The Storm Hawks' carrier ship is the Condor. The Condor belonged to the original Storm Hawks, the current ones having found it long after it crashed and repaired it. As befitting a carrier, the Condor possesses a large hangar with a decent runway for vehicles to take off from. There are living quarters for seven or more people. The ship has two sixty-foot periscopes for outside observation, though the generous window design of the bridge is such that everything in front of the ship is perfectly visible.
For propulsion, the Condor has two main engines built into the massive, pontoon-like structures that make up the main portion of the ship. A pair of secondary engines built onto the living area of the ship provide for maneuvering, and a rudder is attached to the stern to assist. During periods of inactivity, the ship can hover or land. Eight anchors built into both the forward pontoons and living section allow the ship to anchor itself to cliffs, though the engines still need to be running to avoid over-stressing the anchors.
For armament, the Condor possesses two energy cannons that can be controlled by the pilot. In addition, the ship has at least two more energy cannons that can be manually operated, mounted in retractable positions in the side, that must be prepped for service before use. The vessel also has shields (whether they were powered or ablative is unknown), though they are knocked out in the first episode (permanently, according to Stork).
In the series opening, Aerrow names himself as 'the last descendant of the original Storm Hawks', and the former leader is shown to bear a resemblance to him. Judging from the fact that the past Storm Hawks were defeated ten years earlier, when Aerrow was four years old. It is mostly likely that he is Aerrow's father, which may play a role in Aerrow's rivalry with the Dark Ace, the man responsible for his demise.
For combat, Aerrow uses a pair of twin lightning blades, each powered by a rare blue striker crystal. The two blades can be joined at the hilts to form a double-bladed sword. Aerrow's signature attack with his blades is his Lightning Claw maneuver, a technique that fires a pulse of lightning energy ahead of him, preceded by a pair of wings extending from the blades, which form into the pulse. Unlike most characters, who keep a parachute on-hand should their vehicles be destroyed or otherwise rendered inoperable, Aerrow has a retractable hang-glider, allowing him to continue fighting despite the loss of his vehicle or return to it if they are separated in combat. His daring and confidence in himself are regularly demonstrated, as in the pilot when he successfully performs an attack which takes out several Talons at once, even though he had never performed the attack before and claimed to have seen it on a cartoon. Aerrow seems to have a crush on his teammate Piper. Although she likes him back, work always gets in the way.
Aerrow's vehicle of choice is his Air Skimmer III Ultra, a motorcycle equipped with a pair of retractable bi-wings. Unlike the regular model, Aerrow's Skimmer has a secondary cockpit built into the starboard engine for Radarr. Controls for the wings are also situated near Radarr. It comes with a crystal-powered afterburner for short bursts of speed, though use of the device comes with the risk of causing the vehicle to explode. Finally, Aerrow's Skimmer has more armor than the standard model, the weight of which is offset by a lighter frame, and removable shields in the upper wing-pair for an added defense. In contrast, however, the vehicle features no weaponry, since Aerrow prefers hand-to-hand combat. In fact, Aerrow's fighting style often has him jumping onto his opponent's vehicle.
In combat, Finn uses his energy crossbow to attack from long range. The weapon has been modified extensively, including a telescoping sight and an auto-reloader. The tip has a vaguely Wallop-shaped design on it, which Junko added. Finn's ammunition consists of crystal-tipped arrows. When defending the Condor, Finn operates one of the energy cannons, which he can aim with deadly accuracy.
For flight, Finn uses a standard Air Skimmer III. Unlike the Ultra, Finn's standard Skimmer sacrifices armor for speed and maneuverability. Finn has a retractable crossbow built into the bow of the vehicle, which operates in basically the same manner as his portable one. In addition to its speed, Finn's Skimmer has a pair of Nimbus 7 engines, which are designed to make as little noise as possible when holding off on the throttle. As a running gag, Finn's vehicle is almost always cut in half during combat. Furthermore, rather than use his parachute, Finn will proceed to land crotch-first on one of his friends' rides, along with a high-pitched greeting to said friend.
Junko quite literally collects random junk, keeping assorted spare parts in his closet. One of Junko's most noticeable traits is his cast-iron stomach which allows him to eat almost anything, including the lethal cuisine of the Colonel. Junko apparently has some allergy to Murk Raiders and Sky Sharks, which triggers when one of the two are in the area. His sneezes are powerful enough to send groups of attackers flying.
