Blood Meridian / Characters

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Judge Holden

The enigmatic "man" that serves as the antagonist of Blood Meridian. He stands out among the cast for his unusual physical features, his extensive knowledge of the world, his fondness of bloodshed and death and his curiously eloquent soliloquies on human nature.

The Ace: The man does everything perfectly. He's always perfectly composed and never seems to be troubled or hindered by anything. This all goes toward implying his supernatural nature.
Acrofatic: Despite being obese, he's a Lightning Bruiser who can effortlessly weave his way through bloodshed, which only serves to highlight how unnatural he is.
The Ageless: When the Kid meets the Judge again after three decades have passed, the Judge doesn't look a day older. In the final passage of the novel, the Judge says he will never die.
Ambiguously Human: He has the general outline of a man, but it's never made clear if he actually is. He can apparently be in more than a single place at once, and he's unnaturally tall, strong, resilient with an uncanny intelligence and eloquence, he never sleeps, and never ages. He has variously been interpreted by readers who don't believe he's human as Satan, the Anthropomorphic Personification of some disturbing concept (such as war or the evils of humanity), an evil being from Native American mythology, or "just" a nonspecific Humanoid Abomination.
Anthropomorphic Personification: Possibly — his statement at the end of how he'll never die implies that he might be the physical embodiment of something, most likely either war or the evils of humanity.
Ax-Crazy: A disturbing version. He can often keep his cool and isn't as prone to wanton violence like Glanton, Black Jackson, or Davy Brown are, but it doesn't take too much to show the demonic beast he truly is.
Badass Bookworm: In addition to being intelligent and cultured, he's strong and resilient.
The Bad Guy Wins: Zig-zagged. Ultimately, the Judge never directly pays for any of the horrific crimes he commits throughout the book, but he fails to completely corrupt the Kid–the last of the surviving Glanton Gang–who gives him a short-but-sweet Shut Up, Hannibal! (even if it's heavily implied the Judge gruesomely murders him in retaliation), and the book's title implies that the lawless playground the Judge loves so much will eventually fade away, leaving him with nothing.
Bait the Dog: Every once in a while, he'll have a moment that suggests he might actually possess some trace of human kindness in him after all — only to cruelly subvert it.
- When a small Mexican child is found by the gang, he spends the evening innocently entertaining and conversing with them. The child is found scalped the next morning.
- When the gang finds a young boy selling dogs, he buys the dogs cheerfully with the trick of making a gold coin disappear and then making it appear from behind the boy's ear. He then throws the dogs into the river where they are shot by the Vandiemenlander, all with the boy watching.
- The judge rescues the idiot from drowning for seemingly no reason but goodwill. From then on, however, he treats the idiot like a pet.
Bald of Evil: Notable in that he's completely bald. He doesn't have a single follicle of hair on his body.
Big Bad: Not apparent at first but he gradually fills this role over the course of the novel.
Blood Knight: A very philosophical one. He goes as far as to say that war is a form of divinity and that it's the only thing worth living for, the 'ultimate trade' as he puts it.
Consummate Liar: So much so that he convinces a crowd without much effort that a revival preacher is a child molesting zoophilic illiterate, and when he admits he was lying, the people he tricked laugh with him!
The Corruptor: Downplayed, as the Glanton Gang are already depraved murderers by the time The Judge joins them, but his influence does seem to make them even more depraved and savage as the novel moves along.
Deal with the Devil: His meeting with the Glanton Gang is treated as this, with his creation of gunpowder being an allusion to Paradise Lost. Once he joins forces with them, they enter a binding contract, and their depravity grows over time.
Demiurge Archetype: Some scholars make the argument that he's a Gnostic archon, who seeks to claim the world for himself and has no tolerance for anything that escapes his knowledge, similarly to Yaldaboath.
Depraved Bisexual: It's implied but never explicitly stated that he periodically molests children wherever the Gang goes. One possible interpretation of the highly ambiguous and open-ended ending is that he rapes (and possibly murders) the Kid.
Dragon-in-Chief: Glanton is the official leader of the gang but Holden is the one pulling the strings.
