The Mogwai and Gremlins characters appearing in Gremlins, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, and Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai.
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In General
Gremlins and Mogwai
Voiced by: Mark Dodson and Frank Welker
The main antagonists of the franchise, Gremlins are a species of small, extremely mischievous, and aggressive goblin-like monsters noted for their chaotic behavior and dangerous reproductive abilities. They are also quite good at messing with technology, which they often use to their advantage. They spawn whenever a Mogwai gets wet with water, and Mogwai themselves turn into Gremlins when they are fed after midnight.
- Affably Evil: Despite their clownish antics and love of pop culture, the Gremlins have a sadistic streak a mile wide. However, the comical mischief goes out the window when they're sufficiently angered or someone poses a significant threat, as demonstrated by the Gremlin who nearly strangles Mrs. Peltzer to death for killing three of its siblings, and by Stripe, who stops fooling around after Billy blows up the rest of the horde and simply tries to kill him with increasingly lethal weapons.
- All There in the Manual: A prologue in the first film's novelization explains that Mogwai were originally created to be perfect companions and ambassadors of peace in the universe by an alien scientist named Mogturmen, but unfortunately, with the sole exception of Gizmo himself, many of them turned out to be rambunctious and hostile to their masters, not to mention their evolution into even worse creatures. Gizmo was sent to Earth in stasis in an escape pod which landed somewhere on our planet and he was found by Mr. Wing at some point in his life, who adopted him. Of course, this is all retconned by Secrets of the Mogwai, where they are the product of a bet between creation gods.
- Always Chaotic Evil: All of them solely exist to cause as much destruction and havoc as possible. Only Gizmo and possibly Greta and Lenny are the only friendly ones. Even the Brain Gremlin wants to use his newfound intelligence to help his brethren destroy humanity and take over the world. According to Secrets of the Mogwai, this is because of a curse that makes any new Mogwai spawn destructive tricksters for the first century of their life, and Gizmo is exempt due to being the original.
- Ape Shall Never Kill Ape: Averted. Gremlins regularly torture and maim each other for their own twisted amusement.
- Played straight then subverted in the first movie's novelization. Conversations between Gizmo and Stripe reveal that the one shred of decency that all Mogwai retain is the inability to perform or even visualize harming another of their own kind. Once they transform into Gremlins, however, that goes right out the window.
- Ax-Crazy: They are extremely violent and will pretty much attack everyone on sight, themselves included.
- Big Eater: They love to munch on whatever they can find, especially junk food and candy. Mogwai in particular seem to be aware of their transformation and are very determined to eat after midnight.
- Bizarre Alien Biology: Their biology doesn't follow the conventions of known science. Exposure to water causes Mogwai and Gremlins to reproduce asexually, but they still show physical and psychological differences that would otherwise imply genetic diversity, eating at a certain time of the day causes them to pupate and metamorphosize, and sunlight is fatal to them. Oh, and they appear to be capable of reincarnating as well, as dead Gremlins can be reborn from a drenched Mogwai.
- Body Horror: Their reproduction. As Mogwai, they simply expel little furballs from their backs which quickly become new Mogwai should they get wet, but this is still a fairly painful process. As Gremlins, however, things get worse, as huge, blister-like protrusions containing smaller Gremlins which develop quickly begin spreading on their back in a far more excruciating manner. George, Lenny, and Daffy even pass out in the second movie as they give birth to more of their kind.
- Born as an Adult: Mogwai and Gremlins that get wet give birth to offspring that immediately grow to their full-size upon birth and are then completely independent, already able to think possessing certain knowledge, and can immediately have offspring of their own. Furthermore, Gremlins that get wet give birth to full-grown Gremlins rather than to Mogwai.
- Civilization Destroyer: It's revealed in Secrets of the Mogwai that the Gremlins have the capacity to become this should they ever escape into the wider world. They destroyed the city that was used to represent humanity in their test and Claw has aspirations of spreading across the globe to spread chaos and destruction.
- Creepy Child: Mogwai, which are arguably a Gremlin's larval/juvenile stage. Even from a young age, they already display the psychopathic tendencies of their adult counterparts. It's eventually explained in Secrets of the Mogwai that a curse causes all newly-spawned Mogwai to be destructive tricksters for the first century of their lives. Their valley is inhabited by an entire village of peaceful Mogwai who have outgrown their destructive tendencies.
- Cute Is Evil: Mogwai are cute little furballs, but are deranged pranksters and will obviously evolve into something worse if they eat after midnight.
- Dark Is Evil: As Gremlins, they are scaly, reptilian imps that are just as nasty as they look.
- The Echoer: Neither Mogwai nor Gremlins can speak very well, and most of them usually just repeat phrases spoken to them by humans, especially in their Mogwai stage. The rest is usually just simple, child-like words or noises. The only one who really averts this is the Brain Gremlin, who has the same vocabulary as a genius human.
- Explosive Breeder: Easily their most dangerous trait, Mogwai and Gremlins alike can give birth to more of themselves by getting wet.
- Expressive Ears: Mogwai and Gremlins both have large, movable ears inspired by tarsiers, used as a means of conveying emotion that their faces couldn't and establishing a physical link between the two.
- Fun Personified: A much darker example than most. According to Noggin, a Gremlin's mind is constantly focused on one thing: having fun. Of course, their idea of fun is wanton destruction and chaos. Notably, this focus gives Claw the concentration to expertly use the Knife of Creation the moment she gets her hands on it despite her typically erratic behavior.
