West side story riff

West side story riff is the leader and co-founder of the Jets. His character is based on Mercutio from Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet, and like Mercutio in Shakespeare's play, is the first one to die in West Side Story.
Riff is the second leader of the West Side Street Gang known as the Jets. He is a major villain in the 1957 Broadway musical West Side Story, as well as its 1961 film adaptation. The musical is the modernized version of Romeo and Juliet, of which Riff is the equivalent of Mercutio. Despite Bernardo (The leader of the Sharks) being the equivalent of Tybalt (the original antagonist of Romeo and Juliet), Riff is the villain of the story as it was his actions that began his feud with Bernardo. When Bernardo moved to New York Riff and the Jets jumped him because Riff did not like the idea of Latinos in his neighborhood, showing that Riff is in fact a racist and the true cause of Bernardo’s malicious actions.

West side story riff

Riff and Tony 

Riff and Tony were friends when Riff moved out of his uncle's place and moved in with Tony and his family nearly five years earlier. During this time, Tony and Riff became as close as brothers and co-founded the Jets street gang, but Tony has since left the gang and now works for Doc at his drug store, though the two remain close.

Rivalry with the Sharks 

His hatred of Bernardo and the Sharks stems from their street culture as much as from racial prejudice; as the Jets have already defeated other gangs including the Emeralds and the Hawks, Riff is undauntedly determined to again lead the charge to protect their turf, small as it is, and upon which the Sharks are now trying to muscle in. But little does Riff (or anyone else) realize that his unwavering resolve will culminate in death- his own, and the subsequent death of his best friend Tony.

Riff as leader of the Jets 

After another brawl with the Sharks at the playground (Jets' turf), and Schrank's admonition to the Jets to stop making trouble, Riff declares that the Jets are going to settle against the Sharks with a winner-take-all rumble. Despite the protests from most of the other Jets, Riff plans to challenge Bernardo and decides to recruit Tony to stand up with him at a dance that night. Tony is disinterested but nevertheless agrees to go to the dance, where he promptly falls in love with Bernardo's sister, Maria.  Bernardo is about to go after Tony when he is stopped by Riff, who wants him for a war council; they agree to meet at midnight at Doc's Drug Store.

The rest of the Jets are anxious for the war council, and after Krupke acosts them at Doc's and warns them not to be there when he gets back, Riff gets them all to focus and keep calm. With Tony's prompting, Bernardo and Riff agree to a best-man one-on-one fist fight to settle the score once and for all.