Character Name: Jayne Cobb
Character Age: 37 (Born 2477)
Description: Big and mean looking, sporting a goatee which could also be unattended stubble.

Is hired muscle. He and Mal met on opposite sides of a rivalry; Mal, while held at gunpoint, offered Jayne his own bunk and a higher cut than his current employer, so he turned coat and shot his then-partners. In one episode, he admits freely to Mal that he would have sold Mal out to an Alliance agent if the money was good enough. He is someone who can be depended on in a fight. He tends to act like a "lummox" who thinks he is the smartest person in space, but occasional hints of intelligence peek through this façade, giving the impression that he acts dumber than he is. As Whedon states several times, Jayne is the man who will ask the questions that no one else wants to. Even though he is a macho character, he has shown a particularly intense fear of Reavers, moreso than the rest of the crew. Despite his amoral mercenary persona, he sends a significant portion of his income to his mother.

Character's History: Born on a colony moon, dirt poor one of eight kids. Jayne grew up hungry and mean, his mother kept him in line though, until he was maybe fifteen when the ship came. A rickety old bucket of bolts named the Swallow, Jayne joined up as crew and soon showed he had guts even if he had little charm, but then the crew of the Swallow weren't that charming either. He learned a lot from the Swallow's crew, how to fight hand to hand and with weapons. The fact the ship was a smuggler didn't cause him any sleepless nights.

Eventually he was offered a better deal, crooked sure but then Jayne doesn't see the Alliance's laws as applying to folks on the rim, and even if they do they don't apply to him not unless he's caught. Fifteen years of wandering, paid gun, muscle, thief, smuggler all the same to him until Mal Reynolds came along.

Jayne, the man they call Jayne

He robbed from the rich
And he gave to the poor
Stood up to the man
And gave him what for
Our love for him now
Ain't hard to explain
The hero of Canton
The man they call Jayne

Our Jayne saw the mudders' backs breakin'
He saw the mudders' lament
And he saw the magistrate takin'
Every dollar and leavin' five cents
So he said "you can't do that to my people"
He said "you can't crush them under your heel"
So Jayne strapped on his hat
And in 5 seconds flat
Stole everythin' Boss Higgins had to steal

He robbed from the rich
And he gave to the poor
Stood up to the man
And gave him what for
Our love for him now
Ain't hard to explain
The hero of Canton
The man they call Jayne

Now here is what separates heroes
From common folk like you and I
The man they call Jayne
He turned 'round his plane
And let that money hit sky
He dropped it onto our houses
He dropped it into our yards
The man they called Jayne
He stole away our pain
And headed out for the stars

He robbed from the rich
And he gave to the poor
Stood up to the man
And gave him what for
Our love for him now
Ain't hard to explain
The hero of Canton
The man they call Jayne.