- The Genie Knows Jack Nicholson: Gremlins seem to have a pretty solid grasp of their pop-cultural references, even if they'd only hatched or spawned a few hours ago. The only plausible Hand Wave (aside from Rule of Funny) is that they're heavily implied to be supernatural in nature.
- Green and Mean: In the first film, Gremlins are hedonistic pranksters with green reptilian skin. This gets subverted in the second film where there are brown Gremlins.
- Griping About Gremlins: While these gremlins don't target planes like their mythical counterparts, they still are good at messing up circuits and mechanical artifacts.
- The Hedonist: Gremlins love themselves a party, and will get into excess with any rowdy fun, gambling, and booze or tobacco they find access to. One even drunkenly "flashes" Kate in the first movie.
- Hulk Speak: Mogwai and Gremlins alike sometimes speak an extremely broken form of English.
- Immortality Inducer: Episode 3 of Secrets of the Mogwai confirms that Gizmo and the other mogwai are essentially immortal as long as they aren’t injured badly. As a result, there is a previously unrevealed rule that if one eats a Mogwai (provided that it hasn’t eaten after midnight), that person gains the creature’s immortality. Green’s plan is to capture the Mogwai and auction them off to those desiring immortality, using water to make more.
- Laughably Evil: They're sadistic little bastards, but their hilarious mannerisms and rather joyful mood can make them pretty amusing to watch.
- LEGO Genetics: Their genetic code seems to be pretty malleable, as multiple Gremlins in the second film invade the Clamp Tower's laboratory and start drinking liquids and potions made with the DNA of several animal and vegetable species, causing them to mutate into a plethora of bizarre hybrids. Some of their mutations are even more extravagant, as seen with the Electric Gremlin.
- Light Is Not Good: As Mogwai, they are simply adorable little critters with an utterly unfriendly demeanor.
- Maniac Monkeys: Mogwai look very simian and they're cruel little sociopaths. They become worse when they become Gremlins, though once that happens, it's more of a case of Reptiles Are Abhorrent.
- Meaningful Name: Mr. Wing, being Chinese, was correct in naming the species Mogwai
. é”怪 meaning "demon" or "evil spirit"? Check. Reproduction triggered by the coming of rain? Check. - Metamorphosis Monster: Once a Mogwai has eaten after midnight (or more accurately, when the moon is at its highest), it will encase itself in a slimy cocoon and emerge as a full-grown Gremlin.
- Perpetual Smiler: The Gremlins have a perpetual smile on their faces which conveys their very destructive and mischievous behavior.
- Pet the Dog: Awful as they are, in the first film they did get rid of the cat lady Mrs. Deagle, who was frankly a female Ebeneezer Scrooge, and a deleted scene from The New Batch shows the Gremlins freeing multiple captive animals at the Clamp Tower's lab while yelling at them to "Go! Go!". In the final film, the Vegetable Gremlin doesn't seem to mind when a freed squirrel munches on the veggies growing on his head, implying the little monsters released the animals offscreen. In addition, when Grandpa Fred does his report on the Gremlins, none of them try to attack him at all, implying they do not hurt those who aren't afraid of them or, most likely, they think it's more fun to let him report them to the world unobstructed.
- Pupating Peril: Mogwai who are allowed to eat after midnight end up encased in creepy, Giger-esque cocoons as they begin metamorphosing into Gremlins. Much ominousness will be depicted as a result, both during the pupal stage and the inevitable hatching.
- Secret Test of Character: According to Secrets of the Mogwai, they were created as part of a bet between Chinese creation deities to test the hearts of humans. One created Gizmo, the original Mogwai, while the other created the three rules needed for his care. Of course, it wasn’t long before humans started breaking these rules. Thus, it is said that only a pure-hearted person can be trusted with a Mogwai.
- Weakened by the Light: Light is their primary weakness. Artificial lights can drive them away and natural light is able to melt them down to goo.
- Zerg Rush: The Gremlin's true threat. Individually, when compared to a human, they aren't anything too threatening. They may be strong and have fierce claws and fangs, but a human can overpower them if need be. Lynn Peltzer dispatches three all by herself, and Daniel Clamp is able to overcome one that attacks him eventually. However, once they become a horde that is when they become truly dangerous and are able to bring about real havoc and chaos.
Gizmo
Gizmo
Voiced by: Howie Mandel, Ilene Keys (Singing voice), AJ LoCascio (Secrets of the Mogwai)
Appears in: Gremlins | Gremlins 2: The New Batch | Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai
Gizmo is an adorable Mogwai whom Rand Peltzer buys from Mr. Wing (or rather, his grandson) to give to Billy as a pet. Completely peaceful and friendly, Gizmo is accidentally splashed with water and spawns a batch of other Mogwai, who then turn into Gremlins, leading to the chaos around Kingston Falls. The Gremlins themselves despise Gizmo and bully/torture him any chance they get, most likely because he refuses to transform and remains peaceful towards humans.
- Arch-Enemy: He is this to Stripe/Mohawk. The feeling is mutual.
- Apocalypse Maiden: Gizmo is capable of unleashing a horde or infinitely replicating terrors that could bring about the end of the world if left unchecked, not that he has any say in the matter or any control over the process, and it goes without saying he doesn’t like doing it. He himself, however, is sweet and docile.
