The Cooper Gang

"Sly Cooper

Sly is a thief raccoon who is descended from a long line of master thieves coming from medieval Europe, feudal Japan, and theAmerican Western frontier, tracing all the way back to Ancient Egypt as well as pirates. When Sly was eight years old, his father was killed by a gang called the Fiendish Five. The gang stole the "Thievius Raccoonus," a book containing the Cooper family's thieving techniques and moves. Sly was sent to an orphanage. There he met Bentley, a genius turtle, and Murray, a comically self-confident and brawny hippopotamus. Sly is extremely agile and decides to use his skills and enlists the help of his two allies Bentley and Murray to assist him in illegal activities or even when infiltrating and intercepting other convicts. Sly carries a cane which is a long-standing family heirloom he inherited, and he uses it in many of his maneuvers, also using it as a blunt weapon. Sly also has abilities such as walking on ropes, climbing pipes, and sneaking around in order to pickpocket guards for keys or loot. He is voiced by Kevin Miller.

Bentley

Bentley is a Turtle, a trusted friend of Sly, and an expert in computer-hacking and other electronic devices. He's also quite well-read, often stating "I've read about this..." when deducing something new and alien to the team. Bentley is also a loyal friend of Sly's. He met Sly and Murray in an orphanage. It is revealed in the second game that he has asthma. In the third game, he is revealed to be allergic to tomatoes. Another of his catchphrases is "If I did my math right, and I always do my math right..." At the end of Sly 2 Bentley is seriously injured and begins to use a wheelchair in Sly 3. In Sly 3, he falls for another genius and fellow Cooper Gang member, Penelope. The two are currently in a relationship. It has also been show in PlayStation Move Heroes that he has a slight mental rivalry with Clank. Bentley is voiced by Matt Olsen.

Murray
Murray or "the Murray" is a strong, muscular, but slightly dim-witted and rotund Hippopotamus who serves as both the getaway driver and later team tough guy and fighter for Sly's gang. He met both Sly and Bentley when the three of them were growing up in the same orphanage. Murray's driving skill came from his job as a pizza delivery boy, during which he hotwired cars and was eventually fired for eating too many pizzas. Murray is quite large and has an enormous appetite. He is also unbelievably strong, although he only truly seems to realize this in the second and third games. When Bentley is injured in Sly 2, Murray blames himself and leaves the gang. He rejoins after saving Bentley from Octavio. In PlayStation Move Heroes, Sly and Bentley go on a mission to rescue Murray (Most likely after the events of the upcoming Sly 4) after he got captured. After Sly and Bentley get sucked through a wormhole (Although it wasn't seen), he spent the entire length of the game to free himself from the cell and disabling the lasers just in time to save Sly at the end.After the Cooper Vault job, Murray becomes a racecar driver with the team van. He is voiced by Chris Murphy.

The Guru
After Murray leaves the gang because of his immense guilt for Bentley's injuries, he ends up in the Outback of Australia. While there, he met the Guru, an aboriginal Koala mystic. After training Murray in the art of the Dreamtime, the Guru sends him on a worldwide walkabout. After Murray accomplishes his goals in Venice, he returns to the Outback with Sly and Bentley to gain permission to end his training. However, in his absence, the Guru has been abducted by the local miners, and his powers have vanished because of the intrusion. Seeking the aid of Murray and co., the Guru regains his gear and powers after his new friends recover his walking stick and Moon Stone and drive the miners from Ayers Rock. He joins the gang after they pry the Mask of Dark Earth off of Carmelita.After the Cooper Vault Job, the Guru started taking students again. He even started teaching a famous rock band, (in fact, the same band shown playing at the theater where Octavio was formerly singing) which got him a lot of unwanted publicity. He was shown hiding in New York Central Park, thinking that it was the last place they would look. The Guru is voiced by Terry Rose.

Penelope
A Dutch mouse, Penelope has RC vehicle powers beyond even Bentley's. Discovered by Bentley in a ThiefNet chatroom, Penelope refused to join the gang until they proved themselves to be "the best". To prove this to her, they had to beat her current employer, the Black Baron, in "his" aviation tournament. Working together, the gang shot down the Baron's plane, and Sly engaged "him" in a battle of fisticuffs-his cane versus the Baron's boxing skills. After defeating the Baron, Sly discovered that he was in fact Penelope in disguise, using the mask of the Black Baron to enter the tournament that she was blocked from by age limits. After Penelope won her first battle disguised, the Black Baron became a celebrity, and she found herself in a position where she would need to keep up the appearances of the Black Baron.Penelope willingly joined the gang as their RC expert, becoming the fifth member of the Cooper Gang and the only female. She did not get involved in much physical gameplay, due to having little physical strength. She mostly relies on her RC Chopper and RC Car to pull off her assignments. However, upon realizing her affections for Bentley, she proved her mettle by challenging LeFwee to a sword duel amid the rigging of the Death's Hen's sails. This fight was actually the boss battle of the level "Dead Men Tell No Tales" of Sly 3.As shown at the end of Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves, Penelope helped Bentley create a new Cooper vault. Penelope and Bentley added more technological safeguards to the upgraded vault to insure the safety of the riches that the team had worked so hard to acquire. She and Bentley are also currently involved in a romantic relationship.

