American Gods/Characters

The "Old Gods" and Their Allies

Ambiguously Brown: It's not entirely clear what race he is, although his mother is implied to have been black.
- Gaiman has said that Dwayne Johnson/The Rock, who has black and Samoan heritage, would be the perfect actor to play him.
Beware the Nice Ones
Dark Is Not Evil: Look at his nickname and compare it to his actual identity as a Light Is Good deity
Divine Parentage
Genius Bruiser
Gentle Giant
The Hero
Kindhearted Cat Lover: And the cat goddess loves him too.
Only Known by Their Nickname: His real name is never mentioned by the third-person narrator. It's finally revealed to the reader in '"The Monarch of the Glen.
Smarter than he looks: Everyone asumes he's just a big dumb guy until he starts talking.
The Stoic
Tomato in the Mirror
Unfazed Everyman: He takes it rather calmly that there are tons of deities all all around him. Makes sense since he is one himself, so he isn't a pure example of the trope.

Don't Fear the Reaper: Like all Ancient Egyptian gods connected to death, he's a nice guy.
Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness

Don't Fear the Reaper: Like Mr. Ibis, he's not such a bad guy.
I'm a Humanitarian: While conducting autopsies, he has a habit of eating some of the corpse flesh. Respectfully.
Voluntary Shapeshifting: Into a jackal, naturally.

Cain and Abel: He's known as the "evil" brother; his brother, Bielebog, is the "good" one.
Dark Is Not Evil
The Eeyore: Not as demonstrative as many examples, but he's a very gloomy guy.
God of Evil
Jekyll and Hyde: He and Bielebog are the same person.
Vegetarian Vampire: Gets his powers from sacrificial murders, but after his followers dried up, he worked at a slaughterhouse rather than becoming a Serial Killer.

Agent Mulder: Delivers an amazing and lengthy monologue to Shadow about all the things she believes in to get him to open up to her.
Badass Normal: Faces Mr. Town and Mr. World, and not only does she refuse to tell them anything about Shadow, she makes fun of their names. She also hitchhikes with Shadow, who's kind of scary before you get to know him.
Braids, Beads, and Buckskins: She doesn't dress like it, but she's proud of her Indian heritage.
Bi the Way
Genki Girl
Girl Next Door: Well, technically, the girl next door's little sister.
Granola Girl
Little Miss Snarker
"Take That!" Kiss: She plants what she terms a "fuck off" kiss on Shadow in a bar, although it was to tell everyone else there to fuck off.
Tomboy

Back from the Dead
Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Even when she was alive Laura was not as nice as she seemed. But she really does love Shadow which keeps her on the sympathetic side of the trope.
Came Back Wrong
Dead All Along: Not that it's a revelation; the twist is that she comes back.
Dead Person Conversation: Whenever she talks to Shadow, or anyone else.
Death Is Cheap
Lady Macbeth: Seems Shadow's involvement in the robbery that got him in prison was her idea.
Manic Pixie Dream Girl: Deconstructed. Because of that personality, she cheated on Shadow with her best friend's husband while he was in the clink. She also puts on the MPDG act to charm Mr. Town before gruesomely killing him.
More Deadly Than the Male: She is far more likely to kill you than her husband is.
Our Zombies Are Different
Out with a Bang
Poisonous Friend: Very big on protecting Shadow and quite violent about it.
Took a Level in Badass: Twice. Her revenge on Mr. Town and her confrontation with Mr. World/Loki.
- She actually took it much earlier in the book. When she kills a bunch of guards in order to save Shadow with her bare hands.
Violently Protective Wife

Badass Longcoat: Subverted. He dresses like the characters in The Matrix but is a physically weak nerd.
GIFT: Since he is the Anthropomorphic Personification of the Internet, it's only natural he acts like this.
Jerkass Woobie: Even Shadow feels a little sorry for him in the Hell Hotel.
Otaku
Super Loser: He may be a god, but nobody gives him much respect, and the narrative tends to refer to him as "the fat kid."

Avenging the Villain: Mr. Town is not happy about his buddies getting killed, but leaves Shadow alone because Mr. World says so.
Flat Earth Atheist: Mr. Town thinks all the gods are just mutants with mind control powers.
The Men in Black: What they seem to be the archetype of.
Mooks: They work for Mr. World and the New Gods.
Punch Clock Villain
Those Two Bad Guys: Mr. Wood and Mr. Stone.