List of Speed Racer: The Next Generation Characters

This is a list of the characters from the 2008 Nicktoons Network series, Speed Racer: The Next Generation.

The main character of the series, Speed Racer Jr. (or just "Speed" for short) is the second son of the original Speed Racer from the 1967 Japanese anime series. He was hidden from the public by both his father and Trixie, to protect him. Speed Sr. knew that his enemies would do anything to get their hands on the plans for the Mach Six, even harm his younger son. However, the story goes into further depth in the "Family Reunion" trilogy when it is revealed that after Trixie Tredwell Racer, Speed Sr.'s wife and Speed's mother, became corrupted with hatred for her husband blaming him for the accident that killed her father and took over her father's company known as the Committee, Speed Sr. only hid his second son away in an orphanage so that he will be protected from Trixie's warped influence. Speed grew up in an orphanage for the majority of his life. His father had left him a special key and a red racing bandanna, both of which he kept with him for sentimental reasons. He is quite shy, but being behind the wheel brings out the best in him. Unlike his father, Speed doesn't get into any perilous trouble of fighting thugs and gang members, therefore instead of fighting (due to the fact that he doesn't know hand-to-hand combat), Speed uses his racing skill to get away from bad guys. Although in "Together We Stand, pt. 3," he is shown to use some hand-to-hand combat (which Speed Jr. calls his fighting style the Cabbage Patch) against a guard who tries to capture Connor. He is the number one racer at the academy according to the episode "The Secrets of the Engine, pt. 1". Speed's skills on the racetrack are on par with those of the top ranking students at the Racing Academy. His skills are somewhat inherited, with Speed knowing the right timing, and maneuvers during racing. Despite his amazing talent, he is generally quite modest about his abilities and claims that his maneuvers are a result of instinct rather than skill. He is not in it for money or fame - he just wants to be "the best in the world", and to have fun. He has also expressed interest in going into counterespionage alongside his father after graduation. His best friends are two of the school's students, Connor and Lucy. Together, they work as a team both inside and outside school grounds. Speed also has close bonds with his older brother, X, and their uncle Spritle. In "The Return, pt. 1" he happily reunites with his father, Speed Racer Sr., and the two of them immediately become close.

Casually, Speed wears a blue long sleeve shirt with red stars embroidered on both sleeves. When racing, he dons a white and blue racing helmet with a large, stylized red "M" (which stands for Mifune Motors) atop the visor and a racing jacket that contains several references to the original anime and manga series. The jacket's collar is red, an homage to the red racing ascot tie the original Speed Racer had worn. The jacket's color scheme is mostly blue with white accents, a homage to the color scheme of the original Speed's outfit. Lastly, the jacket features several patches which contain references to the Japanese show, including the names such as "Go" and "Disuke", the Japanese names of Speed and Pops Racer, respectively. At formal events such as the school dance, he wears a white shirt and light brown jacket and pants. He and X both have an appearance closer to Trixie than to the original Speed Racer (though Speed has his father's eyes). It has been referenced since the pilot episode that he has had a crush on Lucy, but despite the episodes leading to it, he is too shy to do anything about it and cannot tell Lucy how he feels about her. That is until the recent filler episode "Gotcha" where near the end the two confessed their feelings for one another and shared a kiss, which much to their dismay, the whole school was able to see.

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