- Badass Adorable: It is he, not Billy, that defeats Stripe and Mohawk in both films.
- Beware the Nice Ones: After being abused by Mohawk (who later turns into a half-spider monster) all through the second movie, Gizmo creates a makeshift bow and then slays him with flaming arrows. Billy even says, "I guess they pushed him too far".
- Big Damn Heroes: In both films. First, he arrived at the greenhouse just as Stripe was about to spawn his new army and opened the blinds, exposing him to sunlight. Then, in the sequel, he saved Kate and Marla from spider Mohawk by setting his nemesis on fire.
- Bilingual Bonus: He can be heard calling Mr. Wing "bà ba" at the end of the first film, which is Chinese for "father/dad."
- Breakout Character: Invoked, after a fashion. In the shooting script (which was the result of many other drafts from the original script), Gizmo and Stripe were the same character. Steven Spielberg thought Gizmo was too cute to turn into a monster, so he insisted that Gizmo and Stripe be different characters and that Gizmo remain his cute and cuddly self through the entire film. Once the studio executives saw Gizmo in the film for the first time, they began to realize they'd have a merchandising dream on their hands. He also got more screen time in the sequel as a result.
- But Now I Must Go: In the first film's ending, Gizmo is taken away from Billy by Mr. Wing because Billy failed to follow the three instructions. But Billy ends up getting to keep him in the sequel.
- Butt-Monkey: The other mogwais, and later the gremlins, engage him in slapstick torture in both films.
- Character Catchphrase: "Bright light" in the first movie. It ends up becoming a Chekhov's Gun to save the day.
- Cute, but Cacophonic: When he screams.
- The Dog Bites Back: Gizmo gets fed up with Mohawk's abuse in the second film and goes all Rambo on his enemy.
- Drives Like Crazy: Finding a toy car in the department store, Gizmo starts tearing around in it to look for Stripe, ending with a Slo-Mo Big Air jump.
- The Echoer: Even more so than other Mogwai, thanks to his friendly and social nature (as well as his love of movies and TV). Gizmo likes repeating words humans use when talking to him, and otherwise usually only communicates with simple phrases or noises. He does have his own language, but only Mr. Wing knew it, leaving it lost with his death.
- "Eureka!" Moment: In the climax of the first movie, while trying to find a way to help Billy stop Stripe, he sees sunlight coming through a window, and knows that it's just as lethal to Stripe as to him.
- Explosive Breeder: He hates breeding other mogwai, and not simply due to the excruciating process.
- Gadgeteer Genius: He may be benevolent, but he's just as savvy with gadgets as the gremlins, being able to operate a toy car (albeit in a Drives Like Crazy manner) and fashioning an effective bow and arrow out of office supplies.
- I Know Mortal Kombat: He appears to learn his most badass skills just by seeing them in action on TV. In the first film, Gizmo really gets into a race car show and drives a toy car to catch up with Stripe later on in the film. Then in the second film, he watches some Rambo and from it learns how to make his own bow and arrows.
- Killer Rabbit: By the second film, he has decided to start imitating Rambo (the moment when he decides to take a level in badass even has him remembering Rambo's line in Rambo: First Blood Part II, "To survive war, you've got to become war") and kills the most monstrous mutant Gremlin with an improvised bow and flaming arrow.
- The Lancer: To Billy. He's more aware than him in the first film of the consequences of breaking the rules (specifically the water and midnight rules), and Billy is better able to communicate than Gizmo is. In both films, one is likely to act when the other is in some way incapacitated.
- Leitmotif: Gizmo often sings a lovely melody that has become the film's theme.
- Long-Lived: Gizmo is actually the first Mogwai, meaning he’s centuries old. His immortality makes him able to live long enough to interact with Sam in the 1920s and Billy in the 1980s.
- Monster Progenitor: Gizmo is the first of the Mogwai, and while he is peaceful and kind, any Mogwai that spawn from him are cursed to be deadly tricksters.
- My Species Doth Protest Too Much: He's painfully, tragically aware of what he is and what can easily happen simply because he exists.
- Nice Guy: He's genuinely nice to humans and generally peaceful, unlike what spawns out of him when he's wet...
- Offing the Offspring: All the Gremlins are functionally Gizmo's children and descendants, including Stripe/Mohawk, whom he personally kills in both movies.
- Oh, Crap!: Happens in both films when Gizmo gets wet. Specifically, in the first film, his weary sigh and depressed shaking his head after the five new mogwai emerge. You can just tell he knows what's about to happen.
- Progressively Prettier: He was always adorable, but in the sequel, Gizmo's features are softened and his fur is smoother, which has the effect of making him even more cute.
- Ridiculously Cute Critter: Just look at him! He's so adorable!
- Token Heroic Orc: The most humble of the mogwai and the only truly benevolent one we know of.
- Took a Level in Badass: In the sequel, when he decides to go Rambo on Mohawk. this is usually what happens after the film's villains have used him as a punching bag, and he's basically had enough, as Popeye the sailor man once said.Popeye the sailor man: I’ve had all I can stands and I can’t stands no more.
- Uniformity Exception: He apparently has one among the Mogwai, as demonstrated in the first movie. Unlike all the Mogwai that spawn from him in that movie (which look identical and metamorphose into the standard Gremlin design, except for Stripe's titular hair in both forms), Gizmo has a white patch over his right eye.
- Weak, but Skilled: Gizmo is no match for a Gremlin in a straight-up fight, but he's intuitive enough to beat them through more clever means. Just ask Stripe and Mohawk, both of whom are slain by him.
