50 Fun Facts About Steven Universe

Who created Steven Universe?

Rebecca Sugar created Steven Universe, which premiered in November 2013 and made Sugar the first woman to independently create a Cartoon Network series.

Before Steven Universe, its creator wrote and storyboarded for which show?

Steven Universe's creator wrote and storyboarded for Adventure Time from 2010, penning Marceline songs such as 'I'm Just Your Problem', before leaving to develop her own series.

The title character was loosely based on which relative of the show's creator?

Steven is loosely based on the creator's younger brother, also named Steven, who joined the series' crew as a background designer.

What is the name of the seaside town where the series is set?

Beach City is the boardwalk resort town where Steven lives with the Gems in a beach house built beneath a giant cliffside statue of their temple.

Which three Gems raise Steven at the start of the series?

Together with Steven they make up the Crystal Gems, fugitives from the Gem Homeworld.

Where on his body is Steven's gemstone?

Steven's gemstone sits in his navel; it was Rose Quartz's gem, and she gave up her physical form so Steven could be born with it.

What is Steven's Gem weapon, first summoned in the very first episode?

Steven's weapon is a pink shield, first summoned in 'Gem Glow' after he eats his favourite ice-cream sandwich, though he cannot repeat it on command.

Garnet is revealed in the season one finale to be a fusion of which two Gems?

Garnet is the fusion of Ruby and Sapphire, revealed in the season-one finale 'Jail Break' when she is forcibly split apart; their reunion song is 'Stronger Than You'.

Which singer voices Garnet, in her first-ever voice-acting role?

Estelle, the British singer behind 'American Boy', voices Garnet and performs her signature number 'Stronger Than You'.

Pearl's gemstone is in her forehead and lets her summon what weapon?

She can also project holograms from it and store items inside.

What weapon does Amethyst summon from the gem on her chest?

Amethyst summons a whip from her chest gem, a spiked lash she can swing or crack; she is also the Gem who shapeshifts most freely.

Amethyst was the last Gem created on Earth in which Homeworld project?

Amethyst emerged from the Prime Kindergarten, a Homeworld facility that grew Gems by draining Earth's soil; she came out 500 years late and smaller than other Quartzes.

What does Steven's father Greg do for a living?

Greg Universe runs a car wash called It's a Wash and sleeps in his van beside it; the former rock musician later becomes a millionaire from a song royalty.

What is the name of Steven's human best friend?

Connie Maheswaran is Steven's bookish human best friend, a doctor's daughter who trains in swordfighting under Pearl.

What colour is Steven's magical pet, Lion?

Rose's sword and a videotaped message are stored in a pocket dimension inside his mane.

What is the title of the show's opening theme song?

The opening theme is 'We Are the Crystal Gems', sung by Steven and the Gems; an extended version with a verse for each Gem aired in 2015.

Opal, introduced in 'Giant Woman', is the fusion of which two Gems?

Opal is the fusion of Amethyst and Pearl, a four-armed archer who debuts in 'Giant Woman' and is voiced by singer-songwriter Aimee Mann.

Which rapper voices Sugilite, the fusion of Garnet and Amethyst?

Nicki Minaj voices Sugilite, the hulking fusion of Garnet and Amethyst who debuts in 'Coach Steven' and refuses to unfuse once the job is done.

Sardonyx, the theatrical fusion of Garnet and Pearl, is voiced by whom?

Alexia Khadime, a British stage actress, voices Sardonyx, the flamboyant Garnet-Pearl fusion who debuts in 'Cry for Help' performing like a vaudeville magician.

Which discontinued ice-cream sandwich does Steven mourn in the first episode?

Cookie Cat, the cat-shaped ice-cream sandwich 'from outer space', is discontinued in 'Gem Glow'; eating one seems to trigger Steven's first gem activation.

Lapis Lazuli spent thousands of years trapped inside what?

Lapis Lazuli was trapped inside a mirror for thousands of years until Steven freed her in 'Mirror Gem'; she then stole the ocean in 'Ocean Gem'.

Malachite is the unstable fusion of Lapis Lazuli and whom?

Jasper, the brutish Homeworld Quartz, fuses with Lapis into Malachite in 'Jail Break'; Lapis then drags the fusion to the ocean floor to trap her.

Peridot first arrives on Earth as what?

Peridot first arrives as a Homeworld technician, sent to inspect Homeworld's abandoned Earth facilities and the Cluster; she is later stranded on the planet.

Rose Quartz is revealed in season five to have really been whom?

'A Single Pale Rose' reveals Rose Quartz was really Pink Diamond, who faked her own shattering to free Earth from the other Diamonds.

Which Broadway legend voices Yellow Diamond?

Patti LuPone, the Tony-winning star of Evita and Gypsy, voices Yellow Diamond, the stern military leader among the Diamonds, and sings 'What's the Use of Feeling (Blue)?'

Which Orange Is the New Black star voices Bismuth, the Crystal Gems' weaponsmith?

