The characters of the 2005 Disney superhero film Sky High.

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The Kids

In General

All of the Other Reindeer: It's tradition for the "Hero" class students to dunk on the "Sidekicks," which the Sky High administration seems to tolerate.
Civvie Spandex: As they're still students they wear street clothes instead of supersuits, but their individual color schemes hint at what they'll probably wear once they graduate.
Color-Coded Characters: Each one has a color or two they primarily wear, and together the seven main kids form a complete rainbow.
Fantastic Caste System: Sky High enforces a system called "Power Placement" whereby people with traditionally cool powers become superheroes and people with "useless" powers are stuck as Sidekicks.
Incompletely Trained: Well, yeah, they're still in high school.
Ordinary High-School Student: Most of them, just with the addition of superpowers.
What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?: This question is the bane of the Sidekicks' existence.
Wise Beyond Their Years: Many of them raise some very good points about how the school is run that the adults don't listen to.

Will Stronghold

William Theodore "Will" Stronghold

Played by: Michael Angarano

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/will_2.jpg

“If life were to suddenly ‘get fair’ I doubt it would happen in high school.”

Son of the two highest-ranking superheroes in the world, the Commander and Jetstream, fourteen-year-old Will begins his freshman year at his parents' alma mater with big shoes to fill and, to quote him, "one small problem" – he has no superpowers whatsoever. Though he’s concocted elaborate ruses to convince his parents he's inherited his father's super strength, his powerlessness is laid bare before the whole school and he ends up stuck in the inferior "Sidekick" track along with his best friend Layla. From there, he befriends fellow sidekicks Zach, Ethan, and Magenta, falls for the lovely Gwen (while remaining oblivious to Layla's own feelings for him), and makes a quick enemy of Warren Peace, son of his father's nemesis, a confrontation with whom reveals he might not be as helpless in the world of superhumanity as he seems.

All-Loving Hero: He helps people for a living as a high school student.
Badass Pacifist: Despite wielding Super-Strength, he'd much rather talk out his differences with his enemies than fight. Shame he keeps pressing their Berserk Buttons.
Betrayal by Inaction: After he manifests his powers and starts dating Gwen, the popular crowd conspires to keep him away from his Sidekick friends. He's clearly uncomfortable, but he doesn't question it either until they make Layla cry and throw a party in his house without his permission.
Beware the Nice Ones: During his first encounter with Warren, he tries to defuse the situation peacefully. When that doesn't work, he gets chased down until Warren threatens his friends. This angers Will enough to lift the table Warren is on and punch him through a wall, though he looks no worse for wear.
The Call Put Me on Hold: When Warren threatens his friends in the cafeteria, he manages to manifest his Super-Strength. Later, he gains his mother's flight when Royal Pain nearly kills him.
Childhood Friend Romance: With Layla. They've been best friends since the first grade.
Color-Coded Characters: Red, white, and blue, like his parents. In the main cast rainbow, he's the "blue."
Corrupt the Cutie: Definitely endearingly awkward, and he nearly abandons the things that matter to him after becoming popular. He pulls himself back.
Crush Filter: When he looks at Gwen, the focus becomes softer and the '80s song "True" starts to play.
Die or Fly: Quite literally when Royal Pain throws him off of the school. He manages to manifest his flying abilities in order to avoid death.
Everyone Has Standards: Even during his popularity, he was visibly edgy when the Heroes students treat his friends as nothing but outcasts. Later on, he was completely appalled when Gwen not only throws a Wild Teen Party at his own house without permission, but also made Layla cry; he immediately calls off their relationship right then and there.
Flight: Boomer tries to test to see if he's inherited this from his mother, which just gets him launched into a hard pillar and injured. Gains it for real at the end when Gwen tosses him off the edge of the school.
Flying Brick: Having a father and mother that have the power of Super-Strength and Flight respectively, can do wonders for their offspring. Although it takes a while.
Genre Savvy: In this particular instance, he breaks up with Gwen upon realizing that she made Layla cry. Despite not knowing exactly what Gwen told her, he knew it was bad enough to hurt her feelings.
Like Father, Like Son: He inherited his father's Super-Strength. And they both ended up with redheads.
Love Triangle: At the center of one, with Gwen and Layla as the "angles." Layla wins when Gwen turns out to be a raging supervillain.
Made of Iron: This seems to be the main power Will did have before manifesting both his powers, as shown during Power Placement when he is flattened by a car and rammed across the gym, getting up without broken bones.
Meaningful Name: Will as in willpower, Stronghold as in Super-Strength.
Morality Chain: Layla is this to him. When Gwen makes her cry at the party, he breaks up with her on the spot, despite not even knowing exactly what she said, and throws all the popular kids out of his house.
Muggle Born of Mages: Starts the story as this, but gains Super-Strength later on and eventually flight, as well.
Nice Guy: A level-headed and nonviolent kid, who always tries reasoning with his enemies before fighting.
Official Couple: Gwen is his love interest. But when that relationship sinks, he starts a new one with his longtime admirer and childhood friend, Layla.
"Scooby-Doo" Hoax: He concocts elaborate ruses to make it seem like he has powers at first, so he doesn't have to tell his parents he's powerless.
Superpowerful Genetics: Will inherits first his father's powers, then his mother's..
Super-Strength: Inherited from his father, and manifested when Warren threatens his friends during their fight.
Took a Level in Badass: As it turns out, he does have powers, he just lacked a sufficient stressor to awaken them. He gains Super-Strength about a quarter or so into the film and Flight as an 11th-Hour Superpower during his Final Battle with Royal Pain.
Unfazed Everyman: As a "normal" person growing up among super humans, he's amusingly nonplussed by the weirdness surrounding him.
Unskilled, but Strong: When he gains his strength, his lack of experience in direct combat shows. While his blows are powerful, Will lacks sufficient technique to make his hits really count. Will lampshades this by saying that all he does is punch stuff.
Would Hit a Girl: Tosses his ex-girlfriend around like a rag doll for all the grief she's caused him and his loved ones.

Layla Williams

Played by: Danielle Panabaker

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/layla_6.jpg

"I'm not into labels."

Will's neighbor and best friend since first grade, Layla is an impassioned feminist and environmental activist who starts Sky High along with him. She's an extremely powerful chlorokinetic, but her refusal to submit to the school's Power Placement system lands her in the Sidekick track along with the seemingly powerless Will. She also suffers from angsts of a considerably more mundane form – namely long-harbored feelings for her best friend that she's too shy to tell him about, which in turn leads her by chance to an unlikely friendship with Will's rival Warren, who encourages her to speak up.

Her mother is a heroine who can speak to animals and her father is a normal human.

