey]]
!!Audrey Burton
->'''Portrayed By:''' Betty Gilpin

->''"I'm trying to reclaim my dignity here!"''

The best friend of Shadow's wife, Laura, and the wife of Shadow's best friend, Robbie.
----
* AdaptationPersonalityChange: So far, even though she's understandably furious at the funeral and wanting to exact revenge (for which Shadow did not go), she's much nicer, more mature and more understanding than she was in the book.
* BrutalHonesty: [[spoiler:When Laura comes back, Audrey refuses to accept any sort of nonsense Laura tries to use to prettify her actions or her relationship with Shadow, clearly lays things out as they really were, and demands that Laura does the same in turn. To her credit, Laura accepts that, and seems to gain some closure and new determination from their meeting.]]
* MoodSwinger: During her talks with Shadow, she swings from being distraught to enraged to mocking Shadow and apologizing him, all within the space of a few minutes. Presumably, alcohol (or something stronger) was involved.
* SpeakIllOfTheDead: Audrey is furious about Robbie and Laura's betrayal, with the wounds only days-old. She even pisses on Robbie's grave, and it's hard to blame her. She probably would have done something similar to Laura's grave, were Shadow not right there.
* WeUsedToBeFriends: She's ''understandably'' still angry with Laura [[spoiler: when she comes to life]]. Nonetheless, she still helps her [[spoiler:sew her arm back on]] and later gives her a ride in her car.
* WomanScorned: Though her husband's already dead, she still offers to give Shadow a blow-job in the cemetery "right in front of them" to get back at them both. [[spoiler:Upon coming BackFromTheDead, Laura admits it was fair after what they had been doing.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Robbie]]
!!Robbie Burton
->'''Portrayed By:''' Creator/DaneCook

Shadow's best friend who's secretly having an affair with Shadow's wife while he's in prison.
----
* AssShove: His vengeful wife Audrey has his [[GroinAttack severed penis]] shoved up there before putting him in his grave.
* GroinAttack: During the car accident that killed them both, Laura was giving Robbie a blowjob, resulting in Laura unintentionally biting off his penis.
* PosthumousCharacter: Robbie starts out as a WeHardlyKnewYe -- he died in the same car crash that Laura did, and all we see of him is the picture of him in the newspaper article about the crash. He graduates to this trope when we see scenes of his helping Shadow find legit work, and then of his affair with Laura, in Episode 4, which details Laura's backstory.
* YourCheatingHeart: He was having an affair with his wife's best friend and his best friend's wife, while the latter was in prison.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Salim]]
!!Salim
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/salim.jpg]]
->'''Portrayed By:''' Omid Abtahi

An Omani salesman who has a chance encounter with a Jinn.
----
* AscendedExtra: In the book, Salim was only featured in one chapter, which was about his encounter with the Jinn, and then briefly alluded to in another chapter. In the series, Salim joins Sweeney and Laura on their roadtrip.
* TheDogBitesBack: An understated example. He takes Sweeney's thinly veiled gay jokes and aggressive behavior with mere annoyance during their trip, but as soon as Laura tells him where the Jinn is going to be, he quickly insults Sweeney a few times before driving off.
* {{Foil}}: To Laura. Both Salim and Laura are ordinary people who have given up their past lives when they were pulled into the supernatural unexpectedly and motivated by love. Salim, though, is far more idealistic and willing to seem happy than Laura.
* SparedByTheAdaptation: Late into the book, a throwaway line implies that he was killed as collateral damage in the war between the Old and New Gods. He had switched identities with the Jinn who returned to the Middle East with Salim mistakingly killed by the New Gods.
* StepfordSmiler: Salim is quite miserable, but he forces himself to put on a cheerful appearance because his profession as a salesman demands it. After his encounter with the Jinn and giving up his old life, he's genuinely smiling and far more positive to the point of idealistic.
* StraightGay: He is, if nothing else, interested in the Jinn. Justified: Salim came from Oman, which discriminates against LGBT people to this day -- he probably learned the hard way to show no stereotypical behaviour.
* TokenHuman: In the trio between himself, [[TheUndead Laura]], and [[{{Leprechaun}} Mad Sweeney]], he's the only one without any supernatural bent. Ironically, he's also the TokenReligiousTeammate as a result of this detachment from the supernatural.
* TokenReligiousTeammate: Between him, Laura, and Sweeney, Salim is the only one who believes in anything... or anyone. Interestingly, [[TokenHuman he's also the only member of their group who isn't somehow supernatural]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Essie]]
!!Essie Macgowan
->'''Portrayed By:''' Creator/EmilyBrowning, Fionula Flanagan

