Avatar: We have an almost infinite, possibly immortal legion of the Metaverse's most brilliant and powerful beings against us. They have unlimited resources, far reaching political connections and cool costumes.
Solo: I don't know about you, but I like those odds.
The Dark Council meet in the Citadel of Evil, conveniently situated on the Mountain of Terror, between the Forest of Nightmares and the Sea of Blood. On the outside the citadel is but a small, charmingly European castle, but on the inside the citadel is a labyrinthine edifice, built to a scale that matches its overlord's egos. The corridors are wide enough that the warlord of Z'lt'n can fly his flagship, the Doomstar, down them without scraping the sides (although he frequently does as he's a terrible driver) and even the weakest Evil Overlord has a personal throne room slightly larger than Australia, decorated to suit their personality.
When not plotting against the Vampire Benders, or backstabbing each other, the Dark Council like to watch wrestling matches between their evil lieutenants in the Mudpit of Doom. The fight between the ninja nymphettes of Mistress Malicia and the Dread Queen's leatherclad squad of dark magical cheerleaders is a particular fan favourite.
The Dark Council consists of 666 Evil Overlords, including:
- Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, a rather stereotypical disgruntled ex-Vietnam-turned-mercenary-guy who swears revenge against destiny because he was the first guy to be drafted.
- Achwskgdsidsfh, an ichor-spewing horror from beyond the stars, with green tentacles. His name has been pronounced "Agwasgidsidfah", "Atchwhiskgadsidsef", "Acidwhitesquelch", "Aardwitchsasquach", "Archsquid Sanfilch", "Ach, what sie grrrblmrrrrrh!", "A-chow-sock-god-said's-filth", "Four Yaks And A Dog", and "Aggie". Appears in The Dark Gates.
- Admiral Black, the pirate queen. Controls most of the pirate ships in the Caribbean. Her flagship, the Blood Pearl, is said to be crewed by ghosts, but it's actually crewed by ninja pirates. Appears in A Pirates Life For Me, Stock Footage, and Citadel Of Evil.
- Alexandria the Great, merciless high school girl and cold-hearted ruler of a savage clique. She will not sleep until she's given the world a makeover in her own twisted-yet-trendy image.Appears in Schooled, Friday Lite Brites.
- Alucardiff, a mysterious Welsh vampire. Lusts after the Witch-Queen of Elanor. Appears in Ring Rats, Time To Vamp Bend, Stock Footage, and the Revenge Of Xanatos novels.
- The Anti Pope, the leader of a cult who worship an ancient god. Commands small crack army of 108 soldiers. May have a secret identity as a heavy-metal singer; the jury's still out.
- Asmodeus, The Great Beast that is Dragon, Supreme Commander of the Infernal Legions, He whose name is Death. To offset this, his infernal armour is bright pink, and his unholy curses against humanity are punctuated with exclamations of 'OMG!'.
- Avatar Leeroy, an alternate reality robotic clone of McPotter with the exact same powers but a much cooler costume.
- Baron Kong, a gorilla. Because, as The Giggler says, "Everything's better with monkeys." Calling Kong a monkey tends to earn his ire, as he insists that he is "the greatest of the great apes". But he apologized and even signed the Giggler's cast while he was in the hospital, so they're cool now. Kong's a surprisingly sharp dresser, with elegant blue robes, a monocle, and black gloves on both his hands and feet. He carries a scepter tipped with a golden banana.
- Gorilla the Hun, the so-called 667th councilmember, a brilliant lieutenant of Baron Kong's who can often be seen filling an empty seat at meetings. His name and armor come from an early concept for Baron Kong that was shown in the press releases, and made it into comics and novels early on, taking Kong's place, then being present alongside him, before he was quietly retconned to be Kong's right-hand ape. His devious scheming and caustic humor earned him a certain fondness amongst fans, leading to his introduction on the show itself.
- Barthuliog, a pale, stick-thin, raven-haired man with little to no power who mostly keeps to himself in the back. Despite never saying anything or appearing as a villain anywhere, he's the most popular villain on the show, and heavily features in fanfiction.
- Bastegar, who has never been seen nor heard by his fellow council members and whose name is spoken only in whispers. He communicates mainly by post, and the envelopes are generally made from human flesh... Don't ask about the stamps. The text of his missives shows a grudging respect for Joe.
- Beezelbob, quite literally the Salaryman from Hell. Summoned accidentally in an attempt to summon Cthulhu, but was kept along because he's the only one who understands the villainous payroll system.
