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U.S. Government

Executive Branch

George Washington (Earth-1)

See Arrowverse: Past Characters page

Ulysses S. Grant (Earth-1)

See Arrowverse: Past Characters page

Richard Nixon (Earth-1)

See Arrowverse: Past Characters page

Barack Obama (Earth-1)

See Arrowverse: Past Characters page

"Traveler" (Earth-1)

"Traveler"

Species: Human

Portrayed By: Jerry Wasserman

First Appearance: "Invasion!" (The Flash 3x8)

Appearances: Invasion!^note(The Flash)

The former President of the United States of America on Earth-1, murdered during the Dominators invasion.

Cool Old Guy: He is a man of action and compliments Lyla for her leadership.
No Body Left Behind: Gets desintegrated by a Dominator weapon.
No Name Given: Strangely enough for a president, the audience never gets to know his name, only his codename.
We Hardly Knew Ye: He had very little screentime before his death.

Susan Brayden (Earth-1)

President Susan Brayden

Species: Human

Portrayed By: Lucia Walters

First Appearance: "Invasion!" (Legends of Tomorrow 2x7)

Appearances: Invasion!^note(Legends of Tomorrow)

The last President (and former Vice President) of the United States of America on Earth-1.

Reasonable Authority Figure: She seems pretty levelheaded, thanks the heroes after repelling the Dominator invasion, and punishes Smith for his immoral and illegal actions.
You Are in Command Now: After the Dominators killed the previous president, she was forced to step up.

Olivia Marsdin (Earth- 38 and Earth-Prime)

Former President Olivia Marsdin

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/supergirl_president.jpg

"Fear can create monsters where none existed before. Remind the world there is still goodness there. Be the beacon of hope that we need."

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/olivia_marsdins_true_form.png

Species: Durlan

Portrayed By: Lynda Carter

First Appearance: "Welcome to Earth" (Supergirl 2x3)

Appearances: Supergirl

A Durlan who is the former President of the United States of America.

see Wonder Woman (1975) page for Diana Prince, the Earth-76 character who bears her human physical likeness

see Smallville: Meteor Freaks page for Moira Sullivan, the Earth-167 character who bears her human physical likeness

see DCEU: Amazons and Gods page for Asteria, the character in an undesignated Earth who bears her human physical likeness

Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: Her job requires her to be at arms length from national crisis to keep personal interest out of her decisions.
Ambiguously Evil: Her alignment is left vague throughout Season 2. By the end it is clear, she is firmly on the side of Earth.
Artistic License – Law: Olivia admits that she was born on another planet, thus her presidency is in violation of the Natural-born-citizen clause. Evnetually in Season 4 the world finds out she's an alien and she decides to step down rather than fight to stay in office which she knows is a hopeless cause.
Big Good: Naturally, of both the United States and of Earth.
Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": In her first appearance, she's only referred to by her job title. Her name was revealed with the news of Carter's casting.
Everyone Went to School Together: She went to college with Cat Grant. Cat once saw her in her alien form, but chalked it up to being high.
Horrible Judge of Character: Either Baker was really good at hiding his true self, or she was blind to what a horrible person she selected as her VP.
In Spite of a Nail: The Flash episode "Marathon" reveals that not only was she president on Earth-Prime, but she too was exposed as an alien and presumably resigned from office.
Meaningful Name: Her first name Olivia is the feminine version of olive, which is a symbol for peace, something she wants to achieve between humans and aliens. Given that she herself is an alien, it's likely that she deliberately chose that name. Also, "Marsdin" is a reference to the creator of Wonder Woman, William Moulton Marston, and "Olivia" could be to Marston's partner Olive Byrne (whom he based Wonder Woman's appearance on).
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: When her cover is blown — the resulting fallout means she not only has to resign from office but also it causes an uptake in alien hate crimes across America.
No Celebrities Were Harmed: Carter says that she based off her performance on Hillary Clinton.
Our Presidents Are Different: For one, she was President Minority, being a woman U.S. President (who is also an alien). Also President Personable, as she meets with Kara repeatedly and speaks with her on quite friendly terms.
The Pollyanna: She always sports a positive and hopeful demeanor.
Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: Well at least when masquerading as a human.
The Reveal: Ms. Marsdin is herself an alien.

Phil Baker (Earth-38)

Former President Phil Baker

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/baker.png

"No one should be above the rest of us. We need to put our country first."

Species: Human

Portrayed By: Bruce Boxleitner

First Appearance: "Fallout" (Supergirl 4x2)

Appearances: Supergirl

The former Vice President and former President of the United States of America, who assumed office after Olivia Marsdin was forced to resign when the world found out she was secretly an alien.

He is eventually revealed to be utterly corrupt.

