Strong Bad
Strong Bad | |
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Homestar Runner character | |
First appearance | The Homestar Runner Enters the Strongest Man in the World Contest |
Created by | Matt and Mike Chapman Craig Zobel |
Voiced by | Matt Chapman |
In-universe information | |
Family |
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Strong Bad is a fictional character from Homestar Runner, a series of animated Flash videos, who is inspired by "The Strong Bads" from the video game Tag Team Wrestling. He is voiced by Matt Chapman, the principal voice actor and co-creator of the series. Strong Bad enjoys pranking the other characters of the series, along with his ever-diligent lackey pet named "The Cheat" and his older brother Strong Mad.[1] The main segment that Strong Bad is a part of is Strong Bad Email, in which he answers emails sent to him by fans.[2] The Strong Bad Email series grew to be so popular that six DVDs featuring the emails have been released, as well as a podcast where emails could be downloaded to digital media players, since its first episode in 2001.[3]
The character's face resembles a red lucha libre mask, with four laces in the back and a blue diamond centered between his eyes. The diamond has the power to open bottle caps from "Cold Ones" and remove Homestar's hat, though he has only been seen doing this once. His eyes are green and shiny, and apparently turn grey when he is dead. Usually his mouth is a peach-colored rectangle when not speaking, and can form the shape of an "o" when using words with an "o" sound in them. He lacks a shirt (but wears certain ones on occasion), nipples, and a belly button. Strong Bad also has boxing gloves for hands, though mysteriously he can type with them in his Strong Bad Emails. He also wears black pants, along with red shoes with white soles that curve outward.
Strong Bad was originally created to be the main antagonist of the series but, since then, he has become less of a villain and more of an
Strong Bad has been one of the most popular characters in the series and has been well-received. In 2021, Polygon declared Strong Bad an icon. In a tribute, they note that "Strong Bad Email was far and away the most popular segment on Homestar Runner" and the series and character have "remained a "massive comedic influence" on others.[5] Segments have been spun off of his emails, including "Teen Girl Squad", a comic drawn by Strong Bad about four teenage friends,[6] and "20X6", an anime-style cartoon featuring Japanese versions of the characters, such as Strong Bad's counterpart, "Stinkoman".[7]
Role in Homestar Runner
In the beginning of the series, he and Homestar Runner would battle each other in competitions such as lifting as many grapes as they can, doing tag-team wrestling, and facing off in a
Strong Bad's main role in the cartoon is in the Strong Bad Email segment, in which he answers emails sent to him from viewers. The Strong Bad Emails began as a small segment in 2001, in which Strong Bad would mock the spelling and grammar of those who wrote to him, usually while typing with boxing gloves on an outdated computer. He has parodied the question of "how do you type with boxing gloves on", which is thought to be one of the most asked questions in the emails he receives. Most of the time a cut-away sequence is used to move the narrative beyond mere typing. Once the events of the email finish unfolding, Strong Bad wraps it up, and then "The Paper" or "New Paper" comes down with a link to Strong Bad's e-mail address. Often, hidden animations (
Several "alternate versions" of Strong Bad exist in other cartoons on the website. One of these is "Stinkoman", a futuristic
Character
Creation
Strong Bad was based on the "Strong Bads", a
Development
The website was originally meant to revolve around Homestar, but Strong Bad grew in popularity after the first few months of the website, and the Chapman brothers decided to give him his own segment, Strong Bad Email (SBEmail for short).[11] According to Mike Chapman, "...He'd already become everybody's favorite character."[16] In the children's book and very early stages of the website, Strong Bad looked significantly different from his present day character. He had very small hands and a plainly colored red and black lucha libre mask, contrary to the blue and green areas of the mask included in the present version of Strong Bad.[17] In the book, Strong Bad and The Cheat were defined as the main "villains" to Homestar Runner and Pom Pom, who were defined as the main "protagonists".[17] This idea of Strong Bad being an antagonist lasted for a short while in the early toons, but did change, however, as each character developed its own style. Strong Bad also started off with a prominent Mexican accent and a deep voice, which gradually transitioned into a more gruff and less accented voice with more vocal range.
Reception
Strong Bad has been received well by both critics and viewers of the website. He is considered one of the most popular characters of the website, and his Strong Bad Email segment is one of the most viewed segments of Homestar Runner. In an audio review of Strong Bad and the rest of the Homestar Runner characters,
Spin-offs
Trogdor the Burninator is an original character created by Strong Bad in Strong Bad Email #58, titled Dragon. Strong Bad begins by giving a dragon drawing tutorial in which the character is drawn from the letter "S" and features numerous "consummate V's" used in constructing Trogdor's "teeth, spineties [sic], and angry eyebrows".
