Baltimore Police Department (Major Crimes Unit | Homicide Unit | Police Commanders | Western District) | Baltimore Underworld (The Barksdale Organization | Omar and Associates | The Greeks | The Stanfield Gang | New Day Co-Op) | Courthouse | Baltimore Docks | City Hall | The Baltimore Sun | Other Characters (Homeless People and Addicts | The Next Generation)
Vinson: The prisons and the graveyards are full of boys who wore the crown.
Marlo Stanfield: Point is: they wore it. It's my turn to wear it now.
Marlo Stanfield: Point is: they wore it. It's my turn to wear it now.
An up-and-coming gang of drug dealers who are dealt a mighty hand when the Barksdale Organization's prime real estate is demolished by the City, leaving them with all the new best territory. Led by the ambitious and utterly ruthless Marlo Stanfield, the Stanfield Gang gradually work their way through the West Baltimore drug hierarchy. When Avon is locked up and Stringer is murdered at the close of Season 3, they end up the new masters of West Baltimore, controlling nearly the whole district. Prop Joe's scheming manages to convince Marlo to join the Co-op, a decision which backfires spectacularly when Marlo murders him and takes over the Greek drug connect. By Season 5, the Stanfield Gang are the center of the entire Baltimore drug trade... at least until McNulty and Freamon get on their case.
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General
- Child Soldiers: While the Barksdale Crew had no problem using adolescents and teens for various duties, it was rare for them to be given a gun and told to execute someone. The Stanfield Organization almost reverses this: they actively recruit children as young as twelve and thirteen, getting them to put in work before molding them into killers. Michael Lee and O-Dog are prime examples — both not even sixteen and cold-blooded murderers.
- Flat Character: Most of them are this. Not to say they don't have defined personalities, but versus the Barksdale Organization's members, the Stanfield Gang's members don't experience significant Character Development. There is also little exploration of their interests and daily lives outside of the drug trade.
- The Good, the Bad, and the Evil: The generational shift in Season 3 is represented this way, with Marlo representing a darker and edgier amalgamation of Stringer's conservative and calculating nature, and Avon's brutality and pride. Similarly, Chris Partlow is a darker and edgier version of Wee Bey Brice with just a few parallels to Stringer Bell as well, while the Stanfield bit players also seem to be a little rougher around the edges than their Barksdale counterparts. Wee-Bey explicitly points out that back in the day, Marlo's show-offy tactics would have gotten him killed quickly. That he's able to operate at all is a sure sign that things are getting worse for Baltimore.
- Villainous Ethics Decay: While this is a central theme in The Wire, the Stanfield Gang are the poster boys for it. Everything about them, from their willingness to kill civilians not directly involved in the drug game, to their Disproportionate Retribution for extremely minor offenses, shows that they are a more ruthless gang than any that have come before, with virtually no moral qualms about anything. Basically, the Stanfield gang amps up every unsavory, ruthless, or cruel quality seen in the Barksdales, with absolutely none of the standards or Pet the Dog moments.
Marlo Stanfield
Played by: Jamie Hector
"You want it to be one way... but it's the other way."
I wasn't made to play the son.
He starts the as an up-and-coming west-side drug kingpin, the head of the eponymous Stanfield Organization. At first he is operating in the shadow of the Barksdale Organization, and fights to supplant them throughout the third season.
- Ambiguous Situation: Marlo's story ends inconclusively, being forced to retire from drug trafficking and power brawls, which is all that Stanfield craves. Clearly Marlo still has what it takes to rise again from obscurity, but will he risk police investigation and possible prison time if it means wearing the crown again?
- Ambition Is Evil: Marlo is practically obsessed with the crown and is nothing but a cold tyrant who enforces his will with an iron fist during his rise and rule.The crown ain't worth much if the nigga wearin' it always gettin' his shit took.
- Animal Lover: He keeps pigeons, even hiring a man to take care of them.
- Arch-Enemy:
- Freamon's. Lester is usually content with doing quality police work and chases whoever Daniels tells him to chase, until the bosses take the MCU off Marlo. Lester takes personal and professional offense from it.Lester: The motherfucker who put 22 bodies on us!
- Marlo has a special place in the heart of Herc, who clashes ineffectively with Marlo numerous times until the fiasco of a stolen hidden camera costs him the job. Herc gets back at Marlo (sort of) by leaking his cell number to Carver.
- To Avon in Season 3 and Omar in Season 5, both of whom he goes to war with.
- Freamon's. Lester is usually content with doing quality police work and chases whoever Daniels tells him to chase, until the bosses take the MCU off Marlo. Lester takes personal and professional offense from it.
- Asskicking Leads to Leadership: His backstory has him rising his way up after murdering a witness and other people. On screen, most of his killings are by proxy and he gains the crown via Klingon Promotion after outlasting his competition. While he doesn't look very menacing and never has to get physical, it's demonstrated during a target practice that he's a hitter who knows how to shoot. He shows his badassery in the finale when he easily bests two armed young punks during a petty street brawl.
- Ax-Crazy: A very stoic and disturbing one. He has shades of Serial Killer and orders people killed for even the slightest offenses towards him.
- Badass in a Nice Suit: His one personal moment of awesome
happens when he, dressed in a handsome suit, abandons a high class party and picks a fight with a pair of armed corner dealers. He fights them off easily despite being unarmed. - The Bad Guy Wins: Subverted in a very interesting way. Marlo essentially gets away scot free for everything he's done and ends up inadvertently achieving Stringer Bell's dream of going legit. However, Marlo doesn't want this at all, as it means that he can never go back to being a feared and ruthless drug kingpin, which is all he ever wanted to do. In the end, despite having escaped justice, Marlo's victory is a hollow one as his empire is gone and barely anybody will remember him down the line.
- Berserk Button: Though generally an eerily calm personality, Marlo does not take kindly to anyone questioning his street cred.
- Beware the Quiet Ones: He's robotic, emotionless, and a murderous sociopath.
- Big Bad: For Seasons 4 and 5, as head of the Stanfield Organization that has taken over the Westside. The X in X Must Not Win, as Bodie, Freamon and McNulty take a personal risk and put their own careers on the line to avoid his victory.Bodie: But Marlo, this nigga and his kind, man... They gotta fall. They gotta.
Jimmy: Marlo is an asshole. He doesn't get to win. WE get to win. - Born Lucky: Through Seasons 3, 4, and partway through Season 5 Marlo has a way of always getting things to break just right for him. He comes along right as the Barksdale Empire moves almost entirely away from Avon's methods of controlling the street by force, leaving them unprepared to deal with him. The Mob War between Marlo's gang and the Barksdales ramps up as the Barksdale Organization is crumbling under the pressure of being A House Divided, and the investigation that Jimmy and Kima forced onto the BPD saves him from being crushed by Avon after Stringer's death. In Season 4 the MCU has wiretaps up on the Stanfield gang and is getting close to being able to bring them down when the MCU is gutted by Rawls and Burrell due to making politically sensitive investigations, giving Marlo a free hand to rule West Baltimore unimpeded by the police. In the first episodes of Season 5, he is able to outwait a police investigation because of the city's huge budget hole, and only gets investigated because a number of police detectives effectively go rogue. Played with in his final fate, as Marlo's luck even extends to allowing him to walk away from prison time and the criminal underworld as a rich man, but Marlo utterly hates that fact and would rather have the option to just be a gangster.
