Most characters from the Hot Wheels: AcceleRacers series can be separated into factions for your convenience! Spoilers abound.
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Teku
In General
- Badass Driver: All of them have moves of a professional.
- Color-Coded for Your Convenience: They're all blue, orange, and white.
- Hidden Heart of Gold: When Markie gets lost in the realms almost all of the Teku volunteer to help out. Except Vert, who declines (although it's not that he doesn't care about Markie, it's just him feeling that he'll be nothing but dead weight to them).
- Improbable Weapon User: Their cars' speakers can be used for defensive maneuvers. It's most notable with Shirako, but Kurt and Nolo had done their share of this too.
- Steel Ear Drums: The Teku usually are listening to incredibly loud music in their free time, especially Shirako. It's unknown how they're not deaf yet.
- True Companions: All of these drivers seem to be fairly attached to one another. When the going gets rough, they get going and especially for each other.
Tone Pasaro
You wanna be the leader now little bro?
The previous leader of the Teku and the older brother of Nolo Pasaro. Tone's death has greatly changed his little brother.
- Attention Whore: According to Karma, he liked to show off when driving. This resulted in his death, after losing control of his car while drifting.
- Cool Big Bro: To Nolo. Tone doesn't seem to hate Nolo at all.
- The Leader: The original leader of the Teku.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: He looks a lot like a Hispanic version of Tupac.
- Posthumous Character: He's already dead by the time of Ignition.
- Token Minority: He's one of the only Hispanic people in Acceleracers.
Nolo Pasaro
Nothing's more important than the Teku!
Current leader of the Teku after the tragic death of his older brother, Nolo is nearly consumed by his lust for revenge against Tork Maddox, whom he holds responsible. But don't think he's an easy mark—his hot temper doesn't get in the way of his driving!
- Big Brother Worship: Downplayed. He seems to have cared and looked up to his brother, but doesn't seem to worship Tone.
- Character Development: Undergoes the most; he becomes more rational and clear-headed following his near-death experience in the Metro Realm, and gradually lets go of his grudge towards Tork, accepting that Tone's death wasn't his fault.
- Foil: Tork Maddox is an experienced, calm leader while Nolo is a feisty, hotheaded young man.
- Also one to Wylde. Both are the hotheaded members of their teams, but as Tezla puts it, Nolo can't forget his brother, while Wylde can't forgive his.
- Hot-Blooded: Can get angry fairly easily. He grows out of it later on.
- The Leader: Of the Teku. He's not the greatest, though he gets better later on.
- Pet the Dog: Despite his hatred towards Tork and general hostility towards the Metal Maniacs, Nolo shows concern for Pork Chop following the latter's near-death in the Water Realm, claiming to only hate one of them, and shows respect for Taro when he narrowly beats the Water Realm. He later saved Tork himself from an overpass and RD-L1 in Metro Realm after Tork saved him.
- Tragic Keepsake: He has a collar with a broken ‘T’ that used to belong to his brother. He leaves it behind at the end of Ultimate Race, showing that he managed to move on from the loss.
- Token Minority: Is the only Hispanic driver in both teams.
Karma Eiss
Perfect...
The only female racer on either team, she is cold and precise, an absolute perfectionist. Bears an uncannily strong resemblance to Gelorum, leader of the Racing Drones.
- Aborted Arc: Is implied to have some mysterious connection to the Racing Drones, most notably due to her resembling Gelorum and she can somehow sense that a drone is attacking the Sweeper she's in. Due to the film series being Left Hanging, we never got an answer for either of these scenes.
- Foil: Both her and Monkey are The Smart Guy of their respective team, but she's the calm and collected to Monkey's jumpy and easily-scared. She also specializes in racing strategy while Monkey is a Gadgeteer Genius.
- Hidden Depths: Can somehow sense that a drone is attacking the Sweeper she's in.
- Icy Blue Eyes: Fits her unflappable nature.
- Meaningful Name: Her last name is "Eiss" (ice) and she's cool as it too.
- The Perfectionist: She never considers herself good enough until she's got something down 100%.
- Ship Tease: After Taro doesn't try to get payback against her for what happened in the ice realm, despite not knowing yet that she’s innocent, Karma gets curious about why he isn't dating Lani anymore.
- The Smart Guy: Was the first one to find out that you're not supposed to focus on winning Accelechargers. You're supposed to learn from the realms and identify what they're trying to teach you.
- The Smurfette Principle: She's the only girl on the Teku side.
- The Stoic: She never gives a whiff of emotion.
- Not So Stoic: She's visibly scared when a Stone Colossus in Ruins Realm attempted to attack her.
- Wrench Wench: She knows her way around a car pretty damn well.
Kurt Wylde
Nobody beats Kurt Wylde. (shortly before he gets beat)
Older brother of Mark Wylde, this reformed cheater seems to have calmed down quite a bit since his Highway 35 days, functioning as the effective group leader when Tezla is not around.
- The Ace: In the World Race he was this because he was in the Grand Prix. Toned down in Acceleracers, he's still one of the best drivers, being selected the most alongside Taro for Realms, and does win an Accelecharger, but he isn't infallible and makes his fair share of mistakes or failures.
- Big Brother Instinct: He usually looks out for his brother Markie. Usually.
- Big "NO!": Has one in the Storm Realm right before he crashes into a drone car.
- The Dragon: Was this to Gelorum in World Race. He eventually snaps out of it.
- Foil: Kurt is this to Markie. Kurt is the experienced older brother while Markie is the Hot-Blooded young brother.
- Heel–Face Turn: Decides to turn against Gelorum in the World Race.
- Icy Blue Eyes: Has these under his glasses.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: In the World Race. He wants to sabotage the other drivers but doesn't want to kill them.
- My God, What Have I Done?: After antagonizing his little brother one-time-too-many in the Junk Realm, Mark tries to get even only to end up crashing and being rendered unconscious, Kurt (the closest of the Drivers to his position) just leaves him in the realm expecting Mark to just use his E.D.R. to escape. Only for the portal to close as Kurt looks on in abject sorrow at the realization that he had left his little brother behind again.
- Ordered to Cheat: By Gelorum in the World Race.
- Properly Paranoid: In Acceleracers, he claims to Karma that one of the reasons worked for Gelorum in Wheel of Fire was that he knew he didn't trust Tezla. As it turns out, Kurt was very right to distrust Tezla, what with Tezla's constantly risking the lives of the drivers, manipulating them, and outright lying.
- Tempting Fate:
- Near the end of World Race he says, "Nobody beats Kurt Wylde." This is just before Vert wins the World Race.
- Also near the end of World Race Kurt says that he can do anything Vert can. Right after that, Kurt fails to pull off a move that Vert just pulled off.
