List of characters in Dexter's Laboratory

This is a list of characters from the Cartoon Network series Dexter's Laboratory.

Dexter

Dexter is the title character and protagonist of the Genndy Tartakovsky animated series Dexter's Laboratory, originally run on Cartoon Network from 1996-2003. He was originally voiced by Christine Cavanaugh, and later by Candi Milo. Dexter is a boy genius who maintains a lab behind his bookshelf, in which he invents strange chemicals, robots (many of whom eventually band together and turn on him), rockets, and a giant fighting robot (reminiscent of machines from the Gundam anime) which he pilots and uses to fight his arch-nemesis Mandark, who owns a similar machine. Most of his notable inventions are destroyed by his sister Dee Dee, whose favorite pastime is playing with his inventions. His birthday is unknown, although it was revealed in the episode "A Hard Day's Day" that Dexter is a Capricorn. Despite being American, and both his parents speaking normal English, Dexter speaks with a West- or South Slavic accent.

Appearance

Dexter is very short, wears thick circular glasses which are sometimes semi-round depending on his mood (similar to eyebrows), and has short red hair. He is normally shown wearing black pants, a white lab coat, purple gloves, and black boots. On occasion, and in certain circumstances, he is shown [...] (with a leaf covering his genitals) or wearing briefs; his butt is rear view as a joke and in these situations, more often than not, he appears in front of a large or unfriendly crowd which laughs at him (pointing and jeering) until he runs away or the episode ends.

Personality

Dexter is the class know-it-all, and prides himself on Seldom being proved wrong. This is contradicted by his experiments, many of which are frivolous creations used to achieve ends presented in the show, such as a machine built to render him invisible so as to sneak a look at his birthday presents. He is prone to believing urban myths that he is fed by Dee Dee, which often cloud his judgement, as well as superstitions. Despite his Genius IQ—Dexter is not above cheating when he wants to win—as in the episode "D D & D". It also appears that he knows very little about common illnesses such as Chickenpox. He has many phobias, namely his fear of bugs and clowns. He also struggles to fit in, and the hysteria that potential social situations cause in him constantly gets him in trouble. He has no tolerance for Dee Dee's disregard for his personal space, and will often bellow "Dee Dee, get out of my laboratory!", among other, more extreme measures. Dexter, when shown working, is usually tightening a single nut on an otherwise blank piece of metal or a random machine. He is sometimes shown mixing two chemicals carefully (attempting to pour a single drop into the concoction below), at which point he is interrupted by Dee Dee (usually causing the chemicals to explode). It was revealed that his favorite equation is . Dexter’s favorite character (who, within the show, is a real-life superhero) is Major Glory.

Relationships with other characters

Dee Dee

Dexter considers his sister Dee Dee to be stupid, clumsy, and inferior to him. This is ironic as Dee Dee tricks him repeatedly, with urban myths and false information about certain diseases. Dee Dee frequently succeeds in areas where Dexter fails; for example, she beats him in physical activities such as a snowball fight and basketball. On rare occasions when Dee Dee and Dexter work together, she shows affection towards her brother. Dee Dee continually destroys parts of Dexter's lab. Their relationship is a normal brother/sister rivalry rather than outright cruelty.

Mandark

Mandark is Dexter’s arch-nemesis, and often attempts to humiliate him amongst the scientific community (normally just himself and Dexter), or to get a higher grade than him. Mandark also owns a robot similar to Dexter’s, which he uses to fight him with in an anime-style fashion. Besides the robot, Mandark in depicted as the virtual opposite of Dexter: he has an enormous lab and an equally impressive number of inventions. Mandark is slightly less clever than Dexter. Mandark happens to have a crush on Dee Dee, something Dexter uses to his advantage many times. When he first appeared on the show, he was shown to be significantly more capable than Dexter, but after the shows revamp, his advantage decreased somewhat, leaving him and Dexter on a more equal ground. His rivalry with Dexter appears to coincide with his birthname of "Susan", which Dexter laughed at, as well as his secret love of science hidden from his hippie parents (which Dexter also laughed at). Driven to show himself superior to Dexter, he became his arch-rival, and gave himself a new name; a "Man's" name to reflect his "Dark" brilliance, "Mandark".