- Characterization Marches On: In Season 3, he acts more reckless and outwardly violent. Most notably, he considers violently resisting when Herc and Carver try to force him and his crew to go to Hamsterdam. He also directly commits a murder. Season 4 has him become colder and more pragmatic, never thinking about resisting police or committing any murders himself for the rest of the series. Likely justified, as he learned how to properly act with his newfound power.
- Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: To Avon Barksdale. Marlo's younger, colder, more calculating and a lot more ruthless, without any of Avon's sympathetic traits.
- Corruption of a Minor: He's impressed by Michael's refusal to accept his money and has him groomed into his model young soldier — loyal, capable, beholden, and ultimately expendable.
- Creepy Monotone: He's the scariest drug dealer in the city, and his voice is almost always flat and unemotive.
- Death Glare: Seemingly his default facial expression.
- Deceptive Disciple: A mix with Bastard Understudy. Technically speaking, Joe is teaching Marlo criminal ways so Stanfield can become less evil and violent. When Marlo learns -by his own- how to import the drugs from the Greeks, he decides to retire Joe with a bullet to the head.
- Disc-One Final Boss: In an odd way, he's this for both Season 5 and the series. Despite being the primary target of Seasons 4 and 5, he and all his lieutenants are arrested in the penultimate episode of the series. Levy ends up being the final threat to ensure Marlo is punished for his crimes, since Levy is able to immediately pick up that the case is based on an illegal wiretap. Rhonda Pearlman has to blackmail Levy with a compromising phone call to force Marlo to retire from the drug trade.
- Disproportionate Retribution: One of his major tools to make himself feared, often having people and usually their family as well murdered for extremely petty reasons. Bites him in the ass when Omar starts calling him out in the streets. As Michael explains to Chris and Snoop if Omar can call him out like that and get away when innocents civilians got killed for less then Marlo is just a bully preying on the weak instead of a gangster not taking shit. Chris and Snoop try their best to keep Marlo in the dark about those call outs because Marlo would do something stupid when the police are watching him.
- Dissonant Serenity: Goes with his emotionless calm but ruthless personality.
- The Dreaded: By Season 4, just about everyone in his sphere of influence fears getting on his bad side, lest they end up getting a visit from Chris and Snoop. However he loses this soon as shown in the final episode when he tries to intimidate two corner boys who have no idea who he is and don't care.
- Dull Surprise: This was a deliberate acting choice to make him seem detached and cold. It makes his breakdown all the more shocking and powerful.
- Establishing Character Moment: His reptilian, barely humane nature is made evident in his first scene. When Bubbles and co. accidentally run afoul of one of Marlo's mooks, Johnny Weeks is held at gunpoint in front of Marlo's door. Stanfield walks by indifferently and just tells the mook - his ride - : "Do it or don't, but I have someplace to be."
- Evil Power Vacuum: The decay of the Barksdale organization and some luck are big factors in his rising; under normal circumstances he'd have been killed by Slim Charles. Wee-bey points out that back in the day, Marlo wouldn't have lasted long.
- Evil Is Petty: Marlo's favorite tool of intimidation is to have the people who slight him killed to Make an Example of Them. He quickly starts ordering people killed for even minor slights or merely if he happens to hear a rumor that they might have slighted him. It is eventually made clear that at some point this has turned into less of a tool of intimidation, and more something Marlo does For the Evulz, because he enjoys having the power over people's life and death and the ability to kill with an order alone.
- Even beyond murder, he intimidates Old Face Andre into handing over his ring simply for complaining about being robbed by Omar. When Marlo later spots Michael with it, having previously been robbed of it by Omar, he lets Michael keep it so clearly he didn't care that much about it in the first place.
- Excellent Judge of Character: He's very good at figuring out what other players are up to. When schemers try to rope him in, he plays along until he is a position of force.
- Fatal Flaw: Pride – any insult to his name, even ones that exist only in rumour, are met with savage reprisals. Interestingly, his underlings pick up on this later in the series and keep it from putting Marlo in danger by choosing not to report certain insults spoken against their leader, such as Omar's slanderous public challenges. Marlo, of course, doesn't see it this way and is absolutely furious for perhaps the first time in the show when he learns the truth.
- Foil:
- To Stringer Bell, Marlo keeps his cards close to his chest but is insanely ruthless whilst Stringer arrogantly brags about his business acumen in the hopes of 'spreading his knowledge'; but wants to avoid violence for business reasons. Stringer goes out of his way to avoid contact with the police and even orders Wee-Bey to take out Little Man for Kima's shooting whilst Marlo is willing to pick a fight with Herc and his Pride is more important to him than not going to prison. Stringer is killed and unable to reach his utopia whilst Marlo gets the chance at a legitimate life that String always wanted and considers it his personal hell. When Stringer pitches the Co-op to Marlo, Stringer thinks Marlo will come around to his pragmatic thinking, but all Marlo takes from his whole speech is, "Don't hurt me".
- Also to Omar. Omar is a street-level, independent warrior who lives by his own code, handles things personally and avoids killing people unnecessarily, while Marlo is the king of the pack, has no morals whatsoever, and orders the deaths of random people for no reason. Even their names are similar. Their final fates are basically exact opposites: Omar gets abruptly shot in the head by some nobody kid but his deeds are so famous that his name enters the halls of legend, while Marlo gets off scot-free and becomes a legitimate businessman, but craves the criminal lifestyle and his former reputation so desperately that he can find no happiness in his newly attained freedom. And despite the sheer breathtaking brutality of Marlo's rule, in his final scene he confronts two dealers who have no idea who he is, indicating that unlike Omar, Marlo's name will quickly die and be forgotten.
- Fish out of Water: Marlo is a corner boy who lives and breathes for the street game. When he's put in some other social situations such as talking with a bank clerk, laundering money or interacting with white-collar businessman, he's way out of his element and needs teachers like Proposition Joe and Levy to walk him through.
- For the Evulz: Prone to small acts of petty cruelty, such as when he goads a security guard into confronting him just so he can order Chris to murder him later.
- From Nobody to Nightmare: Starts as another small-time dealer, by the end of the story he is responsible for over 30 murders.
- Freudian Excuse: Implied. It's possible Marlo was molested in his backstory given his insecurity over being called a cocksucker and the fact that his best friend Chris beat a child molester to death.
- Godzilla Threshold: He has racked up such a high body count that the brass stopping the investigation into his organization is enough to make Jimmy McNulty and Lester Freamon conduct a fraudulent wiretap (i.e. commit several felonies) to bring him down.
- Glory Seeker: All Marlo wants is to be feared and respected, even if it means he's likely to be killed by the next drug kingpin that wants to take it.
- The Good, the Bad, and the Evil: His ascendancy steers The Wire towards Black-and-Gray Morality; he's a greater evil than Bell & Barksdale.
- Good Scars, Evil Scars: He has a large scar on his left cheek, which adds to his intimidating appearance.
- Hidden Depths: He loves and takes care of pigeons. About the ONLY other living things he shows any sort of affection towards. Ironically an indicator of his latent sociopathy, that he apparently only has any kind of empathy for a particular bird species and none for his fellow man.
