Characters / Monkey Island

Main Characters

Guybrush

Guybrush Ulysses Marley-Threepwood

Voiced By: Dominic Armato

"I'm Guybrush Threepwood, Mighty Pirate™."

The main protagonist of the Monkey Island series, Guybrush Threepwood is a likable young man who in the first game desperately wants to be a pirate. Unfortunately for Guybrush he does not have the general demeanor of a pirate, and has to get by using his quick wits to solve problems. During his pirating career Guybrush has managed to accomplish several impressive pirating feats, but no one ever gives him credit for anything he does and they treat him like a child trying to play pirate.

Guybrush's wanting something is always the main thrust of the series. In the first game he wanted to be a real pirate and impress, and then save, Governor Elaine Marley; in the second game he looked for the legendary treasure of Big Whoop; in the third game he wanted to find a ring to undo a curse on his now fiancée Elaine; in the fourth game he wanted to find the Ultimate Insult to save the Caribbean; and in Tales he wanted to find a cure for the Pox of LeChuck.

Nothing much is known about Guybrush before he washed up on Mêlée Island. LeChuck's Revenge heavily implied in the ending that he had a mother and father who disappeared and a brother named Chuckie, but that ending has since been retconned as either a magic-induced dream or a wild story told by his own son, so how much of it is true is questionable. For current family he is Happily Married to Elaine Marley and has a son named Boybrush.

Interestingly, the name 'Guybrush' was largely an accident — Steve Purcell saved his design of the unnamed main character as 'guybrush' in D-Paint; 'guy' since they hadn't come up with a name for him yet, and 'brush' to indicate this was the brush file. They started referring to the main character as "Guybrush", and it snowballed from there.

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• Absurd Phobia: He's absolutely terrified of porcelain. The precise details of why are never given and he brushes it off by saying "It's a long story."
• Accidental Misnaming: Almost everyone who tries to call Guybrush Threepwood by name. Including himself in chapter 4 of Tales, which is something of a first.
• Action Dad: By the time of Return, he's grown used to regaling his son with exaggerated renditions of his adventures. The ending leaves it ambiguous and up to the player if he and Elaine are still going on them at that point in their lives, with Elaine suggesting a new potential destination before leaving Guybrush to reminisce.
• An Arm and a Leg: Morgan LeFlay cuts off his pox-ridden hand in Chapter 2 of Tales and he only gets it restored at the very end of Chapter 5.
• Animal Talk: Guybrush talks to dogs... by speaking in the language of dogs! Such is the case with Spiffy in Secret and Old Blind Pew in Curse. He even talks to monkeys, like Jojo Jr. (who not only understands human language, but also learned to speak in said human language too!) in Escape, and Jacques (who also understands human language) in Tales. In Chapter 3 of Tales, there are manatees that speak in their own language that Guybrush is not good at understanding. He discovers that he needs to be a successor to Santino by getting the manatee language book from the Marquis De Singe via the Voodoo Lady, and by getting the Tongue of the Manatee. Once Guybrush obtains both, he can communicate with the manatees in their own language, while the subtitles act as interpreter for the manatee language, regardless of whether you've turned them on or off.
• Anti-Hero: The definitive video game example. He's clumsy, unethical and mostly just does what he does to get the girl (Elaine) in the end. He usually comes across as more well-meaning and friendlier than the rest of the cast, who almost invariably pirates as well. How much of an antihero he is depends on the game and which dialogue choices the player has him choose, but a significant amount of humor comes from the lengths Guybrush will go in each game to reach his goal, causing mayhem and chaos to bystanders and other pirates alike.
• Back from the Dead: In Curse and Tales Guybrush goes through four types of death-undoing: faked death, ghost, zombie, and clean resurrection.
• Babies Ever After: With Elaine, as of Return. The entire game is a story he's telling his son
• Badass Normal: When he isn't using some sort of voodoo spell to help him out.
• Badass on Paper: If you were to read everything Guybrush has achieved in the space of five games you'd expect him to be the most badass pirate that has ever sailed (found the legendary treasure of Big Whoop, repeatedly defeated the dread undead pirate captain LeChuck, the only man to ever escape the Carnival of the Damned intact, etc.). If you were to spend the same amount of time playing as him, well...
  • It is suggested he has quite a reputation. Among pirates who've never met him, at least. There's even a chain of theme restaurants based on him.
  • This is a plot point in Tales, where Morgan LeFlay is enraptured by the legend of Guybrush, and sorely disappointed when she finds out what he's actually like (although he wins her over by the end)
• Beware the Nice Ones: Guybrush generally comes off as friendlier, goofier and more down-to-earth than the various scoundrels that make up the rest of the cast, and generally prefers to resolve conflicts with non-violent trickery instead of brute force. That said, he has proven capable of indulging in shockingly cold and even vicious acts against those who earn his ire, be they villainous or not. He locked the notorious con man Stan in one of his own coffins without any clear way to escape, torn the leg off Le Chuck's voodoo doll resulting in his gory amputation, maneuvers De Singe into getting shredded to pieces by his own device and if he fails the elevator puzzle more than once on Blood Island, he will return before leaving the island to throw the hapless operator off the cliff! This of course isn't even counting the harm he does by accident.
• Brains Versus Brawn: The brains against LeChuck's brawn but very much zigzagged in execution. Guybrush uses his quick thinking and resourcefulness to get the upper hand over the towering ghost/zombie/demon pirate but he's not too bright in day to day matters.
• Buffy Speak: Guybrush tends to say it whenever he comes across something he hasn't named yet. This happens quite a lot in Tales.
• Butt-Monkey: He is always a bit of this, but in The Secret of Monkey Island and The Curse of Monkey Island this is overshadowed by his good nature and occasional heroism. In Escape from Monkey Island, on the other hand, he is constant running joke, either with his efforts falling flat and being made fun of for it, or being mocked by every other character in the game (a great deal of which seems to go over his head). And let's not even get started on his treatment in LeChuck's Revenge, which seemed determined to make him an unlikable Jerkass as well as an (Iron) Butt-Monkey.
• Cannot Talk to Women: Only in his first meeting with Elaine, but it's a truly outstanding instance.
• The Cameo: In Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. Apparently, he was one of the founders of the hidden pirate village Libertalia; his sigil is, of course, a monkey. Near the end of the game, you find his skeleton.
• The Captain: From time to time. A quest for a ship occurs at least once per game. The amount of respect he commands varies, more often than not, he's not taken very seriously by his crew.
• Casanova Wannabe: Has his moments, mostly before he marries Elaine in the 3rd entry. Whenever he is confident to make advances or act confident, be it with Kate Capsize, Carla or even Elaine in MI 2, he's flatly rejected. Conversely, when he isn't trying, he qualifies as an understated version of the following trope...
• Chick Magnet: In spite of his ineptitude, he does manage to win Elaine's heart in spite of speaking gibberish to her, woo the lonely ghost of Minnie Goodsoup, and attract the entire Merperson population of Spinner Cay. He even manages to turn Morgan Le Flay's feelings of fan admiration into a genuine crush as he gets to know her over the course of Tales, but remains largely oblivious to this.
• Cloudcuckoolander: Even though he is smarter than he looks, but still it is hard to determine whether he is sane or not.
• Character Development: Guybrush changes quite a bit over the course of the series. He begins as a young, impressionable, wanna-be pirate with a kind heart. His first victory over LeChuck then goes to his head, and he becomes somewhat of a jerkass anti-hero willing to bring harm to and even physically hurt others to accomplish his goals. He mellows out and matures by the time of Curse. Escape undoes his character development from Curse and he becomes a bumbling Butt-Monkey who is at the cusp of everyone's joke. Tales Guybrush reverts the changes from Escape and he is more similar to his character from Curse. "Return" plays with this in showing him still as oblivious and as careless as he was in the first two games when it comes to accomplishing his goals, but also Older and Wiser and capable of cultivating friendships with the people he has wronged, culminating in passing along the wisdom he's gained from his adventures to his son with Elaine.
• Combat Pragmatist: While a skilled swordsman, he often wins fights without fighting by utilising the environment around him and some pretty unusual methods, such as a pepper mill or a bucket of fish.
• Cool Old Guy: By the time of Return, not only is he still capable of daring adventure despite a new generation of pirate leaders succeeding him, he proves in the Framing Device that some time in the future his son is still enthralled by his whimsical stories.
• Cowardly Lion: He may express reluctance upon learning the dangers ahead of him and is not above begging his enemies to go easy on him, but he will ultimately brave whatever's in front of him to save Elaine or prove his piracy skills. By the time of later entries in the series, he's grown savvy and competent to qualify as a fearless fool.
• Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Guybrush lacks a great deal of common sense, but he can be a competent swordsman.
• Deadpan Snarker: Mostly to showcase that he's not really as dumb as people think.
• Dented Iron: Played for laughs in Return, where he bemoans that since getting older he's only able to hold his breath for eight minutes rather than ten.
• Died in Your Arms Tonight: In Tales, Guybrush does this right in the arms of poor, grieving Elaine after being fatally stabbed by LeChuck's Cutlass of Kaflu, all on a starry night, in a tender, Tear Jerker moment at the end of Chapter 4. He gets better.
• Dork Knight: Whenever he believes Elaine is in danger, his heroism manifests even as his dorkiness remains.
• Dude, Where's My Respect?: He has a very impressive pirate rap sheet, but no one treats him like a pirate worthy of respect. Probably because he's Guybrush.
• Endearingly Dorky: A big part of Guybrush's appeal as a character is how utterly nebbish and feckless he is coupled with his sincere and childish enthusiasm for becoming a pirate in spite of himself.
• Everyone Loves Blondes: Especially the dorky Guybrush.
• Expy: Of Jack Shandy, the protagonist of On Stranger Tides, the chief inspiration behind the Monkey Island series according to series creator Ron Gilbert. Like Jack, Guybrush is a fish-out-of-water Naïve Newcomer who mostly relies on his wits and must learn to adapt to the odd customs and hidden rules that form the world of Piracy, growing braver and morally shadier over the course of his adventure while also endeavoring to save an upper class damsel from a villainous voodoo sorcerer. While On Stranger Tides was a dramatic hero's journey, Guybrush's story is more comedic and farcical.
• Friendly Pirate: Guybrush Threepwood is quite friendly with most of the people he talks to. The only exceptions are the ill-tempered and outright evil ones. But he still fits the pirate archetype, engaging in sword fights, searching for treasure, and stealing valuable items. (In fact, he does all three of those in The Secret of Monkey Island to establish himself as a pirate.)
• Genius Ditz: While he comes across as incredibly buffoonish, he is able to solve some incredibly non-intuitive puzzles.
• Guile Hero: He has a razor-sharp wit (when he's not too distracted to use it), and usually defeats his opponents by outsmarting them. Also, while he may lack common sense and a complete educational background, he is much smarter than a majority of the characters in the series. He is also highly literate, able to read long passages of literature and pronounce extremely complex words and phrases without having to think about it or sound it out, which is surprising, as Guybrush mentions several times throughout the series that he dropped out of college and most pirates lack conventional skills in areas of schooling.
• Happily Married: After some rough sailing in the first few games, and despite some occasional exasperation after exchanging their vows, he and Elaine end up sailing off for their honeymoon at the end of Curse.
• Hanlon's Razor: A great deal of the harm and chaos Guybrush brings to the lives of everyone around him during his adventure isn't intentional, just the result of his laser-sharp focus on whatever goal is at hand. During the rare times a character calls him out, he's either oblivious, apologetic or offers a mealy-mouthed defense of his actions.
• Heroic Ambidexterity: His sword hand switches from game to game; In Secret, he fights left-handed, but in Curse, he fights with his right hand.
• Heroic Comedic Sociopath: The type of physical or emotional damage that Guybrush inflicts varies from game to game, ranging from slapstick to more serious stuff such as seeing Stan Buried Alive. Naturally it's all still Played for Laughs.
• Hook Hand: Gets a pretty useful one in episode 2 of Tales, after Morgan cuts off his poxed left hand.
• Iconic Sequel Outfit: The blue coat he got in Monkey Island 2 has grown surprisingly iconic in his later years, despite not being in three of the first four games. Not only did it come back for both Tales and Return, Guybrush's cameos in other games like Uncharted 4 or Sea of Thieves use his 2 look, probably because it's the one where he looks the most like a pirate instead of a flooring inspector.
• Idiot Hero: He's sort of clownish, but people tend to underestimate him.
• Innocent Blue Eyes: As blue as the ocean. They often symbolize Guybrush's inexperience.
• Iron Butt Monkey: Takes ridiculous amounts of punishment up to and including being killed, generally in amusing ways.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: His character has changed throughout the games, with varying amounts of Comedic Sociopathy and Idiot Hero, but ultimately, as big of a jerk as he can be, he will stand against evil and does genuinely love Elaine. However, he's willing to cause a LOT of collateral damage to achieve whatever his goal is at any given time.
• Kid Hero: In Secret, since he is implied to be around 16 or 17 years old; in LeChuck's Revenge, he (almost) admits that he's just 19 years old.
• Kleptomaniac Hero: He's the main character in a graphic adventure game and also a pirate, so this is pretty much a given.
• The Klutz: He often causes massive problems by attempting anything.
• Legendary in the Sequel: Comically and relentlessly averted. Despite Guybrush's theoretically impressive rap sheet that expands by each game and his general craving for respect, very few people he meets know who who he is and are less impressed by his bravado. Worse still, the few characters that do know who he is often resent him for the harm he inevitably causes them while accomplishing these adventures.
• Likes Older Women: While it isn't specified how old Elaine is, considering that Guybrush isn't even 18 yet at the beginning of the first game, odds are that she's a fair bit older than him.
• Lovable Rogue: He's a pirate, or at least a pirate wannabe, but is ever so lovable, especially once Dominic Armato began to voice him.
• Mad Libs Catchphrase: "That's the second-[adjective]est [object] I've ever seen!", borrowed from Get Smart, and "I'm Guybrush Threepwood, mighty [profession]."
• Made of Iron: As a byproduct of the Lucas Arts adventure game company-wide design philosophy, Guybrush is never put into a situation where he can die (with few notable exceptions per game). This means that even when enduring immense physical pain repeatedly like falling off a cliff or being pummeled by LeChuck, Guybrush can theoretically keep enduring it until you figure out the solution to the puzzle he's in, all the more notable due to his wiry frame throughout the series.
• Manchild: He likes toys and games and looks, sounds, and acts younger than he is, to the point where no one seems to believe he's in his late teens or early twenties. The endings of Le Chuck's Revenge and Return to Monkey Island both offer interpretations in their ambiguous endings that the entire world is Guybrush's childish fantasy.
• Master of Unlocking:
  • From Chapter 2 of Tales onward, Guybrush can use his hook hand as a lockpick to unlock doors and treasure chests. Of course, there are only a few items that can't be unlocked by his hook alone, and that is in the final chapter.
  • In Curse, he can use Stan's business card to do the old credit card trick.
• Master Swordsman: Becomes this after defeating the Sword Master in the first game, and his skills don't waver in later games.
• The Münchausen: In Return its implied Guybrush grew into this, telling his stories to his son and whoever will listen. Elaine notes his stories get stranger and wilder with each retelling.
• My Name Is Inigo Montoya: "My Name Is Guybrush Threepwood! Prepare to Die!", before challenging pirates in Insult Swordfighting in Secret.
• Mysterious Past: Very little if anything is known about his life before arriving at Melêé Island.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Practically Guybrush's middle name. Fortunately, he (mostly) manages to put things right again.
• No-Respect Guy: He's beaten LeChuck several times over, saved the Tri-Island Area's beloved Governor Marley on multiple occasions, lost and won several fortunes, and mastered the art of insult swordfighting, but no matter where he goes, he's just a pirate wannabe with a goofy name who no one's ever heard of.
• Not-So-Badass Longcoat: He wears a very nice longcoat in LeChuck's Revenge, but doesn't undertake any physical combat while wearing it. Ditto in Escape and for the most part of Tales as well.
• Obfuscating Stupidity: While he is a genuine bumbler, he knows how to exaggerate it to his advantage.
• Oblivious to Love: Didn't grasp Elaine's feelings for him until she told him directly to his face, and is so in devoted to her that he remains completely blind to Morgan's growing feelings for him in Tales, which serves as a plot point that influences her betrayal as well as her subsequent redemption.
• Older Than They Look: Or is he? He has trouble getting service in reputable bars because he looks like a teenager. Fortunately, such establishments are uncommon in the Caribbean. It's not clear how old he actually is, just that it's older than he looks (though in LeChuck's Revenge, when he tries to get a preliminary ID card for the library, he almost admits to being 19 years old before he corrects himself and claims to be 21. Late into Curse, he outright states to Dinghy Dog that he's 20, something that he is able to back up with his SCUMM Actors' Guild membership card).
• Only Sane Man: He tends to be the one to point out the general absurdity and logical flaws inherent in the pirate-themed Anachronism Stew.
• Our Hero Is Dead:
  • Fakes his own death with a spiked drink in Curse, complete with a Fission Mailed sequence where the end credits start to play while Guybrush is trapped in a coffin.
  • Gets killed by LeChuck in Chapter 4 of Tales and spends Chapter 5 trying to find his way back to the land of the living. He gets better.
• Parental Abandonment: His parents allegedly disappeared a long time ago and he does not know where they went.
• The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: Throughout the games, he engages on very little actual piracy, with a major exception occurring in Curse's third chapter. Even then, it's a means to an end, as he's doing it to raise money to upgrade both his ship's cannons and his insult repertoire in order to take on Captain Rottingham. In doing so, he only plunders the ships of other pirates.
• Protagonist Without a Past: He is the main character and has a Mysterious Past. Outside of certain allusions to his parents abandoning him, and a mock funeral used to promote Episode 5 of Talesof Monkey Island mentioning that he used to be a simple fisherman before being inspired by a pirate attack, a lot of his life before Secret of Monkey Island is left to conjecture.
• Sailor's Ponytail: He keeps his hair in a short ponytail.
• Shout-Out: His last name is a nod to the Blue-Blooded Threepwood family from P. G. Wodehouse's Blandings Castle stories.
• Super Not-Drowning Skills: "I can hold my breath for ten minutes!" These are the breath-holding skills that he had developed in college when he was young.
• To Be a Pirate: In the first game, his main objective (at first) was to become a mighty pirate and was told he had to do three trials to become one: the first was to steal a priceless artifact, the second one is to become an expert swordsman, and the last was to search for buried treasure.
• Took a Level in Badass: Zigzagged, as his goofiness sometimes gets in the way, but still present since he starts his journey as a pirate wannabe. He's usually trashed in the first act of a given game, only to become wiser and more powerful as the story goes by, usually with the help of some artifact or with some Level Grinding involved. And it takes guts to share a room with LeChuck.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: In LeChuck's Revenge he is noticeably more egotistical and meaner than in Secret, proud of his previous defeat of LeChuck and trying to act more like a real pirate. This leads to Elaine breaking up with him prior to the game.
• Took the Wife's Name: Parodied in Escape. His wife became Elaine Marley-Threepwood after marrying him, but because she's such a prominent figure on Melee Island, everyone assumes that he took her name, leading to a Running Gag of him correcting everyone who calls him "Mr. Marley".
• Verbal Business Card: "I'm Guybrush Threepwood, mighty pirate."
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Of the porcelain (porcophobia?). Speculated to have been caused by being hit over the head with a porcelain vase in the first game. The developers have said they added this just as a gag — after all, who is scared of porcelain? Referenced in Tales of Monkey Island Episode 1: Launch Of The Screaming Narwhal, when you have to pick up a porcelain action figure. Guybrush grits his teeth and reassures himself, "Calm down, Guybrush, it's only a little porcelain..."
• You Fight Like a Cow: Masters insult swordfighting, eventually — he beat the Sword Master and Captain Rottingham. Still gets no respect for it in later games.

