Guybrush Threepwood
Encyclopedia
Guybrush Ulysses Threepwood is the main character of the Monkey Island
series of computer adventure games by LucasArts
. The voice of Guybrush is actor Dominic Armato
in the third, fourth and fifth games, as well as the enhanced remakes of The Secret of Monkey Island
and Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge
. Though a "mighty pirate" by his own account, it is a running joke throughout the games for characters to garble Guybrush Threepwood's unusual name, either deliberately or accidentally, including "Creepwood", "Sheepgood", "Thriftweed", "Peepwood", "Threepwillow", "Gorbush", "Threekwood", "Spicecake", "Graybrash", "Frygoosh" and "Flybrunch". He is also referred to as "Fancy Pants".
The origin of the name "Guybrush" comes in part from Deluxe Paint
, the tool used by the artists to create the character sprite
. Since the character had no name at this point, the file was simply called 'Guy'. When the file was saved, Steve Purcell
, the artist responsible for the sprite, added 'brush' to the filename, indicating that it was the Deluxe Paint "brush file" for the "Guy" sprite. The file name was then "guybrush.bbm", so the developers eventually just started referring to this unnamed 'Guy' as "Guybrush". Guybrush's surname "Threepwood" was decided upon in a company contest and is derived from P. G. Wodehouse
's family of characters including Galahad Threepwood
and Freddie Threepwood
(with whom he shares similar characteristics). "Threepwood" is also rumoured to have been the name of Dave Grossman's RPG character.
; in the second game, Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge
, while obtaining a fake ID (library card) in the Phatt library, a slip of a tongue ("nine....errr, twenty one") suggests that he may be 19.
He is 20 years old in The Curse of Monkey Island
as he proves to Dinghy Dog when he tries to guess Guybrush's age and Guybrush proves it with his SCUMM Actors Guild Membership Card, although, in the most recent game, Elaine states it was 3 years between Monkey Island 2 and 3. (It should be noted that she was in a poxed rage during this statement, and that Stan mentioned it was 3 months) Escape from Monkey Island
takes place three months after Curse, following Guybrush and Elaine's honeymoon, while it is stated in-game that Tales of Monkey Island
takes place roughly ten years since Guybrush became a pirate, making him 27–28 years old. However, Guybrush often lies about his age, for example telling the librarian that he was 21 in the aforementioned Phatt library in LeChuck's Revenge.
Guybrush grows a beard and moustache in the second game, but is shaven in the third and fourth games. Guybrush makes a reference that he lost his beard between the second and third game but cannot remember what happened to it. In the third game however, if one tries to use the shaving cream, Guybrush says that he shaved last week.
In Escape from Monkey Island Guybrush's middle name is revealed to be Ulysses
.
; he wears a similar blouse in all the other games as well but this one appears to have shorter sleeves (although they could simply be folded). He wears black breeches
, white socks and small, black shoes. In LeChuck's Revenge his attire changes radically, consisting of boots, a long, blue coat and two belts, one of which is worn across his chest. In Curse of Monkey Island Guybrush's attire is similar to his attire in the first game, but he has brown breeches instead of black and a small brown waistcoat
and red cummerbund sash.
In Escape from Monkey Island Guybrush has multiple outfits, which change during the game. He starts with a red, buttoned-up jacket, boots and a large belt with a belt buckle that has his initials on it (an in-joke
from Grim Fandango
). When venturing to Lucre and Jambalaya Island he wears a similar outfit to his appearance in the first game, except that his trousers are a light blue and his shirt has longer sleeves. When he is once more stranded on Monkey Island in the third act he wears his red jacket, but no shoes. His trousers have been ripped from knee down and his jacket seems slightly beaten up.
In Tales of Monkey Island Guybrush wears an outfit very similar to the one he wears in LeChuck's Revenge, although his trousers are brown instead of black and his coat is royal blue instead of marine blue, with a yellow "S" pattern over it.
, Guybrush displays a noticeably nastier personality, performing morally wrong acts just to spite or to progress through the game. He has also become much more egotistical from his previous accomplishments, though still displays a sharp wit and clever thinking.
By The Curse of Monkey Island
, Guybrush's personality seems to be a combination of his previous simple demeanor and nasty disposition. He is shown to be much more friendly and kind than he was in the previous installment, but is also still capable of making rude and sly comments and committing crimes that are a little less than vicious. Regardless, Guybrush is nowhere near as egotistical as he was previously and is much more contained in gloating.
He appears to have grown rather neurotic by Escape from Monkey Island
, where he is also prone to submitting to Elaine's whim due to them now being married, including legally changing his name to Marley-Threepwood. He has however become a much more polite and caring individual, never committing any particularly nasty acts, and even goes to great lengths to help others. He has also developed a considerable amount of conscience, evident by his guilt over stealing something as simple as a coffee mug.
In the years up to Tales of Monkey Island
, Guybrush matures significantly. He has become more consistently self-assured of his capabilities, has a sharper wit, and is able to stand up to Elaine on a number of occasions. He has also become more compassionate, allowing him to earn the friendship of Winslow (the former Captain of the Screaming Narwhal that he had bested) and Morgan LeFlay (the pirate hunter and his fan). Every shred of his egotism is gone, Guybrush truly and deeply loves Elaine and refuses to give up on saving her and remains immensely loyal to her, while still having the courage to stand his ground and be firm with her when he needs to be. This seems to have caused Elaine to have more respect for him and belief in his skills. His skills have also improved considerably as he is able to hold his own in a sword fight against Morgan LeFlay, the most skilled bounty hunter in all the seas, and even succeeds in defeating her with his sharp wit.