The Dreaded: Everyone in the Glanton Gang is afraid of The Judge, and once the survivors of the attack by the Yumas learn that he was among them, they all panic.
Equal-Opportunity Evil: Vile and depraved he may be, but a racist he is not. While he certainly takes part in wiping out the Natives, he doesn't seem to hold any hatred towards them and is willing to work with other ones (as well as African Americans like Black Jackson) if it means attaining his goals.
Establishing Character Moment: His entrance into the narrative — where he walks into a revival tent and eloquently accuses a preacher of being wanted on charges of sexually violating children and animals, turning the crowd against him, only to later admit he lied — tells the audience volumes about what he's like straight away.
Even Evil Has Standards: He most certainly doesn't, but many of his companions in the Glanton gang think he goes too far a lot of the time, are disturbed by his philosophy on war, or just think he's crazy.
Evil Is Bigger: The most evil character in the story towers over everyone else, at around seven feet tall.
Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Well, it's more like he can't comprehend why someone wouldn't be as depraved as he is, but he views The Kid's resistance to embracing his inner depravity as weakness and derides him for 'showing clemency to the heathen.'
Evil Is Petty: So much so that he buys a couple of puppies just to throw them off the bridge and shoot them.
Fat Bastard: He's massively overweight, and is a corrupting force within the already evil Glanton Gang.
Faux Affably Evil: Judge Holden is often an eloquent gentleman, who takes off his hat for ladies and whores alike. It's implied that any kindness or charity coming from the judge is to facilitate future depravity or simply to amuse himself.
Flanderization: The first documented reference in Chamberlain's My Confession to Judge Holden refers to him as "hairless". What Chamberlain meant was that he didn't have any facial hair, whereas McCarthy took it entirely literally.
For the Evulz: There's not much rhyme or reason why The Judge does what he does, aside from the fact he enjoys it.
Genius Bruiser: Intelligent and well-spoken as he is, he's also strong enough to break a man's arm with zero effort.
Hannibal Lecture: He's quite fond of these.
Hero Killer: While it would be a stretch to call any of the members of the Glanton gang "heroes," it's certain that the Judge caused the deaths of Toadvine and Brown, and perhaps even the Kid himself depending on how one interprets the Ambiguous Ending.
Historical Badass Upgrade: Samuel Chamberlain's My Confession describes Holden as merely being a large man about six and a half feet tall, and despite his vast array of skills was an "arrant coward" who would avoid violent confrontations unless he had a clear advantage. McCarthy's take on Holden is seven foot tall and inhumanly strong with no such cowardice, helping to start a barfight that kills dozens where he crushes a man's skull with his bare hands among other feats of strength and violence.
Historical Domain Character: Maybe. There is only one documented reference to the Judge as part of the Glanton gang, Samuel Chamberlain's My Confession (which served as a source for McCarthy's research), and the novel sticks closely to that work's description.
"The second in command, now left in charge of the camp, was a man of gigantic size who rejoiced in the name of Holden, called Judge Holden of Texas. Who or what he was no one knew, but a more cooler-blooded villain never went unhung. He stood six foot six in his moccasins, had a large, fleshy frame, a dull, tallow-colored face destitute of hair and all expression, always cool and collected. But when a quarrel took place and blood shed, his hog-like eyes would gleam with a sullen ferocity worthy of the countenance of a fiend...Terrible stories were circulated in camp of horrid crimes committed by him when bearing another name in the Cherokee nation in Texas. And before we left Fronteras, a little girl of ten years was found in the chaparral foully violated and murdered. The mark of a huge hand on her little throat pointed out him as the ravisher as no other man had such a hand. But though all suspected, no one charged him with the crime. He was by far the best educated man in northern Mexico."
Historical Ugliness Update: Samuel Chamberlain described Holden as "dull tallow" in skin color and "hairless" (an antiquated term for a lack of facial hair), but his illustrations showed that Holden wasn't otherwise abnormal or even all that pale. McCarthy's take on Holden exaggerates Chamberlain's descriptions to where Holden is now albino and completely hairless, lacking eyebrows or body hair.
