Characters / Steppenwolf: The X-Creatures Project

The Protagonists

Steppenwolf

Dr. Alan Kane, aka Steppenwolf

A former scientist who used to work for the Donovan Corporation, and the main protagonist of the series.

• Almost Kiss: With Meg at the end of season 5. Interrupted by the Albino.
• Anti-Hero: He's definitely the good guy, but the Heruka incident has left him rather bitter. And he will resort to killing if he has to.
• Badass Normal: Dr. Kane has faced down several cryptids to acquire their blood samples — and fought the groups guarding these cryptids — and lived.
• Berserk Button: You don't want to badmouth Shelley in front of him unless you'd like to be punched in the face.
• Deadpan Snarker: "This is what happens to nasty boys."
• Death Glare: Shoots Reggie one in the prologue of season 6.
• Genius Bruiser: A brilliant scientist, but is also perfectly capable of taking out the bad guys by himself. Usually in really creative ways, though he doesn't have much issue with punching them out.
• Heartbroken Badass: He was devastated when the news was brought to him that Shelley died, and only got worse when he discovered the truth and later watched her die.
• The Hermit: Went into hiding after the Heruka incident, and spends most of his time tracking the X-creatures.
• Heroic BSoD: When Shelley dies. He snaps out of it quickly, though.
• Improbable Weapon User: Let's see, thus far he's used: a tree, a wheel, a camera, a pickaxe tied to a rope, electrical charges, and a hydrogen tank to either incapacitate or kill.
• Let Them Die Happy: Tries this when he sees Shelley again, telling her that the project was a success, but she's in too much pain for it to work.
• MacGyvering: Takes everyday objects and makes them into useful tools or even potential weapons.
• Mountain Man: Before he comes out of hiding, at least.
• Nice Guy: Despite being a hermit and incredibly stubborn, Steppenwolf is actually a rather pleasant guy when he's not in the presence of Donovan or his associates. He repeatedly shows altruism, such as refusing to take the boat to the lighthouse before freeing Pedro from the cult's captivity (and smearing himself with goat's blood to distract the Chupakabra and lure it away from Pedro and Meg), making areas more accessible for the handicapped Olaf, and helping Meg out when she's stuck in her seat in the crashed helicopter.
• The Stoic: Alan rarely displays emotion all that strongly. In the final season, he's visibly angered when he finds out that Reggie forced Shelley to inject herself with the Heruka serum, and displays sorrow when Shelley dies in front of him.
• Tragic Hero: He was lead to believe that his wife, Shelley Thompson, died in a plane crash, when she was actually transformed into the murderous Heruka.
• Unresolved Sexual Tension: With Meg, partly thanks to their Almost Kiss, and because they had to part ways after the destruction of the X-Creatures Project. Though Meg thinks she'll see him again.
• Walking Shirtless Scene: But he's more modestly dressed in seasons 2-4.
• You Monster!: To Reggie, after The Reveal:
  Alan: You bastard! You forced her to do this to herself!
  (Reggie looks up, revealing his cracked face)
  Meg: What are you hiding behind that mask?
  Alan: What kind of monster are you?

Meg

Meg Crimson

A journalist for World Geographic Magazine, which is owned by the Donovan Corporation.

• Action Girl: She's surprisingly resourceful for a journalist. Takes down dinosaur-worshiping Natives, Tibetan militiamen, and many others. She even incapacitates the Albino.
• Almost Kiss: With Alan at the end of chapter 5. Interrupted by the Albino.
• Damsel in Distress: Subverted. While she tends to get captured or caught in traps quite often, she does just fine with getting herself out of trouble. Though occasionally, Alan assists her.
• Deadpan Snarker: As much as Alan, especially around Derek, even after the reveal that he was Evil All Along.
  Meg: And I always thought you were just a wimp. What a nice surprise to find out you're a pompous fool, as well!
• Decoy Protagonist: In the first two seasons. Becomes the Deuteragonist after her and Alan start working against Donovan.
• Face Death with Dignity: Subverted. She's prepared to die while Derek inspects the bag for the blood sample, but little did he know that he'd been set up.
• Fiery Redhead: Her Establishing Character Moment has her storm into her boss' office, threatening to quit because she's tired of writing what she considers to be "runaway dog stories". She gets better in later seasons, though, replacing most of her hot temper with snark.
• Intrepid Reporter: Once she parts ways with World Geographic.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She's irritable and sarcastic, but values exposing the Donovan Corporation above everything else. In later seasons, she drops the "jerk" part.
• Unresolved Sexual Tension: With Alan, partly thanks to their Almost Kiss, and because they had to part ways after the destruction of the X-Creatures Project. Though she thinks she'll see him again.
• Unwitting Pawn: To Donovan, initially. Which she finds out later.

