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Characters introduced in the original movie.
Candyman
Daniel Robitaille / Candyman
"Be my victim."
Played By: Tony Todd
Daniel Robitaille was the son of an escaped slave, who got Daniel a good education. Daniel became a painter, and fell in love with the white daughter of one of his clients. When the client found out, he led a lynch mob that sawed off his hand with a rusty blade, smeared him with honey, and let bees sting him to death. This violent death caused him to become a vengeful spirit known as Candyman who kills anyone who says his name into a mirror five times.
- Abstract Apotheosis: Daniel Robitaille is no more. He's now Candyman, a physical manifestation of fear and hate.
- Adaptational Angst Upgrade: Due to his expanded background being influenced by the movie's Setting Update, Candyman is depicted as a Tragic Monster born from the cruelty shown to him in his past life, in contrast in the original story where his exact origins are a mystery.
- Adaptational Attractiveness: In the movie, Candyman is portrayed by Tony Todd as a well-groomed normal-looking man that wears a nice brown fur coat and has a low, purring voice. This is a stark contrast to how he is portrayed in the original short story, where he wears a patchwork outfit of many colors and rouged lips resembling a corpse, with sickly yellow skin, wiry hair, red-rimmed eyes, and a high-pitched voice.
- Adaptational Backstory Change: In contrast to his literary counterpart status as The Spook, he has a tragic backstory as an African-American painter who fell in love with the daughter of one of his rich clients and was maimed and killed through bees by a mob led by him. He now wrecks havoc as a Vengeful Ghost who can be summoned by repeating his name 5 times in the mirror.
- Adaptational Nationality: In addition to becoming black, he also changed from being British to American.
- Adaptational Superpower Change: In the story, Candyman could materialize in front of people at any time in the neighborhood he terrorized. The movie on the other hand gives him the ability to appear anywhere when someone chants his name five times in a mirror.
- Adaptational Sympathy: In the original story, he was The Spook who was heavily implied to be an urban legend that came to life and caused mayhem among his community. The film keeps him as a terrifying legend made real, but he was made that way due to the horrific racial violence that led to his death.
- Allegorical Character: Candyman, as a living urban legend, represents a naked rage at prejudice towards African-Americans in North America. This is particularly emphasized in the 2021 Candyman's movie marketing, such as the shadow puppet teaser
. - Ambiguous Situation:
- The franchise plays ambiguous with much of the character, given his status as a folklore figure. How much of him is actually Daniel Robitaille's ghost and how much of him is just a metaphysical manifestation of fear using Robitaille's name? The first movie doesn't even clarify if Robitaille actually existed (though subsequent entries make clear that he did).
- It's somewhat unclear whether Candyman himself assaulted that poor boy in the restroom or one of the gang members using his M.O did the deed, as Detective Valento speculates. Given that there was no mention of him saying Candyman's name (nor was there any sign of mirrors in the bathroom in the first place), it's likely the latter, as Candyman doesn't target random people and kill them in broad daylight, but we'll never know for sure.
- Animal Motifs: Candyman is directly linked with a swarm of bees, the animals that killed him in life.
- Antagonist Title: Candyman is both the titular character and the Big Bad of every film in the franchise.
- As Long as There Is Evil: The running implication is that as long as some form of belief in the Candyman exists, so will he.
- Badass Boast:
- "They will say that I have shed innocent blood. What's blood for, if not for shedding? With my hook for a hand, I'll split you from your groin to your gullet."
- "I am the writing on the wall, the whisper in the classroom. Without these things, I am nothing, so now, I must shed innocent blood."
- Badass Longcoat: A very long and very stylish coat that conceals his (bee-covered) body.
- Bee Afraid: His bee motif (and the swarm he seems to keep under his longcoat) only make him more terrifying.
- Beneath the Mask: In his quieter moments, he allows himself to show a bit of the humanity he once had. In the first movie, rather than torment baby Anthony, he's gentle and almost fatherly with him. In the second movie, he openly sheds tears when he shows Annie the life that was stolen from him. The third movie also has him stare wistfully at the portrait he - or rather Daniel Robitaille - painted of his lover in life.
