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Characters / Michael Vey

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In the Sci-Fi/Superhero world in which the series takes place, numerous characters are a given.

MASSIVE SPOILERS AHEAD

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The Electroclan

    General 
A group formed by series protagonist Michael Vey as he discovered the origins of his powers. The original members were Ostin Liss, Taylor Ridley, and Michael himself. After Taylor is kidnapped by Elgen Inc., along with Michael's mother, Michael hires Jack and Wade to drive him and Ostin to Pasadena for a rescue mission, and the group continues to expand from there.
  • Anti-Hero Team: They all have done and said things that are disconcerting, but at the same time necessary for their survival.
    • They range from blood knights types, like Jack and Zeus, who are all too willing to hit and zap Elgen, to pragmatic heroes like, Tessa and Ostin, who give cold and unsettling advice, to Good Is Not Soft types like Michael, Taylor, and Tessa, who will be perfectly willing to socialize and joke with you until you are their enemy, then you better run.
  • Bad Powers, Good People: Most of them have powers that would be outright terrifying if they weren't all heroic teens.
  • Battle Couple: Michael/Taylor, Ostin/Mckenna, Jack/Abigail, Possibly Zeus/Tessa.
  • Beware the Nice Ones: They joke, laugh, play and otherwise act like regular teenagers one moment. The next they will take down anything in their way.
  • Cool Ship: At the end of book 6, they steal the Elgen ship, the Joule.
  • Crime of Self-Defense: Downplayed example: While they all live in the United States and are still just considered teens with no powers, over in China and Peru they are considered international criminals for the 'crime' of defending themselves and others from the Elgen.
  • Determined Defeatist: At their most pessimistic, they are all willing to die to stop the Elgen, but they are usually more optimistic and deal with the constant pressure on their lives with surprising light-heartedness.
  • Dysfunction Junction: They aren't all lunatics or anything, but most of them do have Dark and Troubled Past to deal with and several of them have neurosis or psychological issues that occasionally bring arguments into the group.
  • Famed In-Story: They are (in)famous for their actions and abilities, with it being stated in the third book they have a reputation for doing the impossible.
  • Fire-Forged Friends: Being hunted down by an evil organization causes your group to bond pretty quickly.
  • From Nobody to Nightmare: All of the members were either ordinary high school students or captured by Hatch before becoming the Elgen's biggest threat.
  • Hero with Bad Publicity: As mentioned under Crime of Self-Defense, their actions to stop the Elgen have resulted in their being branded as international criminals by China and Peru.
  • Heroic Neutral: Most of them would be more than happy to just be normal teenagers that don't have to save the world, but some of them (including their leader) have Chronic Hero Syndrome and they are True Companions, so they can't help but help.
  • Improbable Age: With the exception of Jack (who is just 17) and Wade (who is 16), they are all just 15.
  • Just a Kid: All of them are minors, despite all of them being on a mission to save the world.
  • Living Emotional Crutch: La Résistance is this for them, as they give them comfort and support, while letting them feel like kids.
  • Men Are the Expendable Gender: Tanner, Wade, and possibly Michael have been killed by book 6, yet no girl has died despite them being almost equal in number.
  • Quantity vs. Quality: A dozen or so teenagers with special powers have probably done more to fight the Elgen than the rest of La Résistance.
  • Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: Oh so very much.
  • Spanner in the Works: All of their plans have been changed on the spot at some point, and usually just cause trouble for Hatch rather than stop him in his tracks.
  • Squishy Wizard: Zigzagged. Some Glows, like Zeus, are perfectly fit. Others, however, have a lot to be desired in the strength department without their powers.
  • The Team Benefactor: La Résistance is also this for them.
  • Thou Shalt Not Kill: They attempt to keep this trope in play and fail. Discussed briefly in Book 4.
  • Took a Level in Badass: Continuing from Book 2 onward.
  • Took a Level in Kindness: Their more Jerk with a Heart of Gold members do this from Book 4 onward.
  • Took a Level in Idealism: Also Book 4 onward.
  • True Companions: All of them are the closest of friends with each other, though they can have a funny way of sharing it.
  • Underestimating Badassery: The Elgen seem prone to underestimating their biggest threat. Even in Book 4, when Hatch admits he underestimated Michael, he still says he's the only reason they can get anything done.
  • Undying Loyalty: All of them would risk everything for each other.
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: Taylor to Ostin, Tessa to Ostin, Tessa to Taylor (as well as just about everyone), Tessa to Zeus, Zeus to Jack, Jack to Wade, Ostin to Wade, McKenna to Wade... The list goes on.