Aside from his razor sharp wit, Guybrush also seems to be highly literate, able to read long passages of literature and pronounce extremely complex words and phrases without having to think about it or sound it out. This is surprising as Guybrush mentions several times throughout the series that he dropped out of school and most pirates lack conventional skills in areas of schooling. This may be a testament to Guybrush's more intelligent side and that while he may lack common sense and a complete educational background, he is much smarter than a majority of the characters in the series.
during a fictional time period; 17th century-style pirates exist alongside anachronistic
objects such as vending machines that dispense grog in glass bottles). Guybrush, although portrayed as an attractive lad in closeups, is a scrawny blonde youth with minimal amounts of courage, intelligence and charisma
. His primary talent is the ability to hold his breath for ten minutes and he certainly appears to be an unlikely candidate to be a buccaneer
. He does exhibit plenty of persistence, however, and doggedly attempts to complete the three trials of piratehood.
In the course of exploring Mêlée Island, he meets and immediately falls in love with the Tri-Island Area's beautiful governor
, Elaine Marley
. Guybrush is not the only one interested in Governor Marley, however: the ghost pirate LeChuck
has long been smitten with her; Elaine, however, does not return his affection. She told him to 'drop dead', so he did. When the villain kidnaps Elaine, Guybrush is compelled to try to rescue her from LeChuck's lair on Monkey Island. She proves capable of protecting herself (as she is the former captain of LeChuck's ghost crew), easily escaping LeChuck's clutches (unbeknownst to the bumbling Threepwood). Guybrush, improbably enough, manages to destroy the ghost pirate LeChuck and becomes a fearsome pirate himself.
As LeChuck's Revenge begins, Guybrush has embarked on an epic new adventure to find the legendary treasure of Big Whoop. He soon runs into Largo LaGrande, LeChuck's former henchman
, on Scabb Island. Largo discovers that Guybrush has LeChuck's ghostly beard, which he has kept as a trophy
; he steals the beard and uses it to reanimate the corpse of his former boss. Thanks to Guybrush, LeChuck is now a seriously angry zombie with voodoo powers instead of a disgruntled ghost.
The Voodoo Lady
tells Guybrush that LeChuck can only be stopped by the power of the legendary treasure of Big Whoop. To find it, he must travel to nearby Phatt Island and Booty Island in search of the four pieces of a treasure map
. As he completes the map, he is captured by LeChuck; while attempting to escape, Guybrush causes an enormous explosion that hurls him to Dinky Island. Coincidentally enough, this happens to be where Big Whoop is hidden. Guybrush uses dynamite
to "dig" for the treasure and finds himself in a maze of underground, concrete-lined tunnels.
The remaining portion of LeChuck's Revenge is surrealistic
: One chases the other in a vague abandoned underground place that includes elevators, machines, an office etc. LeChuck claims that he is Guybrush's brother, in a parody of Darth Vader
's "I am your father" scene with Luke Skywalker
in The Empire Strikes Back. After Guybrush finally defeats LeChuck with a voodoo doll, he kneels and removes the pirate's "mask". LeChuck is revealed as Guybrush's bullying older brother "Chuckie". Suddenly, both Guybrush and Chuckie are children at an amusement park looking like Booty Island, with their parents; both games seem to have been daydreams by a young boy obsessed with pirates. Only a brief scene during the closing credits hints that this may be untrue: Elaine Marley idly wonders if Guybrush has fallen prey to some evil spell of LeChuck's, and we see "Chucky" has red eyes with an evil glow.
, writing in a journal
.
The player learn that the surreal subterranean place and childhood theme park where Monkey Island 2 ended were the result of LeChuck's deceptive spell. LeChuck had built a sinister theme park known as the Carnival of the Damned. The "revelation" that they were brothers was simply part of the evil scheme. After an undisclosed period of entrapment, Guybrush managed to escape in a long and conspicuously unrecorded adventure.
Writing his memories, Guybrush suddenly finds himself in the middle of a battle between the forces of Plunder Island (led by Elaine) and LeChuck's undead crew. Guybrush stumbles into LeChuck's cargo hold and finds an enormous diamond ring, which he decides to use to propose to Elaine. Unfortunately, the ring is curse
d, and immediately transforms Elaine into a statue
made of solid gold
.
The Voodoo Lady once again provides magical help, informing Guybrush that the curse can only be broken by replacing the ring with another containing a diamond "of equal or greater value". The ineffectual hero must assemble a pirate crew and sail to Blood Island and Skull Island. Eventually he manages to break the curse and restore Elaine to flesh and blood. LeChuck, who was killed in the earlier battle, resurfaces as a demon
pirate and captures Guybrush.
LeChuck returns Guybrush to the Carnival of the Damned and once again transforms him into a child. Improbably, Guybrush manages to change himself back to normal and blow up a section of the Roller-Coaster of Death, burying LeChuck under a mountain of ice and snow. Elaine and Guybrush finally marry and sail off into the sunset together.
, Guybrush Threepwood and Elaine Marley-Threepwood return to Mêlée Island. While the couple was gone, Elaine was declared dead, legally ending her lifetime appointment as governor. The governor's mansion is scheduled for demolition and a slimy politician named Charles L. Charles is poised to take over the position. With no other choice, Elaine begins a desperate campaign for re-election against Charles (who, unsurprisingly, reveals himself to be none other than LeChuck in disguise). As Guybrush wanders around Mêlée, he finds that all the local businesses are being taken over by Ozzie Mandrill, an Australian developer who is winning the deeds in matches of various insult games, such as insult swordfighting. He is also rather annoyed when people refer to him and Elaine as Mr. and Mrs. Marley, rather than Threepwood.
