These are the characters that appear in the Super Solvers games:
The Super Solver
Our protagonist. A mysterious detective clad in body-obscuring clothes who constantly foils the plans of Morty Maxwell.
- Ambiguous Gender: So many of their features are obscured that it's impossible to tell.
- Eye-Obscuring Hat: A red cap, which is one of their many body-obscuring articles of clothing.
- Featureless Protagonist: Nearly their entire body is obscured by their clothing, making it near impossible to discern information such as their gender, age, etc.
- Taken even further in Operation Neptune. We never get to see inside the submarine, and thus are unable to see the protagonist at all.
- Slightly averted in Treasure Mathstorm! where the Super Solver has only one body part exposed; a big, round, and vaguely tan-colored nose. Which is ironic since they spend the majority of that game in a cold snowy mountain, which would give them incentive to keep their face fully covered.
- The Hero: The main protagonist, and the one to foil Morty's evil plans at every turn.
- Primary-Color Champion: They're the protagonist, and they wear a red cap, a blue trenchcoat, and yellow shorts.
- Science Hero: In Gizmos & Gadgets, the Super Solver learns about the science of vehicles and aircraft to save the Shady Glen Science Center.
- Silent Protagonist: Played straight most of the time. It's a little less clear in the Windows version of Midnight Rescue, though. When confronting the robot hiding Morty Maxwell, the Super Solver points at him, while the narrator's voice says "I accuse you of being the Master of Mischief!" Maybe the narrator is just speaking for the Super Solver, or maybe the Super Solver is the narrator.
- Weaponized Camera: In Midnight Rescue, the Super Solver's main tool is a camera. It serves two functions: One, to take photos of Morty's robots to gain clues on which robot Morty is hiding inside. Two, to zap the robots and make them disappear whenever they try to attack you.
Morty Maxwell
The self-proclaimed Master of Mischief, and the main antagonist of the series.
- Alliterative Name: Morty Maxwell, the Master of Mischief.
- Arch-Enemy: To the Super Solver.
- Big Bad: The source of all the trouble throughout the entire series... except Operation Neptune, which doesn't have a villain. Whenever there's an evil plot in this series, Morty is behind it.
- Card-Carrying Villain: He seems very conscious and proud of his villainy.
- The Chew Toy: A common Running Gag throughout the series is him telling the robots about how they can attack the Super Solver, only for the robots to use said attack on him. He also usually gets defeated in very comical ways. And because of all the trouble he causes, it's pretty funny to watch.
- Creepy High-Pitched Voice: A man with a very shrill voice, and he's the main villain of the series.
- Dastardly Whiplash: Thanks to his sinister mustache and his cartoonishly villainous personality and behavior, he comes across as one of these in the clothes of a Mad Scientist.
- Einstein Hair: Has very frazzled hair. It's brown, but graying at the temples.
- Evil Eyebrows: Has noticably sinister-looking black eyebrows.
- Evil Is Hammy: His dialogue is very dramatic, and he's a very nasty person.
- Evil Is Petty: In the main games, his schemes mainly consist of trying to take control of small establishments, like a TV studio and a toy factory. Also, his robots seem designed to be minor annoyances to the Super Solver rather than actually trying to hurt or kill them.
- Evil Laugh: He does this a few times in Mission: T.H.I.N.K, such as in the Villain Opening Scene, but in other games, he doesn't do it at all.
- Evil Plan: He has a different one in each game, but they usually boil down to taking over a certain building for some selfish purpose.
- Evil Sorcerer: In the spinoff games, which focus more on fantasy. He still has some hints of this in the main games, though.
- Evil Sounds Deep: Usually averted, as he has a shrill, high-pitched voice in most games. However, Spellbound! inexplicably gives him a much deeper voice.
- Harmless Villain: His schemes are usually meant to fulfill some selfish desire (for example, taking over a science institution just to keep people from learning more than him) rather than anything catastrophic. Also, his robots are designed only to get in the Super Solver's way, not to actually hurt them. In the Windows version of Midnight Rescue, he specifically says that he wants the robots to "keep the Super Solver busy" rather than trying to kill them or anything.