Elaine

(Ex-)^note As of EscapeGovernor Elaine Marley-Threepwood

Voiced By: Alexandra Boyd (The Curse of Monkey Island, Tales of Monkey Island, The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition, Monkey Island 2 Special Edition: LeChuck's Revenge); Charity James (Escape from Monkey Island)

"When there's only one candidate, there's only one choice"

The much-beloved governor of the Tri-Island Area, specifically Mêlée Island, Booty Island, and Plunder Island. Elaine Marley first met Guybrush Threepwood when he was working to complete his three pirate trials on Mêlée Island. It was Love at First Sight. Before that happened though Elaine had rejected the advances of the Pirate LeChuck, who came back and kidnapped her, prompting Guybrush to mount a rescue mission to Monkey Island. His efforts proved pointless, as Elaine had defied the usual Damsel in Distress stereotype by escaping and coming up with a plan to destroy LeChuck, which failed.

Since then Elaine has been the center of a Love Triangle between herself, Guybrush, and LeChuck. She grew closer to Guybrush while fending off LeChuck's advances/kidnappings. Elaine and Guybrush eventually got engaged and married in Curse, which did not deter LeChuck in the slightest. Between Guybrush and Elaine, it is obvious that Elaine is the one that wears the pants in the relationship.

At the end of Escape Elaine renounced her governorship so she could sail around the Caribbean at her leisure with Guybrush.

