Although the series does not seem to delve so deeply into its characters, there are several of them that are still notable.
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Villains and Antagonists:
Zak/The Blue Guy
Zak's appearance in the TFR 5 minigames.
- Invincible Villain: Zak is this to the bone. He has an entire children's entertainment emporium at his command, giving him the perfect opportunities to give the CIA what it wants. Because the CIA always covers up its misdeeds, it can be assumed that it is even someone high-ranking within the organization. Overall, this guy is almost unstoppable (emphasis on the "almost").
- Shell-Shocked Veteran: Initially, what led Zak to be what he is was the Second World War, an event that would mark him with the death of his best friend and his severe injuries while trying to save him, leaving Zak unconscious for an indefinite period of time until he recovered.
- From Nobody to Nightmare: Zak had originally created Joe and Toxic's Diner as a genuine way to warm children's hearts, as he also wanted to separate himself from the whole CIA military thing. Despite this, his (very likely) PTSD would make him kill 7/8 children. Although he was no longer in the CIA, the latter would give him a hand, covering up what happened and preventing Zak's life from being ruined, making, from now on, Zak the greatest ally the organization could have.
- Start of Darkness: The murder of the children at Joe and Toxic's Diner and his reintegration into the CIA would be the significant events that would begin Zak's descent into madness.
- Artistic License – History: The official chronology mentions that he was recruited in 1932, when World War II began in 1939.
- The Cracker: Manipulate the animatronics during TFR 2, TSSAA 1 and TSSAA 2.
- Karma Houdini: He gets his way in practically every game. Until TFR 4, which prior to the current gameplay, Nightmare Joe already took care of it.
- Dark Lord on Life Support: Because Zak's health was deteriorating, in 1995 the CIA would provide him with a device that would help him prolong his life to 150 years.
- Playing Possum: He does so in 1996 when he is suddenly attacked by the souls of the children of Austin's. It seems that military knowledge is still helpful, right?
- Expy: From the Purple Guy, obviously.
- Blue Means Smart One: He is able to get his way with almost anything and has a variety of technical and mechanical skills.
- Renaissance Man: Creator of advanced animatronics, probably at the forefront of the animatronic industry. CIA agent, probably high ranking in the organization. A great businessman, with his own children's restaurants. Great knowledge in mechatronics and animatronics, being able to modify robots that are not even his own brand as if it were nothing. Extensive military knowledge from when he was a soldier, used in the torture methods in the basement of Ellie's and to prevent his almost imminent death by the victims in Austin's.
- Big Bad: I think it has been made very clear with the Video Game page and with what is seen in this section.
- Call-Back: Zak is attacked by 5 souls, leaving him seriously injured (although surviving). Does it remind you of the situation of a certain purple person?
- Too Dumb to Live: Let's look at it like this. Zak had already finished all this dirty work in 2004, it would not be until 2017 that the rumors would resurface thanks to the original Fazbear's Fright and the Reborn, later, Zak would be in charge of closing Fazbear's Horror Diner in 2025. Congratulations! You're done with everything, people are no longer interested in Fazbear or Joe because they already saw that it only brings problems, so... What was the need to create Joe's Nightmare Attraction? While one might believe that perhaps he needed money for the life support machine, it's more likely (and the official chronology also seems to imply this) that he just did it out of nostalgia and curiosity, everyone was opening attractions, so why wouldn't he? Anyway, opening this place and bringing in Nightmare Joe would be what would finish him off.
- The Kingslayer: He was one of the main people involved (and directly, being one of those who handled the weapons) in the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
- Villain with Good Publicity: It can be assumed that thanks to all the support from the CIA to keep Zak's image clean, allowing him to open as many establishments as he wants.
- The Unfought: He's this throughout the entire saga. We never get a real confrontation before him, unlike other variations of Purple Guy, this guy doesn't come back in a zombified form or something. And it's not just that, we don't have direct contact with Zak, not even a phone call, it's absolutely nothing. However, the only exception would be in ELLIE'S, where he returns in his ghostly form.
The Hatman
Fritz Smith
Fritz's appearance in the TFR 1 minigames.
- Adaptational Villainy: While in FNaF 2 this is a simple guard who is only at Freddy's one night, in TFR 1 he returns as the main villain, being the one behind the disappearances of children in Fazbear's Fright Reborn.
- Ascended Extra: Due to what was previously described, this trope also applies to him.
- Gotta Kill Them All: The newspapers and Stan's testimony imply that Fritz's victims were premeditated and specifically selected, in fact, Stan realizes that he is his next victim because he was able to read his kill list.
- Instant Death Stab: Stan snatches his own knife to attack him.
- Driven to Villainy: It is very likely that Fritz did not become evil out of nowhere, his experience at Freddy's in '87 has probably left him with a mark, the same mark that is making him "repeat" the events he experienced back then.
- Big Bad Wannabe: Despite being shown as the "Big Bad" merely in TFR 1, his role is overshadowed by his own death (arrest in Remastered) and the subsequent introduction of Zak. As if that were not enough, his own words at the end of the Remastered (when he is arrested) imply that he was just imitating what Purple Guy did:
- The Man Behind the Man: Fazbear's CO applies this on Fritz. The ending of Fritz's arrest mentions that new evidence could suggest that Fazbear's had a hand in Fritz's mess. With this it can be understood that Fazbear's hired him to make people stop having interest in Fazbear's past, in this case, Fritz would kill the children to cause problems at the attraction and make it close.
