Doonesbury/Characters

The cast of the comic strip Doonesbury.

Michael "Mike" Doonesbury
The main character of the strip for most of it's run, Mike started out as a student at Walden and Casanova Wannabe and later turned into Walden Commune's voice of reason. After college he married J.J. and worked as a New York Adman, until he lost his job and J.J. left him. Mike then moved to Seattle with his daughter Alex, met and married second wife Kim Rosenthal and is currently running the website MyVulture.com with Kim.


 * Author Avatar: As Trudeau himself put it: "Yes, dammit I'm the model for Michael."
 * Bumbling Dad: To Alex.
 * Casanova Wannabe: During the strips first few months and the original Bull Tales strips.
 * Characterization Marches On: He started out as a Casanova Wannabe in Tredeau's college strip Bull Tales before becoming the strip's Only Sane Man.
 * Earn Your Happy Ending: Had to go though many years of unhappy marrige with J.J., a horrible job, going through unemployment and J.J. running out on him. Then he got a job with his college lab partner Bernie in Seattle and met Kim and even then he still had to fire most of Kim's friends as part of layoffs, deal with Kim moving to Paris and then breaking up with him and Alex deleting the E-Mail's saying so, and finally reconciliation with Kim, just to get to somewhere resembling a happy ending.
 * Happily Married: To Kim.
 * Hollywood Nerd
 * May-December Romance:With Kim.
 * Only Sane Man: In stark contrast to some of the strip's more outrageous characters.
 * Straight Man
 * Your Cheating Heart: He almost did this while married to J.J. but backed out when he found out J.J. was pregnant.

B.D.
The star quarterback, and hardcore conservative, at Walden and Mike's roommate in the beginning. Enlisted in the Vietnam War to get out of a term paper and has been in every war since. Has been in a relationship with Boopsie since her introduction and married her in the early nineties. Wore a helmet of some kind constantly until 2003, when he got his leg shot off in Iraq and lost the helmet at the same time. Currently works as Walden's Football coach.


 * Badass
 * Blood Knight: Really really loved combat and was especially brutal during his time in the ROTC.
 * Character Development: Has mellowed out with time.
 * A Father to His Men: To the point where he was planning to go to Germany to be by Toggle's side after Toggle was injured in Iraq. This is also true as a coach.
 * Happily Married: To Boopsie.
 * Heroic BSOD: He went through a realistic version of this after losing his leg, becoming irritable and relying heavily on alcohol. He eventually went to therapy and got through it.
 * Jerkass: For a good portion of time.
 * Only Known by Their Nickname
 * Sitcom Arch Nemesis: With Zonker and Mark at Walden. Now it's just Zonker.
 * Strawman Political: The strip's token hardcore conservative.
 * Your Cheating Heart: Did this to Boopsie during the Gulf War with a female officer. It took a long time for Boopsie to forgive him for it.

Mark Slackmeyer.
Mark started off as a protestor but eventually segued into a hardcore liberal and DJ. Eventually moved on to NPR, where he works to this day. Later found out he was gay and started dating Chase, eventually marrying him until their divorce a few years ago.


 * Black Sheep: The hardcore liberal son of a conservative, and that was before he came out. His dad disowned him several times. Subverted by his Mother.
 * Deadpan Snarker
 * Erudite Stoner: In the 70's.
 * Straight Gay
 * Suddenly Sexuality: Was a skirt-chaser during the Walden period, and turned out to be gay in the 90's. In this case however it was sudden for him too, and he eventually adjusted quite well.

Zonker Harris
A hippie who spent his 9 years at Walden avoiding graduation, tanning and generally slacking off. After graduating he mooched off of Mike and J.J. before enrolling in Baby Doc Medical College, before becoming Mike and J.J.'s live-in nanny. They eventually fired him after Mike lost his job and Zonker moved back in with his parents before moving in with B.D. and Boopsie as their nanny, where he remains to this day, although he was forced to get a job as a waiter to bring additional income to the house. He's also a lord after buying a lordship in the 80's.


 * Asexuality
 * Badass Beard
 * Breakout Character
 * Cloudcuckoolander
 * Cool Loser
 * Granola Girl: Male version.
 * New Age Retro Hippie: As he's gotten older.
 * Parental Substitute: To Alex and Sam when their parents are working.
 * Serious Business: Was a professional tannist at one point.
 * Sitcom Arch Nemesis: To B.D.
 * The Slacker: He stayed at college for 9 years by choice and tries to avoid working at any cost.
 * The Stoner: During the Walden Years.