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• The Ace: She's good at everything. The games would be very short if only Guybrush knew how to stay of out trouble.
• Action Wife: She's far more competent a fighter than Guybrush is. Perhaps the best example is in the first game, when she has a plan to kill LeChuck set up by herself only for Guybrush to mess it up.
• Adaptational Dye-Job: Her sprites in the first two games, plus her character illustration in the original EGA release of Secret and the game's box art, show her as a brunette. The VGA version of Secret changed her to having red hair in her character illustration, however, which was adopted as her official hair color as of Curse.
• Battle Couple: In some of the games, she works with Guybrush to take down their enemies, sometimes unknowingly. In these cases, Elaine will usually fight the bad guys head on while Guybrush puts some larger plan into motion behind the scenes to finish them off. Examples include the opening of Curse, where Elaine repels LeChuck's ship from the Plunder Island fortress while Guybrush capsizes it from the inside, or the climax of Tales, where asking her to fight LeChuck at a specific time eventually helps Guybrush defeat him.
• Cloudcuckoolander's Minder: Tries to moderate Guybrush's shenanigans, with mixed results.
• Damsel out of Distress: For those few times when she is captured, she gets herself out of trouble. Notably, in the first game, Guybrush actually inadvertently messes up one of her plans by trying to rescue her.
• Deadpan Snarker: Mainly when voiced by Charity James.
• Demoted to Extra: In LeChuck's Revenge, where she only appears in about a half-dozen scenes and has little bearing on the plot.
• Expy: Of Beth Hurwood from On Stranger Tides. Both characters are the upper class objects of affection for their stories' bumbling hero, and are targeted by the villain for dark voodoo marriage rituals. While Beth does show some initiative in the climax of Stranger Tides, Elaine is ultimately more proactive than her inspiration and is usually shown as capable of rescuing herself.
• Guile Heroine: As of episode 5 in Tales
• Happily Married: To Guybrush. Even as much as he can exasperate her, Elaine loves Guybrush dearly and the feeling is mutual.
• Hero of Another Story: In the game's backstory as well as offscreen during the games themselves, it's clear that Elaine's own pursuits and adventures as the foremost Governor of the Tri-Island Area are impressive in their own right. Even in retirement during Return to Monkey Island, she's mounting a one-woman information campaign about the dangers of scurvy.
• Large Ham: Whenever her mind is altered by being poxed or turned into an undead bride in Tales.
  • Or when she's just really pissed off, in Monkey Island 2: Special Edition.
• Not Even Bothering with the Accent: Completely drops her British accent in Escape when voiced by Charity James only to pick it right back up in Tales when Alexandra Boyd returns to the role.
• Pimped-Out Dress: There are two of them. One is at the end of Curse, when Elaine is in a Fairytale Wedding Dress similar to Cinderella's from Disney, with a white flower tiara instead of a wedding veil on her head, as she and Guybrush are now Happily Married and sailing off into the sunset. The other is in Tales Chapter 5, when she willingly becomes LeChuck's demon bride and gets a Gothic version of a Little Black Dress (complete with a revealing Gem-Encrusted black bustier/corset worn under a see-though sheer black fabric sleeveless blouse with a sash belt, a dark gray broomstick skirt and black dress boots, along with gem encrusted black opera gloves, and an eerie-glowing black tiara), which she wears through the remainder of the game, even when she is reverted to her no-longer demonic self.
• Pirate Girl: Like pretty much every character in the games, she's a pirate.
• Only Sane Man: Even when she's captured, she's always portrayed as smarter and more capable than Guybrush. Most famously seen in the first game, when Guybrush's attempt to save her ruins a plan she'd set up that would have defeated LeChuck far more easily. A deleted scene from Curse (alluded to in dialogue) would have shown her escaping her ropes and re-routing the roller coaster so Guybrush doesn't die. Despite this, she genuinely loves Guybrush and the two of them work well together.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: A loved, helpful and competent governor.
• Redhead in Green: In Curse she predominantly wears green.
• Relationship Upgrade: Her consideration of Guybrush, from a kid-brother-figure to a more or less equal partner is one of the few things that bothered Ron Gilbert about the sequels.
• Shout-Out: Her first name is a reference to Elaine from The Graduate, and is likewise yelled by Guybrush as it is in the film. Her last name is a reference to Bob Marley.
• Significant Green-Eyed Redhead: Elaine falls into this category, although she often has blue eyes in other games.
• Taken for Granite: Gold, actually, in Curse
• Tsundere: As frustrated as she gets with Guybrush, she can't help but be taken in by his ineptitude.
• Universally Beloved Leader: She has this standing among the population of Melee Island in Secret, and that of Booty Island in LeChuck's Revenge; it's unclear whether the population of Plunder Island in Curse loves her quite as much, but at the very least nobody openly says anything bad about her. Averted in Escape, where she's depicted as far more arrogant and uncaring about the population of Melee Island, which is indicated to play as big of a role in her loss to "Charles L. Charles" as the latter's absurd campaign promises.

LeChuck

The Ghost Zombie Demon Statue Walrus Pirate LeChuck

Voiced By: Earl Boen (The Curse of Monkey Island, Escape from Monkey Island, Tales of Monkey Island, The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition, Monkey Island 2 Special Edition: LeChuck's Revenge), Kevin Blackton (Human LeChuck in Tales of Monkey Island), Jess Harnell (Return to Monkey Island)

The Big Bad of the series, LeChuck is obsessed with taking over the Caribbean and marrying Elaine Marley. Before the start of the series LeChuck went off to find the legendary treasure of Big Whoop in order to impress Elaine. Big Whoop turned out be a portal to Hell that transformed him into a demon capable of summoning the undead to serve as his crew, as well as a bunch of other powers such as flying and shooting fire.

Every game so far has had him try to take over the Caribbean in some way, usually with a type of voodoo weapon. And every time, Guybrush Threepwood has stopped and killed him. But since he's already undead LeChuck always manages to come back in some form. The only exceptions to this were in LeChuck's Revenge when he was specifically targeting Guybrush, and in Tales, when he finally succeeded in turning the tables around and killing Guybrush in an ambush thanks to some voodoo trust charm the villain had worn when he was human; for a short while he emerged victorious... until Guybrush managed to come Back from the Dead in order to stop him once and for all.

Despite the more comical aspects of his personality LeChuck is considered very dangerous by other pirates. He sees Guybrush as his greatest enemy.

LeChuck's apppearance has changed with each game. In Secret he appeared as a ghost; in Revenge he was a zombie; in Curse he became a demon; in Escape he could change his appearance between the three at will; in Tales he alternates between zombie and demon and in Return he spends the game as a Zombie.

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• Ax-Crazy: Apart from Elaine, the thing he loves most is murdering people.
• Back from the Dead: Capable of this even before the series began.
• Beard of Evil: LeChuck's beard is very impressive, whether it's ghostly and wriggling, zombiefied and slimy, or formed from the very flames of Hell itself. Mostly it highlights the fact that, from the third game onward, LeChuck has a really tiny head.
• Beware the Silly Ones: For most of the series LeChuck may seem cartoonishly over-the-top, but let's not forget that he acquired his original ghost crew by sacking a pirate ship and murdering the entire crew. Kind of puts it into perspective when he's making ridiculous threats and spending entire acts failing to kill Guybrush.
• Big Bad: Except in Escape where, in a surprise twist, he's revealed to be The Dragon to the game's real main villain, Ozzie Mandrill. Ultimately Zig-Zagged as even then, his proclaimed loyalty to Mandrill goes out the window when he realizes Mandrill's plan fails, and he immediately tries to kill him in the climax by possessing a large statue he had built under his term as Governor. While Ozzie uses the Ultimate Insult to take control for the final battle, Guybrush succeeds by breaking Ozzie's spell and it's Le Chuck who delivers the final blow to Ozzie in a fit of rage, accidentally blowing himself up in the process.
• Bond Villain Stupidity: He wouldn't be LeChuck if he didn't take some time to explain his plans and put Guybrush through some unnecesarily complex contraption or ordeal.
• Brains Versus Brawn: The brawn against Guybrush's brains but very much zigzagged in execution. LeChuck is massive and uses his brute strength to get what he wants but is also capable of ruthless cunning and setting traps, even if he struggles with the many puzzles that make up the world.
• Came Back Strong: Gets blown up by his own voodoo cannon ball at the start of Curse, which leads him to come back as a demon pirate complete with flaming beard and even more powers.
• Complexity Addiction: His convoluted plans only enhance his mystique.
• Determinator: His plans may fail, but not for lack of trying.
• The Dreaded: A fearsome scourge. Pirates are so afraid of him that in the original game they won't leave port, and when he did kidnap Elaine from Plunder Island, almost everyone on the island runs away scared. Even out-universe in Revenge.
• Everything's Deader with Zombies: In the second game. His ghost form had been destroyed by Guybrush in the first game, so Largo LaGrande has his spirit shunted to his rotting corpse instead.
• Evil Is Bigger: The main villain of the series, and he is much bigger than the protagonists and most supporting characters.
• Evil Only Has to Win Once: As soon as one of his plans works and he manages to kill Guybrush, it's shown that he immediately succeeds in capturing Elaine and conquering the entire Caribbean effortlessly. When Guybrush returns from the dead, a great deal of the supporting cast has been killed by him. The implication appears to be that as goofy as his defeats at the hands of Guybrush are, without them he would be a nightmarish and unstoppable force of evil.
• Evil Smells Bad: According to Guybrush, he can smell it when LeChuck has visited a place the recent past, due to him having a distinct smell of brimstone and beard oil.
• Evil Sounds Deep: When he becomes a human who pretends to be good-natured up until the time that he kills Guybrush in Tales.
• Expy: Of Blackbeard in fiction generally, as a large bearded fearsome pirate captain famous for coming from back to the dead, but has more in common specifically with the version who served as the ultimate villain of Ron Gilbert's inspiration, On Stranger Tides. Like Edward Teach from the book, Le Chuck is a fearsome legend but also a deceptively powerful voodoo sorcerer who cheats death and plans to capture the heroine for the purpose of unholy matrimony. They even both disguise themselves as a bald mustached character to waylay the hero in their respective stories, with Blackbeard taking the guise of Edmund Morcilla post-resurrection, and Le Chuck appearing first as Fester Shinetop to scare off Guybrush.
• Ghost Pirate: At first he's a see-through blue pirate with a prehensile beard. Later he's a zombie, then a demon...
• A God Am I: In Tales after he absorbs power from the voodoo crossroads, he declares himself a demon god.
• Impersonating an Officer: In this case, Sheriff Fester Shinetop, impersonated and disguised so well by LeChuck himself.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: Whatever form LeChuck takes comes with a weakness that Guybrush eventually uses to defeat him. For example, in Secret, LeChuck is a ghost pirate but is vulnerable to the voodoo antiroot, and in Revenge, being a zombie means Guybrush can use his physical form to make a voodoo doll. Even when he becomes a demon in Curse, Guybrush is able to trick him into accidentally setting off an explosion with his flame powers, trapping him under a mountain.
• Jerkass: Lechuck is not nice. He murders entire ships and forces the crew to serve him as undead slaves, and even with his crush on Elaine, he'll resort to brainwashing her to get over her rejections of him.
• Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: Appears nice when he's human but it's all an act. The minute he doesn't need Guybrush's help, he betrays and kills him.
• Joker Immunity: Hence the lengthy title.
• Just Between You and Me: He even insists on talking about his plans to Guybrush when the latter insists he doesn't want to listen.
• Knight of Cerebus: While he's usually the main villain in each of the games to one degree or another, he's also responsible for some of the darker moments in the otherwise lighthearted comedy series. Examples would be the unusually creepy climax in the Underground Tunnels in MI 2 and everything occurring after he fatally stabs Guybrush in Tales.
• Large and in Charge: Leads the largest pirate crew seen in the series and he's a very big guy.
• Large Ham: Courtesy of Earl Boen, who cranks up the ham to ridiculous levels.
• Laughably Evil: He's a horrible mass murderer, but he's undeniably hilarious. How laughable he is fluctuates from game to game however, as there are points where his sadism is not played for laughs but instead for genuine horror.
• Leitmotif: LeChuck's Theme.
• Master of Disguise: Surprisingly, he's proven to be this on multiple occasions, thanks to his supernatural powers. Specifically, his disguises as Fester Shinetop in the first game and Charles L. Charles in Escape. Of course, the ultimate example would have to be appearing as Guybrush's brother Chuckie in LeChuck's Revenge.
• Megaton Punch: He's strong enough to punch Guybrush (and later Stan) back and forth between the opposite ends of Mêlée Island.
• Mysterious Past: It's never revealed exactly how he "dropped dead" and became a ghost after he was rebuffed by Elaine. Secret indicates that he sailed off to find the Secret of Monkey Island, but was killed when his ship was destroyed in a storm, and returned to the world of the living as a ghost immediately afterwards. However, Curse reveals that he actually survived the storm, found out about the treasure of Big Whoop, eventually made his way to Dinky Island to claim it, and discovered that it was actually a portal to Hell, which caused him to become undead when he tried to use it. Tales in turn has LeChuck claim that the Voodoo Lady is behind his constant resurrections, and is trying to use him as her own puppet each time.
• Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot: LeChuck has, by the end of Tales, been a human pirate, a ghost pirate, a zombie pirate, a demon pirate, a living statue pirate, a giant walrus pirate (not shown in any game yet, but mentioned in Tales), a demon zombie pirate, a human pirate again, and a demon pirate god.
• No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Delivers a very lengthy one to Guybrush in the final showdown in Tales.
• Not-So-Harmless Villain: He is quite dimwitted, but makes up for it by being very evil. He displays an extreme fondness for horrible torture, is a mass murderer, and he has vast voodoo powers and a nearly endless horde of undead crewmen. This reaches a point in Tales where he successfully manipulates every other character in the story and not only succeeds (temporarily) in killing Guybrush, but conquering the Caribbean and turning it into a Hellish reflection of itself.
• Offscreen Villainy: Most of his dreadful deeds have already ocurred when the first game begins and are related via exposition by other character. Usually, we only see the results of his kidnappings and overal wickedness, not the actual action.
• The Other Darrin: Full circle. Goes from Earl Boen to Adam Harrington to Kevin Blackton and back to Earl Boen.
• Puzzle Boss: Each game usually climaxes with this, as Guybrush has to figure out a way to defeat him. Examples include finding a replacement antiroot in Secret, constructing a voodoo doll of LeChuck in Revenge, tricking LeChuck into blowing himself up in Curse, beating the giant statue of LeChuck to a draw three times in Escape, and trapping LeChuck in the afterlife in Tales.
• Resurrected Romance: If his origin story is accurate.
• Resurrective Immortality: How he comes back most of the time. He was a man, then came back as a ghost. Guybrush destroyed his ghost form, and he was brought back as a zombie. Then his voodoo cannonball destroyed him, and he came back as a demon.
• Sadist: His defining trait outside of his obsessive love for Elaine. This often works against him, as the needlessly elaborate nature of the painful death traps he leaves Guybrush in usually give the latter enough time to get out of it and triumph. Even outside of Guybrush, his fondness for torturing people to death emerges in other interactions like his systematic murder of Governor Marley's crew and his Big Whoop Amusement Park.
• Shapeshifter Default Form: Tales and Return both have him return to Zombie form, implying that it has taken this status for him.
• Taught by Experience: In Tales. Having finally learned from his previous mistakes, when doesn't need to work with Guybrush anymore, he kills him the first chance he gets. When Guybrush comes back as a ghost, he uses root beer to get off him ASAP. When Guybrush comes back again as a zombie, he wastes no time and beats the living daylights out of him.
• Unexplained Recovery: Was apparently destroyed at the end of Escape, and is back with no explanation in Tales.
  • Was apparently destroyed (unusually thoroughly this time) at the end of Tales but is back in Zombie form in Return.
• Villain Decay: In the first game, he was the scourge of the seas, his mere presence in the Caribbean made the other pirates afraid to set sail, and he "recruited" by slaughtering other ships' crews and turning them into his undead slaves. In Return, he's treated as just another pirate, albeit an undead one, promotes himself as an "equal opportunity employer", and is more of a rival to Guybrush than a mortal enemy.
• Villain Has a Point: In Escape, Elaine sees through his lies in his Charles L. Charles and claims that everyone else will see through them. LeChuck retorts they "couldn't see through a window" before revealing his real identity. It's hard to argue with him given how easily he beat her in the governor election and nobody believes her when she tried to reveal who he was.
• Villainous Crush: He's relentless in his pursue of Elaine.
• Voluntary Shapeshifting: In the first game he effortlessly passes as a living human. By the fourth game he can transform between his ghost, zombie and demon forms at will (plus a new human form as Charles L. Charles).

