"You can do it, and even if you can't, we won't think any less of you, man!"
Tai is the first season's leader, and bearer of the Crest of Courage. He's a reckless blockhead at times, willing to jump into anything, and this gets him into serious trouble when he gets the idea in his head that, since the Digital World is digital, he can't be killed. The realization that this isn't the case freezes him right in his tracks, and when he overcomes it, he makes the proper jump from "not afraid" to "courageous." Despite his recklessness, he's a warm, encouraging guy, very friendly, and the team just doesn't work without him.He comes from a normal family, living with his parents and little sister, Hikari. Hikari ends up being a major factor in his character development, as taking care of her forces him to mature from "courageous action guy" into "responsible leader." In the conclusion of 02, he and Agumon become ambassadors to the Digital World.
Aesop Amnesia: When he was young, he put Kari in danger and she almost died because he didn't think for her well being. After that he vowed to never make a mistake like that again. In the Dark Masters arc, T.K. gets kidnapped and he's not concerned in the least while ignoring Matt's pleas. The situation resolves with T.K. escaping himself.
This also leads him to being a Hypocrite later on. When Kari becomes sick again, but in far less danger than T.K., he has the team make sure she is taken care of as their primary concern when before the completion of their duties as the chosen children was too important to concern themselves with saving T.K..
Dub Name Change: English first name is an abbreviated version of his Japanese name, which isn't that odd in the Digimon franchise. What is odd, though, is that his Japanese last name - Yagami - was changed for the dub into... another Japanese surname: Kamiya.
Expy: Off of the character with the same name from Digimon V-Tamer 01, who in turn is an expy off of the main character Kentarou first manga C'mon Digimon.
Figure It Out Yourself: Tai gets this response twice when he asks how to beat the Dark Masters.
"I finally got it figured out. If I'm ever gonna change, I have to do it on my own. On my own. The others can't help me."
Matt wants everyone to think he's a brooding bad boy, but he's actually rather sensitive. He has issues trusting people (himself most of all), and he's very overprotective of his younger brother, TK. This causes him to be very cautious (although not as cautious as Joe), which results in a lot of clashes with the get-out-and-go Tai. Despite (or perhaps thanks to) all this, his crest is Friendship.Matt's parents divorced sometime after the Greymon/Parrotmon fight in Hikarigaoka, but before the first episode. According to the Radio DramaTwo-and-a-half Year Break, Matt was the one who decided that TK would go with their mother and he would live with their father. He doesn't have a great relationship with his parents, as he seems to feel abandoned by them. He has very low self-esteem, and seems to feel his only purpose in life is to watch out for TK—when TK starts feeling smothered by him, he's noticeably dismayed. However, with some encouragement from his partner, Gabumon, he was able to come to terms with his family's divorce, and returned in time to help save the team. In the conclusion of 02, he becomes the first man on Mars. He is married to Sora.
Long Distance Relationship: An on going gag in 02 is that he and Mimi are in one from fan interpretation, there are numerous comments in the dub version that he would call her at night but always left her on hold.
Men Can't Keep House: His dad definitely can't. Matt... does to the extent that he's forced to by circumstance. But season 2 has TK comment that his home is still pretty darn messy. And when looking in the fridge for something to give TK, he claims he's looking for something that's "not... expired."
Tsundere: According to an interview with Kazama Yuuto (his seiyuu) and Yamaguchi Mayumi (Gabumon's seiyuu), this applies to him. See the entry for more details.
"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. I'm the only one who can do it."
The group's mother figure, and owner of the Crest of Love. Sora is a sweet girl, but doesn't really see that aspect of herself very well. She spends most of her time mediating fights between Tai and Matt, and keeping the group in line. She doesn't always have the patience for it, but she tries anyway.Sora's relationship with her parents isn't great. Her mom is a very traditional, ladylike figure who wants her to take up flower arranging, while her father is a professor at a college in Kyoto and rarely home. Sora is convinced early on that her mother doesn't love her; it's not until she unconsciously begins treating Biyomon the same way that she realizes her mother just isn't good at expressing it. They make up during the Myotismon saga, when Sora's mom pulls a Mama Bear on some Bakemon. In the conclusion of 02, she becomes a fashion designer. She is married to Matt.
Actor Allusion: Sora hilariously Lampshades herself in a No Fourth Wall session in one of the drama CDs, where she complains about sounding like an "old lady." Though 38 (the age of Yuko Mizutani when she voiced Sora) doesn't seem to be that old, it certainly qualifies as Dawson Casting! In addition to this, another drama track consists of a radio show recording DJ'd by Sora, which alludes to how Yuko Mizutani ran a radio show years back.
Basically, Izzy is the one who can actually think his way out of a paper bag, which is only supported by his Crest of Knowledge. He's very curious and logical, and somewhat unsure of himself socially. He carries around a laptop computer, and his reactions to various problems are nearly always a variation on "If I learn enough, I can fix it."Izzy is adopted. His biological parents died when he was very young, and his father's cousins adopted him, having recently lost a child of their own. They kept this a secret from him, but he accidentally heard them talking about it, and was devastated. After this, Izzy sank himself into his computer as an escape, probably to learn everything he could. At the same time, he loves his parents deeply and is very well-behaved for them.Thanks to Character Development and a talk with his parents, Izzy is able to overcome his withdrawn personality better, so that he then can help Tai out of his depression over Kari during the Dark Masters Arc. In the conclusion of 02, he has set up a research team to study more of the Digital World.
Bad Liar: Koushiro tends to babble nervously; laugh awkwardly and come up with weak sounding stories when placed on the spot and asked questions that he can’t answer.
Character Exaggeration: His "computer nerd" status was exaggerated quite early in the dub. They even had him theorize about aliens.
Chekhov's Boomerang: In a world made of digital information, Izzy's PiBook Laptop is priceless. The Digimon Analyzer reveals that WarGreymon has Dramon Destroyer weapons, which allow him to destroy MetalSeadramon and Machinedramon.