Barbra Ann "Boopsie" Boopenstein
A cheerleader and B.D.'s girlfriend. Became an actress after graduation, albeit in minor roles. Was originally incredibly ditzy but gradually matured over the years. Currenly lives at Walden with B.D., their daughter Sam and Nanny Zonker.


 * Character Development: Went from The Ditz to a dependable mother and counterpoint to B.D.
 * The Ditz: Has grown out of it over time, especially after becoming a mother.
 * Hair of Gold
 * Hot Mom
 * Ms. Fanservice
 * Super-Powered Evil Side: Channeled the spirit of the ancient warrior Hunk-Ra up until her marriage to B.D. He was not the nicest person.

Joanie Caucuss
A housewife who ran away from her husband and daughter and was picked up by Mike and Mark while the duo were on a road trip. A feminist, she brought feminism to the local day care center before moving on to Berkeley and getting a law degree. During this time she met her second husband, Rick, and had another child with him. She currently worked with Congresswoman Lacey Davenport until Lacey contracted Alzheimer's. Joanie has recently come out of retirement to guide Real Life Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren's campaign.


 * Cool Old Lady
 * Deadpan Snarker
 * Hair of Gold
 * Grandma, What Massive Hotness You Have!
 * Intergenerational Friendship: With Ginny, as well as the entirety of Walden Commune.
 * May-December Romance: With Rick.
 * Momma Wolf: She's always ready to help the former residents of Walden Commune.
 * Odd Friendship: With Zonker.
 * Older Than They Look: Is in her 70's but looks to be only in her 50's or 60's.
 * Sixth Ranger: Though it was decades ago, she was the only person to join the commune after it was founded.
 * Team Mom: To the residents of Walden Commune, even long after she left.

Rick Redfern
Joanie's husband who was a writer for the Washington post for most of the strip-- until he was fired a few years ago for no particular reason. He's currently a blogger and is constantly frustrated with his son.


 * Bumbling Dad: Before Rick was even born. It Got Worse from there.
 * Intrepid Reporter

Roland Burton Hedley III
A reporter that initially worked with Time on an article about the current campus trends. He's since switched to network tv and Channel Hopped, eventually sticking with Fox News. He currently has a Twitter account, which he plugs at every opportunity.


 * Kent Brockman News
 * Small Name, Big Ego

Joan "J.J." Caucus Jr.
Joanie's daughter, who reappeared later on as freshman college student and was engaged to Zeke Brenner before breaking it off. She later married Mike and became a performance artist in New York, giving birth to their daughter Alex on live television. J.J. later left Mike and Alex and ran away with Zeke before eventually moving to Seattle with him. She later married Zeke.


 * Hair of Gold
 * Manic Pixie Dream Girl: For Mike.
 * No Accounting for Taste: Zeke, both times.
 * Parental Abandonment: Both ways. Her mother abandoned her for a life of her own, while she abandoned Alex. Subverted somewhat with the latter, as she later moved to Seattle where Alex lives.
 * The Unfair Sex: Inverted. Her abandonment of her husband and child, no matter how rocky the marriage was, is looked on with disdain by everyone in the strip.

Uncle Duke
Zonker's honorary Uncle who started out as a writer at Rolling Stone before moving on to Governor of American Samoa, then Ambassador to China and… well, so many other careers that it would take most of this page just to list. Duke will do anything to make money and has absolutely no moral compass and half the time no clue. He's also a massive drug fiend to the point where they barely affect him anymore. Currently working as a lobbyist with his son Earl.


