This article is a list of fictional characters in the Flash web cartoon series Homestar Runner and episodic video game Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People.
Contents |
Homestar Runner is the namesake character of the series, and "is a terrific athlete" that "everybody loves".[1] He serves as the star athlete of an unspecified sports team led by Coach Z,[2] and has partaken in rather rigorous exercise routines.[3] Homestar however, has suffered from psychological issues that Strong Bad had described as an "unbelievably loose grasp on the world around [him]",[4] often forgetting things or interacting with himself as if he were a different person. Homestar is not completely stupid, as he has shown intelligence at rather irrelevant times, such as correctly stating Coulomb's law in response to being asked what 2+2 equals.[5] His best friend is Pom Pom,[6] although Homestar has also had an on and off relationship with lone female character Marzipan.
Strong Sad is the youngest brother of Strong Bad and Strong Mad. He stands somewhere between Strong Bad and Strong Mad in height, and has large, elephant-like feet he calls "soolnds," which has led Strong Bad to believe he is in some way descended from elephants (see the cartoon "DNA Evidence"). His body is round and two shades of grey — a lighter grey from the waist up, a darker grey from the waist down. His head is white and has an odd lump on the top and resembles the Manicouagan Reservoir. Strong Bad refers to the lump as a "disturbing soft serve flip"(see email keep cool). He is usually very calm and soft-spoken, although is hyperactive when given caffeine (see the cartoon Caffeine).
He is constantly tortured by Strong Bad. Strong Bad usually threatens to beat up Strong Sad (something that he often does). Strong Bad also calls Strong Sad names such as "The Ghost of Christmas Suck", "Trundle Bed", "Diaper Stripe", and "Theloneus Dump".
In early cartoons, Strong Sad's main defining characteristic is his chronic depression, but has since been known to have high levels of intelligence and creativity . His many interests include listening, books, listening to books, calligraphy, safety, being alone, arts, crafts, and arts b/w crafts. Strong Sad also enjoys playing board games, and he seems to enjoy going to science-fiction and fantasy conventions, as seen in different town and TrogdorCon '97.
Strong Mad is an enormous, hyper-muscular, semi-verbal, usually-angry character (much like the Hulk). He is the eldest brother of the brothers Strong; his siblings are Strong Bad and Strong Sad. He often hangs out with The Cheat and helps Strong Bad commit mischief, harass (and occasionally beat up) the other characters. However, he appears to at least try to be friendly to other characters when not told to harm them by Strong Bad. He has also proved to possess a sort of childhood innocence, which he has demonstrated by making macaroni pictures and, once, asking if he could keep Bubs' Concession Stand, claiming it followed him home. His body is a rectangle with different dimensions given in different cartoons, with perfectly square shoulders and no distinct head or neck. He has two dots for eyes, giant, bushy eyebrows that are usually angry. His mouth is always partially open revealing 3 teeth. He wears a blue wrestlers leotard with a white circle in the front containing a large red M and has red shoes. He generally speaks in short, simple sentences, often in an unrestrained roar. His best friend is The Cheat, whom he protects with fervor. He also has a horrible painting in his closet that gives everyone The Jibblies, called the Rocoulm.[7]
The Cheat is Strong Bad's sidekick and Strong Mad's best friend. And whenever Strong Bad is abusive to The Cheat, Strong Mad stands up for him. He stands at knee-height to most other characters and is covered with yellow fur with prominent black spots down his back. His arms resemble flippers and he doesn't have any visible legs. He also has a gold tooth. The Cheat lives in The King of Town's grill which, according to Strong Sad, is a nice place. He can play the flute, as seen in The 200th Strong Bad e-mail (E-mail Thunder), and keyboard, as remarked by Strong Bad in the email "Guitar" and seen in "Everybody Knows It," and often makes unusual animations, such as "The Cheat Theme Song". In the original book, he helped Strong Bad cheat in the Strongest Man in the World contest, which gave him his name. He is always referred to as The Cheat, not just Cheat, even when being spoken to. An example would be characters greeting him by saying "Hey, The Cheat, how's it goin'?" The practice even extends to his species. The nickname "The Cheat" originated from how he helps Strong Bad cheat at things. Quoting "I help Strong Bad cheat at stuff, hence the name, duh." He has a job as a DJ at Bubs on Fridays and, provided you pay him 20 dollars, he will put your name on the guest list.
