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The Paranatural Activity Club
Max
Maxwell "Max" Puckett
"Ohhh don't you dare! Do NOT play the skeptical slasher movie cop! I am in clear and future danger!"
Our protagonist. On his first day of school after moving into Mayview, his sixth sense awakens and he is quickly swept up into the additional level of wackiness (compounded with the entire town's oddballness) that is the Paranatural Activity Club. He is extremely acrobatic and uses a baseball bat with powers of magnetism as his tool.- Batter Up!: His tool is an aluminum bat.
- The Comically Serious: He is a cynical lad who plays the role of the Only Sane Man in a town full of eccentric and wacky denizens. Situations involving him being this are practically inevitable. It helps that, even though Maxwell takes himself quite seriously, he isn't immune to all the wackiness himself from reacting very emotionally to all of the unfamiliar spectral business to displaying just as many exaggerated expressions as the rest of Mayview (his, in fact, being one of the very first the viewers see). Examples include but are not limited to: Isabel not taking Max's situation seriously enough
or Max having something like super serious to tell Isaac. - Deadpan Snarker: Due to his below mentioned status as only sane man. According to him, one of his super powers is "The ability to conjure an impenetrable wall of cynicism."
- Demonic Possession: It is revealed in chapter 3 that Max is possessed by a spirit who seems to let Max have control most of the time. However, the spirit takes over to intimidate the Doorman.
- Dreary Half-Lidded Eyes: Max is a snarky and cynical lad who is often drawn with half-lidded eyes to reflect his attitude. His character profile lists "scowling" as one of his favored activities.
- Extra-ore-dinary: His bat is magnetic.
- Fish out of Water: He was the new kid in a strange city... and then he started seeing ghosts.
- Foil: He's one to Isabel - while she's a loud and outgoing veteran spectral with versatile abilities, he's an introverted and snarky Naïve Newcomer whose highly situational powers leave him to rely on his wits more often than not.
- Fragile Speedster: Max is very quick and acrobatic for a 12 year-old, but he still takes hits like one.
- Genre Savvy:
- Isabel initially refuses to come to Max's house to take care of a very creepy but not yet aggressive spirit. Max accuses her of being a skeptical slasher movie cop.
- And again when he notes the feeling of being watched.Max: It was probably nothing, least of all foreshadowing, and/or I am making things up.
- The Gadfly: Very first chapter has him displaying this tendency with Max snarking to Zoey about their move to Mayview. He also spends a good portion of Chapter 3 picking on Isaac and absolutely enjoying himself doing so.
- Goofy Print Underwear: Heart boxers... with pockets. The Alt Text claims he had them custom-made.
- Hates Being Touched: A mild example, but he'd rather a shoulder-punch than a hug, and is noticeably irritated after a day full of people invading his personal space.
- The Heart: He seems to have fallen into the role amongst the Activity Club, as despite his Naïve Newcomer status with the Spiritual world, he proves to be very emotionally perceive amongst his new colleagues, able to tell when they're in a bad place mentally and emotionally and offering a helping hand or a firm reprimand as needed. Case in point, he spends most of chapter 5 bonding with Isabel over the loss of Eightfold, calls out Issac when the latter starts getting a bit entitled regarding their "friendship" and is later the only one to notice that Issac's in a Heroic BSoD when King Catnine unexpectedly amplifies his attack to a dangerous level against Spender's possessed body, and helps get him back on his feet, and Alex even lampshades how many of the various factions of Mayview middle school are willing to get along with Max, even Johnny's gang after Max risks himself in the Hitball game.
- I Gave My Word: Max treats the idea of promises very seriously, to the point of refusing to make any, as he feels the likelihood of him being able to uphold his end of the "bargain" is extremely low, and thus he would only be disappointing the one he promised to by his failure to keep it. It's implied that this is rooted in his mother's death, as it's heavily implied the flashback he had of her when Boss leader met him in his dreams was the last time he saw her alive, and her last words were promising him that she'd come with him to the skate pit he hung out at with his friends next time. It's furthermore implied that this is also a subconscious influence of the spirit possessing him, as when Penny uses her Power Copying technique on it, it manifests as a "Contract Claw" that her spirit Pantomine explains is primarily meant to be used for pinky swearing, and Max later on realises that he's starting to feel pangs of guilt because he promised Damian and Sam that they'd always be best friends, but has since started to think of the Activity Club the same way, coming close to breaking that promise. Thinking on this apparently triggers the presence of the Black Sphinx within Max's Mental World, drawing Scrapdragon's attention.Max: I don't do promises. Nothing good comes of 'em, only ever bad stuff. Promises don't mean you'll do a thing. They just mean you'll hurt whoever you made 'em with more when you don't.
- Instant Expert: Defied. Max manages to follow Isabel's instructions on controlling his Spiritual energy to form a Spec-Shot on his first attempt, but the resulting energy becomes too concentrated, acting like a viscous glob ball that hangs from his finger like a lump of snot. Given the short timescale of the following chapters, Max is stuck with this immobile blob as his only projectile weapon when faced in subsequent danger, not having had time to better refine the technique. However, the Spec-Shot's concentrated form functions well as a baseball, allowing Max to still unleash a shot by flinging the ball up in the air and hitting it with his bat, even one-handed. Furthermore, being able to utilise concentrated forms of spiritual energy gives Max an easier way to appease Scrapdragon's hunger without getting its massive toothy maw too close to him.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He can be a bit mean, but ultimately he's a nice guy.
- Magnetic Hero: It's shown quite a lot that Max is able to get along with pretty much everyone, and while he tries to hide it behind snark and quips he's a pretty compassionate kid. Both Isaac and Alex talk about this, showing a great degree of awe, and more then a little resentment, at how easily he makes friends. It helps that he has the literal power of magnetism.
- Mouthy Kid: Snarky but reasonable.
- Oh, Crap!: Max has shown over the top versions of this expression a few times.
- Only Sane Man: Half his lines in the first chapter point out how utterly insane the townspeople are. Though later Isabel says he probably just attracts people that are like him...weirdos.
- Le Parkour: Implied for Max and his hometown friends. It would certainly explain Max's ridiculous acrobatic feats.
- Pungeon Master: He can be pretty punny when he makes the effort. Exhibit A."Isaac, I sphinx you should calm down. [...] I'm just saying, you seem a riddle bit mad."
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: He rips into Hijack for claiming to be a Bully Hunter, when he was really just a violent hypocrite.
- Signature Headgear: He is usually wearing his baseball cap.
- Unique Protagonist Asset:
- Subverted.Mr. Spender: Black spectral energy?! That's... fairly common.
