List of iZombie characters

Gwen Dylan
iZombie character
Gwen Dylan on the cover of iZombie vol. 4 #27 (July 2012). Art by Michael Allred.
First appearance	"Dead to the World" (2010)
Last appearance	"Repossession" (2012)
Created by	Chris Roberson Michael Allred
In-universe information
Full name	Gwendolyn Rose Price
Alias	Gwen Dylan
Species	Goddess Zombie (formerly) Human (formerly)
Occupation	Gravedigger College student (formerly)
Family	Mr. and Mr. Price (parents) Gavin Price (brother) Scott "Spot" (brother-in-law)
Significant other	Horatio

Gwendolyn Rose "Gwen" Dylan (née Price) is the series' main protagonist. After rising from her grave as a zombie with scattered memories of her past, Gwen takes up residence in her graveyard's crypt, taking a job as a gravedigger so she could have access to the brains required every 30 days to stave off mindlessness by absorbing residue soul essence (in-doing so inheriting parts of the deceased's thoughts and memories), and befriending a local ghost named Ellie and were-terrier named Scott. Several years after becoming a zombie, Gwen learns she was resurrected by local mummy John Amon, seeking her assistance in preventing the dark god Xitalu from consuming the souls of everyone on Earth. Able to pass as human, Gwen begins dating a monster hunter named Horatio, who is initially unaware of her undead status, while Scott begins dating Gwen's brother Gavin, both unaware of their relation. Ultimately, Amon and Gwen are revealed to have known each other before her death, and she had voluntarily killed herself in order to become a zombie and defeat Xitalu. However, upon Xitalu's arrival, Gwen decides to go against Amon's plan to sacrifice the souls of her town to stave off Xitalu for another few millennia, and instead, recognizing his method of absorbing souls to be identical to her own brain consumption, and that Xitalu is themselves a "cosmic zombie", Gwen absorbs Xitalu's soul, becoming a celestial being larger than the Earth. Bidding her friends and family goodbye, Gwen ascends to the cosmos.[3]

Eleanor "Ellie" Stuart (née Roosevelt) is Gwen's best friend, befriending her shortly after witnessing her crawl from her grave. Named after Eleanor Roosevelt, Ellie died in the 1960s after getting hit by a bus, before returning as a "ghost" or "bodiless oversoul". Ellie subsequently befriends a were-terrier named Scott and local mummy John Amon, the latter of whom teaches her how to possess people. Ellie then uses the ability to begin dating again, forming a polyamorous relationship with the vampire Claire and a revenant known as Francisco, later involving Francisco's ex-girlfriend Tricia.[4]

Scott, referred to by his friends as Spot, is a were-terrier and best friend of Gwen Dylan and Ellie Stuart, the former of whom he is initially in love with. He is later revealed to be bisexual and starts dating Gwen's brother Gavin, ultimately marrying him. After being present at his grandfather Marvin's ("Gramps"') deathbed, Scott inadvertently causes his soul to be bound to a chimpanzee.

Horatio is an Asian-American monster hunter working for the Fossor Corporation, whose previous girlfriend Bethany was eaten by zombies. Initially investigating a coven of vampires residing in her town with his mentor Diogenes, Horatio begins to date Gwen initially unaware of her species, while she quickly deduces that he is a monster hunter. Upon being informed by her species by Diogenes and criticized for not being able to immediately recognise her as a zombie, Horatio is initially taken aback, before deciding to continue to date Gwen.

John Amon is a mummy who has been alive for thousands of years. Resurrecting Gwen Dylan as a zombie for the purposes of using her abilities to prevent the dark god Xitalu from consuming the souls of everyone on Earth, Amon also seeks to cure his wife Ubasti of her were-jaguar nature, which leaves her confined to leopard form for every day of the year but one.

Claire is a vampire who turned her sorority into vampires shortly after being turned into a vampire, whom Horatio and Diogenes kill in their pursuit of their subsequently-created coven, led by Nemia. Shortly afterward, Claire is resurrected by Galatea, serving as her lab assistant in preparing for the arrival of Xitalu, before calling a truce with Nemia in order to join their forces together. Claire later forms a polyamorous relationship with ghost Ellie Stuart and revenant Francisco.

Marvin, known by Scott as "Gramps", is Scott's estranged grandfather, whose soul Scott inadvertently binds to chimpanzee after being present at his deathbed.

Galatea is John Amon's ex-girlfriend, also known as Lady Frankenstein, who seeks to use Xitalu's power to ascend to godhood.

