Laughing Bull

Laughing Bull's design draws on the real-life holy man Sitting Bull. He lives simply in a tent, though a small anachronism sits inside it: an old PlayStation console tucked among his belongings.

He carries himself as a spiritual guide, speaking in oracular phrases that tend to baffle anyone outside his traditions. Much of his counsel circles the same theme, that death walks constantly beside the living and should be met without fear rather than dread.

Hunting the bounty on drug dealer Asimov Solensan, Spike came to Laughing Bull for guidance. The elder foresaw that the red-eyed coyote would turn up in Zona Norte on the far edge of town, and the tip led Spike straight to a confrontation with his quarry.

On another night, after Gren struck a Red Eye bargain with Vicious, Laughing Bull and his son watched a star streak across the sky. He read it as the tear of a warrior, a lost soul who had finished fighting somewhere on the world yet could not reach the great spirit. Fans have long debated whether the falling star stood for Gren or for Lin.

During the events of the feature film, Spike tumbled into a river and blacked out after clashing with Vincent Volaju atop a train car. He came to under the care of Laughing Bull and a companion who had pulled him from the water and dressed his wound. The elder spoke of Spike's mismatched eyes, naming one the eye of truth, assured him he had nothing to fear from death, and addressed him as Swimming Bird.

Near the story's end, after Spike walked away from the Bebop to settle his past with Vicious, Jet turned to Laughing Bull to learn where his friend had gone, though he felt foolish doing so. Calling Jet by the name Running Rock, the elder explained that every breathing creature is watched over by a guardian star that falls when its life ends, and he warned that Spike's own star was close to going dark. In the final moments after the closing credits, a star near the top of the frame flickers and fades.