The Donovan Corporation

Donovan Jr.

Reggie Donovan

The head of the Donovan Corporation and the Big Bad of the series.

• Corrupt Corporate Executive: Almost everyone on the Gene-X research team was assassinated on his behalf, while others — such as McAllister — were strongarmed into working for him when he bought their companies. He also has Tibetan terrorists in his pocket to carry out his orders whenever he needs them to.
• Dirty Old Man: Being somewhere in his 30s or 40s, he's not old, per se, but he suffers from Werner's syndrome, which causes him to age prematurely, and he hits on his young, attractive nurse while she's applying concoctions to his face to cover up his wrinkles.
• Faux Affably Evil: Mostly in his introductory sequence, where he congratulates Meg on making it to the top level of the Donovan Corporation headquarters and makes her an offer she "cannot afford to refuse", and later when he meets Steppenwolf again in the Arctic.
• For Science!: Why he turned Shelley into the Heruka.
• Immortality Immorality: Wants to inject himself with the X-creatures' DNA to cure his Werner's syndrome, all while ordering assassinations and blackmailing anyone who comes too close to the truth.
• Jerkass: Most prominently in the last couple seasons. He's highly unpleasant and impatient with the heroes.
• Kick the Dog: Revealed to Steppenwolf that he forced Shelley to turn herself into the Heruka, shortly after rescuing her.
• Psychopathic Manchild: According to his dossier, he "approaches his role of CEO much like playing the latest shooter video game."
• Sanity Slippage: Towards the end of the series, his sanity begins slipping more and more and he keeps dropping any semblance of rationality, ignoring Sanchez' request that he wait before injecting himself with the Heruka serum.
• The Sociopath: Both as a human and as the Heruka. He has absolutely no conscience to speak of and views everyone else as beneath him. The deaths of his men at the claws of the Heruka only annoyed him, serving as a setback in his search for immortality. This is ultimately taken to its logical conclusion when he brutally murders his own guards after his transformation.
• Villains Out Shopping: Getting concoctions applied to his face to slow down the process of premature aging while the Albino stands by, unamused by his attempts to hit on his nurse.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: He orders Steppenwolf and Meg killed after The Reveal, and later kills his own men once he becomes the Heruka, presumably because he no longer needs them, due to his newfound immortality.

As the Heruka

• Absurdly Sharp Claws: That can pierce metal walls and tear down bridges.
• Ax-Crazy: He relentlessly pursues Steppenwolf across the island, using whatever means at his disposal to kill him. And he also slaughters his own guards just because they happened to be there, and possibly because he had no more use of them, being virtually immortal and all.
• Bad Boss: Kills his guards after transforming himself into the Heruka.
• For the Evulz: Seems to treat his pursuit of Steppenwolf like a game, waiting for him to get close so he can attack him, then disappears for a while after he does.
• Implacable Man: Survives numerous blasts from the cannons and booby traps Alan set up for him before finally having his head blown off.
• It Can Think: Reggie displays a frightening amount of human-like intelligence as the Heruka. He chases Alan across the island, destroying a bridge while he's on it, patiently waiting whenever he climbs down a ladder, and destroys the cannons Alan shoots him with.
• Nightmare Face: LOOK AT HIM.
• No Body Left Behind: After being blasted by the last cannon, all that's left of him is his head.
• One-Winged Angel: His transformation into the Heruka resembles this.
• Rasputinian Death: After injecting himself with the Heruka serum, Reggie becomes Nigh-Invulnerable. Alan is — in no particular order — forced to trap him under pylons, in steam, and in exposed wires, and shoots him with a cannon each time. He is eventually killed.
• Slasher Smile: He has a malicious-looking grin across his face.
• Spikes of Villainy: Post-transformation, he sprouts a few nasty-looking spines along his back.
• Super-Persistent Predator: Part of what makes him so scary is that he'll wait for Steppenwolf at the bottom of a ladder as he's climbing it.
• Too Dumb to Live: Yes, Reggie, go on the platform only after Steppenwolf has blown up the tower and exposed the wires. It's clearly not a trap.
• Xenomorph Xerox: He heavily resembles a Xenomorph with his partially elongated head and skeletal physique, and is rather durable.

Donovan Sr.

Edward Donovan

Reggie's father and the founder of the Donovan Corporation, and the X-Creatures Project.

