This is a character sheet for Inspector Gadget (2015). Visit here for tropes relating to the original show.
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HQ
Inspector Gadget
Voiced by: Ivan Sherry
One of HQ's most successful and respected agents, despite his clutziness.
- Achievements in Ignorance: Gadget's main trait. He'll unknowingly save the day in the last minute, many times by full coincidence.
- Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: He gets distracted quite easily, whether or not because of him stubbornly following his terrible deductive skills. The chances are that Gadget will follow a non existant clue for the most part of the case and Brain will have to bail him out in some way.
- Beware the Silly Ones: He's goofy, self-righteous, gullible, stubborn and not rarely too dumb to be alive. He's still an almost indestructible cyborg with a myriad of gadgets that varies between silly and dangerous, but that eventually help him to solve the case and defeat the villain. On an occasion, Talon displayed in first hand how a controled Gadget can be a fearsome opponent in the right hands' joystick.
- Casanova Wannabe: Not at the extension of the original show, but it's still there. Both Penny and Chef Quimby do confirm Gadget is unlikely to get a date without exploding them.
- Chekhov's Skill: Coupled with his clumsiness, his defective gadgets mostly do the exact opposite of what he wants, almost everytime. This inevitably saves the day, no matter how stupid can be. Every. Single. Time.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Not to the point of Gadget & The Gadgetinis, but this Gadget sometimes looks to live in his own world, only in his head.
- Cyborg: As you might expect.
- Everyone Has Standards: For all his clumsiness and out of the box methods, Gadget is sure of one thing - Dr. Claw is an enemy and he needs to be stopped.
- Idiot Hero: Despite his bumbling nature, there are several occasions where Inspector Gadget's interference is the direct cause of MAD's failure.
- It's All About Me: In the original show, Gadget was happy about "solve" the case, but displayed some humbleness. This version is more notably narcissistic about his many (non existent) abilities and knowledge. The fact he's actually saving the day by complete fluke almost every episode surely boosts even more his ego.
- Jerkass: Unfortunately, as well-meaning as he can be, Gadget sometimes comes off as this due to his obliviousness and supreme self-confidence. Two of the worst examples come from "Double Oh Penny" (where even Penny gets sick of him) and "Low Speed" (where he outright dismisses his friends' pleas to just get to the HQ picnic via a straightfoward route with, "Nonsense!" and takes them on a meandering waste of time that causes them to miss the picnic completely). He's routinely mean with Brain for what he perceives as "not a normal dog behavior"...
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Even if egocentric and barely intelligent, Gadget still tries his best to be a good role model to Penny and take care of her well being. He's just...terrible on that.
- Know-Nothing Know-It-All: Gadget claims to be an expert in all sorts of fields. He...really isn't.
- Small Name, Big Ego: As always, Gadget's greatest flaw is his belief that he's the best at anything and everything he does (a trait he shares with Maxwell Smart of Get Smart). He is also more than happy to take credit for the success of a mission, even when he isn't sure just how he did it. This has a consequence, as one of HQ's most promising recruits and agents becomes so bitter and disillusioned she defects to MAD and becomes a double agent.
Penny
Voiced by: Tara Strong
Gadget's hyper-competent niece and sidekick.
- Adaptational Badass: While always the Hypercompetent Sidekick to Gadget, in this incarnation, Penny is also an Action Girl.
- Age Lift: Compared to her original incarnation (who was about 8), Penny is now between 12 and 14 years old.
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: Averted. While she was (and still is) attracted to Talon, it was because of his intelligence, skill and charm. The fact that he is a villain is actually a turnoff for her, and she never forgets that he's a bad guy that needs to be taken down. Well, almost never forgets.
- Barrier Warrior: The hard light screens Penny summons are more than just a computer interface - she can use them as shields and even platforms in combat.
- The Ditherer: She had a tendency to be indecisive between multiple options, especially when the pressure's on. This has gotten her into trouble when something (or someone) else happens to change the situation while she's hesitating to make a choice.