He speaks in a language consisting entirely of the word "meh", which the other characters seem to be perfectly able to understand. In one SBemail Strong Bad tried to get The Cheat to say something normal. He tried to get The Cheat to repeat the word "Douglas" but he couldn't. However, it is implied that he provides the voices for his "Powered by The Cheat" cartoons, which are spoken in English. Often when he is talking alone to the camera, it will provide subtitles to be able to understand what he is saying, although the characters of the cartoon understand him when he speaks. He often has a hostile attitude towards others, Threatening to throw things at them. And often sounds rather full of himself, complimenting himself several times in the majority of his videos. The Cheat according to Strong Bad came from a giant egg also filled with a lifetime supplies of fish sticks which he won on the same day that he met Homestar Runner in a 10 step foot race to win the egg.
Strong Bad, while appreciative of his little henchman's assistance, seems to enjoy kicking The Cheat and otherwise abusing him. Although The Cheat has mentioned that Strong Mad helps the Cheat escape from the abuse of Strong Bad, or being sat on by Pom Pom or Strong Sad. Also according to Strong Bad, The Cheats' birthday (aka cheat day) isn't known exactly so they celebrate it on the day that they know for sure isn't, the date of birth on his fake I.D which says he is a 43 year old Scandinavian miner named Ilko Skevuld although his fake I.D says 04/18/61.
In the video for The Cheat Theme Song, midway through the song it was shown that he resembles Pikachu, who flies past the screen. Also in that video, it is shown that he's going to start a rock and roll band and that he does not live on 21 Jump Street. It is not known what type of "animal" the Cheat is. Although in one e-mail Strong Bad said What more can you expect from a furry little man that hangs around Strong Mad all day?" But at other times he's called The Cheat an animal. We know he's supposed to be a pet because he's been entered in pet competitions under the name Saberlord Scrithascratch Cakemonger The Cheat, although Homestar Runner was also entered in the competition along with a cookie jar shaped like a dog and a waffle fryer, they would've won had Homestar not put relish on Strong Bads' foot, they were disqualified for "flagrant use of relish foot", because Homestar was trying to give Strong Bad a taste of his own medicine.
Marzipan is the only female main character in Homestar Runner. She has a handbell-shaped body with her face on the surface of the "handle". Her eyes consist of two black circles of two different sizes. Her mouth is usually seen in a slight curve. She wears her hair in a bright yellow ponytail, and is almost always seen wearing a purple dress embellished with white trim and gold buttons, along with a matching hair band. Like Homestar Runner, she does not appear to have visible arms. Nevertheless, she is still able to pick up and handle objects without any hint of difficulty; for example, she can play the guitar fairly well. She is voiced by Missy Palmer and is one of the few characters not voiced by Matt Chapman. The reason she is the only female character is because Missy Palmer cannot do any other voices.
Marzipan is Homestar's girlfriend (on her terms), and in the early days of the website was listed as the King of Town's daughter, however, in an interview, The Brothers Chaps remarked that this was an idea they had that they did not go through with. She is essentially a feminist "hippie chick" demonstrated in her traits of being a strict vegetarian who spends much of her time singing and playing her guitar; she is lead singer and guitarist in a band called Cool Tapes. Most of her songs are about happiness and nature. She often makes protest signs to express her views on issues of varying and personal interest. She often tends to fight for political correctness and being eco-friendly, but at times can be hypocritical. This is demonstrated in one episode where she criticizes others for doing things that harm the environment, but justifies her own indulgent actions by simply renaming them to sound eco-friendly.
Bubs is a businessman who owns Bubs' Concession Stand, which offers a constantly changing variety of goods and services. He has a round blue head, and mismatched eyes (his right eye is white with a blue iris while his left is simply a black dot). His upper body is orange, and he has "flipper arms." He has a green stripe around his middle which, according to Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People, is a belt, and his lower half is colored dark gray. His voice is reminiscent of Rochester of The Jack Benny Show fame or Mr. Messy from The Mr. Men Show.
Always ready to make a quick buck, Bubs will sell anything, including letters off of the sign on his stand and Internet service. Besides the Concession Stand, he seems to run a few other businesses on the side, many of which are decidedly shady in nature. This includes performing almost any service that someone wants done, such as being a "questionable doctor", a "paranormal investigator" or a "normal investigator". It is implied that he is often involved in destroying and/or covering up evidence of crimes. He also sells bologna sandwiches from his truck to the other residents of Free Country, USA. His best friend appears to be Coach Z, although the coach often gets on his nerves. He is also the "Thnikkaman", though nobody (with the occasional exception of Homestar) knows that the Thnikkaman is just Bubs in "cool shades" with a piece of paper taped to his chest that says "TH". Whenever he enters, high-pitched singers singing "Here comes the Thnikkamaaannnn" can be heard (conversely, when he leaves, the same voices sing, "There goes the Thnikkamaaannnn"). He then usually gives awful advice, and his catchphrase is "Shut up, kid." People love the Thnikkaman but it is not obvious why.
