Characters / Spelunky

Note: This page is under maintenance due to Spelunky 2 coming out, and fleshing out a lot of the characters that were previously lumped in with one another. If you can contribute, please do so. This page will also have some spoilers for Spelunky 2, so be wary of that.

The Spelunkers

A clan of various different cave-adventurers, who are tasked with going through the cave of Olmec/the moon, and your player character. These tropes apply to the general tropes they all share.

• Adventurer Archaeologist: Quite obviously, with all of them being cavern explorers. Notably, some downplay the trope and focus more on the "adventurer" aspect, while others fully embrace the archaeology aspect.
• Chromatic Arrangement: Every spelunker has their own unique color, and we mean every spelunker. The main Spelunker in HD is Orange, while the other starting characters are Red, Blue, and Green. This also extends to the starting cast of Spelunky 2: Ana is a Dandelion Yellow, while Margaret is Purple, Colin is Cyan, and Roffy is gray.
• Heroic Comedic Sociopath: It's up to the player, but there are some serious rewards to be gained by committing wanton murder and human sacrifice.
• Weapon Specialization: The default weapon of every spelunker in HD and 2 is a whip.

The Spelunker/Guy Spelunky

A heroic (supposedly) Indiana Jones lookalike who ventures into the caves in search of treasure and fame.

• Adventurer Archaeologist: More noticeably so than the others are. He's basically an exaggerated Indiana Jones in how much of an Action Hero he is compared to your typical Archaeologist.
• Ambiguously Bi: Like the rest of the spelunkers, any of the damsels can give him kisses.
• Captain Ersatz: Of Indiana Jones.
• Cutting Off the Branches: Downplayed. It seems he at least freed Tina/Yellow, and he at least saved the dog damsel, since he's married to her, and has the dog as a house pet, in the sequel. His fellow starting spelunkers, Red, Blue, and Green, also came with him.
• Did Not Get the Girl: Despite repeatedly saving the Damsels, Spelunky 2 reveals he ends up Happily Married to Tina.
• Gag Nose: Sports a large, red clown nose.
• Happily Married: With "Yellow"/Tina, in the sequel.
• His Name Really Is "Barkeep": In various promotional material, interviews, and online posts, he's often referred to as "Spelunky Guy". Come the sequel, where everyone has proper names, and it's revealed his name is... Guy Spelunky, which is "Spelunky Guy" in reverse.
• Official Couple: Spelunky 2 reveals that he marries 'Yellow'/Tina.
• Protagonist Title: Retroactively, as his daughter's name in the sequel indicates his surname is Spelunky.

"Yellow"/Tina Flan

Originally one of the many unlockable spelunkers in Spelunky HD, Tina Flan gets named and serves as The Spelunker's wife in the sequel.

• Ascended Extra: Originally one of many extra spelunkers, she gets to be one of the main characters in 2, and is even given the honor of being the one who canonically killed Yama, with an Eggplant, no less.
• Happily Married: With The Spelunker/Guy Spelunky in the sequel.
• Official Couple: In the sequel, she's married to The Spelunker.

Other Spelunkers

In the remakes, various other people can challenge the labyrinth seeking their own fortunes. All of them are functionally exactly the same as the original Spelunky Guy.

• The Cameo: Super Meat Boy, Van Helsing/Van "Horsing", and The Cyclops are all playable characters.
• Color-Coded Characters: Each Spelunker's outfit is a signature shade.
• Eyes Always Shut: Yang, whom you control during the Tutorial levels and when you unlock him, as well as 'Yellow', The Eskimo, The Round Boy, and The Golden Monk.

Spelunky 2 Spelunkers

• Fully-Dressed Cartoon Animal: Roffy D. Sloth, an anthropomorphic sloth with a pompadour.
• Patchwork Kids: With the possible exception of Roffy D. Sloth, the characters revealed thus far are all implied to be the children of two of the spelunkers from the first game, and share traits from their respective parents.
  • Ana Spelunky has a red nose like the Spelunky Guy, but strongly resembles Yellow in other respects, including the mole on her cheek.
  • Margret Tunnel is a Pirate Girl like Purple, but is also missing an eye like the Tunnel Man.
  • Colin Northward has the same hair color and facial hair as Blue, but wears round glasses like The Round Girl.
• Protagonist Title: The protagonist of Spelunky 2 happens to be named Ana Spelunky.
• Spin-Offspring: Most of the protagonists are suggested to be the kids of the previous ones. Most so with the main protagonist, Ana Spelunky, who's explicitly mentioned to be the daughter of Spelunky Guy and Yellow.