- As proof it wasn't a Last-Second Word Swap, another black energy wielder is later seen in Isabel's grandfather's dojo.
- The trope is, however, played straight with his spirit, making him and Mr. Spender the only known characters in the comic to be both Tool-wielders and Mediums at once.
- Subverted
- Useless Superpowers:
- As Isaac Lampshades, Max having magnetism powers might be a cool trick, but the ability itself only works on physical metallic objects, and thus anything he controls with it will simply pass through the spirits and ghosts they deal with on a regular basis. Likewise, he needs to have a supply of metal around to use his powers, unlike Ed, Isaac or Isabel, whose abilities can be generated from their tools/bodies on demand. Max's first attempt to remedy this by carrying a backpack of scrap metal around only serves to get him pinned down in front of the rampaging ghost train at a crucial moment because his magnetism is an omnidirectional force and can only be vaguely aimed with the bat.
- That said, subsequent chapters make it clear that Mayview is host of a number of various supernatural and physical monsters, more prominently the Vampire group headed by Davy Jones, so whilst Max's powers can't help his friend much in the spiritual battles, they're more than useful against any of these monsters. Isabelle outlined a similar issue during her past, wherein she tried attacking an ordinary dog with a spiritual blade and got mauled by it instead when the weapon couldn't protect her.
- Voice of the Legion: When the spirit possessing Max speaks, represented with one speech bubble that has two stems.
- Wacky Parent, Serious Child: You probably can't find a straighter example than Serious Child Max and his Wacky, Manchild father Peter.
- When All You Have Is a Hammer…: Due to the highly situational nature of his magnetism powers, he largely relies on his bat in a straight fight.
Isabel
Isabel Guerra
"STOP BEING EVIL."
An energetic classmate of Max's. She absolutely loves her work with the Activity Club, to the point of probable bloodthirst. Her tool is a thick book full of blank pages that she can manipulate. She is also best friends with Ed.- Abusive Parents: Downplayed. Neither of her parents are really around and her grandfather holds her to unrealistically high standards, berating Isabel when she fails to meet his expectations. Francisco has also been treating her this way since she was at least six, resulting in her developing self-esteem issues.
- The Ace: The best fighter and spectral energy wielder among the kids, easily capable of taking on dangerous spirits without her tool that the others struggle against with theirs. Spender tends to treat her as the default leader whenever he sends the group out on field missions.
- Action Girl: Isabel is described as the best fighter in the club and even wears a T-shirt with the word "violence" in script lettering.
- Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: She is very confident in her ability to use spectral energy, even compared to the adults in her Grandfather's dojo.
- Badass Boast: To the bat spirit in chapter 1.Isabel: Are you trying to scare me? [flares up with spectral energy] That's going to be hard.
- Blood Knight: To a downright scary degree.Isabel: We flipped a coin to see who'd risk going in! [creepy grin] I lost.
- Broken Pedestal: She admires Mr. Spender as a mentor who actually cares about her and defends his secret keeping. She's pretty delighted when he opens up to her in Chapter 5 and recognizes that she's hurting. Then she discovers it was Hijack she was talking to, hammered home by proof Mr. Spender didn't even notice Eightfold's disappearance. She almost immediately decides to be the real leader of the club.
- Child Soldier: She's twelve, and she's a highly trained spectral who can go toe-to-toe with adults. According to her story about how she got her Tool, she's been fighting dangerous spirits since she was at least six.
- Deflector Shields: An application of spectral energy.
- Did You Think I Can't Feel?: Isabel isn't the best at expressing her own feelings, not helped by feeling like she's talking to a wall with her grandpa and Mr. Spender. So she hides behind her Blood Knight facade. Isaac seems to think she hates him and while Isabel doesn't, she does find Isaac too sensitive to talk to.
- Fantastic Racism: Downplayed. It doesn't occur to her to treat spirits with the same respect as humans until Eightfold points it out to her before they lose each other forever. She quickly works to assure spirits like Flip-Flop that they matter to her afterwards.Eightfold: Having the instinct to help people is wonderful but... if you've... learned to believe that someone's less than people... that can only go so far.
- Genki Girl: Hyper and cheerful.
- Heart Is an Awesome Power: After she gets her second ability, flipping things, it takes her less than an hour to incorporate it into her martial arts. She flips herself around to dodge blocks and backstab her opponents unexpectedly.
- Hidden Depths: Her blood knight tendencies seem to be an effort to prove herself to her Grandfather.
- Imagination-Based Superpower: She can make whatever she likes from her spectral paper.
- In-Series Nickname: Ed calls her "Izzy". Her father calls her "Izzy Doll".
- Just a Flesh Wound: Insists that the bite one of the pixhellhounds gave her isn't serious. Dr. Zarei thinks differently.
- Little Miss Badass: While her arrogance causes problems, she's the star pupil of her grandfather's spectral dojo.
- Little Miss Snarker: Slightly sarcastic most of the time. Horrendously sarcastic when her grandfather is involved.That was lame. A lame attack. I think tradition's / Kinda wack.
- Magical Girl Warrior: Described as such by Ed.
- Meaningful Name: Her last name means "war" in Spanish. Fitting for someone who enjoys fighting.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Max is rather freaked out when she doesn't have a humongous evil grin while fighting spirits.
- Paper Master: Her tool is a book full of infinite amounts of paper that she can freely fold and control.
- Parasol of Pain: She gains an umbrella as a tool from her grandfather after she lost her previous one, and consequently, Eightfold, after the events of Chapter 3.
- Red Is Heroic: Her spectral energy is red, and she often wears red clothing, as the most action-oriented of the main heroes.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The reddest of the red. Isaac is also red, while Max and Ed are more blue.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: At the end of Chapter 5, she decides to stop keeping Isaac Locked Out of the Loop and tells him the truth about Mr. Spender and the Consortium to try and repair their friendship. As of Chapter 8, it remains to be seen whether or not this was the right call.
- Shaping Your Attacks: Definitely takes after her grandfather in this way when it comes to spectral-energy martial arts. She can form blades, claws, grappling hooks, shields, and many other configurations all on the fly, while Ed and Isaac seem limited to basic Ki Manipulation and Max mostly just hits things with his tool.
- Stepford Snarker: She's desperately trying to keep her anguish bottled up and out of the way, which puts her at odds with Isaac.
- Teleportation Spam: Her "flipping" presents itself as basically really short range teleportation.
- This Is a Drill: Made of paper. She is also capable of doing something similar with her spectral energy.