Essie Macgowan was an Irish woman that lived during the 18th century in Britain and America. She was the one that brought Mad Sweeney to America, along with other Faeries.
----
* AdaptationalNameChange: From Essie Tregowan in the novel, to Essie Macgowan to reflect the shift from Cornwall to Ireland in her origins.
* ADayInTheLimelight: Essie's only episode centers on the story of her life and how she brought faeries to America.
* TheExile: Gets that twice in the form of [[SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil "transportation"]], once wrongly convicted for thievery, and once rightfully.
* EarnYourHappyEnding: After a tumultuous early life, Essie manages to find a wealthy husband who loves her and whom she loves, settles down and starts a family, lives to a fairly content old age, and dies in peace.
* IdenticalGranddaughter: Essie in her old age is identical to her grandmother, except for her hairdo.
* IndenturedServitude: Essie was sentenced to become one in the Colonies, twice.
* LastOfHerKind: Essie was the last of her family to truly believe in leprechauns and faeries.
* RaceLift: Was Cornish in the book.
* SignificantDoubleCasting: Laura and Essie are both played by Emily Browning. The latter worshipped Mad Sweeney, while the former hates his guts.
* ThenLetMeBeEvil: Essie turned to theft after she was wrongly convicted and nearly executed for thievery. (Her employer's son gave her an expensive piece of jewelry as a gift after they had sex, and then claimed she stole it when his mother noticed it was missing.)
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Sam Black Crow]]
!!Essie Macgowan
->'''Portrayed By:''' Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs

Sam Black Crow is a Native American that Shadow befriends.
----
*
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The CEO]]
!!The CEO/The Child
->'''Portrayed By:''' William Sun (Child 1977), Andre Kim (Child 1987), Andrew Koji (Adult)

The founder of the tech company Xie Com and Technical Boy's first worshipper.
----
* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: His name is never given, the end credits of "The Greatest Story Ever Told" citing him as either "The Child" or "The CEO".
* FriendlessBackground: Technical Boy hints at this, citing that [[OnlyFriend he was there when the CEO had no one else]].
* {{Muggles}}: He is a normal human who seems to have a full comprehension of who the New Gods are and possesses a working relationship with them. He is also the only human - only ''person'', really - Technical Boy has any respect for, seeing him as his OnlyFriend. [[spoiler:Or so he thinks...]]
* RomanticismVersusEnlightenment: Very much in the "Enlightenment" camp while his father was the romanticist. While his father taught him Bach, the composer's work giving him faith in humanity, the CEO deconstructed Bach's technique into algorithms, created his own compositions on the computer. [[spoiler:It was this faith in technology over human ingenuity that led to Technical Boy's creation.]]
* WhatHaveYouDoneForMeLately: When Technical Boy goes to the CEO to help create a replacement to Argus, the CEO asks Technical Boy what is in it for him. When New Media provides in his stead, the CEO all but forgets about Technical Boy right on the spot. [[spoiler:Mr. World takes this as a sign that [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness Technical Boy is no longer useful and "retires" him]].]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Ruby Goodchild]]
!!Ruby Goodchild
->'''Portrayed By:''' Mouna Traore

An African American woman Mr. Nancy and Bilquis encounter at Mr. Jacquel and Mr. Ibis' Funeral Home.
----
*
[[/folder]]
----

* {{Familiar}}: Not only does he transform into a spider, he also keeps a number of spiders that produce spidersilk and aid him in his work,
* ItsAllAboutMe: Nancy convinces a cargo of slaves to burn themselves and their captors, an act of defiance which is in fact worship of him: burning a sacrifice is one of the oldest forms.

