0106 - Nelson Muntz (Patreon)

I think Nelson is genuinely quite scary in his first appearance, although that is partially because I first saw him torturing Bart when I was at a bullyable age myself. I guess I'm still technically at a bullyable age. Please don't bully me.

For years Nelson represented the threat of the schoolyard, the terror of a hierarchy where a kid could be tormented at any point. Over the years, he is softened for comedic effect, to the point where I'd say he becomes one of the show's more tragic characters, often looking a little pathetic. The further out we zoom, the more we can see that he is not top of the food chain, as presented in Bart The General, but that he has bullies above him, and his low self-esteem means he will never be happy. The sad result of being a character in a long running sitcom is that his issues will never be truly resolved.

Nelson has his fans online, I know a certain subset of Simpsons aficionados ship him and Lisa. It is even mentioned occasionally that he is considered "handsome", despite the visual signifier of having an ugly pig nose. But I've never been a huge fan of him personally. Maybe that's my inner nerd shining through.

I know we're only just started this episode, but I'm giving Nelson Mandela Muntz the "most significant character introduced in this episode" award. It's all downhill from here people!

The status of Nelson's father is a continuity nightmare. I hope we get to that point someday.

This post is part of my "Every Simpsons Character Ever" series. For a list of my rules in this project, click here.