The Squad

The Squad is an American-Canadian action-adventure fantasy-science fiction comedy series. It originally aired on Cartoon Network from July 13, 1999 to February 3, 2003.

Plot
The series revolves around six superpowered teenagers-Alex, Sonya, Christina, Ethan, Lewis and Olivia-living in New York, and attending the fictional Harwood High School. With their extraordinary powers-and with help from Alex's aunt-they travel the world, battling villains; a number of episodes also incorporate real-world legends and mysteries, such as the Loch Ness Monster, Atlantis and Lemuria.

Characters

 * Alex Summerville (Jason Marsden, Matt Weinberg young)-The leader of the Squad, who was raised by his aunt after the deaths of his parents. His powers is shapeshifting into any animal he chooses-living or extinct-as well as the power to communicate with animals. He is coolheaded and confident, and is Scottish heritage.
 * Sonya Carter (Kath Soucie, who also voices her when young)-Alex's childhood friend. A kind-hearted girl with a bookish disposition, she has the power of electrical manipulation. She is of Irish and German heritage, and lives with her divorced mother and older sister.
 * Ethan Geller (Scott Menville, Kath Soucie young)-Alex's other best friend. A goofy but loveable boy, he has the power of pyrokinesis. He is of Jewish (his mother's side of the family are Polish) and Italian heritage, and lives with his parents and younger twin siblings.
 * Lewis Adams (Richard Yearwood, Jascha Washington young)-A somewhat nerdy and outgoing member of the gang, he has the power of super-speed. He is black-more spefically, Ghanaian-and lives with his parents and younger sister.


 * Christina Alvarez (Tara Strong, who also voices her when young)-A dry-humored but kindhearted girl, she has the power of intangibility. She is of Mexican heritage-she was born in Mexico, but moved to America when she was one year old-and lives with her parents.


 * Olivia Harrison (Cree Summer, who also voices her when young)-A shy but goodhearted girl, she has the power of energy absorption, allowing her to merge with natural matter, from plants to rocks to animals. She is of mixed black (her father's family is from Trinidad and Tobago) and Japanese heritage.


 * Dr. Susan Summerville (Catherine Disher)-Alex's aunt, who raised him following the deaths of his parents. She is a brilliant scientist, who has studied all over the world, and has a fun-loving side.

Recurring characters


 * Dr. John and Kate Summerville (Cary Elwes and Mary Steenburgen, respectively)-Alex's scientist parents. They were both killed in a fire, while defending their son from mercenaries, and the accident had the side effect of giving Alex his powers. From what we see in flashbacks, they were kind and loving parents.


 * Karen Carter (Tress MacNeille)-Sonya's mother. She and Sonya's father divorced when she was young, but it was an amicable split. She works as a night school teacher, and is caring, loving and will do anything for her daughter.


 * Amy Carter (Alyssa Milano)-Sonya's older sister; she attends Hunter College and is something of a science whiz, which is shared by her younger sister.


 * Steve and Joan Geller (Mark Harmon and Kathy Baker, respectively)-Ethan's parents; Steve works as an art teacher at a high school in Flushing, and Joan is a film studies teacher at Barnard College, which contributes to Ethan's artistic inclinations; both are very supportive of their son and his passions.


 * Charlie and Tina Geller (Tara Strong and Eden Riegel, respectively)-Ethan's spoiled, annoying younger twin siblings. They love taking advantage of and picking on their older brother, but deep down love and care about him, and have proven useful on a few occasions.


 * Ramon and Susannah Alvarez (Carlos Alazraqui and Elizabeth Peña, respectively)-Christina's parents. They are Mexican nationals-he was born in Mexico City, she was born in Puebla-but moved to the US when their daughter was a baby. Ramon teaches Latin American studies at Columbia University, and Susannah is a homemaker; both are caring-if somewhat goofy-parents to Christina.


 * David and Sarah Adams (LeVar Burton and Sheryl Lee Ralph, respectively)-Lewis's parents, who are firm but fair and ultimately loving parents. David works as a guide in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's African exhibit, while Sarah teaches African studies at NYU.


 * Susan Adams (Cree Summer)-Lewis's sassy, spoiled little sister. She loves tormenting her big brother, but the two care about each other, and will work together if the situation calls for it.


 * Joe and Sakura Harrison (Philip Akin and Tracey Moore, respectively)-Olivia's parents, who are loving if somewhat overprotective of her. Joe was born in Trinidad, but moved to the USA as a young man, and works as a chef at a Caribbean restaurant in Bushwick, while Sakura teaches Japanese studies at Fordham University.


 * Jamie Nash (Rob Paulsen)-A surly jock and the most popular boy at Harwood. He often acts as a bully towards the gang, but will sometimes work with them if absolutely necessary. Despite his tough exterior, he has a softer side, particularly when it involves his younger brother.


 * Anwar Lakhani (Jess Harnell)-One of Jamie's two best friends. He is of Indian descent, and loves basketball.


 * Danny Alcala (Jason Marsden-Jamie's other best friend. He is of Filipino descent, and loves skateboarding.


 * Fang/Steve Carter (Lawrence Bayne)-Sonya and Amy's estranged father. He divorced his daughters' mother when they were young and married another woman with whom he had another daughter. After being captured by the nefarious organization Prometheus, he is injected with lion DNA and goes by the name Fang. Despite his transformation, he still cares deeply for his daughter.


 * Chandra Parekh (Tara Strong)-Ethan's classmate who he has a crush on. A sweet, cheery girl who shares his love of art and film, she is of Indian descent, and lives with her large Hindu family.


