|
Felonious Gru says: "We are going to steal...THE MOON!" Gru says This article Darwin Watterson is a Spoiler and may contain information which may spoil something for you. If your new to the series please read at your own risk thank you. Protagonists Wiki is NOT responsible for any spoilers you see again you have been warned. |
|
| “ | What are we going to do!? | „ |
| ~ Darwin in multiple episodes. |
Darwin Raglan Caspian Ahab Poseidon Nicodemus Watterson III, better known simply as Darwin Watterson, is the deuteragonist of The Amazing World of Gumball, and the titular main protagonist of the Darwin's Yearbook mini-series.
He is Gumball Watterson's best friend and adoptive younger brother, the son of Nicole and Richard Watterson, and the older brother of Anais Watterson. He is also the love interest-turned-boyfriend of Carrie Krueger. Darwin was the Watterson's family pet until he grew legs and became their son. He attends Elmore Jr. High School as a student in Miss Simian's class.
He is voiced by Jake Pratt in the early reel, Kwesi Boakye in Season 1 until "The Kids," Terrell Ransom Jr., in Season 3 until "The Copycats," Donielle T. Hansley Jr., in Season 5 until "The Anybody," and Christian J. Simon onwards. He will be voiced by Hero Hunter in The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball.
Appearance[]
| “ | You thought you could drag me to the bottom of the lake so you could eat me later. Well, guess what, punk? I'm a FISH… WITH LEGS. | „ |
| ~ Darwin defeating the Evil Turtle in "The Puppy." |
Darwin is an orange goldfish with arms and legs. His goldfish-shaped head takes up his entire body, with stubby fins and legs hanging down from it. His legs are much longer than his body and end with rounded feet. Usually, he covers them with green and white sneakers. The inside of his mouth is red, and his tongue is red-orange. In his season 1 design, he had a solid black shadow cast by his head onto his legs (which was often misconceived as a black shirt and pants).
In season 2, Darwin gets a redesign. His black shadow becomes more transparent, almost to the point of being unnoticeable. Additionally, his legs are slightly thicker, and he now has two eyelashes on each eye, instead of three. Like his family, his eyes are now oval-shaped. When in pajamas, he wears green dinosaur slippers with claws.
Since season 3, Darwin's eyes have been permanently round, along with the rest of his family.
Originally, in the early reel, Darwin was a 3D animated character.
Personality[]
| “ | Gumball: This mom-napping thing was by far the worst leader move I've ever heard of! Darwin: Oh come on! That's exactly the kind of idea you'd usually come up with! Gumball: Yeah, but if it was my plan, I would have had you to stop me doing it! |
„ |
| ~ Gumball and Darwin arguing in "The Sidekick." |
Darwin is a very happy and positive person. He is optimistic, always trying to see the best in most scenarios, and generally tries to have a smile on his face. Not only does he desire to be happy, but he also desires to see others happy. His selflessness can be seen in episodes such as "The Fan" (helping Sarah G. Lato fulfill her written fantasy), "The Advice" (using Mr. Small's advice to make him happy), and "The Stories" (helping Molly Collins have an interesting story to tell); in all three, he chooses to do things to make a particularly sad or underappreciated person happier.
However, his optimism can extend to a romanticized and somewhat naïve view of the world. His idealistic viewpoints can be seen in "The Wicked," in which, despite his brother's views and Mrs. Robinson's obvious malicious intent, he firmly believes that Mrs. Robinson is a good person at heart and that there is a reason for her actions. Another example is in "The Signature," where he expresses a wish to create his own charity, but it proves futile in his imagination due to budget constraints and corporate corruption that he was unprepared for: here, he innocently remarks that he "just wanted to help people." He also tends to be a very grateful person: in "The Flower" and "The Night," Darwin is shown not wanting much and just being happy and content with his current life; even when he's literally possessed by Jealousy in the former of the two episodes, he says he doesn't harbor any discontent.
Darwin is also very sensitive and empathetic. He is very affectionate towards others, as seen in his interactions with his family, specifically Gumball, throughout the series. He enjoys affection himself as well, expressing joy at being kissed or hugged. This love and affection may be a weakness of his; as a result, he is very possessive of his loved ones and feels very lonely when not around them. Such is evidenced in "The Bros" and "The Burden," where Penny Fitzgerald's newfound relationship with Gumball makes him jealous (presumably for the first time in his life, as suggested by the events of "The Flower"). He also becomes jealous of Fuzzy in "The BFFs" for what he sees as him taking Gumball away from him.
