Characters in Battletoads and the reboot.
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The Battletoads
In General
The franchise's titular trio, the Battletoads. They reappear 25 years later after being found inside an underground bunker living in a simulation. After living in poverty and with no respect, they decide to look for the Dark Queen to defeat her again and restore their fame and reputation.
- Ambiguously Related: A Running Gag in the reboot brings up on whether the Toads are brothers or not since they never talk about it.
- Beauty, Brains, and Brawn: A rare male instance:
- Rash - Beauty. He's incredibly vain and a spotlight hog, and struggles to keep up appearances.
- Zitz - Brains. He's the tech nerd and strategist of the team.
- Pimple - Brawn. He's the member with the strongest physical attacks.
- Improbable Weapon User: In several games, the toads can use various weapons like large pieces of debris and the broken parts of some of the robotic Mooks they destroy as weapons.
- Mass "Oh, Crap!": In many games, the toads will freak out when a level boss appears. They immediately return to normal once the fight starts.
- Theme Naming: The toads are named after unpleasant skin phenomena, likely owing to amphibians being associated with warts.
- Tough Spikes and Studs: Initially, all three toads wore spiked bracelets on their arms and knees. Both Zitz and Rash lost them due to Divergent Character Evolution, but Pimple kept the spiked bracelets.
- Was Once a Man: The original backstory of the Battletoads, all three of them were formerly human video game testers working for the Psicone Corporation who got permanently trapped inside of the virtual world of the Battletoads video game they were working on thanks to a sabotage by the game's jealous creator.
Rash
Rash
Alter ego: Dave Shar
Voiced by: Jason Michas (pilot episode), Sean Chiplock (Killer Instinct (2013)) Eric Bauza (2020)
The cool one, he's vain, egocentric, glory-seeking and the one that convinces the others to find and defeat the Dark Queen again to restore their reputation.
- Attention Whore: In the reboot, he admits to the others he wanted to become famous as they did in the past despite they're just propaganda for the Topians.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Described as the most mentally unstable of the toads in the original games. The reboot keeps this trait and makes it more obvious with Rash being easily the craziest of the toads, often spacing out and utilizing much more surreal and slapstick transformations in his attacks
- Cool Shades: Rash is almost never seen without them.
- Epic Flail: His generic smash hit in the arcade game involves him turning his foot into a kicking flail.
- The Face: While Zitz is the team's actual leader, Rash is arguably the most well-known of the Battletoads due to his trademark Cool Shades and Totally Radical demeanor.
- Lightning Bruiser: The arcade game portrayed Rash as being the fastest of the trio.
- Tough Spikes and Studs: His dash attack in the arcade game is a kick that turns his foot into a large spiked boot.
- Wolverine Claws: His attack for killing prone enemies in the arcade game turns his fingers into large claws.
Zitz
Zitz
Alter ego: Morgan Ziegler
Voiced by: Ian James Corlett (pilot episode), Ryan Ridley (2020)
The team leader. A tech expert and the most grumpy of the group. He's been playable in all of the series' games save for Battlemaniacs, in which he was kidnapped by Silas Volkmire
- Chainsaw Good: His jumping charge attack in the arcade game turns his knee into a chainsaw.
- Construction Vehicle Rampage: His dash attack in the arcade game turns his arms into a giant bulldozer.
- Continuity Nod: He mentions that he was captured once before in the 2020 Reboot.
- Genius Bruiser: Easily the smartest of the 'toads, and just as good at fighting as the other two. In the later games where the toads have personalized attacks this is reflected in him using mechanical transformations like drills and saws.
- Jack of All Stats: In the arcade game, Zitz as presented as the "average" Battletoad, stronger than Rash (but not as fast) and faster than Pimple (but not as strong). The 2020 Reboot seems to have him trade this role with Rash, becoming something of a Lightning Bruiser instead.
- Only Sane Man: Though not without his own strange traits and ego issues, Zitz fulfills his role as leader by usually being the most calm and reasonable member of the ’toads.
- Power Fist: His generic smash hit in the arcade game is a punch that makes his hand a giant fist.
- This Is a Drill: His attack for killing prone enemies in the arcade game has him turn his hand into a drill and pierce the enemy's face.
Pimple
Pimple
Alter ego: George Pie
Voiced by: Scott McNeil (pilot episode), Echo Kellum (2020)
The muscle, he's also a pretty calm and sensitive guy.
