South Park/Characters

The cast of characters from Trey Parker and Matt Stone's long-running animated show, South Park. Come on down and meet some friends of theirs.

Stan Marsh
""Dude, sometimes I think our parents are really stupid.""



The straight man out of the original four kids. Is often the one to give An Aesop at the end of each show. Closest thing to a main character of the show, who tends to be the protagonist of many episodes, and probably not coincidentally the most "normal" character.


 * Anti-Hero: Type II and Type III most of the time. Type IV in Whale Whores.
 * Allergic to Love: He always barfs whenever Wendy gets close to him, in the early episodes.
 * Ambiguously Gay Bi the Way: If Word of God is to be considered, he is the most likely of the main characters to grow up to be gay; given that "Bass to Mouth" gave him a straight male perversion up-grade, either a Retcon or bisexuality seem the most logical answers. Note that, unlike Kyle, he seems relatively fine with naked males, so no Armoured Closet Gay scenario here.
 * Angst: A recurring gag that has stopped in later seasons.
 * Author Avatar: He's a stand-in for Trey Parker. Which probably explains why he's the most prominent character...
 * Big OMG: "Oh my God, They Killed Kenny!"
 * Blue Eyes: He's one of the only characters with a settled eye color.
 * Borrowed Catchphrase: At the end of "Raisins" Stan says "Screw you guys, I'm going home," (Cartman's old catchphrase) to the Goths.
 * Cannot Talk to Women: without puking on them if he likes them.
 * Catch Phrase: "Aw- awww!", "ooooo," and "Goddammit!" In the earlier seasons, he had "Oh my God, they killed Kenny!" and "Dude, this is pretty fucked up right here!" He also has the simpler, "Dude."
 * Characterization Marches On: Was more childish and mean-spirited in earlier episodes. More the Only Sane Man in later seasons.
 * Starting with seasons 15 and 16, he has started to ease back a bit, having more obnoxious or immature moments. He is still much more toned down from how he began however.
 * Common Sense: Stan's main character trait.
 * Deadpan Snarker: Expect something sarcastic to come out of this kid.
 * The Everyman: The most normal out of the other boys and has the same issues like every other american child.
 * Face Palm: Involves pinching the bridge his non-existent nose.
 * Four-Temperament Ensemble: The Phlegmatic.
 * : The other three start avoiding Stan after he gets diagnosed with
 * Genre Savvy: One of the best examples in the show.
 * Wrong Genre Savvy: In "Stanley's Cup".
 * Goth: In "Raisins".
 * The Hero: Usually.
 * Heterosexual Life Partners: With Kyle.
 * Kids Are Cruel: Although not as much as Cartman, Kenny or even Kyle.
 * Knight in Sour Armor: Frequently hates doing the right thing because Being Good Sucks and he always gets screwed over, but he will still make the right choice every time... eventually.
 * Liz Lemon Job: Except that he doesn't even get paid for his tireless efforts to prevent the entire town of South Park from getting themselves killed.
 * Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: When the woodland critters order him to kill a mother lion in "Woodland Critter Christmas",.
 * Nice Guy: Stan is the nicest, friendliest and the most good-natured kid
 * "No Respect" Guy: Barely gets respect from his family, well, most of the time anyway.
 * Only Sane Man: Stan is the sanest kid on the show, most of the time, then it's Kyle fitting the role.
 * Pay Evil Unto Evil: In "Whale Whores".
 * Shout-Out: His name was taken from two characters in Stephen King's IT: Stan Uris and Beverly Marsh.
 * Straight Man: Someone's got to balance out the town's insanity.
 * Tall, Dark and Handsome: A subtle example.
 * Took a Level in Jerkass: In seasons 15 and 16. He isolates all his friends and sees them as shit,, convinces someone to kill themself (successfully), makes a video that exploits Butters for fame, jacks it in San Diego and convinces his friends into a lame ziplining trip to score a 5th generation Ipod Nano.
 * To be fair, seeing everything as shit wasn't his fault- . And the guy who he made kill himself was actually convinced by an old lady, and he totally deserved it.
 * Took a Level In Kindness: Starting from season seven, he becomes more level headed and sympathetic, his bratty moments less frequent. Oddly prior to season six where he Took a Level in Jerkass, becoming as manipulative and apathetic as Cartman towards the gang's new fourth friend. Season 25 and onward not only made him nicer but made him more idealistic.
 * Trash of the Titans: Apparently he has a hoarding problem. He gets over it, though.
 * Unfazed Everyman: Being Genre Savvy in the face of South Park (and his dad's) Weirdness Magnet has made him immune to reacting to the craziness surrounding him.
 * What the Hell, Hero?: On a disturbingly frequent basis. "Mystery of the Urinal Deuce", "Butterballs" and "I Should Have Never Gone Ziplining" for starters.
 * Trash of the Titans: Apparently he has a hoarding problem. He gets over it, though.
 * Unfazed Everyman: Being Genre Savvy in the face of South Park (and his dad's) Weirdness Magnet has made him immune to reacting to the craziness surrounding him.
 * What the Hell, Hero?: On a disturbingly frequent basis. "Mystery of the Urinal Deuce", "Butterballs" and "I Should Have Never Gone Ziplining" for starters.

Kyle Broflovski
""I'm Jewish. I've got some hang-ups about killing Jesus.""

Stan's closest friend. He and his parents are Jewish, but his younger brother Ike is actually from Canada. He appears to be the smartest, at least academically, of the original four, but has a tendency to get sucked into the latest fads/problems/social issues sweeping South Park.

"Sheila: Kyle, if you don't do as you're told, I'm going to be very angry!
 * Anti-Hero: Type IV. He acts like his mother does, though his mother fits the Well-Intentioned Extremist type more.
 * Arch Nemesis: For Cartman (sometimes reaches The Only One Allowed to Defeat You levels).
 * Armoured Closet Gay: Cartman uses this to convince the school that he and Kyle are a couple to keep Kyle from succeeding in wooing Nichole. Kyle's not gay, but his insistence that he's not gay for Cartman only convinces everyone else that he is this trope.
 * Author Avatar: He's a stand-in for Matt Stone.
 * Back from the Dead: In "Imaginationland" he is choked to death by Manbearpig, only for Cartman to resuscitate him.
 * Berserk Button: Don't call his mom a bitch. Enough said.
 * Or make fun of his Jewish heritage.
 * Big Brother Instinct: Ike has become one of Kyle's highest priorities sometime after "Ike's Wee Wee", from following him to Somalia and getting him home safe to worrying about Ike getting circumcised or keeping him from running off with his teacher to Milan. Could arguably be Kyle's biggest drive after his antagonism towards Cartman.
 * Brutal Honesty: Can do this at times.
 * Calling the Old Man Out: Kyle does this to his mom in "Fun With Veal".

Kyle: Well, you made me eat veal and didn't tell me what it was, so go ahead and be angry, you baby calf-killing bitch!

Sharon: Very persuasive."

"Photographer: Take off your hat, please? Kyle: But I never take off my hat. Photographer: Come on now, I bet your parents want a picture of you lookin' natural. Kyle: This is how I look natural. Ms. Choksondik: Kyle, we're taking pictures without hats today! Kyle: (taking off hat) Crap!"
 * Catch Phrase: "You bastards!", which is preceded by Stan's "Oh my God, they killed Kenny!".
 * The Chessmaster: Is very strategic.
 * Chronic Hero Syndrome: This is available only when Cartman has a new, evil plan.
 * Compressed Hair: He easily gets a Jewfro that's larger than his head into a small hat. Justified since it's just the art style exaggerating the size of it.
 * The Conscience: Over the course of the show, he's evolved into this.
 * Designated Monkey
 * Determinator: Prove Cartman wrong and stop him at ANY MEANS NECESSARY! Though he usually fail
 * In "Imaginationland Part II",
 * Dogged Nice Guy: Seldom gets what he wants despite tying to be a decent person. Often due to Cartman.
 * Fiery Redhead: Mixed with his Hot-Blooded tendencies whenever his Chronic Hero Syndrome personality kicks in.
 * Flanderization: His obsession with beating Cartman, to the point of occasionally leaning into Knight Templar territory.
 * Four-Temperament Ensemble: The Melancholic.
 * Genre Savvy: Most notably in "Butt Out", where he knows exactly what is going to happen, notices that those situations have been happening more often lately, and accepts that they won't really learn their lesson..
 * Good Angel, Bad Angel: The voice of morality and plays the "good angel" on Stan's shoulder, prodding him to do the right thing, in direct opposition to Cartman's "bad angel" who will do the wrong thing and take Stan along for the ride.
 * Good Is Not Nice: Seeing some of the conflicts between him and Cartman out of context wouldn't make all that clear that Kyle's supposed to be the good guy.
 * This only happens in "Le Petit Tourette", though, in the perspective of the adults. Cartman fakes Tourette's Syndrome to get what he wants, and Kyle, who's known Cartman all his life, gets annoyed and says that he doesn't have Tourette's, and an authority figure that has it accuses Kyle of being a bully and he is taken to observe various kids with Tourette's (with lack of swearing). He is then forced to apologize to Cartman. However, when Cartman plans to bad-mouth Jews, it's the straw that breaks the camel's back, so Kyle devises an elaborate plan that.
 * In the earlier episodes at least, he and the other boys were essentially just lower scale bullies compared to Cartman.
 * Green Eyes / Brown Eyes: This has been argued, but most prefer to give Kyle green eyes.
 * The short live-action adaptation 'The Real South Park' gave him blue eyes.
 * Green Eyed Red Head: Most definitely has this in fanworks.
 * Hair-Trigger Temper: And How. Kyle is best for easily angered.
 * Have I Mentioned I Am Heterosexual Today?: After Cartman starts a rumor in "Cartman Finds Love" that he and Kyle are together, Kyle tries his damnedest to express that he is not gay and not gay for Cartman.
 * He Who Fights Monsters: Has shades of this due to his antagonism toward Cartman. In some episodes he thinks nothing of having him dead.
 * Although this also depends on how far Cartman has spent in Complete Monster territory in previous episodes.
 * Heterosexual Life Partners: With Stan.
 * Ho Yay: It's evident in his and Stan's deep friendship, but in his adversarial relationship with Cartman it's Invoked.
 * Hollywood Nerd: See ]]Adorkable]]
 * Adorkable: A number of fans see him as this.
 * Hot-Blooded: At least when Cartman's involved.
 * Ill Boy: Not too blatant, but Kyle gets sick much more often than the others boys (unless you count Kenny's constant dying). Suffered kidney failure and mentioned to have Type 1 Diabetes in "Cherokee Hair Tampons", got infected with a hemorrhoid in "Cartmanland" (which turned fatal), was sick throughout the entirety of "The Snuke" and had a quick cold in "Guitar Queer-O". Well, it's either this or plot convenience or for other reasons.
 * Informed Judaism: For all the mentioning of his family's faith, Kyle rarely goes to temple or prays, or even wears a kippah. Plus, his family eats pork products (they had pork for dinner in "Conjoined Fetus Lady" and Kyle threw up bean with bacon soup in "Cherokee Hair Tampons"), which isn't kosher. Partial justification: early on, Kyle's family was the only Jewish family in town, and they're probably not very religious to begin with (as we've mentioned, he's a stand-in for Matt Stone, who is ethnically Jewish but was raised agnostic and is an atheist). Plus, that's part of the joke.
 * Insufferable Genius: Sort of. Kyle, being The Smart Guy, is very intelligent, and, combined with Hot-Blooded and Snark Knight, it becomes something of a subtle version of this trope.
 * Also believes himself on a moral ground high above others, especially Cartman.
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Was this in earlier episodes, but turns into the Only Sane Man in later episodes.
 * Kids Are Cruel: In earlier episodes, despite viewing himself as having much higher moral ground than Cartman, Kyle was essentially a lower scale bully, it was actually him that tormented Pip to the point of earning a broken nose and joined in exploiting and disregarding Butters and Kenny on numerous occasions. There are also subtle hints it was his bullying of Cartman's weight that actually evolved him into the anti-semetic monster he is today. This is toned down in later episodes, though he can still act self righteous or show Jerkass traits on occasion.
 * Knight Templar: See above
 * The Lancer / The Smart Guy
 * Messianic Archetype: Blatantly so in Margaritaville.
 * Mistaken for Gay: With Cartman, in Tonsil Trouble.
 * Again in "Cartman Finds Love" only perpetuated BY Cartman.
 * My Beloved Smother: Kyle on frequent occasions is shown to be submissive if not outright terrified of his overbearing mother. He has been shown to betray every moral ethic he has in fear of provoking her wrath.
 * Nice Hat: He even made a big deal out of it when getting his school picture taken:

"Kyle: I've listened to Hip Hop, I watch UPN, and I love playing Basketball."
 * Nice Jewish Boy: Became this in later seasons.
 * "No Respect" Guy: From Cartman.
 * Not So Different: Kyle on occasion can show similar moments of greed or callousness as Cartman. This was highlighted in "Crack Baby Athletic Association" where Kyle agrees to exploiting crack addicted babies for profit, and spends the entire episode obsessively trying to justify himself, beginning to sound more and more like Cartman as Stan nonchalantly points out.
 * However, Kyle originally just wanted to volunteer to help the crack babies out of human compassion, but then, he gets suspicious of Cartman's motives as usual. And all along, Kyle wanted to have an orphanage for the crack babies, which is absolutely not a bad thing at all considering the ending to the episode.
 * Only Sane Man: In "A History Channel Thanksgiving".
 * Has emerged as this more and more in seasons 15 and 16 as Stan has taken levels in jerkass.
 * Out-of-Character Moment: In "Woodland Critter Christmas", he . Of course,.
 * Out of Focus: He gets the short shift of the trio of Stan, him and Cartman.
 * The Paragon (...Or at least he tries to invoke it.)
 * He would succeed... if the town wasn't so stupid.
 * Please Keep Your Hat On: Considers wearing his hat how he 'looks natural' rather than show off his very large Jewfro.
 * Redheaded Hero: Has red hair is usually this.
 * Rule 63: Fanart of Kyle as a girl isn't hard to find on Deviant ART.
 * He Is Not My Boyfriend: Kyle would like you to know that he and Eric Cartman are not a gay couple, no matter what Cartman says.
 * Snark Knight: VERY sarcastic.
 * Straight Man: When Stan is the designated holder of the Idiot Ball. Has become a regular occurrence from season 15 on.
 * Took a Level In Kindness: More or less the same evolution as Stan. He still has occasional self righteous moments, though they are much more rare.
 * Trans Nature: According to "Mr. Garrison's Fancy New Vagina", Kyle felt he was black all his life.
 * Trans Nature: According to "Mr. Garrison's Fancy New Vagina", Kyle felt he was black all his life.


 * However, this was never mentioned again. Kyle apparently accepted the way he was born.
 * Tsundere: A common (somewhat fandom) trait, especially in regards to Cartman. Ties into Fiery Redhead above.
 * Wimpification: Well, yeah...
 * What Could Have Been: He was originally going to die near the end of season five due to bearing similarities to Stan, but Trey and Matt decided to keep him and have Kenny bite the dust instead since they were getting sick of killing him off in every episode and were running out of original ways by which to do so.
 * You Have to Have Jews: For Cartman to hate.