• Corrupt Corporate Executive: As founder of the Donovan Corporation, it's safe to say that he wasn't exactly a decent businessman just trying to make a living.
• Evil Old Folks: Not quite as evil as his son, but his morality is still questionable.
• Greater-Scope Villain: The X-Creatures Project wouldn't have started were it not for him, and the Heruka incident would have been common knowledge. He's not quite as bad as his son, but he's far from a saint.
• Pet the Dog: According to Reggie, it's why he lied to Alan about Shelley.
• Posthumous Character: He died long before the game began. All we see of him is when Alan is telling Meg about the X-Creatures Project, and his corpse, hidden in a cryogenic chamber beneath the compound where Meg is held prisoner in the penultimate episode.

Albino

The Albino

Donovan's personal enforcer. Responsible for the deaths of almost everybody involved with the X-Creatures Project.

• Badass Normal: Well, he is an assassin, so it's pretty much a requirement. Especially notable is that he's in a series with quasi-supernatural creatures. He also seems rather physically strong, pinning down Steppenwolf after being disarmed and then ripping a steel pipe away with his bare hands.
• Blood Knight: Seems a little too excited at the notion of shooting up "voodoo freaks."
• Creepy Monotone: He speaks in a flat and robotic tone with next to no inflection, and it highlights his sinister nature as Donovan's right hand.
• Disney Villain Death: While in the dam, Steppenwolf ducks under a fusebox while he's swinging a pipe at him, and he ends up driving the pipe through the box, then falls to his demise.
• The Dragon: He's Donovan's primary enforcer, killing anyone he's ordered to kill.
• The Heavy: Does most of Reggie's dirty work for him, with the implication that he roughed up Sanchez when he and his boss caught him hacking into Donovan Headquarters' mainframe.
• High-Voltage Death: Subverted. Meg incapacitates him this way, and Alan finishes him off many episodes later by ducking under a fusebox when he's swinging a pipe at him. Instead of dying from electrocution, the Albino falls into the dam.
• Knight of Cerebus: The game is already dark as is. But whenever he shows up, the stakes are always higher, and he'll relentlessly chase you, and you're left with no other choice than to run or hide.
• Mouth of Sauron: Personally gives Donovan's orders.
• No Name Given: He's just "the Albino."
• No Sense of Humor: Doesn't seem very amused by Donovan's attempts to flirt with his nurse.
• Professional Killer: If Donovan needs somebody silenced, he sends the Albino after them.
• Sinister Shades: A pair of red sunglasses for his albinism.
• The Stoic: The Albino never displays much in the way of emotion, and almost always speaks in the same robotic monotone.

Captain

Captain Lachlan

One of Donovan's men. He took Meg and Derek to the Congo, and showed up again later to stop Meg and Alan from trying to walk out on Donovan.

• Awesome Aussie: Not so much on the "awesome" part, since he constantly stands in the heroes' way, but he does have a slight Australian accent.
• The Brute: He displays a bit more intelligence than most examples of this trope, but he's mostly just muscle to keep Meg and Steppenwolf in line.
• Butt-Monkey: Less so than Derek, but he's been shot by poisoned arrows and buried beneath a load of dead fish.
• Evil Sounds Deep: Not menacingly so, but still deep.
• The Mole: In the first season, though he drops the façade by the fourth.
• Unexplained Recovery: He's shot by a poisoned arrow in the first episode and tells Meg to dissolve the antidote in alcohol and bring it back to him. When she gets back, he's gone. Then he's revealed to have survived at the end of the season.

World Geographic Magazine

Mc Allister

Mr. McAllister

Meg's boss at World Geographic Magazine, who sent her on an assignment entitled Secrets of the Wild, under orders from Donovan.

• Drowning My Sorrows: He's shown drinking in his office, presumably out of guilt for having to take orders from Reggie.
• Punch-Clock Villain: Doesn't particularly want to work for the Donovan Corporation, but sees no other choice.
• Put on a Bus: Is shot by the Albino, then hospitalized and never seen again.

Derek

Derek Murphy

A goofy professional photographer for World Geographic Magazine, and one of Donovan's men, sent to acquire the blood samples of the X-creatures.

