Characters / The Pirates of Dark Water

Character trope page for The Pirates of Dark Water. Beware spoilers, ye swabs!

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The Wraith's Crew

Ren

Voiced by: George Newbern

• Chronic Hero Syndrome: The first episode established how impractically heroic Ren can be: when a friendly dragon orders him to run as he holds off Bloth's crew, Ren can't resist looking back and see the dragon is being overwhelmed. Despite the obvious danger, and the fact that the dragon told him to flee in the first place, Ren charges right back into the fray to try to save the dragon.
• Good Is Dumb: Mostly averted, but Ren is only seventeen and sometimes gets taken for a fool by crafty one-off villains who play on his kindness. Though sometimes, even if he is fooled initially, he manages to turn the tables on them, including Kiroptus, a direct subordinate of the Dark Dweller himself.

• Hidden Backup Prince: Prince Ren was raised by a lighthouse keeper unaware of his true heritage until the first episode. Hiding him was proven a wise move, considering Bloth had killed Ren's father's other heirs.
• Honor Before Reason: He chooses to save Bloth from quicksand in "The Game" when he could have simply abandoned him and been rid of nemesis forever, because doing so would make him no better than Bloth. It ends up being a pragmatic move, since they were in an Enemy Mine situation at the moment and he still needed Bloths's muscle to make it past the Korg.
  • This also bites him hard in the very first episode, when he first meets Bloth. Not long into their conversation, it becomes evident that Bloth is very willing to kill him if he doesn't join his crew, and this is after Ren has realized he's speaking to the man who kept his father prisoner for many years. Ren refuses, boldly proclaiming that the man was his father, because telling your father's jailer who means to take the Treasures of Rule for his own dark reasons that you're his son is a brilliant move. Needless to say, Ren meets the Constrictus pretty soon after...
    Bloth: (gasps) Was he now? And I thought I had eliminated all his heirs...well here's a chance to finish the job!

• Skilled, but Naive: He's acrobatic, knows how to fight, and generally is pretty competent. But it says a lot that he continues to keep an ex-pirate and a proven thief/turncoat around as his crew after they've repeatedly either nearly gotten all of them killed through their personal pursuits or sold out to the enemy. And that's not even getting into him believing that ringing a bell would destroy all of the dark water, keeping a baby Leviathan for a pet after being told its parents may be looking for it, not leaving his sworn enemy to die when he had the chance, etc. Several characters, the aforementioned pirate and thief/turncoat included, have called him out on this.
  King Obric: You may be the son of Primus, but you have a lot to learn about choosing a crew.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Is on the receiving end of this whenever he makes a naive or impetuous choice that endangers his quest, his crew, or generally causes more trouble than was necessary. He also gives these when Ioz, Tula, or Niddler screw up royally.

Tula

Voiced by: Jodi Benson

• Action Girl: Even after she gets her ecomancer abilities, she's still consistently competent and remarkably tough.
• Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Does this at least three times, seemingly for her personal gain, but they ultimately end up being for the benefit of the quest.
• Closer to Earth: Leaving out the ecomancer powers, Tula is the only member of the crew who doesn't manage to screw up The Quest through some personal failing (Ren's innocence, Ioz's greed, Niddler's gluttony)
• Face–Heel Turn: By the final episode, she's totally fed up with having to put up with her male counterparts' (particularly Ioz's) misogyny and joins a tribe of man-hating Deltha Warriors, who then make slaves/prisoners out of Ren and Ioz. Whether or not this was purely so she could get closer to the last Treasure of Rule (which just happened to have been captured by the Delthas) is anyone's guess.
• Lovable Traitor: Tula betrays the crew of the Wraith, twice. The first time, she turns over the Compass and First Treasure of Rule to Bloth to try and rescue the ecomancer Bloth has captive, and is both exploiting and abusing. The second time, she betrays Ren and Ioz to the amazon Deltha Warriors, presumably to gain access to the 8th Treasure or Rule, which is a living thing that is just about as gluttonous as Niddler, and which the Deltha Warriors are trying to exterminate (ironic since later it's shown that this treasure is what's allowing their island plant life to bloom and flourish). While Ioz neither forgets nor forgives this, Ren turns a blind eye to it, not just because he needs all the help he can get, and is a ridiculously Skilled, but Naive Nice Guy, but because both these actions were ultimately highly beneficial to the crew and the quest.
• New Powers as the Plot Demands: Tula's ecomancer powers facilitated a great many plots. About the only thing she couldn't do was drive away or kill dark water.
• Only Sane Girl

• The Smart Guy: Hinted at by both of the times she feigns a Face–Heel Turn and pulls one over on the bad guys.

