Murray

Murray or "The Murray" as he calls himself is a member of the Cooper Gang and is the strongman.

## Appearance

Murray is a round pink hippopotamus with brown eyes and is depicted as having a muscular upper body and a large stomach.

He wears a blue-green T-shirt and a light blue scarf.

He is barefoot in Sly 1.

From Sly 2 on, Murray dons a maroon wrestling mask, fighting gloves and a large belt.

He also wears a pair of driving goggles and black shoes with white laces (though they looked white in cutscenes and artwork).

Before he returns to Cooper Gang in Sly 3, he wears Dreamtime make-up and replaces his scarf with a short yellow cape to indicate his apprenticeship to the Guru.

In Thieves in Time, Murray's belt buckle changes from being a normal frame-style belt buckle, to one with a large wrestling plate on the front, adorned with the Cooper gang's logo.

His shoes go from being black with white laces (albeit in cutscenes they were white) to white with red stripes.

He also has a vertical yellow stripe going down the middle of the back half of the mask.

## Personality

One of the few comic relief characters in the game, Murray started off as a coward in Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus.

Before the events of Sly 2, his love for masked wrestling, and learning that he can put up a fight in the field, made him discover his strength.

He is much bolder in Sly 2, but witnessing Bentley get crippled and his eventual soul search gives him compassion and represses his rage to a point where he can call upon it when need be.

It is implied by several cutscenes that Murray is still a child deep down inside mainly due to his unstable behaviour, and despite his incredible strength and his bold personality in both Sly 2 and Sly 3, Murray has a softer side.

There are some occasions where he would prefer not to hurt anyone, even though he often mows down enemies gleefully.

For instance, Murray was initially hesitant about resorting to violence to kidnap General Clawfoot, on the grounds that he seemed like a defenceless old man; Murray only went through with it when Bentley explained that Murray couldn't physically harm Clawfoot.

Murray also has a tendency to take things that do not go as planned harder than everyone else.

He is often the first person to cry in these situations, best shown when Neyla betrayed the Cooper Gang, when the team lost the Cooper Van, and when Bentley became crippled.

He also felt inadequate to the team for most of the gang's time in Gungathal Valley when he tried to climb an icy wall, only for Bob Cooper to be called in to do it; while climbing icy walls was Bob's specialty, Murray probably felt outdone because he was the one that trained Bob to get back into shape in the first place.

Murray is also extremely determined and loyal, as he helps mend Bentley's fear of Sly not being his friend, and refuses to give up on his associates at any cost.

During the rescue of his van, he is told multiple times that it is far too dangerous, but refuses, as the memories of his time with the gang in there is far too precious to him.

His determination is so strong, he even moves the Panda King, who notes that Murray shows extreme compassion and heart.

## Skills & Abilities

Murray's characteristic strength makes him the muscle of the Cooper Gang.

This, paired with his large size, makes him a formidable opponent.

Most of Murray's abilities centre around the use of his fists or body; these include the Thunder Flop and Fists of Flame, among others.

Because of his size, Murray is unable to stealthily pickpocket enemies, so he must resort to picking them up and ruffling their clothes to find loot.

Under the tutelage of the Guru, Murray learned the Aboriginal Ball Form, which enables him to curl up into a ball and use his bulk offensively against enemies or objects.

Another ability that he obtained from his Dreamtime training was a Temporal Lock that freezes time for a short duration.

As the team's getaway driver, Murray is a capable albeit reckless driver.

He is also a mechanic, taking care of his van and building Team Cooper's biplane for the ACES Competition.

Despite his large appearance, he is also proficient in some artistic, like colouring, drawing and creative dancing.