- Anvil on Head: His jumping charge attack in the arcade game turns his fist into a giant anvil. It's somewhat subverted in that Pimple's anvil can decapitate any rats he hits, instead of just crushing their heads.
- Badass in Distress: In spite of the toads being a three-man group, Pimple isn't playable in the very first game of the series, due to being kidnapped alongside Princess Angelica.
- Beware the Nice Ones: The most gentle member of the team who can fly into unbridled rage when pushed too far.
- The Big Guy: Easily the largest of the toads.
- Brutish Character, Brutish Weapon: Since Battlemaniacs, Pimple has had a preference for heavy, blunt force for his unique smash hits. His generic smash hit in the arcade game turns his hands into a giant stone hammer.
- Character Catchphrase: "When brain power fails, brute force prevails!"
- Dumb Muscle: He's definitely not the brightest of the toads, but he more than makes up for it with his brute strength. Downplayed in the reboot where is a little dim, but is overall eloquent and wise.
- Finishing Stomp: Pimple's attack for killing prone enemies in the arcade game has him stomp on them while he turns his foot into a large weight.
- Gentle Giant: Pimple is by far the strongest, largest, and bulkiest of the toads, but he's also the most laid-back and amicable of the bunch.
- I Know Madden Kombat: Pimple's dash attack in the arcade game turns his head into a giant football helmet. He even yells "Touchdown!" when he nails an enemy with it.
Allies
Professor T. Bird
Professor T. Bird
Voiced by: Michael Donovan (pilot episode)
The Battletoads' mentor. An eccentric anthropomorphic Vulture who helps guide the Battletoads in their battle against the Dark Queen. Mostly he just makes fun of the toads and the player for losing at their horrifically difficult games, though.
- Bird People: He's an anthropomorphic vulture.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: He isn't seen or mentioned in the 2020 game though
Word of God has stated that he still exists in the universe. - Good is Not Nice: Sure, he helps the Battletoads, but that won't stop him from making jabs at them (or their foes) when they fail.
- Non-Action Guy: Doesn't join up with the 'Toads, but helps monitor their progress.
Princess Angelica
Princess Angelica
Voiced by: Lalainia Lindbjerg (pilot episode)
Angelica is the princess of the Terran Corporate and daughter of the Terran Emperor. In the first game, the Dark Queen kidnaps her in order to ransom her and use her to overthrow her father.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Is not seen or mentioned throughout the 2020 game.
- Damsel in Distress: Her only role in the game is to rescued by the Battletoads
- Fallen Princess: In the animated pilot, Angelica has to hide out from the Dark Queen on Earth and gets a job at a donut shop to blend in.
- Hidden Depths: Her official bio state that she holds the title of "Starchild of the Blood", possesses latent magical powers and is suppressing a secret dark side of herself, although none of this is explored in-game.
The Dark Queen's Forces
The Dark Queen
The Dark Queen
Voiced by: Kathleen Barr (pilot episode), Louise Stamper (1994), Siobhan Hewlett (2020)
The primary villain of the series. An immortal sorceress wielding dark and powerful magic who leads an army of mutant animals, robots and other creatures in her quest to conquer the universe. In the 2020 reboot, it's revealed that she was stripped of her powers by an alien race with cosmic powers known as the Topians and forced to work for them by making monsters and releasing them to cause chaos and destruction.
- Adaptational Modesty: Her original design was of a femme fatale in a tight, strapless Leotard of Power with a black cape, in the reboot she's dressed more like a mad scientist.
- The Bad Guy Wins: At the end of the reboot, she gets revenge on the ones who depowered her and finally achieves the status of ruler of the universe, though she is forced to be a benevolent ruler.
- Big Bad: Of most of the games. The reboot.
- Brought Down to Normal: The Topians stripped her of her power in the reboot. At least until the end where they're tricked into giving it back.
- Enemy Mine: Forms a team-up with the Battletoads to fight the Topians.
- Everyone Calls Her "Barkeep": Only ever referred to as the Dark Queen.
- Evil Brit: Has a noticeable British accent in the reboot.
- Generic Doomsday Villain: Her original iteration did not have a lot of characterization outside of being evil and arrogant.
- God Save Us from the Queen!: She's called The Dark Queen for a reason.
- Hartman Hips: Though her curves were overall toned down, the Dark Queen kept her huge hips and legs in the reboot. She even refers to her butt as a dumptruck at one, bizarre point in the story.
