Characters / The Hardy Boys

Since being published in 1927, the Hardy Boys have developed a full cast of characters in Bayport and around the world, some of who lasted the entire run of the series, and others who have since been phased out. Below are the most frequently seen of the recurring characters.

Casefiles-only characters are noted in their descriptions.

The Hardy Family

The Hardy Boys (General)

First appearance: #1 "The Tower Treasure"

A pair of Kid Detective brothers who live in Bayport, New York^*(sometimes New Jersey or Massachusetts depending on the medium) with their father, famous detective Fenton Hardy; their mother, Laura; and their paternal Aunt Gertrude. When they're not attending Bayport High School, hanging out with their friends, or dating their girlfriends, the boys can usually be found working on a case, be it in Bayport or anywhere else around the world.

• Big Brother Instinct: It's equally played straight by Frank and inverted by Joe. They're capable of taking care of themselves and both of them know it, but the quickest way to scare one of them and/or piss him off is by targeting the other.
• Born Detective: Raised by former NYPD detective and now current PI father, Fenton, and sleuthing and mystery solving come as naturally to them as it does to their dad.
• Brains and Brawn: Frank is the brains, Joe is the brawn, though how straight this is played depends on the writer. Usually, it's downplayed, since both boys are still very smart and good fighters.
• Deadpan Snarker: Both of them, but especially Joe, are very witty, quick to mock ridiculous situations they or others end up in, and pretty sarcastic towards or about uncooperative suspects and adults. They also engage in some playful, teasing Snark-to-Snark Combat with each other reasonably often.
• Distressed Dudes: Frequently kidnapped as part of the story, sometimes together, sometimes solo.
• Girl of the Week: Mostly only in the spin-off series (Casefiles, UB, Adventures). In the Casefiles, if the girl isn't just a platonic friend, she'll usually fall for Joe, but this is inverted in the Undercover Brothers, much to his annoyance. If she does fall for Frank, either a) he'll turn her down because he's dating Callie (in the Casefiles), b) she turns out to be one of the bad guys (even if he does return the feelings), or c) both. Occasionally, one of these girls Joe likes will turn out to be one of the villains, too, but interestingly, Frank has a worse track record with this, ratio-wise, than Joe.
• Good Old Fisticuffs: Their fighting style in the earliest books; later series change it up a bit for each of them.
• Guile Hero: Both of them, but more frequently Frank; even Joe can occasionally become a pawn when Frank plans to outsmart their enemies. Still, Joe manages several times to pull off impressive displays of guile that surprise even his brother.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners:
  • With each other; Frank and Joe may be brothers, but they're closer than many real-life siblings, do just about everything together, and can practically read each other's minds. Any girls in either of their lives will always come second after each other on their list of priorities.
  • To a lesser extent, they have this relationship with Chet, too.
• Kid Detective/Amateur Sleuth: They're one of the most famous examples in fiction.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Joe is the red, Frank is the blue.
• Sibling Team: A pair of brothers who solve crimes together. They're a particularly well-known example.

Frank Hardy

The older of the Hardy brothers, 18 as of 1974. Dark-haired and methodical, Frank is the brains of the two, preferring to use logic and thought in solving cases over more physical means. He's no pushover in a fight, though; he keeps his slim frame in good physical shape and holds a black belt in karate.

