"Crystal, beam down a character sheet for Centurions."
"Assembling character sheet and deactivating spoilers, Troper. Beaming now."
"POWER XTREME-reme-reme-reme!"
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The Centurions and their allies
The Centurions as a group
A futuristic fighting force who use Exo-Frames and Assault Weapon Systems to battle Doc Terror, and occasionally other villains who are equally powerful. There are three of them (Max, Jake and Ace) at the beginning of the series; two more (Rex and John) join the team in later episodes.
- Badass Crew: Each member was an expert in his field even before joining the team. Put them together, then give them Exo-Frames and Assault Weapon Systems, and they're almost unstoppable.
- By the Power of Grayskull!: Combined with Power Echoes: "Pow-ER Ex-TREME-reme-reme-reme!"
- Casual Danger Dialogue: They're always willing to make little quips in battle and taunt their enemies (and occasionally each other), even when things look bleak.
- Clothes Make the Superman: The Exo-Frames give the Centurions Super-Strength, even without the Assault Weapon Systems.
- Freudian Trio: Max (superego), Jake (ego), Ace (id).
- Gratuitous Spanish: On a few times, when particularly pressed to enter combat with Terror's forces, a Centurion would request to Crystal to send him the appropriate AWS, and adding Pronto! to it.
- Land, Sea, Sky: Jake, Max and Ace respectively.
- Meaningful Name/Steven Ulysses Perhero: Each of the original trio have names suited to their specialization: Max Ray, Jake Rockwell and Ace McCloud.
- The later additions also have them - Rex Charger is an energy specialist. On the other hand, John Thunder has an ironic name as he specializes in infiltration.
- Naïve Newcomer: Rex and John when they're first introduced.
- Required Secondary Powers: The Centurions' Exo-Frame suits give them a degree of Super-Strength — which they need to wear the heavy Assault Weapon System parts attached on them. Sometimes, even when already equipped with their AWS, the Centurions are still able to lift some pretty heavy things, like debris from falling buildings and such.
- Sixth Ranger: Rex and John.
- Superhero: More or less. They may be Badass Normals without costumes or special powers, but their Exo-Frames and Assault Weapon Systems make up the difference.
- Three Plus Two: Max, Jake and Ace + Rex and John.
- True Companions: The Centurions aren't just colleagues; they're friends who genuinely like and respect each other, despite their disparate personalities. They've saved each other's lives countless times, and they hang out together when they're not fighting Terror's forces.
Max Ray, Brilliant Sea Operations Commander
Assault Weapon Systems: Cruiser, Tidal Blast, Depth Charger, Sea Bat, Fathom Fan
Voiced by: Pat Fraley
The most scientifically-oriented of the original trio, the level-headed Max is a calming influence on his more impetuous teammates. When he suits up and takes to the water, Doc Terror is sunk.
- Brainy Brunette: He's the smartest of the first three Centurions and has black hair.
- Dub Name Change: The Latin American dub had renamed his Cruiser system to "Torrente" and his Tidal Blast was known as "Rompeolas" ("Wavebreaker").
- Fake Defector: He does this in "Max Ray... Traitor" to infiltrate Gremlin, a Milkman Conspiracy of spies who pose as janitors. He even pulls off a very uncharacteristic Evil Laugh.
- Genius Bruiser: If you need a bunch of Killer Robots blown up underwater, he's your man. If you need to design a gadget that'll do the job more efficiently, he's also your man.
- Grappling-Hook Pistol: Well, it's not exactly a grappling gun but his Tidal Blast system does come with a built-in grappling hook launcher and line, which has come in handy more than once. Ironically, this is a more realistic take on the trope since the hook launcher is housed inside Tidal Blast's big "backpack" unit, instead of being a handheld or even an arm-mounted device.
- Green and Mean: Inverted Trope. His Exo-Frame is primarily bright green (with black highlights), but he's one of the heroes.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: He was designed to look like Tom Selleck, right down to his Porn Stache. He also bears an appropriate resemblance to Mark Spitz, the Olympic Gold Medalist swimmer.
- Not Quite Flight: On a few occasions Max has used the leg mounted thrusters of his Cruiser system to slow his descent (after falling from a high height) and/or to maneuver himself into water. He has also used Ace's Skyknight system a few times (when Ace himself wasn't available), but since his domain is water and not air, he's considerably less of an expert at flying it.
