List of characters in VR Troopers

This a list of fictional characters from the TV series "VR Troopers".

Ryan Steele

Ryan Steele (played by Brad Hawkins) is the son of Tyler Steele. He learns the nature of his fathers' disappearance when he is recruited alongside Katlin Star and J.B. Reese by Professor Hart to be V.R. Troopers; Ryan's responsibilities sometimes take a backseat to his obsession of finding his father. He is the principal character of the series, directly linked through blood to the unfolding agenda of Grimlord, who uses his father in areas to increase his hold on virtual reality, and continue to battle the Troopers to conquer our own. Every episode begins and ends with Ryan reflecting on his fathers' teachings at the temple he and Tyler trained at. Ryan's obsession is mellowed by his desire not to see his friends hurt or his world suffer, and he is hopeful he will one day reunite with Tyler.

This eventually does happen, for only a brief time, Ryan, in conflict with the mutant Darkheart learns that the soldier is really his father, under Grimlord's control, Ryan's efforts to free him succeed, but it eventually results in a near war erupting as Grimlord attempted to recapture Darkheart, as Ryan soon fails to hold on to Tyler, and Grimlord takes him back to virtual reality.

Ryan commands various powers at his disposal in the first season, including the Laser Fist Command, Lightning Hand Command, and Eternal Gyro Command, his patented finisher, his arsenal also includes a Turbo Cycle and laser rifle, when a battle grid emergency arises, Ryan uses an alternate costume to combat Skugs in the grid alongside the other Troopers.

Despite being a team player, Ryan fights his battles in virtual reality "virtually" alone, due to the differing Japanese series used to create V.R. Troopers, Ryan's counterpart was only one hero against a mutant army, he only unites with his friends as a Trooper in U.S. footage (for example, the battle grid, and the Skybase cockpit), as footage of one loner Metal Hero series, "Choujinki Metalder" ran out, Saban replaced it with another, "Uchuu Keiji Shaider", in the five part story "Quest For Power", Ryan's powers are completely destroyed, rescuing his father once and for all, Ryan is given new armor, powers, vehicles (including the Bluehawk and Nitro Cycle) and weapons (including his new finisher, the Laser Saber). He and Tyler's reunion would be brief, as Tyler departed, branching out globally to find a way of destroying Grimlord. Ryan's fight afterwards was now to hold the fort until his father returned.

The star of the series and leader of the VR Troopers. Ryan is the only character to have two different uniforms, as there was not enough stock footage of his Red/Blue uniform for the second season.

JB Reese

JB Reese (played by Michael Bacon) is a computer genius and an expert black belt. JB was always obsessed with technology and constantly relies on it for solutions. But his ongoing experience as a VR Trooper has taught him to appreciate life outside the convenience of technology. JB was quite capable of holding his own in battle, armed with a laser gun and using his primary weapon, the Laser Lance, as a finishing maneuver against Grimlord's monsters and robots. He would usually impale a mutant, and the mutant would either surrender, have "heartburn", or be unaffected. Only Mechanoid, Photobot, Fanbot, and Electrobot were unaffected. And then after the mutant would surrender, JB would destroy it anyway through repeatedly slashing rapidly, causing the mutant to overheat, fall over, and explode. Also in JB's arsenal was the VR Techno Bazooka; the VR Skybase (later complete with Troopertron transformation) which could transform into a double-barrel cannon and JB would project a giant virtual image of himself to pull the trigger. The VR Technobazooka was always used on Grimlord's air forces and never on any monsters. When the battle grew too dangerous for reality, he activated a Vortex Command on his waist (via a button) to transport himself and the enemy in virtual reality.