• And Now for Someone Completely Different: "Blood Relations" has a short passage about a pizza delivery boy breaking into a high-tech company apparently investigating something. This is actually a subversion when a later chapter reveals the delivery boy to be Frank (missing during the events of the case) himself.
• Badass Bookworm: Equally at home with research, computers, and getting out of dangerous situations with karate.
• Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: A male example: the brunet to his younger brother's blond and (Depending on the Writer) Chet's redhead.
• Childhood Friend Romance: Case 3: Cult of Crime centers on rescuing Holly Strand, supposedly a childhood friend of the Hardy Boys. Frank mentions that, before he met Callie, he thought he and Holly would have probably fallen in love as they grew up. Frank has moved on, and Holly gets Put on a Bus at the end of the book, but her feelings for Frank are still strong.
• I Know Madden Kombat: Before the writers decided to give him a black belt, football skills he practiced with his brother and their friends seem to do a good job. And Frank is the team captain.
• Noodle Incident: On a visit to a rich friend's estate, Frank recalls how it's been a month since their last visit, and wonders if the maid will still remember them. Joe quips that she probably doesn't want to remember Frank after scaring her with a skeleton.
• The Smart Guy: One of most intellectual out of the Hardy Boys' regular group of friends, along with Phil.
• Surpassed the Teacher: In the first issue of the Undercover Brother comics, while Fenton's trying to decode a password, Frank suggests to him the probabilities, logarithms, and anagrams of finding the six most popular numbers that Fenton can probably use. Joe chides Frank that he shouldn't be giving pointers to the man who taught them everything they knew. After the boys were heralded to bed by their mother, Fenton absentmindedly tries Frank's suggestion...and was quite amused that it worked.
• Tall, Dark, and Handsome: Often described as 6" 1' with dark brown hair, and handsome.
• Teen Genius: Frank probably knows more than any teenager should about dealing tactically with terrorists.
• Tranquil Fury:
  • Chet has had enough of a racist politician's comments about his friends, and tells the burly bodyguard that he should just take his boss and leave the premises. When Frank manages to calm him down, the bodyguard decides to pull a sucker punch that knocked the wind out of poor Chet. Seeing what happened to his friend, Frank calmly challenges the bodyguard to try the same stunt again, this time for someone who's ready. He threw another punch...and Frank easily sends him flying out of the house with a judo throw.
  • Also, do not hurt his friends or family, especially in front of him. Frank may not have Joe's quick temper, but that doesn't mean he's any more apt to let you get away with it.

Joe Hardy

The younger Hardy brother, 17 as of 1974. Blonde-haired and emotional, Joe is hot-headed and prefers taking action over waiting for things to happen; he works on a strong sense of instinct, which usually turns out to be right. The more athletic of the brothers, he is an excellent fighter.

• Annoying Younger Sibling: As their characters diverged and got more distinct personalities, he became much more impulsive, hot-headed and girl-crazy to Frank's much more level-headed and intellectual personality. He particularly becomes this (in a lighthearted way) in Undercover Brothers, where the boys' relationship is more teasing than ever. Not that Frank doesn't frequently return the favor.
• Berserk Button: For the Casefiles version, it's Iola's death. Or being associated with the Assassins.
  • A captive Assassin, a subordinate to Iola's killer, tries to invoke Suicide by Cop (since "it's rare to capture an Assassin, alive" seems to be their official slogan) when he tells Joe that he helped to work on the bomb. Joe might have actually killed the guy with his bare hands if not for the agents present.
  • Also, do not hurt his friends or family, especially in front of him. He will not take it well.
• Beware the Nice Ones: He's a good guy at heart, but he tends to lose his temper.
• The Big Guy: Although shorter than Frank, he's often described as stocky and more muscular, and acts as this to their group of friends along with Biff (and sometimes Chet).
• Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: A male example: the blond to his older brother's brunet and (Depending on the Writer) Chet's redhead.
• Depending on the Writer: Again in the Casefiles, due to being written by a great many ghostwriters. He would frequently slingshot back and forth between grieving widower and his typical flirty, girl-crazy self.
• Gut Feeling: Relies on these more than logic.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Has blond hair and, despite his quick temper, is definitely a good guy.
• I Let Gwen Stacy Die: Once more, Iola.
• It's Personal: Whenever dealing with the Assassins, Joe will always remember Iola.
• Made of Iron: Has taken on a terrorist who issued a disabling cut to his hand without slowing down, and crawled away from a serious car accident with nothing more than a bad case of amnesia.
• Running Gag: In winter-themed adventures, Joe will always be a victim to thin ice.
• Teacher/Student Romance: Case 105: Bad Chemistry, where Joe's new-found interest in chemistry is because of the young new teacher. Frank won't stop needling him for this.
• Wrestler in All of Us: Primarily in the Casefiles; in contrast to Frank's karate-based fighting style, Joe's is more based on boxing and wrestling. A few books mention that he's on the school wrestling team.