- Plot Tailored to the Party: He's the team's field leader (more or less), but since he's the sea operations specialist his weapon systems are all aquatic (although he does tend to use the Cruiser, his lightest assault system, for fighting on land if there was not sea, a river or lake nearby). Since most population centers are near water, it doesn't come up much, but on occasion he needs to use one of Jake or Ace's systems. He's taken aback when Jake borrows Depth Charger, his heaviest weapon system, for underwater use.
- The Smart Guy: The first of two on the team.
- Written-In Absence: He's the only member of the original three to miss an episode; he doesn't appear in "Ghost Warrior", although his teammates mention him a few times.
Jake Rockwell, Rugged Land Operations Specialist
Assault Weapon Systems: Fireforce, Hornet, Wild Weasel, Detonator, Swingshot, Awesome Auger
Voiced by: Vince Edwards
A futuristic cowboy who prefers straightforward attacks to stealth or guile. He always brings Doc Terror's robots to ground.
- The Big Guy: His function on the team, as he's the one who favors a simple Attack! Attack! Attack! strategy over complex battle plans.
- Brutal Honesty: He's not very diplomatic, and if he thinks somebody is full of it he'll say so.
- Dub Name Change: The LA dub renamed his Fireforce to "Lanzallamas" ("Flamethrower") and his Wild Weasel was "Motociclón".
- Flight: Via the Hornet, a helicopter-like AWS. He's usually the one flying Centurion to go for when Ace isn't available or already busy elsewhere.
- Foe Romance Subtext: He and Amber have kind of a thing going on, although she's into it more than he is.
- An Ice Person: His Detonator and Hornet AWS are armed with freezing cannons.
- Trademark Favorite Food: His chili surprise, which he likes to cook himself.
- You Have to Believe Me!: In "Counter Clock Crisis", when he tells his teammates that he was temporarily zapped 24 hours into the future and saw Doc Terror take over Skyvault, they predictably think he's gone crazy, so he has to stop Terror's plan with Shadow as his only backup.
Ace McCloud, Daring Air Operations Expert
Assault Weapon Systems: Skyknight, Orbital Interceptor, Skybolt, Strato Strike
Voiced by: Neil Ross
A cocky, wisecracking daredevil who enjoys flying, fighting, and romancing beautiful women (most notably Crystal Kane). He blows Doc Terror's plans sky high.
- Ace Pilot: In case his name didn't tip you off...
- Batman Can Breathe in Space: Ace is known to have survived in the vacuum and cold of outer space after being Thrown Out the Airlock for a few seconds, before being beamed to safety. But the man apparently is also capable of being beamed into space, with only his Exo-Suit on (no helmet at all!), and shout, in the vacuum of space, "Power X-TREME-TREME-TREME!" to have his Orbital Interceptor's parts attach to him. Go figure. (At least when Max does the same thing underwater, he's not really in a vacuum and the water can actually propagate sound; easier than air, in fact).
- Blue Is Heroic: His Exo-Frame is blue (with silver highlights), and he's one of the good guys.
- Boisterous Bruiser: An airborne variation. He really enjoys turning Doc Terror's Strafers into flaming hunks of scrap metal.
- Chivalrous Pervert: He's a shameless ladies' man who has flirted with Hot Witch Cassandra Cross and Princess Diana of Atlantis, among (many) others.
- Cruel Mercy: When he infiltrates the "cyborg underground" in "Cyborg Centurion", he defeats a powerful warlord in a dominance fight, then lets him live because "he'll never command respect from [his followers] again."
- Dub Name Change: In the Latin American dub they renamed his Skyknight to "Ráfaga Éter" ("Aether Gust") and his Skybolt to simply "Armadura" ("Armor").
- Fake Defector: He gets his turn at this trope in "Cyborg Centurion"; to stop one of Terror's schemes, he infiltrates a subculture of cyborgs who brutally fight each other in Gladiator Games.
- Fiery Redhead: He has brownish red hair and is the most Hot-Blooded member of the team.
- Flight: His role on the team. All his Assault Weapon Systems are based on Cool Planes.
- Invisibility: His Skybolt AWS has an anti-radar deflector that renders Ace invisible and undetectable to radar.
- Perpetual Smiler: Just look at his page pic! Out of all the Centurions, Ace is the one who shows off his pearly whites most often. Even his action figure has a toothy grin.
Rex Charger, Energy Expert
Assault Weapon Systems: Electro-Charger, Gatling Guard
Voiced by: Robert Ridgely
The brightest member of the Centurions — literally, since his Exo-Frame glows in the dark. Also, he's a scientist who specializes in energy studies, and his Assault Weapon Systems are even more advanced than the ones his teammates use. He's always ready to turn the lights out on Doc Terror.