Eric Cartman


""Screw you guys, I'm going home.""

The fat kid of the group. Incredibly selfish and mean, but the other boys keep him around because they know he won't get along well with anyone else. One of the most well-known and polarising characters of the show.

"Cartman: (sarcastically) I'm sorry I handcuffed Billy Turner's ankle to the flagpole and then I gave him a hacksaw, and then I told him I had poisoned his lunch and the only way he could cure himself was by sawing off his leg. Ms. Cartman: Eric, that's very naughty. Cartman: Well, he called me "chubby!""
 * Acrofatic: While usually very out of shape, he proves to be surprisingly athletic as "The Coon" scaling buildings and a half destroyed roller coaster with apparently little effort.
 * Then subverted majorly in 1% when his atrocious fitness causes and otherwise average class (and whole school) to fail a national fitness test.
 * A Million Is a Statistic: Cartman's Moral Event Horizon is often viewed as killing Scott Tenorman's parents. In fact, he actually probably caused more deaths in "The Red Badge of Gayness", where he lead a drunken mob in plundering towns across the United States. Okay, no one was explicitly shown getting killed, but come on, they burned at least one city to the ground with molotov cocktails.
 * He can also be seen as partially responsible for dooming all of hu-monity in "Trapper Keeper".
 * Ambiguously Gay: He has frequently shown heavily repressed attraction to men, among other strange tendencies. In various episodes, he's been known to dress like Britney Spears and dance with a Justin Timberlake stand-up, joins NAMBLA, takes a picture of Butters' penis in his mouth (then tries to take one of his penis in Butters' mouth), and in the Imaginationland trilogy he makes a bet with Kyle to suck his balls if he proves leprechauns exist, and when he does he takes it all the way to court to make him go through with it. However, some of these instances, particularly NAMBLA and the pictures of him and Butters, can be chalked up to him simply being too naive and stupid to understand what he's really doing.
 * Anti-Hero: Type IV, prior to his Moral Event Horizon. Became a Type V and then a Villain Protagonist in later episodes, but in recent seasons has gone back to a Type IV and maybe even a Type III.
 * Arch Nemesis: For Kyle.
 * Ax Crazy: He is known for infamously chopping up the bodies of two dead corpses and feeding them to their own son in the form of chili, in the famous "Scott Tenorman Must Die" episode. He shows signs of full-blown psychosis at times, and generally has a narcissistic, psychopathic nature.
 * Badass Beard: As "The Dawg" in Miss Teacher Bangs a Boy.
 * Bad Boss: There is nothing worse than Cartman with "Authoritah".
 * Bad Samaritan: Crack Baby Basketball.
 * Bastard Bastard: He's a son of a bitch. Literally.
 * Becoming the Mask: He becomes "Mr. Cartmenez" in "Eek, a Penis!" for his own personal gain, but by the end of the episode becomes genuinely sincere in wanting to "reeeach these kiiiids" and teach them "the white person way of cheating".
 * Believing Their Own Lies: "Jewpacabra" in a form of self administered Karma.
 * Berserk Button: He usually just makes a quick rebuttal when he's called fat, but occasionally it falls into this.

"Cartman: Oh my God, They Killed Kenny! Kyle: (walking outside Cartman's yard, but suddenly stops and turns towards the clubhouse) You bastards! (continues walking past the yard like nothing happened)"
 * Big Bad: The main antagonist of a few episodes, if not a Villain Protagonist.
 * The Big Boned Guy: When siding with his friends.
 * Big Eater: "Yeah I want some cheesy poofs"
 * Boomerang Bigot: Notably in the episode "Ginger Kids", where Cartman (after picking on and fearing gingers for the entire episode) comes to believe he is a ginger and
 * Borrowed Catchphrase: In "Clubhouses":

"Cartman:You guys, I'm seriously!"
 * Brown Eyes / Blue Eyes
 * The Bully: When not himself the victim of fat jokes, he is usually the most prominent in school. It is implied he provoked a tirade of abuse on one student (for crapping their pants in public) so much that the latter committed suicide.
 * Catch Phrase: Cartman has had many over the years including "No kitty, this is my [name of food]", "I love cheesy poofs", "suck my balls", "kickass",etc.
 * "Screw you guys, I'm going home", "Stupid Jew", "Goddamn Jew" and everything that insults Jews, "Respect my authoritah" and lots and lots of swearing.
 * "BET MEEEAAAHM..."
 * "AW, GODDAMMIT!", followed by a head cock and facial grimace
 * A Running Gag is his literal inability to say any other variation of the word "serious" other than "seriously".


 * Characterization Marches On: In the early seasons, his main antagonism was with Kenny, who he constantly made fun for being poor. These days, his anti-Semitism is far, far more prominent than it used to be, and he literally can't speak to Kyle without making fun of him for being Jewish. The poverty jokes come up now and then, but much more rarely.
 * The Chessmaster: In some episodes, he can be this. Specifically in "Scott Tenorman Must Die."
 * Cluster F-Bomb: Easily the most vulgar character on the show.
 * Comedic Sociopath: He is supposed to be funny despite being a jerk.
 * Conspiracy Theorist: Thinks 9-11 was caused by Kyle. Also is the first one to believe that the new Muslim family in town is a terrorist.
 * The Corrupter: he's good at getting others to go along with his schemes, usually Butters. Taken to extremes in Crack Baby Athletic Association where he manages to serve as this to Kyle of all people.
 * Creepy Child: VERY creepy.
 * Creepy Crossdresser: He's worn women's clothing more than once. In his article on the South Park Archives, it has a detailed statement on what could be seen as gender identity issues.
 * Dangerously Genre Savvy: In "Scott Tenorman Must Die", Cartman exploits Unspoken Plan Guarantee by telling a fake plot to humiliate Scott to Stan and Kyle, correctly thinking they'd sabotage it.
 * Despotism Justifies the Means: Can often convince the citizens of South Park of this.
 * Dragon-in-Chief: Cthulhu
 * Depraved Bisexual: He has shown attraction to females more than once but as said above he is also Ambiguously Gay.
 * Determinator: While usually very lazy and stupid, Cartman is capable of incredible things once he puts his mind to it.
 * Although these things only really benefit him and tend to fall into "evil" territory.
 * Did You Just Have Tea With Cthulhu: Cartman managed to become friends with the dark lord, Cthulhu. The two of them then flew through the sky while singing to the tune of the My Neighbor Totoro theme song.
 * Dirty Coward: There is always someone for Cartman to pin the blame on.
 * Disability as an Excuse For Jerkassery: He fakes Tourettes in order to get away with saying racial slurs and the like.
 * Also tries this in "Ass Burgers", but fails due to a very basic misunderstanding of the disease.
 * Disproportionate Retribution: Frequently, and famously.
 * Does Not Like Spam: He led Cthulhu on a crusade against Whole Foods. "No more organic crap for America!"
 * Elimination Catchphrase: "Get the fudge out!"
 * Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: Double-subverted, as when he tries to kill her, he suddenly finds he can't go through with it.
 * Even Evil Has Standards: Because he's evil, Cartman can deliver bits of social commentary that would seem less acceptable if it was Stan or Kyle saying it. Of particular note are his rants on hippies, Family Guy, and the Catholic Church. He also plays the trope absolutely straight in "Major Boobage," in which he shows a lot more love to cats than he ever has to a person.
 * Oh, and of all the evil acts he's willing to do, he draws the line at one: shooting men in the genitals. (We're looking at you, BUTTERS.)
 * Evil Counterpart: To Kyle and Butters (and to a lesser extent, Stan).
 * Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Cartman does not understand the difference between being nice and wearing a nice sweater, as seen in Casa Bonita. He also cannot comprehend the idea of confessing to something because one feels guilty, thinking exclusively in terms of whether or not he'll be punished, and how badly. Many attempts to berate him for his callousness have fell flat since he genuinely doesn't seem to have a clue what empathy is.
 * Evil Gloating: "Cartman: Hahahahaha I made you eat your parents."

"Should I just apologize to my friends and ask them to take me back? Tell then that I was being a selfish jerk? [...] Should I admit I was wrong? Ask for everyone's forgiveness and go back to my original team? Apparently not."
 * Evil Is Petty: We all know just how large in scale Cartman's schemes can run, but he has no problem doing really petty crimes like toilet papering a teacher's house.
 * Evil Plan: Go to Somalia to gain massive profit: done. Tape crack babies fighting over drugs as an internet sensation to profit: done. Convince Cthulu to assist in mass slaughter and show up your friends: done. Oh hell, Cartman thrives on this trope.
 * Fat Bastard: In most episodes.
 * Faux Affably Evil
 * Flanderization: Inverted. Initially he was just a spoiled brat. Now he's incredibly intelligent, calculating, and actually has motivations for some of his actions. He's actually become more manipulative than ever to Kyle of all people; the Black Friday Trilogy shows him "warming up" to Kyle yet talking about having him taken care of as soon as he gets alone with Kenny. It's beyond eerie how Cartman is willing to put hatred aside to achieve a selfish goal and drop it at the turn of a dime when suiting him, illustrating just how sociopathic he can be.
 * Fluffy Tamer: Nothing else qualifies for taming Cthulhu.
 * Four-Temperament Ensemble: The Choleric.
 * Freudian Excuse: It's heavily implied that his friends' constant cruelty towards him and his mother's (unintentional) abuse is what drove him to become the sociopath that he is today.
 * The Friend Nobody Likes: For his outrageously jerkish personality.
 * Genius Ditz: Can easily manipulate people and appears to be able to speak fluent Spanish at age 9, but otherwise completely clueless about a lot of things.
 * In Funnybot, he also speaks and understands German fluently.
 * Heel Realization: On occasion. It doesn't last, though.
 * Heroic Comedic Sociopath: Even though he is a psychopath he has done some pretty heroic things such as saving the world from Saddam's reign in the movie, demolishing Osama bin Laden's army and crippling him, and saving the town from hippies when they got out of control.
 * I Am Big Boned: To justify about being fat.
 * Identical Stranger: To Marlon Brando (Cartman joins NAMBLA) and a bit to Dakota Fanning (The Sketch).
 * Ignored Epiphany: In "Mysterion Rises".

"Cartman: [Coon and Friends] will continue to fight for good and justice! News Reporter: Good and justice? Justin Bieber and most of his fans have just been massacred. Cartman: Yes, Coon and Friends are glad to help! No need to thank me."
 * Innocent Bigot: Cartman doesn't think he's being racist in "Cartman Finds Love" by playing matchmaker between Nichole and Token, the only two black students in the school. He considers what he is doing as helping nature take its course. Boy does he go to the extreme in defending his views there. And now somehow Cartman managed to fill a trope with the word 'innocent'.
 * Insane Troll Logic: Uses this a lot, memorably so in "Mystery of the Urinal Deuce", "Dancing With Smurfs" and "I Should Have Never Gone Ziplining".
 * It's All About Me: Narcissistic
 * I Was Beaten by a Girl: And how!
 * Jerkass: More and more after each season.
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Being The Sociopath that he is, he frequently lulls other characters (and the audience) into thinking he is this. He was actually this in seasons 1-4, and in season five became a Jerkass, growing worse and worse by the day. He's only civil when it suits him; putting his hatred aside with Kyle for instance when it benefits him but willing to turn on it in any given moment once said benefitting runs out.
 * Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: When finally appearing to do some good for a change, Cartman always has a hidden selfish or malicious reason for doing so.
 * Karma Houdini: While he usually does get some form of comeuppance, it's only temporary, usually(but not always) more of an inconvenience than any real punishment. He never suffers from any setback for longer than it takes for the next episode to air.
 * Knight Templar: He genuinely believes Jews are evil, apparently having had been convinced of it by Mel Gibson's films. Also subverted to a degree, as in a deleted scene from "The List" he seems to acknowledge he is a horrible person. This gets taken Up to Eleven in the new "Coon Saga", where he leads Cthulhu on a mass murdering spree, massacring the entire burning man festival, Justin Bieber and most of his fans, and the whole city of San Fransisco, all while thinking he's doing good.

"Cartman: Okay. Last night, all four of us were at the bowling alley until about 7:30, at which time we noticed Ally Sheedy, the Goth chick from the Breakfast Club, was bowling in the lane next to us, and we asked her for her autograph, but she didn't have a pen, so we followed her out to her car, but on the way we were accosted by five Scientologists who wanted to give us all personality tests, which were administered at the Scientology Center in Denver until 10:45, at which time we accidentally boarded the wrong bus home and ended up in Rancho de Burritos Rojos, south of Castle Rock, and finally got a ride home with a man who was missing his left index finger, named Gary Bushwell, arriving home at 11:46."
 * Kids Are Cruel... but Cartman is evil.
 * Lack of Empathy: The Posterboy.
 * Large Ham: He's known for being an extremely campy character.
 * Last-Name Basis: Oddly, all the characters (except Stan, Kyle, Kenny, and Wendy) refer to him as Eric, whereas everyone in the real world refers to him as Cartman, including the title of the very first episode. In-universe, he may be occasionally called Cartman by minor characters, though these are probably slip-ups on the writers' parts and occasional leanings on the fourth wall (such as when Randy says "That's our Cartman!").
 * Likable Villain: Everyone knows Cartman covers about half of the list of Evil Tropes, we've laugh at his antics for sixteen years.
 * Malicious Slander: When given the bully pullpit. Writes an entire book dedicated to slandering Wendy.
 * Manipulative Bastard: Frequently..
 * The Matchmaker: Cartman and Cupid-Me ship same-race couples, and he actively works to get them together.
 * Mistaken for Gay: Happens a few times, mostly with Kyle or Butters.
 * Motor Mouth: During the "Kyle's Mom's a Bitch" song from the movie.
 * Also in "Cartman's Mom is Still a Dirty Slut" once he hears "Come Sail Away" he stops everything to finish it in order to finish in the fastest way possible.
 * Invoked when attempting to explain a very long string of fabricated events in "Toilet Paper".