Dad

Dexter's father normally tends to show favoritism to Dee Dee for her athletic prowess, but will occasionally side with Dexter when facing a challenge between the sexes (such as a snowball war between Dee Dee and Dexter, which he treats as a life-and-death matter in which Dexter must avenge his father being hit with a snowball thrown by Dexter's mother back in college). Dad is also depicted as unreasonably hostile towards Dexter when he interferes with a sports-related activity such as watching the "biggest golf match of the year" or breaking his bowling trophy.

Mom

Dexter appears to be fairly close to his mother, and appears to have inherited his intellect from her. He is sometimes embarrassed by her, such as when she kept causing a ruckus at a chess tournament in an effort to cheer him on and ended up getting him disqualified, but mostly their relationship is a common affectionate one.

Other Appearances

Dexter has made cameo appearances in The Powerpuff Girls, I Am Weasel, Time Squad, and The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy. He has also been seen as a balloon in Codename: Kids Next Door. A thinly disguised version of Dexter appears in the Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends episode Eddie Monster. He is also in Cartoon Network's MMO FusionFall, appearing as a teenager and much taller.

Other major characters

Dee Dee

Dee Dee is Dexter's extremely ditzy, naive, simple-minded older sister. She loves ballet, dolls, ponies, unicorns and (most of all, it seems) messing around in Dexter's laboratory, and generally depicts all the stereotypes concerning young girls. She is quite similar to the Powerpuff Girls character Bubbles, both in appearance and personality. She is two to three times taller than Dexter and has peculiar body proportions; a minuscule torso with a large head and gangly limbs, similar to a ballerina's. To complete the ballet look, she wears a small pink tutu and ballet shoes, which usually create a "squishy" noise while walking. Dexter once compared her to a stick and subsequently threw her to entertain a dog. She occasionally reveals a deep depth of hidden knowledge being able to beat Dexter on a test and therefore driving him insane, and once functioned as a guru for Dexter, teaching him "The Way of the Dee Dee". Although she seems to be extremely moronic, her social skills far exceed Dexter's, as she is quite popular at their local school, while he is shunned except for his other equally geeky associates. Her best friends in the series are Mee Mee and Lee Lee, two girls that share her interests, even though they are noticeably different in appearance (Mee Mee is African-American with afro puffs, and Lee Lee is Asian.) Her catch-phrase is "Ooooooo. What does this button do?". She wears her full length of hair down on rare occasions, mostly when sleeping. She also has a multitude of stuffed animals and she has a four poster bed. It was revealed in the episode "A Hard Day's Day" that Dee Dee is a Cancer. Originally voiced by Allison Moore, the role was assumed by Kathryn Cressida after the first season. Moore reprised the role in the third season, with Cressida taking it back for the show's final season. Dee Dee bugs Dexter so much because she wants to spend time with her little brother and because she thinks that his secret lab is cool. Dexter considers his sister Dee Dee to be stupid, clumsy, and inferior to him, most ironically when Dee Dee tricks him with urban myths and false information about certain diseases. Dee Dee also enjoys succeeding where Dexter fails, whether its beating him at an unnecessary game or skill, or entering a contest just because Dexter is in it and winning. On rare occasions Dee Dee and Dexter work together, he also rarely shows affection to her. While Dexter seems harsh to Dee Dee his feelings are occasionally quite justified as Dee Dee continually destroys parts of his lab, sometimes blowing up the whole lab which forces Dexter to have to rebuild everything countless times.

