List of Steven Universe characters
Steven Universe is an American animated television series created by Rebecca Sugar and produced by Cartoon Network Studios. The series focuses on the adventures of the Crystal Gems—magical alien warriors who protect the Earth from their own kind—and the humans they interact with in the fictional town of Beach City.
The series has received critical acclaim for the diversity and deep characterization of its characters; its portrayal of relationships, including queer relationships; and subversion of stereotypical gender norms, along with its art style, voice acting, music, and storytelling.
Main characters
Steven Universe
The titular protagonist of the series, Steven Universe is the youngest and only male member of the Crystal Gems. His characterization is loosely inspired by series creator Rebecca Sugar's younger brother Steven Sugar, a background artist for the show. His portrayal as a male character whose heroism is based on traditionally feminine attributes such as empathy and nurturing, and who seeks to live up to the legacy of his heroic mother, has drawn favorable reaction from critics.In the show, Steven is the son of Greg Universe, a human musician, and Rose Quartz, the former leader of the Crystal Gems. Rose is described as having "given up her physical form to bring into the world" as the first Gem-human hybrid, and her gemstone is embedded in his navel. At the beginning of the show's narrative, he is in his early teens but appears younger due to the interaction of his Gem magic with his aging process. Steven is caring, protective, brave, gentle, forgiving, and eager to help the people he loves with their problems; his optimism is often a source of strength for the other Crystal Gems. His gemstone gives him a wide range of magical abilities; one of the long-term story arcs of the series is his progress in learning about and mastering these abilities, beginning in the first episode with his first successful attempt to summon his Gem weapon, a pink shield. Other long-lasting character arcs involving Steven include his anxiety about filling his mother's place in the Crystal Gems and coping with her complex legacy and his developing friendship with his human best friend Connie.
The sequel series, Steven Universe Future, focuses on Steven's psychological state in the aftermath of the events of the main series. In Future, Steven wrestles with feelings of purposelessness now that the battles he spent his early adolescence fighting are resolved, and copes with the lasting psychological trauma from the stress he experienced while fighting them.
Garnet
The disciplined current leader of the Crystal Gems, Garnet is quiet, stoic, pragmatic, and described by Steven as "mysterious", but over the course of the series she becomes more emotionally open, especially in expressing her love for Steven. According to the writers, her great self-confidence is reflected in the fact that she never asks questions. She possesses two gems in the palms of her hands, from which she summons her Gem weapon, a pair of heavy gauntlets. She also has a precognitive ability she refers to as "future vision". Garnet has three eyes, over which she wears a visor.In the first-season finale "Jail Break", it is revealed that Garnet is a [|fusion] of two smaller Gems named Ruby and Sapphire. Garnet's existence is thus a personification of Ruby and Sapphire's loving relationship—she describes herself as "a conversation" and "made of love"—and her personality is a stable blending of Ruby and Sapphire's traits. The character of Garnet has won acclaim from critics as a representation of a queer relationship. Though she is normally stoic, Garnet's strongest emotional displays are often centered around fusion: anger and revulsion at what she perceives as abuses or perversions of fusion, and delight when Steven develops the ability to fuse. The second-season episode "The Answer", a flashback showing how Ruby and Sapphire met and formed Garnet for the first time, was nominated for an Emmy Award and adapted into a children's book.
