List of Samurai Jack characters

This is a list of Samurai Jack characters. In the series, Jack is thrown into a dystopic world ruled by his enemy Aku. The setting rails from futuristic towns and mega-cities to beautiful wilderness, with a colorful number of characters from varying settings, including mutants, aliens, bounty hunters and even demonic and mythological figures.
Major characters
Samurai Jack
Samurai Jack (voiced by Phil LaMarr) is the son of the Japanese lord who ruled the area where Aku originally appeared on Earth, and is banished to the future by Aku during their first battle, where he is left in every episode to search for a way home. He was born on the day that his father defeated Aku and he seems to be the only mortal (aside from his father) to be a match to Aku (which explains why so many will train him when he only shows the insignia of his father's kingdom).
As a boy, after his father was captured by Aku, Jack traveled around the world to prepare both physically and mentally for his confrontation with Aku. He studied under various scholars, such as Greek thinkers, and attempted to master each art of combat from the cultures he met, training with African warriors, Viking sailors, Robin Hood, Mongolian warriors, Shaolin monks, Greek Olympic contestants, Russian Cossacks, and several others (it should be noted that many of these cultures didn't exist at the same period of time).
Later, after being sent into the future, he is taught the ability to jump hundreds of feet into the air by a species of blue gorilla and a jungle man, thus allowing him to reach vast areas he previously could not reach while also giving the impression that he can fly, quoting a friend he rescued (Aku: Wha? You can fly!?)"No, jump good.) as the taken aback Aku underestimated Jack's abilities. Jack's magic sword was forged by the gods Odin, Ra, and Rama through three mortal avatars. The sword was forged from the righteous energy within Jack's father; it is unable to harm beings that aren't evil, as seen in one episode where Aku steals the sword and attempts to kill Jack with it, only to fail miserably. Jack later gains (though it is unknown if he kept) a blue colored gem called the Eye of Chronos that once belonged to Chronos, the Titan of Time. It was presumed to allow time travel when combined with two other identical gems. This artifact is ironically but unintentionally provided by Aku when he attempted to revive Chronos to destroy Jack.
Jack strongly exhibits the characteristics of a stoic hero. He is unfailingly polite and humble despite the completely alien nature of the futuristic world and never scoffs at or disparages the customs of the people he encounters (as unpleasant as they seem to him at times), no doubt a legacy of his international travel and interaction with foreign cultures during his own era. Despite his almost hopeless situation, he does not bewail his destiny, instead exhibiting a strong amor fati. Jack consistently shows an uncommon moral strength of character by helping the poor and defenseless along the way, in one instance even helping talking dogs that worked for Aku, another he released the souls of a family in a haunted mansion. Occasionally, he faces great physical pain, or has to forget his own goals in order to help someone in need.
In the first episode, his name was never mentioned. In the second episode however, he began using the name Jack when three teenage aliens, after witnessing Jack survive a huge fall by jumping onto cars, referred to him as Jack while praising him when he landed - in this case, more of a generic term, a la "dude" or "guy." On occasion, when asked to identify himself, he replied "They call me Jack." His real name has never been revealed.
Aku
Aku (voiced by the late Mako) is Samurai Jack's arch foe and the main antagonist. His name means "wickedness" in the Japanese language. He is similar to Akuma, the evil demon with burning eyes from Japanese mythology (which may also be another source for his name) like a tallest devil. He is an extremely powerful demonic wizard whose primary ability is shapeshifting, though he possesses many other powers, such as laser eye beams, pyrokinesis, summoning storms, object conjuration, necromancy, regeneration, telekinesis, ultrasonic screams, creation of time portals, and teleportation. He requires no food or air and is capable of interstellar travel. He also has the ability to spy on Jack and others from a large sphere he can summon at will in his tower. A significant aspect of the series is that Aku is immortal, and Jack's samurai sword is the only weapon capable of harming and finally defeating him; even the slightest physical contact with the sword's blade causes Aku severe pain, and wounds inflicted by it take much longer to heal from. Because of this, Aku does not like to fight Jack himself (only doing so on occasion), preferring to let his minions do it for him. Aku is also vulnerable to varying degrees to other forms of magical or divine attacks (such as the powers and artifacts of gods.)