- Took a Level in Kindness: In response to his brother finally turning against him for their abusive sibling relationship. Kurt loses a lot of his edgier aspects and becomes a lot more subdued and likable.
Josef "Vert" Wheeler
I'm a team of one.
The protagonist of Acceleracers.
- Anime Hair: He may have gotten it this way through hair gel.
- Anti-Hero: In the World Race he is very self-centered. He gets better by the end.
- Badass Decay: In-universe. Despite being the winner of the World Race, Vert's less-than-stellar performance throughout the series (he never won a race once, and the one time he almost does in the Water Realm, he flunked it by being overconfident. He got two of his own cars destroyed, and the last race he partcipated in ends with a broken leg) combined with seeing other drivers being more successful than him made Vert lost a lot of self-esteem and began to doubt his abilities, to the point that he temporalily leaves the group at one point.
- Classical Anti-Hero: Becomes a bit like this in Acceleracers. The combination of slicing his beloved Deora II in half, failure to save Kadeem, and recklessness in the Water Realm that cost an Accelecharger leads him frustrated and doubting his skills after his win in the World Race.
- Foil: Taro is this to Vert. Both have an expertise in action sports (Skateboarding and surfing for Vert, skiing for Taro), but Taro has had a ton of experience and is a great driver because of it. Vert doesn't do so hot in Acceleracers and is a bit of a newbie at it, having only driven for about two years.
- The Gift: He's the best driver in World Race and yet he has little to no experience driving.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Is envious of the other drivers for being better than him. A good example would be when Taro goes through the Water Realm. Twice.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: He cares deeply for pretty much everyone.
- He's Back!: He finally regains his edge in The Ultimate Race when it's down to only him racing against Gelorum herself through the Gauntlet, where he proved to have learned from all his previous mistakes, allowing him to pull off a flawless race and keep up with Gelorum even her abusing the Accelechargers in every realm while he has to drive only with his own skills. Even before that there's a hint of this in Junk Realm, where he was leading and he knew the skills required to win the realm, only that he got cheated out of a potential victory by a Silencerz.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: In the World Race. He is very self-centered but when it comes down to it he still cares for others.
- Missing Mom: In the third movie, by means of a sentimental family photo, we learn Vert's mother is implied to have either passed or separated from his father, and this estranged Vert's relationship with his father.
- Nice Guy: Best shown at the end of World Race and Acceleracers. After he wins the World Race he gives his five million dollars to Kadeem. At the end of Acceleracers he goes back for his friends who were in trouble, despite being offered to become an Acceleron.
- Simple, yet Awesome: His skating boarding/surfing skills and the turbo jets on his Deora II.
- 10-Minute Retirement: In the middle of Speed of Silence Vert leaves after failing a few races.
- Worthy Opponent: Is acknowledged as such by the Acceleron themselves after he went through the Ultimate Race using only his own driving skills, as opposed to Gelorum who only managed to kept the lead by abusing the Accelechargers. The Acceleron marked Vert as a true Acceleracer and invited him to race in their own world.
Shirako Takamoto
(talking to a bug in the Swamp Realm) Man, if you're gonna buzz, buzz in tune.
The Teku's nearly silent mechanic who appears to care more about looking cool than winning races, yet the first driver to ever beat the previously undefeated Pork Chop. Loves his techno music, and loves it LOUD.
- All Asians Know Martial Arts: Is seen using martial arts at the end of Acceleracers to take down some drones.
- Flat Character: We don't know him that well outside of the fact that he likes loud music.
- Foil: To Pork Chop. Shirako (without his music) is very quiet while Pork Chop is loud.
- Gender-Blender Name: "Shirako" means "princess"note in Japanese.
- The Gadfly: He mainly blasts his music and pisses off a lot of the other drivers for being obnoxious and oblivious about the volume.
- No Social Skills: Implied to be this as seen in Vert's confused reaction to his behavior after taking him on a ride out of the realm.
- Pet the Dog: Brings back Monkey a pair of drone legs from the Junk Realm that ended up on Bassline's windshield so that Monkey can use them to fix up Sparky.
- The Quiet One: Without his music, Shirako is very quiet and rarely ever speaks.
- Skewed Priorities: Would rather listen to music than win a race. Also, in the Water Realm he decides to videotape the scenery rather than drive.
- Steel Ear Drums: This must be the reason as to how he can listen to music loudly all day long, and not even suffer a slight hint of hearing loss.
- The Stoic: Have you seen him show deep emotion?
- Not So Stoic: He's angered when he loses his subwoofers due to an RD-W1 unit in The Ultimate Race, and is visibly scared when his car got overturned, albeit in the latter he shortly goes back into his laid-back way.
- Token Minority: Is the only Asian driver on Teku.
Metal Maniacs
In General
- Badass Driver: All of them have moves of a professional. Except Monkey.
- Color-Coded for Your Convenience: They're all red, black and gray.
- Heroic Build: They're heroes and everyone one of them, save Monkey, is built like a big slab of beef.
- Hidden Heart of Gold: All of the drivers in the Metal Maniacs deeply care for one another. Except for Markie of course, though this might've changed after the Metal Maniacs and the Teku go to save him from the drones.
- True Companions: All of the drivers would go through hell and back to save one another. Their motto is "we're welded".
Tork Maddox
(about the drones) Nobody does this to my guys! We're welded!
The level headed leader of the team who keeps the other boys in line, which makes him markedly more responsible than one would expect a gang leader to be. Tork is plagued by guilt over the accidental death of the Teku's previous leader, Tone Pasaro. Also notable as one of only two characters of African descent.
- Ambiguously Brown
- The Atoner: Is haunted with thinking that he may have been responsible for Tone's death; despite Nolo's hatred towards him, Tork shows immediate concern when Nolo crashes in the Metro Realm, and goes to great lengths to save both him and Monkey from the Drones. Fortunately for him, Nolo returned the favor later to save him from an overpass (while atop a Sweeper) and RD-L1.
- A Father to His Men: Cares greatly for his teammates. Upon learning what the Drones did to Taro, Monkey, and Wylde, Tork sets out to avenge them.Tork: After what you said the Drones did to you and Taro; no way. Nobody does this to my guys: we are Welded!
- Characterization Marches On: He can be more coarse in Ignition when compared to the next movies, trash-talking Tone (pre-race) in a flashback with Taro and refering to Nolo as "Teku-trash", while he stays cool-headed against his hostility in the next movies.
- Fire-Forged Friends: He and Nolo started out as bitter rivals, but after both saving each other in the Metro Realm, they begin to move past that. They finally make peace for good during the mission to save Mark.
- Foil: Tork Maddox is an experienced, calm leader while Nolo is a feisty, hotheaded young man.
- The Leader: Of the Metal Maniacs. He loses the title after he loses a race with Markie but regains it after Markie fails as a leader.