- High Collar of Doom: The collar of his lab coat is usually turned up to give off this effect.
- It's All About Me: His massive ego is shown many times:
- In Midnight Rescue, many of the reading passages are essays written by him when he was in school, or other documents about him. He even goes as far as to specifically point this out
, and sounds quite proud about it. - In Gizmos & Gadgets, his main motivation for taking over the technology center is simply to keep anyone from becoming smarter than him. Also, if you look closely, you'll see that Morty's blueprints for the plan are labelled "MORTY'S (THAT'S ME) BIG PLAN".
- In Midnight Rescue, many of the reading passages are essays written by him when he was in school, or other documents about him. He even goes as far as to specifically point this out
- Karma Houdini: No matter how many times the Super Solver foils Morty's plans, he never gets any actual comeuppance for his antics.
- Kids Are Cruel: The readings in Midnight Rescue show that he was a prankster even as a child, though he seems to have been a Jerk with a Heart of Gold back then.
- Laughably Evil: While he's clearly a nasty person, he is largely Played for Laughs.
- Mad Scientist: A textbook example. He's a crazy, villainous guy who wears a lab coat and builds all sorts of evil robots and machines.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Not only does he have the first name Morty, his nickname (which is his only name in the spinoffs) is "The Master of Mischief", which is clearly not the name of someone with good intentions.
- The Napoleon: Implied. We never see him next to any other people for comparison (except the Super Solver, whose age is ambiguous). However, considering his proportions (the sizes of his head compared to his body), it seems likely that he falls into this category. He certainly has the rude, authoritative personality to go with it.
- Obviously Evil: His design combines Mad Scientist with Dastardly Whiplash, he has an army of sinister robots, and he likes to take control of different buildings around town.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: In the spinoff games, he is only referred to as "The Master of Mischief", which is just a nickname for him in the main games.
- Psychopathic Manchild: Tellingly, the first game has him attempt to take revenge on his old middle school. Apparently, he's held some grudges since then, as his teachers and even some of his classmates did not seem to share his sick sense of humor.
- Robot Master: Usually has a group of robots to do his evil bidding. In Mission T.H.I.N.K, he reveals that he built his new robot minions in the game from broken parts that he "rescued... from the recycling center." But other than that, it's never revealed how or where he gets the resources to build his robots.
- Smug Snake: He has a very haughty, school-bully-like attitude, and it's clear that he thinks highly of himself despite being incompetent and manchildish.
- 13 Is Unlucky: The fact that his name begins with M, the thirteenth letter of the alphabet, is noted in one question in Midnight Rescue.
- Took a Level in Jerkass:
- The readings in Midnight Rescue! show that as a child, Morty had unusual interests and a love of harmless pranks, but he seemed fairly well-adjusted, and had several Pet the Dog moments towards his classmates. His morality seems to have gone downhill with those people out of his life.
- His plans in the Treasure tetrology are much more disruptive than in the other games.
- Villain: Exit, Stage Left: After being caught in the DOS Midnight Rescue, he disappears in a puff of smoke. The Windows version, and some other games in the series avert this by having him defeated, albeit in comical ways.
- Villains Love Entertainment: Morty has displayed a love of games and contests throughout the series. This is best shown in Gizmos & Gadgets and Mission T.H.I.N.K., where he challenges the player to a series of races and board games respectively, promising to relinquish the buildings he has taken control of if the player can beat him in every level of the games. Morty sometimes shows Villain Respect for the Super Solver, implying that he enjoys competing with them, but other times, he turns out to be a Sore Loser. Also, in Spellbound, he participates in a spelling bee. This seems to be Morty's only game where he's not doing anything overtly evil.note
- Villainous Breakdown: In almost every game, he freaks out and protests whenever the Super Solver wins.
Robotic Paintbrushes (Buffo, Lectro, Pogo, Rollo, and Turbo)
Morty Maxwell's minions in Midnight Rescue. They are 5 robots with paintbrushes on their feet/undersides to cover the Shady Glen school with disappearing paint.- Bandit Mook: If they bump into the Super Solver, they steal film - which is a limited resource and important to solving the mystery.
- The Bus Came Back: They all come back to compete against you in Spellbound!