- Weakened by the Light: Like all Mogwai and Gremlins, bright light is very painful for Gizmo, and direct sunlight will kill him. Despite this, he's shown in the beginning of the second film after his owner dies to be able to survive direct sunlight long enough to get picked by one of the scientist twins before the sunlight could kill him.
- White Sheep: Gizmo is among the few "eternal" Mogwais with a good-natured personality, as all others are mischievous at best or sadistic and hell-bent on evolving into Gremlins at worst.
First Batch of Gremlins
Stripe
Stripe
Voiced by: Frank Welker
Appears in: Gremlins
The de facto leader of the Gremlins in the first film, Stripe is a sadistic, maniacal monster who enjoys carnage and torturing Gizmo. He is killed thanks to Gizmo.
- '80s Hair: He has a tuft of white hair in the first film.
- Abusive Offspring: He, along with his fellow Mogwai, hates Gizmo and tries to kill him alongside his friends despite originating from the former.
- Arch-Enemy: He is this to Gizmo. The feeling is mutual.
- Ax-Crazy: While all the Gremlins are more or less like this they're actually more like deranged tricksters and pranksters. Stripe is the only one who is more willing to commit murder.
- Bad People Abuse Animals: He strings Barney up with Christmas lights and hangs him from the porch at night, nearly causing him to freeze to death. And this was when he was still just a Mogwai! What's worse, Barney wasn't exactly presenting any kind of threat to his dominance nor was he stealing Billy's spoils from Stripe like Gizmo was.
- Big Bad: Stripe was the leader of the Gremlins in the first movie, and the most intelligent and dangerous.
- Body Horror: Stripe's death is pretty gross. Adding to that, he was in the midst of spawning when it happened.
- Catchphrase: "Gizmo, ca-ca!".
- Colonel Badass: For what it's worth, Stripe is a merciless but effective leader who leads his Gremlin army to a great many a spoils and might genuinely care about preserving their species at large. This aspect is lost with Mohawk, who is more of a self-serving loner.
- Decomposite Character: Meta-example. In early scripts, Gizmo was supposed to get wet and turn into Stripe, but they thought it would confuse audiences and he was split into two different characters.
- Determinator: Stripe is a resilient bastard in the first film, taking every measure to keep his species alive and rampant.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Stripe shoots one of his men dead for cheating at cards.
- Establishing Character Moment: Proves himself to be bad news mere moments after being born when he tries to bite Pete for trying to pet him.
- Evil Counterpart: To Gizmo. Unlike him, he's not only frightening but also pure evil.
- Evil Is Petty: When not rampaging, enjoy bullying Gizmo for petty kicks.
- Evil Laugh: A much hoarser and raspier one than the rest of his brethren.
- Explosive Breeder: When he jumps into a swimming pool, he creates more Gremlins.
- Family-Unfriendly Death: His death is the most graphic and unpleasant.
- Final Boss: After his horde is wiped out in the theater explosion, he's the last threat for the climax, and proves to be the most crafty and dangerous.
- Jump Scare: After his body is reduced to a rotting corpse and he falls into the fountain and Billy checks to see if he's truly dead, Stripe's skeletal remains leap out at him and fall to the floor before melting away completely.
- Kick the Dog: Oh, and he enjoys doing this to Gizmo and Billy.
- Last of His Kind: He became this twicenote :
- Shortly after he and his batchmates mutated into Gremlins, they attacked Mrs. Peltzer, who killed three of them while Billy killed the fourth, leaving Stripe as the last remaining Gremlin. Billy chased him to the shcool, where he jumped into a pool, spawning a massive horde and subverting this trope.
- The second time happens after Billy and Kate blow up the theater where the Gremlin horde was watching Snow White, leaving him once again as the last Gremlin alive. This time, however, Gizmo killed him by exposing him to sunlight seconds before he could spawn more Gremlins from touching the water of a fountain.
- Last Villain Stand: Inverted. Even though he was the last of the Gremlins remaining, all he needed to do was find water and he could spawn a new army.
- Metamorphosis Monster: Him and the rest of the Gremlins.
- No Song for the Wicked: When the horde was watching Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, he was the only one who didn't sing along with the film and was fine with leaving the theater to get more snacks, which was what allowed him to escape the theater explosion.
- Non-Mammalian Hair: Stripe retains his namesake tuft of white hair after metamorphosing.
- Non-Standard Character Design: His white tuft of hair distinguishes him from the other gremlins.
- Oh, Crap!: Has a few moments. First, he screams in rage when he sees the movie theater blow up, taking his army with it. Then, he clearly has another when Gizmo exposes him to sunlight.
- One-Winged Angel: Starts as a Mogwai similar to Gizmo, then gets wet and turns into a Gremlin.
- Sadist: He surely loves hurting others and killing even more than the other Gremlins.
- Say My Name: Whenever he is about to confront them, Stripe will frequently snarl a mocking "Billy!" or "Gizmo!"
- Serendipitous Survival: By leaving the movie theater in order to break into the department store for more snacks, Stripe ends up escaping the explosion Billy set up, which destroys the other Gremlins, which unfortunately prolongs the heroes' clash with him.
- Uniformity Exception: Stripe can be distinguished from the standard design of his compatriots by the stripe of white hair on his head, both as a Mogwai and a Gremlin.