- Big Bad: The central antagonistic force in virtually all movies of the franchise as of yet.
- Body Horror: It would appear that under his longcoat he's essentially a corpse held together by a swarm of bees. Not to mention his grisly stump with a hook.
- Catchphrase: The one he says the most is "Be my victim", but the mantra associated with him is "Sweets to the sweet".
- Composite Character: Besides the character from the short story, Candyman is a combination of several grisly Urban Legends. His Hook Hand is based on "The Hook", the way he manifests from mirrors from "Bloody Mary", and the bathroom attack in the flashback is from a particularly extreme story of natural fear.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: Lynched, maimed (and having a hook stuck into the bloody stump), then thrown to a swarm of bees until he passed away (the sequel also indicates the lynch mob set him on fire as he died to prolong the suffering). It's implied throughout the franchise the over-the-top brutality of his death is part of why he came back.
- The Dreaded: The residents of Cabrini-Green hesitate to even say his name (for good reason). Also an Enforced Trope; as an urban legend, Candyman's power comes from his story being told and people both knowing of him and knowing to fear him. Helen seemingly discrediting his myth is what sets off Candyman's pursuit of her, with Candyman himself even saying that he needs to shed innocent blood to restore the "faith" (read: fear) of his "congregation".
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Candyman may no longer be Daniel Robitaille, but he does still have his memories, namely those of his beloved lover Caroline, a white woman whom he risked everything to be with. He also sincerely loved his unborn child and also shows care for his descendant Annie in his own twisted way. It's also made clear throughout the movies that part of his motivation is to reclaim the family that was stolen from him in life.
- Evil Is Bigger: Stands at a very imposing 6'5, towering over almost every other character.
- Evil Sounds Deep: Speaks in a very intimidating bass, courtesy of Tony Todd, made all the more intimidating because his voice always seems to come out from all directions rather than the one he's speaking from.
- Faux Affably Evil: Candyman can be quite polite and charming while he murders you and anyone in his path.
- Fluffy the Terrible: It's hard to believe the name "Candyman" belongs to a obscenely powerful murderous entity (which is probably one of the reasons people keep summoning him).
- Genius Bruiser: While he's not exactly a rampaging powerhouse like other Slashers tend to be, Candyman is still very strong, enough to carve out a full grown man's back with his hook, as well as possessed of great stealth and cunning.
- A God Am I: Not in so many words, but Candyman ascribes a lot of religious language to himself and his legend, referring to those who believe in him as his "congregation" and speaking of a need to restore their faith in him.
- Gods Need Prayer Badly: Candyman is not a deity, but it's clear that his existence is entirely powered on the belief others have on him, and if belief in him wanes he literally stops existing. He points out the religious motifs frequently (such as calling those who believe in him his "congregation").
- Hidden Depths: In spite of his murderous reputation, Candyman acts quite tender toward Helen and baby Anthony. He does want them as a "family" after all, and it serves to remind us that there's still a tiny bit of kind Daniel Robitaille left.
- Hook Hand: His right hand was amputated in life and a hook placed in its stump, and he carries that into the afterlife.
- Hooks and Crooks: Wields a hook (stuck in his hand's bloody stump) as his signature weapon.
- Humanoid Abomination: Outwardly human in appearance, but his cloak hides a corpse-like body and a swarm of bees, and his existence itself is ethereal and hard to fathom.
- I Just Want to Be Loved: Candyman kills and terrorizes the residents of Cabrini Green, but if his plan for Helen and the baby is any indication, he still pines after the family he was denied in life and wants to use them to recreate it.
- Kick the Dog: A near-literal case; in kidnapping Anne-Marie's baby, Candyman also decapitated her dog.
- The Kindnapper: Despite kidnapping baby Anthony, Candyman takes care of the child, feeds him honey, and cradles him in his arms, clearly seeing Anthony as a substitute for the child he never got to raise with the woman he loved.