- Bent, a raven-haired pretty-boy who can warp the fabric of reality by focusing his will and putting enough effort into it, and who runs around in a cast-iron bikini.
- Black Crow, a vicious, nihilistic, misanthropic cult leader and self-styled "Chaos Prophet" who may or may not have mind control powers. Seeks to kill all humanity to satisfy his angst, which stems largely from Solo having stolen his girlfriend at summer camp when they were young.
- Black Rage, an African crime lord who trades in Imported Alien Phlebotinum. Unfortunate Implications keep him from seeing much use as a direct villain, though he is very vocal at council meetings. Appears in Schooled, Friday Lite Brites.
- Lord Bl?w, 735th Archduke of The Unblinking Eye, leads the vampire archdukes of the House of The 1000 Year Night in their Evil Plan to put the sun out. In case you're wondering, his own survival after that point is included in that plan. Appears in The Days Of Knight, Birth Of A Dark Star, and is a principle character in the spin off novel series Revenge Of Xanatos.
- Bogan the Barbarian, a cunning warrior who consistently wears uggboots. He schemes to steal the Diamond of Gortholis, and often mentions this. Nobody pays any attention, because he's quite mad.
- Buckwheat, a nasty hillbilly with psychic powers and a huge army of pigs. He is a rival of HaMalach, so naturally they always get paired up on recon missions.
- Carlton Ritz, a deadly and insidious computer genius who can rig an antique cuckoo clock in a rival's home to explode with a few swift keystrokes.
- Chicken Beaux, a giant chicken in Darth Vader-style armor and cape. Oddly enough, nobody notices that he's not human, except Solo, who insists that "He's a chicken, I tell you, a giant chicken!" The other characters just put this up to delirium tremens. Appears in the despised novel, A Horse Divided.
- Cleo. Formerly one of the Vamp Benders, she split after personally killing a powerful member of the Dark Council and gaining massive psychic abilities. Joe quickly used her hatred of the Benders to bring her to his side. First mentioned as a Dark Council Member in Blows That Hurt Most.
- Clive. He's not really evil, but his wife left him and since he retired it helps him get out of the house.
- Count Sinister Von Doomsday. He (claims) to have formed the original Dark Council and sown terror and destruction across the entire world. The mere mention of his name caused the mightiest heroes to wet their tights. His diabolical visage brought kings to their knees. Whole armies have surrendered when simply confronted with his presence. Unfortunately, that was eighty years ago. Now he's been all-but forgotten, and mostly just hobbles around the Citadel of Evil, occasionally whacking the other council members with his cane and muttering about the good old days when villains were TRULY evil.
- The Countess Sirena. Has 1001 Amazon assassins. Rides in a bath of blood, carried by well-oiled body builders.
- Dead World's Hand, five cards that, put together, allow an unspeakable evil to peer into this world and speak to whoever is holding the cards. When the full deck is completed, this evil will be free again. Fortunately, most of these cards have been out of print for nearly fifteen years.
- Docktor D? A cybernetic Mad Scientist sourcerer who wears a green cape and a mask made of titanium. Not to be confused with Marvel Comics' Doctor Doom.
- Doctor Jorgenheimer, Mad Scientist. To be fair, if you were named Jorgenheimer, you'd be pretty ticked off too. His methods are far more scientific than most mad scientists would go for, but this only makes him more dangerous; After all, it means he tests his weapons until he's sure they're right, and administers his Psycho Serum in varying amounts to groups so he always has the subjects he gave a placebo to fall back on.
- Doctor Myro, a crazed geneticist whom Avatar defeated at some point in his youth, yet refused to kill on the grounds that he would be no different than Myro if he did so. Doctor Myro has since sworn vengeance upon Avatar and begun work on a super clone created from the DNA of the metaverses' strongest fighters for the purpose of exacting ultimate revenge upon his Arch-Enemy. On his off time, he enjoys golfing. Appears in Omen From The Future Arc.
- Lord Doomster MacDoomington, an evil warlord who hails from Glasgow. Usually dresses in a kilt, carries a weapon known as the Shillelagh of Doom, and is Pepinson's main competition for the Can of Doomy Doomness. He's also got a Verbal Tic, and ends all his sentences with "Doom".
- Dorkros Mullerkaiserfuchslang-Schroderschulzbeckerbauer has enlisted the aid of Germlons from an alternate dimension. Is actually Nerdly's father. Appears in A Nerd In The Band and Through A Glass Nerdly.