"Cartman: I'm making the world a better place. Kenny: For you! Cartman: Right. That's what superheroes do."
 * Eucatastrophe: Often. Usually is undone by his own doing.
 * Noble Bigot: In "Cartman Finds Love" he seems to really believe he is doing the right thing in setting Token up with Nichole despite his entire basis is his racism.
 * Noble Demon: Cartman risks serious trouble or imprisonment to protect a load of cats in "Major Boobage". There have also have been other times where he did stuff without wanting anything in return.
 * The show seems to be fond of leaving ambiguity as to whether Cartman does potentially noble acts for hidden selfish reasons or out of genuine conscience, "Kenny Dies" for example, either border him further into Jerkass territory or grant him Noble Demon qualities. Although knowing Cartman, this is most likely the former.
 * Cartman is apparently unaware of the parallels when Kyle asks pointedly whether he noticed the obvious historical parallel, after Cartman had risked arrest by harboring felines in his attic, despite Cartman earlier Hanging a Lampshade on it by suggesting his cat could "write a diary" while in hiding.
 * However, it should be noted that he only does anything "nice" if it will benefit him in some way, or will appeal to what warped sense of morality he has. His inability to understand what everyone else calls being "good" is brought to light a couple of times. For example, when called out by Kenny, we get this:


 * No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Delivers one to Mosquito (Clyde) because Mosquito wanted to help people in the Gulf instead of framing blackmailing fellow heroes.
 * Nominal Hero: He'll sometimes do good deeds like save the town from hippies or save some crack babies, or stop a terrorist threat. Don't expect his motivations to have anything in common with the rest of the team. See the quote for Noble Demon
 * Obliviously Evil: In Coon arc, he really thinks he is making the world a better place by disposing of the people he don't like. Mysterion calls him on this.
 * Pet The Kitty and Cthulhu (literally).
 * Politically-Incorrect Villain Protagonist: Especially when it comes to Jews.
 * Refuge in Audacity: Cartman is so popular with the fans because of his extreme tendencies.
 * Shipper on Deck: For Token/Nichole. He goes to ridiculous amounts to get them together.
 * Shock and Awe: He temporarily gets the ability to
 * Sir Swearsalot: This trope applies to his friends as well, but to him more than anyone else.
 * Sissy Villain: Cartman likes to think he's imposing and dangerous but has basically no defense from being actually attacked. In one case, Kenny is able to easily stall him by lightly slapping at him.
 * In a later episode, he's perfectly willing to antagonize Wendy right up until she'll fight him, then spends the entire episode trying to avoid the conflict he willfully spawned.
 * Smug Snake: Usually alternates between this and Magnificent Bastard.
 * The Sociopath A given.
 * Sociopathic Hero: On occasion.
 * Son of a Whore: His mother had slept with the entire named adult population of South Park.
 * Spoiled Brat: Spoiled ROTTEN by his Mother,
 * Stealth Pun: He's literally a son of a bitch.
 * Straw Misogynist: Mostly reserved for Wendy
 * Ted Baxter
 * Tell Me About My Father: His mother is actually his father.
 * Token Evil Teammate: He puts Kenny (who is himself lecherous) to shame.
 * Took a Level in Jerkass: In season 5. He was already a Jerkass, but the evolution transformed from an obnoxious bully to an outright sociopath.
 * Tourette's Shitcock Syndrome: In an attempt to get away with swearing whenever he wants, he faked Tourette's Syndrome. It backfires on him when not watching what he says causes him to blurt out personal secrets.
 * Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: While Stan and Kyle have both shown moments of being wise beyond their years, Eric Cartman has shown himself to be unchildlike on an entirely different level. A more horrifying level.
 * The Unfettered: To comedic and sometimes horrific extents.
 * Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist: And that's putting it lightly.
 * Verbal Tic: You guys... seriousleh...
 * Villain Protagonist: Emphasis on the villain part.
 * Villainous Glutton: As you can tell by looking at him.
 * Vocal Evolution: He had a higher and more grating voice in earlier seasons.
 * With Friends Like These...: His relationship with the other kids.
 * Would Hit a Girl: In his fight with Wendy, not that it helps him that much. He also beats up a little girl for being a fan of The Coon and Friends (of which he is no longer a member) in "Mysterion Rises."
 * You Are What You Hate: In the 200th episode, Cartman is agonized to learn that ...but not out of any guilt for what he did to him. Cartman's only upset because this means that he's "half-ginger."

Kenny McCormick
""All the time! I die all the time! And you assholes NEVER REMEMBER!""

The one with the orange parka. Lives with a very poor family, and often has to struggle to survive. Used to get killed off Once an Episode, but that's not the case anymore...usually, since Parker and Stone were getting tired of killing him off in every episiode and running out of original ways to kill him. Almost always speaks with a muffled voice, with various levels of intelligibility.


 * All Men Are Perverts: And Kenny is the worst.
 * Anti-Hero: Type I or Type II normally due to his more or less quiet indifference to joining in his friends insanity and distinctly more heroic personality, but he's only a type II during episodes where his "nasty" side comes out.
 * Back from the Dead: All the time..
 * Being Good Sucks: When it comes down to it, he will do the right thing, but due to his  no one remembers his Heroic Sacrifices.
 * Berserk Button: Do NOT mess with his sister.
 * Big Brother Instinct: You don't want to mess with Karen McCormick.  will come and kick your ass, even if you are a girl.
 * Big Damn Heroes: Does this a couple of times, most notably in the Cthulhu trilogy and at the end of the Movie.
 * As of "The Poor Kid" is this to his little sister.
 * Big Good:
 * Blue Eyes
 * Broken Masquerade: He's the only one (besides his parents) who knows/can remember that, and is aware of (and remembers) some of the Eldritch Abominations that the cast encounters.
 * Butt Monkey: For the early seasons, this was passed on to Butters later on, though like the other four boys he is still made to suffer at times.
 * Break the Cutie / Kill the Cutie: The universe loves to break or kill him. And then bring him back again.
 * Catch Phrase: WOOOO-HOOOO!!!, usually said after seeing or doing something sexual.
 * Cerebus Retcon: In season 14 (to awesome effect).
 * Character Development: He starts off as the most bland one of the four, and merely a prop. Nowadays he has a fully fleshed out character and even a superhero alter-ego.
 * The Chew Toy: Dies A LOT.
 * Cosmic Plaything: The universe really hates him. Taken to extremes in "The List": Wendy and Bebe are fighting over a gun, then it accidentally discharges. Everyone in the vicinity checks themselves, and none have been shot. Cut to Kenny in his house miles away, where the bullet suddenly comes through the window and strikes him in the head.
 * It may be due to the universe
 * Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?: Pretty much literally.
 * Die Laughing: In "Scott Tenorman Must Die".
 * Dying Moment of Awesome: In the Big Damn Movie, he dies dropping his hood to his friends and saying goodbye before setting the world back to the way it was and reviving all the dead.
 * Enfante Terrible: Becomes this in "Cartman Joins NAMBLA" when he tries every method he can think of to stop his younger sibling from being born.
 * Extreme Omnivore: Will eat anything for money.
 * The Faceless: Except for The Movie, "Good Times with Weapons", "The Losing Edge", "Meet the Jeffersons" and "Major Boobage".
 * Flanderization: Think about how poor he is or how he's ignored. His perverted nature has also been exaggerated, though granted this has arguably broadened his character as well.
 * Four-Temperament Ensemble: The Sanguine.
 * The Generic Guy: Had little character outside dying once per episode, when this recurring gag ended, he had even less involvement in the show. He has gained more development in later episodes, but still has the least involvement of the other four main boys.
 * Until seasons 12 onwards, then his character is slowly fleshed out until we get  where Crazy Awesome starts to kick in.
 * Getting Crap Past the Radar: 'The Most Offensive Song Ever', good lord.
 * His muffled speech also.
 * In the opening credits for the first five seasons, Kenny's muffled dialogue is "I like girls with big vaginas, I like girls with big fat titties". This remains intact in all reruns, because you can't really hear it.
 * Good Is Not Nice: He may be ready to pull out all stops to get high or get laid but he's an honestly nice guy who cares about his friends (well... Stan and Kyle anyway), and when it comes to other people he will do the right thing (including willing to die for people, and has executed a Heroic Sacrifice on more than one occasion), even if he hates having to do it. But if he gets the chance to take revenge on some bastard who pissed him off or did the wrong thing (mostly Cartman) he will take it.
 * Guttural Growler: As.
 * Heroic Sacrifice: He died this way 2 or 3 times, including the end of The Movie. Subverted in that he has often been shown to be aware of his constant coming Back from the Dead, so it probably wasn't a too big sacrifice for him on those occasions.
 * The Hedonist: Far too interested in sex and drugs for his own good. And he will do anything to get high.
 * Fridge Brilliance: He's trying to cope with . Granted, not the healthiest way of coping, but still...
 * Kenny keeps Why the heck would he worry about using "healthy" coping at all?
 * He's probably more concerned about how to
 * It probably gotten to the point that he is
 * Humanoid Abomination: The source of his immortality has something to do with the Cult of Cthulhu and R'lyeh.
 * In the Hood: A defining example. Not counting his time as, he's dropped his hood less than 10 occasions, and when asked by a nurse while he was dying this one time why he insisted on wearing it, he only shrugged. His hood also has been suggested to attract bad luck to him, and although he has died without it, you really have to wonder why he's insistent on keeping it on. Also, for those who are new to South Park and may be wondering, he has
 * Kids Are Cruel: Like Stan and Kyle, to some extent, though much more subdued later on.
 * See Good Is Not Nice
 * Though he's much more of a Jerkass than Stan and Kyle, due to the fact that he sides with Cartman a lot. An example is "Whale Whores", where he and Cartman join Stan, just because they both want to appear on tv, not because they intend to help Stan. Plus, he's not really interested in doing good most of the time, his primary interests being sex and drugs. He's also much more foul-mouthed than the rest of the kids.
 * Knight Templar Big Brother: Don't mess with his little sister Karen, or you WILL face the consequences.
 * Living Prop: One of the reasons for his eventual replacement. He came back, though.
 * : Played so straight that Kenny may as well be the first
 * Lovable Sex Maniac: YMMV on the lovable part, but he's pretty well recieved amongst the fandom and he is definitely a sex maniac. As a matter of fact, one episode even medically diagnosed him as a "Sex Addict"
 * Mauve Shirt: Nowadays he tends to only get killed off once a season or so.
 * Meaningful Name: Kenny means "born of fire". What does young Mr. McCormick and the mythological phoenix have in common?
 * Mundane Utility: If Kenny ever feels tired, he can just kill himself and wake up after a night of sleep.
 * Nice Guy: Kenny is a very light-hearted boy, especially as Mysterion.
 * One-Scene Wonder: Did very little except die once per episode. Has gained Character Development in later episodes. Arguably still has little involvement outside a single memorable gag per episode, though at least it has actual character involvement now.
 * Only Sane Man: In his family.
 * The Other Darrin: His unmuffled voice in the movie was provided by Mike Judge (the man behind Beavis and Butthead, King of the Hill, Idiocracy, and Office Space); on the show, it's provided by Eric Stough. His muffled voice is provided by Matt Stone.
 * Out of Focus
 * The Stoner: He doesn't have the "surfer accent", but Kenny has had an entire episode dedicated to him getting high on catpiss and Cartman once mentioned that he enjoys getting high by paint-sniffing.
 * The Quiet One: He doesn't speak in several later episodes.
 * They Killed Kenny Again: Trope Namer.
 * The Unintelligible: Usually Kenny's speech is muffled by his parka, allowing his dialogue to be far more profane than the other characters' at times. However, there have been a few occasions where he has taken off the hood and been able to speak intelligibly, such as the end of the movie, "The Jeffersons",
 * Would Hit a Girl: If you mess with Karen McCormick, Kenny will invoke this one.
 * The Stoner: He doesn't have the "surfer accent", but Kenny has had an entire episode dedicated to him getting high on catpiss and Cartman once mentioned that he enjoys getting high by paint-sniffing.
 * The Quiet One: He doesn't speak in several later episodes.
 * They Killed Kenny Again: Trope Namer.
 * The Unintelligible: Usually Kenny's speech is muffled by his parka, allowing his dialogue to be far more profane than the other characters' at times. However, there have been a few occasions where he has taken off the hood and been able to speak intelligibly, such as the end of the movie, "The Jeffersons",
 * Would Hit a Girl: If you mess with Karen McCormick, Kenny will invoke this one.

Leopold "Butters" Stotch
"Who's the boy who can laugh at a storm cloud? Turn a frown into a smile for free? Who's the kid with the heart full of magic? Everyone knows it's Butters!"

- Butters: Th-That's me!

One of the kids at South Park Elementary. Became a main character shortly after "Kenny Dies" (and actually  stayed dead). A wide eyed idealist who should be commended for remaining so after the world tries its hardest to give him reasons not to be.


 * Abusive Parents: And how. They ground him for pretty much everything short of breathing, try to sell him to Paris Hilton, beat the crap out of him after Cartman cusses them out on the phone, even try to murder him in one episode, and chain him in the basement for a week at the end of another. Luckily for him
 * They are saints compare to his Grandma, who bullies him constantly.
 * Aerith and Bob: Although "Butters" is just a nickname, even by his parents.
 * A Man Is Not a Virgin / Sex as Rite-of-Passage: "Becoming a man" after getting his first kiss in "Butters' Bottom Bitch" is an obvious metaphor for these tropes.
 * Apologises a Lot: Please refer to Abusive Parents and Butt Monkey
 * Ascended Extra: Becomes a more prominent character as the show went on.
 * Badass Unintentional: Last of the Meheecans has him turn into this outright.
 * Bumbling Sidekick: From Cartman's perspective, since they are usually portrayed as equally bumbling.
 * Butt Monkey: Happens less frequently but still pops up.
 * Camp Straight: Butters is probably the straightest kid in the show - he's been clearly attracted to at least two girls and has never displayed any Ho-Yay, but he has a lot of interest in the things the other boys think of as gay, such as dancing, music and art.
 * Characterization Marches On: Butters seems to be getting more Genre Savvy throughout the seasons. Examples include "The Ungroundable," "Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs," and "The Human CentiPad"
 * Cheerful Child: despite being the Butt Monkey by everyone, including his own parents.
 * Children Are Innocent: The closest thing the show has; however Butters-centric episodes often subvert this, such as "Butters' Bottom Bitch".
 * Cute Shotaro Boy
 * The Ditz: Not outright stupid, but airheaded.
 * Enfant Terrible: P-professor Chaos!
 * Even Evil Has Standards: Although he rages against the world as Professor Chaos, he just doesn't want to blow up a hospital because "it just seems mean." Of course, he's not exactly that evil to begin with.
 * Evil Is Petty: His evil deeds as Professor Chaos are mostly limited to stealing chalkboard erasers, switching restaurant orders, and trying to flood the earth with a garden hose.
 * Four-Temperament Ensemble: The Supine.
 * Girls Have Cooties: The nearest Butters has to a vindictive trait is his childish disgust of girls, though he is still rather friendly to certain female characters at times.
 * Gosh Dang It to Heck: Uses phrases like "Aw, hamburgers!", "fiddlesticks." and "Son of a biscuit!" The few times he does curse are usually Crowning Moments of Awesome.
 * Got Volunteered: Happens all the time even now.
 * Harmless Villain: Professor Chaos. His plots range from really idiotic to merely not very well thought out (as seen on the episodes "Professor Chaos" and "The Simpsons Already Did It"). Doesn't seem to understand the concept of bacteria (the mayonnaise plot) infecting disease though as he thought it would just be annoying.
 * Kiddie Kid: While the other kids are based on how they act when adults aren't around, (which can be very much Truth in Television) Butters is based on the belief adults hold about kids, being way more innocent and friendly than his classmates.
 * Kindhearted Simpleton: Airhead and sweet.
 * Lethal Klutz: In a flashback, the last time Butters tap-danced in "The Tap Tragedy", he accidentally killed eight people.
 * The Messiah: In the Imaginationland trilogy.
 * Mistaken for Gay: Zig-zagged - the other boys often call Butters a fag, but this seems to be more of a slur directed at his more innocent interests. However in "Cartman Sucks", Butters is sent to a Sexual Correction Camp and in "Raisins," after Butters tells his parents about falling for a Raisins girl, it's revealed that Butters' parents bet on their son's sexuality.
 * Mr. Imagination: Pretty much The Chosen One in the Imaginationland trilogy.
 * And if you think of the kids' ninja battles as being between their residual self images, his imagination's powerful enough for him to steamroll Stan and Kyle at the same time, and they acknowledge it in their game.
 * Naive Newcomer: Butters is still not used to the craziness of the boys.
 * Nice Guy: The warmest and sweetest kid.
 * Pollyanna: VERY positive.
 * Punny Name: Butters Stotch ===> Butterscotch
 * Marjorine (see Wholesome Crossdresser below). Marjorine is a substitute for Butters.
 * In Last of the Meheecans, Butters is known as Mantequilla, which is Spanish for butter.
 * The Renfield: Though he does let out feelings of contempt toward Cartman every now and then.
 * Running Gag: Pulling his pants all the way down to pee.
 * Getting grounded.
 * Sixth Ranger: Up until after the events of "Kenny Dies".
 * Token Wholesome
 * Too Dumb to Live: He keeps believing that Cartman is a friend, when really Cartman just wants to either embarrass him, or get him in trouble.
 * Wholesome Crossdresser: So far, he disguised himself as a girl named Marjorine to steal a device that assumedly sees into the future from the girls (he even got a makeover during this), and dressed up as Courtney Love as part of Cartman's plot to force Captain Hindsight into joining his superhero team. In "Douche Vs Turd" Cartman gets Butters to dress up as a Luau dancer.
 * You Are Grounded: Butters fears this more than any other punishment in the world.
 * Wholesome Crossdresser: So far, he disguised himself as a girl named Marjorine to steal a device that assumedly sees into the future from the girls (he even got a makeover during this), and dressed up as Courtney Love as part of Cartman's plot to force Captain Hindsight into joining his superhero team. In "Douche Vs Turd" Cartman gets Butters to dress up as a Luau dancer.
 * You Are Grounded: Butters fears this more than any other punishment in the world.