Almighty Janitor: She's one of the most powerful kids in the school, but gets shunted into Sidekick class for refusing to show Boomer her power. She also most likely refrained from showing her full power up until Homecoming — when Will finally awakened his super strength he was moved to the Hero track. If Layla had done the same, she would've been moved up along with him.
Badass Pacifist: When she uses her powers, Layla only immobilizes her opponent despite being significantly more powerful. Layla states she doesn't believe in using her powers unless the situation demands it.
Betty and Veronica: Betty (the sweet Girl Next Door Childhood Friend) to Will's Archie and Gwen's Veronica.
Color-Coded Characters: Green, naturally, which is her color in the main cast rainbow.
Curb-Stomp Battle: Once she's provoked into using her powers on them, Penny and her clones go down instantly.
The Cutie: A sunny, pretty, and kind teenage girl.
Deuteragonist: The story's second most important character, with her own mundane arc of dealing with the Love Triangle she's stuck in, contrasting Will's more fantastic main plot.
Earn Your Happy Ending: Does she ever. She defeats one of her prominent bullies, in the process proving she has Hero-worthy powers, confesses her feelings to Will, who reciprocates, and gets to share a Homecoming dance with him in midair.
Godwin's Law: Says Power Placement "sounds fascist."
Granola Girl: A passionate environmentalist, to the point she moves other people's recyclables from the trash bin if they're thrown away. She's not mocked by the narrative for it, though.
Green Thumb: A very strong chlorokinetic, to the point where she defeats a senior Hero effortlessly.
Love Triangle: Stuck on the losing end of one, much to her chagrin. She pulls through.
Morality Chain: She is this to Will, to the point that he breaks up with Gwen and throws all the popular kids out of his house once they make her cry, without even knowing the exact context of the altercation.
Morality Pet: She's this, meanwhile, to Warren, as she uses him as a sounding board for her problems, leading to him taking a shine to her and gradually shedding his tough guy exterior for her.
Nice Girl: As The Cutie, Layla is sweet, kind, caring, and loving.
The Not-Love Interest: Warren is this to her. She pours out her angsts over her datelessness to him, and by interacting with her, he becomes less of a sourpuss and eventually befriends the main gang.
Official Couple: After much suffering, she does finally end up with Will.
O.O.C. Is Serious Business: She definitely senses something is very wrong when she sees that her kind, humble best friend seems to be throwing a Wild Teen Party at his house, which isn't even his idea, but Gwen's.
Operation: Jealousy: She and Warren hit on the idea to pretend to date to annoy Will, her to make him jealous, him... to annoy Will.
Pre-Asskicking One-Liner: Poor Penny.
Layla: Big mistake.
Redhead In Green: Often wears green clothes to contrast with her fiery red hair.
Shout-Out: There's been speculation that she's named for Laurey Williams, the heroine of Oklahoma!. Not only do their names sound similar, but the show is mentioned in the movie in the context that the future Commander and the future Baron Battle fought over the male lead role of Curly, Laurey's love interest, while they were at Sky High - and Layla's own romantic prospects happen to be the two men's sons. For bonus points, Laurey is also involved in a love triangle (though she's the one in the middle) and the show also includes a character named Will who is involved in a completely different B-plot love triangle.
Soapbox Sadie: She willingly gets herself assigned to Hero Support by refusing to take the hero exam as a form of protest, as Layla loathes the class system.
Unlucky Childhood Friend: It's not known how long she's been crushing unrequitedly on Will for, but it's implied to have been a long time. Her patience pays off in the end.
Vine Tentacles: During the climax, she manages to overpower the senior students using vines growing from outside the cafeteria windows.
Virtuous Character Copy: A passionate environmentalist Redhead In Green with a Green Thumb? Sounds a lot like Poison Ivy. However, Ivy is so determined to protect plants that she'll murder humans in the process (sometimes even ignoring ways the phlebotinum of the week could more directly help the environment) and is a Femme Fatale with a hypnotic kiss. Layla wants to protect the environment (and animals), but she's largely non-aggressive unless severely provoked. One of her "hero" classmates doesn't even believe her abilities are combat-worthy until the climax because she hasn't used them. She's also a sweet Girl Next Door with a crush on her childhood best friend Will.
You Wouldn't Like Me When I'm Angry!: She doesn't believe in using her powers unless the situation demands it. However, piss her off to the point where she's willing to use them and she's terrifying.

Gwen Grayson (MAJOR UNMARKED SPOILERS)

Gwendolyn "Gwen" Grayson/Royal Pain/Susan "Sue" Tenny

Played by: Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Voiced by: Patrick Warburton

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gwen_3.jpg

^{Click here to see her as Royal Pain}

^{Click here to see her as Sue Tenny}

“If you just follow these simple instructions, I promise you will not fall off the edge of the school.”

Sky High's glamorous student council president, head of the homecoming committee, and all-around most popular girl in school, Gwen is a powerful technopath and a senior Hero. She's normally a kind person, but is known to be somewhat insensitive to the suffering of students on the Sidekick track. Will falls hard for her, and she reciprocates after his fateful confrontation with Warren, but the popularity his newfound relationship brings drives a wedge between him and his Sidekick friends.

Unfortunately, Will soon learns that like many seemingly ideal people, Gwen is someone with plenty of secrets. In truth, she is the de-aged supervillain Royal Pain, a resentful former member of the Sidekick track who turned on society out of revenge. She now plots to turn all of the superheroes into infants in order to raise them as supervillains.

