Ever since the days of The Flintstones, sitcoms and animation have gone together
like peanut butter and chocolate with some of the highest rated television programs in
history falling into that category. While Fred and Wilma opened the door for what was possible,
The Simpsons broke even more ground by producing a cartoon that was not necessarily intended for
all ages. Ever since then, adult animated sitcoms have remained prominent in pop
culture with the male heads of their households ranking among the most prolific characters to
ever exist. This has led us to consider which fathers are the most intelligent
and which ones have crayons lodged in their brains, either literally or figuratively.
I’m Kifinosi with WickedBinge and this is Adult Animated Sitcom Dads: Dumb to Brilliant.
Today we’re starting our list with the dumbest
of the dumb and working our way up to the smartest. This category is The Dumb Dads.
The Gold Medal of stupidity is awarded to none other than the Family Guy himself, Peter Griffin.
We’re not going to act like this was a hard choice even with the number of dimwitted fathers we’ve
seen on television. Similarly to Homer Simpson before him (some would argue too similarly),
Peter’s stupidity is one of the driving forces that makes this Fox/Disney show so
iconic and memorable. Initially portrayed as a dimwitted father with somewhat of a good heart,
Peter’s idiocy has become more in your face and obnoxious as the series has progressed. Peter
has the mentality of a child, often picking on Meg as if he were a high school bully.
In the season 4 episode Petarded, Peter takes an IQ test to find out he’s actually mentally
handicapped. That does go far in explaining some of his behaviour, although we that that’s merely
scratching the surface. Peter’s behavior is so aggressively stupid that he often ends up
accidentally putting himself and his family in perilous circumstances, even more so than Stewie
who is actively trying to kill his own mother. We could go on and on but watch five minutes of
any Family Guy episode and you’ll understand why Peter takes home the gold trophy here.
The Silver Medal is awarded to probably the most iconic dimwitted dad ever, Homer Simpson. Even
though Peter may be taking home the Gold we can’t forget that Homer was the one who laid
the groundwork for Peter’s antics, as well as the antics of most other characters on this
list. Much like his Family Guy counterpart, Homer started off as a somewhat oblivious father who has
only gotten dumber as his series progressed. This once again was eventually explained in
the season nine episode HOMR where it turns out Homer has had a crayon lodged in his brain since
he was six years old. We could point out specific examples of Homer’s dumb moments but any Simpsons
fan knows that list is long and plentiful. The influence of Homer’s stupidity is still being
felt in society today. Homer definitely deserves a spot this high up for how ground breaking his lack
of intelligence has been both on The Simpsons itself and in the cartoon world in general.
We’re giving the Bronze Medal of Dumbness to Eric Duckman. The titular character featured in the
series of the same name, Duckman is a private dick and family man who is phenomenally bad at
both roles. Despite his occupation, Duckman is an incompetent detective who rarely gets clients at
his agency. Any good that does come out of his business is usually the result of his partner,
Cornfed Pig, who is highly intelligent and competent in contrast to Duckman.
Possibly the loudest character on this list, Duckman is defined not only by his incompetence
but also his explosive anger which often causes him to lash out in violent ways.
An idiot is one thing but a violent idiot is something to beware at all costs. As oblivious,
misguided and downright moronic as Duckman is, we still consider him more intelligent than
Homer and Peter due to moments where Duckman does have self awareness. It’s also strongly
implied that Duckman’s attitude stems from the depression he feels due to the loss of his wife
Beatrice which caused him to become miserable and isolated. This may go far in explaining why
Duckman misses certain social clues but it does make his actions any less idiotic in the moment.
Traveling back to the medieval ages, next we have King Zøg Grunkwitz from Disenchantment.
Defined by his royal status, King Zøg is a selfish and tyrannical leader who is much
more respected for his brawn than his brains. He has an inflated ego due to his position,
even though his followers are loyal to him more out of fear than genuine respect. King Zøg lives
in denial and practically asks his people to lie to him, so long as the lie is something
he would want to hear. There are moments where he is self aware, such as when he admits Bean’s
misery and rebellious nature is a result of his inability to connect with her, but he doesn’t try
to find a way to resolve this issue. Instead, King Zøg deals with all of his issues by yelling,
even when that obviously isn’t the best method to use. Throughout the series, King Zøg’s mental
state has gone from bad to worse as he was sent to the Twinkletown Insane Asylum after
experiencing many traumatic events. He eventually escapes which does demonstrate
some level of competence on his part, despite his mind likely still being highly disturbed.
With the bottom of the barrel covered, let’s move on to the Mixed Bag category. These are
dads who have moments of stupidity but could be considered intelligent in other ways.