Fenton Hardy

First appearance: #1 The Tower Treasure

The father of the Hardy clan, Fenton is a retired NYPD detective who runs his own private investigation firm. Although he is proud of his sons' mystery solving skills, he sometimes worries if they've gotten in over their heads; still, he appreciates their assistance on most cases.

• Famed In-Story: Equally famous for his adventures as a New York cop and as a world-renowned private eye. A Running Gag in the original series would be how Frank and Joe would introduce themselves to some random city's local law enforcement, and they would be immediately asked if they were in any way related to him.
• Master of Disguise: Even his own sons have been fooled on occasion. At least until Fenton willingly gives himself away.
• Papa Wolf: Frequently leads the charge when his boys are missing or in danger.
• Retired Badass: When he's not being captured, he's been shown to be a competent fighter. Especially true of the Casefiles version. Even after he's been long retired, he's still brought back in frequently to consult for various organizations, including Scotland Yard.
• Standard '50s Father: Played straight in the 1950s and 1960s, naturally. He's since modernized a bit.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Fenton used to have dealings with the Network, which allowed him to pull a few favors when his family was in danger. This connection was rarely, if ever, mentioned again whenever the Hardy Boys have to tackle with the Network in later cases.
• Working the Same Case: The mysteries that the boys are involved with sometimes overlap with his own work.

Laura Hardy

First appearance: #1 The Tower Treasure

Frank and Joe's mother, and Fenton's wife. She has very little to do with her husband or sons' investigations and adventures, preferring a quiet home life.

• Extreme Doormat: She occasionally worries over the dangerous activities of her husband and sons, but is usually dismissed or ignored.
• Stay in the Kitchen:
  • By choice; she wasn't the adventurous type and rarely seemed to venture out of the house. She was a stay-at-home wife/mom in all of the series until Undercover Brothers.
  • In the two most recent series she works outside the home: in Undercover Brothers, she is the head research librarian at the Bayport Public Library, and in Adventures, she is a real estate agent.

Gertrude Hardy

First appearance: #3 The Secret of the Old Mill

Fenton Hardy's sister who lives with the family. Head-strong and stern, she often scolds the Hardy brothers for the dangers they put themselves in, but is secretly proud of them and supports them where she can. In her most recent incarnation, she's known as Trudy.

• Age Lift: In the Undercover Brother graphic novels, "Trudy" is drawn younger than in other works.
• Characterization Marches On:
  • In her first few appearances, she is a genuinely unpleasant, domineering, fat old lady who visits various relatives in turn to stay with each of them for a while before moving on. The Hardy Boys are highly intimidated by her, and the family as a whole just tolerates her presence but clearly aren't thrilled to have her there. She is also implied to be Laura Hardy's aunt (and thus the boys' great-aunt), as her last name is never given (she's just known as "Aunt Gertrude") and she often refers to Fenton on a Full-Name Basis.
  • She's soon given a new, more likable characterization that sticks for all subsequent books as Gertrude Hardy, Fenton's older sister, a thin, middle-aged spinster who permanently lives with the family. Though she's more strict with the boys than Laura, it's more in a non-romantic Tsundere fashion, as she frequently bakes sweets for them and praises their skills, and it's very obvious that she adores them completely. The boys, for their part, will occasionally tease her in a friendly manner, but love her just as much as she does them.
• Maiden Aunt: One of the classic trope examples.
• Mama Bear: Just as protective of her nephews as if they were her own sons, and rather more forceful than her sister-in-law.
• Tsundere: A familial version rather than a romantic version. It's stated at the beginning of most books of the original series (especially the reprints) that she pretends to be displeased with her nephews' sleuthing, but she's secretly very proud of them and their accomplishments. One minute she'll be scolding them for something, and the next, she's giving them some of her delicious baked treats.