Guybrush discovers that Ozzie wants to take over the entire Caribbean. Ozzie is seeking a powerful voodoo talisman
called the Ultimate Insult, which he will use to turn all pirates into clean, productive members of society. LeChuck is helping Ozzie in exchange for Elaine's hand after her will has been broken by the Ultimate Insult.
Once again, Guybrush must assemble a reluctant crew, sailing this time to Lucre Island and Jambalaya Island before ending up on Monkey Island. There he finds an enormous, robot
ic monkey and uses it to return to Mêlée. Ozzie has acquired the Ultimate Insult; he uses its power to enslave LeChuck, who has taken on the form of a gigantic statue of himself. Guybrush, piloting his robotic monkey, manages to hold off defeat long enough to allow Elaine to escape. The statue briefly gains a moment of free will, and crushes the scalp-mounted Ozzie as well as the Ultimate Insult. The power of the Insult causes an immense explosion that seemingly destroys LeChuck as well.
. The result is LeChuck transforming into a human and his voodoo energies being released in the form of the Pox of LeChuck. An explosion results in Guybrush being stranded on Flotsam Island, while the pox infects pirates all over the Caribbean. While on the island, Guybrush meets his old friend the Voodoo Lady, who informs him on the myths of La Esponja Grande, the only known cure of the pox, and tells him to find her former lover, Coronado De Cava, to find it.
As Guybrush continues his quest, he enlists Reginald Van Winslow as his first mate and crosses paths with the insane Marquis De Singe, who is seeking to use the pox in Guybrush's hand for his own purposes, and Morgan LeFlay, a pirate bounty hunter who idolizes Guybrush and was hired by De Singe to obtain his hand. After losing his hand and defeating Morgan, Guybrush reunites with Elaine on the Jerkbait Islands and is forced to work with a seemingly reformed LeChuck to obtain the summoning artifacts to help him find La Esponja before poxed pirates do. When Guybrush acquires all three artifacts, stops the poxed pirates, and summons the creatures that will guide him to La Esponja, Guybrush goes off to find the sponge while Elaine stays with LeChuck to help him in returning the Monkeys of Montevideo to their proper habitats.
While Guybrush and Winslow follow the creatures, they are intercepted by Morgan again who has returned to capture Guybrush for De Singe. Before any harm is done however, all three are swallowed by a giant Manatee, which guides them to the location of the sponge. While in the manatee en route to La Esponja, Guybrush meets an unstable Coronado and collaborates with Morgan, posing as his wife, to get out of the manatee and obtain the sponge. Even though Morgan falls for Guybrush, she betrays him after he obtains La Esponja and hands him back to De Singe on Flotsam Island. Guybrush is taken away by an angry mob however and is placed on trial for causing the "Pox of LeChuck", in which Guybrush is able to stall long enough for Elaine, who is deeply infected by the pox, and LeChuck to come to his aid. LeChuck ultimately saves Guybrush by blaming himself for the pox and reveals the Voodoo Lady has been manipulating the events of the whole series for her own agenda. Guybrush is released and is able to amplify the strength of La Esponja, uses it to cure the pox, and kills De Singe to save his wife from his experiments.
LeChuck however reveals his hand and murders Morgan and Guybrush, revealing the pox and his human transformation to being a part of his plans to find and use La Esponja Grande to obtain infinite voodoo energy directly from the Crossroads and conquer the seas. The Monkeys of Montevideo are revealed to have been hypnotized by LeChuck and placed in strategic locations around the Gulf of Melange to open up the entrance to the Crossroads rather being brought back to their natural habitats. Guybrush arrives at the Crossroads as LeChuck takes over the seas and becomes the Demon Pirate God by using La Esponja to absorb limitless voodoo energy from the Crossroads. Guybrush is able to return to the land of the living first as a ghost and later as zombie, but learns Elaine is under LeChuck's control through the voodoo energy La Esponja is supplying him with. With Morgan's help and the Voodoo Lady's guidance, Guybrush reverses the powers of La Esponja, saves Elaine from LeChuck's control, and banishes LeChuck back to the Crossroads after a brutal showdown with the villain. He is ultimately able to return fully alive with Elaine's wedding ring, given to him earlier in the game.
as "Guybrush Threepkiller" - a playable skin for Starkiller. In Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine
, Guybrush appears as a playable character using a cheat code.
have made a statue which features Guybrush Threepwood facing off against LeChuck in a swordfight.
IGN
thought Guybrush was one of the few characters that would be strong enough to carry their own movie franchise, calling him "delightfully amusing" and noting that humour was one of his defining traits. Guybrush was included in GameSpot's
vote for the all time greatest video game hero. Guybrush was eliminated in the first round when facing off against Wander from Shadow of the Colossus
, garnering 46.5% of the votes. Empire
listed Guybrush as the seventh top greatest video game character, saying that he was "[a]rguably the most-loved character in point and click adventure gaming history". UGO Networks listed Guybrush as one of their best heroes of all time. When detailing pirates, UGO also called Guybrush "[t]he perfect protagonist for a light-hearted pirate adventure". Tom Chatfield, writing for The Observer
, listed Guybrush as one of the 10 best video game characters, commenting that "Guybrush an unforgettable presence in countless nascent gaming lives, from his knobbly knees to his less-than-silky sword skills". Guybrush also was listed in the Guinness World Records as the 38th top video game character.
Monkey Island series
Monkey Island is the collective name given to a series of five graphical adventure games produced and published by LucasArts, originally known as LucasFilm Games through the development of the first game in the series; the games have produced a significiant cult following. The fifth installment of...
series of computer adventure games by LucasArts
LucasArts
LucasArts Entertainment Company, LLC is an American video game developer and publisher. The company was once famous for its innovative line of graphic adventure games, the critical and commercial success of which peaked in the mid 1990s...
