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* FailedASpotCheck: Obi's tape ended by saying "When you're in Hell, only the Devil can get you out." [[spoiler:He didn't seem to notice the drawing of the devil on the furnace wall, next to a valve that would have turned off the gas, thus sparing him.]]
to:
* FailedASpotCheck: Obi's tape ended by saying "When you're in Hell, only the Devil can get you out." [[spoiler:He He didn't seem to notice the drawing of the devil on the furnace wall, next to a valve that would have turned off the gas, thus sparing him.]]
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!!Jigsaw Killers
[[folder:General Tropes]]
Although John Kramer himself admits that he never came up with the name "Jigsaw" or "Jigsaw Killer"; the press dubbed him so because of his penchant for carving a jigsaw-shaped piece of flesh from his dead victims -- a reminder of the "missing piece" of the "human puzzle" those victims lacked, which he believes could have saved their lives: the apparent "survival instinct".
------
[[folder:General Tropes]]
Although John Kramer himself admits that he never came up with the name "Jigsaw" or "Jigsaw Killer"; the press dubbed him so because of his penchant for carving a jigsaw-shaped piece of flesh from his dead victims -- a reminder of the "missing piece" of the "human puzzle" those victims lacked, which he believes could have saved their lives: the apparent "survival instinct".
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to:
!!Jigsaw Killers
[[folder:General Tropes]]
Althoughkillers
[[folder:In general]]
John Kramer himself admits that he never came up with the name "Jigsaw" or "Jigsaw Killer"; the press dubbed him so because of his penchant for carving a jigsaw-shaped piece of flesh from his dead victims -- a reminder of the "missing piece" of the "human puzzle" those victims lacked, which he believes could have saved their lives: the apparent "survival instinct".
----------
[[folder:General Tropes]]
Although
[[folder:In general]]
John Kramer himself admits that he never came up with the name "Jigsaw" or "Jigsaw Killer"; the press dubbed him so because of his penchant for carving a jigsaw-shaped piece of flesh from his dead victims -- a reminder of the "missing piece" of the "human puzzle" those victims lacked, which he believes could have saved their lives: the apparent "survival instinct".
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* WellIntentionedExtremist: What John ''believed'' he was, but spectacularly deconstructed in that his actions, noble intentions or not, did ''nothing'' good for anybody. He and his apprentices have differing ideas on this trope as well
to:
* WellIntentionedExtremist: What John ''believed'' he was, but spectacularly deconstructed in that his actions, noble intentions or not, did ''nothing'' good for anybody. He and his apprentices have differing ideas on this trope as wellwell.
Changed line(s) 11 (click to see context) from:
** Amanda deconstructs this by being murderously insane as a result of surviving John's game. She believes people can't be reformed and puts her victims into inescapable death traps to ironically spare them the pain of PTSD from what John would put them through if they survived.
to:
** Amanda deconstructs this by being murderously insane as a result of surviving John's game. She believes people can't be reformed reformed, and puts her victims into inescapable death traps to ironically spare them the pain of PTSD from what John would put them through if they survived.
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** Logan is a mix of both Amanda and Hoffman. While Logan is loyal to John's philosophy enough to recreate his Barn Game, he's not above taking personal revenge on certain people through inescapable scenarios. Logan, however, explicitly states he makes sure all of his victims have it coming, making him differ from the more murderous Hoffman.
to:
** Logan is a mix of both Amanda and Hoffman. While Logan is loyal to John's philosophy enough to recreate his Barn Game, he's not above taking personal revenge on certain people through inescapable scenarios. Logan, however, explicitly states he makes sure all of his victims have it coming, making him differ different from the more murderous Hoffman.
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[[/folder]]
to:
----
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* TheCameo: Makes a photo appearance in ''Spiral'' when Zeke investigates old documents about John.
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* EvilerThanThou: Unlike Amanda (who apparently saw her inescapable traps as either ridding the world of unchangeable people or MercyKill examples), Logan (who puts people through the games in order to punish them for the deeds [[KarmaHoudiniWarranty they evaded retribution for]] or to avenge their victims) or John (who wanted his victims to live and be better), Hoffman just wants to kill those who [[HeKnowsTooMuch know too much]]. Even that goes out the window in ''3D'', as, with his identity as the last Jigsaw known, he goes on a maniacal killing spree for the remainder of his screentime until he's caught.
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* GoneHorriblyRight: If John's philosophy was to get people to appreciate their lives and gain a new outlook, Hoffman can be said to be the ultimate culmination of his logic...for all the wrong reasons. His indomitable will to survive has him survive a death trap to go on to lose all pretenses of being a PoeticSerialKiller and murder anyone he fancies.
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* WellIntentionedExtremist: What John ''believed'' he was, but spectacularly deconstructed in that his actions, noble intentions or not, did nothing good for anybody. He and his apprentices have differing ideas on well-intentioned ideas as well.
to:
* TortureTechnician: As John was a talented engineer, he used his creative mind to create horrific death traps. As we see in the films, he passed his expertise on to his apprentices.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: What John ''believed'' he was, but spectacularly deconstructed in that his actions, noble intentions or not, didnothing ''nothing'' good for anybody. He and his apprentices have differing ideas on well-intentioned ideas this trope as well.well
** John wanted each victim to gain a "new outlook on life", and feels they can only do that by forcing them to survive a gruesome near-death experience. All John accomplished was cultivating murderous followers through StockHolmSyndrome or leaving people with post-traumatic stress disorder for the rest of their lives.
** Amanda deconstructs this by being murderously insane as a result of surviving John's game. She believes people can't be reformed and puts her victims into inescapable death traps to ironically spare them the pain of PTSD from what John would put them through if they survived.
** Hoffman was loyal to John's philosophy enough to follow his will to the very end, producing all the games John instructed him to create long after he died. It's subverted, however, in that Hoffman simply loved the carnage and wasn't above murdering other people indiscriminately along the way to cover his tracks.
** Logan is a mix of both Amanda and Hoffman. While Logan is loyal to John's philosophy enough to recreate his Barn Game, he's not above taking personal revenge on certain people through inescapable scenarios. Logan, however, explicitly states he makes sure all of his victims have it coming, making him differ from the more murderous Hoffman.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: What John ''believed'' he was, but spectacularly deconstructed in that his actions, noble intentions or not, did
** John wanted each victim to gain a "new outlook on life", and feels they can only do that by forcing them to survive a gruesome near-death experience. All John accomplished was cultivating murderous followers through StockHolmSyndrome or leaving people with post-traumatic stress disorder for the rest of their lives.
** Amanda deconstructs this by being murderously insane as a result of surviving John's game. She believes people can't be reformed and puts her victims into inescapable death traps to ironically spare them the pain of PTSD from what John would put them through if they survived.
** Hoffman was loyal to John's philosophy enough to follow his will to the very end, producing all the games John instructed him to create long after he died. It's subverted, however, in that Hoffman simply loved the carnage and wasn't above murdering other people indiscriminately along the way to cover his tracks.
** Logan is a mix of both Amanda and Hoffman. While Logan is loyal to John's philosophy enough to recreate his Barn Game, he's not above taking personal revenge on certain people through inescapable scenarios. Logan, however, explicitly states he makes sure all of his victims have it coming, making him differ from the more murderous Hoffman.
Deleted line(s) 171 (click to see context) :
* WellIntentionedExtremist: ''Very'' extreme. He wants each victim to gain a "new outlook on life", and feels they can only do that by forcing them to survive a gruesome near-death experience.
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[[folder:General Tropes]]
Although John Kramer himself admits that he never came up with the name "Jigsaw" or "Jigsaw Killer"; the press dubbed him so because of his penchant for carving a jigsaw-shaped piece of flesh from his dead victims -- a reminder of the "missing piece" of the "human puzzle" those victims lacked, which he believes could have saved their lives: the apparent "survival instinct".
------
* AnimalMotifs: Pigs. John Kramer was a believer in the EasternZodiac and his unborn son would have been born on the Year of the Pig. He instead twists this imagery into abducting people using disturbing pig masks, later revealed to be cultivated from Jill Tuck's family farm.
* CultOfPersonality: John is an expert at emotional manipulation and predicting people's actions. All his apprentices and accomplices barring Hoffman are drawn to him through his incredible charisma and StockholmeSyndrome. He later passes his orating skills on to Lawrence, who was capable of swaying test survivors to his side.
* SerialKiller: Although John would vehemently deny being this, this is what the Jigsaw Killers are. Amanda, in particular, doesn't even make any pretenses about not being one.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: What John ''believed'' he was, but spectacularly deconstructed in that his actions, noble intentions or not, did nothing good for anybody. He and his apprentices have differing ideas on well-intentioned ideas as well.
[[/folder]]
Although John Kramer himself admits that he never came up with the name "Jigsaw" or "Jigsaw Killer"; the press dubbed him so because of his penchant for carving a jigsaw-shaped piece of flesh from his dead victims -- a reminder of the "missing piece" of the "human puzzle" those victims lacked, which he believes could have saved their lives: the apparent "survival instinct".
------
* AnimalMotifs: Pigs. John Kramer was a believer in the EasternZodiac and his unborn son would have been born on the Year of the Pig. He instead twists this imagery into abducting people using disturbing pig masks, later revealed to be cultivated from Jill Tuck's family farm.
* CultOfPersonality: John is an expert at emotional manipulation and predicting people's actions. All his apprentices and accomplices barring Hoffman are drawn to him through his incredible charisma and StockholmeSyndrome. He later passes his orating skills on to Lawrence, who was capable of swaying test survivors to his side.
* SerialKiller: Although John would vehemently deny being this, this is what the Jigsaw Killers are. Amanda, in particular, doesn't even make any pretenses about not being one.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: What John ''believed'' he was, but spectacularly deconstructed in that his actions, noble intentions or not, did nothing good for anybody. He and his apprentices have differing ideas on well-intentioned ideas as well.
[[/folder]]
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Notably, John himself admits that he never came up with the name "Jigsaw" or "Jigsaw Killer"; the press dubbed him so because of his penchant for carving a jigsaw-shaped piece of flesh from his dead victims -- a reminder of the "missing piece" of the "human puzzle" those victims lacked, which he believes could have saved their lives: the apparent "survival instinct".
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* AnimalMotifs: Pigs. He was a believer in the EasternZodiac and his unborn son would have been born on the Year of the Pig. He instead twists this imagery into abducting people using disturbing pig masks and a trap which involved grinding up pig carcasses.
Changed line(s) 59 (click to see context) from:
** While his primary victims are "people who have wasted their lives," Jigsaw also targets people who have wronged him in some way, and later in the series targets the police operatives investigating him. As the series continues and backbuilds his history, it becomes increasingly clear that many of his victims are people he has a personal connection with and he just doesn't care for how they chose to live their lives.
to:
** While his primary victims are "people who have wasted their lives," Jigsaw also targets people who have wronged him in some way, and later in the series targets the police operatives investigating him. As the series continues and backbuilds back builds his history, it becomes increasingly clear that many of his victims are people he has a personal connection with and he just doesn't care for how they chose to live their lives.
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A criminal defense lawyer as well as former best friend and business partner of John Kramer. As his friend, Art supported his Urban Renewal Group, a foundation dedicated to property development for needy people under the motto "Four walls build a home." However, despite this social commitment, Art's work had a less honorable side, as he defended people for crimes they were guilty of. This got him targetted by John when he started the Jigsaw killings.
to:
A criminal defense lawyer as well as former best friend and business partner of John Kramer. As his friend, Art supported his Urban Renewal Group, a foundation dedicated to property development for needy people under the motto "Four walls build a home." However, despite this social commitment, Art's work had a less honorable side, as he defended people for crimes they were guilty of. This [[EvilIsPetty and some lingering bitterness over Art trying to console him in the past]] got him targetted by John when he started the Jigsaw killings.killings. Even after Art survived his game, he couldn't escape Jigsaw's grip, being forced into becoming an unwilling accomplice by the threat of death.
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!!Other accomplices
to:
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* DirtyCoward: Ironically, an arsonist faced with simply burning his hand to turn off a valve to save his life is too terrified to do so.
Changed line(s) 373 (click to see context) from:
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* WeHardlyKnewYe: Unlike Jigsaw's other accomplices, we know very little of Obi, namely why he aided Jigsaw. The video game rectifies this by giving him some more depth.
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[[folder:Art Blank]]
!!Art Blank
[[quoteright:220:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/art_blank.jpg]]
->'''Played by:''' Creator/LouisFerreira
A criminal defense lawyer as well as former best friend and business partner of John Kramer. As his friend, Art supported his Urban Renewal Group, a foundation dedicated to property development for needy people under the motto "Four walls build a home." However, despite this social commitment, Art's work had a less honorable side, as he defended people for crimes they were guilty of. This got him targetted by John when he started the Jigsaw killings.
!!Art Blank
[[quoteright:220:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/art_blank.jpg]]
->'''Played by:''' Creator/LouisFerreira
A criminal defense lawyer as well as former best friend and business partner of John Kramer. As his friend, Art supported his Urban Renewal Group, a foundation dedicated to property development for needy people under the motto "Four walls build a home." However, despite this social commitment, Art's work had a less honorable side, as he defended people for crimes they were guilty of. This got him targetted by John when he started the Jigsaw killings.
to:
!!Art Blank
[[quoteright:220:https://static.
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.
->'''Played by:'''
A criminal defense lawyer as well as former best friend and business partner of John Kramer. As his friend, Art supported his Urban Renewal Group, a foundation dedicated to property development for needy people under the motto "Four walls build a home." However, despite this social commitment, Art's work had a less honorable side, as he defended people for crimes they were guilty of. This got him targetted by John when he started the
An arsonist Jigsaw
Added DiffLines:
* AssholeVictim: Given Obi helped kidnap the other victims and displayed a sadistic streak, it's hard to pity his CruelAndUnusualDeath.
* DeathByIrony: Obi is an arsonist who burns to death.
* FailedASpotCheck: Obi's tape ended by saying "When you're in Hell, only the Devil can get you out." [[spoiler:He didn't seem to notice the drawing of the devil on the furnace wall, next to a valve that would have turned off the gas, thus sparing him.]]
* KillItWithFire: When trying to retrieve two antidotes from a furnace, Obi gets locked in and the furnace activates, which cooks him alive.
* NervesOfSteel: Xavier holds a knife to Obi's throat to threaten him into entering a trap to retrieve antidotes. Not only does Obi not so much as flinch, he willingly reaches up and drags the knife across his own throat, remarking how if Xavier was gonna threaten him with a knife, "[he] may as well cut [Obi] a little". He then climbs into the trap without any further prompting.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Art Blank]]
!!Art Blank
[[quoteright:220:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/art_blank.jpg]]
->'''Played by:''' Creator/LouisFerreira
A criminal defense lawyer as well as former best friend and business partner of John Kramer. As his friend, Art supported his Urban Renewal Group, a foundation dedicated to property development for needy people under the motto "Four walls build a home." However, despite this social commitment, Art's work had a less honorable side, as he defended people for crimes they were guilty of. This got him targetted by John when he started the Jigsaw killings.
------
* DeathByIrony: Obi is an arsonist who burns to death.
* FailedASpotCheck: Obi's tape ended by saying "When you're in Hell, only the Devil can get you out." [[spoiler:He didn't seem to notice the drawing of the devil on the furnace wall, next to a valve that would have turned off the gas, thus sparing him.]]
* KillItWithFire: When trying to retrieve two antidotes from a furnace, Obi gets locked in and the furnace activates, which cooks him alive.
* NervesOfSteel: Xavier holds a knife to Obi's throat to threaten him into entering a trap to retrieve antidotes. Not only does Obi not so much as flinch, he willingly reaches up and drags the knife across his own throat, remarking how if Xavier was gonna threaten him with a knife, "[he] may as well cut [Obi] a little". He then climbs into the trap without any further prompting.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Art Blank]]
!!Art Blank
[[quoteright:220:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/art_blank.jpg]]
->'''Played by:''' Creator/LouisFerreira
A criminal defense lawyer as well as former best friend and business partner of John Kramer. As his friend, Art supported his Urban Renewal Group, a foundation dedicated to property development for needy people under the motto "Four walls build a home." However, despite this social commitment, Art's work had a less honorable side, as he defended people for crimes they were guilty of. This got him targetted by John when he started the Jigsaw killings.
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[[folder:Zep Hindle]]
!!Zep Hindle
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zep.png]]
-> '''Played by:''' Creator/MichaelEmerson
-->''"It's the rules."''
An orderly who tended to John Kramer while he was being diagnosed with cancer. He formed a bond with the madman, which went horribly when Kramer decided to include him in his rise to evil.
-----
* AssholeVictim: Although he was forced to do what he did to stay alive, WordOfGod is that he [[KickTheDog enjoyed every second of it.]]
* ChekhovsGunman: He shows up in one flashback scene before it's eventually revealed he's an antagonist.
* DiscOneFinalBoss: His death leads to the franchise's true villain being revealed.
* ExtremeMeleeRevenge: Is on the receiving end of this by Adam, who beats Zep to death with a toilet tank lid.
* TheDragon: Jigsaw blackmails him into this position.
* KickTheDog: Some of his actions while holding Alison and Diana hostage are needlessly cruel, like forcing Alison herself to tell her husband that he's failed.
* NonActionGuy: Played with. For a nervous hospital orderly, he is surprisingly efficient as muscle for Jigsaw. However, he gets easily overpowered a lot and relies on lucky breaks to get by.
* PetTheDog: He showed kindness to John, referring to him by name when Gordon simply referred to him as a patient. Gordon implied that Zep had a habit of forming bonds with patients.
* PunchClockVillain: A notable subversion. He kidnaps Lawrence's family so he can survive his own test, but he ''loves'' the pain he inflicts on them.
* RedHerring: Was one of the two characters who were believed to be Jigsaw in the [[Film/SawI first movie]].
* {{Sadist}}: Scenes include him mockingly waving at Adam and Lawrence through the camera feed while saying "I see you", and menacing Alison and Diana with a gun while listening for their heartbeats to see how much they increase. On the commentary, it is stated that this was done to show that he enjoyed being given power over others.
* StarterVillain: He may be a small fry in the long run, but Zep is the first revealed antagonist in the franchise (not counting Billy).
* TooDumbToLive: Despite working at a hospital, it never occurred to him to go to a poison control center for help. If there was any particular reason for why he could not, the film never explains. However, it has been stated that Zepp actually enjoyed the power Jigsaw ‘gifted’ him. It’s possible he knew he could go to a poison control center, but chose to continue playing Jigsaw’s game regardless: he could terrorize and hurt others without having to worry about getting charged should the police track him down, as the threat of poisoning would make a convenient excuse.
* WouldHitAGirl: He's perfectly willing to kill Dr. Gordon's wife...
** WouldHurtAChild: ...and daughter to save himself.
[[/folder]]
!!Zep Hindle
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zep.png]]
-> '''Played by:''' Creator/MichaelEmerson
-->''"It's the rules."''
An orderly who tended to John Kramer while he was being diagnosed with cancer. He formed a bond with the madman, which went horribly when Kramer decided to include him in his rise to evil.
-----
* AssholeVictim: Although he was forced to do what he did to stay alive, WordOfGod is that he [[KickTheDog enjoyed every second of it.]]
* ChekhovsGunman: He shows up in one flashback scene before it's eventually revealed he's an antagonist.
* DiscOneFinalBoss: His death leads to the franchise's true villain being revealed.
* ExtremeMeleeRevenge: Is on the receiving end of this by Adam, who beats Zep to death with a toilet tank lid.
* TheDragon: Jigsaw blackmails him into this position.
* KickTheDog: Some of his actions while holding Alison and Diana hostage are needlessly cruel, like forcing Alison herself to tell her husband that he's failed.
* NonActionGuy: Played with. For a nervous hospital orderly, he is surprisingly efficient as muscle for Jigsaw. However, he gets easily overpowered a lot and relies on lucky breaks to get by.
* PetTheDog: He showed kindness to John, referring to him by name when Gordon simply referred to him as a patient. Gordon implied that Zep had a habit of forming bonds with patients.
* PunchClockVillain: A notable subversion. He kidnaps Lawrence's family so he can survive his own test, but he ''loves'' the pain he inflicts on them.
* RedHerring: Was one of the two characters who were believed to be Jigsaw in the [[Film/SawI first movie]].
* {{Sadist}}: Scenes include him mockingly waving at Adam and Lawrence through the camera feed while saying "I see you", and menacing Alison and Diana with a gun while listening for their heartbeats to see how much they increase. On the commentary, it is stated that this was done to show that he enjoyed being given power over others.
* StarterVillain: He may be a small fry in the long run, but Zep is the first revealed antagonist in the franchise (not counting Billy).
* TooDumbToLive: Despite working at a hospital, it never occurred to him to go to a poison control center for help. If there was any particular reason for why he could not, the film never explains. However, it has been stated that Zepp actually enjoyed the power Jigsaw ‘gifted’ him. It’s possible he knew he could go to a poison control center, but chose to continue playing Jigsaw’s game regardless: he could terrorize and hurt others without having to worry about getting charged should the police track him down, as the threat of poisoning would make a convenient excuse.
* WouldHitAGirl: He's perfectly willing to kill Dr. Gordon's wife...
** WouldHurtAChild: ...and daughter to save himself.
[[/folder]]
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[[folder:Art Blank]]
!!Art Blank
[[quoteright:220:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/art_blank.jpg]]
->'''Played by:''' Creator/LouisFerreira
A criminal defense lawyer as well as former best friend and business partner of John Kramer. As his friend, Art supported his Urban Renewal Group, a foundation dedicated to property development for needy people under the motto "Four walls build a home." However, despite this social commitment, Art's work had a less honorable side, as he defended people for crimes they were guilty of. This got him targetted by John when he started the Jigsaw killings.
------
* AmoralAttorney: He successfully defended a rapist, a pimp, and an abusive husband and father.
* AssholeVictim: Subverted. He did defend several criminals guilty of serious crimes, yes -- but he also supported John's Urban Renewal Group, a foundation dedicated to property development for needy people. Not to mention, he wasn't a willing pawn like Zep in the first movie.
* BigNo: When Rigg bursts through the door at the last second before he can deactivate his trap along with Matthews' and Hoffman's.
* BoomHeadshot: While pulling out a tape recorder to prove he's not one of Jigsaw's accomplices, Rigg mistakes the tape recorder for a weapon and shoots him through the head, the bullet exiting out the back of his skull and causing brain matter to shoot out with it.
