Homestar Runner

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Character: Homestar Runner
watch Homestar Runner's character video Homsar Strong Bad
This article is about the character. For other uses, see Homestar Runner (disambiguation).
Homestar Runner
"Everybody loves the me! I'm a terrific athlete!"
Domicile Homestar Runner's House
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
"Hey, Strong Bad. I've got a low polygon count."

Contents

[edit] Biography

Homestar Runner is the star of his namesake website. He is mainly colored white, with black comma-shaped eyes and a prominent underbite. Usually, he wears a red shirt with a white star and a blue beanie with a red brim and a white spinner. His legs are quite long in relation to the rest of his body. Though he lacks a visible pair of arms, he is still able to function as though he has them, being able to carry and throw things and even type proficiently. It's generally accepted that either he does have arms, but for reasons that are never explained, they are invisible, or that he has limited telekinetic powers. According to the toon Marshmallow's Last Stand, he weighs one hundred pounds. While his middle name was said to be Michael by Marzipan in Halloween Potion-ma-jig and by himself in Flash is Dead!, it may also be Hal, as heard in the DVD commentary for time capsule, though it was also suggested that Hal is Marzipan's pet name for him.

The subject of jokes and the recipient of nicknames, Homestar is an earnest character with a pure heart and nothing but love for the rest of mankind. Unfortunately, his absolute cluelessness and clumsiness keep him from realizing his full potential. As Strong Bad stated in Trogdor Con '97, he has an "unbelievably loose grasp on the world around [him]". He's not completely stupid; he once correctly stated Coulomb's law, albeit after being asked what two plus two is; and has proven to be remarkably clever in the past, for example being the only character who knows that The Thnikkaman is just Bubs in a cheap costume, though such occurrences are few and far between. He and most of the other residents of Free Country, USA speak English, but as seen in his welcome speech to homestarrunner.com, he is also able to speak Spanish, though it is unknown exactly how much. He frequently uses two-syllable exclamations, like "Hi-Ya!", "Highball!", and "Ahct-poo!". Also, Homestar has the strange habit of flicking his head in the opposite direction while talking, only to flick it right back, almost like a tic. If he is annunciating several syllables in a word, he will usually flick his head of each of the emphasized parts, such as in A Death Defying Decemberween, he says, "No way, dog! No way, Bubs!", his head twitching at both the 'no's.

Homestar is the star athlete on an unspecified sports team led by Coach Z and keeps it that way via vigorous workouts, as revealed in the Strong Bad Email dullard. He is also the colonel (which is always pronounced phonetically) of the Homestarmy and the supreme overlord of Broternal Order of Different Helmets in Ever and More. His best friend remains Pom Pom. He has some speech impediments (as he says, he has "twouble with [his] aw's"), and appears to have short-term memory problems, as he frequently forgets things he has just done or said (for examples, see the 12th Answering Machine or Homestar Presents: Presents). Homestar has also shown an incredible ability to sleep, which has been known to get him into trouble. The most extreme example of this oversleeping is the toon Weclome Back, where he slept through June, and possibly the better half of May as well. He also tends to "borrow" things from (and return things to) Strong Bad, for example, Strong Bad's fondue pot.

Although he is often the target of pranks by Strong Bad, Homestar believes that he is friends with the "wrestleman" and tries to win his favor, often with bad results that Homestar completely misunderstands. Occasionally, he and Strong Bad will be on pleasant terms, usually participating together in a Strong Bad Email or watching TV at Homestar's house. As a whole, Homestar seems to be too dim to realize when people are being mean to him, or when he's being mean to other people. He often unintentionally insults his friends or steps on their feelings and is unable to understand their resulting feelings of anger. Another quirk of Homestar's is his ability to be easily outsmarted at his own game, but still be completely oblivious and even happy. As Strong Bad put it in secret recipes, "It's like, even when we win, he wins." It should also be noted that Homestar's psychology may account for his sleepwalking behavior, as exhibited in the Strong Bad Email nightlife.

Yes, he does have teeth.