- Warrior Therapist: Part of her Character Development in becoming a true leader for the club is learning how to balance her violence with more compassion and to treat her friends with more care. And to see spirits as people instead of tools.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: She's "not great with dogs." Her bedroom is papered with posters, pictures, and calendars about dogs, seemingly an attempt at exposure therapy. Chapter 8 also hints that a harrowing experience with the West Hill Horror on a camping trip played a part as well.
- Wrestler in All of Us: Pulls off a suplex similar to Spender's on the pixhellhounds.
Ed
Edward "Ed" Burger
"Just FYI, ya prob'ly shouldn't walk through there fully exposed. With no shield, I mean. Well, without clothes either."
An especially energetic and somewhat off-kilter member of the Activity Club. Their tool is a paintbrush, allowing them to paint weapons on any surface, even thin air. They are also best friends with Isabel.- Art Attacker: They attack with their ink paintings.
- Badass Adorable: The smallest and cutest of the Activity Club kids, but no less dangerous than the others. Their childlike excitement when using martial arts Mr. Guerra taught them to fight off Johnny and RJ is downright adorable.
- Blood Knight: Loves a good fight, although they're a bit less creepy about it than Isabel.
- Bond One-Liner: Of the less than badass variety in Chapter 2:Ed: Welp! I guess you could say he's... dead.
- Cheshire Cat Grin: Ed smiles at nearly all times. Including when they're fighting. Or telling Max that the spirit weeds/tentacles/ropes/somethings that he just walked through could be highly poisonous.
- Cloudcuckoolander:
- For example, they doodle a mustache on their own face to match a silly French spirit.
- It's implied that they're a lot less strange than they seem; it's just that they've embraced everyone's perception of them as a weirdo.
- Conveniently an Orphan: Prior to much development on their history, anyway. Both htheir parents are gone, so they live in the Guerras' dojo with Isabel and are a student of her grandfather.
- Their parents were scientists involved with the Consortium. According to Agent Day, the circumstances behind their disappearances are still unknown.
- Eye Scream: Their face got erased by a spirit one morning and they decided to draw on new features while they waited for it to reappear. When their eyeballs came back, they got covered in ink.
- Hidden Depths:
- Their silliness is in part explained in the last two panels here.Ed: Oh, don't worry. Peeps won't deduce the whole spirit ghost secret spectral superpowers club thing from a bit of weird behavior. They'll just think yer crazy! And if ya really own it, they might even like you! Ha ha!
- According to them, Isabel's grandfather leaves them alone because they're able to defend himself well enough.
- In chapter 5, they end up having a talk with their spirit Muse where they confesses that they feels guilty over not standing by Isabel while her grandfather told her off for losing Eightfold.
- Their silliness is in part explained in the last two panels here
- Imagination-Based Superpower: They can draw whatever they need in the air and it will come to life.
- Keet: They're as chipper as they are odd - and they are very odd.
- LGBT Awakening: In chapter 5, Ed learns about non-binary gender from Johnny and RJ. In chapter 8, which takes place the next day, Ed's narration uses "they/them/their" pronouns in self-reference, and when Ed gets the impression that Crush doesn't know what boys or girls are, they reflect that "they'd been lost on that front too since their strange conversation with RJ and Johnny the other day."
- Missing Mom: Their mom is... somewhere. Thirteen years ago, she and her husband were doing something with Wights for the Consortium. It's not certain as to what happened, but Ed's mom is now trapped far away with no sense of time whatsoever, and even visiting her through dreams is immensely dangerous.
- Mundane Utility: Uses their power to make clotheslines and to write down controls for the fighting game they're playing.
- Opaque Nerd Glasses: Their eyes are never visible through them.
- Plucky Comic Relief: One of their main traits. They make consistent quips in response to Spender, and advises Max not to walk through a spectral jungle-like area while exposed (both in the "unprotected" way and in the "not wearing clothes" way).
- Pre-Mortem One-Liner: Ed delivers quite a nice one at the end of chapter 2, page 21, but it shrivels in comparison to their death threat on the following page. Compare them:Ed, Chapter 2, page 21: You're all gonna die!
Ed, Chapter 2, page 22: I've got 80 pounds of face-breakin' spectral muscle standin' between you and the rest of your life, not to mention there's an irate magical girl outside likely t'be half as merciful with you as I'm not gonna be. So! I need you to hurry up n' choose before I acquaint you with your internal anatomy: are we gonna do this the easy way, or the I KILL YOU way? - Proud to Be a Geek: They're confident in their nerdiness and have been seen hanging out with various classmates. Summed up when Johnny learns that he's never bullied Ed:Johnny: I haven't? But...you're a nerd.
Ed: Well yeah, but, like, the fun outgoing kind with lots of friends. - Sinister Scythe: One application of Ed's powers.
Isaac
Isaac O'Connor
"I will dance on your grave, sir."
By far the most normal member of the Activity Club. Knowledgeable about the paranatural, but is treated as a Butt-Monkey by the rest of the club. He is a "medium", a possessed human able to use a spirit's powers without a tool as a conduit. His powers are weather-based, giving Isaac the ability to wield lightning, rain, clouds, wind, and snow. He also claims to be able to take on Isabel and Ed at once.- Age-Appropriate Angst: Isaac is a lot moodier than the other kids and takes their teasing very personally. The revelation that he's actually thirteen years old and not twelve like the others makes a lot of sense to Max.Max: You're... a teen?
Isaac: What's with that face?
Max: I'm sorry, it's just... it explains so much. The angst, the mood swings, the smell- - All of the Other Reindeer: The club had some kind of falling out before the story, and Mr. Spender can't give Isaac key info due to his possession which isn't helped by his already cryptic teaching style. This causes Isaac to feel like an outsider and grow resentful of his fellow club-members' teasing and Max's easy acceptance into the group.
- Anime Hair: It's actually a symptom of his possession. Originally, his hair was fairly normal with bangs, and didn't start spiking up until at least a few weeks after his possession.
- Animesque: He's basically a shounen manga hero, complete with speeches about justice, friendship, and saving the world every time you blink. Other times, he might adopt a "cool anime guy" sitting posture or walk. It's outright parodied in one of Chapter 7's illustrations, which depicts Isaac's parents as ginger versions of Goku and Usagi Tsukino.
- Bishie Sparkle: He tends to do this. It's... hard to control.
- Blue Is Heroic: He has blue spectral energy and eyes, and he very much tries to be a good guy and hero.
- Butt-Monkey: Despite (and actually partly because of) his power, Isaac is the Activity Club's. Max tends to forget his name, though he has a healthier friendship with Max than with... pretty much anyone. Isabel and Ed leave him out of their friendship, he gets left out of the loop on paranatural happenings, Mr. Spender ignores him, etc. Also deconstructed to a degree, because it has left him with one hell of a Hair-Trigger Temper.
