Cleon

“	It's still on, and we're goin'. Cyrus sent an emissary this afternoon to make sure. Now, Cyrus don't want anybody packed, and he don't want anybody flexing any muscle, so I gave him my word that the Warriors would uphold the truce. Now, everybody says that Cyrus is the one-and-only... I think we'd better go have a look for ourself.	„
	~ First lines in the film

Cleon was the leader and founder of the Warriors. He formed the gang in 1978, along with Vermin, after being betrayed by Virgil, the leader of the Destroyers. He was played and voiced by Dorsey Wright.

Description[]

Cleon wears a leopard print durag on his head, he wears two ornamental beaded necklaces along with the Warriors vest, red jeans, and brown sneakers.

In Roots when he was still in the Destroyers, he wears a black bucket hat, a Destroyers vest, a white and navy baseball t-shirt with light blue lines down the sleeve, distressed light wash blue jeans, and blue and white Converse sneakers.

Cleon was the co-founder of the Warriors, alongside Vermin. Beforehand, the Warriors and the Destroyers both fought on numerous turf wars for Coney Island. The rivalry began when both Cleon and Vermin were originally soldiers serving within the gang as top ranking members and right hand men for Virgil.

Later on, Virgil began harbouring paranoid thoughts about the two, and he betrayed them by plotting to have them murdered in a bogus drug deal with the Satan's Mothers. Packing their duffel bags with fake drugs, knowing the Satan's Mothers would kill them for supposedly trying to rip them off. Barely escaping with their lives, they knew of the betrayal and vowed revenge against Virgil for what he had done. This began the formation of the Warriors.

Personality[]

Cleon is a charismatic and intelligent leader possibly from being Virgil's right-hand-man in the Destroyers, and bringing the Warriors up from nothing to one of the toughest gangs in the city. Cleon also seems to have quite a temper and little patience when it comes to other gangs, as well as a temper on his own 'soldiers' when they do something without his permission, evident in the mission Writer's Block, stating to Rembrandt, that if he were to "ever make a move without my say so again, I'll wreck your punk ass", showing his low tolerance for people who defy or disobey him.

Cleon is also clear-headed as seen when he is angered by Ash's death, he is still capable of making a good strategy to make sure the Destroyers defeated without his brothers getting harmed, this shows he has good emotional control while under pressure.

In the film[]

Cleon only appeared in the beginning of the movie, leading the Warriors to Cyrus' meeting. After Cyrus' death, Luther blames Cleon for shooting. He is attacked and beaten to death by the Gramercy Riffs.

In the game[]

Cleon plays a much larger role in the video game. Cleon was formerly a member of the Destroyers, and Virgil's right hand man. Unfortunately, Virgil soon became convinced that Cleon was plotting against him, and set him and Vermin up with the Satan's Mothers, with fake drugs during a drug deal between the two. The Mothers attempted to kill both of them in Tack's warehouse, but they made their way through, and even won a fight against the Mothers' leaders, Spider and Tiny. Cleon and Vermin made their way back to Virgil, and after a heated argument, Cleon declared war on the Destroyers and (along with Vermin) created the Warriors.

In the musical/concept album[]

Cleon, who like most of the cast has been gender-flipped to be a woman, has a slightly larger role in Lin-Manuel Miranda and Eisa Davis' concept album: rather than being killed, she is captured and interrogated by the Gramercy Riffs. She is able to convince them of her innocence and helps lead them to track down Luther, reuniting with her crew at Coney Island during the finale.

In the novel[]

In the novel, Cleon closely resembles Papa Arnold, the leader of the Coney Island Dominators. However, Papa Arnold survives and meets up with the rest of his gang in Coney.

Jailbreak[]

In a scene that takes place before the movie, Ajax and Swan fight for the title of Warchief. Swan wins, but Cleon helps Ajax up and reminds Swan to never leave a Warrior behind.

Fighting Ability[]

Cleon is a very strong fighter, being able to take on the Satan's Mothers' leaders, Spider & Tiny, and win. He also shows his strength against the Hi-Hats and the Destroyers. He seems to use martial arts (including karate) in his fighting style. He is stronger than Swan and weaker than Ajax, but uses more style than the two.

