Harvey Birdman starred in the Hanna-Barbera show Birdman and the Galaxy Trio in the 1960s. He gets strength and power from sunlight, and grows weak if kept away from the sun for too long. His superpowers include flight, the ability to create a solid light shield, and the ability to shoot energy beams from his hands. These powers are thought to stem from the Crest on his helmet, though Harvey isn't entirely sure of the crest's true role in his powers. He has since retired from his superhero job and is now working for the law firm of Sebben & Sebben (which becomes Sebben, Sebben & Birdman during Season 2), where he is vice-president and partner. Harvey is six and a half feet tall, and has large wings growing out of his back. The wings are actually part of his body, and were genetically inherited from his father, they work but Harvey seems to be unaware of this, as seen in Deadomutt pt. 2, where a fellow inmate says "If there was only a way to fly over these [prison] walls" to which Harvey replies "Hmm... if only (wings flutter)". He wears a suit and his old superhero mask. His clients consist of other Hanna-Barbera characters of the past and present. It is generally assumed that Harvey didn't go to law school, though he does have a correspondence diploma in law, and LLM is displayed after his name on his business cards, hinting that he is a Legum Magister.
Avenger, a large purple eagle, is Harvey's old sidekick, now serving as his legal secretary. Avenger sits on a perch on Harvey's desk, and sleeps in a canary cage in the office at night. Avenger's tasks usually involve taking dictation or filing. Avenger is badly hindered by his inability to speak, even though it is clear that he can understand, or at least perceive, the meaning in the speech of other characters. Avenger can type and write English by claw, and Harvey seems to understand every "caw" he says. Harvey once remarked that he would have lost every case were it not for Avenger. It is generally assumed that Avenger went to law school.
Peanut looks exactly like Birdman's old sometimes-sidekick Birdboy, only with a pink vest on. Unlike Birdman, Peanut's powers are not natural. His wings are metal or wooden, and it's strongly implied that he got them to get hired by Birdman. His shield and energy beams come from "power bands" on his wrists, though in episode 17, Peanut Puberty, his super powers start to "develop", and the entire episode acts as a metaphor for puberty. Peanut was introduced when hired by Harvey as a legal clerk. Peanut, however, rarely does anything that could be considered work. He is often working behind the scenes towards uncertain or explicitly seedy ends (it is sometimes inferred that he has connections with organized crime), and is otherwise spouting off nonsense while off in his own world. In most cases, he is unnervingly cool and calculated, often in extreme contrast to the goings-on around him. He has an ongoing rivalry with Avenger for Harvey's loyalty. He also speaks Japanese and Spanish. He has a love for his gun and feels empowered by having it, often remarking that he can take anyone down. Also there are hints at that he is a bisexual as some episodes feature him in "interesting positions" with other males, one idea would be in Peanut Puberty when he is taking to the Leigon of Dance club, a male strip bar. Quotes
Phil Ken Sebben was the president and founder of the law firm Sebben, Sebben & Birdman. Back when Birdman was a superhero, Phil was Harvey's boss, whom he called by his code name, "Falcon Seven." He was recognizable by his blonde hair, an eyepatch (which may or may not have been responsible for his numerous vision problems; it is strongly implied that he is blind in the eye which is NOT covered by the eyepatch) and a dark suit. He cofounded the firm with twin brother Bill when they were 26 (they were distinguishable by the fact their eyepatches are on opposite eyes). He had a habit of laughing twice randomly whenever he said a double entendre or a non sequitur. He also has a habit of firing his employees on a whim, and has tried to exercise this on Birdman at times. It seems that he is dead, however sources close to M&E (the creators) have stated through back channels that he will come back for the final episode. Quotes
Peter Potamus works at the law firm of Sebben, Sebben & Birdman as a fellow lawyer. The former star of Peter Potamus and His Magic Flying Balloon, he has taken the role of annoying co-worker, as well as an accomplished lecher and glutton. He often uses the catch phrase, "Did you get that thing I sentcha?". Potamus is often unexpectedly caught having sex with inflatable female sex toys, followed usually by a quick "What the-" or occasionally he'll say "Mein Gott", German for "My God". Quotes
Antonio de Ribera Garcia Azul Falcón ('Blue' to his friends) is an Argentinian lawyer who is very charming and popular. Also known as the superhero Blue Falcon, Falcón was first introduced as a new partner in the Sebben & Sebben (now Sebben, Sebben & Birdman) firm. Falcón often relies on his sidekick Dyno-Mutt. Has a penchant for giving away "expensive and beautiful" silk clothing, which is often a cue for throwing an impromptu party ("Now, we make PARTY!"). An incompetent lawyer, he was demoted to being a men's room attendant in the Sebben & Sebben building. Quotes
Judy Ken Sebben is Phil's daughter, who seems to be very interested in Harvey's work as a lawyer. She takes on the alter ego of Birdgirl and attempts to ingratiate herself with the "bird team". However, her over-eagerness and clumsiness grates on Harvey, and he only begrudgingly accepts her role as his "sidekick". Birdgirl actions seem to harken back to the action TV shows of the 60's and 70's, often using campy full-screen sound effects like "Punch!" and "Wham!" as on the original Batman series; she also gave Harvey's inconspicuous sedan a complete overhaul, changing it into the Birdmobile (akin to the Batmobile, complete with "recirc rocket"). Despite her habit of speaking her inner monologue regarding her secret identity out loud (and often into an amplifying device of some sort), Peanut (and possibly Avenger) appears to be the only one who recognizes her as Judy under her Birdgirl outfit. Disturbingly, her father Phil is oblivious to the fact that "Birdgirl" is really his own daughter, and flirts with her inappropriately in most if not all of their encounters when she is wearing her mask.
