Characters from Shank and its sequel Shank 2.
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Playable characters:
Robert "Shank" Torres
Voiced by: Marcel Davis
The titular protagonist of both games.
- Anti-Hero: Trying to say Shank is a good guy is a bit of a stretch, but compared to the people he fights (a leader of a cartel and a dictator, more or less), he could be worse and at least does have moral boundaries. He gets better in Shank 2, though; while he's reluctant in joining the Resistance, he does go out of his own way to save civilians and appears to have some concern for them.
- Bash Brothers: He used to be this with Falcone during their time in the cartel.
- Blade Enthusiast: Besides being his namesake, Shank uses two knife-like shivs as his weapon of choice, and has dual machetes and a chainshaw in both games. He also gets a katana in the first game, and has throwing knives as his starting ranged weapon in Shank 2.
- Blasting It Out of Their Hands: He does so with Cassandra's katana in a flashback from the first game.
- Chain Pain:
- Chainsaw Good: Shank's weapon of choice next to his shivs is obviously his chainsaw; it's even referred to as his "signature weapon" in Shank 2.
- Conflicting Loyalty: His choice of Eva vs. the cartel, where no matter what choice he made, he'd be betraying someone he cared for.Shank: You taught me nothing comes before family.Cesar: I was your family!Shank: So was she!
- Determinator: He holds his own next to Max Payne for sheer iron plating; he's in potentially worse shape by the end of the first game, and is running on his own badassitude and booze.
- Do Not Call Me "Paul": Shank's real name, according to one of the Rebel Intels in Shank 2, is Robert Torres, but even those closest to him, such as Corina and Elena, still refer to him by his nickname.
- Even Evil Has Standards: While working for the cartel, Shank still had a few lines he wouldn't cross. He was unflinchingly loyal and kind to his girlfriend after she sees him and his partner trying to kill the Deputy Mayor, and had to restrain himself from attacking Angelo when he casually shoots a priest.
- Guns Akimbo: In both games, one of his ranged weapons is a pair of pistols, being his starting ones in the first game.
- Handwraps of Awesome: Fitting his nature as an enforcer and blade-wielding brawler, his hands up to his forearms are wrapped in bandages/boxing tape to protect them when he gets up close and personal.
- Heroic Second Wind: Exaggerated at the end of the first game. After he gets sucker-punched, stabbed in the gut and then shot at point-blank range by Cesar with two guns, he just gets up, effortlessly tanks every other attack, finishes the job, and walks away without so much as a limp.
- Like Brother and Sister: He and Corina were raised in the same orphanage, and thus have this relationship.
- Martial Arts Headband: He has a red one on his forehead.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: He certainly does shank.
- Not Distracted by the Sexy: He doesn't even blink whenever he sees a woman in skimpy clothing, and their attempts to grab his attention for nefarious purposes never really work.
- Not in This for Your Revolution: Shank only reluctantly joins the Rebels in Shank 2 because he needs their support to save Elena.
- Red Is Heroic:
- For a certain definition of heroic in the first game, Shank wears a red headband. In flashbacks and the co-op prequel, it was originally white until The Butcher fractured his skull, which led to the resulting blood coat the headband and give it its current color.
- In the second game, Shank wears a red T-shirt to go along with his headband, which is fitting since he's now actively fighting for a more heroic cause (albeit reluctantly).
- Reverse Grip: How he usually holds his shivs.
- Sinister Shiv: Shank's signature (and namesake) weapon is a pair of irregular, jagged, menacing shards of metal with makeshift tape grips. They're sharp enough to decapitate a person.
- Sleeves Are for Wimps:
- In the first game, Shank wears a light grey shirt with ripped sleeves.
- Averted in the second game, where he wears a red T-shirt, though it does have small tears on the sleeves.
- Would Hit a Girl: Gender matters not to Shank.
Falcone
Voiced by: Gavin Cummings
A childhood friend of Shank and his former partner during his time in Cesar's (his father) cartel.
- Bash Brothers: He used to be this with Shank during their time in the cartel.
- Calling Parents by Their Name: If it wasn't for the supplemental material, you wouldn't know Falcone was Cesar's son, considering Falcone always refers to Cesar by name. Granted, they do have a resemblance between one another, but that's about it.
Corina "Killer Bubbles" Carlos
A childhood friend of Shank and the leader of the rebel group against Magnus in Shank 2.
- And Now for Someone Completely Different: An entire level in the main story has you play as Corina.
- The Lad-ette: She's just as tough and violent as Shank, and she'll down a bottle of booze just as fast.
- La Résistance: She leads the resistance group fighting against Magnus' regime.
- Like Brother and Sister: She and Shank were raised in an orphanage where every child was treated as siblings to each other, and thus have this relationship.
