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 four 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. 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 †
Character	Isaac	Magdalene	Cain	Judas		???	Eve	Samson	Azazel	Lazarus		Eden	The Lost	Lilith	Keeper	Apollyon	The Forgotten
				Judas	Black Judas					Lazarus	Lazarus Risen						The Forgotten	The 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)
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
Shot Speed	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1.31	1	1	1	1 ± 0.25	1	1	1	1	1	1
Range	23.75	23.75	17.75	23.75	23.75	23.75	23.75	18.75	17.75	17.75	23.75	23.75 ± 5.00	23.75	23.75	23.75	23.75	23.75	23.75
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
Luck	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	-1	0	0 ± 1	0	0	-2	0	0	0
Starting Pickup(s)	x1 bombs	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 Key	None	None
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 Holy Mantle	Blindfolded Incubus Cambion Conception Box of Friends	Triple shot Wooden Nickel	Void	Bone club	Flight Spectral tears
Achievements
Boss Rush
Mom's Heart
Satan
Isaac
The Lamb
???
Ultra Greed
Ultra Greedier
Hush
Delirium
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

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.