Bear is a recurring pantomime character who appears randomly throughout each episode, often at the end and joining in with the laughter of the rest of the cast. Bear's actual role at the lawfirm is unclear, commonly believed to be a lawyer/bartender, and his presence among the employees seems to often go unnoticed or uncommented by the others. He is often seen randomly assisting the others in various bizarre tasks, including skeet shooting and digging a large hole with Peanut in the middle of Harvey's office. He sometimes comments by saying "Urrr" while smiling (note: the "Urrr" is not a growl but more of a high pitched snicker"). The presence of Bear is probably a joke directed at Stephen Colbert, the voice actor for Phil Sebben, and his fear of bears.
Myron Reducto is an attorney at Freezoid, Zarog & Skon, and is one of Harvey's most common courtroom opponents, as well as one of Birdman's closest friends. He is a small man with green tinged skin, and brandishes a shrink-ray. He and Birdman were bitter enemies back during the old days, but seem to have put aside their differences, clashing only on a professional level. They often eat lunch together. Oddly, Reducto seems to have no problem with the fact that Birdman is uncommonly tall (6' 6"). Reducto, unlike most of the former hero/villain characters, seems to have a great deal of trouble letting go of his past. He is also obsessed with booty as well as things that are smaller than him, like Inch High, Private Eye. He is highly obsessive compulsive and prone to occasional paranoid and/or conspiracy theorist monologues, which oddly enough, tends to be confirmed later. Some of Reducto's common catch phrases are "Back off!", "I'll make you teensy!", "I'll make you fun size!" and "I will shrink you!". He drives a solar powered car, and his political views have been suggested to be Libertarian. Reducto has met the same fate as Phil Ken Sebben, he was apparently killed (as both he and Phil were voiced by Stephen Colbert), however sources state that he will be back for the last episode.Quotes
Vulturo is another one of Harvey's former villains turned rival lawyers. His primary set-back is a speech impediment that he seems entirely unaware of. He has a thick, pompous accent and though he will often start talking in a normal voice, he soon trails off into incomprehensible gibberish. This seems to have little effect on his success rate as a lawyer. He lives in an underground lair, somewhat similar to the Batcave. His original assistant, Dirth, was a robotic vulture. His style of speech, and perhaps even his appearance, seems to be a satiric reference to the distinctive style of William F. Buckley.
Evelyn Spyro Throckmorton is another villain/lawyer with Shakespearean tendencies. He acts dramatic and stages theater in the courtroom as arguments, both spoken word plays and opera. Often talks above witnesses, questioning them in foreign languages. Spyro first attended school at Choate, where his peers beat him up with baseball bats. For law school he attended Yale, where once again his peers beat him up.
Stan Freezoid is another villain/lawyer, with freezing ability. His personality and demeanor as a lawyer is that of a stereotypical ambulance chaser, though Reducto says he is the best criminal defense attorney around, or in Reducto's words: "The best criminal defense guy in the business." His business suit appears to be painted onto his robotic form. He usually seems rather benign, but he has an explosive temper when ignored, often threatening, "I'll freeze your ass!" He is a Name Partner (and presumably co-founder) at Freezoid, Zarog and Skon. His name, and his choice in eyewear, appear to be inspired by the American satirist Stan Freberg.
M!!!butu He is an African Witch doctor that often appears in episodes and just yells in mock-Zulu, whilst jabbing a spear, his son eventually worked for Harvey one day.
