Jigsaw (Saw franchise)
| John Kramer | |
|---|---|
| Saw character | |
Tobin Bell as Jigsaw in his signature black and red robes
|
|
| First appearance | Saw |
| Last appearance | Saw: Legacy |
| Created by | |
| Portrayed by | Tobin Bell |
| Information | |
| Nickname(s) | Jigsaw |
| Aliases | The Jigsaw Killer |
| Spouse(s) | Jill Tuck |
| Apprentices | |
| M.O. | Symbolic death traps Psychological and indirect physical torture |
John Kramer — known as The Jigsaw Killer or simply Jigsaw — is a fictional character and appearing in the Saw franchise. Jigsaw made his debut in the first film of the series, Saw, and he later appeared in Saw II, Saw III, Saw IV, Saw V, Saw VI, Saw 3D and, eventually, Saw: Legacy. He is portrayed by American actor Tobin Bell.
In the series' narrative, Kramer is a former civil engineer dying from an inoperable frontal lobe tumor that had developed from colon cancer. After a failed suicide attempt, Kramer found a new appreciation for his life, and decided to dedicate the rest of his life to inspiring the same appreciation in others by testing their will to live. His methods include forcing his subjects through deadly scenarios, which he referred to as "games" or "tests", in which they were forced to inflict pain upon themselves or others in order to escape. These tests were typically symbolic of what Jigsaw perceived as a flaw in each person's moral character or life. The Jigsaw name was given to him by the media for his practice of cutting a puzzle piece shape of flesh from those who fail.
Jigsaw was introduced in the 2004 film Saw through the character Lawrence Gordon's recounting of his first killings. Jigsaw is described as a mysterious person who kidnaps people he believes take their lives for granted and subjects them to "tests", usually mechanical devices rigged to maim or kill the subjects if they fail to complete it within a certain time period. Unlike most killers, Jigsaw never intends to kill his subjects; the purpose of his traps is to see if the subject has the will to live, as he hopes their experience will teach them the value of life, although he sometimes places his victims in situations where they themselves must kill others in order to follow the terms that he sets. In John's mind the deaths of those that fail are justified, because those who fail to do what's necessary to survive don't deserve life. As his victims increase, the media dubs him The Jigsaw Killer, or simply Jigsaw, because of the jigsaw puzzle-shaped piece of flesh that he removes from unsuccessful subjects, which he explains in Saw II is meant to symbolize that the subject "was missing a vital piece of the human puzzle: the survival instinct."
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