Gorillaz/Characters

2D (Stuart Pot)


"Voiced by: Nelson De Freitas (voice), Damon Albarn (vocals)"

"I never really thought about anything as far as I can remember."

The ambition-lacking, thick-headed but sweet vocalist, who also provides keyboards and minor instruments (like melodica and panpipes) for the band. 2D used to look up to Murdoc and believed he "saved his life", despite the fact that Murdoc also kidnapped him, stole his girlfriend, dented both of his eyeballs, put him into a coma, repeatedly beat him up, sold his belongings online, and stole most of his internal organs. As of Plastic Beach, however, 2D seems to have finally smartened up, allowing him to openly express his resentment of Murdoc and to have frequent moments of cleverness and wisdom.

"Murdoc: I saved your life, you owe me your soul. 2D: Awww, I love you, Murdoc."
 * Adorkable: He's missing his front teeth and his eyes are full of blood, but his actions, ditziness, and generally nice personality make him pretty loveable.
 * Aww.
 * A Day in the Limelight: The album "The Fall" was composed and performed pretty much entirely by 2D.
 * The video for "DoYaThing" focuses on him.
 * Berserk Button: You really don't want to bring up the Paula incident around him.
 * Beware the Nice Ones: In the iTunes sessions interview, he has gone as far as to physically assaulting Murdoc, which he had never done before.
 * Born Lucky / Born Unlucky: Hard to tell which, but the many strange and painful things he's been through, (and survived,) certainly make it seem that fate's definitely working for him/out to get him.
 * Brainless Beauty: Invoked. The "beauty" part may depend on the viewer, but he was intended as that.
 * Break the Cutie: While he may not be exactly cute, you do have to admit that the poor guy's been through a lot.
 * British Accents: He speaks with a very heavy Cockney accent.
 * Butt Monkey: Sometimes treated as this. See the "Our Toys Have Arrived" G-bite.
 * Character Tics: Puts his tongue up his nose a lot. Or his fingers in this clip (1:12 onwards in the background. His contended little smile afterwards makes it Adorkable).
 * Twiddles his fingers when he's worried or scared, as seen in "Feel Good Inc" during the Ominous Multiple Screens part of the video and "On Melancholy Hill" when.
 * Cool Mask: In the videos for "Stylo" and "On Melancholy Hill".
 * Covert Pervert: After Murdoc lent him some movies, 2D commented that they're "a bit random, but very, very watchable". With titles like "Tit's A Wonderful Life" and "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Bang", it's pretty obvious what kind of movies those were.
 * Deadpan Snarker: Surprisingly, he snaps into this mode a few times in the iTunes sessions interview.
 * The Ditz: He's a bit brighter now, but back in Phase 1 he really was quite harebrained.
 * Elmuh Fudd Syndwome: Noticeable with words like "really" and "scary".
 * Erudite Stoner: Despite spending most of his time high on painkillers and playing The Ditz for years, he still has brief moments of lucidity where he can be surprisingly philosophical, even profound.
 * Mr. Fanservice
 * Extreme Doormat: Try as he might, 2-D just can't seem to get Murdoc to stop walking all over him.
 * Eye Scream
 * Foe Yay: With Murdoc, especially in Phase 3, since 2D finally realizes that Murdoc is actually a bad person. Until then, they were more like a type 1 Vitriolic Best Buds, due to the fact that 2D was Murdoc's Butt Monkey and he still idolized Murdoc, in spite of all the horrific things Murdoc had done to him.
 * Genius Ditz: He can play a lot of instruments, he composed a lot of songs, and he even wrote some of the lyrics, despite his unimpressive mental capacity.
 * Ho Yay: With Murdoc. Quite many moments that involve this, especially this one:

"Murdoc: When he stood up...wow. What an image. Tall, pretty, blue spikey hair..."
 * Idiot Savant
 * Meaningful Name and Punny Name: "Uh, Murdoc called me 2D because I've got two dents in my head from my ram-raid coma car crash episode in my life, it's not because I'm two-dimensional or anything like that."
 * His pre-Gorillaz nickname - Stu-Pot.
 * Monochromatic Eyes: Oddly enough, they alternate between black and white, depending on the picture.
 * Noodle People
 * Nice Hat: He has a lot of them.
 * Really Gets Around: If his multiple illegitimate children are anything to go by.
 * Sanity Slippage: Certainly in Phase 3. It did seem to make him a bit smarter, though.
 * Stupid Sexy Flanders: 2D gets this interpretation from many male fans' point of view. And Murdoc's.


 * Took a Level In Dumbass: Inverted.
 * He seems to be sinking back into stupidity in Do Ya Thing, where he doesn't appear to show any resentment to Murdoc after Phase 3 at all.
 * Unfortunate Names: His original surname was "Tusspot", before his father, undoubtedly having endured a hell of a lifetime, had it legally shortened to "Pot" shortly after Stu's birth.
 * Vitriolic Best Buds: With Murdoc and how. Type 1. Although in Phase 3, they tend to slide towards type 2, since 2D gathered the courage to insult Murdoc.
 * Vocal Evolution: His voice has been getting deeper since Demon Days.
 * Why Did It Have To Be Whales
 * The Woobie: Phase 3.
 * Things don't seem to be getting any better for him in Phase 4, judging by the Do Ya Thing trailer (see 0:58). His hopeful little smile after seeing the comic where Murdoc hugs him doesn't help.
 * Then came the actual video, in which that same hopeful smile is seen both in the comic strip and on 2D's actual face.
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair: 2D's hair is this color because of an accident early on in his life that caused all of his hair to fall out. When they grew out, they were a "deep, azure blue".

Murdoc Niccals


"Voiced by: Phil Cornwell"

"Kids, eh? Little treasures. I love them. Couldn't eat a whole one though."

Murdoc himself states that if you Google his name, the first three words to pop up will be "sexy, edgy, dangerous". A more fitting choice would probably be "immoral, egoistical, hygiene-lacking". Murdoc has provoked both the birth and the demise of the band. While he hasn't been quite right in the head since the band's creation, Phase 3 has only been proving his derangement. In the band, he focuses on playing the bass guitar, but he has also contributed with minor instruments.