Judge Mentok the Mindtaker was a former enemy of Birdman but now is a court judge who often hears his cases. Mentok has helped Harvey out in some episodes, while in others he seems to antagonize Harvey. He has various psychic powers including the ability to teleport, read minds, hypnotize, predict the future and move things with telekinesis - all referred to as "mind taking" - but he rarely uses them for anything beyond sophomoric mischief (in one episode, he continually puts Spyro Throckmorton's brain into different creatures and then eventually forgets where it is). He has been given the personality of a flamboyant stage magician; because of this, he often predicts the outcome of the cases he presides over before they have even started. He has a flair for the dramatic and often makes a grand entrance, such as appearing in a cloud of smoke or from a bolt of lightning. He also has a habit of imitating a theremin when carrying on with great vanity about his powers. Mentok's gavel is a brain that squeaks when struck. He also seems to enjoy annoying the courtroom's Bailiff, while the bailiff just ignores him and stares forward with blank expression.Quotes.
Judge Hiram Mightor was a Hanna-Barbera super-hero of the sixties known as the Mighty Mightor, one who lived in prehistoric times and got his powers from a magic club. He uses such a club as a gavel of sorts and speaks with a southern accent (as opposed to the cartoon from which he is derived). He dresses in traditional judge's robes and wig, the effect of which is slightly marred by the large horns that protrude from the top of his mask. Mightor is always coughing up various objects, including a squirrel, a clown car, a miniature Yngwie J. Malmsteen, and a much smaller version of himself and his judge's bench (which also coughs up another judge's bench). He also seems to have a problem remembering people's names, often mangling Birdman's name into "Mister Birdbath", "Mr. Bumnuts", "Beanbag", "Mr. Buttermilk" or "Bootylicious". He has a history of corruption; he took bribes from the "guitar lobby" and used to accept kickbacks from organized crime as well. On a few occasions, when a double entendre is made in a court case about something related to male genitalia, the scene will briefly cut to Mightor in a setting holding a long object upwards, while swirling it around slightly and saying, "Deedle-deedle-dee." The creators of the show said in a season 1 audio commentary that they were getting sick of the character and that's why he was seemingly killed off in the episode "The Dabba Don". He has appeared in several episodes since, though he is only seen briefly.
X the Eliminator is an enemy of Birdman's who was originally commissioned by the organization F.E.A.R. to obtain Birdman's source of power—the Crest on Birdman's helmet; his failure to do so has over several decades turned him into a stalkingfanboy with a love/hate relationship with Birdman. He has a flair for the dramatic, although this only comes through when he is near victory. X's tool of choice is an ungainly silver death console with a telescoping laser emitter that uses obsolete vacuum tube technology. X often misses opportunities to attack Birdman with his death console because it takes a long time to recharge after he fires it. X is never seen outside his hooded costume; at one point he got plastic surgery because he was under the impression Birdman wouldn't notice him because of the way he looked, but it made no visible difference in his appearance. He frequently shows up at Birdman's office to eliminate him, but Harvey's secretary almost always mistakes him for hired help (X the Exterminator, X the Interior Decorator, etc.). X still lives with his mother in a room filled with Birdman memorabilia. He is also one of the tallest characters in the series, standing at least a head over the 6'6" Birdman.
Apache Chief is a small-time superhero who was once a member of the Super Friends, whose power is enlarging himself to immense size. Chief once lost his powers after spilling hot coffee on his lap—they have since returned, but he is still very wary around hot liquids. As a fellow third-string superhero, Harvey often comes to Apache for advice.
Gigi is a recurring character, first appearing in the first season episode Trio's Company. She is a flighty, easily distracted woman. She has at least ten husbands and philanders with every male on the show except Harvey (despite his being one of her husbands). She also calls him "Harry". She is based on the character Gravity Girl (hence the name: G.G.= Gigi) from the original Birdman and the Galaxy Trio; her Galaxy Trio teammates Vapor Man and Meteor Man have occasional cameos as her current/former casual boyfriends. She eventually cheats on her husbands (Harvey and Phil included) by getting pregnant with the child of Grape Ape; oddly, the paternity test was performed with a urine sample instead of blood.
Black Vulcan is a small-time superhero who was once a member of the Super Friends. His power is that of lightning, which he sums up as, "Pure electricity. In my pants." He used to insist upon being called "Supervolt," but has since accepted "Black Vulcan" as his super-moniker, although he insists he got the name because of racism. In most of his appearances, he or another character says some variation on "In my pants". Quotes
Alexander The Bartender is the man behind the counter at the Birdcage, a bar Harvey frequents with his friends. Oddly, he appears to be a former agent of F.E.A.R., an organization that was determined to destroy Birdman in his superhero days. He first appears on the 2nd episode.
Zardo is X's best friend, given up his life of crime/villainy apparently to be a homemaker and best friend of X. He has a mace in place of a left hand, is never seen without his bullet-shaped helmet, through which only his eyes can be seen, and speaks with a vaguely foreign-sounding accent. Zardo also has characteristics of fanboyism, but much toned down compared to X.