     Michael Vey 

The Hero. He has the power to emit a small shock that he calls "Pulsing" and to absorb electricity.

  • All Guys Want Cheerleaders: His relationship with Taylor starts as this.
  • Ascended to a Higher Plane of Existence: Being struck by lightning at the end of book 6 turned him into pure energy. It took the majority of book 7 to figure out how to regain physical form.
  • Chick Magnet: Surprisingly has his fair share. One of Talyor's friends showed interest in him before she started dating him, Tessa was implied to be attracted to him, and Cassy is a fangirl of his.
  • Deadpan Snarker: He has his moments of this, particularly when he narrates.
  • Deceased Parents Are the Best: His father died when he was eight. At first, he believed he killed him with his powers, but the Voice reveals that Schema ordered his death.
  • Disability Superpower: It is believed that his Tourette Syndrome stems from his powers.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: At the end of book 6. Fortunately, he didn't really die.
  • I Have Your Wife: Hatch kidnapping his mother sets off the conflict.
  • Ordinary High-School Student: Subverted. He's had his powers since childhood, but his call to action doesn't happen until his freshman year of high school.
  • Power Parasite: As the series progresses, his powers improve with every electrical encounter he has.
  • The Hero: Of the Electroclan.

     Taylor Ridley 

The main heroine and Michael's girlfriend. She has the power to scramble people's minds, or as she calls it, "rebooting," and with proper physical contact, can read minds too.

     Ostin Liss 

Michael's best friend and The Smart Guy of the Electroclan.

     Jack Vranes 

Michael's bully-turned-friend and The Big Guy of the Electroclan.

  • Alcoholic Parent: His father, to the point where he worries that he was passed out when his house was burned down by the Elgen.
  • Badass Normal: He's not even a Glow, and yet he's still one of the most powerful members of the team.
  • Berserk Button: Hurting Wade is a quick way to get on his bad side.
  • Big Brother Mentor: As the series progresses, he becomes this for Michael.
  • Big Brother Worship: He's proud to admit that his brother is in the military. Averted with his other brother, who is a junkie that's serving a prison sentence. He's on the receiving end of this from Wade.
  • Barbaric Bully: When he believes Michael tattled on him, he punched him in the face and gave him a bruise.
  • Big, Screwed-Up Family: Subverted. While he's a delinquent, his father is a drunk, and his brother is a drug addict, he also has another brother in the military and a sister that runs a tanning salon.
  • Book Dumb: He is still a freshman at 17.
  • The Bully: At least he was at the beginning of the series.
  • Bullying a Dragon: For a while, he and Wade didn't know that Michael was Electric until they tried humiliating him in front of Talyor.
  • Catchphrase: Semper Fi.
  • Character Development: Probably the most blatant example in the series. He goes from a bully to a Jerk with a Heart of Gold to one of the nicest characters in the series.
  • Cool Car: He unfortunately abandons it in Meridian after the Electroclan encounters the Resistance.
  • Heroic BSoD: Wade's death hit him the hardest.
  • Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Wade, and later Michael.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Even when he was still a bully, he cared deeply for Wade and even beat up his abusive father.
  • Nice Guy: After his character development goes full circle.
  • Official Couple: With Abigail.
  • Team Dad: For the Electroclan.
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: With Zeus.

     Wade West 

Jack's best friend and a former bully.

     Ian 
A blind Glow that willingly rebelled against Hatch. He has the power of Electrolocation.
  • Blind Seer: With his electrical powers, although he can do things like read with his powers that downplay this aspect.
  • Disability Superpower: His Electrolocation made him blind.
  • Heroic BSoD: After Wade died. While everyone, especially Jack, was hit by it, he particularly felt guilty about it because he didn't sense Wade's killer coming.
  • Like A Sister To Me: With Abi and Mc Kenna.
  • Nice Guy: He, along with Abigail, is one of the only ones in the Electroclan that never acts confrontational and is generally very polite and relaxed. Even Taylor, Ostin and McKenna had their moments of Jerkassery
  • Platonic Life-Partners: With Abigail and McKenna.
  • Power Perversion Potential: He can use his powers to watch girls undress, which was Lampshaded in Fall of Hades.
  • Twofer Token Minority: Not only is he the only African American on the team, but he's also blind.