- Leitmotif: The theme of the character (and franchise as a whole) is a haunting, ethereal piano and choir piece titled "It Was Always You, Helen". It sounds eerie but also profoundly tragic, representing the character's duality itself.
- Manipulative Bastard: Throughout the first film, he systematically dismantles Helen's life, framing her for murder and kidnapping while trying to entice her to join him in death, sweetening the deal by promising to spare the kidnapped baby if she accepts, with the goal of strengthening his own legend and including Helen as part of it. In reality, Candyman fully intends for the baby to die with them, with the revelation of this lie being what convinces Helen to rebel against Candyman's design.
- Named by the Adaptation: Unlike his book counterpart, his real name is revealed in the sequels.
- Noiseless Walker: His footsteps never emit any kind of sound, fitting his ethereal nature.
- Our Ghosts Are Different: Candyman is essentially a ghost Tulpa of sorts, a being powered entirely by the belief of others in him. The franchise in fact always leaves it ambiguous if he's actually a ghost of Robitaille (the man who triggered the legend), some kind of spiritual construct of fear using Robitaille's identity or some mix of both.
- Race Lift: In the original story, Candyman was a white British man.
- Red Right Hand: He appears a normal man at a distance, but his nature is highlighted by the maimed stump of his right hand with a hook stuck on it.
- Revenge Is Not Justice: In Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh, he shows his backstory to Annie and how he was killed for falling in love with Caroline. Annie is sympathetic to him but remembers all the people he killed, people who had nothing to do with his death and smashes the mirror that contains his soul.
- Scary Black Man: One of the most iconic examples, being a large, intimidating man with a deep voice who strikes fear into the hearts of his victims.
- "Scooby-Doo" Hoax: Obviously not Candyman himself, but his legend and appearance are appropriated by Cabrini Green's local gangs to spread terror and street cred. When Helen exposes one of these hoaxes, Candyman isn't pleased because he partially relies on them to keep belief in him strong.
- The Sociopath: Besides the occasional desire of having a family of his own (and his occasional wistful reminisce or tear shed over all he has lost), Candyman is a narcissistic being with his godlike complex and is mainly interested in perpetuating his legend while viewing anyone else below him as either his congregation or victims. He is an articulate, well-educated man who has a poetic way of words that ooze superficial charm. He also demonstrates his manipulative side by setting Helen up as the fall girl for his murders or promising to let a baby Anthony go under the agreement that she surrender to him.
- Speak of the Devil: Candyman can only be summoned if you speak his name five times in front of a mirror. In a more general sense, it seems like talking about him in general empowers him (but doesn't directly summon him).
- Stalker with a Crush: Not so subtly shown to be infatuated with Helen, the woman he's stalking throughout the first film.
- Tragic Villain: There's always a sense of tragedy about the Candyman, with a horrible end to his life and a cursed existence as an urban legend. Even his targeting of Helen in the first movie seems to have clearly been a twisted attempt to have what he was denied due to the racism that killed him: a wife and a child. It's hard not to feel sorry for him. At his core, Candyman is a broken family man forced to wander the Earth as a spirit of vengeance, representing everything that racial violence can lead to.
- Vengeful Ghost: Supposedly he's Daniel Robitaille's ghost wreaking bloody vengeance on all who summon him from beyond the grave.
- Villain Ball: Downplayed; if Candyman had kept his word to let Anthony go if Helen surrendered to him, she likely wouldn't have fought back and died apart from him, separating Helen's legend from Candyman's. That said, Candyman's plan included Anthony dying with himself and Helen, something Helen wouldn't have agreed to in the first place, necessitating the lie.
- The Worm That Walks: Appears to be nearly entirely made of bees aside from his hook, head and coat.
- Would Hurt a Child: The freshman's story and his endangerment of baby Anthony shows that he is not above slaughtering children. In Anthony's case it's not necessarily to be cruel, though; he wants the baby to join him and Helen in legend out of his twisted desire for a family.