Darwin has a strong sense of honesty and integrity; he desires to tell the truth, no matter how much trouble it may cause. This can be "The Shell" and "The Gift," in which he cannot adhere to the simplest of Gumball's white lies. His honesty, however, is prevailed by his inclination to be polite towards others; in "The Words," Gumball encourages him to bluntly suggest his opinions to students instead, during which Darwin becomes harsh and forthright. Darwin is also morally grounded in general; he is typically the one to stop his siblings from doing anything wrong and is slow to take "shady" approaches. Darwin's reluctance to do anything wrong can be seen in "The DVD," where he tells Gumball not to pirate Alligators on a Train, opting for a more honest and ethical route. This trait causes Gumball to view Darwin as a "moral guardian," as evidenced in "The Sidekick."
However, his role as Gumball's "sidekick" is also a result of his lack of independence, this being an insecurity of his. He frequently struggles with making his own decisions, as demonstrated in the aforementioned episode, as well as in "The Decisions" and "The Promise," especially the former, where the entire plot centers around Darwin's passive decision-making. Darwin tends to follow Gumball's orders, viewing him as a more decisive "big brother" figure (though this is often more a result of Gumball's impulsivity and arrogance rather than actual decidedness or competence, showing that Darwin can have difficulty recognizing these traits) and is sometimes manipulated into wrongdoing by him. Consequently, there are instances where Darwin participates in Gumball's ill-conceived schemes in a somewhat reluctant yet submissive manner, though he remains anxious about them usually. That said, Darwin is still quite mischievous at times, even without Gumball's influence, and enjoys pranking others, goofing around, but also just having fun: he likes playing video games, eating junk food, and messing around with his brother.
Darwin can also feel insecure about being an outsider within his family at times, as he is quite literally a "fish out of water." He's shown to be sensitive about his adopted status in "The Rerun," where he cries falsely believing that Gumball is insulting him on account of it, and in "The Roots," his family try to reconnect him with his aquatic origins after assuming he is homesick. The question of whether Darwin is a pet or brother/son is also a recurring gag in the series. The two-part "The Origins" also tracks Darwin's backstory and journey of evolving from a mere pet fish to a full-fledged, comfortable member of the family.
Despite Darwin's general happiness and positivity, he has been known to get very angry at times when pushed beyond his limit. "The Banana" and "The Words" both show that he can resort to over-the-top and senseless violence when given a reason to do so, where in the former he tries to physically fight Banana Joe just for ripping his homework, and in the latter where he has a villainous breakdown and begins ruthlessly insulting everyone around school.
He is also eccentric like most characters in the series and has many moments of simple absurdity that contradict his established good-natured personality, such as "The Society," where he breaks down upon seeing an educational safety video and ends up becoming a tyrant over Elmore who eliminates any hazard that could cause harm to someone; in "The Pony," where he callously kicks Rob down a manhole just for being annoying; and in "The Treasure," where he begins attacking a mailbox with a shovel after becoming upset at the Watterson siblings' worthless treasure hunt, where each hit of the shovel is "for" an inconvenience they faced along the way.
Darwin also has samhainophobia (a fear of Halloween; seen in "Halloween") and autophobia (a fear of being alone).
Biography[]
Darwin occasionally mentions his biological parents, claiming he's never met them. He once showed a treasure chest they supposedly left him, but it only contained bubbles. Little is known about his early life, except that he was owned as a baby by the Van Shopkeeper.
The Origins[]
Nicole and Richard buy a pet fish to keep 4-year-old Gumball entertained. When Gumball's fish keeps dying, Richard secretly replaces it each time. Eventually, Richard buys a special fish from a mysterious van seller - this is our Darwin (age 2), who the seller warns is "more special than he appears."
Gumball notices this fish is different, as Darwin is intelligent, understands him, and copies his expressions. When they touch, they feel a supernatural connection. Darwin speaks his first word: "Gumball." During a family photo, Darwin jumps out and speaks, startling Richard who accidentally flushes him down the toilet. Darwin ends up in the ocean, where he meets other fish and asks for directions home; although they warn him that he can't survive on land, Darwin launches himself onto the beach and collapses.
Back home, Gumball mourns the loss but still believes Darwin will return. Gumball's hope causes Darwin to grow a heart and lungs via their supernatural connection. He begins an epic journey back to Elmore, singing "I'm On My Way!" across deserts and valleys, and when Gumball says he'd "kick Darwin in the butt" to keep him going, Darwin grows legs and feet.
