Strong Sad

Character: Strong Sad

watch Strong Sad's character video ← Strong Mad Pom Pom →

Strong Sad is the youngest of the Brothers Strong. Unlike his more rambunctious older siblings Strong Bad and Strong Mad, Strong Sad is more quiet and thoughtful — with an eponymous tendency towards the depressing and macabre — with an interest in artistic pursuits.

Characterization

Strong Sad's main defining characteristic is his chronic depression, which was especially prominent in earlier toons; he has been quoted saying "Each day, we die a little more" or otherwise expressing his sadness several times. Later appearances have focused more on his intelligence or artistic pursuits, with explicit expressions of sadness becoming relatively rare (which he acknowledges in Marzipan's Answering Machine Version 17.2 and attempts to fix). His many interests include listening, books, listening to books, calligraphy, safety, being alone, arts, crafts, and arts b/w crafts. He has outstanding penmanship, often writing poetry, which he then recites at his own "poetry slams". Strong Sad is seen using both his right and left hands to write and play the guitar, implying that he is ambidextrous. He has been seen practicing Tai chi. Strong Sad also enjoys playing board games, and he seems to enjoy going to science-fiction and fantasy conventions, as seen in different town and Trogdor Con '97. He has an iPod, and he occasionally updates his blog from time to time. Strong Sad's highly philosophical view on life has creeped out other characters more than once, most notably Strong Bad and Marzipan.

He is usually very calm and soft-spoken, although he has become hyperactive on occasion (at least once under the influence of caffeine), and he has also temporarily (albeit involuntarily) become a boisterous radio DJ once or twice. The phrase "covered bridges" seems to be able to put him in some type of trance, as seen in "Fall Float Parade". He also has some sort of reaction to sunlight overexposure, causing him to become uncharacteristically happy, even if he did not enjoy it (at one point, he actually asks to be shot). Despite his pale skin, he has apparently never been sunburnt, though he became moonburnt on at least one occasion.

Strong Sad has a love-hate relationship with his brother Strong Bad. It appears that the two got along quite well when they were younger, but nowadays, Strong Sad suffers almost constant abuse from Strong Bad. In particular, Strong Bad has quite a list of names he has used to insult Strong Sad. Strong Sad has also been the subject of numerous practical jokes by Strong Bad, Strong Mad, and The Cheat, ranging from presumably being drilled a new navel by Lil' Strong Bad to being used as a stunt double for the Dangeresque movies, to even having wildebeest pheromones washed into his laundry. In turn, Strong Sad holds a very low opinion of his brother and considers him to be a clueless weirdo. However, evidence from Strong Sad's Secret Styles suggests that even though Strong Sad insults Strong Bad, he also looks up to him and misses the days when they got along. He seems to retain some degree of brotherly love toward Strong Bad: when the Tandy 400 exploded in the email gimmicks, Strong Sad sincerely asked Strong Bad if he were all right, and wrote a letter wishing him well while Strong Bad was incarcerated. However, he also stated that his brother's absence caused him to feel far happier with himself than usual, and that he turned Strong Bad's computer room into his tai chi space. He was also eager to help Strong Bad with his 150th email in Sbemail 150?!?, and even managed to provide the background music for Strong Bad's email intro in alternate universe.

Strong Sad's troubled relationship with Strong Bad seems to have affected his social interaction habits with the rest of the community of Free Country, USA. He is generally reclusive and has only a few friends — his best friend appears to be Homsar, and he plays Jenga with The Cheat on Tuesdays. Early in the site's history, Homestar Runner even counted Strong Sad as a friend, and still shows some signs of friendship towards him. He is often overlooked and ignored when he has an idea, and he is sometimes even believed to be dead. Despite all of this, he serves as a loyal officer in the Homestarmy, temps at an unnamed computer company with Strong Bad and Homestar, and even has a Strong Sad Lookalike Contest held in his honor/insult each year. Due to Strong Bad's persuasion, Strong Sad never celebrates Decemberween; he spends the whole day locked inside the bath tub. Strong Sad also had an imaginary friend when he was young, named Scotty Titi.

Strong Sad seems to be the most rational of the characters, and often seems to react perplexedly to the others' cartoonish antics. He can often be found patiently correcting another's apparent mistakes, such as in Trogdor Con '97 and technology, or being entirely uncomprehending of the nonsensical events around him. He was even featured as the sole "Bear Holding a Shark Skeptic" in myths & legends.