Corrupt Politician: He commissioned a secret satellite to attack any alien ships behind Colonel Haley and Alex's backs, even though as leaders of the D.E.O. they should've had jurisdiction over it.
Evil All Along: He appears to be only racist towards aliens, but is eventually revealed that he's also a traitor to his country.
Evil Is Petty: Makes Lockwood the Director of Alien Affairs as way to get back at Supergirl for destroying his illegal Kill Sat meant so stop aliens from coming to Earth ... that was hijacked by Manchester Black to destroy the White House.
Fantastic Racism: He grows more hostile to Supergirl and aliens in general over the course of Season Four. First he goes behind the back of the D.E.O. and commissions an illegal Kill Sat to shoot all alien aircrafts entering Earth. Then he makes Lockwood Director of Alien Affairs, knowing full well what the man will do with that kind of power. After Red Daughter's attack on the White House, he makes a televised speech in which he blames all aliens for the actions of one and emphasizes that he only views humans as Americans.
Hate Sink: At first he seems like a decent guy who's just in over his head. This is quickly dispelled over Season Four as he abandons mere sleaziness for open corruptness. Not only is he shown to be a petty and self centered, he enables and officially deputizes Ben Lockwood and the Children of Liberty partly to spite Supergirl for destroying government property even though it saved his life in the process. Colonel Haley also reveals that his precious weaponized satellite was actually made against protocol, meaning he violating the laws that he as President should be actively upholding.
Head-in-the-Sand Management: His solution to deal with the protests demanding Ben Lockwood's release? Actually release the man under the pretext that terrorist attacks against aliens can't be persecuted under current law, just so they'll go away.
The Heavy: The main characters are more invested in taking down the Big Bad Ensemble of Ben Lockwood and Lex Luthor but he causes as much problems to them as the two mentioned.
It's All About Me: His rantings about his "poll numbers" make it obvious that he could care less about actually helping the country and only cares about what people think of him as President. It's also clear he'd rather be seen as popular than actually doing anything to make himself that way.
Jerkass Has a Point: As rude as he might be, he has a point in calling for more control in the current situation, as the public is very distrustful due to the whole affair with Marsdin.
Karma Houdini Warranty: His crimes are eventually uncovered in the Season 4 finale, with him being removed from office and criminally charged.
Obstructive Bureaucrat: In contrast to Marsdin, he puts restrictions on the D.E.O. and threatens heavy consequences in case they don't follow his orders. And then he fires Supergirl from the D.E.O. when she refuses to reveal her identity to the world.
President Evil: Starts off as corrupt by releasing Lockwood and then giving everything he wants on a silver platter and then he's revealed to be a traitor to the USA by being in on Lex and Kaznia's scheme to invade America.
Puppet King: His ascent to power was masterminded by Lex Luthor, who is the real one calling the shots once Baker is president.
Sanity Slippage: His increasingly erratic and corrupt decisions suggest that for all his smugness and schmoozing he's unable to handle the job as President.
Sleazy Politician: He's a very poor Commander in Chief, unable to handle the pressure of the crisis brought on by the rise of the Children of Liberty and alien xenophobia; ranting and raving how the D.E.O.'s (perceived) poor performance is making him look bad and rather than doing what is right and he prefers taking the easy way if it'll mean his poll numbers will go back up - even if it means firing Supergirl.
You Are in Command Now: Steps up as president following Marsdin's outing as an alien.

President Plastino (Earth-38)

President Plastino

Species: Human

Appearances: Supergirl

The former Vice President of Phil Baker, who takes over after the latters crimes are exposed.

The Ghost: Is only briefly mentioned in a news report.
Only One Name: Only known by his last name.
Redeeming Replacement: While he hasn't directly appeared yet, he lifted martial law and reinstated the Alien Amnesty Act after Baker's arrest.
Tuckerization: Possibly named after Al Plastino, one of the most prolific Superman artists of the 1950s.
You Are in Command Now: Replaces Baker as president after the latter's crimes are exposed.

Unnamed President (Earth-BL)

The President

Species: Human

The president of the original Black Lightning Earth.

Greater-Scope Villain: Since he (or she) was behind the ASA's operation in Freeland all along, they are also to blame for all the problems in the city, but they never appear in person.
No Name Given: Not even a gender too.
President Evil: As Proctor's briefcase reveals, the President has been in on the whole operation in Freeland all along.
What Happened to the Mouse?: After the Crisis, it isn't known in what form they existed in the revised timeline.

Shaw (Earth-Prime)

Shaw

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/president_of_the_united_states_earth_prime.png

Species: Human

Portrayed By: Eileen Pedde

First Appearance: "Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part Five" (Legends of Tomorrow 5x0)

Appearances: Crisis on Infinite Earths (2019) ^note(Legends of Tomorrow )

The current President of the United States of America on Earth-Prime.

Ambiguously Evil: It's not clear if, Post-Crisis, she is the one behind the despicable actions of the ASA.
Due to the Dead: She makes a broadcast in honour of Oliver Queen.

White House Press Secretary Grant (Earth-38)

see Cat Grant folder in National City Citizens

Former Director of Alien Affairs Lockwood (Earth-38)

see Ben Lockwood folder in The Children of Liberty

Former Director of Alien Affairs Lex Luthor (Earth-38)

see Lex Luthor folder in Luthor Family & Associates

Chief of Staff Sarah Walker (Earth-38)

Sarah Walker

Species: Human

Portrayed By: Francoise Robertson

First Appearance: "Menagerie" (Supergirl 4x12)

Appearances: Supergirl

President Baker's Chief of Staff.

Even Evil Has Standards: Goes along with every morally dubious thing Baker does, but she looks slightly unnerved when he deputizes the Children of Liberty.
The Mole: Subverted. At first Kara and Lena seem to find proof that she is Lex's source inside the White House...but then it turns out President Baker himself is also part of the scheme.

Legislative Branch

Senator Cray

Senator Joseph Cray

Species: Human

Portrayed By: Steven Culp

First Appearance: "Suicidal Tendencies" (Arrow 3x17)

Appearances: Arrow

A United States Senator during Arrow Season 3.

Ambition Is Evil: He is planning to run for U.S. President, and is willing to stage his own kidnapping and hostage regardless of how many men and women in uniform will put their lives in danger in order to save his slimy ass.
Corrupt Politician: He fakes his kidnapping and hostage situation so that he can "defuse" it, and win enough good publicity to run for President.
Karma Houdini: Apparently, he got away from endangering numerous lives for the sake of his political ambitions.
Small Role, Big Impact: He only appeared in one episode of Arrow, but he is the reason why Deadshot, one of the original villains of the show, was killed off.

Senator Crane

Senator Miranda Crane

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mirandacrane16.jpg

Species: Human

Portrayed By: Tawny Cypress

Voiced By: Irina Índigo (Latin-American Spanish dub)

First Appearance: "Strange Visitor From Another Planet" (Supergirl 1x11)

Appearances: Supergirl

A senator who uses her anti-alien beliefs to gain votes.

Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: She's quite rigid.
Black Boss Lady: She's African-American ^noteHer actress is mixed, though. and is a Senator.
Celebrity Paradox: Netflix was mentioned a lot during Season 1. Her actress plays a Recurring Character on House of Cards (US), which is part of the service's produced shows.
Damsel in Distress: The White Martian kidnaps her, impersonates her, and then hid her underground.
Fantastic Racism: She doesn't like aliens. Unsurprisingly, she and General Lane are revealed to be friends.
Heel–Face Turn: Changes her political views on aliens after Supergirl rescues her.
Politically Incorrect Villain: Literally, she's a US Senator who has a prejudice against aliens until the end of her debut episode.
Reasonable Authority Figure: After Supergirl saves her. When Kara was exposed to red kryponite and putting the city at risk, she points out that while Kara needed to be stopped she did not want her killed.
Ship Tease: She seemed awfully fond of J'onn until she found out that he wasn't human.
What Happened to the Mouse?: She just disappears after Season 1.

DARPA

T.O. Morrow

"The Red Tornado is my life."

Species: Human

Portrayed By: Iddo Goldberg

First Appearance: "Red Faced" (Supergirl 1x6)

Appearances: Supergirl

The inventor of Red Tornado.

Age Lift: He's usually depicted as a middle-aged man. Here, he's in his mid-thirties at most.
Badass in a Nice Suit: Alex fights him while he's wearing a suit.
Evil Brit: He's a Mad Scientist who speaks with British Accents. He is played by a British-Israeli actor.
Mad Scientist: he snaps after General Lane fired him.
Revenge: After being fired by General Lane when Red Tornado fails to live up to its promise, he sets Red Tornado on the general in retaliation.
Would Hit a Girl: Programs Red Tornado to kill Supergirl and fights Alex in hand-to-hand combat without holding back.

Red Tornado

Species: Android

Portrayed By: Iddo Goldberg

First Appearance: "Red Faced" (Supergirl 1x6)

Appearances: Supergirl

A military combat android created by T.O. Morrow. After it is defeated by Supergirl in a combat exercise, it goes rogue.

see the Arrowverse: Earth-X page to see its Earth-X counterpart

see the Smallville: LuthorCorp page for Tess Mercer, the Earth-167 character who bares it’s codename and comic book connections.

Adaptational Villainy: In the comics, Red Tornado was a supervillain's android designed to fight the Justice League which became sentient and decided to become a hero. Here, Red Tornado never grows out of its "pawn of the supervillain" stage before Supergirl scraps it.
Adaptive Ability: Each time it's defeated, it comes back stronger, though never quite strong enough to overpower Supergirl.
A.I. Is a Crapshoot: Goes rogue after a test sortie against Supergirl. In actuality, Morrow is controlling it in order to get revenge on General Lane for pulling his funding after the robot lost the fight. While it does turn sentient at the last moment, it's quickly reduced to scrap by Supergirl's heat vision.
Back for the Finale: He gets brought back by Lex Luthor in the series finale to help him fight Supergirl.
Blow You Away: His primary power, naturally.
Brought to You by the Letter "S": A "T" is emblazoned on Red Tornado's chest, as with the comics.
Cape Busters: It was intended to kill Kryptonians. It doesn't quite measure up to that standard.
Color Character: Red Tornado.
Instant A.I.: Just Add Water!: It suddenly gains sentience when Morrow is killed, though it doesn't live long enough for that to matter.
Kick the Dog: It sends Lucy flying with a tornado blast even though she was no threat to it.
Killer Robot: An android designed for combat.
Red and Black and Evil All Over: It's mostly red with black accents.
Silent Antagonist: It never speaks in its first appearance, but it does growl.

NSA

Agent Smith

Species: Human

Portrayed By: Jacob Richter (young)/Donnelly Rhodes (old)

First Appearance: "Invasion!" (The Flash 3x8)

Appearances: Invasion!^note(The Flash | Legends of Tomorrow) | Legends of Tomorrow

A high-ranking agent of the NSA who was primarily in charge of all operations involving all contact with the Dominators.

Cold-Blooded Torture: Looks almost gleeful at the idea of testing how closely a Dominator nervous system is similar to a human's by inducing pain.
Improbable Age: Mr. Smith is shown to already be in a position of authority back in 1951, which means he must've been at least in his thirties back then. This means that in 2016 he's 95 years or older, but he's still virile and working, and the actor hardly looks that old.
Jerkass: A highly unpleasant person, who thinks that he knows better how to deal with the Dominators than everybody else and who flat-out ignores orders from the President.
The Men in Black: He gives off very strong vibes of this trope, being a covert organization dealing with extraterrestrial activity and he tells the heroes they can't know how identity or he'd have to kill them.
Reassigned to Antarctica: His fate in the end, literally.
Time-Shifted Actor: He appears both as an old man during the present of the Invasion crossover, and as a young man during a time travel trip to the 50's. He later makes a reapparance in Legends during a trip to the 80's.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: A huge, unrepentant dick for sure, but he does seem sincere in wanting to keep the planet safe.
Would Hurt a Child: Has no qualms whatsoever about hurting (or even killing) a kid Ray Palmer to get to his Dominator friend.

CIA

Onyx Adams

See Arrowverse: Star City - Independent Criminals page

FBI

Special Agent Chase

Special Agent Cameron Chase

Species: Human

Voiced By: Ivett Toriz (Latin-American Spanish dub)

First Appearance: "Childish Things" (Supergirl 1x10)

Appearances: Supergirl

A stern, no holds barred FBI Agent dedicated to law enforcement following her father's violent murder.