Making it back to town, Darwin's appearance scares people and he gets captured by the Pest Controller. He later escapes with help from the other locked-up pets and continues searching. When the Wattersons go to buy a replacement pet, Darwin finds them at the mall but leaves heartbroken when he sees them choosing another fish.
However, Gumball senses Darwin's presence and chases after him. They reunite in the parking lot, where Gumball gives Darwin his green shoes for his injured feet. The family welcomes Darwin as an official member, and both boys fall asleep as Darwin prepares to tell his story.
Present[]
Years later, Darwin, now 10, is fully integrated into the Watterson family dynamic and goes to school with Gumball and Anais. He becomes Gumball's best friend and adopted brother, and is shown to love Anais, Nicole and Richard all the same. He attends Elmore Jr. High in Miss Simian's class, an ill-tempered teacher who often antagonizes her students, especially Gumball and Darwin.
Relationship with Carrie[]
Darwin's feelings for Carrie first appear in "Halloween," where he becomes a ghost and kisses her, saying he'd waited forever to do so. Carrie blushes back.
In "The Scam," Darwin reluctantly joins Carrie and Gumball's fake haunting scheme to get closer to her. When the real monster Gargaroth appears and Carrie tries to sacrifice herself by marrying him, Darwin becomes upset. After Gumball defeats the monster, Darwin and Carrie start making plans together, as the experience brought them closer together, but Gumball interrupts.
In "The Matchmaker," Darwin sings about his love for Carrie while looking at her picture. Gumball mistakenly tries to set him up with Teri instead, which makes Carrie jealous. She helps make a love potion for Darwin and Teri but gets upset about it; when Darwin sees Carrie crying, it breaks the spell and they kiss after deciding to hang out.
"The Drama" shows Darwin and Carrie in a healthy relationship, enjoying activities like amusement parks together. They have opposite but compatible personalities, as Carrie is intelligent and gothic while Darwin is innocent and naive. When Gumball suspects Carrie's ex-boyfriend Azrael wants her back, he discovers they're just friends, and the episode ends with everyone getting along.
Abilities[]
Just like his older adoptive brother Gumball, Darwin possesses many cartoonish abilities, a concept commonly and informally known as Toon Force. With this, he proves rather durable; he withstands the explosion of the Big Bang event in "The Countdown" and often survives major impacts or explosions. Darwin exhibits many supernatural abilities depending on the episode, one example being the ability to transform into a flaming, malevolent form he calls "Darkwin" in "The Move." He is also part suckerfish according to "The Party," which grants him the ability to suck up anything and spit it out clean. Like Gumball, he also demonstrates some skills in combat.
Darwin is multilingual, speaking both fluent Chinese and French. Additionally, he can communicate with non-anthropomorphic animals. He is athletic, capable of running and swimming at high speeds, and is skilled at playing the ukulele and (formerly) the swanee whistle. Darwin also demonstrates an unbreakable will and benevolence, as shown in "The Origins," where he continuously crawled back a very long journey back to Elmore, gaining the ability to walk and adapt via Gumball's love and faith in him. This is also shown in "The Wrinkle," where he undergoes immense training unfaltered, with his innocent personality unbreakable.
Quotes[]
| “ | You don't understand. For my whole walking life, I've had to keep my mouth shut, having to deal with everyone's annoying little habits. But now, I can say what I like! | „ |
| ~ Darwin in "The Words." |
| “ | You're just a drop of embarrassment in an ocean of shame. | „ |
| ~ Darwin reassuring Gumball in "The Internet." |
| “ | CUTE COMBO ATTACK! | „ |
| ~ Darwin in "The Tape." |
| “ | I thought that was fin-flapping-tastic! | „ |
| ~ Darwin in "The Joy." |
| “ | What's in the shell, woman?! | „ |
| ~ Darwin to Penny in "The Shell. |
| “ | I'll find a way. Love always finds a way. | „ |
| ~ Darwin making it back home in "The Origins." |
| “ | How ya' doing? Feeling comfortable? That's funny, 'cause a lot of people on this planet aren't. In fact, there's a lot of people who have it really, really bad. How does that make you feel? Are you proud? Are you still feeling good?! What is wrong with you?! Give them money! Give us money so we can give it to them! DO IT NOW!!! GET OFF YOUR COUCH AND DO IT!!! DO IT NOOOOOOWWW!!! | „ |
| ~ Darwin screaming while doing a commercial in "The Check." |
| “ | Well, it's like, you know when a movie comes out and you say, "The sequel can't possibly be worse!" - then it is? Well, it's like the tenth movie. | „ |
| ~ Darwin about Leslie's face in "The Petals." |
| “ | Wow! You guys are so friendly! It’s almost like, too friendly. But, of course, there's no such thing. | „ |
| ~ Darwin to Julius's gang in "The Sucker." |
| “ | STOP OBJECTIFYING OBJECTS! | „ |
| ~ Darwin in "The Revolt." |
| “ | It's supposed to be Carwin, not Carball, you homewrecking womaneater! | „ |
| ~ Darwin on his relationship with Carrie in "The Shippening." |
| “ | I want more kids! | „ |
| ~ Darwin in an imagined sequence in "The Dress." |
| “ | Yeah! Then we can kick his butt there! | „ |
| ~ Darwin’s last words in the series, wanting to beat up Rob at "PunchTown." |
Trivia[]
- Darwin likes Mexican cuisine, as revealed in "The Countdown."
