List of RWBY characters

This is a list of characters who appear in RWBY, an original anime-style CG-animated web-series created by Rooster Teeth Productions.

According to series creator Monty Oum, every character's name is tied to a specific color. There will be other teams with their names combining to form acronyms that are also tied to a color.

Main characters

Team RWBY (pronounced "ruby") is composed of the four title protagonists of the series. Each member is tied to a specific color and is inspired by popular grim's fairy tale characters.

• Ruby Rose (Lindsay Jones): a girl with black hair and red highlights who is the leader of Team RWBY. Taught to fight by her uncle Qrow, she wields the Crescent Rose, a mechanical weapon that is a hybrid of a scythe and a sniper rifle, and has the unique ability to maneuver at superhuman speed. Ruby's abilities impress Professor Ozpin, the headmaster of Beacon Academy, so much that he accepts her into Beacon two years sooner than normal. As she is the youngest of her group at fifteen years old, Ruby can be a bit childish and is obsessed with weapons. She was inspired to become a huntress by the fairy tales she read as a little girl and is determined to make the world a better place for others. She alludes to Little Red Riding Hood and her name is a reference to the red jewel of the same name.
• Weiss Schnee (Kara Eberle): a white-haired girl who carries the Myrtenaster, a rapier that channels the energy of Dust to cast powerful spells. Weiss is an heiress of the Schnee Dust Company, a large company involved in Dust mining. She tends to be a know-it-all and initially does not get along with Ruby. Her family and their company have been targeted in a violent campaign by the White Fang, causing her to despise the group and be distrustful of the Faunus. She has a noticeable scar over her left eye, which she acquired in a fight against a living suit of armor in the 'White' trailer. She is an allusion to Snow White, which is reflected in her name, translated from German as "white snow".
• Blake Belladonna (Arryn Zech): a black-haired girl who wields the Gambol Shroud, a katana with a sharpened sheath that has a pistol in the hilt, which is also attached to a long ribbon that Blake often uses in the style of a kusarigama. Blake has a quiet nature and a love for books. She is a Faunus (a persecuted humanoid race with animal-like features) and was a member of the White Fang, a social rights advocacy group turned extremist paramilitary organization. She has kept her Faunus identity a secret by concealing her cat ears under a bow. Her name, "Blake", is an Old English term for black, and she draws influence from Belle of Beauty and the Beast.
• Yang Xiao Long (Barbara Dunkelman): a yellow-haired girl and Ruby's older half-sister. She wields twin shotgun gauntlets called Ember Celica. Easily the most hotheaded member of the group, when she gets very angry or if her hair is damaged during battle, she completely loses her temper. Her eyes change from purple to red, and her hair bursts into flame. She is inspired by Goldilocks, and her name, Yang (陽), is Chinese for "sun" and "light".

Other teams

Team JNPR

Each member of Team JNPR (pronounced "juniper") is inspired by figures who had taken on the appearance of the opposite gender.

• Jaune Arc (Miles Luna): a blonde-haired student and the leader of Team JNPR who wields a sword and shield named Crocea Mors, an heirloom formerly belonging to his great-great-grandfather. The shield can fold into a sheath for his sword. Jaune is clumsy and has a very low self-esteem, often being prone to bullying at the hands of Cardin Winchester. He got into Beacon using fake transcripts, having never attended combat school. However, Jaune has demonstrated capable leadership skills and good tactical judgment. His name is derived from Joan of Arc, with his first name, "Jaune", also being the French word for the color yellow.
• Nora Valkyrie (Samantha Ireland): an orange-haired student at Beacon who carries Magnhild, a grenade launcher that can be converted into a hammer. Nora is very talkative and hyperactive in nature, which tends to annoy her teammates. She and Ren are long-time friends. Her last name, "Valkyrie", is inspired by the female warriors found in Norse mythology. She is most likely based off the Norse god Thor.
• Pyrrha Nikos (Jen Brown): a red-haired student at Beacon Academy. She wields a rifle/javelin/xiphos combination weapon called Miló and a shield called Akoúo̱, and has the unique ability to control magnetism. Prior to her tenure at Beacon, she graduated from Sanctum Academy with highest honors and had a record number of wins at a regional tournament for magic users, landing her a sponsorship from Pumpkin Pete's cereal. Despite her accomplishments, she is very good-natured and looks after her teammates, especially Jaune. She is named after the Greek mythological figure, and her last name is derived from the goddess Nike. She also takes inspiration from Achilles from Homer's The Iliad.
• Lie Ren (Monty Oum): a black-haired student at Beacon who uses dual-wield machine pistols with attached blades called Storm Flower. He and Nora are long-time friends, though he is the exact opposite of her, as he is mostly quiet and mature. His name in Chinese (猎人) translates to "huntsman." He is inspired by the legendary Chinese warrior Hua Mulan.

Team CRDL

Each member of Team CRDL (pronounced "cardinal") has a bird motif.

• Cardin Winchester (Adam Ellis): an burnt orange-haired student at Beacon and the leader of Team CRDL who wields a giant mace. He has a reputation as a bully, picking on Jaune and several other students. His first name comes from the cardinal bird, while his full name references the Cardinal of Winchester who presided over the Trial of Joan of Arc.
• Russel Thrush (Shane Newville): a green-haired student at Beacon Academy. His last name comes from the thrush bird.
• Dove Bronzewing: a light browned-haired student at Beacon Academy. He is named after the dove bird, and his last name is a reference to the pigeon of the same name.
• Sky Lark: a dark blue-haired student at Beacon Academy. His full name is derived from the larks of the Alauda genus.