Holy Burns Evil: Averted. Tobin takes a pair of bones in the boneyard and ties them together in the shape of a cross to try and ward him off, but it does nothing to stop him. The reason why is unclear. There is a rather simple but downright horrific potential explanation for this.
Humanoid Abomination: Whether the Judge is merely an extremely unusual man or this is never made clear.
Impossible Genius: Holden creates gunpowder out of basalt and urine at one point.
Implacable Man: It becomes apparent that he is this near the end of the book when he starts chasing the Kid and Tobin. This trope is seemingly averted when the Kid escapes and goes on with his life. It comes back in full, terrifying force when the Judge reappears decades later and confronts the Kid at a saloon.
It Amused Me: Much of the reason that he commits evil acts. Throwing off puppies from a bridge? That was just for fun.
Karma Houdini: He gets away with pressuring the gang into numerous depravities and getting them all killed, to say nothing of his own crimes.
Lack of Empathy: Death and suffering are nothing if necessities to him. War is first and foremost in the Judge's mind.
Large and in Charge: Not nominally the gang's leader, but very large and the one who's really running the show.
Lightning Bruiser: Weaves through bloodshed with unlikely agility while also being strong enough to effortlessly break bones with his bare hands.
Moral Event Horizon: In-Universe, he crosses it with his "War is God" speech. After that, Tobin wants nothing to do with him, and attempts a Faustian Rebellion.
Nightmare Fuel Station Attendant: He is the ferryman to some of the darkest passages, events and statements of the book.
Not So Invincible After All: After spending most of the book seeming to be untouchable in combat and apparently not needing to drink, eat, or sleep, after the Yumas massacre most of Glanton's gang he wanders through the desert, and when he next meets up with the Kid, Toadvine, and Tobin, his skin is said to be peeling from the sun, which causes him to have to pay Toadvine to get his hat, and his tongue is swollen from dehydration, which he sates by drinking. This suggests that he can at least be affected by the environment to a certain extent.
Only Sane Man: "Sane" is entirely the wrong word for him, as he still gleefully butchers humans and animals alike for fun. But compared to the hot-headed Glanton and the impulsive Davey Brown, he's far more intelligent and usually manages to keep his head cool. It's just one more trait that adds to his utter inhumanity.
Pædo Hunt: He apparently rapes children of both sexes during the gang's adventures, although it's possible this is a subverted trope if we're to assume that it was The Kid who was preying on the children instead.
The Philosopher: He spends a lot of time musing on questions like whether objective morality exists and whether people are responsible for their own actions.
Renaissance Man: Holden is deeply knowledgeable on many scientific fields, a skilled dancer and musician, speaks several languages fluently, and has a deadly accuracy with firearms. Disturbingly, this closely matches Sam Chamberlain's account of the historical Holden.
"Holden was by far the best educated man in northern Mexico; he conversed with all in their own language, spoke in several Indian lingos, at a fandango would take the Harp or the Guitar from the hands of the musicians and charm all with his wonderful performance and out-waltz any poblana of the ball. He was 'plum center' with a rifle or revolver, a daring horseman, acquainted with the nature of all the strange plants and their botanical names, great in geology and mineralogy, in short another Admirable Crichton, and with all an arrant coward."
"The Reason You Suck" Speech: He calls out the Kid on his self-righteousness and insistence that he's somehow any better than the other members of the Glanton gang. The Kid doesn't put up much of an argument. On the other hand, he doesn't seem to understand why someone isn't as depraved and monstrous as he.
Satanic Archetype: He has a dizzying array of knowledge and skill, makes sermon-like speeches about worshipping war as God, encourages and enables the gang's horrendous actions, makes gunpowder in one scene in a manner which alludes to Satan doing the same in Paradise Lost, and towards the end, when it's suggested that some unknown entity controls all human actions, The Judge remarks "I know him well".
Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: Sometimes it's just a matter of the Judge having command of an exceptional vocabulary and knowing exactly the words to say what he wants. Others, though, he likes to dazzle people into submission with verbiage that's longer than it has any good reason to be.
