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I think the character development for H*R has been very fascinating to observe over the past few years. What I find most interesting is how some characters have changed, even completely transformed, while others have virtually not evolved since day one.
Without a doubt Strong Bad has developed more than any other character. He's become more than the singular trait of his namesake. Of course, first and foremost he's bad. His motivations for his behavior, however, have become very elaborate and specific over time. There is method behind the badness. We've also seen him cocky, brash, arrogant, triumphant, and despairing. Occasionally we're treated to insecurity, and even sensitivity. It's hard to determine if he's ever been nice--but, like Oscar the Grouch, if ever he felt a caring thought toward another he'd never admit it. Strong Bad is truly a masterpiece of characterization and perhaps is as multi-faceted as a human being.
Coach Z has also experienced a dramatic shift in character since the days of yore, but his development has been specifically more situational. In the early days he was simply an adult figure, albeit a little kooky, that dispensed advice at regular intervals. Then as he was no longer needed as a father-figure, his persona grew wilder and wilder. He is more than just a Coach--we've seen him as an alcoholic, a recording artist, quite a dancer, a stalker, completely delusional, even a would-be mother. We all have skeletons in our closet, but Coach Z has an entire mausoleum. His development can be compared to an outrageous sundae consistently piled with more and more different toppings every day. Often, similar characters eventually suffer the "jump the shark" syndrome and fail. Coach Z, however, is successful because despite his increasingly intricate, and often disturbing, background, he's as sweet and amiable as he's always been. He's consistent where it counts the most.
I acknowledge the fact that Strong Sad has been highly developed over time, however, unlike most of the characters' evolution I find that I prefer his older persona. In the beginning, Strong Sad was a depressed little man but there was a certain charm about it. He was soft-spoken, but, when given the opportunity, could talk quite an earful (his soliloquies in Yello Dello and Homestarloween are perhaps some of his oldest, yet finest, moments). While relatively simple otherwise, his misery seemed genuine. Over time, however, the motives for his 'misery' changed, thus changing his character. The whininess increased to the point where it has nearly lost its meaning, and Strong Sad can easily be classified as an individual who is miserable just for the sake of being miserable. He has the attitudes and behaviors of a punky 13 year old that work up one day, decided "Hey, I think I'm going to be Emo!" and broke his piggy bank at Hot Topic. While it's excellent that he's developed somewhat of a spine over the years and is finally defending himself, he's lost a bit of that appealing innocence that once made him my favorite character in the beginning. To his credit, though, he still manages to deliver some of the funniest one-liners in the entire cast.
Homestar's development has been somewhat more modest, but noteworthy. His character could once be described in two sentences, "Everybody loves the Homestar Runner. He is a terrific athlete". He was also a good, honest sport. Other than that he was actually very dull. This dullness was soon converted into constructive dullness of the mind, and from that foundation his development began to take off. Yes, he's dim-witted before everything else, but there is nothing dull about the extent of his loveable foolishness that we find ourselves tuning into week after week. As an interesting side-note, Homestar rarely, if ever, takes action or can be described as an 'earth shaker'. Things just happen to him, and he reacts. It would be interesting to see in the future if this aspect of his persona changes.
Marzipan is pretty much as hippy-like as she's always been. She's become more of an indoors-type in the past year or two but her interests have not strayed far from their starting point. What I find most fascinating about Marzipan is that she can be quite opinionated and views herself as extremely intelligent and 'above the rest'. Certainly, she has a better head on her shoulders than many of her associates, yet she often makes remarks just as twitty and irrational as everyone else.
The Cheat was merely created as a lackey. Sadly, a lackey he still is for the most part. At first glance many would venture to guess that he's content with his position in life. It's difficult to tell otherwise as his only dialogue is garbles and nonsense. However, we occasionally do receive VERY in-depth logs of The Cheat's beliefs, viewpoints, and feelings in the forms of his Powered-by-The-Cheat movies. This is literally among the very few times his thoughts can be clearly determined. An interesting theme in his works is his self-promotion. In life, the Cheat is simply just the lackey. Yet in his flash movies, he's the hero, the leader, the big cheese. This is more than self-worship and pride--he is definitely aware of his less-than-glamorous position in life and clearly desires to break away and become more than that. However, it cannot be accomplished easily as his identity of a lackey is all he (and everyone else) has ever known. Would breaking free destroy his entire sense of self? I often wonder if and when this issue will be addressed.
Bubs is interesting as not much has changed about his general history since his debut. His personality, though, has become more elaborate. He was simply just a clerk, nothing more, but from this occupation stemmed a motivation of greed and self-interest that propelled his development forward. Bubs, for the most part, is basically out for himself. He remains extremely agreeable and friendly, yet only to suit and support his personal needs and desires, be they monetary or not. It's interesting to note how blunt, impatient, and even cruel Bubs can be towards others when they are no longer of use to him.
Strong Mad's most significant change, in my opinion, has been every instance in which he is unlike his namesake. Yes, Strong Mad is dull, yells a lot and can be extremely destructive. But is he really mad? In truth, not much madder than anyone else can be. Strong Mad can be just as sensitive as he can be violent. His tenderness towards the Cheat, his artistic hobbies and his delight in the simple things in life give great, contrasting depth to a name that could have easily made him perpetually one-dimensional.
The King of Town's development has occurred in slow stages, yet have been very delightful. For the longest time his pursuits to satisfy his gluttony and his dissatisfaction with unpopularity carried him through the years. In the past year he's become a bit of a musician (first in Fall Float Parade and most recently in Marzipan's Answering Machine) that has breathed new life into his character. A wise time for the Brothers' Chaps to add a new dimension to their king.
Homsar hasn't changed much since he became a dispenser of word-salads, but his appearances are so infrequent that his randomness remains fresh. The Poopsmith's rare appearances similarly allow him to remain an effective character without too much depth. Were these characters to remain as they are but not evolve, they would most certainly suffer.
Pom-Pom, sadly, is probably the character who has developed the least and yet has suffered the most over the years. In the very beginning he was considered to be an extremely important character, but after the first year or so, while the rest of the cast moved on to bigger and better things, Pom-Pom remained unchanged and his usefulness to the series fell dramatically. With very few exceptions (one recent exception would probably be the sbemail pom-pom), Pom-Pom seems to be added to toons seemingly as an afterthought, out of obligation to please the fans as opposed to genuine necessity. It's not too late for Pom-Pom, but if ever he's going to catch up with the rest of the cast, he has quite a lot of work to do.
Wow, I talk too much...
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~*The Only Thing to Do is Jump Over the Moon*~
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Seriously, that sonds like something I'd write with an open afternoon. But you just have one problem: you forgot The Poopsmith!
