Murray

Lore & Background

Murray is a Tasmanian devil from Australia who joined Sly Cooper's crew and has been a fixture ever since. Where Sly is the smooth operator and Bentley is the quiet engineer, Murray is the exclamation point. He speaks in bursts of enthusiasm, treats every heist like a front-row concert, and wields his guitar with the same confidence he brings to a power chord. His guitar is both his weapon and his instrument—he can hurl it at enemies, use it to bash through obstacles, or simply strum a riff to rally the crew after a tough sequence.

His personality is defined by a gap between his self-image and his actual competence. Murray sees himself as a rock star, a brawler, and a natural leader, yet he is frequently the one who needs rescuing or who accidentally sets off every alarm in the building. This is not a flaw the games punish; it is the engine of their humor. He is loyal to a fault, never backs down, and his enthusiasm is genuinely infectious in a way that makes the other crew members tolerate him.

Across the series, Murray's design has remained consistent: small, stocky, covered in dark fur with a distinctive striped tail, and always clutching that guitar. He is the visual and tonal anchor of the crew's 'band' identity—Sly Cooper is not just a gang of thieves, it is a band, and Murray is the one who makes sure everyone remembers that.

In Their Own Story

The vault door was three inches from locking. Bentley's fingers hovered over the keypad, Sly's shadow was already peeling back along the ceiling, and the security drones were sweeping the corridor in slow, patient arcs. Murray stood in the middle of the lobby, guitar raised, eyes wide, grinning like he was about to take a solo at a sold-out arena.

"BENTLEY!" he bellowed, and the penguin flinched. "You said three seconds!"

"I said three seconds for the *lock*, Murray."

"Same thing!" Murray strummed a chord so hard the nearest drone's gyroscope wobbled. He pointed the guitar neck at the vault like a conductor's baton. "I'm on beat. I'm always on beat."

Sly dropped from the ceiling, landed light as a whisper, and put a paw on Murray's shoulder. "Murray. The drones."

Murray blinked. Looked up. Looked back at Bentley. "…Oh. Right. The drones."

He strummed again—softer this time—and the drones swiveled toward the sound. Murray grinned, stepped aside, and let the crew slip past. "That," he whispered, "was a *transition*."

Reader's Guide

Sly Cooper and the Thieves' Guild (2002, PS2) introduced Murray as the crew's loud, guitar-wielding Tasmanian devil. Developed by Sucker Punch Productions, the game established the core four-member structure—Sly, Bentley, Murray, and the setting of a heist-driven stealth game. Murray's inclusion gave the crew a tonal counterweight: where Sly was cool and Bentley was precise, Murray was chaos with a rhythm section. The game was well received for its stylish animation and cooperative play, and Murray's over-the-top personality became an immediate fan favorite.

Sly 2: Band of Thieves (2003, PS2) expanded the crew's roles and gave Murray more mechanical identity, including guitar-based interactions in levels. The game's broader scope and more varied environments let Murray's personality shine in longer, more cinematic set pieces. Sucker Punch leaned into the 'band' framing of the crew, and Murray was the one who made it feel literal.

Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves (2005, PS2) rounded out the original trilogy with a more personal, character-driven narrative. Murray's role remained consistent—enthusiastic, occasionally bumbling, always loyal—and the game's stronger story beats made his loyalty feel earned rather than just comedic.

Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time (2013, PS3/PS Vita) returned the series after a long gap, and Murray's design and personality carried over with the same energy. The time-travel premise let the crew interact across eras, and Murray's anachronistic enthusiasm fit naturally into that premise.

The franchise's continued presence in the 2020s kept Murray in the spotlight, reminding a new generation of players that the Cooper Gang's heart beats in four different tempos—and Murray's is the one you can hear from the next room.

Did You Know?

• Murray's guitar functions as both his primary weapon and his musical instrument, blurring the line between combat and performance in gameplay.
• He is the only core crew member whose species is a marsupial, setting him apart from the canid Sly and the avian Bentley.
• Murray has appeared in every main-series entry since the 2002 debut, making him one of the few characters to span the franchise's entire run.
• His Australian origin is a recurring part of his character identity, tying his rock-star persona to a specific cultural backdrop.