Kill Bill/Characters

The Bride/ AKA Black Mamba
"Played By: Uma Thurman"

- "I've killed a hell of a lot of people to get to this point, but I have only one more. The last one. The one I'm driving to right now. The only one left. And when I arrive at my destination, I am gonna kill Bill."

A former assassin who was gunned down on the day of her wedding and fell into a coma. Believing that her child has been lost as well, she seeks revenge against Bill and the four assassins who attacked her wedding.


 * Action Girl
 * Action Mom
 * Anti-Hero: Type IV
 * Badass
 * Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Averted. She gets the ever-living shit kicked out of her.
 * Dark Action Girl
 * Deadpan Snarker
 * Determinator: NOTHING will stop this lady from getting her revenge on the Deadly Vipers. Not even being Buried Alive.
 * Hair of Gold
 * Honor Before Reason
 * Hot Chick with a Sword
 * Hot Mom
 * Made of Iron
 * Mama Bear
 * May-December Romance - With Bill. Heck, she even tells her husband that he's her father.
 * Ms. Fanservice: Implied, but not shown often. Many characters have described her as just as beautiful as she is dangerous. The closest the viewer would get to fanservice was a lingering shot of her rear during an airport scene in Tokyo, when she's on her way to fight O-Ren.
 * Noble Demon
 * Left for Dead - By Bill and his crew. To be fair, Bill did put a bullet in her brainpan after the others had gotten through kicking the shit out of her, which would kill most people.
 * Roaring Rampage of Revenge: The Trope Namer.
 * Sociopathic Hero
 * Trauma Conga Line
 * Wouldn't Hurt a Child: Really hates the idea of having underage kids exposed to violence. First, shes' very unhappy when, later attempts to talk the teenaged Gogo from fighting her, then spares the youngest of the Crazy 88 and spanks him for "fucking around with the Yakuza" before sending him back home, and finally

Bill AKA Snakecharmer
"Played By: David Carradine"

- "...there are consequences to breaking the heart of a murdering bastard."

Head of the Deadly Viper Assassins, he is the Bride's primary target and former lover.


 * Affably Evil: Very much so.
 * Badass Grandpa
 * Badass in Charge
 * Big Bad
 * The Chessmaster
 * Curb Stomp Battle:
 * Damned By Faint Praise: When asked about the Bride's fiance, Bill says "I like his hair."
 * Deadpan Snarker
 * Disproportionate Retribution: In his words, he "overreacted".
 * Even Evil Has Standards: Would never kill someone in their sleep for this reason.
 * Face Death with Dignity
 * Genre Savvy
 * Honor Before Reason
 * May-December Romance: With The Bride, Elle and probably Sofie.
 * Roaring Rampage of Revenge: He says that when he found the Bride, he had been "trying to track down the fucking assholes (he) thought killed (her)".
 * Villainous Valour

Elle Driver AKA Californian Mountain Snake
"Played By: Daryl Hannah"

- "Dying in our sleep is a luxury our kind is rarely afforded. My gift to you."

A former rival of the Bride who appears to be in a relationship with Bill.

"Elle: (on her feelings) Regret that maybe... the greatest warrior I ever met . That woman deserved better."
 * Ax Crazy
 * Badass
 * Blondes Are Evil
 * Dangerously Genre Savvy
 * Dark Action Girl
 * Deadly Doctor: She’s not a real doctor. She just dresses as one to sneak into the hospital where the Bride is trapped in a Convenient Coma.
 * Deceptive Disciple
 * The Dragon
 * Evil Counterpart: To the Bride.
 * Eyepatch of Power
 * Eye Scream:
 * Hot Chick with a Sword
 * Hospital Hottie: Again, not a real medical professional. Do not contact her for medical advice.
 * Lady Macbeth: If she's in a relationship with Bill while the events of the movies take place.
 * Large Ham
 * Light Is Not Good: Her sequence at the hospital. Bonus point for having also blonde hair and pale complexion.
 * "The Reason You Suck" Speech:.
 * Smug Snake
 * Villainous Breakdown: To be fair, you’d probably be less than stoic if you
 * Wham! Line: "Know what I did? "
 * Worthy Opponent: To the point that
 * Worthy Opponent: To the point that

Budd AKA Sidewinder
"Played By: Michael Madsen"

- "That woman deserves her revenge... and we deserve to die."