     Abigail 
Another Glow that willingly rebelled against Hatch. She has the power to stimulate nerve endings, taking away pain.
  • All Girls Want Bad Boys: With Jack. However, by the time they were together, Jack had reformed from his bully days.
  • Brainless Beauty: She's considered hot enough to attract twenty-something-year-old men, and is also one of the more smarts-challenged members of the group.
  • Dumb Blonde: While she's not an idiot, she does have her moments of ditziness.

  • Girly Girl: She's the most feminine and least action-oriented of the main girl team.
  • The Heart: She's the kindest girl in the group.
  • Heroic RRoD: Her taking away pain involves her feeling a numbed version of that pain. She's perfectly willing to make that sacrifice, though.
  • Heterosexual Life-Partners: With McKenna.
  • The Medic: While she doesn't heal wounds, she at least takes the pain of them away.
  • Nice Girl: She's the nicest person in the Electroclan next to Ian.
  • Official Couple: With Jack.
  • Platonic Life-Partners: With Ian.
  • Team Mom: She'll always put other's pain before her own.

     McKenna 
Another Glow that willingly rebelled against Hatch. She has the power to produce light.

     Zeus 
One of the Glows that helped capture Michael's mother. He has the power to throw lightning.

     Grace 
Another one of Hatch's former Glows. She has the power to store data, like a human flash drive.
  • Flat Character: She has yet to have been given a chance to shine or develop as a character.
  • Heroic RRoD: Putting her information onto a computer is an experience she describes as similar to "throwing up".
  • Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Tessa.
  • Put on a Bus: She's sent to work with La Résistance and almost never shows up again afterward.
  • Shrinking Violet: She almost never talks if she can help it.
  • The Load: Her power is useless from an offensive standpoint, so she always stays with the Resistance while the Electroclan go out on missions.
  • Non Action Girl: She isn't interested in fighting.
  • The Quiet One: She didn't say much prior to joining the Electroclan.
  • Token Good Teammate: For the Elgen in book 1. She was the only one who neither had to be rescued nor defeated to join the Electroclan, but rather on her own volition.

     Tanner 
A Glow with the power of electrical interference, which Hatch uses to take down airborne planes.

     Tessa 
A Glow with the power of Electric Enhancement. She ran away from the Peruvian Starxource Plant to the Amacarra Tribe, where she met Michael.

     Nichelle 

Hatch's former lapdog. She has the power to absorb and detect electricity.

Elgen Inc.