His standard ground combo is shared with Bopper lieutenants, while his standing rage combo is shared with the Savage Huns lieutenants, but only as a standard attack. He shares his exact fighting style with Bopper lieutenants, whilst he shares his fight stance with Vermin and Ajax.

The second blow of his ground raging combo (jumping on opponent's back) does much more damage than the first blow (elbows opponent's face), but less damage than the devastating third blow (twisting feet on opponent's back).

Cleon is playable at the end of the Armies of the Night, fighting against the Ghost of Cyrus. He is also a ghost himself.

He is not playable in Street Brawl.

Heavy: Mugging, Resisting Arrest                    Strength: 6/10
Solid: Tagging, Lock Picking                        Stamina:  9/10
Lame: Stealing, Uncuffing                           Health:   9/10
                                                    Rage:     8/10

Quotes[]

"Let's move it." - LET'S GO
"Yo, hold up!" - HOLD UP
"This way, soldier." - LET'S GO (shadows)
"Stay down, guys." - HOLD UP (shadows)
"Take 'em apart!" - WRECK 'EM ALL
"Get my back!" - WATCH MY BACK
"Trash everything!" - MAYHEM
"Clean this shit-hole out!" - MAYHEM (store)
"Split up, soldiers!" - SCATTER
"Fuck, man. They can't hear me." - OUT OF RANGE
"I bet they're fuckin' knocked out somewhere." - OUT OF RANGE (wrecked)
"Yo man, what the hell are you doing?" - Handcuffed
"You better get me out of these things" - Handcuffed
"I'm ready!" - Response to WRECK 'EM ALL
"They're all going down tonight!" - Response to WRECK 'EM ALL
"I'll take 'em out!" - Response to WRECK 'EM ALL
"You're mine!"
"You ain't nothing!"
"Going down, punk!"
"This has gotta wait, soldier; I'm busy!" - Busy
"We'll talk later, alright?" - Busy
"Yo! Check ya later!" - Bye
"Peace, my brother" - Bye
"Don't be no stranger" - Bye
"I don't think so, chump! You ain't putting me away!" - Catching rat
"You lose something, Cowboy?" - Wearing Cowboy's hat
"Nice hat, Cowboy" - Wearing Cowboy's hat
"Gotta lose this heat, man!" - Chased by cops
"You sure you can keep up, pig?" - Chased by cops
"Better pick up the pace, c'mon man!" - Chased by cops
"Right on! That's the way!" - Cheer
"Knock 'em down!" - Cheer
"Hit 'em harder!" - Cheer
"Finish 'em!" - Cheer
"Hit 'em again, brother!" - Cheer
"Come on, man! I'll break your face!" - Threat
"Bring it on! What are you gonna do, punk?!" - Threat
"Come here! Lemme show you my elbow!" - Threat
"Come here, pretty boy! I'll knock your teeth out!" - Threat
"You got no fuckin' clue!" - Threat
"Let's go! I wanna slap you." - Threat
"You don't wanna tussle with me, boy!" - Threat
"I'm gonna bust your head up good!" - Threat
"Oh slam! That motherfucker's gonna be hurtin'" - Ally wrecking opponent
"Haha! That's what you get messing with this crew!" - Ally wrecking opponent
"That's our rep, man! That's the shit I wanna see!" - Ally wrecking opponent
"That ain't the last we heard from the Destroyers. They're gonna be back, and they ain't gonna play soft." - Conversation (Payback)
"The Destroyers ain't gonna give up. We gotta stay heavy if we're gonna take 'em down." - Conversation (Payback)
"You just keep you cool, soldier. I know we'll be ready" - Conversation (Payback)
"What's up, soldier?" - Conversation (Blackout)
"I'm listening, man" - Conversation (Blackout)
"So what do you want to do?" - Conversation (Blackout)
"Those Orphans, they ain't gonna be messing with our rep. We made sure of that." - Conversation (Real Heavy Rep)
"The Orphans know the Warriors ain't no joke. We made sure they won't ever forget." - Conversation (Real Heavy Rep)
"Rembrandt, I think you're really getting the hang of being a Warrior" - Conversation (Real Heavy Rep)
"That battle in Soho got us some standing. Every gang must have heard of us by now. And that's all the more reason we gotta watch our backs." - Conversation (Writer's Block)
"People gonna start hearing about the Warriors more and more. But don't let that shit get to your head. We still gotta be tough. Still gotta be heavy, ya dig?" - Conversation (Writer's Block)
"We'll see, soldier. I'll make the decisions. You just worry about soldiering." - Conversation (Writer's Block)
"How's the battle, soldier?" - Conversation (Adios Amigo)
"Yeah brother, I know it" - Conversation (Adios Amigo)
"That's why we always gotta remember to stay heavy, stay strong." - Conversation (Adios Amigo)
