Role in Homestar Runner
Along with his physically intimidating but mentally limited big brother Strong Mad and his yellow lackey Mouseblob The Cheat, Strong Bad represents the self-proclaimed criminal element in the series. Many shorts concern the various practical jokes and scams that they perpetrate. Although these "crimes" are usually only slightly malevolent, Strong Bad still acts as if he is a villainous mastermind, and is highly prone to exaggerating his alluring qualities — especially with regards to women. Strong Bad "rules" an area of the fictional universe called Strong Badia. It consists of a barren field, a fence, a tire, and a stop sign reading "Pop: Tire" (Pop meaning population) leaning against a cinder block. Strong Bad said he bought the property from Bubs in one email, although he originally said he ruled it since "diaper school". It was once "haunted" by the ghost of the Tandy 400, Strong Bad's first computer. Besides Strong Badia, he and The Cheat enjoy hanging out at a stick known as "The Stick".
Strong Bad's main role in the cartoon is in the Strong Bad Email segment, in which he answers emails sent to him from viewers. The Strong Bad Emails began as a small segment in 2001, in which Strong Bad would mock the spelling and grammar of those who wrote to him, usually while typing with boxing gloves on an outdated computer. He has parodied the question of "how do you type with boxing gloves on" which is the most asked question in the emails he receives. Most of the time a cut-away sequence is used to move the narrative beyond mere typing. Once the events of the email finish unfolding, Strong Bad wraps it up, and then "The Paper" comes down with a link to Strong Bad's e-mail address. Often, hidden animations (Easter Eggs) are displayed when the user clicks on a word or picture either during the email or after it has concluded. As of 2009, there are 205 Strong Bad emails. Although the animations were initially brief, they gradually grew to establish numerous catchphrases and running gags, as well as spin-offs like Trogdor the Burninator, Teen Girl Squad, and even characters like Homsar and Senor Cardgage. An example of a Strong Bad Email reply is his take on techno, where he creates the techno song "The System Is Down." His most used catchphrase is "Holy Crap!" and other variations on this theme (example: "What the crap?"), though he now parodies even this in his responses to emails. In the older SBemails, his computers are often subject to "Flagrant errors". This is sometimes caused by Homestar tampering with it. As in the SBemail "50th email."
Several "alternate versions" of Strong Bad exist in other cartoons on the website. One of these is "Stinkoman", a futuristic anime-style Strong Bad that seems to be a parody of Japanese animation. Stinkoman has no thumbs, big robot boots, a mouth that is tiny when closed but "ridiculously huge" when open, blue hair ("Gotta have blue hair!") and big green eyes. Strong Bad designed this character in the e-mail "Japanese Cartoon", when someone asked what he would look like as a Japanese cartoon. For the "1936" segments on the website, Strong Bad is sometimes referred to as Sir Strong Bad, Uncle Strong Bad, or Old-Timey Strong Bad. He appears in black and white and has hair and a handlebar mustache. His face is less detailed and he has no visible mouth but his mustache moves when he talks. Another version is "Strong Badman", which is basically a tall, muscular, comic book version of Strong Bad, named Strong Badman, often calling out his unseen partner "L'il Stiny" (which was Strong Bad making fun of the name of the writer of the email "Superhero Name").
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