Characters from the Clam Man games. Beware of spoilers!
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Characters in both games
Clam Man
The clam-headed protagonist of the series.
- Butt-Monkey: Things rarely go well for Clam Man. Almost everyone insults him and looks down on him even when he's done nothing wrong.
- Heroic Mime: Downplayed. While he has dialogue that is written out just like everyone else, he is one of the few characters in Open Mic whose dialogue is never voice acted. This may be because the player picks lines for him to say, so he has many more lines of dialogue than the characters who are voice acted.
- Nice Guy: Clam Man is generally portrayed as a good person who always tries to do the right thing. However, in Open Mic, the player can choose some ruder dialogue options for him along with some nicer ones.
- Non-Human Head: Clam Man has a mostly humanlike body with a clam for a head. Enforced because clams are hard to make anthropomorphic.
- Shy Shelled Animal: Averted. Despite being, well, a clam man, he's not particularly introverted. He's just an all-around decent guy, although he is kind of an underdog.
Pete (SPOILERS for first game)
Voiced by: Tom Schalk (Open Mic)
Clam Man's best friend, a swordfish.
- Evil All Along: Played with. Pete is revealed to be working with the evil Mayor King. However, he has sympathetic reasons for doing so, and he's thoroughly shocked when he realizes just how cruel King really is. After King's defeat, Pete apologizes to Clam Man for his involvement and makes a Heel–Face Turn.
- Heel Realization: When Pete realizes that Mayor King is heartless enough to kill people to get his way, he is horrified. Pete apologizes profusely to Clam Man and makes a Heel–Face Turn.
- Heel–Face Turn: He deeply regrets joining the evil conspiracy, and apologizes to Clam Man before rejoining Clam Man's side.
- Lazy Bum: Played for Laughs in the first game. Pete would rather talk to his friend Clam Man, or try to snooze, rather than do work. Played for Drama in Open Mic, where Pete really doesn't enjoy the stress of being the CEO of the mayonnaise company.
- Must Have Caffeine: Subverted and exploited. Pete drinks lots of coffee, yet he slacks off and sleeps at work a lot. He admits that he only drinks all that coffee to trick his superiors into thinking he's someone who wouldn't sleep at work.
- Nice Guy: Pete is one of the few people who is nice to Clam Man. He's a kind-hearted and innocent guy in general.
- Swordfish Sabre: Averted. Despite being an anthropomorphic swordfish, Pete doesn't do any fighting, much less with his rostrum.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: He only took part in Mayor King's evil plan because if he didn't, King would shut the mayonnaise company down, and Pete didn't want his coworkers to lose their jobs.
Bill
Clam Man's other good friend, an anglerfish who lives on the streets.
- The Cloudcuckoolander Was Right: Bill is the only one who believes in the Duck of Truth, a mysterious duck who supposedly wanders Snacky Bay. As it turns out, the Duck of Truth is Real All Along.
- Conspiracy Theorist: Bill loves conspiracy theories.
- The End Is Nigh: In the first game, he wears one of these signs, but he's not warning people about an apocalypse, he's trying to tell them about the elusive Duck of Truth.
- Sphere Eyes: In the first game, Bill had crazy-looking wide eyes. Averted in Open Mic, where he has Black Bead Eyes like almost everyone else.
Natalya
Voiced by: Emma Breezy (Open Mic)
Ivan's daughter. She is a little girl in the first game, but in Open Mic, she has grown into a teenager.
- Cheerful Child: In the first game. She goes about her chores of telling the tenants about their increased rent with nothing but innocent enthusiasm.
- Girlish Pigtails: She has pigtails in the first game, fitting for her Cheerful Child personality.
- Emo Teen: Downplayed in the second game. Natalya has grown into a teenager. She has a "scene"-esque hairstyle, hangs around with a small group of friends, swears, and is more cynical than she was as a child. However, she's still decent enough to Clam Man.
- Wise Old Turtle: Inverted. She's a naive young turtle in the first game, and a (downplayed) Emo Teen turtle in the second.
Martin
A marlin who runs a rope store in the first game, but switches to a cashier at a convenience store in the second.
- Cerebus Retcon: He seems like a funny and quirky guy in the first game. In the second game, however, he is not only depressed, but claims that he has been depressed all along, and was just putting on an act of being upbeat in the first game.
- A Dog Named "Dog": Downplayed. His name is one letter away from his species, marlin.
- New Job as the Plot Demands: He goes from owning a rope and knot store in the first game to working at a convenience store in the second, just for plot reasons.
Characters only in Clam Man 1
Lindsey
Clam Man's former coworker, who is fired at the beginning of the game.
- Little Bit Beastly: Lindsey looks almost entirely human by the standards of the game's art style. However, the seashell on her head pegs her as some sort of shellfish.
