History Characters / TheWorldsEnd

* InSeriesNickname: His "title" of "Reverend" is a shout-out to the green character in ''[[TabletopGame/{{Clue}} Cluedo]]''.

* TheChick: The only one of the group who can't hold his own in a fight.

* NonActionGuy: Usually hides during the fight scenes.

* TheBabyOfTheBunch: Youngest, shyest and sweetest of the group. Also applies in his career - apart from Gary, all either owned their businesses or have senior positions, whereas Peter is only a junior partner in his dad’s car dealership.

* AimlesslySeekingHappiness: It eventually becomes clear that this is at once Gary's motivation and the reason why he's secretly very depressed: he had no idea what to do with his life after high school despite the sense of "promise and optimism," so he just went on pursuing the same thrills as he did as a teenager until he ended up alienating all his friends in progressively more selfish acts of hedonism. [[spoiler: Believing that the Golden Mile pub crawl was the happiest night of his life, he's now determined to re-enact it one last time with his friends and - according to the director - kill himself at the end of it.]]

-->'''Creator/EdgarWright''': A lot of those songs are ones that really hit me and Simon hard when we were that age... [Gary] is still living by those rules. It's like he decided to take "Loaded" and "I'm Free" to heart and thinks the party's never going to end.

* BloodKnight: Seems to enjoy fighting the blanks the most, egging Steven and Andy on at certain points. He's also the most aggressive other than Andy when dealing with the blanks. [[spoiler: He gets into a rumble at the very end of the film, seemingly enjoying himself too]].

* ContrastingSequelMainCharacter: In-context to the ''Film/ThreeFlavoursCornettoTrilogy''. Shaun from ''Film/ShaunOfTheDead'' is a LoserProtagonist {{Manchild}} with CommitmentIssues who learns to be more self-reliant in his ComingOfAgeStory and Nicolas from ''Film/HotFuzz'' is a BornWinner SuperCop that is MarriedToTheJob who learns to rely on others and develops a circle of friends in the process. Gary however is a DeconstructedCharacterArchetype of "[[AllGirlsWantBadBoys the Bad Boy]]" and the "{{Manchild}}", stuck in his wild, [[ThrillSeeker thrill seeking]] teenage years to compensate for [[BestYearsOfYourLife peaking in High School]] and alienating all of his loved ones in the process, learning to confront this foible, grow up and be there for his friends. If anything, his [[AnAesop aesop]] is a combination of Shaun and Nicolas's.

* DespairSpeech: [[spoiler:His monologue to Andy close to the end of the movie, when he states that all his hopes of a better life after high school never came to fruition, reveals the real reason for the bar crawl (i.e. a BungledSuicide attempt), and says that he's jealous of Andy for having a perfect life]].

* {{Foreshadowing}}: When telling Andy of his plan to begin the crawl again, 12 pints from 12 pubs, Andy points out how ludicrously unhealthy this is. [[spoiler: It's possible Gary intends to kill himself with alcohol poisoning.]]

* GracefulLoser: [[spoiler: He interacts with Sam as if she's still a teenager who will sleep with him in the disabled toilets. After Steven drunkenly confesses his feelings for her, Gary steps aside and promises to protect him while Sam escapes.]]

* HonorBeforeReason: [[spoiler: Puts Sam in a car and tells her to get out of Newton Haven as fast as she can, thus sabotaging his and his friends' only chance of survival.]]
* HumbleGoal: Completing the pub crawl [[spoiler: thus re-enacting [[GloryDays the one time in his life he felt genuinely happy.]]]]

* IWasQuiteTheLooker: He even says so himself. "Oh my god! ...I'm so cute!"

* MadeOfIron: He's survived years of substance abuse, at least one drug overdose, [[spoiler: a car crash, a suicide attempt, an alien invasion, the eponymous end of the world,]] among other things.

* NominalHero: When all is said and done, Gary is not a good person. He is reckless, selfish, and manipulative to boot. What's more, [[spoiler: his second attempt at the Golden Mile pub crawl is actually a veiled suicide attempt via alcohol poisoning. As if that wasn't bad enough, he's willing to drag his old friends along with him, thereby compromising their health and safety, just so he can recreate what he believes was the best night of his life.]] If it wasn't for the Blank invasion, Gary would be a full-on VillainProtagonist.
* PerkyGoth: He's rather energetic, all in all.

