History Characters / OldWest

* DarkAndTroubledPast: Jake lost his rattle as a child when a hawk tried to eat him, and he gained his tail gun in its place through an operation that might have killed him. He's eventually revealed to have been raised by [[AbusiveParents a drunkard father]] who [[DomesticAbuser beat his mother every night]]. One night he was {{forced to watch}} one of those beatings. It led to his father being driven out of town, and his dying mother was "put out of her misery" by an unsympathetic deputy. Jake was left on his own and he lost his rattle only a day after. [[spoiler:He was then caught for a rattlesnake round-up and witnessed other snakes being killed and skinned. While escaping, he made the sadistic human his first kill.]]

* IAmNotMyFather: Jake refuses to ever drink himself into drunkenness due to his father who was an AlcoholicParent and a DomesticAbuser. When he finds Grace beaten by her husband, his resulting UnstoppableRage is partly influenced by the memory of his parents and his father's words of Jake becoming a man like him. In the following chapter, Jake continues acting on this trope by ultimately deciding ''not'' to [[DrowningMySorrows drink in order to cope with his strained relationship with Grace]].

* DomesticAbuser: When Grace has had enough of Benjamin's crap and tries to throw him out, he resorts to violence to make her compliant.

* HateSink: Benjamin is easier to hate than the other villains due to being a [[ItsAllAboutMe selfish]] and [[DirtyCoward cowardly]] liar who [[TheFirstCutIsTheDeepest deeply betrayed Grace]] in her backstory and attempts to do so again, [[DomesticAbuser assaulting her]] without a shred of remorse.

* CreepyBlueEyes: He has clear blue eyes.

* {{Expy}}: He's based on Frank from ''Film/OnceUponATimeInTheWest''.

* YouKilledMyFather: Henry's brother was killed by Jake and he wants to kill the rattlesnake for that. He's also a rare villainous example of this trope.

-->'''Jake''': ''Burn'', asshole.

-->'''Jake''': My turn.

-->'''Jake''': Them boys are gonna have to think of the ''wrath'' that's about to set down on 'em...

--> "[[ContinuityNod Wounded Bird was right]]... ow... that was a bad idea...

-->'''Ramirez''': Poor lizard. You are ''loco'', aren't you? You know how to kill a man, ''si''? But could you ''really'' stomach it? Go on. Find out. It's one thing to pull the trigger. It's another to watch your kill die.

--> "Should've listened to the stories, [[spoiler:Kepper]]. No one survives a scarlet kiss."

* KissOfDeath: Shes' known for her habit of leaving a red kiss on her every murder victim. [[spoiler:After she kills Kepper who gives her a {{forceful kiss}} during their duel, she makes a BondOneLiner about this trope.]]

* ContrastingSequelAntagonist: Tortoise John was the mayor of Dirt's desert town who was good at hiding his villainous nature with charisma. Dufayel is a wealthy inhabitant of cities who, despite his politeness, never really hides his condescending nature or motivations. They both attempted to put an end to the town of Dirt/Mud, but for different reasons; Tortoise John was a VisionaryVillain who wanted to create a modern city, while Dufayel's entire motivation is to [[spoiler:claim the underground gold he was promised and needs to avoid becoming broke]]. Tortoise John made Rango his pawn by promoting him as Dirt's sheriff and pitted against him Rattlesnake Jake whom he hired. Dufayel in turn makes himself an enemy of both Rango and Jake who work together against right from the beginning.

* DirtyCoward: [[spoiler:Jake [[ExploitedTrope uses Quall's fear]] of his wrath to abandon Worst and flee while he still can.]]

* ContrastingSequelAntagonist: Tortoise John was the mayor of Dirt's desert town who was good at hiding his villainous nature with charisma. Dufayel is a wealthy inhabitant of cities who, despite his politeness, never really hides his villainous nature. Tortoise John was a VisionaryVillain who wanted to create a modern city, making Rango his pawn as Dirt's sheriff and hiring the services of Rattlesnake Jake. Dufayel in turn wants to [[spoiler:claim the underground gold he was promised and needs to avoid becoming broke]], becoming an enemy of both Rango and Jake right in the beginning.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Reth is an outlaw and a thief, but he saved Jake when [[spoiler:the boy was captured by humans for a rattlesnake round-up]] and taught him to survive.

A Mojave kingsnake and one of the HiredGuns of Dufayel.

* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Bill and his goons disappear from the story after they're left injured by the battering they received from Grace and then Jake. The WordOfGod has it that as soon as they were healed, they decided to skip town.

* KnightOfCerebus: Appears only in four chapters, but his act of subjecting Grace to domestic violence is one of the darkest moments of the story. Though he gets his comeuppance, the once happy relationship between Grace and Jake becomes more troubled than before with the HeroicBSOD Grace has in the following chapters. Also, Dufayel decides that with Hares' failure to legally sell him Grace's property, it's time to throw aside the pretenses of lawfulness and utilize more drastic measures.

* ShadowArchetype: Like with Rango, Benjamin's vices include pretentiousness and cowardness. Rango was exposed as a fraud but returned to save Dirt as a true hero, and even though he hasn't fully lost his vices, he attempts to do the right thing as a sheriff. Benjamin in turn is an incorrigible conman who cares firstly about himself and his own safety. He charmed Grace to marry him and left her penniless to escape his debts, returning ten years later with false regrets to sell her out again and get his debts covered. In short, Benjamin is what Rango could have become if he had never risen above his vices and instead continued his life as a fraudster on the move.

* YouGotSpunk: He openly expresses lecherous interest in Grace's defiance during their first meeting.

