The Starks of Iron Pointe | The Starks of Winterfell | The Lannisters of Casterly Rock and Baratheons of King's Landing | The Targaryen Exiles | The Baratheons of Dragonstone and Storm's End | The Tyrells of Highgarden | The Brotherhood of the Blackfyres | Braavos | Wider Essos| The Council | The Ironborn | King's Landing | The Martells | The Wall and Beyond | Asgardians | The Court of the Others
The Starks of Winterfell
The ruling house of the North. Their current head is Lord Eddard "Ned" Stark, the Warden of the North. After Ned's liberation from King's Landing and Sansa's death, the Northern bannermen proclaim him as their king, reforming the once Lordly house into a Kingly house.
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In General
- Animal Motifs: The direwolf is theirs.
- Color Motif: They generally have dull shades of white and grey. Showing themselves as more serious and stern compared to the more lively and jovial Iron Pointe Starks.
- Fatal Flaw:
- Like the Starks of Iron Pointe, they tend to cope with guilt by doing something stupid and/or brash. To boot:
- Ned felt so awful over Lyanna's death that he let Catlyn believe he was unfaithful to her instead of passing Jon off as Brandon's offspring.
- Benjen still went to the Wall in spite of the Stark bloodline's desperate need for heirs because he wanted to punish himself for knowing about Lyanna's intent to elope.
- Another flaw more prominent among the Starks currently deceased is a tendency to act rashly.
- Lyanna run off with Rhaegar but neglected to do more than leave a note with Brandon about her reasons. If she had explained herself to another of her family, there might've been a little less drama and death.
- Brandon brazenly marched into King's Landing and was promptly arrested...
- Leaving Rickard to demand a trail by combat for his son's freedom and get burned alive by the Mad King as a result.
- Like the Starks of Iron Pointe, they tend to cope with guilt by doing something stupid and/or brash. To boot:
- Never Gets Drunk: A family trait among them is that those with Stark blood are incapable of getting drunk no matter how much wine, ale, mead, or any kind of alcoholic drink they consume. It's later revealed that Thor cursed their ancestor to have an Asgardian constitution, so it would take drinks made specifically for Asgardians to get them remotely drunk.
- Weirdness Magnet: Being the only great house with a strong connection to the Old Gods and the prophecies of the Long Night, the story begins to pull their faction into stranger and stranger scenarios. While the heads of house are normal (right now), all the children have taken on a supernatural power, the servants saw an attack with futuristic weapons, the long dead are returning, and they're now expected to help lead the charge against the others. All in all, Ned and Cat are highly distraught with how life has changed around them.
Ned Stark*
Eddard "Ned" Stark, the Quiet Wolf, King in the North, The Crowned Wolf and The Punisher
The Warden of the North and Lord of Winterfell. Tony's first cousin. Fears that the Iron Man will bring about a Civil War in Westeros.- Adaptational Heroism: The Punisher in comics is a brutal vigilante who at times would even go after retired thieves and drug addicts, often barely skirting the line between hero and villain. Here, he's Ned Stark, who is one of the most honorable men in all of Westeros, if not the world.
- Awesome Moment of Crowning: When his bannermen acclaim him as King in the North.
- Badass Normal: Currently, all Ned has are his combat training and experience, his Valyrian steel greatsword, Ice, and the inability to get drunk. Despite this, the reason Tony doesn't want to fight Ned isn't that he's afraid of killing Ned, but that he knows that Ned could and would kill him if he wanted to. Fittingly, he is this story's version of The Punisher, one of the Badass Normals of the Marvel universe.
- Be All My Sins Remembered: Keeps a journal of every Lannister he's killed and how, so he never forgets any of his actions, for good or ill.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Just like in canon, only even more pronounced. For all his faults, he is a genuinely nice, noble, well-meaning lord and is shaping up to be a good king, but Book 2 has made it quite clear that, when he vowed to kill all the Lannisters for Sansa's death, he meant it.
- Break Them by Talking: Mercilessly reveals to Jaime that Cersei isn't as faithful to him as he is to her. Jaime refuses to give any outwards signs of his shock, but he truly was shaken.
- Clashing Cousins: Unsurprisingly, with Tony Stark, since Tony is an irreverent, selfish, happy-go-lucky man that openly disregards his heritage and works for the Lannisters. Gets downplayed over the course of the first book, when the two of them learn to get past their differences and understand each other better.
- Composite Character: Between the white weirwood on his breastplate and his intention to kill all of the Lannisters, he becomes the Westeros equivalent of The Punisher. Chapter 22 of A Crack of Thunder reveals that this has become one of his nicknames amongst the Small Folk.
- Cool Sword: His legendary Valyrian steel greatsword, Ice. Unlike canon, Ice never falls in the hands of the Lannisters to be melted into two smaller swords, allowing the Starks to preserve their Ancestral Weapon.
- The Dreaded: He becomes this to the Lannister forces, so much so that they call him The Punisher. He's so feared on the battlefield that his enemies shit their pants at the idea of fighting him. They even say that there was a reason he stayed in the North: He was being kind.