A stickler for correct, and often antiquated, pronunciation and grammar, Strong Sad frequently takes to nitpicking other characters for even minor pronunciation mistakes (such as machete), and himself takes great care to pronounce many such words correctly, even if the result is odd-sounding or dated (such as macabre). He also claimed to have both practiced on and worked at the dictionary. While generally he seems to view this as helping others, none of the characters he's corrected have ever been anything other than annoyed with his nitpicking — for instance, when Strong Bad told him to stop it with his "try-to-pronounce-foreign-words-authentically-but-not-do-a-very-good-job-of-it" — something Strong Sad seems to fail to recognize. His reaction to the mispronunciation of 'pseudonym', as referenced below, may tie this feature into the bossier and more aggressive side of his personality.

As just noted, there seems be more to his story than depression and whining, as Strong Sad has done things that are not in line with his usually calm temperament from time to time. He threw snowballs (saved in the freezer since he was eight) at Strong Bad, has been physically violent, flipped out on Homestar when he could not pronounce "pseudonym" correctly, and had a long bout of maniacal laughter when it was revealed that he was behind the whole DNA Evidence event. Also, when he was coerced into being the security guard in Baddest of the Bands, he tasered Strong Bad whenever he annoyed him. He also states in his blog that his resolution for the new year is to not feel so bad about wanting to hit Homestar so much, which is another example of his violent self.

Lurking

Strong Sad has often been identified as a lurker, or has been associated with lurking.

Deathly Pallor with "Lonely Lurker Attack"

• Email garage sale — Strong Bad describes "The Lurker", using Strong Sad as an example, as being "the shady night-manager at Stuckey's type, who shades around all day but never buys anything." Strong Bad also tells Strong Sad, "At least [Senor Cardgage] bought something, lurker!"
• Senorial Day — In an Easter egg, Strong Sad says, "there's nothing like going out for a lonely lurk on a lovely spring night."
• Email trading cards — One of Homestar Runner's cards is The Deathly Pallor, which can perform the "Lonely Lurker Attack."
• Most in the Graveyard — When Marzipan is taking pictures of Strong Sad, she says, "A little less lurk and a little more skulk".

Music

Strong Sad rocks out

From a 2003 interview with UMFM:

STRONG SAD: Uh, I don't really listen to the radio so much anymore, because the DJs are always really depressing, and there's a lot of dead air, and it sounds like they don't know what they're doing. I play DJ in my own room by myself — in the dark. A lot of Cure, a lot of Bauhaus...

The following artists have been listed as the "current tunes" Strong Sad was listening to when posting to his blog:

Angelo Badalamenti David Bowie Bonnie "Prince" Billy Brian Eno Godspeed You! Black Emperor Jerry Goldsmith (Poltergeist score) Lee Holdridge (Mr. Mom soundtrack) Peter Murphy Pet Shop Boys The Promise Ring

The Smiths (presumably Morrissey as well) Matthew Sweet They Might Be Giants Thursday Suzanne Vega Tom Waits Butch Willis Neil Young Frank Zappa

Judging from the "Boys Don't Cry" silhouette poster of Robert Smith on his wall, Strong Sad also is a fan of The Cure. Halloween costumes suggest that he enjoys Talking Heads, The Misfits and Devo. He is also known to listen to sloshy, as seen in concert, Sloshybowl, Record Store Day, and Fan Costumes 2015. In Record Store Day, he not only camped out outside Bubs' Concession Stand for the band's latest single, but it is implied that he stole one of their records from a band member's girlfriend's garbage.

Character Design and Conception

"That Vaudeville one always cracks me up."

See also Strong Sad Evolution

From a 2003 interview with UMFM:

MIKE CHAPMAN: I think the characters change [over time]. Like, Strong Sad, for instance — I think Strong Sad is probably the smartest of the bunch. There are times when it seems like he is sort of above Strong Bad making fun of him, so Strong Sad has come into his own and actually developed beyond just the generic sad, depressing character.
KEVIN SCOTT: Yeah, you're interested in Strong Sad now in a way that maybe you weren't before.
MIKE: Did you ever find his web journal? [...] Things like that, it's fun to use other ways of developing the characters. If you read his web journal you sort of get insight into his life beyond what he says on-screen.

