History Characters / GhostbustersFilmSeriesOtherHumanCharacters

!!Dr. Lars Pinfield[

A representative of the Environmental Protection Agency, or so he claimed. He's highly skeptical and cynical, especially toward Peter. In the [[VideoGame/GhostbustersTheVideogame 2009 video game]] he is appointed as liaison between the Ghostbusters and the city of New York under the newly formed Paranormal Contracts Oversight Commission, to his great annoyance. In the [[ComicBook/{{Ghostbusters}} IDW comic]] he is still head of P.C.O.C., but has grown into the role. By the time of ''Film/GhostbustersFrozenEmpire'', [[Spoiler: he has become the Mayor of New York City [[EvilIsPetty and still trying to shut down the Ghostbusters after their return.]]]]

A representative of the Environmental Protection Agency, or so he claimed. He's highly skeptical and cynical, especially toward Peter. In the [[VideoGame/GhostbustersTheVideogame 2009 video game]] he is appointed as liaison between the Ghostbusters and the city of New York under the newly formed Paranormal Contracts Oversight Commission, to his great annoyance. In the [[ComicBook/{{Ghostbusters}} IDW comic]] he is still head of P.C.O.C., but has grown into the role. By the time of ''Film/GhostbustersFrozenEmpire'', he has become the Mayor of New York City [[EvilIsPetty and still trying to shut down the Ghostbusters after their return.]]

A representative of the Environmental Protection Agency, or so he claimed. He's highly skeptical and cynical, especially toward Peter. In the [[VideoGame/GhostbustersTheVideogame 2009 video game]] he is appointed as liaison between the Ghostbusters and the city of New York under the newly formed Paranormal Contracts Oversight Commission, to his great annoyance. In the [[ComicBook/{{Ghostbusters}} IDW comic]] he is still head of P.C.O.C., but has grown into the role. By the time of ''Film/GhostbustersFrozenEmpire'', [[spoiler: he has become the Mayor of New York City [[EvilIsPetty and still trying to shut down the Ghostbusters after their return.]]]]

A representative of the Environmental Protection Agency, or so he claimed. He's highly skeptical and cynical, especially toward Peter. In the [[VideoGame/GhostbustersTheVideogame 2009 video game]] he is appointed as liaison between the Ghostbusters and the city of New York under the newly formed Paranormal Contracts Oversight Commission, to his great annoyance. In the [[ComicBook/{{Ghostbusters}} IDW comic]] he is still head of P.C.O.C., but has grown into the role.

A descendent of a group of guardians against Garraka.

* PlayingWithFire: Nadeem has the power to manipulate fire as part of his heritage.

* AllforNothing: For all his admits to shut down the Ghostbusters, he fails this causing everyone to hate him. In Frozen Empire, he tried to shut them down for good and had them arrested; however, after the Ghostbusters saved New York and Phoebe became a hero, he was forced to back down, leave Phoebe alone, and also forced to support them due to the people back the Ghostbusters more than him and the Ghostbusters became heroes much to his dismay and feeling humiliated.

* SlaveToPR: At the end of "Frozen Empire", when a reporter asks him his opinion on the Ghostbusters, he realizes that they're being hailed as the saviors of the city, so, despite the fact that he clearly still hates them, he responds that they have his full support, even publicly rescinding his concerns about Phoebe when Winston points out how instrumental she was in resolving the situation.

* All for Nothing: For all his admits to shut down the Ghostbusters, he fails this causing everyone to hate him. In Frozen Empire, he tried to shut them down for good and had them arrested; however, after the Ghostbusters saved New York and Phoebe became a hero, he was forced to back down, leave Phoebe alone, and also forced to support them due to the people back the Ghostbusters more than him and the Ghostbusters became heroes much to his dismay.

* JerkassHasAPoint: While Peck may be a dick about it (if he had one) and makes his point in all the wrong ways, he's right to be suspicious of the guys working with highly experimental technology with ''nuclear'' capabilities in the middle of a densely populated city like New York with no permits.