- Vile Villain, Saccharine Show: He's significantly more evil than the standard Gremlins (Stripe is one of the only ones who outright wields a gun against the heroes), and he still has his comedic moments.
Second Batch of Gremlins
Mohawk
Mohawk (the Spider Gremlin)
Voiced by: Frank Welker
Appears in: Gremlins 2: The New Batch
Gremlin from Gremlins 2 that has a Mohawk, and downs a chemical that turns him into a half-Gremlin, half-spider monster.
- '80s Hair: Has a mohawk-like fin growing out of his head.
- Bad Boss: For what it's worth, Stripe seems to genuinely care about his brethren and preserving his species. (When he's not shooting them dead for cheating at cards.) This vague redeeming aspect is lost with Mohawk.
- Body Horror: Mohawk as a result of drinking a formula from Clamp's lab, turns into a giant Gremlin/spider hybrid. His death, while relatively less gruesome, is still an unpleasant sight, getting burned alive by Gizmo.
- Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: Mohawk may be a reincarnation of Stripe but differs quite a bit from his predecessor. Stripe looks the same as other gremlins but with a furry mohawk on his head and is a rather effective yet cold-hearted leader who wanted to take over Kingston Falls with his Gremlin army. Mohawk looks much more demonic with his scaly skin and fleshy crest and is also much more sadistic and demented when it comes to torturing Gizmo, but he doesn't really care about invading a city or leading other Gremlins and instead prefers to cause mayhem on his own.
- Dark Is Evil: Even as a mogwai, Mohawk looks demonic with his black fur coat and horn-shaped ears.
- Disc-One Final Boss: Brain Gremlin takes the position of Big Bad in the sequel while Mohawk becomes this.
- For the Evulz: Him menacing Kate and Marla in his spider form, and he has many, many sadistic moments which could be interpreted as this.
- Giant Spider: Mohawk transforms into a gremlin-drider after consuming a laboratory serum.
- I Work Alone: Unlike Stripe, Mohawk doesn't really care for his fellow Gremlins and instead creates chaos all by himself.
- Kill It with Fire: How Mohawk eventually dies.
- Non-Standard Character Design: As a Mogwai, he has his tuft of hair, black spots on his fur, and sharp teeth. As a Gremlin, he has a lionfish-like fin across his back and a wattle, and his skin and overall appearance are much more scaly and reptilian.
- Obviously Evil: Even as a Mogwai, everything about Mohawk just screams bad news. His fur is dark, his ears look like horns, his teeth are razor sharp, and his expression is locked in a seemingly permanent Psychotic Smirk. There's nothing cuddly about him, and he's every bit as sadistic as a mogwai as he is as a gremlin.
- One-Winged Angel: Firstly turns from a Mogwai into a Gremlin and secondly his mutant spider-hybrid form.
- Spider People: Mohawk, after ingesting some spider mutagen chemicals, becomes a monstrous centaurine creature with a Gremlin upper body mounted on a spider's torso.
- Spikes of Villainy: He has spikes coming out of his arms and shoulders.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: He's Stripe from the first movie back again for all intents and purposes.
Brain Gremlin
The Brain Gremlin
Voiced by: Tony Randall (English), Richard Darbois (European French)
Appears in: Gremlins 2: The New Batch
A brown gremlin who was merely part of the horde until he drank a brain hormone serum that greatly increased his intelligence and made him able to talk, thus making him the new leader and the Big Bad of the second movie.
- Adaptation Name Change: Was called "Mr. Glasses" in the novelization. During the part corresponding to the fourth wall-breaking montage in the movie, he directly addresses the reader and even points out his name from the movie.
- Affably Evil: He's quite polite, charming and well-spoken — his stated goal is to make the gremlins civilized. He's still a malicious creature who finds murder and street crime hilarious.
- Alas, Poor Villain: The creators say his death is meant to be viewed this way.
- AM/FM Characterization: At the film's climax, Brain organizes a big band music number so he can sing Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York", establishing his Wicked Cultured personality.
- Badass in a Nice Suit: He wears a few well-tailored business suits throughout the film. Exactly where he found clothing that fit him is unexplained.
- Big Bad: In the second movie he eventually leads the gremlins to invade New York City after getting a Mook Promotion.
- Blue-and-Orange Morality: He seriously believes the only difference between Broadway musicals and street crime is that the latter can be watched for free.
- Distinguished Gentleman's Pipe: He smokes one as part of his Wicked Cultured image.
- Dying Vocal Change: After being electrocuted to the point of being little more than a melting corpse, Brain's voice reverts back to the nasal, primitive-sounding tone that he was before he gained his intelligence, with his final words simply have him croaking out one final "New Yooork..." before he collapses and dies.
- Establishing Character Moment: He's first shown breaking into the scientists' office, demonstrating how gung ho about violence he is. After taking the serum, Brain establishes that he's rather intelligent and cultured, by identifying one of his cohort's mutation into a bat-creature, and then injecting him with genetic sunblock so that he doesn't burn.
- Evil Laugh: While he never actually laughs in the final film, he provides quite a few good ones in the promotional VHS ads for the movie.
- Flipping the Bird: Right as the brain hormone starts to affect his mind, the Brain Gremlin gives a sly middle finger to Doctor Catheter before collapsing onto the ground
- From Nobody to Nightmare: He goes from being just a standard gremlin among the horde to a devious mastermind in charge of the lot after drinking a mutagen that greatly increases his intelligence.