"Virgil's gonna make a move soon. He's gonna think we're weak and slow from the Hi-Hats rumble, but we're gonna be ready." - Conversation (Encore)
"We all know Virgil's losing control. We just gotta stay on our toes and be ready when that crazy fucker snaps." - Conversation (Encore)
"All we gotta do is stay focused and use our heads. The Destroyers are sloppy. We'll use that shit against them." - Conversation (Encore)
"Now we gotta move out of Coney, make alliances, carve out a name in the Big Apple." - Conversation (Destroyed)
"Don't worry soldier, all in good time. Before you know it, the Warriors will be the biggest set in NYC." - Conversation (Destroyed)
"Coney is ours, but this is only the first step. If we want the rest of NYC to know our name, it's going to take some real hard work." - Conversation (Destroyed)
"Ain't nothing concrete yet, but I got an idea of what the Riffs' been planning. We gotta get ourselves an invite, 'cause this is gonna be big." - Conversation (Boys In Blue)
"The Riffs are planning some big shit. Don't know much about it, but I know that the Warriors need to be involved with this." - Conversation (Boys In Blue)
"All I know is that we've got to get involved with the Riffs. They're the biggest gang around right now." - Conversation (Boys In Blue)
"Rembrandt, we gotta get our markup everywhere. And you know there's only one way to do that. You better be ready!" - Conversation (Set Up)
"Now's the time, Rembrandt. I know you've been itching to get up for some months now. Well, it's show time, so I hope you've been practicing." - Conversation (Set Up)
"So you think you got the muscle to survive alone on the streets?" - Conversation (Set Up)
"Round up, soldiers. We're heading out to Van Courtland to check out Cyrus. Remember, soldier, nobody's packing. Tonight, we're going in there with nothing." - Conversation (All-City)
"This conclave's gonna be a real big item. Every gang in the city's gonna be there." - Conversation (All-City)
"I want you to hit everything in sight. I want everyone to know that the Warriors were there." - Conversation (All-City)
"You just soldier and keep your mouth shut." - Conversation (All-City)
"I'm gonna need to get some cash, brotha" - Requesting protection money
"Yo, man. I need some payments, dig?" - Requesting protection money
"Let's see some bread, man." - Requesting protection money
"Wassup girl? You looking good tonight" - Catcalling
"Yeah that's the kind of stuff I like. Keep groovin' baby!" - Catcalling
"Let's see that move, yeah. You got some fine moves, girl." - Catcalling
"No one gets through me, man!" - Response to WATCH MY BACK
"You won't get touched, brotha" - Response to WATCH MY BACK
"We got you man. No sweat!" - Response to WATCH MY BACK
"Alright. That's enough, already." - When you angrily beat a corpse
"Yo, man - check your head, snap out of it." - When you angrily beat a corpse
"What ya doin' there? That ain't right, man." - When you angrily beat a corpse
"Fall in!" - Recruiting Warrior
"It's time to soldier!" - Recruiting Warrior
"Let's go bust some heads!" - Recruiting Warrior
"Roll with me!" - Recruiting Warrior
"Let's go rock some toys!" - Recruiting Warrior
"Okay then, get going!" - Response to LET'S GO
"Alright man, we're moving!" - Response to LET'S GO
"Hope you know where we're going, brotha" - Response to LET'S GO
"Don't hit me, man!" - Response to friendly fire
"You're crossin' the line, soldier!" - Response to friendly fire
"Hey! Don't fucking do that!" - Response to friendly fire
"What's wrong with you?!" - Response to friendly fire
"What do you think you're doing, soldier?!" - Response to friendly fire
"Gimme that, brotha." - Taking weapon from ally
"Yo man" - Greeting Warrior
"Hey brotha!" - Greeting Warrior
"What's up?" - Greeting Warrior
"There ain't no style in this hat." - Wearing a hat
"This SHIT is low-class." - Wearing a hat
"We better hurry this up!" - Hiding
"What are you waiting for?!" - Hiding
"You better have a plan" - Hiding
"You just worry about following orders" - Hiding response
"Shut the fuck up, soldier!" - Hiding response
"We don't wanna get wrecked, man. Let's stay low, move only when they ain't looking" - Hiding response
"This shit is pretty heavy, man. Let's be cool" - Hiding
"We just gotta keep our heads about this. Don't freak, alright?" - Hiding
"Alright man, so what are we doing?" - Response to HOLD UP