* DefiantToTheEnd: Knowing he's doomed anyway, Art doesn't cave to Rigg's delusional demands to raise his hands. Instead, he mocks Rigg for failing his game and repeatedly shouts he was being tested the whole time before Rigg shoots him dead.
* GlasgowGrin: Is left with one after being put through a trap that involves his mouth and cheek being stitched shut.
* OnlyAFleshWound: Art runs at Rigg and gets shot in the [[OrganDodge left pectoral muscle]]. He collapses to the ground, but is otherwise okay. It's not until he's shot in the head by Rigg that he dies.
* PunchClockVillain: He's not even remotely evil, just decidedly amoral in his occupation and only trying to survive his ordeal with Jigsaw.
* RedHerring: Strahm suspects he's an accomplice of Jigsaw, and obviously so does Eric Matthews. Turns out he was only another victim.
* RecklessGunUsage: He points a revolver at a restrained Hoffman to calm an also restrained Matthews down... while keeping his finger on the trigger.
* SirSwearsALot: Every other word he says is a swear and he's always on edge. Although, considering he survived a death trap and is being forced to moderate another test his survival hinges on, his temper is justified.
[[/folder]]
!!Art Blank
[[quoteright:220:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/art_blank.jpg]]
->'''Played by:''' Creator/LouisFerreira
A criminal defense lawyer as well as former best friend and business partner of John Kramer. As his friend, Art supported his Urban Renewal Group, a foundation dedicated to property development for needy people under the motto "Four walls build a home." However, despite this social commitment, Art's work had a less honorable side, as he defended people for crimes they were guilty of. This got him targetted by John when he started the Jigsaw killings.
------
* AmoralAttorney: He successfully defended a rapist, a pimp, and an abusive husband and father.
* AssholeVictim: Subverted. He did defend several criminals guilty of serious crimes, yes -- but he also supported John's Urban Renewal Group, a foundation dedicated to property development for needy people. Not to mention, he wasn't a willing pawn like Zep in the first movie.
* BigNo: When Rigg bursts through the door at the last second before he can deactivate his trap along with Matthews' and Hoffman's.
* BoomHeadshot: While pulling out a tape recorder to prove he's not one of Jigsaw's accomplices, Rigg mistakes the tape recorder for a weapon and shoots him through the head, the bullet exiting out the back of his skull and causing brain matter to shoot out with it.
* DefiantToTheEnd: Knowing he's doomed anyway, Art doesn't cave to Rigg's delusional demands to raise his hands. Instead, he mocks Rigg for failing his game and repeatedly shouts he was being tested the whole time before Rigg shoots him dead.
* GlasgowGrin: Is left with one after being put through a trap that involves his mouth and cheek being stitched shut.
* OnlyAFleshWound: Art runs at Rigg and gets shot in the [[OrganDodge left pectoral muscle]]. He collapses to the ground, but is otherwise okay. It's not until he's shot in the head by Rigg that he dies.
* PunchClockVillain: He's not even remotely evil, just decidedly amoral in his occupation and only trying to survive his ordeal with Jigsaw.
* RedHerring: Strahm suspects he's an accomplice of Jigsaw, and obviously so does Eric Matthews. Turns out he was only another victim.
* RecklessGunUsage: He points a revolver at a restrained Hoffman to calm an also restrained Matthews down... while keeping his finger on the trigger.
* SirSwearsALot: Every other word he says is a swear and he's always on edge. Although, considering he survived a death trap and is being forced to moderate another test his survival hinges on, his temper is justified.
[[/folder]]
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[[foldercontrol]]
to:
Changed line(s) 335 (click to see context) from:
to:
!!Other accomplices
Changed line(s) 424,425 (click to see context) from:
[[/folder]]
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Freudian excuse refers to childhood trauma, and the events that led John to his role as a serial killer happened in his adulthood. So Revenge Is Not Justice is more accurate.
Deleted line(s) 68,71 (click to see context) :
* FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse: The police do have sympathy towards John for having cancer and trying to take his own life, but they make it clear to him that he has neither the right or the authority to put people through these death traps.
-->'''Eric''': I don't know what [the cure for cancer] is, but I know it's not killing and torturing people for your own sick fucking pleasure.\\
'''John''': I've never murdered anyone in my life. The decisions are up to them.\\
'''Eric''': Yeah, well, putting a gun to someone's head and forcing them to pull the trigger is still murder.
-->'''Eric''': I don't know what [the cure for cancer] is, but I know it's not killing and torturing people for your own sick fucking pleasure.\\
'''John''': I've never murdered anyone in my life. The decisions are up to them.\\
'''Eric''': Yeah, well, putting a gun to someone's head and forcing them to pull the trigger is still murder.
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* RevengeIsNotJustice: The police do have sympathy towards John for having cancer and trying to take his own life, but they make it clear to him that he has neither the right or the authority to put people through these death traps.
-->'''Eric''': I don't know what [the cure for cancer] is, but I know it's not killing and torturing people for your own sick fucking pleasure.\\
'''John''': I've never murdered anyone in my life. The decisions are up to them.\\
'''Eric''': Yeah, well, putting a gun to someone's head and forcing them to pull the trigger is still murder.
-->'''Eric''': I don't know what [the cure for cancer] is, but I know it's not killing and torturing people for your own sick fucking pleasure.\\
'''John''': I've never murdered anyone in my life. The decisions are up to them.\\
'''Eric''': Yeah, well, putting a gun to someone's head and forcing them to pull the trigger is still murder.
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!Jigsaw and accomplices
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!Legacy followers
[[folder:William Schenk]]
!!William Emmerson/Schenk (The Spiral Killer)
[[quoteright:291:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/williamschenk.jpg]]
->'''Played by:''' Max Minghella
A former homicide detective who, after faking his death, kills corrupt cops using the old Jigsaw methods. He posed as Zeke's partner before Zeke found out that he was responsible for the murders.
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* AnimalMotifs: As per series standard, pigs. Whereas Jigsaw used pigs to symbolize a rotting world, Schenk uses them simply to taunt the police.
* CallingCard: He leaves badges and body parts of murdered officers at scenes marked with a spray-painted red spiral.
* CopKiller: Whereas Jigsaw targeted people who he felt didn't appreciate their blessings in life, Schenk is carrying out a personal vendetta against the police.
* DeathTrap: Their M.O, this being a Saw movie after all.
* EvilLaugh: The Spiral Killer's puppet has a distinct laugh like Jigsaw's Billy, but sounds more like a giggling child than an electronic toy.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: He was an ordinary kid whose father was killed for threatening to testify against a corrupt cop. Witnessing that event caused him to [[IncrediblyLamePun spiral]] downwards until he began exacting his pound of flesh on the city police department.
* JackTheRipoff: He's directly inspired by Jigsaw, and believes that his methods will suit his purposes. However, in a series first, there's no direct connection between them.
* PerversePuppet: His puppet is a monstrous-looking pig marionette dressed as a cop with a wicked looking grin, demonic red eyes, and a shrill, childish laugh. This just further establishes Schenk as his own entity.
* RedEyesTakeWarning: His Spiral puppet has a pair of dark red eyes like its predecessor Billy, but over white irises instead of black.
* VisualPun: "Pig" is common slang for cops, and befitting that, we have a cop-killer's persona with a police officer pig puppet.
* VoiceChangeling: He digitally distorts his voice in tapes to avoid being identified. Given that he would likely be in the room with the officers when they played his messages, it's a necessity.
[[/folder]]
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* TheSociopath: He seriously surpasses his mentor John Kramer on how many lines he's willing to cross. While the former had a moral lesson in mind with his doings and gave his victims a chance to survive, he makes half his traps inescapable in the belief that murderers can't redeem themselves, being hypocritical in that statement while claiming so, while the other half force their victims into making sadistic choices, where one can live only at the expense of another's death. His partner Amanda Young is a BrokenBird with standards, and was horrifyingly blackmailed by him simply because he didn't like her. He's also willing to murder people whom he worked with for over 20 years just to get away, as well as putting Detective Peter Strahm in an inescapable trap and blaming him for the murder he himself committed in ''Saw V''. He finally crosses the MoralEventHorizon when he murders his mentor's ex-wife with a Reverse Bear Trap in ''Saw 3D''. Luckily, justice was served to him as Lawrence, a secret apprentice of John's from the first movie, put him at his place and locked him in the infamous bathroom, in which he finally died.
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* TheSociopath: He seriously surpasses his mentor John Kramer on how many lines he's willing to cross. While the former had a moral lesson in mind with his doings and gave his victims a chance to survive, he makes half his traps inescapable in the belief that murderers can't redeem themselves, being hypocritical in that statement while claiming so, while the other half force their victims into making sadistic choices, where one can live only at the expense of another's death. His partner Amanda Young is a BrokenBird with standards, and was horrifyingly blackmailed by him simply because he didn't like her. He's also willing to murder people whom he worked with for over 20 years just to get away, as well as putting Detective Peter Strahm in an inescapable trap and blaming him for the murder he himself committed in ''Saw V''. He finally fully crosses the MoralEventHorizon line when he murders his mentor's ex-wife with a Reverse Bear Trap in ''Saw 3D''. Luckily, justice was served to him as Lawrence, a secret apprentice of John's from the first movie, an accomplice unknown to Hoffman, put him at his place and locked him in the infamous bathroom, in which he finally died.bathroom to perish.
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John Kramer's ex-wife. The founder of a drug rehabilitation clinic, Jill suffered a miscarriage when druggie Cecil Adams hastily broke in at night looking to score. With the downward spiral of her relationship with John after this and his cancer diagnosis, she divorced him. After John became the Jigsaw Killer, she was privy to his identity, machinations, and accomplices but did not want anything to do with him or turn him in. Following his death, John entrusted Jill to place the Reverse Bear Trap 2.0 on Hoffman, as his successor was never properly tested.
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John Kramer's ex-wife. The founder of a drug rehabilitation clinic, Jill suffered a miscarriage when druggie Cecil Adams hastily broke in at night looking to score. With the downward spiral of her relationship with John after this and his cancer diagnosis, she divorced him. After John became the Jigsaw Killer, she was privy to his identity, machinations, and accomplices but did not want anything to do with him or turn him in. Following Despite this, following his death, John entrusted Jill to place the Reverse Bear Trap 2.0 on Hoffman, as his successor was never properly tested.
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* DamselInDistress: She turns into this in ''Saw 3D''. [[{{Chickification}} Many fans were not pleased.]]
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* DamselInDistress: She turns into this in In ''Saw 3D''. [[{{Chickification}} Many fans were not pleased.]]3D,'' she is under permanent police protection and surveillance from Hoffman. However, it's justified in that Jill is a relatively normal civilian while Hoffman is an ex-police detective and SerialKiller out for her blood.
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* LightIsNotGood: Subverted. She was privy to everything with John and his accomplices but was thoroughly repulsed by his villainy. [[TheWoobie It's implied after the sheer trauma of everything she went through with him rendered her incapable of turning them in.]]
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* KickTheSonOfABitch: While Jill was reluctantly willing to place the Reverse Bear Trap 2.0 on Hoffman per John's will, upon discovering his role in blackmailing Amanda and subsequently causing her and John's deaths, she rigs his game by making escape impossible.
* LightIsNotGood: Subverted. She was privy to everything with John and his accomplices but was thoroughly repulsed by his villainy.[[TheWoobie It's implied after the sheer trauma of everything she went through with him rendered her incapable of turning them in.]]in, coupled with John's expertise at emotional manipulation.
* LightIsNotGood: Subverted. She was privy to everything with John and his accomplices but was thoroughly repulsed by his villainy.
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* TookALevelInBadass: In ''VI,'' electrifying Hoffman before strapping him into the Reverse Bear Trap. [[DamselInDistress Shame it didn't take.]]
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--> ''"Congratulations, you are still alive. Most people are so ungrateful to be alive, but not you. Not anymore."''
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->'''Played by:''' Max Minghella
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* CallingCard: They leave badges and body parts of murdered officers at scenes marked with a spray-painted red spiral.
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* CallingCard: They leave He leaves badges and body parts of murdered officers at scenes marked with a spray-painted red spiral.
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-->'''Lawrence, trying to attack Zep:''' You bastard! I'll fucking kill you! I'll fucking kill you! '''YOU FUCKING BASTARD! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!'''
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-->'''Lawrence, trying to attack Zep:''' Zep''': You bastard! I'll fucking kill you! I'll fucking kill you! '''YOU FUCKING BASTARD! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!'''
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[[folder:Dr. Lawrence Gordon]]
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[[folder:The Second Apprentice '''(SPOILERS FOR ''Saw IV'')''']]
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[[folder:The Third Apprentice '''(SPOILERS FOR ''Saw II'')''']]
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[[folder:The Secret Accomplice '''(SPOILERS FOR ''Saw [=3D=]'')''']]
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* AnimalMotifs: As per series standard, pigs. Where Jigsaw used pigs to symbolize a rotting world, Spiral uses them simply to taunt the police.
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* AnimalMotifs: As per series standard, pigs. Where Whereas Jigsaw used pigs to symbolize a rotting world, Spiral Schenk uses them simply to taunt the police.
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A former homicide detective who, after faking his death, kills corrupt cops using the old Jigsaw methods, posing as Zeke's partner before he finds out that he was responsible for the murders.
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A former homicide detective who, after faking his death, kills corrupt cops using the old Jigsaw methods, posing methods. He posed as Zeke's partner before he finds Zeke found out that he was responsible for the murders.
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[[quoteright:291:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/williamschenk.jpg]]
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!!William Emmerson/Schenk (The Spiral Killer)
A former homicide detective who, after faking his death, kills corrupt cops using the old Jigsaw methods, posing as Zeke's partner before he finds out that he was responsible for the murders.
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* AnimalMotifs: As per series standard, pigs. Where Jigsaw used pigs to symbolize a rotting world, Spiral uses them simply to taunt the police.
* CallingCard: They leave badges and body parts of murdered officers at scenes marked with a spray-painted red spiral.
* CopKiller: Whereas Jigsaw targeted people who he felt didn't appreciate their blessings in life, Schenk is carrying out a personal vendetta against the police.
* DeathTrap: Their M.O, this being a Saw movie after all.
* EvilLaugh: The Spiral Killer's puppet has a distinct laugh like Jigsaw's Billy, but sounds more like a giggling child than an electronic toy.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: He was an ordinary kid whose father was killed for threatening to testify against a corrupt cop. Witnessing that event caused him to [[IncrediblyLamePun spiral]] downwards until he began exacting his pound of flesh on the city police department.
* JackTheRipoff: He's directly inspired by Jigsaw, and believes that his methods will suit his purposes. However, in a series first, there's no direct connection between them.
* PerversePuppet: His puppet is a monstrous-looking pig marionette dressed as a cop with a wicked looking grin, demonic red eyes, and a shrill, childish laugh. This just further establishes Schenk as his own entity.
* RedEyesTakeWarning: His Spiral puppet has a pair of dark red eyes like its predecessor Billy, but over white irises instead of black.
* VisualPun: "Pig" is common slang for cops, and befitting that, we have a cop-killer's persona with a police officer pig puppet.
* VoiceChangeling: He digitally distorts his voice in tapes to avoid being identified. Given that he would likely be in the room with the officers when they played his messages, it's a necessity.
A former homicide detective who, after faking his death, kills corrupt cops using the old Jigsaw methods, posing as Zeke's partner before he finds out that he was responsible for the murders.
-----
* AnimalMotifs: As per series standard, pigs. Where Jigsaw used pigs to symbolize a rotting world, Spiral uses them simply to taunt the police.
* CallingCard: They leave badges and body parts of murdered officers at scenes marked with a spray-painted red spiral.
* CopKiller: Whereas Jigsaw targeted people who he felt didn't appreciate their blessings in life, Schenk is carrying out a personal vendetta against the police.
* DeathTrap: Their M.O, this being a Saw movie after all.
* EvilLaugh: The Spiral Killer's puppet has a distinct laugh like Jigsaw's Billy, but sounds more like a giggling child than an electronic toy.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: He was an ordinary kid whose father was killed for threatening to testify against a corrupt cop. Witnessing that event caused him to [[IncrediblyLamePun spiral]] downwards until he began exacting his pound of flesh on the city police department.
* JackTheRipoff: He's directly inspired by Jigsaw, and believes that his methods will suit his purposes. However, in a series first, there's no direct connection between them.
* PerversePuppet: His puppet is a monstrous-looking pig marionette dressed as a cop with a wicked looking grin, demonic red eyes, and a shrill, childish laugh. This just further establishes Schenk as his own entity.
* RedEyesTakeWarning: His Spiral puppet has a pair of dark red eyes like its predecessor Billy, but over white irises instead of black.
* VisualPun: "Pig" is common slang for cops, and befitting that, we have a cop-killer's persona with a police officer pig puppet.
* VoiceChangeling: He digitally distorts his voice in tapes to avoid being identified. Given that he would likely be in the room with the officers when they played his messages, it's a necessity.
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* TookALevelInJerkass: In 3. She starts designing inescapable traps, and she antagonizes Lynn throughout her test.
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* TookALevelInJerkass: In 3.''III''. She starts designing inescapable traps, and she antagonizes Lynn throughout her test.
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* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: In ''VI'', it was revealed [[spoiler: she asked Cecil to steal drugs from Jill's clinic, therefore indirectly responsible for Jill's miscarriage and Jigsaw's StartOfDarkness]].
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* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: In ''VI'', it was revealed [[spoiler: she asked Cecil to steal drugs from Jill's clinic, therefore indirectly responsible for Jill's miscarriage and Jigsaw's StartOfDarkness]].StartOfDarkness.
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'''''All spoilers are unmarked for this page. Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned!'''''
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!Jigsaw and accomplices
[[folder:John Kramer]]
!!John Kramer
[[quoteright:280:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jigsaw_9804.png]]
[[caption-width-right:280: ''"I want to play a game."'']]
-> '''Played by:''' Creator/TobinBell
-->''Yes, officer, I'm sick. [[YourDaysAreNumbered Sick from the disease eating me away inside,]] [[DrivenByEnvy sick of people who don’t appreciate their blessing,]] sick of those who scoff at the suffering of others. I'm sick of it all!''
John Kramer was a civil engineer who was driven to become the Messianic Jigsaw Killer after a [[TraumaCongaLine series of tragic events and circumstances]] -- his unborn son was killed when his wife, Jill, had a miscarriage; this caused John to drive her away, making her divorce him. John was later diagnosed with an inoperable tumor, which led to cancer. When his insurance company turned down an experimental treatment that could have potentially saved his life (or at least prolonged it), John attempted suicide. When he survived, his new outlook on life became his motivation to become the Jigsaw Killer.
Jigsaw kidnaps people that he believes aren't valuing their lives or are intentionally hurting others, then forces them to go through sadistic "tests" where there are usually only two outcomes: live (and gain a new outlook on life) or die. John was eventually killed by Jeff Denlon, one of the last of his direct victims. Events ensuring [[VillainousLegacy his legacy would live on]], however, were already in motion -- Mark Hoffman, one of John's apprentices, continued Jigsaw's work after his death.
Notably, John himself admits that he never came up with the name "Jigsaw" or "Jigsaw Killer"; the press dubbed him so because of his penchant for carving a jigsaw-shaped piece of flesh from his dead victims -- a reminder of the "missing piece" of the "human puzzle" those victims lacked, which he believes could have saved their lives: the apparent "survival instinct".
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* AmbiguouslyEvil: While his "games" are intended for the victims to survive and change their lives for the better, he has come across as hypocritical, [[EvilIsPetty petty]], and flat out subjecting many of his victims to [[DisproportionateRetribution excessive]] or [[MisplacedRetribution undeserved]] torture. However, considering that he has severe brain cancer, there's a possibility that his flip-flopping morality may be caused by his mind deteriorating due to his disease. This could also explain why he has the insane logic that his traps are helping people; he's not thinking straight.
* AffablyEvil: He's fairly approachable, polite, and truthful to the victims whom he tests and places in life-threatening, yet, escapable traps. Unlike his apprentices, John appears to genuinely want his victims to pass their tests and survive his traps. He is also honest at all times.
* AGodAmI: In a rare instance of John conducting a game directly than through Billy, he explains to his hapless victim in the opening of a speech ''he'' had given him the life he had supposedly squandered.
* AllForNothing: By the time of ''Spiral'', the only thing John leaves behind is a murderous legacy that is the antithesis of everything he claimed it to be. All but one of his accomplices go wayward with murderously malicious or self-serving intentions, and the closest candidate to succeeding him has seemingly put his villainous life behind him. A new criminal also emerges copying his methods for his own ends rather than following his philosophy.
* AnimalMotifs: Pigs. He was a believer in the EasternZodiac and his unborn son would have been born on the Year of the Pig. He instead twists this imagery into abducting people using disturbing pig masks and a trap which involved grinding up pig carcasses.
* AntiVillain: His intentions are noble, in that he believes he's trying to reform his victims, but that doesn't make his methods any ''less'' evil. This trope is further tested when later films reveal just how petty and spiteful John actually is behind his claims.
* AppropriatedAppellation: Actually averted. John admits that the police and the press are the ones who coined him "Jigsaw." He never encouraged or claimed the name, and in ''Saw II'', he introduces himself by his real name to Eric Matthews.
-->'''John''': We haven't been properly introduced. My name is John.
-->'''Eric''': I thought you liked to be called Jigsaw.
-->'''John''': No. ''(laughs)'' It was the police and the press who coined the nickname Jigsaw. I never encouraged or claimed that. The jigsaw piece I cut from my subjects was only ever meant to be a symbol that that subject was missing something, a vital piece of the human puzzle. The survival instinct.
* BadassLongcoat: He is frequently seen in a hooded black long coat with a blood red interior.
* BaldOfEvil: John completely shaves his hair when he's out personally conducting villainy, but he can be seen with messy hair grown back every so often.
* BelievingTheirOwnLies: Despite all evidence to the contrary, John is not only convinced that his methods are effective, but that he's not ''really'' a SerialKiller because he's never intentionally tried to kill anyone. To him, people who die in his traps lacked a survival instinct. In fact, John is so adamantly against murder that when Hoffman built his own trap to kill a criminal and framed him for it, John personally kidnapped him to lecture him on his methods and try to convince him that his are more effective. At his core, his intentions really are noble.
* BigBad: Of the first three movies, and becomes the PredecessorVillain after his death in ''Saw III''.
* CallingCard: He carves a puzzle piece-shaped chunk of flesh from his deceased victims, to represent the "missing piece" of the "human puzzle" they lacked: the survival instinct. It's what led the press to dub him "Jigsaw."
* ChekhovsGunman: In the first movie, he's the cancer patient that Dr. Gordon is going over with his interns.
