Sam & Max: Freelance Police/Characters

Sam


"You crack me up, little buddy!"

Sam is one half of the titular Freelance Police, and is depicted as a six foot tall anthropomorphic dog in a Film Noir-styled suit and fedora. He tends to come off as more level-headed and less violent then his partner Max, but not by much. He's passionate about justice, heavy weaponry, and bluegrass; and, to a lesser extent, popsicles, although he's self-conscious about his weight. He retains a mostly laid-back personality, except for his enthusiasm for his warped sense of justice. Max is usually the only thing keeping him from taking his "job" too seriously.

Although most of the time he acts like a human in a dog costume, Sam sometimes behaves like a dog, sticking his head out the window, whining, growling, or enjoying dog treats. He was born March 3, presumably sometime in the 1970's, and has been best friends with Max ever since they were children. Since then, they'be been inseparable, living and working together. He wields a Hand Cannon revolver, which he's quick to use, despite having terrible aim, or the fact he doesn't know what the word "aim" even means.

"Maximus: Why can't people just all get along, Sammeth? Sammeth: Because most people are *bleep*'d, Maximus."
 * Adorkable: Many fans (albeit mostly girls) see him this way. Your Mileage May Vary.
 * Anti-Hero: Type IV
 * Barefoot Cartoon Animal
 * Bear Hug: When he's feeling affectionate towards Max, he will pull him into one.
 * Berserk Button: Several, including calling him McGruff, calling him fat, trying to give him pink bellies, or trying to harm Max. The latter being his biggest one.
 * Beware the Nice Ones: Sam can be pretty scary when someone presses one of his Berserk Buttons. Max is usually the only one who can calm him down.
 * In Episode 303 of the Telltale Games series, "They Stole Max's Brain!", we learn Sam doesn't look too kindly on people who steal his best friend's brain. It not only presses one of his Berserk Buttons in an epic way, but also means Max is not here to calm him down. On the plus side, we get to see Sam parody gritty film-noir detectives (such as Flint Paper).
 * Big Friendly Dog: Meets all three criteria on average, but definitely not all three all the time. Also, kind of touchy about the "big" part.
 * Catch Phrase: Several, including:
 * "You crack me up, little buddy!"
 * Heavy says it too in Poker Night At the Inventory, but replacing "little buddy" with "leetle bunny".
 * "Well, here we are in/on/at [name of location]..."
 * "Holy/Sweet [elaborate non sequitur]!"
 * Despair Event Horizon: In 305,
 * Does Not Like Shoes
 * Expansion Pack Past: Occasionally he will remember when he did some sort of job after get out High School and before become Freelance Police. For example: He was a Circus Acrobat, a Cranny Plumber and... a Monkey.
 * He also apparently went to stewardess school, which is why he always offers people warm towels or pillows, particularly during interrogations.
 * Extreme Omnivore: Max is just a regular junk-food hoarding Big Eater, but Sam is definitely one of these. Just listen to one of his pizza orders.
 * Fan Nickname: After his Dirty Harry style makeover in episode 303, Sam became Noir Sam. It's starting to verge on Memetic Mutation.
 * Finger Gun: His favorite gesture when he is not actually holding a gun.
 * Hand Cannon Revolver
 * Hates Being Touched: The only person that he lets touch him is Max.
 * Heartbroken Badass: Noir Sam from They Stole Max's Brain! is basically a parody of this: He's not only imitating resident Badass Flint Paper, he also has an option in the interrogation wheel to go into random "Noir" Speeches, which is basically Angst.
 * Heroic BSOD: 305's ending credits are.
 * Heroic Comedic Sociopath: However, compared to Max, he can pass for normal. The games make him even milder, due to his position as the Player Character. He's still counts, though, as someone who cheerfully inflicts pain and suffering for mild amusement, or simply because it's the most convenient way to deal with a problem.
 * Hollywood Tone Deaf: He howls his songs.
 * Jerkass: Even though him and Max are best friends, he seems to abuse him quite often when rushing for the phone or just out of the blue. But who knows, Max probably enjoys it.
 * He also busted the tail light on some random and unfortunate driver's car, pulled him over and fined him $1,000 for driving with a broken tail light that Sam caused.
 * Late to the Punchline: It takes Sam absurdly long to get Superball's "As a medium, I'm more of an extra small" joke, but when he does, he cracks up.
 * My Greatest Failure:
 * Nice Hat: His trademark Fedora is so slim, it sits on top of his head. Some time between episode one and two of the first season he managed to fit an anti-hypnosis device (a coat hanger on top of a colander) in it.
 * Only Sane Man: Although he's really not that sane, he comes off as this compared to the rest of the cast.
 * Private Detective
 * Replacement Goldfish:.
 * Revolvers Are Just Better
 * Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Sam goes nuclear in "They Stole Max's Brain!" after discovering the titular event, and tears across New York in a barely-coherent hurricane of interrogation until he finds out that his partner's okay. Then he immediately cools down again.
 * Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: Sam is fond of using big words, often to the annoyance of Max.
 * Sophisticated As Hell
 * Sophisticated As Hell

"What is a "laser light show?" Sam: Now, it's been a while, so my memory may be a little fuzzy; but I'm pretty sure they're bitchin'."
 * Also:


 * The Nicknamer: Lou the Bowling Ball, Steamy the Boiler, Donkey Wrong for Skunkape, and so forth.
 * The Straight Man: This becomes a plot point in one episode where a villain specifically wants a straight man to help out with his plan, and Sam is the perfect kind of easy-to-manipulate character who just does what he's told.
 * Sweet Tooth: He's constantly shown with popsicles or ice cream, and is literally unable to resist Fudgie Freeze ice cream bars. This becomes a puzzle in "Beyond the Alley of the Dolls".
 * Trigger Happy

Max


"DEATH FROM ABOVE!"