- Collateral Damage: Not long after he was recruited, Isaac was on a mission with the Activity Club in which he accidentally shot Dimitri with lightning. Spender believes Catnine was in some way responsible, though Isaac refutes this and blames himself. However, Dimitri has maintained that he wasn’t hurt and does not hold it against Isaac.
- Dark Magical Girl: He's not a girl, and Parantural isn't a Shoujo anime, but he otherwise checks a lot of boxes: No Social Skills, incredible powers but difficulty controlling them, deep-seated loneliness issues, and lots of of overall angst. And true to form, Isabel is the one who ultimately brings him back into the fold.
- Demonic Possession: Back when King Catnine first possessed him, the spirit would directly control Isaac, with some resistance on Isaac's part, rather than simply manipulate him as Catnine does now.
- Elemental Powers / Power of the Storm: As a medium, Isaac is given powers without the need of a tool.
- Fiery Redhead: He has quite the temper which is portrayed with prominence in Chapter 3. He gets riled up easily and tends to stew over things.Isaac: No one else gets angry like I do. Max gets mad and he's back to joking around in no time. But I get mad, and it buzzes in my head for hours and days and weeks. Forever. It just stays.
- Foil:
- To Max. They're in similar positions at the start of the comic, being outsiders to or within the club, and it's this that first gets them talking. In terms of archetype, Max is the cynical, snarky anti-hero associated with black to Isaac's bright colors and shonen hero themes. In terms of powers, Max has magnetism and Isaac can create lightning — there's even a wallpaper where they use their powers together.
- With Isabel, they are on opposite sides of a long-standing emotional conflict and divide within the club. Isaac wants to let everything that's been simmering out into the open while Isabel wants to move on by avoiding it, as the Alt Text on this page points out. They also have contrasting colors, blue and red.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: Isaac starts off as the club's punching bag, and has a strained relationship with every single other member. It's only in chapter five that he finally talks things out with Isabel and truly starts to feel like part of the team.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: Years of abuse at the Activity Club seem to have given him a really short fuse.
- It turns out there's a lot more to his attitude than what he believes about how the others treat him:Isaac: FINE! I get it already! I'm not one of you. How could I be? I joined too late..and broke up the club. I ruined my chance to ever really belong. But NO ONE will ADMIT THAT to my FACE! Just say you resent me! I know what that looks like! Say I deserve it! I know I do! Max fits in fine while I'm busy spoiling the first blank slate I've had in forever..I GET it, OK?! I'm tired of being teased and left out and left in the dark! Even Mr. Spender—!! *in tears* Even Mr. Spender...! I HATE it! I hate YOU! If you hate me tell the TRUTH!!!
- It turns out
- Hero of Another Story: Mornings at the school are best described as... weird (well weirder anyway) because of the adventures he gets into overnight. Then there's the things he and Ed got up to on the Ghost Train while separated from Max and Isabel.
- Hot-Blooded: When it comes to his emotions Isaac just seems to feel things more profoundly then the others, which can make him seem like a Mood-Swinger whose liable to flip out over something another person just saw as a joke. He just can't let things go and move on either, they just sit inside him causing more emotional distress.
- Intergenerational Friendship: Seems to have one with his apparent mentor, the Doorman.
- It's All About Me: He's pretty self-centered. As much as his resentment toward the Club is justifiable, his anger and feelings of personal alienation are really internalized.
- Let's Get Dangerous!: When the Sphinx of Games chases Max and Isaac down the hill and continues to attack them, Isaac responds by kicking lightning at him.Isaac: Let's. Negotiate.
- Locked Out of the Loop: Due to his possession, he is not allowed to know any details on the Paranatural Activity Consortium. The fact that doesn't know much else, either, can be blamed on Spender's meandering teaching style.Spender: Isaac, I know you're frustrated, and I feel very bad about that, but I am not allowed to discuss such matters with you for the duration of your possession.
Isaac: [pointing at the censored text] STOP DOING THAT!- On a more mundane level, he's also a year older than the rest of the club, placing him a grade above them and absent from a lot of the school-based drama. He misses the entirety of the hitball game in Chapter 5 on account of not even knowing it was happening.
- Mr. Exposition: Provides quite a bit of exposition, mainly because Spender is really difficult about showing new kids the ropes.
- My Greatest Failure: He makes vague allusions to some event that occurred when he first joined the Activity Club, where he made a big mistake that he attributes to creating the rift between himself and Isabel/Ed. Chapter 5 eventually reveals the details: Back when Dimitri was still a member, Isaac made a mistake on a mission that resulted in the former getting hurt and deciding to leave the club, something he never really forgave himself for.
- Occult Blue Eyes: They were originally plain blue, but after being possessed by King Catnine, his eyes became split between blue and indigo like the spirit's.
- Offscreen Moment of Awesome: Apparently he goes on quests to save ancient spirit civilizations once or twice a day. He also (along with Ed) defeated General Emerald during his sweep of the Ghost Train.
- Only Sane Man: He deals with a more frustrating level of insanity than Max, and he's been dealing with it for far longer. As his frustrations and insecurities mount, and tensions between him and Spender hit a boiling point, though, he increasingly leaves Max as the sole anchor of sanity in the club.
- Occidental Otaku: In addition to his Animesque tendencies, he also drew a fruit basket as an anime character◊, dressed as Naruto◊, and chatted/sang about Vocaloid to Max.
- Powers via Possession: He's a medium for a storm spirit. And the spirit possessing him is a big enough deal that Mr. Spender has to keep him in the dark about the Activity Consortium until it leaves him. As Max notes, this makes him a huge tool.
- Red Is Heroic: Fitting with his "stereotypical shonen hero" theme, he has spiky red hair as a symptom of his possession.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Despite the color coordination, he and Isabel are both red.
- Running Gag: Isaac is a Hero of Another Story. One full of shonen tropes.
- Shout-Out: His parents look like a recolored Goku and Sailor Moon.
- The Starscream: Isaac is a cheerfully benign one towards Mr. Spender.Isaac: I will dance on your grave, sir.
- Terrible Artist: According to Max.
Mr. Spender
Richard "Rick" Spender
"Aha! I won't fall for THAT a sixth time!"
Max's history teacher, and the advisor to the Activity Club. Cultivates a certain air of mystery which simply annoys the club's Genre Savvy population. His tool is the sunglasses he constantly wears, which give him the power to manipulate light.- Ambiguously Evil: He seems to think he's doing the right thing, but others have shown doubts. He even asks Isabel's Grandfather to stop him if he turns too far from the light. It's saying something when someone like Forge actually feels they are a better person when meeting him.
