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Randall "Randy" Cunningham
Voiced by: Ben Schwartz
The main protagonist and current Norrisville Ninja. Armed with his magical Ninja Suit, Randy takes on monsters, killer robots, and other fiends to thwart the Sorcerer and McFist's evil schemes.
- Ascended Fanboy: From the Ninja's biggest fan, to being the Ninja himself.
- Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Randy notes that he has great difficulty focusing on school and his daily life, and is easily distracted. It's noted multiple times that he has trouble keeping still and has a lot of energy he expends on "unnecessary flips" as the Ninja. These are common symptoms of ADHD, and it's heavily implied Randy has some form of it.
- Badass Adorable: Randy is a cute, well-meaning albeit bumbling teenager that is quite energetic, yet can kicks all sorts of butt as the Ninja.
- Badass in Distress: On occasion, Randy will need help from others, usually Howard.
- Bee-Bee Gun: His Ninja Bee Balls can summon angry swarms of bees that will attack anyone, including himself if he's not careful.
- Book Dumb: Randy is an excellent Ninja and surprisingly good with riddles, but his academic performance is incredibly poor. He's barely passing any of his courses, with the sole exception of English, where he's holding a B.
- Brilliant, but Lazy: Not outright stated, but there are subtle hints that Randy is smarter than his poor grades would indicate. He's actually competent at math and can solve riddles quite well, but is so easily distracted and self-involved, he doesn't put in the effort to go beyond the bare minimum.
- Brought Down to Badass: While not as formidable, Randy demonstrates surprising capability without the suit. His second battle with Mac Antfee, his first encounter with Catfish Booray, and "Debbie Mettle" are the most notable instances of Randy having to make due without his Ninja abilities, and shows a surprising willingness to throw himself in harm's way for the sake of others. At times, he shows some natural physical ability, meaning he doesn't owe everything to the suit.
- Calling Your Attacks: Exaggerated Trope. He almost always calls out his attacks or moves, usually with the prefix "Ninja X"!
- Catchphrase: He has several, in the form of custom slang for the series.
- "What the juice?!", "that's the cheese" (that's the best), "so honkin' bruce" (that's freaking awesome), "shnasty" (extremely gross), and "so wonk" (so lame), many of which are Share Phrases.
- He's also very fond of yelling, "Smoke bomb!" whenever using them.
- Character Development: He starts the series as a flawed, but ultimately well-meaning teenager and progressively learns humility, selflessness, and responsibility from the Ninjanomicon as the Ninja.
- Clothes Make the Superman: Subverted as a plot point of "The Ninja Identity/Supremacy". Howard argues that anyone could put on the mask and be the Ninja, as they'd gain all the weapons and gadgets Randy uses. However, while the suit does grant the gadgets, abilities, and weapons, it's Randy's courage and compassion that makes him capable of true heroism and using the suit to its full potential. There are even occasions where Randy has performed heroic deeds without the suit entirely.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Randy is definitely more than a bit odd and spastic, though he is often Closer to Earth than Howard.
- Combat Pragmatist: In addition to his various Ninja weapons and gadgets, Randy will use just about anything on hand in fights, which often nets him victory.
- Depending on the Writer: Randy's Nice Guy personality. At most times, Randy is depicted as a Nice Guy with some flaws but some episodes usually depict him as a Jerk with a Heart of Gold at the same level as Howard sometimes.
- Destructive Savior: Lampshaded by Howard in "Monster Drill", Randy's Ninja fights tend to cause more damage to the school than the monsters attacking it. In "Working for the Weekend", his fights have damaged the school so much that the school board prompted Saturday school.
- Dual Wielding: He has a few weapons that function in this manner, like the Ninja Sais, and sometimes wields two swords.
- Elemental Powers:
- Blow You Away: The Air Fist.
- Playing with Fire: Ninja Rage lets him channel the Tengu's power to launch fireballs, and has a gadget in the form of Ninja Hot Balls.
- Shock and Awe: Electroballs, which store powerful electric charges.
- Kill It with Ice: Ninja Cold Balls, and in one of the games he has a Ninja Cold Rage.