Max is a "hyperkinetic rabbity thing" and the second half of the Freelance Police. Unhinged, uninhibited and near psychotic, Max enjoys violence and tends to prefer the aggressive way of solving problems. Still, he has a sharp mind and an observational nature, and it's apparent that his seemingly short attention span is not because of his inability to focus (although that is there), but instead because he grows bored easily and always wants to try new experiences.

Although he seems to have a heartless personality, he seems to genuinely care about his few friends; he strongly believes in protecting Sam, and can be pretty possessive over their status as partners and best friends. He dislikes long stories and rambling anecdotes, and occasionally ask Sam or other characters not to use certain words, such as "ensue" or "acumen."

He was born July 10, presumably sometime in the 1970's, and is about the same age as Sam. For unknown reasons, he has a metal plate in his skull, and in the third season, he develops psychic powers. He wields a Luger pistol; but since he's naked, other characters frequently ask him where he keeps it, to which he responds "none of your damn business."

"Max: Alien ships love to abduct me. Is it my fault that I look so probe-able?"
 * Afraid of Needles: This is only ever mentioned once, but in one of the comics, Max is trying to get a tattoo. When he realizes that the process involves needles, he begins to scream until he actually passes out from fear.
 * Ambiguously Gay: Max "doesn't like girls," wishes Sam would stop "looking so damn tasty," constantly attacks Sam (apparently confusing violence with affection,) and confused Sam picking up an engagement ring from the street with a proposal.
 * Of course, after
 * In 'They Stole Max's Brain!',
 * In 'Beyond the Alley of the Dolls,' he refers to the Sam clones as "sexually provocative" and "dashing." Except for Sam himself, who insists that they're rakishly handsome brutes, everyone else just calls them portly or half-naked. So...
 * Again, in 304, they learn that Bosco had to become a male stripper to pay off his debts to the casino in Vegas. Sam says "Ew," while Max says "Interesting." To add to the ambiguity, Max has an expression somewhere between interest and "Oookay, that's weird...."
 * Anti-Hero: Type V
 * Ass Shove: Presumably, where he keeps his gun.
 * Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: Max occasionally sputters out that he wants to do this.
 * Attention Deficit Ooh Shiny: "Quick, let's get out of here before Sam gets distract - ooh, switches!"
 * Ax Crazy: A somewhat benign example.
 * Berserk Button: Don't call Max short.
 * Even more so, never claim to be Sam's best friend. Fake Peeper's never learned, seeing as how Max killed him in less than a minute when he claimed that.
 * Max has numerous other minor buttons based on his ever-shifting mental state, including being compared to his father and having "Walk Like An Egyptian" quoted at him.
 * He also has developed a severe hate for banang after the gag about it, going through large lengths to avoid it being mentioned again, and going absolutely crazy when it actually does get mentioned.
 * Big Eater
 * British Brevity: Max likes British Serials, because their short run appeals to his attention span.
 * Cool Gun: His Luger.
 * Cloudcuckoolander: Max's grip on reality is shaky at best. It's more pronounced in the cartoons, where his inclination to disembowel had to be reined in, but even when he's allowed to be violent, he is (as Sam puts it in the very first episode of the Telltale games) "an unfathomable well of something".
 * Cuteness Proximity: When he and Sam meet Baby Jimmy Hoffa in "Moai Better Blues," he's reduced to a pile of mush, squealing things like "He's just adorable!" and "I can't believe how perfect he is!"
 * Designated Victim: This is mostly averted, since it doesn't actually occur that often; but since Sam is the player character, it's usually Max who ends up getting captured, killed, or his brain stolen.
 * It's ironic, since he's obviously the more powerful of the two of them. He's the president, high priest, and king of three different civilizations, and as of season 3, has increasingly powerful psychic powers. There's a point in 304 where you can read Sam's mind, and find that he's privately worrying to himself that Max won't want a partner anymore, now that he's so strong. Yet he's still perfectly happy to follow Sam around and do what he says.
 * Ditzy Genius: Max has memorized pi to a thousand decimal places, but can't remember how to open the closet.
 * Drives Like Crazy: Both Sam and Max don't pay any attention to the rules of the road, but Max is considerably worse than Sam.
 * Even Max Has Standards: In Poker Night At the Inventory, the Heavy's story makes even Max gape; or during Max's conversation with Tycho about what happened during "Chariots of the Dogs."
 * "...are you asking me if I ever schtupped Momma Bosco?!"
 * The Gift: His psychic powers in season 3.
 * Grand Theft Me: In "They Stole Max's Brain,"
 * Hammerspace: One of the possible places the completely naked Max could be storing his gun. This has been left intentionally mysterious, but during a brief body swap in Night of the Raving Dead, Sam's first comment (in Max's body) was "So that's where you keep your gun!", which implies Max has the gun somewhere on his person, raising another possibility.
 * In 305, promises to stay behind and get Max back to normal in five minutes - but they only have four minutes before the last Maimtron is fired. For once, there is no magical Deus Ex Machina to help them at the last minute, so
 * Heroic Comedic Sociopath
 * Hidden Depths: Max is apparently writing a poignant Inuit coming-of-age novel. Except he loses a chapter each time he has to make room for anything else in his brain, such as memorizing a new phone number. So we probably aren't going to see it. Ever. Never mind!
 * Hive Mind: Word of God states that Max's delusions are caused by being part of one, and sharing memories and thoughts with a thousand other Max's in a thousand other worlds.
 * Although they might have been making it up to appease fans who thought 305's ending was a cop-out because
 * There's quite a bit of evidence to suggest the hive mind's existence actually in-game though, one of the most specific examples being the Mole Cultist's prophecy from 301, which includes the lines that Max will "merge with the collective unconscious to become one with infinity." So while there are hints to it, until if/when it's explained more explicitly in Season 4, your mileage still may vary on whether or not you take Telltale's word for it
 * I'm Taking Her Home with Me: Despite his sociopathic personality, Max has a fondness for cute things; when he sees something he likes, he will occasionally ask Sam if he can keep it.
 * Killer Rabbit: Quite literally.
 * Let's Get Dangerous: For all his sociopathy, Max's mayhem is usually limited to extremely poor decision-making and offscreen beatings. But in episode 205,
 * Like You Would Really Do It: We're told from the very beginning that if Max overuses his powers, his head will most likely catch fire and he will explode.
 * Living Weapon: Sometimes Sam will practically grab him and use him in the literal sense. In Hit the Road he's part of the inventory.
 * Magic Feather/ The Magic Was Inside You All Along: For once, played completely straight in 304's finale.
 * Morality Chain: Sam actually has a pretty violent temper, and he only really keeps it under control for Max's sake. As soon as he's out of the picture, Sam can totally snap. Max actually seems to have some awareness of this, and will use his influence to either soothe or goad Sam when he loses his temper.
 * Nightmare Fuel Station Attendant: "ENJOYING THE RIDE, SAM?"
 * No Mouth: When his mouth is closed, usually because he's surprised or contemplative, it completely disappears.
 * Pet the Dog: No, not Sam; but in 305, the player bears witness to the first truly unselfish act Max has ever performed during.
 * Person of Mass Destruction
 * Power Glows: Once we see this come into play.
 * Power Born of Madness: According to Papierwaite, the only people on this dimensional plane with The Gift are the insane, the simple, or the defective. Max basically fits into all of these categories.
 * President Evil: Max gets elected President of the United States in the first season, and it sticks. He moves the Oval Office to his office and enacts various dangerous laws.
 * Psycho Sidekick
 * Psycho Supporter: Of Hugh Bliss
 * He's also a huge fan of Flint Paper, and once explicitly states that what he respects about him is the fact that he's really insane. He even writes Fan Fiction about him.
 * Puppy Dog Eyes: Part of his Wounded Gazelle Gambit. Doesn't work that well, though, since his Brown Eyes more resemble those of a shark than a puppy.
 * Slasher Smile
 * Stylistic Suck: Max apparently dreams of being a writer, and has hundreds of ideas for novels. But none of them are very...good.
 * Temporal Paradox:
 * Trigger Happy
 * Toilet Humor: His trademark armpit farts.
 * Wasn't That Fun?: Expect Max to invoke some variation of this after any death-defying escapade.
 * Weirdness Magnet
 * Toilet Humor: His trademark armpit farts.
 * Wasn't That Fun?: Expect Max to invoke some variation of this after any death-defying escapade.
 * Weirdness Magnet


