Jeremiah Surd

Dr. Jeremiah Surd is one of the major antagonists of the Quest team. He is initially determined to get revenge on Race Bannon, who he blames for his injuries. After discovering the virtual Questworld, which gives him freedom from his quadriplegic body, he also wants to dominate it, use it for his own criminal purposes, and become the undisputed controller of cyberspace. His team includes Julia and Lorenzo.

Physical appearance
Surd is an elderly Caucasian man with messy gray hair and a beard. Due to his near-fatal injuries from nearly twenty years earlier, Surd is quadriplegic, requiring an electric wheelchair to move around that he can control with the little motion he has in his fingers. The wheelchair includes a voice box to help him speak and a breathing apparatus.

When he was younger, he had dark longer hair, which would inspire the look of his Questworld appearance.

In season 2, Surd's design was completely overhauled. His hair was cut shorter, his eye brows were thicker and his beard was removed, while his skin received a large amount of wrinkles. His electric wheelchair was also overhauled, now resembling a more traditional wheelchair as opposed to the armored suit his original one appeared to be. His Questworld design was altered slightly. Though the head remained unchanged, the body changed from jet black to a more shimmering design as seen in the episode Cyberswitch.

Personality
Surd is ruthless, cruel and extremely dangerous with a burning hatred for the Quest team. Although paralyzed in the real world, he is a great danger in the virtual world of Questworld using it for his own evil purposes.

History
Dr. Jeremiah Surd was a brilliant scientist working for the United States government, until a certain congressman (whom he later tries to kill) cut off his funding for his nerve gas, so he decided to use it for his own personal gain with his lackeys Julia and Lorenzo and hold the city of Chicago for ransom in 1978.

Race Bannon tracked him down to his hideout on a deserted ship and attempted to arrest him, but Surd believed that Bannon could never shoot an unarmed man and the two men were about to discuss a deal when a member of the S.W.A.T. team that had come with Bannon shot Surd in the leg and neck. Bannon tried to stop him, but Surd's injuries were severe, and he fell to the ground. Surd was furious and blamed Bannon for setting him up.

Though not dead, Surd was still paralyzed from the shooting and had to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair, he was sent to the Belle Isle Institute of the Insane in 1979.

Many years later he was found by Jonny Quest, Hadji Singh and Jessie Bannon (Race's daughter) who needed Surd's help because his nerve gas had been found and now Dr. Quest and Race Bannon (now their bodyguard) were trying to deactivate it without much success, and he was the only one who knew how.

They made a deal with him by showing him the virtual reality of Questworld in exchange for helping Dr. Quest and Bannon with his nerve gas.

Surd agreed, and he was amazed that he was given a new younger virtual body and was able to move again. The Quest team then took him to their lighthouse that had even more advanced Questworld equipment. As Surd was logged into Questworld again, he started changing the program and creating a darker advanced body for himself as well as hacking into a phone line to contact Julia and Lorenzo. His lackeys arrived and stole the portable Questworld equipment. Even though eventually the gas was able to be stopped, Surd was still at large. He was placed in a large robotic chair for support and that could also help him control other things in Questworld and use it for his own evil purposes.

His many schemes have included attempting to destroy the Quest Compound (Assault on Questworld), using Alice Starseer's mind to gain access to an alien homeworld to use their technology in Questworld (Trouble on the Colarado), controlling rare Creaceon sea creatures into making savage attacks (Besieged in Paradise), turning Race Bannon and Dr. Quest into apes (The Secret of the Moai), switching bodies with Race Bannon (Cyberswitch) and kill Jonny and Jessie in a Questworld video game (Digital Doublecross).

He has been taken to jail, but has found a way to escape. His final evil scheme was creating a plan to brainwash Jessie. He intercepts her after she exits a movie in a nearby town in Maine. The villain brainwashes her successfully, and she returns home and causes serious damage at the Quest Compound with the Queststream. Fearing for her health, Jonny and Dr. Quest enter her mind, while Lorenzo arrives in reality and holds Race and Hadji at gunpoint. Surd then initiates phase two: custom, torturous illusions are given to Dr. Quest and Jonny, inflicting significant emotional damage. Hadji and Race fight Lorenzo and his men and help Jonny and Dr. Quest in Questworld.

However, Surd uses a cheat to grow to huge heights in combat with them. Suddenly, a huge Jessie grabs Surd and prevents him from doing more damage; her subconscious mind is beginning to clear out the foreign information introduced through brainwashing. Jonny and Dr. Quest escape, but Jessie sends Surd to Questworld and strips him of his mobility, trapping him there forever as Surd's real world body stays catatonic. Julia, Lorenzo, and the catatonic Surd are then hauled off to jail once again. Thus ending the Surd threat once and for all.

Appearances

 * The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest
 * 102. Escape to Questworld
 * 108. Assault on Questworld
 * 113. Trouble on the Colorado
 * 116. Besieged in Paradise
 * 118. Heroes
 * 121. The Secret of the Moai
 * 126. To Bardo and Back
 * 206. Cyberswitch
 * 213. Without a Trace
 * 217. Digital Doublecross
 * 218. Thoughtscape

Total appearances: 11.

Notes/trivia

 * Surd is the most frequent villain in the series, having appeared in both seasons with a total of 11 episodes.
 * Surd's design is inspired by Stephen Hawking.