- Dread Queen Deirdre, former ruler of Atlantis - or was it Mu, or Lemuria? - she seems rather unsure. Trapped in a painting, she has recruited a legion of dark magical cheerleaders to search for a way to free her. Frequently partnered with Alexandria the Great.
- Evils Presley, The Emperor of Rock & Roll. Don't step on his blue suede jackboots.
- The 2007 Ford Edsel, the automotive industry's answer to the Necronomicon.
- The Giggler, evil clown and ringmaster of the Carnival of Dread. Appears in Circus of Fear.
- Al Gore, really a Cro-Magnon leading a conspiracy to use efforts to fight global warming to bring about the next ice age, featured in the Spin-Off series Revenge Of Xanatos.
- HaMalach, a white-haired Pretty Boy with a single burning wing. Talks entirely in references to Kabbalah and The Bible, none of which have any relevance to the situation at hand. As previously alluded to, he doesn't get along with Buckwheat, meaning they are constantly forced to team up.
- Igneon, the magma elemental, and his Obsidian Guard, whom he personally shaped from volcanic glass over the course of a millennium in order to impress a beautiful woman who, by the time he finished, had long since died of old age. He predictably freaked the eff out.
- Inspector Tennenbaum, a world class detective for INTERPOL who is the single greatest deductive mind who ever lived. He was captured when he was two thirds of the way done cataloging the Dark Council and brainwashed to secretly work for them (his code phrase is "screw verifiability"). In spite of his high situational awareness, he has many safeguards in place to prevent him from figuring out who he's working for. His weakness is that anything which reminds him of his dead wife (who looks similar to Sue) causes him to believe everything that crosses his mind and play the role of Judge, Jury, and Executioner until he gets knocked out. At meetings, he believes that he's just at the "INTERPOL Secret Task Force".
- Jimmy, the evil stockboy. He knows where all the nastiest little secrets of the headquarters are kept. Depite being a grade-a skulker, he maintains a friendly, helpful, and positive attitude towards his fellow villains, and even to any heroes who happen to mistakenly wander into his store. It's his job, after all. Shame it's also his job to kill unwanted guests with a variety of retail-themed weapons, and, failing that, a box cutter. Actually, that part's not unfortunate at all. He loves that part. All that pretending to be nice gets to him after a while.
- Joe... just Joe. Never appears, being judged far too terrifying for viewers, but mentioned in Citadel Of Evil, Mojave Blues, Blows That Hurt Most, Circus of Fear, and in the detested novel, A Horse Divided. His is the countenance of oblivion. Almost universally feared, even by members of other organizations such as TVTW.
- Juliet Reed, Crosser of T's, Dotter of I's, Obstructive Bureaucrat, Executive Assistant, Receptionist, Stenographer, Certified Notary of Diabolical Contracts, and aspiring Assistant to the Director of Shapeshifting Resources. A demure 25-year-old Office Lady with a tendency to manipulate 'pink slip' termination papers into the form of a deadly origami weapon. Woe to the adventurer who enters her elaborate glass-ceilinged waiting lounge without an appointment. Appropriately, capable of assuming a variety of deadly yet alluring forms.
- J. Buffalo, southeast-Asian crimelord involved in the organization of corrupt martial arts tournaments as a means of world domination. Is sometimes known as Agev when he goes to Japan. Edit Wars have erupted as to how to alphabetize his name. He killed Sue's father but doesn't remember him performing said murder because while it was the most important day of Sue's life for Buffalo "it was Monday". Allegedly, he also killed his father, if he did then he certainly doesn't whine about it. He also found the beating that his genetic experiments gave to the Vampire Benders incredibly delicious, to the point that he said "YESH" not once but twice.
- Kurosawa Shin, a strangely honorable villain with samurai pretensions. Has a mystical black katana capable of cutting through objects on a conceptual level. Was originally a sympathetic character with a genuine grievance against the protagonists, but by his third appearance he seems to have forgotten his opposition to the enslavement of all humanity.
- Thag McLarg, an Irish Cro-Magnon on the upper echelons of The Brotherhood of the Cold Sun. Seems to answer to Lord Bl?w. His favored weapon is a Welsh bull-pup assault musket that fires rocket propelled microgrenades. Appears in The Days Of Knight and Birth Of A Dark Star plus is featured in the Spin-Off series Revenge Of Xanatos.
- Louis Frank-Field Weiner, an atypical genius manipulator since he never seems to do anything, yet everything always seem to happen exactly the way he (appears to) want them to. Some fans thing he's actually just a forseer of bad events, who happens to be evil and in a plot with too many plans by too many different people. First appeared in the despised novel, A Horse Divided.