Other characters

Beacon Academy staff

• Professor Ozpin (Shannon McCormick): the headmaster of Beacon Academy. His name is a reference to the titular character of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
• Glynda Goodwitch (Kathleen Zuelch): a huntress and teacher at Beacon Academy who wields a riding crop as her weapon, in a similar fashion as a magic wand. Her name is derived from the character Glinda the Good Witch in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
• Professor Peter Port (Ryan Haywood): a veteran huntsman and teacher at Beacon Academy. He uses a blunderbuss that has axe blades attached to the stock. His name and his tale of taking on a beowolf in his youth alludes to Peter and the Wolf.
• Dr. Bartholomew Oobleck (Joel Heyman): a teacher at Beacon Academy. He frequently drinks coffee and moves and speaks at an extremely accelerated rate. He is named after the children's book Bartholomew and the Oobleck.

Antagonists

• Roman Torchwick (Gray G. Haddock): a wanted criminal whom Ruby fights in the series' first episode, and who later engages Blake and Sun in battle in the first season finale. His weapon, Melodic Cudgel, is a cane with a firearm hidden in the shaft. His appearance seems partially inspired by the lead character Alex from the novel/film A Clockwork Orange.
• Cinder Fall (Jessica Nigri): a mysterious woman allied with Torchwick who possesses fire-based powers. She has only been seen in the first episode of the show fighting Glynda, and at the end of the first season where her face and voice were revealed.
• Mercury Black (J.J. Castillo): an associate of Cinder's who uses a pair of greaves that also function as guns.
• Emerald (Katie Newville): an associate of Cinder's who uses a pair of pistols with attached blades.
• Hei "Junior" Xiong (Jack Pattillo): a club manager who fights Yang in the "Yellow" trailer. His weapon is a bazooka that can change into a large bat-like club. He has some sort of connection to Torchwick, as the two were seen briefly together at the club and Roman makes use of Junior's minions. His name means "black bear" in Chinese.
• Melanie and Miltiades "Miltia" Malachite (Margaret Tominey): a pair of black-haired twins who work for Junior. Melanie fights with bladed heels while Miltia utilizes a pair of claws. They are altered designs of the first design of Ruby and Weiss.

Others

• Velvet Scarlatina (Caiti Ward): a rabbit-eared Faunus student at Beacon Academy. She is stated to be a type of mage. Her name is derived from The Velveteen Rabbit. Monty has described her combat style to be very mage-like, along with being very agile. Rooster Teeth held a fan contest to design her combat uniform, the result of which was announced on March, 6th, 2014.
• Penny (Taylor Pelto): an orange-haired student who came to the Vytal festival to compete in the combat tournament. She wears a small backpack which opens mechanically, and contains several swords which she controls with wires. Her swords, when in coordination, can fire powerful energy beams. She is known to act awkwardly around people. Her name is believed to be a nod towards Inspector Gadget, as the name is shared by Inspector Gadget's niece. It is also common fan speculation that she is an android, though this has not been officially confirmed.
• Sun Wukong (Michael Jones): a blonde-haired Faunus with a monkey tail who stowed away on a ship arriving in Vale. His weapon, Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang, is a collapsible bō that splits into two nunchaku/sawed-off shotgun hybrids. Sun is named after Sun Wukong from Journey to the West.
• Neptune (Kerry Shawcross): a member of Sun's team who has a large rifle that fires electricity.
• Adam Taurus (Garrett Hunter): a red-haired man who is partnered with Blake in the "Black" trailer. He wields a sword and gun called Wilt and Blush, respectively. Blush doubles as Wilt's sheath, and Adam can shoot Wilt out from the gun as a projectile. Oum describes Blake's connection to Adam as being akin to that of an apprenticeship. Blake severs her association with Adam during a train raid where he shows disregard for the lives of the crew.
• Qrow: an instructor at Signal Academy. Qrow is Ruby's, and possibly Yang's, uncle. He taught Ruby how to wield the Crescent Rose, and along with her is the only one able to wield a scythe. He seems to have connections with Professor Ozpin, but has yet to make a physical appearance.
• Tukson: a member of the White Fang, who was planning to flee to Vacuo, but is killed by Mercury and Emerald.
• Summer Rose: Ruby's apparently deceased mother whose gravestone is visited by Ruby at the beginning of the Red Trailer.

Grimm

The Grimm are monsters that appear throughout the world of Remnant. They are mostly black in color, and each one has a white mask with red trail-like designs. Ever since the dawn of mankind, the Grimm have battled against the humans. They are described as creatures of destruction and they lack souls, thus they have no auras. The name "Grimm" comes from the pair of brothers who wrote several fairy tales. The vocal sound effects of the Grimm are done by William Orendorff.

• Beowolf: Grimm creatures who bear resemblance to werewolves. In the "Red" trailer, the Beowolves appeared without their white masks, looking more like the traditional werewolf, before they were redesigned. Their name comes from the Old English poem of the same name.
• Ursa: Bear-like Grimm creatures. The normal Ursa only has the white mask and boney spikes on its back, but a larger one has more white boney parts all over its body. Their name is Latin for "bear".
• King Taijitu: Large snake-like Grimm creatures. It has two heads, one at each end, with one half of the creature being predominantly black with some white, while the other half is the inverse. Taijitu means "diagram of the supreme ultimate" in Chinese and is used to refer to the concept of yin and yang in Taoism. The King part may be a shout-out to the classic multiple-headed Godzilla enemy King Ghidorah.
• Death Stalker: Large scorpion-like Grimm creatures who have glowing golden stingers on their tails. Their name comes from the scorpion of the same name.
• Nevermore: Giant Grimm creatures that take the form of a bird. They have the ability to shoot large feathers to pin down enemies or prey. The name is a reference to the poem, The Raven, by Edgar Allan Poe.
• Boarbatusk: Boar-like Grimm creatures. The name is a reference to the Latin word "barbatus", meaning "bearded".

External links

• RWBY official site