* StepfordSmiler: Depressed with a few shreds of Unstable. [[PaperThinDisguise Despite his best intentions]], he's clearly in denial about just how much of his life has slipped away from him. He still keeps up the facade [[spoiler: [[DespairEventHorizon until near the end]]]].

* ToAbsentFriends: Gives a toast at The King's Head to [[spoiler: Peter and Oliver.]]

--->'''Gary:''' Is that a thing?
--->'''Steven:''' ''(sighing heavily)'' It's ''always'' been a thing.

%%* WalkingTheEarth: [[spoiler:His eventual fate.]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/theworldsend_-_andy_7086.jpg]][[caption-width-right:350:''"I fucking hate this town!"'']]

->'''Played By''': Creator/PaddyConsidine

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/theworldsend_-_oliver_5683.jpg]][[caption-width-right:350:''"WTF?"'']]

-->'''Oliver''': Can we not talk about my sister in relation to A: massive wide-ons and B: Steven's erect penis.

->'''Played By''': Creator/EddieMarsan
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/theworldsend_-_peter_1247.jpg]][[caption-width-right:350:''"I think the pronouns are really confusing."'']]

* NiceGuy: Genuinely loves his wife and kids, and is very pleased to see all his friends again, even Gary to an extent. [[spoiler: As is his Blank counterpart.]]

->'''Played By''': Creator/RosamundPike

->'''Played By''': Creator/PierceBrosnan

* AlienBlood: Blue.

* MeaningfulName: As a human, he shepherded children into finding the jobs they wanted to have in the future. [[spoiler: As a blank, he tries to shepherd the guys into becoming Blanks.]]
* MouthOfSauron: Speaks on behalf of The Network.

->'''Played By''': Darren Boyd

->'''Played By''': Creator/DavidBradley

->'''Played By''': Creator/MichaelSmiley

->'''Played By''': Creator/BillNighy

* AliensAreBastards: [[spoiler: The Network's claim of wanting to "civilise" humanity rings pretty hollow considering they have to kill over 99% of it to achieve its aims. And then there's the aftereffects of them leaving...]]

* EvilColonialist: The Network sees humanity as too stupid and violent for our own good, got their foot in the door by giving Earth advanced technology (but not nearly as advanced as their own), made it so people had to work jobs they hate and abandon their individuality and culture, [[spoiler: and carried out the mass extermination of Newton Haven and most likely the rest of the towns they landed in.]]

* IAmLegion: Speaks through the Blanks at times, such as commandeering Blank!Shepard, and speaks through Oliver, Peter, Trevor, Shane and the Marmalade Sandwich (all at the same time).

* OrderVersusChaos: He's Order, humanity is Chaos.

* WhatTheRomansHaveDoneForUs: [[spoiler: They justify their culling of humanity as bringing civilisation to a planet that has been deemed the most uncivilised planet in the galaxy. Claiming that the planet has already reaped the benefits of their help through technological advancements but Gary refuses to listen and annoys them into leaving.]]
* WhiteMansBurden: [[spoiler: Their plan reaks of imperialism and colonialism, as they decided to "help" an uncivilised planet by culling those who refuse to change for the better or have been deemed too uncivilised by galactic standards.]]
[[/folder]]

* SophisticatedAsHell: "Until 1840, this building was the site of Newton Haven’s first Post Office. Until an enterprising business fellow decided that, far from befitting the sending and receiving of mail, it was perhaps better suited as a humble taproom where a weary traveler might get twatted.”

* CoolTeacher: One of the few people that Gary actually respected and liked at school. That speaks a lot about him, given how Gary didn't care for education or his adulthood.

* NiceHat: [[spoiler:Sports one during the ending sequence.]]

* EvilColonialist: The Network sees humanity as too stupid and warlike for our own good, started out giving Earth some limited advances in technology and forcing their way in from there, required people to work jobs they hate and abandon their individuality and culture, [[spoiler: and led to the mass extermination of Newton Haven and most likely the rest of the towns they landed in.]]