 * Wouldn't Hurt a Child: Max actually seems to really like kids, even though they're obviously terrified of him. Even just having him wave to them reduces them to tears.
 * In 305, when, he instinctively manages to regain enough control of himself to order everyone the hell out so that she can   This is what ultimately proves to   that yes, he's capable of being selfless and is worth living. This is despite the fact that he was   and if they'd stayed a little longer, they could have saved him.
 * Your Head Asplode

The Commissioner
Sam and Max's most frequent employer, in spite of never having been seen in person. All he has to do is call (or send drum signals, or subspace hails), and any task that's too big, too small or too weird for the regular authorities to handle will soon be taken care of. This when he's not berating the duo for the large amounts of property damage, bloodshed and general mayhem they're prone to causing. Apparently he hails from British Columbia.


 * The Voice: Pretty much, although his voice has never been heard in the cartoon or games. The closest we've come is a word balloon in the comic.
 * The Faceless: So far, a signed picture of his chest has been his only on-screen appearance.

Flint Paper


Sharing the office next door to Sam and Max, Flint Paper is more your gritty, hard boiled old school sort of private detective. And when we say old school, we mean Good Old Fisticuffs, lots of gunfire, and pounding on thugs until they squeal. Most of his adventures happen off screen and he's mostly noticed when the sounds of violence leak in from next door but he does occasionally end up helping the Freelance Police and is someone you want on your side in a fight (and not just because the alternative is ending up in a world of pain).

"Sam: I don't think Flint's taking us seriously, Max. Max: If I were as cool as him, I wouldn't take us seriously, either."
 * Badass
 * Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique: He even gives classes about it!
 * Hero of Another Story: He is always seen investigating another case, although there is some professional overlap with Sam and Max in season 2 and season 3 where they investigate the same case in a few episodes. As a result of being busy, he is only sometimes helpful even though he really seems to like Sam and Max just fine.


 * Memetic Badass: In-universe example. Sam goes to him for advice on being a private eye, Max writes Fan Fiction about him, and he's well-known for being able to kill anything.
 * Metaphorgotten: Speaks and thinks in convoluted noir-tinged metaphors which often end up in...uncomfortably explicit places. And they usually involve hobos, for some reason.
 * Nigh Invulnerable: His character description states flat-out that he cannot be killed, though a briefly glimpsed (and quickly averted) Bad Future in "The Penal Zone" does show him taking a hatchet to the back of the head.
 * Private Detective
 * Private Eye Monologue: Apparently, he can only think in these.
 * Weaksauce Weakness: He is deathly allergic to peanuts. So far, no one has been able to exploit it.