Friends and Allies

Chet Morton

First appearance: #1 The Tower Treasure

The brothers' oldest and most reliable friend, Chet has appeared in all but a handful of the regular Hardy Boys books. He is often described as fat or chubby and constantly eating. He usually reacts with great enthusiasm when he gets to help in a case, at least until danger becomes a real possibility. In many of the early books, he was always trying new hobbies, which coincidentally always seemed to correspond with the case at hand. He is also Iola's older brother.

He was actually popular enough to have the Stratemeyer Syndicate consider giving him his own series in 1965, but it never got past the planning stage.

• The Alleged Car: An old yellow jalopy he calls Queen. A Running Gag in the earlier books would involve characters would complain about the pain they have to endure when riding it.
• Audience Surrogate: In the "Detective Handbook", he's the one the Hardys teach in various police procedures (except for one chapter, where it's instead Tony who was the surrogate).
• Big Eater: Portrayed as constantly eating, even in the more current books.
• Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: Chet's hair color changes between red, blond, and light brown Depending on the Writer. In the books where it's the former, he becomes the redhead to his two best friends Joe's blond and Frank's brunet.
• Fat Best Friend: Ranges across all three types due to the different writers, but mostly between Types B and C. Usually fearful of a situation, but will pull through to help his friends.
• Fat Idiot: Played straight in the early volumes. He eventually got smarter (and braver).
• Fleeting Passionate Hobbies: Commonly in the older books, when the writer needed to introduce some central gimmick (Zodiac fortune-telling, or fencing), Chet would be pick it up as a hobby just in time for the relevant case. The books even commented on it.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With both of the Hardy Boys. Frank and Joe consider him to be their best friend (besides each other) and vice versa, and they've been close since they were kids.
• Plucky Comic Relief: More often than not, though Chet would get heroic moments here and there.
• Stout Strength: His build seems to be a boon to him considering he's also a good football player.
• Weight Woe: In some books, he would go on a diet. By the end of the book, though, his love of food always won out.

Allen "Biff" Hooper

First appearance: #1 The Tower Treasure

Appearing in almost as many of the early books as Chet, Biff is the Hardys' super-athletic friend, a lover of sports and physical activity. A keen boxer, his fighting skills almost match Frank and Joe's.

• Big Friendly Dog: In Secret Warning, Biff won a Great Dane during a contest, which he christens Tivoli, and the Hardys offer to take care of him when the Hoopers are on vacation. An Angry Guard Dog he's not, but Aunt Gertrude eventually warmed up to the mutt after being convinced Tivoli's heart is in the right place.
• Dumb Muscle: In the original volumes, he played more to this. He got smarter as the series went on.
• Embarrassing First Name: He doesn't like his actual first name for some reason, and is rarely referred to as anything other than Biff.
• Gentle Giant: He's the strongest of the Hardys' friends, but very friendly and generally good-natured.

Callie Shaw

First appearance: #1 The Tower Treasure

Frank's steady girlfriend, who remained largely a background character in the main series. In newer volumes, especially the Casefiles series, she has a much more developed personality and becomes much more independent, sometimes stubbornly insisting that she help the brothers on cases. Her best friend is Iola Morton.

• Action Girl: She becomes this in the Casefiles series after her best friend Iola dies.
• Damsel out of Distress: In the Casefiles, especially volume 10, Hostages of Hate.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: A brown-eyed blonde who's as compassionate and cares about helping people as much as the Hardys themselves do. This even includes girls who have their eye on her boyfriend Frank, like Tessa from "The Borgia Dagger" and Lindsey in "Fear on Wheels"; she's not thrilled about that part, but still wants to help with the case.
• Stay in the Kitchen: In the Casefiles, Joe has this attitude towards her at first. Justified, as he had just lost his own girlfriend because of her involvement with the Hardys.
• Vitriolic Best Buds:
  • With Joe in the Casefiles series. Callie started practicing women's lib at the same time Joe was convinced she would just Stay in the Kitchen. Hilarity Ensues.
    Callie: Ever heard of Lizzie Borden, genius? Vanessa, when are you going to knock some sense into this guy?
  • Becomes less vitriolic and more protective when you realize Callie started becoming more proactive with the Hardys after her best friend Iola's death. Joe acts out towards her because he doesn't want something to happen to the girl his brother loves.