The Damsels

A blonde woman in a red dress who needs rescuing. In the original version, she can be unlocked as a playable character. While she's not playable in the HD version, you can choose to replace her with a half-naked man, an adorably derpy pug, or even a sloth in a dress via an easter egg. Replaced with the three pets in Spelunky 2, by proxy of Ana and the majority of the cast being underaged — except for the pug, who got promoted to the main "damsel".

• Ascended Extra: The Pug damsel returns as the main damsel and a pet for the Spelunkers in Spelunky 2. The original red dressed Damsel returns as well, now as an unlockable adventurer with the full name Demi Von Diamonds.
• Damsel in Distress: Well, obviously.
  • Distressed Dude: An option in the HD version.
  • Precious Puppy: Yet another option in the HD version.
  • Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal: The Sloth option.
• Girly Run: The female damsel has this in Classic, and a more downplayed version in HD.
• Intimate Healing: If rescued, she/they give the Spelunker a health-restoring kiss.
• Spear Counterpart: In the HD version, you can choose to replace the damsel with a buff, half-naked man instead.
• Too Dumb to Live: Sits and waits for rescue, even if they're standing two feet from the exit door. When panicked, they run in one direction until they collide with a wall or die. (Of course, when you're playing as the Damsel in the SD version, the Spelunker is the stupid one…)
• Weapon Specialization: A whip is her default weapon when played as in Classic.

Monty the Pug

The most important of the three pets in Spelunky 2, Monty is the pug damsel from the original game. Adopted by The Spelunker and "Yellow"/Tina after the events of HD, he serves as a loyal companion to Ana in Spelunky 2.

• Damsel in Distress: The sequel's equivalent to the damsels.
• Precious Puppy: But of course, being a dog would net him this. You can even pet him in the Camp if you find him!
• Team Pet: Serves as one in the sequel, what with being the literal pet of the Spelunker, Tina, and Ana. You can even find him in the Base Camp.
• Too Dumb to Live: Much like the Damsels, he has some pretty basic AI that can get him hurt often, but besides that, he (as well as the other pets) will also suck out poison from you by kissing you when you're poisoned. He shows up no worse for wear in the next floor, but that still doesn't seem too bright of him, now, does it?

The Tunnel Man

The Spelunker meets him in the tunnels between areas. If given enough money, he'll build a shortcut to each area. In the original version, he can be unlocked as a playable character; he starts with little health and no ropes or bombs, but has an unbreakable mattock that can dig through walls.

Returns in Spelunky 2 as a playable Spelunker, with the name Manfred Tunnel.

• Afro Asskicker: Rocks a sweet afro.
• Eyepatch of Power: The remake's enhanced graphics reveal that he wears one.
• Fast Tunnelling: It's his job.
• Magikarp Power: As a playable character in the original game, he starts with only two health (as compared to the Spelunker's four) and no bombs or ropes, plus he can't perform jumping attacks. If he survives long enough to get his hands on some equipment and extra hearts, though, he becomes unstoppable.
• Secret Character: And you'll need to be EXTREMELY skillful (and exceptionally lucky) in order to unlock him as a playable character in the original game.
• Tunnel King: What he does for a living, according to his description in the HD version's journal.

The Shopkeeper

A harmless old peddler of honest wares for a reasonable price.

