character

The Warriors

The Warriors is a multiracial street gang based in the western neighborhoods of Coney Island, on the edge of Brooklyn. Their gang uniform consists of a red-orange pleather vest embroidered with the Warriors' logo on the back. The gang has an overall Native American theme, and their logo consists of a death's head with an Indian war bonnet shaped like eagle wings. This theme is accented by the Indian-style bead necklaces and armbands worn by some members. Their main stomping ground and base turf is among the many amusement park areas of Coney Island, particularly the landmark that is Deno's Wonder Wheel, a now-iconic symbol synonymous with Coney Island and The Warriors.

In a deleted scene, available on the special edition DVD and also included in some televised versions of the film, Cleon mentions that the Warriors is a street family of 120 members (plus affiliates), but only the nine chosen to go to Cyrus' meeting are shown in the film. The nine principal members in the film are:

• Cleon (Dorsey Wright): The Warlord, leader and founder of the gang. Named after the Ancient Greek politician. He wears a leopard-patterned cloth around his head as well as an Indian-style necklace. Immediately after Cyrus' assassination, he is attacked and overwhelmed by the Gramercy Riffs and presumed dead.

• Swan (Michael Beck): The Warchief, second-in-command of the gang. Assuming control after the loss of Cleon, Swan makes the decision for the gang to continue wearing their colors and fight their way back home, though in general his leadership is more level-headed and practical than his brothers-in-arms. After successfully leading the group back to Coney, he wins a gunfight against Luther using only a knife. During filming, the script was changed so that he ends up with Mercy.

• Ajax (James Remar): A cocky, loud-mouthed womanizer always up for a fight. After the loss of Cleon at the conclave, he engages in a short confrontation with Swan over who should assume command. He is said to be the strongest Warrior and is certainly the most aggressive. He wears fingerless leather gloves and a black tank-top under his Warriors vest. Ajax is arrested by an undercover female police officer. He is named after the legendary Greek hero.

• Vermin (Terry Michos): Quick with a smile and a joke, Vermin is the most cynical member of the gang, but a solid soldier and extremely loyal. He is tasked with carrying the tokens and money to the meeting. In an early script, he is shot and killed by the Lizzies, but in the finished script he survives the attack.

• Cochise (David Harris): A born fighter who wears Native American-style jewelry, leather pants and boots. He sports an afro with a red bandanna tied around it. He is named after the Apache Chief. He was originally scripted to die and then to be thrown into the Hudson River, but in the finished film he survives.

• Fox (Thomas G. Waites): The gang's scout, Fox is very familiar with other gangs' tactics, territory, and numbers. He dies when he's thrown in front of a speeding train during a fight with police. Mercy later tells Swan that "the cops got him" because Fox told her to run as soon as he began fighting; she was not aware he died. In the script, Fox was originally the love interest of Mercy, but the two actors had no chemistry and the Mercy romance was transferred to Swan. Waites left the film over this, which necessitated his character being written out of the story.

• Rembrandt (Marcelino Sanchez): The gang's graffiti artist, wears the standard Warrior's vest along with a messenger bag and an afro. The youngest member, Rembrandt is far less battle-hardened and is frequently looked after by the other members of the gang. He is most likely named after the famous painter.

• Snow (Brian Tyler): A stoic, African American Warrior with an afro. He proves to be a talented fighter during the gang's brawls with the Baseball Furies and the Punks. In the script and deleted intro scene, Snow is referred to as "Snowball".

• Cowboy (Tom McKitterick): An optimistic and happy-go-lucky Warrior who wears a Stetson cowboy hat and a shirt underneath his vest.

• Mercy (Deborah Van Valkenburgh): A prostitute from Tremont who originally has ties to the Orphans. She joins the Warriors after their confrontation with the Orphans and shows romantic interest in Swan. She occasionally denies being a prostitute and shows embarrassment over her condition around normal people.

TENTANG THE WARRIORS

Cyrus, the leader of the most powerful gang in New York City, the Gramercy Riffs, calls a midnight summit for all the area gangs, with all asked to send nine unarmed representatives for the conclave in Pelham Bay Park. The Warriors, from Coney Island, Brooklyn, are one such gang.

