David "Dave" Watt is a truck driver for the Paradise Valley Chemical Plant in Paradise Valley, Arizona. He's a native of Paradise Valley, having attended Greenfields Junior High School and Paradise High School at the same time as the Plant's chief of security Vince Carter.
Dave is somewhat of a simpleton, and is frequently seen by the other characters as a bumbling buffoon. This is not unwarranted, as he does frequently make mistakes. These mistakes are including, but not limited to crashing a Plant transport truck into a fire hydrant, and spilling the top secret chemical formual GC-161 on Alexandra Louise Mack, covering her from head to toe, and exposing her to thousands of times the expected recommended dosage of the chemical. This accident caused Alex's DNA to become mutated, giving her her superpowers (telekinesis, shooting electricity from her fingers, and morphing into a puddle of liquid). Dave's accident sets his boss - Plant CEO Danielle Atron's plans to push GC-161 testing back by causing Ms. Atron and Vince to obsess over finding "the kid" to avoid being exposed. As Dave was the only one who saw Alex during the accident, Vince forces him to assist in the search (despite Dave telling him that he didn't get a good enough look at the kid to identify "him"). Over the course of the show, Dave continues to wreck Vince and Ms. Atron's plans and schemes, most commonly by managing to accidentally destroy Vince's devices designed to catch Alex. At other times, Dave ruins Vince's plans by having a conscience (refusing to harm civilians to further Vince's plans), accidentally releasing a chimpanzee into the lab (who would also become exposed to GC-161), and one time he even ate a scrap of paper evidence (when he'd finally had enough of being bullied by Vince).
When Vince is fired, and Lars Frederickson is brought in to be Ms. Atron's right hand man, Dave is demoted back to truck driver and janitor. At one point after Lars' arrival at the plant, Dave overhears a conversation between Lars and Ms. Atron where they mention wanting to harm "the kid". Before that point, Dave had blindly believed Vince and Ms. Atron when they told him they wanted to "help the kid". It was at this point that Dave finally decides to go rogue, vowing to find and protect the kid he drenched. He goes on to buy a children's "How To Be A Spy" toy kit from a mail in advertisement, and goes about implementing the extremely basic investigative techniques it tells him to do. One day while searching for the kid on the grounds of Paradise High, he spots Alex levitating a book with her powers, and tilting Nicole Wilson's Freshmen Math placement exam (to cheat off of it). It's at this point that he realizes that Alex is the kid.
Dave comes to Alex's rescue on several occasions after this point, including the time that Alex saved the life of the woman who collapsed unconscious in Danielle Atron Park. As Alex had morphed the woman, and brought her to the hospital (clear across town), people began questioning how Alex could have got the woman there. When Dave hears of this, he, on his own, organizes a press conference, saying he drove her in a plant owned truck (even though he didn't), and that he didn't come forward sooner because his commercial driver's license had been suspended before that point by the state DMV. Unsure of why Dave came to her rescue, Alex, her sister Annie, and her best friend Ray Alvarado still don't trust him. Not long after, Ray agrees to help Dave pass his driving test again. Annie tries to talk Ray out of it, citing Dave as being their enemy. Last minute she has a change of heart, as "Dave's a person, too". Ray in the end does help Dave get his license back.
After Ms. Atron and Lars discover that Alex is the kid, and that they plan to kill the Mack family, and release GC-161 on the market as a miracle weight loss drug (despite it's illegal nature), Dave approaches U.S. Food & Drug Administration agent, and former Plant security guard Gino Lawless about what's going on. Gino initially doesn't put much heed into Dave's lead, but does agree to investigate it. Gino discovers that Dave's right after uncovering some Local, State, and Federal officials had been bribed by Ms. Atron to turn a blind eye to the dangers of the chemical (and her illegally putting it on the market). As such, Gino initiates a sting on the plant with other FDA agents, and other Federal officials (likely including the EPA, and FBI), even going as far as to give Dave an FDA hat (possibly implying that Gino might have hired Dave to work with him going forward).
Personal Life[]
Dave lives in a camper trailer on the edge of town. His elderly parents are still alive, and seemingly disappointed with his career progression. Oscar, the chimp he accidentally released in the lab, was originally supposed to be a Christmas present for Vince. After Oscar's accidental release, and exposure to GC-161, and Vince's failed attempt to capture him in the nearby Christmas Tree lot, Dave adopts Oscar as his pet, citing that "Vince isn't ready to nurture anything'. Dave occasionally refers to himself as Davearoosh.
In the series, Dave was portrayed by John Neilsen.