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This Protagonist was Headlined on July 2017. | ||
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| “ | What the what? | „ |
| ~ Gumball's most famous catchphrase. |
Gumball Tristopher Watterson is the titular main protagonist of The Amazing World of Gumball, an animated series by Cartoon Network.
He is a student at Elmore Junior High School along with his adoptive younger brother (and best friend), Darwin and his younger sister, Anais. He has a major crush on Penny, who also has feelings for him, though both initially struggled to express them. In "The Shell," the two finally began dating. While he occasionally causes trouble, he usually learns from his mistakes. His archenemy is Rob as of "The Nobody."
He is voiced by Nicky Jones in the pilot, Logan Grove in season 1-"The Kids," Jacob Hopkins in season 3-"The Copycats," and Nicolas Cantu in season 5-6 in The Amazing World of Gumball. He is voiced by Duke Cutler in The Gumball Chronicles. In the Japanese version, he is voiced by Junko Takeuchi, who also voiced Naruto Uzumaki in the same name franchise, and Gon Freecss in the Hunter × Hunter 1999 series.
Appearance[]
In Season 1, Gumball is a light blue talking cat. On his oversized head, he has 6 whiskers, but 5 are shown because he is 2D. He wears a tan sweater with brown cuffs and a brown collar found in a sewage outlet by Richard and rolled-up gray trousers. His hips are unusually wide. The inside of his mouth is pink, his tongue is light pink, and his nose is orange. One of his sharp canine teeth can also be seen hanging out of the corner of his mouth. He is the only member of the Wattersons without visible eyelashes, but in some episodes, he does have visible eyelashes.
In Season 2, Gumball's head and whiskers, while his eyes are oval-shaped. His canine teeth are rounder and are no longer visible when his mouth is closed. While wearing his pajamas, he wears a red and white T-shirt and shorts.
In Season 3, his eyes are permanently round just like the rest of his family.
Personality[]
In Season 1, Gumball is portrayed as a fun-loving, imaginative, rather optimistic, and mischievous kitten. When his mishaps get him into trouble, he usually tries to fix things with somewhat dimwitted ideas, which often lead to even bigger problems. No matter how his schemes turn out, Gumball's naïveté prevents him from learning his lesson. He often plans these mishaps with Darwin. Like Darwin, Gumball doesn’t seem to notice deception, which might indicate that he’s too optimistic to recognize the more negative things around him. Gumball has a big ego, and it’s his most sensitive trait. Otherwise, he is usually positive about everything that concerns him.
Gumball is smart at times, but that doesn’t make him wise. He often acts foolish and goes to great illogical lengths to find solutions, but he has demonstrated cleverness in other situations. Gumball has displayed signs of observation and operational ingenuity, such as noticing small details like burn marks on Rocky's palms, organizing escape routes based on his surroundings, and even countering his mother Nicole's hand-based attacks for a significant amount of time, as seen in the episodes "The Date" and "The Remote," where he even secretly confiscates her car keys from her pocket. His antics often land him in dangerous, sometimes life-threatening situations, but he is usually saved by luck or by someone more sensible. Gumball has also shown skill in construction, building a system of chain reactions to launch a bowling ball to the moon, as seen in "The Car," though he failed in the final step involving the spring. He’s a decent cook, having made a very good sandwich for Darwin in "The Secret," and an extremely spicy meal for him in the same episode. Additionally, he received a B in home economics for his cooking, with Miss Simian even calling it divine. However, in "The Responsible," Gumball makes disgusting food for Anais, consisting of a rotten fish between two slices of bread and an old shoe. In "The Knights," he bakes a cake for Patrick Fitzgerald.
In Season 2 and onward, Gumball’s personality undergoes a noticeable shift. For example, in Season 1, he was cheerful and often quite dimwitted, somewhat like Darwin. However, from Season 2 onwards, Gumball becomes more pessimistic, cynical, jerkish, and slightly less naïve. Despite this, he still has a large ego, and many of his other traits remain intact. From here on out, Gumball also demonstrated more consistent sarcasm, delivering insults that range from harmless to blunt and rude. These snarky remarks often come out impulsively. He tends to be highly protective of his loved ones, especially Darwin and Anais. In "The Parasite," he tries to poison Jodie Mallard when he thinks she’s harming Anais, and in "The Rerun," he attacks Rob in a fit of rage when he believes Darwin has died.