. The voice of Guybrush is actor Dominic Armato
Dominic Armato
Dominic Armato is a voice actor who is known primarily for his work on LucasArts games.Dominic had been a fan of adventure games, specifically LucasArts game such as the Monkey Island games...
in the third, fourth and fifth games, as well as the enhanced remakes of The Secret of Monkey Island
The Secret of Monkey Island
The Secret of Monkey Island is a graphic adventure game developed by Lucasfilm Games and published by the same company after its name was changed to LucasArts. The game spawned a number of sequels, collectively known as the Monkey Island series...
and Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge
Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge
Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge is an adventure game developed and published by LucasArts in 1991. It was the second game of the Monkey Island series, following The Secret of Monkey Island, and the sixth LucasArts game to use the SCUMM engine. It was the first game to use the iMUSE sound...
. Though a "mighty pirate" by his own account, it is a running joke throughout the games for characters to garble Guybrush Threepwood's unusual name, either deliberately or accidentally, including "Creepwood", "Sheepgood", "Thriftweed", "Peepwood", "Threepwillow", "Gorbush", "Threekwood", "Spicecake", "Graybrash", "Frygoosh" and "Flybrunch". He is also referred to as "Fancy Pants".
The origin of the name "Guybrush" comes in part from Deluxe Paint
Deluxe Paint
Deluxe Paint is a bitmap graphics editor series originally created by Dan Silva for Electronic Arts .The original version was created for the Commodore Amiga and was released in November 1985...
, the tool used by the artists to create the character sprite
Sprite (computer graphics)
In computer graphics, a sprite is a two-dimensional image or animation that is integrated into a larger scene...
. Since the character had no name at this point, the file was simply called 'Guy'. When the file was saved, Steve Purcell
Steve Purcell
Steve Ross Purcell is an American cartoonist, animator and game designer. He is most widely known as the creator of Sam & Max, an independent comic book series about a pair of anthropomorphic animal vigilantes and private investigators, for which Purcell received an Eisner Award in 2007...
, the artist responsible for the sprite, added 'brush' to the filename, indicating that it was the Deluxe Paint "brush file" for the "Guy" sprite. The file name was then "guybrush.bbm", so the developers eventually just started referring to this unnamed 'Guy' as "Guybrush". Guybrush's surname "Threepwood" was decided upon in a company contest and is derived from P. G. Wodehouse
P. G. Wodehouse
Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, KBE was an English humorist, whose body of work includes novels, short stories, plays, poems, song lyrics, and numerous pieces of journalism. He enjoyed enormous popular success during a career that lasted more than seventy years and his many writings continue to be...
's family of characters including Galahad Threepwood
Galahad Threepwood
The Honourable Galahad "Gally" Threepwood is a fictional character in the Blandings stories by P. G. Wodehouse. Lord Emsworth's younger brother, a lifelong bachelor, Gally was, according to Beach, the Blandings butler, "somewhat wild as a young man"...
and Freddie Threepwood
Freddie Threepwood
The Honourable Frederick Threepwood is a fictional character in the Blandings stories by P. G. Wodehouse. A member of the Drones Club affectionately known as "Freddie", he is the second son of Lord Emsworth, and a somewhat simple-minded youth who brings his father nothing but trouble.Freddie has...
(with whom he shares similar characteristics). "Threepwood" is also rumoured to have been the name of Dave Grossman's RPG character.
Incarnations
Guybrush's age is not defined in the game, though he may be 17 in The Secret of Monkey IslandThe Secret of Monkey Island
The Secret of Monkey Island is a graphic adventure game developed by Lucasfilm Games and published by the same company after its name was changed to LucasArts. The game spawned a number of sequels, collectively known as the Monkey Island series...
; in the second game, Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge
Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge
Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge is an adventure game developed and published by LucasArts in 1991. It was the second game of the Monkey Island series, following The Secret of Monkey Island, and the sixth LucasArts game to use the SCUMM engine. It was the first game to use the iMUSE sound...
, while obtaining a fake ID (library card) in the Phatt library, a slip of a tongue ("nine....errr, twenty one") suggests that he may be 19.
He is 20 years old in The Curse of Monkey Island
The Curse of Monkey Island
The Curse of Monkey Island is an adventure game developed and published by LucasArts, and the third game in the Monkey Island series. It was released in and followed the successful games The Secret of Monkey Island and Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge...
as he proves to Dinghy Dog when he tries to guess Guybrush's age and Guybrush proves it with his SCUMM Actors Guild Membership Card, although, in the most recent game, Elaine states it was 3 years between Monkey Island 2 and 3. (It should be noted that she was in a poxed rage during this statement, and that Stan mentioned it was 3 months) Escape from Monkey Island
Escape from Monkey Island
Escape from Monkey Island is a computer adventure game developed and released by LucasArts in 2000. It is the fourth game in the Monkey Island series....
takes place three months after Curse, following Guybrush and Elaine's honeymoon, while it is stated in-game that Tales of Monkey Island
Tales of Monkey Island
Tales of Monkey Island is a 2009 graphic adventure video game developed by Telltale Games and LucasArts. It is the fifth game in the Monkey Island series, released nearly a decade after the previous installment, Escape from Monkey Island. Developed for Windows and the Wii console, the game was...
takes place roughly ten years since Guybrush became a pirate, making him 27–28 years old. However, Guybrush often lies about his age, for example telling the librarian that he was 21 in the aforementioned Phatt library in LeChuck's Revenge.