- Token Minority: After Kadeem is lost, he becomes pretty much the only black driver.
Taro Kitano
I'm gonna pass you.
Previously the leader of the Scorchers back in Highway 35: World Race, Taro has since settled for second in command after his relationship with Lani Tam came to a close.
- The Ace: Like Kurt, he was this in the World Race, having done fantastic in every leg. General fan consensus is that he is the best driver among the Metal Maniacs, and Tezla seems to agree, given he selects him consistently, as compared to Wylde, who is selected roughly half as often.
- Aloof Dark Haired Man: He barely talks and when he does, he doesn't seem all that friendly.
- Always Save the Girl: In the World Race he immediately went to save Lani instead of winning the race.
- Butt-Monkey: For some reason the Silencerz really don't like him, screwing him over or disabling his car repeatedly. It's hypothesized that some of the former World Race drivers in the Silencerz are holding grudges against him.
- Catchphrase: "I'm gonna pass you."
- Foil: Taro is this to Vert. Both have an expertise in action sports (Skateboarding and surfing for Vert, skiing for Taro), but Taro has had a ton of experience and is a great driver because of it. Vert doesn't do so hot in Acceleracers and is a bit of a newbie at it, having only driven for about two years.
- Hidden Depths: Despite his stoic, professional demeanor, when Monkey is about to be taken by a sweeper in the Pipeline Realm, Taro immediately goes back for him.
- How Did You Know? I Didn't: Taro invokes this at the Junk Realm against a Silencer posing as Kurt.
- The Quiet One: Best said in a few words in World Race.Taro: (to Kadeem) Are you going to talk through this entire race?
- Ship Tease: In the Pipeline Realm Taro doesn't try to get Revenge at Karma, despite him thinking that she did something bad to him in the Ice Realm (at this point, no one is aware of the Silencerz' existence).
- The Stoic: He never gives out any secrets through his face.
- Token Minority: Is the only Asian on the Metal Maniacs.
Mark Wylde
I'm gonna show you what Wylde is all about!
Apparently could not come up with a better nickname than his last name. Kurt Wylde's annoyingly spunky little brother graduated from his role as a hotheaded, feisty kid in the previous franchise entry to a pseudo-psychopath with a growth spurt and a grudge against Kurt after Kurt seemingly betrays him in a bad business deal.
- An Arm and a Leg: He lost his left arm some time after the drones captured him. It was replaced by a robotic arm as he's in the process of being converted into a drone before Kurt saves him. Mark doesn't seem to mind it that much, though.
- Annoying Younger Sibling: To Kurt Wylde. Kurt will still be there for Markie, however.
- Asshole Victim: Averted. When he got lost in the Junk Realm, all but one driver (Vert, due to an injured leg) go save him despite his behavior towards them.
- Beneath the Mask: Breaking Point makes clear that his more temperamental attitude is his means of looking tough after having been stuck in prison. This is especially prevalent when he was shown to have met Tork and joined the Metal Maniacs, as despite his more fit physique, he's still soft spoken, and is shown to be more lashing out at Kurt thinking he has no place to go anymore. Lo and behold, when the drivers come to rescue him and the Wylde brothers beat the converted-Kadeem, Mark drops the rough behavior as he and Kurt reconcile, even if he keeps a bit of an attitude.
- Big Brother Worship: Seems to worship his brother quite a bit because he wanted to be a driver since Kurt was one. This gets undone in Acceleracers due to the fact that Kurt ditches Markie right when he needed his older brother the most.
- Big Damn Heroes: In the World Race Markie saves his brother Kurt from one of the drones after Kurt betrayed the robots.
- Control Freak: How he "leads" the team in Breaking Point. He's more concerned of getting others to obey what he tells them to do, even when it's something detrimental like keeping the slick tyre in the Junk Realm.
- Cynicism Catalyst: He's mean and angry because his brother Kurt ditched them when Markie needed him most.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: Briefly becomes this in Breaking Point. The Teku members don't have a high opinion of him to begin with, but after Mark contested with Tork for the leader of the Metal Maniacs and won, even his fellow team members don't give him any respect anymore. It's probably this reason, along with him messing up trying to take out Kurt in the Junk Realm, why he doesn't use the EDR and allows himself to be captured by the drones. That being said, he still mattered enough for both teams to put aside their differences and try to save him from the drones in The Ultimate Race.
- Foil: Kurt is this to Markie. Kurt is the experienced older brother while Markie is the Hot-Blooded young brother.
- Also one to Nolo. Both are the hotheaded members of their teams, but as Tezla puts it, Nolo can't forget his brother, while Wylde can't forgive his.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: He spends a good portion of his screentime getting angry at a lot of things.
- Hot-Blooded: Can get angry very easily.
- In-Series Nickname: He insists others to call him "Wylde" after he rejects his brotherhood with Kurt. Others do so except Kurt and Vert. Fans of the movies still prefer to call him "Markie".Markie: The name is Wylde!
- Jerkass: Is this to anyone in Acceleracers. His excuse is that his brother made him this way. He transitions into a Jerk with a Heart of Gold after the racers come to save him from being converted into a Racing Drone.
- The Leader: Briefly becomes leader of the Metal Maniacs. He fails at it and the Metal Maniacs return to Tork as their leader.
- Right for the Wrong Reasons: In Breaking Point, after hearing about the Silencerz using supposedly copied technology from Dr. Tezla, states that there's probably a spy in their midst, and immediately assumes it's his older brother's doing given the latter's shady past. Kurt isn't the culprit by a long shot. It's Gig, who admits to leaking all of Tezla's work to the Silencerz the whole time.
- Skewed Priorities: Tork sums it up the best regarding this in Acceleracers. Deconstructed as his vendetta against Kurt leads to him being careless and got directly hit by the giant wrecking ball in Junk Realm, ending up lost there.Tork: You can race, as soon as you put winning ahead of settling score with your brother.
- Tag Along Kid: Is one of the youngest drivers in the movies.
- Title Drop: At the end of World Race he says, "It's hot! Hot Wheel City!"
Deezil "Pork Chop" Riggs
PORK! CHOP!
A long haul trucker with an ambiguously Southern accent who did not appear until halfway through Ignition. Raucous, loud, and mean, the only thing that seems to let this ornery fellow keep his cool is his little buddy, Monkey.
- American Accents: Has a Southern one.
- Big Damn Heroes: Pork Chop and Monkey use Old Smokey to save the Metal Maniacs from a few Sweepers.
- The Big Guy: Is the most big and most buff member of the Metal Maniacs.
- Face Your Fears: Pork Chop ends up having to in the Water Realm. He just escapes it rather than conquers his fears though.
- Fiery Red Head: Is quick to anger and sports both short red hair and Horseshoe Mustache.
