Jayne Cobb

Jayne Cobb
Firefly character
Jayne Cobb
Created by	Joss Whedon
Portrayed by	Adam Baldwin
In-universe information
Gender	Male
Occupation	Mercenary
Relatives	Radiant Cobb (mother, alive)
Homeworld	Unknown

Jayne Cobb is a fictional character in the science fiction television series Firefly. He is played by Adam Baldwin.

Character history

In the series, Jayne is a tall (6'4"), physically imposing mercenary previously uninvolved with the Unification War. Originally a member of a gang that ambushes Malcolm Reynolds and Zoe, Jayne switches alliances and joins Mal and Zoe after Mal offers him a larger share of heists and his own bunk.

Jayne keeps a large arsenal of weapons in his bunk on Serenity, the largest and most powerful being a firearm (specifically, a "Callahan full-bore auto lock with customized trigger double cartridge thorough gauge") nicknamed Vera. He acquired Vera after killing her previous owner, one of six assassins who were trying to kill him. Jayne frequently carries a handgun based on a LeMat Percussion Revolver, and in the movie Serenity, carries a machine gun named Lux, which is a reference to the internet handle of one of the show's dedicated fans, LuxLucre.

Jayne is regarded as something of a Robin Hood-like folk hero by the people of Canton on Higgins' Moon ("Jaynestown"). They have erected a statue of him in the center of the town and sing a song dedicated to "the hero of Canton, the man they call Jayne" ("The Ballad of Jayne Cobb") in which they tell how "he robbed from the rich and he gave to the poor." The true story is, however, less heroic. Jayne and his then-partner Stitch Hessian did indeed steal from Magistrate Higgins and dropped the money on the town, but this was only because during his escape, Jayne's ship was attacked and damaged. Needing to lose a great deal of weight to remain flying, Jayne dropped the money in desperation, but only after having already thrown out his unfortunate partner. In this episode he lets his emotional walls down the most, becoming deeply disturbed when the townspeople continued to idolize him after learning the truth, and being particularly affected when a man took a shot intended for him when Stitch tried to kill him. Jayne remains in this rare state of guilt and regret for the duration of the episode, until Mal, in a similarly rare moment of compassion, consoles him: "It ain't about what you want, Jayne. It's about what they need," adding "I suspect almost every man that has a statue idolizing him is one kind of S.O.B. or another."

He also states that he has been to the edge of space, but doesn't understand what about it could have made Reavers go insane, stating that it "…just looked like more space."

Personality

Despite his unsophisticated manner, and contempt for more intellectual characters, Jayne regularly displays cunning and common sense. Adam Baldwin calls Jayne a "practical guy," explaining his character's use of gallows humor by explaining that when in peril, the choice is to "panic and cry and crap your pants, or you make a joke and you try to survive."

He has played numerous successful jokes on Simon; For instance, tricking Simon, who harbors an excessive fear of the vacuum of space, into putting on a space suit to board a pressurized ship in "Bushwhacked". He's also credited for the witty, fan-favorite line, "I'll be in my bunk," after witnessing Inara bringing a woman aboard who has paid for her services as a Companion. Jayne also has a keen sense of danger and is often the first to raise an accurate warning about impending peril (also in "Bushwhacked").

From the outset, Jayne is portrayed as a self-centered pragmatist; when offered a position on Serenity that had more perks than his status as a lowly mercenary, he shot his partner in the leg without a second thought. When put in a situation that involves great personal risk, Jayne will nearly always lean towards a ploy that is to his own immediate advantage and ensures his survival. On occasions where Mal and Zöe have been absent and/or in danger, he often claims that he is next in chain of command in order to motivate the crew to do as he says. However, during the pilot, when given a clean shot at killing and usurping Mal's position during a showdown, Jayne instead chose to remain loyal, though he claims it's only because the money wasn't enough.

Though he engages in a few one-night stands, Jayne has no long-term love interest, beyond a lingering crush on Kaylee that Joss Whedon pointed out in the Serenity commentary. His feelings for her can be seen in his concern during the pilot episode, when he watched her surgery, as well as in his hostility towards Simon (Kaylee's obvious love-interest).

Jayne occasionally hints at more complex character. He demonstrates sentimentality in "The Message", sending money earned by his mercenary activities home to his mother. In the same episode, he proudly sports a ridiculous orange knit cap with earflaps (a tuque), simply because his mother made it for him (Wash: "A man walks down the street in that hat, people know he's not afraid of anything."). The same "cunning hat" has become a favorite among fans. There are several knitting patterns of it online, and several folk songs have been written about it, such as "Jayne's Hat" by Stan Peale.

Jayne is also seen to demonstrate some degree of ""noblesse oblige"", pretending to be touched by the gift of a stick in "Our Mrs. Reynolds" and showing visible discomfort at being proclaimed a hero in "Jaynestown". In "Ariel", when he thinks he's about to die, he requests Mal to not tell the other crewmembers that he betrayed Simon and River. In Serenity he agrees with Mal's plan to expose the Alliance's creation of the Reavers, quoting Book : "if you can't do something smart, do something right". Jayne was shown in the film Serenity to be able to play a guitar. (He played a variation on the Firefly theme tune The Ballad of Serenity.)

Jayne has shown fear at upsetting Malcolm Reynolds and anything to do with Reavers, a subpopulation of feral humans. He is convinced that fugitives Simon and his sister River Tam will bring the Alliance down on them, and this concern fuels his dislike of the Tams. This led to him nearly handing them over to the Alliance in "Ariel", but even before the Alliance forces double-crossed him to keep the money for themselves he was showing doubt about his decision after Simon helped save a patient from an incompetent doctor, and after they learned precisely what had happened to River. Jayne has also demonstrated fear of dying in what he considers an unmanly fashion, notably being "spaced".

In "Out of Gas" Jayne is seen on-screen curiously poking at Simon's birthday cake. In the commentaries for episodes "Out of Gas" and "War Stories", it is mentioned that Adam Baldwin added a "tactile" compulsion to the character. Jayne tends to touch, smell and taste things habitually, being constantly in touch with his surroundings.

Reception

Baldwin won the SyFy Genre Awards in 2006 for Best Supporting Actor/Television.