Panda King
A Giant Panda born poor in China, Panda King loved the fireworks set off by rich noblemen every New Year. After spending a decade learning the art, Panda King attempted to offer his fireworks to the noblemen. They could not see past his poverty and chased him away. Enraged, he used the tools of his art for crime, becoming the demolitions expert of the Fiendish Five. After acquiring the Thievius Raccoonus' section containing the blueprints of Otto Van Cooper, Panda King set up shop in the Kunlun Mountains of western China. Building a massive explosives factory, he disguised it as a large temple-like facility. In order to finance his crimes, the Panda King pressured local villages for avalanche protection. If they refused, he would set off a firework that would bring a megaton of snow down on them. Panda King finished his brand new firework technique, Flame Fu, just in time to use it against Sly Cooper. Despite Panda King's impressive fighting style blending the martial arts of his homeland with his firework skills, he was unable to defeat Sly. The Panda King was thrown in jail by an irritated Carmelita Fox.In Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves, a few years later, the Cooper Gang needs an artillery expert. Panda King joins the gang after they help him save his daughter, Jing King, from General Tsao. At first, both Sly and Panda King were highly against this alliance: Sly because the Panda King had helped kill his father, and Panda King because Sly had humiliated him. However, after being forced out of a dream of his previous battle with Sly, the Panda King is able to identify with the Guru, most likely because of their shared spiritual values. He is also moved by Murray's dedication to the things he cares about. He is extremely confident and boastful of his fireworks. When the Panda King is brought into the field, he conflicts with his criminal side, a sort of yin-yang split personality that takes the part of yang. He reconciles with his other half to save his daughter, despite the other's wishes to kill Sly. After Jing King is saved, he leaves her with an aunt while paying off his debt to Sly and co. After Dr. M is defeated, Panda King returns home and moves in two doors down from his daughter. Probably fearing another General Tsao incident, she allows him to screen all her suitors, and as she is yet unmarried.

Dimitri Lousteau

Dimitri is a French Marine Iguana who was a promising young art student in France before his corruption. He developed his own style, dubbed "kinetic aesthetic", which was merely him swinging back and forth from a rope tied around his waist and painting the canvas when he swung by. It was rejected outright and Dimitri was cast out of the art community (Sly mentioned that the art world "wasn't quite ready for" that technique). Infuriated, he began forging old masterpieces as a way of punishing those with bad taste. Joining the Klaww Gang as the Forger, Dimitri set up a nightclub in Paris, drawing in patrons from all around the city. Funneling illegal spice sent from Rajan into the population by covering food with it, Dimitri contributed greatly to Arpeggio's plans. In addition, Dimitri modified the Clockwerk Tail Feathers for use as printing plates. Using their unique alloy, Dimitri could create an endless supply of counterfeit money. After several missions, Sly confronted Dimitri in his lair. Sly was quickly befuddled by Dimitri's strange English, which he had learned from watching music videos. Sly responds, "I have no idea what you're saying. And your suit sucks!" Insulted, Dimitri attacks. Dodging blasts of energy from Dimitri's ring, Sly beat the lounge lizard, retrieved the Clockwork tail feathers and ruined Dimitri's operation. Dimitri was shortly thereafter arrested by Carmelita Fox and Constable Neyla. The end credits for Sly 2 show Dimitri is a dance instructor on a cruise ship.Sly later ran into Dimitri in Venice during his efforts against Octavio. Seeking the missing Murray, Sly found Dimitri instead, locked up in a Venice prison. Cutting a deal, the two arranged for Dimitri to escape. In return, the former forger alerted Murray to the presence of his friends in Venice, thus facilitating the Cooper Gang's reassembly. It was retconned so that way he never became a dance instructor after Sly 2: Band of Thieves. Running into Dimitri in Holland, where he was working as an announcer, Sly requested that he help the Cooper Gang locate the lineup for the ACES dogfight tournament, giving Team Cooper a heads up on who they would be flying against so they could enact sabotage. After being pressured, Dimitri agreed, but only if the gang agreed to owe him a favor. Calling in that favor later, Dimitri summoned the Cooper Gang to Blood Bath Bay. In this pirate location, Dimitri's grandfather, Reme Lousteau, had created diving gear and stolen loot from sunken ships. However, the gear was stolen, and Reme started a family. Dimitri grew up on the stories, and vowed to reclaim the treasure. After he helps the gang beat Captain LeFwee, he joins the gang as their frog-man...despite not being asked to do so. After the gang split up, Dimitri became a professional skin diver with girls and money. The last Bentley heard from him was a postcard: "I'm here, wish you were fine-like me." To this, Bentley commends him by saying, "He's his own man."Dimitri recently appeared in the Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time E3 trailler, posing as Sly for the majority of it. Near the end of the trailer, Dimitri removes his mask, looks to the viewer, and says "I'm not your cheesy macaronis! Sly Cooper! You cool with, Dimitri!". When dimitri screams his name, he takes out a microphone. The sheer loudness causes the power to burst. As this happens, the other gang members walk in, and Sly can be heard saying, "Bentley, this is the LAST time we leave Dimitri in charge of the hideout." Bentley then replies "It was also the first time." Many fans cite Dimitri's appearance in the trailer as evidence that the other gang members, Penelope, the Guru, the Panda King, and Dimitri, will appear in the game.