Ioz

Voiced by: Héctor Elizondo (Miniseries & Season 1), Jim Cummings (Season 2)

• Big Brother Instinct: Develops one towards Ren. Late in the series, it's revealed he has a younger sister and he spends an entire episode trying to keep her out of trouble.
• The Big Guy: Of the "gruff warrior" type. Seems to be the physically strongest of the crew; also is the oldest, tallest, and beefiest.
• Distressed Dude: SO many times! And more often than not, it's his own jitatin fault.
• Greed: His Fatal Flaw. He once wound up on the show's equivalent of The Flying Dutchman because he tried to steal the ghost's treasure. Ren and Tula had to undertake enormous risk, including Ren literally dying, to rescue him.
• Heroic Build: Played with. He's arguably the most antiheroic of the good guys, and has an exaggeratedly V-tapered physique.
• He-Man Woman Hater: Starts out as this, but gradually mellows throughout the series.
• Hereditary Hairstyle: He and his sister Solia both have pronounced widow's peaks, and both wear one topknot in front and a second in back.
• Hot-Blooded: Has a temper on him.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Pun aside, he really does care about Ren, Tula, and even Niddler, at least enough to pull their fat out of the fire when things get tough.

• Mr. Fanservice: Ioz flashes the most skin out of the whole cast.
• Mr. Vice Guy: "I only signed up for this noble adventure for the treasure!"
• Pointy Ears: Think "Vulcan" rather than "elf," but they're definitely pointy.
• Token Evil Teammate: Used to work for Bloth, is obsessed with treasure, and often counsels the most ruthless measures in the series.
  • Or The Lancer, in sharp contrast to Ren's Hero.
• Unscrupulous Hero: He may be one of the good guys, but he's decidedly venal.
• What the Hell Is That Accent?: It usually sounds vaguely Spanish, but can bounce all over Europe depending on the precise line.

Niddler

Voiced by: Roddy McDowall (Miniseries), Frank Welker (Seasons 1-2)

• Action Pet: It takes him a while, but he gets there!
• Big Eater: Seems to be constantly hungry, especially for fruit.
• Lovable Coward: Gets better about it later in the show, but starts out decidedly fearful.

• Took a Level in Badass: It's subtle, but by the time the series ended, Niddler had gotten a lot less concerned for his own skin, and was willing to do things like use himself as dagron bait to distract Konk from the crew.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Those jitatin minga melons.

The Maelstrom's Crew

Bloth

Voiced by: Brock Peters

• Bad Boss: Just count how many times he has Konk thrown to the Constrictus. He threatens his other crew members with this at lest once per episode with the only exceptions being the few episodes that Bloth isn't in. To say nothing of how he treats those he captures and exploits.
• Bald of Evil: His head is completely bare. Whether he went bald naturally or shaves it is unclear.
• Big Bad: At least he likes to think so...
  • Big Bad Duumvirate: Technically shares this with the Dark Dweller in the latter half of the series, though it's the Dweller's servant, Morpho, that he actually interacts with.
• Gonk: Pallid gray-white skin. No eyebrows. Disproportionately large, snaggle-toothed mouth with blue lips. Blue claws for fingernails.
• Good Scars, Evil Scars: A ruined eye and a torn ear.
• Large Ham: "TORMENT MY EYES!"
• Large and in Charge: Canonically seven and a half feet tall and over a quarter ton; rules his crew with an iron fist.
• Mighty Glacier: His girth makes him slow and unwieldy, but he's insanely strong, able to break free of Morpho's tentacle with ease when any other character requires either a treasure of rule or a Delicious Distraction to trick him into letting go.
• Pet the Dog: Surprisingly, he has a couple of these moments in "The Dark Dweller" after managing to capture Ren, Ioz, the Compass, and all of the treasures they had found up to that point.
  • First, Ren was suffering a Heroic BSoD due to Tula being taken by the Dark Water and instead of simply feeding him to the Constrictus or killing his nemesis himself, Bloth allows him to live and be a slave crewmember aboard the Maelstrom because, as he put it, Ren's suffering warms his heart.
  • Later, after Ren got his spirit back and escaped to rescue Tula, Bloth (thinking Ren had simply jumped into the Dark Water) decided to entertain himself by staging a swordfight between Ioz and one of his more violent crewmembers. Just to be fair, Bloth offered Ioz a chance to reclaim his sword if he could make it past the pirate (who had four arms and was brandishing a weapon in each) chosen to face him.
  • He tends to act nicer toward his men when it seems things are clearly going his way, complementing them, offering them gold pieces if they are successful and such. He once actually hugged Mantus when he was about claim the compass and one of the Treasures of Rule
• You Have Failed Me/You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: If you're either his prisoner or a member of his crew and manage to fall into either of these categories, you'll probably find yourself giving Bloth's constrictus a belly rub...from the inside.

