Introduction
Rerun started as a minor character in the Peanuts universe, only becoming a main character in the last decade of the comic strip. Rerun was first mentioned in the strip on May 23, 1972, during a storyline in which Lucy threw Linus out of the house only to learn that yet another little brother had just been born. Upon learning the news, Lucy exclaimed "A new baby brother?!! But I just got rid of the old one!!!" With that, she let Linus back in, uttering in misery, "You can't shovel water with a pitchfork".
The irony of the situation wasn't lost on Linus, who laughed himself silly over his sister's scheme being defeated, thus causing her to lose her temper and tie his blanket over his mouth.
Lucy, who always wanted to be an only child (or to have a younger sister), is less than thrilled at the prospect of having a second younger brother, and comments that getting one was like watching reruns on television; thus, Linus comes up with the idea of calling the family's new addition "Rerun". "Rerun van Pelt! Good Grief!" mutters Lucy with a less-than-thrilled look on her face.
Rerun's first appearance was on March 26, 1973, depicted as a smaller version of Linus. Over time, Lucy warmed up to Rerun and became something of a mentor to him, more kind with Rerun than she had ever been with Linus. Linus also took Rerun under his wing in later years, attempting to "convert" Rerun to his belief in "The Great Pumpkin," and taking his little brother along on door-to-door "missions" to spread the word of the Great Pumpkin.
Read more about this topic: Rerun Van Pelt
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