- According to an interview, Darwin was inspired by series creator Ben Bocquelet's childhood friend, Paul. Paul apparently shared the same sweet-natured personality, was bald, and spent more time with Bocquelet's family than his own.[1]
- Ben mentions in another interview that Darwin was originally designed for a show where mythical animals hid in a child's backyard. When the show was not produced, he added Darwin to the series we have now because he liked his design.[2]
- For the early draft of the show, Darwin was originally going to be the class goldfish rather than Gumball's pet.[3]
- Darwin has the longest name out of any character in the series. He has seven names, as shown in "The Party." All of them have some level of significance to his character:
- Darwin's first name is most likely based on the scientist Charles Darwin, who gained fame for his theory of evolution. A fish with legs or a "Darwin fish" is also considered somewhat of a universal symbol for Darwinism.
- "Raglan" may refer to HMS Raglan, a World War I Royal Navy monitor vessel. The name may also be a reference to the township of Raglan, New Zealand. The town is well known for its surfing, as well as a rare subspecies of dolphin. Coinciding with this, Darwin has been shown to have the ability to utilize echolocation, as dolphins do.
- "Caspian" is likely a reference to the Caspian Sea, the world's largest enclosed body of water. Prince Caspian is a character in author C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia series. Darwin and the prince both possess many similar traits, and Prince Caspian rode through the sea on a ship called the Dawn Treader.
- Ahab is a reference to Captain Ahab, a sea captain obsessed with killing the white whale Moby Dick in the book of the same name.
- "Poseidon" is a reference to Poseidon (known as Neptune in Roman mythology), the god of the seas from Greek mythology.
- "Nicodemus" references Nicodemus the Hagiorite, a saint who lived from 1749-1809. He was purported to possess a love for all things, much like Darwin's seemingly constant outlook on life. Nicodemus was also in the Bible, being 'reborn' as a Christian. This parallels Darwin's transformation from ordinary fish to a "reverse mermaid."
- Darwin is allergic to feathers, as revealed in "The Allergy."
- "The Apprentice," "The Awkwardness," and "The Singing" are the only episodes where Darwin is not physically present or referenced.
- Despite being adopted as a member of the Watterson family in effect, it is revealed by Principal Brown in "The Genius" that Darwin is still legally registered as the family pet.
References[]
External Links[]
- Darwin Watterson at the Antagonists Wiki
- Darwin Watterson at the Heroes Wiki
- Darwin Watterson at the Inconsistently Admirable Wiki
- Darwin Watterson at the The Amazing World of Gumball Wiki
[]
 Heroes
| ||
|
Code Lyoko Firebreather Steven Universe Re-Animated/Out of Jimmy's Head Codename: Kids Next Door Kids Next Door We Bare Bears Ben 10 OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes Sym-Bionic Titan Heroes What A Cartoon! Dexter's Laboratory Cow and Chicken ¡Mucha Lucha! I Am Weasel Edgar & Ellen Krypto The Superdog The Life & Times of Juniper Lee Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi My Gym Partner's a Monkey Class of 3000 Chowder The Secret Saturdays The Mr. Men Show Hero 108 Mixels The Looney Tunes Show New Looney Tunes Mighty Magiswords Over the Garden Wall Clarence Uncle Grandpa Generator Rex Annoying Orange Apple & Onion Summer Camp Island See Also | ||
 Heroes
| ||
|
Watterson Family Fitzgerald Family Robinson Family Banana Family Wilson Family Yoshida Family Jötunheim Family Elmore Junior High Students and Staff Members Elmore Citizens Other | ||
 Heroes
| ||
|
P.E.A.C.E. Others Crossover Heroes | ||