| Rob | ||||||||||||||||
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| Vital statistics | ||||||||||||||||
| Names | Dr. Wrecker, Superintendent Evil, The Nobody, Rich, Ralph, Bob, Roy, Rolf, Ron, Ross, Roj, Rose | |||||||||||||||
| Gender | Male | |||||||||||||||
| Race | Cyclops / Glitch | |||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Student at Elmore Junior High School (previously) Villain | |||||||||||||||
| Origin | The Amazing World of Gumball | |||||||||||||||
| Alignment | Evil Good (sometimes) | |||||||||||||||
| Age | 13 | |||||||||||||||
| Created By | Ben Bocquelet | |||||||||||||||
| Height | Unknown | |||||||||||||||
| Weight | Unknown | |||||||||||||||
Rob (briefly known by the nickname Dr. Wrecker) is a supporting character and the main antagonist in the Cartoon Network animated television series The Amazing World of Gumball. He is voiced by Charles Phillip, with David Warner voicing his alter-ego.
He was initially a tall blue cyclops, a minor background character in the series, and a student at Elmore Junior High School, one of the series' primary settings. The character has also explicitly stated that he has no family members. As a result of his peripheral status, he was exiled into the Void, a dimension within the show's universe where all mistakes and inconsistencies are sent. After escaping precariously through a portal opened between the Void and reality, he became physically disfigured and developed a vendetta against the titular main character Gumball Watterson, blaming him for abandoning him from within the dimension and inadvertently forcing him into the role of the villain through his status as the protagonist. In "The Disaster," he is shown to be aware of his fictionality.
Rob was formerly a tall cyclops with a very slim blue body and a single large eye located in the center of his face with a magenta iris. He had extremely long, skinny limbs, pink hands with visible nails, and a large head. He wore a pair of red short shorts with two light orange stripes on the left side, an orange-sleeved yellow crop-top T-shirt, dark orange shoes with blue laces, and a brown backpack. In addition, he had medium-length auburn hair, which covered part of his face.
In season 2, Rob underwent a minor redesign. He became a 2D character with less detail, and his features became more proportional. He gained a black eyebrow, and his shoes now sported yellow buckles rather than blue laces.
After his escape from the Void, Rob undertook a drastic disfiguration. His body was animated in CGI yet again, but his facial features remained 2D. His head took on a grey, misshapen, and dodecahedral form, hovering slightly above his body as he no longer has a neck. The left and right faces of his head now display TV static, with his single eye turning pale yellow and ovular, and his magenta iris replaced by a lemniscate-shaped black pupil. His eyebrow changed from black to brown, now occasionally cutting off when it extends above his head, along with his eye. His tongue shifted from red to yellow, and the inside of his mouth turned from black to pink. His hair became fragmented and polygonal, and changed into a solid brown color.
Additionally, his arms and legs became covered in static, with his left shoe reduced to chartreuse wireframe and his right shoe transformed into a solid, dark grey prism. His right hand became geometric and dark grey in color, but his left hand retained its pink and organic design. Pink blotches appeared on his left leg and wrists. He maintained the same attire, but his clothes became polygonal; his yellow shirt gained a rhombus-shaped hole, and its sleeves disappeared. The orange stripes of his red shorts switched from the left side to the right. His midriff now inconsistently switches between being pink and static. Furthermore, his backpack is now a solid brown hexagon shape without straps, floating behind him, although its presence is inconsistent. His new character design now routinely glitches and warps.
Rob's static can be affected by his emotions, changing to a darker color and intensifying in distortion when he expresses frustration or malevolence. His static also exhibits the "unmoving plaid" effect, in which it retains the same 2D orientation regardless of Rob's positioning. In "The Nobody," Rob's static had a softer texture, scanlines, and less contrast, but from "The Nemesis" onwards, it was changed to a coarser and noisier look.
From season 5 onwards, Rob's pupil changed to an ovular design.
After being painted back into existence following his erasure in "The Future," he was given a pig tail as per Gumball's request.