Guybrush grows a beard and moustache in the second game, but is shaven in the third and fourth games. Guybrush makes a reference that he lost his beard between the second and third game but cannot remember what happened to it. In the third game however, if one tries to use the shaving cream, Guybrush says that he shaved last week.
In Escape from Monkey Island Guybrush's middle name is revealed to be Ulysses
Odysseus
Odysseus or Ulysses was a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the Odyssey. Odysseus also plays a key role in Homer's Iliad and other works in the Epic Cycle....
.
Attire
In Secret of Monkey Island Guybrush wears a white blousePoet shirt
A poet shirt is a type of shirt made as a loose-fitting blouse with full bishop sleeves, usually decorated with large frills on the front and on the cuffs. Typically, it has a laced-up V-neck opening, designed to pull over the head, but can have a full-length opening fastened by buttons...
; he wears a similar blouse in all the other games as well but this one appears to have shorter sleeves (although they could simply be folded). He wears black breeches
Breeches
Breeches are an item of clothing covering the body from the waist down, with separate coverings for each leg, usually stopping just below the knee, though in some cases reaching to the ankles...
, white socks and small, black shoes. In LeChuck's Revenge his attire changes radically, consisting of boots, a long, blue coat and two belts, one of which is worn across his chest. In Curse of Monkey Island Guybrush's attire is similar to his attire in the first game, but he has brown breeches instead of black and a small brown waistcoat
Waistcoat
A waistcoat or vest is a sleeveless upper-body garment worn over a dress shirt and necktie and below a coat as a part of most men's formal wear, and as the third piece of the three-piece male business suit.-Characteristics and use:...
and red cummerbund sash.
In Escape from Monkey Island Guybrush has multiple outfits, which change during the game. He starts with a red, buttoned-up jacket, boots and a large belt with a belt buckle that has his initials on it (an in-joke
In-joke
An in-joke, also known as an inside joke or in joke, is a joke whose humour is clear only to people who are in a particular social group, occupation, or other community of common understanding...
from Grim Fandango
Grim Fandango
Grim Fandango is a personal computer game in the graphic adventure genre released by LucasArts in 1998 and primarily written by Tim Schafer. It is the first adventure game by LucasArts to use 3D computer graphics overlaid on pre-rendered, static backgrounds...
). When venturing to Lucre and Jambalaya Island he wears a similar outfit to his appearance in the first game, except that his trousers are a light blue and his shirt has longer sleeves. When he is once more stranded on Monkey Island in the third act he wears his red jacket, but no shoes. His trousers have been ripped from knee down and his jacket seems slightly beaten up.
In Tales of Monkey Island Guybrush wears an outfit very similar to the one he wears in LeChuck's Revenge, although his trousers are brown instead of black and his coat is royal blue instead of marine blue, with a yellow "S" pattern over it.
Personality
In his first appearance, Guybrush appears youthful, excited and somewhat simple, mirroring the attitude of a child. Guybrush is however noted for his moments of self-assurance which often backfire on him, but is known to possess a razor sharp wit, allowing him to get out of dire situations. In Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's RevengeMonkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge
Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge is an adventure game developed and published by LucasArts in 1991. It was the second game of the Monkey Island series, following The Secret of Monkey Island, and the sixth LucasArts game to use the SCUMM engine. It was the first game to use the iMUSE sound...
, Guybrush displays a noticeably nastier personality, performing morally wrong acts just to spite or to progress through the game. He has also become much more egotistical from his previous accomplishments, though still displays a sharp wit and clever thinking.
By The Curse of Monkey Island
The Curse of Monkey Island
The Curse of Monkey Island is an adventure game developed and published by LucasArts, and the third game in the Monkey Island series. It was released in and followed the successful games The Secret of Monkey Island and Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge...
, Guybrush's personality seems to be a combination of his previous simple demeanor and nasty disposition. He is shown to be much more friendly and kind than he was in the previous installment, but is also still capable of making rude and sly comments and committing crimes that are a little less than vicious. Regardless, Guybrush is nowhere near as egotistical as he was previously and is much more contained in gloating.
He appears to have grown rather neurotic by Escape from Monkey Island
Escape from Monkey Island
Escape from Monkey Island is a computer adventure game developed and released by LucasArts in 2000. It is the fourth game in the Monkey Island series....
, where he is also prone to submitting to Elaine's whim due to them now being married, including legally changing his name to Marley-Threepwood. He has however become a much more polite and caring individual, never committing any particularly nasty acts, and even goes to great lengths to help others. He has also developed a considerable amount of conscience, evident by his guilt over stealing something as simple as a coffee mug.
In the years up to Tales of Monkey Island
Tales of Monkey Island
Tales of Monkey Island is a 2009 graphic adventure video game developed by Telltale Games and LucasArts. It is the fifth game in the Monkey Island series, released nearly a decade after the previous installment, Escape from Monkey Island. Developed for Windows and the Wii console, the game was...
, Guybrush matures significantly. He has become more consistently self-assured of his capabilities, has a sharper wit, and is able to stand up to Elaine on a number of occasions. He has also become more compassionate, allowing him to earn the friendship of Winslow (the former Captain of the Screaming Narwhal that he had bested) and Morgan LeFlay (the pirate hunter and his fan). Every shred of his egotism is gone, Guybrush truly and deeply loves Elaine and refuses to give up on saving her and remains immensely loyal to her, while still having the courage to stand his ground and be firm with her when he needs to be. This seems to have caused Elaine to have more respect for him and belief in his skills. His skills have also improved considerably as he is able to hold his own in a sword fight against Morgan LeFlay, the most skilled bounty hunter in all the seas, and even succeeds in defeating her with his sharp wit.
