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Meridian
Elyon Portrait
The ruler of Meridian.
- Anti-Villain: She is being misled and has good intentions for her people while acting against heroes in villain's favor.
- Benevolent Mage Ruler: Elyon eventually becomes a Sorceress Princess to the Kingdom of Meridian; this is in stark contrast to her brother Phobos, who ruled for many years as a Sorcerous Overlord.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: After Cedric tells her who she is, she immediately schemes with him to lure her friends, the new Guardians, into a trap. This is while she poses as their friend, even appearing to Hay Lin at a funeral. Unlike in the show, where she was justifiably angry that they didn't tell her about being the lost princess of Meridian, the Guardians find out about their powers long after Elyon learns about hers, and she's instead angry that their role as Guardians make the people of her kingdom live in misery. Fortunately, she switches back to the Guardians side after getting a much-needed Heel Realization.
- Body Guard Crush: In the comic, she falls in love with Caleb, who is the captain of her royal guard.
- Didn't Think This Through: She leaves Earth immediately to go to Meridian/Metamoor as soon as Cedric tells her about her origins. This means that the police start investigating her disappearance, and worries ensues when her friends are investigated. In the show, it's even worse in that her friend Alchemy was worried sick about her. As a result, Elyon and her adoptive parents return and spin the story that they were traveling for months, with Elyon transferring out of her school at the end of the school year. She's also truly regretful when seeing how worried Alchemy was.
- Happily Adopted: Until she learns that she is adopted, anyway, although eventually she settles back into this.
- Heel–Face Revolving Door: In both comics and show, she starts as the Guardians' friend and classmate, only to switch sides as soon as Cedric tells her the truth about her origins. There are some divergences:
- Comics only: When her friends find her in Meridian and say they're relieved she's okay, she tries to arrest them and takes Taranee hostage. Then she undergoes a Heel Realization after Will saves Cedric's life and Cedric is an Ungrateful Bastard, especially when Cornelia seeks her out and Elyon learns that Phobos lied to her about her royal status. After a few more red flags, she saves her adoptive parents from being assassinated in prison and trusts the Guardians to protect her at the coronation, where she witnesses Phobos attempting to murder her Astral Drop.
- Show only: Starts to realize that her friends aren't evil, but still believes she is at home with people who love her and that the Guardians, especially Cornelia, are misguided. Then Phobos tries to kill her at her coronation, and Cornelia saves her. Then she lashes out at Phobos and helps the Guardians imprison him.
- Heel Realization: In the comics, she gets two: one when Cedric is an Ungrateful Bastard and another when Phobos murders her Astral Drop at her coronation. The first time, she starts questioning why Cedric is acting bad when he's good, and the second when W.I.T.C.H convinces her to use an Astral Drop and see proof of her brother's true character. Then Caleb gets turned into a plant, much to Cornelia's anguish, and Elyon goes My God, What Have I Done? on realizing her friends were right and Phobos never really loved her.
- Horrible Judge of Character: Downplayed. Her greatest personal flaw is that she puts her trust in the wrong people and believes people she has just met (including a giant snake monster) over her closest friends and the ones who raised her for most of her life. Luckily, she gradually comes to realize her mistake and is able to avoid having her powers drained at her coronation, unlike her TV counterpart. She gets much better in later chapters and is even able to recognize Phobos when he is body-swapped.
- Kick the Dog: Her Mind Rape of Taranee in Issue 4. It ends up blowing up in her face in the end, though.
- Last of Her Kind: Elyon appears to be the last of the royal family of Meridian.
- Light Is Good: She is the Light or Heart of Meridian.
- MacGuffin Super-Person: Phobos is obsessed with gaining her powers. As is Nerissa in the show as it's implied that Phobos's entire reign was just a ploy the fallen Keeper to obtain the Heart of Meridian.
- Manipulative Bitch: In the comics during her stint as a villain - it's something she learned from Cedric.
- Meaningful Name: Elyon means "The Most High" or "Highest" and was the name of the ruling God of Canaan as well as being one of the titles that the Judeo-Christian God possesses. Once you know this, her almost godlike power and place as true ruler suddenly seem very logical.
- My God, What Have I Done?: In the comics, she's really guilty and horrified when learning that Caleb, the rebel leader who supported her ruling, is one of Phobos's creations, and the king turns him back into a flower in retaliation for fighting him. Elyon goes into Heroic BSoD and says if she had listened to the Guardians in the first place, Caleb would still be alive.