- Hidden Depths: In the 2020 revival, Queen is actually kind of a weirdo with womanchild tendencies, best exhibited by her profanity ridden rant at the toads, excitement about participating in the Toad's shenanigans. One of her stranger moments being admitting to swallowing an entire live fish unprompted.
- Impossible Hour Glass Figure: Her original design had large breasts and large hips connected by a pretty spindly waist. Her reboot design shrinks her chest, turning her into an example of Hartman Hips instead.
- Ms. Fanservice: Her original design. A big breasted and tall woman with large and chunky hips who wears little clothing.
- Not So Above It All: When she's flustered or angry, she quickly resorts to juvenile namecalling even after asserting that she's unflappable.
- Playing with Fire: In Battletoads and Double Dragon, she attacks by throwing fire balls and transforming into a patch of fire that moves along the ground, damaging the Battletoads or Lee brothers on contact.
- Purple Is Powerful: The reboot changes the colors of her clothing to purple, likely to invoke this and draw away from the Fanservice aspect.
- Red and Black and Evil All Over: She wears mostly black with a red cape.
- Spin Attack: In the original game, she transforms into a tornado and spins around the stage to attack the Battletoads.
- Statuesque Stunner: Her official bio from the original game states that she's seven feet tall. In the 2020 game, she's depicted as being slightly taller than both Rash and Zitz.
- Villainous Breakdown: One the Dark Queen's most defining traits in both versions is how easy she is to set off. In particular she never takes defeat well and many of the endings in the games have her furiously cursing the toads.
- Will-o'-the-Wisp: She transforms into a glowing wisp-like energy form to move around the arena during her fight in Battlemaniacs, and after her defeat.
Robo-Manus
Robo-Manus
- Adaptation Expansion: The previously unreleased Battletoads prelude novel greatly expands upon Robo-Manus as a character and gives him a proper backstory, revealing him to be a combination of a Fallen Hero and a Tragic Monster. Prior to serving the Dark Queen, Robo-Manus, given the full name of Robo-Manus IV, was a high-ranking cyborg security officer of the Terran Corporate and captain of the Gargantua, which was originally a prison transport tasked with transporting the Dark Queen to her eternal prison after her galactic trial. During an ambush by the Dark Queen's minions en-route, the Gargantua was shot down and crashed into planet Ragnarok, where Manus survived but was horribly mangled by the crash (His head was shoved down to his belly, effectively splitting his torso in half, explaining his unusual body shape in the games and artwork) and then further altered by Ragnarok's caustic radioactive atmosphere, resulting in him being mutated (quite painfully) into an even more grotesque version of his iconic form. The trauma of his mutilation and constant, burning pain of his mutated state drove Robo-Manus insane, reducing him to a gibbering, violently psychotic mess that begged for an end to his suffering. The then freed Dark Queen took advantage of this and promised to end his pain in exchange for killing the Battletoads, which he happily complied with in his state. He spends the rest of the novel playing cat and mouse with Rash and Pimple, demolishing and blasting everything in his path as he does so, before the pair finally manage to put him out of his misery (for the time being) by collapsing several tons of rubble on him.
- Arm Cannon: Artwork for Robo-Manus usually depicts him with a pair of blaster cannons mounted on his forearms. He actually uses them in the Gameboy game.
- Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: While Robo-Manus is one of the taller characters in the series by default, especially in the Gameboy game, his appearance in the arcade game has him clocking in at 76' 8" tall and weighing 12,931 lbs for his appearance as the final boss. He's shown in another gargantuan form during the flashback in the reboot comic.
- Backpack Cannon: He has one in the arcade game which launches a spread of three projectiles upward. He also seems to have one that functions as a mortar in the Gameboy game.
- Co-Dragons: With Big Blag.
- Combat Tentacles: He's regularly depicted with some kind of metallic tentacles growing from the cracks of his shoulder plating in his character artwork, though he never uses them in-game.
- Cyber Cyclops: He's typically depicted with a Cylon-like visor with a red or purple light serving as an eye. His appearances in Battletoads and Double Dragon and the arcade game give him a more angular visor with two eyes.
- The Dragon: While he shares the role with Big Blag, Robo-Manus is definitely the more dangerous of the two. Further supported by the fact that he serves as the final boss in the Dark Queen's stead in the Gameboy game and the arcade game.
- Eye Beams: He can fire lasers from his visor in Battletoads and Double Dragon. It's also implied that he does this as his final parting shot in the arcade game.