Parental Abandonment: Izzy lost his parents in an accident before he was a year old, so his father's cousins (who had lost their own baby boy some time ago) adopted him, but didn't tell him he was adopted. He accidentally overhears them talking about it and it caused him lots until they sorted things out, at which point he becomes Happily Adopted.
Oblivious Adoption: His parents think he's this, unaware that he knew the truth.
Tell Me About My Father: This is how things got better. And it's one of the most beautifully sad moments in the first series.
Generation Xerox: His biological father was a mathematician. His adoptive father remarks that he is "the living image" of him.
Potty Emergency: The original reason for Izzy's loss of composure in Our War Game.
"If someone's in trouble, you help them out, even if they tried to pummel you into oblivion."
She's the girl, basically. Somewhat prissy and spoiled, she doesn't always seem to "get" the situation, and is sometimes rather selfish without really realizing it. Often considered the weakest character in the English dub due to her more girly elements being overplayed in translation. She matures into a kind, sweet, pacifistic Messiah figure, befitting her status as holder of the Crest of Sincerity. However, once she realizes how high the stakes are, she breaks down and refuses to continue, but comes to realize that some fights simply must be fought.Mimi's family life isn't delved into much. Her parents are hopelessly in love and, like her, not always fully in-tune—but when the danger is ramped up, they prove very brave. In the conclusion of 02, she becomes a famous chef with her own TV show.
Limited Wardrobe: In the second season, Mimi becomes one of the most noticeable aversions to this trope in the entire franchise, changing her clothes and hairstyle at least four times over the course of the season.
The Messiah: Her compassion, willingness to forgive for the sake of peace, and cheerful demeanor get her a loyal army of Digimon followers — including the Gekomon and Otamamon she darn-near enslaved.
Nice Hat: A huge pink cowboy hat that she leaves behind in the Digital World at the end of season 1.
Spoiled Sweet: Has to grow into it, but once she does, she handles herself beautifully.
10-Minute Retirement: After seeing several Digimon die for them, she's so distraught that she decides to temporarily stay put to not be a burden to the others. She gets better with time and rejoins the group with reinforcements.
"I tried positive thinking once. I was positive about one thing: I positively hated it!"
Because he's the oldest, Joe thinks he should be the responsible one and take care of the other kids—too bad he's a total pushover with no self-esteem. He's cut deeply whenever he realizes that people think of him this way, and tries to make up for it with acts of reckless selflessness that make Tai look positively cowardly. Perhaps the closest thing to a father figure in season one. His crest is that of Reliability.Joe's family isn't a big focus, either—it's worth noting that, out of the 12 Digidestined in the first two seasons, his parents are the only ones never shown on-screen. His father is quite strict, being a doctor who wants all of his sons to be doctors, too. Joe's two older brothers, Shin and Shuu, rebelled in their own ways, while Joe is (as always) indecisive. In the conclusion of 02, he becomes a Digimon doctor (i.e, a doctor for Digimon).
Crazy-Prepared: Before they returned to the Digital World, Joe brought a roll of toilet paper among other things. It was used as a bandage for Ogremon's wounds.
Lost in Translation/Woolseyism: His crest, "seijitsu," has a lot of possible translations. The dub ended up going with "Reliability," which, while not a direct translation, is a pretty good catchall term.
Only Sane Man: Or at least he thinks he is at first. One of the reasons why he was such a stick-in-the-mud at the beginning; he thought he was just being reasonable and that the others were actually putting themselves in danger by being irrational, making it his job to look out for them. This attitude wears off in time.
Papa Wolf: He's a big wuss until one of the other kids is in trouble. Then the badass comes out. See The So-Called Coward.
The Power Of Trust: Faithfulness/Reliability, actually. As in, he's the one you're supposed to have faith in.
JesuOtaku even stated that Joe is always vouching for the safest route, choice, etc...yet always the first to throw his own body at these monsters. Because all Joe cares about is everyone's safety, she stated that even when the Mega level Digimon Piedmon is bearing down on them, you knew what Joe was even going to do before it-trying to get the other kids out of there without any regards to his safety. Joe is the real badass of Digimon!
Talking to Himself: Joe, his two older brothers, and his CD drama-only parents are all voiced by Masami Kikuchi. Including his mother. Indeed, a Crowning Moment of Awesome for Mr. Kikuchi—one interview with him and Koushirou's seiyuu, Umi Tenjin, talks about how surprised the other actors were when he switched between all of the characters in real time.
Matt's little brother, and the youngest Digidestined (at first). As the quote may say he doesn't like to fight... but when he does, hoo boy. His crest is Hope. In the conclusion of 02, he becomes an author. He was also Narrator All Along for the 02 series.
Theme Naming: Along with his brother, named after folk hero Yamato Takeru.
What Would X Do? TK triggers Angemon's evolution by channeling his brother.
Hikari "Kari" Kamiya/Yagami
Taichi's little sister, and the Eighth Child, not that anyone knows it at first. Very sweet, kind and innocent, but also often wise beyond her years. She has the Crest of Light, which is only fitting. In the conclusion of 02, she becomes a kindergarten teacher.
The Messiah: Played it straight in Adventure, but deconstructed in 02 since she's so overwhelmed by it that she almost breaks down.
Missed the Call: As mentioned above, she was ill. Coincidentially, her partner was in the hands of a Big Bad by then, having been lost as an egg and taken in by Myotismon... which raises the question of what would've happened had Kari not missed the call and gone to the Digital World anyway.
Super Empowering: In "The Crest of Light", allows Biyomon and Patamon to go Champion, Gatomon to go Ultimate, and Agumon to go Mega, even though their previous attempts to digivolve failed (hilariously) due to exhaustion.
