Hyde Gang/Family
For characters appearing in the anthology series, click here.
Sebastian Hyde
A ruthless crime boss who has his hand in most of the dealings in the city.
- Face–Heel Turn: Surprisingly, in "The Dead and Dying" it is revealed that he was once more sensitive and reluctant to be a criminal. He briefly had a chance to go a different way, but he crossed the Moral Event Horizon when he had his one true friend, Gnarly, beaten.
- Pragmatic Villainy: Tracy robbed and embarrassed Hyde, but he takes it in stride and rather than kill Tracy hires him as new muscle.
Walter Hyde
Sebastian's father, who was also a ruthless crime boss who had his in most of the city.
- Deliberate Values Dissonance: He refuses to let his son marry an African-American girl, despite his best friend and reason for his criminal empire being a Black man.
Teeg Lawless
A war veteran with PTSD who was one of the most feared criminals in the city.
- Abusive Parent: Physically and emotionally abusive to his children and wife. Ricky loves Teeg despite it. Tracy regrets that he didn't kill Teeg.
- Armor-Piercing Question: Receives one from a young Tracy who begs him not to hurt a woman. Teeg horrified asks what does Tracy think he is.
- The Alcoholic: Ever since Vietnam, he's been drinking heavily.
- The Cynic: After Vietnam, he has a very sour view of the world.
- Descent into Addiction: He used to be a pretty decent guy before Vietnam, which forced him into drinking the pain away, destroying what goodness he had in his heart.
Tracy Lawless
Teeg's son, a war veteran who escaped jail to avenge his brother Ricky.
- A Lighter Shade of Grey: In the criminal world he is much more of a Knight Templar as he follows his code and refuses to indiscriminately kill and is willing to intimidate people rather than kill. But he is completely willing to kill people.
- Abusive Parents: Regularly beaten and left to fend forhimself by Teeg, who would be chasing a score or indulging his vices.
- Aloof Big Brother: Became this for Ricky, as he finally had an excuse to not be associated with his family.
- Counterfeit Cash: Kills two of Sebastian Hyde's men to take their money. Unknown to him, it's fake cash.
- Easily Forgiven: After killing the rest of Ricky's crew, when he learns that Mallory was the one who killed Ricky and why she did, he spares her.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Will not kill women and wants to make sure that his victims "deserve" to die by Tracy's standards.
- Honor Before Reason: He lives by his code and refuses to ever fail to live-up to a promise to his own detriment.
- Like Father, Like Son: To Tracy's eternal shame and frustration he ended up more like his father despite trying everything to avoid it.
- "Not So Different" Remark: Frequently invoked by people who say that Tracy is "just like" Teeg and Ricky.
- Pragmatic Villainy: Immediately shoots an unarmed man who swears he will kill him.
- The One Who Made It Out: How everyone views Tracy. He has mixed feelings about this.
Chester
Sebastian's right-hand man.
Clevon Brown
Walter Hyde's right-hand man.
Sabrina Hyde
Sebastian's daughter, who's a regular party-goer and often attempts to engage in sexual activities to piss off her dad.
Damian Hyde
Sebastian's son, who has cancer. After Sebastian's death, he inherits the criminal empire.
Elaine Hyde
Sebastian's wife.
Leo's Crew
Leo Patterson
One of the most respected con men on the street.
- Backported Development: Leo Patterson used to be a very high name con man, taking the riskiest scores and getting away. All until the Salt Bay job, which resulted in the violent deaths of his good friends leading to him giving up the life.
- Consummate Professional: Noted by Seymor to be one of, if not the very best in the heist business. He tends to butt heads with Jeff, who is unprofessional and constantly put the two in danger.
- Con Men Hate Guns: Refuses to uses guns on his job, believing they make things unnecessarily violent. He's right, seeing as his last job was botched by trigger happy idiots, resulting in the death of everyone involved.
- The Cynic: He's lived through enough of his partners dying to not trust anyone, even people he's worked with for years.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Refuses to work with junkies and guns.