- Badass Bookworm: In his first appearance, it's noted that he needs to learn to act as well as think. Fortunately, he's a quick study, and soon he's blowing up Mecha-Mooks with the best of them.
- Bioluminescence Is Cool: A variation. In the toy line, his helmet and Exo-Frame glow in the dark, as do parts of his weapon systems. At least, the prototypes glow, because Rex's action figure and Assault Weapon Systems were canceled before they made it to stores.
- Expy: A wealthy inventor with Manly Facial Hair who fights supervillains while wearing protective armor? Nope, never heard that one before.
- Manly Facial Hair: He has a sandy blonde beard, giving him a Viking-like appearance. It also gives him a (probably unintentional) resemblance to the G.I. Joe character Rock 'n Roll.
- Millionaire Playboy: He was one (as well as a scientist) before becoming a Centurion.
- Red Is Heroic: The non-glowing highlights on his Exo-Frame are a kind of orangey red.
- The Smart Guy: He joins Max in this trope.
- Spy-Tux Reveal: A parka-clad Rex does a variation when he first appears. On a mountain in Iceland, he uses one of his inventions to draw heat from a volcano, then removes the parka (revealing the tux underneath) and has a formal dinner in the middle of nowhere, complete with robot waiter!
John Thunder, Infiltration Specialist
Assault Weapon Systems: Silent Arrow, Thunder Knife
Voiced by: Michael Bell
An enigmatic Centurion whose area of expertise is sneak attacks and infiltration. Terror will never know what hit him.
- Badass Native: He's a Native American, specifically a full-blooded Chiracahua Apache. Overlaps with Token Minority.
- Blade Enthusiast: Both of his Assault Weapon Systems have bladed weapons. Silent Arrow includes a hand-held vibro-knife, while Thunder Knife is essentially two pairs of gigantic blades attached to a tank-like base; when John activates its Spectacular Spinning action, the system becomes a human-sized buzzsaw.
- Dark Is Not Evil: His Exo-Frame is a midnight blue that's almost black. It's the Centurions equivalent of a Spy Catsuit.
- Famous Ancestor: He's a direct descendant of Geronimo.
- Friend to All Living Things: He has an affinity with animals. His bond with Shadow is almost as strong as Jake's, and his first appearance shows him riding through the desert on a horse, then removing a rattlesnake from his path instead of harming it.
- The Infiltration: His specialty is sneaking into and out of enemy territory. In "To Dare Dominion", he even manages to make it into Terror's Elaborate Underground Base, which the heroes had been searching for the entire series.
- I Work Alone: His attitude when he first joins the Centurions. While he learns how to function as part of the team, he still does his own thing occasionally — as in "To Dare Dominion", where he goes one-on-one with Claw while the others deal with Terror's Neutron Vortex.
- Stealth Expert: His role on the team.
- Walking Shirtless Scene: He wears either his Exo-Frame (in uniform) or a vest (out of uniform) over his bare chest.
- We Used to Be Friends: His relationship with Claw, his former martial arts sparring partner/Rival Turned Evil who became one of Terror's cyborg henchmen. John sadly notes that "Claw could have been a great Centurion, but he chose the wrong path." It doesn't help matters that during their final battle, Claw dies before John can save him from himself.
Crystal Kane
Voiced by: Diane Pershing
The Centurions' Mission Control. She spends most of her time on the space station Skyvault, where she supervises the team's activities and beams down the Assault Weapon Systems.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: Her relationship with Ace in a nutshell. However, they get some Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other moments.
- Benevolent Boss: She's always looking out for the team, and she suggests which Assault Weapon Systems and battle tactics would be best for a given situation.
- Blue Is Heroic: Both her work and civilian outfits are primarily blue. Overlaps with True Blue Femininity.
- Fiery Redhead: Zig-Zagged Trope. She's usually cool, calm and collected, but she'll occasionally let her temper show — usually when Ace is getting on her nerves.
- Mission Control: As noted. Overlaps with Voice with an Internet Connection, even though the series predates the internet.
- The Smurfette Principle: The only woman among the recurring heroes.
Shadow and Lucy, the Centurions' Pets
Shadow
Lucy
The Centurions have two animal friends to keep them company and occasionally help (or hinder) their efforts to stop Doc Terror. Shadow is a Malamute dog whose primary caretaker is Jake. Lucy is an orangutan who hangs out on Skyvault with Crystal.
- Animal Testing: Part of Lucy's Back Story is that she was a test subject for the Exo-Frames.