- Mistress Malicia, ruler of an all-female band of Highly-Visible Ninja. Dresses entirely in white, decorated with lots of shiny silver skulls, and spikes. Specialises in killing people with feathers. Has an intense rivalry with Admiral Black.
- Naked Boss, a soldierly/warlord type capable of breaking a tank into its component spare parts before it shoots him, who spends most of his time giving pseudo-philosophical lectures on war and what it means to be a soldier. Often rides around in the supposedly fearsome Plastic Gear, a war machine supposedly designed to revolutionize warfare but with a bad track record of being defeated. Frequently works alongside Renita. Appears in the Omen From The Future Comic Arc.
- Necro Blast Vladimus, a test shot action figure who gained life and now attempts, with the aid of his Toy Soldiers, to emulate the glorious force of darkness in whose image he was cast. His eyes glow red even without batteries, and his spring-loaded Necro Blasts can puncture steel. Unsafe for children of any age, but highly prized by collectors until being declared off-limits after incinerating the better part of twelve different conventions. Appears in Down The Series Of Tubes.
- Necropedia, the living dead library filled with knowledge man was not meant to know packed into the gibbering, skittering, horribly mutated books that dwell inside him.
- Nucleus, a super clone from a bleak future, created by Doctor Myro from the DNA of the metaverses' strongest fighters, such as Chuck Norris, Mr. T and Vin Diesel. He has traveled back in time to test his skills against the Vampbenders of today. He pities the fool who tries to oppose him and his roundhouse kick. Appears in the Omen From The Future Comic Arc, where he was revealed to be a Split Personality of Future Nerdly created through Nanomachines, marijuana and holographic imagery, and in the episodes Back in Black, Seduction, Nucleus Rises, and Revelations.
- Oelc, Cleo's Evil Twin. Rides on a throne of skulls, carried by a dozen hideous trolls. Her name is pronounced "Whelk". Appeared in Circus of Fear
- Pervertigo, the fifty-foot lapdancer.
- The Pinsher, a bloodthirsy were-doberman who runs with a savage pack of genetically-engineered strays designed to be the perfect killing machines.
- Prince Barabados, European prince who happens to look exactly like Solo, but with a scar across his eye and lip; Do ''not'' mention it in his presence. He pilots a 50-foot-tall steam-powered humanoid robot that transforms into a giant ocelot.
- Professor Van Doom, insane genius. His personality, means, and even appearance vary wildly from depiction to depiction. Lusts after the Countess Fifi Sirena. Appears in the hated novel, A Horse Divided.
- Pup the Pup, a canine sock puppet whose presumably off-screen puppeteer may not, in fact, exist. Seen videoconferencing with sinister The Men in Black, but was frustrated by inordinate amounts of lag. Bears an ominous clock hanging around his neck, counting down to some terrible event. He insists he's a terrible driver. Denies all allegations of having a cigar-chomping even more Evil Twin.
- Queen Permafrost, a powerful sorceress who sealed her soul in the heart of a glacier to achieve power and immortality. Preserves her youth and beauty by a ritual that seals sacrificial victims inside a giant ice altar and drains their lifeforce slowly; draining too much at a time would cause her to regress in age. Has something of a schoolgirl crush on Avatar, whom she can't help but act just slightly less evil around.
- Russ Vincent, sleazy wrestling promoter who talks with a thick Brooklyn accent. Uses his wrestlers as his own personal goon squad. Has a thing for lesbians and "-On-A-Pole" matches. Secretly head of an ancient conspiracy.
- Samantha McQueen, a six-year-old terror who fired her first grenade launcher before she could walk. She wears a blood-red tutu with a matching tiara and insists on being called "Princess". Shade tends to fall asleep in her lap.
- Schlorph, the God of Slimes and Jellies. It's been suggested that he goes well with peanut butter.
- Shade, the cute little black kitten. He can't actually be bothered to do anything evil, though. And he scratches up all the Dark Council's furniture. But he's so cute! He seems to have unearthly powers, including teleportation and the ability to be in two places at once, but it was played off as possibly just mischief and trickery... until he had to face off against the Vamp Benders and revealed his ability to transform into a gigantic, sabre-toothed panther with glowing green eyes. He tends to use that ability sparingly, though, as it doesn't generally earn him many tummy rubs.
- The Shadow, mysterious female representative of Joe who held the Benders prisoner and tried to convince them to join the Dark Council. Killed by Cleo in Blows That Hurt Most, just prior to Cleo's Face–Heel Turn. Appears in Far From The Nest, Battles Of The Mind, and Blows That Hurt Most.