- History Repeats: Being the "king" of the Westside, he faces some of the same problems and issues encountered by the Barksdales, such as Omar being a force of nature, potential weak links inside his crew, a prideful need for respect and the police threat. His response is not much different in principle, just much harsher and meaner in execution. Levy's criminal counsel is another element that connects Avon and Marlo. When Marlo is introduced to Andy Krawczyk, he has little interest in the real estate business being proposed and leaves the conversation, just like Avon did during his homecoming party.
- In-Series Nickname: He is also known as "Black", although he's never actually called it on the street. He more or less abandons that nickname in Season 4 and goes by his real name.
- Inferiority Superiority Complex: Marlo is a deeply insecure man who has a entire immediate family murdered just because the father supposedly called Marlo a cocksucker. This is emphasized when he hears that Omar has been calling him out and he roars "MY NAME IS MY NAME!", which contrasts with the more experienced Spiros saying, "but my name is not my name".
- Irony: Marlo actually wins the game and can retire with Stringer's utopia at hand; become a legitimate businessman who has risen above the street pettiness, but for Stanfield, this is a personal hell.
- Just a Gangster: Marlo only cares about the streets and his reputation in them.
- During a Co-Op meeting, another kingpin is telling the others how he's managed to make more money legitimately than he does selling drugs by buying up cheap property and then flipping it when the area starts to gentrify. Marlo is visibly annoyed at the conversation moving away from drug trafficking, demonstrating that he's not even in The Game for the money, he just likes being a crime lord.
- In his final scene, Marlo leaves a high society party bored to hell with his new businessman role, and as he walks down the streets, he picks up a fight with a couple of corner boys because that's all he knows and relishes.
- Karma Houdini: Downplayed—Marlo "wins," but in a Pyrrhic Victory sense. He manages to avoid going to jail in the end but he's not allowed to go back to drug dealing, which all Marlo wants. In getting off scot-free, Marlo gets to keep his money and his life, but loses his reputation—the most important thing to Marlo. It's also implied that if he does stay legit he'll be slowly bled dry of his money by scheming types like Andy Krawczyk and Clay Davis.
- Karma Houdini Warranty: Implied. The DA's office makes it clear that if Marlo ever goes back to the game, the case against him will be reopened; Marlo can't even last a week before he tries returning to the streets. Police aside, everyone who was loyal to him is either locked up or dead. With Slim Charles rapidly consolidating power, Marlo will be fighting some formidable enemies as a lone wolf if he chooses to come back to the drug trade.
- Karmic Shunning: By the end of the series, Marlo Stanfield is able to retire as a drug kingpin with enough liquid to reinvent himself as a businessman as his lawyer Maurice Levy introduces him to the upper tiers of Baltimore, but Marlo finds himself to be a fish out of water. He goes outside and finds some corner boys to fight, who don't even know who he is. With his old associates either dead or in prison and the New Day Co-Op gangsters running the show without him, Marlo is practically a ghost.
- Kick the Dog: Many, many times.Bodie: This motherfucker be killing niggas just to do it. You see? Nigga kills motherfuckers just 'cause he can. Not cause they snitching, not cause it’s business, but just because this shit comes natural to him. Man, Little Kevin is gone! This nigga don’t feel nothing! And all them motherfuckers in the row houses...nobody means a fucking thing to him!
- Klingon Promotion: Personally attends to the execution of Joe, done by Chris in Joe's own house, which marks the moment that Stanfield usurps the crown from the Co-Op. Although it's clear he's enjoying it and in ecstasy, nobody unfamiliar with him could tell, given his strange expression.
- Lack of Empathy: Immensely cold and aloof, he "ain't much for sentiment". Criminal sociopathy aside, one prominent example has Marlo shooting down the anguished 9/11 analogy of Old Andre, who works for him guarding a stash, but gets no sympathy anyway.Omar ain't no terrorist. He's just another nigga with a gun. And you ain't no Delta Airlines neither. You just a nigga who got his shit took.
- Laser-Guided Karma: A really weird variation mixed with Karma Houdini. At the end of the series, Marlo basically gets Off on a Technicality and suffers no legal repercussions whatsoever, but he's lost almost everything that he actually cared about - namely, the chance to make a criminal empire enforced violently through fear and respect. He goes from The Dreaded whose name everyone knows to such a nobody that two random dudes pull their guns on him, and when they run away, Marlo doesn't even bother chasing them down. He ends the series right where he began - just some thug on the street corner, who nobody knows or cares about.
- Lonely at the Top: Unlike most of the other drug lords, Marlo is unamicable, doesn't really have loved ones, and although he does get laid from time to time, he's not very interested in women. The closest thing to a companion he has is Chris, a complex example as Chris is always on the clock guarding Stanfield.
- Manipulative Bastard: Subtle but there: after chafing at Proposition Joe's control both within the Co-Op and under his personal mentorship, Marlo sows the seeds of discontent among the Co-Op, and among Joe's enforcers. While the Co-op balk at the thought of undermining Joe and Slim Charles easily rebuffs his attempts, he is successful with Joe's ambitious nephew Cheese, who sells his own uncle out and takes over the East Side drug territory.
- Murder Is the Best Solution: Marlo is a killer who displays some cunning beyond immediate violence during his ascension (after Chris counsels against it, Marlo refuses to wipe out Lex's crew because he has nothing to gain from that poor corner), but time and again he prefers to take the deadliest route when dealing with perceived problems. Only Chris raises some minor objections to that.
- Mysterious Past: His background prior to his drug empire is largely unexplored.
- Mirror Character:
- To Cedric Daniels. Both are quiet, both have a strict chain of command, and both try to be as efficient as possible. They both end up as the leaders of their respective organizations, which they both wanted, for a short time, and get forced out for reasons beyond their control. The only difference is that Daniels chooses to walk out of being police commissioner rather than juke the stats, while Marlo doesn't have a choice in leaving his criminal life.
- Negated Moment of Awesome: Downplayed. Marlo gets to wear the crown, which is a moment of awesome from his point of view, but his reign is so short-lived that he doesn't even distribute his first shipment from The Greeks. Marlo has so many enemies among the police that he makes his own bed and is forced to retire.
- No Historical Figures Were Harmed: His surname and habits came from Timmirror Stanfield, a Baltimore drug kingpin in the 1980s whose 50-member gang controlled large sections of West Baltimore and committed a string of murders in their quest to maintain power. His name also comes from another Baltimore dealer, Marlow Bates.
- Nobody Calls Me "Chicken"!: While Marlo cultivated a fearsome reputation in which he met personal slights with the most brutal reprisals, its attacks on that same reputation that he takes very personally. When Omar was roaming around assaulting his depots and associates, he let it be known to them that he was calling out Marlo as a "bitch" and a "punk" who didn't have what it takes to confront him. His inner circle caught on and decided to withhold this from Marlo until they could figure out a permanent solution to Omar, but when Omar is killed in an unrelated incident, the problem seemingly goes away. When Marlo finds out because one of his men lets it slip, he is furious, and what follows is Marlo at his most emotive that he had ever been up to that point.
- No Love for the Wicked: Marlo shows no interest in sex with men or women, and there's no hint of him being in any kind of relationship. He does briefly "date" a woman sent by Barksdale to infiltrate his organization, but only long enough to make sure she's a Honey Trap, after which he murders her. Also, although the murder is slightly sexualized (he shoots her through both breasts and then puts his gun in her mouth) it doesn't appear he's deriving sexual pleasure from the act of killing either.