- Failed a Spot Check: Somehow, even Penny misses the numerous MAD logos Dr. Claw tends to slap on his equipment and things. She even misses the obvious MAD logo on the box of doughnuts she is actually eating from! It's only when she catches sight of Talon that she realises something is wrong.
- First Kiss: Averted. She mentions in "Get Smarts" that she hasn't had hers yet.
- Genre Savvy: Penny is quite aware that her uncle is far to be the great agent everyone admires and generally takes care of the important part of the mission whenever they're on a case. It doesn't mean she'll always have success and, whether he knows that or no, Penny knows Gadget will eventually save their lives everytime. In some instances, she'll even weaponize her uncle's bumbliness and put him in the right direction to save the day.
- Gibberish of Love: Gets like this at times. Talon seems to bring this side of her out fairly often.Talon: Hi there, pretty girl. I'm Talon. What's your name?Penny: Oh, I'm pretty. I mean Penny. (giggles nervously)
- Glory Seeker: Compared to her original Humble Hero counterpart it's quite striking how motivated she is by a desire for fame, recognition, and glory. It's especially bad when it comes to her desire to catch Talon, as it's actually made explicit that she gets no satisfaction out of seeing him brought to justice unless she's the one being given credit for it — a complete reversal from her attitude in the original cartoon.
- Hypercompetent Sidekick: As per tradition.
- It's Personal with the Dragon: Claw is ostensibly the Big Bad, but Penny is much more fixated on Talon, her own Evil Counterpart.
- Let's Split Up, Gang!: A variation. She'll always say "Brain, take care of uncle Gadget" or similar, when Gadget goes on his merry way while she does the actual job.
- Mirror Character: To her uncle Gadget. Penny is smart, genre savvy, resourceful and skillful, while Gadget...decidedly isn't, gadgets aside. However, both have big egos and inclination to mess the things by accident. It's just Gadget pretty much reigns in the bumbling department. Not rarely, Penny demonstred she can be every drop as stubborn and arrogant as her uncle, even if that mess with her performance in field.
- Nephewism: A Gender Flip example; Uncle Gadget is Penny's only relative.
- Not So Above It All: Despite being more professional than her rival Talon, Penny sometimes lets herself get distracted by her desire to show him up. In "Colliderscope", for example, she initially tries to prevent the time loop she gets stuck in, but then gets distracted and uses it to try to come up with a comeback for Talon's taunts.
- In "A Higher Class of MAD" she successfully infiltrates a group of MAD henchmen, but is unable to resist taking on Talon in a contest of close quarters combat and gives herself away.
- The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: She's so obsessed with showing up Talon, that Penny wants to be the one who puts him in jail.
- Red Is Heroic: Almost always wears red and is one of the good guys.
- Primary-Color Champion: Red shirt, blue pants, yellow hair.
- Supporting Protagonist: Penny does most of the investigating and heavy lifting during their cases, while Gadget often winds up saving the day through sheer luck. It should be pointed out that she still plays a vital role during the cases, if only because her presence keeps Talon busy.
- Sympathy for the Devil: In "A Clawruption" she sees how Claw offhandedly dismisses Talon's concern about possibly getting killed, and she feels so badly for him she involuntarily reaches out to him before remembering she's supposed to be spying.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: She's still primarily heroic, but she can be a lot more careless, glory seeking, and self-absorbed than her original counterpart ever was.
- Worthy Opponent: Talon sees her as the only real threat to MAD's domination of the world. Unfortunately for Talon (and luckily for Penny), Dr. Claw doesn't buy it.
Brain
Voiced by: Scott McCord
Penny's loyal dog and Gadget's long-suffering secret protector.
- Accessory-Wearing Cartoon Animal: Usually only wears his collar when not in disguise.
- However, he does have a concept of nudity. In the episode "Under the MADnight Sun," he loses his collar to a wolf. When he realizes, he covers his now bare neck and then hides his shame by putting on a red bandana.
- Ambiguously Gay: Brain has exhibited some mannerisms in this series. For one, we have seen him dressing in drag multiple times and seeming to be really into it. He also has some feminine body language such as limp wrist and moving his hips to the side when crossing his arms. Also, he is extremely proficient in ballet.
