The Best South Park Characters
There's been a lot of winners on South Park during its over-20 season run, but these are our picks for the best South Park characters.
Image via YouTube/Comedy Central
For more than 20 seasons, South Park has captivated Comedy Central’s audiences with its surreal humor and commentary on current events. Since the show’s inception in 1997, creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone have pushed the envelope to create undoubtedly one of the most successful TV comedies in existence.
We've seen Parker and Stone make fun of religious and public figures, as well as celebrities, all centered around the insanity of the tiny, titular Colorado town. How crazy do things get in South Park? The witty cartoon has parodied a gyrating Justin Bieber and smashed his head, like The Mountain did to Oberyn Martell in Game of Thrones. The show has poked fun at Occupy Wall Street and the extreme lengths gamers go to for some extra XP in an episode based on World of Warcraft. They’ve taken on Scientology, Lorde, Saddam Hussein, and Kanye West.
But, perhaps the most brilliant part of Parker and Stone’s hit comedy is how they parody multiple current events into one episode. For instance, the HumancentiPad episode in season 15 satirizes the abhorrent Human Centipede film, while also pointing out the ridiculously long agreement terms that people seemingly automatically agree to online without reading. In 2016, South Park even wove together storylines that mocked the presidential election, Internet trolls, and the outcry over Colin Kaepernick kneeling for the national anthem all at once.
The show has changed comedy, animated television, and even the mere idea of viral content. But at the end of the day, what really makes South Park great is its expansive cast of characters. There are favorites like Towelie, Captain Hindsight, and Mr. Hankey who pop up from time to time. Then, there are characters who are central to the series that appear in nearly every episode like the main quartet of Cartman, Kenny, Kyle, and Stan. They all play important roles in bringing the show to life and creating a ridiculous, entertaining viewing experience. So, let’s take a look at the best South Park characters. After all, without them in all their crass glory, the show could probably air on Nickelodeon.
Captain Hindsight
Best Episode: "Coon 2: Hindsight" (Season 14, Episode 11)
Captain Hindsight is arguably the most useless superhero of all time, which makes him perfect for a series like South Park. Hindsight becomes a Superman-esque character after he is bitten by a radioactive spider (a la Spider Man) that gives him perfect 20/20 hindsight. Although this might sound cool at first, what it really means is that Hindsight can know how an event could've been avoided simply by looking at the scene, which is useless because it can never be used to actually stop the incident from happening in the first place. It's with characters such as Hindsight that Parker and Stone display their craft of stupid, twisted genius, flipping the superhero archetype on its head in a hilarious way.
Terrance & Philip
Best Episode: “The New Terrance and Phillip Movie Trailer” (Season 6, Episode 5)
Terrance and Phillip serve as comedic relief for South Park’s central characters, Cartman, Stan, Kyle, and Kenny. For those young elementary school kids, Terrance and Phillip offer a chance to break the rules and laugh at something inappropriate for their age range. The fictional comedic duo is perfect at something Stone and Parker seem to treasure: fart jokes. In a 2017 interview on the Bill Simmons Podcast, Parker explained multiple times that they love this sort of childish bathroom humor. Terrance and Phillip bring that to life, saying something like “Guess what, guy?” then leaping and letting one rip in the other’s face. Comedic gold.
Randy Marsh
Best Episode: “Make Love, Not Warcraft” (Season 10, Episode 8)
Randy always seems eager to be one of the guys, pining to hang out with his son Stan and his friends. Randy’s desire to be cool comes to a head in “Make Love, Not Warcraft” when he starts playing World of Warcraft–the very game Stan and friends are occupy themselves by playing for what seems like days at a time. In the end, Randy helps save the day by uncovering a vital weapon needed to defeat the Michael Jordan of Warcraft who keeps terrorizing innocent players with reckless abandon. The “weapon,” called the Sword of a Thousand Truths, is actually just a flash drive, but by recovering it and handing it off to Stan, Randy seems helpful, if hilariously in need of some acceptance, too.
Mrs. Crabtree
Best Episode: "City on the Edge of Forever (Flashbacks)" (Season 1, Episode 28)
Ah, Veronica Crabtree. This character was wild, a yellow-toothed bus driver who was always yelling, and whose closest friend was a bird that resided on her head. She was our elementary bus driver, uncensored. Mrs. Crabtree's best moment came in "City on the Edge of Forever (Flashbacks)," when, after she gets the school bus stuck on a cliff with all the kids trapped inside, she threatens to kill a bunny if anyone tries to leave. It's twisted, but Mrs. Crabtree is a hilarious character, simply because we've all encountered some version of her at some point in our life.