Junko fights with knuckle busters, steel knuckle covers powered by a level nine nimbus crystal. They light up with green energy when active and increase his strength to near-superhero levels, enough to lift a massive metal airship with ease or bend hull plating bare-handed. The busters are family heirlooms, given to him by his aunt to give him the confidence he needed to match the strength of the others of his species. As demonstrated by Finn, the busters are quite heavy and require Wallop strength to control them. When Finn tries to use them, his strength is enhanced to the point that even moving his hands generates more momentum than he can resist, causing him to flail about randomly in an attempt to stop himself. Aside from his busters, Junko occasionally wields a cruiser-grade energy cannon as a hand-held weapon and, like Finn, uses the Condors energy cannons during ship-to-ship combat.
For flight, Junko uses an Air Skimmer III EL. This model sacrifices speed and maneuverability for more combat-oriented items, namely missiles and armor. The vehicle comes equipped with eight crystal "little birdie" missiles and eight crystal "turkey burps" launched via catapult or trap door. Like Finn's Skimmer, it also sports Nimbus 7 engines for stealth.
Despite her more intelligence-oriented station, Piper is a capable fighter (with her crystal powered staff). She is a master of a unique style of martial arts called "Sky Fu" (the Storm Hawks equivalent to Kung Fu) and her knowledge of crystals make her attacks in battle unpredictable, since during any given battle her crystal-powered staff could potentially have a different effect. She was able to maintain a steady battle against Master Cyclonis by herself, eventually forcing Cyclonis to retreat by breaking the crystal on her staff. She also fought Cyclonis in "The Masked Masher", successfully fending off her attack and remarking that Cyclonis "fights like a girl".
Unlike her friends, who all pilot plane-like vehicles, Piper pilots a Heliscooter, a combination helicopter/scooter built for fuel economy. The main rotor extends from a compartment behind the seat, while the rear wheel provides the tail rotor. Unlike the Skimmers, Piper's Heliscooter only has one booster, making it slower. In addition, it is much smaller and so has almost no armor protecting it. It is, however, much more maneuverable than a Skimmer.
Radarr is usually seen sitting on Aerrow's shoulder or piloting Aerrow's Skimmer during missions, since Aerrow himself rarely stays in the vehicle's seat during combat. During those times Aerrow is actually piloting the vehicle, Radarr will often help by throwing wrenches and other objects at nearby enemies to disable them. Inexplicably, the engine where Radarr's seat is installed has an invisible compartment, from which Radarr can pull all manner of objects; a running gag with this is a female chicken attracted to Radarr that first appears in "Gale Force Winds". Radarr is also a capable mechanic where the Skimmer is concerned, able to make basic repairs to it in-flight. During the episode "Escape", Radarr reassembles an old wrecked Skimmer and gets it working, though it eventually falls apart from wear and tear.
Radarr is similar to Daxter from the Jak and Daxter series.
Apparently a product of his home, Stork is paranoid of everyone and everything that could potentially harm him and the squadron. As such, Stork expects doom from every encounter to the point that, in his first battle, he begins filling out his own will, only to discard it upon realizing that all his possessions are on board the ship and thus would be destroyed along with him (he does write a will and gives it to Finn beforing having a meal prepared by Junko in "Storm Warning"). Stork's paranoia results in extreme pessimism, as he often disregards any possibility of survival or finds the most depressing way in which to express the odds of surviving an encounter. He's also a hypochondriac, often complaining of an apparently growing yet never visible rash or some other ailment.
Stork's paranoia does have benefits, however, since he's a brilliant inventor. His devices, though never used as intended, are often incredibly useful or life-saving. For example, he invented a pair of x-ray binoculars, which he had designed to search for "mind worms". Stork also displays extreme ingenuity and resourcefulness during "The Code", in which he builds a versatile motorcycle from a pile of scrap within moments. He also has numerous traps set up about the ship, which the others criticize; they inevitably turn out useful, further validating Stork's paranoia. In addition, he appears to possess above-human strength, as he’s able to hold off Snipe's attacks with his bare hands for a few moments in the Forbidden City (though he ultimately defeats Snipe by using the ejector seat on his vehicle).
