Strong Bad

From Homestar Runner Wiki

Current revision as of 18:02, 12 November 2024

Strong Bad

Domicile	House of the Brothers Strong
Voiced by	Matt Chapman
Debut	The Homestar Runner Enters the Strongest Man in the World Contest
Complete Filmography
Related Articles
Character Video Character Relationships Character Evolution Other Costumes Nicknames
3D Variation

Strong Bad is an email-checking wrestleman, a self-professed cool bad guy and ladies' man with a penchant for acting tougher than he is.

Starting out as a villain who would try to cheat his way to the top in opposition of the heroic Homestar Runner, Strong Bad has become a comic relief antihero. One of, if not the most well-known and popular characters in the Homestar Runner body of work, his irascible sarcasm makes him ever more popular with fans of the website.

[edit] Characterization

He answers emails with a passion, and will make fun of their grammar, punctuation, and spelling—although he's not overly worried about his own. He also hates to be asked about how he manages to type with boxing gloves on. He usually does what he does best when he gets certain emails, one of which falls into this category: DELETED!! He also writes, illustrates, and narrates the series of Teen Girl Squad comics. He has also "written" at least 5 books: Everyone is Different, Strumstar Hammer, That Time of Year, Tubky the Typo-Named Tub, and The Ocelot and the Porridge Maiden. He also seems to enjoy art, teaching lessons on how to draw Trogdor in dragon, and a star in Fan Costumes 2016. These lessons have since been expanded into a semi-weekly feature, Skills of an Artist. In recent years, he has also become known for his Twitter account, @StrongBadActual (and to a lesser extent, his Instagram account).

Strong Bad is the middle child of The Brothers Strong. His is the dominant personality and he loves to push everyone around. He states that both of his brothers are "galactically incapable of friend-have" in the email imaginary, one of the very few true insults he has ever made. He's often abusing Homestar, kicking The Cheat, prank-calling Marzipan, or tormenting Strong Sad (although it's been hinted that they got along when they were younger). Although he seems to dislike or positively loathe most people, he enjoys the company of Bubs, The Cheat (his ever-diligent lackey), Senor Cardgage, Strong Mad (his older brother), and, to a lesser extent, Pom Pom.

Strong Bad rules the land of Strong Badia, a barren field behind the dumpsters that is completely devoid of any sentient life. One of his favorite sayings is (or was for a time) "holy crap", though he hates it when people use the word "crap" when signing emails. He frequently mangles words, as seen in army. ("We're a one man army. Er, a three man one-y. Three-to-one marny?") It has also been implied that he wets the bed, a fact that he attempts to cover up with little success. However, he seems to sleep instead on the couch in his basement, frequently mumbling video game titles, sometimes holding a bag of Potate potato chips. Strong Bad also seems to collect eggs, as seen in morning routine, and he keeps them in the couch.

Strong Bad talks a big line, claiming to be a criminal mastermind, a muscle man, and totally popular with the ladies, though there is little evidence of any of these claims, and no shortage of evidence that they are all untrue. Strong Bad refuses to acknowledge this, however, and continues unaffected with his delusions of grandeur. He is convinced that Marzipan likes, or has a crush on, him when in fact she "really [doesn't] like him at all." Due to his delusional opinions about himself, much of what Strong Bad says is obviously untrue. However, Strong Bad also seems to state that he is uncool, as seen in the email pizzaz.

He loves to listen to Limozeen, Taranchula, and Peter Frampton. He seems to dislike any band that isn't considered metal, such as sloshy, as seen towards the end of concert. He enjoys watching Caleb Rentpayer. He also enjoys doing Jumble puzzles and baking. His love for older technology such as cassette tapes, command prompt computers, old video games (especially those made by Videlectrix) and laserdiscs, and the titles of events such as "Awexome Cross '98", and "Trogdor Con '97" suggest that Strong Bad is "living in the past". Despite his love of the nineties, he seems to despise and destroy anything from any previous decade, like 8-Tracks, TVs that lost their essence in the '70s, and the Nintendo Entertainment System. His unfamiliarity with modern technology seems to have subsided in recent years; he now has social media accounts and a cell phone (albeit made by Compy Inc.).