Supporting Characters (Animated Series)
Many characters in the animated series were directly adapted from the comics; this section is for characters exclusive to the cartoon.

Darla "The Geek" Gugenheek
Added to the series as an Affirmative Action Girl, Darla the Geek, or just "The Geek", is a Child Prodigy Gadgeteer Genius who lives and works below Sam and Max's office building in the "Sub-basement of Solitude". She is the provider of many wonderful toys to Sam and Max, when she's not yelling at them for busting up her lab...again.


 * Child Prodigy: So much so that the President and the head of the United Nations call on her to stop the hole in the ozone layer and an asteroid crashing into earth.
 * Gadgeteer Genius
 * Gender Flip: Darla was originally supposed to be a guy.
 * Insistent Terminology: She hates being called by her full name.
 * Little Miss Snarker
 * Teen Genius

Lorne


THE FRIEND FOR LIFE!

Ahem. Lorne is an obsessed fan of Sam and Max, alternately eager to come to the "rescue" as much as stage his own drama so he can play Dude in Distress and make Sam and Max need to rescue him. The Freelance Police are a bit split about him: Sam tries to be sympathetic, Max is just plain creeped out.


 * Ascended Fanboy
 * Hey, It's That Voice!: His voice, appearance and mannerisms greatly resemble those of Harold Green...
 * Karma Houdini: In his first appearance, anyway.
 * Loony Fan: Idolizes Sam and Max to the point of being a...
 * Psycho Supporter: He sets up a Death Course for Sam and Max to conquer and fakes his kidnapping so he can be "saved" by them.
 * Of course, Sam and Max being who they are, that just finally earns him a few points in their good books.
 * Motor Mouth
 * Stalker Shrine

Bosco
"Hey guys, it's me, Bosco!"

Bosco is the owner of Bosco's Inconvenience store and the the Freelance Police's usual go to guy for information or (very overpriced) gadgets. He's cripplingly paranoid of whoever walks in, and in most cases has every right to be. .


 * Adam Smith Hates Your Guts
 * Amazing Technicolor Population: He's pale violet for some reason.
 * Catchphrase: Two of 'em:
 * "Hey guys, it's me, Bosco!" When revealing his identity.
 * "It'll work, trust me!" regarding his crummy invention of the week.
 * Conspiracy Theorist
 * Although subverted in that even though most of his theories end up being right, he's still portrayed as a complete idiot who is terrible with money, hides behind very unconvincing disguises, and doesn't seem to realize that all of his conspiracies could be solved in a day if he'd just give Sam and Max the items already.
 * Crazy Prepared: For all imagined threats under the sun.
 * Gadgeteer Genius: While the ones he sells to others are very rudimentary and borders on being outright scams (A bottle of vodka labeled "Truth Serum" for instance), he is capable of crafting highly advanced security systems that can do everything from stopping shoplifters to fending off nuclear attacks. Too bad he keeps those for himself.
 * Only One Name: Unlike most other characters, it is questioned as to whether this is a first name or a last name. (If an exclamation by his mother is to be believed, though, it may be that his first name is Roscoe).
 * Paper-Thin Disguise: His preferred way to hide from his enemies.
 * Poor Communication Kills: His severe paranoia stems from
 * Put on a Bus: He went to Las Vegas with Buster Blaster in Season 3.
 * Properly Paranoid

Momma Bosco
Bosco's Sassy Momma, Momma Bosco is an even greater Mad Scientist than her son, without the extreme paranoia. She is killed in the present by an explosion and became a ghost, but Sam and Max go back to the seventies to meet her alive self. In the past she is a lot more abrasive, but by season 3 she has mellowed out.


 * Funny Afro
 * Gadgeteer Genius
 * Straw Feminist
 * Techno Babble: A never-ending fountain of this in Season 3. Eventually she confesses that she's just making it all up as she goes.
 * They Call Me Mister Tibbs: She insists on the salutation Dr. after earning her PhD.
 * Techno Babble: A never-ending fountain of this in Season 3. Eventually she confesses that she's just making it all up as she goes.
 * They Call Me Mister Tibbs: She insists on the salutation Dr. after earning her PhD.

The Bug
The Bug is exactly what he sounds like. A listening device, able to mimic the voice of anyone he hears and remember entire conversations.


 * Drill Sergeant Nasty: A somewhat ineffectual one, thanks to his stature.
 * Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Unlike most of the other characters that disappeared at the beginning Season 3, there's no reason given on why he wasn't included, implied or otherwise.
 * The Informant: Well, he is a bug...
 * Literal Surveillance Bug
 * Live Item
 * Retired Badass
 * Live Item
 * Retired Badass

The Computer Obsolescence Prevention Society (C.O.P.S.)
The C.O.P.S. are a support group for outdated electronics, introduced in Season One Episode Four, Reality 2.0. The four founding members are Bob Bell, a telephone who talks like a smarmy phone-tree narrator; Curt 286, an old desktop computer with a monotone voice; Chippy, a Pong machine who communicates in digitized blips and bleeps; and Bluster Blaster, an old arcade machine with No Indoor Voice. They run a number of dubious businesses in Season 2, and in Season 3 they get a new member, an old printer/scanner named Carol, and offer the services of their "Crime-Puter" to Sam and Max.


