Spike Spiegel

Spike Spiegel is the main protagonist of the Japanese animated series Cowboy Bebop and the movie, as well as the manga adaptations. He is a bounty hunter or "cowboy" (as he's referred to on several occasions) on a spaceship called the Bebop, travelling through space with his crew consisting of his old friend, Jet Black, and recent members, Faye Valentine, Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky IV, and Ein. He's also nicknamed "Swimming Bird" by Laughing Bull. He has a bitter rivalry with an assassin named Vicious, he's a former hitman belonging to the Red Dragin Syndicate under his late mentor, Mao Yenrai, and he happens to have a love interest in Julia.

Recessional of the Red Dragons
Shortly after his apparent death at the Red Dragon Syndicate's stronghold, he was taken away while Trudy beheld the sight of her dying mentor. His corpse was relocated in another desolate hideout in Mars headed by a mysterious Oriental elder. He led a ritual while the surviving agents revived him using an insertion of Vicious' volatile blood. Being that both Vicious and Spike have the same type, it was successful; for Spike wasn't just revived but was also brainwashed into a killing machine by his new master, reuniting with his "brethren."

Trudy saw Spike's resurrection during a nightmare as the Bebop was heading to Earth. After she made a call to a Pokémon Trainer named Mary, she was persuaded to tell Jet and Faye her findings. The latter believed her while the former didn't, though Faye wanted to go with Trudy to prove him wrong. They headed to Tharsis where the devastated skyscraper stood, and they soon met Spike alive and well. Unfortunately, he was on a killing spree, to assassinate his friends in the Bebop crew under his new mob boss' orders. After a brutal fight, Faye was spared while Trudy was knocked unconscious. He warned her to never interfere with an upcoming war that'll determine the syndicate's prowess throughout the galaxy. His master congratulated him as he headed back, and the interstellar war would begin within three days.

He soon met the bounty hunters again aboard the Bebop as it was heading towards Earth. Under their penalty on not staying out of his sights, he brutally shot it down using his Swordfish II. Luckily, the crew was saved by the Shuttle piloted by two heroic robots named X and Zero. The Blue Bomber volunteered to evacuate the doomed spacecraft while the former Maverick kept Spike busy; he was proven to be a formidable opponent, for an Earthling, anyway. With a shot from the Zipcraft's plasma beam, the Bebop was obliterated though X managed to save the group. Spike spared their lives for the moment, and was quite impressed with Zero's dogfighting skills. He retreated after he sustained some damage.

During the exile on Earth, it was unknown whether or not Spike was involved in several massacres with his fellow agents. On the eve of the war, Spike found Jet wandering in the Martian graveyard; the same one he went to while searching for Julia. Jet confronted him, and apparently Spike was the shadowy figure that followed him, leaping from rooftop to rooftop as the special forces used Annie's devastated outlet as a base. It was one on one, until Trudy intervened. She was desperate in restoring Spike's deeper memories and used the small music box that played a familiar tune. It actually was from her dreams, and the melody calmed him down as he reminisced Julia while it was playing her song. But all hope was lost when a sniper shot her!

He kept persuading Spike to finish her and Jet using his Jericho, though he accidentally locked the pistol. As soon as the sniper made his move, Spike fought him until they were both shot. The assassin was dead, but Spike received a bullet that was supposed to symbolize a death sleep; Jet came to his side and found out about it. Trudy was saved as the bullet ricocheted off of Laughing Bull's star necklace. In his last ounce of strength, Spike implored him to end the war and win over the syndicate. He also apologized for not being there as he wished him luck.

He was taken into the destroyed store with Edward, Ein, Macintosh, and Mr. Appledelhi, while the rest of the group got involved in the war at Valles Marineris. Through another one of her visions, Trudy noticed that the syndicate had relocated near the summit at Olympus Mons. The special forces infiltrated the base, and Zero and Zoroark managed to rescue Julia before she's to be cremated. Meanwhile, the store was raided by the crime organization's leader, Master Kim Yokushimo. Jet fought him off until the himself was wounded, then Mr. Appledelhi shot the imperial in the head while Spike was still unconscious.

He was actually trapped in darkness at limbo with little to no strength to move. He felt himself slipping away for good until a few voices persuaded him to return to the light including his mentor, the twins Lin and Shin, Anastasia, and even Julia herself. When the war ended in the Dragons' defeat, the dying trucker, Victoria, offered to give her blood to the fallen Julia. Zero did just that, and then Julia offered to give a portion of hers to Spike. The procedure was successful despite the sacrifices made by Vicky, Zekrom, and Reshiram.

At long last, Spike was no longer being controlled by Kim, the shackles of his dark past were broken, and he could live freely with Julia while the special forces left for Earth.

Six weeks later, Annie's outlet was transformed, as was the syndicate's base. The building in Tharsis was being operated by the new bounty hunters led by Jet, with Zero as his assistant. Spike and Julia decided to live at the outlet and Trudy volunteered to do the same. They also provided enough of their earnings to refund Big Shots! for new bounty missions thanks to the donations from the cash earned during the war effort. The future looks brighter than before as Spike finally settled down in Mars. Although sometimes Spike and Zero tend to have a bit of a rivalry between them, especially when he suspects a robot means to win over Julia.