His massive ego, when unchecked, leads him to act arrogantly around Elmore. His ego explains his strained relationship with Alan Keane, as Alan’s effortless popularity drives Gumball to try to expose him as being less innocent than he appears. His ego also makes him sensitive and prone to emotional outbursts.
Gumball suffers from arachnophobia, as seen in "The Date" when he destroys a picture of Mr. Cuddles while Polly is holding it. He may also have thalassophobia (fear of the ocean) and claustrophobia (fear of enclosed spaces).
Abilities[]
Gumball, like many cartoon characters, can manipulate reality on a vast scale—a concept commonly known as Toon Force. However, Gumball's Toon Force is highly erratic and functions as an "On-and-Off" ability. At times, Gumball can withstand the explosion of the Big Bang itself, transform into an actual Super Saiyan, and endure being hit on the head with multiple bowling balls thrown by Tina Rex (a Tyrannosaurus Rex many times his size). Yet, other times, he can't even withstand a kick from his adopted brother, Darwin.
Despite being considered quite unwise, Gumball can be highly manipulative and easily deceive other characters—even those considered far more intelligent than him. He is also an expert liar, which, combined with his manipulation skills, makes him a tricky and deceptive adversary.
Gumball possesses combat skills, such as punching. Along with his unnatural durability, he is adept at surviving near-death experiences. Gumball can also move all parts of his body in any way he desires. Additionally, he has survived being in "The Void," a space-like place where the world stores its mistakes. In "The Sorcerer," he also demonstrates supernatural abilities, defeating a giant troll using his supernatural level of annoyance.
Defeated or Killed Enemies[]
- Tina: When Gumball and Darwin eat all the protein supplements and During School Gym, Miss Simian announces that they're going to play dodgeball, which Gumball can't stand. Tina comes over to Gumball and remarks that he's going to get pummeled, which he does, unfortunately. After almost being hit with a bowling ball, Gumball decides he has had enough, as his arms begin to grow to massive proportions, his body becomes ripped, and the mustaches grow back. He throws a dodgeball with terrifying strength, which hits Tina and causes her to crash through the wall. ("The Mustache")
- Tobias: In the episode "The Knights," he kicks Tobias' belly to save Penny from her father's car. In “The Mothers,” he and his mom, Jackie, were disqualified from the Mom-Off, after finding out they cheated. In “The Test,” he defeats him by vomiting out the venom inside him, making his face burn off.
- Virus: He is killed when Gumball steps on him. ("The Virus")
- Julius Oppenheimmer Jr.: In the episode, "The Lesson," he, Gumball, and Darwin escape to the rooftop from an air conditioning vent, but find themselves stuck, as the rooftop vent is stuck and can't be opened. Gumball then angers Julius, causing his fuse to go off without him knowing, and they escape in time for Julius to go off and blow open the vent. His words are: “Well played.”. After the pair use a poorly-made zip line, they finally escape the school.
- William: In the episode "The Voice," Gumball hits William with a tennis racket, knocking him out of a window.