- Ermine Cape Effect: After being acclaimed King in the North, his bannermen push for him to dress in a suitably regal manner.
- Good Cannot Comprehend Evil: Ned admits to Catelyn that he simply can't understand why Robert didn't take the responsibilities of being king seriously, especially now that he's a king himself.
- The Good King: During the war in the Riverlands, he ensures that every town that is liberated by his men is fixed up so they can get back on their feet and return to what may amount to a normal life.
- Heel Realization: He's unhappy when he understands how he and Catelyn butchered their children's education: Robb can play the lord but doesn't know to act the lord, Sansa thinks life is a song and Arya really doesn't want to be a perfect Southern lady.
- He Who Fights Monsters: Admits to himself that he fears what his Roaring Rampage of Revenge is turning him into. Fittingly, the Punisher of the mainstream comics is practically Marvel's poster boy for this trope.
- Honor Before Reason: His biggest flaw is his adherence to a strong sense of honor, and his belief in others to be just as noble. It also makes him way too law abiding for his own good.
- His first reaction when he learns the Iron Man's deeds is condemning him for not reporting the crimes to his lord, as the law should have been handled by the ones with the position to do.
- He's aware this is a big flaw of his, acknowledging it will get him killed one day. He seems to grow out of this after escaping King's Landing.
- Pretty much subverted after the event above. Ned might still be a honorable man, but he won't let it cloud his judgement. He even told Robb that sometimes it is better to flee a losing battle than to die honorably, because honor can be regained, but a lost life can't.
- Never Gets Drunk: Arya knows that the idea that her father went drinking with Tony and got so drunk he injured himself is false because Ned, like Tony, can drink barrels of alcohol and not be affected. It's a trait that all Starks share.
- Noble Male, Roguish Male: The honorable and chivalrous Noble to Tony's arrogant and smartass Rogue.
- Not So Stoic: When his cousin is suspected to be Iron Man, Ned almost bursts a gut laughing. The Small Council is visibly freaked by his reaction.
- Papa Wolf: Lame pun aside, there is nothing he wouldn't do for his children. Even methodically, mercilessly slaughter an entire family for his daughter's demise.
- The Promise:
- He swore his sister he would protect her newborn son from danger.
- After his daughter's death, he promises to destroy the Lannisters.
- Secret-Keeper: He first refused to believe his cousin could be the Iron Man until he truly considered the facts in front of him, leading him to conclude Tony was actually pulling the wool over the royal court's eyes. And he was right.
- Sins of Our Fathers: Zigzagged. He's ready to wage a war of complete extermination against the Lannisters no matter their degree of relation to the main branch because of his daughter's murder, yet he can't bring himself to execute Theon for the youth's own family rebelling.
- Spanner in the Works: His rapid riding to find his sister Lyanna spoiled the Council's plans to ship young Jaehaerys/Jon away so he could be raised with Aegon Targaryen and become The Lancer when he came to take the Iron Throne back.
- Spared by the Adaptation: Iron Man rescues him from King's Landing seconds before meeting his canon end.
- Try to Fit That on a Business Card: After becoming King in the North:Eddard of the House Stark, First of His Name, Lord of the First Men and the Andals, King in the North and the Riverlands, and Master of Winter.
- Universally Beloved Leader: Tywin says the North loves Ned so much, even more so after becoming their King, that he could claim to be one of the Old Gods in human from, and they would believe him without question.
- What the Hell, Hero?: When Yondu calls him out on being so passive as a Lord and later a King when he could've done so much more, Ned retorts that he (his father) let the Stark name in ruins by trying to emulate Southern politics in life and damaged his children's upbringing in the long run.
- Wide-Eyed Idealist: As seen in Honor Before Reason above, he strongly believes in the current system and disproves of vigilantes that take justice into their own hands, and believes most lords are as honor and duty-driven as he is. After narrowly escaping his execution and witnessing Sansa's death, he casts this trope off, realizing that most of the Westerosi Lords are incredibly corrupt and selfish, and will ignore an injustice if it benefits them (or if it doesn't affect them), caring only for amassing wealth and power while ignoring the smallfolk's woes, coming to the depressing realization that he's the exception rather than the rule, and that the smallfolk do need the Iron Man and similar heroes to protect and take care of them.
- You Remind Me of X: Yondu/Rickard tells him after his outburst that Ned reminds him of his own father, Edwyle. Both are/were good and rather quiet men who could lay down their authority when needed.
Catelyn Stark*
Catelyn Stark née Tully, the Queen in the North
The Lady of Winterfell. Really doesn't like Jon Snow or her husband's cousin Antony for bringing shame to the Stark name.- Berserk Button: Initially, Jon Snow's very existence, meaning she treats him horribly and says that she wishes it had been him crippled instead of Bran. Let's be fair, a lady has a right to be pissed when her husband brings his illegitimate kid under their roof, but Cat takes it a bit too far. As, she really hates the idea of Jon being considered a genuine Stark, meaning she's livid when Tony legitimizes him as his heir. Later on, after a great deal of self-reflection and maturity (and grief), she instead walks this back and prays to the gods, "Let him be happy."
