Editing Terry and the Pirates (section)

===Main===

* Terry Lee: A teenager when the series begins, he is excitable and loves adventure. As the series goes on, he matures and joins the U.S. Army, becoming a pilot. After World War II, he works for the government in the [[post-war]] territories. In his last comic strip Feb 25, 1973, Colonel Lee is a USAF officer who helps break up a heroin smuggling ring which results in the arrest of its head, the President of a foreign country.
* Pat Ryan: Terry's friend and mentor, a writer and man of action who helps his young protégé out of scrapes. When World War II begins, he joins the [[U.S. navy|U.S. Navy]] and sees action in the Pacific.
* Connie: George Webster Confucius, a Chinese man Terry and Pat hire as a guide. He speaks in [[Chinese Pidgin English|Pidgin English]] and refers to himself in the third person.  He is fiercely loyal to the duo. He eventually works with Pat as part of the Chinese resistance against the Japanese in the war.
* Big Stoop: A {{convert|9|ft|m|adj=mid|-tall}} Mongol whom Connie helped when he was being picked on by bullies.  He remains with the trio out of gratitude. Immensely strong and mute, he earns his nickname from the phrase "he stoops to conquer". He was once a servant of the Dragon Lady; she cut out his tongue when he was young, earning his hatred. He works with Connie in the Chinese resistance during the war.
* [[Dragon_Lady_(Terry_and_the_Pirates)|The Dragon Lady]]: A beautiful but cold pirate queen who clashes with Terry and Pat continuously. As the Japanese invade China, she becomes a resistance leader, attacking Japanese forces, making it clear it is not out of patriotism but wanting to keep her riches intact. It is hinted she is in love with Pat, but she is unwilling to give up her empire for him. After the war ends, she returns to criminal activities.
* Burma: Real name unknown, a con artist, former pirate confederate and sultry singer with a good heart. She encounters Terry and Pat several times. She and Terry share a casual romantic connection, but Burma is afraid of letting it become serious. She has a habit of singing "St. Louis Blues".
* Normandie Drake: An heiress and Pat's true love, they grew close when he worked for her father. Her high society aunt refused to see her marry a "commoner" and forced her into an arranged marriage to the weak-willed Tony Sandhurst. When She and Pat meet again, she is pregnant with Tony's child and is committed to the marriage. When they meet again during the War, Normandie's child Merilly is four years old. When she discovers that Tony is working with the [[Axis Powers]], Normandie still refuses to divorce him.
* Raven Sherman: An heiress who used her fortune to support missionary work in China. She and Pat seem romantic, but she falls for pilot Dude Hennick. She dies in Hennick's arms after being attacked by Captain Judas and is buried in the China desert. Following her death in October 1941, Milton Caniff received annual reminders of her passing.<ref>[https://www.hoganmag.com/blog/big-deals-comics-highest-profile-moments "Big Deals: Comics' Highest-Profile Moments," ''Hogan's Alley'' #7, 1999]</ref>
* April Kane: A Southern belle who wins Terry's heart. She works as Pat's secretary when he is an agent of the Dragon Lady, but she leaves when she becomes the target of a blackmailer. She returns in 1944, having spent the last few years in a Japanese prison camp. The experience has hardened her, and she tries to make Terry jealous by cavorting with Flip Corkin.  She tries to set up an airfield near an island army base but she learns too late that the Army is abandoning the island, and she is stranded there alone.
* Flip Corkin: Terry's flight instructor in the Air Force, who delivers the Sunday page lecture on military duty. Based on [[Phil Cochran]].
* Taffy Tucker: Flip's girlfriend, an Army nurse. She briefly develops amnesia and is rescued by Pat, and they connect romantically. She returns to Flip after regaining her memory.
* Hotshot Charlie: Charles C. Charles, a comically flippant Boston pilot who becomes Terry's best friend in the Air Force. After the war ends, he is stifled by civilian life and jumps at the chance to help Terry out in post-war Asia doing government work.