"I'll be right here" - Response to HOLD UP
"Cool man, so what's the plan?" - Response to HOLD UP
"Come on, toys! Try and get up! Try and take on the KING OF THE WARLORDS!" - Becoming king of the hill
"Cleon is the new king of NYC!" - Becoming king of the hill
"You still good, Swan. You make a good second in command, but what's with all this waiting? Let's get out to the roof!" - Idle (Destroyed)
"I wanna take out that fucker L.C. Junkie almost got us killed. Come on, Swan. Let's finish this shit, all right? - Idle (Destroyed)
"Alright, we can do that" - Accepting objective
"The Warriors can pull that off, no problem" - Accepting objective
"Let's do this right" - Accepting objective
"Cool, we got it covered" - Accepting objective
"Right on, we'll deliver, man" - Accepting objective
"I know you like this, punk!" - Pinning opponent
"Aw you little fuck!" - Pinning opponent
"Here! I'll fill you in again!" - Pinning opponent
"Oooh you're fucking done for!" - Pinning opponent
"C'mon! I'll kill you!" - Pinning opponent
"Hurry up, soldier!" - Player mugging
"Clean that fucker out!" - Player mugging
"Stop fighting, pal, just pay up!" - Player mugging
"Get everything they got!" - Player mugging
"C'mon man, take that fucker!" - Player mugging
"Hey, pig! How's the arm?!" - Player mugging cop
"Shit, soldier! You're taking a big risk!" - Player mugging cop
"Fucking cop! Give us your shit!" - Mugging cop
"Payback, pig! Hand it over!" - Mugging cop
"What do you got for me, fuzz?!" - Mugging cop
"Gimme your shit! I ain't playin!" - Mugging
"Hand it over!" - Mugging
"I got you. Now gimme your shit!" - Mugging
"Yo man. I need some flash..." - No flash
"I don't got no spray, man" - No spray
"So what are you holding?" - No room for weapon
"What's goin' on, man?" - Greeting Warrior
"Let's see this high score get beat!" - Pinball
"No one's ever gonna beat my score, man!" - Pinball
"Hahaha, yeah! Right on!" - Pinball
"Man I fucked you up!" - Wrecking opponent
"That was a love tap, sucka!" - Wrecking opponent
"I knocked yo ass into last week!" - Wrecking opponent
"What? You just gonna lie there?!" - Wrecking opponent
"Bring it on, fool!" - Rage
"I'm gonna show you pain!" - Rage
"I'm gonna slam your ass down, toy!" - Rage
"You wanna fuck with a Warrior?!" - Rage
"Here comes the motherfuckin' Warchief, asshole!" - Rage
"Anyone wants to test the Warriors is going to find out real fast how solid we are. I'd like to see 'em try." - Response to talk about protecting Coney
"We're doing all right. We can always bop harder, mark further, and last longer. But that'll come in time." - Response to talk about their strength
"We gotta make sure we keep the strip in check. I don't want no late payments or any raids going on down there. Who's on patrol? Someone should check it out." - Response to talk about protecting the stores
"You love the ladies, that's for sure. Just don't let them mess with your heads, seriously. I don't need any of you going soft on me." - Response to talk about women
"You just worry about soldiering. We'll take care of these other gangs in time." - Response to talk about other gangs
"We'll make this gang so well-known fuckers in LA are gonna hear about our shit. They'll be talking about our rumbles in the national papers, man. You wait." - Response about the Warriors' rep
"We've had some pretty heavy brawls, man. Gotta make sure we stay in shape and keep our eyes open. Anyone can hit us any time. We're getting some rep. Of course, someone's gonna wanna steal that back." - Response to fights
"I'm fine with you guys having a little party. It's cool." - Response to having a party
"Damn man, I need you soldier!" - Coming to revive
"I'm coming soldier, hold on!" - Coming to revive
"Get up man, you're alright" - Reviving
"Hey wake up, we need you" - Reviving
"Need your help man, snort this shit, let's go!" - Reviving
"Thanks soldier, I needed that" - Revived
"Meet up with you later, man!" - Response to SCATTER
"Don't worry about me!" - Response to SCATTER
"I wanna make sure we got Coney secure. I see some chumps around and that ain't cool. You see anything on patrol?" - Talking about protecting Coney
"Any punks trying to march in gotta be dealt with right. We're coming up. You know we got the weight behind us, and we're gonna do this our way." - Talking about their strength