- Character Development: In Book 1, she was rather antagonistic, with her often lambasting Jon and Tony and having prejudice toward Jon's bastard heritage. By Book 2, she's considerably less irrational and more mature, having learned from her mistakes and making amends.
- Entertainingly Wrong: After meeting Iron Man and the Centurion, she concludes Jory Cassel and Benjen Stark wear the armors. Her reasoning is very sound and logical and utterly wrong.
- Everyone Has Standards:
- She's speechless when Samwell confesses his own father wanted to kill him for being an unfit heir. For a mother who almost lost her son to murder, the idea of ordering your child's death is more than repulsive.
- When Lysa Arryn forces another trial by combat on Tyrion, she's appalled with the Arryn courtiers.
- Fatal Flaw: Her rashness. Apparently, there is an inborn streak of impulsivity in the Tully family.
- Heel Realization: When she suffers two What the Hell, Hero? speeches from the Centurion and her husband, she starts to understand she made very bad choices in her life and resolves to do better.
- Hidden Depths: Catelyn is actually a pretty good schemer and diplomat when she doesn't let her temper get the better of her. She was able to smuggle Tyrion to the Vale right under Tywin's nose, for example, and come to his defense when Lysa tried to subject him to a Kangaroo Court.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Tony feels that she wouldn't be wrong to blame him for Sansa's death. Jon disagrees, claiming that she should blame Joffrey, since he's the one who killed her.
- Jerkass to One: She's mostly kind, if very uptight, but she loses her nice attributes around Tony and Jon. In Tony's case, it's because he's an unrepentant troll who enjoys breaking rules and rubbing this fact in her face, while Jon is her husband's bastard son (except not really). After Sansa's death and getting chewed out by Eddard and Centurion, she starts losing the Jerkass part and tries to make up for what she's done.
- Kick the Dog: Telling Jon he should have fallen instead of Bran. Tony called her out on this. Very strongly.
- My Beloved Smother: How she's considered at large. She later admits that she did indeed make this mistake.
- Noble Bigot: She's a noble of the Tully family and now the Stark family through marriage, and she heavily looks down on, if not outright despises, bastards. She starts moving past this after Sansa's death and getting chewed out by Centurion and Eddard.
- Outliving One's Offspring: She had to learn her eldest daughter's demise at King's Landing.
- Spared by the Adaptation: Unlike the books, Robb's planned arranged marriage to one of Walder Frey's daughter goes without a hitch, so it's safe to assume that the Red Wedding will never happen.
- Token Evil Teammate: Downplayed. She's certainly a jerkass amongst the other Starks, especially to Tony and Jon (while Tony himself was quite the self-admitted douche, Jon was far less reasonable), but she genuinely wants to help and cares for her family. This becomes subverted in A Crack of Thunder, where she Took a Level in Kindness and acknowledges that she screwed up hard.
- Wicked Stepmother: Saying she doesn't like Jon Snow would be a first-grade understatement. She's actually his wicked aunt since Ned stayed faithful to her and lied about his nephew Jaehaerys' true parentage. Though she does try to avert this after her Heel Realization.
Robb Stark*
Robb Stark, the Young Wolf, and Venom
Ned Stark's oldest son by his lady wife Catelyn Tully. Quite the amiable fellow until something wrong happens to his family. With the arrival of new supernatural allies, Robb's world is quickly turned upside down, culminating with partnering with something from beyond the stars: a symbiote.- Agent Scully: He's rather skeptic about Jojen Reed's claims of being a greenseer, since everyone and their goldfish wants to be the next mythic hero after the Iron Man's rising, and thinks the boy is simply trying to impress him. After Rickon gets sucked into a portal in the crypt, he starts to be open-minded, before he starts to give this up fully when the Guardians of the Galaxy, and all their madness, come spilling back out of the portal to save his home from enemies wielding what are basically lightsabers.
- Arranged Marriage: With one of Walder Frey's daughters. He does get married soon after, as Ned insists on it, and Walder swears Robb will be happy with his new bride.
- Big Brother Instinct: Fully aboard with his father's promise to destroy the Lannisters in revenge for Sansa's death.
- Composite Character: At the end of chapter 60 of A Shield of Man, he becomes Venom.
- Creepy Good: While his sense of courtly honor keeps Robb sane, Venom is a brutal, hungry monster of sorts, who unnerves the Guardians of the Galaxy and his other allies greatly.
- Distressed Dude: He's been captured by Euron Greyjoy in A Shield of Man both for political leverage, and because Euron needed more test subjects.
- Entertainingly Wrong: While he's dealing with Rocket Raccoon and Groot, he's grateful that Jon Snow (now Stark) is somewhere safe and boring. At the same time as he's wishing this, Jon's fighting against Vanko with his own Power Armor.
