Characters

This article is about the main player character. For the additional multiplayer characters, see Babies. For non-player characters, see NPCs.

There are eleven playable characters in The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth with six extra characters in the DLCs. Five of these characters (Isaac, Magdalene, Cain, Judas, and ???) came with the original The Binding of Isaac, while two additional characters (Eve and Samson) were added later. Eve was added in the Binding of Isaac's Halloween Update, while Samson was added in the Wrath of the Lamb expansion. Rebirth contains four new characters (Azazel, Lazarus, Eden, and The Lost). In the Afterbirth expansion for Rebirth, one new character (Lilith) was added, plus one more character via an update (Keeper). In the Afterbirth † expansion for Rebirth one character (Apollyon) was added, plus one more secret character (The Forgotten) added via a Booster Pack. In the Repentance expansion for Rebirth two characters (Bethany and Jacob and Esau) were added. Also, in the Repentance expansion for Rebirth a counterpart for each character (B-Side Characters) was added. Each character starts with different stats and abilities that give them their own unique play style.

Each character's progress can be gauged by checking their completion marks.

	Rebirth													Afterbirth		Afterbirth †			Repentance
Character	Isaac	Magdalene	Cain	Judas		???	Eve	Samson	Azazel	Lazarus		Eden	The Lost	Lilith	Keeper	Apollyon	The Forgotten		Bethany	Jacob and Esau		Tainted Isaac	Tainted Magdalene	Tainted Cain	Tainted Judas	Tainted ???	Tainted Eve	Tainted Samson	Tainted Azazel	Tainted Lazarus		Tainted Lost	Tainted Lilith	Tainted Keeper	Tainted Apollyon	Tainted Forgotten		Tainted Bethany	Tainted Jacob
				Judas	Black Judas					Lazarus	Lazarus Risen						The Forgotten	The Soul		Jacob	Esau									Tainted Lazarus	Tainted Lazarus Risen					Tainted Forgotten	Tainted Soul		Tainted Jacob	Tainted Jacob's Soul
Health													No health
Damage	3.5 (*1.00)	3.5 (*1.00)	3.5 (*1.20)	3.5 (*1.35)	3.5 (*2.00)	3.5 (*1.05)	3.5 (*0.75) (*1.00 at )	3.5 (*1.00)	3.5 (*1.50)	3.5 (*1.00)	3.5 (*1.20)	3.5 ± 1.0 (*1.00)	3.5 (*1.00)	3.5 (*1.00)	3.5 (*1.20)	3.5 (*1.00)	3.5 (*1.50)	3.5 (*1.00)	3.5 (*1.00)	2.75	3.75
Tears	+0	+0	+0	+0	+0	+0	+0	-0.05	+0.5, x1/3	+0	+0	±0.75	+0	+0	-2	+0	+0, x1/2	+0	+0	3	2.5
Shot Speed	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1.31	1	1	1	1 ± 0.25	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1.15	0.85
Range	6.5 23.75	6.5 23.75	4.5 17.75	6.5 23.75	6.5 23.75	6.5 23.75	6.5 23.75	5.0 18.75	4.5 17.75	4.5 17.75	6.5 23.75	6.5 ± ? 23.75 ± 5.00	6.5 23.75	6.5 23.75	6.5 23.75	6.5 23.75	6.5 23.75	6.5 23.75	6.5	5	8
Speed	1.0	0.85	1.3	1.0	1.1	1.1	1.23	1.1	1.25	1.0	1.25	1.0 ± 0.15	1.0	1.0	0.85	1.0	1.0	1.3	1.0	1	1
Luck	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	-1	0	0 ± 1	0	0	-2	0	0	0	0	1	-1
Starting Pickup(s)	x1 bombs	x1 Full Health pill x1 Speed Up pill	x1 keys, Paper Clip	x3 coins	None	None	None	Child's Heart	0 - The Fool	x1 pills	None	x0-2 bombs x0-1 keys x0-5 coins x0-1 trinket, pill, or card	x1 coins	None	x1 bombs x1 coins Store Keys	None	None		x4 soul charges	?
Starting Item(s)	The D6	Yum Heart	Lucky Foot	The Book of Belial	None	The Poop	Whore of Babylon Dead Bird Razor Blade	Bloody Lust	Short range Brimstone Flight	Anemic	A permanent version of Anemic	Random active item Random passive item	Flight Spectral tears D4 Eternal D6 Holy Mantle	Blindfolded Incubus Cambion Conception Box of Friends	Triple shot Wooden Nickel	Void	Bone club	Flight Spectral tears	Book of Virtues	None	None
Achievements
Boss Rush
Mom's Heart
Satan
Isaac
The Lamb
???
Ultra Greed
Ultra Greedier
Hush
Delirium
Mother
The Beast
Mega Satan
All Marks completed