• Beware the Silly Ones: As laughable and worthless as he may seem, he's working for Donovan, and he will murder anybody — even defenseless and pacifistic Buddhist monks — who stand in his way of finding the X-creatures.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: At first, he just seems like a worthless dork whose only purpose is to supply comic relief with his Skewed Priorities and the constant abuse that he receives. Much of it's revealed to just be part of his act, though, as he is more than willing to kill a bunch of unarmed Buddhist monks.
• Butt-Monkey: In the first season alone, he is shot with poisoned arrows, gassed, tied up and cut with knives, nearly sacrificed to the Mokele Mbembe, and is forced to carry heavy luggage. Finally, he's apparently killed by a Tibetan militiaman in the second season, though he is revealed to have faked his death, but is later killed offscreen by the Yeti.
• Evil Brit: Has a slight but noticeable British accent and is working for Donovan. And he executes a group of Buddhist monks.
• Faking the Dead: He is apparently shot by a member of the Tibetan militia, but by the third episode of the second season, he's revealed to be not only very much alive, but giving the militia their orders.
• Fiery Redhead: After The Reveal that he's working for Donovan.
• Jerkass: Besides murdering the monks and working for the Donovan Corporation, he is just an all-around unpleasant and rash person.
• Karmic Death: Gets his just desserts by the beast he was seeking out, after murdering the monks who were protecting Alan.
• The Mole: To the Donovan Corporation.
• Obfuscating Stupidity: While the abuse he endures is most certainly real, the end of season 1 shows that he tends to exaggerate his clumsiness so he doesn't blow his cover as The Mole.
• Plucky Comic Relief: Derek is clumsy and incompetent, has a bad sense of priorities, a goofy demeanor, and receives the most abuse out of anybody in the cast. Thus, he stands out as this dark series' primary source of humor for the first couple seasons.
• Skewed Priorities: Puts his luggage above his own life, though he claims that there are items that his and Meg's survival depends on.
• Smug Snake: As soon as he drops his clumsy act, he puts his arrogance on full blast. Meg lampshades this.
• Unwitting Pawn: Doesn't seem very aware of the X-creatures project. It's unclear if he was just playing dumb when Alan mentioned the project, but he's enraged when Alan refuses to tell him what he's talking about.
• Walking Spoiler: That almost his entire section is whited out speaks for itself. He's actually The Mole, sent to track down the Steppenwolf and acquire the blood samples for Donovan.

The Gene-X Research Team

Shelley

Shelley Thompson

An ambitious and passionate biologist and the head of the X-Creatures Project, prior to the Heruka incident. Also Alan's wife, and the Heruka.

• Died in Your Arms Tonight: Alan gets to see her one last time, and she dies in front of him.
• Fate Worse than Death: Being forced to turn herself into the Heruka — and later having no recollection of the incident — certainly qualifies.
• Happily Married: To Alan Kane.
• Not Quite Dead: Alan was lead to believe that she died in a plane crash. Turns out the truth is far worse.
• Posthumous Character: Or so we thought.

As the Heruka

• Ax-Crazy: A bloodthirsty, murderous beast.
• Femme Fatalons: Long, sharp claws on her hands and feet.
• Horns of Villainy: Has three horns on her head and is a vicious beast.
• I'm a Humanitarian: Its bio states that she's a "carnivore". If the image is anything to go by, we can only assume what exactly that entails.
• It Can Think: Not quite to the extent that Reggie can, but her behavior towards Alan seems to imply that she doesn't particularly want to hurt him, growling at him before pouncing and giving him a chance to run away.
• More Teeth than the Osmond Family: Take a look at the picture.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: As with most of the X-Creatures she shares genes with.
• Spikes of Villainy: A couple of bones protruding from her shoulders and wing-like spikes on her back.
• Tragic Monster: Donovan forced her condition on her, and she killed dozens of his men in the process. Made even more tragic by the fact that once she's cured, she doesn't remember any of it and dies shortly after.
• Weakened by the Light: She cannot stand bright lights, and will flee if exposed to one and cower if trapped within them.

Sanchez

Octavio Sanchez

The sole survivor (supposedly) of The Purge by Donovan.

• The Atoner: A former member of the Religion of Evil native to Puerto Rico and Gene X researcher, he has abandoned both of these groups and regrets helping Donovan in his research. Sanchez offers Steppenwolf a chance to see Shelley again, and plans on nuking Donovan's compound to put an end to the X-Creatures Project for good.
• Good Scars, Evil Scars: Has a very noticeable scar across his left eye, works for Donovan, and once had some sort of connection to the Brotherhood. But he's a good guy now.
• The Hermit: Lived in a remote house in the desert to avoid being killed by Donovan.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Deeply regrets having a hand in Shelley's transformation.
• Nuke 'em: How he plans to put Donovan out of business and eliminate the X-Creatures Project once and for all.
• Pet the Dog: Offered a devastated Alan a chance to see Shelley one last time.
• Unexplained Recovery: In season 5, he's stabbed by a member of the Brotherhood, but recovers quite quickly.