The Voodoo Lady

The Voodoo Lady/ Corina

Voiced By: Leilani Jones (The Curse of Monkey Island, Escape from Monkey Island, The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition, Monkey Island 2 Special Edition: LeChuck's Revenge); Alison Ewing (Tales of Monkey Island)

The resident Ms. Exposition of the series, the woman only known as The Voodoo Lady has appeared in every game to give Guybrush and the player an overview of what Guybrush will do over the course of the game, though in a vague way that most likely will not make sense to the player the first time around. In Secret it was completely optional to visit the Voodoo Lady, but in subsequent games it is impossible to proceed unless Guybrush goes to her place to learn what to do. Half the time Guybrush visits her to procure some voodoo item he needs to complete a puzzle.

Little is known about her past. She always manages to have a store on one of the islands Guybrush goes to per game, and her knowledge of voodoo lore is very extensive. Tales revealed some information about her past. In the past she was in a relationship with Coronado De Cava, who went off to find La Esponja Grande for her and disappeared. In "The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood" LeChuck accuses her of manipulating the events of the entire series, including his own actions, an accusation which she denies. It is unclear if anything LeChuck says is true, since accusing the Voodoo Lady and getting her thrown in jail furthers his own plans to rule the Caribbean. At the end she is shown grinning evilly over LeChuck's voodoo essence, so it remains to be seen if she is evil.

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• Aborted Arc: Nothing is done with the hints she is evil from Tales, and LeChuck is brought back with no fanfare, despite her holding his voodoo essence.
• Ambiguously Evil: In Tales, LeChuck claims that she has been manipulating him and Guybrush all these years (including his obsession with voodoo power and Elaine) for some nefarious purpose, and the end of Tales has her chuckling evilly after gaining a jar containing LeChuck's voodoo essence. Elaine certainly believes LeChuck's claim, but Guybrush isn't so sure. Return reveals she is benevolent, but has been holding the Secret of Monkey Island and was sworn not to tell anyone.
• Ascended Extra: In her first appearance, she was a side character that you could go the entire game without meeting. She plays a major role in the sequel, and goes on to become a staple character in the rest of the series.
• Anti-Climax: In Return, Guybrush points out that he has never actually learned her name, and calling her "The Voodoo Lady" just seems to be a Running Gag between the two of them, and asks her when she will finally get around to tell him what it is. She immediately answers nonchalantly and upfront that it is Corina. Guybrush admits that while knowing her name is nice, he also cannot help but feel somewhat disappointed, since not knowing seemed more mysterious and exciting.
• Barefoot Sage: In the first two games (i.e. the original canon). One of the traits she shares with Tia Dalma.
• Big Good: As she gives Guybrush indications and various items he needs to defeat LeChuck, and is in general dedicated to preserving the harmony of the natural order. While in Tales there are hints of her being Ambiguously Evil, Return shows her back to her helpful but enigmatic nature, but also reveals she had been holding the Secret of Monkey Island the whole time and was sworn into secrecy not to tell anyone.
  • In one of the optional post credit scenes, we also see her giving Guybrush theme park tickets.
• Big Beautiful Woman: De Cava certainly thinks so. Guybrush is revolted by the prospect.
• The Chessmaster: She may have orchestrated the events of the entire series to get her hands on LeChuck's voodoo essence.
• Creepy Good: She's a powerful voodoo priestess and her headquarters is usually adorned in spooky things like skulls and taxidermy animals, but she's actually the Big Good of the series and Guybrush's mentor. The only time this is seriously averted is at the end of Tales, but as of Return it seems that this is an Aborted Arc and won't be mentioned again.
• Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Only called the Voodoo Lady by everyone, unless you ask her about her name in Return.
  • This actually Lampshaded by LeChuck in Tales Chapter 5:
    LeChuck: By the way, does anyone know if she has a name? It feels weird just calling her "Voodoo Lady"...
  • In Chapter 1 of Tales, Guybrush asks what her name is, and she refuses to give her name, as telling another her name would give them power over her, for names have power. Guybrush's probably does as well.
  • In Return, she simply gives her named when asked: Corina.
• Fortune Teller: She tells Guybrush his future in the first three games.
• I Have Many Names: She claims to have been known by many different names on many different islands. Unfortunately, she doesn't disclose any of them. In Return she reveals her real name is Corina in a deliberately anti-climactic fashion.
• Leitmotif: Voodoo Lady Theme. Present in all games.
• Magical Negro: A literal example.
• Self-Serving Memory: In LeChuck's Revenge she claims to have provided Guybrush with the root beer he used to destroy LeChuck's ghost form, something that she has absolutely no part in doing in most playthroughs — she mentions the antiroot if you go back to her shop after Elaine is kidnapped, but it's the Monkey Island cannibals who prepare the root beer for you, not her, and you actually can't go in to see her again after returning to Mêlée. She also told Largo that she was the one who killed LeChuck. Then, in Curse she claims to have created the voodoo doll that was used to stop LeChuck in the previous game, which is nearer the mark but still not entirely true (the doll she created was of Largo LaGrande, and Guybrush later used her recipe to create one of LeChuck).
• Solitary Sorceress: Fits the bill in three games: in LeChuck's Revenge, Curse and Tales, she lives in a place remote enough that Guybrush will find her somewhere around the end of the first act, around when he gains the freedom to move around the game world. However, in the original Secret, Escape and Return, she lives right in the middle of Mêlée town and is accessible right away.
• Themed Tarot Deck: Has a set in Tales which she narrates the events of the previous chapter.
• Witch Doctor: She can create lots of voodoo trinkets, but her specialty is voodoo dolls.

Recurring Characters

Stan

Smilin' Stan S. Stanman, or just Stan

Voiced By: Pat Pinney (The Curse of Monkey Island, The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition, Monkey Island 2 Special Edition: LeChuck's Revenge); Pat Fraley (Escape from Monkey Island); Gavin Hammon (Tales of Monkey Island, Return to Monkey Island)

A salesman that Guybrush runs into in each game. In Secret Stan sold previously-owned ships, in Revenge previously-owned coffins, in Curse life insurance, in Escape time shares, and in Tales memorabilia of Guybrush's trial while acting as the prosecution. The quality of the items Stan sells is always questionable, but Guybrush always tricks or rips him off anyway, so it evens out.

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• Achievements in Ignorance: When confronted on his Porcelain Pirate treasure maps in Tales, he seemed to genuinely believe that he was selling fakes that only led people in circles — even trying to keep them from being exposed in court. However, earlier when following one of the maps (and solving a few puzzles along the way) Guybrush actually was able to find a treasure — and at least one other person was as well, as the treasure was already taken by then.
• All in the Manual: In the official site for Return to Monkey Island, Stan reveals he was arrested for selling "nothing fungible".
• Amoral Attorney: Apparently, Stan was so amoral he was radiated by the order by the time of Return to Monkey Island.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Zig-zagged, while he is portrayed as a rather bad salesman in the earlier games (to the point, that he goes on a vacation when he finally sells a ship in Secret), in the later games, he seems to be seen as more competent. Plus, somehow he always has enough finances to set up a new business. A more literal example in Tales, when he's the prosecutor in "The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood", and in Return, where he tried to use his previous experience to represent himself in court.
• Character Tics: Aside from his tedency to wave his arms around when speaking, he is always tapping his left foot.
• A Fool for a Client: When he is accused of marketing fraud in Return, he chooses to represent himself in court, since he is, after all, a former lawyer himself. It works about as well as expected, and he finds himself setenced to hard labor at the Brrr Muda Ice Mines.
• Honest John's Dealership: In the first game, he sells crappy ships at hugely inflated prices. In Tales, he also hawks bogus treasure maps in addition to that game's main racket. Further confirmed in Return that he isn't below employing a pyramid scheme or, according to the official website, selling NFTs.
• Karma Houdini Warranty: Subverted in Return, where Guybrush ends up helping build an ironclad case against him, getting him ten years of jail time for all the scams he's run over the years... and then almost immediately helps him break out of prison.
• Leitmotif: His theme from LeChuck's Revenge, Stan's Previously-Owned Coffins, has become this for him, appearing in every game since. His first appearance at Stan's Previously-Owned Vessels, however, has a very different theme.
• Milking the Giant Cow: He seems physically incapable of talking without wildly waving his arms around; it seems to be more of a tic than a way of emphasizing.
• New Job as the Plot Demands: Starts off as a used ship dealer, before switching to used coffins, then insurance, timeshares, and memorabilia, and he even has a brief stint as a persecuting attorney in Tales (though this is at least partly a way for him to drum up interest in the merchandise he is selling on the side). A throw away from Rapp Scallion also reveals that Stan used to sell used kitchen utensils.
• Noodle Incident: It's never explained why Stan was arrested in Return to Monkey Island besides being for "marketing-related crimes". In the official main site, he admits he was selling NFTs
• Offscreen Teleportation: He does this in Secret, where you can leave him at the end of the docks and yet somehow he'll be back at the entrance before you can leave the place.
• Unmoving Plaid: It's so iconic that even in the 3D games, the animators went out of their way to get his jacket to maintain an Unmoving Plaid pattern.
  • In Return, when Stan is imprisoned he wears unmoving stripes!