- Black Eyes of Evil: Beneath the sunglasses, his eyes are solid black due to the extremely dangerous shadow spirit possessing him.
- Brightness Shadows: Spenders light powers cast impossibly dark shadows although this might be justified by his secondary powerset.
- Casting a Shadow: He uses an interesting variation: he can make his shadow tangible, but rather than manipulate it directly, he manipulates the light source which is casting the shadow.
- Char Clone: A shady, morally gray mentor figure who's blond and wears sunglasses... sounds like Spender, but is describing Quattro Bajeena from Zeta Gundam. Considering that Zack is a fan of Gundam, there's no way this isn't on purpose.
- Chekhov's Skill: When he's introducing himself to Max as leader of the club, he mentions that he's an expert in spirit linguistics. When he encounters Forge, he identifies the language of evil (Cursed Words) that the dog-spirits are using, and also reveals he can understand Forge's language (High Spirit).
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass:
- Describes him to a tee. He comes off as a total moron most of the time, but he's regarded as an utterly terrifying figure among spirits.Nin: You hitch a ride on the Ghost Train and he shows up? You're over.
- The reason the spirits are terrified of Spender? He beat "The strongest" spirit (Forge says as much during their confrontation, and Nin had told that to him earlier). Consider what counts as "strong" in the Paranatural setting for a minute.
- We find out that Spender's actual strongest attack is basically a one-hit kill to anything and everything. And he has more powers on top of that.Forge: I am Forge. Y-you are not worthy of destroying me.
Spender: Heh. I get that a lot. [destroys him]
- Describes him to a tee. He comes off as a total moron most of the time, but he's regarded as an utterly terrifying figure among spirits.
- Dark and Troubled Past:
- While chewing him out in chapter five, Lucifer tells Spender that he's still "the same trembling, terrified boy [he] fished out of the lake thirteen years ago."
- In chapter seven, we learn that he's been a Medium to the shadow spirit inside him since he was at least sixteen. We also learn that his family is the worst, and literally cut him out of a family portrait for a fundraising gimmick.
- Dating Catwoman: Mr. Garcia is in some way affiliated with the Cousinhood of Man, who are at least a rival organization to the Consortium.
- Deconstructed Character Archetype: Of The Mentor, particularly the mysterious sort who withholds information:
- Spender is the adult supervisor of a bunch of adventuring kids and while he has the knowledge and experience to help them as Spectrals, he is lacking a lot when it comes to helping them as people.
- The fact he started the club at all was at least partly out of his own loneliness, as Lucifer calls him out on.
- He doesn't realize just how much he is hurting Isabel and Isaac with his secret keeping and trust issues.
- His laser focus on the future also blinds him to the more mundane problems his students are dealing with.
- It says a lot when his best moments of mentorship are when possessed by Hijack, a literal three year old.
- Demonic Possession: Hijack jumps inside him for a time in Chapter 5.
- Failed a Spot Check: Whilst initially his obliviousness towards certain issues was Played for Laughs, it's become increasingly Played for Drama as the webcomic went on, from his inability to recognises his charges' emotional needs because he's too distracted with his own problems, such as failing to realise Isabel's tool had been lost and switched until near the end of Chapter 5, which prevents him being anywhere near the wise and supportive mentor towards them he'd like to be. Furthermore, whilst Rick is under the impression that spiritual entities were the only problems he had to face within Mayview, the comic reveals there are numerous factions of humanoid monsters and other spectral groups within the town who are aware of the spiritual world and make use of it towards their own ends, with several such being having a vested interest in keeping Rick oblivious of their existence. This, despite the fact Rick has interacted with several of them on a regular basis and failed to pick up on any of the obvious clues there's something going on with them, from the police chief being a vampire, the trio of delinquents being his vampire thralls, or two of his teaching colleagues being associated with the Death Cult. It'd be a Running Gag if the consequences weren't played so seriously.
- Failed Attempt at Drama: Even by Mayview standards he's prone to cack-handed failure when it comes to looking cool, ranging from jumping off roofs dramatically and hurting his ankle to dramatic monologues that nobody else can actually hear because he's facing the wrong way.The Cast Page: Mysterious, intellectual, athletic... these are 3 words that have nothing to do with Rick Spender.
- Hidden Eyes: Does this after a physically and emotionally grueling fight during Chapter 4. Lampshaded in the Alt Text, which points out it's highly likely he's using his powers to do it on purpose, because he's a ham.
- Inhuman Eye Concealers: Wears dark glasses to hide his permanently black eyes. Chapter 7 reveals that they're not actually sunglasses as they would appear to be, but eyeglasses that have been lacquered to hide his eyes.
- Large Ham: He really likes giving mysterious, dramatic monologues, which are usually rendered fairly ridiculous by little details like "no one can hear what he's saying because he's turned away from them."
- Light 'em Up: His spectral ability. One of them, anyway. On one page he suddenly produces blinding light. On another, he doesn't turn off a nightstand lamp, he seems to banish its light, and his spirit resembles a light bulb. Here he grabs the light gleaming off his glasses.
- Logical Weakness: His light powers don't work if there isn't any source of light for him to use (because his powers are a sort of shadow manipulation - therefore no light, no shadows, no powers)... but fortunately his Spirit is always illuminated and can provide a light for him.
- Manchild: Underneath his initial impressions of being an experienced spectral mentor, repeated interactions with him make it clear that Spender is not as good a teacher as he believes himself to be. He struggles to teach the children much, usually being on on-the-job learning experience on spirit-fighting missions*, and his belief that he alone can protect the town from the dangers outside of it, born from his encounter with the "strongest spirit" that left him changed at a young age, leaves him blind to his charges' emotional needs or unable to properly provide the support they require. He turns to his old mentor Francisco for advise more than he doles it out, and is so wrapped up in his own issues he fails to notice Isabelle's changed partner spirits following the Ghost train incident until most of the subsequent day has passed. This ultimately causes a Broken Pedestal moment for Isabelle, as she realises she needs to step up as the Activity Club's leader and be more attentive to the other's emotional needs because Spender can't do it himself. Max actually lampshades this when Spender winds up possessed by Hijack, a literal 3-year-old spirit, and whom is able to successfully present himself as Spender despite lacking access to his memories because they're so similar in character — in fact, Hijack actually did a better job of supporting Isabelle than Spender did, to her immense disappointment when she realised the truth.Max: yeah, dude was one part faux intellectual, two parts baby so, basically impossible to tell it wasn't you.
