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| “ | This is what we fought all night to get back to? | „ |
| ~ Upon seeing Coney |
Swan is the main protagonist of the 1979 cult film The Warriors. He was portrayed, both in the film and game, by Michael Beck.
Description[]
Swan is a young man with a wiry build, long light brown hair, and light brown eyes. He wears the leather Warriors vest with no shirt, brown jeans and black shoes.
Personality[]
Swan has a very calm demeanor. He is usually all business, nearly always serious. He is a strong leader and very loyal to the Warriors. However, he is more complex than he might seem at first, disliking Mercy at first but later softening up to her. He also muses on the quality of his life when he comes back to Coney Island saying "This is what we fought all night to get back to?" Swan is also challenged for leadership by Ajax, but Swan won that confrontation by staring Ajax down with his intensity. His leadership skills are what made Cleon consider him for the position of Warchief.
Film[]
His largest part in the story is the events at the meeting in the Bronx, having to lead the Warriors back home to Coney through enemy territory after being wrongfully blamed for shooting Cyrus. Following Cleon's death, he leads the gang through escaping Gunhill, the scuffle with the Orphans, also meeting Mercy. He also fought against the Baseball Furies in Riverside Park, and the Punks in the Bowery. He also faced the Rogues on the Coney's beach, stabbing Luther in the arm wrist with a switchblade knife.
Game[]
Swan and Cowboy were good friends, and members of the Destroyers. After growing distrustful of Virgil, they leave the gang, but not before warning Cleon.
Cleon and Vermin soon left the Destroyers after being betrayed by Virgil. They then started their own gang, the Warriors. When they meet Swan and Cowboy at a King of the Hill tournament, which Swan and Cowboy won, Cleon offered a position in the gang to Swan and Cowboy, which they accepted. After that, Swan was a major figure in the events of The Warriors, helping secure their power in Coney, and fighting alongside them as Cleon's second-in-command.
Novel[]
In the book, his counterpart, Hector, is different from Swan. Hector is Hispanic, and more angry and mean. He doesn't make it back to Coney, he instead rapes a girl, and ties to rape a fat nurse, and ends up in jail with Lunkface and Bimbo.
Jailbreak[]
Swan still maintains his Warlord position and often visits Mercy in her apartment. After a brawl with the Hi-Hats, Swan decides to break Ajax out of jail. He leads the Warriors to the prison in Bronx, where he is met by Masai and the Gramercy Riffs. They work together to spring Ajax and two imprisoned Gramercy Riffs from jail. Swan frees Ajax then speaks to Masai, saying that the unified gang could still work, but Masai says that dream died with Cyrus. Swan asks Mercy to come back to Coney, who yells at him for the bruises he received during the prison break. Back at Coney, Ajax thanks him and accepts the fact that he is leader. Mercy finds him after and tells him she is moving back to Coney with him.
Fighting Ability[]
Swan is one of the top fighters in The Warriors. Some of his moves are similar to those of Cleon, and his Strength, Stamina, Health and Rage are only a bit smaller than Cleon's. Swan, Cochise and Rembrandt are the only characters in the game that don't share any of there grapple moves with anyone.
Swan has a unique trait, in that his light-light-heavy fighting combo is exclusive to only him. He shares his fighting stance with Cowboy, Rosie, and most males. However, Swan and Cowboy draw their fists more quickly than others.
Swan, Ajax and Cobb are the only characters in the game that use the roundhouse punch as their power move. Moreover, Swan, Ajax, Rico and Sanchez are the only characters that use Swan's raging power move (two heavy punches in a spinning motion). However, Rico and Sanchez use this attack as a secondary power move, not a raging power move.
He is the protagonist of the minigame, Armies of the Night.
