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The Deadly Duo

In General

Critical Existence Failure: Either can receive as much poison or blows as possible, but none of it will stop them until all of their hitpoints are gone.
Dueling Player Characters: They're both playable, and they will occasionally fight each other with the one currently controlled being required to defeat the other in order to proceed.
Hyperactive Metabolism: Both arachnids regain health by eating crickets, grubs, and pill bugs.
It Can Think: Both come across as far more intelligent than usually expected of arachnids.
Poisoned Weapons: Both characters can poison enemies, though it's a skill that they must obtain later on in the story despite being naturally venomous animals.
The Battle Didn't Count: The tarantula and scorpion face each other several times over the course of the story. Losing the battle is treated as a death, but if the creature currently in control does enough damage, the other will simply leave.

The Tarantula

An adult Tarantula and the first creature you take control of.

Animal Gender-Bender: In a pre-release interview with Nintendo Power, the developer referred to both of the protagonists as male. However, the tarantula is the size of a female.
Battle Amongst the Flames: Battles the Rattlesnake for the last time surrounded by fire.
Cannibalism Superpower: Used to justify the varied abilities; he gains the ability to web-jump and walk upside-down after eating a black widow spider and a lizard, respectively.
Made of Iron: The tarantula can take far more punishment than you'd expect for an arachnid.
Super-Strength: Is VERY MUCH capable of effortlessly sending several enemies of varying sizes flying back!

The Scorpion

A young Scorpion; the deuteragonist of the story and the second creature you control.

Cannibalism Superpower: Used to justify the varied abilities. After the scorpion kills another scorpion that was trying to burrow after prey, it gains the Dig ability itself (after a cutscene showing it EATING its opponent's head, no less). And later it eats the first mantis that it fights in order to learn how Chop down grass.
Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: Operating on how Humans Are Cthulhu, he, a scorpion, challenges and defeats George Struggs, a a full-grown human and wins!
Finishing Move: The scorpion specializes in dealing finishing moves to its enemies, with a different one for each species it fights.
Groin Attack: The way he damages and defeats Struggs is by crawling up into his pants and stinging his junk.
Know When to Fold 'Em: You could interpret his actions during the first Gila Monster encounter as this, as he is unable to overpower it physically and can only hope to escape it for the time being.
Made of Iron: Capable of surviving a POINT-BLANK SHOTGUN BLAST!!! Presumably this depends on the difficulty setting and how direct the hit was, but still...

The Humans

George Struggs

Voiced by: Dennis Hopper

Asshole Victim: His self-inflicted coma was thoroughly deserved for what he did to Wade.
Final Boss: He is the last opponent faced in the story, and is very much one of if not THE most dangerous out of all of them.
Gold Fever: His hunger for gold winds up causing some... friction... between the two human characters.
Wade: "How much do you think is in there?"
George: "Enough. (Whack!) Just not enough to go around."
Laser-Guided Karma: At the end, he unintentionally causes an explosion at the gas station by attempting to shoot The Rattlesnake that not only injures him but also sends him into a coma while in the hospital!
Obviously Evil: Struggs just screams "murderous scumbag" from first go. Wade is unfortunately a victim of being Genre Blind.
Small-Town Tyrant: Struggs, a sleazy, country-accented gas station owner who will lead a man to the desert, have said man dig up treasure for him and not bother helping, beat him with a shovel once he does, and leave him for dead.

Wade

Voiced by: Billy Bob Thornton

Character Narrator: He speaks in the opening cutscene and sets up the story for the players.
Genre Blind: Wade doesn't seem to pick up on how Obviously Evil Struggs is, or wonder if a bully who demeans him at any opportunity and generally thinks he's the dumbest person on the earth would really be willing to share even the barest slice of that gold with him.

The Rattlesnake

The Gila Monster