- Mistaken for Badass: One of Nin(the rabbit spirit)'s duplications warns Forge that "the sunglasses spectral" took out "The biggest and baddest. Singular. THE spirit. The strongest one." Because of this, Forge gives up when fighting him—only to find out Spender's most powerful attack can't even scratch his armor.Alt Text: You can't go embracing death every time you see a dude in shades.
- Morphic Resonance: Like any Medium, Mr. Spender has a trait similar to the spirit possessing him, in his case, his eyes are completely black and appear to be leaking.
- Mr. Exposition: Subverted; he has all the answers, but he gives far less information than he should.
- Mundane Utility: Uses his powers not only in battle, but also for such vital tasks as turning off lights, punning, and making light to read by.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: By defeating Forge but then letting him escape, he allowed him to possess Johnny and enter Mayview while slowly turning Johnny into a spectral.
- Nothing Is Scarier: His mental room. Usually, in Paranatural dream meetings, the door and the room behind it show the inner workings of the persons mind - for example, Texas Walker's room is just a wilderness fire campsite behind a giant gold door. Spenders mental room? Absolute darkness. Which can apparently only be illuminated by Lucifer, his spirit (you can see his outline in the darkness). It also doesn't help that apparently, Spender's higher ups are curious as to why he doesn't let anyone else so much as look in and see his room...
- Only a Flesh Wound: He insists that the burn that covers his entire stomach isn't that bad. Lucifer disagrees. About five minutes after their argument, we see him groaning in pain and looking generally pathetic. It's later revealed that Hijack was experiencing the pain that Spender had learned to endure by that point.
- Painting the Medium: He can apparently pronounce redaction.
- Poor Communication Kills:
- Very narrowly averted, in that Spender forgot to mention to Max (a new recruit with no knowledge on how things are run) that he cannot cross the town's barrier without being squashed the night before Max would have taken a trip out of the town. Max calls him out on this.
- Though it has yet to hurt Isaac, Spender's unwillingness to reveal anything to him unless it is needed to be known (and sometimes not even then) has left a pretty deep grudge in the kid. There is a reason for it, but Isaac is unaware of what that is either, which doesn't help matters.
- Spender's inability to notice that Isabel had lost Eightfold after the Ghost Train mission and her grief over her loss, even after she asks for his aid, is ultimately what causes Isabel to unofficially declare herself the leader of the Activity Club and give Isaac the information he was blacklisted from.
- Portal Cut: How he defeats Forge: by turning the shadow Forge was walking on into a Bottomless Pit and then removing the shadow.
- Pragmatic Hero: Claims he has "a knack for cheap shots."
- Psychological Projection: His relationship with Isaac is based on this. Upon recruiting Isaac not long after the boy became the Medium of King Catnine, Spender told Isaac he could handle the spirit and everything would be okay. Unfortunately, things quickly went south and Spender later admits to projecting and only telling the kid what Spender hoped would be true for his own situation as a Medium. Other moments pop up of Spender misreading people and situations because he projects his own thoughts onto them.Boss Leader: That's your problem, Richard. You see yourself in everyone, and hardly any of yourself in you.
- Punny Name: Since his first name is Richard, his name could also be written as "Rich Spender". Some truth to this, especially when he is seen here pulling up in a car so expensive he won't even let the the kids wear their shoes inside of it.
- A Rare Sentence: As follows:Spender: Lucifer, did I... do the right thing tonight? [Beat] ...Good lord, if my parents could hear me now.
- Rule of Symbolism: His sunglasses initially seem to be projecting the impression of Richard being the mysterious mentor with a dark side that he likes to indulge in, and afterwards become indicating of his Manchild tendencies when it becomes clear he can't quite live up to that image. However, more seriously, they showcase how Spender is incredibly blind to several issues that occur around him, with knock-on effects on his charges and his self-imposed mission to protect Mayview — in fact, his perception of himself being the only one who can save the town is often the reason he's too caught up in his own head to notice these. These range from not noticing the emotional needs of his students, such as Isabel losing Eightfold and being very emotionally damaged out it, to failing to realise that Davy Jones is a vampire monster, the Delinquent Trio are also vampires sired by him, or that at least two of his fellow teachers are members of the Death Cult, and one of them being a Spectral besides, with each group fully exploiting his ignorance of their true natures to their advantage in various ways. It says a lot that Max and Hijack proved better at picking up on Isabel and Issac's emotional turmoil than Spender did.
- Scary Shiny Glasses: As befitting his mysterious side. Weaponized, even.
- Sealed Inside a Person-Shaped Can: He contains an extremely dangerous spirit in his own body with the help of his "personal" spirit, Lucifer. This puts a constant strain on both himself and Lucifer, and if either one slips up, that spirit starts to escape.
- Sink or Swim Mentor: Mr. Spender only teaches the Activity Club about fighting spirits when it's contextually relevant, and the context tends to involve mortal peril.
- Stealth Pun: Spender wears sunglasses and hides a lot of secrets. He's shady.
- Straight Gay: Turns out to be in a relationship with Mr. Garcia◊. He doesn't fit any stereotypes, aside from being overly dramatic at times.
- Sunglasses at Night: He's a teacher who wears sunglasses in class. And while driving at night. And when going to sleep. In fact, he has never been shown without them on. Justified: they're his tool and the source of his light powers. Furthermore, the spirit inside the glasses is the only thing keeping the shadow spirit in Spender's body contained. And even further, it hides the fact that his eyes have become pools of a strange black liquid.
- Super Mode: Has one in the form of Spirit Fusion, where he physically combines with Lucifer. Also qualifies as Golden Supermode. At the very least it gives him flight and Super-Speed, but using it makes it easier for the shadow spirit he contains to escape.
- The Unfavorite: He and his family don't really get along. Mr. Garcia mentions Mr. Spender has 'daddy issues', and at a fundraiser gala, the Spenders have a large photo of their family that guests can stick their heads through to look like they're shaking Bill's hand- which they made by cutting Rick's face out of the picture to make it.
- Wealth's in a Name: "Rich Spender," who drives an expensive sports car. Played with in that it makes the kids question where he got the money. Turns out he's the estranged son of the (formerly) ultra-rich previous mayor; he stole a massive, solid gold statue of his own father when he ran away and has been selling the gold piece by piece for years.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: It's not quite clear what his plans are, but apparently he's up to something his boss wouldn't like, but for all the best reasons. Isabel's grandfather warns that he should remember he's not exactly setting himself up for a good end.Francisco: You'll perish choking on the words "greater good" with some hero's blade in your guts, mark my words.
- Wrestler in All of Us: He uses a suplex on the Bat-like Spirit, although it doesn't work.Spender: S-spenderrr SLAAAAAM!!