At first, Rob was a relatively friendly and sociable individual, often seen conversing and partying with the other students. However, he got annoyed and argumentative when Gumball and Darwin forgot who he was after he greeted them on the sidewalk. Despite this, he was still willing to help Gumball and Darwin retrieve their CD which fell into the sewer, despite Darwin being the one who kicked him down into the sewer simply to get rid of him. This shows that Rob was a fairly normal, friendly, and forgiving kid, but was still prone to angry outbursts, confrontation, and entitlement.
This personality changed in "The Nobody." After being found in the Wattersons' basement and running away in fear, he later revealed he had no memory of his past life and thus felt like a nobody. He was polite and receptive to Gumball and Darwin who suggested he reinvent himself with a new identity, but was somewhat cowardly, pitiful, and insecure, lost and lacking faith in his own sense of self. When Rob remembered that he was left in the Void, however, he swore vengeance on Gumball and Darwin for leaving him behind, feeling a new sense of motivation in his new identity and became determined to make his mark on the world by enacting revenge. He followed this by becoming a cruel, sadistic, and anarchic individual, often orchestrating hazardous schemes in Elmore while enjoying the thrill and mischief of it.
Although he initially embraced his role as an antagonist out of anger and desperation, he later claimed he "never wanted to be the villain." He revealed his knowledge about his fictional status to Gumball, and asserted that the world of Elmore revolved around him as the protagonist. Because of this, Rob felt forced to become a villain in order to justify his existence, and only played the role reluctantly, claiming he would rather have been a "cute sidekick." Ultimately, he tried sealing Gumball into the Void in order to redefine the universe and his role within it. However, out of remorse, he undid all the damage he caused in this episode, also noting that there would be nothing else for him to do in the absence of Gumball, and that Gumball was hard to hate considering he had saved Rob from the Void.
As a villain, Rob became an extremely depressed and irritable individual who would snap at others and the universe for perceived slights. However, underneath all of this hate and anger is a very traumatized and insecure teenager who experiences existential crisis about the nature of the world he inhabits and his purpose within it, believing it to be a controlling and unjust environment. In addition, he does value the lives of others, as he tried to save everyone from the Void upon its destruction of the universe by transforming them into humans, presumably allowing them to escape into reality. However, his words went unheeded due to his confrontational attitude, cowardice, terrible communication skills, and poor reputation.
Rob is known for being very intelligent and one of the series' smartest characters. He has devised multiple intricate and nearly successful villainous plans, such as his ransom in "The Bus" and his acquisition of the universal remote in "The Disaster" and "The Rerun". He also has profound existential knowledge on the nature of the universe, as he understands that it is fictional and that there are larger forces at play. This allows him to devise a plan to eject Gumball outside of the universe in "The Disaster," hijack the show's broadcast in "The Spinoffs," accurately predict the show's ending through Banana Barbara's paintings as seen in "The Future," and somehow conceive of technology capable of transforming the characters into humans as seen in "The Inquisition."
Rob is also shown to be a decent opponent in combat. He is capable of defeating Gumball in a one-on-one fight as seen numerous times, such as in "The Disaster" and "The Bus." He is also shown to be fast, agile, and possess a lot of stamina, as seen in his flee across town in "The Nobody" and various fights. He exhibits a lot of endurance, taking strong blows from both the Watterson brothers and even enduring a bomb explosion, which launches him onto a car from a considerable height and distance away. He also showcases a sizable amount of strength, having shoved a vending machine over, pushed a car down a road, and carried a treadmill with ease.
The following appearances are structured based on the sequence of events as revealed in The Amazing World of Gumball, rather than a strict chronological timeline.
Rob first made a cameo appearance in "The Party," where he attended a party hosted by Tobias Wilson' older sister, Rachel. He was later seen in "The Fight" as one of the Elmore students anticipating the fight between Gumball and Tina Rex.