Iola Morton

First appearance: #1 The Tower Treasure

Chet's younger sister and Joe's steady girlfriend, also not much more than a cheerful, giggling girlfriend for many of the original books. She acquires a bit more personality and personal interests later down the line.

• Cynicism Catalyst: While Joe has yet to get over it, even after meeting Vanessa, it's Iola's death that inspired the Hardy boys to give up their "usual cases" and start their crusade against bigger crimes.
• Girl Next Door: Often used to describe her word for word. Oddly, averts all three romance types; she was always more or less Joe's girl.
• Killed Off for Real: In the first volume of the Casefiles series.
• The Lost Lenore: Rare is a volume of Casefiles that does not mention how Iola was blown up by a bomb meant for the Hardys, or how much Joe still misses her.
• Never Got to Say Goodbye: Iola got angry at Joe for ignoring her while he was trying to make a move on another girl that he's just met. Iola goes off to the Hardys' car to let off some steam, and...
• Revenge by Proxy: The bomb that killed Iola was actually meant for the Hardys, which in turn is a ploy to scare their father Fenton.

Tony Prito

First appearance: #1 The Tower Treasure

The son of Italian immigrants, Tony is a close friend of the Hardy Boys, helping out on many cases. Friendly and outgoing, he helped in many early volumes with his own motorboat, the Napoli. He later managed the pizza parlor at the local mall, a post that made him a good connection for watching the comings and goings of the town.

• Chekhov's Gunman: He mentions working in his father's construction company in the original series, but in the Casefiles he has a new job: assistant manager of the fast-food joint Mr. Pizza. Wouldn't you know it, his new job plays an important role for the Hardys' investigation in the Dead on Target case.
• Cool Boat: Owner of the Napoli, which helped out and rescued the Hardy Boys on a number of occasions.
• Gratuitous Italian: Tony and his father used it in the first few books. Quickly phased out.
• National Stereotypes: Averted, with a few early exceptions. For most of the series, Tony was portrayed as a normal, American teenager. Though he did eventually manage a pizza parlor...

Phil Cohen

First appearance: #1 The Tower Treasure

Phil appeared less frequently than Chet, Biff, and Tony, but was another frequent friend of the Hardys'. In the early volumes, he was more artistically talented, but became gifted with electronics and gadgets, eventually evolving into a computer hacker as the times changed. Often introduced in early volumes as the Hardys' "Jewish friend".

• Jewish and Nerdy: Phil is the best of the Hardys' friends with technology, and was often noted to be the smartest of them.
• Mr. Fixit: Helped the Hardys fix vehicles on a number of occasions, especially their decked-out black van from the Casefiles.
• Nice Jewish Boy: Played straight in the original editions, but dropped in later revisions and books.
• Noodle Incident: One of the Digests alludes to how Joe confused a dog bowl for one of Phil's inventions, but it's never really been clarified.
• Techno Wizard: Plays this role among the boys' friend group in the Digests and Casefiles, being an excellent programmer and acting as tech support for the Hardys.

Sam Radley

Fenton Hardy's top investigator. Helped the Hardy Boys on a number of cases, and got into his fair share of trouble as well.

• Body Double: In the finale of the original series' "The Wailing Siren Mystery", Sam pretends to be captured as a smokescreen for Mr. Hardy. The villains really believe that they captured Fenton Hardy (it helps that they didn't even know what he looked like) until the real deal springs a trap for them.
• Private Detective: Working for Fenton.
• Number Two: Seems to be this, especially when Fenton is unavailable.