Partner Spirits
"Scrapdragon"
- Down in the Dumps: Scrapdragon's realm is a vast junkyard filled with all kinds of metallic trash. It seems to use this junk for protection. Or a snack.
- Extra Oredinary: The source of Max's magnetism powers. It's also able to coat itself in a thick hide of scrap metal.
- Improvised Armor: It's capable of using its junkyard spiritscape to coat itself in a layer of metal.
- It Can Think: Downplayed. Scrapdragon still can't vocalise and acts like an enraged dangerous animal, in contrast to other spirits, but when Max is flailing about in a panic over accidentally entering a Spirit Trace and then getting levitated at a dangerous height above his house by his bat sticking to Scrapdragon's body, He apologises in a panic to his serpentine spirit when he believes it's about to eat him in anger over Max accidentally smacking it on the nose on their last meeting. This actually makes Scrapdragon pause, and then rotate its coils so Max is sitting atop it rather than precariously hanging, implying that it understood and accepted his apology. Likewise, it seems to sense the presence of the Black Sphinx within Max's Mental World and sets out after it, implied to be out of a desire to protect Max from his unknowing possession or for "competition" to feed off of Max's spectral energy.
- The Great Serpent: Of all the spirits the activity club are interacting with through their tools, it's easily the biggest, with its second appearance showing it to be roughly the size of the Ghost train, or possibly larger, if not as long.
- Through His Stomach: Befitting its voracious nature, Max manages to get Scrapdragon to calm down by feeding it his spiritual energy, utilising the fact his Spec-shot is currently viscous enough to function like a baseball to create more substantial "treats" to feed Scrapdragon, acting not unlike a dog biting snacks out of the air. It's furthermore implied that Scrapdragon's perpetual animosity isn't directed at Max himself, but rather other individuals who interfere with his Mental World, apparently out of a desire to keep feeding off his spiritual anergy alone.
- More Teeth than the Osmond Family: Scrapdragon has quite the toothy maw/s.
- Nightmare Face: Scrapdragon's "face" consists of three slits on it head that it can open and close. These slits can, at any given time, house rows of eyes, nostrils, or teeth.
- No Name Given: It hasn't been officially named. "Scrapdragon" is its official nickname, and has been referenced in-comic.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: At least half its eyes (out of a minimum of twelve) are colored red. The rest are blue, probably representing the opposite poles on a magnet. This seems to change, though.
- Unstoppable Rage: Scrapdragon seems to be permanently stuck in Grudge mode, and thinks nothing of attempting to kill its own host. However, is was noting Max with curiosity first, and only reacted badly after he accidentally smacked it on the nose when trying to follow Isabel's advise from her Grandfather to 'show your spirit a firm hand' and get it to obey you. When its wisp form appears in Max's dreams it tries to attack Boss Leader first rather than him, making it unclear if it's truly hostile to him or not. Max accidentally causing another Spirit Trace between himself and his spirit implies that Scrapdragon's perpetual anger might be directed towards the presence of the Black Sphinx likewise within Max, as it appears to be constantly searching for the illusive spirit within its junk piles and seems angered when it picks up a trace of it. it's furthermore implied that its actions are done out of a possessive desire to protect Max, or at least monopolie his spiritual energy for itself, and it takes umbridge with other beings interfering with its host.
- Useless Superpowers: Its magnetism powers make it a formidable threat to physical beings, but since the majority of the Activity Club's enemies are spirits or ghosts, Isaac lampshades that its usefulness to Max in fighting spectral enemies is severely limited.
- Your Size May Vary: Its first appearance had it apparently about the size of an extra-large anaconda or bigger, but not a disproportionate size from a snake-like being. it's second appearance has it at the size of the Ghost train itself, if not as long, making it unclear if Scrapdragon is capable of altering its size at will, or is growing larger and more powerful by feasting on Max's spectral energy.
Eightfold
Eightfold, Devourer of Words
"Ah, it feels good to stretch my legs again. ALL EIGHT OF THEM! GYEHEHEHEH!"
Isabel's spirit. Takes the form of a (quite cute) origami spider with a cootie-catcher for a head who usually resides inside Isabel's tool, a thick book. Her spirit realm is a musty, cluttered library filled with all of the books she's consumed. According to the author, she is "objectively the cutest thing in the comic."- Heroic Sacrifice: She apparently regularly destroys herself in order to stay inside the book Isabel uses. She also distracted Isabel for long enough to force her decision to save Max over the book Eightfold is bound to.
- Large Ham: Not to the same extent as Isaac's spirit perhaps, but she has her moments.Eightfold: If you start underestimating me... I'LL EAT YOUr favorite book.
- Paper Master: Her power. She apparently fuels it by eating literary works, then creates whatever she needs from the leftover waste. She is basically controlling her own poop, which she lampshades mercilessly for the sole purpose of creeping Max out.
- Put on a Bus: Stuck in a tunnel underground with no way out or regenerating, though she's assumed to be unharmed by this. It remains to be seen if Isabel will go back for her when the Ghost Train has regenerated.
- Ridiculously Cute Critter: The cast page calls her "Objectively the cutest character in Paranatural."
- Riding into the Sunset: After stalling Isabel long enough that she has to save Max instead of Eightfold's book, Eightfold tries to invoke this... only to realize she still had a few more seconds.
Flipflop
"It's true, my abilities are nothing next to those of my sworn brothers. And all three of us pale in comparison to our wise and wonderful teacher."
Isabel's new spirit inhabiting the umbrella her grandfather gave her. He is a turtle with a cardboard box for a shell and a turtle-shell hat. He can "flip" the position of things. His spirit realm is a subway station.- Apologizes a Lot: He apologizes for saying his name.
- Heart Is an Awesome Power: He can reverse the position/axis of himself, his tool, and Isabel. To him, this is completely worthless. In the hands of Isabel, however, he turns out to be very effective in the field—-his powers translating to teleportation and Confusion Fu.
- Heroic Self-Deprecation:
- One of his main traits as he has very little self esteem. In his introduction to Isabel, he compares himself as inferior to his brothers and mentor.
- He states that he didn't do much of anything in the aftermath of Isabel and Spender's spying on Ms. Baxter, even though his flipping power was critical to not letting Isabel get spotted.
- Near the end of the school day in Chapter 5, Flipflop reveals to Isabel that he was gifted to her as a test because Francisco viewed him as being so worthless that he'd force her to rely more on Spectral Fist as opposed to tools, and claims that if Isabel keeps him around, he can prove his worth. Isabel responds by telling him that they have nothing to prove.
- Punny Name: On 'hip-hop'.
- Street Performer: His theme. He's a breakdancer.
- Visual Pun: He has a cardboard box as a shell. In other words, a box turtle.