- Letter Motif: All of their names end with an "o".
- Machine Monotone: In Spellbound!, they all gain monotone, electronic-sounding voices. The pitch of the voice varies depending on which robot it is, but they all still speak in monotone.
- Non-Lethal K.O.: If the Super Solver is hit by one of their thrown items, they lose "time off the clock," implying this happens.
- Quirky Miniboss Squad: A group of minions who confront the Super Solver throughout the game to cause trouble.
- Silent Antagonist: In Midnight Rescue, they make loud mechanical sounds whenever they appear, but have no actual dialogue or vocal sounds. Averted in their appearance in Spellbound!
- Slasher Smile: All five of them have unnervingly devilish grins.
- The Smurfette Principle: Unlike the other four robots, Pogo has a vaguely feminine design, especially with what looks like a skirt near her brush.
- Suddenly Voiced: Unlike in their previous appearance, they can speak in Spellbound!
- Theme Naming: All five are named after different types of paintbrushes, with an "o" added to the end for good measure.
- Buffo's base resembles a floor buffer.
- Lectro is an electric paintbrush.
- Pogo's base is a traditional paintbrush, which makes her bounce as if on a pogo stick.
- Rollo's base is a paint roller.
- Turbo resembles a high-powered, or turbo, spray can.
- Tin-Can Robot: Although they have very humanlike (albeit unchanging) faces, they otherwise look like standard cartoonish robots.
- Troll: In the opening cutscene of Midnight Rescue, Rollo tosses an apple at Morty while he's speaking.
- Villain Teleportation: They seemingly come out of nowhere in the hallways. Sometimes when you enter a room, one of them appears in the room in a puff of smoke.
- Weakened by the Light: The flash of the Super Solver's camera is their only weakness.
Telly
Morty's robot minion in Outnumbered! Telly chases the Super Solver around the halls of the TV station. If you can zap him, he will give you clues on Morty's location, provided you can prove your skill at solving his math questions.- The Bus Came Back: Like the paintbrushes, he comes back in Spellbound!
- Friendly Enemy: He congratulates you when you get his math questions right. There's also a "Drill for Skill" setting, where he helps your math skills by quizzing you for free.
- Literal-Minded: Morty finds this out the hard way in the opening cutscene of the Windows version.
- Soundtrack Dissonance: He gets a rather jolly-sounding theme when he shows up in the Windows version of Spellbound!
- Villain Teleportation: Like the paintbrushes, he can do this.
Livewire
Another robot minion in Outnumbered! Livewire occasionally appears in the rooms of the TV station, and slithers around on the floor trying to zap the Super Solver to drain energy from their remote control.- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Unlike the paintbrush bots and Telly, Livewire does not return for Spellbound! Outnumbered! is its sole appearance.
- Psycho Electro: A scary-looking robot that tries to electrocute you.
- Snakes Are Sinister: Invoked. It's a living electrical wire that looks, and slithers, like a snake.
- Weaksauce Weakness: You can make it go away by zapping it with the remote, the very thing that Livewire is trying to stop you from using in the first place. But either way, it's drained your resources.
Zoom
A friendly dolphin who helps you out in Operation Neptune. Zoom's job is to replenish your oxygen supply when you're running out.- All Animals Are Domesticated: He's apparently been trained to carry your oxygen tank on his back.
- Big Damn Heroes: You'll be happy when he arrives if you're low on fuel.
- Heroic Dolphin: It's no surprise that the sea creature who helps you is a dolphin.
- Truth in Television: Dolphins can't survive at certain depths, so if you're very deep underwater, Zoom won't be able to reach you.
Rusty
One of the Metal Minions in Mission: T.H.I.N.K. Unlike the rest of the Minions, who are cat-like, Rusty is built in the form of a dog. He doesn't like what Morty is doing, and decides to help the Super Solver.
- Animal Jingoism: He's the only "dog" Metal Minion, and helps the Super Solver, while the "cats" are loyal to Morty.
- Heroic Dog: A doglike robot who helps the Super Solver.
- My Species Doth Protest Too Much: He's the only Metal Minion who defects to the Super Solver.