- Dude, Where's My Respect?: Frequently suffer with Gadget's lack of tact and intelligence, despite be the reason why Gadget AND Penny generally survive to the missions.
- Evil-Detecting Dog: Brain is a sharp judge of character and often spots the bad guys before anyone else.
- Here We Go Again!: When Penny suggests bringing Gadget out of retirement to oppose the newly returned Dr. Claw, Brain is less than enthusiastic.
- Heroic Dog: One of the main heroes who happens to be a dog.
- Hypercompetent Sidekick: Just as in the original series, he shares this role with Penny towards Gadget. Where Penny is usually the main drive behind the cases being solved, Brain is usually the reason why anyone (particularly Gadget) survives the missions.
- Intellectual Animal: As per tradition, Brain is a smart dog.
- Master of Disguise: Brain's new collar allows him to adopt numerous outfits specific to the mission at hand.
- Non-Human Sidekick: The canine sidekick to Penny and Gadget
- Papa Wolf: Brain will do whatever he can to keep Penny safe.
- Red Is Heroic: He wears red collar and is one of the heroes.
- Silent Snarker: To a much bigger degree than in the original show. He may not be able to speak, but that doesn't mean he can't get sarcastic.
- The Voiceless: Unlike the original show, Brain doesn't speak. His facepalms and facial expressions, however, speak volumes.
Chief Quimby
Voiced by: Derek McGrath
Gadget's direct superior and chief of HQ.
- Adaptational Dye-Job: In the original series his hair was brown. Here, he's a blond.
- Benevolent Boss: Has a kind word for his agents when they need it, such as the time he cheered Penny up in "Gadget Management" after a botched training session. In "Tiny Talon Time" he simply sighs when Penny and Talon are engaged in a rather flirty grappling fight, and reminds her she still needs to capture him.
- Da Chief: As usual.
- Flanderization: As Gadget, Quimby becomes even more dumb than in the original. Proof of that is the fact that he basically knows Gadget will unintentionally throw the self-destructive messages on him and yet he continues to deliver them personally. Dressing the most ridiculous disguises.
- Master of Disguise: Has delivered messages to Gadget and congratulated him dressed as a cactus, part of a fruit bowl and a dog. In the latter example, he actually chased down the discarded message before realising what he'd done.
- Once an Episode: Being blown up by one of his self-destructive messages, or just being blown up in general. Just like the old days.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Compared to Gadget's boss in Gadget and the Gadgetinis, Chief Quimby clearly likes Gadget and has faith in his ability to get the job done. Even if Gadget's methods are...unorthodox.
Professor Von Slickstein
- Voiced by: Scott McCord
- Ascended Extra: In the original cartoon, he only appeared in a small number of episodes. Here, he's a series regular.
- Age Lift: In the original cartoon, he is portrayed as an old man, but for here, he is a young man.
- Shipper on Deck: Is this for Talon and Penny if his reactions in "Training day" and "Tiny Talon" are anything to go by.
Kayla
Voiced by: Katie Griffin
Penny's best friend and fellow agent in training.
- Ambiguously Brown: Like Dr. Claw, she has a rather dark skin tone, though her ethnic background is never brought up in the show.
- Can't Catch Up: Isn't as capable an agent as Penny is, as in "Towering Towers" Penny mentions being unable to give Kayla any details about her mission due to Kayla's lack of clearance.
- Dub Name Change: Her name is "Karla" in the German dub.
- Motor Mouth: She speaks really, really quickly and apparently is prone to switching topics often (if the following conversation from "Tiny Talon Time" is any indication):Kayla: Anyway, you didn't answer my question.Penny: Which one?
- Shipper on Deck: For Penny and Talon. When she watches them engaged in a fight, she can't help squealing, "You two are so cute while you're fighting each other!"
MAD
Dr. Claw
Voiced by: Martin Roach
The terrible and frightening (?) criminal mastermind behind the MAD organization.
- Ambiguously Brown: What little that is shown of his neck in "A Higher Class of MAD" shows he has a rather dark skin tone.
