Crook (City)

The Crook is a City minifigure that is commonly seen in the Police subtheme as criminals.
== Description ==
This style of prisoner minifigure was the successor to the jumpsuit-wearing prisoner seen in World City and functions as the representation of generic criminals. 
The original Crook minifigure has a face with stubble and a devious-looking smile. He has a gold tooth in most sets, although in 7744 Police Headquarters, there is one with no stubble and a closed mouth with scowl. The Crook generally wears a standard white shirt with a 1960's-style gray stripe decoration reminiscent of a prisoner's uniform, with the number 50380, and a loose collar revealing chest hair. Additionally, he wears gray trousers and in some cases he also wears a light gray jacket on top of his shirt to conceal it and more easily blend in. Almost all male versions of the crook usually wear a beret-style skullcap, resembling a knit cap. The more recently introduced female versions, on the other hand, usually do not wear any headgear at all and instead feature various hairstyles. 
More recent versions of the crook also wield crowbars, shovels and other tools used to break into places. Additionally, more recent versions of the crook have also begun to display much greater variety in their choice and style of clothing as well as their facial expressions, facial hair and other accessories, such as black domino masks.
They are also often depicted stealing valuables like money, jewelry and other valuables.
In more recent sets, whenever the crooks operate vehicles as either getaway vehicles or otherwise, those tend to be colored black and red.
== Versions and variations ==
In 2012, two new variations were released, as the City theme was relocated to a forest-themed area. One with a torn, sleeveless version of the standard striped shirt and muttonchops along with brown trousers, and another with Sand Blue overalls and a burgundy cap. The sleeveless shirt version would later be re-released in 2014, albeit this time with dark gray trousers.
In 2013, two new variations were released, one with a mustache and mask, as well as one with stubble and snarl. This version replaces the gray-and-white striped shirt with one that is gray with black stripes and he also switches out his knit cap for a stone gray version as well. The print on his torso depicts a length of rope and a tool belt. A female version would later be released in 2014, who wears a black leather motorcycle jacket over her black-and gray stripe shirt as well as gray trousers. She does not wear a knit cap but instead has brown hair and red lipstick.
In 2015, two new swamp-themed Crook versions was released, along with their hideout. The first version looks similar to the original one, but has an angrier facial expression, his shirt is opened, revealing a gray undershirt beneath it and he wears baggy khaki trousers, secured by a rope. The second version wears the original striped shirt and knit cap along with light blue trousers with green suspenders. He has an orange, bushy beard and wields a shovel, used to hide and bury his ill-gotten gains. A third, female version also exists; this one wears a female version of the standard striped shirt, which is slightly undone at the top, revealing a necklace, and light blue trousers. She does not wear the regular knit cap but instead has orange-red hair.
The LEGO Games set 3865 City Alarm, there is a unique microfigure version of the crook. It is mostly based on a shrunk-down version of the original male crook seen above, but without the headgear. The microfigure version is thus far exclusive to this set.
In 2016, four new variants was introduced, alongside another crook hideout. The first version looks similar to the original one, but replaces his gray trousers with a pair of white-and-gray striped ones, continuing the striped pattern from his shirt. The second and third versions are similar, but both wear their standard prison suits openend, revealing an orange undershirt underneath it. One wears the regular skullcap whle the other does not and instead has black hair. A fourth variation, named Crook Chuck, does not wear his prison suit at all and instead has it tied around his waist, revealing his orange sleeveless unershirt. He also has a black moustache and a black skullcap. Lastly, a fifth variation was also introduced, who wears a black leather jacket on top of this normal white-and-gray-striped prison suit, as well as blue trousers.
In 2017, another new variation was unveiled. This version wears a bright orange vest with reflective stripes over the standard striped shirt with dark grey stripes, along with dark stone grey pants and a black knit cap. His face is printed with stubble and a frowning expression.