- Go-Karting with Bowser: He engages in a rather civil TV interview with Fred midway through the Gremlins' rampage, pausing only to randomly shoot one of his annoying brethren.
- It Amused Me: Like most gremlins who are not Stripe/Mohawk, he is more amoral and mischievous than sadistic, and, while he thinks casually shooting another gremlin is fun, he doesn't think there is anything wrong with it (other than it being "in no sense civilized").
- The Leader: After gaining his intelligence, Brain becomes the unofficial leader and spokesman of all the Gremlins.
- Mirror Character: To Mohawk. Both of them are dangerous Gremlins who stand out amongst their cohorts due to their unique appearances. The main difference is that Mohawk is a primarily physical threat who constantly tries to kill Gizmo at any given opportunity, while Brain is a Non-Action Big Bad who never encounters any of the main characters, preferring to act as a leader for all the Gremlins in the building.
- Mook Promotion: Starts off as a nameless gremlin then gets a bioengineered intelligence boost and immediately replaces Mohawk as the Big Bad.
- My Instincts Are Showing: As noted, just because his intelligence has been enhanced doesn't make him any less sociopathic and destructive.
- Non-Action Big Bad: The only real instance of Brain engaging in violence is when he shoots a Gremlin that was interrupting him during his and Fred's TV interview. Outside of that, Brain takes a very indirect role in causing mayhem, such as assisting the Bat-Gremlin on his rampage by injecting him with genetic sunblock, or by trolling investors on the phone by by telling them that the economy's crashing.
- Not So Above It All: In spite of his attempts to pass himself off as an upper-class intellectual in contrast to his cohorts, Brain does enjoy the sadistic villainy of his fellow Gremlins. In particular, he compares the street crime of New York City to shows on Broadway, and he outright shoots one of his cohorts in the face for fun (though to his credit, he does admit that what he did was not civilized in the slightest).
- Sanity Has Advantages: Unlike the rest of his brethren the Brain Gremlin possesses a devious mind, and is aware of how much untold chaos they can cause if they take advantage of Catheter's scientific experiments. In particular, he gets the idea to inject the Bat Gremlin with a genetic sunblock serum to make him immune to bright light, thus making him one of the most dangerous Gremlins in the whole movie.
- Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: He uses a lot of big words.
- Smart People Wear Glasses: After he drinks the brain hormone and goes through his convulsions, a pair of glasses inexplicably appear on his face.
- Troll: As the Gremlin horde throws the Clamp Tower into chaos, he starts prank calling investors telling them to stock up on canned food and shotguns.
- True Final Boss: Given Mohawk is a pretty apathetic bad guy and is later killed by Gizmo, Brain is the definite final obstacle of the duology and the most dangerous gremlin of the bunch.
- The Unfought: Amusingly, despite being a prominent threat in the sequel, the Brain Gremlin never directly encounters any of the main characters while he and the other Gremlins cause havoc.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Genuinely believes that letting his kind run rampant to wipe out mankind is important to help them achieve civilization.
- Wicked Cultured: He's an intellectual who appreciates the finer things of human culture... and he'll happily kill another of his kind for fun.
- Vocal Evolution: Brain initially sounded much like the other Gremlins, making nasally, growly creature sounds. After drinking the Brain vial, his voice gradually changes into a smooth-talking low voice, emphasizing his newfound intelligence. As he's dying, it reverts back to being nasal.
Daffy
Daffy
Appears in: Gremlins 2: The New Batch
A light green gremlin that is extremely hyperactive, in the manner of the older versions of Daffy Duck.
- Adaptational Heroism: In the video game Gremlins: Gizmo Daffy is an "eternal" mogwai you can care for like Gizmo.
- All There in the Script: His name is revealed in official merchandise.
- Cloudcuckoolander: He's definitely crazier than the average gremlin and that's saying alot.
- Depraved Dentist: Assumes the role of one when he straps Billy in a parody of Marathon Man.
- Evil Laugh: Cackling like a loon is pretty much his default vocalization.
- Explosive Breeder: When he gets wet in the cooking show set, he provides the template for the lighter green-colored gremlins in the second movie.
- Leitmotif: His theme is a clarinet piece accompanied by cartoon sound effects.
- Non-Mammalian Hair: When he becomes a gremlin, he has a few yellow strands of hair.
- Non-Standard Character Design: He, George and Lenny are much more cartoony than the other gremlins.
- Pinball Projectile: When he pops out of Gizmo as a mogwai, he bounces around like a pinball unlike the others.
- Shout-Out: He is named and based off the earlier The Trickster versions of Daffy Duck.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Apart from some Freeze-Frame Bonus scenes with him in the background with the other gremlins in the latter part of the movie, it isn't shown if he died via electrocution along with the other gremlins. A deleted scene, however, shows that he indeed died along with the rest.
George
George
Appears in: Gremlins 2: The New Batch
An extremely grouchy-looking gremlin that is often accompanied with Lenny.
- All There in the Script: His name is revealed in official merchandise.
- Butt-Monkey: He tends to suffer hilarious injuries at the hands of his stupider cohorts, such as Lenny hitting him with the heat register and accidentally throwing a pot at his head. In a deleted scene, when the three of them are part of the gremlin orchestra, Lenny hits him with his trombone and Daffy bangs his head between his cymbals.
- The Comically Serious: Any humor derived from his scenes come from his clear annoyance at everything around him.
