Beginning in 2003, the Saw franchise is one of the most iconic series in the horror genre, totalling one short film and nine features to date. Over the years, multiple characters have taken it upon themselves to kidnap unsuspecting victims and force them throught the series nightmarish games, but just what kind of person would do something like that and why?

Over the course of the long running franchise, five different directors have helmed the narrative, starting with Conjuring universe creator James Wan. From 2004 to 2010, the films released every year right before Halloween, but they now appear sporadically.

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The villain of the Saw franchise is referred to in-universe as the Jigsaw Killer, a sadistic serial murderer who places his victims in intricate traps themed around their perceived misdeeds. The ostensible goal is to teach the victims a life lesson through unspeakable violence. This, unsurprisingly, sees mixed results, with some victims coming away changed for the better, others dying horribly, and still, others scarred for life. The killer gets the name from a habit of slicing a jigsaw puzzle piece out of the flesh of their victims. Generally, the A-plot of each Saw film follows the victims as they navigate their horrid tasks, but the B-plot is typically reserved for the killers.

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The first and most well-known Jigsaw Killer is John Kramer, portrayed by Tobin Bell, the primary killer in the first, second and third films, who has appeared in all but one film. Kramer made his living as a civil engineer, apparently an excellent one, where he learned an immense amount of mechanical science and technique. Kramer had a beloved wife, Jill Tuck, with whom he was expecting a child. Unfortunately, a drug addict at the clinic where Jill worked caused an accident, causing Jill to miscarry. The trauma wrecked their marriage, leading to divorce and worse yet, John was diagnosed with terminal cancer. After all hope seemed lost, Kramer attempted suicide, but against all odds, he survived and found a new purpose.

Kramer began his grim work immediately after his suicide attempt, and as the films went on, more intricate details of a seemingly infinite series of plans became clear. These plans extended far beyond his death in Saw III. Kramer appears in flashback in every film except Spiral, but it's his influence that keeps the games going. Kramer created converts with his philosophy, each new killer to take up the mantle is a direct underling of the first. The films are often not in chronological order, so his first accomplice is actually dramatized in 2017's Jigsaw.

The first accomplice to take the mantle of Jigsaw is Logan Nelson, a former doctor who disastrously fumbled Kramer's medical test results, leading to his cancer becoming terminal before treatment can be applied. Kramer places Nelson in a trap but realizes that killing him over an honest mistake is against his code. With that, he allows Nelson to become his accomplice, leading him to enact his own series of traps in the Jigsaw style a decade later. Nelson recreates a series of Jigsaw's crimes and frames a victim, he went free and has not been seen since.

Kramer's next adherent was Amanda Young, a fragile heroin addict placed into the series iconic reverse bear trap, which she must take a life in order to survive. Amanda is emotionally devastated by the event, but she insists right away that she is now clean and sober, and that Jigsaw helped her. She then swiftly joins Kramer's mission, intended to carry the torch after his inevitable death. Her participation is the big twist of Saw II, but by Saw III, she is less committed to Kramer, creating inescapable traps in direct defiance of his wishes. Kramer distrusts her ability to continue his legacy, so he tests her mercy, and she fails, leading to her death at the hands of a vengeful victim. Later, it is revealed that she is blackmailed into failure due to her involvement in Jill's miscarriage.

The first Saw film introduces Cary Elwes's character, Dr. Lawrence Gordon. Gordon is the doctor who correctly identifies Kramer's cancer, though too late to do anything about it. Kramer locks him in a grimy bathroom for cheating on his wife, leading him to saw off his foot to escape. Shortly thereafter, though not revealed to the audience until six films later, Dr. Gordon is nursed back to health by Kramer and joins him as his third apprentice, using his medical knowledge to help with several of the more biological traps. Gordon aids Kramer before, during, and after his death and escapes capture after Saw 3D.

In the midst of these events, a copycat killer emerged, Detective Mark Hoffman. Hoffman was assigned to investigate the Jigsaw killings but set up his own trap to slay his sister's killer, framing his actions as another of Kramer's. Kramer takes exception to killing without giving a chance to survive and subsequently blackmails Hoffman into joining him. Over time, Hoffman becomes dedicated to the work, competing with Amanda to become Jigsaw's direct successor. Hoffman is the one that blackmails Amanda, leading to her tragic death. Hoffman gets massively carried away fighting his fellow accomplices for sole control over Jigsaw's legacy and is subsequently killed. Trapped by Dr. Gordon in the bathroom he'd once escaped, Hoffman is left for dead with no way out.

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Other accomplices were present but did not take over the Jigsaw killings in full. John's wife Jill gets briefly involved in an attempt to kill Hoffman, but she is killed in retaliation. When Dr. Gordon snags Hoffman for his grim fate, he is joined by two unnamed assailants wearing pig masks. This makes it clear that some of Kramer's assistants are never revealed. The final Jigsaw killer, present in this year's Spiral, is a copycat killer named Emmerson. The first killer with no direct link to Kramer, Emmerson rips off Kramer's signature style to punish corrupt cops and gets away with it. He is, thus far, the last Jigsaw Killer, though his claim to that title is disputable.

The total roster of Jigsaw Killers is John Kramer, his four converts; Nelson, Amanda, Dr. Gordon and Hoffman, and Emmerson, the copycat. Each has their own motivations, challenges, and varied outcomes, but the Jigsaw Killers remain one of the best-loved villains in film history.

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