Spike Spiegel

Spike is a bounty hunter who was born on Mars. He is 27 years-old and, in appearance, is tall and thin. He has fluffy dark green hair and reddish-brown eyes, one of which is artificial and lighter than the other. A flashback in Session 6 revealed it was his fully functioning right eye which was surgically replaced by the cybernetic one (although Spike himself may not have conscious recollection of the procedure since he claims to have lost his natural eye in an "accident"). He is usually dressed in a blue leisure suit, with a yellow shirt and Lupin III inspired boots.^[1] Spike often has a cigarette between his lips, sometimes despite rain or "No Smoking" signs. This is also done in homage of Lupin III, as Lupin's partner, Jigen, smokes cigarettes that are in poor condition. Another homage was to Bob Dylan. Spike's whole rebellious demeanor and hair are both very distinct similarities between Dylan and Spike. The specialized electronic sunglasses Spike sometimes wears in both the T.V. series and the movie make his appearance somewhat reminiscent of John Lennon.

Spike has many talents and abilities, including abnormally acute perception and extraordinary luck. Spike makes use of sleight-of-hand techniques to win card games, pick pockets, and even to slip things onto other people unnoticed. He is also shown to be rather cunning, sneaking up on enemies through disguise or quiet movement, as well as taking out multiple opponents who may mistake his lean frame for frailness (Spike actually possesses considerable strength, once making a large dent in an iron pipe with his bare fist in Jupiter Jazz pt 1) He is well versed in weaponry (such as his personal Jericho 941 as well as other guns and explosives) and hand-to-hand combat skills. He is a superb martial artist, a disciple of Jeet Kune Do, the mindset developed by Bruce Lee, though he has a penchant for high kicks of French boxing or Savate. Spike is also a pilot, and flies a converted Asteroid racer called Swordfish II which is armed with four machine guns, multiple missile launchers, and a single plasma cannon.

When he is not shown working or practicing martial arts, Spike is very laid back and lackadaisical, often a source of consternation for his crew mates. Some members of the Bebop crew occasionally refer to him as a "lunkhead" due to his attitude, he just takes life as it comes. He also is shown to enjoy sleeping, and that may tie into his mantra of 'living a dream.'

Spike's philosophy seems to be based on the ancient samurai ideals of immediacy, such as considering oneself as dead and the idea of death being an awakening from a dream, which are both elements of bushido illustrated in the Hagakure.

Watanabe has admitted that Spike has a habit of being very indirect with his emotions, for example behaving antagonistically towards someone he actually likes. He says that this could apply to Spike's relationship with Faye.^[2]

History

Some years prior to Session 1, Spike had been a rising member of the Red Dragon Crime Syndicate where he was partnered as a sweeper and enforcer along with his then best friend, Vicious. Badly injured after a shoot-out in the slums on Mars, Spike stumbled to the home of Julia, who was at that time Vicious' girlfriend. The pair fell in love while she nursed him back to health. Spike decided to leave the syndicate and elope with Julia. Realizing that his best friend had essentially gone soft and fallen for his girlfriend, Vicious gave Julia a painful ultimatum: either murder Spike or Spike and Julia would both face death for her betrayal. Although the specifics of the incident are unclear, Spike apparently managed to fake his own death by engaging in a gunfight alone in a church against a rival syndicate; this allowed him to drop off of the Red Dragons' radar. He waited for Julia so they could escape and be free, but she never showed up.

One of the recurring themes surrounding Spike's character is how he views himself and his life. He claims that one eye - his right one, the prosthetic - can only see the present, and the other - the left, his real eye - can only see the past. This is revisited by a close-up on Spike's left eye every time he has a flashback of his life before coming aboard the Bebop. He seems to regard his false death as real in some way, saying that after that day, he had "merely been living a dream". (During Session 25 when Spike has a flashback of the last time he saw Julia, the close-up shows both Spike's eyes, perhaps implying that his future and past are now the same.)