- Pink Means Feminine: Lindsey is a sensitive and innocent woman. Her skin, hair, and seashell are all pink.
- Shy Shelled Animal: Lindsey is some sort of animal with a seashell. When she loses her job at the beginning of the game, she is hurt deeply and retreats into an alley, where she sets up a recreation of her office out of cardboard boxes. She pretends that she's still working, except at a relish company instead of a mayonnaise one, and tries so hard to act like everything's okay. When Clam Man asks too many questions, she tries to hide under her "desk" and refuses to speak with him anymore.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: She is never seen again after Clam Man speaks to her in the alley.
Mr. Bosman
Clam Man's boss and CEO of Snacky Bay Prime Mayonnaise.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: A wealthy CEO who takes part in a sinister conspiracy, even though he's only doing it because the mafia is forcing him to, and quite a self-centered man who has no empathy for the poor people who will get hurt because of the plan.
- Eye on a Stalk: As a crab, he has eyestalks topped with round eyeballs, making him one of the very few characters in the series not to have Black Bead Eyes.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Bosman is implied to be in a relationship with "Loud Mouth," considering that he calls them "babe."
- Harmless Villain: When Clam Man confronts Bosman and "Loud Mouth" for their crimes, the two do nothing to stop Clam Man except make childish comebacks and act like Clam Man is in the wrong for accusing them.
- Penny-Pinching Crab: Played with. Mr. Bosman, a crab who is the CEO of the mayonnaise company, is initially thought to be taking part in a conspiracy for some sort of monetary purposes. As it turns out, the Big Bad's goons were actually pressuring Bosman into giving away his product for free, so Bosman had nothing to gain from the plan except safety from the mafia. However, he's still a selfish individual who doesn't care about the people who will (or do) get hurt because of the conspiracy.
- Punny Name: Bosman. Boss man.
- Put on a Prison Bus: After Clam Man exposes the crimes of Mr. Bosman and "Loud Mouth," who he suspects to be the Big Bad Duumvirate, it transitions to a police car pulling away, with the dialogue making it clear that Bosman and "Loud Mouth" were arrested. However, it turns out that they were only pawns of the real Big Bad, who ends up dying at the end.
- Stupid Evil: Downplayed. Mr. Bosman knew he would take a financial hit from giving the mob his mayonnaise for free, and he was instructed to cover up the losses in an inconspicuous way. Bosman decided to handle it by laying off two employees and giving vague reasons for firing them. This is pretty conspicuous, although, to be fair, Bosman probably couldn't have known that Clam Man would actually take it upon himself to investigate the mystery.
The Mobsters (Vinnie, Sheamus, and Patrov)
- Affably Evil: Played for Laughs. They try to threaten Clam Man to stop investigating the conspiracy, but they're very polite about it. Clam Man even lampshades this:Clam Man: You guys are really wholesome for a bunch of mobsters.
- Badass Fingersnap: Parodied. They do the typical gangster fingersnapping every time they walk anywhere.
- Big, Thin, Short Trio: Played with. Vinnie is definitely short, and Sheamus is definitely big, but Patrov isn't exactly thin. He's a little hefty, but still not as big as Sheamus. Their boss, "Loud Mouth," is skinny, though.
- Goldfish Poop Gang: Vinnie, Patrov, and Sheamus, a trio of gangsters working for the Big Bad. They try to be threatening, but are totally laughable in their mannerisms and lack of malice.
- Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: The gangsters threaten to get unpleasant with Clam Man, but they do it in a very soft way, and they never actually resort to anything extreme. Clam Man even calls them "wholesome for a bunch of mobsters."
- The Napoleon: Downplayed. Vinnie, the leader of the Goldfish Poop Gang, is a shrimp who is much shorter than most other characters. While the whole trio are Ineffectual Sympathetic Villains, Vinnie is the most grumpy.
- Shout-Out: One of the gangsters is a pink starfish named Patrov, a clear reference to Patrick Star from Spongebob Squarepants.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: They don't appear at all in the final chapter of the game, or in Open Mic, so their fate is unknown.
"Loud Mouth"
The apparent leader of the mafia.
- Ambiguous Gender: It's hard to determine their gender because of their non-gender-specific nickname and simplistic design.
- Disc-One Final Boss: Clam Man initially thinks that "Loud Mouth" is the one behind the game's events, but as it turns out, they're just another pawn of the real Big Bad.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Bosman is implied to be in a relationship with "Loud Mouth," considering that he calls them "babe."
- Harmless Villain: When Clam Man confronts Bosman and "Loud Mouth" for their crimes, the two do nothing to stop Clam Man except make childish comebacks and act like Clam Man is in the wrong for accusing them.