Helen Lyle
Helen Lyle
Played By: Virginia Madsen
A naive graduate student researching the Candyman legend.
- Adaptational Nationality: She was changed from British to American when the setting was transported to Chicago.
- And Then John Was a Zombie: After her death, Helen becomes an urban legend, much like Candyman. When Trevor inadvertenly summons her, she brutally guts him with a hook.
- Bald of Evil: As a murderous specter, Helen appears with her hair burned off, as it had been when she died.
- Broken Pedestal: To Anne-Marie McCoy and Detective Frank Valento, upon being suspected for the murders.
- Convicted by Public Opinion: Immediately Wrongly Accused upon being found in Anne-Marie's apartment and later for Bernie's death.
- Didn't Think This Through:
- Helen, when you wake up in a pool of someone else's blood with a dog head in the hallway and a woman screaming in the other room, you might not want to pick up the bloody cleaver on the floor and hold it in a menacing fashion.
- Summoning Candyman in a psychiatrist's office was meant to prove that a) Candyman is real, and b) committed the murders Helen has been accused of. As soon as he appears, Candyman murders the psychiatrist, making it look as though Helen has committed yet another crime.
- Distaff Counterpart: Becomes this to Candyman at the end of the first film.
- Fall Guy: For Candyman's murders.
- Heroine With Bad Publicity: Upon being suspected for the murders committed by Candyman. It continues in the 2021 sequel, with Helen being posthumously blamed for Candyman's crimes, partly to explain away the carnage and partly to try and keep Candyman's legend from growing.
- Heroic Sacrifice: She succumbs to her injuries when she saved Anthony from burning in the huge bonfire. However, it could be argued in a meta sense that it was a fruitless endeavor due to Anthony becoming the new Candyman in the 2021 sequel.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Ends up as Candyman's Distaff Counterpart, she's basically the new Candyman as far as the first film is concerned in contrast with the sequels where Tony Todd reprises his role.
- Trauma Conga Line: As soon as she says Candyman's name in her mirror, Helen's life starts going to hell. She's assaulted by a gangster, framed for kidnapping and murder by Candyman, is committed to a mental hospital, escapes only to find that her philandering husband has already moved his mistress into their home, and suffers fatal burns while rescuing a baby from Candyman. Even in death, Helen doesn't get a break; her spirit endures as a murderous ghost, she is posthumously blamed for Candyman's crimes, and the child she died to save ends up a victim of Candyman when he grows up.
Trevor Lyle
Professor Trevor Lyle
Played By: Xander Berkeley
Helen's cheating husband.
- Adaptational Nationality: In the original story he was British, while in the film he's American.
- Asshole Victim: Not only was he cheating on Helen with a student, but it is implied that he was going to let her rot in the asylum while he would set off for a new life with his lover. He is shown grieving for Helen after she dies, but by then it is too late for him.
- Hate Sink: Trevor, Helen's husband, proves himself to be a gigantic asshole when it's revealed that he's been having an affair with his student, Stacy, behind his wife's back. And even worse, he allowed her to move in with him when Helen was locked up in the asylum, which heavily implied he was willing to let her rot in there as he began a new life with his mistress. Even though he begins to show some regret over his unfaithfulness, his death at the hands of his wife's vengeful ghost is very much earned.
- Heel–Face Door-Slam: After Helen dies, Trevor seems to feel pangs of guilt for how he cheated on her. Then he chants her name in front of the mirror...
- Karmic Death: For his infidelity, Trevor is murdered by his vengeful wife's spirit as she claims him as her first victim.
- Teacher/Student Romance: Trevor is revealed to be having an affair with his student, Stacy, behind Helen's back.
Bernie Walsh
Bernadette "Bernie" Walsh
Played By: Kasi Lemmons
Helen's friend, who assists her in her research.
- Adaptational Nationality: Along with her Race Lift, she also became American like the rest of the cast.
- Gutted Like a Fish: Candyman murders her by splitting her stomach open with his hook hand.