Shadow Archetype: To the Kid. Notably, the two never speak until the last few chapters, and it's implied that he embodies the Kid's characteristics that he finds revolting and tries to shun. In the end, the Kid rebels against him alongside Toadvine and Tobin, rejecting his inner depravity.
The Social Darwinist: Holds steadfastly to this philosophy. He believes that the world is only meant for the cruelest and most heinous, and that there's no room for the weak and compassionate.
The Sociopath: While possessing hallmarks of a distinguished gentleman and renaissance individual, The Judge is nevertheless explicitly linked to some of the worst vices in humanity, a lot of which he gladly indulges into and encourages others into digging in. Rape, murder, pedophilia, manipulation, the Judge is certainly a master of all. And unlike the Glanton Gang, who initially does it out of money and later compulsion, the Judge does it simply because he likes it. Even with his diverging perspective, his immorality knows no bounds.
"Whatever in creation exists without my knowledge exists without my consent."
To Create a Playground for Evil: His end goal is to become "suzerain of the earth", wherein he would rule a world where barbarity is the norm and any display of morality is snuffed out and the weak and frail are culled, and infants left to fend against wolves.
Token Evil Teammate: The Glanton Gang is already a gallery of some of the most depraved monsters to walk the earth. That the Judge is the worst of them (and actually goads them into some of their worst acts) should speak for itself — if the Kid is grey and the Glanton Gang are varying shades of black, then Holden is an abyss of depravity.
The Unfettered: The Judge, during one of his lectures, tries to explain gravitational orbits of the stars by swinging a coin around on a thread and explaining how both objects, and men, move "According to the length of their tether" with the least tethered making the greatest moments. He then throws the same coin into the darkness, turns, and catches it, implying he's thrown it around the world, hinting at both his supernatural nature and his complete lack of a moral tether.
Villain Respect: One of the biggest ironies of the book is that its biggest inhuman monster (both figuratively and literally) also happens to be one of the few to view the Anasazi as more than just primitive savages, acknowledging the ways they are advanced. Not that it stops him from assisting his companions in wiping them out, but that's more out of his desire to enable all deeds that are wicked than any particular dislike of them.
Villain with Good Publicity: He is a great favorite among anyone he comes across. After the revival disaster, the horror people felt at the (wrong) lynching of Reverend Green instigated by Holden himself instantly turns into camaraderie after he explains what happened and how they have destroyed an innocent life.
Warhawk: His obsession and joy is to instigate as much conflict, quarrels and violence into any life as possible. His suggestions and his whispering into John Joel Glanton at any opportunity to wreak havoc, destruction and war onto "heathens" is what drags the entire posse into new depths of depravity as the novel goes by.
War Is Glorious: Holden is of the opinion that war is integral to human nature. He ominously muses about it at one point near the end of the book.
"This is the nature of war, whose stake is at once the game and the authority and the justification. Seen so, war is the truest form of divination. It is the testing of one's will and the will of another within that larger will which because it binds them is therefore forced to select. War is the ultimate game because war is at last a forcing of the unity of existence. War is god."
Wicked Cultured: Very learned; very awful. In one stand-out example, the ex-priest Tobin describes the judge's firearm of choice:
He had with him that selfsame rifle you see with him now, all mounted in german silver and the name that he'd give it set with silver wire under the checkpiece in latin: Et In Arcadia Ego. A reference to the lethal in it. Common enough for a man to name his gun. I've heard Sweetlips and Hark From The Tombs and every sort of lady's name. His is the first and only ever I seen with an inscription from the classics.
Worthy Opponent: He speaks of the Anasazi as such for being relatively advanced, whereas his companions would dismiss them as primitive inferiors on the basis of race alone.
Would Hurt a Child: Children tend to go missing and suffer various misfortunes when the Judge is around. While it's possible that he's not directly to blame for all of them (there's another valid interpretation that it was really the Kid who was responsible for the rapes), he's still indisputably the one who scalped a child the gang kept around.