Alliterative Name: Gwen Grayson. Subverted when she is revealed to have originally been Sue Tenny.
Arch-Enemy: After the dust settles, the epilogue notes that Gwen has become this to Will.
Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: Sets a giant robot on the Commander at the beginning of the movie. It was never intended to win, but its eyeball—which the Commander takes home—had a camera in it, enabling the baddies to observe the Strongholds' Secret Sanctum.
Became Their Own Antithesis: In her first life as Sue Tenny, she was a bullied nerd. In her second life as Gwen Grayson, she's an Alpha Bitch and a bully herself.
Berserk Button: She really doesn't like it when Stitches calls her "Daddy's Little Girl".
Gwen: I told you never to CALL ME THAT!
- Mentioning her age negatively is also a sore spot. When Will calls her "an old lady" after learning the truth, she immediately stops monologuing and goes on the attack.
Betty and Veronica: Veronica (high-status, secretive, and alluring) to Will's Archie and Layla's Betty.
Big Bad: The main villain. Her evil plan to turn all of the superheroes into supervillains is what drives her to seduce Will and ultimately cause the climax of the story.
Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Not just any old bitch, but an outright supervillain.
Black Cloak: As the evil mastermind, she wears a black cloak to conceal her identity as Royal Pain until the climax.
Born in the Wrong Century: Her powers of technopathy would have been considered far more powerful and useful in the 2000s than in the 1970s, when she attended Sky High as Sue Tenny—her original identity.
Brainy Brunette: A dark-haired technopath.
Broken Pedestal: Will is initially enamored with her upon entering Sky High for the first time. She eventually reciprocates after Will's super-strength manifests itself during his fight with Warren. The pedestal is shattered when Will eventually realizes her evil intentions.
The Charmer: A very pretty and charismatic young lady.
Color-Coded Characters: Pink, light purple, and white. The "violet" in the main cast rainbow.
Comedic Sociopathy: Frequently strangles Stitches when he's being exceptionally aggravating.
Cool Helmet: She wears one as Royal Pain, which doubles as a face-concealing mask.
The Corrupter: It could be argued that she deliberately wanted Will to join her side willingly, filling his head with anti-sidekick beliefs.
Death Faked for You: Sue was turned into an infant when the Pacifier exploded, so there was no way for her to tell anyone aside from Stitches that she survived. The result? It's believed she died when she was actually de-aged and raised to become Gwen.
Evil All Along: She's not as affable as she appears to be.
Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: In a manner, she is genuinely caught off guard by Will's integrity to stand by his Sidekick friends instead of dropping them to join the popular crowd. It probably has to do with the fact she was a branded a loser when she went to Sky High the first time.
Evil Plan: Steal back the Pacifier, turn Sky High's students and as many adult heroes as possible into babies, and raise them all to be supervillains.
Evil Sounds Deep: An intimidating bass with a mechanical tinge to it, courtesy of Patrick Warburton. This is because she's a (biologically) teenage girl with a voice changer embedded in her mask.
Face–Heel Turn: As Sue Tenny, Gwen was once a hero-in-training at Sky High until she was written off and underestimated by everyone around her, being treated as a Sidekick. Eventually, she snapped, concocted her Evil Plan, and the rest was history.
The Faceless: Wears a face-concealing helmet. Until the climax, anyway.
Faux Affably Evil: Her charming friendliness is to hide how she's a cruel, narcissistic, ruthless, and vindictive supervillain who will stop at nothing to get her revenge... including mass murder. She even acts sweet while holding the de-aged Commander captive and gloating about her success to him.
Fountain of Youth: The Pacifier reverts any person it hits into a newborn baby. Even Sue Tenny herself.
Freudian Excuse: Back in The '70s, Sue was constantly bullied and underestimated by others—with her peers writing her off as "weird," a "science geek," and a "Mad Scientist" all because she's a technopath. What's more, implications say that Steve was among her tormentors. As a result, Sue became a vengeful supervillain bent on turning all the superheroes into infants and raising them to be supervillains.
Gender-Concealing Voice: As Royal Pain, she wears a helmet with a voice changer that makes her voice sound masculine, courtesy of Patrick Warburton.
Good Smoking, Evil Smoking: Steve mentions that Sue was rumored to have been smoking in the girls' bathrooms.
Has a Type: For those with Super-Strength, it appears. Considering the fact that The Commander was implied to bully her in the past, yet Gwen referred to him as "My dear Commander," and Will just so happens to also have Super-Strength... yeah...
Layla: He's strong...!
Gwen: He's super strong~
Heart Is an Awesome Power: Technopathy is awesome, but Sue's peers in the 1970s disagreed with that to the point they bullied and underestimated her.
Hoist by His Own Petard: Sue was regressed to infancy herself by the Pacifier when it exploded in her arms... and then in came Stitches to raise her as Gwen so that she could finish what she started.
In Love with the Mark: Possibly. She takes Will breaking up with her very badly, even though she already had the Pacifier by that point, indicating she actually intended on keeping him around afterwards; what her endgame plan for him was is never revealed. It doesn't stop her from trying to kill Will though.
Innocently Insensitive: Once she and Will start dating, several of her actions seem to discourage his Sidekick friends from continuing to hang out with him, whether she notices she's doing it or not. Though it's likely not so innocent in reality.
Kick the Dog: Acts bitchy to Layla, just to hurt her feelings and isolate Will as a bonus. Ironically for her, this actually disillusions Will into realizing that Gwen is not a good person after all and is no different to the "Hero" students who bully the "Sidekicks".
Lack of Empathy: Doesn't care if her plan for revenge would kill dozens of people... including herself.
Legacy Character: The mastermind is Gwen Grayson, the second Royal Pain—and the first one reborn.
Leit Motif: Will's mind plays True by Spandau Ballet around Gwen until he finds out what kind of person she really is.
Lovable Alpha Bitch: Popular and occasionally inadvertently rude, but she's generally a pleasant person. Later revealed to be far worse than even a standard Alpha Bitch.
Loved by All: To Will, she's a goddess, and it's implied most of the school sees her the same way.
Love-Interest Traitor: The hero's girlfriend is the Big Bad? Who'da thunk?
May–December Romance: She's a chronological 45-year-old seducing Will, a high school freshman less than a third her age. While it's unclear whether Gwen retains the memories of her life as Sue, it's unambiguous that she doesn't have his best interests at heart.
Missing Mom: Died when she was a baby. Or so she claims.
Ms. Fanservice: We get to see her in a backless tank top and a very low-cut Homecoming gown.
My Grandson, Myself: Subverted. While Gwen is indeed Sue Tenny de-aged, Will falsely assumed that the two are mother and daughter before she corrected it. To Gwen's credit though, she never claimed to be Sue's daughter.
Mysterious Watcher: Observes the Strongholds through the camera in the robot eye at first, with the specifics of the Evil Plan only coming together later on.
Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: If Gwen hadn't made Layla cry at the Wild Teen Party at Will's house (which itself isn't this since she needed a good distraction to get her hands on the Pacifier), Will would have gone to the dance with her and been incapacitated with the other heroes. Will by staying at home only to arrive later with Ron defeats her in battle and helps save the school.
Official Couple: She is Will's love interest. As one might tell from some of these other tropes, it goes pear-shaped.
Peerless Love Interest: Will sees her as his ideal partner, to the great irritation of his best friend, Layla.
Pet the Dog:
- Gwen seems genuinely concerned when Will is hurt in the "Save the Citizen" challenge.
- She fixes the Strongholds' garbage disposal, seemingly without any villainous reason to do so.
Pink Means Feminine: Definitely the girly-girl of the cast, and dresses mainly in various shades of pink.
Reincarnation: She's Gwen Grayson, who is Sue Tenny after the Pacifier's energies doubled back on her. Reverted to infancy, she was raised by Stitches until she was 17 years old again.
The Reveal: Gwen's hiding quite a few things from the world at large, and they're revealed like peeling back the layers of an onion. She first reveals she's Royal Pain. Next, she speaks in Patrick Warburton's voice, revealing she's the cloaked mastermind as well. Finally, she's unveiled as the original Royal Pain—Sue Tenny—reborn.
Revenge: The motive of Royal Pain and Stitches is exacting vengeance against Sky High itself for what its Fantastic Caste System forced Sue (Gwen's original identity) to endure during her time there.
Revenge Before Reason:
- Tries to drop the whole school onto the city below while she is still knocked out inside of it.
- It even goes back to her enacting her Evil Plan as her initial motivation was getting back at not being popular at school... which is something she had managed to achieve in her second life, yet still wants to take revenge on the heroes anyway.
Samus Is a Girl: The armor and voice changer hide it well, but the mastermind is Gwen Grayson.
Sexy Backless Outfit: Wears a backless tank top to the party she throws, where she really ratchets up her seduction of Will.
She Cleans Up Nicely: Looked rather homely back in the 70s as Sue Tenny. As Gwen Grayson, she's able to make much better use of her looks.
Shout-Out Theme Naming: Gwen Stacy, an iconic superhero love interest, and Dick Grayson, an iconic sidekick. Gwen is a hero's love interest and, as a villain, is motivated by the fact that she, as Sue Tenny, was stuck in sidekick class and bullied at Sky High.
Statuesque Stunner: The tallest of the girls, and considered the most attractive. She's even noticeably taller than Will.
Student Council President: Her role at Sky High.
Technopath: She has the ability to control technology with her mind. She provides the name, though the power did exist previously.
Tyke-Bomb: The de-aged Royal Pain was spirited away by Stitches and tutored by him in the ways of evil for 17 years as she grew up to become Gwen Grayson and a brand new Royal Pain—the perfect person for orchestrating the completion of Sue Tenny's plan.
The Ugly Guy's Hot Daughter: Her surviving parent is her father, who is shown to be a short and weedy balding man sporting Nerd Glasses, while Gwen herself is a bombshell. Although as it turns out, he isn't her biological father at all.
Walking Spoiler: Her character is inexorably tied to the big plot twist that sets up the movie's climax.
Who's Laughing Now?: Sky High's Fantastic Caste System ensured that Sue was a bullied and underestimated student who came to be known as Royal Pain.
Western Terrorists: She tries to drop the whole school onto the city below and kill at least dozens of people in a terrorist attack as a further insult to superheroes whose families she just abducted to be raised as supervillains.
Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: As Sue, she was bullied and underestimated so often that she snapped, deciding to get revenge against Sky High by replacing it with a school for supervillains. As Gwen, she was raised all her life by a crazed Villainous Harlequin to be the new instrument of Sue's scheme for revenge - not hard to see why she's a bit off her gourd, no?
You Killed My Mother: After learning that Gwen is the mastermind, Will assumes that she is Sue Tenny's daughter and her goal is to get revenge for her defeat 17 years ago. Subverted when he learns that Gwen Grayson actually is Sue Tenny, de-aged by the Pacifier.

Warren Peace

Played by: Steven Strait

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/warren_19.jpg

"Nobody talks about my father."

A pyrokinetic sophomore (probably, see below) Hero at Sky High, Warren is the school's resident pariah, for one very simple reason – his father, Baron Battle, is one of the worst supervillains to ever live. Solitude suits Warren just fine, however, as he doesn’t like much of anyone else, either. Their fathers' animosity makes him a quick enemy of Will, but he shows his softer side when he stumbles upon a dejected Layla while working at his part-time job at a Chinese restaurant and strikes up an Odd Friendship with her, helping her deal with her issues as she helps him come out of his shell.

All of the Other Reindeer: He is considered an academic pariah due to his father being one of the most despicable supervillains.
The Aloner: Seems to enjoy solitude (to the extent he enjoys anything), to the point that he discourages others from sitting at his lunch table.
Ambiguous Situation: The full extent of his parents' relationship is unknown and unspecified aside for the fact that his mother is a superhero and his father is a supervillain. This opens the possibility of Warren being a product of Dating Catwoman or, given his father's reputation, something more nefarious. Or any number of other explanations.
Anti-Hero: Definitely a darker character than the other main kids, but by no means an actual villain.
Archenemy: Will initially sees him as his nemesis. By the time the dust settles, he's completely outclassed by Royal Pain and becomes Will's friend afterwards.
Bully Turned Buddy: He's initially set up as Will's Arch-Enemy, being an aloof jerk whose supervillain dad was taken down by Will's. However, his softer side comes out over the course of the film, and he ultimately teams up with Will to defeat the Big Bad, becoming friends with him in the process.
Color-Coded Characters: Red and black. The "red" in the main cast rainbow.
Delinquent Hair: It's subtle but he has some red streaks in his hair. They match his fire powers and the initial impression that he's going to be an antagonist like his supervillain father.
Fingersnap Lighter: Does this to light the candle on Layla's table at the Paper Lantern, defying the rules that say students aren't supposed to use their powers outside of school grounds.
Fire-Forged Friends: By the end of the film, he and Will are best friends thanks to all they've been through together.
The Gadfly: Has shades of this at times. He actually has no stake in the Will-Layla-Gwen love chutzpah, but agrees to Layla's fake relationship idea just to mess with Will's head.
Hair-Trigger Temper: He goes from calm to extremely angry with minimal provocation and usually deals with it by using his superpowers.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: His introductory scene has him attempt to utterly annihilate Will, but as the movie progresses, it's shown that he's not such a bad guy after all.
Loser Son of Loser Dad: Despite being in Hero class, he's ostracized at school due to everyone being worried he'll turn out like his father. He seems to enjoy solitude, though.
Meaningful Name: A corny but pretty cool example nonetheless—his father was an infamous supervillain, his mother was a powerful hero. He's the product of war and peace.
Misunderstood Loner with a Heart of Gold: He's actually nothing like his dad, not that anyone gives him the chance to prove it.
Morality Pet: Layla serves as this to him, as he gives her relationship advice and she becomes the first person he genuinely seems to like. He also tries to protect her several times during the final battle.
Mr. Fanservice: A hunky, Tall, Dark, and Handsome teenage boy played by an ex-model. The director himself said he was intended to be a character teen girls in the audience would fall for.
Mundane Utility: He uses his pyrokinesis to relight the candle on Layla's table when he agrees to sit with her after Will stands her up.
Perpetual Frowner: Rarely seen without his trademark scowl, at least until he meets Layla.
Pet the Dog: Any of his interactions with Layla, at least before the climax, where he shows he truly was Good All Along.
Playing with Fire: He's a pyrokinetic.
Punny Name: Get it, War and Peace?
Red Herring: The film's marketing played him up as the probable Big Bad, which is very far from the truth.
The Rival: Is initially this to Will, due to their fathers' animosity.
Series Continuity Error: While his school year is never actually stated in the film, the supplemental materials disagree on whether he's a freshman or a sophomore. Sophomore is generally assumed because he doesn't go through Power Placement with the other incoming freshmen.
Sins of Our Fathers: Everyone at Sky High considers him a pariah, given his father was a supervillain.
Super-Toughness: His fight with Will shows this. First he's thrown away and hits his head in the ceiling before falling on a lunchroom table, next he's punched with enough strength to open a hole in a wall and dent its pillar. Both times he gets back to his feet and continues to fight like it's nothing.
Warren: Think I can't take a hit?!
Ship Tease: With the unnamed ice-controlling girl at the end. To be frank, it's a fitting match.
Tall, Dark, and Handsome: The second tallest character (after Zach), and very attractive and brooding.
When He Smiles: Watch him light up when he agrees to Layla's Operation: Jealousy plan.
White Sheep: The good son of a famous villain.

