History Characters / TheAvengers1960s

* {{Catchphrase}}: "Mrs. Peel, we're needed!" - He uses this to call for Emma Peel's help [[OncePerEpisode at the start of every episode]] in the show's first coloured seasons, as she's always busy with her hobbies. [[RunningGag He always delivers it to Emma in unexpected ways]], be it through signs, arrows or even appearing in her TV. Laurie Johnson composed a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ES65qPT92Qc special theme]] for this very sequence.

* BoyishShortHair: Occasionally. Most notably in the show's opening credits of her era with the suits of armour, in which she sports the same short haircut and clothes as in the episode "Noon Doomsday".
** This was due to the harsh dye and bleaching used in early episodes, causing her to cut her natural hair very short
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: What happened to her between the end of the series and ''The New Avengers'' is never explained.
* ContrastingReplacementCharacter: She's significantly younger and less experienced than either Cathy Gale or Emma Peel. Whereas they were equal partners with Steed who enjoyed a bit of flirtatious banter, Steed took on a teacher/father role to Tara. She's also sported the shortest haircuts out of the three partners of Steed. Whereas both Cathy and Emma were both widows, Tara was single woman who hero-worshipped Steed.

For an index of the actors and actresses who have a dedicated page, see [[UsefulNotes/TheAvengersActors here]].

* CoolCar: She drives a sports car, an MGA MK1 Roadster from 1960 (Licence plate RVB 115).

* [[invoked]]TechnologyMarchesOn: Over the course of the three episodes they appear in, the Cybernauts' technology evolves. In the first one, Roger needed a homing device concealed in a pen to seek its targets (the other one didn't however). The one from "Return of the Cybernauts" just needs a card with a portrait of the target. The final generation seen in "Last of the Cybernauts" is remote-controlled.

* PunnyName: Literature/{{Frankenstein}}, anyone?

* WhipItGood: He uses a whip against Emma in the episode's climax.

* HerosPreferSwords: Steed carries a SwordCane disguised as an umbrella and far prefers it to firearms.

* DecoyProtagonist: He was originally the main character with Steed as his sidekick.
* {{Expy}}: He's essentially Hendry's character from ''Police Surgeon'' with a different name. Both characters were doctors who solved crimes.

A British army veteran of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII and agent working for an unnamed branch of the British secret services. In the first season, he investigated a drug ring and helped to avenge the death of Dr. David Keel's fiancée (hence the series' title, which would quickly become an ArtifactTitle). Steed then asked Keel to partner with him to solve crimes.

Following Keel's departure, Steed continued to investigate crimes and mysterious cases in the service of Her Majesty with the help of various recurring female partners. He also considerably refined his persona and fashion taste, to the point of becoming a QuintessentialBritishGentleman.

* BreakoutCharacter: He was not the main protagonist of the show in the first season, he became this following David Keel's departure.

** During the first season his character was a more rough-and-tumble operative than the suave, sophisticated gentleman he became during the Gale and Peel eras.

* WidowWoman: She married a farmer from Kenya up on holidays. His lifestyle as appealing to her as the man himself, she married him and moved to Africa. He was killed in the Mau Mau uprising, prompting her to eventually return to London.

* HotScientist: She's very well educated in mathematics and physics, writing papers on mathematical algoritithms in bridge and on thermodynamics. She extends her scientific knowledge throughout the series and seems to have knowledge in biology, chemistry, botany and astrology.

* ShesGotLegs: Many of her outfits are just excuses to showcase her nice legs. Steed's previous partners' legs never had as much screentime as hers, if they were shown at all.

%%* ShesGotLegs: And she kicks much ass with them.

* ShoutOut: The episode as a whole is a spoof of the very popular and campy ''Series/Batman1966'' series which aired at the same time as the first season in colours of ''The Avengers'', right down to a MusicalPastiche of that series' theme tune and {{Written Sound Effect}}s.

[[folder:Z. Z. von Schnerk]]
!!Z. Z. von Schnerk
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zzvonschnerk.jpg]]
!!!'''Played by:''' Kenneth J. Warren
!!!'''Appears in:''' "Epic"

A mad producer and film director who is obsessed with Emma Peel and wants to create a SnuffFilm starring her.

* AffablyEvil: He is full of reverence and admiration for Emma Peel, and plans to kill her for his art.
* BaldOfEvil: He is hairless and plans to kill Emma.
* LastWords: As he's fatally shot, he puts his hand on his camera, utters "Cut!" and dies.
* MadArtist: A mad filmmaker.
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: His job, germanity, mannerisms and general look are pretty clearly a spoof of director Creator/ErichVonStroheim.
* NoNameGiven: There's no indication of what his double "Z" means.
* SnuffFilm: He wants to film an epic starring Emma... with real danger coming to her, and wants her to die for real as an apotheosis for the film.
* StalkerWithoutACrush: His obsession about Emma is driven by a need of magnifiying her on screen, then providing her a DyingMomentOfAwesome for real.
* TheVonTropeFamily: '''von''' Schnerk.

[[folder:Stewart Kirby]]
!!Stewart Kirby
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/stewartkirby.jpg]]
!!!'''Played by:''' Creator/PeterWyngarde

A washed up actor who helps out Z. Z. von Schnerk on his SnuffFilm project starring Emma Peel.

* ChangingClothesIsAFreeAction: He changes costumes and makeups pretty fast between the various film scenes Emma is forced into.
* CoDragons: Forms the two underlings of von Schnerk with Damita Syn.
* IronButtmonkey: Gets his ass kicked by Emma in several of the movie scenes Emma is forced into, and yet he keeps coming back as different characters while von Schnerk films it all.
* LargeHam: He hams it up in practically every movie scene he has to play for von Schnerk.

* BikerBabe: She rides bikes, [[CoolBike a Triumph Speed 500ccm]] from 1961 in "Build a Better Mousetrap".

* ActionGirl: Like all of Steed's previous partners.
* BikerBabe: She occasionally rode motorcycles.

* ShesGotLegs: And she kicks much ass with them.

* UnresolvedSexualTension: With Gambit.

* NiceHat: His iconic hat. He wears different hats in the colour seasons: black, dark blue, dark grey, grey, brown, light brown and white (bleached) ones.

* NiceHat: She wears a wide variety of hats throughout season three, most notably a black top hat.

* BadassLongcoat: When Cybernauts are sent on operation outside, they are always dressed with a black longcoat, a [[NiceHat black hat]] and [[CoolShades sunglasses]] to conceal them as much as possible.

* WarHero: He served in the British Intelligence Corps during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, rising to the rank of major. "Death of a Batman" shows [[http://www.johnsteedsflat.com/images/img0111.png a picture]] of him in uniform replete with medals. He earned a The Military Cross for single-handedly taking a German machine-gun post.

* OutdatedOutfit: He wears a bowler hat and old-fashioned suits, to match his classic cars and generally old-fashiond style. * OutnumberedSibling: According to a fictionalized biography by Roger Davies in fanzine On Target Volume 2, Issue 4, pages 3, he was the youngest of eight children, and he had seven older sisters.
** Plus, there's this dialogue from the script of "The White Dwarf":
-->'''Cathy''':...What would you do if someone came bursting in here and accused your brother of perpetrating a swindle?
-->'''Steed''': I only had sisters.