- Foil: The loud to Shirako's quiet. It shows in that Shirako's loud music annoys Pork Chop to no end.
- Foreshadowing: Him not wanting to go the watery route in the Swamp Realm foreshadows that he is afraid of water. He is afraid because his father drowned.
- Horny Vikings: Porkchops' racer helmet bears the classic Viking horn aesthetic.
- Irony: Porkchop has an anchor and a horned Viking helmet but he is afraid of water. He is afraid because his father drowned.
- Leitmotif: whenever Porkchop is doing something awesome or epic, you can always count on Jack Hammer is playing in the background.
- Pet the Dog: Despite his dislike towards the Teku (particularly for their loud music), he saves Karma from a sentient stone giant in the Ruins Realm. Likely because Karma isn't as into loud music as the rest of the Teku.
- Real Men Wear Pink: Has a stuffed animal named "Ms. Piggy".
- Taking You with Me: When three Sweepers appeared in the Junk Realm, Porkchop and Monkey decided to even the odds for the Drivers by using Old Smokey (which is loaded with Nitrox 3.5) to destroy one of the Sweepers (while the one behind it was knocked off the track trying to drive over the wreckage). Averted in that neither he or Monkey died as they used the E.D.R. to escape at the last minute, but played straight for Old Smokey which got caught in the explosion.Porkchop: Sweep This!
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Revealed to suffer from aquaphobia.
Mitchell "Monkey" McClurg
Meek, mild-mannered and easily frightened, Monkey is the odd one out of the Metal Maniacs as the only guy willing to back down from a fight or run away. He is the quintessential Butt-Monkey of the series, as his name would suggest.- Abhorrent Admirer: To Lani. She doesn't seem to like him back.
- Big Damn Heroes: Pork Chop and Monkey use Old Smokey to save the Metal Maniacs from a few Sweepers.
- Big "NO!": After learning from Gig that he's not getting paid to race.
- Butt-Monkey: He's usually getting scared by a lot of things.
- Cowardly Lion: Despite his (justified) fear of the Drones, he joins the Metal Maniacs and the Teku when they set out to rescue Wylde after the latter's been captured. Later on, he saves Karma from a Drone by tackling it from behind.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Seems to be this at the end of Acceleracers. He boldly takes on a drone, albeit from behind.
- Damn You, Muscle Memory!: after their mission to rescue Mark Wylde from the Racing Drones HQ was successful, the Metal Maniacs and Teku begin to leave by returning to the Acceledrome using their cars E.D.R.s Monkey tries to activate the E.D.R. for him to escape, forgetting that he is driving a Racing Drone Sweeper (who don't have E.D.R.s on any of their vehicles).
- Do Not Call Me "Paul": He hates his real name.
- Foil: To Karma. Both are The Smart Guy of their respective team, but Monkey is very scared and jumpy while Karma is cool and calm. Monkey also acts as the Gadgeteer Genius while Karma is a racing strategist.
- Loud Gulp: Does this before he goes into the Acceledrome for the first time.
- Lovable Coward: At least if you're not Lani.
- Meaningful Name: His name is Monkey. You know, Butt-Monkey?
- Say My Name: Says Pork Chop's name for a few seconds before they go into the Swamp Realm.
- The Smart Guy: He creates a new Nitrox, something never been done before, and reprograms a drone and names it Sparky.
- Tempting Fate: In the Storm Realm Monkey says, "This track's not so tough!" and right after that lightning almost hits him.
- Token Good Teammate: Despite being part of the Metal Maniacs, Monkey is the only racer of the group that isn't shown to be antagonistic towards the Teku or any of its members.
- Unskilled, but Strong: In The Ultimate Race, he is this. He's not a particularly unskilled driver by any means, but he isn't on the level of the other maniacs and with the possible exception of Lani, he is the worst driver in Tesla's group. As for the strong part, in The Ultimate Race according to official materials his final car, Rat-ified, is the fastest among the maniacs and besides Reverb (Vert's final car, 310 mph) and RD-09 (Gelorum's car, 306 mph), his car is the fastest with a top speed of 300 mph. Later after it's dismantled, he uses a Sweeper, which is stronger in a more traditional sense.
Racing Drones
Gelorum
Back from outer space or the Racing Realms or wherever she went after the events of Highway 35, this super-intelligent robot shed most semblances of her humanoid disguise and got real ugly.- Ancient Evil: Like the other drones, she's thousands of years old, and very much evil, being the reason why the Drones turned against the Accelerons.
- Asskicking Leads to Leadership: She's the leader of the Drones, and is also their best driver with the most advanced vehicle ever made by them.
- Bad Boss: Disposes of her Drone minions when they slack off on the job even a little. Given that they're mass-produced and expendable, it matters little to her anyway.
- Badass Driver: Like all the Racing Drones, she is an extremely skilled driver once in the driver's seat of a car.
- Big Bad: Of both World Race and Acceleracers.
- Cheaters Never Prosper: Technically, she is the winner of the Ultimate Race. However, she only kept the lead by abusing the hell out of Accelechargers in every realm, while her opponent Vert raced using only his own skills and still managed to keep up with Gelorum for most of the race despite the latter having an overwhelming advantage and even a head start over him, a fact that the Acceleron pointed out before marking Vert as the true winner. Gelorum, being a Sore Loser, suffers a Villainous Breakdown tries to eliminate Vert out of spite, causing the Acceleron to throw her into the void as a punishment.
- Competition Freak: Is this to racing. She firmly believes winning is everything because it's what she was literally built for. This put her in conflict with her creators the Accelerons who put the spirit of friendly competition first.
- Cool Car: RD-09, her personal vehicle and the most advanced of all the Racing Drones cars made.
- Dark Action Girl: In the few times she's shown fighting someone, she is more than capable of pushing them around like they're made of feathers.
- Evil Sounds Deep: Her true form's voice is a menacing and deep tone, just as she attempts to murder Vert Wheeler out of spite.
- Expy: Of the Borg Queen from Star Trek: First Contact
- Foreshadowing:
- Her white hair foreshadows that she's not normal. This series establishes that she's a robot.
- At the end of World Race she says to Vert, "Let's see how well you drive in half a car. Ignition shows Vert's Deora II getting sliced in half because of the portal closing on it.
- From Nobody to Nightmare: Gelorum was originally an ordinary Racing Drone (back when the Drones were designed to be test drivers made by the Accelerons for the Racing Realms that the Humans were intended to race on), only for Gelorum to grow beyond her programming and strive to become the true inheritors of the Accelerons' legacy, with the intent of wiping out their creators and later Humanity afterwards.Accelerons: The Drones have forgotten the purpose of competition: the important thing is not winning, but striving to win.