 * Abusive Parents: Murdoc's father had forced him to participate in embarassing talent contests for a couple of pounds.
 * Amazing Technicolor Population: Justified, as Murdoc's skin is green-ish because of his lack of hygiene. In the beginning, he was just tanned.
 * Anti-Hero: Type V
 * Anti Role Model
 * British Accents: He has a Cockney accent, but it also has traces of midlands.
 * British Teeth
 * But You Screw One Goat!: The music video for Do Ya Thang implies this.
 * On the other hand, if an old poster and Murdoc's Satanism is anything to go by, he might just be sacrificing it.
 * Cargo Ship: In the "Feel Good Inc" video he performs actions he describes as "full-frontal pelvic-thrust bass-shagging action". There is fanfic.
 * Creepy Child: In the artwork of his preadolescent self, he looks pretty evil.
 * Deal with the Devil: Apparently, Murdoc earned the success of Gorillaz for the price of his soul and his middle name, which he legally changed from Alphonse to Faust as a symbol of the contract.
 * Depraved Bisexual: He'd deny it if asked when sober, but it's pretty obvious.
 * Door Step Baby
 * Drives Like Crazy: Just look at him go!
 * Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He did seem worried when he saw
 * Even Evil Has Standards: In the interviews, he spoke about
 * Femme Fatalons: And how!
 * Foe Yay: With both male band members, particularly 2D.
 * Freudian Excuse: He blames his father for the way he is.
 * Giftedly Bad: His singing voice was described as sounding like a strangled cow.
 * Hilariously Abusive Childhood: See Abusive Parents.
 * Ho Yay: With 2D, many moments. And there's one or two with Russel, as well. Also, the end of the 'Dare' music video.
 * Immune to Drugs: Murdoc doesn't seem to be doing much besides chugging down bottles of rum since arriving on Plastic Beach, and somehow, he's still alive.
 * It's All About Me
 * Jerkass
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold/Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: He alternates between the two. The former mainly applies to Noodle.
 * Jerkass Woobie: His younger self can be considered as that - after all, he did go through a very abusive childhood.
 * Karma Houdini
 * Kavorka Man
 * Lead Bassist: Type C since he is the band's co-founder, but it also helps that he's a crazy demon and a bit fanservicy.
 * Mad Scientist: Without any knowledge of robotics, Murdoc has created a cyborg from an actual person's DNA.
 * Mismatched Eyes: In Phases 1 and 2, one of his eyes was black, and the other red. In Phase 3, it seems to vary - in some of the artwork, they're still mismatched, but in all of the videos they're both black.
 * Overly Long Tongue
 * The Pig Pen
 * Putting the Band Back Together: At all costs.
 * Reincarnation: If Murdoc is correct, he has lived at least 14 times since the beginning of time. He claims to remember some details of his past lives, such as The Great Fire of London, Roman times, and being personally acquainted with Isambard Kingdom Brunel (whom he loved, because of his Nice Hat). How or why he keeps being brought back has not been explained yet.
 * Really Gets Around
 * Sanity Slippage
 * Sociopathic Hero
 * Token Evil Teammate
 * Toxic Friend Influence: Supposedly, 2-D was a fairly good kid before meeting him.
 * Trrrilling Rrrs
 * Uncleanliness Is Next to Ungodliness
 * Unreliable Narrator: He keeps changing his stance and role in the El Manana conspiracy, as well as
 * Villain Protagonist
 * Vitriolic Best Buds: With 2D, type 1.
 * Walking Shirtless Scene: Pre-Phase 3.

Noodle


"Voiced by: Haruka Kuroda (voice), Tina Weymouth, Rosie Wilson, Miho Hatori (vocals)"

"Every great band is destroyed by their success. Cartoon bands are no exception."

A Japanese girl who arrived in a Fed Ex crate at age eight at Gorillaz' doorstep, not being able to speak a word in English, but playing the guitar like a virtuoso. Before a certain Noodle Incident, she was known for being very energetic and high-spirited. Most of the time, she was also the smartest and most down-to-earth member of the band. As of the "El Manana" video,. As of the "On Melancholy Hill" one,  In the fifth Pirate Radio,   As of February 2012, she is currently sharing 212 Wobble Street, London, with the rest of her band mates.


 * A Day in the Limelight: The video "DARE" features mainly Noodle, with short cameos for each of the members. "El Manana" is focused exclusively on Noodle.
 * Badass Adorable
 * Bare Your Midriff: Sometimes in Phase 2.
 * Blinding Bangs: Phase 2.
 * Cool Mask
 * Cute Bruiser: She was originally trained to be a Super Soldier and practiced martial arts.
 * Dark and Troubled Past: Prior to joining Gorillaz, she was part of a Japanese government project which aimed to create 23 kid Super Soldiers, Noodle's speciality being music (thus why she is very talented in playing numerous musical instruments). She was the only one of those children to survive, while the remaining 22 were killed when the project was abandoned. She was rescued thanks to her creator, Mr. Kyuzo, who escorted her to safety after reading the Gorillaz ad. Granted, he erased her memory before sending her off, but finding out about that... brr.
 * Door Step Baby
 * Eyes Always Shut
 * Girl in a Box
 * Girl with Psycho Weapon
 * Green Eyes: As seen in "El Manana".
 * Hartman Hips: Phase 3.
 * The Heart: After composing Demon Days, everyone showed up in Kong at her mere word.
 * Known Only By Her Nickname: She's still known only as Noodle, as far as anyone knows.
 * No Name Given
 * Only One Name
 * Laser-Guided Amnesia: See Dark and Troubled Past.
 * Like a Badass Out of Hell
 * Morality Chain: To Murdoc.
 * Omniglot: As part of her training she was taught to be fluent in every language, although she lost her language skills until she regained her memory at the start of Phase 2.
 * Only Sane Woman
 * Person of Mass Destruction
 * Plucky Girl
 * She's All Grown Up
 * Super Soldier
 * Trigger Phrase: "Ocean bacon".
 * Verbal Tic Name
 * Viewer Gender Confusion: Her 10-year-old self caused some.
 * Waif Fu
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair
 * Zettai Ryouiki: "On Melancholy Hill" video.

