Degrassi/Characters/Graduating Class of Season 9

Danny Van Zandt
Danny Van Zandt (Season 4-9) "Played by Dalmar Abuzeid"

"“So I'm thinking of changing my name...what do you think about LL Cool D: Ladies Love Cool Danny?”"

Liberty's younger brother introduced in season 4. He was very much an annoying little brat until season 8 after Liberty graduated. He's undergone a pretty noticeable growth spurt and has matured greatly and has become pretty popular in his own right. He was on the football team and was part of the band Studz with Peter, Sav, and Spinner. He graduated in season 9 and is accepted into Cornell University.


 * Annoying Younger Sibling: seasons 4-7.
 * Big Man on Campus
 * Black Best Friend
 * Character Development: Took place off screen between Season 7 and 8.
 * Deadpan Snarker
 * Garage Band: Part of Studz and Janie and the Studs.
 * He Cleans Up Nicely
 * Heterosexual Life Partners: with Derek.
 * Hormone-Addled Teenager
 * Nice Guy
 * Only Sane Man
 * Those Two Guys: With Derek. Later Sav. Then with Derek again after "Bad Medicine", though he is still buddies with Sav.
 * Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist: seasons 4-7.
 * Wise Beyond His Years

Derek Haig
Derek Haig (Seasons 5-8) "Played by Marc Donato"

"“I don't know what's worse, this shirt or Derek shirtless.”"

Derek is Danny's best friend. He and Danny have always been inseparable until Danny started getting popular and left him behind on the social ladder of high school. He joined the football team along with Danny in season 8 and has become much more of a immature bully. Eventually though, although he likes Leia he sees that she and Danny really like each other and willingly steps aside and tells Danny to get together with Leia. This results in Derek and Danny reuniting and rekindling their friendship.


 * The Bully
 * Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: disappeared in season 9.
 * Driven by Envy
 * Part of Gang of Bullies
 * Happily Adopted
 * Heterosexual Life Partners: with Danny.
 * Hormone-Addled Teenager
 * Jerk Jock
 * Those Two Guys: With Danny.
 * Took a Level in Jerkass
 * Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist: seasons 5-7.

Darcy Edwards
Darcy Edwards (Seasons 4-8) "Played by Shenae Grimes"

"“Why would you want to be with a boring Christian guy when inside of you there's this sexy chick trying to bust out?”"

A girl introduced in season 4 who quickly became one of the more prominent Degrassi students. She starts a relationship with Spinner in season 5, and pulled him out of his rough spot when he repeated his junior year. She is a devout Christian and she has taken a vow of abstinence until marriage. However, she still feels pressure to feel attractive and sexual in order to maintain a relationship. She is very judgmental of others, particularly of Mia and Manny due to their sexual histories. In season 7, she is raped at a party which completely changes her demeanor and outlook on life and it is not until later in the season she came to terms with it. In season 8, she goes to Kenya in order to help the people there and rediscover her faith.


 * Break the Cutie: Probably the biggest instance of this in the show.
 * Broken Bird
 * Cam Whore
 * Characterization Marches On: In season 4, when she is still just a named extra at this point, she comes off as a snobby diva during "Secret."
 * The Cheerleader
 * Catholic School Girls Rule: part of her outfit selection for her sexy online camwhoring.
 * Cool Big Sis
 * Despair Event Horizon
 * Driven to Suicide | Interrupted Suicide: On two counts in season 7. The first time she slit her wrist in the gym shower was after being raped, contracted an STD via her rapist, and being unable to deal with all happening at once. The second time she attempted to jump off the school roof after accusing Mr. Simpson of sexual harassment; this was because she hadn't completely healed and was looking for a scapegoat rather than talking things out. Luckily, both counts are considered to be an example of Interrupted Suicide as Manny was there on both occasions.
 * Faith Heel Turn: After her rape, it was implied that Darcy started to really question her faith in God. It wasn't until her outing with a troubled teens group that some of the faith was restored.
 * Freak-Out
 * The Fundamentalist
 * Holier Than Thou
 * Hormone-Addled Teenager: Much to her dismay, as she reconciles her burgeoning sexuality with her religion.
 * Long Bus Trip: To help underprivileged kids in Kenya.
 * Rape as Drama
 * Seemingly-Wholesome Fifties Girl
 * Stepford Smiler
 * Tomboy and Girly Girl: Girly Girl to Jane in season 7.
 * Written-In Absence: She's finally mentioned once in season 10 by Clare as her parents divorce.

Peter Stone
Peter Stone (Seasons 5-10) "Played by Jamie Johnston"

"“My dad practically uses this place as a storage locker...throws me in here with everything else he doesn't want.”"

Peter is a smug teenage boy with a lot of money and a lot of problems. First introduced in Season 5, he makes a huge impression by filming a drunken Manny showing off her breasts and then "accidentally" sending the video of incident to the whole school. Later on, he puts Darcy in a very dangerous situation by inadvertently setting her up with a Internet predator. Underneath the fancy clothes and toys, he's a boy who is still wounded by his parents' divorce with no real friends at all. Darcy turns out to be a very good influence on him, and he starts to really change as a person. But with her and Mia gone, he goes on a meth binge, and spent the rest of the season regaining the trust he lost. He was the lead singer of Studz, and played alongside Janie and the Studs. He attends Toronto University.