Rose McIver

Olivia "Liv" Moore (portrayed by Rose McIver) is the series' main protagonist. A former medical resident who became a zombie when she attended a boat party that was attacked by people who had just taken a new designer drug called "Utopium" while also consuming the Max Rager energy drink. She was scratched by Blaine while he was in full-on zombie mode.

She now works as an assistant medical examiner for the King County Medical Examiner's Office to have access to the human brains she must frequently consume to maintain her humanity and suppress her hunger.[5] Without feeding, she becomes increasingly less intelligent and would eventually turn into a classic zombie that exhibits no human traits and only hungers for brains.

She experiences flashes of memories from the brains she eats, and temporarily takes on random quirks from her subjects—ranging from a fear of pigeons to a sudden appreciation for art to martial arts skills—and has demonstrated the ability to take a bullet to the chest with little damage. Through her visions, Liv vows to use her powers to bring justice to the victims and help Seattle Police find and apprehend murderers. Even with an available cure, Liv is reluctant to take it due to its side effects and her love for solving murder cases.

When Liv enters so-called "Full-on Zombie Mode" her eyes turn red and her strength is vastly increased. The change is triggered by intense stress or anger (or hunger), and the zombie has very little control over the trigger.

In the third-season finale, the existence of zombies is revealed to the world, and by refusing to tan or dye Liv decides to make her zombie status public.

In the fourth season, she inherits the alias "Renegade", eventually becoming a public figure after smuggling individuals in and out of the city.

Malcolm Goodwin

Clive Babineaux (portrayed by Malcolm Goodwin) is a Seattle PD detective, newly transferred from vice to homicide when the series starts, who gets Liv's help to solve crimes. Liv and Ravi claim that she is "psychic-ish" to account for her knowledge of victims. With her help, Clive has solved many cases in an incredibly efficient and accurate fashion, hoping one day to be promoted to captain.

In the second season, Clive begins dating FBI agent Dale Bozzio, with whom he investigates the "Chaos Killer" disappearances in addition to his cases with Liv. After Bozzio arrests Major, Liv is forced to tell him she is a zombie and that her "psychic skills" are actually a side effect from eating the brains of the victims. He arranged for Major to be released from prison, but Dale leaves him when he cannot provide her with a suitable reason why.[6]

In the third season, Clive receives his own story arc; as he is galvanized to investigate the murder of a family he was close to, and who were revealed to have become zombies affiliated with Fillmore-Graves. He also reunites with his love interest, Dale Bozzio, confessing to her the truth about zombies shortly before she herself is turned.

In the fourth-season finale, Dale is cured and the two are married. Though Clive states he would rather be Dale's husband than a father, it's implied that their daughter Olivia was made that night. They also adopted a son of Clive's ex-girlfriend who was killed in a suicide bombing in the series finale whom Clive initially thought he fathered since he couldn't have sexual relations with Dale while she was still a zombie. By the end of the series, Clive is the only main character who never becomes a zombie at any point during the series.

Rahul Kohli

Ravi Chakrabarti (portrayed Rahul Kohli) is a medical examiner, Liv's best friend and boss, and Major's eventual roommate. He knows Liv's secret and assists her whenever he can to protect as well as study her, expressing an interest in finding a cure for her condition. He used to work for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention but was fired for his obsession with preparing for an attack with biological weapons. The character has romantic feelings for Liv's best friend Peyton, whom he dated briefly in the first season.[6]

In the third-season finale, Ravi tests a vaccine for the zombie virus on himself; for which he asks Liv to scratch him. Discussing the character's future, Kohli stated "I love playing the human dynamic, it's what the audience can connect with. However, it's tempting [to want to play a zombie.]"[7]

In the fourth-season premiere it is revealed that the vaccine was not completely effective, and that Ravi suffers from periodic flare-ups during which he temporarily becomes a zombie for a few days before reverting into a human. He also gets back together with Peyton, expressing their love for each other.

Robert Buckley

Major Lilywhite (portrayed by Robert Buckley) is Liv's ex-fiancé (she had ended their engagement to prevent him from becoming "infected" by her condition).[5] Like Liv, he is a University of Washington alumnus; he is employed as a social worker at the local teen center, Helton Shelter. After several teenagers disappear at the local skate park, Major connects those disappearances to "The Candyman," one of Blaine's utopium dealers, and then to Blaine himself.

Despite being deluded into committing himself to an asylum for a week after multiple confrontations with the "Candyman," he continues his investigation after his release—having gained fresh evidence while inside.