- Signeur Francés, a meta-traveling demon.
- Sir Ninjos Del Piratico, a ninja pirate of the highest order and a loyal general supposedly to Admiral Black. Appears in London Falling.
- Spoiler-Man, a mysterious figure who feeds off the screams of torment from people when he tells them the endings to movies and TV shows they haven't seen yet, such as that everyone explodes into Tang in Evangelion, Darth Vader is really Luke's father, Dante was the Big Bad of Fullmetal Alchemist (2003), and SOYLENT GREEN IS PEOPLE!!!
- The Stamps, retropop sensations and masters of both subliminal mind control and acoustic weaponry. They have a casual, devil-may-care attitude about them, especially their lead singer Express, which tends to rub more serious-minded councilmembers the wrong way. Express is backed by First Class on guitar, Overnight on keyboard, and Bulk on a massive set of drums. Appear in the episode Keep It Simple Stupid.
- Sturgis Kahn, a distant descendant of Genghis Kahn. He leads a gigantic biker gang known as The Horde.
- The Supreme Holy Grand High Inquisitor, head of the Black Knights of St Fylfot. When he says he knows what's best, you should probably agree with him for the moment.
- Tony Volta, a 70's afficionado with a leisure suit who is obsessed with making disco popular again. He leads a gang of dancers called the Jive Aces, who were frozen by Doctor Jorgenheimer just a few weeks after Saturday Night Fever was released. He speaks entirely in outdated slang, and his worldview is not entirely up to date.
- The Warlord of Z'lt'n, an alien mastermind. Lusts after goats.
- The Witch-Queen of Elanor. Rules a Magical Land where it is always spring, but never Easter. Turns people into stone frogs. Has a army of flying gorillas.
- Xenotrix, shapechanging robot from the future. Has an army of ninja velociraptors. Voice is their weapon.
- Xyzzy, the dark priest of Zomelgustar. After 3 episodes worth a buildup during season 2, in combat he lasts all of five minutes before before being crushed by a meteor.
- Zygmabeest, part part-zebra-part-centaur, part part-wildebeest-part-minotaur.
Another, far more mysterious group, known only as TVTW, has occasionally made appearances. While several - most notably Seth - have appeared among the ranks of the Dark Council, it seems that their loyalty to their mysterious organization supersedes their ties to the Council. Indeed, it is heavily implied that TVTW are tied to the creation of the Story Gate, the formation of Dark Council, and even may be guiding the efforts of McPotter and the Vampire Benders to their own ends...
Their machinations are backed by the manpower of the Unknown Troopers, an unnaturaly diverse team of sleeper agents; anyone, anywhere, at any time, could be an Unknown Trooper without even being aware of it! (Hence the name.)
Wild fan speculation holds that the TVTW are the representations of the metaverses gods, and have power over the entire universe. The diverse number of members is cited as the reason continuity is totally disregarded between episodes. A less wild theory is that they are just author avatars, but that's not as fun.
Presumed members of TVTW include...
- The being known only as 110; it's rumored that its true name is unpronounceable, or at least very hard to spell, in the tongues of Man. It's rumored that the (fairly human-looking) form we see is a mindless clone body, and that the true 110 is a digital entity. He has not shown up in the second season yet, because he hasn't finished watching the first one.
- A man known only as The Bad Wolf, not so much a Mad Scientist as a Clinically Insane Social Scientist. As a psychologist attempting to unify psychology with math but got stuck on the infamous Quantum Mariah Carey Problem which eventually destroyed his mind, and his ability to spell. So far an unseen character but it is speculated that Lord Bl?w may report to him.
- Leliel, the Seraph of Dusk. Originally a human Technomage with a loving family and happy life...Until a fanatical group of eco-terroists, decided that his magic was an abomination and destroyed his home. Grief striken to the brink of madness, Leliel decided that the the primitivistic human instinct was to blame, and he decided to forcefully evolve humanity to a point where they would no longer have them, and so create a peaceful civilization of scientists. After sucessfully transfoming himself through merging with a Byakee, he is now the primary expert on "These Are Things Man Was Not Meant to Know" and Humongous Mecha for TVTW. Has no illusions that what he does is right, but does it anyway since he believes it must be done. Also a bit of an Otaku. Pilots the Mictlan, a semi-living mecha that resembles a winged serpent from Aztec Mythology. He also is a bit of a transformational art fan, which makes since, as he is an Evilutionary Biologist. Favorite tatic is the Mind Game Ship.