* TheChessmaster: Seriously, this guy has a plan for EVERYTHING.
* ControlFreak: John has an obsession with being in control as shown by how he planned for his son to be born in the year of the pig. John was ultimately driven mad by how much control he's lost (an inoperable cancer, the miscarriage of justice, etc.) and his traps target the people who made him lose control.
* CrazyPrepared: As the series progressed, it becomes frightening how far ahead he'd planned and prepared. Even his own death factored into his plans.
* CreepyMonotone: His preferred method of speaking.
* CruelToBeKind: He certainly sees himself as this, making people suffer and fight to survive in order to appreciate life. The reality is far less noble.
* CutLexLuthorACheck: When you look at how some of his traps work, you realize they couldn't have been cheap to build, such as the one in the second movie where the victim had to find a key hidden in giant a pile of syringes. If he could afford all these parts to his traps, why couldn't he afford cancer treatment? (This becomes a major plot point in the fifth movie.)
* DarkLordOnLifeSupport: John has to be kept on life support because he's dying from inoperable brain cancer, and is often shown using oxygen masks and the like. Especially prevalent in the third film, where he's bedridden and on death's door, with Lynn Denlon being kidnapped in order to keep him alive until Jeff completes his test. In the end, it's not the cancer that kills John, but Jeff [[SlashedThroat slitting his throat]] with a circular saw.
* DarkMessiah: His true goal is to make people he feels are wasting their lives gain new appreciation and respect for how precious life is by putting them through hell if they want to continue living.
* DeadpanSnarker: His humor is very much on the dry side, usually of the {{Gallows Humor}} variety. Even in regards to his own health.
-->'''Dr. Lynn''': John, how you doing?
-->'''John''': *while getting his brain cut open* [[SarcasmMode Never better.]]
* DisproportionateRetribution:
** [[EvilIsPetty He really has it out for Art Blank,]] his former best friend and business partner, for absolutely no discernable reason than Art upsetting him ''trying to reason with him'' at the lowest point of his life. Not only is Art forced into a game that he ultimately survives, he is dragged along into another one immediately after where his survival is not up to him.
** The reasons he shoves people into death traps can get absurdly petty too, which he does for reasons that include a profession he considers sleazy, being a chain smoker, to ''wanting to help people too much.''
* TheDogWasTheMastermind: He spent much of the first film as a "corpse" lying in the middle of a dirty bathroom. It's not until the very end that he's shown to be the true mastermind. In fact, this kind of trick seems to run with his apprentices as well, since Amanda, Hoffman and Logan pull similar gambits in their respective reveals.
* DrivenToSuicide: After Easton denies him experimental cancer treatment, he fully crosses the DespairEventHorizon and drives his car off a cliff. He survives the initial fall and discovers enough will to live that he pulls out a massive steel rod that impaled him through the stomach upon crashing.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: In the first film, he slashes the throat of Tapp, who was trying to arrest him, and lets Sing get blown away in a shotgun booby trap, but in the second film he says he has never murdered anyone. See his third example under {{Hypocrite}} for further information.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: And if you ever harm them, then may God have mercy on your soul, because [[RelativeButton Jigsaw and/or his apprentices won't]].
* EvenEvilHasStandards:
** All of his traps (at least, the ones he genuinely designed himself; his apprentices often deviate from this) ''are'' survivable. They may involve self-mutilation, psychological scarring, non-intuitive thinking, or all three, but you can survive them. The first time the police discover a trap that was not survivable, it is considered to be a major break in Jigsaw's MO.
** He doesn't lie. He may not fully tell the truth or give CrypticConversation, but he doesn't outright lie.
** In ''Jigsaw'', he saves Logan from the circular saw room trap, as it isn't fair for him to die just because he didn't wake up the same time the other four did (especially because John overdid it on the sedatives.) Also, he regrets putting him in the game in the first place since it was just an act of revenge on John's part, since Logan's only transgression was a genuine mistake of accidentally mixing up the brain x-rays that led to his tumor not being detected sooner. As well as this, he and Logan have parted ways by the events of ''Saw'', but he doesn't kill Logan off or put him in a trap to save himself - he ''lets him go.''
** He abhors racists, sexual predators, and domestic abusers, among other scumbags. The traps they're put into are more likely than others to be symbolic of the crimes they've committed.
** When he kidnaps Brent and Tara Abbott to give them the chance to exact revenge on William Easton, he sincerely apologizes for that and putting them in cages for a time; he truly had no intention to harm or inconvenience either of them.
* EvilGenius: He demonstrates a massive intelligence, but, unfortunately for the world, he uses it for evil.
* EvilIsPetty: Jigsaw's motives are nowhere near as noble as he likes to think.
** While his primary victims are "people who have wasted their lives," Jigsaw also targets people who have wronged him in some way, and later in the series targets the police operatives investigating him. As the series continues and backbuilds his history, it becomes increasingly clear that many of his victims are people he has a personal connection with and he just doesn't care for how they chose to live their lives.
** The criteria of targeting "people who have wasted their lives" or lived lives that caused harm to others, is pretty broad. The victim roster ranges from drug dealers and rapists, to prostitutes and drug addicts, to people feeling suicidal and practicing self-harm, to just people that suffered BystanderSyndrome and did nothing while seeing something terrible happen. In Jigsaw's mind, all of these offenses are deserving of death.
* EvilOldFolks: As revealed during his autopsy in the fourth film, John was 52 at the time of his death.
* EvilPuppeteer: A non-supernatural variant. He often uses an eerie puppet of his own creation named "Billy" to announce his presence.
* EvilSoundsDeep: He speaks in a whispery, almost mechanical-sounding low tone.
* ExactWords: He never lies but that doesn't mean he won't phrase information in an unhelpful or malicious way.
* FairPlayVillain: All of the traps John designs himself are survivable; they may involve self-mutilation, psychological scarring, non-intuitive thinking, or all three, but you can survive them. In ''III'', Detective Kerry deduces that someone else is involved when one of the traps is not survivable.
* FakingTheDead: In the first movie, he spends almost the entirety of Lawrence and Adam's game lying on the floor pretending to be a corpse. ''Saw III'' shows he took a drug to slow his heartbeat and maintain the illusion.
* {{Fingore}}: When Eric Matthews is beating the living daylights out of him, he just laughs it off and taunts him. After some thinking, Eric decides to break his fingers one by one, and [[VillainousBreakdown John decides]] [[KnowWhenToFoldEm to move on to the next part of his plan.]]
* FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse: The police do have sympathy towards John for having cancer and trying to take his own life, but they make it clear to him that he has neither the right or the authority to put people through these death traps.
-->'''Eric''': I don't know what [the cure for cancer] is, but I know it's not killing and torturing people for your own sick fucking pleasure.\\
'''John''': I've never murdered anyone in my life. The decisions are up to them.\\
'''Eric''': Yeah, well, putting a gun to someone's head and forcing them to pull the trigger is still murder.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: He was just a cancer patient who wanted to commit suicide. When he survived the attempt, his outlook on life changed, for the worse.
* GadgeteerGenius: Designing and building his numerous traps requires a great deal of technical expertise and ability. It is revealed in later movies that he is an engineer.
* GambitRoulette: Pretty much everything that happens from the first movie to ''Saw 3D'' is at least partially according to his design. This in spite of the fact that he dies in the third movie.
* HandicappedBadass: He's dying a slow death of cancer, and is in a lot of pain. He even says so in the second movie. Doesn't seem to slow him down all that much.
* HannibalLecture: Is a master of this. Most prominent is in the second movie where he talks with Detective Matthews as part of a "game", promising he'd see his son again if he adheres to the rules.
* HappilyFailedSuicide: He attempted suicide after being diagnosed with cancer but when he failed to die, it reinvigorated him by instilling the belief that everyone else is wasting their lives by dwelling on past traumas.
* HeelFaceTurn: Subverted in ''Saw III''. After hearing Lynn's sincere words of wanting to turn her life around, he orders Amanda to release her shotgun collar and seems to genuinely see the error of his ways. Unfortunately, Amanda refused to do so, and once John sees Jeff learned nothing from his test, he decides to condemn everyone in the room to death.
* {{Hypocrite}}:
** He claims to despise murderers and denies that he is one. Putting aside the fact his games are pretty much universally intended to kill the people that fail them, the games are often {{Kaizo Trap}}s that trick his victims into dooming themselves, or else his hints to them on how to win are so vague and cryptic that they're useless. Furthermore, his moral compass is anchored by the fact that his victims die because they lack the "survival instinct." Ergo, it is ultimately their fault. Yet he frequently includes innocents in his games, like Gordon's wife and daughter in the first movie and Eric's son in the second, placing them in danger and usually resulting in death, with no way to save themselves. This hypocrisy is lampshaded when Eric states that his son has done nothing wrong and doesn't deserve to be part of the game just to punish him; Jigsaw doesn't deny this nor explain it.
** Additionally, some of his games can only be won by murdering someone else, running directly against his core belief. For example, in the first movie Amanda has to free herself from the infamous bear trap by cutting open the stomach of a sedated man who could barely react and couldn't save himself from her, so the game was practically guaranteed to produce at least one death. ''Saw VI'' runs entirely on this, as Easton has to make choices that result in the deaths of others, and the first game was impossible to lose because of Hank's history of smoking, age and diminished lung capacity. Even if Easton tried to throw the game, he would have won simply because it's very hard for people to hold their breath repeatedly.
** He specifically states he's never tried to kill anyone intentionally. Yet, in the first movie he slashes Tapp's throat and tricks Sing into triggering a row of rigged shotguns that kill him. The two were primarily interested in bringing Jigsaw to justice and saving lives.
** He tests Easton because of how arbitrarily he chooses whether or not people die in his duties as an insurance executive. He does this by arbitrarily having innocent people killed just so Easton is forced to choose who lives and who dies. That said, this example could be due to Hoffman running that particular game. We never know how much or little his apprentices altered the game designs.
** Despite his claims that he actually ''wants'' his victims to win their games, when it looks as though Jeff is going to make the correct choice and pass the final part of his test, Jigsaw doesn't look particularly overjoyed. In fact, he looks ''disappointed''. He's correspondingly thrilled when Jeff fails [[{{Sadist}} as it means he gets to go through yet another game.]]
** Likewise, when Art, somehow, actually wins his game, Jigsaw throws him in another in which his fate is out of his hands. Furthermore, there's an implication that Jigsaw would have kept running him through games until he inevitably died.
** He despises people like Adam and Michael for being "voyeurs" who profit off of spying on people and selling information. That's pretty fucking rich coming from a guy who not only also stalks and spies on others, but puts them through true hell for personal secrets he's learned by ''spying on them''.
** If a test malfunctions, John usually just leaves the person to his fate. Most notably in [[Film/SawI the first movie]], where Adam loses the key to his chain, something which John could not have foreseen. John does nothing and [[AndIMustScream leaves Adam to die]]. Initially, his moral compass was more functional, as he would intervene if something went wrong, like when he saved Logan in ''Film/{{Jigsaw}}''. He acted out of a belief that every person should have a fighting chance in their games. Logan didn't have one due to the fact that John had accidentally overdosed him. He also realized that Logan's transgression was a simple accident and as such it wasn't really fair. However, he grew out of that by the events of the first movie.
** John tells Logan that they can never act out of anger or vengeance, Logan himself having taught John that since his mislabelling of John's x-ray was an accident and he didn't deserve to die for it. Yet his very first victim was the drug addict who caused his ex-wife to have a miscarriage. He also targeted Mitch for causing his nephew's death, blackmailed Hoffman into becoming an apprentice, had Easton targeted for turning down a cancer treatment that could have saved John's life, and left instructions for Gordon to take care of Hoffman in case he tries to murder Jill. Though in the case of Cecil and Mitch, those were clearly before John saved Logan.
** In the ''Saw VI'' flashback to ''III'', when Hoffman is roughly lugging around an unconscious Timothy's body, John scolds him that he's a human being. Considering what insidious torture device John has planned for the man...
** Considering that one of the biggest precipitating factors in John becoming Jigsaw was the death of his unborn son at the hands of a junkie, [[WouldHurtAChild John putting Jeff's daughter in a life-threatening situation to test him]] when Jeff had already had his own son taken from him before his time by somebody's else mistake (just like John) comes across as [[ItsAllAboutMe John really only caring about his own pain.]] His RelativeButton concerning Jill is also this because one of John's favorite methods during games is to involve the subject's family members whether said loved ones are guilty of anything or not (which he does in the first movie with Gordon's family, ''II'' with Eric's son, ''III'' with Jeff's wife and daughter, ''VI'' with William's sister (Hoffman set that game up, but John is the one who picked out William and likely came up with much of the details for his game) and even the first video game, where he involves Sing's wife).
* InsaneTrollLogic:
** He reasons that people need to come close to dying in order to truly appreciate life and the will to live will become stronger in the face of agonizing death. The fact that even the few who escape his traps will be left dealing with the physical and psychological aftermath for years, possibly even the rest of their lives, doesn't really enter into it and his method of choosing victims can vary from people who have done bad things to people who made choices he didn't agree with to people who just hurt him personally in some way to people who were completely innocent. That's not even going into how often he rigs the tests to make escape nearly impossible.
** And even where escape ''is'' somewhat plausible, the tests are hardly even. They can require you to do anything from harm yourself, to harming another person, to your fate being left up to other people entirely (who can fail all the same even if they're genuinely trying to save you). John never seems to consider it might be easier for one subject to harm themselves than another person, or vice-versa, and even [[PoeticSerialKiller his attempts at poetic justice]] don't particularly make the trials fair.
* InvincibleVillain: Every film ends with him getting his way, [[ThanatosGambit even the ones set after he dies.]] Every single character for the most part plays right into his hands and he plays them all perfectly, while the most the heroes can try to do is simply ''survive.'' And more often than not, they don't.
* IRejectYourReality: His "games" have an almost universal failure rate. Even the subjects who do survive usually end up facing a downward spiral in one way or another. He's adamant that he's not a murderer, despite Eric telling him at point-blank range in ''Saw II'' that he still ''caused'' their deaths by putting them in these traps in the first place.
* ItsAllAboutMe: John is simply trying to validate his own suffering and make everyone else suffer for doing him a great wrong by denying his cancer treatment or by doing harm to his family. The only reason why he thinks he's better than his victims is because he gives them a slim chance of survival, something they denied him when they did him wrong. He believes his victims are ungrateful to be alive and he believes the he's [[WellIntentionedExtremist providing meaning to their lives by forcing them to overcome their traumas]]... [[NotQuiteTheRightThing by giving them new ones]]. In actuality, Kramer's victims had a personal connection to him and they doomed him to die of cancer without cushioning the blow or removing it while it was treatable. With Cecil, he caused the miscarriage of Gideon (although John didn't know Amanda was the instigator at the time).
* KaizoTrap: A recurring theme of his traps is that his subjects are liable to doom themselves if they do the wrong thing, often relying on some sort of BatmanGambit to trick them into making the trap inescapable. For example, in the second film, the Razor Box trap has two holes in the bottom for one to stick their arms through to reach an antidote vial, but the coverings of the w\holes are razor-sharp and cut into your arms if you try to pull them back out. The trick is that on the other side of the box is a lock and key that open it up, if the victim would only take a moment to study the trap and find it before sticking their arms in.
* KarmicDeath: A staple of his traps, though not universal. In the third movie, he himself is killed (with a ''[[DeathByIrony saw]]'' no less) by one of his many victims. He even dies with a piece of him missing, like the puzzle pieces he took from his victims. His was in his head, perhaps symbolizing his sociopathy and lack of humanity.
* KickTheDog: Even being AffablyEvil, Kramer was still capable of performing nasty stuff during a test subject's game. Some notable ones were:
** Poisoning Zepp, the only hospital employee who bothered to treat him with decency or kindness, and forcing him to carry out his orders.
** Leaving Adam to die in the bathroom at the end of the first movie, even though he had "won" his test by surviving past the time limit. It ''could'' be justified that he tells Adam where the key to his shackle is (and the key being flushed down the drain was not in his plan), but regardless.
** Mocking Jeff's son death in ''Saw III'' by using Billy.
** Taunting Eric by telling him that his son will probably die soon.
* KickTheSonOfABitch: While some of them clearly deserved it more than others, and others were decent people who just made life choices Jigsaw didn't approve of, many of his victims were terrible individuals whom he subjected to a KarmicDeath.
* TheKindnapper: He claims that he kidnaps people and places them in lethal deathtraps to help them appreciate their lives and to rehabilitate them.
* KnightTemplar: He honestly believes he's doing the right thing by making his victims appreciate their lives more. In ''Saw VI'', however, Simone makes it very clear that it's not working, and even angrily calls out the people who say that it helped them.
* LaughingAtYourOwnJokes: Occasionally makes puns in his explanation tapes and chuckles at them. The fact that he's describing torturous traps is what makes him deviate from the usual examples in this trope.
* MadeOfIron: He's an elderly cancer patient. Despite this, he somehow takes a blast from a shotgun and gets up several moments later to make an escape in the first movie. Later on in ''Saw II'', he takes NoHoldsBarredBeatdown from Eric during his PapaWolf-fueled UnstoppableRage well enough to remain (barely) conscious and get the last laugh.
* TheManBehindTheMan: If you watched ''Saw'' for the very first time, you'd think the creep watching Lawrence and Adam while holding a family hostage is the Jigsaw Killer. But no, he's a pawn himself, and the real villain has been right in front of you the entire time...
* ManipulativeBastard: One of the most prominent of any horror villain. His plans are ridiculously far reaching, and he's ''very'' good at predicting how people will react in intense situations.
* MasterPoisoner: He seems to have a vague "slow-acting poison" to inject for any occasion, which he uses on Zep and Mark in the first film, and by the second he's built a ''whole house'' that's slowly filling with Nerve Gas.
* MeaningfulName: His first name "John" is in reference to "John the Baptist", a saint who washed away sins through baptism. In the movies, John believes he's baptising people by installing new traumas through his traps.
* MoralSociopathy: Jigsaw's a murderous bastard, that much is true, but he truly believes he's doing the right thing by capturing people and subjecting them to his {{Death Trap}}s. All of the traps he designs himself are survivable, even if they lead to self-mutilation, psychological scarring, non-intuitive thinking, or all three, and he takes offense to Amanda designing inescapable traps and [[spoiler:Hoffman killing his sister's murderer and [[JackTheRipoff making it look like a Jigsaw trap]]]].
* MyDeathIsJustTheBeginning: The events of the fourth through seventh films of the series [[spoiler:were carried out after he had died, with John's wishes and intentions guiding things along.]] This phrase is even invoked in the fourth film.
-->'''John''': You think it's over, just because I'm dead? It's not over. The games have just begun.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: John rushes out of his hiding spot to save Logan when he realizes he accidentally overdosed him, since he thinks everyone deserves a chance to win their games. Once he realizes that Logan mislabeling his brain x-ray was an honest accident, he exempts Logan from the game.
* NeverMyFault: Despite his claims that he is trying to help his victims, it rarely, if ever, seems to work, as most of his victims are killed while the few that survive their game are severely traumatized. And of course, he claims the people that died were missing an essential part of themselves, the 'survival instinct,' so to speak. Apparently, if you aren't willing to do absolutely '''anything''' (up to and including committing murder) to survive, you simply don't value ''your'' life enough. He also never admits to being responsible for the deaths he causes, even in the tests where someone deliberately has to die for another to live. They're making the choice, not him, nevermind that he is responsible for putting them in a life-or-death scenario in the first place.
* NobleDemon: He does have standards, and he upholds them religiously. He doesn't lie, and he doesn't make unwinnable games.
* NonActionBigBad: He's primarily a schemer, not a fighter. That, and he's an old man dying from cancer; Eric Matthews beats him to a bloody pulp in the second movie, and Strahm even regards him as such in the fourth movie, noting that he's "brains, not brawn." Especially pronounced in the third film, where he's bedridden and knocking on death's door.
* NoSell: In the second film, he's completely unfazed by Eric's threats of PoliceBrutality, in part because he's already in a lot of pain due to his cancer.
-->'''John''': I don't intend to mock you, officer, but I'm a cancer patient. How could you possibly put me in any more pain than I'm already in?
* NothingUpMySleeve: If you can actually get close enough to him, his primary means of self defense is a concealed blade.
* NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist: It's been shown multiple times throughout the series that John's methods haven't helped anyone and everyone else can see his reasons are far less noble than he would like to claim. It should be noted that most of the few who seemed to "appreciate" his rehabilitation methods become his accomplices.
-->'''Simone:''' He wanted us to learn...\\
'''Hoffman:''' [[SecretTestOfCharacter And did you?]]\\
'''Simone:''' [[RageBreakingPoint ...Look at me.]] Look [[AnArmAndALeg at my goddamn arm!]] What the FUCK am I supposed to learn from '''[[InsaneTrollLogic THIS]]''', huh?!
* ObliviouslyEvil: John doesn't seem to ever fathom how horrifically wrong his actions are, consistently claiming he only wants to help others get the best out of life.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Probably the only time you hear John get angry and raise his voice is when he's blackmailing Hoffman, when the two briefly argue over the death of the man who killed Hoffman's sister.
-->'''Hoffman:''' She was my only family. He didn't ''deserve'' a chance. He was an ANIMAL!\\
'''John:''' [[SuddenlyShouting EVERYBODY DESERVES A CHANCE!]]\\
'''Hoffman:''' You didn't see the blood! You didn't see what he '''''FUCKING DID TO HER!'''''\\
'''John:''' '''''[[PunctuatedForEmphasis KILLING! IS! DISTASTEFUL!]]'''''
* PetTheDog: [[spoiler: His [[TheDragon first apprentice Logan]] was one of his test subjects but didn't wake up fast enough, resulting in him getting wounded. John took the time to save him and recruit him since he realized Logan had ''no'' chance of surviving otherwise and his crime was ultimately just an honest mistake.]]
* PlayingPossum: [[spoiler:Spends the majority of the first film mimicking a corpse in the middle of the bathroom.]]
* PosthumousCharacter: After ''III'' and ''IV''.
* PrecisionFStrike: He's barely ever one to swear, but when he does, it hits hard.
-->'''John:''' We got it all ass-backwards here. These politicians, they say the same thing over and over and over again; "Healthcare decisions should be made by doctors and their patients, not by the government." Well, now I know they're not made by doctors and their patients or by the government. ''They're made by the fucking insurance companies.''
