Tanner

Tanner is a supporting character from Cleats.

Biography
Tanner is the newest member of the Dawgs. He used to play on the overly aggressive Rhinos team with his friends Matt and Cody. During the 2004 winter strips, he and the latter two joined the Dawgs to play indoor soccer with them. He and Jack developed a rivalry when Tanner began bossing and antagonizing everyone around. This turned out to be from pressure from his sadistic father. When his parents got divorced, Tanner went to live with his mother and grandparents, then joined the Dawgs to get away from the pressure of winning.

Appearance
Tanner looks a bit like Dee, but he has gray hair that is smoothed all the way into the back. In earlier appearances, his hair was brown. He is mainly seen with a menacing expression on his face.

Personality
Initially, Tanner was portrayed as a spoiled brat with an obsessive desire to be number one, but he is revealed to be really trying to live up to his abusive father's expectations, as evidenced in a few strips featuring him. When Tanner moves in with his mother after his parents' divorce, he joins the Dawgs and becomes a bit nicer, though he now picks on Bailey and Dee.

Jack Dooley
Of all the relationships he has with the other cast members, Tanner's most fleshed out and developed is his one with Jack. When Tanner started playing indoor soccer with Jack and his friends, he started bossing around and picking on everyone, especially Jack. When Tanner passed the soccer ball to Jack, scoring the winning goal, they congratulated each other, but their bonding got ruined by Tanner's father, who started yelling at him. Jack felt bad for Tanner and started to appreciate his own father. When Tanner joined the Dawgs, they became friends, though Tanner still antagonizes Jack sometimes.

Edith Tippet
When Tanner was first introduced to the girls, he started to flirt with Edith and asked her to be his girlfriend (so she would let him win), to which she agreed, but then they quickly broke up because she doesn’t want to look like they were playing favorites during the game. Tanner’s crush on Edith is never brought up again after this.

Bailey Dirks
Bailey and Tanner have a bit of a vitriolic relationship. When Tanner first joined the Dawgs, he started picking on Bailey because of how childish and timid he is, but Bailey still tried to befriend him anyways. Tanner often exploits and takes advantage of Bailey, though the latter doesn't really seem to mind and still sees Tanner as a friend.

Trivia

 * In one strip, Tanner is revealed to have gone to first grade with Peri.
 * Tanner is shown to have a crush on Edith, just like Dee does.