Moving on to our first Adult Swim father, Clay Puppington is up next. This is a character whose
intelligence is very hard to rank due to how much Clay likes to live in denial of the world
around him. Ever since he was a child, Clay has been experiencing many traumatic events which
eventually leads him to becoming a miserable, jaded alcoholic who is verbally abusive to
his wife and physically abusive to his son. He tends to act superior to everyone around him,
even though his deep-rooted insecurities prove this to be a coping mechanism. Clay often teaches
Orel various lessons in his study after the kid gets himself into trouble. That would
be fine except the “lessons” are often warped, hypocritical and missing the point of what Orel
should have been punished for in the first place. Clay likes to present himself as a competent,
upstanding individual but the majority of Moralton residents are able to see through this façade.
We can’t exactly say he’s stupid because he does seem to be self aware deep down but we’re putting
him on the lower end of the list due to his mask of intelligence not being very effective.
Another character who stays in a constant state of denial is Frank Murphy from F is
for Family. A jaded, bitter and abusive man, Frank is much more bluntly cynical than Clay
even though his problems also stem from an abusive childhood. Before his marriage,
Frank was much more upbeat and optimistic, thinking he had the whole world in his hand.
Eventually his inability to fit into society caught up to him, leading Frank into becoming
the man he currently is. Frank’s denial comes from the fact that he claims to love his family
despite the fact he always abuses them and blames them for his problems. In reality,
Frank is afraid to face the fact that he ended up like his father, a cynical abuser who takes his
problems out on his kids. Frank displays a strong lack of emotional and professional intelligence,
both of which have repercussions on himself as well as those around him.
Up next is Jerry Smith from Rick and Morty. Now, we have to be specific as to which Jerry we are
talking about here, as the original Jerry that was seen in Rick and Morty was eventually placed
by a new one when Rick and Morty traveled to a new dimension. Since the original Jerry is
technically the biological father to the Morty that the show follows, we’re going to be talking
about that Jerry here. This Jerry, also known as Jerry Smith Prime, started out as a bumbling,
insecure father like most of the other Jerrys. This all changed in the episode Rick Potion #9
wherein Rick mutated the entire human population into becoming Cronenbergs. This change prompted
Jerry to become much braver and dedicated to his family, primarily to protect them from
the mutated creatures. This change in Jerry’s personality is why he ranks a little higher
in the intellect department that the current Jerry probably would. Jerry Prime’s survival
instincts do prove to be quite impressive, even if he does eventually die at the hands of Rick.
Now let’s take a look at Daria’s father, Jake Morgendorffer. Much like Clay and Frank,
Jake’s past is filled with traumatic events which often leads him to have issues with anger. Even
so, Jake does genuinely care about his family and tries to maintain an optimistic attitude,
as hard as that may be for him. Jake spends most of his time avoiding conflict amongst
his family, causing him to be somewhat distant. This makes is very clear that,
while Jake is a competent working professional, his emotional intelligence toward himself and
everyone around him is quite low. He might also be possibly schizophrenic given his tendency to
scream at things that aren’t really there. It’s no secret that Daria’s cynical view of
the world around her stems from the lack of respect she has toward members of her family,
particularly what she deems as a lack of intellect. While we
wouldn’t consider Jake a total imbecile, we do understand why Daria feels this way.
Another character who has really conflicting levels of intelligence
is Randy Marsh from South Park. For a long time in the series,
Randy was portrayed as a prototypical father who was occasionally dimwitted but also was
a professional and competent geologist with a doctorate. As the series has progressed,
Randy’s role has increased dramatically leading to moments of him demonstrating great
intelligence and great stupidity. Randy’s biggest detriment is his tendency to jump on trends,
leading him to often act impulsive, immature and selfishly. It was revealed in the episode You’re
Getting Old that Randy often acts this way due to a deep seeded unhappiness he feels in his
marriage. While this was a rare moment of self reflection, it didn’t stop Randy from jumping
on trends and annoying his family afterward, especially when he started up Tegridy Farms.
While this did show how oblivious Randy was to his family’s feelings, his marijuana business
did do very well showing Randy’s competence as an entrepreneur. The amount of intellect Randy
demonstrates is balanced out by his level of stupidity, making for a very dynamic character.
Next, we’re taking a look at Bob Oblong. The Oblongs was a show featuring a low-income
family mutated by toxic waste coming from a rich neighborhood known as The Hills.
Despite their unfortunate position, The Oblongs generally maintain a happy-go-lucky
attitude with Bob Oblong being the most positive of all. Bob has no arms or legs,
leading him to use his mouth to perform most tasks. Despite this, not only is Bob
able to get around without much trouble but he’s also a considerably competent worker.
Bob’s accomplishments despite his shortcomings are admirable but we do have to knock him some
points for his general naivety. He works at a literal poison factory called Globocide which
exploits its workers as well as damages the environment around them. While Bob’s positive
attitude is certainly admirable, it does lead to some oversights in terms of his intelligence.