Quotes[]
- "Get movin'." - LET'S GO
- "Let's get movin'." - LET'S GO 2-4
- "Hold it!" - HOLD UP
- "Come on, and STAY SILENT." - LET'S GO (shadows)
- "Don't be seen." - HOLD UP (shadows)
- "Take 'em out." - WRECK 'EM ALL
- "Get my back!" - WATCH MY BACK
- "Trash this crap!" - MAYHEM
- "Take everything you can carry!" - MAYHEM (store)
- "Fan out, Warriors!" - SCATTER
- "They can't hear me. Sh-t..." - OUT OF RANGE
- "Bet they're f-cking knocked out." - OUT OF RANGE (wrecked)
- "Come on, chump! Let's see your moves!" - Threat
- "You're in for it now, you prick!" - Threat
- "I'm gonna drive you into the dirt." - Threat
- "Look around; you got the balls for this?" - Threat
- "Make your move!" - Threat
- "Why don't you run while I'm givin' you the chance?!" - Threat
- "I'll march right through you!" - Threat
- "Looks like you found some trouble!" - Threat
- "It's OVER!" - Rage
- "Do your best, asshole!" - Rage
- "I'm gonna tear you apart!" - Rage
- "I'm gonna MARCH RIGHT THROUGH YOU!!" - Rage
- "Let's go! What've you got?!!" - Rage
- "What's the word?" - Greeting Warrior
- "Sorry, soldier. I need that." - Taking weapon from ally
- "This SH-T isn't me." - Wearing a hat
- "This thing's a little tight." - Wearing a hat
- "I'm here for the money." - Requesting protection money
- "You're gonna need to pay up." - Requesting protection money
- "Gimme the cash, I'll make sure you're safe." - Requesting protection money
- "Cool it down, big guy. Don't waste your strength." - When you angrily beat a corpse
- "That's enough. He's finished." - When you angrily beat a corpse
- "Pull it together. Don't lose it now." - When you angrily beat a corpse
- "Alright, man! Enough!" - Response to friendly fire
- "What're you doin'?!" - Response to friendly fire
- "We ain't even been to The Bronx before." - To Cleon, on his worry about Cyrus' meeting
- "When we get there, you stick close by. Okay?" - To Rembrandt, on the way to the meeting
- "It's the only choice we got." - On returning to Coney
- "We're gonna have to find everyone. We'll tell 'em to hold up in the park 'til we're all together. The sooner we get the hell outta here, the better." - To Snow, after The Police split up the gang in No Permits, No Parley
- "Real tough chick..." - To Mercy
- "Maybe we better take off." - To Snow, Ajax and Cowboy, when seeing the Baseball Furies
- "Come on, Cowboy." - Helping Cowboy stand up after fighting the Furies
- "You never were very smart." - Last words to Ajax, on him choosing a woman over the gang
- "You know, you're just part of everything that's happening tonight... and it's all bad... Just go back to wherever it was you came from." - After kissing Mercy
- "The best." - After Masai says that the Warriors are real good
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The name 'Swan' likely comes from Leda and the Swan, in which Zeus takes the form of a swan.
- Swan is said to be the quiet type, but in the video game, sometimes when he wrecks somebody, he will shout something really loud, like Ajax's repeated line, "Fuckin' A!". The same goes for Snow.
- In the original script, Swan was going to get kidnapped by a homosexual gang called "The Dingos", but he escaped and made it back to Coney, but was cut from the movie, The Dingos can only be seen in the scene of the big meeting.
- In one take, Michael Beck (Swan) swings a bat into Deborah's (Mercy's) face in the scene where he throws it at the cop. She was rushed to hospital at 3 a.m. for stitches and still has a scar.
- In a trailer of the game, he uses Fox's 2 hit knee combo, instead of his special ground attack.
- Completing Armies of the Night will unlock the "ghost" of Swan. It is unknown why.
- During the film, in the battle between the Warriors and the Furies, actor Michael Beck struck a stuntman so hard during their fight that he accidentally broke three of the man's ribs. If you look closely, you can see the Fury's authentic reaction when he's hit in the midriff. The scene occurs right after the Marilyn Manson lookalike appears, as Swan (Beck) engages with a red-faced Fury. A tussle ensues before Swan slams a baseball bat plum in the Fury's gut, resulting in a serious onscreen injury. Beck didn't hear about the injury until 37 years later during a reunion event.
Licensing[]
- This article contains content derived from the "Swan" article on the Warriors Wiki, licensed under CC-BY-SA.