Who is Psycho Bob in The Simpsons? Character details explored in depth

Psycho Bob is one of the nicknames given to Sideshow Bob in The Simpsons, who is a major antagonist and Bart Simpson's enemy in the sitcom.

Robert Underdunk "Bob" Terwilliger Jr. or Sideshow Bob (voiced by Kelsey Grammer) originally debuted as a sidekick to Krusty the Clown on his children's television programme. He later framed Krusty in an armed robbery and took over the show.

However, after Bart collected strong evidence against Bob and brought the truth in front of the police, Krusty was proven innocent and Bob was instead sent to prison, following which he swore revenge against Bart.

Sideshow Bob was infamously called psycho Bob because, despite being a Yale graduate and a champion of high culture, he became a serial killer and planned elaborate escapes from prison. He has tried to kill Bart on multiple occasions and in The Simpsons Season 36, he was shown to have survived an attack by his wife.

More on psycho Bob in our story.

Who is Psycho Bob in The Simpsons? Exploring the character's origins in the sitcom

While Sideshow Bob originated as a silent kidekick in The Simpsons, he soon turned into a narcissist and psychopathic version of the character, earning him the name Psycho Bob.

A major and recurring antagonist in the sitcom, Bob has plotted numerous times against Bart and has infamously been compared to Hannibal Lecter. After Bart cleared Krusty's name in the robbery and Bob was instead sent to prison, he announced revenge on the protagonist and most of Bob's appearances in The Simpsons revolved around him trying to kill Bart and his family.

While Bob has taken multiple attempts to kill Bart, the incident that rightly justifies his psycho Bob name was in Season 27, in Treehouse of Horror XXVI. Using Milhouse's phone, psycho Bob trapped Bart in the band classroom and successfully killed him.

Finally at peace with himself, Bob moved on from his biggest enemy but later realised that he had no purpose left. Since plotting about Bart's death was the only source of joy in his life, he was bored once he actually achieved it.

In one of the segments from The Simpsons Season 27, psycho Bob creates a machine to bring Bart back to life and keeps killing him over and over, enjoying the process each time. After his family found his location, Bart was finally rescued.

Psycho Bob has a dark backstory in The Simpsons

While psycho Bob is one of the darkest characters in the sitcom, he has a tragic backstory, which somehow explains his villainous origins. While he eventually became a sidekick to Krusty the Clown, it was his brother Cecil who initially auditioned for the role.

However, after Krusty found out Bob was a better fit, who would be timid and would not stand up against him, he offered the role to him instead. After debuting on Krusty's show, Bob's life was miserable as he was often the target of his boss' sadism. On the show, Krusty would target him with pies and shoot him out of cannons, all in the name of attracting viewers.

However, Krusty was not better off-camera either, as he would regularly involve himself in illegal gambling and patronizing strip joints. Frustrated by his employer's tactics, Bob finally decided to frame him for an armed robbery, which eventually made him Bart's enemy in The Simpsons.

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