Sportacus
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Sportacus (played by Magnús Scheving) is a fictional character from the children's television show LazyTown. He is the hero of the show. His name is a portmanteau of the ancient figure Spartacus and the word sport which represents his athleticism. It is unknown if this is his full real name, or his superhero alias.
He speaks English and Icelandic and is from "an island in the North Sea." In the past, Lazytown was protected by a similar hero from that area with a #9 on his chest (Sportacus wears a number 10). In the first episode when Stephanie was trying to think of how to encourage Lazytown's kids to get active, she sent a message through a tube that was used to communicate with #9, and Sportacus received her message and came to Lazytown. Exactly what #9 and Sportacus' connection is to each other hasn't been explained by the show yet.
Sportacus encourages the kids of LazyTown to eat fruit (which he calls Sports Candy) and play outside instead of sitting around indoors. He wants to make sure LazyTown is happy, and knows that they have to be healthy and fit if they want to be happy. He is opposed by the sinister (yet perhaps equally energetic) Robbie Rotten, who seeks to return LazyTown to its former state: a lazy town. Sportacus is so engaged in his life of physical activity that he does gymnastics just to get from place to place—even doing acrobatic flips just to get from one side of his kitchen table to the other—and the children have to instruct him on how to relax.
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[edit] Abilities
Sportacus is very fast and acrobatic. He can get around LazyTown faster than any other person and does exercises such as performing one-handed press ups while eating an apple. He seems to spend most of his free time exercising, preparing healthy meals, and watching for trouble. His one vulnerability is sugar; just a small amount quickly makes him fatigued, an exaggerated sugar crash that he calls a sugar meltdown. Sportacus' speed and strength increase temporarily to superhuman levels when he eats sports candy (usually an apple) as shown in an episode where he saves Robbie Rotten by lifting a brick wall after taking a bite out of an apple. In My Treehouse he's able to push an entire tree back into place with his bare hands.
Inside the number 10 emblem on his chest is a crystal that illuminates and beeps when someone nearby is in trouble (though he will rush to the rescue when the crystal isn't signaling if he thinks there is a problem). Once the crystal was jarred loose by Stingy driving his mini-car over Sportacus's back, and in "Lazytown's New Superhero" he surrendered it to Stephanie when she convinced him to take a day off.
[edit] Airship
The large airship that floats above LazyTown is Sportacus's home. It has Sportacus' bed, food and other equipment. He travels between here and LazyTown using his pod-like "Skutla". Sportacus gets it to move by pedaling. Messages can be sent to the airship via a pneumatic launcher next to the mailbox in town. The airship has many pieces of furniture and closets containing various gear, primarily sports gear, all hidden inside of the inner walls. Most of these things are voice activated, probably to make his active life as efficient as possible.
[edit] Character development
In the original Icelandic play that the TV series is based on, Áfram Latibær (Go on LazyTown!) in 1996, Sportacus was an elf called Íþróttaálfurinn (The Athletic Elf), who possessed magical powers. His costume consisted of a navy-blue tunic, baggy scarlet trousers and a large brown hat. He also had a large, thick, blonde moustache and matching goatee beard.
In the second play, Glanni Glæpur í Latabæ (Robbie Rotten in LazyTown), his character became a lot closer to the current version. He traveled around in a hot air balloon (as opposed to his current airship) and wore a brown-and-yellow version of his current outfit, albeit with a larger, looser hat and sculpted chest piece.
[edit] External links
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