** Mayor Clotch angrily fires Hardemeyer and has him roughly thrown out of his building after Hardemeye reveals he had the Ghostbusters locked up in an asylum in Clotch's name without his knowledge or consent at the worst possible time.

!!2020s
[[folder:Callie]]
!!Callie Spengler
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/callie_1.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"I'm fine with Trevor, but with Phoebe, she really keeps me on the outside."'']]
!!!'''Played by:''' Creator/CarrieCoon
!!!'''Appears in:''' ''Film/GhostbustersAfterlife'' | ''Film/GhostbustersFrozenEmpire''

The single mother of Phoebe and Trevor.
----
* TheAlcoholic: It’s clear that she's lapsed into drink-dependency as a result of her current financial situation, being seen at one point passed out at the Spengler farm's kitchen table while still clutching a glass of red wine.
* AmbiguouslyAbsentParent: There's no mention at all of Callie's mom.
* BrokenBird: It took seeing her childhood photos in her father's basement to break Callie from her cynicism and she can barely hold back her tears. Right before Egon moves on, Callie shares a tearful hug with him, showing she's finally overcome her disdain toward him.
* CallingTheOldManOut: Callie has nothing but disdain toward Egon for being absent for her entire life, and whenever the topic of him is brought up she will negatively comment about him. It isn't until she finds out that Egon was keeping tabs on her and kept childhood photos of her in his lab that Callie realizes that her father indeed loves her.
* DeceptiveLegacy: She's come to believe that her father was crazy and did not love her. She extended this belief to her children. She is shocked to find out later that Egon had a wall full of photos chronicling her childhood and adolescence in his lab.
* DefrostingIceQueen: After spending the entire film being an IceQueen toward everyone including her own children, Callie becomes more cheerful upon realizing that her father indeed loved her.
* DemonicPossession: She gets possessed by Zuul midway through the film, prompting her children to step up and rescue her.
* DisappearedDad: Whether Egon was never in her life or left when she was young is unclear, but she grew up without him and became resentful of his absence.
* FantasyForbiddingMother: While Callie makes no attempt to hide her distaste for science, and allows Phoebe to pursue hobbies related to science and has no problem with Trevor's interest in automotive repairs, when Phoebe's curiosity about her grandfather's job causes her, Trevor, and Podcast to be arrested she immediately puts her foot down.
* FreudianExcuse: Callie suffers from abandonment issues since she was a child, from both her father and ex-husband, and because of this, is rather aloof toward both of her children.
* FinalFirstHug: She gets one with the spirit form of her father at the ending of ''Afterlife''.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Though she can be abrasive to her children and an alcoholic thanks to her abandonment issues, she proves to be a loving person, ultimately forgiving her father in his spirit form after realising everything he did was to protect his family.
* LikeParentUnlikeChild: She happens to be on both ends of the trope with her father (Egon) and her daughter (Phoebe), exemplified by her blond hair and her distaste for science.
* LockedOutOfTheLoop: She spends a majority of the film not knowing of her father's role as a Ghostbuster, something both her children had already find out, likely due to her disdain toward Egon. She only finds out in the second half of the film, right before being possessed by Zuul.
* RememberTheNewGuy: One of the earlier pictures of her in Egon's shrine is dated 1983, meaning she was born before the first two movies despite Egon mentioning no partner or children.
* StrugglingSingleMother: She's broke and she and her children have been evicted from their home as a result, which forces them to move into an old farm her father (Egon Spengler) owned in Oklahoma.
* TransformationOfThePossessed: When Zuul possesses her, she changes [[InstantCostumeChange Callie's clothes]] to a gold dress, then later turns her into a Terror Dog.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Grooberson]]
!!Mr. Gary Grooberson
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/grooberson.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"Wow! Killer replica!"'' [[note]]It's the real thing.[[/note]]]]
!!!'''Played by:''' Creator/PaulRudd
!!!'''Appears in:''' ''Film/GhostbustersAfterlife'' | ''Film/GhostbustersFrozenEmpire''

->''"Somehow, a town that isn't anywhere near a tectonic plate, that has no fault lines, no fracking, no loud music even, is shaking on a daily basis..."''

