Lethal Weapon/Characters

Main Cast

Martin Riggs

This is a real badge, I’m a real cop, and this is a real fucking gun!

Played by Mel Gibson

• Anti-Hero: Type II in every movie but the first.
• Ax Crazy: Primarily in the 1st movie, mellows down in the sequels. Hence he's also...
• The Berserker
• Byronic Hero: In the original.
• Badass
• Bunny Ears Lawyer
• Cartwright Curse: Until the third movie. Although Lorna does get shot in the climax of Lethal Weapon 3, and for a while there it looks like she may not survive.
• Cowboy Cop
• Deadpan Snarker
• Death Seeker: In the first movie.
• Eighties Hair: In every movie except the fourth.
• The Gadfly: Enjoys teasing ol' Rog to no end.
• Good Is Not Nice
• Hair-Trigger Temper: He actually pretends to have this in order to scare his enemies.
• Hot-Blooded
• Improbable Aiming Skills: Justified. He was a Special Forces Sniper in Laos and Vietnam. He once made a hit that he thinks only ten other people in the world might have been able to make.

Riggs: It's the only thing I was ever good at.

• Jerk with a Heart of Gold
• Large Ham: Especially in the first movie. He's become more composed in the sequels.

"Do you really wanna jump?! DO YOU WANNA?!?"

• Lightning Bruiser
• Salt
• Sociopathic Hero: Just in the first movie.
• Title Drop: In the first movie, Roger refers to him as a "lethal weapon."

Roger Murtaugh

I’m getting too old for this shit

Played by Danny Glover

• Badass Mustache: He used to have a Badass Beard, but he shaved it off in the first film. Alas, we hard
• By-The-Book Cop
• Catch Phrase: "I'm too old for this shit." Inverted in the fourth movie.
  • "Riggs you crazy sonuva b...." as well
  • "Go spit, Riggs!"
• Character Tic: He cracks his neck before shooting people.
  • This is typically followed by a Boom! Headshot!.
• Deuteragonist
• Heroic BSOD: After killing an old friend of his son's out of self-defence, leading on to...
  • Drowning My Sorrows
• Overprotective Dad
• Papa Wolf
• Pepper
• Sanity Chain
• Retirony: Subverted in the 3rd movie.
• Revolvers Are Just Better: Though, he does carry an automatic as a backup weapon.
• Younger Than They Look: Danny Glover was only 40 years old when he filmed the first movie despite supposedly being "too old for this shit". Murtaugh was written as an older character (50 in the first movie).

Leo Getz

Don’t worry. Cause whatever you want, Leo Getz.Get it?

Played by Joe Pesci

• Butt Monkey
• Catch Phrase: "They fuck you with/at..." and “Okay, okay, okay”.
• Chew Toy
• Cluster F-Bomb
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold
• Motor Mouth
• Nice Hat: In the fourth movie.
• Plucky Comic Relief

Rika van den Haas

Played by Patsy Kensit

• Nice Girl

Lorna Cole

Close is a lingerie shop without a window

Played by Rene Russo

• Action Girl
• Cowboy Cop
• Distaff Counterpart: To Riggs.
• Pregnant Badass: Kicks the asses of Wah Sing Ku's goons in the 4th movie.
• Tsundere

Lee Butters

You have the right to remain silent, so shut the fuck up, okay? You have the right to an attorney. If you can’t afford an attorney, we’ll provide you with the dumbest fucking lawyer on earth. If you get Jonnie Cochrane, I’ll kill ya!

Played by Chris Rock

• Genius Bruiser: He has a psychology degree.
• Hot-Blooded
• Large Ham
• Meaningful Name: He constantly tries to "butter" his father-in-law up.
• Mistaken for Gay: Thanks to Riggs, poor Roger believes Lee swings that way.
• My Name Is Not Durwood: Riggs and Murtaugh have major difficulty in getting his name right.
• Uncle Tomfoolery: A not too offensive version.
• Wretched Hive: Where he had grown up in, and the reason he joined the police force.

Villains

General McAllister

There’s no more heroes left in the world

Played by Mitchell Ryan

• Big Bad: In the 1st movie
• Disc One Final Boss: McCallister is killed when the car he is in explodes,and Joshua takes over as main antagonist.
• Faux Affably Evil
• General Ripper: Subverted. By all accounts he was not a bad general, and was part of Shadow Company, one of the most effective squadrons in the Vietnam War. His drug running came after the war.
• He Who Fights Monsters: After destrouing the Vietnamese drug ring, McCallister and Shadow Company took over it.

Mr. Joshua

That’s hardly important, but if it matters you may call me Mr. Joshua

Played by Gary Busey

• Backstab Backfire: Trying to shoot someone in the back when you are surrounded by cops is not a smart idea.
• Blond Guys Are Evil
• The Dragon
  • Dragon Their Feet.
• Establishing Character Moment: Allowing the general to burn his arm, while Joshua clenches his teeth and takes it, establishing Joshua's loyalty (and insanity).
• Evil Albino
• Evil Counterpart: To Riggs in the 1st movie.
• Fisticuffs Boss
• Psycho for Hire: Though the For Hire part is somewhat debatable, considering his Undying Loyalty to
• Large Ham: He has his moments, being played by Gary Busey and all. Particularly when he invades Murtaugh’s house.

{{quote|Mr. Joshua: (is startled by a television playing A Christmas Carol and shoots it FUCKING CHRISTMAS!

Endo

Portrayed by Al Leong

• Electric Torture: This is Endo’s specialty, as poor Riggs can attest to.
• Torture Technician
• Neck Snap: Courtesy of Riggs.

Arjen "Aryan" Rudd

Diplomatic immunity!

• Big Bad
• Diplomatic Impunity: And he's not even a consul or ambassador.
• Politically-Incorrect Villain
• You Have Failed Me

Pieter Vorstedt

• Backstab Backfire: His attempt at murdering Riggs from behind gets him crushed by a crate.
• The Dragon
• Kick the Dog: Before the attempt at drowning Riggs and Rika, he happily takes the time to reveal that he had killed Riggs’ wife after mistaking her for him, and that he had “quite a bit of fun with that one”.
• You Killed My Father: He's responsible for the death of Riggs's wife.

Jack Travis

Come on in, bitch! Doors open!

• Big Bad
• Bond One-Liner: To the man he has buried alive: “Now we have a relationship we can build upon”.
• Evil Brit: Well, played by a British actor, anyway. The character is American.
• Dirty Ex-Cop
• Faux Affably Evil: Makes a friendly quip while burying an incompetent colleague alive.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: Killed by the same "Cop-killer" bullets he has stolen and smuggled.

Wah Sing Ku

Played by Jet Li

• Arrogant Kung Fu Guy
• Badass: Probably the most Badass character in the entire series.
• Catch Phrase: "In Hong Kong, you'd be dead".
• Dragon Ascendant: He killed his boss, which he threatened to early in the film.
• Dragon-in-Chief/Big Bad
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones
• Implacable Man
• Lightning Bruiser
• The Triads and the Tongs: One of these guys.

Other Characters

Michael Hunsaker

Portrayed by Tom Waits

Captain Ed Murphy

I almost got shot by a hot-fodder with a zip gun; that’s how far back I go.

Portrayed by Steve Kahan

• Ascended Extra: His screentime increased as the Films went on.
• Da Chief

Dr. Stephanie Woods

Portrayed by Mary Ellen Trainor