Russel Hobbs


"Voiced by: Remi Kabaka"

"You can't go dressin' up as a goddamn Nazi! You cracker-ass..."

Russel comes from Brooklyn and is perhaps best known for being possesed by the souls of his dead friends, that he lost in a drive-by shooting. Ever since, he has been the most psychically unbalanced out of the group, what with the demons inside him taking advantage at times. Russel himself is a melancholic, well-spoken person (even if our character quote doesn't quite prove it) who deeply cares for Noodle. He provided drums for "Gorillaz" and "Demon Days", but he was not invited to play on "Plastic Beach" because nobody could find him. Of course, he doesn't have this problem anymore.

Currently living with the rest of the band on 212 Wobble Street, London. Sleeps on the roof of the apartment.


 * All Drummers Are Animals: Averted: Russel is one of the more well-spoken members of the group, and often the most reasonable.
 * Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever
 * Bald of Awesome
 * Big Eater
 * Big Brother Instinct: Toward Noodle.
 * The Big Guy: Started out as a combo of Classes 2 and 5. Currently seems to be turning into Class 1.
 * Brooklyn Rage
 * The Bro Code: Broke Murdoc's nose when he caught him fooling around with 2D's girlfriend Paula.
 * Chaste Hero: Details are actually unknown, but he's the only one of the male band members who doesn't openly Really Get Around.
 * Demonic Possession: It's been an issue for him since his childhood.
 * Dark and Troubled Past: First demons made him attack his classmates, resulting in an exorcism that left him in a coma for four years. Then he was the lone survivor of a drive-by shooting that killed all his friends.
 * Demoted to Extra: His activity with the band steadily declines with each phase (and by extension, his popularity with fans).
 * Determinator: Russell is swimming to Plastic Beach and he is pissed.
 * Gentle Giant: Even more appropriate ever since he grew so big he had no problem picking up and throwing a whale, by eating polluted material on his way to Plastic Beach.
 * The Grim Reaper: Russel was directly involved with this guy - the Grim Reaper has apparently exorcised Del's soul from him.
 * Heroic BSOD: This happened to him when the Grim Reaper eventually claimed the souls of his dead friends from his body.
 * Heterosexual Life Partners: Russel and Del, the ghost that was particularly open about haunting him. Russel claimed Del to be his "life-long soul-brother".
 * Iron Woobie
 * Magic Pants: When he grew larger, his clothes did too.
 * Magnetic Medium
 * Monochromatic Eyes: They turned permanently white after the spirits of his dead friends took up residence in his head.
 * Nice Hat: In Phases 1 and 2, Having a nice hat in every image is kind of trademark for Russel.
 * Noodle Incident: Between the self-titled album and Demon Days, Russell struck out to produce his own album. But the loss of Del, his own mental instability, and various other occult happenings apparently made it go so wrong that he had to take medication for some time afterward.
 * Only Sane Man: He played this role mostly during Phase 1, though his sanity has been slipping more and more ever since.
 * Papa Wolf: To Noodle.
 * Sanity Slippage
 * Scary Black Man
 * Sealed Inside a Person Shaped Can: He IS the can.
 * Stout Strength
 * Weirdness Magnet: Supernatural entities seem strangely drawn to him.

