Cowboy Andy

Andy Von De Oniyate better known as Cowboy Andy and later as Musashi is the titular main antagonist of the Cowboy Bebop episode "Cowboy Funk". 
He's a cowboy-themed bounty hunter who meets Spike Spiegel during his hunt for the terrorist Teddy Bomber and very quickly becomes his rival due to his incompetence and arrogant personality. In reality, he's the heir of the wealthy Oniyate family who was inspired by old western characters and became a bounty hunter for the thrill of it.
== Appearance ==
Andy is a blond-haired and green-eyed young man who looks a lot like Spike Spiegel in his overall appearance, sporting similar hairstyles, build and facial features. Befitting his bounty hunter name, he sports a white cowboy costume with a red scarf and grey shirt. After becoming "Samurai Andy", Andy now sports a blue samurai kimono and ties his hair on a tail.
== Personality ==
Andy is a vain and self-centered individual whose primary reason for being a bounty hunter is fame and to live his fantasies of being a cowboy. He's shown to be a spoiled rich kid who's only on it for the thrill of being a mercenary, rather than money, and because of this, is shown to be very incompetent at his job, showcased by how he mistook Spike for the Teddy Bomber twice, despite the real Teddy Bomber being right in front of him. Andy is notably very egotistical and narcissistic, to the point that he couldn't stop talking about himself, even during his date with Faye Valentine, dedicating a toast to his reflection in her eyes. 
Andy notably does not take his job as a bounty hunter very seriously and is always more concerned about showing off than truly capturing criminals. He's reckless and doesn't seem to care that much about any collateral damage that he and his horse may cause. Andy is very theatrical and extravagant in nature and also has the tendency to announce his presence with a signature whistle.
Underneath his confident cowboy persona, Andy is a coward who can't really handle the pressure of being an actual bounty hunter. This is better showcased when he starts panicking after the Teddy Bomber trapped them inside the City Hall elevator. Despite all of this, he's shown to be quite honorable and willing to admit defeat as he ultimately admits that Spike is a better cowboy after their fight, to the point he abandons his cowboy way of life and adopts a new Samurai persona.
== History ==
=== Background ===
Andy was born on the Oniyate family, a wealthy family of aristocrats who owned the Oniyate ranch. Growing up on a rich, priviledged rural environment, Andy would live his fantasies through different character archetypes that appealed to him. Andy gained a special interest on the cowboy mythos and their general aesthetic, resulting him in creating his iconic persona. He would join the Y.M.C.A (Young Men's Cowboy Association), but would get kicked out due to his recklessness and incompetence. Andy eventually decided to become a bounty hunter, making a name for himself in the mercenary world.
=== Cowboy Funk ===
Andy first meets Spike while he's going after the terrorist, Teddy Bomber, who had been targeting buildings on Mars with his teddy bear explosives. As Spike was aprehending the criminal, Andy suddenly bursts through the window of the building with his horse, Onyx. Introducing himself under the alias of "Wyatt Earp", Andy aprehends Spike, thinking that he was the Teddy Bomber, while the real Teddy Bomber manages to activate his explosives and escape from the building.
Andy is later seen at a costume party, which was the Teddy Bomber's next target, once again arriving on horseback as Spike and Jet are aprehending the criminal. He once again is fooled by Teddy Bomber's disguise and accuses Spike of being him, resulting in an argument between the two. The Teddy Bomber gets angry at the two bounty hunters for ignoring him and detonates his explosives and escapes once again. This time, Andy starts chasing him on horseback as he flees the scene. While on his way, he meets Faye Valentine on the elevator who he starts flirting with. After Faye starts tagging along with him on horseback, Andy begins pursuing the Teddy Bomber on the streets of Mars, while Spike does the same aboard the Swordfish. Andy forgets about the Teddy Bomber and decides to fire at Spike, causing him to crash his ship. Even after Teddy Bomber crashes his car, Andy walks right past him and ignores him.
Andy then takes Faye into his ship, where they have a dinner together alongside Onyx. While Andy is preparing his Son of a Gun Stew, Faye notes his bad taste in decoration. During the date Andy keeps talking about himself and his cowboy way of life, saying he only became a bounty hunter for the thrill of it. During the date, Faye can only think about how much he and Spike have similar personalities. Andy then makes a toast dedicated to his reflection on Faye's eyes.
After the Teddy Bomber sends a threatening letter to Big Shot inviting Spike and Andy to the Mars City Hall, Andy appears at the specified location and confronts Spike who decides to set things straight once in for all. Angered that the two were ignoring him once again, Ted activates an explosive and runs off to inside the building, attracting the two men into the elevator where he traps the two inside, saying that he had changed its emergency code and that it was heading to the City Hall's rooftop, where dozens of teddy bear explosives were planted. 
Andy is initially nonchalant about it, as he mentions he had resetted the elevator's code that morning, to which Spike mentions he did that as well, meaning the password was resetted back to Teddy Bomber's code and their effort was for nothing. Andy soon begins to panic, thinking that he was about to die, but Spike quickly decides to use the elevator's emergency escape on its roof, with Andy following him right after. 
