List of minor characters in the Firefly universe

This article is about minor characters in the television series Firefly (defined as any characters appearing in the show, or the follow-up movie Serenity, that aren't core cast members - the crew of the spaceship Serenity).

=Badger= One the crew's contacts on the moon-planet Persephone, Badger appeared in the pilot episode of the series, Serenity. Badger, an "honest businessman" refused to pay for cargo that he had commissioned the crew to retrieve after they were spotted by Alliance forces.

Badger reappeared in the episode Shindig, and hired the crew again to collect some cargo (in truth a herd of cattle) from a "fancy reception" where he was unwelcome.

=Jubal Early= Jubal Early is a character in the episode "Objects in Space" from the TV show Firefly (which has repeated references to the American Civil War). Jubal boards Serenity with the intention to kidnap River Tam in return for a bounty. Jubal was played by Richard Brooks (known to Law & Order fans as the actor who played Paul Robinette).

Joss Whedon's DVD commentary for this episode reveals that Early was partly inspired by the Star Wars character Boba Fett.

Various websites claim that the producers picked the name because American Civil War Confederate General Jubal Anderson Early is an ancestor of Firefly star Nathan Fillion, but there is no known reliable source for this claim. Nevertheless, the bounty hunter's name is derived from the historical figure's.

=Adelei Niska= Adelei Niska is the crime lord of the Firefly universe. Thoroughly ruthless in his business practices, he has a reputation for exacting terrible reprisals on those that fail him - a reputation well-deserved, as Malcolm Reynolds and Wash discover in War Stories. He frequently spouts rather brutal philosophy while torturing his victims, notably that of the fictional dictator Shan Yu.

=Patience= Patience, an elderly woman, is the maternal leader of a backwater moon, notorious in the backstory of the crew of Serenity for having previously shot Mal. Despite this, Mal takes the crew to her in order to shift some troubling cargo in the pilot episode, Serenity, and despite her treachery successfully sells the cargo.

=The Operative= Appearing only in the series' follow-up movie, Serenity, the nameless and rank-less Operative is the most obvious antagonist in the story.

Working directly for the Parliament of the Alliance, he single-mindedly hunts down River Tam because he believes he is doing what is right. He is shown to have little problem with killing as part of his job, ruthlessly murdering several people using his sword, and also ordering the attacks that were responsible for the death of, among others, Derrial Book.

By the end of the movie, Mal manages to give the Operative doubts about his mission by forcing him to watch a report by another Alliance officer, revealing that it was the Alliance itself that had been responsible for creating the Reavers in an attempt to subdue the population of the planet Miranda.

=Mr. Universe= Mr. Universe, a reclusive techno-geek, appeared only in the movie Serenity. He has a great affinity for data, and is capable of intercepting nearly any transmission or recording in the system. He was killed by the Operative, but had set plans in motion for his old friend Malcolm Reynolds to broadcast a report from an Alliance officer that revealed the origins of the Reavers.