- Dishing Out Dirt: The Earth Attack, which can also function as a Mook Maker.
- Making a Splash: The Hydro Hand which lets him materialize water out of his hands.
- Enemy Mine: On a few occasions, Randy will work with his sworn enemies to defeat a more pressing threat.
- In "Dawn of the Driscoll", he collaborated with Viceroy to disable Jerry Driscoll's doomsday device.
- In "Escape From Scrap City", he worked with McFist to escape the scrapped robots seeking revenge on them both.
- In "Ball's Well That Friends Well", he frees the Sorcerer to defeat Evil Julian.
- Flaming Sword: The Ninja Rage allows Randy to set any of his ninja tools or weapons ablaze with fire to enhance their power.
- Good with Numbers: His math skills were mentioned on his essay in Last Stall on the Left and then shown in Escape from Detention Island while proving Howard's innocence to Principal Slimovitz.
- On the other hand, Randy likes to cover up the Nomicon with his math textbook.
- Hammerspace: Where he pulls his ninja gear from, since the suit has no visible storage space and is clearly powered by magic. Although we do at least learn where some of the weapons and gadgets come from.
- Healing Hands: The ninja art of healing. The first time he tried it he did not fully read how to do it and accidentally brought Jerry Driscoll's skeleton back to life (as well as multiple miscellaneous creatures in the science classroom). He has more control of it by the time of Silent Punch, Deadly Punch. It's shown to work on both, living, dead and even inanimate metal objects.
- Henshin Hero: Randy becomes The Ninja by putting on the mask of the suit, complete with Transformation Sequence.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Howard, since early childhood. While they quarrel often, they're practically inseparable.
- He Cleans Up Nicely: He looks good in a tuxedo.
◊ - Highly-Visible Ninja: Randy can employ stealth if the situation calls for it, but more often than not tends to rush headfirst into the thick of things. His black suit sticks out like a sore thumb in broad daylight and his tendency to calls his attacks doesn't do him any favors, either.
- How Did You Know? I Didn't: Back when Randy and Howard were six-year-olds, they snuck into Norrisville High so Randy could prove to Howard that the Ninja exists. Randy turned Marci back to normal by cutting her apron. When the Ninja of '05 asked him how he knew it'd de-stank her, Randy said he was aiming for her head. The Ninja of 2005 then hoped Randy would never become the Ninja.
- Idiot Hero: In the early episodes, the Nomicon's lessons completely fly over Randy's head, though this was usually Played for Laughs. As he became more studious and savvy, his misunderstandings with the Nomicon primarily occur due to selfishness and stubbornness on his part, instead of pure idiocy.
- Improvised Weapon User: Often uses nearby objects when not using the weapons in the suit.
- Ink-Suit Actor: Randy does bear a likeness to his voice actor, Ben Schwartz.
- In the Hood: He often wears a jacket that has a hood but rarely uses it. Nomi!Randy does, however.
- It's Personal with the Dragon: Randy regards McFist as his nemesis, and often treats him with equal amounts of ridicule and disdain.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Downplayed. Compared to Howard, who lives and breathes the trope, Randy is more pleasant and cordial to get along with. However, he does his bouts of selfishness and irresponsibly abusing his power for short-term satisfaction. But he takes his Ninja duties seriously and can always be counted on to save the day when it matters.
- Jumped at the Call: He takes being chosen as the Ninja in stride, and happily dons the mantle without hesitation.
- Kamehame Hadoken: The Ninja Air Fist.
- Ki Manipulation: Certain Ninja abilities such as the "Art of Disguise" requires him to use his "ninja energy" in order to perform them.
- Kid Hero: He's a teenager and also the only one keeping the Sorcerer from taking over the world.
- Legacy Character: He's the most recent in a long line of Ninjas who have opposed the Sorcerer.
- Living Legend: As the Ninja, whose history of protecting Norrisville has made him into a well-recognized figure.
- Mask of Power: The Ninja Mask. To don the Ninja Suit, Randy simply has to put on the mask, making it incredibly easy to conceal and carry on hand.