Mr. Slave
Best Episode: "The Death Camp of Tolerance" (Season 6, Episode 14)
Nearly 14 years later, I'm still trying to unsee the image of Lemmiwinks crawling through Mr. Slave's bowels in "The Death Camp of Tolerance." Overall, Mr. Slave has had an interesting story that's unraveled through the course of the series. We've learned that, as a child, he used to fake being sick so his mom would check his temperature anally, and that his butt once ate Paris Hilton alive. But regardless of his occupation, Mr. Slave is one of the wisest and knowledgeable characters on the show, advising Wendy Testaburger, for example, not to follow certain lifestyles just because they're popular. Unabashedly vulgar, but caring when he wants to be, Mr. Slave is a true South Park original.
Gerald Broflovski
Best Episode: “Skank Hunt” (Season 20, Episode 2)
On the surface, Mr. Broflovski seems like any other suburban dad. But, then he snaps. Early in season 20, word spreads around South Park that an Internet troll is sending hurtful messages anonymously. The prime suspect is Cartman (no surprise), but we later find out that late at night, Mr. Broflovski pours a glass of wine, cranks some tunes, gets behind a keyboard, and starts insulting a random woman’s ovaries behind the screen name Skankhunt42. It plays better when you see it, trust us.
Sheila Broflovski
Best Episode: "It's a Jersey Thing" (Season 14, Episode 9)
Sheila is the epitome of an overprotective mom, so much so that she essentially causes a war trying to protect her family. But it's that outspokenness and unashamed insanity that makes her character so funny. She's behind almost every protest that happens throughout the series, most of which cause more harm than good. It's impossible to forget the time she gave Father Maxi those New Jersey hands, or that other time she shot Terrance and Phillip.
Mr. Mackey
Best Episode: “Ike’s Wee Wee” (Season 2, Episode 4)
Mr. Mackey is the school counselor, but has an incredibly tough time relating to any of the students. From his balloon-shaped head to his dopey accent or the fact that he ends every sentence with “mkay,” Mackey’s scenes are always good for a few laughs. He’s horribly inept at his job, which may be the only thing that allows him to fit right in at South Park Elementary.
Jimmy Valmer
Best Episode: "Fishsticks" (Season 13, Episode 5)
Jimmy Valmer was supposed to be a one-off character, but ended up being so popular that the show kept bringing him back. He is to thank for the funniest joke in the series in "Fishsticks," the episode that features one of the best mock portrayals of a celebrity the show has ever done when it took on Kanye West. Thanks for your based optimism Jimmy, and congratulations for being off steroids for a minute now.
Tuong Lu Kim
Best Episode: "City Sushi" (Season 15, Episode 6)
Tuong Lu Kim is one of most—if not the most—offensive characters on South Park, and that's saying a lot. Although he's the city's most successful businessmen, he's more known for his stereotypical, wildly un-P.C. Chinese accent. The over-exaggerated manner of speaking may be testament to the absurdity and DGAF mentality of Parker and Stone's comedy, but the character, and the duo, are deeper than that. The most hilarious part about Lu Kim is that he doesn't even really exist. He's the split personality of Dr. William Janus, Butters' therapist, who's never made aware of his disorder. Leave it to South Park to create one of the strangest plot twists in animated TV history and one of the genre’s most controversial characters.
Ike Broflovski
Best Episode: "Miss Teacher Bangs a Boy" (Season 10, Episode 10)
Before Stewie Griffin, Ike was the original prepubescent badass, an adorable flappy-headed kid who's actually a genius. Also, he still talks like a baby. Ike composes sheet music, reads John Steinbeck, and can take three hits of acid to the head. Recurring gags that see Ike mistaken for a trash can or table post always land, as do, of course, the times when he is treated like a football by his older brother Kyle. In “Miss Teacher Bangs a Boy”, Ike has an affair with a teacher decades older than him. And when the crime is reported to the cops, all they can say about him sleeping with a much older woman is “nice.”
Towelie
Best Episode: "Towelie" (Season 5, Episode 8)
Towelie is the animated equivalent of "WTF," a genetic experiment that gets high on everything and is considered by the rest of the cast to be "the worst character ever." But it's his mere presence, popping up randomly to pronounce that he's so high that he has no idea what's going on, that’s proof that Parker and Stone are surrealist comedy geniuses. Since his inception, Towelie has come a long way—previously addicted to marijuana, crystal meth, crack cocaine, heroin, and computer duster, he's been sober for awhile now. But, on the wagon or off, he's still funny as hell.
