Jerry Cornelius
Our main character, though sometimes he takes a background role in his own stories.- Action Fashionista/Agent Peacock: Everything he wears is described in Costume Porn-level detail.
- Anti-Hero: On his good days he's Unscrupulous; usually he's Nominal.
- Brother–Sister Incest: Jerry loves his sister Catherine (his brother Frank is the other leg in a Sibling Triangle).
- Parental Incest: He describes himself as "the last of the truly innocent mother-fuckers" in "The Swastika Set-Up". And means it.
- Crossdresser: Sometimes by choice, sometimes not. Attractive Bent-Gender in either case.
- Heroic Self-Deprecation: From time to time.
- I Let My Sister Die: In fact, he shot her (by accident, but still).
- Musical Assassin: Usually he favors guns of some sort, but Norman Spinrad's "The Last Hurrah of the Golden Horde" arms Jerry with an electric violin with built-in amps which make the high notes ultrasonic, the low notes infrasonic, and the audible frequencies suppressed. When Jerry pops in his earplugs and plays various songs (ranging from "Wipeout" to "God Save the Queen") weird things happen to the minds of his audience.Seven hundred chanting kindergarten children achieved satori and began to eat a huge American flag drenched in soy sauce.
- The Pornomancer: In a literal sense - sex is magic, magic is sex to Jerry Cornelius.
- Significant Monogram
- Significant Anagram: Other characters in Moorcock's Multiverse have "Jerry Cornelius" (or the alternate first name "Jeremiah") as the basis of their names, such as J'osui C'reln Reyr in The Sailor on the Seas of Fate and Corum Jhaelen Irsei.
- Trickster Archetype: Jerry starts out as Harlequin, but over the course of the first four novels finds that he may be The Fool and finally settles into the role of Pierrot.
Catherine Cornelius
Jerry's beloved sister, and something of a tragic figure.- Ascended Extra: She gets more to do in stories where she's paired with Una Persson.
- Closer to Earth: Catherine functions as Columbine. It's more obvious in the "real-world" portions of The Condition of Muzak.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold when she doesn't have black hair like her brother (though she's no less sweet as a brunette).
- Satellite Love Interest: She generally exists just to be someone for Jerry to moon over. She only appears in the first novel to become The Lost Lenore after the first fifty pages.
Frank Cornelius
Jerry's brother, out for what he can get.- Ambition Is Evil and Frank is Power Hungry. That power, or at least recognition, comes so easily to Jerry (such as when he becomes King of England in The Condition of Muzak, though really just as a figurehead) really pisses Frank off.
- Cain and Abel: Frank is definitely Cain to Jerry's Abel, though he's more likely to die than kill.
- Honest John: Frank's always hustling— drugs, fenced goods, faked goods, probably even sex workers.
- The Resenter: Oh yeah. He's perpetually irritated with his station in life.
- Smug Snake: Often even when he does have a triumphant moment it'll quickly get yanked out from under him.
Honoria Cornelius
The domineering mother of the Cornelius clan. Survives just about everything life throws at her.- Apron Matron: Though a rather more distant parent than most, she has the forceful personality and physical presence.
- Big Eater: She's even eaten herself sick sometimes and doesn't let that slow her down.
- Lady Drunk: She also packs away the booze.
- Big Fun: She enjoys picnics, fun fairs, and such delights.
- Funetik Aksent: Mrs. C is Cockney an' just fine wiv that, luv.
- Gold Digger: Well, she might just luck into it.
- I Was Quite a Looker: According to Colonel Pyat, anyway. If Catherine takes after her it certainly was true.
- Kavorka Woman: She's fat, aging gracelessly, more than a bit of a slob and tends to overdo it with the hair and makeup, but it doesn't set her back significantly."I've never gone short o' beaux," she said. "Whatever else 'as 'appened ter me."
- My Beloved Smother: One of the few people Jerry is genuinely scared of— and not without reason.