After the on the last floor bombs go off, the two cowboys start frantically climbing up the building. Upon arriving at the destroyed rooftop, Andy and Spike decide to have a duel to settle their score. The two start a shootout admist the ruins of the top floor, which devolves into a hand-to-hand fight after the two run out of bullets. While Andy initially has the advantage, Spike angrily punches a nearby desk, which causes the fragile infraestructure to collapse, resulting in Andy falling from the ledge he stood. Luckily, Andy manages to save himself from plummeting to his death and starts congratulating Spike for winning the fight. Andy then admits his defeat at gives Spike his hat, saying that he was a better cowboy than him and that it was time for him to find a new way of life. Andy then rides onto the sunset on Onyx, saying goodbye to Spike.
While the Teddy Bomber is being carried away on a police wagon, Andy, now under the alias of "Musashi" and sporting a Samurai gimmick, suddenly appears riding his horse (now named Jiroumaru) behind the car, while taunting the Teddy Bomber before riding into the sunset once again.
== Gallery ==
File:Cowboy funk 1.webp|Andy meeting Spike
File:Andy aprehends spike.jpg|Andy accusing Spike of being the Teddy Bomber
File:Andy lasso.gif|Andy catching Spike with his lasso
File:Andy arrives at the party.jpeg|Andy arrives at the party
File:Jet andy spike.jpg|Andy confronting Spike and Jet at the cotume party
File:Andy meets faye.webp|Andy meets Faye
File:Andy shoots at the swordfish.gif|Andy shoots at the Swordfish
File:Andy and faye date.jpeg|Andy and Faye having dinner
File:Andy toast.png|Andy toasting to his reflection in Faye's eyes
File:Son of a gun stew.jpg|Andy's "Son of a Gun" Stew
File:Andy and Spike face off.webp|Andy confronts Spike once again
File:Spike and andy teddy bomber.png|Andy and Spike tell the Teddy Bomber to shut up
File:Andy scared.jpg|thumb|Andy panicking after realizing they're stuck in the elevator and heading to their deaths
File:Spike vs Andy.webp|Andy and Spike escaping the elevator
File:Andy and spike climbing.gif|Andy and Spike climbing the City Hall
File:Andy confronts spike.jpg|Andy confronts Spike before their duel
File:Andy vs spike fight.gif|Andy and Spike's gunfight
File:Spike vs andy kick.gif|Andy vs. Spike
File:Andy hat.gif|Andy giving Spike his hat
File:Andy defeat.png|Andy admits his defeat to Spike, saying he'll find another way of life
File:Call me musashi.jpg|thumb|Andy's new persona: Musashi
== Trivia ==
* Andy serves as a paralel to Spike Spiegel as not only are they both similar in overall appearance, but also share similar methods and trouble-prone personalities. However, Andy lacks the tragedy Spike had in his life that eventually shaped him into who he is.
* Andy's appearance was likely inspired by Rex O'Herlihan, the main protagonist of the western movie .
* His alias as Samurai Andy, "Musashi", is a reference to the famous real-life samurai, .
* Despite Teddy Bomber being the primary villain and the main target, Andy can be considered the episode's main antagonist, as the episode focuses more on his and Spike's rivarly, with its climax being the confrontation between the two cowboys. This makes Andy the only main antagonist of a Cowboy Bebop episode to not be a villain.
* Andy's line to Spike "See you Space Cowboy..." is considered one of the most iconic lines of Cowboy Bebop and is frequently used as a tagline in the end of the episodes of the series.
** Ironically, "Cowboy Funk" is one of the few episodes of the series which presents a variation of the line, saying "See you, Space Samurai..." as to reflect Andy's new identity.
*Andy did not appear in the Netflix live-action series for unknown reasons, instead being only name-dropped on the Big Shot program in Session 5. However, it's likely that he would make an appearance on the show's cancelled second season, though this was never confirmed nor denied. Ironically, the primary antagonist of his episode, Teddy Bomber, appeared in the series, while Andy did not.
*Andy's hat appears in the game Overwatch 2 as part of Cassidy's Spike Spiegel skin, which may be a reference to how Andy gave his hat to Spike after their fight at the end of the episode.
== External Links ==
* Andy on the Cowboy Bebop Wiki
== Navigation ==
Category:Anime Heroes
Category:Science Fiction Heroes
Category:Western Heroes
Category:Movie Heroes
Category:Mercenaries
Category:Male
Category:Thrill-Seekers
Category:Wealthy
Category:Cowards
Category:Weaklings
Category:Incompetent
Category:Dimwits
Category:Honorable
Category:Comic Relief
Category:Dreaded
Category:Rivals
Category:False Antagonist
Category:Good Vs. Good
Category:Spoiled Sweet
Category:Aristocrats
Category:In Love
Category:Defectors
Category:Localized Protection
Category:Counter-Terrorists
Category:Counterparts
Category:Arrogant
Category:Animal Kindness
Category:Grey Zone
Category:Samurais
Category:Chaotic Good
Category:Egomaniacs
Category:Jerks
Category:Philanthropists
Category:Mischievous
Category:Extravagant
Category:Contradictory
Category:Vengeful
Category:Anti-Heroes
Category:Vigilantes
Category:Businessmen
Category:Fighters