 * All Girls Want Bad Boys
 * Big Man on Campus
 * Blond Guys Are Evil: Probably the evilest and blondest of them all, and this from a show that loves its evil blond men.
 * The Dandy
 * Calling the Old Man Out
 * Drugs Are Bad: experimented with meth in season 9.
 * Easily Forgiven: Despite his past transgressions, Emma and Darcy still dated him.
 * Estrogen Brigade Bait
 * Garage Band: Leader of Studz and played with Janie and the Studs.
 * Heel Face Turn: He basically became everyone's best friend in seasons 9 and 10 to try to make up for his sins.
 * Homoerotic Subtext: With Riley, particularly the Fan Service-y wrestling scene.
 * Intoxication Ensues: With meth in season 9.
 * Kick the Dog: Before his Heel Face Turn, there were plenty of instances where his actions outweighed any Pet the Dog moments he's had. Particularly framing Sean for drugs and setting up Darcy with an internet stalker.
 * Lonely Rich Kid
 * Parental Abandonment: Emotionally by his dad.
 * Screw the Rules, I Have Connections: Just ask Sean about Peter's connections.
 * Screw the Rules, I Have Money: The only explanation for how he's not in prison.
 * Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Sensitive Guy to Riley.
 * Significant Monogram: Of the unfortunate variety. His full name is Peter Michael Stone.
 * Smug Snake
 * Took a Level In Kindness
 * Troubled but Cute
 * "Well Done, Son" Guy

Jane Vaughan
Jane Vaughan (Seasons 7-9) "Played by Paula Brancati"

"“This is why I can't deal with girls, they're just so sensitive, you know?”"

Jane originally attended Lakehurst High school before the school burned down. She has a unique style of dress and and cool demeanor, which immediately catches Spinner Mason's eye. They both hit it off and become a couple. Despite her jovial atttitude, she is a lot more motivated than Spinner and she has her eyes on the future and on becoming a lawyer. She is a tomboy (she even plays on the football team) and can't really relate to other girls very well. She also has a dark past - she was sexually abused by her father. In season 9, as her and Spinner's plans for the future conflict, she cheats on him with new student Declan Coyne. Spinner breaks up with her but later forgives her before he marries Emma (no, really). She is a great singer and was the lead singer of Janie and the Studs. She later attends Stanford University on a scholarship.


 * Abusive Parents: Her Dad to be precise.
 * Do Not Call Me "Paul": Her real name is "Anastasia Jane Valieri." It's implied she wants nothing to do with her last name due to her father.
 * Garage Band: Leader of Janie and the Studs.
 * I Want My Beloved to Be Happy
 * Kids Are Cruel: When she joined the Football team.
 * One of the Boys
 * Parental Abandonment
 * Parental Incest
 * Perky Goth
 * Renaissance Man: Jane is a great football player, valedictorian of her class, part owner of a babysitting business and lead singer for Janie and the Studs.
 * Sympathetic Adulterer: Pay Cheating Unto Boring.
 * Tomboy
 * Tomboy and Girly Girl: with Darcy and Holly J.
 * Your Cheating Heart

Johnny Di Marco
John George "Johnny" DiMarco (Seasons 6-9) "Played by Scott Paterson"

"“Ever since my friend stabbed that kid, I guess you could say I sorta been off the rails. And then I thought, 'Why do I have to be such a jerk...' Whatever. I don't know.”"

Originally from Lakehurst High, he is an aloof bad boy who likes to cause trouble. He was at the scene of the crime when J.T. was killed, and the incident did traumatize him though he'll never admit it. He is highly sought after by Alli, and eventually she begins to date him. However, he put up strict ground rules in regards to public displays of affection to keep his reputation. Despite his demeanor, he is a pretty smart guy and has plans to go to college after high school. He even graduated Degrassi with Honors.


 * All Girls Want Bad Boys
 * Blond Guys Are Evil
 * The Bully
 * The Bus Came Back: Season 10, helping Alli out with her parents.
 * Deadpan Snarker
 * Gang of Bullies
 * Heterosexual Life Partners: with Bruce.
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold
 * Obfuscating Stupidity: He is smarter than he lets on and actually graduated with honors.
 * Older and Wiser
 * Their First Time: With Alli... at least that's what he told her.
 * Those Two Guys: with Bruce.

Bruce the Moose
Bruce the Moose (Seasons 7-9) "Played by Natty Zavitz"

"“The guy who takes down Bruce is gonna get a medal.”"

An oafish bully from Lakehurst who is friends with Johnny, Lucas and Derek. He is part of the football team, possibly to put a lot of people through pain. He intimidates most of the student body, but he isn't impossible to get along with.


 * Boisterous Bruiser
 * The Bully
 * Delinquent
 * Even Evil Has Standards: He applauds Holly J. right along with the rest in the Season 8 finale. He also is willing to walk out on the Shep's Principal of the Year award when it's revealed how he treats gifted students.
 * Fat and Skinny
 * Gang of Bullies: With Lucas and Johnny in Season 7, Johnny and Derek in Season 8, then Johnny and Fitz in Season 9.
 * Genre Savvy: In the mini-episode "Good Times."
 * Jerkass
 * Jerk Jock
 * No Name Given: He's just known as Bruce the Moose.
 * Those Two Guys: with Johnny.