Homestar has behaved indignantly at various times, often due to discussions of tender subjects, misunderstanding the topic at-hand or his general ignorance of the present situation. While in this state he acts single-mindedly, and in extreme instances violently. This side of his character, not often shown on the website, is often followed by his coming down into an upset and exhausted state, such as in Happy Fireworks, when he refuses to acknowledge Marzipan's absence, or in long pants, when he adamantly rejects the suggestion that he doesn't wear long pants. In email thunder, he claims that on this occasion he had accidentally taken some of Strong Sad's pills.

At present, Homestar works on the help desk at an unnamed tech company with Strong Bad and The Cheat, but has frequently dabbled in the entertainment industry. He made several commercials for Fluffy Puff Marshmallows along with the product's mascot, Marshie. He was paid for his work in the commercials with a lifetime supply of "Red Flavored Fluffy Puff Translucent Dessert Related Substance". He is also the host of an obscure talk/game show named "The Show", has co-starred in at least three Dangeresque movies, has sung seven hit singles and 1 Double Jam such as "Everybody Knows It", "Bad Jokes" and 5 other jams with They Might Be Giants, has revealed that he is considering a career in male modeling, and also has guest starred in an episode of Caleb Rentpayer (in which he shot Caleb). He enjoys running, breaking into Strong Bad's house, singing, and finding the perfect Decemberween present. He also seems to really like bread, as seen in origins and disconnected. Other favored foods are marshmallows, Bronco Trolleys, melonade, and supposedly Hot Pockets, according to the email dullard. His most prized possession is his propeller-cap and its "buzzer". He might be a fan of the NHL's Boston Bruins, as he is seen wearing a Bruins shirt in Superbowl Dealie.

He, Coach Z, Bubs, and Pom Pom, appear to be the current law enforcement in Free Country, USA, as seen in Strong Bad is in Jail Cartoon and road trip. The King of Town calls upon his and Pom Pom's assistance in The King of Town DVD, suggesting higher authority and/or credibility. However, he is also seen as a thief in candy product, stealing a pair of half-eaten "choco-pants". In the October 2007 special Jibblies 2, he saves his friends by agreeing to stay inside the Jibblies Painting for "eternity".

[edit] Character Video Transcript

Main article: Homestar Runner's Character Video

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Oh, hello. Greetings, one and everyone. Welcome to me.... Homestar!... Runner!... Homestar Runner. Um... what else? I pretty much run the show around here. I date the only girl, and have the only propeller cap. {propeller cap twirls} And can run, and jump, and kick the fastest, highest and like nobody's business. If I had to pick one word to describe myself, it would probably be... Fluffy Puff Marshmallows. Or Homestar. Either one, really. They both fit.

{Strong Bad sticks his arm into the scene.}

STRONG BAD: {says one of the following lines, picked randomly}

  • Don't forget "doofus"!
  • Don't forget "moron"!
  • Don't forget... uh... "Lionel Richie"!

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Yeah, that too. That's another good one. In closing, I look good in red. Check it out. {turns around, sings while shaking his rear} Buttdance, buttdaaaaance!

[edit] Character Design

[edit] Eyes

See also Flipped Images
Puppet front
Cartoon front

Homestar's eyes are roughly "6"-shaped — a fact elaborated on in Halloween Safety. Both eyes typically face the same direction, flipped as needed. Homestar is typically drawn standing at a three-quarter view, facing left or right; although he appears symmetrical in such a pose, the way his head is drawn makes it unclear where on his head his eyes are located.

[edit] Clothing

Spin my buzzer!

[edit] Hat

Homestar Runner usually wears a blue and red propeller cap, commonly called a beanie. He calls the propeller a "buzzer". In an interview with Wonkavision Magazine, he claimed that he was born with his hat on. He is occasionally seen without it. He had lost his hat in Where My Hat is At? and apparently Marshmallow's Last Stand (according to the DVD commentary) as well. In the email super powers, Strong Bad managed to make the hat pop off of Homestar's head. In the email car, Homestar had his hat "tricked out" with features such as hydraulics and underglow neon. He also claimed that if Strong Bad spun his "buzzer", it would play the theme from Night Court, but it was obvious Homestar hummed it himself. Homestar dressed as himself in Trogdor Con '97, and wore two hats as a result.