 * Berserk Button: WE HATE BAGPIPES!.
 * For Inconvenience Press One: Played with at times with Bob.
 * Fun with Acronyms
 * Heroic Comedic Sociopath: Bluster Blaster.
 * I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Carol leaves the C.O.P.S to run away with Bluster Blaster, but Curt claims that he's fine with this as long as she's happy.
 * Large Ham: Especially Bluster Blaster.
 * "I AM BECOME DEATH!!"
 * Luke, You Are My Father:
 * Machine Monotone: Curt 286.
 * No Indoor Voice: Bluster Blaster.
 * Put on a Bus: In Season 3, Bluster Blaster is on a road trip with Bosco to Las Vegas.
 * The Bus Came Back: Buster Blaster came back from his trip to Las Vegas, though without Bosco, in Beyond the Alley of the Dolls.
 * He's gone again by 305, having run off with Carol.
 * Quip to Black: Curt gets his by the boatload in 305.
 * The Speechless: Carol.
 * Alternative Character Interpretation: There are some fans who believe Carol is a simple copy machine (i.e. not being sapient like the other COPS), this hilariously makes the cargo shipping status Curt and Bluster Blaster much more traditional.
 * Token Girl: Carol.
 * The Unintelligible: Chippy.
 * We Want Our Jerk Back: Bluster Blaster, after his "accident" in Night of the Raving Dead.
 * What Happened to the Mouse?: Towards the end of season three, reading Bluster Blaster's future shows him, apparently, enthusiastically drifting through space. In the end, it was never used however.
 * What the Hell, Hero?: They're horrified in episode 303, when  They've gotten over it by their next scene, though.

The Giant Stone Head of Abe Lincoln
The remains of the Lincoln Memorial, animated by hydraulic motors with the purpose of running for president. It Makes Sense in Context. After losing to Max in the election, he went on a rampage through the US and was blown up by a nuclear warhead, leaving only his disembodied head. He later.


 * Heel Face Turn
 * Losing Your Head
 * Put on a Bus: He's still on  in Season 3, though he comes back in the last episode to lead the Maimtrons' charge against the rampaging monster.

The Mole Cultists
The remains of the molemen. The molemen were the ones who deposed Lord Sammun-Mak years ago and guarded the Devil's Toybox. Millennia later, the last of the molemen (Nefertiti, her father, her mother, and her grandfather) emigrated to New York when the box was stolen by Sameth and Maximus, where they once again gained the Devil's Toybox. A century later, the last cultists guard the toybox when Sam and Max find it, and later.


 * Generation Xerox: All the molemen look the same except for whatever they are wearing.
 * Identical Grandson: Either Harry is over a hundred years old, or one of his ancestors has the exact same voice as him.
 * La Résistance: To Lord Sammun-Mak's reign.
 * Never Mess with Granny:.

Harry Moleman
Harry is a hilariously antisocial moleman, and seeming chew toy of fate.


 * Becoming the Mask
 * The Mole: Quite literally in.
 * Smug Snake: During his very brief stint as
 * Why Can't You Keep A Job

The Narrator
In The Devil's Playhouse, the series gains an actual visible narrator. With not a hint of color on his person excluding the rose on his chest, he shows up at the beginning and ending (and sometimes the middle) of every episode at his grayscale desk in a black room, to remark on the story's progression at every major turning point.


 * Actor Allusion: Mentions beat-boxing as one of the finer things in life.
 * And I Must Scream: His backstory.
 * Collector of the Strange
 * Deliberately Monochrome: As part of Season 3's Twilight Zone-esque theme.
 * Fake Brit
 * Fourth Wall Observer: While some other characters have this trait to a degree, he is the one who speaks the most directly to audience..
 * Framing Device
 * Hey, It's That Voice!: A very odd case here. He's played by Andrew Chaikin, who played Max in the first episode of the Telltale series. Technically, it's Hey, It's That Voice! meets The Other Darrin meets You Look Familiar.
 * Interactive Narrator: Subverted.
 * Large Ham: Anybody can just narrate a story. This guy throws so much charismatic flair into it that he'd put Rod Serling and Alfred Hitchcock to shame.
 * Mr. Exposition
 * "No Respect" Guy:
 * Sarcasm Mode:.
 * It doubles as a huge Take That to
 * So Once Again the Day Is Saved
 * Hey, It's That Voice!: A very odd case here. He's played by Andrew Chaikin, who played Max in the first episode of the Telltale series. Technically, it's Hey, It's That Voice! meets The Other Darrin meets You Look Familiar.
 * Interactive Narrator: Subverted.
 * Large Ham: Anybody can just narrate a story. This guy throws so much charismatic flair into it that he'd put Rod Serling and Alfred Hitchcock to shame.
 * Mr. Exposition
 * "No Respect" Guy:
 * Sarcasm Mode:.
 * It doubles as a huge Take That to
 * So Once Again the Day Is Saved
 * So Once Again the Day Is Saved

Doctor Norrington
A disembodied voice that gives advice to Max when he is trapped as a brain. Later revealed to be. He wants to return home and is more than happy to work with Sam and Max to do that.

""Walk it off, Princess.""
 * Affably Evil
 * Anti-Villain:
 * Cool Old Guy
 * Deadpan Snarker: Occasionally. Mostly towards Papierwaite and his near constant whining from Episode 4 on.


 * Evil Is Not a Toy:
 * I Was Quite a Looker: He claims this if you examine a certain object in Papierwaite's office while he's present.
 * Large Ham: By way of Purple Prose.
 * No Celebrities Were Harmed: He sounds remarkably like Tony Jay. Perhaps justified, since this is the type of role he often takes.
 * Retired Badass: He once, but has since claimed age has mellowed him.
 * Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness
 * Retired Badass: He once, but has since claimed age has mellowed him.
 * Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness
 * Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness

Sybil Pandemik
Sybil is a very multi-talented woman. So talented that she has mastered many jobs, able to fill out five roles of a seven person team. She's also the.