Zach Braun

Zachary "Zach" Braun

Played by: Nicholas Braun

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zach.jpg

“Uh, yeah, um, when do we pick our names and costumes? Because I call dibs on ‘Zach Attack.’”

Yet another freshman Sidekick, Zach is a previous acquaintance of Will and Layla whose only power is glowing in the dark. Despite the limited utility his ability provides, Zach is a confident and good-hearted (if a bit dim) young man who believes he will be a great hero one day, even with all the world telling him otherwise. His closest friend, and possibly more, is Magenta.

All There in the Manual: His last name isn't mentioned in the movie itself.
Beta Couple: His relationship with Magenta develops in the backdrop of the stormy Will-Gwen-Layla triangle, and from what we see of it, which admittedly isn't much, it has a lot less drama to it.
Butt-Monkey: He's subject to the most physical comedy of all the characters in the movie.
Cloudcuckoolander: Very eccentric, and not what you'd call smart, but lovable all the same.
Color-Coded Characters: Neon yellow and white. The "yellow" of the main cast rainbow.
Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: He's the tallest guy, and he's interested in the shortest girl, Magenta.
Implied Love Interest: Technically speaking it's never explicitly stated he and Magenta are an item, but it's very strongly insinuated.
Large Ham: The most bombastic of his group of friends.
Light 'em Up: A very, very weak version - all he can do is glow in the dark. It proves useful eventually.
Light Is Good: Can glow in the dark, and is one of the heroes.
Non-Action Guy: One of the few characters in the movie with no combat capability at all.
Pretty Fly for a White Guy: Has this fashion choice and behavior at various points.
Shirtless Scene: Part of his physical comedy is not being able to change fast enough from regular clothes to gym clothes.
Small Name, Big Ego: Really loves to talk about how amazing his power is, even though it... isn't.
Super Zeroes: Even by Sidekick standards his power is pretty unimpressive, and he contributes the least to the final battle even with Plot Tailored to the Party in full effect.

Magenta Lewis

Played by: Kelly Vitz

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/magenta.jpg

^{Click here for guinea pig form}

"Bite me."

A cynical and gothy freshman Sidekick, Magenta meets Will and Layla on the bus to Sky High along with Ethan and quickly becomes part of their circle of friends. Her power is shapeshifting, with an unfortunate twist – she's limited to the form of a purple guinea pig. She resents her Sidekick placement but is virtually unfazed by everything else, including staring down Warren Peace, and shares a special bond with Zach.

A Day In The Lime Light: Is prominently featured in Bowling for Soup's Melt With You" music video.
All There in the Manual:
- The official website says her nickname is "Maj," but it's never actually used in the film.
- Like Zach, her last name isn't mentioned either.
Amazing Technicolor Wildlife: Her guinea pig form has purple highlights on its fur, to match her color scheme.
Animorphism: She can turn into a guinea pig.
Badass Adorable: A cute goth girl who has the power to transform into a guinea pig and that power proves to be useful near the end.
Color-Coded Characters: Despite her name, dark purple and black. The "indigo" in the main cast rainbow.
Compact Infiltrator: Magenta is a shapeshifter, but she can only turn into a guinea pig. Though this power gets her relegated to sidekick status, it ends up working in her favour during the climax, in which she uses her power to crawl through a tiny duct to fix the school's sabotaged anti-gravity device.
Deadpan Snarker: Always on hand to offer some cynical humor pertinent to whatever's going on at the moment.
Goth: Snarky, cynical variety rather than perky.
Heart Is an Awesome Power: She really pulls through at the climax, when she has to go down a tiny duct to fix the school's sabotaged anti-gravity device.
Implied Love Interest: As stated in Zach's entry, she's this to him. They even take each other to Homecoming, on the basis that they both hate Homecoming.
Magic Pants: Her clothes shapeshift with her, and seem to take the form of a purple streak in her guinea pig form's fur.
Morphic Resonance: Magenta has black hair and wears purple clothing in human form. Her guinea pig form is black with purple streaks.
Opposites Attract: The snarky shapeshifting goth has a thing for the bright, hammy glowing kid.
Resized Vocals: As a guinea pig, her voice is high and squeaky.
Ridiculously Cute Critter: Her other form is a guinea pig. Enough said.
Wire Dilemma: Has to chew through the right wire to shut off the device Royal Pain used to sabotage the school's anti-gravity generator. All the wires are red, but she does manage to find the right one.

Ethan Bank

Played by: Dee Jay Thomas

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ethan_9.jpg

"I feel extremely dangerous!"

The last of Will's quartet of friends, Ethan is a bright freshman Sidekick who first meets him on the bus along with Magenta. His power is melting into a mobile puddle of orange liquid; Coach Boomer is less than impressed. When it comes to established superheroes he's something of a fanboy and a suck-up, and is a frequent target of Lash and Speed’s bullying. To say he's a total wimp, however, would be a gross oversimplification, and he possesses a legitimate drive to be a great hero.

All There in the Manual: Like Zach and Magenta, his last name isn't mentioned in the movie.
Black and Nerdy: Complete with big Nerd Glasses.
Bring My Brown Pants: Spontaneously melts during the cafeteria fight when staring down an enraged Warren, in what seems to be a reference to this trope.
Butt-Monkey: A much more Played for Drama example than Zach, as he's the target of serious bullying by Lash and Speed.
Color-Coded Characters: Orange and white, like a creamsicle. The "orange" in the main cast rainbow.
The Dog Bites Back: After being tormented by Lash and Speed the whole movie, he gets his revenge when they reveal themselves as villains during the climax. He dunks Lash's head in the toilet, just as Lash had done to him earlier, and slips up Speed to enable Warren to take him out.
Fanboy: Of established heroes, such as the Commander and even Sonic Boom.
Heart Is an Awesome Power: For instance, melting enables you to set up a sneak attack on a more traditionally-powerful super-being. Lash never saw him coming.
Making a Splash: Like Zach, a very weakened take on the classic power: all he can do is melt into a puddle that can move.
Motor Mouth: Tends to get quite talkative when meeting an older hero.
Professional Butt-Kisser: Has a tendency to suck up to higher-ranked heroes, even Speed and Lash when they're tormenting him.
Coach Boomer: So that's your power? Butt-kissery?
Took a Level in Badass: He seems to find some new ways to use his powers over the course of the movie, such as the ability to flow ''vertically', enabling him to take down Lash.

Lash and Speed

Played by: Jake Sandvig and Will Harris

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lash_speed.jpg

“Gonna hang with us this year? Help us bring some pain to the sidekicks?”

The thin Lash and portly Speed are two Hero-class seniors with the power of elasticity and super speed respectively, but are hardly heroic people themselves. They're Sky High’s resident bullies and Jerk Jocks, (Ethan and Zach being favorite targets of theirs, though they'll pick on pretty much anyone, even teachers), and they, rather worryingly, always choose to play for the “Villain” team in Save the Citizen, one of Sky High’s sports of choice in which they happen to be undefeated players.