Randy Marsh
""Stan? Staaan?""

Stan's dad, a geologist (and thus the only non-mad scientist in South Park; sometimes). Deficient in common sense, but makes up for it with great passion and enthusiasm for... well, whatever happens to be the focus of the episode. The de facto leader of the town whenever they face a threat.

"I don't know, and even if I did know then... I'd probably just tell you because I don't want to be here anymore."
 * All Men Are Perverts: He Loves porn.
 * Amazingly Embarrassing Parent
 * The Alcoholic: Drinks A LOT.
 * Ax Crazy: In "T.M.I."
 * Big No: Does Picard's and Vader's, with the sound taken directly from First Contact and Revenge of the Sith.
 * Big OMG: Gets two of them.
 * Breakout Character: Randy has become increasingly more important lately.
 * Bumbling Dad: Is very stupid, much to Stan's embarrassment.
 * Catch Phrase: "Stan? Staaan?", "Hey, Sharon," "Oh my Gawl!", and a few of his son's.
 * Caught Covered in "Ectoplasm"
 * Characterization Marches On: He used to be the more laid back of the Marshes earlier on, and one of the saner adults overall. Now... not so much...
 * Cloudcuckoolander: Before becoming Too Dumb to Live.
 * A Date with Rosie Palms
 * Dirty Coward: In "Fantastic Easter Special" he gets captured and interrogated by the American Catholic League's ninjas over the location of a rabbit, which he gave to his son to hide in a good place. When they ask him where it is, he responds:


 * Flanderization: He used to be fairly intelligent until season 6. Now he's growing increasingly more stupid.
 * Foil: Stan, the sanest kid, has the craziest parent.
 * Giving the Sword to A Noob: The nominal noob.
 * Hypocrite: Randy is frequently the most hypocritical character in the show.
 * Jerk With a Heart of Gold: As abrasive as he is, there is a good person in Randy.
 * Karma Houdini: Thus far Randy doesn't seem to have learned any real lessons from being an idiot.
 * Large Ham: Randy pretty much embodies this trope.
 * Man Child: Very childish.
 * Old Shame: He joined a boy band before finishing high school.
 * Porn Stache
 * Running Gag: His pants falling when he gets drunk.
 * Serious Business: Whatever the focus of the episode is, he's taking it waaaay too seriously.
 * Snap Back: Quits/gets fired at least 4 times.
 * Stage Names: He performed his interpretation of Tween Wave music as "Steamy Ray Vaughn".
 * Too Dumb to Live: Oh, yeah...
 * For example, he thought Tween Wave music actually involves crapping your pants in a song.
 * Took a Level In Dumbass: Takes a level every episode he appears in, and probably the ones where he doesn't appear, too.
 * Took a Level in Jerkass: Starting in "My Future Self 'n Me."
 * Tuckerization: Parker named Randy after his own father.
 * Write Who You Know: Out of all the characters loosely based on real people, Randy is the least loose, as both are geologists, that is how Trey draws his father, that is Trey doing an impression of his father's voice (especially in the earlier seasons), and Randy Parker's stepfather's surname was Marsh, meaning he grew up known as Randy Marsh.

Jimmy Valmer
""Wow, what a terrific audience.""

A crippled boy with a speech impediment and a stutter. Also a fantastic stand-up comedian.


 * Amazingly Embarrassing Parents
 * A Day in the Limelight: "Krazy Kripples" and "Erection Day"
 * Badass Adorable: Just about every episode he stars in has him do something awesome, from fighting with a pimp to joining the Crips, all while maintaining his childish innocence throughout the whole affair.
 * Handicapped Badass: His crutches aren't going to stop him, even in a fight.
 * Inspirationally Disadvantaged: Parodied.
 * Morality Pet: Cartman is always respectful to Jimmy and even helped him in his love life in "Erection Day" when he had nothing to gain.
 * Nice Guy: Usually.
 * "No Respect" Guy: Most notably in "Erection Day."
 * Only Sane Man: In "Quest for Ratings."
 * Porky Pig Pronunciation
 * Remember the New Guy?: In "Erection Day," Kyle says Jimmy always wins the talent show, which Garrison later says is annual.
 * Retcon: Swanson -> Valmer
 * Sixth Ranger: Whenever the main group gets bigger than 5 or one of the main characters is preoccupied with a different subplot, he is the usual sixth member, though Clyde and Token are not uncommon.
 * Speech Impediment
 * Spell My Name with an "S": Oftentimes spelled as Vulmer.
 * Stand Up Comedy: Does not go well with the Speech Impediment as one may imagine.
 * In-universe at least, he's regarded as relatively talented.
 * The Unfettered

Clyde Donovan
""You, sir, mocked Cartman before, yet you two sit here demanding answers! Now, damn you, let him speak!""

A boy in Stan's class. Second fattest after Cartman. Had a colostomy at age 5.


 * All Men Are Perverts: Not nearly as much as Kenny, though.
 * Bi the Way: He went out with Bebe, but he also had some sort of attraction toward Butters, when he was dressed as Marjorine.
 * Book Dumb
 * Butt Monkey
 * Character Development: Started off as simply the first/only kid to talk once all the primary students had been used. Is eventually retooled as a wimp.
 * A Day in the Limelight: "Lice Capades" and "Reversed Cowgirl".
 * The Ditz
 * Fan of the Underdog: Surprisingly, he's one of the few people who support Cartman in some of his plans.
 * Fanon: Clyde having a one testicle seems to be seen as an actual in-universe rumor, despite the fact that Cartman explicitly says they should just make stories up.
 * The Generic Guy: Though he has been played out as the wimpiest kid who isn't blonde and the second-most submissive to Cartman (even moreso than Liane these days), it's hard to describe Clyde as anything other than "the Boy who isn't black/rich/deadpan/crippled/twitchy/a main character/a prop/Mintberry Crunch/a Star Wars fan/dirty/dead."
 * Informed Attribute / Informed Flaw: His status as the second fattest kid in the class is not in any way visible due to the animation.
 * Kids Are Cruel: May be a subversion. He appears to be one of the nicer kids in the class (just watch "Lice Capades"), and the few times he is cruel is either by an accident or when he really does not know he is being cruel (like in "The List").
 * Though he is also the only kid shown to be unfazed by the murder during the morning announcements, although it's possible he simply didn't understand what was happening.
 * Nice Guy
 * Self-Made Orphan: Poor guy just kept forgetting to put the toilet seat down.

Token Black
""There's no one in town I can relate to I play with autographed baseball bats

while everyone else just plays with sticks and pine cones

Has a boy ever felt so alone?""

The only black kid in South Park. Extremely rich.


 * Aerith and Bob
 * Closer to Earth: Arguably the most normal of the class (aside from his slight naivete and resented "black guy talents").
 * A Day in the Limelight: "Here Comes the Neighborhood"
 * The Generic Guy: Even moreso than Stan and Clyde. Possibly intentional; he has two traits (rich and black) which make him stand out from the rest of the town, but neither of these traits affect his personality.
 * Meaningful Name: He's the token black kid at school. Ties into...
 * Nice Guy
 * Only Sane Man: He's much more down-to-earth than the rest of the cast.
 * Retcon: It's Token Black, not Token Williams.
 * The Smart Guy : One of the smartest kids in class.
 * Stop Being Stereotypical: Turns out Cartman was right, he can play bass. He isn't happy. He is also physically unable to keep himself from laughing at Tyler Perry's comedy, much to his own dismay.
 * Token Minority: It's even in his name (see Meaningful Name above).
 * The White Prince: No pun intended.
 * When the kids dress up as The Lord of the Rings style characters, he's a paladin. (Don't get started on that.)

Craig Tucker
""Do you guys know why nobody else at school likes hanging out with you? Because you're always doing stuff like this. You're always coming up with some stupid idea to do something, and then it backfires, and then you end up in some foreign country, or in outer space or something. That's why no one likes hanging out with you guys.""

One of the 4th graders who attends South Park Elementary. He is implied to have bad behaviour, and is referred to as "the biggest trouble-maker" in his class by Eric Cartman in "Tweek vs. Craig". Craig has a habit of flipping people off, whether to express disdain toward them or not.

"Craig: This is fun. Let's walk for miles through a spooky jungle. It just keeps getting better and better."
 * Anti-Hero: Type IV. Although all the children have negative traits, Craig stands out as being distinctly assertive and a complete bully, leading his classmates into the beating of defenseless kids.
 * In recent episodes however he is much more passive aggressive and stoic, not as attentive to bullying others as before (though still gets the odd laugh out of it).
 * Bad Boss: In episode "South Park Is Gay!", when the main characters are first shown viewing Craig's gang as rivals.
 * Blue Eyes: As shown when they pretend to be warriors, in the anime-styled episode.
 * The Bully: See Anti-Hero above.
 * Butt Monkey: To a lesser extent, in "Tweek vs. Craig." Cartman, Kyle, Stan and Kenny fool him and Tweek into fighting.
 * Catch Phrase: "If I could [random thing that involves swearing or insulting someone] I would be sooooo happy."
 * Earlier in the show he has a habit of flipping people off.
 * Characterization Marches On: Prior to the "Pandemic" two-parter, he was an egotistical rival for the other boys, as opposed to an extremely stoic passive aggressive Deadpan Snarker. He was also shown to be just as willing to do crazy things as the Boys.
 * : In "Pandemic 2". He's not happy about it.
 * A Day in the Limelight: "Pandemic" and "Pandemic 2: The Startling"
 * Deadpan Snarker: Probably the biggest Deadpan Snarker on this show.

""[Cartman]'s the luckiest kid in the world. If I could say "shitballs" to the principal I would be so happy."
 * The Drag Along
 * Dysfunctional Family: No, really, have you seen his family's habit?
 * Flipping the Bird
 * Genre Savvy: In "Pandemic" he knows Stan and his friends have gotten involved in another insane adventure and wants no part of it.
 * Good Is Not Nice: The fact that he is actually good is arguable.
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's probably the most violent kid in his class (or second, after Cartman), as he's seen being the primary leader in every bullying that occurs at school. Not to mention that he enjoys tormenting other kids, this being one of the few reasons he smiles. In early episodes, he was always shown going to the counselor, due to his cynicism and disrespect towards the other characters. That said, he can be nice when it's called for, especially with his new boyfriend Tweek.
 * Kids Are Cruel
 * Not Good with People: In the early episodes, it didn't matter who talked to him. He gave the finger.
 * Official Couple: With Tweek.
 * Perpetual Frowner: If he isn't stoical, he's this.
 * The Rival: To the Boys
 * "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Delivers his above quote to the 4 boys to explain to them why nobody else at school consistently hangs out with them.
 * The Stoic: In the early seasons, he has a blank face, most of the time, even when he flips people off.
 * Not So Stoic: Especially in the latter episodes, after his development. He is occasionally seen smirking or laughing, usually when he mocks someone.
 * How stoic he seems to be a case of Depending on the Writer, going back and forth between being a completely emotionless snarker and an excitable brat from episode to episode.
 * Tall, Dark and Handsome: Implied in the show. The fact that he is definitely taller than the rest of kids is obvious in "South Park Is Gay!", where Craig and three other classmates wear identical clothes and Craig's pants are drawn much longer than the others'. Plus, the creators draw him taller most of the time, as he wears high-waisted, dark pants that make his legs appear longer, especially in latter episodes, probably to accentuate the fact that he's older. To top all this, in "T.M.I", it's mentioned that Craig has grown the most from all the boys, gaining 2.4 inches, which implies that Craig is perhaps the tallest boy in his class. Also, the Fandom sees him as this.
 * Tall, Dark and Snarky
 * Tourette's Shitcock Syndrome: Averted in the earlier seasons with his uncontrollable flipping of the bird; wishes he had the stereotype.

"If I could say/yell "asspussy"/"tampon dick-shit"/"titty sprinkles" to the counselor/in the classroom/on national television I would be so happy."

"Wow, you're [the boy with Tourette's] the coolest kid in the world. If I could call Chris Hanson an "asshole licking dick-fart" to his face I would be so happy.""


 * You Can't Fight Fate: In "Pandemic 2: The Startling," he accidentally defeats the Guinea pirate despite trying to leave and go home. There is also his homosexuality.

Tweek Tweak
""GAH! That is way too much pressure!""

A constantly nervous and paranoid boy with wild blond hair. Constantly twitching because of all the coffee he drinks.


