| “ | You have only yourself to blame. You being the hero of all of this means that I have to be the villain. But I never wanted to be the villain! I wanted to be the cute sidekick who gets his own plush toy and a spinoff show. (...) You really don't get it, do you? So happy to star in your "amazing world." Can't you see that none of this is real?! (...) It doesn't matter. Once you're out of the picture I can be WHOEVER I WANT! I'm sorry, Gumball Watterson. THERE'S NO OTHER WAY! | „ |
| ~ Rob to Gumball in "The Disaster." |
Rob, briefly known by his alter-ego Dr. Wrecker, is the main antagonist of the Cartoon Network animated series The Amazing World of Gumball.
He's a former background character and student at Elmore Jr. High who is eventually exiled into the Void, a dimension that erases "mistakes" and otherwise useless entities from reality. Upon escaping, he is physically disfigured and becomes Gumball Watterson's arch-nemesis for revenge and a part to play in the world.
He is voiced by Charles Philipp. As Dr. Wrecker, he was voiced by the late David Warner. His Superintendent Evil disguise was portrayed by Garrick Hagon.
What Makes Him a Shonen Villain?[]
Basic Traits[]
- Villainous/Anti-Villainous: He commits numerous atrocities in the series. In "The Nemesis" he tries to flood the entirety of Elmore. In "The Bus" he tries to ransom $1 million from the police and blow up everyone on the school bus. In "The Future" he tries to blow up Gumball, Darwin, and Banana Joe with a bazooka and abuses Banana Barbara. In "The Inquisition," he tries to force all of Elmore to turn into humans.
- Most notably, using a magic TV remote (the Universal Remote) in "The Disaster" and "The Rerun", he ruins the bonds of and then kills multiple of Gumball's family members before trying to lock Gumball inside the Void for eternity.
- Powerful/Skillful: He is highly intelligent and has masterminded numerous schemes in the show. He is resourceful for using things like the Universal Remote (which could control the whole universe) and Banana Barbara's reality-altering paintings to his advantage and is also skilled at combat, considering how he is able to hold his own during a fight with Gumball.
- Power-Hungry: His primary goal in "The Disaster" and "The Rerun" is to kick Gumball outside of his own universe so that he can take over and rewrite it entirely to his liking, and also avoid being typecast as the villain. The same episode also shows him abusing the power of the Universal Remote to change the time of day and traverse through time for amusement.
- Pursues a Big-End Goal: He strives to eliminate Gumball's family and eject the show's main character into eternal limbo to enact revenge on him for leaving him in the Void, and also to redefine himself. Later, in his season 6 arc, he tries to prevent everyone in the show from being swallowed up by the Void.
- Arrogant: He is very arrogant because he blames other people for his misfortune as if he is entitled to remembrance or being in utmost control, mainly Gumball, and also claims that other people are wrong for stopping him in "The Future" and "The Inquisition" even though his methods to help everyone from the Void were extreme. He is also hypocritical for claiming that Gumball is selfish and obnoxious in "The Ex" despite Rob consistently abusing other people for his own gain, which is itself selfish.
- Intelligent: He is highly intelligent not only because of his intricate and nearly successful schemes but also because he is the only character consistently aware that the universe they live in is a fictional construct.
- Cold-Hearted/Ruthless: In "The Bus," he endangers all of the students at Elmore Jr. High with no remorse by planting a bomb on the bus, destroys Gumball's family in "The Rerun", and tries to kill Gumball, Darwin, and Banana Joe in "The Future," also abusing Banana Barbara by strangling and threatening her.
- Short-Tempered: He is highly irritable, especially when Gumball forgets his name and calls him "Rich" or similar names, and has a classic villainous breakdown in "The Ex" where his eye is visually depicted lighting up in flames as he screams at and strangles Gumball due to him messing up his plan.
- Narcissistic: He is egotistical for claiming that he is entitled to being memorable in the eyes of others and blaming Gumball for making him a villain, and being delusional while insisting his final plan to save everyone was justified. His actions are very self-centered and he has a strong sense of self-importance.
- Laughably Evil: He has several comedic moments and traits in the series, such as occasionally being incompetent or the running gag of Gumball forgetting his name.
- Sadistic: He is shown to enjoy tormenting others, displaying a grin on his face when Gumball both loses his relationships and is about to die in "The Rerun," and in "The Future" where he launches rockets at Gumball and Darwin in "The Future."
- Tragic Past: He has a very tragic past of being so forgotten and useless in the universe that he was erased from reality and imprisoned in the Void. After his escape, his body was disfigured, and the only option for his continued existence was to become evil and play a villainous role.
- Serves as a Foil to the Hero/Protagonist: He is Gumball's arch-nemesis and has eliminated his entire family on one occasion. He is also a thematic antithesis to Gumball, because while Gumball is popular, unaware, usually unintelligent, the "hero," and revels in the universe literally centering around himself due to his high ego, Rob is forgettable, insecure, very intelligent, the "villain," and wants to tear down Gumball's entire world due to being left behind. His goal is to eject Gumball in "The Disaster" and "The Rerun" and nearly succeeded in doing so.
- Is a Game Changer: He darkens the mood in some episodes and is responsible for the darkest moments in the series, such as Darwin's suffocation to death. He is taken the most seriously out of all the show's villains. However, he is also played for laughs very consistently.
- Has Black Air Force Energy: He is completely callous in episodes like "The Ex," where he rigs Banana Joe's front door handle to crush him with oil drums simply because he finds him annoying, and is super reckless in "The Future" in trying to blow Gumball up with a bazooka and causing the warehouse to collapse by painting cracks into reality.
- Immature: He gets unnecessarily angry in "The Pony" just because Gumball and Darwin didn't remember him and even prevents them from walking before they explain themselves; he later pettily throws their DVD down the street because they forget him again. He also gets into a fit in "The Ex" simply because Gumball ruined his trap against Banana Joe.
External Links[]
- Rob on the Shojo Villains Wiki
- Rob on the Seinen Heroes Wiki
- Rob on the Villains Wiki
- Rob on the Villainous Benchmark Wiki
- Rob on the Inconsistently Admirable Wiki
- Rob on the Entertainingly Detestable Wiki
- Rob on the The Amazing World of Gumball Wiki
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 Shonen Villains
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