Bill's brother, who lives in a trailer out in the desert and works at a "titty bar" as a bouncer. He and Bill are not on good terms.


 * The Atoner: Shows shades of it.
 * The Brute: Doesn't mean he's stupid.
 * Combat Pragmatist
 * Dangerously Genre Savvy
 * Genius Bruiser
 * Honor Before Reason: His actions
 * I Lied:
 * Karmic Death:
 * Obfuscating Stupidity
 * Retired Badass: Nowadays he's a bouncer/janitor at a crappy titty-bar.
 * Warrior Poet
 * Warrior Poet

O-Ren Ishii AKA Cottonmouth
"Played By: Lucy Liu"

- "The price you pay for bringing up either my Chinese or American heritage as a negative is... I collect your fucking head. Just like this fucker here. Now, if any of you sons of bitches got anything else to say, now's the fucking time!"

The head of the Yakuza in Japan, who became an assassin after killing the Yakuza boss who murdered her parents.


 * Berserk Button: If someone brings up her heritage in a negative light, they'll lose their head.
 * But Not Too Foreign: Father was a Chinese-American soldier stationed in Japan. Mother was Japanese. This is largely the result of Lucy Liu, O-Ren's actor, being Taiwanese-American.
 * Dangerously Genre Savvy:
 * Dark Action Girl
 * Dark and Troubled Past - It's so dark, it had to be an anime sequence to possibly avoid an NC-17 rating and some people getting arrested.
 * Disc One Final Boss - The Bride spends the whole first movie going after her -- and she's just the first bad guy on her hit-list.
 * The Dreaded
 * Evil Genius
 * Expy: O-Ren's character
 * Hot Chick with a Sword
 * Lady of War: She's the page image for a reason.
 * Little Miss Badass:
 * Off with His Head: Does this to Boss Tanaka for insulting her heritage and for disrespecting her.
 * Precision F-Strike: Actually three, at the end of her speech after her Berserk Button is pressed. Though given her usual polite and collected demeanor, it seems almost like a Cluster F-Bomb for how out of place it is.
 * Reasonable Authority Figure: Over her syndicate; she encourages her lackeys to question her if they feel that a plan of action is unwise. In her own words, "no subject will ever be taboo." Unless it involves her heritage.
 * Woman in White
 * Worthy Opponent: Is the only DiVA that The Bride seems to respect.
 * Worthy Opponent: Is the only DiVA that The Bride seems to respect.

Vernita Green AKA Copperhead
"Played By: Vivica A Fox"

- "Black Mamba. I shoulda been motherfuckin' Black Mamba."

She lives as a suburban mom named Jeanie Bell, marrieed to a doctor.


 * Action Mom and Hot Mom
 * Dark Action Girl
 * Dark Chick
 * Hufflepuff House/We Hardly Knew Ye: Gets a lot less development than the other Vipers.
 * Knife Nut: The Bride even ditches her Cool Sword to engage her in a knife fight.
 * Retired Badass
 * Sassy Black Woman
 * Retired Badass
 * Sassy Black Woman

Sofie Fatale
"Played By: Julie Dreyfus"

- "Burn in hell, you stupid blonde! I'll tell you nothing!"

O-Ren's best friend and lawyer.


 * Amoral Attorney: She's the lawyer of the boss of all Yakuza bosses.
 * An Arm and a Leg: Loses one arm when the Bride calls out O-Ren, and loses the other arm during the Bride's interrogation of her in the trunk.
 * But Not Too Foreign: Half-Japanese, half-French.
 * Dark Is Evil
 * Hello, Attorney!
 * Expository Hairstyle Change: When she's watching over, Sofie has her hair in a long ponytail. In the present, she wears her hair up in a bun.
 * Fate Worse Than Death:.
 * It should be noticed that
 * Sharp Dressed Woman
 * Woman in Black: Or as The Bride puts it: "Woman dressed like she's a villain on Star Trek."
 * Woman in White: Wore a white dress during
 * Woman in White: Wore a white dress during

Gogo Yubari
"Played By: Chiaki Kuriyama"

- "You call that begging? You can surely beg better than that!"

