There are characters who do well in the supporting role. We love them and appreciate their contributions to the show, and we love when they show up in an episode. But then there are characters that viewers can’t get enough of. We long to see them head up their own program and want to see the world through their eyes.
Those are the characters we’ll be looking at. We’re putting a spotlight on the Black cartoon characters who shine so bright, they simply cannot be contained within the supporting role.
Susie Carmichael: Rugrats and All Grown Up
Let’s start with a spinoff that almost happened. Susie was and still is a popular character for fans of the Rugrats. Her family, the Carmichaels, move into the Pickles’ neighborhood and leave both Stu and Didi in awe of how successful both Randy and Lucy are. But fans further fell in love when we were introduced to the youngest daughter of the family, Susie. With her adorable yellow dress and braids, and her ability to go toe-to-toe with Angelica, she made for a welcome addition to the cast.
We actually almost got a Carmichael spinoff in 1999, but it never began production. There’s not much information on it besides the premise. It is simply that the Carmichaels move to a new town and the show would be following their family. This idea ended up being scrapped as the creators of Rugrats wanted the kids to all grow up together. Which they did, in the follow-up series All Grown Up.
Numbuh 5: Kids Next Door
Abigail Lincoln, aka Numbuh 5, is a member of the Kids Next Door, an organization that seeks to protect kids from the forces of corrupt grown-ups and adult responsibility. Numbuh 5 is a member of Sector V, the group of heroes we follow on the show. But Numbuh 5’s story doesn’t just revolve around her adventures as a KND operative. No, we meet her older sister Cree, who was also a member of KND but betrayed them and defected to join the Teen Ninjas, a group of teenagers who serve under Father. Abby also has an older brother who has a family of his own, but we don’t know much about him besides that.
At the end of the series, Numbuh 5 is made supreme leader of the Kids Next Door after the previous supreme leader decides to retire. It would be interesting to see a series that tackles Numbuh 5’s journey as the leader of an entire organization or even a prequel series that covers her relationship with her sister Cree in detail — especially the lead up to Cree’s defection from the KND.
Gerald Johanssen: Hey Arnold!
Hey Arnold! is one of those cartoons that feels like comfort food. It’s like waking up with the sun shining through your window or coming home from school and having a tube of Gogurt waiting for you in the fridge. It’s that kind of warm nostalgia.
One of the characters that always managed to bring both perspective and calm to a situation was Gerald, Arnold’s best friend. Whenever Arnold had his moments of uncertainty or panic, Gerald was there with a quick wit and a gentle roll of his eyes to let Arnold know that things weren’t as hopeless as they seemed. Arnold was able to do the same for Gerald. It made their friendship equal and reciprocal in a way that not many kids’ shows are able to do. Even some adult shows struggle with this.
We were also introduced to Gerald’s siblings in the form of his older brother Jamie O and his younger sister Timberly, both of whom grate on Gerald’s nerves but he loves all the same. As the middle child, it’s clear that Gerald struggles with being seen. It’s why he loves being seen as the cool laid-back guy at school. It’s something that’s all his own and that he doesn’t have to share with his siblings.
It would be nice to see these dynamics in-depth in a show focusing on the Johanssens. Jamie O as the girl-chasing oldest, Timberly as the sweet one who follows her older brothers around, and Gerald who is stuck in the middle and trying to find his own identity.
Cyborg: Teen Titans
Victor Stone, aka Cyborg, is the resident tech genius, the muscle, and the one who drives the Titan mobile. He’s not very keen on anyone else touching his car. Cyborg is a founding member of the Teen Titans and is also the oldest of the group. He’s usually the one who steps in when Robin is indisposed or unable to be an effective leader.
Cyborg’s main conflict in the show is his grappling with the limits of his cybernetics and his humanity. He used to be an athlete and enjoyed pushing beyond what he could do, but after all of the work his body has been through he’s struggling to find that same rush. It also doesn’t help when people treat him like a machine. There’s also the subtextual comparison to race that comes into play as Cyborg is also the only Black member of his team. There’s one episode where this sort of comes up, but it’s not directly addressed. If we did get a Cyborg solo series, it would be an interesting thing to tackle.