Vanessa Bender

First appearance: Casefiles #69 "Mayhem in Motion"

Appearing only in the Casefiles series, in her first appearance, she is a client whom the Hardy Boys help by finding the person responsible for sabotaging her mother's new animation studio. At the end of the case, she and Joe begin dating, and are still going steady by the time the series is canceled.

• Big Applesauce: In her first appearance in "Mayhem in Motion", she and her mother Andrea have recently moved to Bayport from Manhattan. Them being from New York City is referenced several times in various books.
• Clingy Jealous Girl: Specifically averted; though her boyfriend has something of a wandering eye and once notes that "going steady" with someone doesn't mean the same thing to him that it does to Frank, Vanessa is stated to be too confident to feel insecure. When Joe once takes a different girl to a party as his date (with Vanessa's permission, since she was busy), she just asks about how it went to "make sure he'd behaved himself" rather than actually getting jealous.
• Damsel out of Distress: Like Callie, when she gets kidnapped, she refuses to be a Neutral Female and does her best to escape or at least defy her captors:
  • In "Dead of Night", when she's being held at gunpoint, she breaks free from the Assassin holding her and steals his gun as soon as the Gray Man shoots him in the shoulder, and gets into a physical fight with her body double (a trained Assassin), holding her own until Joe arrives to help her.
  • In "True Thriller", she comes to help Joe, Frank, and the Gray Man, but ends up getting kidnapped when the Assassins steal the van where she's hiding while fleeing. She remains a Defiant Captive and passes on some important information to Joe over the phone, allowing the Hardys to figure out where she's being held and what the Assassins' plan is. When the Hardys mount a rescue attempt, she breaks away from her abductors to get back to Joe as soon as she can.
• Disappeared Dad: Her dad died when she was very young, so she grew up with just her mother, Andrea. The two are very close as a result.
• Guys Smash, Girls Shoot: Gets a bow and arrow in "True Thriller" and is stated to be far more proficient with it than Joe, who prefers to use Good Old Fisticuffs.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: She's a kind-hearted girl with ash-blonde hair who volunteers at a local youth center.
• Hostage Situation: Is occasionally kidnapped or used as a hostage to get to Joe.
• Love at First Sight: Maybe not full-on love, but she and Joe click pretty much immediately after meeting, and Frank notices them Holding Hands pretty early on, even before they officially begin dating.
• Meet Cute: Meets the Hardys after the villain of the book has slashed the tires on her car. After they help her get it towed, drive her home, and meet her mom (kicking off the case), she notes that maybe it was a blessing in disguise, since it allowed them to meet.
• Second Love: Becomes Joe's once they begin dating. The Assassins have used the fact that she's the first girl that Joe has been serious about since Iola against him in at least two books, "Dead of Night" and "True Thriller".
• Statuesque Stunner: Is almost as tall as Joe (who is six feet) and very beautiful, with ash-blonde hair and blue-gray eyes.

The Authorities

Chief Ezra Collig

Chief of Police of Bayport, Collig originally served as more of a foil in the early books, often embarrassed by being upstaged by the Hardys' amateur antics. Over the years, he has come to accept their help and put his full trust in them, although he wishes they would pick a safer hobby.

• Da Chief: Is the Chief of Police of the Bayport PD in every series except the Adventures (where he's replaced by a Suspiciously Similar Substitute). He's mostly a Reasonable Authority Figure version, as seen in the reprints, Undercover Brothers, most Digests, and a few Casefiles, but is portrayed as more uninspired and lazy in the original versions, while most of the Casefiles and a few Digests instead have him as a major grump quick to start yelling at others, especially where the boys are concerned.
• A Day in the Limelight: Casefiles #55, "Beyond the Law", is a Character Focus issue for him, where the Hardys learn about his backstory and team up with him to bring down the Big Bad, an Evil Former Friend and ex-partner of his.
• Friend on the Force: Eventually becomes the Hardy Boys' best contact on the Bayport police.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Usually listens to the boys' warnings and ideas, but is frequently unable to act on anything until they come up with proof. On occasion, he actually asks them for help.