Strong Bad has sung many self-proclaimed hit singles, his most popular being "Everybody to the Limit", which The Cheat made an animated music video of. He also stars as the protagonist in the blockbuster action series "Dangeresque". He works with Homestar and The Cheat at an unnamed tech company, though despite this fixed income, he seems to have financial troubles, and often attempts money making solutions of questionable legitimacy and burns his bills with his BMW Lighter. His financial troubles might be partly due to his high electric bill, which he claims to be $70,000 in environment. His dream job, as stated in from work, is to be a 2nd 2nd Assistant Space Whale Scrubber. According to The Homestar Runner Enters The Spooky Woods, he is known far and wide for his enthusiasm for Bic ballpoint pens.

Strong Bad is somewhat prejudiced; he has been banned from the UK, and often ridicules non-English speakers on their emails. In Homestar Ruiner, Strong Bad says that he hates the Swedes and later makes jokes at their expense, though he did say he should get married to the sender of magic trick, possibly partly because she's Swedish. He also does not get on well with old people or children, although he claims to have children of his own, including Jeffrey Beffrey Mudgeman, at his second secret home where he goes by the name Vance Mudgeman. He doesn't appear to care much for those children either, or perhaps he does and truly believes that "you got to be firm".

As evidenced in stand-up, Strong Bad once did stand-up comedy as a kid. He apparently wasn't very good, as he tried to make up jokes instead of using natural comedy or rehearsed jokes. However, he doesn't like talking about his act, most likely because his pants fell down in front of the audience, and he ran away embarrassed. Strong Bad also made his own band in Baddest of the Bands which was known as DÖI. In it, Strong Bad does the vocals, The King of Town plays guitar, and Homsar is on the theremin. Strong Bad didn't really pick who was in this band, as after he signed everyone else up, these two were the only characters left to be in the band. Strong Bad also receives mailed letters and items at his mailbox outside his house. On the side of the mailbox is printed "sb_snailmail.exe", which is a parody of "strongbad_email.exe", the computer command he uses to check his email.

[edit] Strength

Strong Bad by name, but not by nature.

See main article: Strong Bad's Strength

There is highly conflicting evidence regarding Strong Bad's strength. For the most part, it is implied that Strong Bad is actually very weak and out of shape and that "Strong Bad" is merely his name and not an accurate description: In the email lady fan, he is unable to do even a single push-up, and states that he used to be able to do only four. In addition, the paper on Strong Bad's desk in the Homestar Quiz reads "Strong Bad isn't so strong after all. If he tried hard, which of the following could he lift?", and lists the choices as "an ounce", "a weak", "a week", and "pepper". Strong Sad has stated on his blog that Strong Bad's punches do not hurt, compared against Strong Mad's that do. In Homestar Ruiner, Strong Bad is completely incapable of matching Pom Pom's time in the Race to the End of the Race, and can only beat Coach Z's time by heavily cheating. Despite this, though he ultimately resorted to cheating as he had done in the past by having The Cheat whack Homestar Runner with a baseball bat, he was able to keep up with him for the most part. In the email pom pom, Pom Pom easily beats up Strong Bad when he attempts to poke Pom Pom with a pin.

On the other hand, in the email car, Strong Bad demonstrates the ability to punch Homestar hard enough to hit and crack the wall, and in the email secret identity, he literally tosses both Homestar and the King of Town out of his house. He can also easily pick up and carry the supposedly 42-pound Lappy 486, and is quite adept at kicking The Cheat (hinted in Where's The Cheat? to weigh about 18 pounds). Also, in Compy Catalog, Strong Bad easily throws roughly 450 pounds (204.12 kg) of pennies onto his mailbox and supposedly carried 62 pounds of quarters (28kg) in unused emails. In the email lady...ing, Strong Bad picks up and throws an anvil. It is possible that, like Homestar's "arms", Strong Bad's true strength may be purposely ambiguous. In contrast, Strong Mad holds the upper hand in strength over all of The Brothers Strong.

[edit] Character Design and Conception

Strong Bad attacking the namesake "Strong Bads" from Tag Team Wrestling.

See also Strong Bad Evolution

From a 2003 interview with UMFM:

KEVIN SCOTT: Was [Strong Bad] originally conceived as the obvious villain?
MATT CHAPMAN: Oh yeah, definitely. We just figured we had to make a bad guy, and obviously the embodiment of evil is the masked wrestlers from our childhood, so we had to make him a masked wrestler. He's more of a masked wrestling creature. It's not like he's actually got a face under that mask, that's basically his head.

