Jayne Cobb
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| Firefly character | |
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| Jayne Cobb | |
|---|---|
| Gender | Male |
| Born | late 25th century |
| Homeworld | Unknown. |
| Occupation | Mercenary "Public Relations" (Mal's joke) |
| Notable relatives | Unnamed mother (alive) |
| Portrayed by | Adam Baldwin |
Jayne Cobb is a fictional character in the science fiction television series Firefly. He is played by Adam Baldwin.
Contents |
[edit] Character history
Jayne is a mercenary who did not fight on either side of the Unification War. He met up with former Independent fighters Malcolm Reynolds and Zoe when his gang tried to rob them. Mal offered him a larger share of heists and his own bunk. Jayne then shot one of his companions and joined up with Mal.
Jayne keeps a large arsenal in his bunk on Serenity. He has named his favorite and most powerful gun (a "Callahan full-bore auto lock with customized trigger double cartridge thorough gauge") Vera. He acquired it after killing the 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. In Serenity, Jayne is shown as having an affinity for grenades, although Mal does not always believe they should be used.
Jayne is regarded as something of a Robin Hood-like folk hero by the people of Canton on Higgin's 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 drop 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 let 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 after Stitch tried to kill him.
[edit] Personality
Jayne is good in a fight, and reacts before he thinks on many occasions. He tends to be shown as unsophisticated, but on occasion cunning. He has played successful jokes on the more intellectual Simon Tam (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").
Jayne demonstrates unexpected sentimentality in "The Message", when it is revealed that he sends some of the money earned by his mercenary activities home to his mother. In the same episode, he proudly sports a ridiculous orange knit cap with earflaps, 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, and there are several knitting patterns of it online. Other telling examples of Jayne's human side are when Kaylee is shot in the pilot episode and he can be seen watching her nervously from outside the infirmary, as well as his request to Mal of not telling the other crewmembers that he betrayed Simon and River in "Ariel" when he thinks he's about to die.
Jayne doesn't have many fears, but he has shown fear at 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 manner, notably being "spaced".
[edit] Reception
Baldwin won the SyFy Genre Awards in 2006 for Best Supporting Actor/Television.[1]
[edit] Notes
- ^ SyfyPortal Awards. Retrieved on 2006-10-08.
| The Firefly series | ||
| Episodes | Serenity | The Train Job | Bushwhacked | Shindig | Safe | Our Mrs. Reynolds | Jaynestown Out of Gas | Ariel | War Stories | Trash | The Message | Heart of Gold | Objects in Space |
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| Spin-offs | R. Tam sessions | Serenity: Those Left Behind | Serenity | |
| Characters | Derrial Book | Jayne Cobb | Kaylee Frye | Malcolm Reynolds | Inara Serra River Tam | Simon Tam | Hoban Washburne | Zoe Washburne | Minor characters |
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| Terminology | Moons and planets | The Alliance | Blue Sun | Unification War | Serenity Reaver | Browncoat | Firefly slang | Companion |
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