Strong Sad was co-designed by Craig Zobel^[1] and Mike Chapman.^[2] The character was initially developed in September 1996 for Homestar Runner Goes For The Gold!, an unfinished sequel to the original Homestar Runner book. This book, alternatively titled Homestar Runner and The Brothers Strong, also would've introduced Strong Mad and set up the dynamic of the Brothers Strong: Strong Bad and Strong Mad working together but excluding Strong Sad. The often-contentious relationship between Strong Bad and Strong Sad draws some inspiration from the Brothers Chaps' childhood spats.^[3]

Though he briefly appeared in other early works, Strong Sad did not have a proper debut until In Search of the Yello Dello wherein he accompanied Homestar Runner on his hunt for the titular bird. Matt Chapman's first attempt at a voice for Strong Sad was an impression of Michael Stipe, an idea that was quickly abandoned during production. Though Strong Sad rarely takes a leading role in toons, his personality became more fleshed out through secondary content like his frequent messages left on Marzipan's Answering Machine or posts made to his blog Strong Sad's Lament.

Strong Sad hardly resembles his brothers; he stands somewhere between Strong Bad and Strong Mad in height. His body is round and two shades of grey — a lighter grey from the waist up, a darker grey from the waist down. Strong Sad's body makes the sound of an inflated rubber ball when hit — and according to Strong Sad, it is hit often. In One Two, One Two, Strong Sad hits his belly rhythmically, as one of the selectable tracks. His head is white and has an odd lump on the top, referred to as a "disturbing soft-serve flip" by Strong Bad in keep cool (a trait shared by Mr. Bland). In replacement, Strong Bad claims that Strong Sad might not have any teeth, but Strong Sad was seen brushing his teeth in narrator and concert, and his skull was shown to have teeth in Doomy Tales of the Macabre; what's more, in Strong Bad Classics!, Strong Sad implies that his wisdom teeth regenerate on an annual basis. He has large, elephant-like feet he calls "soolnds", a characteristic chosen to give him a more depressing or "dumpy" feeling.^[2]

Character Video Transcript

See main article: Strong Sad's Character Video

{Open with a black screen.}

STRONG SAD: I don't wanna do a characters page!

MARZIPAN: Oh, come on, you can do it!

{The lens cap is removed, and Strong Sad appears as the camera focuses on him.}

STRONG SAD: I'm not really comfortable talking to a camera.

MARZIPAN: {off-screen} Just pretend like you're talking to me, or a wall, or a tree, or any of the other stuff that you usually talk to.

STRONG SAD: Ohhhhhh! My name's Strong Sad and... I have two brothers that like to pummel me every hour, on the hour. I mostly sit in my room, and... listen to music, and write, {begins tracing his finger along the edge of the screen} and talk to walls or trees... {stops touching the edge of the screen} and wait to be pummeled... I guess I like board games more than most people. And by that I mean I like to play board games more than most people do. But by that I also mean I like board games more than I like most people. Like this one time, me and Hi Ho! Cherry-O were playing The Game of Life, and I got a phone call from... Coach Z or somebody. And, I didn't answer it because I was having such a good time with playing this board game, against this other board game...

MARZIPAN: {off-screen, losing patience} Okay, I think that's enough, Strong Sad.

STRONG SAD: And it got me to thinking, you know?

MARZIPAN: Okay, okay, I'm turning it off now.

STRONG SAD: {simultaneously} Two lovers... collide...

{The camera stops.}

Fun Facts

"The lake head?"

• Matt Chapman has said that Strong Sad is the most difficult main character to voice due to how delicate he sounds. If Matt's voice is too strained before recording, it can be difficult or even impossible to voice Strong Sad.^[4]
  • Mike Chapman substituted for his hoarse brother to record Strong Sad's one-word line in cheat talk.^[5]
• In concert, Strong Bad says the band sloshy appeals to "people that went to college." This may indicate that Strong Sad had a tertiary education. This seems to have been confirmed in independent, in which Strong Sad claims to have "minored in holding on wide shots for too long" in film school.
• As seen in an Easter egg in pop-up, Strong Sad's face has a striking resemblance to the Manicouagan Reservoir, a lake formed by a meteor impact in Quebec.
  • On June 16, 2019, Strong Bad posted a picture of the crater in response to a landmark resembling The Cheat, complaining that Strong Sad "copied [him] by having a giant meteor hit Quebec like 200 million years ago".
• Poachers have reportedly offered "thousands of dollars" to obtain his soolnds.
• Strong Sad only has three ribs according to Fan Costumes '07.
• If exposed to sunlight too much, he forcibly smiles (as seen in Happy Hallow-day).
• Strong Sad has a complicated relationship with food. He is known to overeat and receives many insults regarding his weight. He has preferences for strange and ethnic foods and has many dietary restrictions.