Gelorum: We were created to win! Winning is all there is! - Hate Sink: She was made to be hated.
- Kick the Dog: When Dr. Tezla is captured and asks her to bring him with her during The Ultimate Race, she nonchalantly denies his requests while promising to kill him once she returns and is victorious, all the while stating that she's only sparing him so that he's Forced to Watch her win.
- Late-Arrival Spoiler: Acceleracers doesn't bother to hide that she's a Drone, and their leader at that, given that she has robotic components over half her body.
- Mystical White Hair: The only character in the entire series with a weird hair color. Justified because she's an alien robot.
- Non-Action Big Bad: She mostly spectates activity in the realms and leads the drones from behind the scenes for most of the series. Subverted in the fourth movie, where she finally goes behind the wheel.
- One-Winged Angel: Her true form is a towering, hulking robot, which she unleashes to kill Vert after he wins the Ultimate Race.
- Really 700 Years Old: She looks like a woman in her mid-20s, or, following her Robotic Reveal, a highly advanced and futurstic cyborg, but is actually thousands of years old.
- Robots Enslaving Robots: She's a drone herself, and all of the other drones take orders from her and try to win Accelechargers for her.
- Robotic Reveal: Near the end of World Race reveals that she's a robot. In Acceleracers, she sheds her human Cyborg guise and transforms into a full-blown machine several feet taller than her female persona as her real body uncompresses. It was foreshadowed in the Ice Realm flashbacks to the Racing Drones, where her real form was seen in full, but not yet identifiable as Gelorum herself.]]
- Satanic Archetype: If the Accelerons are the equivalent of God and Vert is The Champion, then this makes Gelorum the Devil. Gelorum has a very Luciferian element to her character. She was created by the Accelerons but rebelled against them when told by them that the Racing Realms were created for living creatures and not for machines. Her main motivation is to destroy the Accelerons, paralleling Satan's goal to usurp God.
- Second Place Is for Losers: In her own words, Gelorum states that The Racing Drones were "Made To Win" and that winning "is all there is."
- Sore Loser: She does not take her loss in the Ultimate Race well and tries to murder the winner (Vert) for it. The Acceleron then showed her that you do not piss off your creator right in front of them.
- Spikes of Villainy: Her real form features spiky protrusions sticking off from her back and she has a spiky helmet.
- The Stoic: Usually never shows any emotion. Until the end of Ultimate Race.
- Uncertain Doom: Gelorum's ejection from the conflict at the end of "The Ultimate Race" is very open-ended. When she transformed into her true form and attacked Vert before the gateway to the world of the Accelerons, the lone Acceleron present used Telekinesis to send her flying into the white void and she disappeared into the abyss, fate unknown. It's possible she died.
- White Hair, Black Heart: She has white hair, is the Big Bad of the series, and is pretty much a heartless and selfish robot to the core.
- Xenomorph Xerox: Gelorum's real form shown in "The Ultimate Race" has shades of this. Her head, unlike other Racing Drones, features an elongated, crown-like appearance quite similar to the Xenomorph Queen.
Drones
Wheel of power... w-wheel of power!
Gelorum's helpful minions, robots created by the Accelerons for one explicit purpose: to win no matter what. Originally intended as test drivers for the Accelerons, they were banished to Earth due to their violent and ruthless nature. As a result, they've harbored a grudge against both the Accelerons and humanity. They seek to win the Accelechargers for Gelorum, so that they can Take Over the World and get rid of their enemies.
- Ancient Evil: Are thousands of years in the making, and very much evil.
- Asskicking Leads to Leadership: RD-L1, in contrast to most other drones, is far more intelligent (including being capable of actual speech), and gives the drivers of the other teams an actual run for their money. Even the cars it drives, the RD-08 and later the RD-05, are far more capable than the run-of-the-mill RD-06, being much more durable and faster to boot. At one point, a latter unit is shown managing to hold off and compete against a couple of Silencerz cars for almost the entire Cosmic Realm.
- Awesome, but Impractical: Sweepers. Built like a tank and capable of deploying drones to aid it, as well as being capable of sweeping up cars to break them apart, and capturing the drivers of said cars, they're nevertheless lumbering slabs of metal unable to stop or turn very quickly, making them sitting ducks for realm hazards or wily drivers. It's telling that since first deployed in the Metro Realm, not a single realm goes by without something bad happening to them.
- Body Backup Drive: Gelorums' highest-ranking Drone Drivers that have proven themselves worthy have their memories backed up should they be destroyed while in a Racing Realm. However, this privilege can be revoked should the Drone prove itself too incompetent.
- Color-Coded for Your Convenience: The drones themselves as well as their vehicles are black and green.
- Cyber Cyclops: The RD-W1 have this.
- Dark Is Evil: They are colored black, and are very ruthless in achieving their goals.
- Death of Personality: Maybe. RD-L1 is threatened with this for failing in the Swamp Realm, and fails in the next realm. We see multiple RD-L1's later in the series, so it's not clear.
- Determinator: They are absolutely determined in winning a race by any means. Cheating or pushing their own teammates to death is of no concern to them.
- The Dragon: RD-L1, the highest ranking of the drones, and Gelorum's top lieutenant (the 'L' in its name stands for Lieutenant).
- Dragon Their Feet: After Gelorum loses the race and vanishes, RD-L1 takes command of the drone army and siccs them onto the Teku, Metal Maniacs, and Dr. Tezla.
- Elite Mooks:
- RD-02 cars are this, being more advanced vehicles and generally performing better against the other teams than the more common RD-06.
- RD-05 and RD-08 cars are generally capable of being on equal footing with even Silencerz vehicles, with one of the former even able to last most of the Cosmic Realm against the latter.
- RD-L1 units are more intelligent drivers and stronger combatants than other Drone units, thanks in part to being Gelorum's lieutenant(s).
- Extra Eyes: Most of the Drones have these.
- Giant Mook: Sweepers, which are the largest vehicles to be deployed by any team into the realms.
- Glass Cannon: The drones can all punch through solid steel, turn cars into scrap with their own hands, and fling people around with no effort. However, they, at least the RD-S1, can't take much damage in return, and can be brought down with a single punch or kick to their heads or torsos.
- Gone Horribly Right: The Accelerons wanted robots that could win every single race and test the tracks they built. They got exactly that with these things, but they also realized that they took the fun out of racing. Worse, they also found out that when the Drones wanted to win, they would do it in any way they could...
- Killer Robot: Aside from being very skilled drivers, they are also built to kill the drivers of the other teams, having built-in weapons such as blades.
- Madness Mantra: One of the drones near the end of World Race keeps repeating to itself,Drone: Wheel of power... w-wheel of power!
- Mecha-Mooks: They're mechanical, expendable, and serve as Gelorum's henchmen.
