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A list of characters and their respective tropes in Team StarKid's sci-fi theatrical musical comedy Starship.


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Bug World

    Bug 
Played by: Joey Richter

"I wanna be a Starship Ranger..."

A, well, bug from Bug-World who wants nothing more than to be a Starship Ranger, like the ones he watches in films from a crashed starship outside his hive. When actual Starship Rangers arrive on Bug-World, Bug has to choose which side he really belongs on. When Pincer gives him a chance to become human a la Avatar he takes it, only to later sacrifice his human body to save the Rangers.

    Roach 
Played by: Brant Cox

"Bug! What is your problem? Why don't you ever go for Bugette? She totally wants to tear your head off, and let larvae devour your body! THAT'S EVERY BUG'S DREAM!"

Bug's best friend since they were hatchlings, Roach is perfectly content living the bug lifestyle and doesn't understand why Bug would want more.

  • Expy: Of Sebastian the Crab from The Little Mermaid (1989), with his first big musical number (his verse of "I Wanna Be") trying to persuade Bug to abandon his dreams of humanity (a la "Under the Sea"), and his second one ("Beauty") switching sides to help Bug woo his love interest (a la "Kiss the Girl").
  • Only Sane Man: Only Sane Bug: His whole role is trying to save Bug from his own delusions.
  • Sex Equals Love: Falls in love with the Over Queen after being assigned to mate with her.
  • True Companions: Accepts that Bug has to follow his dreams, even if it means losing him, and even tries to help him win February over on Bug World because he knows Bug loves her.

    Pincer 
Played by: Dylan Saunders (voice and facial puppetry); Nick Lang, Lauren Lopez, Meredith Stepien (claw puppetry); unknown (tail puppetry)

"Now listen to me, my confused little friend— we are friends after all— I used to have my share of doubts and fears, and well, they quite literally almost ate me alive. But no! I took charge! I pushed it to the limit! So you've gotta be strong! Be tough! To coin a phrase... be a man."

A giant scorpion who lives outside the hive, Pincer simply loves humans as meals. When Bug leaves the hive, Pincer lets him take over the brain dead body of a human so he can fulfill his dream and bring him dinner.

    Bugette 
Played by: Lauren Lopez

A caterpillar who wants nothing more than to get alone with Bug... then rip off his head, and place her larvae in his body.

    The Mosquito Brothers 
Played by: Brian Holden (Veeto), Jaime Lyn Beatty (Neato), Jim Povolo (Sweetheart)

A trio of mosquitoes who work for Pincer. They are killed when Up overloads them with blood.

  • Co-Dragons: To Pincer.
  • Non-Indicative Name: They’re collectively called “the Mosquito Brothers” but Sweetheart is stated to be Neeto and Veeto’s sister. She’s also not really a sweetheart, being a villain.
  • Odd Name Out: Sweetheart.

    The Overqueen 
Played by: Jim Povolo

An enormous, seemingly immobile sickening mass of flesh from which all the varied members of the bug species were originally spawned. Also Roach's girlfriend.

Galactic League of Extraterrestrial Exploration (GLEE)

    February 
Played by: Denise Donovan

"Bug, I know I seem like this complicated girl. It's like, I'm a Starship Ranger, but I'm also really pretty. And I like shciency stuff."

The scouting expedition's chief "schience officer", February seems rather... unqualified for being sent to another planet. Or for being a science officer. It turns out that she was selected for the mission due to a lack of gag reflex, to better transport bugs off-world. While on Bug-World, she falls for Bug while blinded by mucus, and shows absolutely no liking toward bugs until she learns Bug's true nature towards the end.

  • All Women Love Shoes: She would much prefer Bug-World if it was filled with shoes.
  • The Ditz: She and Bug make a good pair.
  • Dumb Blonde: Denise Donovan, the only blonde female Starkid regular, is typecast as this.
  • Loves My Alter Ego: February hates bugs, but loves Bug's human form. By the end, she learns to truly love his true form.
  • Valley Girl: A mutated far-future version of this dialect.