The Kid

The nameless protagonist of the novel. A young runaway from Tennessee, the book follows his travels with the Glanton gang and his interactions with the insidious Judge Holden.

A Lighter Shade of Black: Deconstructed. While The Kid isn't as depraved or monstrous as Holden, Glanton, or the other members of the gang, he still let their horrific crimes happen and kept riding with them even if he didn't fully take part in the depravity of the rest of the gang. The Judge points this out to The Man years later, and he doesn't try to refute him.
Ambiguously Evil: Though he is seen early on stabbing a bartender in the eye, he's never shown actively participating in the gang's attacks on Indian camps. He also seems to be one of the nicer members of the gang, helping out his companions while Holden and Glanton aren't looking. However, a lot is left open to interpretation.
Anti-Hero: The Kid is a violent thug but is far better than the Judge and most of the Glanton Gang.
The Atoner: Kind of. By the end, he doesn't show any guilt for anything he's done, but he seems to have grown weary of the violence he wrought, carrying a Bible with him as a symbol of needing peace and offering to escort an old woman back to civilization.
Being Evil Sucks: Appears to be the stance he takes near the end of the book.
Creepy Souvenir: Towards the end of the book, he buys Brown's necklace of ears after the death of the latter.
Cruel and Unusual Death: Heavily implied to be what the judge did to him.
The Determinator: It doesn't matter what happens to him: whether he's caught in a Comanche ambush, locked in a Hellhole Prison in Mexico, stranded on a barren mountain range, or being hunted by a Humanoid Abomination through a barren wasteland, the kid straight up refuses to die, even if everyone around him does. Until he meets the judge in the outhouse, probably.
Disproportionate Retribution: Early on, he kills a bartender gruesomely because he refused to pay him for sweeping the floor. The bartender didn't even agreed nor needed his floor swept.
Even Evil Has Standards: Even though he's a violent criminal, he's never specifically described as taking part in any of the gang's many atrocities. Additionally, he recognizes the Judge as evil and resists his influence. Maybe.
The Fettered: Oddly, he is this. The Judge derides this as weakness for 'showing clemency to the heathen' and expresses disappointment that The Kid didn't become as depraved and monstrous as he is. This probably is why The Judge later (presumably) kills him.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: By the standards of the Glanton Gang, at least. He puts a little more value on the well-being of his comrades than Glanton or the Judge would tolerate, despite still having a lot of violence brewing in his mind.
No Historical Figures Were Harmed: He has a few noticeable parallels with Samuel Chamberlain, a real member of the Glanton gang whose memoirs partially inspired the book. While they're not identical (among other things: Chamberlain was a New Englander by birth, he served in the regular Army and rose to the rank of colonel, and he lived into his late 70s), both of them ran away from home as teenagers and joined the Glanton gang after volunteering to fight in a conflict in Mexico.
No Name Given: He's always only referred to as the Kid, and later as the Man.
Pet the Dog: Helps pull an arrow out of Davy Brown's leg, and hides a wounded Dick Shelby from Glanton. Granted, both are despicable scalp hunters, but it's a rare show of compassion for a morally ambiguous character like himself, especially in a setting like this.
Sociopathic Hero: The Kid's the closest thing to a hero but while he's better than his companions, he's still a violent and vicious Jerkass.
Teens Are Monsters: Even if he's better than his comrades, he's still a violent thug, prone to some pretty nasty Disproportionate Retribution.
Token Good Teammate: The closest thing the Glanton Gang has to one, barring Tobin. He's never depicted actively participating in their massacres, and does go out of his way to help out his fellow gang members when they're wounded.
Took a Level in Badass: Towards the end of the book, after almost never being directly mentioned in many of the gang's massacres, he is shown to be a rather skilled sniper.
Uncertain Doom: His fate at the end of the novel is ambiguous at best, though given that the last person he interacted with was the Judge, things don't seem to bode that well for him at all.
Walking the Earth: Does this during the Time Skip.
Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: He had a rough start in life, with the implication that at the very least, his father resented him and at worst abused him, which inevitably led to his lust for violence. In the end, he's just a tired, bitter man who desperately wants peace after his time with the Glanton Gang has destroyed the lives of the few people he cared for and brought him absolutely nothing.
Would Hurt a Child: Or, well, a teenager. He doesn't really want to, but after a teenage loudmouth antagonizes him one too many times, and even tries to kill him. The Man shoots and kills him first.

