Three years ago, Spike decided to abandon his past and strike out on a life of his own, so he left the Red Dragons (a Chinese Mafia group) and teamed up with Jet Black to roam the solar system in search of bounty and adventure. A lean, laid-back individual, Spike is nonetheless competent in his abilities. His idol is 20th-century martial artist and philospher Bruce Lee, and he is constantly practicing his own Jeet Kune Do skills. He has yet to lose a fair fight hand-to-hand (well, except to Ed's father). Combine this with proficiency with a handgun, and he is definitely not a man to mess with.

Though he doesn't really own it, Spike calls the Bebop home. Home life for Spike, though, is relatively tame. If he isn't practicing his martial arts, he's watching the TV. TV is the Space Cowboy's best friend because of Big Shot, a "Solar System's Most Wanted" for bounty hunters.

Spike also has a personal craft: his transit from home ship to planet. His "baby" is named Sword Fish II. Spike's personal ship was originally a Sword Fish asteroid racer (a notorius racing circuit in its day) but has since been customized to make it one of the fastest personal ships in existence. It is very maneuverable yet capable of incredible speeds, and it is able to fly both in air and in space.

Jet Black, a formner member of the Inter Solar Systems Police (or ISSP), an incident (of which he will not elaborate) cost him his left arm and partial use of his right eye, forcing him to retire from ISSP and to get a cyborg arm and implants to improve his damaged eye. That's when Jet turned Cowboy, getting his hands on a secondhand space trawler and converting it into the ship we know as the Bebop and eventually teaming together with Spike to form a bounty-hunting partnership. Jet frequently resorts to the contacts he established at ISSP to help locate potential bounties.

Jet is a throwback to the older, more civilized days when things are taken more slowly and methodically. Jet maintains operations aboard the Bebop, and he's also the ship's cook, though a lack of money makes the pickings slim at times. Besides the Bebop, Jet also has his own personal craft called Hammerhead, originally a Sack Fish catcher boat. He's also capable of flying Spike's Sword Fish II. In his spare time, Jet tends to his collection of Bonsai trees.

In the episode titled "Black Dog Sarinade", it is revealed that Jet lost his left arm in a take down of Udai Itaxin. He was set up by his partner, who was on the syndicate payroll, and was shot in the arm.

Much of Faye's past is a complete mystery. Apparently, she was placed in cryogenic stasis when disasters befell Earth and precipitated the great exodus. Many records that would've provided answers were destroyed, leaving gaping holes in Faye's life that no one (not even herself) apparently can answer. If memories are her least plentiful asset, debts are her most plentiful: amounting to a total too large to state.

She becomes familiar with the mismatched crew of the Bebop and occasionally makes herself at home...if only to relax and await a scoop on a big bounty or easy money. Half the time she's on board, she's in cuffs while they rummage through her stuff. The one member of the crew she hates is Ein. She's never gotten along with the dog and frequently torments him.

Most of the time, Faye is calm, confident, sometimes even ****y. She is an expert gambler and a sharpshooter to boot. But every so often, a softer, more timid side of her emerges: that part of her still looking for answers to her mysterious past, lost and bewildered.

Though really a rival, Faye becomes as much a part of the Bebop as everyone else. Like Spike and Jet, Faye is an experienced huntress. Her personal jewelry is in reality an assortment of electronic devices, including a summons bracelet for her personal craft, Redtail. Redtail is based on a patrol ship design. Like Spike's Sword Fish II, Redtail is built to be fast yet maneuverable, and it also possesses a notable array of weapons.