- Scarf of Asskicking: She wears a white one.
Major antagonists:
Shank:
Cesar
Voiced by: Dave White
The leader of the cartel, and Shank and Falcone's mentor.
- Big Bad: Of the first game.
- Blade Enthusiast: He has a pair of shiny, engraved knives and a cutlass.
- Final Boss: Of the first game's single player campaign.
- Mirror Boss: He's more-or-less this to Shank, fighting with weapons that mirror his former enforcer's own, which include a pair of fancy knives as opposed to Shank's shivs, a cutlass that can be compared to Shank's katana, and flintlock pistols that are a great contrast to Shank's semi-auto pistols. He also pounces on Shank during his defeat cutscene.
- A Pupil of Mine Until He Turned to Evil: Inverted. He was Shank's martial arts mentor, and used to consider him as one of the cartel's most honored members, until he turned the whole cartel against Shank after the latter proved unwilling to go through with the rite of passage of killing Eva.
- Wicked Cultured: He lives in a fancy mansion decorated with antiques, wears an ascot, and fights with pearl-handled knives, a saber, and a pair of flintlock dueling pistols.
The Butcher
Voiced by: Dave White
A former wrestler who fought "deadbeats", opponents whom he paid to various mafia groups to lose to him so that he could become famous. Before being recruited by Cesar's cartel, Cesar once targeted the Butcher for missing a payment to him, with Shank and Falcone being sent after the Butcher to beat him up. He was later hired to assassinate Shank when the latter refused to kill his girlfriend Eva, whom he killed himself in the process before beating Shank up. At some point before the present, he retired from wrestling and became a meatpacking plant employee, leaving his uniform to one of his previous rivals, El Raton.
- Masked Luchador: His wrestling uniform includes a luchador mask.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: His real name is never mentioned.
- Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: It's heavily implied by his taunts that he raped Eva before killing her.
- Villainous Gold Tooth: He used to have a gold tooth, but it's knocked out when defeated in his confrontation with Shank and Falcone. He's the one who killed Shank's pregnant girlfriend Eva.
Cassandra
Voiced by: Sheila Goold
A stripper and later owner of Club Stardust. Before becoming the owner, the club was once overrun by a biker gang led by Denny and Dusty, who kidnapped her in the process. She was eventually rescued by Shank and Falcone, who killed Dusty while leaving Denny to her; Denny became a gimp at the club afterwards. At some point before the game's single player storyline, Cesar hired her alongside the Butcher to assassinate Shank when the latter refused to kill his girlfriend Eva. She tried to kill Eva herself before Shank stopped her, scarring her in the right eye in the process. The Butcher was ultimately the one who ended up killing Eva.
- Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Zig-zagged. He vendetta against Shank was motivated by him scarring one of her eyes, but she gets what is likely the least gruesome death out of any boss in both games: a hole in the forehead, despite that Shank shot her at point blank and the bullet should have punched a big chunk of her brains out of the back of her skull (that said, the blood pool under her is massive).
- Boom, Headshot!: How Shank does her in.
- Damsel in Distress: In the co-op campaign, she's kidnapped by Denny and Dusty, and Shank and Falcone have to rescue her.
- Ms. Fanservice: She's very attractive, especially when she wears her stripper costume.
Angelo Ramirez
Voiced by: Tim Gouran
A hitman and Cesar's cousin, whom he helped in running his cartel. He had to take over as priest of the local church when he unintentionally killed the former priest, Father Gomez, in a fit of anger. When Shank refused to kill his girlfriend Eva to show his loyalty to the cartel, Cesar tasked Angelo in assassinating alongside the hired Butcher and Cassandra.
- Bad Habits: As revealed in the co-op campaign, Angelo acted as a the church's priest after gunning down Father Gomez, then posed as him because while people knew the priest was coming, no one knew what he looked like. When Shank enters the church Angelo took over in the single player campaign, it's also shown that one of his henchmen runs around crossdressing as a nun.
- Pre-Mortem One-Liner: He attempted one on Shank during his attempted assassination by telling him "Ashes to ashes, my friend." before dropping a match to burn Shank's house. The whole point of the line was dismished when Shank managed to survive.
- Sinister Minister: He dresses like this, although he's not really one, since he killed a priest and has been posing as him afterwards.
Shank 2:
Magnus Deleon
- Battle Strip: He takes off his upper wear just before his boss fight begins.
- Big Bad: Of Shank 2.
- Child Soldiers: Downplayed. According to his Rebel Intel, he joined the military at the age of 14.
- Final Boss: Of Shank 2.
- Mirror Boss: Arguably downplayed, since his "chainsaw knives" are basically a combination of Shank's shivs and chainsaw, but his overall move set is unique otherwise.
- President Evil: Though he took over the country by force instead of via election.