- No Social Skills: He often comes across as more of an alien than a human and it's clear he's completely unable to function in a formal setting, or really any setting that isn't The Street.
- Not Afraid to Die: Vinson warns Marlo that trying to be the king of the streets will likely get him killed or put in prison. Marlo seems to understand and doesn't care. He just wants to wear the crown.
- In Season 3, he considers getting into a firefight with Herc and Carver, which would have likely led to his death there or down the line if Carver didn't back off.
- When Omar robs him at the poker game, Marlo still tries to act defiantly and make threats. He does capitulate, though mostly to try to get revenge later.
- This culminates in an ironic way in his fate. Marlo is forced out of the game into the mundane life of a businessman, when he likely expected to die in a shootout or go to prison. He ends up attacking some armed corner boys for not recognizing him, which could have easily got him killed.
- Not-So-Harmless Villain: When he first came on the scene in early Season 3, he was viewed by many as a glorified punk and a wannabe. After he identifies Stringer's peaceful strategy as a sign of weakness he proves his detractors very wrong. Meanwhile, the cops almost universally viewed him as a two-bit nuisance, until the bodies start showing up.
- Not So Stoic: While normally soft spoken and unemotive, he goes absolutely ballistic when he finds out about Omar bad-mouthing him on the street in the penultimate episode.
- Older Hero vs. Younger Villain: The younger villain to practically everyone else's older hero. His enemies on the street often slur him as "boy" on account of his youth compared to his more established rivals and predecessors.
- Orcus on His Throne: Marlo rarely directly participates in the murders his gang commits, letting Chris and Snoop handle all the action on the street. However, he's not a Non-Action Big Bad, we see him to be a pretty accurate shot and in his final scene he runs off a couple of armed corner boys in a fist fight very easily.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: Marlo knows what he knows, but he knows it well and has good counselors. He doesn't show off and likes to downplay his deep knowledge of the street game to hide his cards or bide his time.Oh, I know you would, Joe. You smart like that... Me?
- Pet the Dog:
- Keeps a roof coop for pigeons and even hires a guy to take care of them. In his case, his unique affection for animals is an indicator of sociopathy, as he most likely sees them as property to manage and not actual living beings.
- Minor example with Prop Joe. He still had him killed like most other people Marlo no longer had use for, but instead of leaving it purely to Chris and Snoop he stays with Prop Joe to the end. He even gives him the chance to make peace with his death.
- Another minor example, but he expresses a genuine fondness for Chris's wife and kids and is shown giving a rare genuine smile as he watches the family interact.
- Pragmatic Villainy: While otherwise a Card-Carrying Villain who regularly indulges in brutality and bloody revenge just because, on one occasion he declines an opportunity to be as evil and bloodthirsty as possible in favor of a less evil but more practical alternative. When Lex kills Marlo's lieutenant Fruit, a member of Marlo's crew floats the usual Marlo response; to kill everyone in Lex's crew, take over their corner, and make a statement to the entire underworld. While Marlo has Lex killed as an obvious payback for killing one of their own, he declines starting a bloodbath simply because that corner is not worth the cost of going to war. So rather than butchering everyone he has Chris and Snoop discretely take out Lex and then a few threats enables him to assimilate the corner into his organization.
- Properly Paranoid: Very good at counter-vigilance, Stanfield has a network of spotters in place that promptly tips him if a camera has been planted in the park where he holds court or if the police have climbed up to a rooftop to do surveillance. Marlo makes sure Chris is on top of these kind of things, and in a broader sense, his murderous nature also prevents the appearance of potential witnesses or leaks. Proposition Joe schools him to be even more careful, and while late in the series he goes back to using a cellphone - provided by The Greeks - he doesn't become sloppy despite Lester's expectations.Sydnor: Marlo's been the hardest to follow. Too paranoid, too much counter-surveillance.
- Pyrrhic Victory: At the end of the show, Marlo is one of the few people to arguably "win" the game. His crimes have been stricken from the record, he's able to retire from the game and live a comfortable life as a wealthy, legitimate businessman. Too bad this fate had to befall the one guy in Baltimore who's such a total psychopath that a criminal lifestyle is the only kind he can ever enjoy. To rub salt in the wound, he attempts to reestablish his cred by intimidating two corner dealers, only to find out that they don't know who he is and couldn't care less, showing that he has gone from the biggest drug kingpin in the city to a faded memory almost instantly.
- Recruit Teenagers with Attitude: He's on the lookout for local talent and recruits Michael for this reason.
- Reluctant Retiree: Marlo seems at first glad to get out of the game, but then he goes back to the corner in his final scene.
- Rugged Scar: Has one which, like Michael K Williams' scar, is real.
- Scary Black Man: The scariest one in the show, being cold, robotic, and very prone to murder. Additionally, his street name during the case around him was "Black".
- Serial Killer: Repeatedly called this by Jimmy and Lester, after ordering dozens of murders. And they are not wrong; it is all but outright stated that Marlo feels the same perverse thrill from taking a life that a serial killer would, the main difference being that he has people to do the actual killing for him. Problem is, ghetto victims are dead where it doesn't count.
- Signature Move: Apparently had one he used to employ on people who testified, we see him use it on Devon: Two shots to the chest and one in the mouth.
- Sixth Ranger Traitor: He joins the Co-Op in Season 4, a season after it was formed, but plots to take it over. And for a short while, he succeeds.
- Small Name, Big Ego: Devolves into this towards the end of the series. He tries to intimidate two corner boys by asking if they know who he is, but it's clear they neither know nor care.
- The Sociopath: A remorseless, power-hungry tyrant with ego issues. It is evident that he likes instilling fear in people and having them killed at the slightest excuse simply for no other reason than he can.
- Soft-Spoken Sadist: Barely ever raises his voice above a Creepy Monotone, but remains intimidating regardless.
- Sore Loser: Marlo responds to losing a game of poker by deliberately shoplifting in front of a security guard, egging the other man on, then later killing the guard for having "talked back". All done just to bolster Marlo's ego after losing a game. Also, when talking about beating the other poker player in a rematch, Marlo briefly, semi-humorously contemplates simply having Chris kill the other player and take his money back if he can't find a way to beat the guy at poker.
- The Starscream: Soon after Proposition Joe brings Marlo into the co-op, Marlo begins scheming to overthrow Joe and take over the co-op, and turning it from a collaboration among the different drug kingpins to his own personal kingdom. In Season 5, he succeeds. Though only briefly before his arrest.
- The Stoic: He acts robotic and emotionally dead.
- Straight Edge Evil: Marlo doesn't smoke, do drugs of any kind, or even drink that much. The one time he's in a pub, his glass contains a transparent beverage and remains full. He seems to prefer bottled water, as seen when he plays poker or when dissolving the co-op. He seems to only have limited interest in sex as well.
- This Is Gonna Suck: One of the few times he shows actual concern is when Omar escapes his assassination attempt, guaranteeing that the one of the Game's most fearsome players will come for him with everything he has.We missed our shot. Now he's gonna be at us.
- The Three Faces of Adam: The Hunter. Young, hungry, ambitious, building his empire, taking big risks, making big moves.