Main Digimon
Agumon
Tai's Digimon partner, who resembles an orange baby Tyrannosaurus. Like most, he has a personality similar to his Digidestined partner, if a little less hot-headed. Like the Digimon of later series' leaders, he is almost always the first to discover the next upgrade of the season and is generally the most powerful. He has the distinction of personally destroying three Big Bads all by himself.His digivolutions are as follows:
Fresh: Botamon, a small mon covered in black fur, with yellow eyes.
In-Training: Koromon, a round, pink mon, with long ears, red eyes, and sharp teeth. Blows bubbles.
Rookie: Agumon, his default form.
Champion: Greymon. Essentially Agumon, but proper dinosaur size, and a massive fire attack.
Ultimate: MetalGreymon. Greymon, with added mecha-armor and wings.
He also accidentally dark-evolved into SkullGreymon, a skeletal dinosaur with a nuclear missile attached to its back, when Taichi tried to force the evolution.
Mega: WarGreymon, an anthropomorphic dinosaur, with golden mech-armor.
Mega (DNA): Combines with MetalGarurumon to become Omnimon (Omegamon), a white paladin-like figure.
For Massive Damage: WarGreymon's Dramon Destroyer claws are highly effective at...well, destroying Dramon type Digimon. This was a major plot point in the Dark Masters arc, as two of the four were Dramon, which allowed the Digidestined to kill them off.
Matt's partner, a horned yellow reptile-like Digimon who, rather oddly, appears to wear a skin of white fur rather than having a natural coat. Something of a milder Foil to Yamato, he often criticizes his selfish moments but sticks by him regardless. Also, the first mon on Mars at the end of 02.His digivolutions are as follows:
Fresh: Punimon, a red blob with three headbumps.
In-Training: Tsunomon, a round, orange-furred mon with one, knife-like horn. Blows Bubbles.
Rookie: Gabumon, his default form.
Champion: Garurumon, a large, wolfish beast that walks on four legs.
Ultimate: WereGarurumon, basically an anthropomorphic Garurumon wearing punkish clothes.
Mega: MetalGarurumon, a robotic version of Garurumon, with wings thrown in for good measure.
Mega (DNA): Combines with WarGreymon to become Omnimon (Omegamon), a white paladin-like figure.
Wall Crawl: WereGarurumon practices this with impressive speed.
Biyomon (Piyomon)
Sora's pink-feathered bird-like partner, who often causes her some angst with her loyalty and gentleness. More than a bit hyper.Her digivolutions are as follows:
Fresh: Nyokimon, a small black mon with two leaves popping from the top.
In-Training: Yokomon (Pyocomon), a pink blob with a big blue flower. Blows bubbles.
Rookie: Biyomon, her default form.
Champion: Birdramon. A big flaming bird that shoots fireballs.
Ultimate: Garudamon. A bigger red bird woman that shoots bigger fireballs in the shape of birds.
Giant Flyer: When evolved. It's worth noting that of all the final forms of the protagnists' Digimon, Garudamon is tied with MegaKabuterimon as the largest of the lot.
Tertiary Sexual Characteristics: Pink? Check. Jewelry? Check. Hair like structure? Check. Long blonde hair, in Garudamon's case? Check. Yeah, she's a girl.
Izzy's partner, who resembles a red winged robotic insect (tentoumushi means "ladybug"). Not as brainy as his partner, but sometimes with a little more common sense. Tends to rein in Koushiro when his quest for knowledge goes a bit too far.His digivolutions are as follows:
Fresh: Pabumon (Babumon), a green blob with a pacifier.
In-Training: Motimon, a pink blob with arms. Blows bubbles.
Rookie: Tentomon, his default form.
Champion: Kabuterimon. A big blue beetle that shoots electricity.
Ultimate: MegaKabuterimon (AtlurKabuterimon), A larger red version of Kabuterimon with a new horn and a shell on his back.
Giant Flyer: Of all the final forms of the protagnists' Digimon, MegaKabuterimon is tied with Garudamon as the largest of the lot. Kabuterimon also tends to be portrayed as the largest of the Champion-level Digimon, though this tends to fluctuate somewhat between him and Birdramon.
Attack Its Weak Point: Everyone has a tough time fighting Andromon until Izzy notices sparks coming out of his leg. Kabuterimon zaps it, destroying a black gear.
I Got You Covered: Sora rides with him so that Garudamon can attack Apocalymon without endangering her.
I Am What I Am: Tentomon shoots down his partner's alien theory, then asks if there is some kind of secret about his origin. Unfourtunately for Koushiro, this is an Armor-Piercing Question.
Multi-Armed and Dangerous: While as Tentomon he has a pair of vestigial arms, Kabuterimon and MegaKabuterimon have a fully functional extra pair.
Joe's partner, a seal-like creature. The biggest Foil digimon of the first season, with his optimistic and silly nature often clashing with Jou's much more serious nature. Despite his playfulness, Gomamon is level-headed enough know when to take risks and bright enough to keep Jou from giving in to despair.His digivolutions are as follows:
Fresh: Pitchmon, a white fish-like creature.
In-Training: Bukamon (Pukamon), a floating grey seal. Blows bubbles.
Rookie: Gomamon, his default form.
Champion: Ikkakumon. A giant white walrus that fires torpedoes from his horn.
Ultimate: Zudomon, a big grey and orange walrus with a turtle shell and a hammer.
Atlantis Is Boring: Gomamon's Marching Fishes attack is used very scarcely across the entire series; when it is used, it certainly proves to be incredibly useful for traversing water.
Drop the Hammer: Zudomon wields what is purported to be Thor's hammer. It seriously makes up for Marching Fishes.
What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?: "Marching Fishes"… summons fish. Not even ''big'' fish. It's used maybe three times over the entire series. (though twice in the first 3 episodes to get the team moving when near water).
Patamon
TK's partner, who starts off looking like a pig with wings, and the most childish of the Digimon. And as it turns out, also the most powerful.His digivolutions are as follows:
Fresh: Poyomon, a white blob.