Mandark

Dexter's arch-nemesis. Approximately equal in intelligence to Dexter, he too possesses his own laboratory, which has a very red-and-black color scheme and may be organic-based. In his original appearance, his technology and knowledge far exceeded even Dexter's, and he ordered Dexter to shut his laboratory down since it was taking away valuable power from Mandark's lab. However, after Dexter tricked Dee Dee into destroying Mandark's lab, he has been forced into playing catch-up with Dexter, being eternally one step behind his rival. Despite her role in his setbacks, Mandark has a crush on Dee Dee, who initially resented the attention, but developed an easier relationship with him in the later series. He was originally referred to as 'Astronomonov' (possibly his last name) though his "true" name was revealed to be 'Susan' (a reference to A Boy Named Sue) after becoming a recurring character. In one episode called Dee Dee's Rival, it is revealed that he has a sister named Olga Astronomonov, also called Lalavava, who seems to have total control over him, although she hasn't been seen or heard of since. Though during his first appearance Dexter is thought to have seen Mandark for the first time, it is revealed in one episode that Mandark first met Dexter when Dexter was making fun of the former's real name, and this encounter triggered Mandark's hatred of Dexter. It can also be assumed that it caused Mandark to become evil, as he appears to be simple and peace-loving before the encounter, a sharp contrast to his evil personality later on. It is also revealed that his name "Mandark" is actually a short for "monarch of darkness." Mandark has a noticeable, strange laugh which appears to always have the same pattern of 3-5 ("AH-HA-HA! AH-HA-HA-HA-HA!")–It is later revealed he does everything (such as brushing his teeth or spreading butter on toast) in the same rhythm. In earlier episodes, Mandark's laboratory has a high-tech and more advance appearance. In later episodes, his lab starts to have a more gothic and crude look. Has dabbled in magic at least twice, the most recent during a science fair in a bid to out-place Dexter. Mandark lives in the same neighborhood as Dexter, but Mandark's parents are hippies in contrast to Dexter's stereotypical middle-class parents. As revealed in the episode A Boy Named Sue, his mother, OceanBird, gave birth to him in water. Deep down Mandark is jealous because Dexter's smarter than him and a better scientist than him. Mandark was voiced by Eddie Deezen.

Mom

Dexter and Dee Dee's red-haired mother; a mysophobe with OCD who has trouble being around the rest of the family without her rubber gloves. She is rarely seen without her gloves and starts to go insane (she starts having nightmarish hallucinations featuring giant bugs and germs) in an episode when they have gone missing from her nightstand. Although a stereotypical housewife, a few episodes imply most of Dexter's personality comes from her, including their perfectionist streaks (he also seems to have inherited her red hair). She speaks in a kind of Minnesotan accent. It is revealed in a flashback episode that she used to be a Valley Girl type in the 1980s, which may also be the basis for her accent. She is always seen walking on her tiptoes and her feet make a very dainty, clicking sound whenever she walks around. Her real name has never been revealed, and her husband only refers to her as "honey", "dear", etc. She was voiced by Kath Soucie.

Dad

Dexter and Dee Dee's blond-haired father is the stereotypical husband and head of the household, falling directly above his wife in authority. Loves bowling, golf, fishing, and has an unnatural affinity for his wife's muffins, of which she can expertly create (according to him, the muffins are the reason he married Mom, though this may have been a spur-of-the-moment remark, since he desperately wanted the muffins at the time). Dee Dee gets most of her traits from Dad, though Dexter has inherited his need for glasses from him as well. In order to impress Dexter's classmates during "Bring Your Dad to School" day, he revealed that his career was that of an Evel Knievel-esque motorcycle stuntman. Like his wife, his real name has not been revealed and he is referred to as "dear", "honey", etc. Once tried to get his son into sports, but by episode's end it didn't work. He was once seen smoking a pipe in one episode. While his intelligence is far below that of Dexter's he sometimes gives good advice such as advising Dexter to get his glasses fixed after they were regarded as "cool" when they were broken. Dexter's dad rides a Motorcycle. Dexter's father normally tends to show favoritism to Dee Dee for her athletic prowess, but will occasionally side with Dexter when facing a challenge between the sexes (such as the snowball war between Dee Dee and Dexter, which he treats as a life-and-death matter in which Dexter must avenge his father being hit with a snowball thrown by Dexter's mother back in college). Dad is also depicted as unreasonably hostile towards Dexter when he interferes with a sports-related activity such as watching the "biggest golf match of the year" or breaking his bowling trophy. In the episode Better off Wet it was shown that he is also sort of a bully, constantly pushing Dexter into the family swimming pool (though this was an attempt to get Dexter to swim rather than being done out of pure malice) but he goes overboard and knocks Mom and Dee Dee into the pool as well, until Dexter ended it by pushing Dad in himself when he wasn't looking but he shows good sportsmanship when he just laughs and cheerfully tells Dexter "you got me". He was voiced by Jeff Bennett.