- Cigar Chomper: When he becomes a gremlin, he is often seen smoking a cigar.
- Explosive Breeder: When he gets wet in the cooking show set, he provides the template for the darker green colored Gremlins in the second movie.
- Non-Standard Character Design: He, Daffy and Lenny are much more cartoony than the other gremlins.
- Only Sane Man: When grouped together with Daffy and Lenny, he is the only sane one among the three.
- Perpetual Frowner: See his character image? It doesn't change the entire film. Add in some sneers and growls and you get the point.
- Shout-Out: His face is modeled after Edward G. Robinson while his name and behavior are a reference to George from Of Mice and Men.
- The Stoic: He is not as crazy as the other gremlins.
- Technophobia: He appears to despise microwaves, as while a Gremlin from the first movie died from exploding inside a microwave while it was on. This could mean that he is a reincarnation of that Gremlin.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Apart from some Freeze-Frame Bonus scenes with him in the background with the other gremlins in the latter part of the movie, it isn't shown if he died via electrocution along with the other gremlins. A deleted scene, however, shows that he indeed died along with the rest.
Lenny
Lenny
Appears in: Gremlins 2: The New Batch
A buck-toothed gremlin that is often accompanied by George.
- Adaptational Heroism: Like Daffy, in the video game ''Gremlins: Gizmo", Lenny is an "eternal" mogwai you can care for like Gizmo.
- All There in the Script: His name is revealed in official merchandise.
- The Ditz: He is noticeably dumber and goofier than the other Gremlins.
- Dumb Is Good: Apparently in an early script, Lenny was supposed to have a Heel–Face Turn. In the final film he remains a villain, but still arguably the least malicious of the lot. Gremlins: Gizmo seemed to run with the former, see above.
- Explosive Breeder: When he gets wet in the cooking show set, he provides the template for the brown colored Gremlins in the second movie.
- Fangs Are Evil: Averted. He has two prominent buck-teeth instead of fangs like the other Gremlins.
- Goofy Buckteeth: He has buckteeth just to show how dimwitted he is.
- Merciful Minion: He doesn't attack humans as do the other Gremlins, he just enjoys fooling around.
- Non-Standard Character Design: He, George and Daffy are much more cartoony than the other gremlins.
- Shout-Out: His name and behavior are a reference to Lenny from Of Mice and Men. His voice, buckteeth and laugh are also references to Goofy.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Apart from some Freeze-Frame Bonus scenes with him in the background with the other Gremlins in the latter part of the movie, it isn't shown if he died via electrocution along with the other gremlins. A deleted scene however shows that he indeed died along with the rest.
Bat Gremlin
The Bat Gremlin
Appears in: Gremlins 2: The New Batch
A gremlin who drinks a serum that gives it a large pair of batlike wings.
- Bat People: When the gremlins drink experimental serums and develop a variety of mutations in response, this one gains bat wings and the ability to fly.
- Impact Silhouette: Parodied; when the Bat Gremlin flies through a wall, the hole he leaves behind is shaped like the Batman logo.
- Removed Achilles' Heel: After he gains wings, the Brain Gremlin injects him with another mixture that makes him resistant to the Gremlins' fatal weakness to sunlight so that he can go on a rampage in the city in bright daylight.
- Taken for Granite: It gets tossed into wet cement by Murray Futterman, and before the cement hardens flies up and perches onto the side of a church, where it turns into a passable gargoyle.
Greta
Greta
Appears in: Gremlins 2: The New Batch
A gremlin who drinks a serum that gives it feminine traits.
- Abhorrent Admirer: For Forster, at least until he gives in to her advances at the end of the film.
- Covered in Kisses: She does this to Forster twice.
- Interspecies Romance: She's a gremlin who falls in love with a human man.
- Last of Her Kind: She is the only surviving gremlin after all the other ones get wiped out.
- Mars Needs Women: Gender inverted. Greta, a female gremlin, falls madly in love with Forster, a male human. She gets to marry him at the end."Oh, why can't you commit?!"
- Ms. Fanservice: Greta is this for the Gremlin side to outright parody, she's even introduced this way.
- Single-Target Sexuality: She's the only female gremlin in an office building full of gremlins, but she only has eyes for Forster.
- The Smurfette Principle: Out of all the gremlins with major roles in the film, Greta is the only female.
Vegetable Gremlin
The Vegetable Gremlin
Appears in: Gremlins 2: The New Batch
A gremlin who drinks a serum that causes it sprout plants parts.
- Plant Person: Its potion causes him to sprout leaves and fruit all over his body. Other gremlins are later seen picking bits off of him off to snack on or for garnishing mixed drinks.
Electric Gremlin
The Electric Gremlin
Appears in: Gremlins 2: The New Batch
A gremlin who drinks a serum that causes it to turn into an Energy Being.
- Energy Being: It becomes a creature of living electricity.
- High-Voltage Death: Inflicts this on Dr. Catheter. Billy kills off the Gremlin horde by getting them wet (normally a bad idea) and then unleashing the Electric Gremlin on them.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: It ends up temporarily trapped inside a phone.
- Shock and Awe: It's a living bolt of electricity, capable of moving along power and phone lines and electrocuting people.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: It's not clear what happens to it after it's used to electrocute the other gremlins, although the novelization says he "short-circuited".
From Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai
Claw
Claw
Voiced by: Grey DeLisle (credited as Grey Griffin)
Appears in: Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai
A cunning Gremlin with long sharp claws.
- Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: After using the Clay Knife on herself, she grows into a giant.
- Ax-Crazy: While all Gremlins are violent and dangerous (throwing Greene's henchman over board), she intentionally and directly killed the captain of Greene's ship to steal his hat and take over the ship.
- Bad Boss: She does not really mind that much that Mr. Greene is killing and hurting other Gremlins. After all Gremlins are not gentle to each other anyway.
- Big Bad Duumvirate: She teams up with Greene in exchange for his ship. It helps that she and the other Gremlins enjoy the chaos they get to spread along the way.
- Establishing Character Moment: She is quick to attack others with her claws even in Mogwai form.
- Female Monster Surprise: She reveals that she's actually female when Greene calls her Mister.
- Fingore: She bites off a finger of one of Greene's Henchmen and taunts him by holding it in his mouth like a cigar before swallowing.
- The Leader: Basically becomes this to the 1920s generation of Mogwai, leading their negotiations with Greene.
- Ludicrous Gibs: She explodes into a pile of goop and bones after Greene opens a portal to Tahiti in broad daylight.
- Obviously Evil: She is instantly hostile and violent even in Mogwai form.
- The Starscream: She conspires with Noggin to overthrow Mr. Greene when he goes back on their deal. They succeed after distracting him and cutting his magic hand off to get the knife of creation.
Noggin
Noggin
Voiced by: Eric Bauza (Gremlin) and George Takei
Appears in: Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai
A Gremlin with an enlarged head that allows him to speak all languages
- Anti-Magic: He acquires a ring that nullifies all magic. He first uses it to get past Nuwa's magic shield so he can bring her down for Greene. It later also saves him from Sam using the Knife of Creation to turn all the Gremlins into Mogwai.
- Contrasting Replacement Character: He serves as this to the Brain Gremlin, as they are both random Gremlins that managed to achieve heightened intelligence but have some notable differences. The Brain Gremlin was very much Affably Evil as he was very polite to the people he spoke to despite his destructive goals. He also became the leader of his batch of Gremlins while Mohawk was too preoccupied with torturing Gizmo and got killed for it. Noggin on the other hand, is more of a Faux Affably Evil Insufferable Genius who calls Greene's linguistic knowledge "limited" and plays with his victims emotions. He also serves more of a subordinate role to the current leader of the Gremlins rather than take over for himself.
- The Dragon: He serves as the third-in-command (after Claw) to Greene and then second-in-command to Claw herself after overthrowing him.
- Expy: He is this to Brain Gremlin, who also gained the ability to speak in sophisticated English.
- Faux Affably Evil: He speaks in a very polite and sophisticated manner but he also takes the time to mock those he speaks to, such as insulting Mr. Greene's intelligence after drinking the potion. He also briefly appears to offer consolance to Gizmo after Claw changes the other Mogwais into Gremlins, but then tells him that she's also trying to break him. He also politely relates the story of his escape to a group of chickens before eating them.
- Last of Their Kind: He's the last of the 1920s Gremlins around by the end of the first season after the rest were either killed or turned into Mogwai. He outright refers to himself as such.
- My Brain Is Big: They have a large head as before and after their transformation. However they were just as Chaotic Stupid as every other gremlin before drinking a potion that increased their vocabulary and intelligence.
- Too Dumb to Live: Initially was this. When Noggin was in the spirit world they started drinking random potions and continued to do so even when one caused them to belch fire. Riley notes he will allow Noggin to do so to test which ones are poison. It's only by luck that Noggin got one that increased their intelligence as another Gremlin who drank potions died immediately.
- Wicked Cultured: As he puts it he has a taste for "the finer things in life", as he starts wearing fancy clothes (some of which he got by killing its previous wearers) once he gets to Shanghai and has the most sophisticated vocabulary of all the Gremlins. However, he's still just as destructive as his brethren and even more vicious than the future Brain Gremlin.
Snout
Snout
Voiced by: Eric Bauza
Appears in: Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai
A gremlin with a larger nose than most.
- The Nose Knows: In episode 6 they smell the scent of Sam, Gizmo, and Elle and tracks them to the portal to the spirit world.
Gaptooth
Gaptooth
Voiced by: A. J. Locascio
Appears in: Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai
A Gremlin with two large tusks on the top of their mouth
- And I Must Scream: After Riley devours Gaptooth, he vomits them up into a green gooey puddle. Gaptooth is still alive and they are put in a jar unable to do anything but stare.
- Body Horror: After being puked up they only exist as a wad of slime with eyes and teeth on it.
- Butt-Monkey: They are devoured by Riley, puked up as their Gremlin bretheren laugh, kept in a jar and then lost at sea.
- Fate Worse than Death: He is eventually at the end of episode five just left to float away still struck with a melted body inside his jar, only being able to stare at the ship leaving him behind.
- Swallowed Whole: Riley shoves Gaptooth in his mouth whole hoping to gain immortality. It doesn't work.
Duckface
Duckface
Voiced by: Grey DeLisle (credited as Grey Griffin)
Appears in: Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai
A Gremlin with large lips and a good singing voice.- Beautiful Singing Voice: Unlike other gremlins who are horrid singers, Duckface has a calming high pitched voice not unlike Gizmo, which allows them to open the portal to the spirit world.
- Tertiary Sexual Characteristics: Duckface has large feminine lips and the spikes above their eyes look like eyelashes.