Stork is a gifted pilot, capable of pulling off precision maneuvers with the Condor. For example, in the pilot episode he is able to successfully fly the Condor through the Wastelands, a stunt considered crazy to do for single pilots, much less an entire carrier. Stork apparently feels much more at home in the ship than anywhere else to the point that he dislikes leaving it if at all possible. It's also where he retreats to at the first opportunity. He's much more confident while on the ship, enough so to single-handedly fight the Raptors when they board it using the onboard traps. When the Condor is swallowed whole by a terra-sized creature in the episode "Leviathan", Stork suffers from a condition known as Sky Shock, going through a number of strange phases before taking on the sterotypical behavior of a pirate and crazy captain with references to Moby-Dick. He fights to free the ship, only to suffer the final phase of memory loss after doing so.
Stork also invented his own personalized ride, the Stork-Mobile (or Stork's Safety Buggy), for the Storm Hawks' excursion into the Forbidden City. Given the only perfect safety rating in the series, the Stork-Mobile features a number of safety devices of Stork's own design; these include a booby-trap detector, indestructible tires, a roll bar, parachutes, anti-lock brakes, 52 independent external airbags, and an ejector seat (Stork insists "you always need an ejector seat" which, like all his inventions, turns out to be useful). Despite its ponderous appearance, the Stork-Mobile can fly: the front wheels form two secondary rotors, the main rotor emerges from a compartment behind the seat, and the two rear wheels form the tail rotor.
His favorite food is merb cabbage. In case of disaster, Stork has stockpiled reserves of cabbage on the Condor, and it turned out to be useful in the episode "Siren's Song". However, the cabbage's practicality as an emergency ration is limited as other non-merb characters have a strong aversion to eating it. However, he has an allergy to chocolate that apparently causes him to break out with a rash if he is even exposed to it.
The Absolute Zeroes appear in the pilot episode, where they and every other Sky Knight squadron are taken out by the Dark Ace, and in "Velocity", where Suzi's souped-up vehicle malfunctions and takes off unassisted by wings before the race even begins. They are the main focus of "Fire and Ice", which highlights their somewhat inattentive method of colonization: when creating a new home for themselves, they fail to realize that little limbless creatures referred to as "leapers" live there. Suzi admits the extent of their check was basically yelling to see if anyone called back. In other words, "We hollered REAL loud!" A few members make a cameo appearance at the Sky Shanty in "The Leviathan". They also appear in episode 28, 'Atmos' Most Wanted.'
The Absolute Zeroes pilot Ice Grinders, snowmobiles that transform into split-winged fighters. The vehicles are designed for cold temperatures, and thus operate poorly in high heat. On the plus side, they are very reliable, requiring very little maintenance and enduring what the Zeroes put them through without failing. In battle, the Zeroes wield crystal-enhanced axes.
Like the Storm Hawks, the Red Eagles pilot model III Air Skimmers. Carver uses a single energy blade as his main weapon, but the others don't reveal any specific armaments.
After winning, Harrier hands the phoenix crystal over to the Dark Ace in an attempt to placate Cyclonia. Obviously unfamiliar with the dishonorable tactics of villains, he is surprised when the Dark Ace attacks anyway. Still convinced that his squadron is superior, Harrier insists that they'll fight the Dark Ace on their own, in order to show the Storm Hawks how real Sky Knights do battle. Finn happily predicts that they'll be "smacked down so hard," which the Dark Ace proves correct by quickly taking down the entire squadron with relative ease. The Storm Hawks subsequently repel the Dark Ace on their behalf. Faced with the ineffectiveness of their current ways, Harrier agrees to take some pointers from the Storm Hawks.
Reflecting their initial attitudes, the Rex Guardians dress in meticulously maintained dueling armor and fly classic Air Skimmers, split-winged fighters with manually activated wings (newer models have automatic deployment). These have comparatively slow speed, and poor maneuverability at high speeds. Their engines are a combination of prop-driven and thruster type. They are quite rugged, however, and can take more damage than most vehicles. Their fighting and piloting styles reflect that of medieval jousting and dueling, which emphasizes honor, chivalry and the Sky Knight Code: as the Dark Ace demonstrates, this style of fighting fares poorly against those who don't play by the same rules. The Guardians are armed with energy swords and lances, powered by yellow striker crystals; though equally antiquated, these weapons are still quite effective.