Recurring characters

Quadraplex T-3000 computer

Dexter's computer that oversees the running of the lab and has a personality of its own. Dexter refers to his computer as "my love" or "my dear", given that the computer's voice (by Kath Soucie) and personality is female. In the episode Voice Over, a malfunction causes the computer to express a different voice each time Dexter attempts to fix it such as an announcer voice, a sexier version of her normal voice and a game show voice. Dexter cannot cope with this, and it eventually gives him laryngitis.

Mr. Luzinsky

Mr. Luzinsky is Dexter's default teacher, though he is often interchanged with other teachers depending on the story. Mr. Luzinsky seems to be a generally upright and knowledgeable teacher. He could be seen as a parody of a stereotypical British professor. In one episode, he was referred to as Mr. Philips. He was voiced by Frank Welker.

Monkey

Dexter's caged monkey which secretly has superpowers, unbeknownst to Dexter, who often tries to give him powers via unusual experimentation. He stars in the back-up Dial M for Monkey cartoons. Monkey has the ability to fly, use super strength, and shoot lasers. Working for a secret global agency, Monkey protects the world from intergalactic villains, large monsters, and natural disasters. He also has his own arch-nemesis, a duck called Quackor who is owned by Dexter's arch-nemesis, Mandark. He is often paired with his sidekick and girlfriend Agent Honeydew on his missions. His personality is similar to Dee Dee's and he is often playing with her in the laboratory. He was voiced by Frank Welker.

Agent Honeydew

Monkey's sidekick and girlfriend, who can ask Monkey for help with her Mindvision. She wears a blue S.H.I.E.L.D.-style jumpsuit and has telepathy that brings Monkey to her.

She is voiced by Kath Soucie.

Windbear and Oceanbird

Mandark's hippie parents, who don't understand Mandark's love for evil and science, not to mention his affections for Dee Dee. Windbear has been known to engage in rivalry with Dexter's father because of their conflicting political beliefs, and it is unclear whether Oceanbird does the same with Dexter's mother. The pair may be a parody of John Lennon and Yoko Ono (in Japanese, Yoko means "Ocean Child"). Windbear and Oceanbird were voiced by Jeff Bennett and Kath Soucie who also voiced Dexter's dad and mom.

Justice Friends

The Justice Friends are a trio of superheroes as they "face the challenges of everyday life" in their apartment at Muscular Arms Apartment. The trio consist of:

• Major Glory, a parody on Captain America and Superman, is similar to Lord Bravery on Freakazoid!. He is very patriotic and righteous, and wears a seemingly infinite number of masks underneath other masks. Major Glory is allergic to cats. He voiced by Rob Paulsen.
• Valhallen is a god of rock and roll who owns a magical electric guitar called The Axe (axe is a often used term in the heavy metal scene for a guitar). Valhallen is a loose parody of the comic book hero Thor. His name is a combination of Metal artist Eddie Van Halen and the Nordic heaven Valhalla. He is voiced by Tom Kenny.
• The Infraggable Krunk is a parody of the Incredible Hulk. He is a purple, slow-witted, but very strong hero. His skin and pants colors are the reverse of the Incredible Hulk's (Purple Skin and green pants rather than Green Skin and purple pants). Krunk is allergic to dogs and he has a crush on She Thing. He is voiced by Frank Welker.