Aside from his razor sharp wit, Guybrush also seems to be highly literate, able to read long passages of literature and pronounce extremely complex words and phrases without having to think about it or sound it out. This is surprising as Guybrush mentions several times throughout the series that he dropped out of school and most pirates lack conventional skills in areas of schooling. This may be a testament to Guybrush's more intelligent side and that while he may lack common sense and a complete educational background, he is much smarter than a majority of the characters in the series.
The Secret of Monkey Island
When Guybrush first appeared in The Secret of Monkey Island he was an awkward teenager whose sole ambition in life was to be a pirate (the Monkey Island games take place in the CaribbeanCaribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
during a fictional time period; 17th century-style pirates exist alongside anachronistic
Anachronism
An anachronism—from the Greek ανά and χρόνος — is an inconsistency in some chronological arrangement, especially a chronological misplacing of persons, events, objects, or customs in regard to each other...
objects such as vending machines that dispense grog in glass bottles). Guybrush, although portrayed as an attractive lad in closeups, is a scrawny blonde youth with minimal amounts of courage, intelligence and charisma
Charisma
The term charisma has two senses: 1) compelling attractiveness or charm that can inspire devotion in others, 2) a divinely conferred power or talent. For some theological usages the term is rendered charism, with a meaning the same as sense 2...
. His primary talent is the ability to hold his breath for ten minutes and he certainly appears to be an unlikely candidate to be a buccaneer
Buccaneer
The buccaneers were privateers who attacked Spanish shipping in the Caribbean Sea during the late 17th century.The term buccaneer is now used generally as a synonym for pirate...
. He does exhibit plenty of persistence, however, and doggedly attempts to complete the three trials of piratehood.
In the course of exploring Mêlée Island, he meets and immediately falls in love with the Tri-Island Area's beautiful governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
, Elaine Marley
Elaine Marley
Elaine Marley–Threepwood is a fictional character in the Monkey Island series of graphic adventure video games. Created by Ron Gilbert for LucasArts, the character first appears in The Secret of Monkey Island and is one of the core characters in the franchise...
. Guybrush is not the only one interested in Governor Marley, however: the ghost pirate LeChuck
LeChuck
LeChuck is a fictional character in the Monkey Island series of graphic adventure games. Created by Ron Gilbert for LucasArts, LeChuck was introduced in The Secret of Monkey Island and is the chief antagonist of the series. Gilbert drew on aspects of the characters in the 1988 novel On Stranger...
has long been smitten with her; Elaine, however, does not return his affection. She told him to 'drop dead', so he did. When the villain kidnaps Elaine, Guybrush is compelled to try to rescue her from LeChuck's lair on Monkey Island. She proves capable of protecting herself (as she is the former captain of LeChuck's ghost crew), easily escaping LeChuck's clutches (unbeknownst to the bumbling Threepwood). Guybrush, improbably enough, manages to destroy the ghost pirate LeChuck and becomes a fearsome pirate himself.
Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge
In Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge, almost the entire game takes the form of a flashback as Guybrush tells Elaine what happened to him. Thus, it is possible to die by falling into a pit of acid, upon which the game fades back to the storytelling screen, with Elaine asking him to tell what really happened since obviously he could not have died if he was right there telling her the story.As LeChuck's Revenge begins, Guybrush has embarked on an epic new adventure to find the legendary treasure of Big Whoop. He soon runs into Largo LaGrande, LeChuck's former henchman
Henchman
Henchman referred originally to one who attended on a horse for his employer, that is, a horse groom. Hence, like constable and marshal, also originally stable staff, henchman became the title of a subordinate official in a royal court or noble household...
, on Scabb Island. Largo discovers that Guybrush has LeChuck's ghostly beard, which he has kept as a trophy
Trophy
A trophy is a reward for a specific achievement, and serves as recognition or evidence of merit. Trophies are most often awarded for sporting events, from youth sports to professional level athletics...
; he steals the beard and uses it to reanimate the corpse of his former boss. Thanks to Guybrush, LeChuck is now a seriously angry zombie with voodoo powers instead of a disgruntled ghost.
The Voodoo Lady
World of Monkey Island
The Monkey Island series takes place in a fictional world supposedly located deep within the Caribbean Sea and set roughly during the Golden Age of Piracy, some time in the late 17th century...
tells Guybrush that LeChuck can only be stopped by the power of the legendary treasure of Big Whoop. To find it, he must travel to nearby Phatt Island and Booty Island in search of the four pieces of a treasure map
Treasure map
A treasure map is a map that marks the location of buried treasure, a lost mine, a valuable secret or a hidden locale. More common in fiction than in reality, "pirate treasure maps" are often depicted in works of fiction as hand drawn and containing arcane clues for the characters to follow...
. As he completes the map, he is captured by LeChuck; while attempting to escape, Guybrush causes an enormous explosion that hurls him to Dinky Island. Coincidentally enough, this happens to be where Big Whoop is hidden. Guybrush uses dynamite
Dynamite
Dynamite is an explosive material based on nitroglycerin, initially using diatomaceous earth , or another absorbent substance such as powdered shells, clay, sawdust, or wood pulp. Dynamites using organic materials such as sawdust are less stable and such use has been generally discontinued...
to "dig" for the treasure and finds himself in a maze of underground, concrete-lined tunnels.
The remaining portion of LeChuck's Revenge is surrealistic
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
: One chases the other in a vague abandoned underground place that includes elevators, machines, an office etc. LeChuck claims that he is Guybrush's brother, in a parody of Darth Vader
Darth Vader
Darth Vader is a central character in the Star Wars saga, appearing as one of the main antagonists in the original trilogy and as the main protagonist in the prequel trilogy....