- Experienced Protagonist: Downplayed. Since the Criminal story is non-linear, he can never truly be this. However, he was a god tier thief and con man before readers were introduced to him.
- Your Approval Fills Me with Shame: Tracy envying Leo for killing Teeg is met with discomfort from Leo.
Greta Watson
A single mom who commits robberies in order to pay for her daughter's medical bills.
Donnie
A con man who pretends to have a seizure in order to get cash from unsuspecting people.
Simon's crew
Simon
The leader and brains of Ricky's former crew.
Ricky Lawless
Teeg Lawless' son and Tracy's brother. A very damaged man who ends up like his father.
- Abusive Parents: Beaten and verbally abused by Teeg regularly.
- The Alcoholic: A cocaine addict at a certain point.
- Big Brother Worship: He worshipped Tracy as his heroic soldier brother, and was hurt that Tracy never wrote to him.
- Hidden Depths: Was a closeted comics fan and also had a sensitive side that only Mallory saw.
- Like Father, Like Son: Has the addiction and self-destructive impulses like Teeg.
- Used to Be a Sweet Kid: How Tracy remembers Ricky, and it is true, though he quickly grows out of it in trying to live-up to his father.
Mallory
One of Ricky's former crewmates, who falls in love with him, and later Tracy.
Davey
One of Ricky's former crewmates, level-headed and cool.
Nelson
One of Ricky's former crewmates, hot-headed and looking for trouble.
Cops
Seymour
A corrupt cop who used to be a robber before he joined the force.
- Dirty Cop: Organises heists and takes briberies.
Detective Starr
A corrupt detective hellbent on pinning a crime on Jacob Kurtz.
- Bad Cop/Incompetent Cop: Wrongly tortures and tries to frame Jacob Kurtz for killing his wife.
- Dirty Cop: Creates a whole plot just to get Kurtz in jail.
The Church
Father Grant
A corrupt priest using the church to get money to invest in drug dealers.
Internal Affairs
Genuine Jen
An I.A. agent who's friendly with Leo.
Undertow
Jake 'Gnarly' Brown
Sebastian Hyde's former best friend and now the owner of the Undertow.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Mostly views Tracy and Ricky as Generation Xerox of their father. But he does try to insist that Tracy take the wisest course to survive. When pressed by Tracy why Gnarly cares, Gnarly does admit he remembers Tracy as a kid taking his father out of the Undertow.
- Only Sane Man: Avoids involvement with the criminal activity other than serving them drinks and occasionally gives advice to Tracy and others. They never listen.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Breaks his code and gives info on Tracy to a Military Investigator who wants to arrest Tracy. He does this so that the Military Investigator will save Tracy who stupidly meets the Triad while wounded.
- Reason Before Honor: A rare relatively positive example of this. He does not involve himself in the criminal world beyond running a criminal friendly bar. But because he has a strict policy of never speaking to anyone and no violence or preference in his bar he is respected.
- Stating the Simple Solution: In "The Sinners" he brutally ridicules Tracy's Honor Before Reason and points out that he should just leave and forget about his family's debts. Tracy goes on with his plan to Gnarly's disappointment.
Angie Watson
Greta's young daughter, who helps run the Undertow with Gnarly. Who is the protagonist of "My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies".
- Dramatically Missing the Point: She utterly romanticizes drug addiction and the artists who were drug addicts, ignoring her mother's despair and shame at her addiction.
- Falling For The Mark: She genuinely cares for Skip. But it does not stop her from getting him to relapse to eventually reveal the location of her father who was about to flip on a mobster.
- Hero Worship: Is eternally grateful to Leo for saving her.
- Hero of Another Story: She is the protagonist of "My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies", after being a hostage in "Coward".
- Walking Spoiler: Her true identity and motivation are the main twist of her starring story.
Roy-L-T's Gang
Roy-L-T
A crime boss who's set on gaining control of the city.