Other heroes occasionally appear in Justice Friends episodes, including White Tiger (parody of Black Panther), Living Bullet (parody of Iron Man), Capital G (parody of Giant-Man), and Tiki Torch (parody of the Human Torch). In addition, Capital G and Tiki Torch are parodies of the somewhat stereotypical "ethnic superheroes" created by Hanna-Barbera to add diversity to the various Super Friends animated series (Capital G being an African-American stereotype, and Tiki Torch a Pacific Islander-themed character).

Robots

A number of mostly unnamed robots assist Dexter in the laboratory. The most consistently appearing is the Robotron, also known as the Robo-Dexo 2000, but most frequently the Giant Dexo-Robo (a parody of various giant robot anime). It is a several-stories-tall combat robot used for fighting Mandark, aliens, and natural disasters and its appearance mimics Dexter's somewhat in build. Entrance is through one of the feet, and its weaponry includes lasers, missiles and its rocket-powered detachable fists.

Lee Lee and Mee Mee

Dee Dee's best friends. They are nearly identical to Dee Dee, except that Mee Mee is African-American, and Lee Lee is Asian. They are smarter than Dee Dee, as seen in one episode when Dee Dee took care of a turtle, thinking it was a bird, and her friends tried to correct her and even asked if Dexter had been doing experiments on her. Mee Mee's mother is identical to Dee Dee's mother, even wearing the same clothes. Lee Lee seems to have a crush on Dexter. All three of the girls seem to have a great interest in ballet and cuddly toys, such as teddy bears, ponies, and other stuffed-animal toys. They also enjoy synchronised swimming. They were voiced by Kath Soucie and Kimberly Brooks.

Pony Puff Princess

Dee Dee's idol and favorite toy in the world, she cares for it and treats it like a best friend. In Decode of Honor they despise Action Hank and anything boyish, showing they have a dark side. It is a parody of the My Little Pony toy line

Action Hank

Action Hank is a television action hero. He is a stereotypical blaxploitation protagonist and is essentially a combined parody of Chuck Norris, Mr. T, G.I. Joe, Shaft, and Rambo. Along with Major Glory and Albert Einstein, he is idolized by Dexter. He has an impenetrable beard, which he uses to deflect various projectiles such as bullets and knives. He is voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson.

Douglas E. Mordecai III

Douglas E. Mordecai III is possibly Dexter's only friend apart from his computer. He attends school with Dexter and is similarly geeky. In one episode, they both listen to a science recording, naturally giggling at "Chapter 6: Reproduction". It's unknown if he knows about Dexter's laboratory since he was never seen in the laboratory. He was voiced by Tom Kenny.

Koosalagoopagoop

Also called Koosy or Koos, he is a multi-colored dinosaur-like creature that originates from Dee Dee's imagination. He can change his size at will, become invisible and the heart in his belly is a portal to his world. He is also known to make burritos and impersonate Jimmy Carter. Among imaginary friends, only Dee Dee and Bubbles (from The Powerpuff Girls) actually like him. The character is a combined parody of H.R. Pufnstuf, Snuffleupagus as well as Elliott from the Disney movie Pete's Dragon. He is voiced by Dom DeLuise.

Puppet Pals

Puppet pals Mitch (Rob Paulsen) and Clem (Tom Kenny) are puppets seen in a TV show during the Justice friends. Their appearances parody the popular muppets, Bert and Ernie, from Sesame Street and they usually perform behind a Sesame Street-like wall. Their main sketch is bonking one another on the head. In one episode they are controlled by Major Glory and Valhallen in a dream sequence.