Aku constantly antagonizes Jack, often attacking him while he is weak, and other times defending himself from Jack's own gambits. The two seem doomed never to defeat each other, for though Jack has bested Aku on numerous occasions, Aku merely transforms into a small creature and escapes, usually calling out a taunt over his shoulder as he flees, a fact that he himself is aware of and even makes a reference to in one episode.
The episode The Birth of Evil reveals Aku's origin. Long ago in the vastness of space, a great formless evil appeared. Before the darkness could do harm to the universe, it was set upon by the kings of three religions: Odin, the one-eyed king of Asgard and the Norse deities; Ra, the Great Sun God and King of the Gods of Egypt; and Rama, an Incarnation of Vishnu in Hinduism. So fierce was their attack on the shadow, that it was completely destroyed, save for a small fragment that was flung aside in the heat of battle. The fragment drifted and eventually fell to Earth, and caused the impact event that wiped out the Dinosaurs when it landed. The land around its impact site eventually formed into the islands of Japan, where it slowly grew and spread like poison over the course of eons, creating an ever-spreading forest of black spikes that devoured any who entered. Eventually the forest grew so large that the Damiyo of the land (Jack's father), decided to kill the evil at its source. Armed with a magic oil given to him by Buddhist monks, the Lord and his cavalry rode into the heart of the forest, the Lord himself the only one to survive. Once at the black lake at the forest's center, the Samurai Lord doused an arrow into the oil he was given, lit it with a green flame, and shot it into the lake. Instead of destroying the evil however, the magic arrow gave it both a will and consciousness, thus the Demon Aku was born. Aku proved to be unstoppable, so with the help of the three Gods, Jack's father forged a sword capable of harming him. With it, he was able to defeat Aku and somehow turn the demon into a black tree. This imprisonment lasted less than a decade however, as a solar eclipse released Aku upon the world once more.
While he is usually presented as a serious and threatening foe (as well as being pure evil), Aku is also a source of comedy due to his outrageous design and sometimes wise-guy behavior, supported by Mako's over the top voice acting.
Recurring characters
The Scotsman
Only known as the "Scotsman" (voiced by John DiMaggio), he is the only one of two characters to appear in 3 episodes- "Jack and the Scotsman", "Jack and the Scotsman II" and "The Scotsman saves Jack" (This is a 2 part episode). When he first meets Jack ("Jack and the Scotsman") on a days-long rope bridge, he makes fun of Jack, calling him various names and insults (such as calling him "a sissy in a nightgown"). He even makes fun of Jack's sword, calling it a butter knife and that he would do better wielding his "slippers". However, he recognizes Jack's valor, proven by the fact that he too battles Aku and has bounty hunters on his back. The Scotsman takes much pride in being hunted by Aku's minions and thinks himself the most wanted man on earth. He is very proud of his two-handed Scottish claymore, which is inscribed with Celtic runes that make it unbreakable even against Jack's blade, and his skills with it are even equal to Jack's multiple talents. He also carries a shield on his back. In his second episode, he gets Jack to help him rescue his dainty, beautiful wife who has been captured by Celtic demons, though this is a severe understatement by the Scotsman as she is, ironically, larger and more terrifying than the Scotsman himself, and stronger than Jack and the Scotsman combined. However, the Scotsman finds these qualities quite charming as he doesn't even mind her constant insults and light sarcasm, brought not only to him, but to his friends as well. The Scotsman even saves Jack when he loses his memory to the Sirens. The only reason for which he doesn't get charmed by sirens himself is that he finds other qualities attractive, he even says about the sirens hypnotizing song that "it sounds like someone's stepping on a cat." His features include his legs, one of which is disproportionately small while the other of which is working a machine gun that he uses in combat and several explosives contained in his kilt. He doesn't seem to lack money, since he carries an unknown amount of gold in his kilt pocket. He has poor hygiene, as it is shown that his breath stinks, he doesn't take care of his fingernails, and he has a unibrow and a walrus/horseshoe moustache with sideburns, without any other kind of facial hair, except for a few hairs on his forehead. He possesses superhuman strength, as he is capable of picking up and throwing a tank with relative ease. This is apparently a genetic trait, as the other members of his family are just as powerful and, by admission of the Scotsman himself, even rowdier than he is.
Jack's father
Jack's father (voiced by Sab Shimono (older) and Keone Young (young) appears in 4 episodes "The Beginning", "Jack Remembers the Past", "The Aku Infection", and "The Birth Of Evil". Like his son, he is brave, humble, and polite.

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