Yo Pumpkin Head
Spike's behavior often seems irrational, reckless, and self-absorbed. He has his own way of doing things and a philosophy not understood by many. But whatever he does, no matter how strange, shocking, or unbelievable, is a direct reflection of his personality. Spike never forces himself to act in a way that does not come naturally, and if people see him as weird, he doesn't really care.
See, here, he attempts to light a cigarette with a blowtorch.
->> The Bell Peppers and Beef Incident
The series' opening scene is of Spike practicing martial arts while Jet is making dinner: the infamous bell peppers and beef. Sans the actual beef. When the duo sit down to eat, an amusing and revealing scene follows.
First, Spike complains doggedly about the bell peppers and beef, revealing a stubborness and a seeming inability to listen or pay attention to anything that he does not deem important at the moment. He ignores Jet's briefing about their latest target because it's dinner time, and his priority at that instant is filling his stomach, not catching some minor thug. The second thing this reveals is Spike's reckless behavior and tendency to leave a trail of destruction that only hurricanes can match. The crew is almost always poor, starving, or stranded due to a lack of funds. This is in no way indicative of their lack of skills in catching crooks but more of Spike (and Faye's) seeming inability to think before shooting.
->> One Harpoon Is Not Enough But A Hundred Is Excellent
Spike enjoys life on the edge. In the first episode he clearly felt that Asimov, worth only a couple of million wulongs, was beneath a bountyhunter of his, er, caliber to chase. Over and over again, we will see him displaying an astonishing lack of interest in what might be rewarding bounties for the simple reason that trying to catch them would be too boring. It is only when Asimov nearly kills him, for example, that he decides to give chase. We see a similar incident in Session #11 (Toys in the Attic), when the bounty was initially thought to be a hacker. Spike wanted nothing to do with it despite the large reward, but the moment he learned that the actual "criminal" was a satellite which could set hundreds of other satellites on whoever tried to "catch" it, he was the first out the hatch in a mad dash for MPU whilst dodging attacks left, right, and center. There is also Session #19 (Wild Horses), when space pirates who used a harpoon to infect MONO ships with a virus attacked him. He easily dodged the main harpoon but the pirates - not to be outdone - dropped the cab of their space truck and let fly hundreds of smaller harpoons. Rather than panic or waste time being surprised, Spike only smiled his devil-may-care grin and uttered "Excellent." He's just the type of guy who would go on missions no one else in their right minds would do - and for free. Though this may seem like something only crazy people would even consider, Spike has his reasons (which I discuss here).
->> No Excuses
Spike is not the kind of guy to offer apologies, make excuses, or dither about anything - unless it would suit his purpose, of course. This is at once evident in Session #2 (Stray Dog Strut), during the first chase scene with Abdul Hakim. Some time during the scene, Ein runs into an alley and underneath a table where a checkers match is going on. Hakim follows, leaping over it and clearing the table without touching the game. The players gape after him in astonishment and completely miss Spike, who barrels straight through their game, until he has already gone past. Another example is the mushroom baiting scene in Session #17 (Mushroom Samba), where Ed puts a mushroom out on a plate where any one of the starving Bebop crew could see it. Jet rationalizes that the mushroom was only a figment of his imagination, and therefore could not be faulted for "imagining" eating an "imaginary" 'shroom. Faye, on the other hand, looks left, right, and all around before furtively snatching the mushroom up and swallowing it whole. Spike is neither cautious nor does he attempt moralize or justify his actions. He sees the mushroom and promptly puts it in his mouth. There was no point in deceiving himself, after all.
->> Curiosity Killed the Cat
In some ways, Spike has a childish careless curiosity somewhat like Ed's. This is evident when he takes the weird-shaped vial Faye picked up from a ruined police spacecraft in Session #4 (Gateway Shuffle) and attempts to split it open - going so far as to shoot it open (and noticing Twinkle's horrified expression while watching him hard at work). When the mysterious packages arrive for Faye in Session #18 (Speak Like a Child), he is the first to tear them open, much to Jet's dismay.
->> Let Us Think of Laws as...Suggestions
Spike appears to have a blatant disregard for rules, which is not an uncommon trait for a bountyhunter, especially one that used to be deeply involved in a crime syndicate. He always has a cigarette in his mouth - defying every "No Smoking" sign in the series, and thinks little of any flying laws there may be - coming dangerously close to streets and wrecking parked vehicles on a regular basis. Spike has a peculiar moral code and ignores the rules that he deems senseless or pointless or inapplicable to his situation. One of the strangest things he did was to cover up for Roco Bonaro (Session #8: Waltz for Venus). Instead of returning the expenisve Grey Ash plant and seeds to the authorities, he decided to use them to cure Roco's sister, Stella, instead.
->> UP ONE LEVEL <<-