Next, Major connects Blaine to a "charcuterie" that serves as a front for "brain-cuisine," and soon after learns of the zombie epidemic. In the first season's finale, after being discovered and held prisoner, he kills Blaine's zombified staff before being stabbed by Blaine himself. To save Major's life, Liv then turns him into a zombie. She later cures him, after which he tells her he would've preferred to be left to die.

In the second season, he is blackmailed into becoming a zombie hunter for Max Rager, as the company attempts to cover up both their own responsibility for the outbreak, and the existence of zombies themselves. While he is named the "Chaos Killer" by the press, Major secretly defies MR orders, and freezes his targets toward their potential future cure. He eventually reverts to zombie form at the end of the second season, learning that his cure had only been temporary.

After FBI Special Agent Dale Bozzio identifies Major as the "Chaos Killer", Liv is forced to tell Clive about the existence of zombies, to get Major out of prison. But the relief is only short lived, we find, as Vaughn Du Clark has discovered Major's treachery; and has abducted the zombies Major had frozen.

In the third season, Major becomes a pariah in spite of being acquitted at trial. This leads him to seek employment and acceptance with Fillmore-Graves Enterprises. He is next cured again, and is human once more; although he feigns being a zombie so that he can remain with Fillmore-Graves.

Though his ruse is eventually discovered, he volunteers to become a zombie again in the third-season finale, after his peers and his girlfriend Natalie are killed by Harley Johns. This leads to Major's break with humanity, and his siding against them along with Fillmore-Graves in the "New World Order." He later proves his loyalty to them by killing a mob of anti-zombie humans at the company's behest although he seems to take no pleasure in doing so.

By the end of the fourth season, Major becomes Chase's right-hand man and leads a squadron of soldiers composed of teenage zombies. Major briefly rekindles his relationship with Liv until they split again over disagreements with Renegade's operation, calling Liv out for self-righteousness over her belief of the other zombies' lack of morality. He succeeds Chase Graves as the commander of Fillmore-Graves after killing Chase to save Liv. After the United States cease their shipment of brains to New Seattle, Major makes a partnership with Blaine, whom he offers debt relief and a full pardon, offering a chance to become a hero to zombiekind in exchange for supplying brains.

David Anders

Blaine McDonough (portrayed by David Anders), commonly known by the pseudonym Blaine DeBeers, is a drug dealer-turned-zombie who dealt a tainted version of the experimental drug, Utopium, which helped cause the zombie outbreak.[5] Blaine was incidentally turned into a zombie by Liv when she threw her Max Rager drink in his face, after he attempted to grope her while high on the Utopium. The chemical mixture of the drink and drug were later confirmed in the second-season finale to be what originated the zombie outbreak. While in full-on zombie mode at the boat party, he scratched her, turning her into a zombie in turn.

Although he comes from a wealthy family, Blaine did not have a happy childhood; his depressed mother committed suicide, his doting grandfather was committed to hospice, and Blaine himself was abused by his nanny. As an adult, his father Angus considers him "a disappointment" after giving him money for failed businesses.[8] According to Angus, he attended Wharton, though did not last a full semester. After some point Angus cut him off financially, leading Blaine to pursue work dealing drugs for Stacey Boss.

In the first season, Blaine initially claimed to Liv that he resorts to grave-robbing to access brains, but in reality he has set up a new "drug ring" whose customers are other zombies and product is the brains of murdered local homeless teens. His base of operations in the first season is a local butcher shop from which he runs a home delivery service of gourmet prepared brain meals for wealthy zombie customers. In keeping with his drug-dealer approach, he has been shown attacking his former criminal associates and rivals, and creating new zombies to drive up demand. It is revealed in the second season that his father was his first client, and Blaine extorted him into bankrolling his endeavors once more.

In the second season, after being cured, he moves his brains business to a funeral home—no longer murdering for his product supply. Desiring to become Seattle's new kingpin; he strong arms his client and district attorney Floyd Baracus to pursue a case against crime lord Stacey Boss, Blaine's former employer. In exchange for his testimonies Blaine receives immunity for his (known) crimes, and grows close to Peyton who was assigned the case. The two sleep together before she learns of his true nature from Liv, after he is accused by Clive and Bozzio of being the Chaos Killer. Not long after, Blaine eventually reverts to a zombie state before injecting himself with another attempt at a cure; after which he becomes an amnesiac.