In-Training: Tokomon, a white critter with lots and lots of teeth.
Ultimate: MagnaAngemon (HolyAngemon), Angemon with purple armor, a sword, and the power to beat anything.
Mega: Seraphimon, fully clad in blue armor and with ten golden wings on his back.
Voiced by: Miwa Matsumoto (JP), Laura Summer (EN)
Best For Last: The final partner to reach both Champion and Ultimate forms, probably because they were so broken. Interestingly, TK was the second Digidestined to activate his crest.
Heroic Sacrifice: Angemon used all his power to defeat Devimon, thus reverting him back to a Digiegg.
Lampshade Hanging: In one audio drama, he yells out, "I want to evolve every week like everyone else!"
Just in Time: Saves TK from being crushed by Devimon, shows up when WereGarurumon is being beaten by Vamdemon/Myotismon, and saves TK and Kari from falling to their doom at the hands of Piedmon.
Story Breaker Power: MagnaAngemon's "Gate of Destiny", unquestionably. Remember, this defeated Piedmon, a Mega-level Digimon who had twice triumphed over the combined might of the two Digidestined Megas, Wargreymon and Metalgarurumon. To a lesser extent, Angemon was overpowered for a Champion — his blink-and-you'll-miss-it KO of the Ultimate-level Phantomon provides more than enough evidence for this.
Generally speaking, Patamon's forms at Champion-level and beyond are more powerful than the average Digimon a level higher than him. So, as a Champion, he's more powerful than most Ultimates, and as an Ultimate he's more powerful than most Megas. That's insanity.
Gatomon (Tailmon)
I've waited my whole life to meet you and find my purpose, and that is to protect you, no matter what the cost.
The last of the Digimon partners, who eventually partners up with Kari. The only partner who spends most of her time in Champion form (not that it's easy to tell) and her more frank toughness is rather a contrast to Kari's youthful innocence.Her digivolutions are as follows:
Fresh: SnowBotamon (YukimiBotamon), a white version of Botamon.
Broken Bird: The heaps of abuse dealed to her by Myotismon just because she had gentle eyes made her cynical and bitter, with Wizardmon as the only one whom she showed a bit of kindness to. Until she met Kari and became her partner, that is.
Cats Are Magic: An interesting variation, in that Gatomon is the cat associated with Wizardmon. It’s like a classic Wizard-Familiar relationship, except that they are good friends.
Hypocritical Humor: Done in the dub, where she complains about one of her henchmon going on a rampage: "What's that big-eared freak trying to do?". Gatomon, I don't think you're in any position to call anyone a "big-eared freak".
Laser-Guided Amnesia: And how! Before she met Kari, Gatomon only could remember her hatred against everyone and the brutal punishments she used to get at a daily basis. She even forgot about the day when she met Wizardmon! Of course, she got better.
Not So Harmless Villain: Cute little kitty defeated the group all by herself. Though she is a natural Champion level Digimon while they're all natural Rookies.
Scars Are Forever: Has an x shaped scar on her left paw from Myotismon, but its normally covered by her glove. She has a glove on the same hand as Angewomon.
Thinking Out Loud: Does this while observing on Kari, speaking her thoughts about her cloudy past. Wizardmon hears this, and asks her a question. Gatomon, not realizing she was thinking out loud, gets angry and tells him to stop reading her mind.
Tuckerization: Salamon is named after dub producer Terri-Lei O'Malley's pet cat.
Zen Survivor: After taking years (if not decades) of brutal servitude, Gatomon ends up being wiser and tougher.
Supporting Cast
Gennai
An old man who lives in the Digital World, who actually admits to being made of data- essentially, he's like a Digimon, but with none of the powers or attributes of them. Appears to run the place from behind the scenes, or at least used to...
Voiced by: Jouji Yanami (JP), Michael Reynolds (EN)
What Happened to the Mouse?: In one flashback episode that explains the origins of the digidestined, Piedmon is shown attacking the headquarters of Gennai's order. When Gennai attempts to fight back, Piedmon dodges around behind him and implants some kind of object into Gennai's back. This is never explained, nor is it mentioned again, although some suspect it to be the explanation for why Gennai looks like an old man in the first season.
Fandom Nod: Koushirou's track in 2-and-a-half Year Break has him briefly wonder what that object could have been... then immediately go back to talking about something else. You can almost hear the writers laughing at us.
Leomon
A (at first) friendly wild lion-like Digimon who fights for the weak and helps the kids, though without entirely trusting them. He appears again during the Dark Masters Arc as the powerful SaberLeomon. He dies protecting Mimi during a fight with MetalEtemon, kickstarting the tradition of killing Leomon every time he shows up in a series.His digivolutions are as follows:
Champion: Leomon, his default form.
Mega: SaberLeomon, a large quadrupedial lion with sabre teeth.
Sacrificial Lion: Quite literally as well as fitting the character type. He was also the first in the franchise's long Running Gag line of dead Leomon or evolutions thereof, though it didn't definitively start until Digimon Tamers.
Leomon's rival and foil, an uncouth brute with a sense of humour. As his name indicates, he resembles an ogre.He joins up with Mimi and Joe during the Dark Masters Arc after he is beaten by MetalEtemon.
Antagonist In Mourning: He even says that if he did beat Leomon, he wouldn't know what to do with himself. Then Leomon dies the same episode. Cue the waterworks from the goblin in leather. You were a good rival...
Characterization Marches On: He has an Ogremon Honor Code in the final arc, while back in the first arc he was simply evil and willing to do anything to stop the children, even threaten to hurt a baby Digimon!
A minion of Myotismon who is more than he seems, and has strange powers even by Digimon standards. Gatomon's only real friend (at first) who turns out to greatly influence the story.
Almost Dead Guy: Keeps himself alive to ensure that he fulfills his destiny.