In other media
Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People
A
Strong Bad Sings and Other Type Hits
Other media
On September 2, 2010, Telltale Games announced a new PC/Mac game called Poker Night at the Inventory. The game features Strong Bad, Tycho from Penny Arcade, Heavy from Team Fortress 2 and Max from Sam & Max. Telltale CEO Dan Connors said, "We've had the idea for some time of exploring the idea of what video characters do when they're not 'on the clock' in the games we play."[27] The game was released on November 22, 2010.[28]
Strong Bad makes a guest appearance on at least two records, including The Aquabats' 2011 album Hi-Five Soup!, providing vocals on the song "Pink Pants!". Prior to this, he appeared on the Shellac album Excellent Italian Greyhound on the track "Genuine Lulabelle".[29]
In 2011, Matt Chapman joined the production team of
Strong Bad is also mentioned on page 14 of CR Jordan's Basic Fundamentals of Modern Tattoo: "Thanks to Strong Bad, we know that technology is magic."[31]
Strong Bad makes an unofficial appearance in the second Robot Chicken episode of Season 9 titled "Hey, I Found Another Sock".[32]
On April 10, 2020, Strong Bad's official Twitter account, @StrongBadActual, tweeted the following: "I just dropped 3 volumes, 180 tracks of background music, jingles, and songs from 20 years of http://HomestarRunner.com! Shuffle these nuggets onto your day like croutons on a life salad! Out now on all your fav music streamins!" According to an article published by The A.V. Club, "For now, anyone desperate to live in the past for a while can listen to the first three volumes through a bunch of different platforms, including Spotify, YouTube, and, if you want to buy them, iTunes." The official Twitter page also noted in a subsequent Tweet that the music is not available on Bandcamp.[33]
References
- ^ a b Chapman, Matt; Chapman, Mike. "Strong Bad's Character Video". homestarrunner.com. Retrieved September 18, 2008.
- ^ Taylor, Lauren (October 24, 2003). "Homestarrunner's antics provide entertainment for its on-line fans". Red and Black. Archived from the original on January 13, 2009. Retrieved September 18, 2008.
- Courier-Journal. Retrieved September 18, 2008.
- ^ National Review Online. Archived from the originalon January 29, 2013. Retrieved September 18, 2008.
- ^ "Strong Bad...thank you". Polygon. April 13, 2021. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
- ^ "Strong Bad Email #53, comic". homestarrunner.com. 2002. Retrieved September 18, 2008.
- ^ "Strong Bad Email #57, japanese cartoon". homestarrunner.com. 2002. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
- ^ "Strong Bad Email #90, colonization". homestarrunner.com. Retrieved September 18, 2008.
- ^ "Strong Bad Email #11, i rule". homestarrunner.com. Retrieved September 18, 2008.
- ^ Chapman, Matt; Chapman, Mike (2003). "Strong Bad Email 79 "the process"" (SWF). homestarrunner.com. Retrieved December 19, 2006.
- ^ National Public Radio. Retrieved September 20, 2008.
- ^ "Strong Bad Email #57, japanese cartoon". homestarrunner.com. Retrieved September 18, 2008.
- ^ "Parsnips for Plenty". homestarrunner.com. Archived from the original on November 4, 2013. Retrieved September 20, 2008.
- ^ Hamilton, Rob (April 4, 2008). "Tag Team Wrestling (NES)". Honest Gamer. Retrieved September 19, 2008.
- ^ "Lunchtime With The Brothers Chap: Strong Bad's Creators Speak And Eat". Kotaku. June 13, 2008. Retrieved September 20, 2008.
- ^ a b c d Dean, Kari Lynn (June 23, 2003). "HomestarRunner Hits a Homer". Wired. Retrieved September 19, 2008.
- ^ a b "Original Book". homestarrunner.com. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
- ^ Dee, Johnny (September 6, 2008). "Internet review: Strong Bad Emails". The Guardian. Retrieved September 21, 2008.
- ^ "Strong Bad Email #58, dragon". 2003. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
- ^ Grant, Christopher. "Full Guitar Hero II setlist with twenty-four bonus tracks". Joystiq. Retrieved January 15, 2009.
- ^ "Telltale Games - Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People - 8-Bit Is Enough webpage". 2008. Retrieved October 26, 2010.
- ^ "Trogdor!! The Board Game webpage". 2018. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
- ^ Yankovic, Al (2014). Heather, Jarrett (ed.). Word Crimes. Event occurs at 1:38. Archived from the original on December 12, 2021. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
- ^ "IMDb: The Magicians". IMDb.
- ^ a b "Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People: Season 1 on Steam". Steam. Retrieved January 7, 2009.
- ^ "Nintendo Voice Chat Podcast, Episode 31". IGN.com. December 15, 2008. Archived from the original on December 19, 2008. Retrieved January 7, 2009.
- ^ McWhertor, Michael (September 2, 2010). "Team Fortress 2's Heavy Finally Playable In... A Poker Game". Kotaku. Gawker Media.
- ^ "A Release Date. Poker Night Has One". Telltale Games. November 18, 2010. Retrieved November 24, 2010.
- ^ Casey, Justin (December 2, 2010). "The Aquabats reveal art and tracklisting for new album". AMP. Archived from the original on January 11, 2011. Retrieved January 5, 2010.
- ^ "The Aquabats Super Trogdor Cameo Dragon Fight!!! - SDCC". YouTube. July 14, 2012. Archived from the original on May 23, 2014.
- )
- ^ "Robot Chicken - Homestar Runner sketch - YouTube". youtube.com. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
- ^ "Homestar Runner has just released 20 years of its music". The A.V. Club. April 13, 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
External links
- Character video on official website
- Strong Bad at Homestar Runner Wiki
- Strong Bad on Twitter