Strong Bad originated in The Homestar Runner Enters the Strongest Man in the World Contest, the very first entry in the Homestar Runner body of work. In the story, Strong Bad serves as the antagonist: rudely insulting his fellow competitors and then cheating during the contest. He repeated this simple, antagonistic behavior in Marshmallow's Last Stand, The Reddest Radish, and A Jumping Jack Contest; soon after, The Brothers Chaps started focusing on stories beyond simple competitions, allowing for Strong Bad's personality to become more developed in series like Marzipan's Answering Machine and Strong Bad Email.^[1]

Although an early sketch by Craig Zobel considered a lizard-like character design, Strong Bad's design was ultimately inspired by masked wrestlers, such as Mil Máscaras, Mr. Wrestling II, and most prominently the "Strong Bads" team from the NES game Tag Team Wrestling.^[2] In keeping with the lucha libre look, Strong Bad had a Mexican-inspired accent in his early appearances. This accent became much less pronounced by early 2002^[3] with his voice becoming simply gruff (a change commented on in the email Accent). Even as the wrestling side of his character has been diminished, Strong Bad is still regularly referred to as a wrestleman.

[edit] Appearance

"Well, time to start evolving into mole people. Now shut your eyes really tight and try and heighten your other senses."

Strong Bad is one of the most humanoid of the largely stylized main characters — though still not fully human in design. It is humorously ambiguous how much of his design is an outfit or simply his body.

He has green eyes that lack pupils or sclera; in some earlier iterations of his design, his eyes appeared set in to his mask. When squinting or closing his eyes, they simply are narrowed; when seen dead in your funeral, his eyes instead turn a monochrome dark gray. Strong Bad's rectangular mouth is flesh-colored, and usually frowning rather than smiling. Although he typically is shown without visible teeth or tongue, his Beetlejuice costume included false teeth and he has occasionally been depicted with a green tongue.

His shiny, round torso usually goes uncovered by a shirt; according to him, this is to better show off his abs. He also wears tight black pants and red boots, similar to wrestling gear.

[edit] Mask and Gloves

See also some kinda robot

Strong Bad's husky head resembles a red wrestling mask, laced up in the rear. The mask's design includes large black angular markings that swoop down over his eyes and cheeks, a narrow silver v-shape covering his brow and nose, and a blue diamond centered on his forehead. Strong Bad has declared that it is simply his face, not a mask. A gag in the email the chair features the mask being removed in a manner obscured from the viewer, an action that seems to cause him pain; in looking old, a sharp pull to the lace on the back of his head (dubbed a "lace-lift") dramatically tightens his facial features.

Strong Bad has red boxing gloves for hands with bright window-pane reflections on them. They almost always appear curled up into fists, though this does not affect his ability to type or otherwise manipulate objects. Although typically asserting they are hands, not gloves, in Fan Costumes 2016 he states that he wears "A+ #1 All-Pro Panache" brand gloves.

[edit] Popularity

The ramblin' wreck of Twitter check

From First Time Here?:

STRONG BAD: I'm Strong Bad, and you don't know it yet, but I'm the reason you're here.

The breakout character of the series, Strong Bad has become more popular than title character Homestar Runner. Mike Chapman credited Strong Bad's popularity to his appearances in Marzipan's Answering Machine and Strong Bad Emails, noting the humorous balance of "how he rags on everyone, but isn't very threatening."^[1] As of 2024, Strong Bad has the highest complete filmography of all the characters on the website, at 550 toons. He has more appearances than fellow main characters Homsar, The Poopsmith, Pom Pom, and The King of Town combined. Strong Bad additionally has the most featured quotes of the week of any character.

The runaway popularity of Strong Bad Email is likely the primary factor in Strong Bad's popularity. Originally intended as brief asides in the manner of an advice column, they eventually became more involved mini-cartoons^[4] updated most weeks from 2002 through 2008. At the peak of the series' popularity, Strong Bad was receiving up to 8,000 emails a day.^[5] Many recurring and popular elements of Homestar Runner spun off from Strong Bad Emails, including Trogdor, Teen Girl Squad, and 20X6.