Acrofatic: Speed may be overweight, but that doesn't stop him from being an effective user of his power.
Bavarian Fire Drill: One of the hustles they're seen performing is extorting money from incoming freshmen by posing as the "Sky High Welcoming Committee."
The Bully: Classic variety, with swirlies, stuffing into lockers, and so on.
Card-Carrying Villain: They always play for the "Villain" team in Save the Citizen, leaving it little surprise when they turn out to actually be villains.
Everyone Has Standards: They're pricks, but even they didn't laugh with Penny when she called Will's friends "Losers."
Fat and Skinny: Speed and Lash, respectively.
Fat Bastard: Speed is a nasty, overweight guy.
Finishing Each Other's Sentences: They do this on occasion.
Hate Sink: Along the same lines as Penny (though less so since they get along well with each other), they don't get much in the way of positive traits. Even Layla laughs when they get hurt in gym.
Jerk Jock: Though they don't fit the usual super-muscular physical type, they're Sky High's best Save the Citizen players, and don't you ever forget it.
Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: Like Penny, there's really nothing good about them, and they prove it by joining Gwen's coalition of villains at the end.
Jerkass to One: Crueler to one. An overall unpleasant duo being the proud bullies and villains they are, they seem to antagonize Ethan most commonly; the first experience Ethan has at Sky High is Lash reaching out for his lunch money. It's very satisfying that Ethan specifically defeats or helps defeat both of them during the climax.
Kick the Dog: More or less everything they do, but one example sticks out: while playing Save the Citizen against Will and Warren, speed repeatedly runs in circles around Warren, creating a vortex to suck away his oxygen, which both snuffs out his flames and renders him unable to breathe, nearly killing him.
Lack of Empathy: Speed and Lash seem to care about nothing and no one except possibly each other. They even pick on the teachers. And depending if Speed knew what he was doing to Warren during Save the Citizen, it's entirely possible they're okay with casual murder.
Lean and Mean: Lash is a nasty thin guy.
Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Lash made a big mistake in tripping Will so that his lunch spills over Warren Peace. The ensuing fight leads to Will discovering his super powers, which he later uses to literally tie up Lash into a knot during Save The Citizen.
Only Known by Their Nickname: Speed and Lash are the only names they ever get; even teachers call them that.
Rubber Man: Lash is a stretching superhuman.
Shot in the Ass: When Ethan makes Speed slip during the climax, Warren throws a fireball at his butt, causing him to crash headfirst into a wall.
Shout-Out: We briefly see that Lash has a drawing in his locker that looks a lot like the Dark Mark.
Super-Speed: Speed, naturally.
Those Two Guys: Apart from a few seconds in the climax, they're never not seen together.
Too Fast to Stop: Speed's Achilles' Heel, and how he's defeated both at Save the Citizen and at the climax.
Troll: Provoke Will into a fight with Warren just for amusement, then ensure the two are paired up against them for Save the Citizen.

Penny Lent

Played by: Malika and Khadijah Haqq

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/penny_2.jpg

"How sweet. I hate sweet."

Sky High’s second most popular student, Penny is a senior Hero and a self-duplicator whose clones comprise the Sky High cheerleading squad in its entirety. She’s a distinctly less pleasant person than her best friend Gwen, and though she tolerates Will after he and Gwen hook up, she plays a significant role in isolating his friends in Sidekick class from him.

Alpha Bitch: An attractive, arrogant cheerleader who loathes everyone lower than her on the high school pecking order.
Dirty Coward: As soon as she's captured by Layla and faces being killed herself when Sky High falls out of the sky, Penny frantically reveals Gwen's entire plan.
The Dragon: Gwen's primary muscle in her evil scheme.
Fantastic Racism: Loathes "Hero Support" and, really, anyone less popular than she is.
Hate Sink: Quite possibly the only character in the film without a single redeeming quality. She proves her Hate Sink mettle being being the prime mover of Will's isolation from his friends. Not even Lash and Speed laughed with her when she called Will's friends "Losers." Even Gwen has a somewhat sympathetic motive while there is never a given reason why Penny acts like this other than because she can.
Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: Unlike Warren, she truly is rotten to the core, and proves it by joining her BFF Gwen's squad of villains.
Making Use of the Twin: She's played by twin sisters.
Meaningful Name: Her name is probably a play on idioms and phrases containing the word "penny" such as "If I had a penny for every time I X...", or, "Worth every penny", etc., considering her self-duplication power.
The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: She's the cheerleader at a high school ... that is kept secret from the rest of the world and (due to apparently being one-of-kind) probably doesn't have any away games, apparently leaving Penny with nothing to do besides chant greetings at the new students and flounce around like a Cruel Cheerleader. It isn't even clear if she's a school-sanctioned school cheerleader or just a self-appointed one, given how her cheerleading uniform changes color and design throughout the film.
Self-Duplication: She's a self-duplicator who's an entire cheerleading squad unto herself.
So Long, Suckers!: Locks the attendees of the Homecoming dance in the gym to be Pacified, and blows a condescending kiss at them as she leaves.
Token Black Friend: The most prominent black student, and her role is to be one of Gwen's closest friends and eventual muscle.

Larry

Played by: Loren Berman

Advertised Extra: For some reason, Larry gets a TV bumper featuring his power placement scene for promoting the movie back when it was still in theaters. He's in the actual film in two scenes lasting less than a minute.
Jewish and Nerdy: He shows shades of this, although not stated.
Nerd Glasses: Wears a rather thick-rimmed one, but when using his powers The Glasses Come Off.
Rock Monster: He can turn into a strong giant being seemingly made of stone.
Tiny-Headed Behemoth: Larry's head is the last part to transform when he morphs from human to monster, giving him this impression for a few seconds.

Carbon Copy Kid

Played by: Dustin Ingram

Jerkass: Bullies Zach by using Boomer's appearance to intimidate him while blatantly breaking the rules of using powers outside the gym.
Magic Pants: He is somehow able to manipulate the clothing he's wearing, as well as his body. This is probably for the best, seeing as he's a high school student.
No Name Given: He's only credited as Carbon Copy Kid.
Spear Carrier: His only scenes are during Power Placement and trolling Zach by shapesifting into Boomer.
Voluntary Shapeshifting: His main power.

The Adults

In General

Adults Are Useless: They're really not very competent at all, and never listen to what the kids have to say for the most part. Ironically enough, the most competent adult is the bus driver.
Cloudcuckoolander: The adult men are all extremely eccentric, the women to a lesser extent.
Rude Hero, Nice Sidekick: The Sidekicks are far more pleasant than the Heroes by and large.

Steve Stronghold

Steve Stronghold/The Commander

Played by: Kurt Russell

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/steve.jpg

“I know every kid thinks his dad’s invincible and I nearly am, but who knows, maybe next time I punch a meteor headed toward Earth… I’ll be the one who shatters into a million pieces.”

The most successful superhero in the world, Steve Stronghold is the Commander, wielding the powers of super strength and invulnerability, Josie’s husband, and Will’s father. He wants nothing more than for his only child, Will, to join him on the battlefield, and with this pressure bearing down on him, Will take steps to convince his father he’s inherited his powers. He’s not always the most intelligent or tactful person, but he does love his son and eventually learns to accept him, powerlessness and all. His civilian identity is as the most successful realtor in the city of Maxville, along with his wife.