Nightmare Joe
Protagonists:
Stan McRick
Stan's appearance in the TFR 1 minigames.
- Badass: It's usual that in FNaF fangames, the protagonist is totally useless in the face of short and medium-term events, or is just a total coward. Stan is the exception, he actually KILLS the culprit of everything in TFR 1 (Fritz Smith) in self-defense.
- Murder Is the Best Solution: He applies this to Fritz Smith, a somewhat curious change, because in the Remastered he only gets him arrested, however, in the original version this trope happens.
- Put on a Bus: This happens during TFR 1. Although he initially seemed to be a one-time protagonist (just like the rest of them in TFR), this does not happen with Stan, as he returns in TFR 4 as the protagonist.
- Mysterious Past: Nothing is really known about Stan's past, does he have a real reason for returning to Joe's Nightmare Attraction? Is it just for the money? Or for something else? However, if you reinterpret this character with ELLIE'S maybe this problem will be solved.
- All There in the Manual: As mentioned in the previous trope, if you make use of ELLIE'S, Stan's past could be reinterpreted. If you've already read the main page of the video game, you'll have noticed that in ELLIE'S one of the victims in Zak's shooting survived, right? What if this surviving victim is Stan? And what, in fact, could Emma be a person close to him, if not directly his sister? This gives a 180° turn to the character, changing that mysterious past for a broken man who has not been able to turn the page on the tragedy and, despite the years, continues searching for the truth.
TFR 3 Protagonists
Theorized Protagonists
- TFR 2 doesn't offer many real clues about the identity of its protagonist, however, there is the possibility that it's Jeremy Fitzgerald. A character from FNaF 2 had already been introduced to us in the previous game, why wouldn't Jeremy either? This would explain why the Insanity bar exists in the first place, the '87 Bite incident caused aftereffects regarding the trauma with the animatronics. Why would Jeremy be in a Fazbear-related attraction? Probably trying to search the truth of the incidents related to the company.
- TFR 5 also doesn't show a protagonist, but you would think that the guard would be the next owner and founder of Fredbear's Family Diner, buying the rights and technology to Joe and Toxic's Diner's springlock suits to implement them in this other business. Although, this is more of a headcanon than a true theory.
- TSSAA (1, 2, and the canceled 3) don't seem to emphasize their protagonist, probably because he's not relevant... right? There is a possibility that it's Fritz Smith himself. In TSSAA 2, The Hatman appears to speak directly to the protagonist about Zak being an "unholy spirit", and the canceled TSSAA 3 would emphasize the protagonist's nightmares. What if Fritz Smith was, indirectly, tormented by The Hatman and that's what motivated him to give "the vibe back" to Fazbear's Fright Reborn? There is also the possibility that the protagonist is Stan McRick, but narratively he seems to be better at Fritz.
Others:
Emma
TFR 3 Phone Guy
- Seeker Archetype: This character tries to search the basement of Joe's (which, at the same time, is Ellie's basement) for things related to the predecessor restaurant, Ellie's Milkshakes and Fries, recording everything he finds in his calls.
- Ignorance Is Bliss: It was already strange to gradually verify that the rumors about Joe's and Ellie's were probably real, what ended up terrifying Phone Guy was finding an image of The Hatman at the back of the animatronic stage at Ellie's and documents on its nature, terrifying him to the point of making the excuse that he needed to go to the doctor rather than continue explaining his discoveries.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Despite the whole plot of Phone Guy trying to discover the truth, after "going to the doctor", we never hear anything more from him. However, knowing that The Hatman is still out there, and TFR 3 itself suggests that it is still lurking, it is more than likely that Phone Guy has met a terrible fate for trying to stick his nose where he shouldn't.
John F. Kennedy
- Real Life: Yep, it's that John Kennedy.
- Defiant to the End: Kennedy gave the CIA quite a bit of trouble since he became president, cutting funding to Ellie's in an attempt to get the experiments to stop. Too bad this wouldn't be taken very well by the CIA.
The CIA
- Greater-Scope Villain: Although the CIA does not have as much participation in the direct actions in the Joe Family Company establishments (Zak has that role), said organization does have participation in the general view. They were the ones who schooled Zak in madness by initially reaching out to him to hide what happened at Joe and Toxic's Diner, but giving him the task of killing and capturing more children. They were also in charge of hiding rumors and information that could compromise the organization and those involved. Likewise, they are the ones who indirectly carried out much of the events of TFR, such as Zak preventing rumors from resurfacing in TFR 2, or asking for the capture of more children during TFR 3.
- The Kingslayer: They were responsible for assassinating John F. Kennedy along with Zak, for trying to stop the organization's operations.
- The Men in Black: They are constantly keeping secret all information related to Joe's and what happens inside their restaurants.
- Government Conspiracy: They seek the creation of super soldiers, even if it leads to the death and disappearance of dozens of children and adults. Anyone who tries to get involved may not come out alive, they were even able to get rid of the president.