Jeff
A corrupt cop working for Ro-L-T.
- Dirty Cop: Threatens, tortures and is heavily involved in a gang.
Delron
A complete monster who appears to be one of Roy-L-T's most trusted soldiers.
Brookview
Riley Richards
An unhinged man who indulges in many vices, such as sex and gambling. Husband of Felicity.
- Expy: Of Archie from Archie Comics.
- Deconstructed Character Archetype: Of the romantic lead of numerous comics like Archie. He quickly realizes that he made a mistake on which woman he ultimately chose to be with and later reveals that he is truly a man willing to kill his wife, frame an innocent man, and kill his best friend just to avoid being caught.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Killing Freakout is the only moment he truly feels regret for, but he get's over with it as the last, and perhaps only person who really knew who Riley was is dead.
- True Companions: Seemingly with Freakout. Even though Riley hears Freakout profess his Undying Loyalty, Riley still kills Freakout to make sure he is never exposed.
- Wham Line: "I have to kill my wife."
Felicity Doolittle
The rich daughter of Phil Doolittle, she likes to cheat.
- Deconstructed Character Archetype: Of The Vamp and the Bad Girl that men pursue in romance stories. While Felicity's sexuality and riches were exciting for Riley in his youth, she now has grown bored with him and is cheating on him. She also admits that she dated Riley partly as a form of rebellion against her father.
- Expy: Of Veronica from Archie Comics.
- Rich Bitch: She is a rich girl that is incredibly insensitive to her husband to the point that he is surprised that she was willing to stay in his mother's house after the funeral for Riley's father. She also refuses to let her lover tear up her dress as it is expensive.
Elizabeth Gordon
A redheaded good girl that's been crushing on Riley since high-school.
- Expy: Of Betty from Archie Comics.
Freakout
Riley's best friend who struggles with drugs.
- The Alcoholic: After Riley uses him as an alibi, he relapses into his deep habits.
- Deconstructed Character Archetype: He is a deconstruction of the fun-loving party character, as that sort of lifestyle eventually lead to Freakout using hard drugs. Even his Big Eater tendencies, which are prominent with Jughead, are the result of him smoking weed and getting the munchies.
- Easily Forgiven: He forgives Riley for getting him to relapse into using drugs and for murdering Felix.
- Expy: Of Jughead of Archie Comics.
- Hidden Depths: Turns out that he knew who the supposed serial killer of his hometown actually was. He also knew what Riley has done and swears to keep it secret, saying that he is his best friend.
Phil Doolittle
Other characters
Ivan Patterson
Leo's uncle who has Alzheimer's and an addiction to heroin.
- Black Comedy: Jokingly says that Leo abuses him and that no one believes him because he has Alzheimer's.
- Broken Ace: He's a senile man addicted to heroin, but is still the best pickpocket Leo has ever seen.
Jacob Krutz
The creator of the Frank Kafka newspaper strip.
- Counterfeit Cash: Is on the receiving end of this trope. Tracy pays for his services with counterfeit cash, which he finds out when he tries to deposit the cash.
- The Cynic: Having being beat by a delusional detective and crippled by a mourning crime lord because you were wrongly accused of killing your wife tends to do that to you.
Danica Briggs
A young black Femme Fatale who was Sebastian Hyde's first love.
- The Cynic: She was initially an idealist until she had her baby forcefully aborted.
- Femme Fatale: Deconstructed. After her forced abortion, she began to become numb and decided to screw with rich men to try and fulfil a hole in her.
- Heel Realization: Realizes how she has ruined a decent person's life and decides to make things right by humiliating Hyde.
Danny
An Ax-Crazy man trying to score a major payday.
Iris
Danny's girlfriend, who works as a stripper and has major self-esteem issues.
- Femme Fatale: Pretends to be in love with Jacob in order to con him. Though it seems she did.
Frank Kafka
A figment of Jacob Kurtz imagination to help him cope with his trauma.
- The Cynic: As per classic noir detectives.
