List of Dark Angel characters

Dark Angel is an American television series created by James Cameron and Charles H. Eglee. The series premiered in the United States on the Fox network on October 3, 2000. Max Guevara, portrayed by Jessica Alba, is the protagonist of the series. The first season had an additional seven regular characters. Two of these characters, Kendra Maibaum and Herbal Thought, did not return for the second season, and a third main character, Colonel Donald Michael Lydecker, was written out of the show shortly into the second season. Four new characters, however, become regulars for the series second and final season.

The series was continued with three canonical novels; "Skin Game" picks up directly where season two ended, and was followed by the final media in the Dark Angel universe, "After the Dark". A prequel novel, "Before the Dawn", chronicles Max's life between escaping from Manticore, the government facility that created her, and the beginning of season one of the television series. An apocryphal Dark Angel video game adaptation features the series' characters Max Guevara, Logan Cale and Original Cindy.

Max Guevara (portrayed by Jessica Alba and Geneva Locke as Young Max (seasons 1–2)) is the main character in all Dark Angel media. She is a genetically enhanced transgenic super-soldier who escaped from Manticore, the government facility that created her and gave her the signalled code (X5-452). She can be identified by the bar code on the back of her neck, which reads the number 332960073452.

Logan Cale (portrayed by Michael Weatherly (seasons 1–2)) is a cyber-journalist who uses his knowledge of computer technology to bring down the corrupt power brokers of the new millennium. Heir to a family fortune, Logan hacks into television cable networks and delivers his broadcast entitled Streaming Freedom Video under the pseudonym and alter ego "Eyes Only". When he discovers Max trying to burgle his apartment, Logan notices her Manticore barcode and offers to help her locate the other Manticore children in return for helping him on a vigilante mission. Max denies his offer, and Logan is rendered a paraplegic after he is shot on the mission. Max later accepts Logan's original offer, and the two form a close friendship and romantic interest. After receiving a blood transfusion from Max, Logan temporarily regains the ability to walk due to her stem-cell enriched blood.

Logan is a minor character in the prequel novel, Before the Dawn, after he recruits the X5 Seth to work for him. He is a major character in the novels Skin Game and After the Dark and the video game adaptation (voiced by Weatherly), where he continues to assist Max and the transgenics in the same way he did during the series. After the Dark, the final Dark Angel story, ends with Logan and Max finally consummating their relationship.

Colonel Donald Michael Lydecker (portrayed by John Savage (season 1, recurring season 2)) is one of Manticore's senior officers and the main antagonist of the first season. He repeatedly attempts to recapture Max and the other X5s. After he is betrayed by his boss Renfro, Lydecker switches sides and helps Max and Logan prepare to destroy Manticore. He becomes a valuable ally in the fight against Manticore but disappears under mysterious circumstances early in season two.

Lydecker is a major antagonist in Before the Dawn. He only resurfaces in the final chapter of "After the Dark", where it is revealed he has been held prisoner by the breeding cult. When Max discovers him she initially decides to leave him there to die, but when Lydecker promises to help her find her mother if she saves his life Max reluctantly agrees.

Cynthia "Original Cindy" McEachin (also known as O.C.; portrayed by Valarie Rae Miller (seasons 1–2)) is Max's best friend and a coworker at Jam Pony, where she frequently covers for Max, allowing her to keep her job. In the middle of season one, she discovers that Max is an escaped supersoldier from Manticore and, after some debate, becomes her roommate. At the start of season two, O.C. learns that Logan is Eyes Only. She usually refers to herself in the third person. Despite being a lesbian, multiple sources commented on the fact O.C. was never shown kissing another woman during the first season, (though she later did in the episode "Shortie's in Love") with Miller saying "The censors watch me more than anything". In 2009 AfterEllen ranked her at No. 6 on their list of the Top 11 Lesbian/Bi Sidekicks.