 * Only Sane Man: For a little while, she appears to be the only rational, although a little scatterbrained, character in the series. Then she falls in love with  the Lincoln Memorial.
 * Punny Name: It appears to be a play on the term "civil pandemic".
 * Put on a Bus: She's still at  in Season 3. But she returned in time for the finale.
 * Why Do You Keep Changing Jobs?
 * Why Do You Keep Changing Jobs?
 * Why Do You Keep Changing Jobs?

Philo Pennyworth / Mr. Featherly
A trained Shakespearean chicken actor.


 * Classically-Trained Extra
 * Live Item: In Chariot of the Dogs.

Sal
Originally The Unseen cook at Stinky's until season 3, Sal is a human sized cockroach with a laid back personality. Has the notable achievement of being the only person in the entire series who could be described as friendly, kind, considerate, nice, or not crazy.


 * Butt Monkey: Double-Subverted; even Max is incapable of making fun of him, given how nice and simple he is; but every puzzle solution which involves Sal will somehow inflict physical damage on him.
 * The Woobie: And the player will feel bad to be forced to inflict physical damage on him as a result.
 * Gentle Giant
 * No Celebrities Were Harmed: You'd swear he was voiced by Patrick Warburton. But he's not.
 * Star-Crossed Lovers:
 * Why Do You Keep Changing Jobs?: He's been a chef, two varieties of security guard, and a crate-stacker so far.
 * Why Do You Keep Changing Jobs?: He's been a chef, two varieties of security guard, and a crate-stacker so far.

Sameth and Maximus
Sam and Max's great-grandfathers from the 1910s. They win a trip to Egypt and are tasked with retrieving the Devil's Toybox for Mr. Papierwaite. They succeed, fight off Papierwaite's betrayal, and get killed by a passing curse in their basement, where Sam and Max find them years later.


 * Fingerless Gloves: Maximus. The Hobo Gloves version.
 * Generation Xerox
 * Identical Great Grandfathers
 * Nice Hat: Sameth's Bowler Hat
 * Maximus also would've had a Newsie Cap, but it was removed since it kept clipping through his ears. You can still see it on the concept art that appears on the transition cards for the episode though.
 * The Slacker: Unlike their Great Grandsons, who apparently have a job, they don't seem to do anything more than sneak into theaters and steal ketchup bags from restaurants.

Girl Stinky
Stinky's granddaughter, and perhaps the laziest creature within a five block radius of the Freelance Police office. Sam and Max suspect she murdered Grandpa Stinky and stole his diner, but don't do anything about it. She tries various half-assed ways of making money in season 2 before Grandpa Stinky reclaims his diner. By season 3 she and Grandpa run the diner together, but argue over how to run it. Then in "The City That Dares Not Sleep" it is revealed that.


 * Consummate Liar: Getting a word of truth out of her is a never-ending war. Most of the cast gives up by the start of season 3.
 * Hesitation Equals Dishonesty:
 * Implausible Hair Color: The only human we've seen with an unusual hair color (seafoam green).
 * The Munchausen
 * Obviously Evil: Everyone knows she's planning to kill Stinky to get his diner, which she denies (poorly), but nobody cares.
 * : As something of an Untwist in 305.
 * Star-Crossed Lovers:
 * That, and
 * The Slacker: Never seems to actually run her diner, and spends almost all of Season 3 texting. Most puzzles involving Stinky involve trying to work around her lies, her laziness, or both.
 * Star-Crossed Lovers:
 * That, and
 * The Slacker: Never seems to actually run her diner, and spends almost all of Season 3 texting. Most puzzles involving Stinky involve trying to work around her lies, her laziness, or both.

Grandpa Stinky
The owner of the local diner, self professed Social Darwinist and overall a rather grouchy man.


 * : As of Episode 205.
 * Badass Grandpa
 * Father Neptune
 * The Insomniac: As of the end of Season 3, he hasn't slept in 1096 days.
 * Lethal Chef: He is being one on purpose.
 * No Celebrities Were Harmed: Looks and sounds quite a bit like Sean Connery.
 * Social Darwinist: Wants to create a master race who can survive his toxic recipes.
 * Tattooed Crook: The tattoo on his forearm spells "Satang" in Nordic runes.
 * Social Darwinist: Wants to create a master race who can survive his toxic recipes.
 * Tattooed Crook: The tattoo on his forearm spells "Satang" in Nordic runes.

Agent Superball
Superball is a secret service agent, and Max's vice president. Although he keeps a bored tone to his voice, he's capable of matching Sam and Max's snarky antics

"Superball: (Complete monotone) That makes me extremely alarmed. Max: Get a hold of yourself, man. We can't think with all your hysterics."
 * Awesome McCoolname: Although "Superball" is initially implied to be a nickname, we later learn that there's a Mrs. Superball and a Superball Junior.
 * Becomes even more awesome in the German translation, where his name is "Agent Superblocko."
 * Cool Shades: "These sunglasses aren't cheap"
 * Creepy Monotone: The dude's not fazed by anything. Though he claims otherwise.
 * Hidden Depths: Apparently he has a really good singing voice, as shown in The War Song
 * Manly Tears: Subverted.
 * Mysterious Past: If you use the Nutrition Specs on him, Sam says that he's comprised of "20% mysterious, and 80% sheer awesome."
 * "Hmm, that's down 10% from last season."
 * Psychic Block Defense: "I am afraid that the contents of my mind are classified, sirs."
 * That Makes Me Feel Angry: Because he never actually emotes.
 * The Stoic


 * Not So Stoic: is too much, even for him, and causes him to run away while crying uncontrollably.
 * Single Tear: He sheds one in a vision of the future, but if it ended up happening we missed it (most likely along with whatever truly beautiful or tragic thing provoked it).