- Meaningful Name:
- His full first name Randall means "wolf-shield" or "strong shield", signifying his courage that befits his role as the Ninja.
- The word "cunning" in his last name is rather fitting for a Ninja, who employs cunning as one of their primary tools. This also reflects in his fighting style, as Randy relies on his wits as often as his power to overcome challenges.
- Messy Hair: His hair is pretty unkempt.
- Nice Guy: The Ninjanomicon primarily chose him for his pure heart. Even when he acts selfish and irresponsible, Randy almost always comes around and does his best to right his wrongs, making him a flawed but well-meaning kid.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: A recurring flaw of his. He tends to misunderstand or completely ignore what the Nomicon tries teaching him, and many of the situations are a result of his poor judgment, selfishness, misuse of power, or rash decision making. However, he'll usually fix his mistakes once he realizes his error.
- Ninja: The current Norrisville Ninja.
- Ordinary High-School Student: At least, that's what he tries to portray himself as, though he does try to climb the high school social ladder from time to time.
- Power Incontinence: It happens to him in "Best Buds" after the Ninjanomicon improves his taste buds.
- Power Makes Your Hair Grow: With the Art of Disguise, Randy can change and alter his physical hair growth by focusing his ninja energy to accelerate his hair growth to grow a mustache, which he can even use in combat.
- Power Up Full Color Change: The ninja suit turns glowing red and Randy gains Glowing Eyes whenever he uses the Ninja Tengu Fireball.
- Protagonist-Centered Morality: Subverted. He has a tendency to consciously twist whatever lesson the Nomicon is trying to teach him into support for what he wants to do instead of what he needs to do, which has ended poorly for him every single time, forcing him to learn his lesson and do the right thing. Partially justified as Nomi!Randy all but implies that he was formerly a self-centered slacker on Howard's level before becoming the Ninja.
- Red Is Heroic: A noble hero who primarily wears a red shirt, and his Ninja Suit sports red highlights.
- Scarf of Asskicking: Comes with the Ninja territory as it's a pretty handy ninja fighting tool, whether as a whip or break long falls. Howard thinks it's lame, but Randy loves it completely.
- Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Downplayed, since Randy isn’t as feminine, but he is the Sensitive Guy, as he is softer and kinder, to the brash Manly Man Howard.
- Ship Tease: He receives a ton with Theresa Fowler, and the two are shown to have feelings for one another but have difficulty expressing it. He has this to a lesser extent with Heidi Weinerman and Debbie Kang. Of the bunch, however, it is confirmed that Theresa is the only girl Randy truly loves.
- Spider-Man Send-Up: Randy has quite a few traits in common with Spider-Man. Like Peter Parker, Randy is a teenage high school superhero with a secret identity, loves to crack jokes and engage in witty repartee with his villains, and struggles with using their power responsibly. His supporting cast even includes a best friend, a Jerk Jock, and a cute Nice Girl he has difficulty expressing his feelings for. His villains also include a green Arch-Enemy and a Corrupt Corporate Executive in the Sorcerer and McFist, respectively.
- Stock Ninja Weaponry: Has used some as the Ninja.
- Chain Pain: Carries a Chain Sickle and a Chain Blade.
- Tonfas: He used these in "So U Think U Can Stank''.
- Nunchaku: Technically a manrikigusari. But the way he uses it in combat is almost identical to Nunchucks.
- Flechette Storm: Ninja Rings.
- Katanas Are Just Better: The Ninja Sword(s).
- Sinister Scythe: The Chain-sickles.
- Sai: Also fights with a pair of Sais.
- Telescoping Staff
- Smoke Out: Uses smoke bombs to disappear and reappear, as well as using them as an element of surprise.
- Superior Successor: While Randy may come across as rather goofy and irresponsible in comparison to his predecessors (save for Mac Antfee), he is the Ninja who finally defeats the Sorcerer after 800 years.
- Super-Reflexes: Unsurprisingly for a Ninja, Randy has a fast reaction time, but demonstrates this without the suit at times.