The eloquent and intelligent Cyrus (Roger Hill) tells the assembled crowd that a permanent citywide truce would allow the gangs to control the city, pointing out there are 60,000 of them and only 20,000 officers in the NYPD. Most of the gangs laud his idea, but members of the Rogues gang, who have smuggled a gun in, pass it to one of their own, who then kills Cyrus. Panic ensues. Luther (David Patrick Kelly), leader of the Rogues, is seen in the act by one of the Warriors, Fox (Thomas G. Waites). Immediately after, the NYPD rushes in from all sides. During the chaos, Luther screams that the Warriors are responsible for killing Cyrus. While the Riffs beat the Warriors' leader Cleon (Dorsey Wright), the other eight Warriors escape the melee and debate their next move, knowing they are deep in enemy territory. Meanwhile, the other, locally based gangs regroup at their respective headquarters. Masai, second-in-command of the Riffs, takes charge as their new leader, and declares a bounty on the Warriors. This sets the entire city's gang population out hunting for them, with a seemingly omniscient radio DJ (Lynne Thigpen) reporting on the events.

The Warriors begin their long journey from the Bronx back to Coney Island. The second-in-command, Swan (Michael Beck), takes charge, though the hot-headed Ajax (James Remar) openly voices his desire to be acting gang warlord. The Warriors slowly cross the dangerous Bronx and Manhattan territories, narrowly escaping police and other gangs every step of the way. On their way to the subway, they find another gang, the Turnbull AC's, looking for them. They have no choice but to make a run to the train. The Turnbull AC's almost reach them but the Warriors make it to the train, just in time for the doors to close. However, on the ride back to Coney Island, the train is stopped by a fire on the tracks, dumping the Warriors in the Bronx. In the Bronx, they come across a gang called the Orphans. They convince the Orphans to let them through town peacefully until they come across Mercy (Deborah Van Valkenburgh), a feisty girl who convinces the Orphans to try and put up a fight with the Warriors when they refuse to give her one of their gang-vests. When she challenges the manhood of the Orphans' leader, he, to save face, tells the Warriors to remove their gang colors for safe passage. The Warriors refuse, resulting in a near fight quelled only by the Warriors' use of a Molotov cocktail. Mercy, impressed, follows the Warriors on impulse.

When the Warriors arrive at 96th Street Station in Manhattan, they are separated when they are chased by the numerous patrolling cops who are trying to round up all the gangs after the "rumble" in the Bronx. Vermin, Cochise and Rembrandt make the train to Union Square, but Fox is killed in a scuffle with the police, falling onto the train tracks as a train pulls in, and Swan, Ajax, Snow and Cowboy run outside, where a rival gang, the Baseball Furies, lay in wait for them. The gang chases the four into Riverside Park, where a fight ensues with the Warriors victorious.

Leaving the park, Ajax breaks from the group in order to 'make it' with a woman on a park bench, in spite of the others' warnings. The woman, however (Mercedes Ruehl) is really an undercover police officer who handcuffs Ajax to the bench, and Ajax is arrested and taken to jail.

Swan arrives back at the 96th Street station and meets up with Mercy, who tells him of Fox's fate. On the platform, more police show up and Swan and Mercy flee into the subway tunnel. While there, Mercy expresses her interest in Swan, who doesn't like her because she doesn't respect herself. The pair end up kissing, but Swan pushes her away and leaves without her.

Arriving at the Union Square station, Vermin, Cochise and Rembrandt are seduced by members of a female, and possibly lesbian, gang called the Lizzies. Back at the Lizzies' hangout, the women draw weapons to kill them, but the trio narrowly manages to escape again (with only Rembrandt's arm badly cut by a Lizzie gang member), learning in the process that everyone believes they killed Cyrus.

Swan makes it to the Union Square station, but is promptly tailed by members of the Punks. Mercy also arrives, followed by the remaining members of the Warriors who re-group. They lead the Punks into a nearby male public restroom, where another fight ensues. The Warriors, hurt but victorious once more, then catch the last train on their journey back to Coney Island.

The Riffs are visited by a gang member who attended the earlier gathering, a witness to Luther firing the gun. Meanwhile, on the train, the Warriors gripe that Cyrus' plan was all "a load of crap". When four clean-cut types, couples who are returning home from their senior prom, board the train, the gang feels a twinge of remorse and regret at the life they've been denied. One of the prom dates drops her corsage upon leaving the train, and Swan gives it to Mercy.

When day breaks, the Warriors finally arrive home, but find Luther and the Rogues waiting for them ("Warriors, come out to pla-a-a-a-y"). The two gangs meet on the beach, where Luther reveals he had no reason for killing Cyrus, other than his own gratification. Swan suggests he and Luther fight a one-on-one duel. Luther, rejecting this, pulls his gun, but Swan quickly throws a knife into Luther's wrist, disarming him. Before more violence ensues, the Riffs arrive on the beach and acknowledge they have learned the truth of Cyrus's murder. Masai compliments the remaining Warriors on their skills and lets them go. As the Riffs swarm on the doomed Rogues, the Warriors head off down the shore, relieved that they've survived, but sad in the fact that they're all right back where they've started, which is nowhere