- Pepinson, a bespectacled Genius Bruiser with a buzz cut, a railgun ("Shelly"), and a habit of ranting about his (apparently) insane worldview, especially in combat. Notable - and possibly meaningful - ravings include the "boxes and lines" monologue, delivered as he stalks Avatar through an abandoned warehouse ("You languish behind self-imposed boundaries, just as you cower in that cardboard death trap! Neither will shelter you from the light of truth!"), and the even more unhinged "replacement hero" sequence in the third-season finale The Jonas Quandary, the details of which are too sensitive even for spoiler tags. Scrounge considers him a rambling idiot but works with him in the hopes of being able to claim Shelly when Pepinson finally bites it.
- The enigmatic figure known only as Pieguy Two Five Nine, whose greatest strength lies in his power to destroy entire worlds by pulling apart their laws of physics. Fortunately, his powers are locked away in a tin can somewhere.
- Renita, a Lovecraftian monstrosity intent on the destruction of all of time and space after a personal tragedy that left her unable to go on living. Previously an Affably Evil Double Agent and decorated Strategist, albeit a nihilistic Well-Intentioned Extremist who believed that Utopia Justifies the Means, Renita ascended to her current godlike state after her method of attempted suicide imbued her with the power to bring down all of reality with her, sending her over the Moral Event Horizon in the process. Any of the warmth that Renita possessed as a mere mortal has since been extinguished, leaving only a cold and callous creature whose sole pleasure in life is seeing reality burn around her as creation itself faces extinction. The fanbase speculates that Renita's Freak Out is a result of Creator Breakdown.
- Roland, a mysterious individual wearing a black coat and hood. He seemed to be evil, but more than once refrained from destroying the Benders. Fought with a zweihander made from scrap iron, cast-off scraps of leather, and broken glass. In his final confirmed appearance to date, he allied with the Benders for his own reasons and apparently sacrificed himself to save them. He is presumed dead, but a shadowy figure picked up his broken sword after the episode credits... Rivals with Scrounge over fashion.
- Some fans seem to ship Roland/Renita. Roland has commented on this in a whine directly addressed at the viewers, moments before Renita dragged him off enthusiastically to get a fashion consultation. He came back dressed in an all-white outfit for exactly one episode before this was never mentioned again.
- Ruthiea, a polite, Affably Evil girl with glasses who enjoys creating universes and than forgetting that they exist. These universes often contain some representation of her. It's rumored that she was once a very nice girl, but than someone asked to borrow her favorite pencil and it all went down hill from there. Her favorite tactic is a polite and yet effective form of mind control.
- Scrounge, a snarky scavenger who makes a grab for anything that looks important when it crosses his path, from alien superweapons to ancient stone tablets, and could be carrying anything at any given moment. He'll go to any length to get what he wants, be it an alien superweapon or rare toy. He tends not to think things through all the way, but he's surprisingly clever when he wants to be. His mindset seems to swing like a pendulum between wide-eyed optimism and sneering cynicism, and he's determined to squelch that pesky noble streak of his that pops up every now and again. Rejects the traditional black leather in favor of creative use of denim. He's got a habit of giving his teammates odd nicknames if he thinks the name they go by is too "normal", such as calling Seth "Boss Boogeyman" and referring to Roland as "Hot Topic". In short, even by the illustrious standards of TVTW, he's a weird one. After the above-mentioned Roland/Renita rant, he complained about not getting shipped with anyone, and mentions that he finds Rutheia attractive, whereupon she turned out to be right behind him, rolling her eyes and told him he was clueless about girls; the incident had no effect on how the fans Shipped, but Scrounge's failure rate with the ladies (and, in certain fanfics, the guys as well) has become a running gag amongst fans, and eventually made it into canon. Uses whatever weapon du jour he thinks will get him the most style points, all of which he's got names for, though his favorites are:
- The January Blade, an oversized knife enhanced with ice magic, which he always carries.
- A diesel-powered chainsaw-saber he calls the Chainsword.
- An inconveniently-large wrist-mounted buzzsaw launcher named Buzzkill.
- A four-foot-long lead pipe known as Guido.
- Seth, a Mad Scientist and Evil Overlord. Seth is a skilled Ninja who commands a crack Genre Blind troop of cyborgs that he created. Seth is the first TVTW member to mention his allegiance on screen - during the Lower-Deck Episode "Evil Stirs With A Big Evil Spoon" Seth: You know, being a scientist who studies Ninjitsu, most of this is actually true. Later: Well now there are cyborgs so that's not true any more.