- Ant-One: At the pool, Ant-One corners Gumball and Anton, stating that he will replace Anton and become friends with Gumball, whom he calls "father". Gumball then climbs up the diving board with Anton, explaining that Ant-One is not the original. This drives Ant-One to charge Anton, stating that if he “can't be the one, then no one can.” Gumball grabs them both as they dangle off the board. Ant-One, believing that they are too heavy for Gumball, says that he must let them go. Gumball pulls them up easily, but Ant-One scratches Gumball and is dropped into the pool. He sinks to the bottom and is shredded as he is sucked into the drain. (“The Recipe”)
- Zach: Gumball defeats Zach by writing Gumball in the first arcade game in which he wrote his true name, Zach. This causes him to vanish and die. ("The Name")
- Mr. Chanax: Gumball says that it is just a bottle of Rocky's breath and rips Rocky's and all of Soulless Office Workers' contracts. Defeated, Mr. Chanax crumples up into a ball, and Paperball, (free from the control of Mr. Chanax), collapses and every employee regains their spirit, including Rocky. With the deed done, the three hurry to the hospital while the employees hear the news that the goblin assistant of Mr. Chanax has been promoted to CEO by the shareholders, due to Mr. Chanax's "retirement," and told them to get back to work. (“The Boss”)
- Gargaroth: Gumball tossed the last candy in Gargaroth's mouth when he was about to kiss Carrie, and he exploded, thus killing him. ("The Scam")
- The Troll: Gumball used his special annoying ability power about elves, leprechauns, and other little creatures, annoying the troll, forcing him to vomit out the people he ate, and he shrunk, eventually disappearing. ("The Sorcerer")
- Rob: Gumball turned him off with the universal remote during their fight but he was later turned back on. Gumball then ejected him into the Void with the Universal Remote but later rescued him ("The Rerun"). Gumball, with the help of Darwin and Banana Joe, erased him from existence using Banana Barbara's brush, but he was later painted back into the timeline ("The Future").
Overall, Gumball has killed 7 people during the show's run so far. This is not inclusive of various non-permanent deaths or deaths of minor unnamed characters.
Quotes[]
| “ | I think cheese is better than cake, because you can have cheesecake, but you can't have cake cheese! | „ |
| ~ Gumball in "The Mystery." |
| “ | Seventy-nine percent of stair accidents happen on the stairs. | „ |
| ~ Gumball in "The Responsible." |
| “ | Don't be silly! I've got a much better idea. | „ |
| ~ Gumball in "The DVD." |
| “ | GOSH DARN IT! | „ |
| ~ Gumball in multiple episodes. |
| “ | WHY IS THE WORLD SO CRUEL?! | „ |
| ~ Gumball in "The Meddler." |
| “ | I am a predator, hear me roar! [Meows] | „ |
| ~ Gumball in "The Picnic." |
| “ | That's not what you are, it's just how you feel. [Whispering] And this is how I feel… | „ |
| ~ Gumball in "The Shell." |
| “ | Wait a minute, this here is a talking, dancing banana who somehow has a butt. We are in a school with a T-Rex, a ghost, a toast, and whatever Principal Brown is. Now who dares to say this world isn't amazing?! | „ |
| ~ Gumball in "The Others." |
| “ | No, punch town is... is... never mind. | „ |
| ~ Gumball’s last words of the series. |
Trivia[]
- Gumball is known to be a caricature of a young Ben Bocquelet.
- His Toon Force arguably make him one of Cartoon Network's most powerful characters.
- In "The Club," Nicole reveals that she and Richard agreed to give Gumball the middle name "Christopher," but Richard confused it for "Tristopher" on Gumball's birth certificate.
- In "The Treasure," Gumball was born as an ugly baby, with pictures to demonstrate his deformity. However, this was contradicted in "The Choices," where he appears normally as a young child.
- Many people speculated that Gumball is bisexual or pansexual based on various actions of his and clues in the series. Ben Bocquelet has stated on Twitter that Gumball simply "loves who he loves."
- "The Singing" is the only episode where Gumball does not physically appear, nor is he alluded to.
- Gumball makes a cameo in OK K.O. Let's Be Heroes Crossover Nexus as one of the Cartoon Network heroes Strike summoned & defeated, and he also appeared again as one of Ben's Cartoon Network transformations to defeat Strike.
External Links[]
- Gumball Watterson on the Antagonists Wiki
- Gumball Watterson on the Heroes Wiki
- Gumball Watterson on the Villains Wiki
- Gumball Watterson on the Inconsistently Admirable Wiki
- Gumball Watterson on the Inconsistently Heinous Wiki
- Gumball Watterson on the The Amazing World of Gumball Wiki
[]
 Heroes
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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
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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
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Others Crossover Heroes | ||
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