- Final Boss: In the Gameboy and arcade games.
- Goomba Stomp: He's notorious for this, especially in the original game where him landing on the player amounts to a One-Hit Kill.
- I Shall Return: Declares "I'll be back!" after his defeat in the arcade game. The new reboot-based comic shows that he indeed made good on that promise, as he's shown fighting the Battletoads in a flash back prior to the events of the reboot.
- Long Neck: Barring the NES and arcade games, he has an extensible, ball-jointed neck that allows him to swing his head about freely. Mainly seen in Battletoads & Double Dragon, but he also seems to have it in the Gameboy game as well as several
◊pieces of artwork. - Long-Range Fighter: He fights almost exclusively at range using his varied arsenal. That doesn't stop him from occasionally stomping on the 'toads though.
- Made of Iron: Perhaps literally. He's capable of fighting on even after he's been dismembered and even decapitated, as demonstrated in the Gameboy and arcade game. He also returns in Battletoads & Double Dragon none the worse for wear after being completely blown apart in the Gameboy game prior.
- Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot: He's a cybernetic mutant monster infused with the Dark Queen's Black Magic, referred to as a "Mutant Biogen" species-wise in the game's lore.
- Shoulders of Doom: One of his recurring features. Often featuring some grotesque fleshy brain-like tissue that can be seen through the cracks in his armor.
- Taking You with Me: Attempts this on the Battletoads at the end of the arcade game by critically-damaging their Space-Cruiser with before exploding. Of course, the Battletoads survive because they're the heroes.
- Turns Red: In every game he's in. Whether it's changing the pattern of his attack, jumping faster and more often, or simply increasing the speed at which he attacks, Robo-Manus always seems to fight much harder as he nears defeat.
- Verbal Tic: BZZT He hasz a particularly FZZT noticeable one.
- Villainous Breakdown: He suffers a complete systems breakdown after his brain takes enough damage in the arcade game, singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, offering a cup of coffee and wishing everyone a Merry Christmas before exploding.
- Walking Arsenal: Blaster cannons, visor blasts, missiles, exploding drones, hand-flung electric fire balls and mortar blasts all seem to be a part of Robo-Manus' built-in arsenal.
- What Could Have Been: Concept art for Robo-Manus shows he had a smaller, less-monstrous humanoid form resembling RoboCop, as well as his sprite in the original NES game. Additional concept art for an unreleased toy indicates that he would've undergone a horrific mutation (complete with his torso splitting in half to become his signature Shoulders of Doom) into his more recognizable form for battle. This lines up with what was shown in the prequel novel mentioned above, where Robo-Manus undergoes a rather horrific transformation.
- You Don't Look Like You: Rare could never seem to settle on a specific design for Robo-Manus, leading to him looking rather different in each subsequent game. Possibly justified in that he's likely getting rebuilt/improved upon each time he's destroyed by the 'toads.
Big Blag
Big Blag
A stout, obese mutant rat with a morning star tail who leads the Dark Queen's mutant rat pack. The second of the Dark Queen's bodyguards.
- '80s Hair: Big Blag has what can best be described as a cross between a mullet and a pompadour.
- Acrofatic: Big Blag is a lot more agile than he looks, and is capable of jumping very high. Used in tandem with his weight to crush the 'toads underneath him
- Beware My Stinger Tail: His most stand-out feature apart from his immense girth is the spiked morning star at the end of his tail, which he appropriately uses like a flail.
- Co-Dragons: With Robo-Manus.
- Counter-Attack: In the arcade game. Attempting to strike Big Blag with a smash hit a second time will usually result in him yelling "Sucker!" before immediately striking the player with his morning star tail.
- Dumb Muscle: While Big Blag is strong, his profile information states that he can't count or use a yardstick.
- Fat Bastard: He's a fat, greasy-looking rat that loves brawling with and stomping on the 'toads.
- Goomba Stomp: One of Big Blag's main attacks is leaping on and crushing the 'toads with his immense bulk.
- Inflating Body Gag: After being defeated in his giant form in the arcade game, his belly button pops out and he begins to fly around the room as he deflates back to his normal size.
- Lightning Bruiser: In the arcade game. Big Blag's capable of delivering hits surprisingly fast and rolling around the arena to attack the 'toads.
- Make My Monster Grow: Big Blag gains the ability to grow to an immense size in the arcade game.