 * Aerith and Bob
 * Attention Deficit Ooh Shiny
 * Butt Monkey: For the four main characters in "Tweek vs. Craig".
 * Cassandra Truth: Underpants gnomes!
 * Catch Phrase: "Gah, that's too much pressure!"
 * Character Tic: Trembling or pulling at his hair.
 * Demoted to Extra: Almost immediately after being promoted to a main character.
 * Expressive Hair
 * Freak-Out: Every time he appears and it's played for laughs.
 * Hair of Gold: Has blonde hair and is very kind.
 * Keet: Even though his hyperactivity comes from the fact that he's paranoid and scared, not happy. Still, he can have serious badass moments, when he gets angry.
 * Must Have Caffeine: His parents own a coffee shop, and give him a bit too much. A large chain bought them out in one episode, but they took over as management for it.
 * Nice Guy: Anxiety moments aside, Tweek is very kind.
 * Nervous Wreck
 * Properly Paranoid
 * Spiky Hair: Though his hair is like that to accentuate his lunacy.
 * Twitchy Eye
 * Verbal Tic: Along with every kind of other tic.
 * What Happened to the Mouse?
 * Wimpification: *Ahem*.

Wendy Testaburger
""Will somebody do something? Every week he gets worse and nobody does anything!""

A girl in Stan's class, and his primary love interest. Broke up with him in season 7, got back together at the end of season 11.

""Don't fuck with me.""
 * Action Girlfriend: Let's have Wendy put it in her own words.

"Fuck Gregory! Fuck him right in the ear!"
 * Be a Whore to Get Your Man: Tries this when Stan developed a crush on Ms. Ellen, only for Ms. Ellen to coincidentally show up wearing leather, thus stealing Stan's attention away from Wendy again.
 * She also gets huge tits to get the attention of the boys in "Bebe's Boobs Destroy Society", but ends up arriving after everyone learns their lesson.
 * A Day in the Limelight: "Tom's Rhinoplasty", "Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Playset", "The Breast Cancer Show Ever".
 * Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: All you have to do is see "Tom's Rhinoplasty" to know why.
 * Demoted to Extra: A big part of the first season, but after The Movie she typically gets an episode Once a Season (exceptions being 3 and 10 where she gets none).
 * Flanderization: Started out as a pretty everyday token female with the occasional... episodic quirk (see: "Tom's Rhinoplasty). Later on she pretty much became the Lisa Simpson of the show, a walking liberal mouthpiece for Stone & Parker.
 * Gag Boobs: Once got breast implants after Bebe's breasts started developing. Let's just say they didn't trigger Aesop Amnesia.
 * Karma Houdini: She never got any kind of punishment for having an innocent woman killed, as mentioned above.
 * Kids Are Cruel
 * Love Interest: Stan's love interest.
 * No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Her fight with Cartman eventually turns into this.
 * Nice Girl: At her best.
 * The Other Darrin: She has had five voice actresses over the years.
 * Precision F-Strike: From the movie:


 * The Rival: She and Cartman outright hate each other. This doesn't prevent some Foe Yay from being present.
 * Sixth Ranger: More often than not. Especially prominent in Season 1 as well as isolated episodes such as "Something You Can Do With Your Finger".
 * Soapbox Sadie: Gets toned down later on, and subverted a couple of times as well.
 * Straw Feminist
 * The Chick
 * Took a Level in Badass: Taken Up to Eleven in "Breast Cancer Show Ever".
 * Violently Protective Girlfriend: Of the most elaborate kind.
 * Women Are Wiser: Though she is still somewhat shrill at times, she actually comes off as more level headed than Stan in most of their recent interactions (which is saying something considering Stan's own personality). Played with in earlier episodes where both of them were near equally childish and obnoxious.
 * Yandere: Do not get between her and Stan.
 * You Go, Girl!: When she's fighting Cartman.

Timmy Burch
""TIMMEH!""

A boy in a wheelchair who can only say his name. Friends with Jimmy.


 * Breakout Character
 * Demoted to Extra: After being built up to be a major secondary character, he was ultimately replaced by the easier-to-write-for Jimmy.
 * Handicapped Badass: His wheelchair doesn’t stop him, even if he’s going to fight.
 * Inspirationally Disadvantaged: Parodied: he's often used to parody various social issues relating to the disabled. Otherwise, he and Jimmy are far more inspirationally treated as just another couple of students by their classmates and everyone else.
 * Nice Guy: Timmy is very friendly with others.
 * Pokémon-Speak: "Timmy!" is the only word he can say somewhat intelligibly. Bizarrely, both of his parents are also like this.

Bebe Stevens
""Having boobs sucks.""

One of Wendy's friends. Hates her boobs and thinks Kyle has a sweet ass.


 * All Women Love Shoes: And Bebe loves them more than all.
 * Big Breasts, Big Deal
 * The Dragon / The Lancer: To Wendy, usually. She can also be this way to anyone else if the girls are the intended antagonists for the episode (at least, from the boys' point-of-view).
 * I Have Boobs - You Must Obey!: Subverted.
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Usually she's harsh towards some of her fellow classmates, when not being Wendy's Lancer. In fact, her harshness becomes a prominent issue in "The List" and "Lice-scapades" (Guess what Clyde's reaction to some of her commentary is). Despite this, her Jerkass behavior actually turns out to be a charade, especially when she doesn't.
 * Lovable Alpha Bitch: While hinted in the show, this seem to be a common characterization on fanworks. That is, when she's not a full-on Alpha Bitch or plain evil.
 * Tomboy and Girly Girl: Far more feminine than Wendy.

Pip Pirrup
""Cheeri-o! My name is Pip. I would like to see if you wouldn't mind not smashing our little town to bits.""

British. Constantly called "Frenchie". Everyone hates him.

"Everyone: Shut up, Pip!"
 * British Accents
 * Butt Monkey: Everyone from Cartman to Chef hates that "Frenchie little frog's" guts.
 * Butt Monkey: Everyone from Cartman to Chef hates that "Frenchie little frog's" guts.


 * Except Butters and Dougie, and Stan at times (so long as no one else is around).
 * Captain Ersatz: Of the Dickens Character.
 * Chew Toy
 * Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: After he got his own episode, he was more or less replaced by Butters.
 * A Day in the Limelight: "Pip"
 * Phrase Catcher: "Go away, Pip, nobody likes you!"
 * Righto!
 * Phrase Catcher: "Go away, Pip, nobody likes you!"
 * Righto!

The Goth Kids
""If you wanna be one of the non-conformists, all you have to do is dress just like us and listen to the same music we do.""

Four kids who hang out behind the school smoking and talking about how life is full of pain. They hate Twilight.

The names of each as follow from left to right: Pete, Henrietta Biggle, Firkle, and Michael.

"Firkle: No one will stop Cthulhu now. All will be sadness. Life will become death, and I will watch the crimson blood leak from your neck! Michael: Dude, that little kid is hardcore goth! Pete: Hardcore goth!"
 * Angst: Part of their character, but mostly Henrietta, and to a lesser extent, Michael.
 * Ax Crazy: The smallest goth (Firkle), who worships Cthulhu and carries around a switchblade.


 * A Day in the Limelight: "The Ungroundable", "Goth Kids 3: Dawn of the Posers"
 * Character Tic: Pete often flips his hair in-between sentences.
 * Enfante Terrible: Firkle.
 * Hypocritical Humor: Most of their humour comes from being rebellious and talking about breaking norms, while being cookie-cutter stereotypes.
 * Smoking Is Cool
 * Smurfette Principle
 * Wangst: Intentional. Henrietta constantly complains about the horrible things her parents do to her, such as...refusing to let her go to a concert because her aunt is coming over...and complaining about the clothes she wears. Her mother is shown as wonderfully loving, which suggests that her reasons for being goth are slightly whinier than the others.

The Sixth Graders
""BOOBS!""

The Boys' bullies, led by a kid whose shirt has a picture of his face on it.


 * All Men Are Perverts
 * The Bullies
 * Cross-Dressing Voices: The main sixth grader is the only male character voiced by a woman.
 * Teens Are Monsters

Kevin Stoley
""Perhaps we could use it to strengthen our star cruisers.""

Minor background character in the Boys' class and a Star Wars fan. Usually unimportant, but joined Cartman's pirate crew in "Fatbeard."


 * Asian and Nerdy: While we don't know about his grades, definitely qualifies as a geek.
 * Geek
 * Living Prop
 * One Steve Limit: Averted. Kevin is also the name of Kenny's brother, and Mephesto's sidekick, both of whom are even more prop-like.
 * Phrase Catcher: "Kevin... goddamn it" said by Cartman when Kevin shows his love for Star Wars at an inappropriate times (such as carrying a toy lightsaber to Cartman's pirate club).
 * Retcon: Introduced as a Chinese-American. Also, his last name was Brooks in "My Future Self n' Me."

Dougie
""What evil plot do you have this time, Professor Chaos?""

Younger nerdier friend of Butters. Joins the latter in his quest to destroy the world after being rejected by the other kids, under the alias of Professor Chaos' minion; General Disarray.


 * Butt Monkey: Was rejected and labeled a "Melvin" similar to Butters.
 * The Dragon
 * Fan of the Underdog: His friendship with Butters, and to a lesser extent Pip, probably counts as this.
 * Minion with an F In Evil: Mostly. He's actually sometimes more savvy than Butters at times, but still pretty clueless for the most part.

Bradley Biggle
""Sometimes, when everything seems hopeless, that's when you need to bring it all. That's when you need...TO BRING THE CRUNCH!""

A mild-mannered, attractive fourth grader, younger brother of Henrietta the goth, and America's favorite superhero, Mintberry Crunch.


 * Blessed with Suck
 * Cloudcuckoolander
 * Dirty Coward: "Heroically" leaves his fellow superheroes to fight Cthulhu and watches Judge Judy instead.
 * Expy: Suspiciously similar to Butters.
 * Living Prop: Before A Day in the Limelight anyway.
 * Put on a Bus
 * What Kind of Lame Power is Mint and Berries Yet With a Satisfying Tasty Crunch, Anyway?
 * Living Prop: Before A Day in the Limelight anyway.
 * Put on a Bus
 * What Kind of Lame Power is Mint and Berries Yet With a Satisfying Tasty Crunch, Anyway?
 * Put on a Bus
 * What Kind of Lame Power is Mint and Berries Yet With a Satisfying Tasty Crunch, Anyway?
 * Put on a Bus
 * What Kind of Lame Power is Mint and Berries Yet With a Satisfying Tasty Crunch, Anyway?
 * What Kind of Lame Power is Mint and Berries Yet With a Satisfying Tasty Crunch, Anyway?
 * What Kind of Lame Power is Mint and Berries Yet With a Satisfying Tasty Crunch, Anyway?
 * What Kind of Lame Power is Mint and Berries Yet With a Satisfying Tasty Crunch, Anyway?

Sharon Marsh
""It's like, the same shit just happens over and over and then in a week it just all resets until it happens again. Every week it's kind of the same story in a different way, but it just keeps getting more and more ridiculous!""

Stan's mom. Much saner than her husband. Not that that says much.


 * Closer to Earth: Duh.
 * Characterization Marches On: Was actually the more vindictive of the two earlier on (i.e. "Clubhouses").
 * A Day in the Limelight: Although it is only the B-story, "Crème Fraiche" is the only time we follow Sharon without Stan or Randy.
 * Hot Mom: According to the Sixth Graders, who go through great efforts to gain a picture of her breasts.
 * After days of trying, Butters managed to get a semen sample after thinking about them.
 * They stand out more when she's in her undergarments or a tight dress.
 * Informed Attribute: See "Hot Mom" above and the picture at right.
 * Only Sane Woman: She's really the only one of the boys' parents who is semi-normal.
 * The Other Darrin: After Wendy, she has the most noticeable change in voices.
 * Tuckerization: She's named after Parker's mom, too.

Jimbo and Ned
""It's coming right for us!""

Stan's Uncle (Jimbo) and his old Vietnam war buddy who lost his arm due to a grenade explosion and speaks with a voice box thanks to a laryngectomy he had to have for his throat cancer. They own the local gun store and love to go hunting.

"Jimbo: Whoo! Let's go kill some god damn Australians! Ned: I think we are actually fighting Canadians. Jimbo: Canadians, Australians, what the hell's the difference?"
 * Badass: In ''South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut" they prove that they still have some fight in them when they take on the Canadian army.
 * Characterization Marches On: They've been considerably more calm and level-headed in recent seasons (though granted this may be partially due to being Out of Focus and are still among the mindless panicking masses in South Park usually).
 * Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Until recently, Ned pretty much vanished off the face of the Earth.
 * Eagle Land: Mostly Type II.


 * Heterosexual Life Partners: Though there are some questions about Jimbo...
 * Living Prop: Ned.
 * Manly Men Can Hunt
 * Out of Focus: Neither have had much focus in the recent seasons, usually appearing in crowd scenes. Ned has not had a speaking role since Here Comes the Neighborhood.
 * Refugee From Time: Possibly the reason they are Out of Focus. They're Vietnamn vets which means that realistically they'd be in their early 60's by now.
 * Satellite Character: Ned.
 * There Is No Kill Like Overkill: They often use automatic weapons and rocket launchers to hunt deer and rabbits.
 * Trrrilling Rrrs: In "Summer Sucks", Ned can somehow do this despite speaking through his voice box.
 * Word of God: Jimbo is Randy's half-brother.

Shelley Marsh
""Shut up, turd!""

Stan's older sister, who cruelly bullies him to ridiculous levels.


 * The Artifact: Only a few later appearances refer to her original sociopath persona (eg. "Over Logging") with her usually acting as merely a generic sister character.
 * Big Sister Bully
 * Braces of Orthodontic Overkill
 * Comedic Sociopathy
 * A Day in the Limelight: "Cat Orgy" and "Broadway Bro Down"
 * Hidden Depths: "Broadway Brow Down" attempted to give her a softer side.
 * Jerkass
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Suggested a few times.
 * Karma Houdini: Got away with her bullying for the most part.
 * Eventually subverted as
 * Spell My Name with an "S": Some official material spells her name as Shelly.
 * Teens Are Monsters
 * The Only One Allowed to Defeat You / Hypocritical Heartwarming: "No Juvenile Hall turd is going to kill you. That's my job."
 * Tuckerization: Named after Parker's sister.
 * Who also abused Trey by tossing him down the stairs, punching him, and locking him out of the house.

Marvin Marsh
""I killed my grandpa when I was your age.""

Stan and Shelley's grandfather and Randy's father. Calls Stan, "Billy," and has been suicidal since he turned 102.


 * Drives Like Crazy: In "Grey Dawn".
 * My Name Is Not Durwood: As mentioned above, always calls Stan "Billy" for some reason. Trey Parker says his own grandfather used to do the same.
 * Senior Sleep Cycle
 * Veteran Instructor: The only man old enough to have actually seen the Civil War… reenactment of 1924.

Gerald Broflovski
""So call me, Kyle's dad. Because it's not about money, it's about… wait, what am I saying? Call me!""

Kyle's dad, and a wealthy lawyer.


 * All Men Are Perverts
 * Amoral Attorney: Once exploited the town, who was on a suing spree for sexual harassment, to make enough money to get a bigger house.
 * Closer to Earth: A rare male example. He does do some stuff of questionable morality, but by and large, it's his wife leading the mass suicides and starting wars over trivial things.
 * Though after The Movie, the relationship seems to have reversed.
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold: In recent seasons, coinciding with Depending on the Writer.
 * Tuckerization: Continuing the pattern, he's named after Stone's father.

Sheila Broflovski
""Whatwhatwhaaaat?!""