- Mighty Glacier: Sweepers. This is why they're Awesome, but Impractical as their inability to stop or turn very quickly is a major weakness.
- Mook Lieutenant: RD-L1 units serve as Gelorum's top enforcers. In the realms, they're usually shown leading formations of RD-06 and RD-02 cars, and receive orders directly from Gelorum.
- Mook Maker: Sweepers are this, which can deploy sabotage RD-W1 drones as well as RD-07 motorbike drones.
- Mook Mobile: Literally with their mass-produced cars, especially the RD-06 and RD-02 model.
- Really 700 Years Old: Text in the Ruins Realm reveals that they're thousands of years old, created by the Accelerons to test-drive through the realms.
- Noisy Robots: They make loud clanging noises whenever they walk.
- Transforming Mecha: RD-L1 and the RD-S1 units can transform into part of their vehicles.
- Turned Against Their Masters: Following Gelorum's orders, they rebelled against the Accelerons only to be banished alongside their leader.
- Undying Loyalty: They are built and programmed to serve Gelorum, so this is no surprise.
- Weaponized Car: All of their vehicles have built-in weaponry, usually plasma or beam weaponry.
- We Have Reserves: Any drone or vehicle that is lost in a realm is of no concern, as Gelorum can simply have more drones and cars built to replace them.
- You Are Number 6: All drones and their car models are named as "RD" followed by designation numbers, helping to establish their nature as expendable machines.
- Zerg Rush: Their primary strategy is to rush for the finish line with their superior numbers, destroying any opposing teams' cars in the process, in the hopes that one of them can win and take a realm's Accelecharger for themselves.
Silencerz
- All There in the Manual: Apparently they try to rescue drivers "lost" in the racing realms and are working toward a enlightened motive regarding a truth about the Accelerons. They managed to save and recruit Banjee Castillo, and many fans believe they did the same for Dan Dresdan and Alec Wood, but the Drones managed to get to Kadeem and Wylde before they could.
- Ambiguously Evil: Their morality is never actually established and only speculated on In-Universe. They're after the Accelechargers just like everyone else, and seem to have no issue deceiving others to do so, some seeming to specifically target Taro for some reason, and while Dr. Tezla claims they are just thieves who stole technology from him, Gig reveals he was an Unreliable Narrator and that Tezla stole from them. Add on how the driver of Iridium went out of his way to save Shirako from a Racing Drone, lent aid to Vert when the Racing Drones take over the Acceledrome, and that Major Jack Wheeler and Banjee Castillo are among their numbers, it leaves their morality and goals rather suspect. The series was Cut Short before it could be revealed who or what they are, leaving it a Riddle for the Ages.
- Badass Driver: They all have the coordination and skills of a professional. And unlike the other teams, they are capable of pulling off extremely coordinated moves with almost military precision.
- Big Damn Heroes:
- In The Ultimate Race, three of their drivers save and later help Vert against the Drones when the latter take over the Acceledrome.
- Even before that, in Breaking Point, Major Wheeler saves Shirako from a drone chasing him after his bike gets totaled, all the while concealing his identity.
- Canon Character All Along: While it's initially believed that they are a group introduced for Acceleracers, two of them are confirmed to be returning characters from Highway 35. Iridium's driver is Vert's father, Major Jack Wheeler, and Technetium's driver is Banjee Castillo. Because Lani mentioned Banjee as one of the drivers Dr. Tesla had recruited but was lost to the Racing Realms like Kadeem was, many fans believe that two of the other drivers Lani mentioned, Alec Wood and Dan Dresdan, are also part of the Silencerz now.
- Chrome Champion: Both their cars and their driver uniforms use plenty of silver. And consequently, their cars and equipment are some of the most advanced and powerful in the series, even surpassing the drones in some aspects.
- Color-Coded for Your Convenience: Their vehicles, equipment, and uniforms are silver and purple.
- Cool Car: Notable in that, in a series full of these, theirs are probably the ones that stand out the most, advanced tech and all. They're the only ones with an Invisibility Cloak, equipment that allows for posing as other teams' cars, and use material that none of the other teams possess. Only Dr. Tezla comes close to rivaling them in terms of equipment, and only because he used to work for the Silencerz in the first place.
- EMP: Their cars come with built-in EMP devices which can disable other vehicles near theirs.
- Exactly What It Says on the Tin: They're totally silent (save for radio garbles) until the last part of the fourth Acceleracers movie where Vert's dad actually talks.
- The Faceless: All of their drivers and support staff wear helmets and masks that conceal their identities. The sole exception is Jack Wheeler, Vert's father, who takes off his helmet at the end of the last movie.
- Glamour Failure: Breaking Point establishes that, while they may be amazing shapeshifters, the disguises aren't perfect, as when one Silencerz turns into Kurt and Taro is forced to Spot the Imposter, the Silencerz notably has a different visor on their helmet compared to Kurts, being purple in coloration with a single red eye line compared to Kurt's transparent visor. The same applies to their cars in general, as while other drivers have transparent windows and windshields, shapeshifted Silencerz have theirs completely opaque.
- Government Conspiracy: Given that Jack Wheeler, a member of the US Military is apparently the leader of the group, as well as their secretive nature, massive amounts of advanced technology, personnel, and resources, this is all but stated to be the case.
- Invisibility Cloak: Their cars, and even their drivers' suits, are capable of camouflaging themselves during and outside of races in order to avoid being detected.
- Laser-Guided Karma: In the Junk Realm, the Silencerz who is driving Accelium (disguised as Kurt) attacks Vert with an EMP blast... and promptly gets knocked off the track by a giant wrecking ball shortly after, forcing the driver to use EDR, where it's shown the Silencerz' tech is able return both the car and driver to their base.
- Master of Disguise: Their cars are able to disguise as those of other teams, or even the Realm Cars of the Metro Realm, almost seamlessly, thanks to advanced holographic technology built into them.
- Mysterious Purple: The Silencerz are a mysterious group of racers who venture into the realms independent of both Dr. Tezla's group and the Racing Drones, to win Accelechargers for their own unspecified goals. Their most notable trait is their heavy use of silver and purple in their uniforms and vehicles, which doubles as Purple Is Powerful due to the very advanced weapons and technology that they use, ranging from an Invisibility Cloak, to the ability to disguise as other teams' cars and drivers, and even EMP weapons to disable other vehicles and machinery.
- Nanomachines: Implied to be what composes their cars, given the malleable nature of the material and the numerous abilities they can pull off.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: For lack of a better term to describe them or an official one, and because Tezla seems to know enough to competently refer to them by the oddly specific designation of the Silencerz.
- Purple Is Powerful: Their cars and uniforms have purple in them, and they are the most technologically advanced of the teams.
- The Reveal: Quite a few important plot points are related to this team in the final movie.