Wally

Wally B. Feed

Voiced By: Neil Ross (The Curse of Monkey Island, Monkey Island 2 Special Edition: LeChuck's Revenge, Return to Monkey Island)

A cartographer Guybrush meets on Scabb Island in Revenge. Wally helps Gubyrush reassemble the map to Big Whoop, and is later kidnapped by LeChuck to prevent Guybrush from finding the treasure. Guybrush sneaks into LeChuck's and rescues Wally, but they get separated when Guybrush blows up LeChuck's fortress.

Wally reappears in Curse, working for LeChuck as the dreaded pirate Bloodnose. Wally is the one that tells Guybrush the engagement ring he gave to Elaine is cursed, after she had already put it on. He then seen in LeChuck's Carnival of the Damned as one of the attractions.

He appeares once again in Return, where he runs a new cartography business, this time on Mêlée Island. Much to his outspoken chagrin, fate conspires to have him cross paths with Guybrush once more.

Wally is the most innocent character in the series, which is why the developers had so much fun torturing him.

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• Badass Bookworm: Wally both subverts this and plays it straight when he's "Bloodnose".
• Blind Without 'Em: He cannot see a thing without his monocle. Too bad Guybrush has to steal it to complete a puzzle.
  • Lampshaded in Return. Guybrush steals another monocole from Wally on Melee Island...but it turns out these are now giveaway items, and Wally actually wanted him to take it.
• But Wait, There's More!: You'll also get a set of audio books on parrot!
• Butt-Monkey: Suffers abuse after abuse due to Guybrush's antics throughout the series, as mentioned below.
• Distressed Dude: In the games he appears in he gets kidnapped, chained to the ceiling, blown up, and subsequently forgotten about. Though in Return, it is possible for Guybrush to rescue him, though it takes solving a quite obscure and not immediately obvious puzzle.
• High-Class Glass: Wears a monocle in Revenge, which is replaced with an eyepatch in Curse. He goes back to the monocle in Return.
• Minion with an F in Evil: He tries to stop Guybrush in Curse, but Guybrush is able to convince him that he's not villain material.
• Pint-Sized Powerhouse: As Bloodnose, but only because he's got a pistol and Guybrush doesn't want to hurt him. The only way for Guybrush to beat him is to talk him down.
• Reforged into a Minion: Parodied. He's been Press-Ganged into LeChuck's crew by means of what sounds like a self-help seminar. Luckily Guybrush gets to him before he's murdered into undeath.
• Throw the Dog a Bone: By the time he reappears in Return, he's actually doing pretty well for himself. His new shop is very successful, years of therapy have dealt with the trauma he's accumulated over the course of the games, and he seems fairly happy, to the point of being on relatively good terms with Guybrush despite everything the latter has done to him. The game even baits you into thinking you'll have to steal his monocle again, only to find out that he's giving them away for free as a marketing stunt. Until Guybrush inadvertantly causes LeChuck to think Wally has double-crossed him, and he gets assaulted and kidnapped again. This time, though, you can save him for real... using an obnoxiously obscure optional item.
• Vocal Evolution: While he's voiced by Neil Ross in all of his appearances, his voice is noticeably softer and less nasal in Curse compared to the Special Edition of LeChuck's Revenge and Return.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: In Revenge, he's last seen in the same powder magazine/dynamite storage room as Guybrush, just before the fortress explodes. It wasn't until years later that Curse reveals that he "was blown clear"... somehow. Meanwhile, in Curse, he was last seen hanging in LeChuck's amusement park. He eventually makes a reappearence in Return.
• What the Hell, Hero?: In his reappearence in Return, he remarks on how being around Guybrush has only caused him grief and strife.
  Wally: I spent years in therapy, getting over being burned, blinded, blown up, abandoned, and marooned, because of you.
  Guybrush: Heh, yeah. Good times, huh?

Murray

Murray the Demonic Talking Skull

Voiced By: Denny Delk (The Curse of Monkey Island, Escape from Monkey Island, Tales of Monkey Island, Return to Monkey Island)

Murray the Demonic Talking Skull was a member of LeChuck's undead pirate crew with dreams to Take Over the World. Guybrush blasted Murray and his crewmates with a cannon in order to save Elaine, reducing him to a skull. Murray appears throughout Curse, going on at length about how he will take over the world with his legion of the damned. Despite destroying his body Guybrush gets along well with Murray.

Murray makes a cameo in Escape as a bouncer at Planet Threepwood, he has a more important appearance in Tales, and he appears multiple times throughout Return, even becoming Guybrush's ship's figurehead.

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• Ascended Extra: Murray's appearance in initial test versions of Curse were so popular with the playtesters that he was given more appearances throughout the game.
• Card-Carrying Villain: Is he ever. He brags about all the evil things he's supposedly going to do every other line.
• Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: He constantly tries to backstab Guybrush in Tales, though none of these attempts end well for him.
• Dem Bones: He was a member of LeChuck's skeletal horde until Guybrush destroyed his boat, reducing him to a disembodied talking skull.
• Even Evil Has Standards: He refuses to be part of an Ultimate Insult talisman, telling Guybrush he's evil but not crazy. In any case, it wouldn't with him because it requires a monkey head rather than a human head.
• Evil Is Hammy: His declarations of conquest are quite grandiose. He has big plans for someone who's completely dependent on others to even move.
• Evil Laugh: A Verbal Tic of his: "Mua-ha-ha-ha-ha!"
• Friendly Enemy: Eventually becomes reluctant allies with Guybrush, and is key to solving a number of puzzles. Reversed in Tales.
  Murray: Could you pick me up so I can bite you?
  Guybrush: NO!
  Murray: I just thought I'd ask.
  • Played a bit more straight in Return, where he eventually comes around to help Guybrush of his own volition, even though it is clearly somewhat in spite of himself:
    Guybrush: I feel like we're entering a new phase in our relationship.
    Murray: (making no attempt to hide his sarcasm) I'm trying to contain my joy.
• Harmless Villain: It's hard to take over the world when you're a skull that gets knocked around by everything.
• Iconic Sequel Character: He doesn't appear in the first two games, but has become a series breakout character since Curse
• Laughably Evil: Fans of the series consider him to be one of the funniest characters.
• Losing Your Head: He's a disembodied talking skull. Guybrush shoots off the rest of his body with a cannon during the opening of Curse.
• Poke the Poodle: When he threatens Mort the Gravedigger:
  Murray: I will hide your keys beneath the cushions of your upholstered furniture! And nevermore will you be able to find socks that match!
• Throw It In!: He wouldn't even exist if not for how overwhelming the fan reaction was to his brief appearance in the initial demo. Most of his dialogue in Curse was improvised by his voice actor, who just decided to chew the scenery and play it for laughs; many of the puzzles were last-minute additions by the devs just to give the character more screen time.

Herman Toothrot

Herman Toothrot

Voiced By: Wally Wingert (Escape from Monkey Island, The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition, Monkey Island 2 Special Edition: LeChuck's Revenge)

Herman Toothrot is a hermit Guybrush meets when he first arrives on Monkey Island. Herman originally found Monkey Island on the Sea Monkey with his crewmmate, who later accidentally hung himself. He helps Guybrush out by explaining various places in Monkey Island, assists him with some puzzles involving the Monkey Island Cannibals, and is possibly the one who give him a ride back to Mêlée Island.

Herman makes small cameos in Revenge and Curse, then makes an important return in Escape, where his backstory is Retconned into being the grandfather of Elaine Marley. At the end of Escape he takes the job of Governor back from Elaine, allowing her to sail the high seas with Guybrush. Return has him appear as a hermit again, with no mention of his role in Escape.

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• Aside Comment: He frequently makes snarky remarks directed at the player.
• Bamboo Technology: Downplayed, but he did construct a big, unwieldy banana picker (two huge White Gloves on the end of a big set of extending wooden handles) at some point.
• Cloudcuckoolander: Sanity Slippage after years of isolation.
• Continuity Snarl: The only way his backstory makes sense is if he was knocked into the whirlpool by Ozzie Mandrill, washed up on Monkey Island, got amnesia, got off of Monkey Island, went to Mêlée Island, bought the Sea Monkey so he could return to Monkey Island for whatever reason, got a crewmate, returned to Monkey Island, and lost his ship and crewmate.
  • Return notably completely ignores the Captain Marley reveal, returning Herman to a crazy hermit.
• Go Mad from the Isolation: Subverted. He's gone mad after years stuck on an island with nobody to talk to but the local cannibals, various monkeys, the living dead, and his actually-dead shipmate. So he's actually had lots of people to talk to. But going mad from loneliness is what you do when you're stranded on a Deserted Island. He even has a spare ship of his own in the first game, but he still needs somebody else to come and rescue him properly.
  • It is played more straight in Return, where in his search for the Secret of Monkey Island, he got stranded in a dark cave alone with no way out for a decade. He is considerably more hostile to Guybrush, refusing to part with the Golden Key he found. The only way to take it is by force.
• Ice-Cream Koan: When he is on Dinky Island acting as a guru, most of his wisdom are these.
• Luke, I Am Your Father: In Escape, he's revealed to be Elaine's grandfather and Guybrush's grandfather-in-law. Upon learning of the latter, he immediately wished that he had amnesia again.
• Pants-Free:
  Guybrush: Where are your pants?
  Herman: What pants?
• Proverbial Wisdom: Parodied with his guru image on Dinky Island. He gives Guybrush what seems to be a Zen-style Koan: "If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, what color is the tree?"
  Guybrush: All colours?
  Herman: Exactly! Now what has this experience taught you?
  Guybrush: That philosophy isn't worth my time.
  Herman: I'm very impressed. It takes most people years to reach this point.
• Robinsonade: He's a very Crusoe-ian castaway who's been stranded on Monkey Island for decades.

The Sword Master

Carla, the Sword Master of Mêlée Island

Voiced By: Pamela Tyson (Escape from Monkey Island), Leilani Jones (The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition, Return to Monkey Island)

The best swordfighter on Mêlée Island. Guybrush must best her as one of his trials to become a pirate; she later joins his crew to sail to Monkey Island, where she is canonically stranded after the first game. She returns in Escape, where she once again joins Guybrush's crew, and in Return, where she is the newest governor of Mêlée Island.

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• Abhorrent Admirer: In the form of the storekeeper, a Dirty Old Man who'll take any excuse to make the trek out to her cabin, knowing full well she doesn't want to see him or anyone else.
• Disc-One Final Boss: Played with. She can be your very last challenge in the first chapter of Secret, but only if you manage to pass the other two trials beforehand.
• The Hermit: She lives in a cabin deep in the woods, a secret to everyone other than the storekeeper.
• Master Swordsman: Referred to as such by her title of "The Sword Master". Guybrush can still beat her with good enough comebacks.
• Samus Is a Girl: Most people refer to her only as the Sword Master, so it's a bit surprising when Captain Smirk refers to her by name — Carla — and we find out she's actually a woman.
• Sassy Black Woman: A black woman who's a master of insult swordfighting.
• Skewed Priorities: Seemingly. She, along with Guybrush's entire crew, blows off the whole "rescue Elaine" mission to work on their suntans. Granted, when every pirate on Mêlée says "The governor can take care of herself," they've all known Governor Marley considerably longer than Guybrush and his attempts to rescue her ultimately accomplish nothing — she rescues herself and Guybrush actually ends up throwing off her plans, and canonically getting his crew stranded on Monkey Island.
• SNK Boss: Of a sort. Her swordfighting insults are different from those of the other pirates, and Guybrush can only respond to her insults instead of exchanging them. Her fight is also the longest in the game.
• You Fight Like a Cow: Guybrush must beat her at insult swordfighting as one of his trials to become a pirate.