Relationships

Main article: Character Relationships

• Homestar Runner and Strong Sad's Relationship
• Strong Bad and Strong Sad's Relationship
• Strong Sad and The Cheat's Relationship
• Strong Mad and Strong Sad's Relationship
• Strong Sad and Pom Pom's Relationship
• Marzipan and Strong Sad's Relationship
• Strong Sad and Coach Z's Relationship
• Strong Sad and Bubs's Relationship
• Strong Sad and The King of Town's Relationship
• Strong Sad and Homsar's Relationship

Variations

"Isn't that great?"

• Sickly Sam (Old-Timey)
• Hot Tub (Dangeresque)
• The First Decemberween (Decemberween)
• Lil' Strong Sad
• Saddy Dumpington
• The Deathly Pallor
• Anonymous Contributor
• Tendafoot (Lil' Brudder)
• Puppet Strong Sad
• Prancibald (trading card)
• 2046 Strong Sad (your funeral)
• Twelve-Times-A-Day Man (fan club)
• S. Sad (Xeriouxly Forxe)
• Strong Glad (Homestar Runner Goes for the Gold)
• The Makeromancer (@StrongBadActual tweet (13 Feb 2017))
• Character 8 (Yonder Website)

Halloween Costumes

• Gorbachev in Homestarloween Party
• Andy Warhol in The House That Gave Sucky Treats
• Vyvyan (from The Young Ones) in Pumpkin Carve-nival
• David Byrne (of Talking Heads) in 3 Times Halloween Funjob
• David Bowie in Halloween Fairstival
• Devo Member in Halloween Potion-ma-jig
• Tony Clifton in Happy Hallow-day
• The Fat Kid from The Far Side in Jibblies 2
• Sam Kinison in Most in the Graveyard
• Doyle from The Misfits in Doomy Tales of the Macabre
• Pale Man (from Pan's Labyrinth) in I Killed Pom Pom
• Cameron Frye (from Ferris Buller's Day Off) in The House That Gave Sucky Tricks
• The UTZ girl in Later That Night...
• Hercule Poirot in Haunted Photo Booth
• Tummi Gummi (from Adventures of the Gummi Bears) in Mr. Poofers Must Die
• The Loughton Candidate (from Cremaster 4) in The Homestar Runner Enters The Spooky Woods
• Baxter (from The Great Space Coaster) in Halloween Hijinks
• Mike Dawson (from Dark Seed) in Halloween Hide & Seek
• Guillermo de la Cruz (from What We Do in the Shadows) in 2022 Costume Pack Now Available
• Elliot Taylor in his Halloween costume (from E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial) in The Show: Ween Edition

Sources

1. ^  "Craig Zobel, Film Production", Gothamist, Jun 4 2004
2. ^  "Mike Chapman: Homestarrunner Co–creator", Giant magazine, April/May 2005
3. ^  Comparisons between brothers Chaps and Strong (younger Strong Sad/Matt, older Strong Bad/Mike, occasionally eldest Strong Mad/Donnie) have been made in several interviews: Atlanta Journal-Constitution (2003), Adventure Gamers (2008), and The Jeff Rubin Jeff Rubin Show (2014)
4. ^  "Matt Chapman: Homestarrunner Co–creator", Giant magazine, April/May 2005
5. ^  "The Inkhole Exclusive Interview with Homestar Runner Co-Creator Matt Chapman", The Inkhole, July 2004

See Also

• Strong Sad Evolution
• Strong Sad Smiling
• Hyperactive Strong Sad
• Other Costumes
• Nicknames
• Strong Sad's Lament
• Strong Sad's Room
• Strong Sad's Diet

External Links

• watch Strong Sad's character video
• watch Strong Sad's character video on the old Flash site
• view the Flash file for Strong Sad's character video
• Email Strong Sad at depressio@homestarrunner.com (currently dormant)
• See Strong Sad's Blog
• Fond Reminiscences