 * Badass Grandpa
 * Bald of Evil: He was completely bald for a while after a stint as a zombie slave, but still has enough of a bald spot to qualify regularly.
 * Breakout Character
 * Evil Counterpart: His son Earl says Duke is like Forrest Gump's evil twin. That's not far off.
 * Four Eyes, Zero Soul
 * The Gump / Why Do You Keep Changing Jobs?: Changes jobs every few years. To date he's been: A writer at Rolling Stone, governor of American Samoa, Ambassador to China, A Latrile Farmer, Coach of the Washington Red Skins, NRA Lobyist, Industrial Spy, A Hostage in the Iran Hostage Crisis, Lecturer, Drug Smuggler, Hobo, Wannabe Film Producer, Drug Dealer, President of The Baby Doc College of Offshore Medicine, Zombified Slave, Owner of the Dr. Whoopee Condom Company, Mental Patient, Captain of The Trump Princess, Proconsul of Panama, Arms Smuggler, Owner of Club Scud, Seller of Bogus Photos to Conspiracy Theorists, owner of the "Nothin' But Orphans" Orphanage, Stolen Beanie Baby Trafficker, Body Guard for Oliver North, Presidential Candidate, Stem Cell Peddler, Mayor of the Iraqi City of Al Amok, Profiteer of Hurricane Katrina, and currently K-Street Lobbyist.
 * Honest John's Dealership: Most of his operations.
 * Jerkass
 * No Celebrities Were Harmed: Based on gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson.
 * Sitcom Arch Nemesis: John Denver.
 * Smug Snake
 * Villainous BSOD
 * Villain Protagonist
 * Xanatos Roulette: Almost every scheme he's ever hatched. Some times it works (sending a job application to the white house got him the governorship of Samoa, which eventually led to his stint as an ambassador) and sometimes it epically blows up in his face (buying cocaine to finance his John DeLorean biopic-- from an undercover FBI agent!).

Honey Huan
Duke's translator during his tenure as ambassador, Honey fell in love with Duke and followed him to America and through the rest of his schemes. Eventually left him in 2005 and stayed behind to help with the clean-up of Hurricane Katrina. Was last seen working for the Bejing Olympics Committee.


 * Abhorrent Admirer: From Duke's perspective.
 * The Dragon: To Duke.
 * Hypercompetent Sidekick
 * Mad Love
 * Odd Friendship: With J.J.
 * Put on a Bus: Eventually left Duke.
 * Shipper on Deck: For J.J. and Zeke.
 * Shipping Goggles: In-universe, everything involving her and Duke from her perspective.
 * Tactful Translation: In her original capacity as Duke's translator.
 * What Does She See in Him?

Zeke Brenner
A stoner and complete layabout who worked as Duke's caretaker and was J.J.'s fiance until he burned down Duke's house when lighting up a joint. He later ran away with J.J. and eventually married her, to everyone else's displeasure.


 * Cool Hat
 * Evil Counterpart: To Zonker. Both make an art form out of trying not to work, but while Zonker is charming, provides a service to those he's mooching off of, avoids romance like the plague and is loyal to Duke and Mike, Zeke is a douche bag who sits around and begs for money, hits on women even after he got married, stabbed Duke in the back at the first opportunity, and stole Mike's wife without a hint of regret.
 * The Load
 * Sitcom Arch Nemesis: With Duke and Alex.
 * The Slacker
 * The Stoner

Kim Rosenthal-Doonesbury
First introduced as the last baby airlifted out of Vietnam, she was adopted by the Rosenthals. She appeared again briefly in the 80's as an honor student dealing with racial issues before reappearing for good as a twenty-something tech wiz. Kim is a Gen-X programming genius and Mike's second wife.


 * Bare Your Midriff
 * Happily Adopted
 * Manic Pixie Dream Girl: For Mike, even more than J.J.
 * May-December Romance: Was a baby while Mike was a college student for starters.
 * Ms. Fanservice
 * Nerds Are Sexy
 * Soapbox Sadie: When it comes to Nike.
 * Second Love: For Mike.
 * Teen Genius: Dropped out of MIT because it bored her.
 * Totally Radical: Though toned down sometime after she and Mike got married.

Alex Doonesbury
Mike and J.J.'s daughter. She started out as a nameless baby but around the time J.J. left graduated into Mike's precocious computer wiz daughter, which stuck throughout her teen years. Currently a post-grad at M.I.T. and in a serious relationship with war veteran Toggle.


 * Breakout Character: To the point where she's all but taken up her dad's role as main character
 * Clingy Jealous Girl: Though not to violent levels, she gets crazy paranoid about any other woman and Toggle (barring his mother), especially Drew, even if there's nothing there.
 * Cloudcuckoolander: Though not as bad as some of the other characters, but it's there.
 * Give Geeks a Chance: Her and Toggle.
 * Hollywood Dateless: Had one boyfriend before meeting Toggle despite being reasonably attractive.
 * Nerds Are Sexy
 * No Name Given: As a baby.
 * Sitcom Arch Nemesis: To Zeke since she was a kid.
 * Teen Genius
 * Totally Radical: As a kid.