• Clone Army: The Mothership in 2 has "Proto Shopkeepers" created from The First Man. Most have Clone Degeneration, but a few are true shopkeepers, complete with shotguns. (Killing them in the mothership is the only place that doesn't anger all shopkeepers.)
• Dirty Old Man: In the original, whipping a damsel in a kissing parlor would prompt him to say "Hey! Only I can do that!" before attacking.
• Disproportionate Retribution: Accidentally whip him? Shotgun blast to the face. Accidentally reroll a die in his gambling parlor? Shotgun blast to the face. Happen to be standing nearby when he or his store gets damaged? Shotgun blast to the face. Hell, you get blamed when they kill themselves. Or when they kill each other.
• Lightning Bruiser: He has 20 HP to your 4, has greater speed, a higher jump, and comes armed with a shotgun, one of the most powerful weapons in the game.
• Mugging the Monster: Getting Swallowed Whole by a man-eating plant is instantly deadly for the Spelunker. Shoppy just gets pissed off. Well, depending on how much health he has left.
• Shoplift and Die: In a game filled with so many deadly things, it's telling that shoplifting is probably the most dangerous decision you can make.
• Shotguns Are Just Better: Almost to Game-Breaker levels, in fact. You'll learn this the hard way if you make the Shopkeeper mad.

Kali

Hindu goddess of death and change. Likes: blood sacrifice. Dislikes: defiled altars.

• Disproportionate Retribution: If one of her altars is damaged — even if you're not to blame — she'll sic half a dozen literal Demonic Spiders on you. And that's the least of her punishments.
• Magikarp Power: The first sacrifice rewards are likely to be lackluster at best. But once you get enough for the Kapala, any subsequent sacrifices are potential game breakers.
  • A key thing to know about her first artifact is she'll give you one that you don't have. So holding out until you have several helps avoid duplicates.

The Empress

A mysterious figure who ruled over the empire found in the Tide Pool.

• A Pet into the Wild: Great Humphead (the giant fish in Tide Pool)'s bestiary entry says he's waiting for her to return to feed him.
• Posthumous Character: Her grave is in Eggplant Land, with a single diamond buried in it. "May she finally know peace."
• The Unseen: She's entioned in several journal entries, especially ones related to Tide Pool, but she's never shown in person. Unless you flash her grave with the Camera, and find out that she's the Ghost.

The Walrus Lady / Madam Tusk

We don't... there can't... look at her.

• Abhorrent Admirer: She blows kisses, so it presumably likes you.
• Funny Animal
• The Mafia: Implied in Spelunky 2. She has her own gambling "store" in the Tide Pools and she is the one who imprisoned Van Horsing for reasons unknown.
• Throw the Dog a Bone: She'll imprison Van Horsing a second time in her basement after he gives you the alien compass, but "At least she removed the curse."

Tun

A fortuneteller who gives out tests. She opposes her brother Beg and his god(?), Hundun.

• It May Help You on Your Quest: She loves these. Her tests can provide you with Hou Yi's Bow, Elixir, a clone gun, and the Arrow of Light.
• Moon Rabbit: Much like her brother, she appears to be a humanoid with rabbit-like features and lives on the moon, which may be a reference to the myth from Asian folklore.
• Resurrective Immortality: Killing her doesn't take; she'll be present at the next test (though she will try to kill you).
• Sibling Rivalry: Despises her brother Beg, and will attack you if you wear his gift (the "True Crown").
• Super-Persistent Predator: Compared to the shopkeepers who prefer to wait for criminal spelunkers to come to them, Tun will actively hunt the player down if she's been angered, often appearing out of nowhere in the middle of levels to fight them.

Beg

Tun's brother who worships Hundun and chaos.

• Guide Dang It!: Bomb Kali's Altar and don't get her to forgive you. The next Altar you find will have Beg on it; he'll comment that you like chaos, then teleport away. He'll be cursed, which is a hint that you need to be cursed yourself. If you are cursed by the next time you find a Kali Altar, he'll give you the "True Crown" (actually a Happy Harlequin Hat) that randomly teleports you.
• Moon Rabbit: Much like his sister, he appears to be a humanoid with rabbit-like features and lives on the moon, which may be a reference to the myth from Asian folklore
• Violation of Common Sense: To get credit for doing his mission in terms of the Constellation ending, you only need to get him to drop the True Crown. You don't actually have to pick it up.

Sparrow

A thief who turned away from her clan.

• The Caper: If you steal from a Shopkeeper (it has to be theft, killing the Shopkeeper first doesn't count), she'll appear to you in Stage 2 and suggest robbing Madam Tusk. Get an invite by winning seven times in Madam Tusk's dice game, and you can proceed.