John Joel Glanton

The titular leader of the Glanton gang. A violent criminal when he's first introduced, he's gradually pressured by the Judge to act upon his increasingly savage whims.

Asshole Victim: Even before the Judge joined his gang, Glanton was a horrible person. As such, his gruesome fate at the hands of the Yuma leader is well-deserved.
Ax-Crazy: So much so that it takes Holden to stop him from killing a fortune teller in rage. On top of that, Tobin duly informs the Kid that he's a madman.
Blood Knight: He's one of the more violent members of the gang and his depravity increases as the novel progresses.
Big Bad Wannabe: He's the one directing the gang to commit heinous crimes but it quickly becomes apparent that the Judge is really the one in charge.
Equal-Opportunity Evil: Even though he commits genocide against Native Americans for a living, he has no problem working with black and Delaware scalp hunters and takes it as a personal insult when a bartender refuses to serve Black Jackson a drink.
Face Death with Dignity: Though a terrible human being, he seems to welcome his demise with open arms when he comes face to face with the Yuma leader.
Glanton: Hack away you mean red nigger.
Hated by All: The more violent and indiscriminate he gets with his killings, everyone turns against him and the gang, from the men that hired him to the natives to the law itself.
Heroes Love Dogs: "Hero" is entirely the wrong word for him, but he does seem to genuinely care about dogs and stops Davy Brown from shooting one, although that was partly a case of Pragmatic Villainy.
Historical Domain Character: Glanton was a real person whose exploits were, if anything, even worse than what's depicted in the novel. Glanton appears as a villain in several other historical novels, including George MacDonald Fraser's Flashman and the Redskins and Larry McMurtry's Dead Man's Walk.
The Leader: He's the official leader of the gang, although he serves mainly as a puppet to Holden.
No Honor Among Thieves: When one of his own man is wounded Glanton shoots and scalps him since the man was Mexican and so the scalp could pass as a legit bounty. The only rule in the gang is no desertion.
Off with His Head!: His head is "split at the thrapple."
Pet the Dog: In a more literal example of the trope, Glanton prevents Davy Brown from killing a dog and he genuinely takes a shine to it. It's one of the few humanizing moments for him.
Psycho for Hire: His job description.
Stupid Evil: Not initially, but as the book goes on, he and his men keep killing people in as depraved a manner as possible, eventually getting to the point where they're not even killing for profit anymore, but just because they can. Eventually, he becomes an outlaw and is hunted down and killed by Yuma Indians.

Louis Toadvine

A long-haired desperado who the Kid meets early on. The two become friends and serve together in the Glanton gang.

Affably Evil: He befriends the Kid over the course of the novel. Other than that, he's generally portrayed more sympathetically than the other members of the Glanton gang.
Alas, Poor Villain: He's hanged alongside Brown. Being one of the more sympathetic members of the gang, his death comes across as rather sad.
Barbarian Longhair: Described as having hair down to his shoulders.
Deadpan Snarker: Has a dry, easygoing sense of humor even in utterly wretched conditions and is responsible for some surprisingly hilarious lines. While locked in a dungeon in Chihuahua with the Kid, for instance...
"How do you like city life? said Toadvine.
I dont like it worth a damn so far.
I keep waitin for it to take with me but it aint done it."
Ear Ache: He got his ears lopped at some point in the past.
Even Evil Has Standards: He considers killing the Judge after seeing him scalp a child.
Mark of Shame: Toadvine has the letters "HTF" branded on his head as to signify that he was caught stealing horses once.
Noble Demon: Sort of. He's still a violent and vicious bastard who takes part in the horrific atrocities the Glanton gang inflicts, but he shows he has more scruples than some of his other compatriots.
Wouldn't Hurt a Child: Implied. Although he participates in many a slaughter, he tries to shoot the Judge for scalping the child whose company he and the gang were enjoying the night before.