Con Riley

A veteran officer of the Bayport Police, Riley, like many adults, underestimated the Hardy brothers severely, and in the early books was often aggravated by their and their friends' antics. He has evolved into a much more competent, patient character over the years and has come to regard the brothers as a reliable ally in solving crimes around Bayport.

• Ascended Extra: Was little more than a comic relief character. Eventually became their most frequently used contact with the police next to Chief Collig.
• Big Brother Instinct: In the Casefiles, he can be just as much of a grouch as Collig, dissuading the brothers from getting into police business, but most of the time it's because he worries about the dangers they would get into. Joe has also mentioned that he and Frank can always count on Con to look out for their friends should they get into trouble.
• A Day in the Limelight: Gets some Character Focus in "Flesh and Blood", issue #39 of the Casefiles. He's revealed to have had a partner who was killed in the past, plays the role of the Hardys' Friend on the Force straighter than ever by going against orders to give them additional help on the down-low, and the Villain of the Week turns out to be his current partner on the Bayport PD.
• Friend on the Force: Becomes this for the Hardys, particularly in the Casefiles series—where Chief Collig is usually a short-tempered grouch, so they go to Con for help instead—and in quite a few of the Digests, where they'll contact him for background checks or other information even while investigating cases outside of Bayport.

Oscar Smuff

Appeared in many of the early volumes. A stuffed-shirt who viewed himself as brilliant, a personality that often caused him to be the target of pranks by the Hardys and their friends, all of which ended up making him look like a complete fool. Eventually, his buffoonery got him busted down to patrolman, and he was eventually let go from the force altogether.

• Butt-Monkey: Existed purely to be the butt of the Hardy Boys and friends' jokes, or perpetually tried to arrest the wrong person.
• Put on a Bus: Unlike Riley, who got updated via Characterization Marches On to become more competent and likable, Smuff is instead just written out of the series altogether after the original books.

The Gray Man/Arthur Gray

First appearance: Casefiles #1 Dead On Target

The Gray Man, another Casefiles-only character, works for the secret international organization "The Network", often working with cases involving terrorism. He is completely unassuming and blends in perfectly with the crowd, but is extremely observant and good with both fists and guns. He resents the Hardy Boys' interference in their first case together, and they don't get along for the first few books. Later on in the series, he still considers them little more than talented amateurs, but has gradually come to respect their skills and occasionally calls on their help.