!Other Humans

[[folder:Low Key Lyesmith]]
!!Low Key Lyesmith
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lyesmith_5.jpg]]
->'''Portrayed By:''' Creator/JonathanTucker

->''"Do not. Piss off. Those Bitches. In Airports."''

Shadow's prison cellmate.

* AmbiguousSituation: While in the airport trying to take his plane ahead of schedule, Shadow sees Low Key walking, though it not clear if it's his imagination, a hallucination, or if, somehow, Low Key appeared to him.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Low Key tells Shadow the story about Johnny Larch, who yelled at a airport worker after he was paroled because he refused to be "disrespected", but it ended up barring him from his flight and soon he was back in prison. Shadow responds that the lesson of the story is that sometimes behaviors developed in a specialized environment like prison can be detrimental once removed from that environment. Low Key says the moral of the story is, "Do not piss off those bitches in airports."
* GoodScarsEvilScars: Has a prominent scars running vertically down his lips and chin.
* TrueCompanions: He's Shadow's closest (seemingly only) friend in prison.

[[folder:Audrey]]
!!Audrey Burton
->'''Portrayed By:''' Betty Gilpin

->''"I'm trying to reclaim my dignity here!"''

The best friend of Shadow's wife, Laura, and the wife of Shadow's best friend, Robbie.

* AdaptationPersonalityChange: So far, even though she's understandably furious at the funeral and wanting to exact revenge (for which Shadow did not go), she's much nicer, more mature and more understanding than she was in the book.
* BrutalHonesty: [[spoiler:When Laura comes back, Audrey refuses to accept any sort of nonsense Laura tries to use to prettify her actions or her relationship with Shadow, clearly lays things out as they really were, and demands that Laura does the same in turn. To her credit, Laura accepts that, and seems to gain some closure and new determination from their meeting.]]
* MoodSwinger: During her talks with Shadow, she swings from being distraught to enraged to mocking Shadow and apologizing him, all within the space of a few minutes. Presumably, alcohol (or something stronger) was involved.
* SpeakIllOfTheDead: Audrey is furious about Robbie and Laura's betrayal, with the wounds only days-old. She even pisses on Robbie's grave, and it's hard to blame her. She probably would have done something similar to Laura's grave, were Shadow not right there.
* WeUsedToBeFriends: She's ''understandably'' still angry with Laura [[spoiler: when she comes to life]]. Nonetheless, she still helps her [[spoiler:sew her arm back on]] and later gives her a ride in her car.
* WomanScorned: Though her husband's already dead, she still offers to give Shadow a blow-job in the cemetery "right in front of them" to get back at them both. [[spoiler:Upon coming BackFromTheDead, Laura admits it was fair after what they had been doing.]]

[[folder:Robbie]]
!!Robbie Burton
->'''Portrayed By:''' Creator/DaneCook

Shadow's best friend who's secretly having an affair with Shadow's wife while he's in prison.

* AssShove: His vengeful wife Audrey has his [[GroinAttack severed penis]] shoved up there before putting him in his grave.
* GroinAttack: During the car accident that killed them both, Laura was giving Robbie a blowjob, resulting in Laura unintentionally biting off his penis.
* PosthumousCharacter: Robbie starts out as a WeHardlyKnewYe -- he died in the same car crash that Laura did, and all we see of him is the picture of him in the newspaper article about the crash. He graduates to this trope when we see scenes of his helping Shadow find legit work, and then of his affair with Laura, in Episode 4, which details Laura's backstory.
* YourCheatingHeart: He was having an affair with his wife's best friend and his best friend's wife, while the latter was in prison.