Kyle's mom. A "big fat bitch", according to Cartman.

"Remember what the MPAA says. Horrific, deplorable violence is okay, as long as people don't say any naughty words or there's no explicit sex/nudity shown!"
 * Beehive Hairdo
 * Berserk Button: God help you if you swear with her in plain sight.
 * Big Bad: Shares this position in the movie with Saddam Hussein.
 * Big Damn Hero: Saves Sharon from angry Jerseyites in "It's A Jersey Thing".
 * Catch Phrase: Whatwhatwhaaaat?!
 * Heel Face Turn: At the end of The Movie.
 * Hidden Depths: The Jersey side of her doesn't really come out unless she gets around other people from Jersey.
 * Jewish Mother
 * Jerkass: Especially in The Movie, where she almost crosses into Complete Monster territory. She gets better.
 * Not nearly as funny now though.
 * Mean Character, Nice Actor: Mary Kay Bergman, who voiced her in the film, was very nice in her life, even giving close friend Tara Strong a dog for her 26th birthday (the last one Bergman was actually around for).
 * Karma Houdini: One might say she got off way too easily for instigating a Canadian holocaust, killing Terrence and Phillip despite Kyle's warnings and nearly causing The End of the World as We Know It.
 * Although to be fair, Kenny's wish at the end of the film restores everything to they way it was in the beginning, and during the closing number, she pats Terrance and Phillip on the shoulder, calling them "super sweet."
 * Knight Templar Parent
 * Mama Bear: Taken way too far, as she is willing to literally start wars to protect her children against things they really don't need protecting against.
 * Moral Guardians: A scathing parody.


 * My Beloved Smother
 * Nice Job Breaking It, Hero coupled with My God, What Have I Done?: In the movie.
 * Out of Focus: Hasn't appeared terribly often in later seasons.
 * Politically-Incorrect Villain: Towards Canadians in The Movie, despite the fact that her own adopted son is Canadian.
 * Old Shame/That Man Is Dead: Was born and raised in Joisey, moved as far away as she could, and went to great lengths to never let the truth be known.
 * Think of the Children
 * Tuckerization: Even if it's kinda unflattering to Sheila Stone.
 * Took a Level In Kindness: After the movie. See "A Very Crappy Christmas" and "Mr. Garrison's Fancy New Vagina".
 * Villain Decay: Not nearly as abrasive in later appearances. If anything, Randy Marsh has taken the mantle of "parent who overreacts to things and causes problems".
 * Villain Song: "Blame Canada".
 * "The Villain Sucks" Song: "Kyle's Mom is a Bitch." Thanks, Cartman.
 * Villainous BSOD / Heroic BSOD: Gets one at the end of the movie, where she realized that she brought enough intolerance to the world to allow the second coming of Satan (and his boyfriend Saddam).
 * Villainous Breakdown: Involves shooting Terrence and Phillip.
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist: Oh yeah!

Ike Broflovski
"Ike (season 1): Zeeponanner. Ike (season 13): I feel like an asshole."

Kyle's baby brother, very smart for his age.


 * Annoying Younger Sibling: Played with. Originally, he was this, following Kyle and inevitably going through the "kick the baby!" routine. However, as time went on, the two became much closer as Ike's intelligence increased, and now Ike serves as one of Kyle's biggest priorities whenever he gets into trouble.
 * Badass Adorable
 * Bratty Half-Pint: Runs away to Somalia because he's tired of the tedium of middle class suburban life before hitting 4 years old.
 * Breakout Character
 * Canada, Eh?: Actually where he's from (he's adopted).
 * Character Development: He is the only character to age, he started out as a babbling toddler who spouted nonsense, he is now four years old, he's very intelligent, and speak more coherently.
 * Characterization Marches On: He's started acting more and more like an adult in a toddler's body.
 * Child Prodigy: While the other Jew Scouts at Jewbilee made macaroni art looking like they were actually made by children, Ike created an exact replica of The Last Supper with the same materials.
 * Cool Sword: He gets one in "Royal Pudding."
 * Driven to Suicide: He was a McCain voter. Although his suicide jump was only a five-foot drop. As it turns out, it was all a rouse,.
 * Happily Adopted: With the Broflovskis, Ike is fairly content; his real hindrance is with the monotony of middle-class life, the fact that his peers are f*cking idiots, and constantly having to hear about Susan Boyle's performance of Les Misérables on Britian's Got Talent.
 * Somewhat subverted in Miss Teacher Bangs a Boy, in which he tells Kyle that he is "dead to him" and runs away from home to go to Milan with his teacher. He eventually learns the error of his ways, however, and is very upset about leaving his new family in It's Christmas in Canada.
 * Hot for Teacher: Um...yeah. It's also reciprocated.
 * Likes Older Women: In "Miss Teacher Bangs a Boy".
 * The Other Darrin: He's had seven different voice actors/actresses.
 * Rape Is Okay When Its Female On Male: What everyone thinks of his relationship with his teacher.
 * Took a Level in Badass: In "Royal Pudding" and "About Last Night". Seriously, the kid's four and he's a knight in Canada and a

Kyle Schwartz
""I'm back!""

Kyle's cousin Kyle, called "Kyle 1" by Sheila. Became a millionaire.


 * All Jews Are Cheapskates
 * Fan Nickname: "Kyle's Cousin Kyle," though Trey and Matt also call him that and "Kyle 2."
 * Jewish and Nerdy
 * One Steve Limit: Averted intentionally.
 * Stop Being Stereotypical: The entire premise behind his first appearance.

Liane Cartman
""Yes, darling. You can have whatever you want.""

Cartman's mom, who lets him get away with anything.


 * Dope Slap: Believe it or not, there are a handful of episodes where she whacks Cartman after he says something offensive.
 * Extreme Doormat: It turns out in one episode that she spoils Cartman for his attention, because she doesn't have any real friends.
 * In "Coon 2: Hindsight", she actually grounds Cartman for beating up his friends and cursing. She quickly falls before the LeBron James Technique however.
 * Flanderization: Inverted since the show has rather seldom shown her doing anything promiscuous in recent seasons, in favor of playing out her submissive traits.
 * Hermaphrodite: Revealed in the season 1 finale/season 2 premiere two-part episode "Cartman's Mom Is (Still) a Dirty Slut."
 * Hooker with a Heart of Gold: One of the few truly decent people in South Park.
 * In the Blood: In one episode where she takes the kids to visit her relatives, almost all of them act like Cartman, except his grandmother, who acts like Liane.
 * Really Gets Around: She's a prostitute who's slept with the entire adult population of South Park.
 * Really Gets Around: She's a prostitute who's slept with the entire adult population of South Park.

Stephen and Linda Stotch
"Linda: Oh, Stephen, I don't know if we should ground him or call a doctor. Stephen: No, I think you'd better call a doctor. I'll ground him."

Butters' authoritarian parents. Extremely strict, especially Stephen, and it's debated over how mentally stable either of them are. Close friends of the Marshes and Broflovskis, but not well-developed.


 * Abusive Parents: Both physically and emotionally. It's just that no attention has been drawn to it yet (which can be Truth in Television).
 * All Crimes Are Equal: Ground Butters for any punishment, no matter how petty, or occasionally, extreme the actual crime is.
 * All Men Are Perverts: Stephen, along with every other man in the town, in "The Return of the Fellowship of the Ring to the Two Towers."
 * Catch Phrase: You Are Grounded (in various ways).
 * Characterization Marches On: Linda's personality in seasons 5 and 6 can be quite jarring, most notably trying to drown Butters in "Butters's Very Own Episode" and both of them physically beating him in "Jared Has Aides." In contrast Linda is played as the more gentle and submissive of the two in later seasons, usually only going along with punishing Butters under Stephen's influence.
 * Depraved Bisexual: Stephen.
 * Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: Stephen and Linda.
 * Pet the Dog: Despite his authoritarian attitude to parenting and his questionable attitude to discipline, he seems to show genuine love and concern for Butters on a regular basis. At the very least he seems to be a more devoted parent than Randy as of recently.
 * Jerkass: They were willing to sell their son to Paris Hilton. She offered $200 million. They haggled for $250 million.
 * Jerkass Has a Point: Stephen is portrayed as the Only Sane Man when it comes to the Muhammad controversy.
 * Karma Houdini: They have yet to get any real comeuppance for their treatment of Butters.
 * Retcon: In earlier episodes, Stephen's name was Chris. For a while they jumped back and forth until settling on Stephen.

Stuart and Carol McCormick
"Carol: Yes. Kenny's such a great name. My little Kenny, a brand-new Kenny. Stuart:	God, this must be the fiftieth time this has happened.

Carol: Fifty-second."

Kenny's unemployed, neglectful, drug-addicted parents.


 * The Alcoholic: Both of them, but Stuart seems to be the town alcoholic.
 * The Chew Toy: Stuart in "Cartman Joins NAMBLA." In his words, he's had his "nuts broken..." (from Kenny hurling a baseball at his crotch), "body poisoned..." (when Kenny tried to give his mom a chocolate milk and vodka cocktail spiked with morning-after abortion pills, and Stuart drank it after Carol declined), "...and have been made love to in the ass by three dozen 40-year-old men" (which was actually his fault, as he was looking for Kenny and walked into the wrong hotel room). He also broke his nose and got violently ill on North Park Funland's "John Denver Experience" ride.
 * Domestic Abuse: On the season two episode, "Chicken Lover," Stuart and Carol appeared on an episode of COPS where Stuart is being beaten up by Carol for being a lazy alcoholic who can't hold down a job.
 * Dialogue seems to indicate that they both beat on each other a lot, but it's true that on-screen we only ever see it go one way.
 * Further applied in "Make Love Not Warcraft". The teaser depicted a shot of Stuart just about to slug his wife, but cuts off just beforehand. The finished episode has this altered to Carol actually shown beating Stuart up onscreen.
 * Groin Attack: Stuart becomes the victim of this in "Cartman Joins NAMBLA."
 * Noodle Incident: Apparently, Mysterion did something really brutal to them, as they cower at the sight of him.
 * Parental Neglect: Cartman pointed out in "The Wacky Molestation Adventure" that Kenny never tells his parents where he is because "they're alcoholics and they don't care."
 * Stoners Are Funny: More like "Drunks are Funny," but the principle's the same.

Karen McCormick
Kenny's adorable little sister.


 * Children Are Innocent
 * Fragile Flower: Karen's pretty sensitive; she cries at the drop of a hat.
 * Shrinking Violet
 * What Happened to the Mouse?: Kenny was mentioned to have a sister even back in season 1 press releases, though she seemed more like Ike's age back then, and was supposed to pop up in Starvin Marvin but never did. She made one appearance in a season 9 episode but didn't pop up ever again until season fifteen.

Chef (Jerome McElroy)
""Hello there, children!""

The school chef and token minority of the early seasons (Seasons 1-9). The former go-to guy for advice for the boys, which was often dispensed in R-rated song about making love to women.


 * Dropped a Bridge on Him: And then they pulled him out from the rubble and rebuilt him as Darth Chef. This was because Real Life Writes the Plot.
 * Hey, It's That Voice!: Darth Chef was voiced by Peter Serafinowicz, a British Telly actor famous across The Pond as the voice of Darth Maul and a role in Shaun of the Dead.
 * Not to mention Isaac freakin' Hayes.
 * Magical Negro: In fact, while he was on the show he seemed to be the only adult with any kind of common sense.
 * Subverted when he sometimes decides that helping the boys would be more trouble than it's worth (in "Simpsons Already Did It", for example, he starts singing a song when he realizes the boys just told him that they killed their teacher and the autopsy found their "sea men" in her stomach, and he starts preparing to send them to Thailand instead). And when Chef goes crazy, he really goes crazy.
 * In the episode "Red Hot Catholic Love", when the confused boys asked Chef why and what the priest want to put something on their butts, he walks away.
 * Nice Guy
 * N-Word Privileges, subverted: He calls the boys "Crackers."
 * Of course, the boys don't even know what it means.(Although Cartman does later on, as he says to Stan: "Token is gonna want to kick your cracker teeth in!)
 * Only Sane Man: At least among the other adults.
 * Pluralses: While brainwashed by the Super Adventure Club, he at one point tells Kyle, "I specializes in your asshole."
 * Take Our Word for It: Whenever the children ask about something he really doesn't want to tell them.
 * Token Minority: The only non-white adult in the town in the early seasons.
 * Verbal Tic: Always greets the kids with "Hello there, children.", even if there's only one of them.
 * His father has also been heard using "children" when referring to one child. Although it was Cartman, so it could have been a fat joke.
 * What Could Have Been: Barry White was supposed to be the voice of Chef, but due to White's Christian upbringing, turned down the role. Kinda funny, considering that Isaac Hayes was a Scientologist and quit doing South Park because the show offended his religion.
 * Where Da White Women At?: He has had sex with white women (cf. "An Elephant Makes Love to a Pig," where, while watching Kyle's elephant make love to Cartman's pig, Chef realizes that it's similar to the many times he's made it with a white woman), but really, he's not picky.
 * His father has also been heard using "children" when referring to one child. Although it was Cartman, so it could have been a fat joke.
 * What Could Have Been: Barry White was supposed to be the voice of Chef, but due to White's Christian upbringing, turned down the role. Kinda funny, considering that Isaac Hayes was a Scientologist and quit doing South Park because the show offended his religion.
 * Where Da White Women At?: He has had sex with white women (cf. "An Elephant Makes Love to a Pig," where, while watching Kyle's elephant make love to Cartman's pig, Chef realizes that it's similar to the many times he's made it with a white woman), but really, he's not picky.

Mr./Ms. Herbert/Janet Garrison


""I tell you, there's some crazy stuff going on in this town.""

The boys' eccentric homeroom teacher throughout most of the series. He used to carry a sarcastic hand puppet with him (two, actually - Mr. Hat and Mr. Twig), but later left them behind. His gender and sexual preferences have been in constant flux.

"Please, don't take me. Take the children, they're worth more for you!"
 * Anything That Moves: He's been anything that moves and back again at this point.
 * Bad Bad Acting: His ventriloquist act...isn't.
 * But You Screw One Pig and One Pigeon!...and who knows what else...
 * Character Development: Completely with a Star Wars style quest to come to terms with his sexuality. It didn't stick.
 * Demoted to Extra: Originally the second-most prominent adult on the show, he's now limited to a single line in scenes inside the classroom.
 * Dirty Coward: In "Super Fun Time" he tries to sacrifice some children to save himself from gunmen.