Strong Bad also features prominently in spinoff media and merchandise. Strong Bad Sings and Other Type Hits was released as a CD, and Homestar Runner music on streaming platforms is also credited under his name. The majority of DVD releases were dedicated to collecting Strong Bad Emails. The multi-platform episodic game Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People centers around Strong Bad; he also cameoed in the developer's other game Poker Night at The Inventory. Multiple social media accounts are written in-character as Strong Bad, with Twitter account @StrongBadActual currently the most active facet of the body of work.

[edit] Character Video Transcript

See main article: Strong Bad's Character Video

{Strong Bad is seen standing next to several wooden props, including one of Homestar Runner with a snake wrapped around his head. He is moving some of the props around.}

STRONG BAD: Hold on, I'm not done with the props yet! {turns to camera, speaks commandingly} Greetings, party people in the place to be! I am called Strong Bad! Hand over all your moneys in a paper and/or plastic bag! Ladies, form a line to my left for makeouts! Dudes, form a line to my right for high fives! {drops commanding tone} Like I said, I'm Strong Bad. I've been described as cool, awesome, hot, video games, the hottest, and real real hot. Me and my big brother and our The Cheat pretty much run the show around here, as well as serve as a sort of multi-purpose criminal element. Yeah, we got a lot of—

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Ahe-he-hem.

STRONG BAD: What are you doing here?

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Well, I was going to get a high five, but, I see that I'm already here. And with a snake on my head!

STRONG BAD: Yeah, that's right. So I'm gonna have to charge you double. You know, since you're both here.

HOMESTAR RUNNER: That sounds reasonable! {pronounces it re-ZON-able}

STRONG BAD: Okay, I only accept gold nuggets. Or maybe Denver Nuggets. ...Whatever you got on ya. Chicken nuggets.

[edit] Fun Facts

Strong Bad's brain, seen in specially marked

• Apparently, Strong Bad is able to survive, stand up, and even talk, with a hole blasted in his head, as shown in Marshmallow's Last Stand and the email lady...ing.
• As seen by Lil' Strong Bad and in high school, his head seems to become more oval-shaped as he grows older.
• When he is sleeping, he mumbles names of video games (especially for the SNES), such as Super Contra or Chrono Trigger.
• Strong Bad's head moves around a lot more when he speaks facing away from the camera than when he speaks facing towards it. This is true even when he thinks he is facing the camera.
• Strong Bad has a habit of pronouncing (and spelling) certain words with an "oi" sound the way a stereotypical New Yorker would pronounce them (for example, he says "soivice" instead of "service" in lackey).
• As evidenced in from work, dullard, 4 branches, and business trip, Strong Bad is currently employed.
• At his fastest, Strong Bad can type approximately 240 words per minute (in a segment in death metal).
• The blue diamond on Strong Bad's head is shown in the email super powers to be able to pop caps off cold one bottles and hats off people's heads.

[edit] Relationships

See main article: Character Relationships

• Homestar Runner and Strong Bad's Relationship
• Strong Bad and The Cheat's Relationship
• Strong Bad and Strong Mad's Relationship
• Strong Bad and Strong Sad's Relationship
• Strong Bad and Bubs's Relationship
• Strong Bad and Pom Pom's Relationship
• Strong Bad and The King of Town's Relationship
• Strong Bad and Marzipan's Relationship
• Strong Bad and Coach Z's Relationship
• Strong Bad and The Poopsmith's Relationship
• Strong Bad and Homsar's Relationship
• Strong Bad and Senor Cardgage's Relationship

[edit] Variations

First Puppet Strong Bad

Second Puppet Strong Bad

Strong Bad's original design, dubbed "Tiny-handed Strong Bad" in later appearances.