- Gig confirms that Dr. Tezla used to be part of the Silencerz, explaining why his car, Nitrium, looks and behaves exactly like those used by the Silencerz. The former also reveals that he was stolen and reprogrammed by the latter, only to secretly still be following the Silencerz. Demonstrated when he suddenly turns purple ala the Silencerz support drones and helps a Silencerz agent, later revealed to be Major Wheeler, attempt to get the Accelechargers.
- Vert's father, Major Jack Wheeler, is one of them, and heavily implied to be their leader.
- Banjee Castillo, according to series producer, is one of their drivers.
- Stealth Expert: Thanks to their built-in cloaking devices, they can evade detection efficiently. Best demonstrated when they effortlessly infiltrate the Acceledrome as well as the Racing Drones HQ in the fourth movie.
- The Voiceless: The Silencerz never speak aloud while seen on screen, and it's implied that they're utilizing completely private communication lines. It's subverted at the end of Ultimate Race when Jack Wheeler reveals himself to be as one of the Silencerz to Vert and tell his son they need to talk.
- Walking Spoiler: Quite a number of important plot points center around them.
- Weaponized Car: All their vehicles come with built in weaponry, either in the form of an EMP shockwave designed to stun or destroy opponents, or special magnetic bombs.
- Theme Naming: All of their cars have an elemental, scientific, or metallic theme to them.
- Wham Shot: The ending of The Ultimate Race. Their leader finally unmasks himself, revealing himself to be none other than Major Wheeler.
- Wham Line:
Major Wheeler:"Son...We need to talk."
- Xtreme Kool Letterz: They're called the Silencerz.
Other Characters
Dr. Peter Tezla
A scientist of the Scrim Corporation and former Silencer who opens the realms for the drivers. He makes cars and wanted to recruit people in World Race because he couldn't get through the realms with just better cars, he needed better drivers.- 0% Approval Rating: Subtle and unstated, but as the races keep going, the trust Tezla has amongst his drivers begins to crumble. Slowly but surely, Tezla loses the respect of virtually all of his drivers except Vert. Lani doesn't like him much to begin with, and Kurt doesn't trust him either. As it turns out, this is for very good reason, as Tezla is ultimately responsible for the loss of Dan Dresden, Alec Wood, Banjee Castillo, and Brian Kadeem, as he did not put an EDR in their cars despite it being well within his capacity, Pork Chop becomes incensed with him due to him not caring about Monkey's endangerment, he doesn't warn the drivers about the presence of the Silencerz despite knowing about them from the start, and remains mildly egotistical throughout it all. All of this causes the drivers to bail on him during The Ultimate Race, and in the final fight, none of the drivers even attempt to protect him or help him evacuate.
- All Just a Dream: His dream at the beginning of Speed of Silence. You can tell it's a dream because he's not wearing his metal suit.
- Big Good: All the known human casts answer to him, though The Ultimate Race reduced that a bit, and he directs/manipulates/motivates them.
- Chekhov's Gun: The suit Tezla uses to get around. It is eventually snagged by the one drone that had the lower half its body Portal Cut when the Storm Realm suddenly closed to make up for the loss of its legs and lower torso. When the Drone is once again taken offline, now even more damaged, Monkey has it reprogrammed into Sparky, and uses some of the parts from Tezla's first broken body braces to supplement some destroyed bits like its arm and jaw. Tezla, meanwhile, acquires a spare set of body braces.
- Cool Car: His Nitrium, which is technologically on par with the ones used by the Silencerz and can even remove their disguises. Given that Tezla himself used to work with them, this makes perfect sense, given that Nitrium and Gig were both stolen after he (Tezla) quit them.
- Fascinating Eyebrow: Does this to Lani in Speed of Silence when she says that they shouldn't put Tork and Nolo on the same track. It makes her find out that he wants trouble between the drivers.
- Foil: Lani is a foil to Tezla. Lani is young, Tezla is old. Lani cares for the drivers, Tezla only cares for the Accelechargers and Accelerons.
- Foreshadowing:
- His dream foreshadows that the drones will get all of the Accelechargers.
- Him interrupting Lani when she was explaining why they couldn't go back for Kadeem foreshadows that he doesn't want the Lani to say that they've been through the realms before.
- Handicapped Badass: At the very beginning of the series, in an Ironic Echo of the autopilot car wrecking at the beginning of World Race, Tezla is brutally injured in an accident after one of the lieutenants of the Racing Drones forcefully rams his Nitrium off the road. The vehicle tumbles several stories below and takes a thrashing, and so does Tezla, who is so badly injured he is forced to use a robotic exoskeleton to walk as his body slowly recovers. It is meant to convey the much more dangerous threat the Racing Drones pose to the human drivers at large.Tesla: Look what they did to ME.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Subverted. Gig takes control of his exoskeleton however and makes him leave with Lani, detonating the Acceledrome himself instead.
- It's All About Me: Most of his actions in the series aren't motivated by his wanting to save the world, but to benefit himself and his research into the Wheel of Power.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: While he may be an egotistical Manipulative Bastard who is willing to sacrifice his drivers if it mean gaining Accelechargers, he does have a soft spot, namely for Vert. After Vert returning sets off the security alarm and alerts Tezla and Gig of his arrival, Tezla lets out a gentle smile. And while he does initially act cross with Vert for just running off, he makes clear to Gig it was just to give him motivation. And when the Acceledrome is invaded by the Racing Drones and Vert wants them both to escape together, he tells Vert to go on without him and entrusts him with stopping Gelorum, whispering him good luck as the Drones come to capture him. That being said, he can still very much be seen as...
- Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: He does not put an EDR in the cars of Kadeem , Banjee, Alec, or Dan despite clearly being able to do so, with horrific consequences, showing no guilt or remorse for it, reveals Markie's capture in a very snide, unsympathetic manner, cares more about the potentially lost accelecharger than the near-capture of Nolo and Monkey, shows no concern for the potential imminent death of the defenseless drivers, and tries to convince Vert to abandon them when only he and Lani have the means to escape.
- Manipulative Bastard: He wants to create more trouble between the drivers so that they will feel more incentive to be better than the others and win races. And while we're at it, he is actually the one who stole technology from the Silencerz- he just twisted the story around.
- Meaningful Name: He's very smart for a guy named "Tezla".
- Morality Pet: Vert becomes this for him once he comes to the Accleredrome. While he does show concern for Lani and Gig, Vert is the one who tends to bring out the best in him and gets him to temporarily turn down the egotism.
- Skewed Priorities: He cares more for the Accelechargers and the Accelerons than the drivers. Lani notes that this is the reason why he didn't add in the EDRs into the cars sooner.
- The Smart Guy: He built a ton of cars, all with unique skills and tools. Also, without Tezla the drivers of the World Race wouldn't even know about Nitrox.