"We gotta make sure the strip is protected. I don't want any more raids hitting those stores. If they go, we lose a lot of bread and a lot of rep. Stefano can usually handle himself. It's the others I worry about." - Talking about protecting the stores
"You guys are sure letting a lot of wool in here lately. It's cool. Just make sure you keep your heads. I already got myself a fine lady friend, but I still look." - Talking about women
"I heard the Satan's mothers got L.C doing some deals for 'em now. That junkie's never gonna stop. Some things don't ever change." - Talking about other gangs
"We gotta keep building this gang. We got the numbers and we got the talent. We just gotta make sure the streets are watchin'." - Talking about the Warriors' rep
"You see the elbows I threw last rumble? That move never fails. One chop from the razor and they're out. Fucking chumps." - Talking about fights
"I was thinking, we could have ourselves a little fun tonight. Nothing crazy, but none of that lame shit." - Talking about having a party
"Shit, that was a breeze!" - Stealing
"Feels so much better when it's free!" - Stealing
"Well I'm gonna be a rich man!" - Stealing
"Let's get some good shit" - Stealing
"Alright take from the rich, and give to the Warriors!" - Stealing
"C'mon man, hurry that up" - Player struggling to tag
"Hey, you ever done this before?" - Player struggling to tag
"Still got a lot to learn, man" - Player struggling to tag
"It's only a snuff, man, c'mon" - Player struggling to tag
"Good shit, man! That's the real deal!" - Player tagged
"Ha! That's right! The Warriors' been here!" - Player tagged
"I can dig that" - Thanks
"Thanks man" - Thanks
"That's good shit there. Thanks" - Thanks
"Hot stuff, motherfucka!" - Throwing molotov
"Time to (burn)" Throwing molotov
"You're getting burned, punk!" - Throwing molotov
"God-damn!" - Throwing weapon
"How you like THAT!" - Throwing weapon
"Take this, fuckhead!" - Throwing weapon
"Here ya go!" - Throwing weapon
"You think we're soft? Get the fuck off my turf!" - Response to invading gang
"This ain't your ground, motherfucka! Now we got problems!" - Response to invading gang
"This is Coney, jack! You lost or something?" - Response to invading gang
"You ain't never gonna learn. Stay the FUCK away from our streets!" - Response to invading gang
"You march down to Coney, and now you're gonna crawl home, sucka!" - Response to invading gang
"Hey man, unlock me" - Uncuff me
"I'm locked up, man. Get me out!" - Uncuff me
"Yo! Get me outta these things!" - Uncuff me
"Hey brotha, I'm getting you out!" - Uncuffing
"Hey man I got it, don't worry!" - Uncuffing
"I'm getting you out, brotha" - Uncuffing
"Shit dude, I thought I was done for" - Uncuffed
"Haha! Gonna smash it to bits, man!" - Response to MAYHEM
"I ain't stopping, till it's all fucked up!" - Response to MAYHEM
"It's time to ruin this shit!" - Response to MAYHEM
"The fuzz!" - Cops spotted during MAYHEM
"There's a loner, up there!" - Cops spotted during MAYHEM
"Get ready to brawl" - Cops spotted during MAYHEM
"Stand fast, we got company" - Cops spotted during MAYHEM
"What the fuck?!" - Cops spotted during MAYHEM
"Damn it, cops!" - Cops spotted during MAYHEM
"Aw shit, trouble!" - Cops spotted during MAYHEM
"Here they come!" - Cops spotted during MAYHEM
"Hell yeah!" - Woo
"That's it!" - Woo
"Harder!" - Woo
"C'mon soldier, one more!" - Watching training
"Let's go! I wanna see some more!" - Watching training
"Hang in there soldier you can do this!" - Watching training
"What's going on man?" - Greeting a Warrior
"You check the streets?" - Greeting a Warrior
"Who's on patrol tonight?" - Greeting a Warrior
"Any word?" - Greeting a Warrior
"How's the battle, soldier?" - Greeting a Warrior
"What's up, soldier?" - Greeting a Warrior
"You paranoid FUCK! You just started a WAR, and I'm gonna be the last motherfucker you see before it's over!" - To Virgil, on his betrayal
"Open your eyes, motherfucker. You ain't nothing but ashes." - Before killing Virgil.
"No sweat. This conclave is gonna be a real big idol. Every gang in the city's gonna be there." - To Swan, waiting for the train to the meeting
"You got the stuff?... I want you to hit everything in sight. I want everybody to know that the Warriors were there." - To Rembrandt, waiting for the train to the meeting
"You just soldier and keep your mouth shut." - To Ajax, waiting for the train to the meeting
"Man, you crazy, I didn't do nothing." - Response to being blamed for Cyrus' death