His first speaking role was in "The Pony," in which he greeted Gumball and Darwin with excitement on the sidewalk, but got upset when the two didn't know his name. He blocked Gumball and Darwin’s path to argue with them about it before Darwin kicked him down a manhole; he later denied them the DVD they were after.
In "The Finale," Rob is seen among a crowd of angry Elmore civilians trying to attack the Wattersons before reality is reset to the status quo.
In "The Void," he briefly appears next to a rejected design of the Watterson house, indicating his fate as one of Elmore's mistakes sent to the Void.
In "The Nobody," many of the Wattersons' possessions suddenly go missing. The three members of the family wrongfully Gumball and Darwin stealing them, and Nicole grounds them by making them stay in their room until one of them owns up. The duo assumes that a mysterious house guest must be the culprit, and eventually uncover clues like a secret food compartment, later attempting to find a secret bunker. This leads them to the basement, where they find all of the stolen possessions, and the intruder in question. The stranger runs out of the house in a panic, and the duo chases him throughout Elmore for an explanation. Gumball blocks his path by inadvertently causing a trail of destruction. This prompts the individual to surrender. Gumball and Darwin sit the stranger down, asking for an explanation as to why he was in their house. He tells them he is a nobody who has lost his identity, has no mother or siblings, and that there is no other place for him in this world. Gumball and Darwin tell the stranger that he can reinvent himself, suggesting different roles for him to play in Elmore, but discovering that all the positive ones are taken. Eventually, they land on the missing role of a "bad guy" and suggest he become their mortal enemy, specifically arguing that he becomes "the worst guy the world has ever made." This choice of words triggers the person's memory, and he is revealed to be Rob. In a flashback, Rob explains that he was trying to get Gumball and Darwin's attention in the Void, but they were too focused on finding Molly Collins. As the group escaped the Void in Mr. Small's van, Janice, Rob clung on to the back of it as it launched back to Elmore, deforming his body in the process. After the group drove off, Rob was ejected from the Void, but his precarious escape permanently altered his appearance, leaving him glitchy, disfigured and discolored. In the present, he vows revenge on Gumball and Darwin for leaving him behind, claiming that he will take away everything that they ever loved and that they have given him a part to play in the world.
Rob's next appearance in "The Nemesis" showcases him repeatedly failing to exact revenge on Gumball and Darwin by setting up lackluster tracks. The duo decides to help him become a better nemesis by following him around town. He becomes increasingly agitated by their antics until Gumball suggests the nickname "Dr. Wrecker," which Rob ends up liking. They alter his voice to sound more villainous, make him armor out of cardboard, and lead to him coin his own catchphrase. Later in the episode, his plot to flood the town by destroying the Elmore dam with a wrecking ball backfires when he is unable to escape via bus, so he consults Gumball and Darwin to fix the damage. After all hope seems lost, they realize Elmore doesn't even have a dam, and that Dr. Wrecker only destroyed part of a vending machine. To cheer him up, Gumball and Darwin walk into one of Rob's earlier traps. Rob then walks off in evil laughter as the two beg him to help them down.
Later on, Rob makes two cameo appearances in "The Uploads" and "The Love," the first showing him briefly swearing revenge in an Elmore Stream-It video, and the second showing him participate in the "What Is Love" song.
Rob's next appearance is in "The Bus," where he is revealed to be the criminal mastermind behind the episode's convoluted ordeal. He anonymously suggested that the adults teach the kids to not skip school by faking a hostage scenario, told the police it was a real crime, and replaced the ordinary suitcase on the bus with one containing a bomb. His reason for doing this was to steal ransom money from the police and fulfill his role as Gumball's nemesis. A chaotic scenario ensues involving a police chase on the highway and into an airport, where a plane wing eventually cuts the bus in half and picks up Gumball and Rob. The two fight on the plane wing over the two briefcases which are also used as weapons, one containing the money and the other containing the bomb. Rob is about to crush Gumball with his briefcase, but as the police arrive, he blames Gumball for the crime and gets away. However, Rob mistakenly takes the briefcase with the bomb, which then explodes from a distance, sending him flying back to the airport and landing on top of a police car. Rob, defeated, is then arrested for his crimes.