Mantus

Voiced by: Peter Cullen

• The Dragon: He's one of the cooler heads on the Maelstrom's crew and often advises Bloth, although the latter seems like he'd be happy to replace him if a better option came along.
• Lean and Mean: He's freakishly gaunt and spidery-looking.

Konk

Voiced by: Tim Curry

• Bald of Evil: Although he has big muttonchops, underneath his cap he's completely bald.
• Fat Bastard: The Big Bad's rotund little pug-faced flunky.
• Fed to the Beast: Thrown to the Constrictus by Bloth numerous times. It's how he got his Pirate Pegleg.
  • Too Spicy for Yog-Sothoth: ...although it didn't ever manage to eat him. He was its only victim to ever escape (before Ren came along), perhaps because:
    Mantus: Once the beast had a taste of Konk, why would he want another bite?
• My Friends... and Zoidberg: Is the butt of one of these remarks in the episode Andorus.
  Bloth: You've picked the wrong fight, girl! I have my top swordsmen with me.
  Konk: Thank you, Master!
  Bloth: And Konk, too.
  Konk: Aww.
• Pirate Peg Leg: A metal one he can unscrew and use as a torch or a weapon.

The Lugg Brothers

Voiced by: Earl Boen (Brother #1), Frank Welker (Brother #2)

• Bald of Evil: The one with the mustache has a completely bald head.
• Big Eater: They help themselves generously to any food that's close at hand. And naturally they have Jabba Table Manners, too.
• The Brute: Seems to be their function in Bloth's crew, although they never really directly fight anyone.
• Dumb Muscle: They're dumb, even for members of Bloth's crew.
• No Name Given: Even on the official model sheets, they're simply "#1" and "#2."
• Stripperific: They wear nothing but furry He-Man underpants and matching leather body harnesses. The latter are functional, featuring handles which allow the smaller Konk to piggyback on them a few times, Master Blaster-style.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: They just sort of disappear after their fourth episode.

The Dark Dweller and Thralls

The Dark Dweller

• Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: When chasing Ren he turns into a giant that even makes the Maelstrom look puny in comparison.
• Big Bad Duumvirate: Technically shares this with Bloth, though it's conducted through his servant Morpho.
• Eldritch Abomination: Dark Water is an evil substance that devours anything and anyone it gets near. The Darkdweller is a sentient mass of the stuff and is stated to be its very source.
• Eviler than Thou: When he chases after Ren he quickly shoves Bloth aside as the threat.
• Greater-Scope Villain: Is source of the Dark Water and the biggest threat in the series. Though if Bloth get all the 13 Treasures, he'll be able to control it to conquer the world.
• Large Ham: He's voiced by Frank Welker, he makes Bloth look tame in comparison.
• Orcus on His Throne: Makes an attempt to lure Ren into his domain and steal the Treasures he's gathered from him. After Ren uses the Treasures he's gathered to drive the Darkdweller away, the Darkdweller doesn't make another attempt to take them himself. Justified since he already tried to trick Ren into handing over the Treasures and taking them by force, both of which failed, and the Darkdweller showed that he's smart enough to not keep repeating the exact plans and expect different results.