- Oblivious Adoption: She was unaware of it until Cedric told her about her origins.
- Put on a Bus: In the comic, after the Meridian storyline is over. Like Caleb, she makes occasional cameos later on and plays an important role in the fourth story arc, but is mostly gone from the story. Averted in the animated series, in which she remains an important character in the second season (she didn't appear in the "Nerissa" arc of the comic, aside from a special issue completely dedicated to her).
- Secret Legacy: For the first years of her life, she was unaware of her royal heritage.
- True Blue Femininity: Wears blue as the Queen of Meridian.
Caleb
The leader of the rebels and Cornelia's love interest.
- Badass Longcoat: Caleb usually wears a brown longcoat when going off on missions.
- Badass Normal: He doesn't have any powers. He's also one of the biggest badasses.
- Combat Pragmatist: Caleb will use anything and everything to get out of a tough situation.
- Dark and Troubled Past: He was a former minion of Phobos before defecting.
- Defector from Decadence: In the comic where he was one of Phobos's minions before deserting.
- Disney Death: Turned back into a flower by Phobos in the first arc, which is essentially treated as dying. He's resurrected by an amped-up Cornelia in the second arc.
- Distressed Dude: In the comics, if he's not a flower he's often kidnapped for his unique powers.
- Facial Markings: Has them in the comic in the form of green stripes on his cheeks, they mark him as a former Whisperer that defected from Phobos.
Word of God says they weren't included in the show because test audiences found them unnerving. - Hypocrite: In the comics, breaks up with Cornelia, after seeing her in her human form, saying she was too young. Later falls in love with Elyon, who is younger than Cornelia.
- Put on a Bus: In the comic. He's forced to choose between his duty in Meridian and his relationship with Cornelia — in the end he chooses his duty, leaving Earth and effectively leaving the story (apart from a few cameo appearances later on).
- Later on, there was a What Might Have Been special where the Oracle sends Caleb and Cornelia dreams that show what would have happened if he had stayed on Earth or if she had come with him to Meridian.
Both scenarios had unhappy endings. - Averted in the cartoon adaptation where they manage to have a successful long distance relationship. They have a rocky middle where he tries to break up with her to prioritize Meridian, but that falls flat when the Oracle takes down the Veil and Elyon moves back to Earth to finish the school year, taking him along. Caleb then apologizes to Cornelia for putting Meridian over her, and makes it up to her.
- Later on, there was a What Might Have Been special where the Oracle sends Caleb and Cornelia dreams that show what would have happened if he had stayed on Earth or if she had come with him to Meridian.
- Rebel Leader: Practically his nickname by the girls.
- The Smart Guy: In the comics, he's much more intelligent and street-smart than the guardians.
Vathek
Caleb's second-in-command, a native of Meridian.
- The Atoner: In the comic, he starts out as a bad guy but eventually gets a Heel–Face Turn — after which Caleb trusts him enough to make him his Lancer. In the Elyon one-shot comic, he and Elyon encounter a group of people who still remember and hate Vathek for his villainous days, and despite Elyon's protests, Vathek willingly lets them put him on trial because he feels they are justified in their hatred of him.
- The Brute: Is set up as one, but this is Deconstructed fairly quickly as his Hidden Depths begin showing.
- Devil in Plain Sight: Back when he was a villain, Cedric was able to make him walk around Heatherfield in broad daylight with rather minimalistic disguises. In the very first issue he went at a Halloween party with no disguise at all and wearing his normal clothes. He won the prize for the best costume.
- Et Tu, Brute?: Gets this from Cedric in the comic when he completes his Heel–Face Turn.
- Everyone Has Standards: The reason why he turned against Cedric. An angry mob of Meridian refugees was about to kill Cedric for displacing them, only for Will to shield him. Vathek took offense on Will's behalf that Cedric was an Ungrateful Bastard.
- For Want Of A Nail: His assignment in the first comic was to capture Will before she had discovered her powers at the Halloween party. If not for him winning best prize for his "costume", he would have succeeded.
- Gentle Giant: Especially in later stories.