Rob returns in "The Disaster," presumably having escaped from prison, and steals a universal remote from the "Awesome Store" van. He messes around with the remote, discovering its power to manipulate time, reality, and the episode itself. He accidentally rewinds to when he was left behind in the Void, prompting him to reset his voice and declare himself in control in spite of past events. When the Van Shopkeeper requests the money he is owed from Rob, Rob deletes him from existence using the remote. While the Watterson family is looking for a parking spot in the mall garage, Rob pauses the scene and reminds Gumball that he will destroy everything he loves, unbeknownst to him. Rob turns on the ignitions of the surrounding cars, causing them to crash into the Watterson vehicle and create a piled-up wreck. Gumball is wrongly blamed for this due to him annoying Nicole earlier by playing with the car window, and the family enters the mall. While at the Elmore Mall, Rob makes Gumball lose his half-brother Darwin by putting up "evil magic subtitles," framing Gumball for making offensive remarks towards Darwin regarding his adoption. Gumball runs to his family to explain what happened, and Nicole calms him down. However, Rob makes Richard and Nicole argue and agree on a divorce by deactivating their "parental filters." Anais chases after them, but Rob causes her to get lost by turning down the brightness. The lowered brightness then causes Gumball to dive and accidentally "kiss" Sarah G. Lato in front of Penny Fitzgerald, Gumball's girlfriend. Gumball chases after a distraught Penny to explain, but Rob's fast forwarding causes Gumball to push her off the mall balcony, time suddenly pausing before she hits the ground. Gumball runs around the mall in confusion, until he is confronted by Rob. Rob explains the reasons behind his actions, and claims that Gumball has no one to blame but himself. Rob says that he never wanted to be the villain, and instead wanted to be a cute sidekick, but that since Gumball is the hero of the story, Rob has to be the villain in order to reclaim his place in the world. Rob argues that once Gumball is out of the picture, he can be whoever he wants, as it will no longer be Gumball's "amazing world." Rob opens up a portal to the Void with the remote and tries to kick Gumball inside, but Gumball immediately tackles him, fighting for the remote. Ultimately, Rob launches Gumball to the very edge of the portal and tries to eject Gumball, but the remote malfunctions. Initially frustrated, Rob then decides to toss the remote in the Void, forcing Gumball to follow the device in order to save his loved ones. Rob seals the portal to the Void as Gumball falls in with a final goodbye, and the end credits sequence roll along the "screen" of the Void. Gumball plummets into the Void, and eventually grabs the remote. He fixes the batteries that slipped out and presses rewind, sending him right back to the beginning of the episode. The episode ends on a "to be continued..." message.
Rob appeared again in "The Rerun," where Gumball relives the events of "The Disaster" but with hindsight. When Rob first turns on the insult subtitles to spite and upset Darwin, Gumball rearranges the letters, eventually spelling "Rob is messing with you." Rob then tries to use the eject attack on Darwin, but Gumball pushes him out of the way. Rob runs off and again tries to break up Nicole and Richard. Gumball jumps on top of Rob to stop him, but accidentally presses the rewind button that starts to devolve Richard and Nicole into babies. Anais points out a time paradox regarding their parents being converted to babies, and argues that the three children need to undo this quickly before they all disappear. Despite this, Anais dies from implosion, and Darwin devolves into a normal fish, causing him to suffocate and die on the spot. This enrages Gumball who tries to attack Rob, but Rob fast forwards Gumball into pushing Penny off the mall balcony once again. They both fight for the remote again, but Gumball gets the upper hand this time. He ejects Rob into the Void with the remote, defeating his nemesis and retrieving the remote. Gumball celebrates, but quickly realizes the consequences of his actions. He jumps into the Void to try and rescue Rob before he (Gumball) disappears, as the time paradox remains unresolved. Gumball extends an olive branch to Rob, but Rob denies his help, arguing that he should remain with the rest of the universe's mistakes, and that his story ends here. Gumball catches up to him, but his body is rendered useless due to the time paradox. Rob retrieves the remote and contemplates turning Gumball "off," but he cannot bring himself to do so, deciding to spare Gumball’s life instead. Rob hits rewind, and appreciates how Gumball came all that way to save him. Rob realizes the only way to fix everything is to go back in time to break the remote, which will undo their reconciliation, but Gumball states he looks forward to being Rob's enemy in the future. Rob then goes back in time, fixing everything, and destroys the remote, claiming it is too dangerous.