- Race Lift: She was white in the original story.
- Token Black Friend: Even though there are tons of other black characters in the film, her character is mainly to be someone that Helen can depend on besides Trevor.
Anne-Marie McCoy
Anne-Marie McCoy
Played By: Vanessa A. Williams
A resident of Cabrini Green.
- Adaptational Heroism: In the original story, Anne-Marie is complacent in allowing Candyman to kill her own child, covering up the truth surrounding his death, and later helps Helen be lured into the bonfire to be burned (along with her son's body) so that the legend of Candyman can be maintained. In the movie, she has nothing to do with Candyman's scheme to be kept in legend and is a thoroughly good mother who is protective of her son and only participated in the bonfire because she believed it would take out the Candyman.
- Heel Realization: It takes Helen rescuing her baby before her very eyes as the former burns to death upon handing Anthony back in her arms to make her realized Helen was innocent all along of the murders and Anthony's kidnapping and she had Wrongly Accused her, prompting her to lead her neighbors to attend Helen's funeral to thank her for rescuing Anthony and as an apology for her initial false accusation that ultimately led to her death. Sadly, as far the 2021 installment is concerned, her taking back her false accusation wasn't enough to really clear Helen's name as the public still remembered her as the killer rather than Candyman even after nearly thirty years.
- Mama Bear: Attacks Helen in a frenzy to demand the whereabouts of her baby Anthony upon thinking her to be the culprit and a Broken Pedestal.
- Older and Wiser: In the 2021 sequel, she appears more level-headed then in the first film.
- Older Than She Looks: Vanessa Estelle-Williams really aged gracefully after nearly thirty years since first playing this role.
- Outliving One's Offspring: Narrowly averted in the original film, but played depressingly straight in the 2021 sequel.
- Took a Level in Kindness: In the 2021 sequel.
Jake
Detective Frank Valento
Detective Frank Valento
Played By: Gilbert Lewis
A detective.
- Friend on the Force: For Helen, until he views her as a Broken Pedestal upon suspecting her for the murders.
- Hero Antagonist: Towards Helen upon suspecting her for the murders.
- Inspector Javert: When suspecting Helen Lyle for the murders.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Starts out as a Friend on the Force, but after Helen is found at the site of Anne-Marie's baby's kidnapping, he instantly views her as a Broken Pedestal and is completely hostile to her during interrogation at the police station.
Philip Purcell
Stacey
Stacey
Played By: Creator/Carolyn Lowery
An undergraduate student who is Trevor's student and mistress.
- Canon Foreigner: She doesn't have a book counterpart, but it was mentioned in the story that Trevor had flings when he and Helen had fights.
- The Mistress: She is Trevor's and even lets her move in with him after Helen was locked up in the mental ward (with the strong implications he was just going to let her rot there while he started a new life with her).
- Teacher/Student Romance: She has one with Trevor who is her college professor.
Characters introduced in Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh
Annie Tarrant
Annie Tarrant
Played By: Kelly Rowan (Candyman: Farewell To The Flesh); Elizabeth Haye (Candyman: Day Of The Dead)
An art teacher from New Orleans who is the great-great-granddaughter of Candyman.
Octavia Tarrant
Octavia Tarrant
Played By: Veronica Cartwright
Annie and Ethan's mother who is currently struggling with her cancer diagnosis and the legend of Candyman.
- Drowning My Sorrows: She's hitting the bottle constantly after learning about her diagnosis and her husband's death.
Characters introduced in Candyman: Day of the Dead
Caroline McKeever
Caroline McKeever
Played By: Donna D'Errico
Annie's daughter (and Candyman's great-great-great-granddaughter) who becomes an art gallery owner.
Characters introduced in Candyman (2021)
Anthony McCoy
Anthony McCoy
Played By: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
The baby Helen saved in the original film who became an artist. He returns to Cabrini Green, Chicago, after becoming enraptured in the urban legend of the Candyman.