Cyborg Noodle
"No voice actor as of yet. Beeeeeeep Beep;"

Built as a replacement for the supposedly late Noodle, Cyborg is a meticulous replica of her fourteen-year-old self. She has all the musical skills of the original with none of the personality, and is programmed to obey Murdoc's every command. Cyborg is a firearm aficionado and often acts as a bodygaurd, but also has to spend most of her time charging.


 * Axe Crazy
 * Battle Butler: She can shoot down demons, planes, ships and cops... and also serves drinks.
 * BFG: Cyborg has a few.
 * Dead Person Impersonation: Her original purpose, though the person she imitates is Not Quite Dead.
 * The Dragon: To Murdoc.
 * Dropped a Bridge On Her: Apparently went haywire and was anticlimactically killed by real!Noodle off-camera. Given the amount of foreshadowing spent on her, it can probably be assumed this wasn't her originally intended fate.
 * Empty Shell:
 * Fan Nickname: Noodlebot
 * Hidden Depths: While shooting down planes and killing everything in her path in Rhinestone Eyes, she sports her usual Slasher Smile... until a closer shot reveals that
 * Hypercompetent Sidekick
 * Literal Minded: Her profile page on the website shows she has difficulty interpreting unclear commands, though she can translate "Bad French".
 * Robot Girl
 * Silent Partner: See below.
 * The Speechless / The Voiceless: Murdoc claims she can say "Noodle", but she's not yet been heard to speak onscreen.
 * Averted in this interview; Cyborg's answers speak volumes about how different she/it is from the original Noodle.
 * Slasher Smile
 * Uncanny Valley Girl
 * Uncanny Valley Girl

Paula Cracker


Gorillaz guitarist, first appearing in Rise of the Ogre. She was the then-two-month-long girlfriend of Stuart Pot. During their time together, Paula was noted to be a sub-par musician (or at least, not as good as her successor). In a brief interview, she waxes nostalgic on her encounter with Mr. Niccals. One fateful night, Russel caught her with Murdoc inside the third cubicle of the bathroom. For her betrayal, she was promptly kicked out of the group.

Clearly bitter and damaged from the ordeal, Paula seemed to be on edge when telling her side of the story, while unapologetic about the affair with the green-skinned satanist, she nevertheless goes on with her life.


 * Ensemble Darkhorse: Has received quite a bit of attention from fans (though not necessarily the good kind,) despite only being mentioned in Rise of the Ogre and a few fleeting moments in interviews.
 * Femme Fatale
 * Yoko Oh No

Del
Del was a rapper from Brooklyn who befriended band drummer, Russel Hobbs when Russel was transfered to a high school in Brooklyn after being possessed and then exorcised. He and Del became best friends quickly and remand friends even after Del's death. Del, along with all of Russel's new friends were gunned down in a drive by shooting in which Russel was the only survivor. The souls of all of Russel's friends, including Del, all took up residence inside of Russel for many years. Del was finally removed from Russel by death, who ripped Del out of Russel to take him to the great beyond during the bands hiatus in 2003. Russel was effected greatly by this and had a nervous break down. Del has not been heard from since


 * Nice Hat: Its Russel's.
 * Our Ghosts Are Different: He looks more like a hologram than a ghost.
 * Put on a Bus

The Boogieman
Debuting in Phase 3, the Boogieman is an ancient force of evil with whom it was implied that Murdoc made his Deal with the Devil. While his first shown victims were merely a cop and a manatee, it is made very clear in the video for Rhinestone Eyes that he wants to collect Murdoc's soul to complete their bargain.

As of the video for DoYaThing, however, it seems that he's given up on that, now living with the band on 212 Wobble Street, London.


 * Big Bad: Was this for all of Phase 3. In-story, he's implied to be this to the entire world.