- Big Friendly Dog: Shadow, as long as you're not Doc Terror or one of his henchmen.
- Expy: Lucy is based on Clyde, Clint Eastwood's pet orangutan in Every Which Way but Loose and its sequel Any Which Way You Can.
- "Good Luck" Gesture: In "The Sky is on Fire", Crystal tells Lucy to cross her fingers just before attempting to teleport a weapons system through atmospheric disturbance. Lucy holds the gesture behind her back.
- Heroic Dog: Shadow has helped the Centurions save the day a few times. It helps that he has his own "power harness" that includes small weapons, in effect giving him a mini-Assault Weapon System.
- Named After Somebody Famous: Lucy is (presumably) named after the famous fossil
discovered in 1974. - Non-Human Sidekick: Their relationship to the human heroes.
- Plucky Comic Relief: One of Lucy's functions on the show is to provide amusing animal antics.
- Speech-Impaired Animal: They're supposedly "augmented IQ" animals, who are intelligent but can't speak.
- Team Pet: Shadow is Jake's, and Lucy is Crystal's, both of them are pals with the entire team.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Lucy's antics can lead into this trope. For example, in "Child's Play" she's monkeying with the control panel for the beaming chamber at Skyvault; this results in Wild Weasel being sent back to the high school where Jake had just made an appearance, allowing an Emo Teen with Psychic Powers to take control of it.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: If two animals can be said to have this relationship, it's Shadow and Lucy. They bicker, but will ultimately work together if their human masters are in danger.
The Villains
Doc Terror
Voiced by: Ron Feinberg
The series' major villain, a cyborg Mad Scientist whose ultimate goal is to turn all humanity (and the occasional animal) into cyborgs under his control. He's convinced a few desperate criminals to do so voluntarily, but most people aren't interested. Therefore, Terror intends to convert us all by force — which is why the Centurions are constantly fighting his Evil Plans.
- Bad Boss: If he's not yelling at Hacker, he's betraying his associates.
- Big Bad: A Diabolical Mastermind, and the most powerful (and frequently seen) villain in the series.
- Brainy Brunette: He's an Evil Genius, and (what's left of) his hair is black.
- Cyborg: He is one. He made Hacker one. He wants to turn you into one.
- Diplomatic Impunity: In the Comic-Book Adaptation by DC, Terror has declared his Elaborate Underground Base Dominion to be a sovereign nation, so the Centurions aren't allowed to just beam down there and arrest him. (The cartoon has a different explanation: the heroes can't pinpoint Dominion's exact location [although they know it's somewhere beneath the Arctic] thanks to Terror's stealth technology.)
- Do Not Adjust Your Set: He often does this to announce his latest Evil Plan and issue threats to the world.
- Emergency Transformation: In a Flashback, when he says that Hacker (who's having second thoughts about becoming a cyborg) can't be turned back into a full human, Hacker freaks out and mortally injures him, and he's forced to use his own cyborgization process to survive. Atypically for the trope, he likes his new form.
- Enemy Mine: In "The Better Half" and "Man or Machine", he reluctantly allies with the Centurions to save himself when his own schemes put him in danger. (Along with the rest of the world, although he doesn't care about that.)
- Evil Is Not a Toy: He learns this the hard way in "Man or Machine", in which he joins forces with Gog, an alien Master Computer, and its henchbot Magog to exterminate all organic life on Earth. He thinks he and Hacker will be spared because they're cyborgs. Wrong! They wind up on the opposite end of You Have Outlived Your Usefulness.
- Evil Sounds Deep: He has a low, guttural voice when he speaks.
- Mad Scientist: His inventiveness is matched only by his evil. He also hires several other mad scientists to help him with specific schemes.
- Morally Ambiguous Doctorate: Interestingly, he's called Doc Terror on the series and Dr. Terror on his action figure package.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Need we go on?
- Perpetual Frowner: Although he sometimes sports a creepy Un-Smile when things are going his way.
- Red and Black and Evil All Over: His cyborg body is primarily red, with black highlights.
- Start of Darkness: A Flashback in Part 2 of "Man or Machine" shows that Terror always thought converting people into cyborgs was a good thing, even while he himself was still fully human. He brought Hacker before the Council of World Scientists, who told Terror that his research was unethical and threw him out. Then came his Emergency Transformation. Still bitter over being rejected by his peers, the new Doc Terror decided to put his genius to evil use and conquer the world.
- Take Over the World: He has to do this before he can turn us all into cyborgs, doesn't he?