- Happily Married: It appears that his marriage to Roslin Frey is actually a good one.
- Heartbroken Badass: Both Sansa's death and Arya's disappearance hit him hard.
- Heroic BSoD: Seeing Rickon get sucked in by a portal in the depths of Winterfell's crypt leaves him screaming.
- Heroic Self-Deprecation: He fully acknowledges he's nothing but a young boy who played at war because he wanted to free his father and sisters, and it will be best for him to go back to Winterfell while more competent people take over the war effort.
- I Am a Humanitarian: Following his merge with Venom, Robb is disturbingly at ease with the prospect of eating Euron.
- I Wished You Were Dead: Became so exasperated with Rickon's needs (in light of their parents not being around) that he wished he'd go away. Understandably, he's guilt-ridden after Rickon disappears.
- Locked Out of the Loop: Not only he's unaware of Sansa having being possessed by the Night's Queen and Arya joining the Brotherhood, he believes Jon is currently enjoying a quiet, safe life in Iron Pointe. Oh, Robb Stark, you know nothing. Yondu eventually fills him in on this, though only enough to leave him very confused.
- Never Gets Drunk: Theon comments that he has never been able to keep up with him when drinking. This is a trait shared by all Starks, as it doesn't affect Arya at all and Tony can drink barrels of alcohol and not feel a thing.
- Perfectly Arranged Marriage: Walder appears to have been right, as Robb and Roslin quickly become utterly devoted to each other.
- Put on a Bus: With his father leading the Northern army, the plan is for him to go back to Winterfell with his new Frey bride to be safe since he's the heir. This doesn’t happen.
- Spared by the Adaptation: Unlike the books, his planned arranged marriage to one of Walder Frey's daughter goes without a hitch, so it's safe to assume that the Red Wedding will never happen.
Sansa Stark*
Sansa Stark, the Little Bird, the Red Wolf
Ned Stark's oldest daughter. An easy life in Winterfell has caused her to believe life is like the songs the bards sing, leading to tragic results.- And I Must Scream: If what Tyrion is dreaming about is correct, Sansa may be actually suffering this while the Night's Queen controls her body.
- Also implied by the stories Old Nan told Bran, which say that wights retain their souls while their bodies rot and kill their loved ones, being aware of what is happening but unable to do anything.
- Big Brother Bully: Well, Big Sister. She's awful towards Arya, calling her a liar for talking about the Iron Man and trying to hurt her by calling her a bastard.
- Body Surf: In chapter 50 of A Crack of Thunder, she manages to escape the Night's Queen's possession of her own body by resurrecting Lady and warging into her.
- Came Back Wrong: This happens to her following her death, as the Night's Queen possesses her body.
- Death by Falling Over: She struggles with Joffrey when he uses her as a Human Shield, leading her to slip up and shatter her skull on the steps of Baelor's Sept.
- Didn't Think This Through: Her telling Cersei about her father planning to leave King's Landing surely backfired on her.
- Fighting from the Inside: When she sees Lady's stuffed and mounted corpse, Sansa manages to take over her body long enough to beg for help.
- It's implied that she was the one who gave orders to recover Lady, including providing the location of the grave and information on how to prepare the corpse.
- Kill the Cutie: She ends up getting brutally murdered, and in front of her daddy, no less!
- Loss of Identity: She fears this happening to her after ending up in Lady's body.
- My Greatest Failure: Eventually comes to realize that her biggest mistake was turning her back on her Northern heritage.
- Not Quite Dead: She's still technically alive due to her soul being trapped in her own body by the Night Queen. Her spirit is later able to eventually warg into Lady's resurrected body to escape.
- Possessing a Dead Body: During a moment of weakness from the Night's Queen, Sansa Wargs into Lady and then escapes back north.
- Skeptic No Longer: When Arya starts babbling about the Iron Man, she first accuses her of lying. When their father confirms it as truth, she immediately becomes a major fangirl for the mystic knight and is aghast about Ned's refusal to grant him honors for his bravery.
- Sweet Tooth: Really likes her lemoncakes. Arya notes she puts on weight since the Starks are in King's Landing.
- Trauma Conga Line: Like the Sansa of the books and TV series, but arguably worse. She's confronted with the brutal truth that her betrothed is an absolute monster when he orders her father to be executed. Although Ned is saved by Iron Man, Joffrey then uses Sansa as a human shield, accidentally causing her to fall down the stairs and die. Then the Night's Queen possesses her body... and if Tyrion's dreams are correct, she's still in there somewhere, and possibly aware that the Night's Queen is using her body to take over the Red Keep.
Arya Stark*
Arya Stark, aka Kat, the Wild Wolf, Shadowcat
Ned Stark's youngest daughter. Head strong and independent, she is on a journey to discover her true power.- Admiring the Abomination:
- Her reaction when Mystique kills Meryn Trant and his goons right before her? She gushes over her grace and blue skin.