* {{Pride}}: Jigsaw is ''so convinced'' that his worldview and life's work are correct that he refuses to stare the blatant fact that his methods have never helped '''anyone''' in the face. All they've done for the most part is ruin countless lives indiscriminately. May also mix with envy, considering it's kind of hard for perhaps even Jigsaw himself to see where his desire to help other people appreciate their lives ends and [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation where his rage and jealousy that all these people (in his mind) do is waste the precious gifts he was denied begins.]]
* PromotedToScapegoat: He dies in ''Saw III'' and his disciples take his doctrine by continuing his work. From ''Saw II'', Amanda Young and Mark Hoffman are the ones who revise the traps made by Kramer by making them unwinnable and dooming the participant. Hoffman, in particular, [[spoiler:goes after criminals and other cops to evade the consequences of his actions]].
* PsychopathicManchild: Behind his intellect is simply a despairing man trying to provide meaning to his personal, uncalculated tragedies and lashing out because the justice system didn't go his way. His victims were connected to him on a personal level as they were either responsible for his life going downhill or they just didn't do what he wanted. Amanda Young and Cecil Adams caused Jill Tuck to miscarry, Mitch caused the death of John's nephew by selling him a faulty motorcycle, William Easton refused to give him life insurance, and Logan Nelson prevented the treatment of John's cancer by accidentally mislabeling John's x-ray. John even recycles Bobby the Puppet, a toy that was intended to be for his son, to create another one as a tool for his torturous work.
* RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver: When out in the testing field, he usually wears a black hoodie with a red interior drawn up.
* RelativeButton: Sure, they're divorced, but don't you ''ever'' harm his ex-wife Jill.
* TheResenter: For all his talk about appreciating life, it's clear that a lot of John's actions are just him expressing his anger that he is dying while others, whom he sees as having less to live for or not appreciating their lives, will continue after he is gone.
* SerialKiller: In the eyes of the law and the vast majority of rational human beings everywhere, though Jigsaw himself would dispute this characterization. In his mind, he doesn't kill anyone. He only sets up situations where others will either fail to survive or their choices will be responsible for the deaths of others.
* SlashedThroat: He ultimately meets his end this way in the third movie, courtesy of Jeff Denlon and a buzzsaw.
* SlowlySlippingIntoEvil: Kramer did target people who did him wrong or he believed were wasting their lives but his reasons became more and more petty overtime. He chose a janitor so he can punish Easton for denying him insurance, he chose another victim for ''lying'', and he brutally sacrificed the liar's wife by ''burning her alive'' just to further punish him (even though she did nothing to deserve it).
* TheSociopath: Other than a sliver of affection for Jill and his apprentices excluding [[BlackSheep Hoffman]], he fits the criteria for an almost completely unfeeling sociopath. While corrupting Hoffman early on in their relationship, he even explicitly states that purging feelings of empathy or remorse are necessary to do what he does.
* SoftSpokenSadist: He always speak in a low calm voice. The only time he raises his voice in the series is in an argument with Hoffman while blackmailing him.
* StartOfDarkness: The events that led to John taking up his "work" are detailed over several films. To be more particular, it was after being DrivenToSuicide and living after being diagnosed with cancer and his unborn son's death that he became Jigsaw.
* ThanatosGambit: [[spoiler:Post ''Saw III'', all games were this but it isn't until the seventh movie when the actual plan was pulled off.]]
* ToThePain: He ''really'' enjoys going into detail to his victims about what his traps will do to them.
* TomTheDarkLord: This EvilGenius SerialKiller who later becomes a borderline DarkMessiah is an unassuming old man named John.
* TortureTechnician: His mind is capable of creating some of the most horrifying torture machines on film.
* TragicVillain: And how! He lost his son in a miscarriage, he went through a messy divorce, he contracted cancer and was denied health insurance, and he grew disgusted seeing those unappreciative of the precious gift of life that he was being denied. He basically went through a job-like situation.
** ''Jigsaw'' adds even more to that: he lost his nephew in an accident after Mitch deliberately sold him a motorcycle with faulty brakes, and his cancer was left untreated until it was too late because [[UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom some intern plastered his nametag onto a wrong X-ray]].
* TrapMaster: One of the most well known examples.
* {{Ubermensch}}: He is completely convinced that his tests are [[BlueAndOrangeMorality helping]] people learn to value their lives.
* UngratefulBastard: Zepp showed him kindness and compassion. John's response was to use him as a ploy in a scheme.
* VillainousBreakdown: In the first film, when he is outwitted and restrained by Tapp and Sing, he descends into an uncharacteristically angry [[MotiveRant motive rant]] before [[{{Hypocrite}} slitting Tapp's throat]] and [[NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist practically killing Sing.]] Keep in mind: these are two perfectly normal and hardworking police officers only interested in saving lives.
-->'''Jigsaw:''' Yes, I'm sick, officer. Sick from [[TheTopicOfCancer the disease eating away at me inside]]. Sick of people who don't appreciate their ''blessings''. Sick of those who ''scoff'' at the suffering of others. ''Sick'' of it all.
* VillainousLegacy: Jigsaw is killed in ''Saw III'', but the series is continued on by his apprentices and the plans he's left for them to follow.
* VillainsNeverLie: The key difference between himself and his apprentices; John may not fully tell the truth or give CrypticConversation, but he doesn't outright lie.
* VillainousValor: He's not at all phased when confronted by armed police. He's able to fight off two detectives and continues to taunt another one who is ''beating the shit'' out of him. That said, he knows he's dying of cancer, so it's not like he as a reason to fear death.
* VisionaryVillain: He genuinely believes that he's helping people realize their true potential by bringing them to the brink of death. He's a self-help guru whose idea of helping the world involves lots of blood. It goes to show that he thinks the person who caused his wife to have a miscarriage should be given a second chance.
* WeakButSkilled: A dying, frail old man who is nonetheless resourceful and strong enough to overpower people in ''far'' better health, with a propensity for devising some truly complex life or death scenarios.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: ''Very'' extreme. He wants each victim to gain a "new outlook on life", and feels they can only do that by forcing them to survive a gruesome near-death experience.
* WhamShot: Provides one at the end of the first movie.
* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: He was driven to murder after losing his unborn son and being diagnosed with cancer.
* WouldHurtAChild: Doesn't give a shit if children are involved in his twisted games, [[AdultFear and they frequently are.]]
** In the first movie, he tells Zep to kill Dr. Gordon's wife and daughter if he fails his test. Hindle was just moments away from pulling the trigger before Tapp barged in.
** In the second movie, he poisons Daniel Matthews, although he fortunately survives his game.
** In the third movie, he locks Jeff's daughter in a room with a limited air supply. Hoffman fortunately frees her.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Logan Nelson]]
!!Logan Nelson
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/logan.PNG]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"I speak for the dead. "'']]
-> '''Played by:''' Matt Passmore
Jigsaw's first cohort aiding in his schemes. Logan served in the military for a tour in Iraq during the Iraq War, during which he was [[ColdBloodedTorture captured and traumatized.]] His mental instability leads to his discharge and he later returned to medical school to pursue a career as a medical examiner. Selected as a victim of one of John's game due to his negligence as a medical resident that led to John's inoperable cancer, John released Logan from the game when he realized he accidentally overdosed him and made his game unsurvivable. After realizing Logan's mistake at the hospital was an honest mistake, he befriends and convinces the mentally unstable man to his cause. Logan is the architect of the iconic Reverse Beartrap used to test John's other two apprentices but was otherwise not actively involved with his mentor. Long after John's demise, Logan ultimately decides to take up the mantle as his successor with the fate of the wayward Hoffman and indifference of his other major accomplice.
----
* ActionDad: He has a daughter and he can also hold his own in a fight when abducting victims for his games.
* BadassBaritone: Not quite the same as John Kramer or even Hoffman, but he can sound very intimidating when he delivers his TheReasonYouSuck speeches.
* BigBad: Of ''Jigsaw''. At least in the present, as John was alive when the barn game took place.
* CatchPhrase: "I speak for the dead." Appropriate because of his job and avenging people whose deaths went unpunished, and carrying out Jigsaw's work from beyond the grave.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Was tortured as a prisoner of war during his time as a military medic.
* DeceptiveDisciple: While all his victims by comparison [[AssholeVictim definitely have it coming,]] he perverts John's philosophy much like Amanda through inescapable games believing such people cannot be reformed.
* DisproportionateRetribution: Mistakenly mislabeled two X-rays as an intern, so he's shoved into a ColdBloodedTorture game. John [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone realizes this]] after he makes a [[NotSoDifferent similar mistake in accidentally over-sedating Logan]] giving him ''zero'' chance to survive the sawblade test, prompting John to remove him from the game completely.
* {{Expy}}: A military vet and family man whose wife his murdered, and sets out to enact bloody vengeance on the criminal underworld. Now, does that sound like Jigsaw, or ComicBook/ThePunisher?
* GoodScarsEvilScars: He has several scars on his back, which we are led to believe are from when he was tortured. They're actually from getting his back sliced up by the buzzsaw trap.
* HiredToHuntYourself: He works with the police to solve crimes. Including the Jigsaw murders, for which he is personally responsible for.
* {{Hypocrite}}: He has the nerve to judge other people for ''their'' sins when he essentially, though not maliciously (it was a genuine mistake) caused John to die a slow, painful and altogether avoidable death. He was also put into a Jigsaw game ''himself'' for that, then survived the experience only because of the mercy of ''the man whose life he doomed''.
** Is told by John, "We can never come from anger, or from vengeance," as he learned from erroneously putting Logan into a trap. Ten years later, he kills Edgar Munsen and Detective Halloran for their supposed role in his wife's death, after both of them passed the tests they were given.
* LegacyCharacter: He is ultimately the apprentice who succeeds John as Jigsaw.
* MyGreatestFailure: Accidentally mislabeled John's cranial X-ray, resulting in his cancer being found too late for treatment, becoming indirectly responsible for setting off the chain of events that [[UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom led to John becoming Jigsaw to begin with]].
* NotProven: His motivation for putting Edgar Munsen in the game, and for ultimately killing him, is that Edgar murdered his wife. Halloran points out before he dies that it was never proven. Logan doesn't seem to give a shit.
* OptOut: He was taken as Jigsaw's apprentice when Jigsaw was more focused on punishing the guilty rather than testing if people had the will to live or not to advance the species. When John shifted to the later ideology he quit being his apprentice. Not because he didn't believe in the initial ideology, but rather knowing John would attempt to correct him (test him again) if he tried to put his ideology into practice. Logan simply waits for him to die of cancer, and five extra years to be sure, before beginning his run as Jigsaw.
* PoeticSerialKiller: As expected of a Jigsaw apprentice.
* RetiredMonster: According to ''Spiral'' there had been no new Jigsaw type murders in years. It's pretty much a safe bet that like Dr. Gordon after the events of ''3D'', Logan detached himself from the philosophy [[spoiler:or only followed it during the events of ''Jigsaw'' to enact revenge against Halloran.]]
* UnscrupulousHero: Unlike his mentor and many of his fellow apprentices (who targeted even those barely related to the crimes in question, those who just had some relatively harmless moral flaw, or just straight up innocent people who were only related or acquainted with the test subjects), he (so far) has only targeted those who are far worse than him. Specifically murderers and rapists who got away with their crimes due to bribing a {{Corrupt Cop}}, as well as said {{Corrupt Cop}}.
* UncertainDoom: What becomes of Logan Nelson after the events of ''Jigsaw'' is unclear. By the time of ''Spiral'', the police have recognized that Logan's killings were the result of a copycat killer and not John Kramer returned from the dead, but whether or not Halloran was successfully framed or if they uncovered the ruse is never revealed.
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: When he was still an intern, he accidentally mislabeled two x-rays, resulting in John Kramer's brain tumor not being found until it was too late.
* VillainProtagonist: The killer in addition to the main character.
* WolfInSheepsClothing: He's a well-intentioned forensic pathologist. He is also the new Jigsaw.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Second Apprentice '''(SPOILERS FOR ''Saw IV'')''']]
!!Detective Mark Hoffman
[[quoteright:245:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/saw_mark_hoffman-w350-h350_5486.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:245:''"You told me the only way to help people reach true enlightenment was to detach emotionally."'']]
-> '''Played by:''' Creator/CostasMandylor
-->''"You want to know the only thing wrong with killing you, Jill? I can only do it once."''
Jigsaw's second canonical apprentice, and the third Jigsaw Killer (after Amanda Young). Hoffman is a cop assigned to the Jigsaw case. He uses the knowledge he has of Jigsaw by virtue of following the case to murder his sister's killer using Jigsaw's MO. The frame job catches John's attention, and Hoffman is blackmailed into helping Jigsaw. Shortly afterward, he becomes a willing accomplice. At some point, he began to fall in love with his carnage and, like Amanda, did not completely buy into Jigsaw's philosophy. After Jigsaw and Amanda's deaths, Hoffman continued John's work until the seventh film. His true identity as Jigsaw's accomplice/successor was discovered in the sixth film, but was only revealed to the police force at large in the seventh film.
------
* AndIMustScream: His ultimate fate in ''3D''. Dr. Gordon drags him to the bathroom from the first film, chains him up, and disposes of the hacksaw, his only means of escape, before locking Hoffman inside and leaving him to die a slow and painful death from either dehydration or starvation.
* AtLeastIAdmitIt: He admits to enjoying seeing people suffer in their traps, and angrily suggests John to stop pretending he doesn't.
* AscendedExtra: He is in ''Saw III'' for all of 30 seconds. He becomes [[ChekhovsGunman a bit more important later.]]
* AxCrazy: In ''3D''. With his identity as a SerialKiller known to the public, he sees no reason not to become a raging psychopath, killing anyone who is in his way for the remainder of the film as sadistically as he can.
* AssholeVictim: No tears were shed when Lawrence leaves him in an inescapable scenario to die of starvation or dehydration.
* BastardUnderstudy: Basically extorted into becoming Jigsaw's underling, he wasn't interested in John's philosophy and tried to undermine his relationship with Amanda.
* BigBad: After John's death, he became this. However, it took a couple of films to solidify him as a legit threat.
* BigNo: His last words.
* BitchInSheepsClothing: Outwardly presenting himself as a hard-working and caring cop, while hiding what a cold [[ManipulativeBastard manipulative]], murderous, apathetic, asshole bastard he truly is.
* ChekhovsGunman: Much like Amanda, he appeared in a small scene in ''III'' and ended up being shown he was another apprentice and took up the Jigsaw killer reign after the deaths of Kramer and Young.
* CoDragons: With Amanda, though she didn't like him being there. The feeling is mutual with her.
* {{Determinator}}:
** In ''Saw VI'', Jill knocks out Hoffman and strapped an updated reverse bear trap mask on him with no means of escape as she had also strapped him to a chair before activating it. In desperation, Hoffman breaks his own hand to get it out of a strap to unstrap his other hand, then smashed the mask between bars to delay it from opening all the way in order to get it off. He manages to hack it, but still gets the right side of his cheek ripped open.
** In ''Saw 3D'', he really wants to get to Jill. Getting in his way? That is a very bad idea.
* DirtyCop: Besides becoming one of Jigsaw's apprentices, he uses his knowledge of the legal system and due process to keep other cops off of his trail.
* DirtyCoward: Played with. As Seth Baxter gets chopped in half by his pendulum trap, he can't even look at his gruesome death. He then is brought into Jigsaw's fold without going through a real game and brazenly claims he doesn't need one because he appreciates his life. When he ''is'' finally tested, [[VillainousValor he defeats his test without any real means to escape]]!
* DragonAscendant: After John and Amanda's deaths.
* DragonWithAnAgenda: He never really subscribed to [[InsaneTrollLogic John's twisted philosophy.]] A test of character he has with a furious maimed survivor [[CaptainObvious has him further doubt it amounted to anything positive.]]
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: One of his most prominent victims was a criminal who murdered his sister.
* EvilerThanThou: Unlike Amanda (who apparently saw her inescapable traps as either ridding the world of unchangeable people or MercyKill examples), Logan (who puts people through the games in order to punish them for the deeds [[KarmaHoudiniWarranty they evaded retribution for]] or to avenge their victims) or John (who wanted his victims to live and be better), Hoffman just wants to kill those who [[HeKnowsTooMuch know too much]]. Even that goes out the window in ''3D'', as, with his identity as the last Jigsaw known, he goes on a maniacal killing spree for the remainder of his screentime until he's caught.
* EvilSoundsDeep: Speaks in a menacingly deep growl in comparison to John's soft-spoken tone.
* FauxAffablyEvil: His entire affable demeanor is pretty fooling at first, that is, until you witnessed his [[BitchInSheepsClothing true colors]] under the Jigsaw persona is when you realize that his affable side is pretty much just an act to lower suspicions.
* FreudianExcuse: His sister, who was his only remaining family, was brutally murdered by Seth Baxter. After this, Hoffman degrades into a sociopathic drunken mess until he decides to murder Seth in a mock Jigsaw game. John takes notice of this and blackmails Hoffman into becoming his accomplice, leading his life down a further downward spiral.
* GeniusBruiser: Hoffman's both as smart as Jigsaw and much stronger.
* GlasgowGrin: He receives half of one after narrowly escaping the Reverse Bear Trap.
* HateSink: Mark Hoffman, despite having a FreudianExcuse, has committed many inexcusable atrocities and has shown himself to be very despicable. He has put several people in his traps who were only related to the jerks that he tested. He also framed Peter Strahm for his crimes even after Strahm's death, hosted a Jigsaw game in public, decimated the whole police department, and even murders Jill Tuck just because she followed John's will. It's extremely satisfying to see him get just desserts through Lawrence Gordon.
* JackTheRipoff: What drew attention to the original Jigsaw, who took offense that he would use his name and methods for revenge.
* KickTheDog: Did this multiple times, including:
** Framing Strahm as Jigsaw's apprentice.
** Replacing John's letter to Amanda with one of his own that threatened to reveal her secret.
** Killing FBI lab technician Erickson and Special Agent Lindsay Perez to maintain his cover.
** Killing nearly 20 police personnel (directly or otherwise) as part of his plan to kill Jill Tuck.
* KnightTemplarBigBrother: When his sister is killed by her boyfriend and said boyfriend is let off on a technicality, he avenges her death by killing the man in such a way that it would appear to be another Jigsaw killing.
* PayEvilUntoEvil: As a KnightTemplarBigBrother, he avenges his sister's death by killing her boyfriend.
* PetTheDog: A downplayed if not subverted example. [[WouldHurtAChild John clearly had something horrific planned for Jeff's daughter if he failed his final test as part of another game,]] but Hoffman exploits this by aborting that game and appearing to save her [[VillainWithGoodPublicity for good will.]]
* SmugSmiler: Makes the smuggest grins when seeing Strahm flail around in vain from his inevitable death.
* SerialKiller: Takes up John's mantle of this after his and Amanda's deaths.
* TheSociopath: He seriously surpasses his mentor John Kramer on how many lines he's willing to cross. While the former had a moral lesson in mind with his doings and gave his victims a chance to survive, he makes half his traps inescapable in the belief that murderers can't redeem themselves, being hypocritical in that statement while claiming so, while the other half force their victims into making sadistic choices, where one can live only at the expense of another's death. His partner Amanda Young is a BrokenBird with standards, and was horrifyingly blackmailed by him simply because he didn't like her. He's also willing to murder people whom he worked with for over 20 years just to get away, as well as putting Detective Peter Strahm in an inescapable trap and blaming him for the murder he himself committed in ''Saw V''. He finally crosses the MoralEventHorizon when he murders his mentor's ex-wife with a Reverse Bear Trap in ''Saw 3D''. Luckily, justice was served to him as Lawrence, a secret apprentice of John's from the first movie, put him at his place and locked him in the infamous bathroom, in which he finally died.
* TheStarscream: ''Saw VI'' reveals he blackmailed Amanda into failing [[Film/SawIII her test]], setting off the chain of events that led to the [[KillEmAll deaths of both her and John in quick succession]]. Jill later caught onto this deception, and [[KickTheSonOfABitch angrily tries to sabotage Hoffman's test.]]
* SkywardScream: After escaping what was supposed to be his death through the inescapable Reverse Beartrap, he howls this in a way that signifies his complete descent into insanity.
* StartOfDarkness: ''Saw V'' explored this in detail.
* TheStoic: For most of the time, but otherwise he would become NotSoStoic when he became HotBlooded.
* TookALevelInBadass: Over the course of ''VI''.
* UncertainDoom: [[spoiler:Whether Hoffman perished from Lawrence imprisoning him is currently left in the air.]] Although WordOfGod in ''Saw 3D's'' DVD commentary indicated he died, Costas Mandylor was asked to reprise his role but this was put on hold with changes to developmental plans for future installments in the series.
* VillainousValour: He's a murderous bastard, but [[spoiler:escaping a Reverse Bear Trap without any means to do so was pretty damn impressive]].
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: He's a decorated and highly respected police lieutenant with over twenty years of experience and numerous promotions under his belt, a fact that's pointed out by Agent Lindsay Perez in ''Saw IV''. He's also a violent and brutal CorruptCop who happens to be Jigsaw's accomplice and eventual successor.
* VillainousBreakdown: After escaping the Reverse Bear Trap in ''Saw VI'', he drops all pretense of the Jigsaw philosophy and leans fully into becoming an AxCrazy psychopath. This outcome triggered John's plan to [[SummonBiggerFish enlist Dr. Gordon to put him down for good.]]
* WifeBasherBasher: His first murder victim was a {{Domestic Abuse}}r who [[YouKilledMyFather killed his sister]].
* WouldHitAGirl: He personally kills Agent Perez and Jill in the sixth and seventh movies, respectively.
* XanatosSpeedChess: He plays lightning rounds of this.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Third Apprentice '''(SPOILERS FOR ''Saw II'')''']]
!!Amanda Young
[[quoteright:232:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screen_shot_2013-08-17_at_7_33_37_pm_2927.png]]
-> '''Played by:''' Creator/ShawneeSmith
-->''"He helped me."''
Jigsaw's third apprentice, a junkie who had been the first to survive his tests. She, like Hoffman, perverted Jigsaw's message by creating traps that were inescapable; she believed that Jigsaw's philosophy was flawed and is doing her victims a favor than suffer psychological scars for the rest of their lives. She also had an inadvertent hand in causing the miscarriage of Jigsaw's child.
------
* AbusiveParents: Though deleted, in a line of the ''Saw III'' script, Amanda states when she was a child her father kept her locked in the basement, in the dark, for hours.
* AlasPoorVillain: In ''III'', her death scene is dramatic and anguished, as she dies a slow and agonizing death from a gunshot wound to the neck. [[AssholeVictim It doesn't forgive everything she's done]], but with her being a WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds, there is a level of tragedy in it.