- Heel–Face Turn: In the comic, he was originally Cedric's loyal Brute who was sent to the resistance as a mole, but ended up having sympathy for their cause (as well as taking what Will said to heart) and genuinely changed sides.
- Hidden Depths: He's very perceptive.
- Our Orcs Are Different: Like most Meridian natives, he has an orcish appearance. In the comic, he explains to Elyon that the orcish-looking Meridians call themselves the "Galhot" and are the original natives of Meridian. The more human-looking Meridians are called "Escanors" and are actually descended from humans who came to Meridian many generations ago.
- Took a Level in Kindness: When you see what a sweet, nice guy he is, it's pretty hard to believe he was really no better than Phobos or Cedric at first.
Kandrakar
The Oracle
The Big Good of the series and the head of the Council of Kandrakar. He is patient and understanding (to a point), he has great powers and great wisdom, and he is genuinely concerned with the well-being of all — though, as he is sometimes painfully aware of, he is not as infallible as several of the characters seem to think he is. His real name is Himerish.
- 10-Minute Retirement: In the comics, thanks to the manipulations of a disguised Phobos, he has his title as Oracle renounced by the council and spends some time as a Badass Normal before being reinstated. In a later storyline, he makes a grievous error in judgement that nearly destroys Kandrakar, and after the situation is dealt with, he decides that he's not worthy of the title of Oracle, stepping down and Passing the Torch to Yan Lin.
- Bald Mystic: The wise and aloof Oracle is a fair-skinned man whose baldness emphasizes the tattoos on his head. The white robes he wears add to the wise mystic look. He guides and instructs the protagonists and has an array of magical powers that help him be the Big Good of the series.
- Barefoot Sage: As Oracle, he never wears shoes. Though other inhabitants of Kandrakar are seemingly barefoot as well.
- Eccentric Mentor: Downplayed, but he does crack jokes sometimes. Also, at the end of The Golden Phoenix (a W.I.T.C.H. novel by Lene Kaaberbøl) he gave a videogame hint to Irma's younger brother Chris.
- Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": For much of the comic, he's only known as "the Oracle." It turns out even he himself has forgotten his real name, having placed his old identity behind him when taking up the mantle as the Oracle. During his 10-Minute Retirement he regains the memories of his old life, as well as his real name, Himerish, and when he returns to being the Oracle, he elects to keep his old memories rather than let them go again.
- A God I Am Not: In the comic, he was about to inflict a Laser-Guided Amnesia to Interpol agents trying to discover the Guardians' source of power he compares himself to the Deus ex Machina of ancient Greek theatre, but then immediately states he's not a god, just popping out from nowhere to solve the situation at hand.
- Mr. Exposition: This is frequently his role.
- Proud Warrior Race Guy: Turns out he was one before he became the Oracle.
- Psychic Powers: His most commonly-used powers fall under this definition:
- As fits his title, he has a form of Precognition and can at times come across as The Omniscient, though it does turn out that he's not infallible in this respect.
- He's able to use Telepathy to speak to others, communicate with them through their dreams or even share information.
- On a couple of occasions, he's forced Laser-Guided Amnesia on Muggles who threaten the Guardians, making him a one-man Memory-Wiping Crew.
- He can sense emotions and states of minds in others.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Most of the time. Sometimes he forgets what it's like for normal people and can as a result come across as needlessly harsh or unreasonable, but he genuinely tries to avoid this.
- Underestimating Badassery: Sometimes people forget this guy is near omniscent, and are caught by surprise when he pulls the rug from under them.
Yan Lin
Hay Lin's grandmother, and previous Guardian of Kandrakar, who first tells the girls of their powers and duties, as well as presenting Will with the Heart of Kandrakar.
- Big Good: Becomes the Oracle after Himerish resigns.
- Cool Old Lady: Very much so - she was a Guardian, after all.
- The Mentor: Downplayed, but she does give the girls advice and lessons.
- Miniature Senior Citizens: Yan Lin only comes to her teen granddaughter's waistline.
- Passing the Torch: To her granddaughter.
- Retired Badass: Used to be a Guardian, but now has passed this on to Hay Lin.
Friends
Matthew "Matt" Olsen
Will's boyfriend, as well as a would-be musician.
- Chick Magnet: In the comic there are many girls who had at least a crush on him at some point (including Elyon).
- Idol Singer: Has his own music band, Cobalt Blue.