Badass: Survived attacks that would One-Hit Killhigher level Digimon, defied the arc's Big Bad and was the first to harm him in the final battle, though Wizardmon was unarmed, and took incredible amounts of damage before dying like a man, complete with Famous Last Words. See also his entry under Crowning Moment of Awesome.
Cats Are Magic: An interesting variation, in that Gatomon is the cat associated with Wizardmon. It’s like a classic Wizard-Familiar relationship, except that they are good friends.
Exactly What It Says on the Tin: He’s a wizard. Go figure. He plays most of the tropes associated with the fantasy archetype incredibly straight. Also note that this trope is subverted in the episode named after him. We don't find out what "Wizardmon's Gift" is until he sacrifices himself for Gatomon and Kari.
Expy: This Wizardmon gets an Expy in the future thanks to Sorcerimon, who looks exactly like him (except for a Palette Swap of blue and white instead of his Orange-Blue Contrast), is An Ice Person and more of a White Mage, sacrifices himself in a similar way, and even returns as a ghost in a similar way. Another actual Wizardmon also shows up in Frontier, but has different powers, is a Monster of the Week, and has very little personality resemblance with this one.
Foil: To Gatomon and Myotismon. Gatomon is his female counterpart, who is more of a physical fighter than a magical one, and with a tough personality but cute looks, all of which are the inverse of Wizardmon's traits. Similarly, Myotismon is a tall, blonde, blue-eyed and menacing magic user with extreme toughness and power, but Wizardmon also has blonde hair, blue eyes, uses magic, is of smaller size, and his gentle ways, as well as his noble and honorable sacrifice, highlight their similarities and contrasting differences... and just how evil the vampire really was.
Frothy Mugs of Water: In the Japanese dub, he bribes DemiDevimon with a bottle of Sake. In the English dub, this becomes "a bottle of green chili sauce".
Heroic Second Wind: He gets two of these. Notable in that it would take incredible speed for him to have been able to block the last, fatal attack with his body as a shield, after he was blasted several meters away and knocked down moments ago.
In the Back: A rare, heroic example when he manages to draw first blood against Myotismon in the final battle. Also counts as an inversion of Backstab Backfire
I Owe You My Life: Gatomon once saved him from starving to death and from his crushing loneliness. Ever since then, he became completely devoted to her.
Killed Off for Real: Whilst Adventure 02 reveals he can sometimes appear as a ghost in the real world, he can never reconfigure in the Death Is Cheap manner other Digimon do due to dying in the real world.
Lip Lock: One of the few Digimon characters completely immune to this. The only time we see his mouth we discover that he has literalLip Lock. His lips are stitched together. It doesn't prevent him from eating or speaking though.
Magic Wand: Look closely and you'll see it's in the shape of a Digitama (Digi-egg), or a Tamagotchi. Word Of God says it's a Mythology Gag and a Shout Out to the original Digital Monsters.
Martyr Without a Cause: See also Expy. Generally he averts this by actually having something important to die for. Next to Leomon, however, he’s the Digimon most likely to sacrifice himself.
Morality Chain: For a long time, only his presence kept Gatomon from being a full-blooded villainess.
New Powers as the Plot Demands: Holy crap. No one can find the Eighth child? Found her ten minutes ago. Can't get there soon enough? Let's fly you over there. No one can heal Lilymon from petrification? Give me a challenge. No one can harm Myotismon? First blood. None of the superfast, superpowerful, Ultimate level Digimon can save Gatomon and Kari? Got there just in time. How did I do it? I'm magic.
No One Should Survive That: Myotismon fails to kill him with his most powerful spells, which would be certain death to most Digimon beyond Wizardmon's level. As Badass as Wizardmon is, though, it doesn't last forever.
No Self Buffs: He could heal Lilymon, but apparently could not heal himself from the injuries caused by Myotismon.
Not Quite Dead: A heroic version. Myotismon's rage and fear upon seeing him alive said it all.
Our Ghosts Are Different: Evidence suggests he's tied to the place where he died, unable to be reborn either because he died in the Real World, or because he's unable to move because he feels like he still has to protect Gatomon.
The Red Mage: While most Digimon have one or two attacks and maybe one special ability, Wizardmon is arguably the most versatile character in the series. He could heal curses, fly unaided (or levitate, because he had various psychic powers), control the weather, dish out lightning and fire, and, in the Japanese dub, read minds. Not to mention he was incredibly hard to kill and could return as a ghost. Being based on Wizards as a fantasy concept, it's not a stretch to see he had a lot of different magical powers at his disposal. He's more of a Black Mage but has White Mage powers too. He gets even more powers in the Expanded Universe and in Digimon Frontier, including the ability to create copies of himself and produce fear gas. All of this on top of being a hunter, a spy, and an expert in stealth.
Reincarnation: Averted. Unlike other good Digimon, he isn't reborn.
Relationship Voice Actor: If you're an unrepentant fangirl, this allows for a probably-unintentional-yet-still-amusing, very brief moment, when Matt's dad helps carry Wizardmon around. Ishida and Hirata's characters in Saiyuki do that for each other quite a lot...
Scarily Competent Tracker: He was the first one in Myotismon’s crew to successfully locate Hikari, then brought Gatomon to her. Take note, he was racing against an army of supernatural creatures while looking for her in Odaiba, Japan. That’s not easy. He also manages to locate the true Crest of Light. Handwaved by the fact that A Wizard Did It.
Sinister Silhouettes: His is clearly visible among Myotismon's army before they enter the portal to the human world. He also gets another moment with this trope when he returns as a ghost in 02.
Squishy Wizard: Subverted. Hard. He's small, but man, he took a lot of punishment before dying: surviving two One-Hit Kill attacks, being tossed into the ocean, blasted by magic into a wall by a superpowerful vampire and then using his body as a shield to block a third One-Hit Kill spell, and even lasting long enough after that to say his last words. Also played straight in that he's a bit of a Glass Cannon, but he manages to get up after he's been hit by something insanely powerful.