The Ace: The most powerful and popular superhero in the world! Still needs his kid to save him at the climax, though.
Action Dad: He's one of the most popular superheros in the world and only wants his son to follow in his footsteps.
Alliterative Name: Steve Stronghold.
Arch-Enemy: Had one in Baron Battle, who he shipped off to four consecutive life sentences. It's not stated if he has one particular nemesis in the present.
Battle Couple: With his wife. She aims and confuses, he hits and rips apart.
Big Good: Seems to be this for the superhero community at large.
Bumbling Dad: He is most certainly not the brains of the Stronghold household, though he's apparently a legitimately good real estate agent.
The Cape: A stereotypical superhero, complete with actual cape.
Color-Coded Characters: A very patriotic red, white, and blue, shared with his wife and son.
Condescending Compassion: Because they're sidekicks, he has shades of this toward Will's friends.
Curb-Stomp Battle: Royal Pain defeats him at the homecoming dance with one blast of the Pacifier.
Does Not Know His Own Strength: Particularly when he's mad - he keeps a large number of identical phones for when he presses the buttons too hard.
Dumb Muscle: He didn't know Royal Pain was a girl. Although he might have meant he didn't know she was young.
Fastball Special: Steve's main battle tactic when fighting alongside Josie. She lifts him, he punches and lets gravity accelerate his hits.
Flying Brick: Subverted. His wife carries him into battle and literally throws him at bad guys.
Good Parents: As disappointed as he is with Will's placement in the Sidekick community, he truly does want what's best for his son and tries to be as supportive as he can.
High-School Sweethearts: He and Josie met at Sky High. They're Happily Married since.
Innocent Bigot: He shows some passive prejudice against sidekicks, possibly inherited from his own father who is never seen and may be deceased. He wises up by the end of the movie.
Large Ham: He has quite the ego on him, though he's mostly a good guy.
Legacy Character: Inherited his superhero career from his father, and plans on passing his own down to Will.
Like Father, Like Son: Will inherited his Super-Strength. And they both ended up with redheads.
Red Hot Masculinity: Both the Commander and Jetstream's outfits feature the colors red, white, and blue. However, the Commander's outfit has a bodysuit that is mostly red, and he possesses Super-Strength and Super-Toughness, powers more stereotypical for male heroes. By contrast, his wife Jetstream wears a mostly white costume and has the power of Flight.
Reformed Bully: If one pays close attention, there are several hints that he was a bully during his Sky High days, with Sue Tenny/Royal Pain being among his victims. In the present, he's an Innocent Bigot at worst.
Shipper on Deck: Seems to be shipping his son with Gwen. It costs him.
Signature Move: His most famous move is a one-handed Ground Punch, which he utilizes in the alternate opening to send Royal Pain flying.
Stage Mom: A male version as he's desperate to have Will relive his glory days, even briefly considering dunking his son in a vat of toxic waste in the hopes he'd get superpowers from that.
Steven Ulysses Perhero: Steve Stronghold has Super-Strength.
Super-Strength: His power.
Super-Toughness: Apparently as a side effect of his strength.
Supercouple: In-Universe. The Commander and Jetstream are individually highly revered heroes. Together, nearly everyone is in awe at them.
Superman Substitute: He seems to be this for the setting — he is a stereotypical upright and patriotic superhero widely considered to be the best, and has the powers of super strength and near-invulnerability. (He can't fly, though.)
Unstoppable Rage: He really loses his temper when he thinks Boomer intentionally flunked Will out of Power Placement to spite him, though to his credit he does not take it out on his son.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: He and Josie inviting Gwen to dinner turns out to be the impetus for everything that goes wrong in the film, both the mundane and the fantastic.

Josie Stronghold

Josie DeMarco Stronghold/Jetstream

Played by: Kelly Preston

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/josie_9.jpg

“Okay, so maybe we won’t be the Stronghold Three, the greatest family of superheroes the world has even known. But we will be the Stronghold Three, the greatest family the world has ever known.”

The more intelligent half of the Stronghold power couple, Josie is the world’s second most successful hero under the codename Jetstream, with the power of supersonic flight and an expertise in martial arts as well. She tries her best to rein in both her husband’s eccentricities and her son’s teenage angst, and is more accepting of his powerlessness than Steve is.

The Ace: Along with her husband, though she's humbler about it.
All There in the Manual: Her maiden name, DeMarco, is spoken only in the alternate opening seen on the DVD.
Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: Josie has a bit of habit of babying Will, much to his embarrassment. Before leaving for school, she talks about embarrassing moments from Will and Layla's childhood and worries about his first day of school while she and Steve are fighting crime.
Jetstream: Are you sure he'll be okay? What if he forgets his lunch?
Commander: Josie, Josie, you've got to stop babying the boy.
Battle Couple: With her husband.
Big Damn Heroes: In the backstory (and partially seen in flashback), she saved The Commander and Mr. Boy from Royal Pain.
Color-Coded Characters: Red, white and blue like her husband and son. In the alternate opening her suit was originally teal and yellow instead of red and blue, implying that she changed colors after marrying Steve so they'd look more like a team.
Curb-Stomp Battle: Goes down instantly to the Pacifier right after her husband.
Fastball Special: Josie's main battle tactic when fighting alongside Steve. She lifts him, he punches and lets gravity accelerate his hits.
Fights Like a Normal: Will mentions in the opening that she's skilled in hand-to-hand combat.
Flight: Supersonic, to be specific.
Flying Brick: When teamed up with her husband, who she literally carries into battle. And if you think about it, pretty effortlessly carrying Kurt Russell while flying at speed must make her notably stronger than she looks.
Good Parents: Josie is much more accepting of Will's lack of powers and cares more about his life as a whole. This is best shown that even after learning that her son inherited his father's strength, she is still cross at him for getting in a fight that nearly destroyed the cafeteria.
Hidden Depths: She's mentioned to be a pinball aficionado, and there's a machine themed after her and her husband in the Sanctum.
High-School Sweethearts: She and Steve met at Sky High. They're Happily Married since.
Ms. Fanservice: As seen above, her costume strongly emphasizes her cleavage.
Only Sane Man: As mentioned, she tries to keep a lid on all the weird things that go on in the Stronghold house.
Satellite Character: Isn't nearly as important to the story as her husband is.
Spanner in the Works: In the backstory, her appearance in Royal Pain's lair thwarts the villain's attempt to pacify The Commander and Mr. Boy, causing a fight that ended with the Pacifier being destroyed, putting Royal Pain's plan on ice... for 17 years.
Supercouple: In-Universe. The Commander and Jetstream are individually highly revered heroes. Together, nearly everyone is in awe at them.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: She and Steve inviting Gwen to dinner turns out to be the impetus for everything that goes wrong in the film, both the mundane and the fantastic.
Women Are Wiser: It's stated she handles the scientific side of the Strongholds' superhero career, and also acts as a voice of reason to her husband and son.

Principal Powers

Played by: Lynda Carter

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/powers_6.jpg

"Comets, away!"

Sky High’s head teacher, with the ability to transform into a ball of light. She’s first seen introducing the freshmen to the school prior to Power Placement, and also shunts Will and Warren off to detention following their fateful cafeteria brawl. Probably the most “normal” of the Sky High staff seen, she’s long since been desensitized to the wackiness of her subordinates.

Actor Allusion: At one point says "I'm not Wonder Woman", alluding to Lynda Carter's best-known role.
Adults Are Useless: She's pretty ineffective at regulating both the Hero-Sidekick tensions and actual supervillain attacks.
Ambiguously Human: According to her profile◊, she was the one who created the Grand Canyon. Either this means the Grand Canyon in this universe was created very recently by Principal Powers, or her powers give her the Longevity Treatment, or she's Not Quite Human. Her power being named "Astro Comet" might hint at the fact that the latter is correct. Or she might have just gotten her powers from the comet that created the Grand Canyon. The wording is unclear.
Ball of Light Transformation: She can turn into a ball of light called an "astro comet" on the film's website. According to her profile, it's an actual comet.
Big Good: As the highest-ranked teacher in the story, though she doesn't really play a large role in the film.
Casting Gag: Lynda Carter is best known for playing Wonder Woman in the 1970s TV series.
More Expendable Than You: She gets Pacified at the climax because she wants to get the kids out of the gym first.
Ms. Exposition: Her opening speech informs the incoming freshmen about the school and Power Placement.
Reasonable Authority Figure: She's not a bad person and cares about her students, though she's definitely willing to discipline them.
Shout-Out: After resisting it the entire movie, she says "I'm not Wonder Woman, you know" while chiding the imprisoned villain kids for their actions, as a doffing of the hat to Lynda Carter's most famous role.
Stern Teacher: Has shades of this when sticking people in detention, understandably.
What a Senseless Waste of Human Life: Nobody actually dies, but she says something similar to this when chiding the villain kids for throwing away all their potential at the denouement.

Mr. Boy

Jonathan Boy (formerly All-American Boy)

Played by: Dave Foley

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mr_boy.jpg

“Why, without Hero Support, there wouldn’t be any heroes! Alright there’d probably be heroes, but they’d be very lonely! Lonely heroes indeed!”

Formerly All-American Boy, sidekick to The Commander, a now thoroughly past his prime Jonathan Boy is the homeroom teacher to the freshman Sidekick class. Seemingly completely forgotten by his old partner, to the point that Will didn’t even know he existed, Mr. Boy tries his best to spin the sidekick profession as a noble trade, but is transparently sad, lonely, and insecure. His powers are unknown, but according to him he “still does a little freelance.”

