Al Bundy is the protagonist anti-hero of the sitcom, Married... with Children. He is a shoe store that barely makes enough money for his family.
He is played by Ed O'Neill.
His Good Ranking[]
What Makes Him Admirable?[]
- Although most of the moments in Married... with Children are based on too standard heroism, he occasionally crosses the baseline, much more so than the other characters in the franchise.
- He works himself through countless hours and debt in order to provide a stable life for his children and wife.
- While he complains about his miserable life being married with children, there are moments throughout the show where he shows genuine love and care for them(even though they're momentary).
- Although there were several moments for him to cheat on his wife, whom he hates, he proves that he is faithful to her.
- He protects his daughter Kelly from guys who bother her. Later on he also encourages her to continue in her profession even though she wanted to give up.
- Saves his wife Peggy (and indirectly his two children) from Poppy's Killer, by punching him in the stomach, though it was more in self-defense.
- During his family's trip to England, where two towns are trying to eliminate them, he leads their leadership to a decisive game, in which he manages to outwit his opponent, a clear bandy hater and removes the threat to the family, in addition to the fact that he returns the sun to shine in those towns.
- He helps the aliens fighting gigantic comet charge the spaceship in his socks, allowing them to survive against it (although it is unclear if he was aware of this).
- After Lucifer sends him and his family and two neighbors to hell, he is responsible for saving them by offering a match against Lucifer's team. Finally, even though Lucifer offers him other children and money as a substitute for saving the family, he insists that they come back to life.
What Makes Him Inconsistent?[]
- He's a huge jerk and a definite anti-hero as he pretty much hates the people around him, mocks his neighbors constantly, teases his children (especially Bud, as he seems to favor Kelly), mooches off people with better financial standing than him, enjoys seeing people's misfortunes, and goes against society's norms such as regularly insulting large-sized women.
- He can be extremely deadly to a number of people, even to his own family members and almost agrees that a crazed killer will kill his wife.
- He has little qualms with solving his conflicts with violence and threats, as he got involved in multiple fights with various characters throughout the show. (Making him ineligible for NPG on this fact alone.)
- Despite his faithfulness to Peggy, he constantly shows resentment of their marriage (especially the consummating part of it) and openly desires other women, even being an regular customer at strip clubs. ("The Nudie Bar")
- He starts a movement against women for shutting down a crappy TV show and then holds a feminist TV host hostage until they meet his demands, which results in his arrest.
- He's a greedy opportunist, as he's willing to con anyone for food, money, and opportunities by any means necessary. it's also noted that most of his schemes backfire greatly in most episodes. This shared character trait amongst the family is known as "The Bundy Family Greed".
Trivia[]
- Al is the only character from Married... with Children to be Inconsistently Admirable.
External Links[]
- Al Bundy on the Heroes Wiki
- Al Bundy on the Married... with Children Wiki