Stage Magician: He poses as one of these to avoid drawing attention to himself in the Real World.
Taking the Bullet: Is killed when he takes an attack meant for Gatomon and Kari.
Undying Loyalty: To Gatomon and Gatomon alone. Well, Hikari too, by extension.
Why Won't You Die?: The outraged look on Myotismon's face in the final battle when he realized Wizardmon was still alive and powerful enough to hurt him was priceless. Subverted when Wizardmon actually dies.
Wild Mass Guessing: Oh my. Wizardmon, more than any other Digimon in the fandom, is prone to this. What was his past really like? Where did he get his truckload of powers? What is it that makes him different from most Digimon? What was his relationship with Tailmon/Gatomon like? And most importantly, Why wasn't he reborn? If it was because he died in the Real World, then explain Myotismon and why Gotsumon and Pumpkinmon's Spirits don't linger....
Wizards Live Longer: Zigzagged. First, he’s a Digimon, and thus is technically immortal (of the Type II, or undying, variety), then he’s supposedly killed by Vandemon, so you think he's dead, but comes back later, so you think he will live... and then he's killed off for real. THEN he returns as a ghost in the Digimon Adventure 02 and is thus more immortal than most Digimon.
The first Big Bad of the show, a fallen Angel Digimon who terrorises File Island and the kids, but warns them there are plenty more, more dangerous villains out there.
Devour the Dragon: Turns Ogremon into Black Gears and absorbs him to increase his power. Ironically, of the two of them, Ogremon survived thanks to getting blasted out of Devimon in the fight before Devimon was killed.
Evil Counterpart: Not only Devimon is a Fallen Angel type, but supplementary material mentions he is a fallen Angemon.
The Man Behind the Man: His powers of darkness took control of Kimeramon in 02. And if you really want to get into the nitty-gritty, when Kimeramon and Machinedramon fuse into Milleniumon in the games, Kimeramon's Biological Mashup body has been more or less subsumed by Devimon's influence. Take a look.
Villain Song: And the official German soundtrack even has a rap mix about Devimon. It's awesome.
Etemon
The second Big Bad, A anthropomorphic monkey whom the DigiDestined encounter on the mainland. Controls a Dark Network across the desert that amplifies his power and allows him to command many other Digimon, and proves to be surprisingly much harder to defeat than Devimon (and stay defeated).His digivolutions are as follows:
Ultimate: Etemon, his default form.
Mega: MetalEtemon, basically a silver metal Etemon made out of hardest known substance known to Digimon.
Hero Killer: Due mostly due to being an Ultimate level Digimon while the heroes only had access to Champion level at the time. His Concert Crush being able to de-digivolve Digimon is another good reason.
Not Quite Dead: Pretty much gets sucked into a blackhole but survives and comes back as MetalEtemon.
Not So Harmless Villain: When he returns during the Dark Masters arc, at first he seems like nothing other then a filler villain. Then he kills Leomon.
Also fitting beforehand. Despite his appearences, he's an Ultimate Level Digimon, while Devimon was only a Champion. He curb-stomps the kids' Champion-level Digimon with ease, has the rare power to de-digivolve Digimon, and becomes a reality-warper when he merges with the Dark Network, all of which makes him suprisingly dangerous.
Status Buff Dispel: His "Concert Crush" reverses digivolution. It's unknown if this only works against Champions, as he never really got the chance to use it against another Ultimate.
The third Big Bad who proves far more dangerous than the others, and has designs on the real world as well as the Digital World. A rather classic vampire who can even pass off as human.His digivolutions are as follows:
Ultimate: Myotismon, his default form.
Mega: VenomMyotismon (VenomVamdemon), an utterly enormous humanoid devil with limited intelligence, buglike design overtones... and a crotch monster.
Came Back Strong: Each time he's seemingly killed off, he ends up brought back to life in an even more powerful form. That is, until the Digidestined finally blow up his soul and kill him off for good.
Hoist by His Own Petard: His obsession with killing off the eighth DigiDestined caused him to end up bringing her partner to her. The very Digimon who ended up spelling his demise.
Immortality: Has Type IV like most Digimon, but his case deserves special mention because he just isn't reborn as a Digi-Egg. Instead, his soul just kep coming back to life in a stronger form, first as VenomMyostismon and then in Adventure 02 as MaloMyotismon. It takes having his soul blown up by the combined light of every Digidestined on Earth to make him stay dead for good.
Myotismon: ''I planned to permanently fuse the Human World to the Digital World, so that, this way, I would rule over both worlds! I DID WHAT I WAS DESTINED TO DO!!
New Powers as the Plot Demands: Like his foil Wizardmon, he to keeps getting new attacks. First the bats, fine, fine. A red streak, okay. Telekinesis, ummmm... alright? Wait, is MetalGreymon about to finally kill him? Nope, he can just stop attacks with a stare. Did Wizardmon just make an In the Back attack? Too bad he can just throw it right back. And this is not counting his ability to come Back from the Dead.
The first Dark Master the kids face on Spiral Mountain, and ruler of the sea. A pretty straightforward brute who destroys anything and anyone that gets in his way. Resembles a sea dragon.
Bad Boss: Noteably averted as he's about the only Big Bad in the first series not to be one. So long as you do your job right and he's actually a pretty good boss. Yeah, he killed Scorpiomon, but only after he failed him rather severely, and was very willing to reward him with his favorite food for doing his job correctly.
The Brute: His no-nonsense approach to beating his enemies.
Combat Pragmatism: His strategy on how to take care of the digidestined but since the other Dark Masters are sadists playing around with the Villain Ball, he only got the chance during his few episodes. He even comes pretty close when he has Scorpiomon helping him, though because Joe and Mimi accidentally avoided his trap and beat Scorpiomon his plan was thwarted.