Outside of the Cooper Gang

Inspector Carmelita Montoya Fox

A Spanish-American red fox and Interpol's Inspector, Carmelita Montoya Fox acts as both a foil and love interest to Sly. Inspector Fox's outlook on crime is very black and white; this being due to what happened to her father. She believes that any law breaker must be brought to justice, regardless of the crime. Pursuing this vision with her shock pistol, Carmelita is rigid in this view and pursues all criminals with equal determination, from murderers to jaywalkers to thieves like Sly and company. In the case of Sly, Carmelita is almost single-mindedly obsessed with capturing him, and has been pursuing him for many years, going so far as to save a champagne bottle for the day she finally catches Sly (which Sly stole during his brief custody at the end of Sly 2 and returned during the credits); though she would love to arrest the other members of the Cooper Gang, she is mostly after Sly himself. She acts justly to her captives however, at one point in the Sly 2 episode "He who tames the Iron Horse" making sure Sly's captured teammate Murray is doing all right in his makeshift cell and even providing a bag of jelly beans for the hungry hippo. In addition, she always ends up helping the Cooper Gang in the final battle of each game, though always with the intention of arresting them afterwards. Carmelita is devoted to her job, but she is also a very emotional woman who must work constantly to keep her temper in check. She and Sly have feelings for each other, but their relationship is portrayed rather ambiguously throughout the series. At the end of the third game, Sly jumps in front of a blast meant for Carmelita and is knocked unconscious. When he comes to, he appears to have amnesia, and Carmelita, taking advantage of the opportunity, tells him that he is her partner, Constable Cooper. Sly is apparently faking his amnesia, as shown in the final cutscene after the credits of Sly 3, a view is shown from Bentley's binocucom looking down on Sly and Carmelita dancing on top of her penthouse. Sly looks up towards Bentley and winks as Bentley replies to himself "That sneaky devil."Carmelita is a very interesting character to fans of the series, mainly because in every Sly Cooper game she's appeared in, excluding The Sly Collection, her accent has changed. She had a latin accent in the first game. In sly 2, her accent seemed more American. In Sly 3, her accent seems to be a slight mix of the two, but with something similar to a russian accent added in. This has been a minor source of grief for Sucker Punch, as many fans have complained about the series saying "Carmelita's accent changes more often than almost anything else in the games!"Carmelita's role in Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, or Sly 4 as its been called by fans, is still unknown. It hasn't been confirmed if she will make a return, but most fans assume she will.She is voiced by Roxanna Ortega (Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus), Alésia Glidewell (Sly 2) and Ruth Uvier (Sly 3).

Jing King

Jing King is the gentle and beloved only daughter of notorious demolitions expert, the Panda King, former member of the Fiendish Five. Unlike other characters, only her voice is heard. Her figure is a shadow behind a curtain. Her true appearance is never seen. Jing King was kidnapped by the ruthless, arrogant General Tsao, who was obsessed with bloodlines and believed that by forcing Jing King to marry him, the lineage of the King and Tsao families would merge, and their children would have unsurpassable power.The Panda King, who had recently departed from his life of demolitions and crime, and turned instead towards tranquility and meditation — reluctantly joined Sly Cooper's team, after Sly promised him that they would rescue Jing King from General Tsao at his fortress in the Kunlun Mountains of China. The Panda King also believed that by aiding Sly he would learn humility. General Tsao was very cruel to Jing King during her imprisonment, and thought that, as a woman, she did not know up from down. Sly called General Tsao "the worst" of the villains he has faced, due to his horrible treatment of Jing King as a piece of property.Sly and the gang managed to secretly rescue Jing King from under General Tsao's nose, and, not knowing she was actually helping the Cooper Gang, Carmelita Fox disguised herself as the bride during the marriage ceremony and busted General Tsao. After the whole ordeal, the Panda King sent Jing King to live with her aunt, and later moved to a house two doors down, and wanted to screen all of Jing King's future suitors, a request she was all too happy to comply with. It is presumed that Jing King is still unmarried." (Wikipedia Article: List of Sly Cooper Characters)