Kaitlin Star

Kaitlin Star (played by Sarah Brown) is a reporter and photographer for a newspaper called "Voice Underground Daily". When she wasn't saving the world as a heroine, she was saving it through her journalism and photography. As a Trooper, Kaitlin didn't have as many personal weapons and attacks. She carried around a hand pistol, occasionally a hatchet weapon, and later gained the ability to split into two dubbed "VR Kaitlin Double Team." She mainly fought alongside JB and often served as backup for both male troopers via the VR Skybase. Kaitlin, on two events, demonstrated the ability to heal a fellow trooper by transferring some of her power to re-energize the other Trooper. Although Kaitlin never finished off a mutant herself, her and JB would often combine their laser pistol blasts in a "VR Double Team", usually stunning and weakening a mutant, with a few exceptions. This is not to be confused with the "VR Kaitlin Double Team", where she summons an exact duplicate of herself to assist her in battle.

Jeb

Jeb (played by Zeb and voiced by Kerrigan Mahan) is Ryan's pet Redbone Coonhound, whom he had since he was young. Jeb was accidentally subjected to a power surge in the part two of "The Battle Begins" that gave him the ability to speak. Ryan had him promise that he would never speak when around other people, so Jeb is usually silent except while in the lab. Jeb is known for both his mischievous personality and his humorous demeanor. Often, Jeb serves as comic relief, and both Percy and Mrs. Rooney are frequent victims to his antics. Jeb was based on Metalder's talking cyborg Doberman, Springer. Jeb speaks much like actor Jack Nicholson.

Professor Hart

Professor Horatio Hart (played by Julian Combs) is the mentor and serves a Zordon-like role. He was a computerized being who would provide and construct the necessary arsenal and equipment that the Troopers would use throughout the series. Hart was once a flesh and blood human who worked with Tyler Steele on the VR Trooper project. Until one day, he was mortally injured by Grimlord; to keep Hart alive, Tyler virtualized his brain. In early pilot footage for the show (as seen in a VR Troopers promo featured on the Power Rangers Official Fan Club video) Hart was originally portrayed by a Caucasian male slightly resembling Albert Einstein.

Grimlord

Grimlord/Karl Ziktor (portrayed by Gardner Baldwin) is the main nemesis. A sinister warlord from the virtual world who also has a human alter-ego, a computer company chairman named Karl Ziktor. His marble desk was devoid of anything a CEO might actually need on his desk (nameplate, computer, etc), only an intercom and more importantly a crystal ball that allowed him to morph into Grimlord and return to his palace in Virtual Reality. To activate the transformation into Grimlord, Ziktor placed his left hand on the ball, which shut his blinds automatically, darkening the room; he then said the words "Forces of Darkness, empower me! Take me back to my virtual reality!" This was similar to the villain from Metalder.

Because the character was based upon footage of the main villain of Metalder, for season two the character underwent a major change in appearance as the writers switched to new US-filmed footage of the character. Also his transformation sequence changed to involve a green crystal to transform (this same crystal was the one used to collect info on Tyler Steele in the five-part miniseries "Quest For Power.")

Karl Ziktor kept a large iguana as a pet named Juliet that was capable of fending for itself while Ziktor was busy as Grimlord. Karl Ziktor had so much power over the official mayor, Mayor Rooney, that it's easy for newcomers to the show to think at first that Ziktor himself is the mayor. In both of his strongholds, he had minions like General Ivar, Col. Icebot, Decimator, Zelton, Toxoid, Blue Boar, Despera, Doom Master and the Vixens, and Oraclon as well as an army of Mutants and Cyborgs.

upporting characters

Tao Chong (Richard Rabago) is proprietor of Tao Dojo, an old friend of Tyler's, and the Troopers' sensei. Tao is an old fashioned man, and occasionally his advice and teachings have proven useful for the Troopers, even though he is unaware of their identities.

Woody Stocker (Michael Sorich) is the chief editor of Underground Voice Daily paper and Kaitlin's goofy boss. Woody's workspace is filled with novelty toys, and he always comes to work with a different hat. On the side, he comes up with new snack recipes, some good (such as nachos) and some that are just weird (like marshmallow or tuna-and-peanut-butter-covered nachos). One of his main catchphrases is an enthusiastic "What a great ide-e-e-a!"

