In the animation era of Weebls-Stuff and RatherGood, there was one series that stood above the rest when it came to storytelling, wit, and simply surreal humor. Homestar Runner (it’s dot com!) launched back in 2000 by Matt and Mike Chapman, and though the website is named after the series’ protagonist, there’s one particular character whose popularity has held strong 16 years later.
Strong Bad is a conniving fellow, with a passion for trickery and a tendency to mock anyone who finds themselves in his presence. With such a personality, you’d think he’d be the last character to request questions from the audience, hosting the ultimate, emailed-fueled, flash-animated AMA, and yet Strong Bad’s emails have stood the test of time, dragon’s fire, and being sat on by Pan-Pan.
Episode #38, Dragon
Trogdor was a man. I mean, he was a dragon-man. Well, I mean, he was just a dragon, but he was still Trogdor, and if you’ve gone all of this time without so much as a peek at this strong armed dragon drawn with an “s” and a more different “s”, then you’ve certainly missed out.
When asked by a fan (not a female) if Strong Bad could draw a dragon, he stepped up and created the burninator we know today. The episode also features a handful of other characters from the series working on their own dragon drawings, but the real highlight is Trogdor’s theme song towards the end of the episode.
Episode #45, Techno
Possibly even catchier than the musical ode to Trogdor is Strong Bad’s very own techno tune, in which he takes an email request to discuss the genre as an invitation into our minds for the next decade or so. Just try to shake this off, cause the system is down and is taking over.
Episode #53, Comic
Thankfully the emails continued to pile up for Strong Bad, and not only was #53 hilarious, but it spawned an entire spin-off called Teen Girl Squad. The girls taught us phrases like “dag yo” and “a’ight”, introduced us to their friends and classmates, and more often than not suffered strange and painful deaths at the end of their episodes.
Word.
Episode #57, Japanese Cartoon
We’ve all wondered what we’d look like as a cartoon, including Strong Bad, who not only showed us how great he looks with blue hair, but also gave us a glimpse of what his very own cartoon series may be like.
Episode #109, Crying
Crying is a superb example of an ensemble episode from Strong Bad’s video vault. Sure, we see Strong Bad himself terrorizing those nearest and dearest to him with a crudely illustrated photo of his fictional one-legged dog, Li’l Brudder, but the humor is there. Just be sure to have some tissues nearby.
Bonus Video
If that wasn’t enough Homestar Runner for you, the website’s namesake actually hosted an episode and did a fine job, though Strong Bad probably didn’t think so. Be sure to watch until the end to catch the Neverending Story reference.
And never forget, save the last email for Strong Bad.
If you’re experiencing nostalgia overload, share with us your favorite Strong Bad emails in the comments below. Scroll buttons and the Lappy, together at last. How you ever learn to scriggy-scroll so fast?
Featured Image Credit: Matt and Mike Chapman