[edit] Shirt

Middlin'

Homestar's shirt is red (occasionally appearing with a magenta tint) with a large white star on it. Due to his lack of shoulders or arms, its shape is more akin to a skirt than a typical t-shirt; The Brothers Chaps have described it as a "dress/shirt" in DVD commentaries. Homestar's naked torso appears to be the same trapezoidal shape as his shirt, implying it is form-fitting. He wore a gray version of his shirt in impression while doing a bad imitation of Strong Sad.

The star is often portrayed as a removable object rather than a printed pattern. Strong Bad stole the star in Marshmallow's Last Stand and used it to coax Homestar and Pom Pom into wrestling Strong Mad and himself. Despite the brothers' loss to Homestar and Pom Pom, Strong Bad tore up the star, and only by kicking Strong Bad and taking one of the stars floating around his head was Homestar able to return his shirt to its original glory. The only other times Homestar's star has been removed were in different town, in which Strong Bad imagined Homestar angrily tearing the star off his shirt and stamping on it when he "called it quits", and hygiene, when he takes it off and blows his nose in it as John. Clearly, the star is a mark of pride to Homestar Runner. In Hremail 62, Homestar shows off some of his apparently older stars, which he calls "Homestars."

In the original script for flashback, Strong Bad wore a similar shirt until Marzipan gave one to Homestar (to replace his Duckie Shirt). After this point, Strong Bad would have ripped off his shirt, explaining why he never wore one to this day. The Homestar Runner Gets Something Stuck In His Craw offered the alternative explanation that the star shirt somehow became stuck in his craw while he somersaulted around the world fifty times.

Note that the shirt is also straight compared to the eyes on the unfinished toon, Tis True, Pom Pom, Tis True.

A real-life version of the shirt has consistently been available for purchase in the Stores.

[edit] Pants and Shoes

See also Homestar Runner's Pants
Sole

It is ambiguous if Homestar is wearing either pants or shoes.

In long pants, Strong Bad claims that Homestar wears no pants and only has blue soles glued to the bottom of his feet; a shocked Homestar disputes this, claiming he wears "long pants". Despite this, he is occasionally seen wearing a pair of pants — such as Daisy Dukes or a Bubs costume — as if his regular appearance is pants-less.

In New Boots, The Cheat animated Homestar's shoes as separate objects. In Hremail 2000, Homestar holds one of his shoes; however, the same hremail shows a close up of his foot with warts and hair, and no clear distinction between shoe and foot. He also has two larger shoe sizes; sizes 18 and Strong Mad.

A Homestar costume is available in Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People, consisting of a shirt, white pants, and white shoes with blue soles.

[edit] Homestar & Marzipan

Homestar's favorite hippie.
See main article: Homestar Runner and Marzipan's Relationship

Homestar's relationship with Marzipan seems tenuous at best, and it has appeared to deteriorate over time. Although Homestar frequently (and usually inadvertently) insults Marzipan, and she claims to have broken up with him several times, the two still seem to stick together. It is unclear how their relationship started, but the fact that their relationship is never truly broken suggests that they really do love each other.

Homestar appears to greatly value their relationship; on the rare occasion that he realizes that their relationship is in jeopardy, he will spring into a desperate ploy to patch things up. He also seems to miss and need Marzipan's badgering every once in a while. When she was out of town in July of 2005, he carried around a cardboard cutout version of her and provided a voice for it. The cardboard version still made similar comments about violence and Homestar's poor grammar that the actual Marzipan would have, providing Homestar with the presumably cathartic opportunity to say "Shut up, Marzipan." Even then, Homestar's relationship with the "Cardboard Marzi" appeared to be tenuous, as he voiced her flirting with other men. Cardboard Marzipan returned in August of 2006, when she was slightly more positive with Homestar, and said she was proud of his unusually-constructed deck.

In Date Nite, Marzipan went out with The Cheat, much to Homestar's dismay. Though the date went well, Marzipan did not stay with The Cheat. She later went out with Bubs, to Coach Z's dismay.

In Donut Unto Others, it was revealed that Homestar and Marzipan have broken up at least 17 times, and that the 17th break-up had reached its 16th anniversary.

[edit] Fun Facts

  • Matt Chapman has stated in interviews that Homestar is his favorite character to voice.

[edit] Relationships

Main article: Character Relationships

[edit] Variations

[edit] Halloween Costumes

[edit] Quotes of the Week

[edit] See Also

[edit] External Links

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