- The Napoleon: The mysterious crime lord turns out to be a skinny little fish. They are quite temperamental, though.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: We never find out what their real name is.
- Purple Is Powerful: Played with. They are a purple fish, and the leader of the mafia, however, they are portrayed as a wimpy Harmless Villain
- Put on a Prison Bus: After Clam Man exposes the crimes of Mr. Bosman and "Loud Mouth," who he suspects to be the Big Bad Duumvirate, it transitions to a police car pulling away, with the dialogue making it clear that Bosman and "Loud Mouth" were arrested. However, it turns out that they were only pawns of the real Big Bad, who ends up dying at the end.
Mayor King (SPOILERS)
The mayor of Snacky Bay.
- Big Bad: He is the mastermind behind the mayonnaise conspiracy.
- Chekhov's Gunman: He is initially only seen in posters, and mentioned by a few other characters. He doesn't appear in person until the climax, where he reveals himself to be the mastermind behind the game's events.
- Evil All Along: He seems like an average mayor, but is actually the Big Bad.
- Foreshadowing: At one point, the player sees a poster of King that has been vandalized to give him devil horns, a pointed tail and a curled mustache. Guess who the villain is.
- Killed Off for Real: He is sent flying into outer space, where he asphyxiates. Although, since he's a fish, he might have died from lack of water before he got to space.
- Manipulative Bastard: He's got almost everyone under his thumb. The mafia, the mayonnaise company, even Pete, Clam Man's best friend. And he uses this control for his own, evil purposes.
- Mayor Pain: Mayor King initially seems like a typical politician (although Clam Man seems to be one of the few people who isn't fond of him), but eventually turns out to be the Evil type. He's the real Big Bad of the game, leading a conspiracy to demolish the part of the city where Clam Man lives, since many people have complained about how trashy that area is, and King wants to secure his re-election.
- Non-Action Big Bad: Subverted. When he is revealed as the Big Bad, it initially seems as if he plans to rely on his army of construction workers and gangsters, along with Pete, to execute his plan for him. However, he eventually gets into a physical fight with the Duck of Truth.
- Vile Villain, Saccharine Show: While not quite "saccharine," the first game is very funny and upbeat in general. King turns out to be a cruel, manipulative, and utterly ruthless villain.
- Walking Spoiler: There's not much you can say about him without giving away his real role in the story.
Ivan
Clam Man's landlord, who is never seen.
- Cranky Landlord: Ivan is planning to move out, while lying to his tenants by saying he's just going on vacation. To pay for this, he suddenly increases everyone's rent by six times, and he has no sympathy for the fact that Clam Man just lost his job. Although the landlord never appears in person (instead relying on his daughter to tell the tenants about their increased rent), Clam Man describes him as intimidating.
- The Dreaded: Clam Man describes him as intimidating. We never see him, though.
- The Ghost: He is never seen in person.
Ted
The bouncer at the Blue Oyster Club.
- Deadpan Snarker: He always speaks with a very dry tone and makes tons of snarky remarks about Clam Man.
- Hates Rich People: He rants to Clam Man about how he hates rich people who live in luxurious homes while all the other people are stuck living in the dark, run-down part of the city.
- Obviously Not Fine: At one point, he goes on a tirade about how he hates rich people. Clam Man asks Ted if he's okay, and Ted claims he is.
- Perpetual Frowner: He has a blank-looking expression with a slight frown.
- Visual Pun: He's a frog who works as a bouncer. Get it? Because frogs bounce?
Characters only in Clam Man 2: Open Mic
The Triad (Clayton, Edna, and Al)
A trio of comedians who start up their own comedy club, The Poseidon, in the Snacky Bay Prime Mayonnaise office building.
- Big, Thin, Short Trio: As a whale, Al is definitely the big guy. Edna and Clayton are both quite thin, but Clayton is taller, leaving Edna as the short one.
- Cthulhumanoid: Played with. Clayton's design invokes this trope with his green skin and tentacles covering his mouth. However, he's not a monster in the slightest, just your average nautilus in a city of anthropomorphic sea creatures.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: Edna is initially skeptical that Clam Man will make it as a comedian, or that he will help them get an audience for their comedy show. When Clam Man succeeds at both of these, Edna starts to warm up to him a little.
- Funny Octopus: As a standup comedian, Clayton is a rare case of a funny nautilus.
- Gentle Giant: Al is a whale who towers over most of the other characters. He's very easygoing and laid-back.
- Little Bit Beastly: Edna looks almost entirely human by the standards of the game's art style. However, the upside-down clam shell on her head pegs her as some sort of bivalve.
- Shy Shelled Animal: Inverted. Edna is some sort of bivalve, but she's the most brash and Hot-Blooded member of the group.