Benjamin Tobin

A former priest turned scalphunter. Still a religious man at heart, he opposes the Judge's violent philosophy at multiple intervals and is frequently at enmity with him.

Affably Evil: Like Toadvine, he befriends the Kid and serves as a father figure of sorts to him.
A Lighter Shade of Black: While Tobin is complicit in the rampant murder and scalpings that the Glanton gang indulge in, he's generally portrayed more sympathetically and not as depraved or monstrous as the men taking part in the wanton cruelty.
Ambiguous Situation: So how the hell did Tobin end up with Glanton's merry gang of maniacs and psychotic murderers? We don't know. Also his final fate in the story.
Badass Preacher: A seasoned scalp hunter and a former novitiate.
Even Evil Has Standards: He's complicit at best with the Glanton Gang's actions, but even he is horrified by The Judge's 'war is god' rhetoric and seeks to keep The Kid as far away from The Judge as possible.
Faustian Rebellion: Despite his and the gang's pact with the Judge, he eventually turns on him and tries to persuade the Kid to kill him, but fails.
Gone Mad from the Revelation: The Judge implies that Tobin was struck mad, whatever that means has disturbing implications.
Lampshade Hanging: While telling the tale of the earlier days of the Glanton gang, mentions the judge smiling "that smile of his".
Messianic Archetype: Perhaps. He serves as more of a moral figure and positive influence on the Kid in comparison to the Judge. In one part, there's a snake found where he once was. In some Gnostic traditions, the serpent in the Garden of Eden is an agent of Sophia who seeks to save humans from the false reality the Demiurge has imprisoned them in.
Nothing Is Scarier: We never learn his true fate, but considering his enmity with The Judge, it's likely that he had something to do with Tobin's fate, and whatever he did could hardly be called pleasant.
Properly Paranoid: Tobin is openly distrustful of the Judge. This suspicion proves to be well-founded when the Judge attempts to murder him and the Kid.
Sinister Minister: Averted. In spite of having abandoned his priestly pursuits, he's still rather religious and is definitely one of the less evil members of the gang.
Token Good Teammate: Maybe. He's certainly not as sinister as the other gang members and he's the only member besides Toadvine shown actively challenging the Judge.
Warrior Monk: Sort of. His religious convictions certainly make him somewhat of a stand-out in the gang.
What Happened to the Mouse?: He disappears around San Diego late in the book, while seeking medical assistance for his neck wound. The Kid searches for him a while before giving up hope. His ultimate fate is unknown.

David "Davy" Brown

A particularly nasty member of the gang. Brown is a violent man who wears a necklace of Indian ears.

Asshole Victim: Unlike Toadvine, you can't really feel sorry for him for being hanged when he was one of the most violent and petty gang members, barring Glanton and Holden.
Ax-Crazy: Barring Glanton and the Judge, he's one of the most vicious members of the gang.
Creepy Souvenir: Wears a necklace made of Indian ears.
Deadpan Snarker: Despite being one of the more violent members of the gang, he's impervious to much of the Judge's rhetoric and lets it show.
Holden: Where is the coin Davy?
Brown: I'll notify you where to put the coin.
Even Evil Has Standards: Well, sort of. He objects to the Judge's sermon that war is God, referring to him as "crazy". Brown in general after the War is god speech notably stays clear of the Judge afterwards, it's implied that Brown is terrified of the Judge. As he expresses genuine horror when he finds the Judge survived the Yuma raid.
Evil Is Petty: He tries to persuade a man to saw off the barrel of his ceremonial shotgun, and the man vehemently refuses. Eventually, he just does it himself, using the man's hacksaw. This move lands him in jail.
Kick the Dog: Averted. He nearly kills a dog he sees in the ruins of a house, but Glanton of all people stops him to keep the dog for pragmatic reasons.
Psycho for Hire: A particularly vicious savage who'll commit horrific acts of violence for fun. The money's just a bonus for him.
Psychopathic Manchild: Brown takes a child-like, psychotic glee to his crimes and much of his actions suggest he's like a child who is free to do as he pleases.
Ungrateful Bastard: A jailer helps him escape, and he repays him with a bullet through the head.