In 2020, a total of six new versions wre introduced:
* Set 60314 introduced two new variations. These crooks are styled to look like ice cream vendors, and have an ice cream truck to go with them, but they are actually undercover criminals trying to steal an ATM to loot the money inside it. Crook Ice, a female crook, wears a light blue ice-cream-cone-suit and a light blue shirt with a bow tie and matching trousers. When not wearing the suit, she has light blue hair. Crook cream, a male crook, wears an identical suit and similar shirt, but magenta-colored instead and wears a necklace instead of a bowtie. To indicate that they are crooks, Crook Ice wears a white-and-gray-striped vest on top of her shirt and Crook Cream wears white-and-gray-striped coveralls, and they both wear black domino masks.
* Set 60244 introduced a named crook named Frankie Lupelli alongside a generic female crook titled as "Criminal". Frankie wears a gray beanie (distinct from the normal skullcap), a brown jacket in addition to the regular striped shirt and gray trousers. He also has a band-aid on his left cheek. Set 60277 would feature a complete redesign, where Frankie instead wears a red-and-gray diving suit, complete with a red helmet and red leg fins.
* Additionally, a gang of three new reocurring named crooks were also introduced, named Vito, Hacksaw Hank and Big Betty, which oppose the Elite Police. Vito deviates significantly from earlier crooks by being almost completely devoid of the usual gray-and-white stripes that characterise the crooks. In his first version he wears a worn and slightly torn red shirt with dark red stripes while in his second version he exchanges the shirt for a red suit jacket with a gray-and-white-striped cravat tie. Hacksaw Hank looks similar, and wears a red vest on top of the ordinary striped shirt along with gray trousers. Big Betty wears a red baseball cap, red trousers and a gray college jacket on top of her gray-and-white striped shirt.
== Background ==
The Crook is the eternal bad guy of the City and the main villain and antagonist of that theme. They are criminals, petty thieves and general troublemakers that commit crimes and cause trouble on the streets and are thus constantly getting chased by and usually captured by the Police. Their crimes include break-ins, burglary and (bank)robbery, stealing valuables like money and jewelry or in other cases breaking out of jail/prison and trying to escape. Crooks sometimes operate alone, sometimes in pairs, sometimes in groups and in video games, they can be found in even larger gangs, all depending on the situation. Some are named, others not and all together, they form a criminal element in the City that the Police must combat and stop.
== Gallery of Variants ==
== Appearances ==
* 3661 Bank & Money Transfer
* 3865 City Alarm (Microfigure)
* 7743 Police Command Center
* 7744 Police Headquarters
* 7245 Prisoner Transport
* 7899 Police Boat
* 851848 Tic Tac Toe
* 60009 Helicopter Arrest
* 60008 Museum Break-in
* 60007 High Speed Chase
* 60068 Crooks' Hideout
* 60127 Prison Island Starter Set
* 60130 Prison Island
* 60131 Crooks Island
* 60242 Police Highway Arrest
* 60244 Police Helicopter Transport
* 60245 Police Monster Truck Heist
* 60246 Police Station
* 60273 Elite Police Driller Chase
* 60274 Elite Police Lighthouse Arrest
* 60277 Police Patrol Boat
* 60303 City Advent Calendar
* 60314 Ice Cream Truck Police Chase
* 60317 Police Chase at the Bank
* 60319 Fire Rescue & Police Chase
;Magazines
* LEGO Club Magazine Issue 1 2011 - contents page, The Big Crime Wave!
;Books
* LEGO Minifigure Year by Year: A Visual History
== See Also ==
* Jailbreak Joe
* Hank
* Crook Chuck
* Jailbreaker
* Ms. Crook
* Vito
* Hacksaw Hank
* Big Betty
Bricklink.com (Contains a long list of the different variations of both the Crook and other minifigures)
Category:City Minifigures
Category:Minifigures introduced in 2006
Category:Police
Category:Criminal Minifigures