• Old-Timey Strong Bad (Old-Timey)
• Stinkoman (20X6)
• Dangeresque (Dangeresque series)
• Casio Head Strong Bad (Sweet Cuppin' Cakes)
• Tiny-Handed Strong Bad (Storybook World)
• Lil' Strong Bad
• Strong Badman
• Atari Strong Bad
• Vector Strong Bad
• Made-Up Strong Bad Animals
• Da Huuuuuudge
• Sterrance
• Various Retro Gaming Character Variations
• Teenage Strong Bad
• Baby Strong Bad (high school)
• Strongbadiophage (high school)
• Head Bad and Strong Body (disconnected)
• The Castlefunnies Strong Bad (old comics)
• Ultimate Strong Bad (mixed origins)
• Space Captainface
• Devil and Angel Strong Bad
• 3D Strong Bad
• Puppet Strong Bad
• Powered by The Cheat Strong Bad
• Mario Paint Strong Bad
• S. Bad (Xeriouxly Forxe)
• Squintmoji Strong Bad (Squintmojis)
• Character 1 (Yonder Website)
• Egg Strong Bad
• Buckethand Strong Bad
• Dogfood Gangsta
• Poopsmith Strong Bad (secret identity)
• Ornament Strong Bad
• Zombie Strong Bad (your funeral)
• Cottage Cheese Strong Bad
• Gene (hygiene)
• Doctor Marvin Rubdown (love poems)
• Penguin Strong Bad
• Strong Bag
• Various Decemberweenvent Calendar Character Variations

[edit] Teen Girl Squad Variations

• Strong Bad
• Leprechaun Strong Bad
• Sir Hotbod Handsomeface
• Strong Bad Robot

[edit] Halloween Costumes

• Carmen Miranda in Homestarloween Party
• Carmen San Diego in The House That Gave Sucky Treats
• Homestar as Angus Young in Pumpkin Carve-nival
• Ozone (from the movie Breakin') in 3 Times Halloween Funjob
• Cesar Romero as The Joker (from the 1960s Batman show) in Halloween Fairstival
• Jambi the Genie (from Pee-wee's Playhouse) in Halloween Potion-ma-jig
• Father Guido Sarducci (from Saturday Night Live) in Happy Hallow-day
• Beetlejuice in Jibblies 2
• The Planet on the Cover of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in Most in the Graveyard
• Skull Kid (from The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask) in Doomy Tales of the Macabre
• Fragile Lamp (from A Christmas Story) in Which Ween Costumes?
• Mac Tonight (1980s McDonald's mascot) in I Killed Pom Pom
• David Lee Roth in The House That Gave Sucky Tricks
• No-Face (from the movie Spirited Away) in Later That Night...
• Killer BOB (from Twin Peaks) in Haunted Photo Booth
• Viewtiful Joe in Mr. Poofers Must Die
• Bic Boy in The Homestar Runner Enters The Spooky Woods
• General Zod (from Superman II) in Halloween Hijinks
• Sludge Vohaul (from Space Quest II) in Halloween Hide & Seek
• Dr. Crygor (from WarioWare) in 2022 Costume Pack Now Available
• Mike Taylor in his Halloween costume (from E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial) in The Show: Ween Edition

[edit] Sources

1. ^  "Legion Interviews Mike Chapman of Homestarrunner.com" Legion Studios, 2002
2. ^  "An Interview With Homestar Runner Creators, The Chapman Brothers" RetroCrush, 2001
3. ^  Compare depressio (October 19, 2001) or halloweener (October 31, 2001) to brianrietta (Jan 10, 2002) or band names (March 4, 2002)
4. ^  "The Inkhole Exclusive Interview with Homestar Runner Co-Creator Matt Chapman" The Inkhole, July 2004
5. ^  "Matt Chapman Interview" Club Aquatica, 29 Oct 2003

[edit] Quotes of the Week

[edit] See Also

• Strong Bad Evolution
• Other Costumes
• Nicknames
• Peanut Strong Bad
• Senor Cardgage
• History according to Strong Bad
• Strong Bad Losing His Edge
• Strong Bad Losing His Pants
• Strong Bad Getting Beaten Up
• Crimes Committed by Strong Bad
• Strong Bad's Ladies
• Strong Bad's Strength
• Strong Bad's Computers
• Strong Bad's Fondue Pot
• Strong Bad's Website
• Strong Bad Smiling
• Strong Bad's Rectangular Mouth
• Wrestleman
• Category:Strong Bad Research

[edit] External Links

• watch Strong Bad's character video
• watch Strong Bad's character video on the old Flash site
• view the Flash file for Strong Bad's character video
• Strong Bad's website, from website
• Strong Bad's Twitter account, @StrongBadActual
• Strong Bad's Instagram account, @strongbadactual
• Email Strong Bad (no longer available)