- Sharp-Dressed Man: He's always seen in a formal suit, though he takes off the upper part of it in the cutscene before his boss fight.
Mooks:
In General
- Armor Is Useless: Some of them (such as the SWAT enemies from the first game's co-op campaign) wear armor that covers their physical bodies, but it doesn't make them any tougher at all.
- Cannibal Tribe: One of their factions in Shank 2 is a cannibal tribe led by Obeng.
- Death Cry Echo: They yell out plenty of these when killed, especially in the second game.
- Disney Villain Death: They can die this way if they're pushed into bottomless or hazardous pits.
- I'm a Humanitarian:
- Made of Iron: Although not to the extent of the playable characters and bosses, they're pretty resilient towards injuries. They can easily get up and start attacking you again even after you've rammed the chainsaw or katana into them multiple times.
- Sharp-Dressed Man: Most of them dress casually, but a decent amount of them in the first game wear formal clothing.
- SWAT Team: One of their factions is a SWAT team led by their captain is on the cartel's pockets since the events of the co-op campaign.
- Vague Hit Points: Shank 2 drops out the health bars that indicate their health, with the only indicator now being them flashing red when their health is low.
Introduced in Shank:
Normal Enemies
Big Enemies
The second type of mook introduced in both games. Big enemies are large men who are able to take significantly more damage than normal ones.
- Elite Mooks: To the normal enemies. While they share the same behavior, big enemies have more health, cause more damage, and have resistance against pounce and grab attacks (they're completely immune to them in the first game, while in Shank 2 they have a "wake up" mechanism that allows them to fight back against such attacks).
- Gatling Good: Some of them carry miniguns, which can be picked up and used by the playable characters upon their death.
- Giant Mook: They're physically larger than just about every other type of mook, though they're still rather small when compared to some bosses.
- Grenade Launcher: Similarly to the miniguns, some big enemies wield grenade launchers that can be used by the playable characters. Unlike miniguns, however, grenade launchers have limited ammo.
- Made of Iron:
- Their toughness is more prominent than most other enemies due to their health being close to that of the playable characters. They can even take several grenades to the face and still come charging after you.
- In Shank 2, they have different Counter-Attack animations depending on whether the attack finishes them off. When a playable character counters by snatching their weapons and ramming them into their chests, that's the non-finishing animation. They'll be momentarily delayed after the characters pulls the weapon out of their chest, but will be fighting fit otherwise.
- Masked Luchador: One of their designs in the first game features a luchador mask accompanied by a formal suit.
- Shield-Bearing Mook: Although not as common as in normal enemies, there are big enemies who carry shields, usually with another powerful weapon like a shotgun.
Dogs
The third type of mook introduced in the first game. Dogs are mooks with low health, but capable of performing pounce attacks on the playable characters. The player(s) has to break free from them if they succesfully do so.
- Right-Hand Attack Dog: They're dogs who serve the other enemies.
Women
The fourth type of mook introduced in the games, and the last one in the first game. While having the same general stats as normal enemies, women have more powerful weapons and can attack by jumping on the playable characters (though they won't do pounce attacks like dogs and wolves).
- Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Played straight in Shank 2, in that you can cut arms and legs off male enemies but not women; you can still gib them, though.
- Degraded Boss: To Cassandra, since they share her attack pattern and are first encountered after her defeat.
- More Deadly Than the Male: Downplayed. They tend to be harder to deal with than normal enemies due to their weapons and agility, but are nowhere as strong as other male mooks like big and fat enemies.
Introduced in Shank 2:
Fat Enemies
The third type of mook introduced in Shank 2. Fat enemies are overweight men who, in addition to having as much health as big enemies, can charge towards the playable characters.
- Fat Bastard: They're overweight and certainly hold no qualms against Shank and his allies.
- Giant Mook: They're only slightly shorter than big enemies, and have just as much health as them.
- Kill It with Fire: Some of them carry flamethrowers, which can be picked up and used by the playable characters upon their death.
Wolves
The fifth type of mook introduced in Shank 2. Similarly to dogs in the first game, they can perform pounce attacks.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: To the dogs from the first game. The only notable difference is that your playable character will automatically toss them forward if you attempt to perform a grab attack on them.
Warthogs
The sixth type of mook introduced in Shank 2.
- Bullfight Boss: A non-boss variant. They attack by constantly charging back and forth towards the playable characters.
Small Enemies
The seventh and last type of mook introduced in Shank 2. Small enemies are short men with notably low health and high speed, with their size making them harder to hit than other mooks.
- Mini Mook: They're the smallest mooks overall.
Bombers
Variants of the small enemies exclusive to Survival Mode.
- Mini Mook: Being variants of the small enemies, this is a given.