Jimmy Two-Teeth
Jimmy Two Teeth is a rat that lives in Sam and Max's office. Though he's often stealing things and otherwise living up to the reputation of his species, he does it to support his family. This doesn't stop him from being rather despicable or annoying.


 * Butt Monkey
 * Catch Phrase: "Beat it."
 * The Informant: Well, he is a rat.
 * Put on a Bus: It's implied in season 3 that he's living it up on the money Max paid him for spreading the Bubonic Plague.
 * Red Boxing Gloves: Eventually confiscated by Max.
 * You Dirty Rat

Brady Culture
The creator of "Eye-bo", which claims to be the art of amazing ocular exercises but is in fact. The Big Bad of 101.


 * Evil Laugh: Needs practice at first. He gets better at it.
 * Funny Afro: The Freelance Police keep it as a memento afterwards.

Myra Stump
A popular talk-show host, who appears in 102: "Situation: Comedy!".


 * Blah Blah Blah: She tends to drone on into this type of speech.
 * No Celebrities Were Harmed: Think "Oprah Winfrey".

The Toy Mafia
An organized crime family whose members all appear to be wearing giant toy bear heads. They run Ted E. Bear's Mafia-Free Playland and Casino and the accompanying toy factory. Collectively, their only appearance is in Episode 103: "The Mole, the Mob, and the Meatball", but two of its members - Chuckles and Don Ted E. Bear himself - make appearances in later episodes.


 * Creepy Monotone: The card dealer. "Wanna play cards?"
 * The Family for the Whole Family
 * Villain Song: "Just You and Me (And Ted E. Bear)"

Hugh Bliss
The founder of Prismatology, a self-help guide/cult, Hugh Bliss is a friendly but very creepy albino guru. Max likes him, Sam doesn't. Eventually revealed to be. Later shows up in season 2.


 * Affably Evil
 * Camp Gay: Well, gay as in happy, at the very least. But between the high-pitched voice and the enthusiasm for unicorns and rainbows, the only thing close to ambiguous about this is that.
 * Catch Phrase: "Hi, I'm Hugh Bliss." *wiggles fingers in an arc*
 * Church of Happyology: His book is titled Emetics, and true to the meaning of the word and the beliefs espoused within, the cover depicts someone happily vomiting a rainbow.
 * Evil Albino
 * Giggling Villain
 * Nightmare Fuel Station Attendant: He's just creepy, and not just about his worrying levels of happiness, either. In Abe Lincoln Must Die!, using the The Bug on him results in him monologuing... Only for him to say he knew they were listening the whole time. That's not even getting into the fact that .)
 * Punny Name
 * Nightmare Fuel Station Attendant: He's just creepy, and not just about his worrying levels of happiness, either. In Abe Lincoln Must Die!, using the The Bug on him results in him monologuing... Only for him to say he knew they were listening the whole time. That's not even getting into the fact that .)
 * Punny Name

Leonard Steakcharmer
A cheating card player, first appearing in "The Mole, the Mob, and the Meatball". Sam and Max tie him up and interrogate him, then leave him in their closet and forget about him. His subsequent appearance in their closet becomes a Running Gag.


 * And I Must Scream: See, after every episode, Sam and Max would put an artifact from the last episode into their closet. After the third episode, they put Leonard in the closet, tied up with his mouth taped shut. It's implied that he's been living in that closet for months!
 * Disproportionate Retribution: Why aren't there more fans who sympathize with Leonard? Because he stole a sandwich!
 * Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: Sam and Max breaks his spirit doing the interrogation by telling "yo momma" jokes.
 * The Informant: but only once.
 * Reused Character Design: He is basically Boris Krinkle from Telltale Texas Hold'em, but with a handlebar mustache.
 * Smug Snake
 * Younger Than They Look: The carbon-dater in Lincoln Must Die says he's actually only 19, and apparently he looks so much older because of a life of hard gambling.
 * Younger Than They Look: The carbon-dater in Lincoln Must Die says he's actually only 19, and apparently he looks so much older because of a life of hard gambling.

Shambling Corporate Presence
A demon who debuted in "Reality 2.0", but doesn't make its first visual appearance until "Ice Station Santa".


 * Extra Eyes

Jurgen
The villain of "Night of the Raving Dead". Jurgen is a vampire who is building an army of zombies from his nightclub in Stuttgart. Sam and Max stop him and he is sent to Hell. In season 3 we learn how he became a vampire, thanks to Sameth and Maximus.


 * Ambiguously Gay: Max calls him "fruity" in Night of the Raving Dead, and probably for a reason.
 * Catch Phrase: "Yeeees?"
 * Evil Redhead
 * Goth
 * No longer so in 305, in which he is once again wearing the attire he wore in 302, stating that "Goth was so three years ago", and that early 1900s fashion is the new style to go.
 * Our Vampires Are Different
 * Vampires Are Sex Gods: He's even more "tragically sexy" to Nefertiti after he's turned.
 * Smug Snake: A scheming bad guy, but never impressive.

The Soda Poppers
Three former child stars that get sucked into Brady Culture's hypnosis scheme in the first episode. They then appear throughout the series, usually in very annoying ways. Eventually they are revealed

"Specs: You made me mess up! Peepers: I can see you! Whizzer: Time out for number one!"
 * Catch Phrases:


 * Evil Costume Switch: Only Specs puts any effort in this.
 * Former Child Stars
 * Neat Freak: Specs.
 * Older Than They Look: They are forty-somethings who look like eight years old.
 * Potty Emergency: Whizzer's shtick.
 * Sibling Rivalry: When they get into politics, it escalates into civil war.
 * Start of Darkness: Consisted of
 * Start of Darkness: Consisted of

General Skun-ka'pe
The first Big Bad of Season 3, Skun-ka'pe comes to Earth looking for the Toys of Power so he can take over the galaxy. Not the main villain, but he shows up enough times to be a really big pain in the ass. Has a really good talent for getting gullible people to help him, but also has many spots of gullibility of his own, particularly where the aforementioned Toys are concerned.