- Two-Faced: In his cyborg form, his face is half-human, half-robotic.
- Unwilling Roboticization: What his plan for humanity boils down to.
- Villain Exclusivity Clause: He's the main villain in all but a handful of episodes. Either he initiated whatever Evil Plan the Centurions are currently fighting, or the person who did is working for him.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: How he seems to think of himself, despite all the terrible things he does.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: How he treats several of his allies once he's gotten what he wants from them. Typified by this exchange from "Return of Captain Steele", in which he tricks some peaceful Polynesian natives into capturing the Centurions for him, then plans to pay them back by blowing up their island with his new superweapon.Hacker: But Doc! What about Ali'i's tribe?
Doc Terror: What about them? They've served their purpose!
Hacker
Voiced by: Ed Gilbert
Hacker was an ignorant small-time crook who became the subject of Doc Terror's first cyborg experiment. Rewarded with incredible strength, he was soon pressed into service as Terror's enforcer.
- Bald of Evil: He's as short on hair as he is on brains.
- Beleaguered Assistant: While he's less competent than most examples of this trope, he's got the "mistreated by abusive boss" part down pat. In "Hacker Must Be Destroyed", Terror even tries to have him killed when he becomes a liability.
- Big Ol' Eyebrows: They're the closest thing to hair he has.
- Blue Is Heroic: Inverted Trope. His cyborg body is blue (with a few black highlights), but he's one of the bad guys.
- Cyborg: In-Universe, he's the Ur-Example.
- Dumb Muscle: He's very strong, but he's not very smart.
- Freak Out: In the Back Story, when Terror tells him he can't go back to being fully human, he reacts with a violent tantrum that leads to Terror's critical injury and Emergency Transformation.
- From Nobody to Nightmare: Once he was a petty thief. Now, he's the Sidekick to the world's most dangerous supervillain and a threat in his own right.
- Identical Stranger: In "Return of Captain Steele", a tribe of Polynesian islanders trusts him because they mistake him for Captain Steele, a lookalike astronaut who visited them decades ago. Terror takes advantage of this, even though it means he has to pretend that Hacker is his boss.
- Pet the Dog: Despite his usual depiction as a dimwitted thug, he occasionally grabs the Kindness Ball.
- In "Return of Captain Steele", he befriends a tribe of Polynesian islanders, and later sabotages Terror's latest scheme when it threatens the tribe with destruction.
- In "The Better Half", he reverts to childlike docility when he and Terror are temporarily captured and separated.
- Walking Shirtless Scene: Like John Thunder, he's barechested under all that metal.
- The Watson: Terror frequently explains his sinister schemes to Hacker (and through him, the audience).
Amber, Doc Terror's daughter
Voiced by: Jennifer Darling
Amber is a professional "sting" artist who has a contentious relationship with her father.
- Brainy Brunette: She's a clever Con Artist with jet black hair.
- Con Artist: When she commits crimes on her own, although she sometimes uses her skills to assist her father.
- Daddy's Little Villain: Although she will perform a High-Heel–Face Turn if Doc's plans go completely overboard.
- A Day in the Limelight: There are a few episodes where she's the villain without Daddy Dearest being involved.
- Evil Versus Oblivion: She'll help with her father's schemes if there's something in it for her. However, if she thinks his plots are too destructive, she'll tell him so — and if he won't back down she'll do something about it, even going to the Centurions. After all, she doesn't want to remake the world like Daddy does — she just wants to get rich. However, she always helps her dad escape when the authorities are closing in.
- Graceful Ladies Like Purple: It's the primary color of her default outfit.
- Mad Scientist's Beautiful Daughter: A variation, since she's anything but innocent.
- Master of Disguise: A frequently-used part of her skill set.
- Missing Mom: We know who her father is, but her mother is never even mentioned.
- Only One Name: She's only ever referred to as "Amber, Doc Terror's daughter". Does she call herself Amber Terror? Does she even use a last name? We never find out.
- Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: Although she's not quite as pale as most examples of the trope.
- The Smurfette Principle: The only woman among the recurring villains.
- The Ugly Guy's Hot Daughter: Even with half his face mechanical, Doc Terror has a rather menacing looking expression always plastered on the fleshy half, with wrinkles and teeth consistently shown in a scowl. The only thing his daughter inherited from him is hair color.
- Villainous Crush: On Jake Rockwell. The attraction is more or less one-sided on her part.
- Wig, Dress, Accent: She only needs to put on a wig, and occasionally glasses or a French accent, to fool the heroes again and again.