's "I am your father" scene with Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the original film trilogy of the Star Wars franchise, where he is portrayed by Mark Hamill. He is introduced in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, in which he is forced to leave home, and finds himself apprenticed to the Jedi master...
in The Empire Strikes Back. After Guybrush finally defeats LeChuck with a voodoo doll, he kneels and removes the pirate's "mask". LeChuck is revealed as Guybrush's bullying older brother "Chuckie". Suddenly, both Guybrush and Chuckie are children at an amusement park looking like Booty Island, with their parents; both games seem to have been daydreams by a young boy obsessed with pirates. Only a brief scene during the closing credits hints that this may be untrue: Elaine Marley idly wonders if Guybrush has fallen prey to some evil spell of LeChuck's, and we see "Chucky" has red eyes with an evil glow.
The Curse of Monkey Island
Similar to the gap between the first two games, Curse of Monkey Island opens with Guybrush floating in the Caribbean in a bumper carBumper car
Bumper car is the generic name for a type of flat ride consisting of several small electric cars which draw power from the floor and/or ceiling, and which are turned on and off remotely by an operator...
, writing in a journal
Diary
A diary is a record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. A personal diary may include a person's experiences, and/or thoughts or feelings, including comment on current events outside the writer's direct experience. Someone...
.
The player learn that the surreal subterranean place and childhood theme park where Monkey Island 2 ended were the result of LeChuck's deceptive spell. LeChuck had built a sinister theme park known as the Carnival of the Damned. The "revelation" that they were brothers was simply part of the evil scheme. After an undisclosed period of entrapment, Guybrush managed to escape in a long and conspicuously unrecorded adventure.
Writing his memories, Guybrush suddenly finds himself in the middle of a battle between the forces of Plunder Island (led by Elaine) and LeChuck's undead crew. Guybrush stumbles into LeChuck's cargo hold and finds an enormous diamond ring, which he decides to use to propose to Elaine. Unfortunately, the ring is curse
Curse
A curse is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to some other entity—one or more persons, a place, or an object...
d, and immediately transforms Elaine into a statue
Statue
A statue is a sculpture in the round representing a person or persons, an animal, an idea or an event, normally full-length, as opposed to a bust, and at least close to life-size, or larger...
made of solid gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
.
The Voodoo Lady once again provides magical help, informing Guybrush that the curse can only be broken by replacing the ring with another containing a diamond "of equal or greater value". The ineffectual hero must assemble a pirate crew and sail to Blood Island and Skull Island. Eventually he manages to break the curse and restore Elaine to flesh and blood. LeChuck, who was killed in the earlier battle, resurfaces as a demon
Demon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
pirate and captures Guybrush.
LeChuck returns Guybrush to the Carnival of the Damned and once again transforms him into a child. Improbably, Guybrush manages to change himself back to normal and blow up a section of the Roller-Coaster of Death, burying LeChuck under a mountain of ice and snow. Elaine and Guybrush finally marry and sail off into the sunset together.
Escape from Monkey Island
After a three-month-long honeymoonHoneymoon
-History:One early reference to a honeymoon is in Deuteronomy 24:5 “When a man is newly wed, he need not go out on a military expedition, nor shall any public duty be imposed on him...
, Guybrush Threepwood and Elaine Marley-Threepwood return to Mêlée Island. While the couple was gone, Elaine was declared dead, legally ending her lifetime appointment as governor. The governor's mansion is scheduled for demolition and a slimy politician named Charles L. Charles is poised to take over the position. With no other choice, Elaine begins a desperate campaign for re-election against Charles (who, unsurprisingly, reveals himself to be none other than LeChuck in disguise). As Guybrush wanders around Mêlée, he finds that all the local businesses are being taken over by Ozzie Mandrill, an Australian developer who is winning the deeds in matches of various insult games, such as insult swordfighting. He is also rather annoyed when people refer to him and Elaine as Mr. and Mrs. Marley, rather than Threepwood.
Guybrush discovers that Ozzie wants to take over the entire Caribbean. Ozzie is seeking a powerful voodoo talisman
Amulet
An amulet, similar to a talisman , is any object intended to bring good luck or protection to its owner.Potential amulets include gems, especially engraved gems, statues, coins, drawings, pendants, rings, plants and animals; even words said in certain occasions—for example: vade retro satana—, to...
called the Ultimate Insult, which he will use to turn all pirates into clean, productive members of society. LeChuck is helping Ozzie in exchange for Elaine's hand after her will has been broken by the Ultimate Insult.
Once again, Guybrush must assemble a reluctant crew, sailing this time to Lucre Island and Jambalaya Island before ending up on Monkey Island. There he finds an enormous, robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
ic monkey and uses it to return to Mêlée. Ozzie has acquired the Ultimate Insult; he uses its power to enslave LeChuck, who has taken on the form of a gigantic statue of himself. Guybrush, piloting his robotic monkey, manages to hold off defeat long enough to allow Elaine to escape. The statue briefly gains a moment of free will, and crushes the scalp-mounted Ozzie as well as the Ultimate Insult. The power of the Insult causes an immense explosion that seemingly destroys LeChuck as well.
Tales of Monkey Island
Tales of Monkey Island opens with Guybrush catching up with LeChuck and Elaine, who was abducted by the undead pirate once again along with the Monkeys of Montevideo. While LeChuck is casting a spell on the monkeys, Guybrush attempts to kill LeChuck with a voodoo cutlass he assembled, but corrupts the voodoo spell needed to perfect the sword by using grog instead of voodoo root beerRoot beer
Root beer is a carbonated, sweetened beverage, originally made using the root of a sassafras plant as the primary flavor. Root beer, popularized in North America, comes in two forms: alcoholic and soft drink. The historical root beer was analogous to small beer in that the process provided a drink...
