Nimona
Nimona is the title figure and protagonist of the graphic novel. She excitedly introduces herself as a sidekick-wannabe to a legendary supervillain, Ballister Blackheart. She is immediately rejected until she reveals her one very special attribute which changes everything: she is an extraordinarily gifted shapeshifter who can perfectly adopt the appearance of any living creature, but shows a special affection for transforming into a shark.
Somewhat like the Joker, Nimona is a lover of chaos. Since she is also a very willing agent of chaos, this keeps her in pretty good spirits most of the time. On the other hand, she can quickly shift not just her shape but her emotional tenor from playfulness to potentially fatal anger without warning. Her only sense of loyalty seems to be to Ballister and even that comes with strings. Her most taut string which even Ballister learns to fear plucking is the mere suggestion of using her as a guinea pig in any sort of experiment.
Her love of chaos extends to sensibility. In initially explaining how she came to acquire her power to shapeshift, Nimona lays out a very compelling story to Ballister involving a witch and a spell. He remains skeptical of certain aspects of the tale and eventually is proven very insightful. There is a backstory to be told, but it is one much darker and central to the climax.
Lord Ballister Blackheart
Noted supervillain Ballister Blackheart was once a noted up-and-coming hero. Raised in the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics orphanage, he became very, very close with the future superhero Ambrosius Goldenloin and together they were dedicated to working on the side of the good guys. All that came to an end one day when Ballister knocked Ambrosius off his horse during a joust. His opponent responded by shooting Ballister’s arm off. Though he has always insisted it was an accident. Ballister rejects their friendship and turns into a villain.
Except that, he does not seem like a villain. He lives by a code of honor which won’t allow killing, he has no interest at all in usurping the throne, and he is unusually polite for a bad guy. The truth is eventually revealed: since there was no place within the Institution for a one-armed hero, Ballister had little choice but to accept the role handed to him. In his life as a villain that he never chose, he has since come to a reckoning about what qualifies as good guys and bad guys and has devoted himself to bringing down the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics.
Although initially rejecting Nimona as a sidekick and seemingly only deciding to accept her because she brings the decidedly useful talent of shapeshifting to the job, he actually very quickly comes to care for Nimona deeply. His role in the relationship is complex and constantly evolving. What starts out as simply a mentor/master teaching a young apprenticeship is soon nurtured into a protective father-figure status and ultimately ends with almost a reversal of their original roles as villain and sidekick.
Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin
The noted golden boy of the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics, Ambrosius Goldenloin bears a more than passing resemblance to Thor (the comic book character more than the hero of Norse mythology) with his flowing blond locks and edgy narcissistic satisfaction with himself. His codpiece and what may lie beneath it has become a source of rumor and humor among some thanks to the edgy chaotic agency of Nimona.
After blowing off his former best friend’s arm, he has ever since been the nemesis of Ballister and vice versa. It is also quite apparent that he is not the sharpest knife in the Institution’s kitchen. But then his most useful attribute is not so much his strength as his looks. Ambrosius seems to have been born to play the part of the Institution’s greatest hero so long as the role doesn’t actually require demonstration of heroics.
His once very, very close relationship with Ballinger may be corrupted, but he still feels a bond. The true heroic qualities of Ambrosius lie not so much in what he is willing to do for the Institution so much as what he is not willing to do. He is not able to betray Ballister and he is not willing to kill a little girl even at the Director’s order until it is too late, and he learns that Nimona only presents herself as a little girl.
The Director
The Director of the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics is an appropriately shadowy figure who uses her mystery and ambiguity to maximum effect. Of course, it is also this very quality of having no sharply defined personality that makes it easy for an especially talented shapeshifter to assume her form and trick, other people. Even the other people working at the Institution don’t seem to care for her very much, but law enforcement and heroism is not about making friends. Then again, it may not be entirely about making heroes, either.
In keeping with the Thor analogy, the Director would be Loki, looking upon Ambrosius as a physically useful but intellectually lightweight tool whose public persona can be manipulated and exploited to fulfill her own private motivations. She respects and fears Ballister, but is constantly undercutting the Institution’s golden boy with snarky remarks about his intelligence and emasculating commentary on his heroic status.
As it turns out, even if Ballister did possess an ambition to displace the king and seat himself on the throne, it would be an empty and pointless gesture. The Director is revealed as one true power of the kingdom. Ultimately, it is also revealed that Nimona’s ability to take the form of any living human may not necessarily apply to the Director.