Gig
Computers don't have feelings.
The non-human buddy of Tezla. Tezla deeply cares for Gig. So, of course, Gig dies at the end of the fourth Acceleracers movie.
- Disney Death: Seems to have short circuited at the end of World Race but gets better. However, in Acceleracers his death seemingly sticks.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Blows himself and the Acceledrome up, saving Dr. Tezla and the other racers from the Racing Drones.
- The Mole: He's been spying on Dr. Tezla for the Silencerz after the former stole him when he quit the team.
- Non-Human Sidekick: To Tezla.
- Traitor Shot: Turns purple when Lani finds out his affiliation with the Silencerz.
- The Stoic: As a robot he doesn't show much emotion.
Lani Tam
If he can do it, I can!
The Girl Friday for Tezla and once a Wave Whipper in the World Race.
- Ditzy Genius: She's pretty intelligent and knows a lot about cars and basic computer skills. However, she thinks driving a Wave Ripper car through lava is a good idea.
- Foil: Lani is a foil to Tezla. Lani is young, Tezla is old. Lani cares for the drivers, Tezla only cares for the Accelechargers and Accelerons.
- Girl Friday: In the Acceleracers movies she doesn't work behind the wheel. Instead, she does stuff for the drivers through tips and calculations with Tezla.
- Nice Girl: Cares for all the drivers. Metal Maniac or Teku.
- The Smart Guy: As shown in the World Race she easily calculates how fast you're supposed to go to get through the giant wheel. In Acceleracers she's smart enough to work beside Tezla, who is also The Smart Guy.
- Team Mom: This is best shown when the drivers are in trouble, she is worrying over them.
- Too Dumb to Live: In World Race she tries to go through lava, despite her car not having the same utilities as the Scorchers.
- Wrench Wench: Is sometimes seen taking care of the cars.
Brian Kadeem
A fellow driver, who comes back after World Race. He has been working with Tezla and meets up with both the drivers of Acceleracers in Tezla's cube, now wrecked to pieces.- Ambiguously Brown
- Black Dude Dies First: He's the first of the drivers to go down in the Storm Realm. He doesn't actually die though, he gets captured by Gelorum and made into a drone himself. He reappears later and falls from a high building by the end of Ultimate Race and his fate is unknown.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: He's forced to side with Gelorum after she turns him into a Cyborg and messes with his mind.
- Cybernetics Eat Your Soul: The fate of him. He becomes half-robot by the end of all Acceleracers movies.
- Death of Personality: While he initially responds to "Kadeem" after being Reforged into a Minion, when Kurt tries to save him from a Disney Villain Death, he proclaims that "Kadeem is gone!" before letting himself fall, Laughing Mad the entire time. Just prior, Kurt had tried reaching out to him by reminding him of his "people", but he had no idea what Kurt was talking about. It becomes clear that Brain Kadeem died before they could save him, and all that was left was a Racing Drone wearing his skin.
- Lightning Bruiser: Unlike regular Drones, Drone! Kadeem can take far more punishment while still being just as fast and strong as them.
- Nice Guy: Kadeem is one of the most selfless characters in the series, to the point he does not break under Gelorum's torture and doesn't give her the location to the Acceledrome. Then this got cruelly subverted when he earns an Unwilling Roboticization that leaves him Brainwashed and Crazy, and by the end of it he's an aggressive, manipulative, evil Racing Drone with only a fragment of Human! Kadeem's kind, polite personality.
- Reforged into a Minion: Gelorum turns him into a willing pawn by grafting Drone components onto him and messing with his mind.
- That Man Is Dead: Implied. Just before his Disney Villain Death;RD-Kadeem: (to Kurt) Kadeem is gone!
- Token Minority: Out of the leaders of the World Race he is the only one who is African.
- Too Powerful to Live: Downplayed, but noticeable. He is unquestionably one of the best drivers of the World Race and has few peers among the Metal Maniacs or the Tekunote , and in terms of skill his only peers were Banjee, Vert, Kurt, Taro, and including the new racers, perhaps Karma, Nolo and Tork. But the real asset he brought was his kindness and levelheadedness. When he shows up the tension notably dips between the Metal Maniacs and the Teku, and things are more relaxed. When he goes down in the Storm Realm, things immediately take a turn for the worst, and the tension between the two teams heats up worst than it was before.
- Unwilling Roboticization: Gets turned into part-Drone by Gelorum after she has him captured.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: We never know what happens to him after his fall after his fight with the Wylde brothers.
Sparky
A Racing Drone reprogrammed by Monkey from the wreckage of an RD-S1 unit that came with Vert.- Ace Custom: Sparky has the upper torso and chassis of the RD-S1 Racing Drone that was attacking Vert in the Storm Realm, but has a Right Arm built with a cybernetic brace similar to what the Acceleracers and Dr. Tezla use, and later on gets a functioning set of legs taken from an MD-01 recovered by Shirako in the Junk Realm.
- All of the Other Reindeer: Gets a short moment as this when all of the other regular drones see Sparky dancing. They just stop and stare in awe or pity.
- Character Tic: How he got his namesake; the random sparks he emits due to his poor repair. It's a mild annoyance to few of the drivers, namely Pork Chop and at one point, Lani brings up the big risk of him being in charge of filling up a tanker with highly flammable Nitrox fuel.
- Non-Human Sidekick: To the Metal Maniacs, and later, to Vert. He's also the one who tells the drivers a bit about where Vert went at the end of Acceleracers.
- Irony: The RD-S1 unit that came with Vert after Storm Realm and attempted to attack him is the one that would become his sidekick much later.
- Noodle Incident: Between Speed of Silence and Breaking Point, Sparky was working on Pork Chop's motorcycle and as a result, in Pork Chop's words; "It's in hog heaven."
- Last of Their Kind: Largely implied to be the case with the (supposed) death of Gelorum followed by the majority of the Racing Drone hierarchy being destroyed within the Acceledrome when it blew up, Sparky is arguably the last of the still-functioning Racing Drones.
- Token Heroic Orc: Due to Sparky having its' original programming wiped; he is the only Racing Drone that is actually a part of the Metal Maniacs.
The Accelerons
The Eminently Enigmatic Race who created Highway 35 and the Racing Realms.- Extra Eyes: Averted, they only have two real eyes. The Extra Eyes on the Racing Drones are based on small indentations on their forehead.
- The Greys: They originally looked like this in the Highway 35 comics, but Accele Racers would retcon their appearance.
- Humanoid Aliens: They are blue-skinned, silver-eyed and they have blade-like horns on their head.
- Precursors: They are thousands of years older than humanity
- Serious Business: They created two different sets of alternate dimensions for racing in, as well as a group of robots designed for racing.