Mr. Hankey
Best Episode: "Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo" (Season 1, Episode 9)
Before there was Towelie, there was Mr. Hankey, an actual piece of shit known for spreading Christmas cheer. South Park is so good at giving us characters we never knew we wanted, and Mr. Hankey is certainly one of them.
Mr. Garrison
Best Episode: "Mr. Garrison's Fancy New Vagina" (Season 9, Episode 1)
For real—how has Mr. Garrison not been fired from South Park Elementary? The fourth grade teacher is undeniably unhinged, teaching his classes with a puppet called Mr. Hat and giving tidbits of sexual advice in between arithmetic lessons, oftentimes with Mr. Slave at his side. Throughout the series, Garrison has gone from being intensely homophobic to openly gay, then had gender reassignment surgery, decided he was a lesbian, and then finally went back to being a heterosexual man. He even ends up running for president and getting a fake facial tan that’s oddly reminiscent of…another person who may or may not be residing in the Oval Office. Mr. Garrison has been through a lot, but we're glad he's always remained a key part of the show and South Park Elementary.
Butters Stotch
Best Episode: "Butters' Very Own Episode" (Season 5, Episode 14)
Similar to Jimmy, Butters began as a background character who ultimately became a fan favorite because of his cheery attitude. Taking Kenny's place during his temporary removal, Butters was a refreshing addition to balance out the show's main group of boys. Pairing his unabashed optimism and sweetness with Cartman's narcissism is never not funny. The best episode featuring Butters is easily "Butters' Very Own Episode," in which he survives a murder attempt by his own mother. The concept is hilarious, but Butters really makes it. Recently, Parker and Stone have pulled back on the character, but he's already easily become one of the best the show has had thus far.
Stan Marsh
Best Episode: "You're Getting Old" (Season 15, Episode 7)
As the voice of reason among the show's main boys, Stan, the show's most relatable character, manages to be the calm within all of South Park's insanity. He's arguably more grown up than his father Randy, handling certain issues with a maturity level that let's you know that not all of South Park is crazy. Because of that maturity, Stan even happens to experience certain feelings that his friends don't. Such is the case in "You're Getting Old," in which Stan is hit with a bout of cynicism and depression. Still, his stability and thoughtfulness add a nice balance of realism to the series’ surrealism.
Kyle Broflovski
Best Episode: "The Tooth Fairy Tats 2000" (Season 4, Episode 1)
Kyle doesn't have it easy: He gets made fun of constantly by Cartman, has an overly protective mom who gets him in trouble, and he always finds himself in the worst situations. Still, he's always ready to offer an "I learned something today" speech, showing a certain resilience that makes him so likeable. But where Stan is the straightforward one of the group, Kyle is a mix of his stability and the show's eccentricities. Take "The Tooth Fairy Tats 2000" for example, in which Kyle has an existential crisis that leads to him living in a God-like state and being able to make a giant squirrel-chicken hybrid appear out of nowhere. Needless to say, episodes like that made Kyle one of the best characters of the series.
Kenny McCormick
Best Episode: "Mysterion Rises" (Season 14, Episode 12)
Kenny is iconic for all of the wrong reasons. Viewers originally fell in love with him simply because he'd die every episode in such absurd ways, only to be brought back to life for another episode. For the longest time it went unexplained, until the episode "Mysterion Rises," where it was revealed that Kenny is basically immortal and also the superhero Mysterion. Who would've thought that Kenny, a character viewers can barely understand who's treated so poorly throughout the series, is actually very important? Superpowers aside, South Park wouldn't be South Park without this hooded character and his one man circle of life.
Chef
Best Episode: "Chef's Chocolate Salty Balls" (Season 2, Episode 9)
First of all, Chef was voiced by Isaac Hayes; that alone makes him one of South Park's greatest characters. But he was also insightful in his own surreal way, often providing lessons to the kids in the form of songs—songs that would invariably detour to become sex anthems. Ultimately, Hayes left the show because of how it portrayed Scientology in "Trapped in the Closet," but Chef added a certain coolness and comic genius that hasn't been replicated on the show since.
Cartman
Best Episode: "Christian Rock Hard" (Season 7, Episode 9)
He's an asshole, an inconsiderate narcissist, and a sociopath. He's done just about everything possible to make us not like him, and yet you can't help but love Cartman. Maybe it's that distinguishable voice of his (“But, Mooooom”); maybe it's the fact that he's so blissfully unaware of how terrible he is. But Cartman really is the star of South Park. He's truly the embodiment of what the show is: uncaring about who it offends and always trying to push the envelope without a disregard for controversy. Plus, the dude has catchphrases and one-liners for days. We respect your authority Cartman, which is why you're South Park's best character.