The science teacher of Phoebe and Podcast.
----
* ActorAllusion: He retains a penchant for Baskin-Robbins ice cream -- a nod to Creator/PaulRudd's similar tastes in ''Film/AntMan1''.
* TheAllegedCar: Grooberson owns a Toyota Corolla that ends up losing its windshield during an experiment with a Ghost Trap. When chased by Vinz Clortho, he tries to escape in it, but he fumbles to get his keys in the ignition and its tires flatten once the Terror-Dog sits on the hood.
* AlliterativeName: '''G'''ary '''G'''rooberson. Lampshaded by Phoebe.
* ApatheticTeacher: His lessons during summer school amount to just showing the students old horror movies while he works on his research regarding the recent quakes in town.
* BirdsOfAFeather: He takes interest in Phoebe due to her intelligence as well as their mutual love of science.
* ButtMonkey: He is often made fun of by people around him, for his name, for doing his job poorly, and that Callie doesn't enjoy their date. And that's before he is possessed by Vinz Clortho.
* DemonicPossession: He is chased down and possessed by the Terror-Dog representing Vinz Clortho, and turns into a Terror-Dog himself for the final reel of ''Afterlife''.
* IdiotBall: Despite being the only person in town to know who the Ghostbusters are and realizing that the trap Phoebe brought with her contains a ghost, Grooberson deliberately opens the trap, which releases a Terror-Dog and dooms the town.
* MrExposition: Besides giving more context regarding the Ghostbusters' legacy and prominence in culture for Phoebe's benefit, Grooberson is also able to give her an {{Expodump}} on the history of Summerville and the nature of the quakes in and around the town. Additionally, he instantly recognizes the object Phoebe brought to school to show Podcast -- a ghost trap.
* NiceGuy: Grooberson quickly bonds with Phoebe due to their shared interest in science and becomes her mentor, being a better role model to her than her mother.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Grooberson opens the ghost trap Phoebe found, causing the release of a Terror-Dog, and signalling the return of Gozer.
* OlderThanTheyLook: Appears fairly young, but is old enough to remember the original team's heyday in the 80s. Of course, he's played by the famously "immortal" Paul Rudd.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: To Louis Tully, only without being a StalkerWithACrush when it comes to romance. Like Louis, Grooberson is also possessed by Vinz Clortho.
[[/folder]]

* AdaptationNameChange: The {{Novelization}} identifies him as Judge Roy Beane, presumably as a ShoutOut to [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Bean the famous judge]] from TheWildWest.

* HangingJudge: Has a rep for giving defendants harsh sentences. Tellingly the ghosts awoken from his ranting are two crooks he sentenced to death.

* DemonicPossession: She’s possessed by Zulu during the second half of the first film, after Gozer selects her to be “The Gatekeeper”.

* FlatEarthAtheist: Subverted. Hardemeyer knows ghosts are real but would rather keep it under wraps to protect the city's reputation and the mayor's reelection.

* TheAlcoholic: The film establishes that she's lapsed into this as a result of her current financial situation, being seen at one point passed out at the Spengler farm's kitchen table while still holding onto a glass of red wine.

* BrokenBird: It took seeing her childhood photos in her father's basement to break Callie from her cynicism and she can barely hold back her tears. [[spoiler: Right before Egon moves on, Callie shares a tearful hug with him, showing she's finally overcome her disdain toward him.]]

* DemonicPossession: [[spoiler: She gets possessed by Zuul midway through the film, prompting her children to step up and rescue her.]]