. The result is LeChuck transforming into a human and his voodoo energies being released in the form of the Pox of LeChuck. An explosion results in Guybrush being stranded on Flotsam Island, while the pox infects pirates all over the Caribbean. While on the island, Guybrush meets his old friend the Voodoo Lady, who informs him on the myths of La Esponja Grande, the only known cure of the pox, and tells him to find her former lover, Coronado De Cava, to find it.
As Guybrush continues his quest, he enlists Reginald Van Winslow as his first mate and crosses paths with the insane Marquis De Singe, who is seeking to use the pox in Guybrush's hand for his own purposes, and Morgan LeFlay, a pirate bounty hunter who idolizes Guybrush and was hired by De Singe to obtain his hand. After losing his hand and defeating Morgan, Guybrush reunites with Elaine on the Jerkbait Islands and is forced to work with a seemingly reformed LeChuck to obtain the summoning artifacts to help him find La Esponja before poxed pirates do. When Guybrush acquires all three artifacts, stops the poxed pirates, and summons the creatures that will guide him to La Esponja, Guybrush goes off to find the sponge while Elaine stays with LeChuck to help him in returning the Monkeys of Montevideo to their proper habitats.
While Guybrush and Winslow follow the creatures, they are intercepted by Morgan again who has returned to capture Guybrush for De Singe. Before any harm is done however, all three are swallowed by a giant Manatee, which guides them to the location of the sponge. While in the manatee en route to La Esponja, Guybrush meets an unstable Coronado and collaborates with Morgan, posing as his wife, to get out of the manatee and obtain the sponge. Even though Morgan falls for Guybrush, she betrays him after he obtains La Esponja and hands him back to De Singe on Flotsam Island. Guybrush is taken away by an angry mob however and is placed on trial for causing the "Pox of LeChuck", in which Guybrush is able to stall long enough for Elaine, who is deeply infected by the pox, and LeChuck to come to his aid. LeChuck ultimately saves Guybrush by blaming himself for the pox and reveals the Voodoo Lady has been manipulating the events of the whole series for her own agenda. Guybrush is released and is able to amplify the strength of La Esponja, uses it to cure the pox, and kills De Singe to save his wife from his experiments.
LeChuck however reveals his hand and murders Morgan and Guybrush, revealing the pox and his human transformation to being a part of his plans to find and use La Esponja Grande to obtain infinite voodoo energy directly from the Crossroads and conquer the seas. The Monkeys of Montevideo are revealed to have been hypnotized by LeChuck and placed in strategic locations around the Gulf of Melange to open up the entrance to the Crossroads rather being brought back to their natural habitats. Guybrush arrives at the Crossroads as LeChuck takes over the seas and becomes the Demon Pirate God by using La Esponja to absorb limitless voodoo energy from the Crossroads. Guybrush is able to return to the land of the living first as a ghost and later as zombie, but learns Elaine is under LeChuck's control through the voodoo energy La Esponja is supplying him with. With Morgan's help and the Voodoo Lady's guidance, Guybrush reverses the powers of La Esponja, saves Elaine from LeChuck's control, and banishes LeChuck back to the Crossroads after a brutal showdown with the villain. He is ultimately able to return fully alive with Elaine's wedding ring, given to him earlier in the game.
Other appearances
Guybrush appears in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed IIStar Wars: The Force Unleashed II
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II is LucasArts' sequel to 2008's Star Wars: The Force Unleashed video game. A trailer announcing the game was shown December 12, 2009, at the Spike Video Game Awards. The game was released across multiple platforms in October 2010, along with a collectors edition of...
as "Guybrush Threepkiller" - a playable skin for Starkiller. In Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine
Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine
Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine is a multi-platform action-adventure video game by LucasArts released in late 1999. The first 3D installment in the series, its gameplay focuses on solving puzzles, fighting enemies, and various platforming sections...
, Guybrush appears as a playable character using a cheat code.
Promotion and reception
Symbiote Studios and LucasArtsLucasArts
LucasArts Entertainment Company, LLC is an American video game developer and publisher. The company was once famous for its innovative line of graphic adventure games, the critical and commercial success of which peaked in the mid 1990s...
have made a statue which features Guybrush Threepwood facing off against LeChuck in a swordfight.
IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
thought Guybrush was one of the few characters that would be strong enough to carry their own movie franchise, calling him "delightfully amusing" and noting that humour was one of his defining traits. Guybrush was included in GameSpot's
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
vote for the all time greatest video game hero. Guybrush was eliminated in the first round when facing off against Wander from Shadow of the Colossus
Shadow of the Colossus
Shadow of the Colossus, released in Japan as , is an action-adventure game published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2. The game was released in North America and Japan in October 2005 and PAL territories in February 2006...
, garnering 46.5% of the votes. Empire
Empire (magazine)
Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. From the first issue in July 1989, the magazine was edited by Barry McIlheney and published by Emap. Bauer purchased Emap Consumer Media in early 2008...
listed Guybrush as the seventh top greatest video game character, saying that he was "[a]rguably the most-loved character in point and click adventure gaming history". UGO Networks listed Guybrush as one of their best heroes of all time. When detailing pirates, UGO also called Guybrush "[t]he perfect protagonist for a light-hearted pirate adventure". Tom Chatfield, writing for The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
, listed Guybrush as one of the 10 best video game characters, commenting that "Guybrush an unforgettable presence in countless nascent gaming lives, from his knobbly knees to his less-than-silky sword skills". Guybrush also was listed in the Guinness World Records as the 38th top video game character.