Thibault (Peanuts)
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- This article is about the Peanuts character; for the French architect see Louis Michel Thibault.
Thibault (sometimes spelled Thiebault, and pronounced Tee-bo) is a minor character who first appeared in the Peanuts comic strip in 1970.
Mostly an antagonistic character, he appeared from time to time to cause trouble for Peppermint Patty and Charlie Brown. He lives in Peppermint Patty's part of town and plays on her baseball team. As his basic function is to be a troublemaker, his name was no doubt inspired by the character of Tybalt, the troublemaker from Romeo and Juliet.
One time, Peppermint Patty lent Thibault a glove which belonged to Charlie Brown, and Thibault refused to give it back, insisting that he'd "fight him for it". When Charlie Brown didn't understand his animosity, Thibault insisted that he "knew (Charlie Brown's) kind" and accused Charlie Brown of "thinking he was better than me." Charlie Brown was so happy to hear that someone actually thought he was better than they, he let Thibault keep the glove, much to his confusion and surprise.
Another time, he made fun of Peppermint Patty's friend Marcie. At first he criticized her glasses, then the fact that she was a girl who wanted to play baseball. Finally, Thibault resorted to kicking dirt on Marcie's shoes. Marcie asked Peppermint Patty to call a time out, and then stood up to the bully. Marcie told Thibault that if he said one more word, she'd belt him "right across the chops". Thibault responded with, "Oh?" Marcie answered with, "That was one word!" and followed through on her threat. The comic strip ended that day with Marcie telling Peppermint Patty that she didn't want to play baseball anymore.
There was a mention of Thibault in the 1973 The Charlie Brown Dictionary: "Charlie Brown, Linus, and Thibault are playing hockey. The three of them are playing together." (However, the accompanying picture actually shows Shermy in place of Thibault.)