"Skun-ka'pe: On every planet I visit, all of the local mole people are invited to ride my fantastic gamma beam to a wonderful off-world vacation they'll never forget! (Beat) ...I don't kill them."
 * Bad Liar: Makes a pathetically token attempt to hide his true intentions in his first appearance.
 * Freudian Excuse: His childhood, as shown in Sam & Max Secret Origins: Skun'kape, really kind of sucked.
 * Dangerously Genre Savvy: Comes really close to this in the first episode, in the first scene,, but later, when you reenact this scene,.
 * Obviously Evil: As Max says, he makes his appearance on Earth in a giant warship shaped liked his own head, with laser-beam eyes. It's not hard to connect the dots from there.
 * Suspiciously Specific Denial: Ties into Bad Liar.


 * Villain Decay: While the main villain and a serious threat for the first episode of Season 3, by Beyond the Alley of the Dolls he has been reduced to whimpering in a corner in Stinky's Diner and is quickly taken out by the Sam clones early on in the episode.

Monsieur Anton Papierwaite
The second Big Bad of season 3, Papierwaite is the one who gave Sameth and Maximus the task of getting the Devil's Toybox so he can summon his master Yog-Soggoth. He survives to the present day, where he teams up with Skun-ka'pe to gain the Toys of Power again.


 * Badass Bookworm: Papierwaite is... kind of dorky.
 * Evil Is Hammy: He's not the hammiest character by a long shot, but just listen to him talk about the Dark Dimensioooon!
 * Hey, It's That Voice!: Same as the Narrator, because he's also voiced by Andrew Chaikin. Also, he's basically Coronado de Cava with a difficult to place accent.
 * Motor Mouth: If you get him started on one of his favourite subjects, especially Yog-Soggoth, he just will not stop. Even  gets fed up with him.
 * Squishy Wizard
 * Motor Mouth: If you get him started on one of his favourite subjects, especially Yog-Soggoth, he just will not stop. Even  gets fed up with him.
 * Squishy Wizard

The Pharaoh Sammun-Mak
The original finder of the Devil's Toybox, Sammun-Mak used them to take over ancient Egypt, only to be deposed by the molemen and have his brain put in a jar. In "They Stole Max's Brain" the pharaoh borrows Max's empty head and acts as a substitute Max for Sam.


 * Attention Deficit Ooh Shiny
 * "Attention everyone! From this point forward, those little things at the end of your shoe laces, ag...lets? Yes! Aglets are herby decreed to be the most horrible things in all the world!"
 * "Attention everyone! This is Sammun-Mak, Lord of all Creation! Forget what we said before! From now on, toasters are officially the most horrid, beastly things in the whole wide world! And if you see a toaster, and you want to make us happy, break it into tiny little bits!"
 * "Greetings, everyone! This is Sammun-Mak the Divine speaking! From this day forward, toasters are the most exalted things in all the universe, ranking just below yours truly on the awesome-meter! Just thought you should know."
 * This all happens within ten minutes.
 * When back in The City That Dares Not Sleep on Skun'ka-pe's flagship, he is having trouble controlling his thoughts enough, having to tell Sam to stop talking about certain thing to keep himself from diverting his attention towards said object. Sam still manages to eventually outsmart him by saying "Rabbit Season".
 * Bratty Half-Pint: It takes about three minutes for his squeaky-voiced arrogance to get annoying. And he gets so much worse.
 * Finders, Rulers: A variation. He only became Pharaoh because  He does the exact same thing a thousand years later.
 * Enfante Terrible
 * Hey, It's That Voice!: Kind of weird hearing Morgan LeFlay's voice coming out of.
 * Sammun-mak sometimes takes time off to spread the glory of Xavism in Sengoku Basara 3.
 * 100% Adoration Rating: Due to Actually, it's more like 99%, since
 * Royal Brat
 * Royal We
 * Royal Brat
 * Royal We

The Big Bad of "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls",  In the present, he brainwashes Sal and Girl Stinky and uses Mamma Bosco's cloning technology to create the Samulacra so he can find the Toys of Power.


 * Actually Pretty Funny:
 * Berserk Button:
 * Chekhov's Gunman
 * Dangerously Genre Savvy: The three reasons he had for create an army of Sam's clones is because (1) he needed enough, (2) because Sam is the perfect Straight Man  , and (3) Sam's psyche seems surprisingly easy to control, almost as if he was made for it.
 * Hive Queen: To the Sam's Clones
 * The Man Behind the Man
 * Punny Name: Almost sounds like
 * Hive Queen: To the Sam's Clones
 * The Man Behind the Man
 * Punny Name: Almost sounds like

Samulacra (or Doggelgangers)
Clones of Sam created in a massive cloning chamber to find the Devil's Toybox. Basically zombies, they're naked except for gold short-shorts, and can only say "toys".


 * Doppelganger: To Sam. Due to cloning.
 * Fan Disservice
 * Hive Mind
 * Kick the Dog: The aforementioned beloved Plushie Clone is
 * Nightmare Fuel Station Attendant: They are Giant Barely Talking Half Naked and overweight Humanoid Dogs who chant "TOYS! TOYS!" at once and have one set mind.
 * In canon to Skun-ka'pe: After Sam the sole sight of an army of the same person reduces him to a whimpering ape in one of the corners of Stinky's.