Non-El employees

     Dr. C. James Hatch 
The Big Bad of the series and the head of Elgen Inc.
  • The Alcoholic: As the series progresses and more and more of his plans are foiled, he turns to Scotch to relieve his pain.
  • Axe-Crazy: He loves watching people be killed or tortured, although he often has his henchmen do the dirty work for him.
  • Bad Boss: If the Elgen forces weren't so huge, killing his underlings would be a bad business decision.
  • Berserk Button: Betraying him is an easy way to get on his bad side. Mentioning Zeus becomes one for him after he betrays him.
  • Big Bad: For the series.
  • Boomerang Bigot: He sees Nonels (non-electrics) as inferior beings, despite being one himself.
  • Corrupt Corporate Executive: He was the CEO of the Elgen, was demoted after the MEI went haywire, and regained his position after usurping Schema.
  • Deader than Dead: Michael vaporizes him in The Final Spark, leaving nothing behind but a pile of ash.
  • The Dragon: He was this to Chairman Schema in the first book.
  • Dragon Ascendant: Hatch violently kicks Chairman Schema, his former boss, out of his high position and gains full power of the company.
  • Fallen Hero: If Mrs. Vey is to be believed, he not only used to be a good person, but he was a family friend of the Veys.
  • Faux Affably Evil: Hatch is a total sociopath, but he often speaks in a friendly tone that belies his cold-hearted, murderous ways.
  • Godhood Seeker: Would like to become this by destroying humanity and building from the ground up.
  • I Have Your Wife: Usually his Plan-B when spoiling the Glows doesn't convert them.
  • Killed Off for Real: Michael finally fries him at the end of book 7.
  • Manipulative Bastard: From toying with his enemies into giving them what he wants to shoving threats and lies down the throats of who he considers his own children, he does this all the time.
  • A Nazi by Any Other Name: Let's see. Talks about making a more powerful species of humans, worthy to rule over the others? Check. Absolutely no mercy or compassion? Check. Happy to torture and kill in utterly ruthless ways? Check. Usurps control through technically legal means and then goes on to build up an army and take over a country with no international reprisal? Check. For bonus points, just like Hitler not being Aryan himself, Hatch is a Nonel.
  • No Body Left Behind: The only thing left of him by the end of book 7 is a pile of ashes.
  • Sadist: Oh so very, very much.
  • Sadistic Choice: He has forced others into this on multiple occasions.
  • The Sociopath: His plans for world domination involve killing millions of people, and he feels not an ounce of remorse for any of the deaths he causes or intends to eventually cause. He loves to torture and kill his enemies, or workers who displease him, in gratuitously agonizing ways, such as feeding them to his swarm of electric mutant rats.
  • The Starscream: To Schema.
  • The Usurper: How he takes over the Elgen.
  • Villain with Good Publicity: As far as most people in the world know, he's the benevolent CEO of an organization that provides free, environmentally-friendly electrical power.
  • Villainous Breakdown: Becomes progressively more unhinged over the course of the last two books. When Michael confronts him for their final showdown, he's scrambling away, begging for mercy.
  • Would Hurt a Child: Big time.
  • You Have Failed Me: He'll either kill the underlings that fail him, or make them wish he did.

     Chairman Giacomo Schema 
The CEO of Elgen Incorporated.
  • Corrupt Corporate Executive: He may not be as bad as Hatch, but he isn't exactly a saint either.
  • Defeat Means Friendship: While he's not exactly on the Electroclan's side, Hatch taking over the Elgen forced him to side with the good guys.
  • Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He was implied to be in a relationship with one of the board members. She willingly took Schema's place to be strung upside down, and Schema expressed sorrow when she died.
  • Pragmatic Villainy: Some of his more noble acts were for his own self-interest (like demoting Hatch and forcing him to free Michael's mother).

     The Elgen Board 
Chairman Schema's underlings.

     David Welch 
Hatch's right-hand man and Captain of the Elgen Guard.

The Electric Youth

     General 

The Glows who willingly work for Hatch to bring about his world order.

     Quentin 
One of Hatch's Glows and has the power to produce EMP waves.

     Tara 
Taylor's twin sister and a Glow with the power to control emotions and later cause hallucinations.

     Bryan 
A Glow loyal to Hatch with the power to cut through hard surfaces.
  • Adult Child: He is the least mature of the Glows.
  • Brainless Beauty: He is mentioned to be physically attractive, but would probably have better luck with women if not for his stupidity.
  • The Ditz: He is shown not to be the sharpest tool in the shed.
  • Dumb Muscle: For the Elgen.
  • Laser Blade: His power more or less gives him this ability.
  • Token Minority: He is the only Hispanic Glow.
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: With Quentin. Despite the latter's tendency to mock him for his stupidity, they still seem to hang out a lot.

     Kylie 
The other female member of the Elgen kids. She has magnetic powers.

     Torstyn 
The sadistic Token Evil Teammate of the Evil Counterparts. He can create microwaves.

     Zara 
The seventeenth Glow. Hatch kept her a secret from everyone but himself as his personal secret weapon.
  • Dark Action Girl: Even more so than Nichelle.
  • Last Episode, New Character: Introduced in book 7, long after the rest of the Glows.
  • Power Copying: Her main ability.
  • Small Role, Big Impact: Does relatively little in the final book, but by copying Taylor's powers, she allows Hatch to completely destroy the resistance in a single attack.
  • Undying Loyalty: To Hatch. Even Coondrat's admission that Hatch was not the only one who had a hand in the creation of her powers isn't enough to shake her devotion to him.
  • Walking Spoiler: Everything about her is a spoiler.
  • We Hardly Knew Ye: Killed by Michael in the same book that she's introduced.