Stan Smith shoots his way into the next spot. The titular American Dad, Stan,
much like Randy, is a character who is very balanced in terms of his intelligence. He is
very competent in some areas, including his position as a CIA field agent and weapons
expert. Stan is always ready for action, making him a very reliable father in terms
of protecting his family. However, Stan has a hard time turning his mind off of work mode,
thus leading to him having low emotional intelligence. Despite loving his family,
Stan is often oblivious to their feelings, leading them to be hurt by his actions. Stan
often does learn the error of his ways which has led to him becoming more emotionally aware
in recent seasons. This is a stark contrast to Peter or Homer who gradually became dumber
as their series continued. Stan does still have some less favorable characteristics such as his
xenophobia and overly masculine image of himself but we applaud him for trying to improve himself.
The final Seth MacFarlane character to appear on the list, next we’re looking at Cleveland Brown.
Initially appearing as a supporting character on Family Guy, Cleveland eventually stepped
into the spotlight himself with the conception of The Cleveland Show. As a friend of Peter,
Cleveland was often seen as the most intelligent member of the group. Sure, he wasn’t as heroic as
Joe or knew his way around women like Quagmire, but Cleveland often was portrayed as much
calmer and more rational than the other three. Cleveland maintained this personality throughout
both Family Guy and The Cleveland Show, making him one of the more competent father figures
to have appeared on Fox up until that point. Cleveland barely misses out on the intelligent
section as his passiveness does sometimes leads to him putting up with bad situations,
such as Peter continuously destroying the front wall of his house. If Cleveland stuck
up for himself more, we’d actually rank him as a very competent father figure.
Now we’re moving on to the Smart to Brilliant section. These are
fathers who we consider to have the most brains when it comes to animated sitcoms
Let’s start this section off by talking about Bob Belcher. A self made man who run his own
burger joint, Bob is almost always portrayed as passionate, competent and dedicated to both his
store and his family. He shows great appreciation to his customers and is welcoming to anyone
regardless of their race, gender, orientation or occupation. Bob does have a tendency to be a
little bit too uptight which is greatly contrasted by the attitudes of Linda and their three
children. This does cause Bob to occasionally make rash decisions, especially toward Jimmy Pesto
who often mocks and berates him. Despite this, Bob is certainly capable of showing restraint
before he goes too far at getting back at his restaurant rival. Bob’s sensible nature usually
balances out the rest of the cast’s zany antics, making him a great straight man for this series.
Hank Hill is taking home the Bronze Medal of Intelligence I tell you what. Whereas Homer
opened the door for animated fathers to be lazy, stupid and incompetent,
Hank set a different kind of standard. Instead, Hank is hardworking, highly proficient and abides
by his morals very strongly possibly making him the cartoon dad with the largest amount
of integrity. Everyone else in Hank's neighborhood always go to him whenever they need advice or to
solve a dispute. They rightfully look up to him as the most moral and competent man on the block,
even if he does have a tendency to be uptight and irritable. Hank, much like many other characters
on this list, had a troubled childhood due to always being yelled at and berated by his
father Cotton. The difference is that Hank has seemingly adjusted quite well in his
adulthood and doesn't live in a constant state of denial. He is a redneck to a certain degree
but anyone who think that makes him inherently stupid has a mind narrower than Hank's urethra.
Taking home the Silver Medal is none other than Dr. Jonathan Katz. As the title of his show says,
Dr. Katz is a professional therapist who dedicates his life to helping
others deal with their problems. It just so happens that his clientele happens to
be compromised of stand up comedians who tell him long, drawn out stories. Despite this,
Dr. Katz treats everyone who he talks to with the upmost respect and concern,
never losing his patience with the in the process. These are all traits which make for an outstanding
therapist which is likely why Dr. Katz has such a vast array of people seeking out his help. Dr.
Katz's only real flaw is that he can be a bit too easy going, especially with his son Ben who is 24,
unemployed and has no future prospects. This shows Jonathan could and probably should be pushing his
son a little harder in life but at least the two have a very loving relationship regardless.
Finally, the Gold Medal of Brilliance is awarded to none other than Dr. Thaddeus Venture,
also known as Rusty. The father to the titular Venture Bros. Hank and Dean, Rusty is an
accomplished scientist who lives in the shadow of his own scientist father. Despite never reaching
the same celebrity status as Jonas, Dr. Venture is very brilliant in his own right creating mind
bending inventions that stand on their own as amazing creations. We do admit that Rusty isn't
as smart socially as he often misunderstands the feelings of those around them. Even so,
Rusty (kind of) shows he does care about his family's well-being going as far as to clone
Dean and Hank in response to their many deaths. Dr. Venture is rude, condescending and somewhat
careless so we won't act like he's about to win any father of the year awards. In terms of pure
intelligence though, we do think Rusty deserves the Gold for his outstanding work in his field.
Let us know in the comment section if you agree with our ranking, and tell us what we should cover
next. Remember to hit that notification bell and binge our Dumb to Brilliant playlist, where we
break down the intelligence of your favorite characters. But most importantly, stay wicked!