Trivia[]

Though he appears to be the protagonist of the film at first, he is only in the film's first sixteen minutes.
In a deleted scene, he is shown prior to the meeting with his girlfriend, telling him she has a bad feeling about the meeting.
As Warlord, Cleon is always controlled by the player in missions. However, you can command Cleon in the war party once, when playing The Best, the player will play as Swan until the end and while attacking LC's hangout Cleon and Vermin will join, the player will remain as Swan instead of Cleon.
He is one out of the three Warriors that don't make it back to Coney, the other two being Fox and Ajax.
It's likely he was killed off due to the fact that actor Dorsey Wright was filming two movies at the time and couldn't negotiate a contract with Walter Hill. He later revealed this in an interview.
In the game, he has a unique walking animation, which he shares with nobody.
He is one out of the three Warriors that dies, the other two being Fox and Ash.
His "HOLD UP" command has a rather unique error. The first time, he says "Yo! Hold up!", the second time, he repeats the exact same piece of recorded dialogue. Only his third "Yo, hold up" will be a different piece of speech.
His last two rage quotes, "You wanna fuck with a Warrior?!" and "Here comes the motherfuckin' Warchief, asshole!" are not available in Roots, as he is not a Warrior, nor the Warchief, during this time.
- Despite this fact, none of the other Warriors follow this 'flashback rule', like when Cochise says "You wanna see a Warrior?! I'm gonna MANGLE you!", or when fox says "A Warrior won't back down!", or when Ajax says "You fucked with the wrong Warrior!", they can all be said even as pre-Warriors.

In Rumble Mode, Cleon's ghost skin always has the standard fighting moves (two-hit finishing moves, etc.), rather than his own. This happens both in Rumble Mode and in Armies of the Night. The same problem occurs with Fox's ghost.
Cleon's standing rage combo (or the standing regular combo of the Hun Lts) is the only combo in the game that uses slow motion twice in the same (full) combo.
Oddly, his regular grapple combos are, realistically, more devastating than his raging grapple combos.
Like most Warriors, he reacts negatively to wearing hats, even if it's his own.
Despite being killed off early in the movie, Cleon still has some action figures made of him along with Swan and Ajax.