Starling uses crystal-enhanced numchucks in battle. The numchucks can fire bolts of purple energy from the hanzo crystals embedded in the handles. Starling pilots a Skimmer-like vehicle known as a Slip-Wing Fighter Ultra, affectionately dubbed the Red Streak by Starling. It is a stripped down model designed to be as fast as possible without compromising performance, making it the fastest vehicle of its type.
The Third Degree Burners pilot modified Air Skimmers resembling reversed trikes. The vehicles come with much more armor than a standard Skimmer and three extra thrusters to compensate for the strong winds in Saharr. The extra thrusters give the Burner Skimmers top speeds rivaling (or exceeding) that of any other Skimmer, even in their home turf, which comes in handy during the Great Atmos Race. Burner Skimmers transform into transverse helicopters to fly.
The Third Degree Burners are also one of the few squadrons whose carrier ship has been shown. The vessel is nearly twice as large as the Storm Hawks' Condor, sporting two separate tiers, the lower of which seems to be the living quarters of the vessel. When landing, three legs keep the vessel from tipping over. The vessel has four engines to propel it.
For transport, the Murk Raiders use their massive carrier, the Blood Crow. The primary design aspects of the Blood Crow are its thin yet long design and the giant mouth attached to the bow, the latter of which literally bites onto potential raiding targets to allow for easy boarding. Using its sonic finder, the Blood Crow can track the smallest sound within the depths of Terra Deep, while simultaneously masking its own energy signature to prevent detection by ordinary methods. Equipped with many powerful energy cannons stretched across its length, the Blood Crow can freely blast through the craggy rocks that impede normal carriers or just as easily disable other carriers in one or two hits. Finally, when other ships seek refuge in the cloud-obscured depths, depth charges studded with explosive crystals can be dropped to discourage such behavior.
In addition to the Blood Crow, there are at least two other carriers of similar but slightly larger design available to the Murk Raiders. These versions lack the bow mouth, which is replaced by a similar-looking mask. In overall size, they even dwarf the Cyclonian Destroyers.
The Colonel makes his second appearance when he buys and remodels the Condor. The Storm Hawks then challenge the Colonel to a race, in the hopes that they will win back the Condor. The Colonel beats them easily, and claims the Storm Hawks' replacement ship as his prize. The Storm Hawks resort to hiding aboard the Condor but get caught, narrowly avoiding punishment by claiming they want to see his "historic" flight to break the air speed barrier. However, at such high speeds, the Condor begins to fall apart, forcing the Colonel to give it back to the Storm Hawks. In this episode, Stork is the only one brave enough to stand up to the Colonel, if only because the Condor is in danger.
In "The Forbidden City", the Storm Hawks pay a visit to Domiwick's latest excavation on Terra Xoam, home to the mysterious Forbidden City and the legendary Oracle Crystal. However, they soon learned that Domiwick had betrayed Atmos by allowing his dig to be sponsored by the Cyclonians, with Snipe on hand to follow Domiwick's digging instructions. Eventually, Domiwick and the Cyclonians tunnel their way into the city, but as soon as they're inside, Snipe abandons Domiwick, intending to claim the crystal for Master Cyclonis. After making his way through the city's many death traps, Domiwick and Piper duel outside the crystal chamber. Robbed of his prize when Aerrow frees the spirit of the Oracle, Domiwick is last seen being denied a ride out of the collapsing temple on Snipe's Heli-Blade. He has yet to reappear in subsequent episodes.
In "Terra Neon", the Producers kidnap the inhabitants of Terra Neon and force them all to audition. After 'auditioning' the Storm Hawks and everybody else on Terra Neon, only Stork was left standing; despite his stage fright, he somehow managed to impress them (unintentionally) with his "doom"-themed poetry. After chasing Stork into the Wastelands, trying to convince him to be the 'Next Big Thing', the Storm Hawks left the Producers to the native wildlife. The Producers were last seen on board Ravess's ship, both in agreement that she and her fellow violinists were boring.