Ironically, this is what spells his end. He kills Whamon for attacking him from behind, sending WarGreymon into an Unstoppable Rage and killing MetalSeadramon off.
Dark is Evil: Strangely enough, he's the only Data-type Digimon introduced as a main antagonist.
Evil Counterpart: To Qinglongmon(It, MetalTyrannomon and MegaDramon are the Metal Empire counterparts to the Four Great Dragons)
Pragmatic Villainy: He's a pretty much a Benevolent Boss as long as you do your job right, rewarding Scorpiomon with clams (his favourite food) once the DigiDestined have been captured. Which is more than can be said for the other Dark Masters.
Surfer Dude: Sounds like one in the English version.
Token Good Teammate: Well, not really, as he is evil, but he's much less so than his comrades.
Puppetmon (Pinnochimon)
The second Dark Master, and considerably smarter, meaner, and more childish than the first. Manipulates and toys with his enemies quite a bit, and literally controls the forest. Resembles a marionette.
Kubrick Stare: Has a natural one caused by his hat (mentioned above),but has an even bigger one when he vows revenge on TK
Lack of Empathy: Implied, but not outright stated, to be why he enjoys torturing and killing his playmates. A sympathatic example in some ways, as he truly does want friends but this makes it impossible for him to have true ones.
Loners Are Freaks: A lot of his arc emphasizes his lack of true friends, despite his insistence that he has some. TK uses this to trick Puppetmon out of killing him.
The Lost Woods: Leads the forest of the Spiral Mountain.
Not So Harmless Villain: Pretty powerful, for something that looked like a child's toy. He's a Mega!
Psychopathic Manchild: Type C or E, or a combination of both. In the dub at least. Though he still had this vibe to some degree in the original (a Mega level technically is full-grown). It's revealing, for instance, that too often he has the digidestined in his power, but constantly delays their killing because he wants to have some sadistic fun first.
Sinister Surveillance: In the first episode he uses a television with a remote control to spy on (and mess around with) the kids.
Stupid Evil: Kill off his henchmen and allies but decides to play around with the DigiDestined instead of finish them off when he has the chance. Gets lampshaded by near his end.
You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Takes out Cherrymon and three mooks when questioned. Uses a gun on two of them, so it was edited out of the dub.
Though, he actually kills Cherrymon, due to his (Cherrymon's) warning not to watch Tai and Matt fight. And a few other mooks are killed off for fun.
Machinedramon (Mugendramon)
The third Dark Master, and one who definitely isn't playing around. Rules a near-abandoned city and the deep underground complexes, and destroys all that defy him without passion or mercy. Resembles a giant mech.
Ax Crazy: Despite his Creepy Monotone voice, he's no less unstable and insane than Puppetmon and Piedmon and some of his lines outright state he enjoys what he does. He also sometimes gets a little carried away. During the final battle with him, he started firing randomly in all directions despite the fact he'd already knocked out the Digimon attacking him, leveling a large part of the city.
Made of Iron: Even as far as Digimon go, he's pretty darn durable. WarGreymon only managed to destroy him by using a weapon that is designed to kill Dramon type digimon, which unfortunately for Machindramon, includes him.
Not Quite Dead: Unlike the other Dark Masters, he survives (despite being onion sliced!) and combines with a Kimeramon to form Milleniumon. Note that despite being canon, it's never showed in the TV Series and instead kicks off the plot of the Wonderswan game series starring Ryo.
Fate Worse than Death: Was thrown into MagnaAngemon's Gate of Destiny. While the show is rather vague on his true fate, other material says this move banishes its victim to subspace, where there is no escape. Considering Digimon are immortal barred being killed outright, this might cross over into And I Must Scream turf.
There Was a Door: While chasing TK and Kari, he obliterates a door instead of just opening it, apparently solely to make a dramatic entrance. In the dub, he even lampshades this:
Piedmon: I must quit this, it costs me a fortune in new doors.
Villain Forgot To Level Grind: While all four Dark Masters get hit with this to some degree, he got it the worst. In his first appearence, he gives the two DigiDestined Megas a Curbstomp Battle, taking them both out in one hit. Then he saves himself for last and Wargreymon by himself manages to score several effective hits on him and together the same two Megas he took out in one hit before come close to beating him, forcing him to turn them into keychains to avoid getting beaten. To drive the point further home, even their Ultimate level Digimon are able to put up a decent fight with him by that point. It's not that he got weaker, he's just as strong as before but they got tougher fighting the other three Dark Masters and their forces, catching up with him.
Why Don't Ya Just Shoot Him?: If he'd disposed of the group when he had most of them turned into keychains, he might have actually won. MetalSeadramon even asked him why they don't use this strategy earlier on in the arc. Piedmon answers that it wouldn't be fun that way.
Apocalymon
The Dark Masters' creator and the true Big Bad of the series, Apocalymon pretty much showed up out of nowhere in the last two episodes. He somewhat resembles Devimon (his arms), Myotismon (his cape) and Piedmon (his mask). Oh, and his body is fused to a giant golden Death Star thingy.
Femme Fatalons: Nevermind that he's pretty much male. Memorably, he dug them into his own shoulders to emphasise the point about the pain he endured to become what he is.
Green-Eyed Monster: His motivation is that he envies those who get to enjoy life while he was stuck in a world of darkness, as well as Digimon who were able to successfully Digivolve while the Digimon whose data composes him died in the process.
Healing Factor: His shoulders heal instantly after he rips them open.
Humanoid Abomination: Though he can survive the destruction of that part of himself.
Large Ham: In both, but the dub really ups the level of ham.
Note, in this case, it's Taking Both Worlds With Me, as the attack was intended to obliterate the digital and real worlds.
This Cannot Be!: His reaction to the Digidestined reassembling themselves from data and allowing their Digimon to digivolve to their final forms without their crests, thanks to Heroic Resolve.