- Big Bad: As usual. How "bad" he actually is...is up for debate.
- Da Chief: He runs HQ in a timeline where he quit villainy.
- Disco Dan: If his MAD recruitment video is any indication, Dr. Claw's one of these.
- Evil Counterpart: This version of Dr. Claw is much more like Gadget than previous ones, to the point where he'll even get distracted by the same things that Gadget will get distracted by, and he even sometimes bumbles through the operation leaving his hyper competent nephew to pick up the slack just like his nemesis. The difference being, Dr. Claw's bumbling tends to result in his failure.
- Evil Is Petty: Some of his plans are this. In fact, one plan involved setting off a giant watch that would freeze time in a town where world leaders were meeting. Talon assumed the plan was to take over the world, but Claw simply wanted a life-sized snow globe for his collection. Talon actually sounds embarrassed when he describes the plan to Penny, even making up lame excuses when she points out how stupid the whole thing is.
- In "Tiny Talon Time", Talon successfully steals the freaking schematics for Inspector Gadget, but Claw refuses to let him return to base until Talon also steals Professor Von Slickstein's soup recipe.
- Hidden Depths: "We Heart Gadget" shows that his idea of a perfect date is a romantic dinner...while the world burns around them.
- Hopeless with Tech: Certain modern technology like the internet confuses him. Understandable, considering he was frozen in an iceberg for several years.
- Offing the Offspring: While Talon isn't his son, Claw makes it clear he doesn't really care if Talon never makes it back from a mission or not, and isn't above firing on him with lasers to make his point.
- Never My Fault: Is prone to blaming Talon for the failure of his various plots, even though it's sometimes Dr. Claw's own interference that caused said failure. Talon doesn't hesitate to protest for all the good it does.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: There are several occasions where Dr. Claw himself messes up his plans just as Talon is on the verge of succeeding.
- Spikes of Villainy: Claw's gauntlet (of which he only has one of instead of two this time around) has retractable claws in the knuckle and wrist area, which deploy whenever Claw's smashing his fist into his chair, or if he does a Fist Pump.
- Villain Decay: Dramatically so, especially when compared to his original incarnation. In the original cartoon, Dr. Claw was greatly feared and it was hinted this was for good reason. Here, he's almost as a big an idiot as Gadget himself at times.
Talon
Voiced by: Lyon Smith
Dr. Claw's hypercompetent nephew and chief henchman. Also Penny's arch-nemesis.
- Aborted Declaration of Love: Gives this to Penny in "Airhead to the Throne".
- Amazon Chaser: Admits in "Airhead to the Throne" that Penny is one of HQs most talented agents, and also says to himself in "Training Day" that Penny's "got game".
- Ambiguously Brown: It runs in the family as both his grandmother and uncle (what little we've seen of him) have dark skin tones. A common theory is that Talon and his family are Latino.
- Because You Can Cope: Talon is perfectly willing to use lethal force when facing Penny (such as in "Train-ing Day" where he sicced laser cannons on her), but it seems to stem from confidence she can handle herself. On the few occasions where she might actually die (e.g. "Towering Towers", where a henchman dangles her over the edge of a skyscraper and suggests simply dropping her), Talon is quick to come to her aid.
- Card-Carrying Villain: He clearly enjoys being a bad guy, and he generally avoids things like Evil Is Petty, preferring instead to focus on actually dominating the world.
- Cassandra Truth: He's apparently the only person in the entire world who has caught onto the fact that Penny is the Hypercompetent Sidekick and the actual greatest threat to MAD. Dr. Claw in particular doesn't buy it.
- Deadpan Snarker: He often snarks to Claw's face when he thinks a plan is overly complicated and/or totally stupid.
- The Dragon: Dr. Claw's chief henchman basically means he's this. However, he sometimes finds himself working under whatever henchman of the week Claw favours.
- Energy Weapon: In addition to the gum gun, he carries around a device that seems to have the function of multiple kinds of energy weapons: he's used it to fire straight blasts, to form into a mace, and on many other occasions it's been turned into an energy whip.