"Well I'm sorry, I just don't trust something that bleeds for five days and doesn't die."
 * Depraved Homosexual: To quote Chef: "Children, there's a difference between gay people, and Mr. Garrison."
 * Then again, he's been a Depraved Heterosexual too.
 * He's a depraved whatever-his-orientation-is-at-the-moment.
 * Dynamic Character
 * First Law of Gender Bending: Subverted in Season 12 when his female- to- male sex change operation turns out to be a success.
 * Freudian Excuse: Inverted. He has been deeply tormented all his life because his father didn't molest him as a child.
 * Have I Mentioned I Am Heterosexual Today?: He was this way before coming out of the closet.
 * Jerkass
 * Know-Nothing Know-It-All: Whenever he tries to teach children. From the first episode alone: "Christopher Columbus discovered America and was the Indians' best friend. He helped the Indians win their war against Frederick Douglass, and freed the Hebrews from Napoleon, and discovered France."
 * Rape Is Love: Believed that his father didn't love him because he was never molested by him as a child. Strangely, his mother feels the same way and is shocked to find out it never happened.
 * Sadist Teacher: His emotional imbalances cause him to be this sometimes.
 * Straw Misogynist:


 * Transparent Closet: For the first few seasons.
 * Transgender: Became a woman in season 9 and back to a man in season 12.
 * Turn in Your Badge

Mr. Mackey
""Drugs are bad, mkay?""

SPE's guidance counselor with a very large head. Incredibly mellow, mkay?


 * Clueless Aesop: Often tries to deliver messages to the kids with no logic or knowledge behind them. At one point he fails at teaching sex ed because he's forgotten how it works.
 * Depending on the Writer: He is either a Nice Guy, or a short-tempered Jerkass.
 * Drugs Are Bad: The Trope Namer, heavily parodied. When Mr. Mackey gave an anti-drug speech to the class, he got hopped up on marijuana himself for a while.
 * Flanderization: Seemed to go through one since "Insheeption"(season 14 episode).
 * Hair-Trigger Temper: He seems to have developed quite a nasty one recently, for example "Insheeption" and "Royal Pudding".
 * Nice Guy: Actually tries to help the students with their problems.
 * Stern Teacher
 * Took a Level in Jerkass: In "Royal Pudding", overlapping with No Indoor Voice and Out-of-Character Moment, and all because of a play about tooth decay. The reason?
 * Verbal Tic: Mr. Mackey ends most of his sentences with "mkay?"
 * The Movie reveals he uses "mkay?" as a replacement for the word "fuck."

Diane Choksondik
A grossly big-breasted woman who temporarily teaches the 4th graders until her death in Season 6.
 * Fan Disservice: The sex scene between her and Mr. Mackey in "Proper Condom Use".
 * Gag Boobs: They practically sag to her feet.
 * Killed Off for Real
 * Meaningful Name: Just read it out loud.
 * Stern Teacher: She at least tries to be this.

Principal Victoria
""Oo my, what an exciting day!""

The principal of South Park Elementary, constantly trying to please everyone and failing.
 * Benevolent Boss: Sometimes.
 * Berserk Button: She has zero tolerance for jokes about breast cancer because
 * To the point where she not only allowed, but ENCOURAGED Wendy to beat up Cartman for making fun of it.
 * Just a Stupid Accent: For some reason, she has a Minnesotan accent.
 * Meaningful Name: A Spoonerism of Dallas actress' Victoria Principal's name.
 * Moral Dissonance: In "Breast Cancer Show Ever", she specifically advises Wendy to beat up classmate Eric Cartman for making jokes about breast cancer. While some see this as her Crowning Moment of Awesome, Fridge Logic kicks in when you realize that a school staff member specifically told someone to use violence to solve their problems.
 * Violence against Cartman. She didn't specifically say anything about beating up Cartman. Just implied it heavily.
 * In Sexual Harassment Panda, she claims she killed somebody and tried to burn the body.
 * She's also pretty blatantly homophobic, firing Mr. Garrison for being gay. Which was a pretty blatant Retcon since Mr. Garrison was actually fired for trying to solicit sex from a minor not just for being gay.
 * She also fires the wrestling instructor because of "all the gay porn on your iPhone" (actually, olympic wrestling matches), though that could just be a case Rule of Funny.
 * Pointy-Haired Boss
 * Stoners Are Funny: In "Helen Keller! The Musical."

Jesus Christ
""My children, you should know something. I'm packing.""

Son of God and host of his own talk show, "Jesus and Pals."

"Jesus: I understand. And Kyle, Happy Easter. Kyle: Happy Easter, Jesus."
 * Back from the Dead: "Fantastic Easter Special."
 * Badass
 * Big Good: He's a member of Imaginationland's Council of Nine.
 * Everybody Was Kung-Fu Fighting: After coming back from the dead, he kills Bill Donohue with a glaive (this was his Moment of Awesome).
 * Flight, Strength, Heart: Jesus is an excellent Bare-Fisted Monk and Multi Melee Master. He is also a superb carpenter.
 * I Cannot Self-Terminate: In one episode, "Fantastic Easter Special", Jesus and Kyle have been imprisoned in the Vatican. Jesus realises that if he dies, he can resurrect himself outside the bars. He's unable to kill himself, as suicide is a sin, so he asks Kyle to do it. After initially refusing ("I'm a Jew. I have a few hang-ups about killing Jesus."), he reluctantly agrees, on the condition that "Eric Cartman can never know about this."


 * Jesus Was Way Cool: As shown in the above example, way way cool.
 * Kung Fu Jesus
 * Pals with Jesus: Everyone in South Park, except for Satan. (and even then..)
 * Public Domain Character
 * Physical God
 * Running Gag: People using "Jesus Christ" and similar expressions to curse despite him being right there, including Jesus himself.
 * Supporting Leader: During the "Imaginationland" trilogy.
 * Took a Level in Badass: He was originally quite meek. Then, starting in "Red Sleigh Down", Jesus kicks all sorts of ass.

Satan
"God: You got kicked out of here for being a headstrong rebel. And now you're a whiny little bitch."

The King of Hell and Jesus' opposite number.


 * Affably Evil: He's certainly less evil than Saddam.
 * Anti-Villain
 * Art Evolution: Since season 9, Satan appears to be older and more muscular.
 * Batman Gambit: Pull this one during his boxing fight against Jesus. While betting his money on Jesus while the rest of the city bet on Satan, he beat up Jesus big time until he pretended to be KO'ed by Jesus's weak punch. When Jesus was declared victorious, Satan became several millions dollars richer and went back to Hell taunting the rest for their stupidity. Satan's totally Crowning Moment of Awesome of the century.
 * A Day in the Limelight: "Hell on Earth 2006"
 * The Devil Is a Loser: God complains that Satan went from a headstrong rebel to a "whiny little bitch."
 * The Dog Bites Back: At the climax of The Movie.
 * God Karting with Beelzebub: Though he and God hadn't spoken in millennia, in "Probably" he goes to ask him for romantic advice.
 * Punch Clock Villain: A borderline example, if not an outright one. He only seems to torture truly bad people and even then is usually chanting pleasantly with them otherwise.
 * Satan Is Good: Or at least, he's kind of a big softie.
 * Invisible to Gaydar: Satan has had two lovers—Saddam Hussein, and a guy named Chris.
 * Villain Song: "Up There" from The Movie. Also a subversion, since he is actually singing about how lonely he is down in hell, where his only real company is Saddam, and how he wants to live up on earth. Thus doubles as his "I Want" Song.

Mayor McDaniels
""My geologist? Now? Tell him the infection is fine and I don't need another check-up.""

Corrupt and idiotic mayor of South Park.


 * Characterization Marches On: Originally she was a lot stupider than most of the other South Park adults, but as they got dumber she's generally become smarter; modern episodes tend to vary on whether she's just as dumb as them or the Only Sane Adult in town.
 * Jerkass
 * Pointy-Haired Boss
 * Surrounded by Idiots: Is perfectly aware of the absurd hijinks that occur in the town and has little respect for the idiocy of its citizens, though she rarely comes off as much smarter.
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair: No, it's not a shower cap.

Father Maxi
""Sister, the Jews crucified our Lord and Savior. I mean, if you don't go to hell for crucifying the Savior, then what the hell do you go to hell for?""

South Park's resident Catholic priest.


 * Ambiguously Gay: Claims in one episode to be an ex-homosexual.
 * Beware the Nice Ones: Father Maxi murdered the Catholic Clean Up Crew so they wouldn't replace him with a priest that could harm the kids.
 * Characterization Marches On: Following “Red Hot Catholic Love”, he is portrayed as a Good Shepherd.
 * The Fundamentalist: He believes that Jews and the handicapped will end up in hell. He's right, but what he doesn't know is that so will Catholics, since only Mormons go to heaven.
 * Good Shepherd: After “Red Hot Catholic Love”, he becomes this. He almost always has the kids' best interest in mind, and is one of the vanishingly few adults in South Park to be sane.
 * Only Sane Man: In "Red Hot Catholic Love", we find out that he's the only Catholic priest in the world that doesn't molest children.
 * Pedophile Priest: He averts this, but Randy and the other adults are firmly convinced he is.

Officer Barbrady
""Okay, people, move along. Nothing to see here.""

The town cop, incredibly stupid and unhelpful. His squad car says "To Patronise And Annoy".


 * Bad Cop, Incompetent Cop
 * Catch Phrase: "Move Along, Nothing to See Here..."
 * Clueless Deputy
 * The Ditz: At one point, it turns out he's illiterate.
 * Man Child

Sergeant Harrison Yates
""JESUS CHRIST MONKEY BALLS!!! We could have made an innocent man go to jail who wasn't black!""

An incompetent and corrupt police officer who hates rich black people. Works under the Park County Police Department.

""We've got another rich black guy. I want him humiliated and dragged through the dirt, and I want it done by the books!""
 * Bad Cop, Incompetent Cop
 * Becoming the Mask: When posing a prostitute for a police bust, he plays it to every last detail.
 * Alternative Character Interpretation: He requires one hundred percent evidence that they really were going through with the prostitution. And his 1-year marriage to the pimp was to gather evidence of every crime he had committed.
 * By-The-Book Cop: When it comes to rich black men. Otherwise, he is pretty much a Cowboy Cop.

"Dammit Marsh, why couldn't you have just kept your stupid ugly kid in line?!"
 * Clueless Detective: Partially subverted; he does figure out the culprit behind the left-hand murders using his own police work, but it was unnecessary police work because the evidence was screaming right in his face. He also would have never seen said evidence had it not been for Kyle.
 * The Commissioner Gordon: In "The Coon," he is this to Mysterion and the Coon wants him to be it for him.
 * Custom Uniform: He and his partner Mitch Murphy are plainclothes detectives.
 * Dirty Cop
 * Fake Irish
 * Jerkass: He snubs Kyle more than anyone else.
 * Regarding Stan:


 * Lawful Stupid
 * Officer O'Hara
 * Police Are Useless: Whenever Kyle reports something.
 * Retcon: First shown as part of the FBI and then the South Park Police.
 * Satellite Character: Detective Mitch.
 * Too Dumb to Live
 * Villain Protagonist: In "The Jeffersons" and arguably "Butters' Bottom Bitch," seeing as how the first 2 men he arrested were portrayed sympathetically.

Terrance and Phillip
"Phillip: "Terrance, I-" Terrance: "No. No, Phillip, don't say it. I was an asshole, and this is mostly my fault." Phillip: "That's what I was gonna say: You were an asshole, and this is mostly your fault.""

A comedy duo from Canada who host a show that seems to consist entirely of fart jokes, and is a favorite of the four main boys.

"Terrance: Why do you think Scott hates us so much Phillip? Phillip: Maybe he's homophobic. Terrance: (Beat) But we're not gay, Phillip. Phillip: We're not?!"
 * Adult Children
 * Author Avatar: For Trey Parker and Matt Stone, most prominently in "Canada on Strike" and The Movie.
 * Brought to You by The Letter "S"
 * Canada, Eh?: To an extreme, eh, buddy?
 * Cluster F-Bomb: "Terrance and Phillip: Asses of Fire"
 * A Day in the Limelight: Terrance & Phillip: Not Without My Anus
 * Distaff Counterpart: The Queef Sisters, Katherine and Katie.
 * Gasshole: They fart a lot.
 * Happily Married: To the Queef Sisters.
 * Heterosexual Life Partners: Although there is some question about Phillip.


 * Retcon: Their show was originally referred to as a cartoon, and the whole intent was that the animation was even worse than South Park's. However, it was later established that the "crappy animation" is how all of Canada (and Saddam Hussein) looks. Lampshaded with the fact that they had an Saturday morning cartoon, which "started to breed confusion over whether Terrance and Phillip were animated characters or real people."
 * Self-Deprecation: They were originally created in response to criticisms that South Park (in season 1 mostly) was a badly animated and vulgar show filled to the brim with fart jokes and foul language. So Trey and Matt created an in-universe show with even worse animation that is nothing but fart jokes.
 * Sir Swearsalot: In The Movie.
 * Spell My Name with an "S": Is it Terrance or Terrence?
 * Toilet Humor: Every joke on their show seems to have the same punchline: One of them farts in the other's face.
 * Trademark Favorite Food: Kraft Dinna.

Towelie
""Don't forget to bring a towel.""

A talking, drug-addicted towel made in a lab. Intentionally a flat "ancillary character with a few amusing catchphrases."


 * Animate Inanimate Object
 * Breather Episode: "A Million Little Fibers" and "Crippled Summer", two Towelie-centric episodes, aired immediately after "Cartoon Wars" and "200/201", which were controversial even by South Park standards.
 * Catch Phrase: "Don't forget to bring a towel" and "wanna get high?"
 * A Day in the Limelight: "A Million Little Fibers". (Although, in all fairness, the few times Towelie does appear he is usually the focus of the episode.)
 * No, You: "You're a towel!"
 * The Scrappy: In-universe, though "A Million Little Fibers" didn't help in real life.
 * Stoners Are Funny
 * Vague Age: He's 17 in towel years. Whatever those are.

Mr. Slave
""Ooh, Jethuth Chritht!""

Mr. Garrison's former lover and current husband of Big Gay Al.


 * Catch Phrase: "Ooooooh! Jethuth Crhitht!"
 * Charles Atlas Superpower: How else to describe his ability to insert an entire Paris Hilton into himself?
 * Depraved Homosexual: A Subversion. Sure, he does dip into it with him killing small animals by shoving them up his ass, but despite that and his choice in clothing, with humans he only engages in mutually consensual acts and emphasizes that whores like himself and Paris Hilton are not good role models for children.
 * Happily Married: To Big Gay Al.
 * Leather Man
 * Only Sane Man: When you go beyond his self-admitted depravity, he is one of the few adults to give good advice and generally not be useless.

Big Gay Al
""I'm super, thanks for asking!""


 * Camp Gay: Really, the name should say it all.
 * Happily Married: To Mr. Slave.

Skeeter
""Well, we don't take kindly to folks that don't take kindly around here.""

A man who gets pissed off about a lot of things, often seen in the bar or passionately leading inane movements. Usually depicted as more of a redneck than the main fathers (who are just whatever the plot calls for), but still considered one of the Guys.


 * Fiery Redhead
 * Mad Libs Catchphrase: "We don't take to kindly to..."
 * The bartender sometimes acts as his Phrase Catcher, saying "Now Skeeter, he ain't hurtin' nobody..."
 * Too Dumb to Live

Dr. Alphonse Mephesto
""I've done it, Kevin. I've successfully spliced this chipmunk with a piece of provolone cheese. Do you know what this means, Kevin? No more will the world have to look in two different places for squirrels and provolone cheese.""