Muse
Muse
"Let's beat up one million children."
Ed's spirit, bound to his paintbrush. A tall, muscled monkey-like creature with hair and a tail resembling Ed's paintbrush. His spirit realm is a vibrant cartoon world where everything but him and Ed are rendered with amateurish ink drawings.- Expy: Design-wise, Muse is pretty much literally Star Platinum with a paintbrush theme.
- Jerkass: Makes fun of Ed's small frame and humiliates him by ordering him to do 50 kinds of exercise in front of his whole gym class.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: On the other hand, despite explicitly stating he doesn't care about Ed's problems, Muse still provides him with reasonable advice and (backhanded) moral support. Muse also congratulates Ed on his victory over Johnny and RJ. While he considers the two to be "small xp", he also notes that Ed could get stronger if he tried hard enough, and advises him to beat up a ton of children.
- Malicious Misnaming: It's pretty clear he called Ed "Ned" on purpose just to make fun of him. On the page following his introduction, he calls him "Ted", "Nedward", and "Nerdwad", so that's probably how he talks all the time.
- Mischief-Making Monkey: Taunts Ed and is blatant about giving him bad advice about Isabel. Also gets a kick out of making Ed look like a fool when he orders him to do exercise, while in spirit conversation (making it seem like Ed's flailing around super fast to everyone else).
- Painting the Medium: No pun intended. The tails of Muse's speech bubbles are stained with ink, much like his hair, his actual tail and Ed's paintbrush.
- Prehensile Tail: Dexterous enough to paint a chair into existence in the space of a second or two.
- Stealth Pun: He's a martial artist.
- Top-Heavy Guy: When standing upright, his body is essentially triangular.
King Catnine
King Catnine
"It is easy to preach nonviolence... WHEN YOU ARE WEEEEAK!"
Isaac's bound spirit, who resembles (and claims to be) a storm god. His spirit realm is an ancient, ruined temple caught in a perpetual rainstorm. He and Isaac aren't on the best of terms.- Fog Feet: In his first appearance, his body from the waist down is a ghostly tail.
- A God Am I: Explicitly refers to himself as a god at one point. His powers don't do much to keep him humble.
- Demonic Possession: He used to try directly puppeteering Isaac back when he first possessed him, but now seems to have resorted to regular manipulation to make the kid do what he wants.
- Hand-or-Object Underwear: He has small wings on his hips that cover his crotch. Judging by Isaac's reaction when he spreads those wings to punctuate a dramatic speech, they serve this function.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: His default state seems to be 'really rather cross'.Isaac: Wow, what's your problem?
King Catnine: TAKE a GUESS!
Isaac: Uh, you have a short temper and a long list of things that make you angry? - Hostile Weather: Before possessing Isaac, he decided to try getting to some power within Mayview and used his powers to create a massive storm while attempting to break through the barrier. The tempest was bad enough that the Activity Club had to be sidelined.
- Jerkass: This seems to be Isaac's opinion of him, at any rate. His on-screen behaviour and comments don't exactly help.
- Jerkass Has a Point: When he claims that he and Isaac are alike, he points out that Isaac disregarded Doorman's teachings by using power displays as threats (kicking lightning at the sphinx) and to express anger (throwing a bolt at Mr. Spender).King Catnine: You may be reluctant to BITE, but you BARE YOUR FANGS READILY.
- Knight Templar: There's a reason Spender's keeping things from Isaac, and it's not because Isaac is a bad person. Catnine knows everything Isaac knows, and he very much believes in the idea of peace through superior firepower.
- Large Ham: He's a bit... dramatic.King Catnine: HA! It is easy to preach NONVIOLENCE... when you are WEEEEEEAAAK!
- The Nose Knows: He has a sensitive sense of smell and laments Isaac's poor human ones. Because of this trait, he's able to quickly deduce Boss Leader is not human due to her inability to mimic the scent, giving her away as a spirit.
- Power of the Storm: He's Isaac's spirit. As well as a giant thunder cloud.
- Shock and Awe: He can create lightning and painfully loud thunder, as well as full on storms.
- Spider-Sense:
- King C. can smell hostility. It is unknown if Isaac shares this power as well.
- He could apparently tell by smell that there is something off about Boss Leader...
- Weather Manipulation: His power is to control the weather, but while Isaac only does it on a small scale, King Catnine on his own can create massive storms and is stated to have once ruled a small portion of the sky.
Lucifer
Lucifer
"If you hand your heart your moral compass, it will lead you astray."
The spirit in Mr. Spender's sunglasses.- Determined Defeatist: reveals himself to be this in his conversation with Hijack. He makes a point of arguing that all action is hopeless while simultaneously doing everything he can to resist calamity.Lucifer: What is left to me, but to go through the motions?
- AcCENT upon the Wrong SylLABle: His inflection rises and falls.Spender: How do I look?
Lucifer: ANALOGous to oNE MILLion doLLARS. - Burning with Anger: In chapter five, he tells Spender to seek medical attention for the giant burn Forge gave him. When Spender claims it's no big deal, Lucifer's head bursts into flame with a FOOM!! sound effect.Lucifer: If you have ANY RESPECT LEFT for our partnership you won't LIE TO ME SO PLAINLY.
- Faceless Eye: In the first glimpse of him we get, he seems to be some kind of... eyeball lightbulb.
- Feathered Fiend: Later, he appears as some sort of yellow canary stuck in a cage. But if you look closely enough, the bird is in a postion that COULD be his face (the wings are crossed like a moustache, tailfeathers could be a toungue or a beard, the feet teeth and the beak a nose).
- Fusion Dance: Spender can invoke Spirit Fusion. This combines him and Lucifer physically, and is common for them to do. It's unknown if this is common among spectrals.
- Light 'em Up: Given Spender's powers, this can be assumed.
- Meaningful Name: His name means "bringer of light", and he has the power to control light.
- Really 700 Years Old: He's six hundred.
- Satan: Except not. According to the character page, he's "Probably Not Literally Satan." The name literally translates to "bringer of light", and was the name of Satan when he was still an angel under God.
- Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids!: He is utterly convinced that nobody can save Mayview from... whatever is coming, and thinks that Spender and the Paranatural Activity Club are doomed to fail. When Hijack challenges his point of view, Lucifer simply dismisses it as nonsense.
- The Spock: He thinks that letting emotions factor into decisions regarding matters of right and wrong is not only short-sighted, but detrimental to the pursuit of the overall greater good. Slightly unusually, he himself isn't cold and rational, and can explode in anger, but his main emotion seems to be "absolutely done with everyone in my surroundings".
- Weird Beard: His stache is formed by the wings of his bird body.
