Sly: Anybody you call "master" must be a heck of a guy.
Murray: Oh he's awesome! He'll get inside your head and freak you out six ways from Sunday!
Sly: Uh, awesome.
― About the Guru[src]
The Guru of the Stone,[1] known colloquially among the Cooper Gang as "The Guru," was an Aboriginal shaman living in the Australian outback. He was Murray's spiritual master and instructed him in the arts of the Dreamtime. After the Cooper Gang helped him clear miners out of his home, the Guru became the first individual to join the group and aid them in the Cooper Vault heist.
He was voiced by Terry Rose.
Biography
Although the Guru's home was a small hut in Yuendumu, Australia, he spent most of his time meditating inside a nearby cave.[2] He studied the mystic arts of the Dreamtime and was also the guardian of the malevolent Mask of Dark Earth, which dwelled deep underground.[3]
Murray's teacher
The Guru sending Murray on a mission.
The Guru was visited one day by Murray, who wanted to find his "spiritual center." The Guru agreed to teach Murray in the art of the Dreamtime and sent him to locations all over the globe as part of his training.[4] He also taught him the Aboriginal Ball Form and potentially the Temporal Lock.[5]
The next location the Guru sent Murray to was Venice, Italy, where he tasked his student with remaining there until "the black water ran pure." This black water was actually the tar-polluted water around Venice caused by Octavio.[4] While Murray was completing his assignment, miners arrived in the outback and began excavating opals. They deployed a gyro-copter that honed in on the Guru's Moon Stone and captured him.[2] The miners' excavations disturbed the Mask of Dark Earth which, unguarded, escaped from the caves.[3]
Joining the Cooper Gang
Without his Walking Staff and Moon Stone, the Guru was powerless to escape from his stockade prison and could only watch as the miners tore up the landscape. While the Guru was imprisoned, Sly Cooper showed up to break him out. The Guru refused to leave his prison until his equipment was returned to him. He also requested that Bentley and Murray meet with him individually.[2]
Murray was the first to meet with the Guru. He told his teacher that he had accomplished his task back in Venice and wanted to rejoin the Cooper Gang. Murray also expressed his hopes of the Guru coming along with them. The Guru replied by explaining his current situation with the Mask of Dark Earth and the miners – that only when these two adversaries were dealt with would he join the gang.[6] Later, Bentley visited the Guru and returned his equipment to him. When Bentley asked how the Guru planned to escape from his stockade, the Guru displayed to Bentley his ability to transform and take control of others. Once he had broken out, the Guru set out to destroy the miners' machines that were tearing up the landscape.[1]
The Guru joining the Cooper Gang.
During the final phase of the Cooper Gang's operation, Moon Crash, the Guru destroyed the miners' gyro-copter. He also spotted out the Mask of Dark Earth to Murray (who was disguised as the Moon Spirit). When the gang failed to destroy the mask, it took control of Carmelita Fox; however, Sly was able to get the mask off of Carmelita and it was destroyed. The Guru and the Gang watched over Carmelita as she recovered.[7]
As Carmelita began to stir, the Cooper Gang made a hasty retreat. With the Mask of Dark Earth destroyed, the miners gone, and the Guru's home at peace once again, he followed the gang on their travels and was recognized as a new member of the team.[8]
Cooper Vault heist
The Guru taking on new students while hiding in New York.
As the Cooper Gang's mystic, the Guru aided them as a valuable ally during their operations in Holland. His missions involved assisting the gang in breaking into one of the Belgian supply trucks[9] and possessing a giant wolf within the area to thin out the Black Baron's guards.[10] In China, he assisted Sly in retrieving Bentley's computer back from General Tsao using his telekinetic abilities.[11] During their fight against Captain LeFwee in Blood Bath Bay, the Guru used his abilities to control the Crusher, effectively turning it against the pirate captain.[12]
Finally, as they began their final heist at Kaine Island to gain access to the Cooper Vault, the Guru possessed numerous sharks to destroy a magnetic buoy that the cane had clung onto.[13] After the disbandment of the Cooper Gang, he took on new students, a rock band called "The Oscars," for his Dreamtime course. However, he was subsequently annoyed by the attention they attracted and so, along with the band, fled to New York in order to escape the media, figuring "it would be the last place they would look".[14]
Characteristics
Physical appearance
The Guru is a purple koala with brown eyes. He wears a red bandanna and brown loincloth. In his purple beard are two braids wrapped in blue strips of cloth. He has yellow face paint across his nose and under his eyes. In his hand, he carries a staff with a purple glowing moon stone attached to the top.