The Idiot/James Robert Bell

A mentally challenged man that Holden keeps as a pet of sorts.

Driven to Suicide: Tired of living life as a sideshow attraction, he tries to drown himself. Of course, the Judge won't allow this, as he "rescues" him from death and keeps him chained up like a dog.

White Jackson

One of the two John Jacksons, nicknamed "White" to distinguish him from his black counterpart.

Asshole Victim: Maybe Black Jackson overreacted to his harassment, but he was still an exceptionally racist dick, and it's not especially sad to see his head get lopped off with a Bowie knife.
Evil Is Petty: He refuses to sit next to Black Jackson just because he's black, holding him at gunpoint for refusing to move.
Jerkass: Nobody in the Glanton Gang is particularly nice or tolerant, but he's especially petty and racist, to the point where he orders Black Jackson to move at gunpoint.
Made of Plasticine: Black Jackson manages to decapitate him with a single swing of a Bowie knife.
Off with His Head!: How Black resolves his issues with him.
One-Steve Limit: Averted. Like his nemesis within the gang, he is also named "John Jackson".
Politically Incorrect Villain: While the Glanton Gang as a whole could be considered this, they are at least willing to accept non-whites into their ranks. He, however, is not, and threatens Black's life just for sitting in his spot.
We Hardly Knew Ye: Is killed fairly quickly after his introduction, courtesy of Black Jackson.

Black Jackson

One of the two John Jackson, nicknamed "Black" to distinguish him from his white counterpart.

Asshole Victim: After participating in many a senseless slaughter and quite possibly raping a little girl, he's shot to death with Yuma arrows.
Ax-Crazy: Well, it's part of the job description of being in the Glanton gang. It doesn't take much for him to get violent, he'll chop a man's head off just for being racist to him.
Blasphemous Boast: While drunk during the gang's saloon rampage.
Jackson, pistols drawn, lurched into the street vowing to Shoot the ass off Jesus Christ, the longlegged white son of a bitch.
Human Pincushion: Is still trying to tug the first Yuma arrow out of his chest when several more finish him off.
One-Steve Limit: Averted. Like his nemesis within the gang, he is also named "John Jackson". Even after he kills White Jackson, he's still only ever referred to as "Black Jackson".
Psycho for Hire: He's a vicious bastard who gleefully helps butcher dozens, if not hundreds of people. For fun and for profit. Even Davy Brown, himself not a stranger to violence, is wary of him.
Scary Black Man: He's a scalp hunter. He's black. Even Davy Brown is scared of him. And he may or may not have molested and killed a little girl.
Token Minority: Sort of. Apart from the Delaware mercenaries, he's the only notable gang member who isn't white.
Would Hurt a Child: A child goes missing at one point, and he's suspiciously missing from the gang at the time. By the time he catches up with them, he's naked. The implications are rather disturbing, to say the least.

The Delaware Mercenaries

A group of bloodthirsty Delaware Indian mercenaries who joined the Glanton Gang somewhere along the line.

Asshole Victim: They all die off, one by one, usually violently and in a manner well-deserved.
Bears Are Bad News: One of them is carried off by a bear and never seen again.
Dwindling Party: They are slowly killed off over the course of the story.
Mercy Kill: When two of the three Delaware are wounded and need to be put down or fall in the hands of the Mexican army, the last healthy one volunteers to bash their heads with a rock with next to no hesitation.
Psycho for Hire: They're among the most ruthless members of the gang, and at least one of them is depraved enough to murder babies.
Would Hurt a Child: In a rather grisly scene, a Delaware mercenary bashes two infants' heads against a rock.

Characters / Blood Meridian

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Characters / Blood Meridian

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