* AssholeVictim: Downplayed. Amanda may be perverting John's philosophy with inescapable traps, but the third film thoroughly explores Amanda as a ''deeply'' troubled person who suffers from StockholmSyndrome, making her desperate for John's approval. Hoffman preys on her emotional instability to sabotage John's last test for her, leading to Jeff shooting her in the throat. The scene where she bleeds out after is played out as pitifully tragic than satisfying.
* AtLeastIAdmitIt: Amanda is arguably ''worse'' than the original Jigsaw Killer, but she openly calls out how his philosophy is deeply, ''deeply'' hypocritical, claiming that while she's a murderer, he's a self-righteous prick who tortures and kills under the veneer of helping people, which as she demonstrates, ''doesn't usually work''.
* AxCrazy: By the third film, Amanda has become a nihilistic SerialKiller, creating deliberately inescapable traps, and openly threatening to trying to kill Lynn, which becomes her demise when the latter's husband takes revenge.
* BadassAdorable: Amanda's cute, timid demeanor almost makes you forget that she's lived through Jigsaw's tests multiple times, and is now as cunning and deadly a trap-master as him.
* BarefootCaptivity: For whatever reason, Amanda spends her whole time in the Nerve Gas House lacking shoes or socks. Especially notable because she helped set it up, and doesn't bother taking shoes from the dying prisoners.
* BastardUnderstudy: Amanda is loyal to Jigsaw's philosophy, but takes it to a far more extreme degree.
* BeingEvilSucks: By the end, Amanda has realized how meaningless Jigsaw's path is, is wracked with remorse over her atrocious deeds, and ultimately dies a monstrous killer alongside her mentor.
* BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil: She was the only person to have ever survived one of Jigsaw's traps at the end of the first film. She eventually helped John continue his work.
* BleedEmAndWeep: Did this after killing Donnie Greco, covered in blood no less.
** She also cries heavily while performing a MercyKill on Adam.
* BoyishShortHair: Sports this style in Saw II, but grows her hair out in III.
* BrainyBrunette: She designed some of the traps and devices herself. In particular, the shotgun collar that Lynn was forced to wear.
* BrokenBird: She's been the victim of AbusiveParents, framed for a crime she didn't commit, sent to prison because of it and became addicted to heroin while inside, was very nearly killed in a death trap set up by a serial killer as well as being forced to kill a man in the process, basically developed StockholmSyndrome towards said serial killer, was blackmailed by a rival apprentice into killing an innocent woman, and finally is shot to death. The image of her bleeding out on the floor, desperately trying to put pressure on her own wound, is hard to forget.
* ChekhovsGunman: She has a bit part in the first movie. She becomes much more important later in the following two.
* CoDragons: With Hoffman, though she didn't like him being there. The feeling is mutual.
* ConscienceMakesYouGoBack: She goes back to deliver a MercyKill to Adam after John seals him in the bathroom to die, [[ShootTheShaggyDog even though he technically passed his test]] because she feels immense guilt for bringing him there in the first place. (In addition, there was a deleted scene in the third film where she has a nightmare of being confronted with his apparition. He [[SdrawkcabSpeech speaks in reverse, and says, "How could you do this to me?"]]) She goes back and puts him out of his misery via suffocation, saying she's going to "free him," sobbing the whole time while he tries to fight back.
* CoolMask: A grody-looking Pig head with long black hair. While most of the Jigsaws don this, Amanda is the first confirmed "Pighead". It's so iconic that she has it as her default look in the ''Saw'' DLC for ''VideoGame/DeadByDaylight''.
* CopKiller: Leaves Eric Matthews for dead after trapping him in the Bathroom, where he probably would've died if not for Jigsaw needing him for another game. Later, she puts Allison Kerry in the cruelly designed "Angel Trap", which is inescapable and ''does'' kill her.
* CuteAndPsycho: Amanda is a mousy, petite young woman who just so happens to be a murderous and vicious criminial engineer. Even throughout most of ''Saw III'' she acts [[FauxAffablyEvil like a cutesy teenage girl while she's holding Lynn hostage.]]
* DarkActionGirl: Downplayed. Amanda is clearly more physically capable and agile than John, as shown when she gets the drop on her targets in pig gear, but she's also rather small and untrained in combat. As such she barely survives attacks from Xavier and Eric Matthews.
* DeceptiveDisciple: She's not really interested in continuing John's work of "make people suffer so they'll appreciate life more." Amanda just thinks people are irredeemable, and kills them outright.
* {{Determinator}}: Amanda really keeps herself in the game during her undercover deception in the second film.
* DragonWithAnAgenda: While she did support Jigsaw's testing, she used inescapable traps rather giving them a chance to live, believing that death would be more merciful, and that nobody really changes.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: While her traps were inescapable, she seemed to believe that she was doing people a service by simply letting them die rather than leaving them to suffer after surviving as she did. A lot of her morality is shown through her actions with Adam: A deleted scene shows her having a guilt-ridden nightmare of his apparition asking her why sent him to his death, and in the third film rather than letting him starve and dehydrate to death, she delivers a MercyKill, gently saying she was going to help and free him, and genuinely sobbing the whole time.
* EvilAllAlong: ''Saw II'''s biggest twist is that she's not only John's protege, but has been with him throughout all of the movie, as well as the first movie's game centred on Lawrence and Adam.
* EvilerThanThou: Creates inescapable traps, unlike Jigsaw, who intends for his victims to survive. Played with in that she often does this because she believes letting them live through the trauma they would have suffered afterwards would be a FateWorseThanDeath.
* FinalGirl: Subverted in the second film when it's revealed she was working with Jigsaw the whole time.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: Amanda was once a hopeless and desperate young woman who was put through a grueling test by a demented madman. Ever since then she found herself drawn to his insane methodology, to the point where she proved just as good at building death traps as him, and came close to ''surpassing'' him as the resident Jigsaw killer.
* GoneHorriblyRight: Jigsaw is glad she's gone onto embrace his philosophy in appreciating life. What he's not happy about is that she's started outright killing people who ''don't'' do the same.
* HairTriggerTemper: Amanda is apparently real ''quick'' to anger, which is not a very good situation if you ever find yourself under this woman's mercy as shown in ''Saw III'' with Lynn and ''especially'' who found out nearly too late, Matthews.
* TheHeavy: In ''Saw III'', Amanda is the one running the games and capturing victims, since John is literally on his deathbed from terminal cancer.
* HolierThanThou: Amanda became Jigsaw's apprentice after successfully surviving a trap, but then perverts his philosophy by making inescapable traps designed to kill the victims as she believes they won't change if they do survive, while arrogantly believing herself to be the sole exception.
* HumanPincushion: In ''Saw II'', she's the one whom Xavier tosses into the used hypodermic needle pit to retrieve one needle that has the key to the safe with one of that movie's antidotes. It is '''extremely''' traumatizing and '''excruciatingly''' painful, but she does retrieve the key, only for Xavier to drop it and fail to unlock the safe before it seals up, preventing them from getting the antidote.
* LegacyCharacter: Amanda is the first revealed Jigsaw apprentice, and takes up the mantle full-time in ''Saw III'' when John has grown too weak to carry out his work.
* MadeOfIron: Amanda clearly isn't a fighter and is absolutely terrified when she realizes Eric Matthews escaped his AndIMustScream fate minutes after imprisonment. She then takes a similar UnstoppableRage fueled NoHoldsBarredBeatdown like John but barely triumphs over Matthews due to his crippled foot.
* MoreDeadlyThanTheMale: While not as cunning as John, Amanda is nonetheless much stronger and more agile, as well as more likely to flat-out ''kill'' her enemies.
* MurderTheHypotenuse: Towards Lynn in ''Saw III'', since she wants John for herself. If she only knew Lynn was really Jeff's wife.
* PetTheDog: Regardless of the fact that she helped set up their situation, she still tries to help the other Nerve Gas House prisoners escape. Notably Daniel Matthews, who Amanda should hate, as he's the son of the cop who ruined her life.
* PsychoSupporter: She's a former victim of Jigsaw who came to embrace his twisted ideology and views him as a father figure. She goes far beyond that, however, and corrupts his philosophy to flat out kill people with Death traps.
* RedIsViolent: While going to work abducting people, she wears an all-red robe along with her pig mask. In ''Saw III'' she wears a red form-fitting top, which highlights the blood she's drawn with her sadistic deeds.
* SamusIsAGirl: The sequels retroactively reveal she was the eerie pig-masked figure who abducted Adam and Lawrence as well as Jigsaw's apprentice.
* SerialKiller: More upfront about this than Kramer, as she doesn't even intend for her victims to live, as the traps she makes are inescapable.
* SignificantWardrobeShift: In the first two films she just looks like any average young woman, albeit a little scruffy, but when she becomes a full-blown Jigsaw killer she wears a more revealing bright red outfit to go with Jigsaw's typical red and black colour scheme.
* StockholmSyndrome: She comes to think of John Kramer as a father figure and is intensely loyal to him. She says that he "helped [her]"... by kidnapping her when she was asleep/unconscious, duct-taping her to a chair with a Reverse Bear Trap on her head that we later find out causes a gory death if it goes off, and basically gets her to kill a guy to enable her very narrow escape from certain DeathByDisfigurement.
* TheSociopath: The lone aversion among Jigsaw's assemble. It's made clear that while villainous, Amanda is a ''deeply'' troubled person emotionally and demonstrates remorse and emotional instability far too great for a sociopath.
* TookALevelInJerkass: In 3. She starts designing inescapable traps, and she antagonizes Lynn throughout her test.
* UnwinnableByDesign: Her traps are some of the most brutal in the franchise, and she rigs them to be inescapable as she doesn't really share John's warped philosophy.
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: In ''VI'', it was revealed [[spoiler: she asked Cecil to steal drugs from Jill's clinic, therefore indirectly responsible for Jill's miscarriage and Jigsaw's StartOfDarkness]].
* VillainProtagonist: While she isn't initially the focus, the original SAW trilogy is as much about Amanda's journey from broken young woman to nihilistic serial killer as it is John's depraved crusade.
* VillainousBreakdown: In the third movie, we see her methodically commit self-harm early on in the film. Towards the end, she does it again, but this time without the ritual, just cutting herself quickly. When she's forced to kill Lynn and realizes what a shame John's philosophy is, she's almost sobbing.
* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: She's a murderer. She's also a recovering drug addict who was framed for a crime she didn't commit by a crooked cop, put in jail where she became addicted to heroin, and was put in a death trap which traumatized her for life, not mentioning how she was severely abused by her father as a child.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Secret Accomplice '''(SPOILERS FOR ''Saw [=3D=]'')''']]
!!Dr. Lawrence Gordon
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lawrence_looks_at_the_saw.png]]
-> '''Played by:''' Creator/CaryElwes
After surviving his horrific game, Lawrence was nursed back to health by John and inducted into his cause. He would often assist John in searching for victims and lending his surgical expertise for some games. However, he designed no traps of his own and his existence was a mystery to Hoffman and Amanda, the former of which he was keeping a close eye on from the shadows. Lawrence ultimately took it to himself to end Hoffman's life after he committed a mass murder revenge spree that culminated in the murder of Jill Tuck.
----
* ApologeticAttacker: While he's preparing the revolver to shoot Adam with the intent to kill him, he makes it clear that he doesn't want to hurt him, but it's the only way his family will survive.
* ArtificialLimbs: He's given a prosthetic foot by Jigsaw, but it leaves him a limp that he needs to correct with a cane.
* BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil: Of all of the people who continued John's work, he seemed to get it the closest.
* BleedEmAndWeep: He was already desperate and near-tears when he picked up the gun to shoot Adam, but the second he pulls the trigger and Adam falls to the floor, he breaks down sobbing and screaming.
* ChekhovsGunman: The best example in the series. While he does show up at the beginning of the film, his sudden reappearance at the end of ''Saw 3D'' is a DeusExMachina to stop Hoffman once and for all. It isn't seconds later, where it is explained that John had inducted him into his philosophy.
* ClusterFBomb: Delivers a litany of them towards the end of ''Saw'' while having kept himself completely devoid of swearing up until that point.
-->'''Lawrence, trying to attack Zep:''' You bastard! I'll fucking kill you! I'll fucking kill you! '''YOU FUCKING BASTARD! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!'''
* TheDragon: More or less takes this role in ''Saw 3D'', to posthumous BigBad John Kramer.
* DragonWithAnAgenda: Although nowhere near as rebellious as John's other disciples, WordOfGod suggests even after his FaceHeelTurn, [[PetTheDog he was going to go back and free Adam.]] Sadly, Amanda already got to him by then.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: Being a survivor himself, and a secret apprentice, he knows that Bobby was never tested, and is appalled by his scheme to pretend that he was to get rich and famous from his book about "surviving" the ordeal.
* EvilSoundsDeep: When he makes his reappearance, his voice has deepened to GutturalGrowler levels.
* FaceHeelTurn: Indoctrinated into Jigsaw's philosophy after John nursed him back to health.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: The BodyHorror of his handiwork is within an expertise John and his other apprentices couldn't possibly be familiar enough with to perform so expertly. What's more, the mysterious man depicted within the tape explaining the Venus Flytrap is walking with a severe limp; John never displayed such physical handicaps.
* ICantLookGesture: As soon as Adam delivers the first blow to Zep's skull, Lawrence immediately puts his head down and looks away.
* {{Irony}}: He was originally suspected by Detective Tapp of being Jigsaw. He was innocent at the time, but after going through his test he ended up becoming Jigsaw's most valued accomplice.
* KickTheSonOfABitch: Condemning Hoffman to painfully starve to death in the bathroom he was tested in. Before he leaves, he also tauntingly disposes of Adam's hacksaw within his reach.
* MadDoctor: After being brainwashed into Jigsaw's philosophy, he uses his incredible surgical expertise for heinous villainy.
* NobleDemon: After his FaceHeelTurn; he's complicit when it comes to the games, mostly by assisting with medical procedures/surgeries to set up traps. Albeit, he seems to stick closer to John's moral code than Amanda or Hoffman and seems to mostly have kept to himself and not really gone out of his way to be involved. He at least doesn't do anything evil in ''Saw 3D'' and his only real contribution to the film is [[LaserGuidedKarma putting Hoffman in his place.]]
* RetiredMonster: Implied by the time of ''Jigsaw.'' He is essentially the best candidate for John's successor and leads numerous acolytes, but until the time of Logan, no similar murders were said to be happening.
* SanitySlippage: It's said after being nursed back to health by John and released, he developed severe mental instability that led to his wife divorcing him.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Jill Tuck]]
!!Jill Tuck
[[quoteright:235:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jill_tuck.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:235:''"Game over."'']]
->'''Played by:''' Betsy Russell
-->''"I'm only carrying out John's final request."''
John Kramer's ex-wife. The founder of a drug rehabilitation clinic, Jill suffered a miscarriage when druggie Cecil Adams hastily broke in at night looking to score. With the downward spiral of her relationship with John after this and his cancer diagnosis, she divorced him. After John became the Jigsaw Killer, she was privy to his identity, machinations, and accomplices but did not want anything to do with him or turn him in. Following his death, John entrusted Jill to place the Reverse Bear Trap 2.0 on Hoffman, as his successor was never properly tested.
------
* AscendedExtra: She first appears in flashbacks in ''Saw III'', only to become a more prominent character later.
* ChainedToARailway: Only in a dream, though, in ''Saw 3D''.
* DamselInDistress: She turns into this in ''Saw 3D''. [[{{Chickification}} Many fans were not pleased.]]
* DeathByIrony: In ''Saw VI'', Jill intended to kill Hoffman in a reverse bear trap, but managed to survive. In ''Saw 3D'', Hoffman in turn puts Jill in the reverse bear trap, which kills her.
* HospitalHottie: She worked as a counselor at a drug rehabilitation center.
* LightIsNotGood: Subverted. She was privy to everything with John and his accomplices but was thoroughly repulsed by his villainy. [[TheWoobie It's implied after the sheer trauma of everything she went through with him rendered her incapable of turning them in.]]
* MayDecemberRomance: If she is the same age as Betsy Russell and John is the same age as Tobin Bell, then there's about a twenty-year age difference between her and her ex-husband.
* TookALevelInBadass: In ''VI,'' electrifying Hoffman before strapping him into the Reverse Bear Trap. [[DamselInDistress Shame it didn't take.]]
* YourHeadAsplode: The only complete victim of the Reverse Bear Trap.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Billy the Puppet]]
!!Billy the Puppet
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/billy_52.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ct8uQZn-Fec (High-pitched maniacal laughter)]]]]
--> ''"Congratulations, you are still alive. Most people are so ungrateful to be alive, but not you. Not anymore."''
Not a living character, but possibly the film series' most iconic face. A creepy white-faced puppet in a snappy little suit. Usually used to deliver messages to Jigsaw's victims via video screen.
----
* AdvertisedExtra: Despite his prevalence in marketing, he doesn't appear in most traps and has limited screentime.
* AssistCharacter: Given how closely tied to the franchise the little guy is, he appears in ''VideoGame/DeadByDaylight'' as part of the "Jigsaw Boxes" survivors need to solve in order to escape Amanda's Reverse Bear Traps. If the player fails, [[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown Billy laughs at them.]]
* BadassBaritone: He speaks in a deep, menacing voice vocally modulated to disguise the real speaker's voice.
* CompanionCube: He's an iconic part of the Jigsaw brand, even after Hoffman takes over.
* CreepyCrossdresser: Downplayed. His shoes are a pair of red Mary Janes.
* CreepyDoll: He's not designed to look snuggly, let's put it that way.
* BaldOfEvil: He has a receding haircut that shows off [[ForeheadOfDoom his prominent brow]].
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: In the original short film, he had a little bowler hat and a higher, raspier voice.
* EvilCounterpart: Of a nicer-looking harlequin doll John made for his unborn son, named Bobby the Puppet.
* EvilSoundsDeep: Invoked. His voice is the voice of whoever is controlling him, digitally altered to sound deep and menacing.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: Likely to reflect the transformations of his owners, Billy was inspired by an innocent, even cute little doll created as a gift to a newborn baby. When said baby was stillborn, Billy was created from said puppet's design with a much less cuddlier appearance, and took on a horrifying role...
* GigglingVillain: Manic and shrill, but it ultimately makes him more horrifying.
* GothSpirals: Red ones on his cheeks.
* HiddenWeapons: Part of his head explodes in ''Saw IV'', launching shrapnel into Detective Perez's face.
* KilledOffForReal: He's incinerated when Hoffman blows up his lair in ''Saw 3D'', signifying the end of the series. [[SeriesFauxnale At the time at least.]]
* LaterInstallmentWeirdness: In ''Jigsaw'', Billy has curly hair, glowing red eyes, and appears to be slightly larger than later versions of the puppet.
* MascotVillain: For the franchise as a whole.
* MonsterClown: His design, in an ironic contrast to the tone of the rest of the series.
* MouthOfSauron: Jigsaw uses him to deliver remote messages.
* NiceHat: He had a nice bowler hat in the original short film, but lost it in the series proper.
* NoNameGiven: His name is never actually revealed in the films.
* NotSoHarmlessVillain: Normally relegated to mascot, he gets a moment to shine in ''IV'' when he takes down a grown FBI agent with a cleverly placed explosive in his head.
* RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver: He has this for a color scheme, with a little white thrown in as well.
* RedEyesTakeWarning: Wouldn't be as terrifying without them.
** A version of Billy in ''Jigsaw'' had glowing red eyes, but it appears that John dropped that feature for future puppets after the [[SupriseSequel barn game]].
* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: For a horrifying puppet from hell, he doesn't get many comments on his appearance. Finally averted in ''Jigsaw'' when Ryan sarcastically comments that Billy's "not creepy at all".
* TragicKeepsake: It's all but stated that John keeps him around as a reminder of his lost child.
* WaistcoatOfStyle: Hard to see in some scenes since it's black like his suit jacket, but it's there.
[[/folder]]
!Legacy followers
[[folder:William Schenk]]
[[/folder]]
----
----
!Jigsaw and accomplices
[[folder:John Kramer]]
!!John Kramer
[[quoteright:280:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jigsaw_9804.png]]
[[caption-width-right:280: ''"I want to play a game."'']]
-> '''Played by:''' Creator/TobinBell
-->''Yes, officer, I'm sick. [[YourDaysAreNumbered Sick from the disease eating me away inside,]] [[DrivenByEnvy sick of people who don’t appreciate their blessing,]] sick of those who scoff at the suffering of others. I'm sick of it all!''
John Kramer was a civil engineer who was driven to become the Messianic Jigsaw Killer after a [[TraumaCongaLine series of tragic events and circumstances]] -- his unborn son was killed when his wife, Jill, had a miscarriage; this caused John to drive her away, making her divorce him. John was later diagnosed with an inoperable tumor, which led to cancer. When his insurance company turned down an experimental treatment that could have potentially saved his life (or at least prolonged it), John attempted suicide. When he survived, his new outlook on life became his motivation to become the Jigsaw Killer.
Jigsaw kidnaps people that he believes aren't valuing their lives or are intentionally hurting others, then forces them to go through sadistic "tests" where there are usually only two outcomes: live (and gain a new outlook on life) or die. John was eventually killed by Jeff Denlon, one of the last of his direct victims. Events ensuring [[VillainousLegacy his legacy would live on]], however, were already in motion -- Mark Hoffman, one of John's apprentices, continued Jigsaw's work after his death.
Notably, John himself admits that he never came up with the name "Jigsaw" or "Jigsaw Killer"; the press dubbed him so because of his penchant for carving a jigsaw-shaped piece of flesh from his dead victims -- a reminder of the "missing piece" of the "human puzzle" those victims lacked, which he believes could have saved their lives: the apparent "survival instinct".
------
* AmbiguouslyEvil: While his "games" are intended for the victims to survive and change their lives for the better, he has come across as hypocritical, [[EvilIsPetty petty]], and flat out subjecting many of his victims to [[DisproportionateRetribution excessive]] or [[MisplacedRetribution undeserved]] torture. However, considering that he has severe brain cancer, there's a possibility that his flip-flopping morality may be caused by his mind deteriorating due to his disease. This could also explain why he has the insane logic that his traps are helping people; he's not thinking straight.
* AffablyEvil: He's fairly approachable, polite, and truthful to the victims whom he tests and places in life-threatening, yet, escapable traps. Unlike his apprentices, John appears to genuinely want his victims to pass their tests and survive his traps. He is also honest at all times.