The proprietor of the South Park Genetic Engineering Ranch. In addition to traditional Mix-and-Match Critters, he likes to create multi-assed creatures.


 * Aesop Amnesia: In his first appearance, he learns that it's best to "just leave nature alone, to its simple one assed schematics." In his second appearance, he genetically engineered ill-tempered turkeys for Thanksgiving. At the end of the episode, he even starts saying the exact same aesop he learned in his first appearance until Chef interrupts him with a "yeah, yeah, yeah."
 * Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: He hasn't been seen much for a while.
 * Internal Retcon:
 * Mad Scientist
 * Satellite Character: Kevin, a midget who follows Mephesto almost wherever he goes. In season one's "Starvin' Marvin," Chef interrupts an important speech to ask Dr. Mephisto what the hell Kevin is supposed to be.
 * Shout-Out: To The Island of Doctor Moreau (the film version starring Marlon Brando). Lampshaded in "Cartman Joins NAMBLA", where he has a completely different NAMBLA of his own—the North American Marlon Brando Look-Alikes (filled with men who look like Marlon Brando—most of which are Brando as Don Vito Corelone from The Godfather).
 * What Happened to the Mouse?: Until season 14, he hadn't been seen in ten years bar a few background cameos. Trey and Matt mentioned in the commentary for his season 14 episode that they "stopped finding him funny" and wish they'd permanently taken him off the show in the NAMBLA episode.

Saddam Hussein
""Hey! Relax, guy!" (smacks Satan's ass) "Shut it, bitch. You're better seen than heard!""

Satan's abusive gay boyfriend. Initially the dictator if Iraq, he was killed either by wild boars or in a Canadian "gas attack" after attempting to invade the country, he was sent to hell after he died. He was the main antagonist of "South Park: Bigger Longer and Uncut". While technically deceased after The Movie, was a recurring character until season 7, where he was captured by Canadian soldiers. He is arguably even worse than Cartman. ""Hey buddy, relax, take a load off, I'm not hiding any bombs"."
 * Ax Crazy
 * Back from the Dead: After "Bigger Longer and Uncut", he went back to hell. Where was he supposed to go, Detroit? Played more straight later, where he somehow comes back from Heaven (where he was last seen building chemical weapons) to attend Christopher Reeve's Legion of Doom meeting, then (even later) become Prime Minister of Canada.
 * Batman Gambit: He'll do this as part of his EvilPlans.
 * Bastard Boyfriend: To Satan
 * Big Bad: In The Movie, as well as a couple of episodes.
 * Blatant Lies: He does this A LOT. But, because pretty much everybody in this show is a complete idiot, they all believe him.
 * The Caligula: Particularly as the Prime Minister of Canada.
 * Card-Carrying Villain
 * Catch Phrase: "Heeeey! Relax guy!", usually said when someone is (correctly) questioning his motives.
 * Comedic Sociopath
 * Depraved Homosexual
 * Dirty Coward: To an extent.
 * Evil Plan: Many. He's taken over Canada by sneaking his troops in through the airlines, manipulated Satan into invading earth with his demons so Saddam could push him aside and take control, built chemical weapons plants in HEAVEN (even fooling God), and fooled all of Canada into electing him Prime Minister.
 * Eviler Than Thou: To Satan. Though, granted, that's not exactly hard to accomplish.
 * Faux Affably Evil: In spades.


 * For the Evulz: Frequently, perhaps the best example being when posing as the Canadian Prime Minister and establishing all manner of seemingly trivial but surprisingly effective and life destroying laws.
 * Freudian Excuse: He explains that his parents were abusive in The Movie. He might be telling the truth, but it is much more likely he was just lying to Satan so he'll forgive him (which was kind of the entire point of his song...)
 * Jerkass: Even more so than Cartman!
 * Killed Off for Real: It's never really specified what happened after the Canadians arrested him, but he hasn't been seen since.
 * Truth in Television: Subverted. While Saddam Hussein really was an evil, manipulative dictator, pretty much everything else about his personality is made up, such as being gay and speaking in a high whiny voice.
 * Manipulative Bastard
 * Murder the Hypotenuse: He stabs Satan's "pussy" boyfriend Chris in order to get back with Satan. Not that it makes much difference - after all, where was Chris going to go, Detroit?
 * Non-Standard Character Design: Not only is he animated in the same style as the Canadians (which kinda made sense since he first appeared an episode starring Terrance and Phillip), but he's one of the few characters with a photo head (some others include Mr. Garrison after his nose job, Ben Affleck in "How to Eat With Your Butt", and the little pink Christina Aguilera monsters from "Timmy 2000").
 * Seme: In his relationship with Satan.
 * Villain Song: "I Can Change" from The Movie
 * Yandere: In "Probably" he stabs Satan's new boyfriend to death. (He came back the next day back in hell. Where was he supposed to go? Detroit?)

Mr. Hankey
"Flush him down, but he's never gone! His smell and his spirit ling-er on!"

Christmas-themed sapient poo. Based on a character made up by Trey Parker's father, who told him when he he was a kid that if he did not flush the toilet after going, Mr. Hankey would jump out and bite him.


 * Badass
 * Catch Phrase: "Howdy ho!"
 * Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Made a brief cameo in "201" along with many other characters.
 * Clap Your Hands If You Believe
 * Dysfunctional Family
 * Getting Crap Past the Censors: Literally.
 * Non-Human Sidekick
 * Robe and Wizard Hat: In "Chef's Chocolate Salty Balls."
 * Talking Poo

Santa Claus
"Santa: ''"Her name is Rio and she dances on the sand just like that river twistin' through the dusty land"'' Jesus: "Uh, Santa, Santa, Santa. That's not a Christmas song, bud." Santa: "I know, but there's, like, 300 Jesus Christmas songs and only four fucking Santa ones!""

Santa Claus Claus. Jesus' best friend.


 * Action Santa
 * Badass Santa
 * Christmas Elves: Employs the Underpants Gnomes.
 * The Lancer: To Jesus.
 * Santa Claus

The Super Best Friends
"Narrator: In the great hall of the Super Best Friends there are assembled the leaders of the world's biggest religions. Jesus! Buddha! Krishna! Muhammad! Lao Tse and Joseph Smith! And the mighty Semen. Sea-Man: It's not Semen, it's Sea-Man!

Announcer: And their mission, to right that which is wrong and to serve all mankind!"

An organization of religious superheroes and Sea-Man, seemingly led by Jesus.


 * Breath Weapon: Joseph Smith.
 * Captain Ersatz: Sea-Man is a Captain Ersatz of Aquaman.
 * Charm Person: Lao Tse
 * Continuity Nod: Moses is the same as he was in "Jewbilee," Joseph Smith is the same in "All About Mormons," most of the team appears in the Imaginationland trilogy, and the whole crew is brought back for "200"/"201."
 * Five-Man Band: Sort of.
 * The Hero: Jesus
 * The Lancers: Buddha (does not believe in evil) and (not allowed to make public appearances)
 * The Big Guy: Krishna
 * The Smart Guys: Lao Tse and Moses
 * The Chick: Joseph Smith
 * Sixth Ranger: Sea-Man
 * Team Pet: Swallow
 * Huge Holographic Head: Moses is identical to the MCP from Tron, for some reason.
 * An Ice Person: Joseph Smith (in more than one way)
 * Invisibility: Buddha
 * Physical Gods
 * Playing with Fire:
 * Public Domain Characters
 * Show Within a Show: "Super Best Friends" © 2001 Divinity Comics Inc. and Coexist Peacefully Productions, INC.
 * Voluntary Shapeshifting: Krishna
 * What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?: Sea-Man, naturally.

God
""You will hit puberty when the time is right. But you will never have a period, because you are a man — with titties. Thus spaketh the Lord. And now I return to heaven.""

Jesus' father and a Buddhist, even though only Mormons, Kenny (sometimes), and Saddam are allowed into Heaven.

"Saddam: (ordering around people on what is clearly a chemical weapons plant complete with working missiles) Get those nitrogen capsules over there by the warheads. Chop chop, come on! (a light shines on him from the sky) God: (from offscreen) Saddam, I've been hearing rumors that you're secretly building weapons of mass destruction up here. Saddam: Weapons of mass destruction? Nooooo! This is just a chocolate chip factory, see? (gestures to a logo on on of the silos that reads "Saddam's Heavenly Chocolate Chips) God: It looks like a chemical weapons plant. Saddam: Look guy, if I was gonna secretly build a chemical weapons plant I wouldn't make it look like a chemical weapons plant would I? I'd make it look like a chocolate chip factory or something.
 * Big Good
 * He Who Must Not Be Seen: His true form has only appeared twice; other times he appears just as a beam of light shining on a person while they speak.
 * Mix-and-Match Critter
 * Physical God
 * Too Dumb to Live: In "A Ladder To Heaven," he's been hearing rumors that Saddam Hussein has been constructing chemical weapons (in heaven). God confronts him about it...:

God:...Alright, just checking. (leaves)

Saddam: (chuckles) Stupid asshole."

Woodland Christmas Critters
""Haaaail Satan!""

The twisted products of Cartman's imagination. They were part of his christmas story in the christmas special, then later were reincarnated in Imaginationland with the evil characters.


 * : Porcupiney's child.
 * Ax Crazy
 * Affably Evil: They are quite cheerful and polite, when they're not trying to summon the Anti Christ or creating walls of fire to try to kill 8 year old kids.
 * Big Bad Duumvirate: They pretty much become the de facto leaders of the evil imaginary characters in the Imaginationland trilogy.
 * Bitch in Sheep's Clothing
 * Disney Creatures of the Farce
 * A Dog Named "Dog": There's Squirrely the squirrel, Rabbity the rabbit, Beavery the beaver, Beary the bear, Porcupiney the porcupine, Skunky the skunk, Foxy the fox, Deery the deer, Woodpeckery the woodpecker, Mousey the mouse, and Chickadee-y the chickadee. The raccoon's name is not mentioned, but he's presumably named Racoony.
 * Eye Beams
 * Ridiculously Cute Critter: Subverted, hard.

ManBearPig
"Al Gore: "ManBearPig doesn't care who you are or what you've done, ManBearPig simply wants to get you! I'm super-serial!""

ManBearPig is a creature that Al Gore campaigned against. According to Gore, it threatens our very existence and may be the end of the human race as we know it. Despite Gore's claims, however, it simply doesn't exist. ManBearPig itself later made an actual appearance in the Imaginationland trilogy, briefly entering the Pentagon in the real world and attacking everyone.


 * For the Evulz
 * Mix-and-Match Critter: He's half man, half bear, and half pig.
 * Not-So-Imaginary Friend: Played With; his eponymous episode makes it clear he's just a delusion of Gore's, but that means he can appear as a monster in the "Imaginationland" saga.
 * Pastiche: Of global warming.

Scott Tenorman
""Revenge is a dish best served... chili.""

A teenager who tricked Cartman into forking over ten dollars. He manages to get his way out of all of Cartman's revenge schemes until Cartman finally. And. Scott reappears as the Big Bad of the two part "200/201" story, which reveals him as the new leader of the Ginger Separatist Movement and.

"Jimbo: Dear God, they're bigger than I ever imagined!"
 * Anti-Villain: Type I (debut) --> Type II (post-debut), he starts out as a more restrained anti-villain (as seen at the end of "Scott Tenorman Must Die"), but in "201", we see how he turned insane after Cartman tricked him into.
 * Asshole Victim: Inverted since it is his parents that suffer instead, it still hits him hard however.
 * Big No and Big OMG: When he realises he just and when Radiohead saw him crying.
 * The Bully: You almost start to feel sorry for Cartman for what Scott puts him through solely For the Lulz, but course with what Cartman does next...
 * The Cameo: Appeared briefly in "The Return of the Fellowship of the Ring to the Two Towers" and "The Death of Eric Cartman."
 * Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: See below.
 * Even Evil Has Standards: A manipulate bully of the highest order, though obviously pretty mortified by his parents' murder.
 * Evil Laugh
 * Eviler Than Thou: Subverted. It seems this way throughout "Scott Tenorman Must Die" with Scott constantly outdoing Cartman in schemes and sheer Jerkass antics, then Cartman takes a far more monstrous step...
 * Evil Redhead
 * Hot Mom: There were various men hidden in the Tenormans' yard watching Scott's mom taking off her bra.

"Scott: You really care that much about sixteen measly dollars? I mean, what can you buy with $16? My parents give me a $50-a-week allowance. This pittance means nothing to me."
 * : In "201," he tells Cartman.
 * I Ate What?
 * : Cartman's final trick in "Scott Tenorman Must Die."
 * Jerkass
 * Manipulative Bastard
 * Screw the Rules, I Have Money:


 * Smug Snake: That is, until Cartman has the last laugh at the end of "Scott Tenorman Must Die".
 * He still is one when he returns for "201" and the video game "Tenorman's Revenge", albeit now an insane one.
 * Teens Are Monsters
 * Villain Ball: Looking back on it now, it may have been better just to give Cartman the damn money, rather than burning it in front of his face.
 * Villain Exit Stage Left: Done in "201." The only response by anyone is Jesus asking, "Who's the creepy ginger kid?"

Scott the Dick
""Awrah! I hate you more than ever, Terrance and Phillip! I absolutely abhor you both!""

A grumpy television critic from Canada. Everyone hates him. He REALLY hates Terrance and Phillip.


 * Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: "You're a dick, Scott! You've always been a dick! And then you got radiation poisoning in Ottawa and now you're a giant dick!"
 * Berserk Button: His loathing of fart jokes.
 * Brought to You by The Letter "S": The letter "S" on his shirt.
 * Canada, Eh?
 * Disproportionate Retribution: He's willing to team up with Saddam Hussein and let Canada get taken over if it means getting rid of you-know-who.
 * Even Evil Has Standards: He won't harm Canada's royal family.
 * Grumpy Bear
 * Jerkass
 * Non-Standard Character Design: A minor example. His head isn't round like most Canadians; it's...pear-shaped?
 * Phrase Catcher: "Watch out for Scott! He's a dick!"
 * Poke the Poodle: "That's right! I'm trying to give you cancer with my mind!"
 * Real Men Wear Pink: He dons a pink blanket/wrap in Royal Pudding.
 * Satellite Character: He pretty much exists to hate Terrance and Phillip.
 * In later episodes however he has begun to antagonise the boys, and even has an Enemy Mine moment to save the Princess of Canada.

Tuong Lu Kim/
""Herro, wercome to Shitty Wok, tay your order pree?""

A stereotypical Chinese man who is the owner of the City Wok restaurant,
 * Asian Speekee Engrish
 * Clasp Your Hands If You Deceive: The episode "City Sushi" turns this into a sort of tic for him.
 * Japanese Ranguage: Though he's Chinese.
 * Jerkass: Acts like this to the Japanese.
 * Meaningful Name:
 * Meaningful Name:

Mr. Kitty
Eric Cartman's pet cat.


 * Animal Gender Bender: Was shown to be female in Cat Orgy, but was shown again as a functional male in Major Boobage.
 * Formally-Named Pet