One of the most exciting characters in the Sly Cooper series is definitely Murray, the "Brawn" of the operations. Murray's incredible strength not only allows for easy bad-guy-takedowns, but also greatly helps the team get past certain obstacles. This can range from breaking windows to lifting up heavy gates; whatever it takes to keep the mission moving forward.
Besides being a hippo with superhuman strength, one of Murray's greatest talents is racing. In fact, Murray uses his racing skills as soon as Sly 1.Murray uses his racing talents to beat opposing racing teams to win a key that is integral to the Cooper Gang's mission. This is one of the instances where the player will first learn about Murray's passionate love for his van, which, of course, is also the getaway van.
Murray is known for his constant positivity and motivational phrases throughout the series. Murray plays a vital role in confidence boosting when the team feels discouraged. Murray allows the player to have a feeling of brute strength, as you can throw many objects with ease, picking up and moving heavy barriers, or clobbering opponents.
Murray also plays other roles and purposes for the Cooper Gang, such as a getaway driver. Murray has used his van to quickly pick up Sly and get him out of bad situations. In fact, he does this at the beginning of Sly 1, Sly 2, and Sly 4.