- While she was serving as Tywin's cup-bearer, she was actually disappointed with Harrenhal being mundane and not the creepy Eldritch Location she heard about growing up.
- Ambiguously Human: Her point of view reveals the Stark family may be this, with small things such as the fact they Never Gets Drunk and the canon powers of greensight and warging. Later confirmed in A Crack of Thunder, when Mystique and Magneto induct her into the Brotherhood and mystically activate her powers.
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Regardless of her problems at home, she loves her family and her only condition for supporting Magneto is to spare House Stark.
- Beneath Suspicion: Has a knack to go anywhere without being noticed.
- Big Brother Worship: She feels so close with Jon that Sansa calling her a bastard made her ecstatic, as she thought she had another similarity with him.
- Children Are Innocent: She asks Mystique if she's a fairy because of her blue skin. Her reaction to being forced to flee the Red Keep is also more "yay, we are going on an adventure".
- Composite Character: As hinted by Jojen's visions, she ultimately ends up becoming Shadowcat.
- Conflicting Loyalties: Arya thought she could keep her loyalties simple. However, then Theon offered her a path back to Winterfell, and thus a conflict between the new friends she made in her travels and the old family she had came forth.
- Creepy Child:
- Her daydreams about Sansa horribly suffering are quite unsettling.
- At Harrenhal, she spends half the time plotting how to kill Tywin's generals.
- Eating the Eye Candy: Develops a habit of doing this towards Gendry after Magneto awakens their powers at Harrenhal. Unfortunately for her, everyone notices.
- Fanservice: Gets subjected to this at Harrenhal after Magneto uses Blood Magic to give her and Gendry powers and age them up to the prime of life. Arya's pants now hug every curve and her loose shirt exposes her midriff and her (admittedly small) breasts stretch the fabric. Later she accidentally phases through her clothing and left naked; after Mystique laughs she stops trying to cover up and just stands there nude and angry until Magneto is forced to use his cape to shield her so she can change.
- Female Gaze: Takes one good, long look at Gendry in his formal clothing, even checking out his ass.
- Foil: To her sister Sansa. For example, they are both prone to projecting her fantasies onto other people. It's just that her fantasies usually involve rather bloody torture for people she despises.
- Hartman Hips: If her breast size isn't anything noticeable, her backside is much more scrumptious.
- Hypocritical Humor: Loathes that her Plot-Relevant Age-Up has made her an object of desire in the Braavosian society, but has no compulsions about keeping her eyes under control when around an equally uncomfortable Gendry.
- Intangible Man: She gains these abilities as her mutant power.
- Master Actor: Is learning to become one under Mystique.
- Naked People Are Funny: Her accidental nudity after her mutation is Played for Laughs and for fanservice.
- Never Gets Drunk: She consumed several cups of wine once and didn't see the appeal.
- Personality Powers: She's always looking for ways to escape the life of a Proper Lady, or get through the frequent walls that hold her back. Now that she's gained intangibility, no walls can hold her.
- Petite Pride: She cares not for big breasts or even average ones, feeling they would get in the way.
- Plot-Relevant Age-Up: A side effect of having her powers activated is ending up looking like she's in her late teens. Surprisingly, the transformation she goes through takes a lot of time to adjust to, especially in regards to fight training, as her instincts are still attuned to her younger body.
- Power Incontinence: It takes a while for her to get used to her new powers, leading to the accidental nudity mentioned above, and at least one occasion where she apparently lay down for a nap and fell through the bottom of the ship she was on.
- Reluctant Fanservice Girl: Absolutely LOATHES being made to attend parties to make good impressions with the Braavosi and the Sealord of Braavos, as she not only must wear a dress, but is still being made to be an object of desire, something she had hoped to have already escaped from.
- Self-Serving Memory: A unique version. When Mystique transforms into the younger version of Arya, Arya rants that the impression is all wrong as Mystique looks far too pretty, the hair too nice, her body petite, not muscular and her voice nice and sweet, not high-pitched and screeching and in no one will believe it's her. Everyone else is amused at how Mystique looks and sounds exactly like Arya once did.
- She Is All Grown Up: Following her Plot-Relevant Age-Up, she gets confirmation that her aunt (whom she's said to resemble) really did have the kind of face princes would declare war for.
- Ship Tease: After their aging up, she starts finding herself attracted to Gendry, though she doesn't understand what she's feeling.
- Single-Target Sexuality: While she disgustedly makes clear that she has no intention to ever engage in any sexual acts to herself, she does consider making an exception for Gendry, self-ashamedly admitting to herself that she's had dreams about engaging in such behavior with him specifically.
- Strong Family Resemblance: Maxell notes that she looks a lot like her deceased aunt Lyanna.
- You Are in Command Now: As Maester Maxell explains, with a little liberal interpretation of the situation, she’s technically the only person in Harrenhal with a right to rule it.
- Younger than She Looks: Due to her Plot-Relevant Age-Up, she is a ten year-old girl with the body of a young adult.