- Spirit Tsunami IV, a mysterious young man who showed up one day acting as if he'd been there all along. Carries a strange crystal that turns things into...other things. Has no known agenda of his own.
- A mysterious white-haired, bearded man in a tattered trenchcoat whom fans have taken to referring to as "The Stranger". His name is as-yet unrevealed on the show, though the initials "H.B.K." seem to be related. Seemingly more benign than the other TVTW members, he frequently gives the Vamp Benders cryptic clues that seem to lead them into far more trouble than they would otherwise face. Usually seen either smoking or rolling cigarettes filled with a strange white herb, that seem to light themselves. He's also rumored to be part Yeti.
- Tangent 128, an inadvertantly uploaded consciousness. Is only capable of physically manifesting as a hologram, but can manipulate other systems to serve his bidding. Bugs in his code leave him with an allergy to the number 5. Prone to giving multi-hour monologues, but only stays on any given topic for about a minute. Often a gofer to other members of TVTW, as he doesn't have the attention span to see any plan of his own to completion.
- Vert, a strange member of the TVTW, always dressed in robes, appearing what seems to be at random in a few episodes to unleash carnage, using his water gun with deadly accuracy. He never seems to kill anyone, but the damage he causes is enough to make most girls swoon over him.
- Luminos, a necromancer too lazy to collect the skeletons needed for his dark army. He Intends to become supremely powerful by correcting other people's grammar. He is immune to irony.
Other recurring and significant one-shot enemies include:
- The Amazing Spider-Spider. Has the body of a spider and the proportional strength of a different spider. Suspected to merely be a spider that was unfortunate enough to wander into the Citadel. Nobody is actually certain if the Amazing Spider-Spider is evil, because it doesn't talk. Seth and Professor Van Doom often have long, pointless arguments about whether the Amazing Spider-Spider is male or female. Scrounge has his own theory, but it was put forth on the other side of a soundproof door, and all the Audience saw that hinted at it were Scrounge's hand getsures and Jimmy's disturbed reactions.
- Devil Jirah, a massive, flame-spewing reptillian monster bearing a passing resemblance to a T-rex with horns and a back covered in razor-sharp, wickedly curved fins. Don't call him a lizard. Or a dragon.
- Hang Ten, surfer, executioner, and cruel spirit of the tides. Said to be spawned of Davy Jones himself. His hatred for Admiral Black is deeper than the darkest reaches of the ocean, and he has little regard for the lives of those who set foot in his waters unless they prove themselves worthy.
- The Guppy Poop Troupe, a rather awkward group of teen miscreants that are mainly used for comic relief. When we first meet them in "Ring Rats", they're working at a pet shop, and all have a crush on Cleo. The members are:
- Randy, a musclebound magician
- Zakk, a scheming thief
- Slash, a happy-go-lucky accordion player.
- Appear in Ring Rats, A Slice Of The Lime Light.
- A nameless, driverless hearse that can be briefly seen following the Vamp Benders in certain episodes.
- The Order Of The Cleansing Flame, a group of fanatical warrior-monks who personally mete out dire punishment for even the smallest of misdeeds, such as jaywalking or the use of silly nicknames.
- The Blakesville Behemoths, a football team controlled by the forces of evil. Between games, they run rampant, looting and destroying like the Vikings of old. Ironically, this makes them better role models than about half the other teams in their league. Appear in Friday Lite Brites.
- A little dog named Flippy.
- Angry Jock, Furious Jock, and Calm And Rational Jock, three thugs from Glasgow. They do not appear that often, although that may change.
- Loki. Yes, the Norse god of mischief. In a surprisingly non-traditional move for this show, he's not Satan. Rather, he's an homage to Q from Star Trek.
- N'Hemia: A succubus queen from "the Netherworld". Her goals, if any, are unknown. Likes to toy with the Vampbenders.
- A disembodied, mobile hand with superhuman strength and orange, rock-like skin. It has yet to write out its name, so everyone simply refers to it as "that thing."
- Penny Dreadful, villainess for hire. She originally went into villainy to stop her mother from nagging her about finding a nice boy and settling down, but she stays because she's become an adventure junkie.
- Mr. Mannheim and Mr. Steamroller, the Middle-Aged Firm, troubleshooters, exterminators, recreational gravediggers, and retaliatory chiropractors.
- The Tabernacle Of Bacchus, a cult worshipping the god of wine. Though allegedly a religious order, they behave more like a group of frat boys with cloaks. Most people refer to them as the Pink Hierophants.