- Evil Counterpart: Hypercompetent and serious teen that takes an active role in the mission while trying to cope with the wacky screwups of their uncle? Talon and Penny have a lot in common.
- The Gadfly: He can't help teasing Penny whenever they run into each other and he has the upper hand.
- Hidden Depths: When Penny's life is in real danger and she's unable to save herself, Talon tends to be visibly distraught and rushes to save her, even at the expense of his fellow MAD agents.
- In "The Fountain of Cortez" Talon shows that he's very good at taking care of babies, and is actually quite fond of them. Penny is a bit dumbfounded when she sees this, and he's quick to claim it's just indication of how much better he is at everything, but he mostly seems worried it'll hurt his Villain Cred if it gets out.
- Hypercompetent Sidekick: To Dr. Claw. While several MAD agents are perfectly competent in their own right, Talon is generally entrusted with the most important stuff. No matter how stupid or petty the plan is.
- Informed Attractiveness: Not every character comments on his looks, but literally all of the ones who do are highly complimentary, which includes male characters.
- Iron Butt Monkey: Talon is prone to slapstick violence—not only from when his plans backfire, but he often acts as a punching bag for his uncle.
- Jet Pack: Talon's primary method of transportation are a pair of rocket boots he designed himself.
- Mirror Character: To his Uncle Claw. Dr. Claw is an old fashioned villain with a penchant to ridiculous schemes with barely some sense of practicity. While more objective, modern and willing to be sure they'll achieve their objectives, Talon proved more than once that the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree, since he's prone to let his ego, rivalry with Penny and his own silliness destroy his chances of success.
- Nephewism: His only shown relatives are his uncle and grandmother.
- Not So Above It All: While he often mocks Dr. Claw for going for Evil Is Petty schemes with gaping weaknesses, Talon isn't above putting his personal interests (primarily Penny) before the mission.
- Overlord Jr.: Pretty much Dr. Claw's heir, though that doesn't stop Claw from treating him like any other henchman.
- Pungeon Master: He loves his puns; they make up the majority of his battle quips. Particularly bad ones often provoke the Lame Pun Reaction.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Talon won't hang around when things go wrong, especially when it's a particularly daft plan he wasn't 100% behind anyway.
- Slouch of Villainy: He's often shown reclining, leaning on furniture, sticking his feet up, or otherwise using his posture to display insouciance.
- Spear Counterpart: In terms of skills and abilities, he's Penny's equal.
- Spiky Hair: Ubiquitous references are made to the hair gel he uses to style it this way.
- Villainous Crush: Clearly has one on Penny (one she reciprocates... sometimes).
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Talon's desire to have the respect and love of his uncle seems to be at the root of several of his schemes. In particular he often works to undermine characters Claw regards more highly than him, effectively sabotaging his own side. More tragically, it also plays a part in his willingness to undertake life-threatening missions to please or impress Claw, even though Claw shows no signs of concern for him.Talon: Yes! Bonus Gadget! If I eliminate him and explode the volcano, uncle Claw will love me forever!
MAD Cat
Voiced by: N/A
Dr. Claw's right hand cat.
- Adaptational Angst Downgrade: Thanks to Dr. Claw becoming nicer to her in this adaptation, MAD Cat isn't subjected to the comedic abuse he received in previous incarnations.
- Adaptational Attractiveness: Compared to the original or the one that appeared in Gadget and the Gadgetinis, this MAD Cat is downright cute.
- Arch-Enemy: To Brain.
- Ascended Extra: In the original cartoon MADcat didn't have much to do other than be Claw's Right-Hand Cat, listen to his speeches, laugh evilly at his schemes and either be petted or pounded depending on Claw's mood. Here, she sometimes gets to take a more active role in the plot, and has directly interacted with most of the main characters.
- Cats Are Mean: Talon's not too fond of her, and she returns the sentiment.
- Gender Flip: The original cartoon's MAD Cat was male, but this one is female. Presumably, Dr. Claw got a new cat.
- Uncatty Resemblance: To Dr. Claw, as MAD Cat's attitude mirrors whatever Dr. Claw is feeling at the moment.
