Character Analysis
Good old Dan Grant is "as ordinary as they come" (5.1). He's so unremarkable that he doesn't really make an impression on people. He's a preacher's kid—his dad is the minister at Calvary Lutheran Church—and his protestant background brings a little balance to the Catholicism that Jason and Magda bring to the mix.
While we don't get to know Dan very well, other than the stuff Jason tells us, his character is kind of important because he's the only kid within the Church of the Ten-legged God that falls out with Jason for reasons of faith. Certainly he's not happy with Jason because of all the trouble the midnight climb landed him in, but it's at the end when the two boys are assigned to the same community service shift, that Dan says:
"God is not a joke […] Cut it out, Jason. You think you're being funny, but it's blasphemy." (30.31, 35)
None of the other teens seem to have any issues with the CTG being immoral or in conflict with their values. But none of the rest of the teens are shout-outs to Daniel from the Bible either—you know, the guy who refused to compromise his faith, got thrown into the lion's den for praying, and lived to tell the tale. In a book that makes so many references to the Bible, a kid named Dan best defend the biblical God.
Jason tells us a couple of times that "Dan is terrified of authority figures" (6.86). So Dan is the one that freaks out when Henry busts the flashing red light atop the water tower, saying, "That's an aviation warning light. Now a plane could hit us" (17.72). And Dan's the one that yells, "You can't do that!" (18.1) when Henry starts sawing through the padlock on the tank hatch.
Clearly the guy is aware of the rules, and feels better when they are followed. Even though the says, "my dad would totally freak. Count me in, Kahuna" (6.49) to Jason in regards to joining the CTG, he collapses like a house of cards when the action goes beyond talk.