* AGodAmI: In a rare instance of John conducting a game directly than through Billy, he explains to his hapless victim in the opening of a speech ''he'' had given him the life he had supposedly squandered.
* AllForNothing: By the time of ''Spiral'', the only thing John leaves behind is a murderous legacy that is the antithesis of everything he claimed it to be. All but one of his accomplices go wayward with murderously malicious or self-serving intentions, and the closest candidate to succeeding him has seemingly put his villainous life behind him. A new criminal also emerges copying his methods for his own ends rather than following his philosophy.
* AnimalMotifs: Pigs. He was a believer in the EasternZodiac and his unborn son would have been born on the Year of the Pig. He instead twists this imagery into abducting people using disturbing pig masks and a trap which involved grinding up pig carcasses.
* AntiVillain: His intentions are noble, in that he believes he's trying to reform his victims, but that doesn't make his methods any ''less'' evil. This trope is further tested when later films reveal just how petty and spiteful John actually is behind his claims.
* AppropriatedAppellation: Actually averted. John admits that the police and the press are the ones who coined him "Jigsaw." He never encouraged or claimed the name, and in ''Saw II'', he introduces himself by his real name to Eric Matthews.
-->'''John''': We haven't been properly introduced. My name is John.
-->'''Eric''': I thought you liked to be called Jigsaw.
-->'''John''': No. ''(laughs)'' It was the police and the press who coined the nickname Jigsaw. I never encouraged or claimed that. The jigsaw piece I cut from my subjects was only ever meant to be a symbol that that subject was missing something, a vital piece of the human puzzle. The survival instinct.
* BadassLongcoat: He is frequently seen in a hooded black long coat with a blood red interior.
* BaldOfEvil: John completely shaves his hair when he's out personally conducting villainy, but he can be seen with messy hair grown back every so often.
* BelievingTheirOwnLies: Despite all evidence to the contrary, John is not only convinced that his methods are effective, but that he's not ''really'' a SerialKiller because he's never intentionally tried to kill anyone. To him, people who die in his traps lacked a survival instinct. In fact, John is so adamantly against murder that when Hoffman built his own trap to kill a criminal and framed him for it, John personally kidnapped him to lecture him on his methods and try to convince him that his are more effective. At his core, his intentions really are noble.
* BigBad: Of the first three movies, and becomes the PredecessorVillain after his death in ''Saw III''.
* CallingCard: He carves a puzzle piece-shaped chunk of flesh from his deceased victims, to represent the "missing piece" of the "human puzzle" they lacked: the survival instinct. It's what led the press to dub him "Jigsaw."
* ChekhovsGunman: In the first movie, he's the cancer patient that Dr. Gordon is going over with his interns.
* TheChessmaster: Seriously, this guy has a plan for EVERYTHING.
* ControlFreak: John has an obsession with being in control as shown by how he planned for his son to be born in the year of the pig. John was ultimately driven mad by how much control he's lost (an inoperable cancer, the miscarriage of justice, etc.) and his traps target the people who made him lose control.
* CrazyPrepared: As the series progressed, it becomes frightening how far ahead he'd planned and prepared. Even his own death factored into his plans.
* CreepyMonotone: His preferred method of speaking.
* CruelToBeKind: He certainly sees himself as this, making people suffer and fight to survive in order to appreciate life. The reality is far less noble.
* CutLexLuthorACheck: When you look at how some of his traps work, you realize they couldn't have been cheap to build, such as the one in the second movie where the victim had to find a key hidden in giant a pile of syringes. If he could afford all these parts to his traps, why couldn't he afford cancer treatment? (This becomes a major plot point in the fifth movie.)
* DarkLordOnLifeSupport: John has to be kept on life support because he's dying from inoperable brain cancer, and is often shown using oxygen masks and the like. Especially prevalent in the third film, where he's bedridden and on death's door, with Lynn Denlon being kidnapped in order to keep him alive until Jeff completes his test. In the end, it's not the cancer that kills John, but Jeff [[SlashedThroat slitting his throat]] with a circular saw.
* DarkMessiah: His true goal is to make people he feels are wasting their lives gain new appreciation and respect for how precious life is by putting them through hell if they want to continue living.
* DeadpanSnarker: His humor is very much on the dry side, usually of the {{Gallows Humor}} variety. Even in regards to his own health.
-->'''Dr. Lynn''': John, how you doing?
-->'''John''': *while getting his brain cut open* [[SarcasmMode Never better.]]
* DisproportionateRetribution:
** [[EvilIsPetty He really has it out for Art Blank,]] his former best friend and business partner, for absolutely no discernable reason than Art upsetting him ''trying to reason with him'' at the lowest point of his life. Not only is Art forced into a game that he ultimately survives, he is dragged along into another one immediately after where his survival is not up to him.
** The reasons he shoves people into death traps can get absurdly petty too, which he does for reasons that include a profession he considers sleazy, being a chain smoker, to ''wanting to help people too much.''
* TheDogWasTheMastermind: He spent much of the first film as a "corpse" lying in the middle of a dirty bathroom. It's not until the very end that he's shown to be the true mastermind. In fact, this kind of trick seems to run with his apprentices as well, since Amanda, Hoffman and Logan pull similar gambits in their respective reveals.
* DrivenToSuicide: After Easton denies him experimental cancer treatment, he fully crosses the DespairEventHorizon and drives his car off a cliff. He survives the initial fall and discovers enough will to live that he pulls out a massive steel rod that impaled him through the stomach upon crashing.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: In the first film, he slashes the throat of Tapp, who was trying to arrest him, and lets Sing get blown away in a shotgun booby trap, but in the second film he says he has never murdered anyone. See his third example under {{Hypocrite}} for further information.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: And if you ever harm them, then may God have mercy on your soul, because [[RelativeButton Jigsaw and/or his apprentices won't]].
* EvenEvilHasStandards:
** All of his traps (at least, the ones he genuinely designed himself; his apprentices often deviate from this) ''are'' survivable. They may involve self-mutilation, psychological scarring, non-intuitive thinking, or all three, but you can survive them. The first time the police discover a trap that was not survivable, it is considered to be a major break in Jigsaw's MO.
** He doesn't lie. He may not fully tell the truth or give CrypticConversation, but he doesn't outright lie.
** In ''Jigsaw'', he saves Logan from the circular saw room trap, as it isn't fair for him to die just because he didn't wake up the same time the other four did (especially because John overdid it on the sedatives.) Also, he regrets putting him in the game in the first place since it was just an act of revenge on John's part, since Logan's only transgression was a genuine mistake of accidentally mixing up the brain x-rays that led to his tumor not being detected sooner. As well as this, he and Logan have parted ways by the events of ''Saw'', but he doesn't kill Logan off or put him in a trap to save himself - he ''lets him go.''
** He abhors racists, sexual predators, and domestic abusers, among other scumbags. The traps they're put into are more likely than others to be symbolic of the crimes they've committed.
** When he kidnaps Brent and Tara Abbott to give them the chance to exact revenge on William Easton, he sincerely apologizes for that and putting them in cages for a time; he truly had no intention to harm or inconvenience either of them.
* EvilGenius: He demonstrates a massive intelligence, but, unfortunately for the world, he uses it for evil.
* EvilIsPetty: Jigsaw's motives are nowhere near as noble as he likes to think.
** While his primary victims are "people who have wasted their lives," Jigsaw also targets people who have wronged him in some way, and later in the series targets the police operatives investigating him. As the series continues and backbuilds his history, it becomes increasingly clear that many of his victims are people he has a personal connection with and he just doesn't care for how they chose to live their lives.
** The criteria of targeting "people who have wasted their lives" or lived lives that caused harm to others, is pretty broad. The victim roster ranges from drug dealers and rapists, to prostitutes and drug addicts, to people feeling suicidal and practicing self-harm, to just people that suffered BystanderSyndrome and did nothing while seeing something terrible happen. In Jigsaw's mind, all of these offenses are deserving of death.
* EvilOldFolks: As revealed during his autopsy in the fourth film, John was 52 at the time of his death.
* EvilPuppeteer: A non-supernatural variant. He often uses an eerie puppet of his own creation named "Billy" to announce his presence.
* EvilSoundsDeep: He speaks in a whispery, almost mechanical-sounding low tone.
* ExactWords: He never lies but that doesn't mean he won't phrase information in an unhelpful or malicious way.
* FairPlayVillain: All of the traps John designs himself are survivable; they may involve self-mutilation, psychological scarring, non-intuitive thinking, or all three, but you can survive them. In ''III'', Detective Kerry deduces that someone else is involved when one of the traps is not survivable.
* FakingTheDead: In the first movie, he spends almost the entirety of Lawrence and Adam's game lying on the floor pretending to be a corpse. ''Saw III'' shows he took a drug to slow his heartbeat and maintain the illusion.
* {{Fingore}}: When Eric Matthews is beating the living daylights out of him, he just laughs it off and taunts him. After some thinking, Eric decides to break his fingers one by one, and [[VillainousBreakdown John decides]] [[KnowWhenToFoldEm to move on to the next part of his plan.]]
* FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse: The police do have sympathy towards John for having cancer and trying to take his own life, but they make it clear to him that he has neither the right or the authority to put people through these death traps.
-->'''Eric''': I don't know what [the cure for cancer] is, but I know it's not killing and torturing people for your own sick fucking pleasure.\\
'''John''': I've never murdered anyone in my life. The decisions are up to them.\\
'''Eric''': Yeah, well, putting a gun to someone's head and forcing them to pull the trigger is still murder.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: He was just a cancer patient who wanted to commit suicide. When he survived the attempt, his outlook on life changed, for the worse.
* GadgeteerGenius: Designing and building his numerous traps requires a great deal of technical expertise and ability. It is revealed in later movies that he is an engineer.
* GambitRoulette: Pretty much everything that happens from the first movie to ''Saw 3D'' is at least partially according to his design. This in spite of the fact that he dies in the third movie.
* HandicappedBadass: He's dying a slow death of cancer, and is in a lot of pain. He even says so in the second movie. Doesn't seem to slow him down all that much.
* HannibalLecture: Is a master of this. Most prominent is in the second movie where he talks with Detective Matthews as part of a "game", promising he'd see his son again if he adheres to the rules.
* HappilyFailedSuicide: He attempted suicide after being diagnosed with cancer but when he failed to die, it reinvigorated him by instilling the belief that everyone else is wasting their lives by dwelling on past traumas.
* HeelFaceTurn: Subverted in ''Saw III''. After hearing Lynn's sincere words of wanting to turn her life around, he orders Amanda to release her shotgun collar and seems to genuinely see the error of his ways. Unfortunately, Amanda refused to do so, and once John sees Jeff learned nothing from his test, he decides to condemn everyone in the room to death.
* {{Hypocrite}}:
** He claims to despise murderers and denies that he is one. Putting aside the fact his games are pretty much universally intended to kill the people that fail them, the games are often {{Kaizo Trap}}s that trick his victims into dooming themselves, or else his hints to them on how to win are so vague and cryptic that they're useless. Furthermore, his moral compass is anchored by the fact that his victims die because they lack the "survival instinct." Ergo, it is ultimately their fault. Yet he frequently includes innocents in his games, like Gordon's wife and daughter in the first movie and Eric's son in the second, placing them in danger and usually resulting in death, with no way to save themselves. This hypocrisy is lampshaded when Eric states that his son has done nothing wrong and doesn't deserve to be part of the game just to punish him; Jigsaw doesn't deny this nor explain it.
** Additionally, some of his games can only be won by murdering someone else, running directly against his core belief. For example, in the first movie Amanda has to free herself from the infamous bear trap by cutting open the stomach of a sedated man who could barely react and couldn't save himself from her, so the game was practically guaranteed to produce at least one death. ''Saw VI'' runs entirely on this, as Easton has to make choices that result in the deaths of others, and the first game was impossible to lose because of Hank's history of smoking, age and diminished lung capacity. Even if Easton tried to throw the game, he would have won simply because it's very hard for people to hold their breath repeatedly.
** He specifically states he's never tried to kill anyone intentionally. Yet, in the first movie he slashes Tapp's throat and tricks Sing into triggering a row of rigged shotguns that kill him. The two were primarily interested in bringing Jigsaw to justice and saving lives.
** He tests Easton because of how arbitrarily he chooses whether or not people die in his duties as an insurance executive. He does this by arbitrarily having innocent people killed just so Easton is forced to choose who lives and who dies. That said, this example could be due to Hoffman running that particular game. We never know how much or little his apprentices altered the game designs.
** Despite his claims that he actually ''wants'' his victims to win their games, when it looks as though Jeff is going to make the correct choice and pass the final part of his test, Jigsaw doesn't look particularly overjoyed. In fact, he looks ''disappointed''. He's correspondingly thrilled when Jeff fails [[{{Sadist}} as it means he gets to go through yet another game.]]
** Likewise, when Art, somehow, actually wins his game, Jigsaw throws him in another in which his fate is out of his hands. Furthermore, there's an implication that Jigsaw would have kept running him through games until he inevitably died.
** He despises people like Adam and Michael for being "voyeurs" who profit off of spying on people and selling information. That's pretty fucking rich coming from a guy who not only also stalks and spies on others, but puts them through true hell for personal secrets he's learned by ''spying on them''.
** If a test malfunctions, John usually just leaves the person to his fate. Most notably in [[Film/SawI the first movie]], where Adam loses the key to his chain, something which John could not have foreseen. John does nothing and [[AndIMustScream leaves Adam to die]]. Initially, his moral compass was more functional, as he would intervene if something went wrong, like when he saved Logan in ''Film/{{Jigsaw}}''. He acted out of a belief that every person should have a fighting chance in their games. Logan didn't have one due to the fact that John had accidentally overdosed him. He also realized that Logan's transgression was a simple accident and as such it wasn't really fair. However, he grew out of that by the events of the first movie.
** John tells Logan that they can never act out of anger or vengeance, Logan himself having taught John that since his mislabelling of John's x-ray was an accident and he didn't deserve to die for it. Yet his very first victim was the drug addict who caused his ex-wife to have a miscarriage. He also targeted Mitch for causing his nephew's death, blackmailed Hoffman into becoming an apprentice, had Easton targeted for turning down a cancer treatment that could have saved John's life, and left instructions for Gordon to take care of Hoffman in case he tries to murder Jill. Though in the case of Cecil and Mitch, those were clearly before John saved Logan.
** In the ''Saw VI'' flashback to ''III'', when Hoffman is roughly lugging around an unconscious Timothy's body, John scolds him that he's a human being. Considering what insidious torture device John has planned for the man...
** Considering that one of the biggest precipitating factors in John becoming Jigsaw was the death of his unborn son at the hands of a junkie, [[WouldHurtAChild John putting Jeff's daughter in a life-threatening situation to test him]] when Jeff had already had his own son taken from him before his time by somebody's else mistake (just like John) comes across as [[ItsAllAboutMe John really only caring about his own pain.]] His RelativeButton concerning Jill is also this because one of John's favorite methods during games is to involve the subject's family members whether said loved ones are guilty of anything or not (which he does in the first movie with Gordon's family, ''II'' with Eric's son, ''III'' with Jeff's wife and daughter, ''VI'' with William's sister (Hoffman set that game up, but John is the one who picked out William and likely came up with much of the details for his game) and even the first video game, where he involves Sing's wife).
* InsaneTrollLogic:
** He reasons that people need to come close to dying in order to truly appreciate life and the will to live will become stronger in the face of agonizing death. The fact that even the few who escape his traps will be left dealing with the physical and psychological aftermath for years, possibly even the rest of their lives, doesn't really enter into it and his method of choosing victims can vary from people who have done bad things to people who made choices he didn't agree with to people who just hurt him personally in some way to people who were completely innocent. That's not even going into how often he rigs the tests to make escape nearly impossible.
** And even where escape ''is'' somewhat plausible, the tests are hardly even. They can require you to do anything from harm yourself, to harming another person, to your fate being left up to other people entirely (who can fail all the same even if they're genuinely trying to save you). John never seems to consider it might be easier for one subject to harm themselves than another person, or vice-versa, and even [[PoeticSerialKiller his attempts at poetic justice]] don't particularly make the trials fair.
* InvincibleVillain: Every film ends with him getting his way, [[ThanatosGambit even the ones set after he dies.]] Every single character for the most part plays right into his hands and he plays them all perfectly, while the most the heroes can try to do is simply ''survive.'' And more often than not, they don't.
* IRejectYourReality: His "games" have an almost universal failure rate. Even the subjects who do survive usually end up facing a downward spiral in one way or another. He's adamant that he's not a murderer, despite Eric telling him at point-blank range in ''Saw II'' that he still ''caused'' their deaths by putting them in these traps in the first place.
* ItsAllAboutMe: John is simply trying to validate his own suffering and make everyone else suffer for doing him a great wrong by denying his cancer treatment or by doing harm to his family. The only reason why he thinks he's better than his victims is because he gives them a slim chance of survival, something they denied him when they did him wrong. He believes his victims are ungrateful to be alive and he believes the he's [[WellIntentionedExtremist providing meaning to their lives by forcing them to overcome their traumas]]... [[NotQuiteTheRightThing by giving them new ones]]. In actuality, Kramer's victims had a personal connection to him and they doomed him to die of cancer without cushioning the blow or removing it while it was treatable. With Cecil, he caused the miscarriage of Gideon (although John didn't know Amanda was the instigator at the time).
* KaizoTrap: A recurring theme of his traps is that his subjects are liable to doom themselves if they do the wrong thing, often relying on some sort of BatmanGambit to trick them into making the trap inescapable. For example, in the second film, the Razor Box trap has two holes in the bottom for one to stick their arms through to reach an antidote vial, but the coverings of the w\holes are razor-sharp and cut into your arms if you try to pull them back out. The trick is that on the other side of the box is a lock and key that open it up, if the victim would only take a moment to study the trap and find it before sticking their arms in.
* KarmicDeath: A staple of his traps, though not universal. In the third movie, he himself is killed (with a ''[[DeathByIrony saw]]'' no less) by one of his many victims. He even dies with a piece of him missing, like the puzzle pieces he took from his victims. His was in his head, perhaps symbolizing his sociopathy and lack of humanity.
* KickTheDog: Even being AffablyEvil, Kramer was still capable of performing nasty stuff during a test subject's game. Some notable ones were:
** Poisoning Zepp, the only hospital employee who bothered to treat him with decency or kindness, and forcing him to carry out his orders.
** Leaving Adam to die in the bathroom at the end of the first movie, even though he had "won" his test by surviving past the time limit. It ''could'' be justified that he tells Adam where the key to his shackle is (and the key being flushed down the drain was not in his plan), but regardless.
** Mocking Jeff's son death in ''Saw III'' by using Billy.
** Taunting Eric by telling him that his son will probably die soon.
* KickTheSonOfABitch: While some of them clearly deserved it more than others, and others were decent people who just made life choices Jigsaw didn't approve of, many of his victims were terrible individuals whom he subjected to a KarmicDeath.
* TheKindnapper: He claims that he kidnaps people and places them in lethal deathtraps to help them appreciate their lives and to rehabilitate them.
* KnightTemplar: He honestly believes he's doing the right thing by making his victims appreciate their lives more. In ''Saw VI'', however, Simone makes it very clear that it's not working, and even angrily calls out the people who say that it helped them.
* LaughingAtYourOwnJokes: Occasionally makes puns in his explanation tapes and chuckles at them. The fact that he's describing torturous traps is what makes him deviate from the usual examples in this trope.
* MadeOfIron: He's an elderly cancer patient. Despite this, he somehow takes a blast from a shotgun and gets up several moments later to make an escape in the first movie. Later on in ''Saw II'', he takes NoHoldsBarredBeatdown from Eric during his PapaWolf-fueled UnstoppableRage well enough to remain (barely) conscious and get the last laugh.
* TheManBehindTheMan: If you watched ''Saw'' for the very first time, you'd think the creep watching Lawrence and Adam while holding a family hostage is the Jigsaw Killer. But no, he's a pawn himself, and the real villain has been right in front of you the entire time...
* ManipulativeBastard: One of the most prominent of any horror villain. His plans are ridiculously far reaching, and he's ''very'' good at predicting how people will react in intense situations.
* MasterPoisoner: He seems to have a vague "slow-acting poison" to inject for any occasion, which he uses on Zep and Mark in the first film, and by the second he's built a ''whole house'' that's slowly filling with Nerve Gas.
* MeaningfulName: His first name "John" is in reference to "John the Baptist", a saint who washed away sins through baptism. In the movies, John believes he's baptising people by installing new traumas through his traps.
* MoralSociopathy: Jigsaw's a murderous bastard, that much is true, but he truly believes he's doing the right thing by capturing people and subjecting them to his {{Death Trap}}s. All of the traps he designs himself are survivable, even if they lead to self-mutilation, psychological scarring, non-intuitive thinking, or all three, and he takes offense to Amanda designing inescapable traps and [[spoiler:Hoffman killing his sister's murderer and [[JackTheRipoff making it look like a Jigsaw trap]]]].
* MyDeathIsJustTheBeginning: The events of the fourth through seventh films of the series [[spoiler:were carried out after he had died, with John's wishes and intentions guiding things along.]] This phrase is even invoked in the fourth film.
-->'''John''': You think it's over, just because I'm dead? It's not over. The games have just begun.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: John rushes out of his hiding spot to save Logan when he realizes he accidentally overdosed him, since he thinks everyone deserves a chance to win their games. Once he realizes that Logan mislabeling his brain x-ray was an honest accident, he exempts Logan from the game.
* NeverMyFault: Despite his claims that he is trying to help his victims, it rarely, if ever, seems to work, as most of his victims are killed while the few that survive their game are severely traumatized. And of course, he claims the people that died were missing an essential part of themselves, the 'survival instinct,' so to speak. Apparently, if you aren't willing to do absolutely '''anything''' (up to and including committing murder) to survive, you simply don't value ''your'' life enough. He also never admits to being responsible for the deaths he causes, even in the tests where someone deliberately has to die for another to live. They're making the choice, not him, nevermind that he is responsible for putting them in a life-or-death scenario in the first place.
* NobleDemon: He does have standards, and he upholds them religiously. He doesn't lie, and he doesn't make unwinnable games.
* NonActionBigBad: He's primarily a schemer, not a fighter. That, and he's an old man dying from cancer; Eric Matthews beats him to a bloody pulp in the second movie, and Strahm even regards him as such in the fourth movie, noting that he's "brains, not brawn." Especially pronounced in the third film, where he's bedridden and knocking on death's door.
* NoSell: In the second film, he's completely unfazed by Eric's threats of PoliceBrutality, in part because he's already in a lot of pain due to his cancer.
