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This Article Contains Spoilers -
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That is all. |
| “ | You gotta know when to quit. | „ |
| ~ The Shady Man to Rob. |
| “ | I make good money from these fools selling them weird stuff. But they will need to someone to protect them when they eventually get pulled from the air. | „ |
| ~ The Shady Man after relinquishing his role to Rob. |
The Shady Man is a major character in Cartoon Network's The Amazing World of Gumball franchise.
He's a mysterious individual in Elmore who sells cursed, reality-bending artifacts from other dimensions via a red van that Richard Watterson, his favorite customer, has dubbed the "Awesome Store." He is also Rob's ex-boss and mentor, eventually relinquishing his role to him.
He is voiced by Alex Jordan.
His Good Ranking[]
What Makes Him Admirable?[]
In General[]
- While he is undoubtedly a callous and reckless individual, he does have some standards against the misuse of his items and doesn't want them to be abused for explicitly evil purposes.
- He is overall an affable and honorable character to his customers, never trying to scam them and giving them advice about his products for their own sake. He even considers the Watterson family his "best customers."
- In a few occasions he tries to warn his costumers about the risks of improper ise of his products, it’s not his fault he is generally ignored.
- Despite his one major corrupting quality, he lacks any outside of it and is basically just a nice guy who just happens to sell evil stuff.
The Amazing World of Gumball[]
- In "The Origins", he sells baby Darwin to Richard, who proves to be a greatly positive influence on the Watterson family and who would grow up to do many admirable deeds. He also makes sure to warn Richard that Darwin is more special than he seems, and is willing to bring down his price to only ten dollars.
- In "The Disaster", he desperately tries to grab the Universal Remote back from Rob after learning he intends to use it for revenge (although he doesn't succeed).
- In "The Console", he explains to Gumball, Darwin and Anais that he is not the villain of the Game Child game but rather the console itself is, allowing them to defeat it and free Elmore from its clutches.
- In "The Possession", he is shocked to learn that the Wattersons used his fridge meant for "memories and emotions" for food and tells them what it was really meant for. He also included a warranty with it warning about that. When he tells them that it would only be truly dangerous if someone used it as a lifelong emotional crutch, Jojo and Nicole rush to save Richard who got trapped in there, ultimately succeeding.
- In the end, he gifts the Wattersons a new fridge free of charge, even though it was mainly their fault for misusing the first one.
The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball[]
- In "The Cheapmas", he tries to help Gumball and Darwin pick items to boost the town's Christmas spirit. When they inadvertently wreak havoc throughout Elmore after they steal his van and items, he tries to stop them.
- As the townsfolk gift him stuff in sympathy, he is genuinely grateful and also hugs the cursed doll he bought as if it were his daughter.
- In "The Rewrite", it's revealed that he saved Rob from falling to his doom after the Void opened up beneath him in "The Inquisition". He also gave him a chance to be his own self by employing him as an apprentice.
- When he realizes that Gumball and Darwin are discovering the world's "plot holes" (reality would collapse reality into the Void if they find out they're fictional) and may happen across the one from "The Inquisition", he hastily informs Rob and tells him that they must rewrite the script using a cross-dimensional laptop. The Shady Man manages to drive Rob to the school and have him enact a final scene where he would be the defeated "villain" responsible for everything, and he quickly stops the scene from getting botched by studio notes by making it tame and comedic like they requested, saving the universe.
- To prevent Rob's death, the Shady Man writes a post-credits scene and teleports into the Void right before Rob is about to be crushed by two platforms. Afterward, he gives Rob his role as the "Awesome Store" owner to give him a purpose outside of villainy, even at the cost of his lucrative business, and also so he's there to protect Elmore when the show ends for good, teleporting him back to the town before wishing him luck.
- When he realizes that Gumball and Darwin are discovering the world's "plot holes" (reality would collapse reality into the Void if they find out they're fictional) and may happen across the one from "The Inquisition", he hastily informs Rob and tells him that they must rewrite the script using a cross-dimensional laptop. The Shady Man manages to drive Rob to the school and have him enact a final scene where he would be the defeated "villain" responsible for everything, and he quickly stops the scene from getting botched by studio notes by making it tame and comedic like they requested, saving the universe.
What Makes Him Inconsistent?[]
- The biggest reason he cannot be Near Pure Good is because he regularly sells extremely dangerous items in Elmore, such as the Game Child or the Universal Remote, with little regard for others' safety and without keeping proper tabs on those who buy from him, which is too corrupting. Before leaving for paradise, he doesn't show remorse for his frequent endangerment of the town and even takes pride in making good money by selling "weird stuff" to the "fools" in Elmore. As such, he is somewhat morally grey.
- Although he is not outright malicious, there is a narrative emphasis on how shady he is, with his van getting raided by the police in "The Shippening" for its dubious and creepy contents and him trying to bribe them with thousands of dollars to leave him alone.
External Links[]
- Shady Man on the Heroes Wiki
- Shady Man on the Villains Wiki
- Shady Man on the Love Exalted Wiki
- Shady Man on the The Amazing World of Gumball Wiki
[]
 Inconsistently Admirable
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The Wattersons Elmore Junior High Others | ||