Ruby and Sapphire
Ruby and Sapphire —the two smaller Gems who are the components of Garnet—first appeared in "Jail Break". They have contrasting personalities and abilities: Sapphire is an emotionally reserved Gem who held a high rank on Homeworld, with ice-related powers and the ability to see into the future; while Ruby is impulsive and hotheaded, has fire-related abilities, and was a common foot soldier on Homeworld. Garnet's qualities are the result of a "conversation" between these two contrasting personalities. Near the end of the fifth season, after a period of questioning the basis of their relationship in the wake of revelations about Rose Quartz's past, Ruby and Sapphire recommit themselves to each other through marriage; critics described the characters' marriage as a milestone of progress in the history of queer representation in children's television.Amethyst
Amethyst is the shortest and youngest of the Crystal Gems other than Steven. Her mischievous sense of humor often provides comic relief, and her fun-loving, childish nature bolsters her friendship with Steven. Her amethyst gemstone, from which she can summon a whip, is located on her chest; she also makes frequent use of shapeshifting capabilities. She was the last of the Gems created on Earth as part of the Gem Homeworld's "Kindergarten" project to convert Earth into a Gem-occupied world and learns in the second season that she is smaller and weaker than other Gems of her type. Her rebellious and hedonistic personality covers for deep-seated feelings of inadequacy, resentment, and fear that the other Crystal Gems do not respect her, and a long-term character arc involves her learning to respect herself and her capabilities.Pearl
Resembling a ballerina in her slender build, costume, and graceful style of movement, Pearl is a temperamental, precise strategist and technician. Her gemstone is a white pearl in her forehead from which she can summon a spear and create holographic images. She is the most motherly and protective of Steven out of the Gems. Pearl harbored a deep romantic devotion to Rose Quartz, leading to lasting grief over Rose's absence and jealousy over her relationship with Greg; major character arcs for Pearl include learning how to cope with and move beyond these emotions. On the Gem Homeworld, pearls are "made-to-order" servants for high-ranking Gems, and the fifth season reveals that Pearl originally served Rose Quartz in Rose's original identity of Pink Diamond. Pearl has learned to move beyond her caste role as a fighter and technician, but still has difficulty learning to feel independent rather than subordinate. Critical response to Pearl has largely appreciated her portrayal as a complex and sympathetic, yet flawed queer character.Major supporting characters
Greg Universe
Steven's father Greg is a former rock musician who now lives in his van and runs a car wash in Beach City. Although Steven lives with the Gems, Greg remains a constant presence in his life. Though he is often made uncomfortable by Gem magic, Greg is laid-back, accepting, and supportive of Steven's adventures; it is largely from Greg that Steven inherits his optimistic, empathetic temperament. As a young adult, Greg ran away from his controlling parents to become a traveling musician; the freedom and lack of structure he gave young Steven was a reaction against his own strict upbringing.Connie Maheswaran
Connie Maheswaran is Steven's best friend. Introduced as an intelligent yet lonely person in the episode "Bubble Buddies" early in the first season, she rapidly develops a close relationship with Steven. An avid reader of fantasy literature, she admires what she calls Steven's "magical destiny" and is eager to be part of it. Her involvement in Gem adventures gradually increases over the course of the series; she inherits Rose Quartz's sword and is eventually accepted as a member of the Crystal Gems. Long-term character arcs involving Connie include her learning to see herself as Steven's equal despite not having magical abilities of her own and to push back against her own overprotective parents. Some viewers have interpreted Steven and Connie's relationship as romantic or potentially romantic. In Steven Universe Future, Steven proposes marriage to Connie; she turns him down because they are still teenagers, but this does not end their relationship, and they share a kiss in the final episode. She is Indian American.Lars and Sadie
At the beginning of the series, Lars Barriga and Sadie Miller are teenage employees at the Big Donut, a donut shop that Steven frequently visits. Lars is inconsiderate, irresponsible, and abrasive, but insecure and desperate to be accepted by those he considers to be the "cool kids". Sadie is friendly and shy, but has difficulty asserting herself and tends to try and fix Lars' issues for him without his consent. Despite Lars's negative attitude, Steven considers Lars to be a close friend, and Sadie has a crush on him. Lars and Sadie's intermittently affectionate and antagonistic relationship is a recurring focus of episodes in which both characters feature. Matthew Moy has stated that Lars is one of his favorite acting roles, and has described his character as a "complicated fellow". According to Rebecca Sugar, Lars and Sadie are based upon characters she created while in college. They appeared in both the pilot episode of Steven Universe and the first episode of the series proper; they are the only characters other than the Crystal Gems to have speaking roles in those episodes.Lars is prominently featured at the end of season 4 and beginning of season 5, during which he is abducted and taken to the Gem Homeworld with Steven; his character arc in these episodes focuses on him learning to overcome his fear of embarrassing himself and being perceived as inadequate. This storyline culminates when he is killed defending Steven and others from Homeworld security robots and then revived by Steven's healing powers. When revived, Lars's body has turned pink, and he manifests magical properties, including the ability for Steven to teleport to a pocket dimension via his hair. With his newfound confidence, Lars becomes the leader of a band of fugitive Gems and captain of a stolen spaceship. At the same time, Sadie, left behind on Earth, develops the self-confidence to quit her job at the Big Donut and form a horror rock band with the "cool kids", "Sadie Killer and the Suspects". The story arc of Lars and Sadie's relationship concludes with their final appearance in Steven Universe Future, which depicts the characters acknowledging that they have grown apart and moved on from each other amicably.