    Commander Up 
Played by: Joe Walker

"I just had to learn to kill with my heart!"

Commander Up was a hero of the Galactic League during the Robot War until he received his "famous injury". Since then, Up has had major self-confidence issues and has, in his own words, "lost his balls", becoming a sentimental, worrying, somewhat senile old man.

  • Captain Ersatz: Looks a lot like Old Snake.
  • Cool Old Guy: Clearly an Expy of Old Snake from Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.
  • Cyborg: The entire right side of his body is prosthetic.
  • Dual Wielding: Uses two pistols in combat.
  • A Father to His Men: The doting, permissive kind of father.
  • Good Smoking, Evil Smoking: Up's a badass, so he gets away with smoking cigarettes.
  • Groin Attack: His balls were stuck to his sweaty right half when he was cut in half.
  • Heart Is an Awesome Power: Up learns over the course of the story why this is true in both a literal and figurative sense— his heart compels him to fight harder for his team, but also lets him make human-sized mosquitoes violently explode.
  • Large Ham: In the great Joe Walker tradition.
  • Mama Bear: If you mess with anyone on the team, especially Taz, Up will mess you up.
  • Memetic Badass: In-universe, before his injury, although Taz initially still views him as one.
  • Super-Soldier: Was a straightforward example of one in his prime, but the nature of his cybernetic prosthetics after his most recent disabling injury has greatly compromised his combat ability.
  • Team Dad: Up is this to the Starship Rangers, but his sensitive nature also makes him a...
  • Team Mom: To the point of tucking his "little heroes" in for their daily naptime.

    Taz 
Played by: Lauren Lopez

"You'd better unfudge yourself, or Up will unscrew your head and drop the wishing pennies down your throat. Now take a walk off my knife."

Up's partner back in the war, Taz wants to believe that Up is still the same Super-Soldier from before his injury, but gradually begins to lose her faith in her old friend until he saves her from the Mosquito Brothers.

    Mega-Girl 
Played by: Meredith Stepien

"It looks like you and I will be fast friends. Try to get my good side when I rescue the science officer. That was a joke, because my design is mathematically perfect and symmetrical."

An android who, like all robots, really, really wants to kill humans, but cannot due to an inhibitor chip. However, as she gets to know humans like Tootsie Noodles, it seems like something is starting to make a breakthrough...

  • Action Girl: Well, robot, but you get the idea.
  • A.I. Is a Crapshoot: Like all robots, she just wants to kill humans. Eventually, though, it's subverted.
  • Love Redeems: In this case "Love" is an actual program she downloads from the Internet, but it still has this effect.
  • Last-Name Basis: In Up's impromptu wedding ceremony apparently her full name is "Ultrabeam Mega-Girl", although this may be more of a model designation (or even just the name of the weapon she's armed with) rather than first name.

    Tootsie Noodles 
Played by: Dylan Saunders

"Well, you see, where I come from, Farm-Planet, your first name is what you do, and your last name is what you like. So I'm called Tootsie, on account of my occasional toot, and Noodles, 'cause I like 'em."

A simple minded Farm Boy from... well, Farm-World, Tootsie is not the brightest bulb in the box. After he falls in love with Mega-Girl, he slowly begins to to make her realize that humanity, though completely illogical, is not all bad.

    Junior 
Played by: Brian Holden

"I'm Junior. Maybe you've heard of me?"

The son of the leader of the Galactic League who also happens to be Dr. Space-Claw, Junior is the League's ambassador to the scouting ship. He tries to get the bug eggs to make a private army.

    Krayonder 
Played by: Joe Moses

A headstrong, rather dim Starship Ranger. Basically just Hudson with a different name.

  • Unexplained Recovery: After apparently being squashed and/or bifurcated by Pincer, he shows up at the end with a few bandages and no explanation as to how he survived.
Krayonder: You stabbed me!

    Specs 
Played by: Julia Albain

The Starship Rangers' resident genius.

    Dr. Space Claw 
Played by: Jim Povolo

The most evil villain in the galaxy , head of the Galactic League, and Junior's father.


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