Coach Z is the "coach" of the residents of Free Country, USA, though it is unclear exactly which sports he coaches. He has a strong Upper Midwestern accent which sometimes gets him into trouble and is thought to be fake. He almost never says anything negative to anyone, and he often offers more encouragement than is needed. He wears a blue and purple baseball cap and a large gold "Z" emblem around his waist, but it is unclear whether his bright green color is his skin or a body suit.
In addition to frequent mispronunciations, Coach Z also seems to have mental and gender confusion problems, as evidenced by the time he spent "talking to his parents" on a disconnected telephone, and claiming to be a mother in the sbemail "Garage Sale". He has even stated on one occasion that he sometimes "forgets what's real, and what's just in [his] head". He also has trouble managing his money, causing his electricity to be shut off each year. He is quite lonely and has an unrequited crush on Marzipan, very often making inappropriate romantic gestures to her, especially on her answering machines.
He is very fond of hip-hop and often refers to it in conversation. He has also recorded several songs, including "These Peoples Try to Fade Me", "Hip-Hop Dance", and also "Rap Song" featuring Peacy P. He also seems to not have much talent in rapping, since his "freestyling" occasionally consists exclusively of him repeatedly counting to two (see sbemail "Nightlife".)
Pom Pom is a Pom from the Isle of Pom. Pom Pom, like all Poms, appears to be inflated. His body consists of a yellow sphere with an orange stripe. His oval head, and triangular arms and feet are the same color orange. Pom Pom's eyes are black ovals and he has no visible mouth. He talks by making bubbly noises that only the characters can understand and can absorb objects into his body for storage. Pom Pom is Homestar Runner's best friend, but he sometimes hangs out with Strong Bad as well. Pom Pom is often seen talking on his cell phone to his many girlfriends, and he keeps track of their contact information in his Pom Pilot. It has been not-so-subtly hinted that Pom Pom is a superb athlete, martial artist, and rich to boot. His nationality has been vaguely hinted at a variety of times: his parents are known as General and Fräulein Pom Pom. His father owns a film production company which allows Pom Pom to direct indie films. He appears in the game Dangeresque, as a take-out guy.
The King of Town is the self-proclaimed ruler of Free Country, USA. His head is completely white, with black lines for eyes, a mustache and a beard (though it was suggested in the Strong Bad Email "Diorama" that the white is fur or hair, as he has pink flesh underneath). He wears a gold crown and what appears to be a red robe with white trim with no arms. He is a known glutton that will eat almost anything in front of him (including toilet paper) and anything with the word "butter" in its name (including "Butter-da", an automotive fluid). Apparently, the only foods he doesn't like are those which contain peas. He tends to speak with older but jolly tone of voice, usually saying: "doo hoo hoo hoo" to represent his hearty laughter. He apparently got overweight by eating the lifetime supply of fishsticks that was in the egg that contained The Cheat (As shown in the 100th Strong Bad Email, "Flashback").
The Poopsmith is a character whose job is the King of Town's "poopsmith," though it is never explained what this actually entails. His body is peach-colored and egg-shaped, and he has small blue legs and feet, a white head, and an enormous underbite. He always wears a pair of large orange gloves stained with "whatsit", and he is usually seen carrying a large shovel.
The Poopsmith had taken a vow of silence and therefore never speaks. However, in "email thunder," the 200th Strong Bad Email, he breaks his vow to sing the opening song. At this time he is voiced by John Linnell of They Might be Giants. He does not seem to ever display any emotions or facial expressions. He does occasionally hold up signs to communicate, however. He is sometimes seen poking his shovel as a half-gesture.
Homsar is an energetic dwarf with red shoes, blue shirt and a bowler hat. He claims to be the captain of the "Gravy Train", and that his parents are a cup of coffee and a Chipwich (although the former was implied by Strong Bad, and has thus far not been confirmed by Homsar himself). Homsar's speech consists almost entirely of non sequiturs, although it is revealed in Strong Badia the Free that Homsar is actually an intelligent being, with his way of speaking being a language of his own. He seems to have the super power of being incredibly awkward, and often defies the laws of physics. In most of his appearances, his hat will either change shape to something, or move around on its own, oftentimes orbiting his head. He was accidentally created by a fan who misspelled Homestar's name in sbemail #2, "homsar."
|
||||||||||||||