-->'''John''': I don't intend to mock you, officer, but I'm a cancer patient. How could you possibly put me in any more pain than I'm already in?
* NothingUpMySleeve: If you can actually get close enough to him, his primary means of self defense is a concealed blade.
* NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist: It's been shown multiple times throughout the series that John's methods haven't helped anyone and everyone else can see his reasons are far less noble than he would like to claim. It should be noted that most of the few who seemed to "appreciate" his rehabilitation methods become his accomplices.
-->'''Simone:''' He wanted us to learn...\\
'''Hoffman:''' [[SecretTestOfCharacter And did you?]]\\
'''Simone:''' [[RageBreakingPoint ...Look at me.]] Look [[AnArmAndALeg at my goddamn arm!]] What the FUCK am I supposed to learn from '''[[InsaneTrollLogic THIS]]''', huh?!
* ObliviouslyEvil: John doesn't seem to ever fathom how horrifically wrong his actions are, consistently claiming he only wants to help others get the best out of life.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Probably the only time you hear John get angry and raise his voice is when he's blackmailing Hoffman, when the two briefly argue over the death of the man who killed Hoffman's sister.
-->'''Hoffman:''' She was my only family. He didn't ''deserve'' a chance. He was an ANIMAL!\\
'''John:''' [[SuddenlyShouting EVERYBODY DESERVES A CHANCE!]]\\
'''Hoffman:''' You didn't see the blood! You didn't see what he '''''FUCKING DID TO HER!'''''\\
'''John:''' '''''[[PunctuatedForEmphasis KILLING! IS! DISTASTEFUL!]]'''''
* PetTheDog: [[spoiler: His [[TheDragon first apprentice Logan]] was one of his test subjects but didn't wake up fast enough, resulting in him getting wounded. John took the time to save him and recruit him since he realized Logan had ''no'' chance of surviving otherwise and his crime was ultimately just an honest mistake.]]
* PlayingPossum: [[spoiler:Spends the majority of the first film mimicking a corpse in the middle of the bathroom.]]
* PosthumousCharacter: After ''III'' and ''IV''.
* PrecisionFStrike: He's barely ever one to swear, but when he does, it hits hard.
-->'''John:''' We got it all ass-backwards here. These politicians, they say the same thing over and over and over again; "Healthcare decisions should be made by doctors and their patients, not by the government." Well, now I know they're not made by doctors and their patients or by the government. ''They're made by the fucking insurance companies.''
* {{Pride}}: Jigsaw is ''so convinced'' that his worldview and life's work are correct that he refuses to stare the blatant fact that his methods have never helped '''anyone''' in the face. All they've done for the most part is ruin countless lives indiscriminately. May also mix with envy, considering it's kind of hard for perhaps even Jigsaw himself to see where his desire to help other people appreciate their lives ends and [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation where his rage and jealousy that all these people (in his mind) do is waste the precious gifts he was denied begins.]]
* PromotedToScapegoat: He dies in ''Saw III'' and his disciples take his doctrine by continuing his work. From ''Saw II'', Amanda Young and Mark Hoffman are the ones who revise the traps made by Kramer by making them unwinnable and dooming the participant. Hoffman, in particular, [[spoiler:goes after criminals and other cops to evade the consequences of his actions]].
* PsychopathicManchild: Behind his intellect is simply a despairing man trying to provide meaning to his personal, uncalculated tragedies and lashing out because the justice system didn't go his way. His victims were connected to him on a personal level as they were either responsible for his life going downhill or they just didn't do what he wanted. Amanda Young and Cecil Adams caused Jill Tuck to miscarry, Mitch caused the death of John's nephew by selling him a faulty motorcycle, William Easton refused to give him life insurance, and Logan Nelson prevented the treatment of John's cancer by accidentally mislabeling John's x-ray. John even recycles Bobby the Puppet, a toy that was intended to be for his son, to create another one as a tool for his torturous work.
* RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver: When out in the testing field, he usually wears a black hoodie with a red interior drawn up.
* RelativeButton: Sure, they're divorced, but don't you ''ever'' harm his ex-wife Jill.
* TheResenter: For all his talk about appreciating life, it's clear that a lot of John's actions are just him expressing his anger that he is dying while others, whom he sees as having less to live for or not appreciating their lives, will continue after he is gone.
* SerialKiller: In the eyes of the law and the vast majority of rational human beings everywhere, though Jigsaw himself would dispute this characterization. In his mind, he doesn't kill anyone. He only sets up situations where others will either fail to survive or their choices will be responsible for the deaths of others.
* SlashedThroat: He ultimately meets his end this way in the third movie, courtesy of Jeff Denlon and a buzzsaw.
* SlowlySlippingIntoEvil: Kramer did target people who did him wrong or he believed were wasting their lives but his reasons became more and more petty overtime. He chose a janitor so he can punish Easton for denying him insurance, he chose another victim for ''lying'', and he brutally sacrificed the liar's wife by ''burning her alive'' just to further punish him (even though she did nothing to deserve it).
* TheSociopath: Other than a sliver of affection for Jill and his apprentices excluding [[BlackSheep Hoffman]], he fits the criteria for an almost completely unfeeling sociopath. While corrupting Hoffman early on in their relationship, he even explicitly states that purging feelings of empathy or remorse are necessary to do what he does.
* SoftSpokenSadist: He always speak in a low calm voice. The only time he raises his voice in the series is in an argument with Hoffman while blackmailing him.
* StartOfDarkness: The events that led to John taking up his "work" are detailed over several films. To be more particular, it was after being DrivenToSuicide and living after being diagnosed with cancer and his unborn son's death that he became Jigsaw.
* ThanatosGambit: [[spoiler:Post ''Saw III'', all games were this but it isn't until the seventh movie when the actual plan was pulled off.]]
* ToThePain: He ''really'' enjoys going into detail to his victims about what his traps will do to them.
* TomTheDarkLord: This EvilGenius SerialKiller who later becomes a borderline DarkMessiah is an unassuming old man named John.
* TortureTechnician: His mind is capable of creating some of the most horrifying torture machines on film.
* TragicVillain: And how! He lost his son in a miscarriage, he went through a messy divorce, he contracted cancer and was denied health insurance, and he grew disgusted seeing those unappreciative of the precious gift of life that he was being denied. He basically went through a job-like situation.
** ''Jigsaw'' adds even more to that: he lost his nephew in an accident after Mitch deliberately sold him a motorcycle with faulty brakes, and his cancer was left untreated until it was too late because [[UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom some intern plastered his nametag onto a wrong X-ray]].
* TrapMaster: One of the most well known examples.
* {{Ubermensch}}: He is completely convinced that his tests are [[BlueAndOrangeMorality helping]] people learn to value their lives.
* UngratefulBastard: Zepp showed him kindness and compassion. John's response was to use him as a ploy in a scheme.
* VillainousBreakdown: In the first film, when he is outwitted and restrained by Tapp and Sing, he descends into an uncharacteristically angry [[MotiveRant motive rant]] before [[{{Hypocrite}} slitting Tapp's throat]] and [[NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist practically killing Sing.]] Keep in mind: these are two perfectly normal and hardworking police officers only interested in saving lives.
-->'''Jigsaw:''' Yes, I'm sick, officer. Sick from [[TheTopicOfCancer the disease eating away at me inside]]. Sick of people who don't appreciate their ''blessings''. Sick of those who ''scoff'' at the suffering of others. ''Sick'' of it all.
* VillainousLegacy: Jigsaw is killed in ''Saw III'', but the series is continued on by his apprentices and the plans he's left for them to follow.
* VillainsNeverLie: The key difference between himself and his apprentices; John may not fully tell the truth or give CrypticConversation, but he doesn't outright lie.
* VillainousValor: He's not at all phased when confronted by armed police. He's able to fight off two detectives and continues to taunt another one who is ''beating the shit'' out of him. That said, he knows he's dying of cancer, so it's not like he as a reason to fear death.
* VisionaryVillain: He genuinely believes that he's helping people realize their true potential by bringing them to the brink of death. He's a self-help guru whose idea of helping the world involves lots of blood. It goes to show that he thinks the person who caused his wife to have a miscarriage should be given a second chance.
* WeakButSkilled: A dying, frail old man who is nonetheless resourceful and strong enough to overpower people in ''far'' better health, with a propensity for devising some truly complex life or death scenarios.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: ''Very'' extreme. He wants each victim to gain a "new outlook on life", and feels they can only do that by forcing them to survive a gruesome near-death experience.
* WhamShot: Provides one at the end of the first movie.
* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: He was driven to murder after losing his unborn son and being diagnosed with cancer.
* WouldHurtAChild: Doesn't give a shit if children are involved in his twisted games, [[AdultFear and they frequently are.]]
** In the first movie, he tells Zep to kill Dr. Gordon's wife and daughter if he fails his test. Hindle was just moments away from pulling the trigger before Tapp barged in.
** In the second movie, he poisons Daniel Matthews, although he fortunately survives his game.
** In the third movie, he locks Jeff's daughter in a room with a limited air supply. Hoffman fortunately frees her.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Logan Nelson]]
!!Logan Nelson
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/logan.PNG]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"I speak for the dead. "'']]
-> '''Played by:''' Matt Passmore
Jigsaw's first cohort aiding in his schemes. Logan served in the military for a tour in Iraq during the Iraq War, during which he was [[ColdBloodedTorture captured and traumatized.]] His mental instability leads to his discharge and he later returned to medical school to pursue a career as a medical examiner. Selected as a victim of one of John's game due to his negligence as a medical resident that led to John's inoperable cancer, John released Logan from the game when he realized he accidentally overdosed him and made his game unsurvivable. After realizing Logan's mistake at the hospital was an honest mistake, he befriends and convinces the mentally unstable man to his cause. Logan is the architect of the iconic Reverse Beartrap used to test John's other two apprentices but was otherwise not actively involved with his mentor. Long after John's demise, Logan ultimately decides to take up the mantle as his successor with the fate of the wayward Hoffman and indifference of his other major accomplice.
----
* ActionDad: He has a daughter and he can also hold his own in a fight when abducting victims for his games.
* BadassBaritone: Not quite the same as John Kramer or even Hoffman, but he can sound very intimidating when he delivers his TheReasonYouSuck speeches.
* BigBad: Of ''Jigsaw''. At least in the present, as John was alive when the barn game took place.
* CatchPhrase: "I speak for the dead." Appropriate because of his job and avenging people whose deaths went unpunished, and carrying out Jigsaw's work from beyond the grave.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Was tortured as a prisoner of war during his time as a military medic.
* DeceptiveDisciple: While all his victims by comparison [[AssholeVictim definitely have it coming,]] he perverts John's philosophy much like Amanda through inescapable games believing such people cannot be reformed.
* DisproportionateRetribution: Mistakenly mislabeled two X-rays as an intern, so he's shoved into a ColdBloodedTorture game. John [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone realizes this]] after he makes a [[NotSoDifferent similar mistake in accidentally over-sedating Logan]] giving him ''zero'' chance to survive the sawblade test, prompting John to remove him from the game completely.
* {{Expy}}: A military vet and family man whose wife his murdered, and sets out to enact bloody vengeance on the criminal underworld. Now, does that sound like Jigsaw, or ComicBook/ThePunisher?
* GoodScarsEvilScars: He has several scars on his back, which we are led to believe are from when he was tortured. They're actually from getting his back sliced up by the buzzsaw trap.
* HiredToHuntYourself: He works with the police to solve crimes. Including the Jigsaw murders, for which he is personally responsible for.
* {{Hypocrite}}: He has the nerve to judge other people for ''their'' sins when he essentially, though not maliciously (it was a genuine mistake) caused John to die a slow, painful and altogether avoidable death. He was also put into a Jigsaw game ''himself'' for that, then survived the experience only because of the mercy of ''the man whose life he doomed''.
** Is told by John, "We can never come from anger, or from vengeance," as he learned from erroneously putting Logan into a trap. Ten years later, he kills Edgar Munsen and Detective Halloran for their supposed role in his wife's death, after both of them passed the tests they were given.
* LegacyCharacter: He is ultimately the apprentice who succeeds John as Jigsaw.
* MyGreatestFailure: Accidentally mislabeled John's cranial X-ray, resulting in his cancer being found too late for treatment, becoming indirectly responsible for setting off the chain of events that [[UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom led to John becoming Jigsaw to begin with]].
* NotProven: His motivation for putting Edgar Munsen in the game, and for ultimately killing him, is that Edgar murdered his wife. Halloran points out before he dies that it was never proven. Logan doesn't seem to give a shit.
* OptOut: He was taken as Jigsaw's apprentice when Jigsaw was more focused on punishing the guilty rather than testing if people had the will to live or not to advance the species. When John shifted to the later ideology he quit being his apprentice. Not because he didn't believe in the initial ideology, but rather knowing John would attempt to correct him (test him again) if he tried to put his ideology into practice. Logan simply waits for him to die of cancer, and five extra years to be sure, before beginning his run as Jigsaw.
* PoeticSerialKiller: As expected of a Jigsaw apprentice.
* RetiredMonster: According to ''Spiral'' there had been no new Jigsaw type murders in years. It's pretty much a safe bet that like Dr. Gordon after the events of ''3D'', Logan detached himself from the philosophy [[spoiler:or only followed it during the events of ''Jigsaw'' to enact revenge against Halloran.]]
* UnscrupulousHero: Unlike his mentor and many of his fellow apprentices (who targeted even those barely related to the crimes in question, those who just had some relatively harmless moral flaw, or just straight up innocent people who were only related or acquainted with the test subjects), he (so far) has only targeted those who are far worse than him. Specifically murderers and rapists who got away with their crimes due to bribing a {{Corrupt Cop}}, as well as said {{Corrupt Cop}}.
* UncertainDoom: What becomes of Logan Nelson after the events of ''Jigsaw'' is unclear. By the time of ''Spiral'', the police have recognized that Logan's killings were the result of a copycat killer and not John Kramer returned from the dead, but whether or not Halloran was successfully framed or if they uncovered the ruse is never revealed.
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: When he was still an intern, he accidentally mislabeled two x-rays, resulting in John Kramer's brain tumor not being found until it was too late.
* VillainProtagonist: The killer in addition to the main character.
* WolfInSheepsClothing: He's a well-intentioned forensic pathologist. He is also the new Jigsaw.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Second Apprentice '''(SPOILERS FOR ''Saw IV'')''']]
!!Detective Mark Hoffman
[[quoteright:245:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/saw_mark_hoffman-w350-h350_5486.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:245:''"You told me the only way to help people reach true enlightenment was to detach emotionally."'']]
-> '''Played by:''' Creator/CostasMandylor
-->''"You want to know the only thing wrong with killing you, Jill? I can only do it once."''
Jigsaw's second canonical apprentice, and the third Jigsaw Killer (after Amanda Young). Hoffman is a cop assigned to the Jigsaw case. He uses the knowledge he has of Jigsaw by virtue of following the case to murder his sister's killer using Jigsaw's MO. The frame job catches John's attention, and Hoffman is blackmailed into helping Jigsaw. Shortly afterward, he becomes a willing accomplice. At some point, he began to fall in love with his carnage and, like Amanda, did not completely buy into Jigsaw's philosophy. After Jigsaw and Amanda's deaths, Hoffman continued John's work until the seventh film. His true identity as Jigsaw's accomplice/successor was discovered in the sixth film, but was only revealed to the police force at large in the seventh film.
------
* AndIMustScream: His ultimate fate in ''3D''. Dr. Gordon drags him to the bathroom from the first film, chains him up, and disposes of the hacksaw, his only means of escape, before locking Hoffman inside and leaving him to die a slow and painful death from either dehydration or starvation.
* AtLeastIAdmitIt: He admits to enjoying seeing people suffer in their traps, and angrily suggests John to stop pretending he doesn't.
* AscendedExtra: He is in ''Saw III'' for all of 30 seconds. He becomes [[ChekhovsGunman a bit more important later.]]
* AxCrazy: In ''3D''. With his identity as a SerialKiller known to the public, he sees no reason not to become a raging psychopath, killing anyone who is in his way for the remainder of the film as sadistically as he can.
* AssholeVictim: No tears were shed when Lawrence leaves him in an inescapable scenario to die of starvation or dehydration.
* BastardUnderstudy: Basically extorted into becoming Jigsaw's underling, he wasn't interested in John's philosophy and tried to undermine his relationship with Amanda.
* BigBad: After John's death, he became this. However, it took a couple of films to solidify him as a legit threat.
* BigNo: His last words.
* BitchInSheepsClothing: Outwardly presenting himself as a hard-working and caring cop, while hiding what a cold [[ManipulativeBastard manipulative]], murderous, apathetic, asshole bastard he truly is.
* ChekhovsGunman: Much like Amanda, he appeared in a small scene in ''III'' and ended up being shown he was another apprentice and took up the Jigsaw killer reign after the deaths of Kramer and Young.
* CoDragons: With Amanda, though she didn't like him being there. The feeling is mutual with her.
* {{Determinator}}:
** In ''Saw VI'', Jill knocks out Hoffman and strapped an updated reverse bear trap mask on him with no means of escape as she had also strapped him to a chair before activating it. In desperation, Hoffman breaks his own hand to get it out of a strap to unstrap his other hand, then smashed the mask between bars to delay it from opening all the way in order to get it off. He manages to hack it, but still gets the right side of his cheek ripped open.
** In ''Saw 3D'', he really wants to get to Jill. Getting in his way? That is a very bad idea.
* DirtyCop: Besides becoming one of Jigsaw's apprentices, he uses his knowledge of the legal system and due process to keep other cops off of his trail.
* DirtyCoward: Played with. As Seth Baxter gets chopped in half by his pendulum trap, he can't even look at his gruesome death. He then is brought into Jigsaw's fold without going through a real game and brazenly claims he doesn't need one because he appreciates his life. When he ''is'' finally tested, [[VillainousValor he defeats his test without any real means to escape]]!
* DragonAscendant: After John and Amanda's deaths.
* DragonWithAnAgenda: He never really subscribed to [[InsaneTrollLogic John's twisted philosophy.]] A test of character he has with a furious maimed survivor [[CaptainObvious has him further doubt it amounted to anything positive.]]
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: One of his most prominent victims was a criminal who murdered his sister.
* EvilerThanThou: Unlike Amanda (who apparently saw her inescapable traps as either ridding the world of unchangeable people or MercyKill examples), Logan (who puts people through the games in order to punish them for the deeds [[KarmaHoudiniWarranty they evaded retribution for]] or to avenge their victims) or John (who wanted his victims to live and be better), Hoffman just wants to kill those who [[HeKnowsTooMuch know too much]]. Even that goes out the window in ''3D'', as, with his identity as the last Jigsaw known, he goes on a maniacal killing spree for the remainder of his screentime until he's caught.
* EvilSoundsDeep: Speaks in a menacingly deep growl in comparison to John's soft-spoken tone.
* FauxAffablyEvil: His entire affable demeanor is pretty fooling at first, that is, until you witnessed his [[BitchInSheepsClothing true colors]] under the Jigsaw persona is when you realize that his affable side is pretty much just an act to lower suspicions.
* FreudianExcuse: His sister, who was his only remaining family, was brutally murdered by Seth Baxter. After this, Hoffman degrades into a sociopathic drunken mess until he decides to murder Seth in a mock Jigsaw game. John takes notice of this and blackmails Hoffman into becoming his accomplice, leading his life down a further downward spiral.
* GeniusBruiser: Hoffman's both as smart as Jigsaw and much stronger.
* GlasgowGrin: He receives half of one after narrowly escaping the Reverse Bear Trap.
* HateSink: Mark Hoffman, despite having a FreudianExcuse, has committed many inexcusable atrocities and has shown himself to be very despicable. He has put several people in his traps who were only related to the jerks that he tested. He also framed Peter Strahm for his crimes even after Strahm's death, hosted a Jigsaw game in public, decimated the whole police department, and even murders Jill Tuck just because she followed John's will. It's extremely satisfying to see him get just desserts through Lawrence Gordon.
* JackTheRipoff: What drew attention to the original Jigsaw, who took offense that he would use his name and methods for revenge.
* KickTheDog: Did this multiple times, including:
** Framing Strahm as Jigsaw's apprentice.
** Replacing John's letter to Amanda with one of his own that threatened to reveal her secret.
** Killing FBI lab technician Erickson and Special Agent Lindsay Perez to maintain his cover.
** Killing nearly 20 police personnel (directly or otherwise) as part of his plan to kill Jill Tuck.
* KnightTemplarBigBrother: When his sister is killed by her boyfriend and said boyfriend is let off on a technicality, he avenges her death by killing the man in such a way that it would appear to be another Jigsaw killing.
* PayEvilUntoEvil: As a KnightTemplarBigBrother, he avenges his sister's death by killing her boyfriend.
* PetTheDog: A downplayed if not subverted example. [[WouldHurtAChild John clearly had something horrific planned for Jeff's daughter if he failed his final test as part of another game,]] but Hoffman exploits this by aborting that game and appearing to save her [[VillainWithGoodPublicity for good will.]]
* SmugSmiler: Makes the smuggest grins when seeing Strahm flail around in vain from his inevitable death.
* SerialKiller: Takes up John's mantle of this after his and Amanda's deaths.
* TheSociopath: He seriously surpasses his mentor John Kramer on how many lines he's willing to cross. While the former had a moral lesson in mind with his doings and gave his victims a chance to survive, he makes half his traps inescapable in the belief that murderers can't redeem themselves, being hypocritical in that statement while claiming so, while the other half force their victims into making sadistic choices, where one can live only at the expense of another's death. His partner Amanda Young is a BrokenBird with standards, and was horrifyingly blackmailed by him simply because he didn't like her. He's also willing to murder people whom he worked with for over 20 years just to get away, as well as putting Detective Peter Strahm in an inescapable trap and blaming him for the murder he himself committed in ''Saw V''. He finally crosses the MoralEventHorizon when he murders his mentor's ex-wife with a Reverse Bear Trap in ''Saw 3D''. Luckily, justice was served to him as Lawrence, a secret apprentice of John's from the first movie, put him at his place and locked him in the infamous bathroom, in which he finally died.
* TheStarscream: ''Saw VI'' reveals he blackmailed Amanda into failing [[Film/SawIII her test]], setting off the chain of events that led to the [[KillEmAll deaths of both her and John in quick succession]]. Jill later caught onto this deception, and [[KickTheSonOfABitch angrily tries to sabotage Hoffman's test.]]
* SkywardScream: After escaping what was supposed to be his death through the inescapable Reverse Beartrap, he howls this in a way that signifies his complete descent into insanity.