Kiroptus

• Flight: He can fly.
• Master of Illusion: He can project auditory and visual illusions to tempt people, at least Ren, into doing what he wants.
• Meaningful Name: Kiroptus is seemingly a play off of Chiroptera, which is the scientific name for the bat family. Guess what animal Kiroptus closely resembles.
• More Teeth than the Osmond Family: His mouth has a lot of teeth.
• Out-Gambitted: On the receiving end. Ren tricks him into touching the real bell by placing a heavy guard on a fake bell, and then crawling into the real one, presumably while trying to hide.
• Reptiles Are Abhorrent: He's reptilian and is quite abhorrent, both physically and morally.
• Scary Teeth: He has a mouth full of razor sharp fangs.
• Sealed Evil in a Can: In the same episode where he's introduced, he gets locked back up again.
• Smug Snake: Because he was able to fool Ren with an illusion of Primus, he thought Ren was as dumb as a rock. He is proven very wrong.
• Taking You with Me: When Ren manages to trick him into crawling back into the bell so he could be sealed, he tries to drag Ren into the bell with him.

Morpho

• Cruel Mercy: Rather than devour him, the Dark Dweller made him its slave, compelled to obey the Dark Water.
• Enemy Mine: He, and by extension, The Dark Dweller, team up with Bloth to go after Ren because he's their common enemy, though they both seek the remaining treasures for their own gain, and absolutely do not trust each other.
• Humanoid Abomination: Thanks to the Dark Dweller, he has a tentacle for an arm, a half-mutated face, and "speaks" with the Dark Water.
• Mouth of Sauron: He talks to Bloth for the Dark Dweller.
• Suicidal Overconfidence: In his backstory, he was an alchemist who foolishly went after the Dark Dweller, alone, with little in the way of a plan, and no back-up.
• Tentacled Terror: His right arm is transformed into a tentacle, which he uses to strangle people.

Other/One-Shot Characters

Zoolie

Voiced by: Richard Gautier

The ex-pirate owner of a bar and gambling house in Janda-Town. Friends with Ioz.

• Big Fun: Canonically six and a half feet tall and over 300#. Is a Boisterous Bruiser who runs a tavern/casino in Janda-Town.
• Boisterous Bruiser: Big, loud, jovial, and can kick serious ass.
• Stout Strength: He's got a big beer gut...framed by even broader shoulders than Ioz. Although Mantus gives him a run for his money, he'd been effortlessly thrashing the mooks beforehand.

Teron

Voiced by: Dan O'Herlihy

An experienced Ecomancer from Andorus, formerly held captive by Bloth and rescued by the crew of the Wraith in Episode 4. One of King Primus's former captains.

• Druid: He can manipulate the weather, and his outfit is reminiscent of that of a religious hermit.
• Connected All Along: He's the former spiritual leader of Andorus, connecting him to Tula, ...and one of King Primus's former captains, connecting him to Ren.
• Plant People: At very least, he has to root himself in the soil of his homeland in order to survive.
• Vague Age: He's frail and hunched and has a Wizard Beard and a quavery voice, but he's got a full head of red hair and his face looks middle-aged. It's possible to that his captivity on the Maelstrom aged him.

Joat

Voiced by: Andre Stojka

The former owner of the Wraith, who holds a grudge.

• Hook Hand: More of a clamp hand; it's sort of a metal lobster claw.
• Little Bit Beastly: His face resembles that of a moose, and he appears to be furred.

Solia

Voiced by: Tress MacNeille

Ioz's baby sister, who's possibly even more of an amoral little filch than her brother.

• Accents Aren't Hereditary: Has no trace of Ioz's ambiguously continental accent.
• Annoying Younger Sibling: She's considerably younger than Ioz—probably twenty at most—and seems to be in the show primarily to run cons and need rescuing.
• Hereditary Hairstyle: Shares her brother's widow's peak and distinctive dual topknot.

Avagon

One of King Primus's former captains.

• Defiant to the End: Moments before Bloth pitches her into Dark Water, she does her best to kill the big pallid bastard, a Dying Declaration of Hate worthy of Captain Ahab on her lips.
  Avagon: "With my last breath, I strike at your black heart!"
• Never Mess with Granny: Stringy and gray...and introduced kicking an armed opponent's ass while herself pointedly empty-handed.

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