[[folder:Salim]]
!!Salim
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/salim.jpg]]
->'''Portrayed By:''' Omid Abtahi

An Omani salesman who has a chance encounter with a Jinn.

* AscendedExtra: In the book, Salim was only featured in one chapter, which was about his encounter with the Jinn, and then briefly alluded to in another chapter. In the series, Salim joins Sweeney and Laura on their roadtrip.
* TheDogBitesBack: An understated example. He takes Sweeney's thinly veiled gay jokes and aggressive behavior with mere annoyance during their trip, but as soon as Laura tells him where the Jinn is going to be, he quickly insults Sweeney a few times before driving off.
* {{Foil}}: To Laura. Both Salim and Laura are ordinary people who have given up their past lives when they were pulled into the supernatural unexpectedly and motivated by love. Salim, though, is far more idealistic and willing to seem happy than Laura.
* SparedByTheAdaptation: Late into the book, a throwaway line implies that he was killed as collateral damage in the war between the Old and New Gods. He had switched identities with the Jinn who returned to the Middle East with Salim mistakingly killed by the New Gods.
* StepfordSmiler: Salim is quite miserable, but he forces himself to put on a cheerful appearance because his profession as a salesman demands it. After his encounter with the Jinn and giving up his old life, he's genuinely smiling and far more positive to the point of idealistic.
* StraightGay: He is, if nothing else, interested in the Jinn. Justified: Salim came from Oman, which discriminates against LGBT people to this day -- he probably learned the hard way to show no stereotypical behaviour.
* TokenHuman: In the trio between himself, [[TheUndead Laura]], and [[{{Leprechaun}} Mad Sweeney]], he's the only one without any supernatural bent. Ironically, he's also the TokenReligiousTeammate as a result of this detachment from the supernatural.
* TokenReligiousTeammate: Between him, Laura, and Sweeney, Salim is the only one who believes in anything... or anyone. Interestingly, [[TokenHuman he's also the only member of their group who isn't somehow supernatural]].

[[folder:Essie]]
!!Essie Macgowan
->'''Portrayed By:''' Creator/EmilyBrowning, Fionula Flanagan

Essie Macgowan was an Irish woman that lived during the 18th century in Britain and America. She was the one that brought Mad Sweeney to America, along with other Faeries.

* AdaptationalNameChange: From Essie Tregowan in the novel, to Essie Macgowan to reflect the shift from Cornwall to Ireland in her origins.
* ADayInTheLimelight: Essie's only episode centers on the story of her life and how she brought faeries to America.
* TheExile: Gets that twice in the form of [[SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil "transportation"]], once wrongly convicted for thievery, and once rightfully.
* EarnYourHappyEnding: After a tumultuous early life, Essie manages to find a wealthy husband who loves her and whom she loves, settles down and starts a family, lives to a fairly content old age, and dies in peace.
* IdenticalGranddaughter: Essie in her old age is identical to her grandmother, except for her hairdo.
* IndenturedServitude: Essie was sentenced to become one in the Colonies, twice.
* LastOfHerKind: Essie was the last of her family to truly believe in leprechauns and faeries.
* RaceLift: Was Cornish in the book.
* SignificantDoubleCasting: Laura and Essie are both played by Emily Browning. The latter worshipped Mad Sweeney, while the former hates his guts.
* ThenLetMeBeEvil: Essie turned to theft after she was wrongly convicted and nearly executed for thievery. (Her employer's son gave her an expensive piece of jewelry as a gift after they had sex, and then claimed she stole it when his mother noticed it was missing.)

[[folder:Sam Black Crow]]
!!Essie Macgowan
->'''Portrayed By:''' Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs

Sam Black Crow is a Native American that Shadow befriends.

*

* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: [[spoiler: He is forcibly 'retired' by Mr. Wednesday, but not before his creator forgets him, courtesy of New Media]]

* AdaptationPersonalityChange: Anansi in the book (and its spin-off) is an easy-going jokester with a love of tale-telling, music and raunchy humour. His TV incarnation is far angrier and prone to bouts seriousness amid the humor.