- Super-Senses: At their strongest, they become so potent that he can taste things with his skin. On this level, they become Awesome, but Impractical due to the Sensory Overload and how his attacks end up hurting himself more than his enemies because of his increased sensitivity to pain. He does, however, manage to reign them into a more manageable degree.
- Super-Speed: Randy also has incredible speed when wearing the Ninja Suit.
- Super-Strength: Randy gains great strength from the Ninja Suit, however it varies or is inconsistent over time.
- Took a Level in Badass: Slowly but steadily, Randy grows more capable in fights as he unlocks more abilities and gains new gadgets that he liberally uses against his foes.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: He has an irrational fears of chickens and roosters, and knows multiple trivial facts about them.
Howard Weinerman
Voiced by: Andrew Caldwell
Howard is Randy's best friend, and despite the fact that he’s got a huge mouth, he is the only person who knows Randy is the Ninja. He is Heidi's younger brother.
- Acrofatic:
- It turns out he can climb the rope for gym class. He just doesn't want to do it.
- He can also beat an un-powered Randy and Bash in a rush to Shangri Lunch in Der Monster Klub.
- However, when Randy briefly took control of his body, he found himself having trouble to fight with his usual acrobatic fighting style. Justified as Randy points out that he's still getting used to Howard's body and a whole different center of gravity. Prompting him to fight more defensively and with his wits.
- He also as stated below in Brilliant, but Lazy his time as "Le Beret" where he basically became a vigilante that could hijack broadcasts (albeit on a school level) and somehow got his hands on a hoverboard. He's also able to briefly fight Randy (as the Ninja), but it was clear Randy was holding back, even though he had no idea "Le Beret" was Howard.
- Action Survivor: He doesn't really have much in terms of fighting skills (at least not to the level Randy has) but he's shown to be pretty savvy where it counts and can be helpful when needed be.
- Annoying Younger Sibling: To his sister, Heidi.
- Big Eater: He really likes to eat.
- Big Fun: In a Jerk with a Heart of Gold sense.
- Book Dumb: He fails even Spanish class.
- Brilliant, but Lazy:
- Most likely, see his Chess playing skills in Stanks Like Teen Spirit
- Not to mention his time as "Le Beret" where he basically became a vigilante that could hijack broadcasts (albeit on a school level) and somehow got his hands on a hoverboard.
- Cloudcuckoolander: He's a little out there and tends to be the one with the more weirder thoughts and ideas.
- Demonic Possession: Twice. The first time when Randy accidentally freed the Tengu. The second time when Randy freed the Tengu deliberately to better fight the Sorcerer.
- Distressed Dude: More so than Randy, both in older episodes and the more recent ones. Sometimes he escapes all on his own without Randy's help and sometimes Randy has to rescue him before things could get any uglier.
- Dumb and Drummer: He may be dumb in school, but he can really play.
- Eskimos Aren't Real: He doesn't believe isosceles triangles are real.
- Fake Ultimate Hero: During his brief stint as the Ninja, his boorish behavior and abuse of his position for personal gain even made the amnesiac Randy, who was initially elated that his best friend was the Ninja, realize that he wasn't the real deal.
- Fat Best Friend: Combo of C and A, but his build isn't often pointed out; in fact, the one time it looked like they would (when he finds out that Randy didn't think he could climb the rope in gym class), it turns out Randy actually had his "dainty" hands in mind.
- Friend Versus Lover: He gets annoyed when Randy and Theresa interact with each other and tries to include himself in their interaction as shown in Sorcerer in Love 2: The Sorceress' Revenge and The Brawn Also Rises.
- Genius Ditz: Turns out he's super good at Chess despite not knowing the names of the pieces or even to say "checkmate" instead of "Chessmate!" when he wins.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners/Vitriolic Best Buds: With Randy.
- Hypocrite: Often gets mad at Randy for doing the right thing or, on rare occasions, Randy's selfish things, yet gets happy when they do Howard's selfish things. There's also one instance in "Secret Stache" when he sold Randy out for being a fakie (purely out of jealousy and spite), despite being fully aware that he's a fakie himself, not to mention Howard co-sponsored a very strict "anti-faker" rule just to throw suspicion off of himself (which is also a case of his Never My Fault mentality).