* StartOfDarkness: ''Saw V'' explored this in detail.
* TheStoic: For most of the time, but otherwise he would become NotSoStoic when he became HotBlooded.
* TookALevelInBadass: Over the course of ''VI''.
* UncertainDoom: [[spoiler:Whether Hoffman perished from Lawrence imprisoning him is currently left in the air.]] Although WordOfGod in ''Saw 3D's'' DVD commentary indicated he died, Costas Mandylor was asked to reprise his role but this was put on hold with changes to developmental plans for future installments in the series.
* VillainousValour: He's a murderous bastard, but [[spoiler:escaping a Reverse Bear Trap without any means to do so was pretty damn impressive]].
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: He's a decorated and highly respected police lieutenant with over twenty years of experience and numerous promotions under his belt, a fact that's pointed out by Agent Lindsay Perez in ''Saw IV''. He's also a violent and brutal CorruptCop who happens to be Jigsaw's accomplice and eventual successor.
* VillainousBreakdown: After escaping the Reverse Bear Trap in ''Saw VI'', he drops all pretense of the Jigsaw philosophy and leans fully into becoming an AxCrazy psychopath. This outcome triggered John's plan to [[SummonBiggerFish enlist Dr. Gordon to put him down for good.]]
* WifeBasherBasher: His first murder victim was a {{Domestic Abuse}}r who [[YouKilledMyFather killed his sister]].
* WouldHitAGirl: He personally kills Agent Perez and Jill in the sixth and seventh movies, respectively.
* XanatosSpeedChess: He plays lightning rounds of this.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Third Apprentice '''(SPOILERS FOR ''Saw II'')''']]
!!Amanda Young
[[quoteright:232:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screen_shot_2013-08-17_at_7_33_37_pm_2927.png]]
-> '''Played by:''' Creator/ShawneeSmith
-->''"He helped me."''
Jigsaw's third apprentice, a junkie who had been the first to survive his tests. She, like Hoffman, perverted Jigsaw's message by creating traps that were inescapable; she believed that Jigsaw's philosophy was flawed and is doing her victims a favor than suffer psychological scars for the rest of their lives. She also had an inadvertent hand in causing the miscarriage of Jigsaw's child.
------
* AbusiveParents: Though deleted, in a line of the ''Saw III'' script, Amanda states when she was a child her father kept her locked in the basement, in the dark, for hours.
* AlasPoorVillain: In ''III'', her death scene is dramatic and anguished, as she dies a slow and agonizing death from a gunshot wound to the neck. [[AssholeVictim It doesn't forgive everything she's done]], but with her being a WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds, there is a level of tragedy in it.
* AssholeVictim: Downplayed. Amanda may be perverting John's philosophy with inescapable traps, but the third film thoroughly explores Amanda as a ''deeply'' troubled person who suffers from StockholmSyndrome, making her desperate for John's approval. Hoffman preys on her emotional instability to sabotage John's last test for her, leading to Jeff shooting her in the throat. The scene where she bleeds out after is played out as pitifully tragic than satisfying.
* AtLeastIAdmitIt: Amanda is arguably ''worse'' than the original Jigsaw Killer, but she openly calls out how his philosophy is deeply, ''deeply'' hypocritical, claiming that while she's a murderer, he's a self-righteous prick who tortures and kills under the veneer of helping people, which as she demonstrates, ''doesn't usually work''.
* AxCrazy: By the third film, Amanda has become a nihilistic SerialKiller, creating deliberately inescapable traps, and openly threatening to trying to kill Lynn, which becomes her demise when the latter's husband takes revenge.
* BadassAdorable: Amanda's cute, timid demeanor almost makes you forget that she's lived through Jigsaw's tests multiple times, and is now as cunning and deadly a trap-master as him.
* BarefootCaptivity: For whatever reason, Amanda spends her whole time in the Nerve Gas House lacking shoes or socks. Especially notable because she helped set it up, and doesn't bother taking shoes from the dying prisoners.
* BastardUnderstudy: Amanda is loyal to Jigsaw's philosophy, but takes it to a far more extreme degree.
* BeingEvilSucks: By the end, Amanda has realized how meaningless Jigsaw's path is, is wracked with remorse over her atrocious deeds, and ultimately dies a monstrous killer alongside her mentor.
* BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil: She was the only person to have ever survived one of Jigsaw's traps at the end of the first film. She eventually helped John continue his work.
* BleedEmAndWeep: Did this after killing Donnie Greco, covered in blood no less.
** She also cries heavily while performing a MercyKill on Adam.
* BoyishShortHair: Sports this style in Saw II, but grows her hair out in III.
* BrainyBrunette: She designed some of the traps and devices herself. In particular, the shotgun collar that Lynn was forced to wear.
* BrokenBird: She's been the victim of AbusiveParents, framed for a crime she didn't commit, sent to prison because of it and became addicted to heroin while inside, was very nearly killed in a death trap set up by a serial killer as well as being forced to kill a man in the process, basically developed StockholmSyndrome towards said serial killer, was blackmailed by a rival apprentice into killing an innocent woman, and finally is shot to death. The image of her bleeding out on the floor, desperately trying to put pressure on her own wound, is hard to forget.
* ChekhovsGunman: She has a bit part in the first movie. She becomes much more important later in the following two.
* CoDragons: With Hoffman, though she didn't like him being there. The feeling is mutual.
* ConscienceMakesYouGoBack: She goes back to deliver a MercyKill to Adam after John seals him in the bathroom to die, [[ShootTheShaggyDog even though he technically passed his test]] because she feels immense guilt for bringing him there in the first place. (In addition, there was a deleted scene in the third film where she has a nightmare of being confronted with his apparition. He [[SdrawkcabSpeech speaks in reverse, and says, "How could you do this to me?"]]) She goes back and puts him out of his misery via suffocation, saying she's going to "free him," sobbing the whole time while he tries to fight back.
* CoolMask: A grody-looking Pig head with long black hair. While most of the Jigsaws don this, Amanda is the first confirmed "Pighead". It's so iconic that she has it as her default look in the ''Saw'' DLC for ''VideoGame/DeadByDaylight''.
* CopKiller: Leaves Eric Matthews for dead after trapping him in the Bathroom, where he probably would've died if not for Jigsaw needing him for another game. Later, she puts Allison Kerry in the cruelly designed "Angel Trap", which is inescapable and ''does'' kill her.
* CuteAndPsycho: Amanda is a mousy, petite young woman who just so happens to be a murderous and vicious criminial engineer. Even throughout most of ''Saw III'' she acts [[FauxAffablyEvil like a cutesy teenage girl while she's holding Lynn hostage.]]
* DarkActionGirl: Downplayed. Amanda is clearly more physically capable and agile than John, as shown when she gets the drop on her targets in pig gear, but she's also rather small and untrained in combat. As such she barely survives attacks from Xavier and Eric Matthews.
* DeceptiveDisciple: She's not really interested in continuing John's work of "make people suffer so they'll appreciate life more." Amanda just thinks people are irredeemable, and kills them outright.
* {{Determinator}}: Amanda really keeps herself in the game during her undercover deception in the second film.
* DragonWithAnAgenda: While she did support Jigsaw's testing, she used inescapable traps rather giving them a chance to live, believing that death would be more merciful, and that nobody really changes.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: While her traps were inescapable, she seemed to believe that she was doing people a service by simply letting them die rather than leaving them to suffer after surviving as she did. A lot of her morality is shown through her actions with Adam: A deleted scene shows her having a guilt-ridden nightmare of his apparition asking her why sent him to his death, and in the third film rather than letting him starve and dehydrate to death, she delivers a MercyKill, gently saying she was going to help and free him, and genuinely sobbing the whole time.
* EvilAllAlong: ''Saw II'''s biggest twist is that she's not only John's protege, but has been with him throughout all of the movie, as well as the first movie's game centred on Lawrence and Adam.
* EvilerThanThou: Creates inescapable traps, unlike Jigsaw, who intends for his victims to survive. Played with in that she often does this because she believes letting them live through the trauma they would have suffered afterwards would be a FateWorseThanDeath.
* FinalGirl: Subverted in the second film when it's revealed she was working with Jigsaw the whole time.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: Amanda was once a hopeless and desperate young woman who was put through a grueling test by a demented madman. Ever since then she found herself drawn to his insane methodology, to the point where she proved just as good at building death traps as him, and came close to ''surpassing'' him as the resident Jigsaw killer.
* GoneHorriblyRight: Jigsaw is glad she's gone onto embrace his philosophy in appreciating life. What he's not happy about is that she's started outright killing people who ''don't'' do the same.
* HairTriggerTemper: Amanda is apparently real ''quick'' to anger, which is not a very good situation if you ever find yourself under this woman's mercy as shown in ''Saw III'' with Lynn and ''especially'' who found out nearly too late, Matthews.
* TheHeavy: In ''Saw III'', Amanda is the one running the games and capturing victims, since John is literally on his deathbed from terminal cancer.
* HolierThanThou: Amanda became Jigsaw's apprentice after successfully surviving a trap, but then perverts his philosophy by making inescapable traps designed to kill the victims as she believes they won't change if they do survive, while arrogantly believing herself to be the sole exception.
* HumanPincushion: In ''Saw II'', she's the one whom Xavier tosses into the used hypodermic needle pit to retrieve one needle that has the key to the safe with one of that movie's antidotes. It is '''extremely''' traumatizing and '''excruciatingly''' painful, but she does retrieve the key, only for Xavier to drop it and fail to unlock the safe before it seals up, preventing them from getting the antidote.
* LegacyCharacter: Amanda is the first revealed Jigsaw apprentice, and takes up the mantle full-time in ''Saw III'' when John has grown too weak to carry out his work.
* MadeOfIron: Amanda clearly isn't a fighter and is absolutely terrified when she realizes Eric Matthews escaped his AndIMustScream fate minutes after imprisonment. She then takes a similar UnstoppableRage fueled NoHoldsBarredBeatdown like John but barely triumphs over Matthews due to his crippled foot.
* MoreDeadlyThanTheMale: While not as cunning as John, Amanda is nonetheless much stronger and more agile, as well as more likely to flat-out ''kill'' her enemies.
* MurderTheHypotenuse: Towards Lynn in ''Saw III'', since she wants John for herself. If she only knew Lynn was really Jeff's wife.
* PetTheDog: Regardless of the fact that she helped set up their situation, she still tries to help the other Nerve Gas House prisoners escape. Notably Daniel Matthews, who Amanda should hate, as he's the son of the cop who ruined her life.
* PsychoSupporter: She's a former victim of Jigsaw who came to embrace his twisted ideology and views him as a father figure. She goes far beyond that, however, and corrupts his philosophy to flat out kill people with Death traps.
* RedIsViolent: While going to work abducting people, she wears an all-red robe along with her pig mask. In ''Saw III'' she wears a red form-fitting top, which highlights the blood she's drawn with her sadistic deeds.
* SamusIsAGirl: The sequels retroactively reveal she was the eerie pig-masked figure who abducted Adam and Lawrence as well as Jigsaw's apprentice.
* SerialKiller: More upfront about this than Kramer, as she doesn't even intend for her victims to live, as the traps she makes are inescapable.
* SignificantWardrobeShift: In the first two films she just looks like any average young woman, albeit a little scruffy, but when she becomes a full-blown Jigsaw killer she wears a more revealing bright red outfit to go with Jigsaw's typical red and black colour scheme.
* StockholmSyndrome: She comes to think of John Kramer as a father figure and is intensely loyal to him. She says that he "helped [her]"... by kidnapping her when she was asleep/unconscious, duct-taping her to a chair with a Reverse Bear Trap on her head that we later find out causes a gory death if it goes off, and basically gets her to kill a guy to enable her very narrow escape from certain DeathByDisfigurement.
* TheSociopath: The lone aversion among Jigsaw's assemble. It's made clear that while villainous, Amanda is a ''deeply'' troubled person emotionally and demonstrates remorse and emotional instability far too great for a sociopath.
* TookALevelInJerkass: In 3. She starts designing inescapable traps, and she antagonizes Lynn throughout her test.
* UnwinnableByDesign: Her traps are some of the most brutal in the franchise, and she rigs them to be inescapable as she doesn't really share John's warped philosophy.
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: In ''VI'', it was revealed [[spoiler: she asked Cecil to steal drugs from Jill's clinic, therefore indirectly responsible for Jill's miscarriage and Jigsaw's StartOfDarkness]].
* VillainProtagonist: While she isn't initially the focus, the original SAW trilogy is as much about Amanda's journey from broken young woman to nihilistic serial killer as it is John's depraved crusade.
* VillainousBreakdown: In the third movie, we see her methodically commit self-harm early on in the film. Towards the end, she does it again, but this time without the ritual, just cutting herself quickly. When she's forced to kill Lynn and realizes what a shame John's philosophy is, she's almost sobbing.
* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: She's a murderer. She's also a recovering drug addict who was framed for a crime she didn't commit by a crooked cop, put in jail where she became addicted to heroin, and was put in a death trap which traumatized her for life, not mentioning how she was severely abused by her father as a child.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Secret Accomplice '''(SPOILERS FOR ''Saw [=3D=]'')''']]
!!Dr. Lawrence Gordon
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lawrence_looks_at_the_saw.png]]
-> '''Played by:''' Creator/CaryElwes
After surviving his horrific game, Lawrence was nursed back to health by John and inducted into his cause. He would often assist John in searching for victims and lending his surgical expertise for some games. However, he designed no traps of his own and his existence was a mystery to Hoffman and Amanda, the former of which he was keeping a close eye on from the shadows. Lawrence ultimately took it to himself to end Hoffman's life after he committed a mass murder revenge spree that culminated in the murder of Jill Tuck.
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* ApologeticAttacker: While he's preparing the revolver to shoot Adam with the intent to kill him, he makes it clear that he doesn't want to hurt him, but it's the only way his family will survive.
* ArtificialLimbs: He's given a prosthetic foot by Jigsaw, but it leaves him a limp that he needs to correct with a cane.
* BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil: Of all of the people who continued John's work, he seemed to get it the closest.
* BleedEmAndWeep: He was already desperate and near-tears when he picked up the gun to shoot Adam, but the second he pulls the trigger and Adam falls to the floor, he breaks down sobbing and screaming.
* ChekhovsGunman: The best example in the series. While he does show up at the beginning of the film, his sudden reappearance at the end of ''Saw 3D'' is a DeusExMachina to stop Hoffman once and for all. It isn't seconds later, where it is explained that John had inducted him into his philosophy.
* ClusterFBomb: Delivers a litany of them towards the end of ''Saw'' while having kept himself completely devoid of swearing up until that point.
-->'''Lawrence, trying to attack Zep:''' You bastard! I'll fucking kill you! I'll fucking kill you! '''YOU FUCKING BASTARD! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!'''
* TheDragon: More or less takes this role in ''Saw 3D'', to posthumous BigBad John Kramer.
* DragonWithAnAgenda: Although nowhere near as rebellious as John's other disciples, WordOfGod suggests even after his FaceHeelTurn, [[PetTheDog he was going to go back and free Adam.]] Sadly, Amanda already got to him by then.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: Being a survivor himself, and a secret apprentice, he knows that Bobby was never tested, and is appalled by his scheme to pretend that he was to get rich and famous from his book about "surviving" the ordeal.
* EvilSoundsDeep: When he makes his reappearance, his voice has deepened to GutturalGrowler levels.
* FaceHeelTurn: Indoctrinated into Jigsaw's philosophy after John nursed him back to health.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: The BodyHorror of his handiwork is within an expertise John and his other apprentices couldn't possibly be familiar enough with to perform so expertly. What's more, the mysterious man depicted within the tape explaining the Venus Flytrap is walking with a severe limp; John never displayed such physical handicaps.
* ICantLookGesture: As soon as Adam delivers the first blow to Zep's skull, Lawrence immediately puts his head down and looks away.
* {{Irony}}: He was originally suspected by Detective Tapp of being Jigsaw. He was innocent at the time, but after going through his test he ended up becoming Jigsaw's most valued accomplice.
* KickTheSonOfABitch: Condemning Hoffman to painfully starve to death in the bathroom he was tested in. Before he leaves, he also tauntingly disposes of Adam's hacksaw within his reach.
* MadDoctor: After being brainwashed into Jigsaw's philosophy, he uses his incredible surgical expertise for heinous villainy.
* NobleDemon: After his FaceHeelTurn; he's complicit when it comes to the games, mostly by assisting with medical procedures/surgeries to set up traps. Albeit, he seems to stick closer to John's moral code than Amanda or Hoffman and seems to mostly have kept to himself and not really gone out of his way to be involved. He at least doesn't do anything evil in ''Saw 3D'' and his only real contribution to the film is [[LaserGuidedKarma putting Hoffman in his place.]]
* RetiredMonster: Implied by the time of ''Jigsaw.'' He is essentially the best candidate for John's successor and leads numerous acolytes, but until the time of Logan, no similar murders were said to be happening.
* SanitySlippage: It's said after being nursed back to health by John and released, he developed severe mental instability that led to his wife divorcing him.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Jill Tuck]]
!!Jill Tuck
[[quoteright:235:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jill_tuck.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:235:''"Game over."'']]
->'''Played by:''' Betsy Russell
-->''"I'm only carrying out John's final request."''
John Kramer's ex-wife. The founder of a drug rehabilitation clinic, Jill suffered a miscarriage when druggie Cecil Adams hastily broke in at night looking to score. With the downward spiral of her relationship with John after this and his cancer diagnosis, she divorced him. After John became the Jigsaw Killer, she was privy to his identity, machinations, and accomplices but did not want anything to do with him or turn him in. Following his death, John entrusted Jill to place the Reverse Bear Trap 2.0 on Hoffman, as his successor was never properly tested.
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* AscendedExtra: She first appears in flashbacks in ''Saw III'', only to become a more prominent character later.
* ChainedToARailway: Only in a dream, though, in ''Saw 3D''.
* DamselInDistress: She turns into this in ''Saw 3D''. [[{{Chickification}} Many fans were not pleased.]]
* DeathByIrony: In ''Saw VI'', Jill intended to kill Hoffman in a reverse bear trap, but managed to survive. In ''Saw 3D'', Hoffman in turn puts Jill in the reverse bear trap, which kills her.
* HospitalHottie: She worked as a counselor at a drug rehabilitation center.
* LightIsNotGood: Subverted. She was privy to everything with John and his accomplices but was thoroughly repulsed by his villainy. [[TheWoobie It's implied after the sheer trauma of everything she went through with him rendered her incapable of turning them in.]]
* MayDecemberRomance: If she is the same age as Betsy Russell and John is the same age as Tobin Bell, then there's about a twenty-year age difference between her and her ex-husband.
* TookALevelInBadass: In ''VI,'' electrifying Hoffman before strapping him into the Reverse Bear Trap. [[DamselInDistress Shame it didn't take.]]
* YourHeadAsplode: The only complete victim of the Reverse Bear Trap.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Billy the Puppet]]
!!Billy the Puppet
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/billy_52.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ct8uQZn-Fec (High-pitched maniacal laughter)]]]]
--> ''"Congratulations, you are still alive. Most people are so ungrateful to be alive, but not you. Not anymore."''
Not a living character, but possibly the film series' most iconic face. A creepy white-faced puppet in a snappy little suit. Usually used to deliver messages to Jigsaw's victims via video screen.
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* AdvertisedExtra: Despite his prevalence in marketing, he doesn't appear in most traps and has limited screentime.
* AssistCharacter: Given how closely tied to the franchise the little guy is, he appears in ''VideoGame/DeadByDaylight'' as part of the "Jigsaw Boxes" survivors need to solve in order to escape Amanda's Reverse Bear Traps. If the player fails, [[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown Billy laughs at them.]]
* BadassBaritone: He speaks in a deep, menacing voice vocally modulated to disguise the real speaker's voice.
* CompanionCube: He's an iconic part of the Jigsaw brand, even after Hoffman takes over.
* CreepyCrossdresser: Downplayed. His shoes are a pair of red Mary Janes.
* CreepyDoll: He's not designed to look snuggly, let's put it that way.
* BaldOfEvil: He has a receding haircut that shows off [[ForeheadOfDoom his prominent brow]].
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: In the original short film, he had a little bowler hat and a higher, raspier voice.
* EvilCounterpart: Of a nicer-looking harlequin doll John made for his unborn son, named Bobby the Puppet.
* EvilSoundsDeep: Invoked. His voice is the voice of whoever is controlling him, digitally altered to sound deep and menacing.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: Likely to reflect the transformations of his owners, Billy was inspired by an innocent, even cute little doll created as a gift to a newborn baby. When said baby was stillborn, Billy was created from said puppet's design with a much less cuddlier appearance, and took on a horrifying role...
* GigglingVillain: Manic and shrill, but it ultimately makes him more horrifying.
* GothSpirals: Red ones on his cheeks.
* HiddenWeapons: Part of his head explodes in ''Saw IV'', launching shrapnel into Detective Perez's face.
* KilledOffForReal: He's incinerated when Hoffman blows up his lair in ''Saw 3D'', signifying the end of the series. [[SeriesFauxnale At the time at least.]]
* LaterInstallmentWeirdness: In ''Jigsaw'', Billy has curly hair, glowing red eyes, and appears to be slightly larger than later versions of the puppet.
* MascotVillain: For the franchise as a whole.
* MonsterClown: His design, in an ironic contrast to the tone of the rest of the series.
* MouthOfSauron: Jigsaw uses him to deliver remote messages.
* NiceHat: He had a nice bowler hat in the original short film, but lost it in the series proper.
* NoNameGiven: His name is never actually revealed in the films.
* NotSoHarmlessVillain: Normally relegated to mascot, he gets a moment to shine in ''IV'' when he takes down a grown FBI agent with a cleverly placed explosive in his head.
* RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver: He has this for a color scheme, with a little white thrown in as well.
* RedEyesTakeWarning: Wouldn't be as terrifying without them.
** A version of Billy in ''Jigsaw'' had glowing red eyes, but it appears that John dropped that feature for future puppets after the [[SupriseSequel barn game]].
* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: For a horrifying puppet from hell, he doesn't get many comments on his appearance. Finally averted in ''Jigsaw'' when Ryan sarcastically comments that Billy's "not creepy at all".
* TragicKeepsake: It's all but stated that John keeps him around as a reminder of his lost child.
* WaistcoatOfStyle: Hard to see in some scenes since it's black like his suit jacket, but it's there.
[[/folder]]
!Legacy followers
[[folder:William Schenk]]
[[/folder]]
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