Apparently her mere presence can neutralize enemies and reduce her own offspring to children (at least in that comic; in the books she does tend to make her children feel like, well, children again, and the one time she confronts one of the major baddies, she simply humiliates her before going her own way). - Trash of the Titans: She has a hoarding tendency.
Una Persson
First appearing in A Cure For Cancer, she is a heroic revolutionary and supporter of Jerry.- Ambiguously Gay: Whether she's a lesbian or bisexual depends on the story.
- Ascended Extra: She becomes more prominent in The Adventures of Una Persson and Catherine Cornelius in the Twentieth Century (1976) and is the central figure in The Entropy Tango (1981)
- The Chanteuse: This aspect of her is seen more in The English Assassin.
- Distaff Counterpart: To Jerry. They both share Catherine as a lover, and she eventually becomes Harlequin when he becomes Pierrot.
- I Fight for the Strongest Side!: Inverted— Una routinely gets infatuated with underdogs only to have the shine wear off as they acquire power. This is from being a...
- Rebellious Spirit: Even more so than Jerry.
Miss Brunner
Jerry's opposite number, big on order and authoritarianism (especially in the later stories).- Evil Redhead: Her hair color is distinctive regardless of any other aspect of her looks.
- Foe Romantic Subtext: In The Final Programme she makes a point of seducing Jerry and ultimately fuses with him sexually.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: In the 1990s stories, "Baroness" Brunner becomes a blatant caricature of Margaret Thatcher.
- Vampiric Draining: She's capable of bodily absorbing her sex partners in The Final Programme.
Bishop Beesley
Another of Jerry's enemies, though more greedy and less formidable.- Black Comedy Cannibalism: During the peace talks party in The English Assassin, he takes a ex-nun off to a bedroom for some private fun, which involves covering her with chocolate to lick off. Things get out of hand...
- Fat Bastard: The largest character in the books, probably even fatter than Mrs. C.
- Sinister Minister: Assuming he is not, in fact, defrocked.
- Sinister Sweet Tooth: He'll even snort sugar like it was cocaine, and it's just part of his generally gross nature.
- Villainous Glutton: Hell, his first reaction at a peace talks party is to gush about the food.
Other Persons of Interest
Most of these characters show up in works after The Final Programme. They're listed in alphabetical order rather than order of appearance.
Sebastian Auchinek
A theatrical agent/music producer and sometimes antagonist to Jerry.- Aging Would-Be Hipster: Comes off this way in the "real-world" parts of The Condition of Muzak, especially when trying to get Jerry to come up with a more radio-/Top of the Pops-friendly sound.
- You Have to Have Jews: He's the only character in any of the stories routinely and clearly described as Jewish.
Mitzi Beesley
Bishop Beesley's amazingly unpleasant daughter.- Daddy's Little Villain: Just as rotten as he is, and more inclined to be violent.
- Face of an Angel, Mind of a Demon: Cute, blonde, and more than a bit gun-happy.
- Parental Incest: She's seen pegging her dad in A Cure For Cancer.
"Shaky" Mo(ses) Collier
A drinking (snorting, shooting, smoking) buddy of Jerry's. Also a demolitions expert and sometimes roadie.- Bomb Throwing Anarchist: He loves his explosives.
- Canon Immigrant: Mo was actually a creation of author M. John Harrison.
"Flash" Gordon Gavin
- Earned His Title: Gordon's got a bit of a exposure habit. (And shows up as Lady Godiva (!!) at a Christmas costume ball.)
Professor Hythloday Hira
- Bollywood Nerd: Possibly the Ur-Example given his work on the supercomputer in The Final Programme. Otherwise very much the Stereotypical South Asian English (though not an immigrant as such).
Spiro Koutrouboussis
Doctor Karen von Krupp
Prinz Lobkowitz
Major Nye
Colonel Pyat
- Ascended Extra: Eventually got his own tetralogy (The Pyat Quartet).
