You know why The Grizz loves skating? It's clean, man. It's like, just me and the ice. No complications, no hassles, no worries.
― The Grizz[src]
The Grizz, or simply Grizz, is a male black bear with black fur and brown eyes. He teamed up with Cyrille Le Paradox, and was the antagonist for Clan of the Cave Raccoon in Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time. He planned on forging cave paintings in the past, only to dig them up in the present and make him worth a fortune.
He was voiced by Fred Tatasciore.
Biography
Background
As a child, the Grizz loved to ice skate, as it made him feel free, as well as for its "cleanness," where it was just him and the ice. However, he would eventually became a common street thug and graffiti artist with a penchant for rapping. One night, after he was caught by police tagging a wall with graffiti, he was suddenly bailed out and thrust into the limelight by a wandering art expert. He had his primitive art hailed as a brilliant new style called "Paleo-graffiti" and, for a time, he enjoyed celebrity status.
His fame was short-lived, however when people soon got over the fad, realizing that his art wasn't as good as they originally thought, and he was thrown right back into the gutter. Resentful on how he was treated by the art community, he returned to his criminal roots, quickly becoming the top art thief on INTERPOL's most wanted list. He was one of Inspector Carmelita Fox's main and largest targets, aside from Sly Cooper, and he had simply vanished before he could be arrested. The Grizz was hired by Le Paradox to erase the first Cooper from history, Bob Cooper.[1]
Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time
While in the prehistoric era, Grizz captured all of the local Pterodactyls and their eggs to use for paint. This eliminated Bob's role as the food provider for his tribe and title as the greatest egg thief ever. This made Bob depressed and become out of shape, which made it easy for Grizz to imprison him in his fortress and steal his cane. Grizz was later followed by Bentley into his Cold Storage Caverns. There it was revealed that Grizz stole the pterodactyl eggs to make paint. He then would used the paint for his prehistoric art operation, where he and his crew would paint phony cave paintings and go back to the present day, where they would dig them up and sell them for a fortune.[2] Unfortunately, his deal with Le Paradox hadn't gone very well since all the eggs were stolen by Bob, which frustrated Grizz, who needed to keep his counterfeit painting production going in spite of the fact that Le Paradox was neglecting him.[3] After the Cooper Gang interfered in his plans, he battled with Murray, using his skills as an ice skater to try and defeat him, but was ultimately bested by the hippo and sent to jail,[4] where he was given a long prison sentence. While doing time, the Grizz continued to rap and paint, making portraits of his fellow inmates.[5]
Characteristics
Physical appearance
The Grizz is a large black bear. He wears a purple tracksuit with two vertical yellow lines going down the right side of his torso, as well as a single yellow stripe on each sleeve, which are rolled up to his elbows. He has a yellow belt around his waist with a gold belt buckle. He also wears brown boots, and around his neck is a gold chain necklace that has a gold pendant. He carries either a large paint brush or scepter in his left hand. On his head is a medieval English crown.
Personality
The Grizz uses his large, threatening appearance to try and push others to do what he wants. He speaks with an African American dialect and a high level of arrogance, thinking he can defeat anyone. He tends to shout every word that flies out of his mouth. While on the phone with Cyrille Le Paradox, the Grizz lets a different side come to light, one that sees the world as being against him, to the point where he sees Le Paradox and the Cooper Gang are equally against him. He often raps his thoughts and many of his sentences.
Abilities
He is an expert ice skater, able to skate backwards, twirl, jump and move very fast. He can use his skating abilities in combat, generating shockwaves or blocks of ice to attack with. As a bear, he also has great physical strength that he can use to knock icicles and stalactites from the cave ceiling.
While the art world quickly grew tired of his so-called "paleo-graffiti," the Grizz still used his artistic ability to create intricate locks, as well as burying his art in the past to be dug up in the present for money.
Guards
| Animal | Type of Guard | Weapon | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woolly mammoths | Flashlight guards | Slingshot | They are armed with a slingshot and a torch to see. They also attack with their tusks. |
| Sabertooth tigers | Rooftop guards | Boomerang | They are armed with a boomerang; they can throw it or use their fangs to attack. |
| Dodos | Rooftop guards | Beaks | They use their beaks to attack. |
Gallery
Trivia
- In all of the artwork featuring the Grizz, he carries a scepter, giving him a much more kingly appearance. However, in the actual game, he carries a golden, bejeweled paintbrush. Many fans believe this was mainly done as a red herring to keep the Black Knight's identity, and Penelope's betrayal, a secret from the public until the release of Thieves in Time, as Miss Decibel and the Grizz, then called Grizzle B, had their artwork released at a time when not much about Medieval England and Ancient Arabia were known.
- Only an ice sculpture of the Grizz in Clan of the Cave Raccoon retains the scepter.
- The Grizz was originally planned to be voiced by Biz Markie, who actually did some demo readings pre-production, but Sanzaru chose the current actor instead.[6]
- When Grizz sprints in the job "Duty Calls", his feet sound like a basketball dribbling.
- The Grizz bears a striking resemblance to Dimitri, as they both are artists, are associated with the color purple, enjoy hip-hop and are very much a "comic relief" in their respective criminal organizations. This, in turn, may make the Grizz an homage to when Dimitri was a villain.[7]
- He is the only member of Le Paradox's crew that doesn't ever fight Sly Cooper, making him one of five villains overall never to fight Sly. The others are Rajan, Octavio, Jean Bison and Captain LeFwee.
- When he is incarcerated, his prison tag number is 6592.
- Despite the fact his name comes from the term "grizzly bear", he is a black bear.
- During the animated cutscenes, the Grizz was shown to have black claws like a real bear, but while in-game, he has short white fingernails.
Appearances
References
- ↑ Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time.
- ↑ Episode: Clan of the Cave Raccoon, Job: Ice Ice Bentley. Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time.
- ↑ Episode: Clan of the Cave Raccoon, Job: Duty Calls. Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time.
- ↑ Episode: Clan of the Cave Raccoon, Job: Operation: Jurassic Thievery. Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time.
- ↑ Ending Credits. Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time.
- ↑ Pencil Primate, Paul Sullivan blog post
- ↑ Sly 2: Band of Thieves.