Zipper Harris
Zonker's nephew who goes to a much more slacker friendly Walden. Aspires to follow in his Uncle's footsteps and has so far surpassed his Uncle's staying record at Walden


 * Cloudcuckoolander: Like Uncle, like Nephew.
 * Cool Hat: Occasionally
 * Cool Loser
 * Generation Xerox: Of Zonker, though that was his goal.
 * The Slacker
 * Those Two Guys: With Jeff.

Jeff Redfern
Joanie and Rick's son, he started out as a typical teenager who eventually enrolled in Walden at 17 once the college stopped requiring a High School Education. Eventually became Zipper's best friend and the two participated in zany scheme's together until graduation. Jeff didn't do much after that, after flunking out of his CIA training, and eventually got back into the CIA in a desk job. He eventually rose out of it by making a name for himself as the legendary Red Rascal while doing nothing at all, eventually landing him a mercenary job before he was fired from it.


 * Fake Ultimate Hero: As the Red Rascal
 * From Nobody to Nightmare: Went from a simple slacker to the smug perpetrator of a massive ruse.
 * The Slacker
 * Those Two Guys: With Zipper.
 * Took a Level in Jerkass: Try several levels.
 * What the Hell, Hero?: Get's this from his dad yet he never listens.

Leo "Toggle" DeLuca
A young soldier who sold CD mixes to other soldiers, he was hit by a mortar and ended up with expressive aphasia and an eye patch. He's currently working through his disorder, is dating Alex, going to college and got a job in the music industry.


 * And I Must Scream: Early on, as he couldn't talk at all(outside of a few words) at first. Eventually got better as he got more speaking ability and he's stuttering less and less.
 * Character Development: Was a bit of a prick before the blast hit him.
 * Disabled Love Interest
 * Eyepatch of Power
 * Speech Impediment: H-h-his s-s-stutter.

Melissa Wheeler
A mechanic in the army who was raped by her commanding officer and dealt with it in therapy. With B.D. and her therapist's help, she eventually returned to command and was promoted.


 * Broken Bird
 * Stealth Hi Bye: Does this to Jeff a lot, albeit unintentionally.

Lacey Davenport
A kindly old lady who worked as a Congresswoman. Lacey was a very nice lady who was fair and balanced and honest to a fault, if a bit out of step with the times. She eventually had to leave the office when she contracted Alzheimer's. She eventually passed away and was reunited with her husband Dick.


 * Badass Grandma: Well, she wasn't about to shoot up people, but she wasn't afraid to speak up when necessary and fearlessly dealt with a mobster and a contra, as well as some of her old friends without batting an eye.
 * Cool Old Lady
 * Happily Married: To Dick.
 * Killed Off for Real
 * Reasonable Authority Figure

Dick Davenport
A conservative just like his decades long friend and later husband. Dick was always supportive of his wife and was an avid bird watcher. He died trying to get a picture of the rare Bachman's warbler, and managed to in in his final moments.


 * Cool Old Guy
 * Dying Moment of Awesome: As noted above he had a heart attack while he was alone trying to get shots of the bird. He then used his last bit of strength to get the shot.
 * Killed Off for Real: The strip's first example.

Phred
A Terrorist during the Vietnam War where he met B.D.; after being stranded together with a beer cache the two became fast friends. After the war, Phred lobbied for his people before becoming the Vietnamese U.N. Ambassador. He later opened up a club in Vietnam in the 90's and gave tours before becoming head of a Nike factory.


 * Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Hasn't appeared since the late nineties.
 * Face Heel Turn: He went from helping with a legit mate business to running a sweatshop.
 * Odd Friendship: With B.D.

Bernie
Mike's college lab partner who had a habit of making transformation potions, Bernie graduated and joined Apple before splitting off on his own and starting his own software company. He hired Mike and was the reason Mike moved to Seattle, and financed Mike's first business, Mikim Inc., for a while. He was also one of the founders of Walden Commune.


