Spike Spiegel (スパイク・スピーゲル, Supaiku Supīgeru) is a tall, lean, and slightly muscular 27-year-old bounty hunter born on Mars. Spike has a history of violent activity, seen through flashbacks and dialogue with the Red Dragon Syndicate. He is often depicted with a cavalier attitude, but occasionally shows signs of compassion when dealing with strangers.
The inspiration for Spike's martial arts is found in Bruce Lee, who uses the style of Jeet Kune Do as depicted in Session 8, "Waltz for Venus". He has fluffy, blackish green hair (inspired by Yūsaku Matsuda's role as Shunsaku Kudō in Tantei Monogatari)[3][4] and reddish brown eyes, one of which is artificial and lighter than the other. He is usually dressed in a blue lounge suit, black skinny tie, with a yellow shirt and Lupin III-inspired boots.
A flashback in Session 6 revealed that his apparently fully functioning right eye was surgically replaced by a cybernetic one (although Spike himself may not have conscious recollection of the procedure since he claims to have lost his natural eye in an "accident"). A recurring device throughout the entire show is a closeup on Spike's fully natural left eye before dissolving to a flashback of his life as part of the syndicate. As said by Spike himself in the last episode, his right eye "only sees the present" and his left eye "only sees the past". The purpose of this cybernetic eye is never explicitly stated, though it apparently gives him exceptional hand–eye coordination – particularly with firearms (Spike's gun of choice is a Jericho 941, as seen throughout the series). He is also a talented pilot in his personal fighter, the Swordfish II, a modified racer.
In the final episode, Spike kills Vicious, but his fate after the battle has never been officially confirmed. Spike does go from seeing his beloved and recently departed Julia with his left eye, the eye that sees his past to seeing her with his right eye, the eye that sees his present. In a May 2013 interview, director Shinichiro Watanabe stated "I want the audience to interpret it however they want to. I want them to interpret it themselves. Just because I put something there does not mean they have to believe it. If I say something in an interview that tends to make it official so I try to avoid a definite answer. In the past, people watching my shows have come up with better ideas than my original intention for the story. So I think it's good to let people use their imaginations."[5]