Brandon Stark*
Brandon "Bran" Stark, the Broken Wolf
Ned Stark's fourth child. He dreamed of being a knight, but a sudden fall from one of Winterfell's towers crippled him.- Actually Pretty Funny: Can't help but laugh when Jaime pretends that Hodor is agreeing with his Arbitrary Skepticism.
- Demoted to Extra: He doesn't appear until almost thirty chapters into Book 2, while he was a major point-of-view character in the source material from the start.
- The Ghost: Barely appears in the story for a long time. He only starts gaining relevance again between 30 to 40 chapters into "A Crack of Thunder".
- Heroic BSoD: Being crippled, and thus unable to do all the things he has always loved, has left him in a big funk.
Rickon Stark
Rickon Stark, The Star(k)-Lord, the Star Wolf
The youngest Stark child. A normal kid until things started to happen.- Actor Allusion: He threatens Shaggydog to replace him by one of these scythe-clawed dragons he once saw — the blue one kinda liked him.
- Amazon Chaser: He's utterly star-struck when he first meets a grown up Shireen, praising her for her height and her bad-ass scar while he clumsily hits on her.
- Big Damn Heroes: Along with the Guardians of the Galaxy, he arrives in time to save Robb from being killed by Asha and then liberate Winterfell from the Ironborn.
- Big Little Brother: Courtesy of his Plot-Relevant Age-Up, Rickon, aka Star-Lord, is now older and bigger than his eldest brother Robb.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: He's entrusted with forbidden knowledge and the heavy task to defend Winterfell against the Others. Thing is, yes, he's a very good fighter and smarter than he seems. Unfortunately, he's also a complete doof.
- Cassandra Truth: He tries to tell Robb that Arya will be fine with "the blue lady" but that Sansa has been caught by "the other, mean one" but Robb is too focused on bringing his brother back from the crypts to listen.
- Comic-Book Fantasy Casting: According to the author's notes, his aged-up version is played by Chris Pratt, the same as the MCU version of Star-Lord.
- Composite Character: He eventually proves to be one with Peter Quill/Star-Lord.
- Creepy Child: His babbling about the Court is unsettling, to the least.
- Dual Wielding: A pair of magic crossbows/laser guns when he returns as Star Lord.
- Endearingly Dorky: After his Plot-Relevant Age-Up, he's considered sweet in a daft sort of way.
- Not Even Bothering with the Accent: When he comes back to Winterfell as a grown man, he no longer speaks with the Northern English accent he had as a child: now he talks like the American Chris Pratt.
- Plot-Relevant Age-Up: In chapter 45 of book 2, he returns as an adult.
- Psychic Children: Not only he's bonded to a direwolf, he might have a hint of greensight since he can feel the timeline very much changed from canon.
- Raised by Grandparents: After he was sucked into the portal in the crypt, he was found and raised by his mentor Yondu — who is his grandfather Rickard Stark merged with a Child of the Forest.
- Ripple-Effect-Proof Memory: He's able to tell the timeline ought to be different. Unlike Jojen Reed who likes the changes to the timeline, Rickon sees them as wrong.
Theon Greyjoy*
Theon Bracken né Greyjoy, a.k.a. Theon of Winterfell
A ward of the Starks. While technically a hostage against his father's loyalty, he has come to be a true member of the family.- Adaptational Heroism: He never betrays Winterfell and is firmly on the side of good here.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: The fact that the Starks and Jonos Bracken treated him well and showed him honor and respect is a fundamental part of why he chooses to throw away any allegiance he may have towards the Ironborn.
- Cain and Abel: Compared to his Reaver sister, he's aligned with the more "heroic" Stark faction. Unusually for the trope, "Abel" wants to kill his sibling - okay, he didn't know who she was, but you can bet it wouldn't make a lick of difference. He even says "I wouldn't care if you were my own flesh and blood," when he promises to kill her.
- Character Development: The responsibilities the Starks entrust him with cause him to reevaluate his life and attitude, causing him to mature.
- Meeting Renly Baratheon and realizing they aren't so different is also a critical factor in pushing him to improve himself.
- After Asha kills Jonos Bracken, he realizes the Ironborn way is the way of cowards and declares himself to be "Theon of Winterfell".
- Excellent Judge of Character: He immediately pegged Joffrey as "a little shit pretending to be gallant" when the King visited Winterfell. His judgement of Renly is accurate as well.
- Freak Out: Absolutely loses his shit when he meets Thor, believing the Storm God is about to smite him for being Ironborn.
- I Hate Past Me: Downplayed, he's certainly ashamed of his previous foolish and entitled behaviour and resolves to improve himself.
- Jerkass Realization: Meeting Renly and seeing that they're not that different makes him realize that he's been a pompous little shit for a long time, and drives him to become better.
- Kid with the Leash: So far, he's the only person able to calm Brienne when she's about to go on a rampage.