- Tranquil Fury: Actor Jamie Hector comments on striving for a performance of "power and economy" using "minimalist movement and speech". It's said he can talk a whole sentence whilst barely moving his lips and relies on the silent, deadly power.
- Tyrant Takes the Helm: Deposes the old order with violence and some luck, dismantles the Co-Op and its assembly, assuming an autocratic rule over the drug trade and mirroring the classic takeover executed by many tyrants in the history of mankind.
- Uncertain Doom: It's up to the viewer to interpret if Marlo will relapse back into the drug game, and what kind of fate he would face if he did so, especially with all his muscle gone. At best, he would likely get caught by the police and go to prison. At worst, the Co-op under Slim Charles would kill him.
- Underestimating Badassery: When he first comes on the scene this is done to Marlo constantly. In the 3rd season he is mostly referred to as "The Boy Marlo", due to being considerably younger and newer at the game than Stringer Bell and Prop Joe, dismissed as a wannabe and even the MCU for a long time thinks he's nothing but a lieutenant for the Barksdales, and even later think it's inevitable that he'll be crushed as he challenges Barksdale to a bloody war for control of West Baltimore. Because Marlo has a ruthlessness and complete lack of compassion that belie his years, everyone comes to learn just how wrong they were about him.
- The Unfettered: Stops at nothing to gain respect and maintain his power. Marlo doesn't rely on heart and emotion like Avon, and doesn't share Prop Joe's desire for partnership and coexistence. When Herc tries to take him to Colvin's meeting, Marlo simply refuses saying "ain't gonna happen" and faces Herc down until Sgt. Carver withdraws the task force upon noticing the Stanfield gang is ready to use violence against the police. Marlo is the only character who stands up to the police in a face-to-face confrontation. While most of the underworld knows the danger of hurting or killing a cop, Stanfield is too proud to back down from a challenge.Let them know Marlo step to any motherfucker... Omar, Barksdale, whoever!
- Ungrateful Bastard: After Marlo joins the citywide co-op, Proposition Joe starts to mentor the younger kingpin and teaches him more intricate ways to launder his money and avoid the police. Marlo almost immediately starts to undermine Joe, approaching his suppliers to cut Joe out and manages to get Cheese to turn coat. He eventually executes Joe and takes over his territory.
- The Unsmile: On the rare occasion he smiles, it's more of a sneer.
- Victory Is Boring: Despite getting away with facing charges and keeping his millions, Marlo quickly finds out that the straight-and-narrow life isn't for him, feeling like an outsider at the fancy events.
- Viler New Villain: Avon Barksdale was a criminal who nonetheless had redeeming qualities like love for his family and friends. Marlo had no such qualities and was just a cold-hearted bastard who prioritized power above all else.
- Villainous Friendship: Cold as he is, he has a rare but somewhat affectionate relationship with Chris.
- Villain Respect: Marlo esteems Slim Charles and treats him almost as an equal, despite the difference in status. Marlo, due to his corner mentality, has respect for quality muscle and competent street enforcers like Slim, whom he calls "tall man" in praise. This is contrasted by Marlo's real, low opinion of Proposition Joe, who is often called "fat man" derisively behind his back.
- White-Dwarf Starlet: Marlo went from the most feared man in Baltimore to a nobody in the span of a month.
- Worthy Opponent: Eventually gains some praise from Avon and Lester, after being underestimated too often. He never gets any from McNulty, who came to respect Stringer greatly, and thus just considers Stanfield an asshole.
- Young Conqueror: He's in his mid-to-late twenties throughout the show and enjoys a stint as drug overlord of Baltimore. His youth in comparison to his predecessors (and opponents) is frequently commented upon, sometimes in praise, sometimes in derision, and in the end he outdoes or outlives them all. By the time he "passes the crown," he's in a position to rub shoulders with the wealthy and enjoy a legit, comfortable retirement from crime -– which isn't what he wants at all.
Chris Partlow
"Don't fret boss, I got you covered"
Played by: Gbenga Akinnagbe
Don't matter who he is, or what he's done. You can look him in the eye now.
Marlo Stanfield's Number Two and chief enforcer. It's hinted that they are long time allies, as the enormously paranoid Marlo trusts Chris completely and Chris is the only one who feels free to question Marlo's orders and decisions, although he only does so rarely. Although Chris is much less bloodthirsty than his boss, due to Marlo's orders he murders many, many people for Marlo, and as such he is a major reason why the Stanfield gang is so feared on the streets.
- Affably Evil: Chris isn't particularly outgoing or charming, but he's always quite polite and pleasant even when committing a murder, always making an effort to comfort his victims and ease them through the process. Ironically for someone who's killed as much as he has, Chris is probably the most reluctant to commit violence of the higher-ups in Marlo's crew, and takes little pleasure in his work. When Marlo decides to have Bodie and later Michael killed, Chris is the only one to speak against it, albeit only briefly.Victim: Chris, please!
Chris: Don't fret, boss, I got you covered. Quick and clean, I promise. - Antagonist in Mourning: He does not look happy upon learning that Omar was shot and killed by some random kid.
- Berserk Button: He does not like child molesters, as evidenced by his flipping out and beating Michael's stepfather to death.
Word of God confirms it was because he was molested as a child himself. - Boom, Headshot!: His preferred move, quick and somewhat clean. He also trains his soldiers to shoot either for the head or the groin in order to counter a Bulletproof Vest.
- Consummate Professional: As implied above, Chris prefers to do his killing "quick and clean", ideally with the body disposed of or hidden afterwards. Aside from Devar, he never seems to derive any pleasure from murder, seeing it as just a dirty but essential part of the game, and thus one you do well or don't do at all.
- Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: To both Stringer and Wee-Bey.
- To Stringer, as The Dragon to his drug lord boss. Stringer is a charismatic business minded underboss while Chris is a cold enforcer and soldier at heart. Additionally, instead of being The Starscream, Chris is The Creon being perfectly happy acting as a gangster under Marlo, with no higher business aspirations.
- To Wee-Bey, as the top enforcer and muscle of the organization, with a mountain of victims serving that organization. While Wee-Bey has a friendly and boisterous personality, Chris is cold and unemotional. Both also show a lot of unexpected humanity in Season 4 regarding their relationship with one of the boys, Namond for Bey and Michael for Chris. Wee-Bey gradually pushes his son out of the drug game and into a normal life once it became clear to Bey and Colvin that his son really wasn't hard enough for the streets. Conversely, Chris drags Michael into the drug trade and turns him into a killer but does so while also saving him and his brother from an abusive home.
- The Creon: Marlo's number two with a unique voice, but unlike what Stringer Bell was for Avon Barksdale, Chris displays Undying Loyalty to Marlo, always giving him honest advice and executing his orders, however ruthless, to the letter and displaying no agenda or ambition whatsoever.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Though it's never shown in-series, according to Word of God, Chris was a victim of child molestation.
- The Dragon: Marlo Stanfield's top enforcer, adviser and clear Number Two.
- Dragon-in-Chief: Downplayed. Chris is much more active than Marlo, who prefers the role of a Non-Action Big Bad. Several instances indicate that Chris is the real power of the gang, as Marlo rarely makes a decision without consulting him first and often seems to be seeking a nod of approval or confirmation from Chris rather than his counsel. Despite this, Chris is fiercely loyal to Marlo and always allows him the final word.