- A pair of Affably Evil Ambiguously Gay gophers who were once simply Affable, but turned to the path of darkness when they were mistaken for chipmunks one time too many. Now whenever someone makes that mistake, they kindly explain the primary differences between the species while butchering up the offender's body for fertilizer in their vegetable garden. Whether they're actually members of the Dark Council is unclear.
- The Brotherhood of the Cold Sun: a conspiracy of scientists who have allied themselves with the Gay Haitian Needle-Drug Yakuza in order to perpetuate the myth of global warming to bring about a new ice age so their Cro-Magnon overlords can take over the world. Thag McLarg at first seems to be in control but latter in turns out the evil mastermind is Al Gore who is secretly an evil Cro-Magnon. An AATAFOVS expanded universe novel Time After Crime involves the gang going back in time to rig the 2000 Florida presidential election in favor of George W. Bush.
- The Shadow Sculptors, a band of champions from a universe of chaos and shadows created or gathered by Professor Udite's twisted counterpart, the Savant. Not especially evil, their goals- to save their own universe by stealing or gathering Narrativium from this one, as well as sustain their own lives- still put them in opposition to the Benders, and they have a wary alliance with the Dark Council. Have become popular among some fans for their essentially heroic, if twisted natures, and often feature in spinoff stories, comics, and episodes. Their members include:
- Persona, Avatar's counterpart. A pale, ruthless young woman, Persona will stop at nothing to accomplish her goals and achieve revenge upon the Savant, whose unethical experiments imbued her with tremendous magical power in exchange for a ravenous appetite for others' personal Narrativium. Wields a bladed stave in combat and wears elegantly dark attire at all times. Is not responding well to Avatar's attempts to resolve their differences without fighting one another.
- Gestalt, Solo's counterpart. Persona's older sister, outwardly shy and chaste, but with a hinted-at highly creative imagination. Gestalt suffers from an extreme example of multiple personalities and, thanks to the Savant's experiments, can manifest any one of them more or less at will. Generally dresses in a warped nun's outfit; her various projections vary in outfit and personality.
- Claude, Sue's counterpart. A lean, almost feral night-skinned teenager with a very quiet, raspy voice and some difficulty relating to others. It's been hinted Claude literally devours Story Gates to keep his hyper-flexible, almost liquid body stable. He usually serves as the team's spy. Dresses in loose cargo pants and a sleeveless top, and carries a frankly terrifying assortment of knives. Oddly enough, he got on well with Nerdly for some reason the few times they've met.
- Debutante. A sixteen-year-old, stylish teenaged fangirl of Persona who somehow managed to tag along. Stunning, socially adept....and she gives no indications she's got a brain in her head. Most of the time. The rest of the team generally humors her more out of exasperation than any real use...but harbors a terrifying, world-destroying Eldritch Abomination, the Wyrm of Twilight. Dresses in a rather warped cheerleader outfit.
- Andrews von Mansfield de Litchensteinen the Twenty-Fifth. A Shadow-verse holy man, he serves as the team's chaplain but isn't averse to mixing it up a little with his favorite oversized, bayonnet-mounted shotgun. Takes most of his religious oaths with a shaker's worth of salt, but staunchly chaste and in fact Allergic to Love, much to many female characters' disappointment.
- Scales. The team's pet juvenile dragon. Occasionally displays the ability to become...a small, fluffy kitten, always with an overblown Transformation Sequence and Ominous Latin Chanting accompaniment.
- Stainless Steel, a three-tailed, magically-enhanced Fox Demon with gray fur. He first appeared in the Web Animation Krystal Clarity, as an enemy Krystal was on the run from before joining up with the Vamp Benders. In the end, he is seen talking to Persona in a bar of the shadier sort. Very furry, very pretty, wears a spiked collar. No ones sure if he's gonna be in the show or not, but the fangirls (and certain fanboys) seem unnervingly fond of him. Conceived as one of the Shadow Sculptors, but replaced with Debutante at about the same time Eidolon and Appreggio's names were changed to Persona and Gestalt; according to the web site, the character design would have gone to waste, so they used it for the webisode.
The makers of AATAFOVS have stated that Schlorph, The Countess Sirena, Pervertigo and other members of the Council of Evil will have a more prominent place in the third season. They refuse to comment on the future role of TVTW, promising only "something interesting". As for antagonists not in either group, the official response was "Huh? What? Oh, those guys! Er.... Can we get back to you on that?"