* FantasyForbiddingMother: Avoided. While Callie makes no attempt to hide her distaste for science, she allows Phoebe to pursue hobbies related to science and has no problem with Trevor's interest in automotive engineering.
** Zigzagged when Phoebe's curiosity about her grandfather's job causes her, Trevor, and Podcast to be arrested.
* FreudianExcuse: Callie suffers from abandonment issues since she was a child, from both her father and ex-husband, and because of this, is rather aloof toward both her children.
* FinalFirstHug: She gets one [[spoiler: with the spirit form of her father at the ending of ''Afterlife'']].
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Though she can be abrasive to her children and an alcoholic thanks to her abandonment issues, she proves to be a loving person, as evident when she realizes that her father indeed loved her.

* LockedOutOfTheLoop: She spends a majority of the film not knowing of her father's role as a Ghostbuster, something both her children had already find out, likely due to her disdain toward Egon. [[spoiler:She only finds out in the second half of the film, right before being possessed by Zuul.]]
* RememberTheNewGuy: One of the earlier pictures of her [[spoiler: in Egon's shrine]] is dated 1983, meaning she was born before the first two movies despite Egon mentioning no partner or children.
* SpinOffspring: Subverted. She's the daughter of Egon Spengler but the film mostly follows her children trying to continue their grandfather's legacy instead of her.

* TransformationOfThePossessed: [[spoiler: When Zuul possesses her, she changes [[InstantCostumeChange Callie's clothes]] to a gold dress, then later turns her into a Terror Dog.]]

* TheAllegedCar: Grooberson owns a Toyota Corolla that ends up losing its windshield during an experiment with a Ghost Trap. [[spoiler:When chased by Vinz Clortho, he tries to escape in it, but he fumbles to get his keys in the ignition and its tires flatten once the Terror-Dog sits on the hood.]]

* ButtMonkey: He is often made fun of by people around him, for his name, for doing his job poorly, and that Callie doesn't enjoy their date. [[spoiler: And that's before he is possessed by Vinz Clortho.]]
* DemonicPossession: [[spoiler:He is chased down and possessed by the Terror-Dog representing Vinz Clortho, and turns into a Terror-Dog himself for the final reel of ''Afterlife''.]]
* IdiotBall: Despite being the only person in town to know who the Ghostbusters are and realizing that the trap Phoebe brought with her contains a ghost, [[spoiler:Grooberson deliberately opens the trap, which releases a Terror-Dog and dooms the town.]]

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[spoiler:Grooberson opens the ghost trap Phoebe found, causing the release of a Terror-Dog, and signalling the return of Gozer.]]

* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: To Louis Tully, only without being a StalkerWithACrush when it comes to romance. [[spoiler:Like Louis, Grooberson is also possessed by Vinz Clortho.]]

* {{Ruritania}}: Just where on Earth ''is'' he supposed to be originally from? "The Upper Vest Side," of course. According to the comics, he's originally from UsefulNotes/Moldova — a nation situated near the Carpathian region Vigo once inhabited.

* DemonicPossession: She’s the victim of this for the second half of the first film, after Gozer selects her to be “The Gatekeeper”.
* DudeMagnet: She’s caught the eye of a good few admirers other than Peter, also Louis, a fellow musician (dubbed “the stiff” by Peter), her ex-husband, and course, [[StalkerWithACrush Janosz]].
* LoveInterest: To Peter — [[spoiler:And they’re still together thirty years later.]]

* TheReliableOne: You can always count on her. One of the reasons she and Peter broke-up, temporarily.

* DemonicPossession: Usually happens when your child is targeted by a demonic overlord who wants to reincarnate in the physical world using him as host.

* StrayingBaby: To his mother's horror, Oscar gets lured outside his room's window and stands up over the building's ledge... then gets snatched away by a ghostly Janosz Poha in creepy nurse attire.

* ArbitrarySkepticism: Surrounded by news articles and tv interviews about the ghosts the Ghostbusters have caught yet insists it's all an elaborate scam.

* TheAtoner: Of a sort; in the comics, he admits to Janine he's forced the P.C.O.C. behind the scenes to back down on firing the team or seizing equipment simply out of a desire to avoid another incident akin to his forcibly turning off the containment grid.