Personality
Thanks Guru, you always know just what to say.
― Bentley, after the Guru gives him advice.
The Guru was a pacifist who sought to solve problems with minimal violence; even when threatened, he would try to find a "middle way" instead. He was kind to his comrades and even showed a humorous nature at times. He was also somewhat stubborn, refusing to leave his prison stockade until after his walking staff and Moon Stone were returned to him.[2]
Abilities
The Guru gaining control over a miner
The Guru is an expert in the mystical art known as Dreamtime, which grants him various abilities.
The Guru's most notable ability was the power of hypnosis, as seen when he controlled enemies by mounting himself onto their backs. Another one of his techniques allowed him to morph himself into common objects in order to blend in with his surroundings and avoid detection from enemies. To use these abilities, he required the power of his Moon Stone, with which he was also able to communicate with the other team members through their varied binocucoms.[1]
The Guru using his Moon Stone to communicate with Bentley
The Guru possessed a high degree of telekinesis, and used this technique to lift various objects and guards high above the ground.[11] The Guru also possessed a certain degree of telepathy, as observed when he bridged both Sly's and the Panda King's minds, and also when he read the Panda King's mind in order to discover the reason why he was in a complete state of peace.[15]
Although the Guru taught Murray techniques such as the Aboriginal Ball Form and the Temporal Lock, it is unknown whether or not he was able to perform them himself.
Gallery
Trivia
- The Guru is the first addition to the Cooper Gang after the founders.
- The Guru and Penelope are the only members of the Cooper Gang that cannot attack alone. However, while mounting himself on a guard's back, he is able to utilize their weapons in combat to attack.
- He was referred to as "the Shaman" during development. This can be seen as late as E3 2005, when he was referred to as the Shaman by the developers during demos. The credits also list him as the Shaman.
- He is the only member to join the Cooper Gang not to have been, or become, an antagonist.
- The Guru is the only member in the Cooper Gang that has not been in a boss fight; granted, he can't attack on his own.
- He is also the only member who doesn't have a criminal record.
- Throughout the entire game of Sly 3, the Guru speaks in a language unknown to the player. However, the entire Cooper Gang seems to understand his words.
- This makes him one of two characters in the series to speak gibberish, the other one being Bob Cooper. However, although Bob is supplied with subtitles, the Guru is not, so the player is never able to understand anything the Guru says.
- In the aftermath of Sly 3, it is said that the Guru is a teacher to a group of rockstars. This is a reference to The Beatles who met a guru teacher.
- The Guru makes a cameo appearance in Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time. He appears as a hanging accessory inside Murray's binocucom and as a painting in the Paris safe house.[16]
- A treasure that appears in the fifth episode of Thieves in Time implies that the Cooper Gang will meet the Guru again in the future.
- An Opera of Fear is the only episode in Sly 3 in which he is not playable.
Appearances
- Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves
- Beginning of the End
- 1. An Opera of Fear (cutscene)
- 2. Rumble Down Under
- 3. Flight of Fancy
- 4. A Cold Alliance
- 5. Dean Men Tell No Tales
- 6. Honor Among Thieves
- Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time
- A portrait of The Guru appears in the Paris Hideout and Murray has a keychain of the Guru in his binocucom.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Episode: Rumble Down Under; Job: Unleash the Guru.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Episode: Rumble Down Under; Job: Search for the Guru.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Episode: Rumble Down Under; Slideshow #1.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Episode: An Opera of Fear; Cinematic: The Setup.
- ↑ Episode: An Opera of Fear; Job: Tar Ball.
- ↑ Episode: Rumble Down Under; Job: Spelunking.
- ↑ Episode: Rumble Down Under; Job: Operation: Moon Crash.
- ↑ Episode: Rumble Down Under; Cinematic: The Getaway.
- ↑ Episode: Flight of Fancy; Job: Frame Team Belgium.
- ↑ Episode: Flight of Fancy; Job: Giant Wolf Massacre.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Episode: A Cold Alliance; Job: Laptop Retrieval.
- ↑ Episode: Dead Men Tell No Tales; Job: Operation: Reverse Double-Cross.
- ↑ Episode: Honor Among Thieves; Job: A Deadly Bite.
- ↑ Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves; Credits.
- ↑ Episode: A Cold Alliance; Job: King of Fire.
- ↑ Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time.