Butt-Monkey: Falls victim to a lot of slapstick, including being picked on by Speed and Lash.
Camp Straight: He talks about superhero fashion and is generally kind of swishy, but he's also still pining away for Josie DeMarco, the prettiest girl in school.
Comedic Sociopathy: Not as much as his pals Boomer and Medulla, but he seems to find the idea of using a real person rather than a mannequin for Save the Citizen amusing.
Dying Declaration of Love: Not fatal, but he attempts to confess to an already de-aged Josie before being pacified himself.
"JOSIE! I'VE ALWAYS- [screams]"
Forgotten Fallen Friend: He's not dead, at least not physically, but he's definitely fallen on hard times and his old partner has nearly forgotten his existence. The alternate opening shows that Steve and Josie abandoned him, still tied up, after defeating Royal Pain.
Kid Sidekick: Was billed as this despite being the same age as his hero. Poor guy.
The Mentor: Takes on this role to the sidekick kids, with as much enthusiasm as he can muster (which isn't a lot).
Riddle for the Ages: Just what is his power, anyway? And why does Steve barely remember him in the present?
Pet the Dog: Jonathan gets recognized by Steve Stronghold for his good teaching to the sidekicks after the climax.
Sad Clown: He's pretty goofy, but it's a transparent mask for his numerous insecurities.
Steven Ulysses Perhero: "Boy" is his actual last name.
Super Zeroes: To an ever greater extent than Zach, as it's not apparent if he has any powers at all. The official website simply gives the evasive answer of "super-helpfulness." Unless they meant that literally.
Undying Loyalty: Towards both Steve and Josie. Somewhat deconstructed too, as he worked very hard for both of them but neither seemed to appreciate him for it.
Unrequited Love Lasts Forever: His high school crush on Josie hasn't gone away after thirty years.
Unwilling Suspension: He and Steve were subject to this by Royal Pain in the alternate opening. Josie freed Steve but forgot about him.
Utility Belt: Teaches his students how to use these.

Mr. Medulla

Played by: Kevin McDonald

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/medulla_58.jpg

“Dreadful technique! You’ve confused rays with beams! D! Minus! I'd give you an F, but that would only mean having to see you in summer school!”

Sky High’s deadpan, eccentric, and very, very mad science teacher, a superintelligent telepath with a literally swelled head. He’s friends with Mr. Boy and Boomer, is known to torment his students with green rocks, owns a jetpack instead of a car, and formally introduces Will and Gwen to each other when they’re paired up for his class, setting the stage for drama both mundane and fantastic.

All There in the Manual: The official website says he's telepathic in addition to superintelligent.
Berserk Button: Never confuse rays with beams in his class, or he'll freeze you solid...or at least give you a D minus.
Brainy Baby: He retains his adult intelligence after being Pacified, which enables him to reverse the device's polarity and return everyone to their proper ages.
Comedic Sociopathy: Let's see, he freezes underperforming students solid, exposes others to Green Rocks that make them faint, and agrees with Mr. Boy that subjecting a real person to Save the Citizen is a funny idea.
Dr. Brainpart: Named after the medulla oblongata, a part of the brain stem.
Green Rocks: Has some of these in his classroom that he torments his students with.
Kavorka Man: Despite being a nerdy mad scientist with an enormous head, when the aforementioned double date is shown, he's not only being fawned over by the evil sister, but has stolen the good one from Boomer as well!
Mad Scientist: Semi-benevolent. And "Mad Science" is actually a subject taught at Sky High, and he's the teacher.
Medulla: Rays! From the silliness of the Shrink Ray to the devastation of the Death Ray, these are the very foundations of Mad Science.
My Brain Is Big: Just see the picture. It's still the case in baby form.
Odd Friendship: You wouldn't expect a quirky science teacher and a Jerkass coach to get along, but Boomer's his best bud.
Telepath: Stated to be one by supplemental materials, but never actually shown.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: You wouldn't think pairing up a new student with the girl he's sweet on for science class would lead to massive drama down the line, but that's exactly what happens when Medulla introduces Will and Gwen.

Coach Boomer

Coach Tommy "Boomer" Boomowski

Played by: Bruce Campbell

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/boomer_5.jpg

“My word is law. My judgment is final. So there will be no whiner-babies.”

Formerly the C-list hero “Sonic Boom”, Boomer’s career of professional heroics didn’t work out and now he’s stuck teaching gym at his old alma mater, something he transparently resents. He’s in charge of Power Placement, whereby incoming freshmen are sorted into the Hero or Sidekick courses, and makes no secret of his distaste for the latter class. His best friend is Medulla, and his power is, as his name implies, a sonic scream.

'80s Hair: He had a mullet in his yearbook photo.
Comedic Sociopathy: Gives a little evil chuckle when things start getting painful during the Save the Citizen match.
Everyone Has Standards: He's a horrible teacher with a seemingly compulsive habit of being downright abusive to most of his students, but when push comes to shove, he's not willing to see them in actual mortal danger. When Royal Pain begins enacting her plan, he immediately rushes to the kids' defense.
Fantastic Caste System: He's the face and enforcer of Sky High's rigged system.
Fixing the Game: At least according to Steve, he's been known to deliberately send the children of more successful heroes to Sidekick class as a form of Revenge by Proxy.
Hate Sink: Downplayed. As the face of the Hero-Sidekick prejudice that drives the story's conflict, he's definitely a detestable person. He turns out to have a more functional moral compass than the three bullies, though.
Jaded Washout: There's a definite indication that his angst over his own failed superhero career drives much of his assholishness.
Jerkass Has a Point: While he's needlessly cruel during the audition, many of the sidekicks have indeed powers of limited utility such as (lightly) glowing, turning into a single guinea pig (and he asked Magenta if she could turn at least into a swarm of guinea pigs before making her into a sidekick), and turning into a beachball.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Despite being a very bad teacher, with a resentment of both Sidekicks and heroes more successful than him, he cares about his students. Best demonstrated at the climax, where he rushes to protect the kids from Royal Pain and gets Pacified for his trouble.
Kick the Dog: Boomer is needlessly nasty to the sidekicks and literally kicks one off the stage when she shapeshifts into a beachball.
Large Ham: It's Bruce Campbell with sonic scream powers; could he be anything else? He doesn't even need the sonic scream to be hammy.
Make Me Wanna Shout: He has a sonic scream to go with his name.
Meaningful Name: Possibly unintentional, but in addition to being a reference to his power, his nickname might be a nod to the Baby Boomer generation, as opposed to Millennials like the protagonists, which fits with Boomer being the "face" of the film's generational conflict theme. He definitely gives off the boomer vibe as well.
More Expendable Than You: Sacrifices himself against Royal Pain to buy the main kids time to escape.
Odd Friendship: With Medulla, as outlined in his entry.
The Resenter: Has shades of this toward Steve, and it's implied this is true toward many more successful heroes.
Shout-Out: Much of his character would seem to be a reference to Bruce Campbell's Star-Making Role, Ash Williams, and his "Boomstick."
Steven Ulysses Perhero: As seen in his yearbook photo, his real name is "Tommy Boomowski."
Unknown Rival: There are some hints he was this to Steve during their school days.

Nurse Spex

Played by: Cloris Leachman

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/spex.jpg

“Like I want to be the one to tell the Commander his son has no powers?”

Sky High’s very elderly and quirky school nurse, with the power of X-ray vision. She patches up Will after Boomer’s attempts to test his nonexistent super strength and flight during Power Placement leave him maimed. She later explains to him how superpower genetics work, including the fact that sometimes a child of superhumans will never inherit powers.

Cloudcuckoolander: The most eccentric of Sky High's female staff members by far.
Cool Old Lady: The oldest member of Sky High's staff seen, to the point that she remembers the other adults when they were teens, and a helpful and quirky person.
Deadpan Snarker: See the quote, which she accompanies by hitting herself on the head with her rubber mallet.
Made of Iron: She's just a little old lady, but she apparently survived being accidentally kicked through a wall by the Commander when he was in school...
Meaningful Name: Her last name, Spex, is a Double Meaning. "Spex" as in specks and spectacles.
Ms. Exposition: Explains Superpowerful Genetics to Will while he's in her office.
Nerd Glasses: A very large, round pair that make her look rather goofy.
X-Ray Vision: Which is definitely helpful in her line of work.

Ron Wilson, Bus Driver

Played by: Kevin Heffernan

“Word of advice, don’t miss the bus, ‘cuz the bus waits for no one!”

Ron Wilson, Bus Driver is, as his name implies, a Sky High bus driver, one of “a handful of highly qualified individuals” provided with the school’s secret location and permitted to drive its state-of-the-art flying buses. He’s also a very rare genetic anomaly – a child of two superhumans born with no powers whatsoever. As such he makes quick friends with Will, to whom he provides a business card and the option of his time whenever Will wants. Like Mr. Boy, Ron has some hints of resentment at his low station, but for the most part he takes genuine pride in what is legitimately a very important job.