* NeverMyFault: Peck loudly and blatantly blames the Ghostbusters for causing an explosion when it is clearly obvious in front of multiple witnesses that he himself is personally responsible for the disaster when he ordered the containment grid turned off.
** Later inverted during the comics; he privately admits to Janine during the "Crossing Over" event that everything that happened in the first film after that first meeting with Peter was essentially on him, and despite his BadBoss and ObstructiveBureaucrat behavior towards the Ghostbusters, he's done quite a bit of fighting for them out of a desire to avoid having that kind of thing happen again.

* ThePeterPrinciple: He has absolutely ''zero'' understanding of the Ghostbusters' technology, yet legally has the right to screw with both it and them (to a point; Peter actually threatens to sue him for the degree he's abusing his authority even before he shuts down the equipment illegally). [[PillarOfLight Hilarity does not ensue]]. He's just a petty tyrant who thinks being a federal regulator means he can do anything.
** The IDW comics see him admit to Janine that he's effectively ''weaponized'' this against the rest of the P.C.O.C., forcing them to leave the Ghostbusters and their tech alone instead of a repeat performance of this trope.
* RedHerringMole: In the video game, the Ghostbusters think he's the BigBad, [[spoiler: but it turns out he's an UnwittingPawn]].

* StealthInsult: The astute viewer will notice that Peck continues to refer to Venkman as "Mister" even after pointedly looking over Venkman's two doctorates hanging on the walls of his office. He then makes it a little clearer. "What are you a doctor of, ''Dr.'' Venkman?"
** He himself is subjected to one with the name of the organization he winds up getting KickedUpstairs into: P.C.O.C..[[note]]"Peacock" is slang for an arrogant person who thinks they're [[SmallNameBigEgo far more important than they actually are.]] It also doubles as a reference to the infamous "no dick" insult Venkman slung at him.[[/note]]

* DeadpanSnarker: Has his snarky moments.

* {{Joisey}}: Sports an accent like this.

* CreepyCrossdresser: [[spoiler:When his ghostly form dresses up like a demon nanny to kidnap Oscar[[{{Beat}} ...]] you'd have to be there.]]

* {{Deprogram}}: [[spoiler: Thanks to the ''good'' version of the mood slime, he's freed from Vigo's influence. And he and Ray are turned into a pair of [[LoveFreak Love Freaks]].]]

* HarmlessVillain: [[spoiler:He becomes a NotSoHarmlessVillain after kidnapping Oscar.]]
* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:Thanks to the mood slime.]]
* HopelessSuitor: Where Dana is concerned.

* MoreThanMindControl: Despite being brainwashed to be Vigo's loyal minion, Janosz's personality more or less stays the same aside from getting a bit creepier. As such, Dana and the other Ghostbusters don't realize he's under thrall for a good portion of the film. [[spoiler:However, this ends up biting Vigo in the ass because Janosz's obsession with Dana is what makes them decide to take Oscar, which sets the Ghostbusters on their case much faster than it otherwise would have been.]]
* PowersViaPossession: Being subject to DemonicPossession by Vigo gives him some exclusive abilities. Curiously, one of which is to manifest in a ghost form despite not being dead, [[spoiler: an ability he uses to kidnap Oscar.]]

* {{Ruritania}}[=/=]WhatTheHellIsThatAccent: Just where on Earth ''is'' he supposed to be originally from?

** "The Upper Vest Side," of course.
*** According to the comics, he's from Moldavia.

* VampireVords
* UnwittingPawn

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Sort of becomes one out of desperation when he decides to rescind his sentence and let the Ghostbusters take care of the Scoleri Brothers' ghosts who were terrorizing the courthouse.

!!!'''Appears in:''' ''Film/{{Ghostbusters|1984}}''

!!!'''Appears in:''' ''Film/GhostbustersAfterlife''

!!!'''Appears in:''' ''Film/GhostbustersAfterlife''

* TooDumbToLive: Even with the city being overrun by ghosts and other paranormal activity, Jack insists the Ghostbusters aren't needed.