Expy: Fred, Velma, Daphne, and Shaggy were inspired by the main characters in The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis— Dobie Gillis became Fred, Thalia Menninger became Daphne, Zelda Gilroy became Velma and Maynard G. Krebs became Shaggy. According to Scooby-Doo: Behind the Scenes, Daphne always wanted to be a supermodel and a detective even as a child (the latter of which disappointed her parents). Her aspirations had an effect on her personal life as she was always late for dates whenever she went on mysteries with the gang; she and Fred deny the rumors that they are dating. Her father gave her and her friends the money to start off and, prior to buying the Mystery Machine, Daphne provided the gas money to drive them to where there were mysteries to be solved. Character Catchphrase: "Scrappy Dappy Doo", "Da-da-da-da-da-da, Puppy Power!" and "Let me at 'em, Let me at 'em!" Deadpan Snarker: Played up in her most recent incarnations, as well as the earliest shows before her smart guy traits were played up. He did have elements of this in earlier series, often being the last of the gang to run away from monsters, like when faced with the disguised Joker and Penguin in "The Dynamic Scooby-Doo Affair", or running after the disguised villain in "The Spooky Fog of Juneberry". He also pointed out that ghosts aren't real almost as much as Velma.

Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Manly Man to Shaggy's Sensitive Guy. He's athletic, brave, determined, a trap maker and The Leader of the Mystery Inc. gang.Free-Range Children: They were originally designed to be high school age, and in the first series most of their adventures are implied to locally. With a few exceptions of a trip to China Town or Hawaii. As the series went on they became more of this, while other versions just put them in their twenties as the mysteries are implied to be their job. When Scooby runs in the early series, his legs don't follow a normal dog's running pattern. Each pair of legs go alternately in a circular motion. The only episode showing him running like a normal dog was "Decoy for a Dognapper", as he and the freed kidnapped dogs run after their captor. Adaptational Badass: In some incarnations, mostly the movies and Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, he is portrayed as braver and more willing to face his enemies head-on.

The Millstone: She is the one who is constantly tripping traps, or getting kidnapped — usually getting an exasperated "Danger-prone Daphne's at it again!" when it happens. What makes her a Millstone rather than a Damsel in Distress is that it's usually her own vanity that causes problems.Death by Adaptation: Scooby Apocalypse notably became the first continuity to kill off an established member of the group by having Fred die in the 25th issue, revived as a nanite zombie in the 28th issue, and sacrificing himself for good to defeat the nanites that caused the apocalypse at the end of the series. Badass Normal: As the decades went by the gang grew from just local amateur sleuths to matching wits with superpowerful menaces ranging from Were-Cats, malicious A.I.s, evil sorcerers, and full-on Eldritch horrors. And they mostly go about how they do any other mystery!