- The Dreaded: Just the sight of Chris makes Lex realize he should Prepare to Die. The boys also speculate that Chris might be a "Zombie Master."
- Even Evil Has Standards: There's no one he won't kill under Marlo's orders, but child molesters absolutely disgust him.
- Evil Mentor: With Snoop, teaches Michael and the other "pups" the ways of the game.
- Family-Values Villain:
- He takes good care of his family, even after he is arrested and sent away to prison for life.
- Other than the murder of Michael's step-father the only time Chris loses his cool is when he's forced to stay away from his family for an extended period of time due to the war with Omar. We get a short scene where we see him pacing, repeatedly throwing a knife into the floor, and angrily snapping at Snoop. All of this is quite out of character for him.
- From Camouflage to Criminal: Heavily implied, based on how he carries himself in combat, his tactical skill, and his overall trigger discipline, though it's never confirmed outright.
- Morality Pet:
- Michael at first seems to be this to him, with Chris going out of his way to help him, and continues to have positive feelings towards him even when Snoop sours on him. It's ultimately subverted when Marlo orders him killed on suspicion of him being a snitch and Chris only briefly voices disagreement, instead of making any real effort to defend the boy.
- His actual family is this, played straight. Chris ends up going into hiding during Marlo's war with Omar to keep them safe and becomes extremely angry when he fails to kill Omar since it would mean he can't go back to his family.
- Neighborhood-Friendly Gangsters: He's too feared around the community for this to be in effect for him, but he did try to invoke this at one point for Marlo's benefit. Early in Season 4 Marlo's enforcers and dealers approach children before the first day of school, giving them money for clothes and books. We then cut to Marlo and Chris watching the scene, where Marlo looks unhappy at just giving away money while Chris tries to convince Marlo that it'll "make his name ring out".
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: The one unabashed good thing he does (Killing Michael's pedophile stepfather) is what finally gets him caught. Instead of his usual, relatively clean kills, Chris is so disgusted that he beats the stepfather to death in an alley before he and Snoop even get to the kill site, which creates all sorts of DNA evidence for Bunk to find.
- Only Friend: Seemingly the only person Marlo has any genuine bond with.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: All of his kills are quick, clean and unemotional except for Devar, Michael's pedophile stepfather, who he beats to death in a rage. Snoop is caught off guard by it and looks shocked the entire time.
- Pay Evil unto Evil: When he finds out that Michael's stepfather is a pedophile, Chris beats the man to death with only his fists and the butt of his gun right in the middle of the street.
- Parental Substitute: Becomes a father figure to Michael, as he sympathizes greatly with his history as a victim of abuse to the point of brutally murdering the man responsible. He's also incredibly hesitant to believe that Michael was a snitch (he wasn't) but ultimately can't stop the rest of the gang from hunting his protege down.
- Pop-Cultured Badass: The ruthlessly efficient killer just to happens to love Baltimore club music and is an aficionado of the local music scene. Chris weaponizes this to neutralize New York Drug Dealers when they are unable to identify Baltimore tunes that he name drops.
- Pet the Dog: Takes a few minutes in the middle of a brutal gang war with Omar and his associates to visit his girlfriend and his kids, to whom he is warm and affectionate.
- Platonic Life-Partners: Has this dynamic with Snoop.
- Professional Killer: Definitely not his only role in the organization, but when it comes to eliminating problems, rivals, and potential leaks, Chris is the man dispatched to handle it.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The calm, focused, and unemotional Blue to Snoop's hot tempered, Blood Knight Red.
- Scary Black Man: Not the only one, but as the most prolific killer in the entire series he deserves special mention. Because he doesn't look like the stereotypical scary black man, he is occasionally able to interact with normal society without anyone being any wiser, most notably the time when he goes into the courthouse and asks Rhonda Pearlman, Rupert Bond, and Cedric Daniels for directions on where to go without them ever realizing who he is.Donut: Chris, he different. You can tell by them coon-ass country clothes that nigga be wearing.
- Spiteful Spit: To Michael's stepfather. It comes back later as a Chekhov's smoking gun.
- Undying Loyalty: The vicious and paranoid Marlo trusts him completely, and when Chris is rounded up by the police Marlo says that Chris will never talk as long as Marlo takes cares of Chris' family.
- Verbal Tic: Addressing victims as "boss."
- Villainous Friendship: Treats Marlo with affection and it's clear that they go way back.
Felicia "Snoop" Pearson
"Deserve got nothing to do with it. It's his time, that's all."
Played by: Felicia Pearson
We will be brief with all you motherfuckers. I think you know.
A crucial soldier under Marlo Stanfield. She and Chris are the most skilled and feared assassins of the organization, and throughout Marlo's reign the two operate as a team, eliminating rivals and serving as a death squad for anyone that crosses the Stanfield gang. Notably, she and Chris are the ones who kill people inside vacant houses, pour quicklime on their bodies, and seal the homes back up to prevent their discovery. She also serves as a teacher alongside Chris for Michael, tutoring the young man in how to be a soldier for the Stanfield gang.
- Affably Evil: Probably the most outgoing, and jovial member of Stanfield's organization. She likes to crack jokes and seems genuinely friendly. With all that said she wont hesitate to murder at the drop of a hat should Marlo order it.
- Almighty Janitor: Unlike Chris, Snoop is just an enforcer that has no responsibility managing any other people. That said, she is almost as much The Dreaded as he is, and is one of the deadliest combatants in the series. Ultimately, her lack of an actual powerful position in the organization seems to be due to her lackluster intelligence.
- Assassin Outclassin': On the receiving end from Mike, who figures out that their so-called target who snitched on Marlo was BS and that HE was the real target.
- Blood Knight: Almost always suggests murder as a solution to the crew's problems, and in Season 3 Chris notes how eager she is to get involved in the gang war and carry out hits on targets.
- The Brute: Of the Stanfield Organization, despite her small size.
- Butch Lesbian: In both personality and looks. She confirms it to Bunk when she is arrested and he tells her he's thinking about pussy. "Yeah, me too."
- Dissonant Serenity: Part of what makes her such a terrifying villain.
- The Dreaded: Along with Chris, it's well known they are the ones that put Marlo's victims in the vacant homes.
- Dumb Muscle: She kills people Marlo wants dead and that's it. She takes a disliking toward Michael for thinking for himself and gives eight-hundreds dollars to a store worker partly because she can't bother going to the cashier or count the money.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Even Snoop is taken aback by Chris' messy No-Holds-Barred Beatdown of Mike's pedophile step-father, mostly because Chris didn't, "even wait to put the motherfucker in the house".
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Her conversation with a hardware store clerk shows she has no comprehension of life outside the drug trade.
- Evil Sounds Deep: Has the same husky voice of the real Snoop Pearson.
- Face Death with Dignity: When held at gun point by Michael she remains defiant and doesn't even attempt to talk her way out. When they both realize the time has come for him to kill her, all she does is turn her back and ask him "How my hair look?"
- Hair-Trigger Temper: As Chris puts it, "Sometimes she get a little hot", she tends to get angry and berate people over minor things.
- Lady Looks Like a Dude: Mistaken for a man on some occasions.