Meathook

Meathook

Voiced By: Cam Clarke (Escape from Monkey Island, The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition)

Bald, tattooed, and musclebound with hooks for hands, Meathook is one of the three pirates Guybrush recruits for his initial voyage to Monkey Island to rescue Elaine. Like the rest of the crew he mutinies and ends up stranded on Monkey Island. He returns in Escape, having made it back to Mêlée Island, where he started a career selling wax paintings to tourists.

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• Animated Tattoo: He has a skull tattoo on his chest called Roger that he can make talk.
• Bald Head of Toughness: Big and tough with nary a hair on his head. Though Guybrush may mercilessly laugh at him and call him "cannonball head" and "chromedome".
• Eyepatch of Power: Helps to make him look more menacing. He lost the eye to the Beast, along with both hands.
• Fluffy Tamer: Inverted. He keeps a terrifying creature he calls "The Beast" behind a massive metal door on Hook Isle... but it's really just a small, friendly parrot.
• Gentle Giant: He's big and bald with hooks for hands, but he's mostly an entertainer rather than the pirate brute he appears to be at first glance.
• Hook Hand: Two of them. He lost both his hands to... The Beast. Which is to say a parrot.
• Large Ham: Especially as performed by Cam Clarke — he's a Large-Ham Announcer living in the shell of an old tourist trap, and he's only too happy to spout off the old patter, given the chance. He also goes into sobbing hysterics when you brave the Beast he's feared all these years.
• Named After the Injury: Has two Hook Hands after losing them to a parrot.
• Noodle Incident: So how exactly did a parrot bite off both his hands and peck out one of his eyes?
• Real Men Wear Pink: Despite his gruff exterior, he enjoys painting in his spare time. In Escape, he turns it into a successful business, dripping colored wax onto canvases with his hooks.
• Skewed Priorities: He, along with Guybrush's entire crew, blows off the whole "rescue Elaine" mission to work on their tans. Meathook is slightly more polite about it than Carla and Otis.
• The Strong Man: The largest, most musclebound member of Guybrush's crew. Not that he does anything with it. It's implied that he mostly put his muscle to work as part of the various amusements on Hook Isle in its heyday.
• Walking Shirtless Scene: He's always bare-chested, probably to show off his tattoo.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: He's terrified of parrots, any and all parrots, after losing both hands to one as a child.

Otis

Otis

Voiced By: S. Scott Bullock (Escape from Monkey Island, The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition), Sean Reyes (Return to Monkey Island)

The third member of Guybrush's original crew, a petty thief Guybrush breaks out of jail. He has bad breath and an Aunt Tillie. Like Carla and Meathook, he mutinies early in the voyage, is left stranded on Monkey Island, and eventually returns in Escape and Return.

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• Cutting Off the Branches: Judging from the fact that he's been traumatized by his experiences on Monkey Island by Escape, Guybrush sunk the ship with the rock launcher.
• The Generic Guy: He's a fairly run-of-the-mill pirate — his most notable trait before Escape was a pink neckerchief. Voice acting gives him a prominent Mexican accent.
• Great Escape: He's been stuck in a cell so long he's resorted to eating rats. Guybrush resorts to melting the lock with the local grog.
• Jail Bake: Subverted. Otis's Aunt Tillie baked him a carrot cake with a file in it — but Otis hates carrot cake so much that he never even tried it. He'll trade it to you in exchange for some gopher repellent instead (to deal with the rats).
• Jerkass Has a Point: He's the one who convinced Carla and Meathook to blow off the whole "rescue Elaine" mission to work on their tans, but his excuse that "The governor can take care of herself" turned out to be absolutely correct—Elaine escaped on her own without any trouble.
• Noodle Incident: Apparently he's had experiences on Monkey Island that have left him so jittery he "can't pick a lock or a pocket without making more noise than a flatulent hippo."
• Only in It for the Money: He's a pirate and a thief, and proud of it.
• Reduced to Ratburgers: Apparently Sheriff Shinetop doesn't feed him, so he's had to resort to eating rats and his own body lice. This hasn't done wonders for his breath or his attitude.
• Self-Serving Memory: While he's right to blame Guybrush for sinking the Sea Monkey and getting the crew stranded, the fact that he frames this as the crew being "betrayed by their idiot captain" comes across as hypocritical given that he convinced them to mutiny during the trip to Monkey Island in the first place.
• Ungrateful Bastard: He calls you a sucker after you break him out of jail. Then he shows up to join your crew anyway. Then he incites a mutiny because you bought a lousy ship and he wants to work on his tan.
• You Don't Look Like You: Downplayed, but his hair's gone from jet-black to carrot-orange and he's lost his moustache by Escape. Guybrush doesn't even recognize him at first.
• You Need a Breath Mint: After weeks in prison, his breath is so bad that Guybrush won't even talk to him without buying some Grog-O-Mints from the store.

Bob

Bob

Voiced by: Rob Paulsen (The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition, Return to Monkey Island)

One of LeChuck's long-suffering ghost minions.

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• Cutting Off the Branches: In Secret, it's possible for Guybrush to vaporize Bob with the root beer if certain dialogue options are chosen. As Bob appears in Return, presumably this didn't happen.
• Friendly Enemy: He bears Guybrush no ill will and often helps him out. He is also a close friend to Herman.
• Losing Your Head: His ghostly skull continuously slips off his neck, most often when he's nervous. He gets left behind in Secret when his head falls into the lava and LeChuck's ship sails off without him. While trying to find a skull for the potion in Return, Guybrush can ask Bob for his (Bob refuses).
• Make an Example of Them: Played for Laughs. It's his job in Return to be tied and hung upside down to prove what happens who fails LeChuck. Besides being bored, he doesn't mind and, if anything, he is offended by the idea of others taking his job.
• Minion with an F in Evil: Bob really isn't evil at all, or in any way enthusiastic about obeying LeChuck's orders. He is only LeChuck's minion insofar as he is too afraid to turn against him — the guy had him killed and resurrected as a ghost after all.
• Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: Bob has absolutely no problem with frequently helping Guybrush out behind LeChuck's back, because he is not fond of his boss at all. Might have something to do with the fact that LeChuck killed him, resurrected him as a ghost, stole his ship, and forced him to serve on his crew.
• Punny Name: Return dubs him "Apple Bob", as a play on "bobbing for apples"; a common activity at fairs, leaning into the idea that the world of Monkey Island is an amusement park. He's strung up from the yardarm and left to dangle like an apple in a tree.

The Cannibals

• Affably Evil: They are quite civilized and polite, even when they capture and intend on eating Guybrush at first.
  • Lemonhead in Curse is tempted to eat Guybrush, giving a very long description on how he'd plan to cook him, but having gone vegan, decides against it.
• Black Comedy Cannibalism: Naturally. They go vegan in Curse (although still somewhat tempted). In Return, Guybrush speculates if they were actually cannibals at all to begin with, or if it was all just an act they put on for tourists.
• Cannibal Tribe: Of the Offscreen Villainy / In Name Only variety.
• The Dreaded: Subverted. Their name alone is ominous and they are antagonistic at first, imprisoning the hero while debating how to eat him, but once Guybrush gets to interact with them, they are harmless and eventually very friendly.
• Failed a Spot Check: They are terrible at it. They do realize that the idol given by Guybrush has exactly the same features as one of Lemonhead's, down to the "made by" writing, but fail to make the trivial logical connection that Guybrush just took back one of their offerings from the giant monkey head.
• The Guards Must Be Crazy: Repeatedly escaping from the cannibals' hut causes them to increase security until the hut has a steel vault door, yet the obvious escape route repeatedly goes unnoticed.
• Hollywood Voodoo: They had no problem dealing with Ghost-Pirates until LeChuck stole the Voodoo root used to make the anti-ghost Root Beer.
• Not-So-Omniscient Council of Bickering: They are indecisively harmless, debating forever whether to eat Guybrush and leaving random notes and memos around the island addressing their grievances, in hopes they would be found and answered.
• Or Are You Just Happy to See Me??: Red Skull asks this to Guybrush when he sees him with a stolen banana.
• Sword of Plot Advancement: They provide Guysbrush with the root beer. It works well against regular ghosts, but it's subverted later against LeChuck as the bottle jams.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: The eventually provide decisive help to Guybrush.
• The Other Darrin: A weird case: for some reason, Lemonhead's voice in Curse is given to his leader Red Skull. Either that or Red Skull got Lemonhead's mask.
• The Rival: In Secret, they are at odds with Herman , the only other (living) human being on Monkey Island™.

Antagonists

Largo

Largo LaGrande

Voiced By: James Arnold Taylor (Monkey Island 2 Special Edition: LeChuck's Revenge)

Largo LaGrande was LeChuck's second-in-command when he was alive. After he died Largo moved to Scabb Island, where he used his status as LeChuck's second-in-command to bully the island populace. Guybrush eventually drives off Largo, but not before he steals LeChuck's beard from Guybrush, which he uses to resurrect LeChuck. Afterward he only appears to get berated by LeChuck, and disappears after Guybrush blows up LeChuck's fortress. He hasn't been seen since.

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• Alliterative Name: Largo LaGrande.
• Bald of Evil: Implied by the fact that one of the ingredients needed to make his voodoo doll is a toupee. In the third game, Guybrush refers to his baldness as well.
• Creepy Crossdresser: Implied. Guybrush needs to steal a bra that belongs to him from Marty's laundromat, though we never actually see him wear it.
• Disc-One Final Boss: The main antagonist in the first chapter of Revenge, "The Largo Embargo".
• The Dragon: He's been LeChuck's most trusted henchman for years, and given the chance he jumps on the opportunity to bring his boss back to wretched unlife.
• Establishing Character Moment: He robs Guybrush in his very first scene while insulting him. This gives the player a good idea on what his personality is.
• Evil Counterpart: To Guybrush. Much like Guybrush in 2, he has a huge ego and coasts on his reputation. The main difference between him and Guybrush is that Largo serves LeChuck, and has little-to-no redeeming qualities, having spent most of his time abusing Scabb Island's population.
• For the Evulz: His "tax" is so high that no one can pay it, meaning he gets no income from it. He doesn't seem to care.
• Hated by All: Everyone on the island hates him and only because he's known as LeChuck's second-in-command, and nobody wants to incur retaliation from LeChuck. Even LeChuck doesn't like him.
• Hate Sink: He's devoid of likable character traits, being little more than a bully toward Scabb Island's populace, and robbing Guybrush in his first scene. Not surprisingly, the first act of the game is about humiliating and ousting him. Even in-universe nobody can stand him, not even LeChuck, who he was the right hand of.
• Napoleon Complex: He is the second-shortest person on Scabb Island, and it's implied that people picking on him his whole life are what's given him such a massive chip on his shoulder.
• Non-Indicative Name: Largo LaGrande (Spanish for "Tall" and "The Big", respectively) is a complete misnomer, as he's small of stature.
• Remember the New Guy? : LeChuck's long-time loyal lieutenant, never mentioned in the first game. It's never established why he and LeChuck's Witch Doctor weren't killed and made a ghost like the rest of the crew (though it might be because LeChuck doesn't actually seem to like or trust him very much).
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Originally he was a minor case of this; while he was never seen or mentioned again after LeChuck's fortress was destroyed, it was fairly easy to presume that he just died in the explosion. However, the Special Edition makes things more ambiguous by just having the fortress damaged somewhat by the explosion rather than being completely destroyed, presumably to leave the way open for Largo to appear in future games.