One of O-Ren's bodyguards, she is a schoolgirl who enjoys killing.

"The Bride: What she lacks in age, she makes up for in madness."
 * Ax Crazy: Holy shit, yes.
 * Composite Character: The original Kill Bill script had two Yubari sisters, Gogo and Yuki. Yuki was the crazier one of the two, and would end up destroying the Pussy Wagon in an explosive shootout when the Bride got back from Japan. Tarantino used elements from both characters in order to create the Gogo of the movie.
 * Dark Action Girl
 * Epic Flail: Uses this in her fight with the Bride.
 * Giggling Villain
 * Girlish Pigtails: But she sometimes has her hair in these.
 * Last Second Chance
 * Little Miss Badass: The youngest fighter in the entire series and one of the craziest.


 * Mook Face Turn: Defied. The Bride gives her a chance to walk away, but she laughs it off.
 * School Uniforms Are the New Black
 * Psycho for Hire: Hoo boy, yes.
 * Zettai Ryouki: In her school uniform.
 * Zettai Ryouki: In her school uniform.

Johnny Mo
"Played By: Gordon Liu"

The head of O-Ren's personal army, the Crazy 88.

"Bill: There wasn't really 88 of them, they just called themselves the Crazy 88. Budd: How come? Bill: I dunno, I guess they thought it sounded cool."
 * Bald of Evil
 * Boss in Mooks Clothing
 * Cool Mask
 * The Dragon: To O-Ren
 * Dual-Wielding
 * Meaningful Name: While there are only about three dozen Mooks in the fight scene, the number was chosen for its significance to the Japanese.

B.B.
"Played By: Perla Haney-Jardine"

- "Freeze, Mommy!"

The Bride's daughter who, unbeknownst to her, is still alive.


 * Creepy Child: Poor, poor Emilio.
 * Though let's be fair to B.B.... if you were raised, well, what else would you be? We can only hope that   can be helpful.
 * Troubling Unchildlike Behavior
 * Walking Spoiler: Her existence in the second film, particularly her being very present in the trailer spoils The Stinger of the first movie.

Nikia "Nikki" Bell
"Played By: Ambrosia Kelley"

Vernita/Jeanie's daughter, who is about B.B.'s age.


 * Children Are Innocent
 * Dissonant Serenity: She takes her mother's murder right in front of her eyes with surprising aplomb.
 * Sequel Hook: Tarantino has said that if he ever makes a sequel to Kill Bill, it will involve Nikki seeking revenge on the Bride for killing her mother.
 * Cycle of Revenge: And if there is a sequel to that sequel, B.B. will seek revenge on her for killing her mother.

Buck
"Played By: Michael Bowen"

- "My name is Buck, and I'm here to party."

An orderly who rapes and pimps out comatose patients.


 * Affably Evil: Yeah, he's utterly repulsive, but he sure is a nice guy to his customers... who are obviously just as repulsive as he is.
 * Cool Truck: The Pussy Wagon, which is appropriated by the Bride when she kills him.
 * Dude, She's Like, in a Coma: This scumbag likes to rape comatose people, and has a sideline of pimping their bodies out to his customers.
 * Meaningful Name
 * Orderlies Are Creeps
 * One-Scene Wonder: He’s grotesquely memorable.
 * One-Scene Wonder: He’s grotesquely memorable.

Earl McGraw
"Played By: Michael Parks"

- "This tall drink of cocksucker ain't dead."

A sheriff who investigates the El Paso massacre.


 * Cool Old Guy
 * Deadpan Snarker
 * Gosh Darn It to Heck: Subverted.
 * One-Scene Wonder
 * The Stoic

Esteban Vihaio
"Played By: Michael Parks"

- "I must warn you, young lady, I am susceptible to flattery."

Head of the Acuna Boys, and a former father figure to Bill.