 * Cut Lex Luthor a Check: Averted. He got the funding for his business making a profit off of his morphing potions.
 * Corrupt Corporate Executive: Eventually. He had no problem forcing Mike to do mass layoffs for him, outsourcing and other questionable tactics.
 * Hollywood Nerd
 * Mad Scientist: In his first couple of appearances.

Sid Kibitiz
Supposed Hollywood super agent, Sid first appeared trying to help Duke make a John Delorean Biopic before settling in as Boopsie's agent.


 * Bunny Ears Lawyer: As noted below he's full of himself, but he's actually manged to keep Boopsie's career going and even had the foresight to make a digital copy of her in her prime so she'd get likeness rights far into the future, royalites she's still pulling in today.
 * Small Name, Big Ego: Thinks he's the best agent who ever lived and even once tried to get a director to rewrite Hamlet.

Earl
Duke's son, he started off as another kid in the orphanage who DNA test confirmed was Duke's son and eventually ran off with his Dad for a while before disappring. Later returned right after Duke lost Honey to bring his dad in on his Lobbying firm.


 * Generation Xerox: Of his Dad, especially as a kid. He eventually grew into a smarter version of his Dad.
 * High School Hustler: A kid version. He had a racket going at the orphanage.
 * Straight Man: To Duke.

Drew
Alex's roomate at MIT and best friend. Has guys falling for her left and right.


 * Dude Magnet: To Alex's irritation, especially since Drew doesn't seem to notice.
 * Hair of Gold
 * Nerds Are Sexy

Jimmy Thudpucker
A singer and activist who started out in the strip during the 70's retired early, and then made a comeback during the 80's. Currently a Cell Phone ring tone artist and file sharing activist.


 * Hair of Gold
 * Happily Married: Since his introduction.
 * Soapbox Sadie

Ray Hightower
B.D.'s war buddy since the gulf war and replacment after B.D. lost his leg. Recently sent home after taking multiple blasts. More at home on the battlefield than in civilian life.


 * Black Best Friend
 * A Father to His Men

Andy Lippincot
A man Joanie had a crush on until he revealed to her he was gay. They remained on good terms. He eventually contracted AIDS and died a few months after. Later returned as a ghost to reveal Mark's latent homosexuality to the latter.


 * Killed Off for Real
 * The Pollyana
 * Spirit Advisor: To Mark.
 * Straight Gay

Mister Butts
A talking cigarette created by Mike, though incredibly reluctantly, in order to sell cigarettes to the kids. Later became a tobacco lobbyist.


 * Not-So-Imaginary Friend
 * Smoking Is Cool: Believes this wholeheartedly.

Phil Slackmeyer
Mark's dad. The exact opposite of his son, Phil was a cold-hearted businessman who fully embraced his greed. Eventually divorced Mark's mother and then got remarried four times. He eventually died with Mark by his side.


 * Corrupt Corporate Executive
 * Evil Counterpart: To Mark.
 * I Have No Son: Tried to disown him a lot early in the strip. Towards the end of his life stating that he had never approved of anything Mark did and that Mark had been a constant disappointment actually brought Phil closure.
 * Odd Friendship: With Alice.
 * Smug Snake

Alice Schwartzman
A homeless woman who befriended Rick. She later befriended Lacey, who mistook Alice for her long dead sister.


 * Happily Married: To Elmont.
 * Only Sane Woman: During her time with Lacey, as Lacey was going through Alzheimer's, Lacey's friend Jeremy was dysfunctional and Elmont was insane.

Elmont
Alice's husband and raving lunatic.


 * Cloudcuckoolander: Gives the Harrises a run for their money.
 * Happily Married: To Alice.
 * Talkative Loon

Ginnie Slade
Joanie's roomate during college. Currently married to her long term boyfriend Clyde and trying to keep him in check.


 * Black Best Friend: To Joanie.
 * Deadpan Snarker
 * Intergenerational Friendship: With Joanie.
 * What Does She See in Him?: She even noticed how odd it was for a feminist to be dating a sexist like Clyde.

Clyde
Ginnie's freeloading boyfriend and later husband. Eventually founded his own successful cookie company and ran against Lacey and lost. Later took Lacey's position after she stepped down, but eventually lost it.


 * Deadpan Snarker
 * Jerkass: He was a bit of this in the 70's but got even worse in the 80's by playing his campaign on drug tests and trying to paint a 70 year old woman as a drug addict.
 * The Slacker: In the 70's