Captain Rottingham

Captain René Rottingham

Voiced By: Tom Kane (The Curse of Monkey Island)

A pirate captain well known for his swordfighting skills and his well-groomed appearance. In Curse, he overhears Guybrush talk about the diamond in Blood Island and steals his map, thus establishing himself as the main antagonist for the first half of the game.

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• Alliterative Name: René Rottingham.
• Bald of Evil: After Guybrush forces Haggis to cut off his hair.
• Berserk Button: His hair. Guybrush pushes it badly, making it look like his immaculately curled mane is riddled with lice so that Haggis chops it all off — setting off a sort of Villainous Breakdown.
• The Dandy: He cares a lot about his appearance, especially his hair. He's dressed in the style of the French court, done in gold, with hair so perfect it looks like a wig but is apparently real.
• Disc-One Final Boss: He's set up as an antagonist in the second chapter of Curse, and then finally fought in the third. He completely disappears from the game after that.
• French Jerk: He's a mean, snooty Frenchman and the Arc Villain of Curse's third chapter.
• New Rules as the Plot Demands: He tells Guybrush that his comebacks need to rhyme with the insults during the third act of Curse, as they are swordfighting at sea rather than on land.
• SNK Boss: Of a sort. Like the Sword Master before him, his swordfighting insults are different from those of the other pirates, and Guybrush can only respond to his insults instead of exchanging them. His fight is also the longest in the game.
• You Fight Like a Cow: Guybrush must beat him at insult swordfighting to retrieve the map.

Ozzie

Ozzie Mandrill

Voiced By: Nick Tate (Escape from Monkey Island)

Ozzie Mandrill is a ruthless Australian businessman who spends all of the fourth game attempting to gain control of the entire Caribbean, be it through simply buying up property, hostile takeovers, or political manuevers (or secretly committing crimes).

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• Big Bad: In Escape. LeChuck is still present, but he acts as Ozzie's dragon.
• Bond Villain Stupidity: Subverted. He realizes that keeping Guybrush alive could hurt his plans, but he's too eager to have a hostage. So, he instead opts to maroon him on Monkey Island where he won't foil Ozzie's plans, but can still be used as a hostage if worst comes to worst. This apparently-smarter move ends up biting him in the end, though, but more through sheer bad luck than any ineptitude on Ozzie's part.
• Butt-Monkey: When he tries to make a bank transaction, but not really anywhere else in the game unless you count him being crushed to death by LeChuck's One-Winged Angel form.
• Corrupt Corporate Executive: It's mentioned at one point that this was almost his undoing in his earlier years because it made the honest corporate executives refuse to do business with him.
• Hiding Behind the Language Barrier: Parodied; Mandrill is completely untouchable in any style of Insult Fighting because all of his jibes and putdowns use Australian slang, which nearly everyone in the Caribbean finds both too incomprehensible to respond to and even more humiliating because they can't understand it. In most cases, whenever a business owner can't be bought or strong-armed, he personally challenges them to a duel and beats them hands-down.
• Hopeless Boss Fight: You can challenge him to Insult Swordfighting, but it's impossible to respond to his ridiculously Australian insults in anything other than confusion. Luckily for Guybrush, the only thing Ozzie does if he wins is kick Guybrush out of his house.
• Jerkass: And not in a funny way either. He's just a mean-spirited, unpleasant person.
• Knight of Cerebus/Vile Villain, Saccharine Show: See The Straight Man below.
• Large Ham: Though he really doesn't start showing it until Guybrush learns that he's in cahoots with LeChuck.
• Named After Somebody Famous: Ozzie Mandrill sounds a lot like "Ozymandias", another conqueror of land.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: If he'd waited one more second before using the Ultimate Insult on LeChuck, Guybrush would've been killed before he had a chance to activate his own Ultimate Insult. He might have still been defeated by Horatio and Jojo, but he would have at least succeeded in killing Guybrush. Because of his actions, he didn't even accomplish that.
• No Celebrities Were Harmed: While Ozzie's business ventures and personal M.O. are more of a broad parody of commercial gentrification (with some cues taken from 90's moguls like Ted Turner and Donald Trump), the man himself is clearly inspired by Rupert Murdoch in particular.
• The Straight Man: Although Escape is a pretty wacky entry in the series, he is an almost entirely serious, humorless character even before you realize that he's the new main villain (and we say "almost" because he does have one wacky quirk in his Australian insults). Some critics, expecting an actually-funny antagonist, complained about this aspect back when the game was first released.
  • One particularly subtle demonstration of this trope is that he's the only character to avert the game's Running Gag of calling Elaine "Mrs. Marley" instead of "Mrs. Threepwood".
• Ungrateful Bastard
• Unusual Euphemism:
  "Great Barrier Reef!"
  "What in the name of Adam Smith's Invisible Hand is that?"
  "What the didgery-doo was that?!"
• Xanatos Speed Chess: Within minutes after his original plan to kill all pirates, a plan that he spent years on, fails, he improvises and begins carrying out a new one, and he might have succeeded if Guybrush, Horatio, and Jojo hadn't stopped him.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: To Horatio T. Marley and Pegnose Pete.

The Marquis de Singe

Le Marquis De Singe

Voiced By: Jared Emerson-Johnson (Tales of Monkey Island)

The other villain of Tales, the Marquis De Singe is a Mad Scientist conducting experiments on Flotsam Island, using a wind machine to bring new test subjects to the island. When De Singe sees that Guybrush's hand has been cursed with the Pox of LeChuck, he suspects that it may contain the secret of immortality and tries to remove Guybrush's hand. He succeeds and creates an immortality elixir out of the Pox, but discovers that the elixir only works for so long. To fix that, De Singe tries to pulverize Elaine Marley-Threepwood, who had already been infected by the Pox, and spread her ashes into the atmosphere, infecting everyone in the planet so he will have enough subjects to make elixir out of.

In the end he is stopped by Guybrush, who destroys the machine in the turban that was sucking the Pox out of his hand, which in turn knocks De Singe into his wind machine, pulverizing him into dust.

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• Arbitrary Skepticism: Looks down upon people who believe in voodoo...despite the fact that voodoo is what he's using as a main component in his immortality serum.
• French Jerk: Subverted, kind of/maybe. Despite his name, accent, mannerisms, constant use of French language phrases, and backstory of having worked in the court of King Louis, he never claims to be French and even flat-out denies it when the topic comes up.
• For Science!: Why he is initially conducting experiments, before he sets his sights on living forever.
• Healing Factor: When he gains Pox-induced immortality, he gains the ability to heal from all injuries as well.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: Knocked into the wind machine that he's been using to cause trouble for everyone.
• Immortality Seeker: He certainly is one, and he's willing to damn the rest of the world to accomplish it.
• Killed Off for Real: That, or he's still alive as scattered dust.
• Leitmotif: De Singe's theme.
• Mad Doctor/Mad Scientist
• Made of Iron: While under the effects of the morality serum.
• Meaningful Name: Not only is he named after the Marquis De Sade, but at least in a meta sense "singe" is French for "monkey." Guybrush actually refers to him as "De Monkey" at one point.
• Morally Ambiguous Doctorate: de Singe is a "physician," but only in the sense that he wants a fresh supply of body parts for his experiments and "treating" the injuries of the locals gives him an excuse to butcher them. He only ever amputates any injury brought to him (even as minor as a stubbed toe) and he clearly cares nothing for actually curing any maladies the locals have. Indeed, it turns out that he responsible for the cursed winds of Flotsam Island, to bring him an endless supply of pirates to steal body parts from.
• Sissy Villain: He is not one of the strongest opponents, which is why he relies on tools and machines.
• Unexplained Accent: Played with, when De Singe is offended at the implication that he's French. Even though he's got the accent, the outfit, and the name. Could be that he emigrated to France at some point and picked up the culture. He was one of King Louis' physicians after all.
• Villain with Good Publicity: Partly. The locals of Flotsam aren't happy about all the lost body parts, but don't seem to be aware that De Singe's amputation obsession isn't normal nor that they shouldn't be allowing him to cut them apart for any illness, and as such rarely blame him for it. Guybrush gets the blame more than once because some incident he caused led to someone having to see le Singe (and thus lose s limb) for a minor injury.

Coronado

Coronado De Cava

Voiced By: Andrew Chaikin, a.k.a. Kid Beyond (Tales of Monkey Island)

Coronado De Cava is the ex-boyfriend of the Voodoo Lady, who went in search of La Esponja Grande in order to impress her. During his search for the sponge, De Cava and his crew were swallowed by a giant manatee. Already an unstable man, De Cava went insane trying to escape from the manatee.

When Guybrush and Morgan LeFlay meet up with De Cava, both of them pretend to be a couple so De Cava does not think Guybrush is in a relationship with the Voodoo Lady and kill him. Guybrush, Morgan, De Cava, and his crew escape from the manatee, but when he sees that Guybrush has La Esponja Grande and is convinced that Guybrush's relationship is a fake (unaware that Guybrush had manipulated the Voodoo Lady's locket), he attacks Guybrush's ship. Luckily the manatee re-swallows De Cava and his entire ship.

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• Crazy-Prepared
• Evil Counterpart: To Guybrush.
• Expy: Coronado is a Spaniard driven to madness and desperate to accomplish great deeds for his love.
• A Father to His Men: A father to his crew, rather. De Cava lampshades this in Chapter 3 when he tells Guybrush and Morgan about his crew members (Bugeye, Moose, Santino and Noogie), "I may have been a stern leader, but I loved them like sons."
• Level Grinding: His preferred method of puzzle-solving.
• Yandere: He really loves the Voodoo Lady, and is more than willing to kill anyone who stands between them.

The New Pirate Leaders

Captain Madison, Captain Trent, and Captain Lila

While Guybrush was away from Melee Island, the old pirate leaders retired and three ruthless young new bloods took over their position. They prove themselves to be more than arrogant upstarts, however, as they also have their sights set on the Secret Of Monkey Island.

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• Affirmative-Action Legacy: The original pirate leaders were three white men, whereas Captain Madison and Captain Lila are women and Captain Trent is a black man. Unusually, they're also portrayed as much more villainous than the original trio.
• Ambiguous Situation: Their ultimate fates. Trent is implied to be killed offscreen in a swordfight with LeChuck's henchwoman/composer Flair Gorey, Madison's hat is seen next to the lava lake beneath Monkey Island with a sword through it, and Lila is either locked in a duel with LeChuck over a chest neither of them can open or is actually an attraction at a pirate theme park.
• Big Bad Ensemble: Guybrush not only has to face LeChuck to get to the Secret Of Monkey Island, but against Madison and company as well.
• Big, Thin, Short Trio: With Trent being the big, stout one, who is called upon to do more physical tasks, Lilia being the short, smart one who dabbles in Dark Magic, and Madison being the tall and thin, authoritative leader.
• Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: None of the alliances they attempt to forge are to be trusted; not even amongst themselves. Guybrush even expected the backstabbing, but received it at an unexpected time.
• Dragon Ascendant: Lila, not Madison, survives to fight the climactic duel against LeChuck.
• Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: Trent squares off against Flair Gorey when she calls his mother's wisdom dumb.
• Eyepatch of Power: Captain Lila wears an eyepatch, and is both a superb swordfighter and a Wicked Witch.
• Famed In-Story: Captain Madison is known to Boybrush because he has her trading cards (she has impressively high plunder ratings).
• Hate Sink: LeChuck is a dastardly villain, but entertainingly over the top and bombastic. By contrast, the new pirate leaders spend their screen time belittling everyone, destroying the economy of Melee island, backstabbing everyone including each other, and generally being disrespectful punks who think they're better than everyone.
• Killed Offscreen:
  • Trent is last seen fighting LeShip crew member Flair Gorey, who later catches up with Guybrush and Elaine, implying she was the victor.
  • Captain Madison is outlived by Lila. The former leaves behind only her hat and, as Guybrush notes, any number of people who might have wanted her dead.
• Magic Knight: Lila is skilled at both swordfighting and Dark Magic.
• Older Hero vs. Younger Villain: They are collectively the Younger Villain to Guybrush's Older Hero.
• The Starscream: In one Meanwhile Scene, Lila says she does the backstabbing around here, and she outlives Captain Madison, whose hat can be seen with what looks like Lila's sword through it.
• Worthy Opponent: Captain Madison has the honor of being the only character in the series to fight LeChuck to a standstill, at which point they call truce to find the Secret. Except they both plan to backstab each other, and it's LeChuck and Dragon Ascendant Lila who are left standing in the end.