- Stout Strength: Big Blag is nearly as muscular as he is fat, and he's more than capable of brawling with the Battletoads.
- Turns Red: Literally as well in the Arcade game. His jumps become much quicker and harder to avoid after he's been roughed up a bit.
General Slaughter
General Slaughter
Voiced by: Scott McNeil (pilot episode)
A muscular, anthropomorphic bull man that's known more for his brute strength than his intelligence.
- The Brute: General Slaughter is arguably the most physically powerful of the Dark Queen's top minions. While Robo-Manus uses his ranged arsenal and Big Blag throws his weight around, General Slaughter is generally content to use his horned head and fists to beat on the 'toads.
- Brutish Bulls: He's a large, anthropomorphic bull.
- Bullfight Boss: The key to beating him in the first game is to jump over him and attack him from behind... if you don't opt to simply juggle him to death, anyway.
- Degraded Boss: After his appearance in the original NES game, General Slaughter has generally appeared as either a Warm-Up Boss or a Mini-Boss in the later games.
- The Dragon: Acts as this to the Dark Queen in the cartoon pilot, as Robo-Manus is Adapted Out and Big Blag was Demoted to Extra.
- Dumb Muscle: He's brutish and powerful, but he's outright described in the manuals as one of the Dark Queen's least intelligent commanders.
- Four-Star Badass: He's one of the Dark Queen's generals, and strong enough to clobber the Battletoads in a fist fight.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: General Slaughter.
- Use Your Head: Befitting what he is, headbutting the Battletoads is one of his more common abilities.
Volkmire
Silas Volkmire
A programmer who likes to watch his testers squirm trying to beat his games. After the toads' human selves begin to overshadow him the gaming world thanks to their skills, he allies with the Dark Queen to trap them in her world, and in the process gained great power to keep them occupied.
- Create Your Own Hero: He was the one who turned the three heroes into anthropomoriphic, superpowered toads.
- The Ghost: Compared to his cohorts, Volkmire is rarely interacted with to any capacity. He gets namedropped in the NES game exactly once for one of the game's levels. Even in Battlemaniacs, where he takes the primary antagonist role, he's seen only partially in one cutscene, and is only "fought" by shooting his ship down in a final minigame.
- Killer Game Master: Silas loves watching people get frustrated with his games.
- Reality Warper: His powers let him manifest obstacles and enemies from his games into reality.
Minions
The Dark Queen's Mooks, and the primary victims of the Toads' smash hits.
- Giant Mook: The arcade game features massive versions of both the Dark Queen's pig and rat soldiers. The larger General Vermin is often an Elite Mook.
- Groin Attack: When slugging it out with a General Vermin, the Toads will grab them by the crotch and hit them in the nuts multiple times before doing a smash hit.
- Pig Man: The Dark Queen's "Psyko Pigs" are some of her most common foot soldiers.
- You Dirty Rat!: The Dark Queen's other most common foot soldiers are her various rat soldiers. They come in a variety of different forms, but they're all led by Big Blag.
The Topians
UTO and PIA
Voiced by: Tony Daniels (UTO), Drew Droege (PIA)
The primary antagonists of the 2020 reboot. A pair of egomaniacal, hedonistic cosmic entities that, like the Dark Queen, seek to conquer the universe.
- Beard of Evil: Like PIA, UTO has his own "facial hair" in the form of a gaseous goatee.
- Beware the Silly Ones: Sure, they're incredibly Camp and over the top at times, but they're still sadistic god-like entities that routinely torture or kill their minions for failing and can rob people of their powers seemingly at will.
- Big Bad: Of the Reboot.
- Cyclops: PIA possesses a singular "eye".
- Eldritch Abomination: They're god-like beings comprised of bizarre geometric shapes vaguely arranged to form faces, as well as nebulous clouds of gas that they can use as limbs.
- Evil Is Petty: They want to conquer the universe because... because they are powerful and they want to.
- Eviler than Thou: Their overall attitude towards the Dark Queen.
- Punny Name: UTO and PIA. UTOPIA.
- Villainous Breakdown: UTO and PIA keep their cool for most of the game, but when the toads actually begin to beat them both they devolve into having childlike tantrums.
- You Have Failed Me: They have no problems punishing their minions when they've failed them. Sometimes they're minor punishments, such as shrinking one of their minions several inches for giving them bad news. On the other hand, they outright torture the Dark Queen's Guardian after its defeat by having one of its eyes squeezed in a vice.