Olmec

A giant, golden, Mesoamerican idol worshiped by the cultists and cavemen. He serves as the first game's final boss.

• All There in the Manual: In the original, his name can only be found in the source code of the game. Averted in the remake, where the tutorial character Yang referred to it by name (as well as the area where he's fought now being called "Olmec's Lair", in addition to his journal entry calling him by that name) and his name being in the description for "Adventure Mode".
• Bad Boss: He starts the battle by killing one of his worshipers and injuring another, and this happens in both Spelunky 1 and Spelunky 2.
• Climax Boss: He holds this position in Spelunky 2; he's the second or third boss you'll face (depending on whether or not you choose to fight Vlad), but unlike Quillback and Vlad, you actually have to go the distance against him and bring the fight to at least the second round before you can escape.
• Final Boss: He holds this position in the original game, and technically retains it in the remake (with King Yama being the True Final Boss).
• Grenade Spam: In Spelunky 2, his second phase has him open up and spam bombs instead of trying to slam down on the player.
• Ground Pound: His main method of attacking is to jump above the player and slam down, which will One-Hit Kill anyone caught underneath and also crush the floor underneath him.
• Mook Maker: He occasionally launches three balls of energy that transform into enemies when they hit the ground. In Spelunky 2, he spawns exploding UFOs in his third phase.
• Ring-Out Boss: You dodge his crushing attacks until he smashes his way through the bottom of the level. Bombs can help speed the process along.
• Robotic Reveal: In Spelunky 2, it's revealed that they are spaceships.
• Tactical Suicide Boss: If he didn't break the floor under him whenever he tried to crush the player, he wouldn't meet his demise in the lava underneath.

The Ghost

A ghost that appears if you stick around on one level for too long.

• Asteroids Monster: In Spelunky 2, it splits into two smaller ghosts if you haven't left the level 30 seconds after she's spawned, and those ghosts will split again in another 30 seconds if you — for some reason — are still hanging around.
• Collision Damage: This is its only attack, but it's a One-Hit Kill.
• Easter Egg: Using the camera on the ghost freezes it in place for a second, and reveals its true nature.
• Mighty Glacier: It's not very fast, but its only attack is a One-Hit Kill.
• One-Hit Kill: Did we mention that this is its only attack?
• Samus Is a Girl: Taking its picture with the camera shows that it's actually female. In Spelunky HD, it gains a bow, lipstick, and a bustline, while in 2, it changes into an elegant Chinese woman. You'll see that same elegant Chinese woman if you use the Camera near the Empress's grave in the Sunken City, implying that the two characters are one and the same.
• Stalked by the Bell: In the original, if you spend two minutes on a single level, the music becomes oddly distorted. After another half-minute, the Ghost appears from off-screen and slowly homes in on your location. In the remake, the music only becomes distorted right before the Ghost appears, but he otherwise appears within the same amount of time as in Classic, and you can have the HUD show how much time you've spent in the level, so you'll know when he's going to show up.
  • Spelunky 2 ups the time it takes for it to appear to three minutes, but it can also be forced to show up earlier by breaking the special ghost pot found on any given stage.
• Took a Level in Badass: In Spelunky 2, although its function remains the same, the Ghost is significantly tougher. It's not only faster and comes for you more directly, but after a short time, it will split into two and chase you even faster, before doing this once more — splitting into four in total — if you manage to survive that long enough. Good luck "ghosting" levels for diamonds now.

King Yama

Appears exclusively in the HD remake of the first game. The ruler of the quite literal Bonus Level of Hell.