- Murder Is the Best Solution: A firm believer in this. It is practically her go-to-suggestion for almost everything.
- Nice to the Waiter: Gives a hardware store worker an extremely generous tip after he advises her about the right nail gun to use.
- Obliviously Evil: Appears to genuinely believe that killing people isn't wrong because it's "their time" to go. One telling scene has her trying to buy a power tool and explaining in detail to an employee how she could use it to kill someone, completely oblivious to the fact that he finds this unnerving.
- Platonic Life-Partners: Has this dynamic with Chris.
- Psycho for Hire: Has absolutely no joy except for murder. When Chris devises a way to identify New York dealers - asking them to name Baltimore club tracks and artists - Snoop reveals that she does not listen to music at all, and that her entire life revolves around killing. Chris - Chris! - is shocked.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Red to Chris's Blue, being much more hot headed than him.
- The Sociopath: Absolutely no comprehension of right and wrong; she simply believes that death comes to people at their "time", and it never crosses her mind that it might be immoral to be "time"'s instrument.
- Stealing the Credit: She tries to take credit for Stringer's murder at the hands of Omar and Brother Mouzone, making up a story where she and Chris had Stringer dead to rights and forced him to beg for his life.
Monk Metcalf
Played by: Kwame Patterson
A top lieutenant in the Stanfield organization. Works as an enforcer, coordinates the drug trade, the phone communications and several details unrelated to violence.
- The Bait: He is used as bait by Marlo to draw out Omar, who was staking out all the lieutenants he could find (while Chris and Snoop remained in hiding). Monk almost ruins it by wearing a very visible bulletproof vest before Marlo makes him take it off to not tip off Omar. Monk does his job and they do get the drop on Omar, but the latter gets away injured.
- The Bully: Monk is a bully at heart, rude and vile towards those weaker than him and a coward when it comes to anyone stronger than him. Monk constantly threatens and belittles people who are beneath him like Michael and Cutty. He becomes scared at the thought of being The Bait for Omar (though he tries to hide it), and deflates his boisterous rage when Chris gives him a threatening stare when he accidentally tells Marlo something Chris was trying to keep from him.
- Evil Sounds Deep: A belligerent, hardened criminal with a deep voice.
- Evil Genius: Downplayed, he's still "a product of Baltimore city schools" after all, but he's apparently the most literate and tech savvy of the gang, and is a key figure in keeping it running and operating smoothly.
- Impersonating an Officer: He briefly does this after Omar's Super Window Jump, pretending to be a detective by dressing up in a suit and questioning people around the neighborhood about a non-existent rape case as an excuse to check if anyone has seen Omar. He almost blows his cover due to his Jerkass attitude, though.
- Jerkass:
- Highly aggressive and rude, even by Baltimore drug dealer standards. Somewhat stands out from his peers, since most of the other Stanfield soldiers are still cold and ruthless, but not particularly vitriolic in everyday conversation. Monk, on the other hand, leans more towards being Hot-Blooded, angry, and prone to act on that anger. He puts a bullet in Cutty's leg, just for talking back to him once, for example, which takes Cutty by surprise.
- When he disguised himself as a detective to try to find Omar, Monk almost reveals himself because he stops listening to a woman as soon as she indicates she hasn't seen Omar, blowing off her concerns about the rape victim he's supposedly investigating.
- Minor Major Character: Downplayed compared to Eton for the Greeks, but Monk is basically the Number Three in the gang and it is reliant on him to run properly. Despite this, he gets very few scenes where he's the focus and he has few lines.
- Mean Boss: He really doesn't like Michael. He's probably jealous over the esteem Marlo and Chris had for him. At least until Marlo suspected Michael of being snitch anyway.
- Mook Lieutenant: The most high profile drug lieutenant under the main Stanfield leaders.
- Saying Too Much: While locked up, he angrily complains about Michael but accidently lets slip that Michael was talking about Omar's challenges to Marlo in the street, which Chris took a lot of effort to insulate Marlo from. Upon hearing this, Chris shoots him a Death Glare and Monk goes silent and averts his gaze, putting his head down. It doesn't stop Marlo from his meltdown.
Old Face Andre
Shoulda gone to New York or Philly...
Played by: Alfonso Christian Lover
"Problem with niggas today, they always see the narrow view..."
A West side convenience store owner whose store serves as a stash house for Marlo Stanfield. After Marlo is robbed, Andre is included in a plan to get revenge on Omar. Chris Partlow murders a delivery woman in Andre's shop and Andre has to tell the police that Omar did it. The ruse works at first, mostly because the detectives investigating the killing want to be able to put Omar away and either consciously or unconsciously turn a blind eye to the holes in the story. Once Bunk sees through Andre, however, and he officially becomes a liability for the Stanfield gang, he tries to get Prop Joe to protect and relocate him. Joe, who can get far better returns out of being an ally to the Stanfield group, promptly turns Andre back over to them.
- Butt-Monkey: His misfortunes start when the stash house he runs for Marlo’s crew gets ripped by Omar. As payment for this “failure”, Marlo takes from him his silver ring, which he attached a high sentimental value towards. When Chris Partlow murders a convenience store delivery woman, he is bullied into helping frame Omar for the murder by giving a false witness statement. Eventually, the police begin to suspect that Omar was in fact innocent of this crime, and haul Andre into court with a subpoena. Knowing that he either faces up to 10 years in prison for perjury if he sticks with his original story, or ends up in a vacant if he cooperates with the police, he runs to Proposition Joe in the hope that he will smuggle him out of Baltimore in exchange for a $2,000 payment. By this point Joe has already set up a co-op with Marlo’s crew, and gladly hands Andre over to them after having accepted payment.
- False Reassurance: Joe betrays him, and then Slim delivers him to Chris.Andre: Prop Joe said you was my escort out.
Slim: In a manner of speaking that be true. - MacGuffin: His ring changes owners a lot, primarily to function as Foreshadowing for Michael's eventual involvement in the game. Just as Omar steals the ring from Marlo during a stick-up, Michael eventually steals the ring from Officer Walker, and ultimately joins Marlo's crew. Later on, Michael goes on to follow in Omar's footsteps as a stick-up boy.
- Never Found the Body: The guy is mortified by this prospect. His anguished voice and denied plea not to be killed in a vacant, where his people won't find him, makes his demise rather poignant.
- The Pawn: Used and abused by Marlo and Proposition Joe.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Attempts to but makes the mistake of taking refuge in East Baltimore under Proposition Joe, who points out he should have gone to New York or Philadelphia, and then sells Andre down the river to Marlo.
- Too Dumb to Live: Takes "refuge" in East Baltimore instead of making himself scarce and out of reach for real.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Before finally being walked down an alley by Chris and Snoop, Proposition Joe tells him so, obliquely, with a marvelous, allegorical explanation on how he's just another expendable pawn.Proposition Joe: You know the problem with these here machines? They too cheap to begin with. Some people think for what it's worth to fix it, make the shit work right, you might as well dump 'em and get another.
Vinson
Played by: Norris Davis
The prisons and the graveyards are full of boys who wore the crown.
Advisor and fence of Marlo Stanfield. He runs a rim shop used by the Stanfield gang as a meeting place.
- The Consigliere: Counsels Marlo during his turf war with the Barksdales.