Action Girl: A requirement on being an FBI Agent, though she hasn't shown it yet.
Adaptation Dye-Job: She's blond in the comics and most media. Here, she's an Aloof Dark-Haired Girl. Interestingly, her actress is a natural blonde.
Alliterative Name: Cameron Chase.
Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: She's not very personable.
Demoted to Extra: A case of Real Life Writes the Plot. She's an constant figure in the Supercousins mythos, but she disappears after Season 1 due to the show's production relocating from Los Angeles to Canada.
Disappeared Dad: Her father was killed long ago, just like her comic backstory.
FBI Agent: Her job.
Ice Queen: She's very rigid.
One-Shot Character: Never appeared again after her sole appearance in the series.
Two First Names: Per the DC Comics norm.

Agent Watson

Special Agent Samanda Watson

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/samandra_watson.png

"The time of vigilantes is coming to an end."

Species: Human

Played By: Sydelle Noel

First Appearance: "Tribute" (Arrow 6x2)

Appearances: Arrow

An FBI Agent in Star City, who investigates claims that Oliver is really the Green Arrow.

Canon Foreigner: She has no comics counterpart.
Everyone Has Standards: Ruthless though she is, even she sincerely advises Oliver to lawyer up.
Hate Sink: Even though she's supposed to be on the side of good, she's made so thoroughly despicable in her every attempt to bring down Oliver. This cultivates in more-or-less blackmailing Oliver to go to prison in exchange for the FBI's help to end Diaz's control over Star City.
Hypocrite:
- She calls the Green Arrow a menace who hides in the shadows even though the FBI keeps secrets and works in the shadows as well.
- She also claims the Green Arrow's presence is bad for police morale, not caring that her presence is bad for morale, since she condescends to and belittles the SCPD at every possible opportunity.
Ice Queen: She doesn't seem to have a drop of warmth in her body.
Inspector Javert: She's hellbent on putting Oliver behind bars for being a vigilante; even though she's doing her job, she's deliberately ignoring the good the Green Arrow has done, in favor of the bad — i.e. the accidental murder of Billy Malone. Even after the media retracts their claims that Oliver is Green Arrow, she makes it clear that she's far from done in her investigation. Turns out it's because she really hates vigilantes, viewing their presence as bad for law enforcement morale (which is kind of true, but the fact is, without Green Arrow and his team, the police would be in way over their heads). Turns into a Sympathetic Inspector Antagonist in Season 7.
Jerkass: Oh, Lord yes, to the point of being a Hate Sink. Let us count the ways:
- Her first minutes of screentime show her waiting in Oliver's office without being asked and her condescending remarks to the local police; she later makes a habit of barging into Oliver's office without waiting to be asked in, just because she can.
- She was fully prepared to question the recently orphaned William for her investigation.
- She arrests Oliver in front of his own son, walks into a local precinct and barks orders like she owns the place, and calls the Green Arrow a coward.
- It's revealed in 6x09 that she blackmailed Rene into testifying against Oliver under the threat he'd never see Zoe again, since she'd arrest him for being Wild Dog. According to Rene, she was planning on arresting Oliver anyway; she just blackmailed one of his teammates to twist the knife even further.
- In 6x22, she only agrees to help Oliver take down Diaz on the condition he confesses to being the Green Arrow to her; the finale reveals that her deal with Oliver ended with him going to a supermax prison.
Jerkass Has a Point: Only in the most technical sense. She says that the Mayor's Office approving of the Green Arrow's presence is not good for police morale, completely ignoring that things would be decidedly worse without having him around.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: As of Season 7.
Outside-Context Problem: Oliver has dealt with countless criminals and terrorists over the years, but facing off against a government agent who has not broken the law, the solution cannot be putting an arrow in her.
Pet the Dog: She expresses condolences to Team Arrow and Sara Lance for Quentin's death, even if she states that it changes nothing about the deal.
Sassy Black Woman: Like Amanda Waller before her, she's constantly and unnecessarily harsh towards people.
Smug Snake: She's extremely confident in her abilities and authority, believing she can bring down the Green Arrow and all other vigilantes, all while being condescending and rude to everyone around her for no good reason.
Spotting the Thread: The first character who seriously shows us just how fragile Oliver's cover is — the same man being accused of being two different vigilantes is not something to scoff at.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: A no-nonsense black lady working in a branch of government involving national security and has a tense relationship with the main hero? Agent Watson may not be as ruthless as Amanda Waller or have her body count, but she certainly seems like she was written to replace Waller, who's now off limits thanks to the DCEU/Arrowverse embargo.
Took a Level in Kindness: In Season 7, where she agrees to work together with Felicity in capturing Diaz, despite having been ordered not to. She also acts a lot more amicable in general.
Villainy-Free Villain: While she is doing her job in enforcing the law, the way she goes about it paints her as a thoroughly unlikable bitch verging onn Hate Sink levels.

American Security Agency (A.S.A.)

In General

A mysterious government agency with decidedly malevolent motivations.

Big Bad: Almost every conflict in the first three seasons of Black Lightning can be traced back to them. They specifically serve as the main antagonists of Season 1 (with Tobias as The Heavy) and are in a Big Bad Ensemble with the Markovians in Season 3.
Gone Horribly Wrong: Thirty years ago, they created a vaccine to make people docile. Instead, it either killed them or gave them powers.
Greater-Scope Villain: They are the ones responsible for everything bad happening in Freeland. They were the ones who ordered the hit on Alvin Pierce, and the ones who made the Green Light drug to be distributed via the 100. They're also responsible for giving Tobias and Jefferson their powers; it was completely unintended. They made a vaccine meant to make people docile, but instead, it gave them powers... if it didn't kill them; Jefferson was the only one to survive into adulthood.
Hate Sink: They manage to achieve this in their debut episode. They decided to use a city with a large African American population as guinea pigs to experiment with a vaccine to make the populace docile in a "very politically-explosive environment" — in other words, drug black people so they won't fight back against racism and oppression. Then they discovered that their vaccine was instead turning kids into metahumans, if it didn't kill them. They responded by refining it into Green Light and releasing it into the city via the 100, hoping to create more metas without a care for how many people are killed, lives ruined, or families broken as a result.
For Science!: They've been using the people of Freeland as unwitting guinea-pigs for sick experiments in social engineering and eugenics for thirty years.
Politically Incorrect Villain: They chose a city with a large African American population, notorious for racial tension, to do experiments to make people docile; there's no way they would've chosen a white city to do that. The obvious implication is that they don't want black people to fight against injustice subjected upon them.
Pragmatic Villainy: When they realized that only one kid became a metahuman they did the math and stopped their experiments; Proctor's experiment is a rogue operation.
The Sociopath: They thought that a powder-keg city like Freeland, filled with racial tension, was a great place to run an illegal experiment on how to make people — particularly African Americans — docile. This tells you all you need to know about them. Thirty years later, they're hoping the Green Light drug will turn people into metahumans for experimentation, not giving a damn how many people it kills or lives it ruins.