In "Talon Academy", Piper captures a Talon whose parachute malfunctioned, and upon unmasking him, discovers that "him" is actually a "her", and that the Talon is no older than herself. After she is rescued by a comrade, the Storm hawks quickly learn of the Talon Academy. Deciding to investigate, Aerrow, Piper, and Radarr enroll in the Academy (in disguise), where they find themselves suffering the physical and verbal abuse of "Sergeant Snipe", as well as dealing with an egotistical Cadet nicknamed "Top Dog" (voiced by Matt Hill), who immediately shows his dislike for Aerrow (seeing as how Aerrow's skills makes him look bad in comparison).
Over time, Aerrow and Piper manage to convince the Cadets that being a Talon is no way to live, and Piper eventually reveals her identity to Lynn (voiced by Kathleen Barr), the Talon she had rescued earlier. Top Dog overhears this and outs them to Snipe, upon which Aerrow and Piper manage to turn the school against Snipe. Top Dog, however, radios for an elite Talon squadron before being captured. With danger at hand, Aerrow and Piper lead the Cadets in a counterattack, using the camp's kitchen supplies to stall and harass the Talons long enough for the Condor to arrive and fight the rest of them off. During the fight, Snipe and Top Dog escape to safety.
In awe of their new heroes, the children reveal that they want to become Storm Hawks instead. Aerrow entertains the idea of having them as a reserve team.
In "Siren's Song", a Siren lures the Storm Hawks into the Great Expanse with illusions of their desires, then attempts to turn their desires into nightmares in an effort to destroy them. As she terrorizes them, she is slowly weakened by their continued resistance. Radarr successfully overcomes her, as his desire was to pilot the Condor, which the Siren was actively trying to prevent.
A ruthless warrior, the Dark Ace doesn't settle for simply defeating his opponents, at least not when he has the opportunity to do more. In his first battle with Aerrow, he states that the winner of a battle is the one to come out alive, though he lets Aerrow live simply to further damage his pride and to make a point to the spectators. In his battle with Harrier, he makes it a point to sever the Sky Knight's parachute after destroying his vehicle.
Unlike Master Cyclonis' other minions, the Dark Ace displays loyalty beyond that of the others. While Ravess and Snipe are loyal to her at least partially out of fear, the Dark Ace shows a willingness to protect Master Cyclonis even at his own expense, diving between her and a falling support beam in the pilot episode. Master Cyclonis herself jokingly dismisses his failure to defeat Aerrow in the same episode, and his position suggests she holds more faith in him than she does anyone else.
In battle, the Dark Ace wields a two-handed long double blade that can fire deadly blasts of energy. Flashbacks show this weapon to be standard amongst all the original Storm Hawks, though their versions used crystals that produced blue-glowing blades rather than the Dark Ace's red one. It is most effective when used with a firebolt crystal. Attached to his left arm is some sort of hydraulic pump, the purpose of which is unclear. Like Aerrow, the Dark Ace has a signature attack which fires a massive energy pulse, though it doesn't have the same dramatic touches that Aerrow's does. He also uses a retractable hang-glider in place of a parachute; however, his version sports a pair of boosters for additional thrust.
The Dark Ace pilots a Talon Switchblade Elite, in maneuverability, which is hampered by the excessive armor it comes equipped with. The Switchblade uses Magma 66 engines, which outperform any other engine at the cost of fuel economy, though the Cyclonian crystal resources are such that this point is moot. Attached to the wings are secondary blades, designed to slice through other vehicles in deliberate near-collisions. In addition, the nose and wings are reinforced to allow the vehicle to deliberately ram others and survive. The Dark Ace's model is also equipped with three-inch thick bronze absorption panels on the wings that repel most energy blasts, and a single ball-joint articulation between the front and back wheel that allows him to make impossible turns in bike mode.
Master Cyclonis' weapon of choice is her crystal staff, which, like Piper's staff, can have any number of effects based on the crystal powering it. The staff can reform itself if broken. In addition, Cyclonis herself can control and generate crystal energy without an intervening device, and can transform her weapons crystals during battle. She is usually standing at a console in her control room that has many mechanical arms, using it to create new crystals for use with her staff. She has many abilities with her crystals, such as deflection, teleportation, levitation, and shielding.