The Resistance

     The Voice/ Dr. Coondrat 

The current leader of the Resistance who gives the Electroclan their missions.

     Jaime 

A Peruvian Resistance Worker, who assists the Electroclan in Books 2-3.

     Gervaso 

A former Marine who works with the Resistance. Serves as a trainer for the Electroclan.

     Joel 

A Resistance Worker who manages scheduling at The Resistance. Is implied to be in love with Sharon Vey.

  • Dropped a Bridge on Him: He and the other resistance members are killed when Hatch bombs Christmas Ranch in book 7.
  • Mauve Shirt: Not a major character, but he still gets a decent amount of appearances in books 4-6.

     Ben 

A Taiwanese immigrant and Resistance Worker. Assists the Electroclan in Book 4.

     Cassy 

A secret Glow Hatch didn't know about. She works for the Resistance as an assistant.

Other

     Sharon Vey 

Michael's mother, and the unintentional reason the Electroclan started up.

  • Damsel in Distress: For most of the first two books. And again in the last one
  • Good Parents: Always supports her son and does whatever she can to protect him and his secret.

     Carl Vey 
Michael's father, who died when his son was a child. It's revealed in the last book that he faked his death in order to lead the resistance against Hatch.
  • Big Good: He founded the resistance against the Elgen before he died. Or rather, has continued to lead it after faking his death.
  • Daddy Had a Good Reason for Abandoning You: He faked his death and had to stay away from his wife and son to protect them from Hatch while he leads the resistance against the Elgen.
  • Deceased Parents Are the Best: Comments from Michael and his mother indicate Carl was a loving father. It's a good thing he's still alive then.
  • Disappeared Dad: He died of a heart attack when Michael was eight. Until Book 7 reveals he faked his death in order to protect his family and found the resistance.
  • Faking the Dead: Book 7 reveals that he faked his death to lead the reistance.
  • The Man Behind the Man: He even outranks The Voice.
  • Mysterious Benefactor: Only Cassy and The Voice know who he is..
  • Posthumous Character: Everything we know about him comes from second-hand sources. Until Book 7 that is.
  • Walking Spoiler: Talking about anything to do with him from book 4 onward is a major spoiler for the series.

     Principal Dalstrom 

The principal of Meridian High School.

  • Evil Principal: Mr. Dallstrom is the rude and cruel principal of Meridian High School that the titular Michael and his peers attend. He picks on weak and unpopular students, and in Michael's case makes fun of his Tourette's Syndrome and punishes him with detention when he is bullied, making up reasons like "[Y]ou cannot be stuffed into a locker without your consent" and for not struggling "hard enough" against his bullies. He later stoops even lower when he accepts bribes from the corrupt Elgen Cooperation to send Michael to their "school" in California so they may experiment on him.
  • Jerkass: is big on punishing the victim in any situation.

     Mitchell 
Jack and Wade's old bully friend, who gives them shelter in Book 2.
  • Enemy Mine: The Electroclan spend the first part of book 2 taking refuge in his house while his parents are gone.

     Charles Ridley 

Taylor's father and head of the Meridian Police Force.

     Raul 
A Peruvian man forced to work at Elgen's Starxource plant. He helps the Electroclan infiltrate the facility in the second book.

     The Amacarra Tribe 
An Amazonian tribe that helped Tessa, and later Michael, in the jungle.

     Jade Dragon 
A deaf, mute, and Asian autistic savant who has an IQ of 180. She was able to unintentionally solve the problems the Ekegn were having with their MEI and need Ed to be saved by the Electroclan in Book 4.

     J.D. 
An old friend of Gervasos who the Resistance recruits to smuggle the Electroclan into Tuvalu in the second half of Book 6. He sold them out to get money for his drug addiction.

     Enele Saluni 
The son of the Tuvalu Prime Minister. He was imprisoned in the Elgen compound on Hades in book 6, and subsequently freed when the Electroclan came to rescue Tara and Torstyn.
  • Mauve Shirt: A large chunk of the final book focuses on him rallying his people to take back their country from the Elgen.
  • La Résistance: Leads one against the Elgen in the final book consisting of the native people of Tuvalu.

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