Leadership

Martin Proctor

Species: Human

First Appearance: "The Book of Revelations" (Black Lightning 1x8)

Appearances: Black Lightning (2018)

The director of the ASA's Freeland operations.

Asshole Victim: Gambi shoots him dead at the end of season one, knowing Proctor will not stop his rogue operations.
Awesomeness by Analysis: Using deductive reasoning skills, he is able to figure out that Gambi has betrayed him and is working with Black Lightning, and later that Black Lightning and Jefferson Pierce are one and the same.
Big Bad: He's the real main antagonist of the first season, and the one behind all of the problems in Freeland.
Big Bad Wannabe: He gets pretty much reduced to this in the Season 1 finale. All of his schemes to get Black Lightning utterly fail, Tobias Whale betrays him and forces him to flee, and in the end he is left without a single one of his men, at the mercy of the Pierce family and Gambi, while still babbeling on that his actions were justified. Then, when Jennifer zaps him after one too many of his racist taunts, he has the audacity to actually try and beg his way out of it, while stil acting condescendingly. All that it earns him is a quick death at the hands of Gambi.
Canon Foreigner: There is no Martin Proctor in any DC Comics Continuity.
Dirty Coward: What does he do when Black Lightning confronts him in the Green Light lab? Take one of his own scientists hostage and threaten to shoot him. Black Lightning's response is to point out that since the scientist's creation has been killing scores of lives, he'd be doing everyone a favor.
Faux Affably Evil: At first, he seems pleasant enough, at least to Gambi. This quickly evaporates as he reveals himself to be a downright sadistic piece of work, ordering Gambi's torture to suss out who Black Lighting is — and he considers that "asking nicely".
Hate Sink: He's an idiotic, smug, cowardly, racist ASA agent who restarts the organization's vaccine program to turn black teenagers into his super-powered pawns, uncaring as the drug kills countless. Refusing to admit any guilt for his actions, when called out on the damage he's done, Proctor just responds that the teens he killed would have "wound up on welfare or in prison anyway".
Jerkass: He's a racist murderer who's hiding behind the illusion of power, being a rogue ASA agent who continued operations after the Freeland operations were shut down (for which he blames Political Overcorrectness).
Knight of Cerebus: The situation in Freeland becomes far more frightening when you realize that all of its troubles are actually caused by a corrupt and extremely racist government organization that has been continually operating for decades, and this creep is at the head of it.
Politically Incorrect Villain: Makes a point of how he wants to kill Black Lightning's "black ass", and in the season one finale every other line out of his mouth expresses his bigotry for black people, while quoting "Make America Great Again".
Rogue Agent: His operation isn't known or sanctioned by the government. Except it was, as revealed in Season 3.
The Scapegoat: He actually was a sanctioned agent, he was just declared to be rogue to draw attention away from the government.
Smug Snake: Despite all the resources at his disposal, he's nowhere near as competent or scary as he thinks he is. Best exemplified in "The Book of Pain" where he has a Villainous Breakdown over the idea of Black Lightning being dead. In "The Book of War", he throws everything he's got at the Pierce family ... and still loses.
Stupid Evil: Oh dear lord yes!
- The first ASA experiment ended in failure since all the teens who developed metahuman abilities died ... except Jefferson. Yet Proctor decides to start it again without the knowledge of his superiors and the results are exactly the same. He's convinced all he needs is Black Lightning's DNA to make his test subjects to make them stable and live. It's unclear if this would actually work or not.
- In the finale, he throws the full force of his agents against the Pierce family... and it all it does is attract the attention of the police who quickly arrest the agents, thereby exposing him.
Too Dumb to Live: In the Season 1 finale, when confronted by Gambi and the Pierces he makes racist remark after racist remark. It's like he was begging to be killed.
Villainous Breakdown: When things don't go according to his plan, he quickly loses his composure and devolves into hysterical yelling.
Villainous Legacy: Despite being dead his actions are still being felt in Season Two: the real ASA takes custody of the kids in stasis, and refuse to release them to their parents or have any outside scientist examine them. Plus there are scores of teens with latent powers thanks to Green Light — so called "Green Light Babies" and their existence is adding fuel to the fire in Freeland causing an uptake in police shootings and Fantastic Racism beginning to ferment.