 * Affably Evil
 * Disproportionate Retribution: Notes that Bill's reaction to the Bride walking out on him was quite harsh, and claims "I would have just cut your face." Then we meet one of the victims of this treatment, and see that she's now sporting a hideous scar running from her lower lip up to the base of her nose.
 * Domestic Abuser: Poor Clara.
 * Evil Old Folks
 * The Man Behind the Man: Acuna, Mexico, is controlled by a ruthless gang known only as "The Acuna Boys." The members of this gang are the fatherless offspring of Esteban's prostitutes, and take orders exclusively from him- the retired gentleman of leisure.
 * Not So Harmless: For a good deal of the meeting between him and the Bride, Esteban seems just a tad lackadaisical for a gang-leader; then Clara the prostitute shows up with a horribly mutilated face, and the audience realises just how dangerous he is under that sleepy exterior.
 * Parental Substitute: Esteban was the first of Bill's adopted father-figures, and still fondly remembers taking him out to the movies.
 * Retired Monster: Also a Retired Badass and Badass Grandpa.

Hattori Hanzō
"Played By: Sonny Chiba"

- "Revenge is never a straight line. It's a forest, And like a forest it's easy to lose your way... To get lost... To forget where you came in."

A weapon smith who once taught Bill, and who forged swords for the Deadly Viper Assassins.


 * Alliterative Name
 * The Atoner
 * Katanas Are Just Better
 * Old Master
 * Retired Badass
 * Ultimate Blacksmith

Karen Kim
"Played By: Helen Kim"

- "Not that I have to be at this range, but I'm a fucking surgeon with this shotgun."

An assassin in Lisa Wong's criminal organization who was sent to stop the Bride from killing her employer.


 * Alliterative Name
 * Badass
 * Dark Action Girl
 * Hitman with a Heart: Lets the pregnant Bride leave after she promises to abandon her assignment.
 * Hot Chick in a Badass Suit
 * Shotguns Are Just Better
 * Wouldn't Hurt a Child: Much of why she was skeptical of The Bride's claim at first. When it was confirmed she was pregnant, she left and even congratulated her.

Pai Mei
"Played By: Gordon Liu"

- "The exquisite art of the samurai sword? Don't make me laugh! Your so-called exquisite art is only fit for Japanese fatheads!"

A martial arts master who trained Bill, The Bride and Elle.


 * Arrogant Kung Fu Guy
 * Really, can you blame Elle Driver for
 * Balls of Steel: The Bride finds this out the hard way.
 * Disproportionate Retribution: Very fond of this. Ripped out Elle Driver's eye because she called him a "miserable old fool" and killed an entire temple of unfortunate monks because one of them didn't return a nod he gave him.
 * Drill Sergeant Nasty
 * Hermit Guru
 * Insufferable Genius: Just don't tell him that.
 * Jerkass
 * Legacy Character: A popular fan theory regarding the character; Bill mentions the incident which he developed a special technique took place at a time that would make him impossibly old.
 * Old Master: He's more of a cruel and evil master than the kindly Mr. Miyagi type and according to the film's mythology was responsible for the destruction of the Shaolin Temple because a Shaolin monk that he passed on the road didn't return the slight nod that he gave him. He's been known to snatch out the eyes of those who look on him with defiance and snap the backs and necks of those who give him sass like they were twigs..
 * Politically-Incorrect Villain: Bill despairingly notes that Pai Mei, "...hates Caucasians, despises Americans, and has nothing but contempt for women." He also hates the Japanese as well.
 * You Fight Like a Cow: Often insults the bride while she is sparring with him.
 * You Fight Like a Cow: Often insults the bride while she is sparring with him.

Rufus
"Played By: Samuel L. Jackson"

- "I was a Drell. I was a Drifter. I was a Coaster. I was part of The Gang. I was a Bar-Kay... If they come through Texas, I done played with them."

The piano player at the Bride's wedding.


 * The Cameo
 * The Faceless: All we ever see is the back of his head.
 * Sacrificial Lamb: Was one of the people blown away in the wedding party massacre that kicked off the plot.