Percival "Percy" Rooney III (Aaron Pruner) is this show's version of Bulk and Skull. He is the mayor's nephew and Kaitlin's so-called rival. He is highly allergic to animals, mostly dogs, which means Jeb always enjoys pulling pranks on Percy. At work, Percy often tries to outdo Kaitlin, but usually ends up getting into trouble with Woody or even Grimlord.

Tyler Steele (David Carr) is Ryan Steele's father. In the middle of season one, it was revealed that Grimlord's warrior, Dark Heart (Top Gunder in Metalder), is actually Tyler himself, after being captured and brainwashed.

Young Ryan (Farrand Thompson) is Ryan's younger self, often seen at the beginning of every episode. Whenever Ryan recalls his past, his younger self is often seen with Tyler. Most of the time, Young Ryan is training or doing father-son activities. He does get the spotlight in two episodes. In one episode, he and the other Troopers are reduced to ages of children. As kids, the Troopers only have limited time to defeat Grimlord's army. He also played a role in another episode when Ziktor sent Strickland through time to capture him, but his older half came into the past to save him.

Recurring characters

* Dr. Ulysses T. Pointdexter (James Douglas): A nutty professor who has unknowingly proved to be a true asset to the Troopers. When he first appeared, he approached Kaitlin with a new revolutionary virtual engine research that he wanted her to write about. This research, with a little help from JB, gave birth to JB's VR Fighter bike. He proved useful once again when the Trooper's Virtualizers were damaged. At that time, he learned their identities, which put him in danger with Grimlord. Though Pointdexter's memory was promptly erased, his assistance was still valuable when Kailtin was injured by the Red Python.
* Mayor Abner Rooney (Randy Swerdlick): The mayor of Cross World City and Percy's uncle. Mayor Rooney is in a position of power, but has shown to be a rather inept spineless man. He has allowed himself to bossed around and threatened by Ziktor. The Mayor also finds himself at the mercy of his wife, who has more backbone than he does. Mayor Rooney's redeeming quality is that he supports the efforts of the VR Troopers.
* Mrs. Rooney: (Sonja Ecker): The Mayor's wife and Percy's aunt. Percy apparently got his stuck-up attitude from her as she is quite a snooty woman. She'd rather be doing something else than go around town and support her husband's campaigns. Also, when Jeb's not picking on Percy, he is instead pulling pranks on Mrs. Rooney.
* Strickland (Glen McDougal): A Skug that works for Ziktor Industries as an inventor. Skugs have taken on many human forms, but the most recurring form, aside from Ziktor's secretaries, is Strickland. Strickland occasionally disturbs Ziktor with a new invention to use against the Troopers. He has created such devices that turned the Troopers into children as well turn JB into a monster. Once, Ryan personally confronted Strickland when they both went into the past and met Young Ryan. Strickland quickly transformed into a Skug and, along with a group of about 4 more Skugs, attacked the Ryans at the ancient temple (which is the one seen at the start and end of most episodes). He and the Skugs ended up defeated but this was not the last of Strickland. In Season 2, Strickland devised a potion that could make anyone fall in love with each other; he would mix it into boxes of chocolates and anyone who ate one would be affected (the plan was for Grimlord to take over the world while everyone was distracted in love). Later, Strickland was able to turn dangerous convict "Nutty" Nichols into the Nutty Monster. Even later in season 2, all three Troopers confronted him while investigating a duplication laptop known as the Duplitron.

ee also

*Virtual Dungeon
*List of Virtual Dungeon monsters
*Virtual Dark Fortress
*List of Mutants and Cyborgs in the Virtual Dark Fortress

References

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* [http://www.tv.com/vr-troopers/show/9699/episode.html TV.com's episode guide]