* ContrastingSequelAntagonist: Tortoise John was Dirt's mayor who was good at hiding his villainous nature with charisma. Dufayel is a wealthy inhabitant of cities who, despite his politeness, never really hides his villainous nature. Tortoise John was a VisionaryVillain who wanted to create a modern city while denying Dirt's townsfolk the water they desperately recruited. Dufayel in turn wants to claim the underground gold he was promised and needs to avoid becoming broke.

--> "[[spoiler:You won't do it! You don't have the stomach for—]]"
* KnifeNut: He often uses a knife.

--> "Poor lizard. You are ''loco'', aren't you? You know how to kill a man, ''si''? But could you ''really'' stomach it? Go on. Find out. It's one thing to pull the trigger. It's another to watch your kill die."

* CrazyJealousGuy: Jake becomes this once he has started his relationship with Grace. Benjamin showing up when Grace's present riles Jake, and her toleration of her estranged husband's presence angers him further. He notes to himself that he has never been possessive over the hookers he previously slept with.

--> "Try me."

* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: While he {{took a level in badass}} in the movie, he's still a seemingly ditzy oddball who talks himself into trouble and gets out by bluffing. However, he still shows occasionally how ''he'' is the one who defeated Rattlesnake Jake a year earlier. In the climax, he [[spoiler:kills Ramirez Arvenga and [[TakingTheBullet takes Dufayel's bullet]] for Grace and Teddy]].

* CulturedBadass: Quotes several times Creator/{{Shakespeare}}.

* TemptingFate: He does in the 20th chapter by assuring Beans that he won't be needed on duty, only for frantic doorknocks and callings of his name to ensue.

* WhatBeautifulEyes: Jake mocks her with this trope when they meet an year [[ContinuityNod after he threatened to squeeze her eyes out]].

* TheChessmaster: He manipulates events to claim the heroes' lands for himself. Too bad for him that his schemes are foiled due to factors he didn't foresee.
* ClassyCane: Has one, but eventually smashes it into splinters during his [[VillainousBreakdown meltdown]]. He's got another one, though.

* EvilPlan: Have Mud's area cleared out and harvest the [[spoiler:great underground gold deposit and avoid bankruptcy]].

-->'''Rango''': For your own sake, I'm asking you to leave us be.
-->'''Dufayel''': Is that a threat, ''Monsieur'' Rango?
-->'''Rango''': You don't wanna corner a wild animal.
-->'''Dufayel''': And you had best not attempt to outfox a fox. It goes badly for you in your cause.

--> "Yer damned lucky the Sheriff's so soft. What's the matter, boy? Yer shakin' a little. How's it feel to be so helpless? In the face of death, it don't matter whether yer rich or poor, we all die in the end. Don't you ever forget that, 'cause one day I'm gonna be the one who comes callin' to claim yer soul. Now look into my eyes... I want you to remember them for the rest of yer life. 'Cause next time you see them ''this'' close, it'll be {{the last thing you ever see}}."

* DeconfirmedBachelor: Jake has never had other than one-night stands with hookers and believes marriage to be a waste of time due to [[DomesticAbuse his father]]. When he starts hitting it with Grace, however, he finds himself drawn to her in a way like never before with any woman.

* HandicappedBadass: He lost his rattle to a hawk when he was a child and Reth "the Carpenter" operated his gatling gun onto his tail.

* OnlyInItForTheMoney: He accepts Rango's request to protect Mud only because he's been between jobs lately and is offered the belongings of [[spoiler:Tortoise John]] as the reward.

--> "Ya boys was real stupid in thinkin' you could claim hell without payin' the devil his due. I don't like sloppy work... and you boys just made one hell've'a mess."

--> "''Burn'', asshole."
** He another one to [[spoiler:Dufayel]] whom he fills with bullets.
--> "My turn."

* ReminiscingAboutYourVictims: In the first scene portrayed from Jake's POV, he remembers with sadistic satisfaction how he killed [[spoiler:Tortoise John]] for his betrayal.

* AdultFear: She constantly fears for her son's safety, and justifiably so.

* AndYourRewardIsEdible: When she's forced to ask for Jake's help in fixing the damages done in her home, she rewards him with a meal. At first he's not that pleased, but decides her food is worth the trouble. Later she makes him another meal for [[PetTheDog teaching Teddy to overcome his visual impairment]]. She gives him regular meals afterwards.

* DarkAndTroubledPast: After a year of blissful marriage, Grace's husband suddenly disappeared and left her pregnant, penniless and homeless. [[TheFirstCutIsTheDeepest That betrayal has discouraged her from trying other men.]] [[spoiler:When robbers smashed nearly all of her unhatched eggs, she killed the ruffians in blind fury. Though she covered her act and had Teddy, [[FreudianExcuse the experience made her very prejudiced towards outlaws]].]]

* HeroicFireRescue: She saves the wife and baby of the owner of the Convenient Store of Mud when it's set ablaze by the Hellhounds.

* UnstoppableRage: Teddy's beat up at the hands of Bad Bill's gang leads her to [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown brutally beat them]]. [[spoiler:The murder of nearly all her unhatched babies caused her to slaughter in blind fury the culprits.]]

* ShadowArchetype: Like with Rango, Benjamin's vices include pretentiousness and cowardness. Rango was exposed as a fraud but returned to save Dirt as a true hero, and even though he hasn't fully lost his vices, he attempts to do the right thing as a sheriff. Benjamin in turn is an incorrigible conman who cares firstly about himself and his own safety. He charmed Grace to marry him and left her penniless to escape his debts, returning ten years later with false regrets to sell her out again and get his debts covered. In short, Benjamin is what Rango could have become if he had never risen above his vices and instead continued his life as a fraudster on the move.