- Like a Son to Me: Josef Bracken confesses his lordly brother was dismayed to have fathered only daughters and as such grew fond of Theon for the opportunity to teach his wisdom to a young man.
- Meaningful Rename: After abandoning the Greyjoy name, he's eventually offered the chance to take the Bracken name and establish a cadet branch of the family in the North, which he accepts in order to honor the memory of his mentor.
- Mentor Occupational Hazard: Loses his mentor, Lord Jonos Bracken.
- Nay-Theist: While he can acknowledge their existence, he doesn't really believe in any gods and is only able to see the flaws in any given religion.
- Really Gets Around: A shameless player, the first thing he does when laying eyes on Margaery Tyrell is checking her out.
- The Resenter: In spite of himself, he feels a mite angry towards the Starks because they certainly tried to make him feel at home amongst them, but they really never forgot he might become their enemy, and Theon was acutely aware of it. He gets over it after Bracken's death, declaring himself for the North and the Starks.
- Shed the Family Name: Casts aside the name "Greyjoy" upon rejecting the Ironborn as his people.
- Ship Tease: With Brienne.
- Smelly Feet Gag: Brienne jokes he could throw his boots at the Lannister army and the soldiers would immediately run from the stench.
- Take Up My Sword: Takes up Lord Bracken's sword, Hate Eternal after Bracken is killed by Asha. He goes even further after returning to Ned's army, forsaking the Greyjoys to form a cadet family of the Brackens.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: He is this both towards his father Balon Greyjoy and Eddard Stark. With Eddard ensuring he shows respect to him and giving him important tasks, he is not so bitter.
Jojen Reed
Jojen Reed
The son of Ned's old friend and comrade Howland Reed, who abruptly appears in Winterfell to renew the family's allegiance.- Cassandra Truth: Robb dismisses his claim of having the greensight as him attempting to show off, since everyone does the same in the wake of the Iron Man's apparition.
- Cloud Cuckoolander: As a result of his greenseer abilities.
- Creepy Child: His odd behavior is quite off-putting to many in Winterfell.
- Foil: Arguably serves as one to Rickon. Both are young boys with the greensight, are rather creepy at times, and can tell that the timeline has changed from canon. However, while Jojen is calm, has been a greenseer for some time, and actually prefers this timeline, Rickon is developing into a Wild Child (in part due to his greensight), has just developed the ability, and rambles about how this timeline is wrong and how things should be.
- Ripple-Effect-Proof Memory: A perk of his greensight. He prefers the current, heavily modified timeline far more than the canon one - quite understandable, with the way Westeros is going down the drain.
Roslin Frey
Roslin Stark, née Frey, the Stone Wolf
A daughter of Walder Frey, who is betrothed to Robb to secure her father's allegiance. Unlike canon, the marriage actually goes through.- Arranged Marriage: With Robb.
- Distaff Counterpart: It turns out Roslin got a Symbiote bonded in the lake too. Turning her into a picture of pure strong femininity to contrast with Venom's pure masculinity.
- Fish out of Water: Downplayed and Played for Laughs — she finds really weird to walk around Winterfell without bumping into a sibling or cousin or uncle.
- Friend to All Living Things: The moment it was obvious she liked Grey Wind (and viceversa), Robb became smitten with her.
- In-Series Nickname: Becomes known as the Stone Wolf, due to managing to appear as nothing more than a decoration, before she rips your throat out.
- Master Actor: She's able to improvise a tragic background for herself on the spot, claiming to be a mere peasant girl stolen away by wildlings and rescued by Robb's party. It manages to utterly fool Smalljon Umber and impress Robb.
- Perfectly Arranged Marriage: Just like her father predicted, she and Robb bond excellently.
- Silk Hiding Steel: Can pass as meek and harmless most of the time, but shows a sharp edge when needed to protect herself or her family. It's noted that this is probably a defensive attitude formed to survive the rats' nest that is House Frey. She also makes it clear to Venom!Robb that they are going to have words, and both Robb and the symbionte really look like they know they won't enjoy it.
Rickon's Allies (Spoilers)
Warning! Unmarked spoilers.
The Guardians of the Galaxy: Rocket, Groot, Gamora and Drax
Four strange beings that returned with Rickon (now Star-Lord) from the rune portal in the crypts under Winterfell.- Adaptational Backstory Change: Rocket and Groot, at the very least. See Adaptation Species Change below for details.
- Adaptation Species Change: All of them were aliens in the MCU film that this incarnation was based on (though in the original comics, Drax was a modified human). Here, Drax and Gamora are Children of the Forest merged with human beings, Rocket developed human intelligence as a side effect of a Warg trying to possess him, and Groot is a tree spirit that manifests through weirwood trees.
- The Alcoholic: Brandon/Drax certainly loves drinking as much as he does having sex. It says something when the Starks all have such high tolerance for alcohol and yet in life, Brandon managed to get so drunk he could mistake Littlefinger for Edmure Tully. Unfortunately, this allowed Littlefinger to convince him Rhaegar had kidnapped Lyanna, thereby paving the way for Robert's Rebellion.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Groot is the one Robb gets along with the best, as he notes that he's very calm and gentle when he's not fighting. When he is fighting, though, he's at least as fearsome as Drax and Gamora.