Unlocking

Each character is unlocked by accomplishing a certain task in the game. The unlock requirements are as follows:

Character	Unlock requirement
Isaac	None; unlocked by default
Magdalene	Have 7 or more Red Heart Containers at one time
Cain	Hold 55 Coins at one time
Judas	Defeat Satan
???	Defeat Mom's Heart 10 times
Eve	Don't pick up any Hearts for 2 floors in a row
Samson	Complete 2 floors in a row without taking damage
Azazel	Make 3 Deals with the Devil in one run
Lazarus	Have 4 or more Soul Hearts at one time
Eden	Complete Chapter 4
The Lost	It's complicated Die in a Sacrifice Room while holding Missing Poster
Lilith	Defeat Ultra Greed as Azazel
Keeper	Donate 1000 Coins to the Greed Donation Machine
Apollyon	Defeat Mega Satan
The Forgotten	It's complicated
Bethany	Defeat Mom's Heart/It Lives! on hard mode as Lazarus, without dying at all
Jacob and Esau	Defeat Mother
Isaac-B	Use Red Key (etc.) to open the hidden closet in Home as Isaac
Magdalene-B	Use Red Key (etc.) to open the hidden closet in Home as Magdalene
Cain-B	Use Red Key (etc.) to open the hidden closet in Home as Cain
Judas-B	Use Red Key (etc.) to open the hidden closet in Home as Judas
???-B	Use Red Key (etc.) to open the hidden closet in Home as ???
Eve-B	Use Red Key (etc.) to open the hidden closet in Home as Eve
Samson-B	Use Red Key (etc.) to open the hidden closet in Home as Samson
Azazel-B	Use Red Key (etc.) to open the hidden closet in Home as Azazel
Lazarus-B	Use Red Key (etc.) to open the hidden closet in Home as Lazarus
Eden-B	Use Red Key (etc.) to open the hidden closet in Home as Eden
The Lost-B	Use Red Key (etc.) to open the hidden closet in Home as The Lost
Lilith-B	Use Red Key (etc.) to open the hidden closet in Home as Lilith
Keeper-B	Use Red Key (etc.) to open the hidden closet in Home as Keeper
Apollyon-B	Use Red Key (etc.) to open the hidden closet in Home as Apollyon
The Forgotten-B	Use Red Key (etc.) to open the hidden closet in Home as The Forgotten
Bethany-B	Use Red Key (etc.) to open the hidden closet in Home as Bethany
Jacob-B	Use Red Key (etc.) to open the hidden closet in Home as Jacob and Esau

Trivia

• One common theory (which was confirmed by Edmund) is that all characters are different forms of Isaac himself. This theory suggests that every character is a creation of Isaac's imagination which he assumes the personality and appearance of when playing as them. Most characters represent different issues that Isaac believes he has, while ??? is Isaac after dying by suffocation inside The Chest, Azazel is who Isaac sees himself as, and The Lost is Isaac's wandering soul (which can be seen upon dying).
  • Additionally, Keeper is Isaac's desiccated corpse, as evidenced by Ending 18.
  • The Forgotten could be Isaac's skeleton shown in ending 17 and the final ending.

The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
Achievements Challenges Completion Marks Items Trinkets Characters Chapters Rooms Transformations Attributes Bosses Monsters Pickups Modes Curses Objects Seeds Effects Endings
Collection Item Pools Version History Modding Music