- Body Horror: A bee sting (implied to be courtesy of Candyman) causes the right side of Anthony's body to become progressively necrotic. What's more, Burke amputates his right hand and shoves a homemade hook into the stump to complete Anthony's progression into a new Candyman.
- Expy: Of Danny Torrance.
- Sanity Slippage: The more he dug into the legend of the Candyman, Anthony progressively lost his senses.
William Burke
William Burke
Played By: Colman Domingo
An owner of a laundromat who is looking to resurrect the Candyman urban legend for his own gain.
- The Bad Guy Wins: He succeeds at bringing the Candyman back posthumously.
- Big Bad Ensemble: Of the 2021 direct sequel of the original film alongside Candyman himself.
- The Chessmaster: He anticipated that Anthony would return to Cabrini Green and relays the story of the Candyman to him to set him further down the path of becoming the new Candyman.
- One-Steve Limit: Averted, as there was a Dr. Burke, a Caucasian psychiatrist who evaluates Helen at the mental hospital for the criminally insane before becoming another of Candyman's victims, in the first film. No relation between the two.
- Walking Spoiler: While he appeared to be a minor character in the film, he ultimately plays a larger role due to what he is hoping to accomplish.
The Hive
The Hive
Played By: Tony Todd, Michael Hargrove, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
Starting back with the death of Daniel Robitaille, the Hive is a group of vengeful spirits that were born from agonizing deaths. As the progenitor, Daniel is understood to be the "Queen Bee" of the collective consciousness.
- Badass Longcoat: All members wear one aside from Helen who inherited the Candyman's hook.
- Death of a Child: One member of the hive looks to be a young Black boy accused of a crime and sentenced to the electric chair, most likely based off of George Stinney.
- Pragmatic Villainy: After slaughtering the police officers who murdered Anthony, the Hive spares Brianna, who actually summoned Candyman, leaving her with a command to "tell everyone" so the legend of Candyman can continue to grow.
- Red Right Hand: As part of the legend, they all wield a hook as their main weapon.
- Smurfette Principle: Helen is the only hive member to be female and non-African American.
- Tragic Villain: Everyone who becomes part of the Hive, from Daniel Robitaille to Sherman Fields to Anthony McCoy, is a victim of racial prejudice and an unjust death. In death, they all become merciless killers, slaughtering their tormentors or anyone who makes the unwise decision to summon them. Three of the hive members were based off real African-American victims of racial injustice, such as James Byrd. Jr, George Stinney and Anthony Crawford.
- Vengeful Ghost: Their main initiatives in life were due to them being on the receiving end of grisly demises and now spend their afterlife killing and striking fear.
Sherman Fields
Sherman Fields
Played By: Michael Hargrove
A one-handed African American man who was murdered by the police after being wrongly accused of distributing candy with razor blades to children. He had since become the most recurrent iteration of the Candyman prior to Anthony.
- Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: Serves as this to the Daniel Robitalle iteration of Candyman. Daniel preferred to use poetic and flowery language while Sherman is completely silent. Daniel was a chessmaster who manipulated Helen into falling into his clutches while Sherman is more of a brute who kills indiscriminately without any plan, and finally, Sherman can only appear in mirrors while Daniel could manifest anywhere he wanted.
- Friend to All Children: When he was alive, he would give candy to the neighborhood kids. Sadly due to becoming a part of the Hive, this soured.
- The Heavy: He's not the main antagonist of the movie, but he is the title character and furthers most of the plot, not to mention his responsibility for every kill in the first two acts of the movie.
- Police Brutality: The cause of his death; a swarm of police officers beat him to death when they believed him to be responsible for putting razor blades into children's candy.
- Razor Apples: The police beat him to death because they believed he was the man responsible for giving out candy with razor blades in it. He wasn't, as more of it was found after he was dead.
- Silent Antagonist: He's completely silent, save for a handful of grunts and groans.
- Tragic Villain: He was just an ordinary if odd, man who was killed for a crime he did not commit and now exists as a member of the collective consciousness that is the Candyman.