Cyclonis considers Piper to be the strongest member of the Storm Hawks due to her crystal expertise and fighting skills; in contrast, she is contemptuous of Aerrow and the other Storm Hawks. In one episode she disguises herself as a ditzy blonde girl named Lark to befriend Piper and after being found out tries to get Piper to join her, claiming that they are very much alike, more than Piper will admit. Piper refuses and remarks about Cyclonis' "twisted game" idea of friendship. She also describes Cyclonis as a lonely girl who desperately wants a friend and only acts the way she does to hide her true self. Cyclonis then attempts to destroy Piper using an Oblivion crystal, but since they were friends for a short time, the crystal was useless against Piper. Defeated and outnumbered, Cyclonis flees.
Moss flies an upgraded Heli-Blade in combat, which he affectionately calls "Bessie", and fights using a crystal-powered whip, which fires energy buzzsaws that can cut through trees with ease.
Mr. Moss, as well as most of the other Cyclonians on Zartacla, speaks with a Texan accent
In combat, Ravess is an accurate archer. Although she uses a standard bow and arrow instead of a crossbow like Finn, her lethality with the weapon is unsurpassed, and can even hit a moving target from aboard her skimmer. She also has a love for the violin, usually snapping at troops who distract her from practice, and often rides into battle with a single violin-playing Talon following her (providing "theme music"). Once, she even incorporated her hobby into the development of a powerful weapon stationed on Polaris Point, though the Storm Hawks destroyed both the weapon and the cliff it stood on.
Ravess' personal skimmer is a standard Switchblade Elite, customized by Ravess with aerodynamically redesigned armor plating to achieve maximum speed and stealth. It bears no weapons, though Ravess' archery skills more than make up for this omission. Ravess also owns a personal carrier, which is smaller than a standard Destroyer and is shaped more like the beak of a hawk. The ship has Ravess' private chambers aboard, where Ravess will frequently practice her violin alongside a full orchestra of Talons. The ship was damaged very badly by the Cyclonian Exopod in "Stratosphere".
Snipe's weapon is a crystal-powered energy mace. Embedded in the iron ball are ten firebolt crystals, and the ball itself is attached to the handle by a retractable chain. Snipe's mace can fire deadly balls of energy in addition to its general capacity for smashing things.
Snipe pilots a Talon Heli-Blade Elite, a motorcycle-sized version of a Heliscooter. Snipe's Elite model is equipped with extra armor plating and several large blades attached to the nose. It also comes with a pair of rapid-fire, crystal-powered blasters, though Snipe doesn't make use of them. In one episode, he had a specialized battle airship built, which was fitted with an excessive amount of weapons, making it nigh-impossible to attack. However, the ship crashed in the Wastelands to due a combination of sabotage by the Storm Hawks and Snipe's own incompetence.
In aerial combat, the Talons are often led by either the Dark Ace, Snipe, or Ravess, though they do fly on their own on several occasions. The Talons commonly use standard Switchblades or Heli-Blades, neither of which sport the special enhancements of their squadron leaders. Rather than using hand-held weaponry in-flight, they use blasters mounted on their vehicles.
The Cyclonian Talons also have at least one model of carrier ship at their disposal: Cyclonian Destroyers, heavily-armed warships which are the second-largest of their type in the series, the Murk Raiders having the largest. Somewhat resembling a giant beak in overall design, the Cyclonian Destroyer is a self-contained invasion force. Its launch bays have enough room for at least several dozen Talon Switchblades and at least one squadron of Talon Heli-Blades. It is propelled by six engines, each with a pair of thrusters on them, and has shielding such that in a sustained battle with the Condor, the Condors two energy cannons couldn't so much as scratch the hull. The ship is armed to the point that it can barely fly, among which are at least three triple-blaster sets and five massive cannons mounted on the bow. As Finn demonstrates in "Calling All Domos", their relatively unprotected engines make this an exploitable weakness, though in general the ship's heavy shields and large compliment of weapons discourage any attempts.
The Raptors pilot Bone Wings, vehicles resembling a Skimmer in basic design but optimized for rough terrain and ground combat, being built somewhat like dirtbikes. Their design makes them quite noisy and hence makes them impractical for stealth. The Raptors, aside from Repton with his boomerang, wield Raptor Swords, short, saw-toothed, double-edged blades powered by a scalus crystal.
Repton uses a crystal-powered energy boomerang in battle, which becomes a fiery energy ring when thrown. It can also act as a curved slashing weapon, rather like a sharply curved scimitar.
His accent is very similar to that of Dinobot, another character McNeil is notable for voicing.