Spike's attitude of living in a "dream-like" existence is displayed by his careless behavior and his nonchalant attitude towards dangerous or outright fatal situations. Some time after his "death", Spike met the former ISSP cop turned bounty hunter Jet Black, and the two men became partners. Spike moved onto Jet's ship, the eponymous Bebop and the two men worked together for about three years before being joined by the other crew members.

In the final episode Spike and Julia pick up where they left off in their plans to escape Red Dragon, enlisting Annie's help — only to find that Vicious' goons have gotten there already. After laying Annie to rest, they fight their way out, but Julia is shot and killed. Spike returns to the Bebop for a meal with Jet and the two share a moment of understanding as Spike relates his life's situation to his friend and partner. As he leaves to settle the score with Vicious, he is confronted by Faye for his final decision. In a rare moment of unantagonizing conversation, he tells Faye the story behind his cybernetic eye and the effect it had on his outlook on life (seeing the present in one eye and the past in the other). Faye sobbingly asks why Spike is leaving to fight and asks him why he is throwing away his life. Spike then states that he isn't leaving to die, but rather to validate his existence and see if he really is alive. Spike then departs to confront the past he abandoned three years before. He storms Red Dragon's headquarters. Killing many of the members he gradually shoots his way to the inner sanctum with a bit of assistance from Shin, he makes it to the top floor. Injured and unbalanced from being shot in the arm and receiving a wound above his eye, he and Vicious confront each other for a final time.

Spike and Vicious duel; Vicious slashes Spike's abdomen with his katana, and Spike shoots Vicious, killing him. Spike recalls Julia's final words to him before descending the staircase, where he is confronted by the remainder of the Red Dragons who seem stunned at the defeat of their new leader. Mimicking a gun with his fingers Spike utters the word "Bang" smiles and collapses (similar to the end of a shootout that he and Vicious engaged in some years earlier). Nearing the end of the credits a bright red star on the horizon fades out, symbolizing the end of a great warrior's journey.

Spike is generally thought to have died of wounds sustained in his final duel with Vicious and the fading star in the ending theme of the finale is thought to support this claim. However, some fans assume the star dying out was for Vicious instead of Spike (as technically Vicious was a great warrior too), also in an interview, Watanabe stated "I've never officially said that he died. At this point, I can tell you that I'm not sure if he's alive or dead."^[3] He also stated that he believes fans would be upset if there was a continuation. The later Cowboy Bebop movie Knockin' on Heaven's Door was set between episodes 22 and 23 of the original TV series.

Name

Though Spike's surname Spiegel is a Jewish surname of German/Dutch origin (it means "mirror"), and his gun, the Jericho 941 is Israeli made, and his hair is modeled in a stereotypical Jewish mop, he is never identified or labeled as being Jewish in the series. The producers of Cowboy Bebop have been quoted as saying they chose the name Spike Spiegel because "it sounded cool." Spike's appearance was modeled after the late Japanese actor, Yusaku Matsuda particularly for his famous role in "Tantei Monogatari." Western fans often attribute Spike's stride, long leaning posture and general body language to that of Clint Eastwood. In Session 1, Spike wears a wide brim hat and poncho - the trademark look for Clint Eastwood's 'Man with no name.' Eastwood's "Dirty Harry" movie series is also believed to have many influences over both Spike's character and the series.

It is strange that the name was speculated to be based on the stage name and the last name of Spike Jonze, who is named Adam Spiegel. However, this may be a coincidence.

Character reception

AnimeOnDVD commented for the movie that Spike was "..much more appealing this time around than through parts of the TV series.." comparing him to that of Lupin The III, and added "Spike’s way of dealing with things and reacting to situations, from his movements to his facial expressions, are very reminiscent of Lupin’s that each instance brings a smile to my face.."^[4]

Contents

Character Outline & Personality

History

Name

Character reception

See also

Notes and references