• Collapsing Ceiling Boss: He slams his hands on the ground, causing skulls to drop from the ceiling. When his head detaches, it can also slam to the ceiling, to the same effect.
• Cognizant Limbs: His hands can even be picked up and thrown!
• Everyone Hates Hades: Yama is Hades' Asian equivalent.
• Flunky Boss: His room has a number of enemies, including two special Mini-Boss enemies (Ox Head and Horse Face). He can also spawn enemies from his mouth and hands.
• Giant Hands of Doom: See Collapsing Ceiling Boss.
• Infinity +1 Sword: Killing him in Spelunky 2 gives you the Eggplant Crown, which replaces your whip with infinite projectile eggplants, and enough health pickups to get you to the max of 99. But while he's not at all hard to kill, actually getting to him is.
• Losing Your Head: His final phase.
• Stationary Boss: Mostly. His head detaches in his final phase.
• Playing with Fire: His head shoots fireballs.
• Retired Monster: Getting hit by that eggplant not only removed his power, but in Spelunky 2, Hell itself is replaced by "Eggplant Land", filled with harmless eggplant beings. When you get to... er... the Eggplant King, he tells you that all kings must one day give up their crown.
• True Final Boss: He has this position to Olmec's Final Boss in the HD remake of the first game. Just getting to his area is a Guide Dang It!.
• Use Your Head: See Collapsing Ceiling Boss.
• Weaksauce Weakness: The Eggplant. If you can get it to him and throw it at his head, the head will turn into an eggplant monster that does nothing and can be killed in one hit.

Osiris

The ruler of Duat and the ultimate judge of souls who make their way to him.

• Giant Hands of Doom: Similar to King Yama, though Osiris' hands move back and forth.
• Man Behind the Man: Anubis' father, who Anubis must apologize to after being defeated in the Temple in the second game.
• Route Boss: You only get to fight him if you go to the Temple of Anubis from Olmec's Lair (and from there proceed to its associated bonus levels, the City of Gold and Duat).
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: To King Yama from the first game, since he's the leader of (an) afterlife that you get to through the City of Gold.

Kingu

Tiamat's Companion, a giant turtle humanoid. Her shell once withstood a comet.

• Damage-Sponge Boss: She is outright invulnerable to most conventional weaponry before her shell is broken, and even after her shell breaks, she still has a metric ton of health.
• Flunky Boss: Has no attacks of her own, but summons smaller enemies.
• Gender-Blender Name: Despite their masculine-sounding name, Kingu is female.^note Kingu actually is male in the original mythology.
• Nigh-Invulnerability: Before her shell is broken, almost no attack will even register on her except Excalibur and sticky bombs.
• Route Boss: The counterpart of Osiris, you'll only face her if you go to the Tide Pool and its associated bonus level, Abzu.
• Taken for Granite: Turns to stone upon defeat.

Tiamat

The Mesopotamian goddess of the salt sea, and symbol of creation and primordial chaos in Babylonian religion. She's the Final Boss of Spelunky 2, found at the end of Neo Babylon in the aptly named Tiamat's Throne.

• Arc Welding: The Alien Queen is revealed to be Tiamat's firstborn, Lahamu, who is jealous of the other children; especially the Olmites.
• Evil Matriarch: Her bestiary implies that all the playable characters are descended from her, and she's the one who called them to the Moon for unknown reasons.
• Fighting a Shadow: Beating her turns her into a statue, but her words — that you didn't disappoint her — as well as declaring "until next time" implies that she's aware of the time loops, and that this isn't permanent.
• Final Boss: You have to defeat her to reach the normal ending.
• Flunky Boss: Like Olmec in the first game, she summons enemies.
• Graceful Loser: She compliments the player upon being defeated, implying that she's So Proud of You, but also carrying some sinister undertones (see Fighting a Shadow above).

Hundun

The "World Egg" referenced in Chinese mythology, a giant egg with legs, the heads of a serpent and a bird, and a large eye in its center. The True Final Boss of Spelunky 2 only found in The Sunken City.

• Almighty Idiot: Described as a muddling Dreamer who always is, was, and will be.
• Artificial Stupidity: If the player positions themselves just right, the head further from them is very liable to hit the other with a fireball when aiming for the player.
• Cosmic Egg: This is what it's based on, and its tears indeed have The Power of Creation.
• Fireballs: The heads' main method of attacking.
• God of Evil: It's not clear if this is what it is, but Tun and Beg definitely believe so.
• Go for the Eye: You'd think that, but typical weapons don't do anything to the eye in its center^note and by the time it shows up, you've actually already beaten it. Hou Yi's Bow and the Arrow of Light, on the other hand...
• Immortality: Killing the heads does not kill it, it just… watches you.
• True Final Boss: Much like Yama before it, just trying to get to the Sunken City is just as much of a Guide Dang It! as getting to Hell was. Its defeat can be the end of the game, but there's actually more to the journey if you bring the right items.