A big red stag beetle, and the first Digimon encountered by the chosen children after they met their partners. He terrorized them, but when the Digimon partners digivolved to their Rookie stage and started to give him a beating, he resorted to knocking them, the DigiDestined and himself off the cliff they were on. A Kuwagamon later attacked Tai and Agumon in the deserts of Server, and one appeared in the real world after VenomMyotismon's defeat, knocking an airplane out of the sky. Whether these were the same one that appeared in the series premiere is left vague.
One of the only recurring antagonists that isn't in the employ of a major villain, Shellmon first appears in episode 2 and is defeated when Agumon digivolves to Greymon for the first time. Later, he returns for revenge, but is sent retreating by Biyomon and Tentomon.
Voiced by: Yasuhiko Kawazu (JP), Tom Fahn (EN)
The Brute: No real motivation is given for his actions other than that Shellmon are a naturally hostile species, and he doesn't even have dialogue in his first appearance.
Villain Forgot To Level Grind: It's pointed out in the show after just two Rookies are needed to dispatch him the second time that they've obviously gotten a lot stronger, since it took a Champion to beat him the first time.
Bakemon
First appears in episode 11, when the DigiDestined were separated, and Joe and Sora encounter a group in a cemetery. They are able to merge together to form a "Lord Bakemon". Later, many more are encountered in Myotismon's employ, working under Phantomon. As evil spirits, they are weak against faith.The Lord Bakemon also holds the honor of being the first enemy to be destroyed by the children's Digimon rather than just made to retreat.
Bowdlerization: In the original, Joe chanted Buddhist sutras to weaken the Bakemon; in the dub, this is changed to repeating the mantra "Bakemon, lose your power".
To Serve Man: In their first appearance, the Bakemon want to eat Joe and Sora.
Villain Decay: In their first appearance, they were more than capable of taking on the children's Rookie-level Digimon on their own, and it took the combined might of Birdramon and Ikkakumon to take down the Lord Bakemon even after it had been weakened by Joe's chanting. Come the Myotismon arc, the chanting itself is enough to incapacitate them, and the Rookies are easily taking on multiple Bakemon.
Weaksauce Weakness: The first time they face the Bakemon, Joe uses Heroic Willpower to weaken them. The second time? Sora does this by recording. This might be a case of Dub Induced Plot Hole, as in the original Joe invoked Buddhist sutras which might still work even if being broadcasted via a recording if the words themselves hold power even without the faith of the speaker behind them.
Datamon (Nanomon)
An enemy of Etemon's, this robotic Digimon is completely unhinged. Was once a Vaccine type, but became a Virus type after an attack from a powerful Virus type destroyed his logic circuits. Out for revenge against Etemon for sealing him in a pyramid. Kidnaps Sora and tries to create a copy of her so that he can use her crest and digivice against Etemon.
Voiced by: Hidenari Ugaki (JP), Eddie Frierson (EN)
Wild Card: Not actually directly opposed to the DigiDestined; in fact they shared a common enemy and could easily have been allies if Datamon had just asked them for help instead of trying to use them.
DemiDevimon (PicoDevimon)
One of Myotismon's lackeys, stirs up trouble for the DigiDestined. Tries to steal their crests, inevitably ending up being the one to cause the crests to activate instead. Gets abused by Myotismon and the DigiDestined alike, culminating in VenomMyotismon eating him.
Bowdlerization: Aside from in "Sora's Crest of Love" where it was too important to the plot to cut out, his Demi Dart is cut out of the English dub due to its resemblance to a syringe, which carries an association with drugs.
Evil Counterpart: He's the Rookie form of Devimon. Guess which two Digimon beat him up most frequently (besides Myotismon himself)? Yep, Gatomon and Patamon.
Talking to Himself: Mostly avoided, but he does interact with Digitamamon, another of the Digimon that Prince voiced in the dub.
Phantomon
Myotismon's strongest underling, one of only three Ultimate-level Digimon to appear under his command (the others being Mammothmon and MegaSeadramon). First appears driving Myotismon's stagecoach; later reappears as the commander of the Bakemon army and also summons Tuskmon and Snimon to delay the children and smashes the recording that was weakening the Bakemon. Was caught in the crossfire when all eight DigiDestined Digimon attacked Myotismon, succumbing to Angemon's Hand of Fate.
Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai (JP), Dave Guerrie (EN)
Battle Butler: Could be seen as this, since he first appears driving Myotismon's stagecoach.
The Dragon: Leads Myotismon's armies and is right at his master's side during the final battle with the heroes. (Well, the final one before Myotismon came back in a more powerful form, anyway.)
Enemy Summoner: Does very little fighting for himself, using his army of Bakemon for most attacks and summoning Tuskmon and Snimon to battle Matt and Sora's Digimon.
What Happened to the Mouse?: Could easily become this to viewers who aren't paying close attention. When the heroes' Digimon are all sending their attacks at Myotismon, Phantomon is off to the side and gets destroyed when Angemon uses his Hand of Fate.
Cherrymon (Jureimon)
A wise old Digimon who seems to be a friend of Puppetmon's. Sows dissension among the DigiDestined, realizing that united, they would be too strong for Puppetmon, but warns Puppetmon to be cautious anyway. Puppetmon dislikes this "negative attitude" and destroys him for it.
Voiced by: Masami Kikuchi (JP), Jeff Nimoy (EN)
The Corrupter: Manages to turn Matt against the rest of the DigiDestined.
Evil Mentor: Matt knew that Cherrymon worked for Puppetmon, but listened to him anyway.
Spirit Advisor: As Puppetmon is dying, he asks Cherrymon what it was that the DigiDestined had that he didn't have. Cherrymon's voice replies, "Friends."
Talking to Himself: Avoided as the only DigiDestined/Digimon that he interacts with are Matt and Gabumon.