- Nice Guy: Was his main characterization at first, but he received more depth as both the comic went on.
- Secret-Keeper: Keeps Will's double life as a Guardian secret.
- Understanding Boyfriend: He loves Will for who she is, and says that busty, narcissistic, overbearing women are not his type. This was after a woman just like that asked for him in the pet store during Will's shift in an issue. In the end he throws away the phone number she left with Will.
Orube
A native of the planet Basiliade who is introduced as the Temporary Substitute for Taranee when she quits the team, and who becomes more of a Sixth Ranger when Taranee returns. She does not appear in the animated series, largely because the story arc that introduced her was never adapted.
- Action Girl: A trained warrior from a warrior culture, she embraces this trope sometimes to the exclusion of everything else.
- Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: She has black hair and is quite proud and distant when first introduced.
- Book Dumb: This
◊ chibi says it all. - Cat Girl: Her father is one of the straight-up cat people of Basiliade and she retains enough feline characteristics to warrant a Glamour to pass as human when in Heatherfield.
- Dating Catwoman: With Cedric.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: Starts out as extremely haughty and dismissive of the other girls, viewing them as pathetic children lacking the warrior instinct, but over time, she loosens up and becomes a lot more friendly to the point of becoming somewhat of a Cool Big Sis figure.
- Fish out of Water: She's sophisticated enough to realize that tv sets are machines, not magic, but she still needed to be taught that romantic melodrama movies aren't Real Life.
- Freudian Excuse: Two in the comics. First, her father sending her away to train as a child made her view the Guardians' immaturity much more harshly than was warranted and her mentor Luba's Heroic Sacrifice also soured her view on the girls despite Luba doing it to atone for putting the girls in danger in the first place. She does grow out of them and eventually sees the girls as her friends and teammates.
- Lethal Chef: Sort of. Nobody ever ate an Earth dish prepared by her because she will either flood the kitchen or burn whatever she's cooking, even the pasta.
- Look What I Can Do Now!: Strange example: when she returned on Basiliade during the Trials of the Oracle arc and was confronted by the guards of a Garden of Sun, she said she was from Basiliade and had been originally trained in a Garden like that one, but her real training had been received on Kandrakar. The guards, all bigger than her, believed her only after getting the crap beaten out of them.
- Mukokuseki: Probably some kind of Asian, but no one's really sure. Then again, she's not even from Earth.
- Ms. Fanservice: Frequently seen in various states of undress or in the bath (especially in her solo special that has her getting into a bath as Book Ends) and wearing fetishistic costumes (including lingerie and a schoolgirl-esque uniform despite being college-aged). The uniform really caught Cedric's attention.
- Proud Warrior Race Girl: Basiliadians, both male and female, are trained in martial arts from an early age, and Orube is one of the best warriors. Unfortunately, her mental training hasn't been quite as effective, and she still sometimes has problems controlling her temper.
- Put on a Bus: Returns to Basiliade after Cedric's death.
- Sixth Ranger: In the comics for a while, until she was Put on a Bus.
Pets
Dormouse/Mr. Huggles
A cute doormouse and very important creature in Will's life and the reason that she met Matt.
- A Dog Named "Dog": His name in the comics is "dormouse". Some international releases have him named "Ghiro"... which is the Italian word for dormouse.
- Small Role, Big Impact: In the comics. He was a stray doormouse who Will saved from getting injured or worse from bullies, with Matt intervening as well. In other words, Dormouse was the reason Will and Matt met and later started to officially date.
We
A small, furry creature from the world of Basiliade with strange powers, he followed the Oracle home to Kandrakar and refused to go back home. He was eventually placed in the care of Orube, and became somewhat of a Team Pet to the girls. He doesn't appear in the animated series.
- Funny Background Event: He usually doesn't do much in the actual stories, but provides plenty of these.
- Invisibility: His main power; he can turn invisible at will — except for his tail.
- Meaningful Name: We got his name because the letters on the bottom of his feet can either be spelled as a "W" or an "E".
- Ridiculously Cute Critter: And how. Just look at that thing!
- Series Mascot: Though he doesn't appear until issue #49 of the comic, he quickly gets this status.
- Team Pet: In a much more literal sense than Blunk.
- The Unintelligible: At first; in later comics he begins to communicate in a combination of Hulk Speak and Baby Talk.