Percy Odell

Species: Human

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/5_96.jpg

Played By: Bill Duke

First Appearance: "The Book of Consequences: Chapter One: Rise of the Green Light Babies" (Black Lightning 2x1)

Appearances: Black Lightning (2018)

The ASA agent put in charge of cleaning up Proctor's mess. He's very no-nonsense and very obstructive.

see the Arrowverse: Other Earths page for his counterparts in two undesignated Earths

Ambiguously Evil: It's hard to tell where his moral compass lies given what agency he works for and his general demeanor. "Original Sin" crosses out the ambiguous part. He subjects Wendy to a grueling test that could've killed her, it's revealed he's had cameras planted in the Pierce house and then proceeds to murder all the agents who've been monitoring them on his behalf — it's all but stated that he wants to blackmail Jefferson and possibly the girls into ASA service; at the end of the finale he does just that .. so they can take down Markovia agents.
Bald of Evil: He's played by the naturally bald Bill Duke, and is definitely up to no good.
Big Bad Ensemble: While he opposes Markovia in Season 3, the downright authoritarian measures he takes in securing Freeland make him just as much as a threat to Jefferson and his family. In the Season 3 finale, he even plans on nuking all of Freeland to get rid of both the Pierce's, as well as the invading Markovians.
The Cobbler's Children Have No Shoes: He is introduced as somebody who supposedly values law and order over freedom, yet Season 4 reveals that his own daughter is a criminal.
Control Freak: A key aspect of his character is his desire to be in control of pulling all the strings of everything going on in Freeland, something he is very good at doing.
Dark Lord on Life Support: Season 4 shows him in a wheelchair and with breathing tubes up his nose, clearly still suffering from the gunshot Khalil gave him last time they met.
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Season 4 reveals he has a daughter named Maya.
Evil Old Folks: Bill Duke is in his mid-seventies, and it's presumed his character is around the same age. He even mentions to Jennifer how he marched alongside Martin Luther King Jr. during the Civil Rights Movement, though it's unclear if he's actually telling the truth about that or if it's just a lie to manipulate her. Even so, he's definitely old enough to make that a plausibility.
Expy: He's basically a male, even less moral version of Amanda Waller.
Fake Guest Star: He appears in half of season 2's episodes and in every single episode in season 3, yet only gets recurring billing.
Four Eyes, Zero Soul: He wears a menacing pair of specs.
Hate Sink: While he skirted mostly around Ambiguously Evil or Well-Intentioned Extremist territory in Season 2, by Season 3 it is hard to find anything even remotely redeemable about the guy. Not only does he murder Issa after he learns some truths during an interview with Tobias that he (Odell) ordered, he also has a brain-washed Khalil murder Khalil's mother, manipulates Jennifer into working for him as a Child Soldier, keeps Jefferson in line by threatening to take his daughters from him and experiment on them and gets Lynn addicted to Green Light to ensure her productivity, not caring one bit about the suffering his actions cause.
Jerkass: It's made abundantly clear that he was little sympathy for the teens who were given powers against their will, seeing them as potential weapons at best and dangers at worse instead of being human beings. Even his interactions with Lynn are at the best of times dismissive, and he refuses to share any information with her if he doesn't have to.
Karma Houdini Warranty: Finally faces justice for his crimes in the Season 3 finale, being non-fatally shot by Khalil and then being tried by a Senate committee.
Manipulative Bastard: He stops at nothing to get what he needs, people are mere pawns in his schemes. He basically molds Jennifer into a Child Soldier working for him and gets Lynn addicted to Green Light to ensure her productivity.
Non-Action Big Bad: He's dangerous due to the vast resources at his disposal and his manipulative tendencies, but there's no evidence he would be competent in physical combat, particularly due to a seeming lack of powers and his advanced age. Still, he is at least willing to get into a gunfight with the Markovians.
Not So Stoic: The only time he genuinely loses his cool is when the Pierce family has him on the ropes and is about to torture him.
Obstructive Bureaucrat: He initially denies Lynn's access to examine the kids in the pods, and is none too happy when Gambi pulls strings to have him overruled.
Secret Secret-Keeper: Implied very strongly to know more about the Pierce family than he lets on. At the very least it's known that he keeps a close enough eye on Lynn to save her life from would-be hitmen, and tells Lynn on multiple occasions that he's tired of her lying to him. "Pillar of Fire" seemingly confirms he knows that Jefferson is Black Lightning since he makes a point to tell Lynn that no metahuman even one who throws lightning bolts would be safe from Markovia. It's outright confirmed he knows at the end of "The Omega".
The Sociopath: It's much more low-key than Dr. Jace, but in "Original Sin" he makes clear he only sees people in terms of their usefulness and nothing more — he goes so far as to compare the pod kids to dogs — not as pets but animals who can be trained to be useful creatures.
The Stoic: He has all the emotion of a rock. It's very unnerving.
Uncertain Doom: He gets apparently unceremonously killed during a shootout with Colonel Mosin and his troops in episode 3x06, but it's left ambiguous enough for him to turn up alive later.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: Man will do anything to protect his country (and the world) from Markovia's aggression. This takes him down some very dark places.
Would Hit a Girl: Not directly, but after reviving and reprogramming Painkiller, he sends Khalil to kill his own mother.

Members

Dr. Helga Jace

Species: Human

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/5_1_3.jpg

Played By: Jennifer Riker

First Appearance: "The Book of Consequences: Chapter Three: Master Lowry" (Black Lightning 2x3)

Appearances: Black Lightning (2018)

A brilliant, but insane scientist that Agent Odell brings in to help Lynn with the kids in the pods.