After this status quo carries into the third season, it is revealed the amnesia was only temporary and that the character feigned memory loss in an attempt to change his life and how people viewed him, in the process finding a fresh start and happiness with Peyton. Shot by one of his father's henchmen, Blaine has a client turn him back into a zombie, and then kidnaps Angus and takes over his business. Despite their relationship returning to it is antagonistic roots, Blaine later helps Liv and Clive in an investigation. With the existence of zombies made public knowledge in the third-season finale, Blaine found himself a somewhat legitimate businessman. Having already stopped killing for his brain supply and intentionally creating more zombies; the zombie outbreak forces him to change his business model. With Fillmore-Graves offering brain tubes to the public, he no longer is able to extort his existing clientele for their food supply. Instead, he capitalizes on the rarity of "whole brains" to draw in a larger client base.

Following this, showrunner Rob Thomas implied about the fourth season: "We keep calling [Blaine] Rick from Casablanca. He is the man who can get things. He is going to profit from this new world. He is going to run the black market. Blaine is going to open a new restaurant. He is going to be doing very well."[9] This holds true as Blaine continues to feed Seattle's zombies during the starvation crisis, and does under the table work for Chase Graves. However, the character largely returns to his villainous roots; being revealed as the thief who stole the zombie cure and killing Floyd Baracus to display it is effectiveness before auctioning it off. Blaine also plans to spread the zombie virus throughout the country, in an effort to gain a monopoly on real estate. He also contests with the return of Angus, who had been driven mad in the well and becomes an evangelical zombie cult leader who wishes to make amends with his son.

In the fourth-season finale, he is given a full pardon by Major and becomes the sole brain provider for New Seattle, with his debts waived and the opportunity to become a hero to zombiekind.

The character has often been compared to Spike from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer mythos.[10][11][12][13] Coincidentally, Anders consulted Spike's portrayer, James Marsters, prior to bleaching his hair for the role.[14] Show co-creator Diane Ruggiero-Wright stated prior to the series finale that there were once plans to redeem the character, who acted as the series’ wild card, but they ultimately fell through.[15]

Michalka was promoted to series regular starting with the third season, having recurred in the first two.

Peyton Charles (portrayed by Aly Michalka) is Liv's best friend and roommate, who expresses concern about Liv's declining interest in life after the boat party. She also works as an assistant district attorney for the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office. Peyton learns of Liv's secret at the end of the first season, prompting her to leave Seattle.

Peyton returns in the second season, reconciling with Liv and being appointed head of the task force against Utopium. While making a case against crime lord Stacey Boss, she grew close to Blaine and slept with him before learning that he turned Liv into a zombie.

Though a recurring character in the first two seasons, she is promoted to a series regular with the third season, at which point her professional and personal lives are highlighted.[16] Peyton had a relationship with Ravi during the first season, which was briefly rekindled at the end of the second season. After visiting him to clear the air following a disagreement involving Blaine, the two share a kiss, with Peyton realizing Ravi had a one-night stand with Katty Kupps; who was still present in his home. She then initiates a relationship with the seemingly reformed Blaine, which deteriorates upon the revelation he feigned the true duration of his memory loss. She also uncovers a conspiracy that implicates her employer, Floyd Baracus, in a number of suspicious deaths. After he is proven innocent, Peyton accepts a position as his chief of staff.

Teasing her role in the fourth season, Rob Thomas stated: "She'll have her fingers in a couple of pies next season. Half of the prosecutors working in Seattle escaped the city before the wall went up, and Peyton will get called in on occasion to fill in when the case load becomes such that they need an extra hand. Working the mayor's office, she will be on the front line of mediating disputes between zombies and humans. Turns out humans don't want their children going to school with zombies, or sharing restrooms, or sharing city parks. There is a lot of work to be done."[17]

Having recurred in both the second and third seasons, it was announced Knepper would be promoted to series regular for the fourth.

Angus McDonough (portrayed by Robert Knepper) is Blaine's estranged and abusive father whom he turned into a zombie, and who tried to force Blaine to work for him prior to becoming one of Major's Chaos Killer victims. After discovering Major's role in his father's disappearance, Blaine negotiated for Angus' return so that he could force him to amend his will. Upon his father's disappearance, Blaine learned Angus added a stipulation that his estate would be left to Blaine's abusive childhood nanny were his death to result from foul play.

In the third season, he is freed by Don E., whom he forms an alliance with in order to get revenge upon his son. Establishing their own brain dealing business, Angus finances the new zombie club, the Scratching Post. Prior to seizing Blaine's client base, Angus commands Don to increase the zombie population in order to attract new and wealthy clients. After he learns the nature of Fillmore-Graves, Angus develops a plan (later adopted and amended by Blaine) to partner with them for "global brain distribution". After Blaine survives a hit Angus orders, the former traps the latter in a well on their family estate and usurps his business. He is later shown to visit him to gloat and bring him brains; lest he become a mindless "Romero" zombie.