• Aloof Ally: Knows the Hardys can get results, but is reluctant to put them into danger given their relative inexperience. How aloof he is depends on the book; sometimes their relationship is fairly petulant and vitriolic, and other times, they're sincerely friends.
• Characterization Marches On: In his earlier appearances, he's portrayed as less competent, with crooks easily getting the drop on him and subduing him (see The Worf Effect below), but has a greater air of superiority and is more condescending to the Hardys. He becomes much more competent and badass in the later books (starting with Case 10, "Hostages of Hate", and especially Case 14, "Too Many Traitors"), and forms a sort of genuine friendship with Frank and Joe.
• Cloak and Dagger: He and the Network are very much in this vein.
• Deadpan Snarker: Has a very dry wit. Since the Hardys are snarkers as well, this frequently leads to Snark-to-Snark Combat when they work together.
• Friend on the Force: Or in this case, friend in the secret agency. He's their contact in the Network, and the Hardys are explicitly referred to as his "protégés" at least once. Occasionally, he has vouched for them even on non-Network-related cases.
• Overt Operative: Averted; he's average, boring and nondescript in appearance.
• Pet the Dog: Mr. Gray does come to respect the Hardy Boys eventually, and gets quite a few of these:
  • Occasionally gets the boys off the hook with the cops even when they're working on cases completely unrelated to the Network.
    Cop of the Week who's holding the Hardys for questioning: You must have some heavy friends in Washington, because they told us to let you walk, no questions asked.
  • In Case 1: "Dead on Target", when an innocent airplane stewardess is taken hostage, the Gray Man offers himself as a hostage instead, though it was likely more of an effort to give Frank an opening to attack.
  • In Case 3: "Cult of Crime", since the boys have been charged with murder, he mentions that he cannot get the Network involved when they try to contact him for help. He does, however, accept their request to pick up the Hardys' black van (which had to be left behind when on the run), and ends the transmission wishing Frank and Joe good luck.
  • Case 10: "Hostages of Hate": When terrorists take a group of hostages, including Frank's girlfriend Callie, the Gray Man and the rest of the Network can't openly help the boys thwart them because of inter-agency politics. He nonetheless covertly follows them and helps by subtly impeding the Inspector Javert from a different agency who's trying to interfere with their investigation.
  • Case 14: "Too Many Traitors": The Gray Man at first reluctantly goes along with the Network's attempts to use the boys as scapegoats in the murder of one of their agents because it's his job, but soon decides to go against the agency's wishes and help the brothers prove their innocence and find the real killer, since he feels responsible for them due to getting them involved with the Network in the first place. At one point, he even pulls a You Shall Not Pass! to hold off the KGB agents trying to apprehend the Hardys so they can escape.
  • In Case 100: "True Thriller", when the Assassins kidnap Joe's girlfriend and Second Love Vanessa (after previously killing his First Love Iola), the Gray Man assures him that he'll do whatever it takes to get Vanessa back. He keeps the promise, too; when the Assassins demand a Prisoner Exchange—the Gray Man in exchange for Vanessa—he doesn't hesitate to agree to the trade, even though doing so would be almost certain death for him.
  • Case 105: "Law of the Jungle": he's assigned to come to Borneo to thwart a plan by the Assassins, but also helps Frank and Joe save their father, Fenton, who was infected by a disease as part of the Assassins' plot. It's partly because this aligns with the mission anyway, but he nonetheless makes saving Fenton specifically a high priority, and assigns a very able bodyguard to protect him from being targeted further.
  • Case 108: "Blown Away": When he and the Hardys travel to Bhotai to continue an investigation, the authorities try to arrest them almost as soon as they arrive. The Gray Man provides a distraction and allows himself to be taken in so the boys can continue on.
• Ridiculously Average Guy: In almost every appearance, he's described as the most ridiculously bland-looking human being you could imagine.
• The Spymaster: Becomes the Hardys' "handler" when he and the Network need their help.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: With the Hardy Boys. There's always some vitriol involved since the boys have a certain amount of distaste for the Network's methods and don't completely trust him, and he considers them amateurs and isn't always thrilled about involving them in Network cases because they're still kids. Nonetheless, there's a good deal of mutual respect between them, and they look out for each others' safety whenever they work together and do have a sincere friendship after a while.
• The Worf Effect: Played with and somewhat inverted; he saves the boys from the Assassins soon after meeting them and is shown to be a well-informed spy, but then spends most of the rest of his first three appearances (excluding his brief radio-only cameo in Book 3) getting badly worfed, to the point that his badassery seems like an Informed Ability. He does a better job living up to his reputation in subsequent volumes.
  • Book 1: Hunting down the Assassin that tried to kill the Hardy Boys is his case, but he doesn't get to see it to the end (which he immediately lampshades upon contacting Frank and Joe when the crisis is over) because he got caught in an explosive booby trap that puts him in a coma (had Frank not pushed him away, it could've been worse) for roughly half of the story.
  • Book 2: He only appears a couple of times at the beginning of the book, but when the Hardys first meet up with him, they do so by rescuing him from a couple of low-life street punks who cornered him in an alley.
  • Book 4: Frank and Joe each easily jump him once in the book at different times, and he is left tied up and helpless by the bad guys who have captured him and the Hardys.

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