Almighty Janitor: On paper he's "just" a bus driver, but by nature of the sort of bus he drives he's also an accomplished pilot. Handy to have around in a fight, too.
Chekhov's Gun: Ron gives Will his business card on his first day of Sky High. Will uses it at the climax to summon him to race to the rescue after he figures out the villains' plan.
The Chosen Many: He describes the Sky High bus drivers, of which he's the only one we see, in this way.
Curb-Stomp Battle: Knocks Stitches' lights out in one hit.
Earn Your Happy Ending: He gets acknowledged as a hero by the Commander and Jetstream after helping save the pacified victims, and then later gets powers (via vat of toxic waste) and a career of defending Maxville from giant robots.
Fanboy: Of the Commander and Jetstream, which he transfers to their son.
I Just Want to Be Special: Thanks to being a Muggle Born of Mages, he actively seeks out opportunities to be a hero. He gets his chance in the epilogue, compliments of a vat of toxic waste.
Jumped at the Call: He's actively looking for calls to jump at, but the world hasn't quite obliged him yet. He finally gets it when Will calls on him to go take him to Sky High, allowing him to stop Stitches, and later lands a job defending the city from giant robots after gaining powers through a vat of toxic waste.
Muggle Born of Mages: His parents were both super humans, making his powerlessness a genetic anomaly. In fact, he's the only such example Nurse Spex has ever encountered in her long career.
Nice Guy: Quite possibly the nicest in the cast.
Older Sidekick: Fills this role to Will.
Sad Clown: Not as pronounced as Mr. Boy, but there are definite hints his enthusiasm for his station in life is a mask for insecurity with it.
Sizeshifter: He gains this ability in the epilogue after falling into a vat of toxic waste, and uses it to grow giant to defend Maxville from killer robots.
Tranquil Fury: As seen when he sees Stitches driving one of his precious buses at the climax.
Undying Loyalty: It's not explored much, but he seems to have this for the school and, of course, its students.

Mr. Grayson (MAJOR UNMARKED SPOILERS)

Mr. Grayson

Played by: Jim Rash

^{Click here to see him as Stitches}

"You're not that kid with the six arms, are you?"

Gwen's stern widower father and the only parent other than the elder Strongholds to physically appear; he shows he's none too impressed with his daughter's latest flame after Will walks her home from dinner with his parents. He later chaperones at the climactic Homecoming dance. According to Gwen, he's a former Sidekick who retired some time after the death of his wife.

In truth, this is a load of hokey. His true identity is Stitches, a sycophantic, jester's bauble-clad supervillain who was a known associate of Royal Pain prior to her accidental regression. He vanished after his employer's supposed demise, only to reappear 17 years later in the service of the cloaked mastermind—who is Royal Pain regrown and wishes to steal the Pacifier for their Evil Plan. Stitches' antics frequently aggravate his boss, leading the mastermind to throttle him until he screams "Uncle".

Amazing Technicolor Population: As Stitches, his skin is grey.
Bald of Evil: He's bald in the modern day while masquerading as Gwen's father.
Boyfriend-Blocking Dad: Comes off as overprotective and perhaps even somewhat controlling to his daughter, given that he can get her to leave her boyfriend and come into the house just by jerking his head toward it, and is concerned that said boyfriend might have six arms that he could use to get too handsy.
Butt-Monkey: The mastermind subjects him to comedic throttling quite frequently. He also gets his lights knocked out by an overweight bus driver.
Catchphrase: Whenever he gets strangled, he shouts "Uncle! Uncle! Uncle!"
Chekhov's Gunman: He appears in two brief scenes, once after Will walks Gwen home and again at Homecoming. He's not exactly the sort of person you'd figure to be a supervillain at first glance...
Co-Dragons: With Penny. He's the actual second-in-command, while she's the best fighter.
Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: His diagonally-striped tie is grey, green, purple, and yellow. This doubles as Foreshadowing since his suit is greenish-grey while Royal Pain wears a purple and yellow costume.
Dragon Their Feet: Sort of. He's the last villain standing and attempts to get away with the de-aged superheroes, only to bump into Ron Wilson, who punches his lights out in one hit.
Four Eyes, Zero Soul: "Zero soul" is a bit much, but he's definitely an imposing fellow whose half-moon spectacles give the impression of looking down on people. The "zero soul" part is later played straight given certain revelations about him.
Laughably Evil: His constant suffering under his boss always elicits a chuckle from the auidence.
The Man in Front of the Man: He is technically the architect of the Evil Plan in the modern day, but it's possible he was acting under failsafe instructions from Sue. Either way, he raised Gwen to carry out the scheme and is quite content with being her henchman.
Monster Clown: His costume is a demonic-looking jester.
Mysterious Watcher: Joins his boss in observing the Strongholds.
Nerd Glasses: As Mr. Grayson, he constantly sports a pair of half-moon spectacles.
Older Sidekick: Zig-Zagged. It's unknown what he and Sue's age-gap originally was, but her being de-aged and his Promotion to Parent for her means this trope is in effect.
Practically Joker: He is a villain who carries a purple jester theme and giggles constantly. Ironically, being the minion to Royal Pain instead makes him somewhat of a gender-flipped Harley Quinn expy.
Psycho Supporter: A pathetic, evil man who'll do anything his boss asks him.
Purely Aesthetic Glasses: Mr. Grayson doesn't actually need his glasses, as shown whenever he's dressed up as Stitches since Stitches is never seen wearing them.
Secret Identity: He's Mr. Grayson—Gwen's geeky-looking father. Hence why these profiles are grouped together.
Servile Snarker: Has shades of this despite usually being cowed by his boss. At one point, he tries to get the mastermind to buy him an Xbox.
Small Role, Big Impact: He's "only" a henchman, but by raising Gwen for 17 years while preparing her to complete Sue Tenny's plan, he set the film's events into motion.
So Proud of You: Villainous variation, as he's positively gleeful at what he's raised his "daughter" to be.
Super Zeroes: Like Mr. Boy, it's never actually stated what his power is. Probably not much of anything useful in direct combat, as the powerless Ron Wilson, Bus Driver KOs him with one punch.
The Svengali: Specifically of the weaker-willed variety that ultimately becomes dependent on their "creation."
Sycophantic Servant: Oh, so very much. He not only raised his de-aged boss as his own, but rather than become the Big Bad himself, he willingly stepped down to being her henchman when she came of age.
The Ugly Guy's Hot Daughter: He's not exactly hideous, but his glasses, dorky sweater-vest, and short height definitely don't lend the impression of someone who could spawn a statuesque knockout like Gwen. Sure enough, she isn't biologically his.
Undying Loyalty: Say what you will about him, but he will follow Royal Pain to the bitter and bloody end. He actually raised her as his own daughter after she was de-aged and willingly takes orders from her in the present.
Villainous Harlequin: A truly depraved little man who dresses like a jester, though he's definitely not murderous enough to be an out-and-out Monster Clown.
Walking Spoiler: The revelations about his character tie into those of the Big Bad and of the film's big plot twist.

Baron Battle

Barron Battle/Baron Battle

Played by: Steven Strait (in photo)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/baron_battle.jpg

“Speaking of villains, there’s one of the worst.”

An old school rival of Steve’s from Sky High, who grew up to be one of his greatest enemies and one of the world’s most dangerous supervillains. Steve managed to capture him and he was sentenced to four consecutive life sentences, but not before swearing revenge. He is also Warren’s father, and his legacy hangs grimly over his troubled son.

Alliterative Name: Barron Battle.
Ambiguous Situation: The nature of his relationship with Warren's unnamed mother is unknown and unspecified because all that is said about his son's parentage is that the boy has a superhero mother and a supervillain father. Was it a case of Dating Catwoman? Did they have a relationship before he became a villian? Or, given Baron Battle's reputation, was it something more nefarious?
Arch-Enemy: Was this to the Commander, until he was shipped off to jail.
Dating Catwoman: His wife (or ex-wife) is a hero, and he's a villain.
The Dreaded: Nothing good and a whole lot of bad is said about this guy.
Greater-Scope Villain: Said to have been one of the baddest of the bad, dwarfing the current story's villains, and swore he'd have his revenge, but all we see of him in the movie is his yearbook photo.
Identical Grandson: He apparently looked quite a bit like Warren in his teenage years... though that may be because the photo is Steven Strait with a different hairstyle and glasses.
Longer-Than-Life Sentence: Four consecutive life sentences, no chance of parole until after his third life.
Meaningful Name: Barren battle. Also doubles as Theme Naming.
Noodle Incident: We never learn precisely what he did to earn those four life sentences.
Red Herring: Hearing the other characters talk about him one might think he's a good candidate for the identity of the mastermind. He isn't.
Steven Ulysses Perhero: He just dropped one "r."
The Unseen: The photo up there is all we get.
Villain of Another Story: He's long arrested when the story takes place, and only factors into Warren's personal troubles.
We Will Meet Again: Apparently swore this to the Commander before he was carted off to jail.

Characters / Sky High (2005)

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