After recurring in three episodes each in both the second and third season, it was announced the character would be promoted to the main cast with the fourth season. In regards to the announcement, Rob Thomas stated, "Angus is going to get out of the well, and he is going to be up to no good, and he is going to have some very hardcore pro-zombie people on his side. There's going to be a human terrorist organization that doesn't want any human-zombie fraternization. This is not about one big bad this year. It's coming at our characters from all sides of the spectrum."[18]

When the character returns as a regular in the fourth season, he is freed by a resentful Dino and is revealed to have gone insane during his imprisonment. As such, he believes the words he heard from Blaine while in the well were the words of God, and becomes a religious cult leader known as "Brother Love", preaching pro-zombie/anti-human sentiment.[19]

Though he attempts to make amends with his son, the relationship deteriorates upon Angus learning that Blaine manipulated him. Stating that his son was dead to him, Angus led his cult in an effort to escape the city before ultimately being executed by the United States military.

Donald "Don E." Eberhard (portrayed by Bryce Hodgson) is a drug dealer and associate of Blaine who helps him track down boat party Utopium for Ravi's cure, while also assisting him in his professional and criminal endeavors. The character voluntarily becomes a zombie and briefly takes over Blaine's business once he becomes an amnesiac. In the third season, the character briefly abandons Blaine to form an alliance with his father to open the zombies-only club, the Scratching Post, before later reconciling with Blaine himself when the latter usurps the former. Along with Blaine, he is given a full pardon at the end of the fourth season in exchange for supplying New Seattle with brains. Hodgson also portrayed the character's late twin brother, "Scott E." in two episodes of the first season. The character was promoted to the main cast for the fifth and final season.

• Martin "Beanpole Bob" Roberts (portrayed by Bill Wise): Liv's long lost father who Eva left due to his substance abuse. He is revealed to be the true creator of the tainted Utopium, and a radical zombie extremist.
• Glen Mills (portrayed by Andrew Kavadas): Army general who wants to destroy New Seattle after his daughter was kidnapped.
• Dolly Durkins (portrayed by Jennifer Irwin): A human supremacist who manipulates events within the city in an effort to force the government's extermination it zombies. She secretly orchestrates the death of Mills’ daughter, after he arms her militia.
• Alice "Al" Bronson (portrayed by Gage Golightly): a zombie reporter who gets close to Blaine ultimately to expose his crimes. She is revealed to be the niece of Stacey Boss, acting on his orders to get revenge on Blaine for making Stacey his underling.
• Charlie Collier (portrayed by Quinta Brunson): A doctor at the CDC who strikes up a friendship with Ravi and becomes an ally to the group.
• Dr. Saxon (portrayed by Aaron Craven): Charlie's superior at the CDC and the Doctor overseeing efforts to recreate the zombie cure.
• Darcy Bennett (portrayed by Valerie Tian): A college student with Freylich's syndrome from whom Blaine purchases her brain upon the event of her death. She becomes a love interest to Don E. only to pass before their wedding, seemingly due to her illness. When Peyton, as a newly turned zombie, later eats her brain, it is revealed that her death was the result of Blaine smothering her as revenge after learning Don E. cut him out of the brain business.
• Bubba (portrayed by Artine Tony Browne): A bounty hunter and smuggler employed by Blaine to kidnap the Freylich kids. He secretly helped Candy escape the city after she stole a zombie cure.
• Chris "Spud" Tader (portrayed by Emy Aneke): a former Fillmore-Graves soldier who joins Martin and Enzo's ranks.
• Graham Moss (portrayed by Dejan Loyola): A teacher who loses his job due to being a zombie and is later hired to tutor the kids at Liv's Renegade headquarters. After his boyfriend is kidnapped by Martin and Enzo, he is blackmailed into spying for them.
• Riley (portrayed by Kayleh Zander): One of Martin and Enzo's fanatics who is brought in to Liv's Renegade operations with the secret intent to get out of the city and spread the zombie virus.
• Mom E (portrayed by Amy Reid): Don E's mother with whom Blaine lives with after he has Don E burn his home to hide evidence. Blaine charms her into waiting on him with expensive gifts, and it is mentioned she has left Don and Scott's abusive stepfather who was mentioned in the first season.