Boxed Crook: She's criminally insane but she's the only scientist brilliant enough to help Lynn with the pods.
Dirty Coward: She'll switch allegiances at the drop of a hat to ensure her own survival. This backfires spectacularly in "The Omega". In her desperation to avoid the ASA's wrath for secretly working with Tobias, she makes a deal to give Black Lightning intel on Tobias in exchange to being brought into police custody, where she's quickly found and captured by a metahuman bounty hunter working for Markovia.
Double Agent: The Markovia Government invited her to work on their metahuman program; in truth the ASA sent her there to undermine it on their behalf.
The Friend Nobody Likes: Absolutely nobody likes her, given her insanity. Even Agent Odell seems to regard her as Necessarily Evil at best since he agrees to Lynn's request to keep Dr. Jace away from her and only keeps her around because if anything happened to Lynn she's the only one who could save the pod kids.
It's All About Me: She's only interested in her own well-being and will side with anyone she thinks can guarantee that, and will happily sell out her current employers if a better offer comes along.
Killed Off for Real: Due to knowing too much about the ASA, she is executed by Commander Williams on Odell's orders.
Lack of Empathy: She doesn't understand why Lynn would refuse to use a serum that would save some of the kids in the pods, but kills the rest. She then lies to her about coming up with a solution to get Lynn to take action ... and Lynn is not happy with the results.
Mad Scientist: Even Tobias acknowledges she's absolutely crazy.
Older Than They Look: She's the one who gave Tobias his anti-aging serum and took it herself and she hasn't aged a day.
Restraining Bolt: She's outfitted with one to keep her in line.
Rogues' Gallery Transplant: Traditionally she's a Outsiders villain.
The Sociopath: Her unethical experiments resulted in 10 people losing their feet and one dying; she's unrepentant.
- In season 3 we see that she's definitely a low-functioning sociopath; while sociopaths will often pretend to affect basic human empathy to manipulate others to achieve her goals, the high-functioning ones tend to be extremely good at hiding it. Dr. Jace, by contrast, is very bad at faking empathy by putting on an act that no one would ever buy, which is Played for Laughs.
Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Lynn really doesn't want her around since she's insane, but Agent Odell forced her hand. She's taken off the project after lying to Lynn about a serum that ended up killing half the kids.
Walking Spoiler: The audience has always known she's a Mad Scientist but "Prodigal Son" reveals that she was the architect of the original ASA vaccine program and the one who created Tobias' anti-aging serum.
You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Is in constant danger of this while in the custody of the Markovians, especially after they also capture Lynn.
You Killed My Father: She fatally experimented on Brandon's mother, which caused the latter to go on a quest for revenge.

Dr. Matthew Blair

Species: Human

Played By: Brandon Hirsch

First Appearance: "The Book of Resistance: Chapter Two: Henderson's Opus" (Black Lightning 3x7)

Appearances: Black Lightning (2018)

Initially the assisting doctor to Lynn, he eventually takes over as the one responsible for the pod kids when Lynn defects.

Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Seems like a nice enough guy at first glance, but is actually all too willing to go along with the ASA's sick experiments, being very proud of his work and not really caring about the kids dying under his watch.
Distressed Dude: He gets abducted by Lala and roughed up by Devonte, due to being the last person in Freeland having seen Tobias Whale. It's not revealed whether he survives or not.

Nurse Michael Allen

see the Arrowverse: Other Locales page

Metahuman captives

Issa Williams

Played By: Myles Truitt

First Appearance: "The Book of Consequences: Chapter One: Rise of the Green Light Babies" (Black Lightning 2x1)

Appearances: Black Lightning (2018)

One of the "Green Light Babies" who took Green Light and gained nascent powers. He is killed by the police in the first scene of season 2, but he comes back to life as the ASA is taking custody of his body.

Back from the Dead: As the ASA drag him away from his funeral in a body bag, he wakes up, to the confusion and horror of everyone present.
Cannot Tell a Lie: His looking someone in the eye turns other people into this, forcing them to blurt out their deepest, most harmful feelings.
He Knows Too Much: Gets fatally poisoned by Odell after having questioned Tobias Whale, who revealed the president's involvement in the whole Freeland debacle.
Legally Dead: Between the fact that he actually died and his family wants nothing to do with him, the ASA has no issues picking him up off the street and keeping him indefinitely. Lynn eventually sets him up with his friend, who had previously been terrified of him.
Your Days Are Numbered: Since his powers come from Green Light rather than being a natural meta, eventually every cell in his body will simply fall apart, with no way to tell how long he has.

Wendy Hernandez

Species: Metahuman

Played By: Madison Bailey

First Appearance: "The Book of Consequences: Chapter Two: Black Jesus Blues" (Black Lightning 2x2)

Appearances: Black Lightning (2018)

One of the original powered children, created by the same vaccine that created Black Lightning thirty years ago. She has been in a pod for thirty years, and only wakes up when one of the other kids accidentally blows it open.

Adaptation Name Change: Of Master of Disaster/Outsider/Strike Force Kobra/Suicide Squad member Windfall's identity Wendy Jones.
Blow You Away: Her power is aerokinesis, allowing her to enhance even the smallest breeze into a hurricane.
Fish out of Temporal Water: She initially looks for all her old friends and family, unaware that after thirty years most of them are dead, the rest have moved on, and all their old haunts have been closed down.
Heroic BSoD: As Lynn put it, spending thirty years in a pod and then waking up to a scene out of a horror movie did her no favors. She suffered a psychotic break of some sort, and scenes from her perspective show that she couldn't even comprehend what people were trying to say to her.
Punny Name: Her name is Wendy and she has wind powers.
Race Lift: From Caucasian to Hispanic.

Maryam Luqman

Species: Metahuman

Played By: Zoe Renee

First Appearance: "The Book of Occupation: Chapter One: Birth of Blackbird" (Black Lightning 3x1)

Appearances: Black Lightning (2018)

A Muslim girl and metahuman in the custody of the ASA.

All the Other Reindeer: As a black Muslim girl, she endured constant bigoted abuse at a predominantly white college.
Delicate and Sickly: She is already in a bad state when introduced, and every time she uses her powers, her condition worsens.
Invisibility: She can blend in with her environment.

Erica Moran

Species: Metahuman

Played By: Gabriella Garcia

First Appearance: "The Book of Occupation: Chapter Five: Requiem for Tavon" (Black Lightning 3x5)

Appearances: Black Lightning (2018)

A girl with the power to absorb kinetic energy.

Barrier Warrior: How she primarily uses her powers.
Energy Absorption: She can absorb a lot of kinetic energy and release it in stored form.
Ship Tease: With TC, even though she finds him creepy at first.
Tyke Bomb: The ASA is training her to be this, eventually putting her on Jefferson's team to extract Lynn and, if need be, put her down.