* ContrastingSequelMainCharacter: In-context to the "Film/BloodAndIceCreamTrilogy". Shaun from ''Film/ShaunOfTheDead'' is a LoserProtagonist {{Manchild}} with CommitmentIssues who learns to be more self-reliant in his ComingOfAgeStory and Nicolas from ''Film/HotFuzz'' is a BornWinner SuperCop that is MarriedToTheJob who learns to rely on others and develops a circle of friends in the process. Gary however is a DeconstructedCharacterArchetype of "[[AllGirlsWantBadBoys the Bad Boy]]" and the "{{Manchild}}", stuck in his wild, [[ThrillSeeker thrill seeking]] teenage years to compensate for [[BestYearsOfYourLife peaking in High School]] and alienating all of his loved ones in the process, learning to confront this foible, grow up and be there for his friends. If anything, his [[AnAesop aesop]] is a combination of Shaun and Nicolas's.

* HandHidingSleeves: Wears sleeves over his hands that keep his fingers bare to achieve this effect. Conveniently enough, they also serve to [[spoiler:hide the bandages from his suicide attempt]].

* FingerlessGloves: Wears sleeves over his hands that keep his fingers bare to achieve this effect. Conveniently enough, they also serve to [[spoiler:hide the bandages from his suicide attempt]].

* MeaningfulName: As a human, he shepherded children into finding the jobs they wanted to have in the future. [[spoiler: As a blank, he tries to shepherd the guys into becoming Blanks.

* AnimalMotif: Downplayed and played for laughs, he's constantly called a [[CockyRooster cock]] by Andy, the promotional material refers to him as "The famous cock", and the pub he was barred from was also called "The Famous Cock". Like roosters, Gary is a pompous loudmouth who takes the most enjoyment in fighting the blanks, and he wants to relive his glory days as the cock of the walk.

** During Gary's flashback, he talks about Mr. Shepherd being one of the teachers he really liked--however, after he leaves, Mr. Shepherd looks sort of disgusted with Gary.

* CoolTeacher: One of the few people that Gary respected and liked at school. That speaks a lot about him, given how Gary didn't care for school.
* MeaningfulName: Tries to shepherd the guys into becoming Blanks.

* UnreliableNarrator:

* {{Expy}}: Of [[Anime/ScienceNinjaTeamGatchaman Sosai X]].

* PunnyName: The end is Nigh... y.

[[folder:Mr. Shepard]]
!!Guy Shepard

->'''Played By''': Nick Frost

* AMFMCharacterization: He likes alternative rock and pop music from his adolescence, such as Music/{{Blur}}, Music/HappyMondays and Music/PrimalScream. He also wears a Music/SistersOfMercy t-shirt.

* CloudCuckooLander: Among other things, he thinks that Jesus wrote the Bible.

* DeconstructedCharacterType: He's one of the ManChild characters of ''Series/{{Spaced}}'', ''Film/ShaunOfTheDead'' etc. taken to the point where his hedonistic refusal to grow up a bit has long since stopped being charming and has become a bit pathetic and disturbing.

* {{Deconstruction}}: He's one of the ManChild characters of ''Series/{{Spaced}}'', ''Film/ShaunOfTheDead'' etc. taken to the point where his hedonistic refusal to grow up a bit has long since stopped being charming and has become a bit pathetic and disturbing.

* ShoutOut: Takes a lot of cues from [[Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean Jack Sparrow]], and some mannerisms from [[Series/{{House}} Dr. House]].

* PhraseCatcher: Both "It's pointless arguing with you" and "Selective memory" come up in relation to him a few times. He even manages to Phrase Catch ''himself'' -- when told the Blanks have a selective memory, he says, "Oh, it's like that one guy we know... ME!"

* PaperThinDisguise: The blanks all look realistic but are all young and healthy even if the people they replaced were old, disabled or publicly known to be dead.

* PhraseCatcher: Both "It's pointless arguing with you" and "Selective memory" come up in relation to him a few times.