Uzo Aduba, who played Suzanne 'Crazy Eyes' Warren on Orange Is the New Black, voices Bismuth, the rebel blacksmith who forged the Crystal Gems' weapons.

Lars and Sadie work at which boardwalk shop?

The Big Donut is the boardwalk doughnut shop where teenagers Lars and Sadie work the counter, with Steven as their most frequent customer.

What is the name of the fusion of Steven and Amethyst?

Smoky Quartz is the fusion of Steven and Amethyst, first formed in the season-three episode 'Earthlings'; the yo-yo-wielding fusion is voiced by Natasha Lyonne.

Who is the villain of Steven Universe: The Movie?

Spinel, voiced by Sarah Stiles, is the Movie's villain, a forgotten playmate abandoned in a garden for millennia who arrives wielding a scythe that wipes the Gems' memories.

The Movie takes place how long after the series finale 'Change Your Mind'?

The Movie is set two years after 'Change Your Mind', with Steven now 16 and Earth enjoying a hard-won peace.

The epilogue series Steven Universe Future ended in which year?

Steven Universe Future premiered in December 2019 and ended on March 27, 2020, focusing on Steven's trauma and mental health after the Gem war's end.

Which duo composed most of the show's chiptune-flavoured music?

Aivi & Surasshu, the duo of pianist Aivi Tran and chiptune producer Steven 'Surasshu' Velema, scored the series, blending piano with 8-bit synths.

Which artist's colour-and-shape theory influenced the Crystal Gems' faces?

Wassily Kandinsky's theory pairing colours with shapes shaped the Gems' designs: Garnet is built on the square, Amethyst the circle and Pearl the triangle.

The show's seaside town was loosely based on beaches in which US state?

Delaware's beach towns, especially Rehoboth Beach with its boardwalk, inspired the setting; the creator visited them as a child growing up in nearby Maryland.

Steven Universe was the first animated series to win which organisation's Outstanding Kids & Family Program prize?

GLAAD gave Steven Universe its Outstanding Kids & Family Programming award in 2019, the first time an animated series won, recognising the show's same-sex Gem wedding episode.

Which Cartoon Network show shared a 2015 crossover episode with Steven Universe?

'Say Uncle' (2015) brought Uncle Grandpa into Steven Universe as a non-canon crossover, with Pearl despairing at his reality-bending antics.

Which South Korean studios animated the series?

Sunmin Image Pictures and Rough Draft Korea, two South Korean studios, produced the overseas animation, as they did for several other Cartoon Network series.

Which fusion of six Gems, introduced in 'Off Colors', represents a polyamorous relationship?

Fluorite, a slow-speaking caterpillar-like fusion of six Gems, hides with the Off Colors beneath Homeworld; the creator described the six-Gem fusion as a polyamorous relationship.

Sapphire, one half of Garnet, has which power?

Ruby, her hot-headed partner, has fire-related abilities and was a common foot soldier on Homeworld.

The show's creator grew up in which Maryland suburb?

The show's creator grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C., and later studied animation at New York's School of Visual Arts.

How many seasons did the original Steven Universe series run before its 2019 finale?

The original series ran five seasons, from November 2013 to the January 2019 finale 'Change Your Mind', before the Movie and Future continued the story.

Which actor provides the voice of Steven himself?

Zach Callison voices Steven throughout the series, the Movie and Future, and performs most of Steven's songs himself.

Which comedy podcaster voices Greg, Steven's dad?

Tom Scharpling, host of the long-running comedy call-in show The Best Show, voices Greg Universe, Steven's laid-back former-rocker father, across the whole series, the Movie and Future.

Which Tony-winning stage actress voices White Diamond, head of the Great Diamond Authority?

Christine Ebersole, a two-time Tony winner for 42nd Street and Grey Gardens, voices White Diamond, the towering matriarch who first speaks in 'Legs from Here to Homeworld'.

In 2017, which country's film classification board banned the show from broadcast?

Kenya's Film Classification Board banned the show in 2017, citing 'glorifying homosexual behavior', alongside several other animated series.

The 2019 game Steven Universe: Unleash the Light launched exclusively on which service?

Unleash the Light launched in November 2019 on Apple Arcade, Apple's subscription service, as the third RPG in the Light trilogy; it reached other platforms later.

Which prestigious broadcasting prize did the show win for Children's & Youth Programming?

Steven Universe won a Peabody Award in 2019 in the Children's & Youth Programming category, honoured for its depiction of love and identity.

Steven Universe Future's opening theme reworks which song from The Movie?

Future's opening reworks 'Happily Ever After', the Movie's opening number, reprising its 'here we are in the future' refrain over a new title sequence.

Which studio developed the 2015 mobile game Steven Universe: Attack the Light?

Grumpyface Studios developed Attack the Light, a turn-based RPG released on iOS and Android in April 2015, and went on to make both of its sequels.

In 2018, the show's creator made six self-esteem shorts for which brand?

Dove's Self-Esteem Project partnered with the show's team on six 2018 shorts in which the Gems coach kids on body confidence, social media and appearance pressures.