- Idiot Savant: Great at making excuses and playing chess (despite not knowing what the pieces are even called) though not much else.
- Informed Attribute: He apparently has dainty hands, but visually, his hands don't appear any smaller than Randy's.
- Ink-Suit Actor: Howard somewhat resembles his voice actor Andrew Caldwell.
- It's All About Me: With Randy being a close second.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: More so than Randy in the Jerkass department. He can be a jerk sometimes, but he really does have Randy’s best interests in being someone in high school at heart.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Brimming with bad advice, but has occasional moments of practicality and wisdom.
- The Lancer: Defaults to this position as the only other person who knows Randy is the ninja, though he has manned the suit before and done a little saving of his own (not really at the same time, though).
- Last-Name Basis: Very rarely ever calls Randy by his first name.
- My Sister Is Off-Limits:
- In Shloomp! There It Is!, despite not being fond of his sister, he was horrified and disgusted when "Randy"note flirts with Heidi.
- And in "Welcome Back Catfish", when Howard gets offended that Randy doesn't tell him everything, Randy (possibly jokingly) admits that he finds Heidi attractive under the right light, which Howard finds disgusting.
- Never My Fault: His Fatal Flaw. Howard knows most of the trouble that happens is usually because of him and convincing Randy to go along. When everything gets fixed, he pins the credit all on Randy to avoid a bad rep and, sometimes, purely out of pettiness (which annoys Randy to no end).
- Out-of-Character Moment: Throughout Ninjception, when Randy is trapped in a dream-loop (courtesy of the Chaos Pearl), Howard is uncharacteristically eager whenever it's "Ninja Time", which Randy makes note of since Howard hates Ninja Time, causing him to become suspicious.
- Plucky Comic Relief: He mainly exists to provide laughs.
- Secret-Keeper: The only one who knows that his best friend is the Ninja. Although he almost slipped in Gossip Boy.
- Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Howard is the brasher, and a Jerk with a Heart of Gold, Manly Man towards Randy’s Sensitive Guy. Albeit, this is downplayed, since Randy is somewhat masculine.
- Ship Tease: He has always acted like he hates Debbie Kang, but in To Smell And Back he makes up a story in which he's the hero and she is all over him. And in Let Them Eat Cake Fries, Howard is noticeable flattered when Debbie considered him as a hero as "pretty bruce".
- Skewed Priorities: Shows this some times. As seen in Viva El Nomicon.
- Strong Family Resemblance: He shares his hair color with his sister and father, and he himself looks like a younger and fatter version of his father.
- Too Dumb to Live: Tends to ignore Randy's warnings about McFist's products. Such as their candy which turns people to zombies, and their soupsickles which turns people into soup crazed monsters when he eats a dozen of them.
- Toxic Friend Influence: While Randy does get himself and others into trouble, most of the time its' due to Howard's persuasion. This was best shown in the episode, Dawn of the Driscoll, were he forced Randy to use the NinjaNomicon to find a way to cheat their way out of economics class so they can pass, avoid getting grounded and go for the Whoopee World Frightacular.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Most of the time he doesn’t appreciate Randy’s help.
- Unscrupulous Hero: Incredibly selfish and rude, he only ever does the right or noble thing out of necessity. That said he does care for Randy and when seeing him in real danger, he'll usually act without a second thought.
- Walking Techbane: In Weinerman Tested, Cunningham Approved he shows an astonishing knack for finding the one flaw in "indestructible" McFist products. Some of them disintegrate with one touch.
- What the Hell, Hero?: While understood, one would think Howard would show his friend some slack when he has to go off and fight monsters. He also argues with the Nomicon when it steers Randy to do the right thing."Nonono priorities. First our grade, then snakey-flying-thingie."
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Howard's fear is revealed to be... having no food left to eat.