Other Characters

The Barbery Coast

Haggis McMutton, Cutthroat Bill, and Edward "Snugglecakes" Van Helgen

Voiced By: Alan Young (Haggis McMutton), Gregg Berger (Cutthroat Bill) and Michael Sorich (Edward Van Helgen) (The Curse of Monkey Island)

Three retired pirates who own a barbershop, The Barbery Coast, on Plunder Island. They end up joining Guybrush as his crew for the journey to Blood Island.

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• The Ace: Edward Van Helgen has this reputation among pirates. He demonstrates his skill with pistols, banjos, a capella singing, and swinging from the rigging.
• Bald of Evil: Bill is completely bald and, despite his short stature, the most openly bloodthirsty and threatening of the three pirates.
• Barbershop Quartets Are Funny: They used to have a fourth, a tenor named Dominique.^note In the first game. Guybrush can tell the Citizen of Mêlée that he "once had a barber named Dominique" in response to his Spy Speak. They fell back on actually cutting hair when singing didn't pan out.
• Big, Thin, Short Trio: Haggis is the Big, Edward is the Thin, and Bill is the Short.
• Brave Scot: Haggis is a big brawny redhead who wears a kilt, practices cabre toss, and, of course, is named Haggis McMutton. Of the three barber pirates, he has the most dialogue and seems to be their nominal leader.
• Defeat Means Friendship: Guybrush has to defeat Haggis and Edward in their respective disciplines to convince them to join his crew.
• Duel to the Death: Van Helgen will only join you if you defeat him in a duel to the death — but not really, since he'll always blast the pistol out of your hands before you can shoot. The solution is to change your preferred weapon — to dueling banjos instead. Except he'll inevitably beat you at those, too, shredding and soloing on endless loop — so the solution then is to return to the pistols and shoot his banjo. Which makes you a dirty cheat... which of course means you must be a real pirate after all.
• Gender-Blender Name: Haggis' full name is apparently Heart Liver and Kidneys Boiled in the Stomach of the Animal McMutton, to which Guybrush notes that his parents were expecting a girl. He also had a great aunt named Fergus.
• Gold Fever: Downplayed with Bill, but says any captain of his needs to be a proven treasure hunter. Blondebeard the chicken shack owner has a gold tooth. You have to knock it out then pretend it's a treasure you found on Plunder to prove to Bill you're a captain worth following.
• I Call It "Vera": Haggis has named his sword "Old Ironsides". He only uses it to scalp Captain Rottingham.
• I Owe You My Life: How you get Bill to respect you: by saving him from choking on a jawbreaker by clapping him on the back. He still won't join your crew until you prove you can find gold, though.
• Jerkass: Cutthroat Bill likes murder and mayhem, not so much small talk. He'll come around if you save his life.
• Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Cutthroat Bill. Also subverted:
  Edward Van Helgen: Mine is the name pirates fear the most! Edward "Snugglecakes" Van Helgen.
  Guybrush: Duuuude!
• Nice Guy: Compared to your original crew, Haggis and Edward are mostly fairly friendly unless you go out of your way to antagonize them. Even Bill seems to at least respect you once you save his life. They actually do help crew your ship throughout Chapter III, and even when they mutiny upon your arrival on Blood Island, they're polite about it.
• Painful Rhyme: Eventually devolve into this if you let their singing go on long enough. A highlight is rhyming "pirate" with "fire at".
• The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: Lampshaded. They'd rather sing barbershop, run an actual barbershop, toss cabers, and play banjo than anything resembling piracy. Well, except Bill.
• Punny Name: The Barbery Coast, as opposed to the Barbary Coast — coastal north Africa, home of the Berber people.
• Red Baron: Played for Laughs. Van Helgen is well-known and feared among pirates by the dreaded appelation of... Snugglecakes.
• Rhymes on a Dime: They're good at this once they get themselves started, working Guybrush's protests into their sea shanty.
• Violent Glaswegian: Subverted. Haggis is Scottish but actually has less of a temper than the other two — but he's also the biggest of the three and has no trouble lifting up Rottingham one-handed, lopping off all his (supposedly) lice-infested hair with one sweep of his cutlass, and then hurling him bodily out of the barbershop).
• The Von Trope Family: Van Helgen, as a Shout-Out to Van Halen.

Reginald

Reginald Van Winslow

Voiced By: Roger L. Jackson (Tales of Monkey Island, Poker Night at the Inventory, Poker Night 2)

Reginald Van Winslow is the captain of the Screaming Narwhal (which he had seized by knocking off the previous captain while losing his Club 41 "probationary membership" card in the process) until Guybrush wins the ship by knocking Winslow off of it. Afterwards Winslow stays on as Guybrush's first mate throughout the rest of the game, and in the end hooks up with the gender-ambiguous merperson Anemone.

Notable for being the only crewmember Guybrush has ever had that fully got along with him and never mutinied.

Winslow also heavily fetishizes maps and people pointing at maps, including Guybrush.

Winslow also appears in Poker Night at the Inventory and its sequel. He introduces the player to the Inventory both times, and runs the poker games in the first Poker Night game, where he does not refer to himself by name for some odd reason (though he does so in Poker Night 2).

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• Ambiguously Brown: Winslow is by far the darkest skinned character in Tales who isn't the Voodoo Lady. However, in Poker Night he is redesigned to be lighter skinned, implying that he was intended instead to come off as tanned.
• Ambiguously Gay: Both in his attention to Guybrush, and in a far more literal sense in that the person he ends up (Anemone) with is of indeterminate gender, making whether he is gay truly ambiguous, even to him! The latter also makes him overlap with Ambiguously Bi, as Anemone is voiced by a woman.
• Defeat Means Friendship: Knocking Winslow off the Screaming Narwhal is how Guybrush gets him as a reliable first mate.
• Large Ham: Like everyone else when they get really Poxed.

Morgan

Morgan LeFlay

Voiced By: Nikki Rapp (Tales of Monkey Island)

Morgan LeFlay is a pirate bounty hunter and huge Guybrush Threepwood fangirl hired by the Marquis De Singe to track down Guybrush and retrieve his Poxed hand. She does, happy with the chance to meet her hero, and returns the hand to De Singe. De Singe then sends Morgan to bring back the rest of Guybrush, but when she tracks him down they are swallowed by a giant manatee. The two escape by working together, and Morgan reluctantly brings Guybrush back to De Singe.

Feeling bad about selling Guybrush out, Morgan tries to get Guybrush's Poxed hand back to him. LeChuck kills her before she gets the chance. In the Crossroads Guybrush has to convince Morgan that she did not waste her life. She in turn helps Guybrush defeat LeChuck again. The post-credits stinger shows Morgan giving the Voodoo Lady LeChuck's remains in exchange for letting her return to the land of the living as a ghost.

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• Anti-Villain: While she hates pirates, Morgan does feel bad about hunting down Guybrush.
• Ascended Fangirl: She is a huge Guybrush fangirl and is delighted to meet him the first time, even if it is to capture his hand.
  • As an example, she trained herself to hold her breath for five minutes to emulate Guybrush.
• Bounty Hunter: Hunts down pirates for a living.
• Broken Pedestal: In Chapter 3, seeing how Guybrush would rather talk and scheme his way out of the giant manatee makes Morgan lose all faith in his status as a "legendary" pirate, even tossing away the little picture she has of him that he signed moments ago. Even after Guybrush regains her respect, Morgan still has little patience for his nonsense.
• Cleavage Window: Her top shows off a fair amount of her full cleavage.
• Cute Ghost Girl: When she is in the Crossroads.
• Cynicism Catalyst: We learn from De Cava in Chapter 3 that she was recently devastated by the death of her Uncle Jugbender, and was probably seeking revenge on someone who killed him, as described by her mumble in her sleep: "THIS is for JUGBENDER!"
• Died in Your Arms Tonight: Sadly, Morgan does this in Guybrush's arms (on a starry night, no less) after telling him about the incident in De Singe's "laboratorium". Poor Morgan and Guybrush.
• Disposable Fiancé: In Chapter 3, we learn from the Assassin's Ledger and the tattoo on her arm that she once had a first love named Gustavo (or "Gus" as her tattoo calls him), but once she became Pirate Hunter, she probably had no use for him and... let's say... disposed of him, even though her Pirate Hunter's Code was not to "kill someone [she wasn't] getting paid to", and Gustavo was her exception.
  • One suspects that a bad breakup could have something to do with Gus going from 'boyfriend' to 'pro bono hit job'.
• Friend to All Living Things/Speaks Fluent Animal: It is revealed that not only does she like monkeys (she speaks a bit of monkey language), she also has a pet named Gomez, and she even loves cute parrots, especially one that is made of pyrite, which she says she'll keep as a souvenir once she's done with Guybrush.
• Head-Turning Beauty: Even Murray, who is nothing more than a disembodied skull, tries to hit on her.
• I Call It "Vera"/The X of Y: According to the Assassin's Ledger and De Cava, she purchased a ship for 10,000 pieces of silver, the same price that was paid to her for killing Prince Hipolito de Toro, and called it "The Knave of Toro" after her exact same victim! Creepy!
  • Also, the sword that she has is called the Blade of Dragotta, simply because it has the name of her mentor, Dante Dragotta, written on it!
• Impossible Hourglass Figure: Broad shoulders, a super tiny corseted waist, and a hefty set of hips.
• The Knights Who Say "Squee!": Her reaction to meeting Guybrush.
• Ms. Fanservice: Easily the most overtly attractive woman in the franchise with big curves she happily shows with tight clothing. Is this in-universe as well and she will use her beauty to her advantage when possible.
• Rebuilt Pedestal: Guybrush's cleverness and courage throughout Chapters 3 and 4 make Morgan not only rebuild his pedestal, but fall in love with him.
• Redemption Equals Death: Her first altruistic attempt at helping Guybrush results in her getting stabbed. Or does it?
• Tsundere: Starts off aggressive, though upbeat, but becomes nicer the longer she spends time with Guybrush.

Judge Planke

The strict judge who presides over the jurisdiction of Brrr Muda.

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• Hanging Judge: Downplayed. Planke is not particularly ruthless or overzealous, but he is very strict and a stickler for proper court protocol, citing you for contempt of court if you give him even the pettiest of reasons. He also makes it no secret, both in person and in the official papers, that he was extremely disappointed that he could only sentence Stan to one month of hard labor for his marketing crimes, due to a lack of evidence. When Guybrush manages to recover additional evidence that allows him to increase Stan's stentence to 10 years, he is positively elated.
• Obstructive Bureaucrat: When Guybrush first enters Brrr Muda's territorial waters, Plank shows up and demands he fill out a long and complicated questionnaire in other to be approved for an import license and visa, which must be completed correctly in order to cross the 19th Parallel and visit the island.
• Reassigned to Antarctica: "Earned" his current post by beating a Supreme Court justice in cribbage.
• Stock Legal Phrases: A big chunk of his dialogue consists of this, since it's a big sticking point for him to keep proper protocol at all times. If Guybrush cracks a joke at his expense, he immediately starts banging his gavel and loudly demanding "Order in the court!" as if he is enforcing authority over a rowdy crowd, even though he and Guybrush are the only people there.

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