Governor's Municipal Logistics Commission

Kristen Kramer

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kramer_1.jpg

Species: Meta-Human

Played By: Carmen Moore

First Appearance: "Fear Me" (The Flash 7x5)

Appearances: The Flash (2014)

A member of the Governor's Municipal Logistics Commission and former Army intelligence officer on a crusade against Metahumans in Central City.

see the Arrowverse: The H.I.V.E. page for Mina Fayad, the pre-Crisis Earth-1 character who bears her physical likeness

Alliterative Name: Kristen Kramer.
Arc Villain: Appears to be this for Killer Frost; however, even after her plans to force the metahuman cure on Frost are foiled as the latter instead receives life imprisonment, she isn't beaten and still sticks around to remain a serious threat.
Big Bad Ensemble: With The Forces in the second arc of season 7; after The Forces are dealt with, she remains the sole antagonistic faction at first that lasts more than one episode, though she quickly goes through a redemption arc while actual villains show up instead.
Boomerang Bigot: Her realization that she is a metahuman herself is enough to make her reflect on her heavy-handed treatment of other metahumans and she resigns from the CCPD as a result.
Inspector Javert: She comes to Central City to arrest (Killer) Frost for her former crimes and who wants to control all Metahuman crime in general.
Fantastic Racism: Towards Metas, wanting to de-power them all.
Freudian Excuse: She has a grudge against Metahumans because she was once betrayed by a Metahuman.
The Heavy: While her own Fantastic Racism is absolutely real, she at least claims that everything she does is acting on behalf of the state's governor.
Heel–Face Turn: Gradually goes through this towards the end of season 7, as she eventually begins working alongside Joe on her own personal Story Arc dealing with an old friend-turned-enemy named Adam Creyke, in the process warming up to Joe and ultimately revealing that she herself is a meta-human with Power Copying abilities, which she uses to save his life. She finally resigns from CCPD and reflects on her prejudices.
Ignored Epiphany: After she winds up Out-Gambitted by Frost, she seems to have taken some Humble Pie and accepts Joe's advice about being mindful about how far she takes things. The very next episode she's revealed to have escalated even further and tries to force Joe to go along with her methods despite his clear stance on things.
Knight Templar: She becomes increasingly more zealous in wanting to rid Central City of Metahumans.
Nothing Personal: Despite disagreeing with each other's method strongly, she and Joe have a great deal of respect for each other.
Pet the Dog: The Speed Force notes that she holds a great deal of respect for the Flash.
Power Copying: Her Meta ability: she can copy the abilities of any meta in her vicinity for a few seconds to save her own life (or the life of anyone near her)
Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: Her role in the Governor's office gives her enough clout to make the police act how she wishes despite their own distaste for her methods. When she fails to get the Metahuman Cure made a legal punishment, she goes even further in having it modified into ammunition to use on meta criminals. All with the governor's express approval.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: Played with. She claims she's only interested in pursuing criminal Metas, but it's very much shown that she's a hair trigger Knight Templar at best in this regard.

Characters / Arrowverse: U.S. Government

Edit Locked

U.S. Government

Executive Branch

"Traveler"

Species: Human

Portrayed By: Jerry Wasserman

First Appearance: "Invasion!" (The Flash 3x8)

Appearances: Invasion!note (The Flash)

President Susan Brayden

Species: Human

Portrayed By: Lucia Walters

First Appearance: "Invasion!" (Legends of Tomorrow 2x7)

Appearances: Invasion!note (Legends of Tomorrow)

Former President Olivia Marsdin

Species: Durlan

Portrayed By: Lynda Carter

First Appearance: "Welcome to Earth" (Supergirl 2x3)

Appearances: Supergirl

Former President Phil Baker

Species: Human

Portrayed By: Bruce Boxleitner

First Appearance: "Fallout" (Supergirl 4x2)

Appearances: Supergirl

President Plastino

Species: Human

Appearances: Supergirl

The President

Species: Human

Shaw

Species: Human

Portrayed By: Eileen Pedde

First Appearance: "Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part Five" (Legends of Tomorrow 5x0)

Appearances: Crisis on Infinite Earths (2019) note (Legends of Tomorrow )

Sarah Walker

Species: Human

Portrayed By: Francoise Robertson

First Appearance: "Menagerie" (Supergirl 4x12)

Appearances: Supergirl

Legislative Branch

Senator Joseph Cray

Species: Human

Portrayed By: Steven Culp

First Appearance: "Suicidal Tendencies" (Arrow 3x17)

Appearances: Arrow

Senator Miranda Crane

Species: Human

Portrayed By: Tawny Cypress

Voiced By: Irina Índigo (Latin-American Spanish dub)

First Appearance: "Strange Visitor From Another Planet" (Supergirl 1x11)

Appearances: Supergirl

DARPA

T.O. Morrow

Species: Human

Portrayed By: Iddo Goldberg

First Appearance: "Red Faced" (Supergirl 1x6)

Appearances: Supergirl

Red Tornado

Species: Android

Portrayed By: Iddo Goldberg

First Appearance: "Red Faced" (Supergirl 1x6)

Appearances: Supergirl

NSA

Agent Smith

Species: Human

Portrayed By: Jacob Richter (young)/Donnelly Rhodes (old)

First Appearance: "Invasion!" (The Flash 3x8)

Appearances: Invasion!note (The Flash | Legends of Tomorrow) | Legends of Tomorrow

CIA

FBI

Special Agent Cameron Chase

Species: Human

Portrayed By: Emma Caulfield

Voiced By: Ivett Toriz (Latin-American Spanish dub)

First Appearance: "Childish Things" (Supergirl 1x10)

Appearances: Supergirl

Special Agent Samanda Watson

Species: Human

Played By: Sydelle Noel

First Appearance: "Tribute" (Arrow 6x2)

Appearances: Invasion!^note(The Flash)

Appearances: Invasion!^note(Legends of Tomorrow)

Appearances: Crisis on Infinite Earths (2019) ^note(Legends of Tomorrow )

Appearances: Invasion!^note(The Flash | Legends of Tomorrow) | Legends of Tomorrow