 * Rafe and Marcus (Daniel DeSanto and Robert Ri'chard)-Two street orphans from Los Angeles, who befriend the gang, and become honorary members. Rafe is Caucasian with blond hair, and has the power of teleportation, and Marcus is black with dreadlocks, and has the power of invisibility and creating force fields.

Villains


 * Dr. Temprance (Janet Laine-Green)-A sinister scientist and leader of the mercenaries called The Hunters, who recruit orphaned or troubled children to train into fighting machines, with Rafe and Marcus being among them. Completely without remorse, she is willing to go to extreme lengths to achieve her goals. Eventually, she meets her end when her underwater base collapses on top of her, crushing her and most of the Hunters to death.


 * Dr. Johannes Ernst (Malcolm McDowell)-A cruel geneticist and founder of Prometheus, a company that turns humans into monstrous human-animal hybrids, with no qualms about hurting innocent people in the process. After being defeated by the gang in his final appearance, his whereabouts are unknown, but is assumed he is in prison.


 * Torrance and Bakersfield (Tony Jay and Michael Dorn, respectively)-Two seedy FBI agents who investigate paranormal activity. Torrance is slender, white and with slicked back strawberry-blond hair and a pencil mustache, while Bakersfield is muscular and black with a buzzcut. Both wear black suits and wraparound sunglasses, and are frequently put at odds with our heroes. Both are named after cities in California.


 * Spellmaster (Bruce Davison)-An evil sorcerer, he was born over 1500 years ago in Ancient Scotland, but became immortal through the power of dark magic. He often dresses in a black and gold ninja-like bodysuit, complete with a mask that covers everything except his eyes, with a red cape and hood; underneath his mask, he has graying hair, and a slight goatee. He has a weakness; his life is bound to his spellbook, and meets his end when Ethan sets it on fire; the book's destruction causes him to age into dust.


 * Ronan and Chiara (Paulo Costanzo and Danielle Fishel, respectively)-Spellmaster's teenage niece and nephew. Ronan acts as the muscle and Chiara is the brains, however, both tend be quite lazy when not on duty, preferring to spend their time in spa resorts, shopping and other adolescent interests.


 * Atuan (Paul Winfield)-A treacherous sorcerer and scientist, he was employed in the royal court of Atlantis to build war machines, many of which take on the forms of sharks, whales, and rays; he plans to use his machines as a means to conquer the surface world, and sides with Dr. Temprance in order to do so. He meets his end when the Hunters' underwater base, collapses on top of him.


 * Dennis Van Dyne (Ron Perlman)-A greedy grave robber and archaeologist, he is frequently at odds with the gang, and has stolen many ancient artefacts of great value, and often comes into the possession of powerful magical items, which often prove to be his undoing.


 * Ankh-Hotepra (Tim Curry)-A sinister Egyptian sorcerer and advisor to Pharaoh Rameses II, until his betrayal led to him being put to death, before Van Dyne revives him with the Scroll of Osiris, and he conspires with him to capture Sonya and her mother, with his end goal being to turn her into his queen, as he believes her to be the reincarnation of his lost love. He is destroyed when his staff-to which his life is bonded-is destroyed, causing him to disintegrate, and the Scroll of Osiris is later donated to a museum.


 * Dr. Cornelius Rice (Norm Spencer)-A scientist who vanished in Antarctica during the 1980s. After bonding with an alien parasite, he becomes a terrifying being called Ice-Master, with cryokinetic powers, which he uses to commit crimes. He is defeated when Ethan uses a pyrokinetic blast to destroy the parasite that has bonded with him, and freeing Dr. Rice from its possession.


 * Dr. Julia Cadmus (Mary Gross)-A corrupt geneticist and Dr. Summerville's childhood friend who specializes in cloning; she steals DNA from the gang in order to produce corrupt copies of them and sends them to commit crimes; unlike Dr. Summerville, who cares for Alex and his friends like her own children, Dr. Cadmus views the clones as little more than objects that can be disposed of on a whim; eventually, she is defeated when Alex's clone sacrifices himself, and the other clones turn on her.


 * The Stalker (Kevin Michael Richardson)-An evil if affable poacher, he has stalked animals on multiple continents and tries to hunt down Alex as his latest catch; he dresses in Dark Age Barbarian-style clothing-consisting of a Navy tunic, loincloth, brown fur-lined boots, a bearskin cape, and a helmet created from a wolf skull, and is skilled in Stone Age-style tracking and weaponry. After Alex saves his life, they part way as friends.


 * Toraq (Jim Cummings)-A sinister Paleo-Inuit man. A skilled warrior and tracker, he was banished from his tribe over 40,000 years ago and preserved in ice, before inadvertently being freed to wreak havoc on an Alaskan oil field, out of revenge for what he believes is the destruction of his ancestral lands. During his confrontation with the gang, he meets his end in a fire on the rig.

Animals


 * Buddy (Frank Welker)-Sonya's golden Labrador. He is a friendly, loyal if somewhat greedy dog, and will sometimes aid the gang in their adventures. He shares his name with rock icon Buddy Holly.


 * Babu (Frank Welker)-A mischievous rhesus monkey who lives in the jungles of India; he is something of a nuisance to the gang, but helps them during their search for an ancient relic.


 * Shanti and Rajah (Frank Welker)-Two Asian elephants who the gang befriend during their journey in Sri Lanka. They are mother and son and part of an elephant herd living in the jungle, and aid the gang in stopping an evil sorceress, who has been stealing local children.


 * Claw (Frank Welker)-A T-Rex that, along with other dinosaurs, survived the KT event, and survives in the Primal Lands, an isolated valley located in Panama's Pearl Islands, inhabited by dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals, which came to the island via land bridges; when poachers come to sell off the valley's animals, he fights them off at the cost of his own life.