Zombies
Undead variants of the other mook types exclusive to the main game's hard mode and Survival Mode. They behave like their original counterparts, but move faster and can deal more damage, though still have the same amount of health.
- Elite Mooks: They're more dangerous than normal mooks.
- King Mook: There's a zombie variant for the Survival Mode Boss.
- Palette Swap: Plenty of the zombies seen in the main game's hard mode look just like the original enemies; the only ones with the usual zombie designs are the ones used as stand-ins for those affiliated to the cannibal tribe. They're still distinguishable from the normal enemies in that they retain the same voice effects.
- Undead Counterpart: Being zombie versions of the other mooks, this is a given.
Other bosses:
Shank:
El Raton
- Bullfight Boss: He attacks by constantly charging at Shank. Two Palette Swaps of him seen later in the game (Toro and the Bodyguard) replicate his behavior with minor changes.
- Off with His Head!: Shank finishes him by chainsawing his head off.
Denny
- Badass Biker: He was the leader of a biker gang, as shown in the co-op campaign.
- Dual Boss: With Dusty in the co-op campaign.
- Fat Bastard: He's pretty fat, and is certainly not a pleasant man when first met in the single player campaign. The co-op campaign shows that even before becoming a gimp, he was quite the bastard.
Toro
- Bullfight Boss: He replicates El Raton's behavior with the additional ability of jumping.
- Feed It a Bomb: Shank defeats him by shoving a grenade into his mouth and shooting it.
- Giant Space Flea from Nowhere: He suddenly appears in the opening cutscene to his boss fight with no indication as to where he came from, and seems to only serve as another boss for the player to deal with before the final fight against Cesar.
- Palette Swap: Of El Raton.
- Your Head A-Splode: His head gets blown up by a grenade that Shank shoves into his mouth.
SWAT Boss
- Grenade Launcher: He wields one as his secondary weapon besides his taser.
Bodyguard
The Mayor's bodyguard.
- Bullfight Boss: He replicates El Raton's behavior with a larger amount of health.
- Final Boss: Of the first game's co-op campaign.
- Palette Swap: Of El Raton.
Shank 2:
Raymund "Razor" Zorbelle
- Bond One-Liner/Game-Over Man: He says "I'm gonna take this tire and shove it up your anus!" if you die during his boss fight.
Alexandro "Inferno" Deleon
One of Magnus' two younger brothers, and Cyclops' twin brother, who started off as Magnus' bodyguard when he took over as president. In the present, he leads a Militia squad into a town to burn it down after Razor was killed by Shank, which led to the torching of one of the Militia's camps.
- Bond One-Liner/Game-Over Man: He says either one of these two lines if you die during his boss fight:
- "Haha! Lightly roasted, just the way I love 'em!"
- "What a burn! Ahahahahahahaha!"
- Eyepatch of Power: He has one on his right eye, which he previously lost in an assassination attempt.
- Eye Scream:
- Kill It with Fire: His main weapon is a flamethrower.
Roselle Lopez
- Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Out of all the bosses in Shank 2, she gets the least gruesome death (which is only a bit more gruesome than Cassandra's death from the first game): being Eaten Alive by wolves offscreen.
- Eaten Alive: She gets brought in by wolves to eat her after Shank defeats her.
Rene "Cyclops" Deleon
One of Magnus' two younger brothers, and Inferno's twin brother.
- Bond One-Liner/Game-Over Man: He says either one of these three lines if you die during his boss fight:
- "I like playing with you... (laughs)"
- "I've got my eye on you..."
- "You hit like a girl! (laughs)"
- Cain and Abel: His Rebel Intel reveals him to be the Abel to Magnus and Inferno's Cains. He tried to assassinate Magnus for abusing his power, but was stopped by Inferno, whom he took an eye out in the process. He was then imprisoned in a tanker for a year, leading to his status by the game's events, but not before Inferno extracted his eye in return.
- Eye Scream: Corina defeats him by impaling his left eye through a crane hook. Before that, he had his right eye extracted by Inferno as a return for taking out his own right eye.
- Sanity Slippage: He appears to have gone insane from his time isolated inside the tanker, attacking Corina out of nowhere in the present.
Survival Mode Boss
A generic boss exclusive to the main game's hard mode and Survival Mode. The Survival Mode Boss is a giant man with only significantly less health than most bosses. His moveset is similar to that of big enemies, with the addition of a few more attacks for him to perform.
- Dual Boss: Exaggerated; there can be more than two of him present at the same time in the main game's hard mode.
- Giant Mook: He's even larger than the typical big enemies, and his size is comparable to that of some other bosses.
- King Mook: He essentially serves as a boss version of the typical mooks, as he doesn't have any special abilities or attacks like the other bosses, and multiple of him can appear at the same time in the main game's hard mode.