The X-Creatures

Mokele Mbembe

The Mokele Mbembe

Lunchtime!

A giant, malicious dinosaur.

• Artistic License – Paleontology: It is apparently a sauropod dinosaur, but possesses features not known in sauropods, particularly horns, frills, fangs, and a tail fluke. Plus the fact that it's apparently carnivorous (though the Monster Manual states it simply hates humans).
• Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: Towers over every character, and even the other X-creatures, with the possible exception of the Kraken.
• Ax-Crazy: It's one of the few X-creatures that appears to be genuinely hostile towards humans, and will chase them down without much provocation.
• Darkest Africa: It resides in the Congo.
• Mokele-Mbembe: The African dinosaur-like cryptid itself.
• Non-Malicious Monster: Averted. It relentlessly chases anything that just happened to have stumbled across its territory — namely, humans — until it catches up and kills them.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: See the picture.
• Religion of Evil: A tribe of African natives worship it, and offer people as sacrifices.
• Super-Persistent Predator: The "predator" part may be debatable given it resembles a herbivorous dinosaur, but still it won't rest until it finds you and catches you in its jaws.

Yeti

The Yeti

The mythical Abominable Snowman, who resides in a cave in the Himalayan mountains.

• Bigfoot, Sasquatch, and Yeti: Obviously, the Yeti.
• Non-Malicious Monster: The Yeti doesn't seek to hurt anybody, and will only attack people if they wander into its cave. Even then, it only seems to become hostile if it's provoked directly, and pushes Steppenwolf out of the way if he runs into it prior to their fight.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: Seems to be a recurring theme among the X-Creatures.

Heruka

The Heruka

A vicious creature created by the injection of a serum in a human or animal made from all the X-creatures' genetic material.

• Canon Foreigner: Out of all the cryptids shown in the series, the Heruka is the only one completely made up by the dev team.
• It Can Think: The monster's dossier describes it as "intelligent", although with Eruka and Shelley, this seems to be an Informed Attribute in-game, as they come off as little more than feral beasts. Played fully straight with Reggie, though.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: Eruka, the monkey injected with the serum, has them, and so does Shelley. Averted with Reggie, though.

Kraken

The Kraken

A giant squid that dwells in the oceans of Norway.

• Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: You only ever get a glimpse at it resting, but it's implied to be massive. Its tentacles are spread out all over the ocean.
• Combat Tentacles: It isn't violent by nature, but will not hesitate to use its tentacles against anyone who gets too close to it.
• Hellish Pupils: A prominent pair of slits in place of pupils, although it's not a malevolent creature.
• Kraken and Leviathan: Is none other than the Kraken of Nordic folklore.
• Non-Malicious Monster: Like the Yeti, it never actively seeks out human prey unless they come to it.

Chupacabra

The legendary goatsucker of Central America.

• Chupacabra: Except it's spelled, "Chupakabra".
• Fangs Are Evil: Averted. Although it's a bloodsucking animal with fangs, it's certainly not evil.
• Good Wings, Evil Wings: Neither, really, but its wings are quite sinister-looking and compliment its vampiric appetites.
• Non-Malicious Monster: Prefers to survive off of the blood of goats, but if "summoned" by a certain tune, it will attack at will.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: Yet again.
• Religion of Evil: The Brotherhood, a cult that worships the beast and offers it both animal and human sacrifices.
• Spell My Name With An S: "Chupakabra", as opposed to the traditional spelling, "Chupacabra".

Other characters

Olaf

Dr. Olaf Hargvor

A Norwegian engineer and a friend of the Steppenwolf, who lost his leg in a previous expedition to find the Kraken.

• Animal Nemesis: The Kraken.
• Expy: Of Ahab. Both lost a leg when confronting an enormous sea creature and want revenge. Olaf is just less violent.
• Fake Nationality: He's supposed to be Norwegian, but his accent is clearly French. Justified because the dev team were unable to find any Norwegian voice actors, living in Quebec and all.

Pedro

Pedro

A young boy acquainted with Octavio Sanchez. He helps Meg find the Chupacabra.

• Missing Child: He's abducted by members of the Brotherhood to be sacrificed to the Chupacabra. His mother was apparently looking all over for him.
• Wise Beyond Their Years: Shows quite a bit of craftiness for his age. He manages to distract the farmer and allow Meg to sneak past him.