- Big Damn Heroes: Alongside Rickon, they arrive in the nick of time to save Robb from being killed by Asha and Winterfell from being conquered by the Ironborn.
- Composite Character: Gamora and Drax are rather literal compositions from Lyanna and Brandon Stark; effectively tying the two with the Starks.
- Fantastic Racism: Rocket accuses Robb of looking down on him for being a raccoon. Robb is actually looking because that's the first time a raccoon talked back to him.
- Good Is Dumb: Gamora and Ned have this feeling about Brandon/Drax. That the bonding brought out the worst in him, and what he had wasn't particularly smart beforehand.
- Good Is Not Nice: Groot has no problems performing Orifice Invasion on a hapless Ironborn. With his fingers, which can grow and come out.
- I Have Many Names: When Robb asks Gamora who she was when she was human, she mentions she had many names: the Blue Rose of the North, the Wolf Maid, the Future Lady of Storms, the Queen of Love and Beauty, the Knight of the Laughing Tree, the Lady of the Tower of Joy... the Mother of Jon... and Lyanna Stark.
- "Not So Different" Remark: As a furious Gamora remembers how cruel Catelyn was to her son Jon under the assumption that he was a bastard, Ned reminds her her loathing for Robert started when the she-wolf learned he had a bastard of his own. She's forced to concede the point.
- One-Man Army: Much like in canon, Drax and Gamora are utter beasts in combat, slaying a dozen Ironborn without breaking a sweat.
- Really Gets Around: In life, Brandon slept with many women - and, if rumors are to be believed, he didn't restrain himself to women.
- Related in the Adaptation: In both the comics and the movies, Drax and Gamora are completely unrelated. Here they could be considered sort of siblings given that their human halves are Brandon and Lyanna Stark, respectively.
- Walking Spoiler: Their very existence alone spoils the fact that Rickon is the series' version of Star-Lord. Not to mention that Gamora and Drax are the fused versions of Lyanna and Brandon Stark respectively.
- Was Once a Man: Drax and Gamora, since they are honoured dead who underwent a Fusion Dance with Children of the Forest.
- What the Hell, Hero?: While she hasn't had a chance to say it to his face yet, Gamora makes it clear that she's pissed to find out that Ned not only kept Jon's true heritage a secret from everyone, but raised him as a bastard, with all that entails. She later gets the opportunity in Chapter 71 of A Shield of Man.
- Ned provides counterpoints she can't refute, either, though, such as it being unclear whether or not Elia ever knew about Rhaegar and Lyanna's marriage, let alone if she approved, or if Lyanna would've been any better than Catelyn if she and Robert had married and the latter had kept a bastard of his around.
Yondu (Spoilers)
Warning! Unmarked spoilers.
Yondu
The leader of the Children of the Forest and Rickon's mentor, who raised him after he was sucked through the portal in the crypts.- Adaptational Heroism: In the source material, he's a Space Pirate that could be described as Affably Evil at best, even if he had some good moments. Here, being the leader of the Children of the Forest would make him a Big Good.
- Adaptation Species Change: In the MCU he's a Kree. Here, he's a Child of the Forest merged with a human spirit.
- Composite Character: Like Gamora and Drax, Yondu is a fusion of an honored dead and a Child of the Forest. He was known as Rickard Stark in life.
- Poor Communication Kills: Defies this when he comes to Winterfell. He outlines exactly who the Guardians are, and the statuses of various major characters across the world.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: He lets both Drax and Gamorra have it for the mistakes they made as Brandon and Lyanna, respectively, making his disappointment in all of his children quite clear.Yondu: Your mother would be ashamed she gave birth to two idiots if she could see ya! She can't thought because she's off drinkin' with the other spirits! But she would be ashamed. Because you are both idiots. At least Ned's main mistakes were not treating Jon right and forgettin' he was a wolf and needed ta act like it! Benjen is just barely below you in stupid. Night's Watch... what a waste. That boy and Ned could've made the North a powerhouse and instead one seals up the Neck and the other freezes his balls off when he should have been producing heirs to build our house back up! But you two fuck things up so bad you fuck the whole kingdom! I should call your problems orgies instead of fuck ups because everyone gets sucked in!
- So Proud of You: After they've thoroughly chewed each other out for their respective flaws in ruling, Yondu praises Ned for becoming King of the North, something he could've never achieved in life, and encourages him to step out of his shadow.
- Walking Spoiler: Just like the Guardians of the Galaxy, his very presence reveals the true extent of Rickon's past.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Is not pleased when he gets to Winterfell and learns that the Guardians haven't told Robb everything they know yet.
- Also chews Ned out for his policy regarding the North and his refusal to leave his father and brother's shadow, telling him to finally put the ghosts at rest.