The Ninja Nomicon
A magic book containing all the knowledge and wisdom of all the former Ninjas that have written in it. Though it does not speak, it acts as an unorthodox mentor to Randy, oftentimes giving him advice or disciplining him when he goes too far. The protagonists often talk to it as if it's a character in and of itself.
- An Aesop: Tries to give one to Randy every other episode to mixed success as the boy often misinterprets or twists the lesson to fit what he wants to do at the moment.
- Art Shift: Its interior has a visual style that is quite distinct from the rest of the show.
- Augmented Reality: Gives Randy a mystical version of this that uses colorful doodles to highlight points of interest, help him deduce solutions to a problem, or to stress the lesson it was trying to teach him.
- Bigger Stick: Its solution to dealing with a mighty force is to use an even bigger one to counter it. This doesn't necessarily mean an attack or weapon; a drop off a cliff or something really heavy falling on the opposition is perfectly acceptable.
- Brain Uploading: How it brings people into it. It's possible for the wrong consciousness to enter a body on way out though.
- Chekhov's Classroom: Usually predicts the plot of the entire episode and lays out the Aesop preemptively in the form of a surprise lesson.
- Dangerous Forbidden Technique: Has a few in its "Forbidden Knowledge of the Shadow Warrior" section that include telepathy, flight, invisibility, and healing. Their true danger lies in how they require a good deal of study and practice to use safely.
- Forbidden Chekhov's Gun: Randy tried to use some techniques to add some terror to his garage on Halloween.
- Great Big Book of Everything: Well, great big book of ninja wisdom. The book is comprised of the collective experience and knowledge of centuries of ninjas.
- The Kindnapper: Pulls this on Randy in ''Shloomp, There It Is!", tying him to a chair inside itself and sending out NomiRandy to try and force Randy to learn that he can't rely on it for absolutely everything.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: What it does to a Ninja after their tenure has ended. The memories and experiences aren't exactly erased, but are instead taken into the book to help future Ninjas. Mac Antfee is the perfect example as to why this is necessary, as a former Ninja keeping their memories and experiences can spell disaster. Mac, upon being fired from being the Ninja, became so obsessed with regaining his former powers that he spent his entire adult life trying to create an army to help him do it.
- Licked by the Dog: Despite Randy's many screw-ups, the Nomicon still considers him to be pure of heart and exceptionally courageous.
- Made of Indestructium: For a dusty old book that has to be handed down through an 800-year-old (and technically endless) time loop, it's miraculously durable and can't be destroyed.
- Meaningful Echo: Every single time, Randy has to repeat the lesson out loud to understand it.
- Mind Hive: The Nomicon has the collective wisdom of every Norrisville Ninja ever, it’s clearly sentient.
- My Own Grandpa: The Ninjanomicon exists because Randy gave his blank volume to the First Ninja in order to fix the time stream.
- Notice This: A non-video game example. Randy's bond with the Ninjanomicon often results in him seeing arrows point at stuff that he can use to his advantage.
- Only the Chosen May Wield: It can make itself virtually inaccessible to anyone, including Randy. The only one powerful enough to force it open regardless is the Sorcerer.
- Scenery Porn: Chockful of it, entering the book lets you into an incredibly stylized and amazing world of paper.
- Snarky Inanimate Object: Due to being book filled with ninja wisdom and has been around for a long while, it often tends to joke around with Randy.
- Stable Time Loop: Part of its origin, thanks to some time travel shenanigans involving Randy.
- Tome of Eldritch Lore: Like the Necronomicon it's based off of, the book itself is not actively malevolent, but the knowledge inside of it is dangerous if misused.
- Trickster Mentor: Though it's often blunt, it can go to exotic lengths to teach Randy a lesson.
- Unknown Rival: Advised Randy against letting Howard be a part of his life as the Ninja, but has since dropped this stance and has even supported Howard's side on certain subjects. In contrast, Howard has only gotten more resentful of the tome over time, considering it a rival for Randy's attention and respect.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Randy points out to the Nomicon that if it had properly mind-wiped Mac-Antfee after depriving him of his mask, he would have never gone crazy.
- Your Mind Makes It Real: Once inside, a person can freely manipulate the world within its pages.