- Evil Mentor: Acts as this to Marlo.
- Foil: Seems to act as one for Butchie, who fulfills much the same role for Omar, Marlo's self-determined nemesis. He gives Marlo sage advice about the game, and the risks of playing it for too long. Difference being, he has no qualms about helping an outright sociopath, despite knowing full well that's what Marlo is, while Butchie had at least some sense of code and honor.
- Underestimating Badassery: Dismisses Michael as "just a boy" when he sticks him up. Gets a shotgun shell in the kneecap for his mistake, likely crippling him.
Little Kevin
Played by: Tyrell Baker
A young hopper working for Bodie and his independent operation, which is absorbed by the Stanfield gang early in Season 4.
- Alas, Poor Villain: His death is shown in a tragic light, especially since the last time he's seen on screen, he silently begs Slim Charles for help before the car's trunk closes.
- Ascended Extra: A background dealer briefly seen during Season 3 and in the pilot, he becomes a regular character in Season 4.
- Bad Liar: When Marlo asks if he told Randy about what happened to Lex, Kevin unconvincingly says "No! I swear it." and quickly rubs his nose after, which is possibly the most obvious tell he could have done.
- Boisterous Weakling: When he is leaving from talking to Marlo, he notices Monk and someone else following him, and yells at them "Ain't nobody walkin' with me nowhere!" before they quickly subdue him and stuff him in the trunk of their car.
- Ironic Name: The guy is anything but little. His obesity fools Herc when he comes to his corner looking for him.
- The Slacker: It ends up being his Fatal Flaw. The whole reason he doesn't tell Lex to go meet the "girl" and has Randy get involved is because he doesn't want Bodie chewing him out for ditching work that day.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: To Little Man in Season 1, as an incompetent heavyset gangster with an Ironic Nickname relating to his weight. Both are killed because they screwed up their part in carrying out a hit, though Little Man was more physical and actually partook in the killings.
- Too Dumb to Live: Killed in a vacant after he tells Marlo that he used Randy to deliver the message to Lex, instead of telling Lex directly. Introducing needless loose ends is not a good idea with an organization as paranoid and obsessed with secrecy as the Stanfields.
Fruit
Played by: Brandon Fobbs
Look: we grind, and y'all try to stop it. That's how we do. Why you gotta go and fuck with the program?
A mid-level dealer who runs one of Marlo's corners.
- Asshole Victim: After ripping off Cutty and being an overall unpleasant guy, his death is not exactly tragic.
- Boom, Headshot!: Lex kills him with a point-blank shot to the face.
- Bring Me My Brown Pants: Seems to have this reaction when Cutty visits some of the hoppers on his corner, and Fruit realizes that this is the man that came a breath away from putting a bullet in his head.
- Cheated Death, Died Anyway: Cutty chooses to spare his life rather than kill him even after Fruit ripped him off, but he is unceremoniously killed barely a year later in a non-drug-related murder.
- Jerkass: Rips off Cutty and sleeps with Lex's woman.
- Mook Lieutenant: He's in charge of a group of Marlo's dealers, and his death is important enough that a group of Marlo's lieutenants want to respond by wiping out Bodie's entire crew as revenge. Marlo chooses the less extreme option of retaliating only against Lex.
- Murder the Hypotenuse: Lex kills him because Fruit is dating Patrice, Lex's baby mama.
- Small Role, Big Impact: A catalyst of Dennis' change of heart about the game, as Cutty spares his life during a hit. In Season 4, his murder makes Marlo retaliate against Lex, which is a major event for Randy and ultimately helps lead to the police discovering the 22 bodies in the vacant houses.
Savino Bratton
Played by: Chris Clanton
I can do the three. Ain't no thing.
A low ranking enforcer in the Barksdale Organization who was involved in the shooting that nearly killed Kima, his role being to drive Orlando and Kima to the scene, then get clear for Wee-bey and Little Man to do the shooting. He surrenders himself to police custody afterwards, although thanks to Levy's legal magic he only gets sentenced to several years. After getting out of prison the Barksdales have fallen apart, so he joins the Stanfield crew. Is killed by Omar as part of his feud against Marlo.
- Back for the Dead: Gets locked up at the end of Season 1 and vanishes for the next three seasons – his first and only scene where he speaks in Season 5 ends with his death.
- Boom, Headshot!: Executed in this way by Omar for his association with Avon and Marlo and in revenge for the torture-murder of Butchie.
- Butt-Monkey: A fairly minor case, but he is called "the runt of the litter" when it comes to Barksdale's muscle in Season 1 to the point of Stringer and Wee-Bey delegating him as the Fall Guy, then he gets out of jail just in time to join the Stanfield crew when Omar is pursuing vengeance against them...
- Fall Guy: He was meant to be the only one in Kima's shooting, since the Barksdales tried to protect Wee-bey and the other shooter, Little Man, was killed for shooting someone who wasn't supposed to be there (Kima) without attempting to identify her or get approval from Wee-bey.
- Honor Among Thieves: Omar doesn't target Savino because he was not directly involved in the murder of Omar's boyfriend Brandon. In Season 5, Savino tries to invoke it again, pointing out he had no part in Butchie's demise, but Omar is out for blood.Savino: When they did the old man like that, I wasn't there.
Omar: Bein' that you muscle for Marlo, what you was gonna do if you was there, huh? Riddle me that. (Savino says nothing) Yeah. You know what, yo? (Omar shoots him in the head) - Just Following Orders: Savino tacitly admits this would be his response to being told to torture or kill an innocent. While he wasn't present at Butchie's torture and murder, when Omar asks him what he would have done if he was, Savino doesn't answer. (This is in contrast to Slim Charles, who says that if Joe had anything to do with Butchie's death he would have helped Omar avenge it.)
- Mama's Boy: Implied. When the police go to his mother's home looking for him, she's utterly shocked by the idea of them being after Savino and calls him "My baby!"
Michael Lee
O-Dog
A young enforcer of the gang. He seems to have a fondness for hood movies, going off of his name and the fact that he suggests drive-bys as a means to dispose of rival dealers, citing Boyz n the Hood as his inspiration.
- Fall Guy: He takes the firearm charges of Chris and Snoop, as he is expendable and has a broken leg.
- Gangland Drive-By: In the 5th Season, he convinces Snoop to try this out when attacking a rival gang. It goes terribly; the group's accuracy is completely thrown off by shooting from a moving car, and all of their targets would have escaped if Snoop hadn't taken very careful aim at a fleeing member of the rival gang.
- Hero Killer: Holds the honor of killing Bodie.
- Mook: A lowly soldier. He kills Bodie nonetheless while Chris and Snoop keep Bodie busy.
- Professional Killer: While not as professional as Chris and Snoop, O-Dog is one of Marlo's soldiers and enforcers who was taught by the pair, and has carried out or aided in several killings for the group.
- The Quiet One: He rarely speaks.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: He is last seen when he and Snoop learn of Marlo's arrest, asking if he still has to take the phony firearm charge. It is not shown if he did, but since Chris and Monk ate their own charges in exchange for Marlo supporting their families, it's a reasonable assumption.
- You Watch Too Much X: He cites how cool drive-by shootings looked in Boyz n the Hood when he urges the group to do one. After it fails he gets a reaction like this from Snoop.