Rob returns in "The Ex," where he finds himself a new archenemy in Banana Joe. He argues that Banana Joe is "easier to hate" after the emotionally complicated events of "The Rerun." Gumball is distraught, and while ignoring Penny's suggestion to leave the situation alone, he tries to win back Rob's hatred. He does so by suggesting villainous ideas to Rob, being intentionally annoying, and mimicking Banana Joe. After this proves to be fruitless, he tries to befriend Rob instead. He joins him in a stakeout at Banana Joe's house, but ruins his trap by inadvertently alerting Banana Joe with his phone. Rob flies into a rage and lashes out at Gumball for foiling his plans, solidifying Gumball and Rob as nemeses yet again.
Rob returns in "The Spinoffs," where he holds Timmy (AKA the Internet) hostage in order to hijack the show's broadcast, showing several spin-offs ideas with the other characters. This proves to be futile, and Rob gives up by the end of the episode.
Rob reappeared in "The Future," where he kidnaps Banana Joe’s mom, Banana Barbara, to understand her prophetic paintings, which have gone from depicting tangible events to pictures of only static. One week later, Banana Joe requests Gumball and Darwin's help in finding his mother after she went missing. Meanwhile, at an abandoned warehouse, Rob orders Barbara to paint the future, but all she can paint is images of static. This enrages Rob, who claims "that can't just be the end." Barbara eventually paints a portal that teleports Gumball, Darwin, and Banana Joe to the warehouse. They confront Rob, who uses Barbara’s paintings to defend his quarter, painting in hazardous things like a crack in the floor and himself a bazooka. Gumball tackles Rob, and threatens to paint him out of existence. Rob claims that they "don't get it" and argues that "this is more important than you." Despite this, the trio eventually use white paint on a painting of Rob to erase Rob from existence, killing him. Gumball feels remorse, and requests that Barbara paint Rob back into existence. Banana Barbers repaints Rob into existence, giving him a pigtail as per Gumball's request, who wishes to see him in the future. However, Barbara responds that there is no future, contextualized next to the painting of Rob which depicts him falling into the Void.
In "The Revolt," Rob makes a cameo where he is in an Elmore Stream-It video, uploaded during his "Dr. Wrecker" phase.
In "The Inquisition," a live-action human named Superintendent Evil arrives at Elmore Jr. High to stamp out any cartoonish conduct. This involves having the kids act realistically, threatening punitive measures if they do not oblige. Eventually, it is revealed that Superintendent Evil is using technology to transform the characters into humans. He manages to transform almost all the kids into humans, except for Gumball and Darwin, who manage to turn all the kids back to their normal forms by reminding them of their cartoon identities. After getting confronted, Superintendent Evil's mask is pulled off, revealing him to have been Rob in a disguise the whole time. Rob tries to explain his actions, and claims that the transformation was designed to save their lives, but Tina knocks him out. Rob wakes up at the school at midnight, alone, and rants about how he was stopped earlier. He claims that transformation was the only chance they had to escape to "the other place" before something happened to this world. However, he cuts himself off upon hearing crumbling sounds, and the floor breaks apart beneath him, revealing the Void. He falls in and barely holds onto the edge of the floor, looking down at the abyss before remarking with horror that "it's started." He loses his grip and falls into the abyss, screaming, the Void continuing to destroy the world around him. The episode freeze frames on Rob's descent into the Void, and plays an eerie and incomplete rendition of the end credits music before the episode ends. The last shot of the episode is the same image depicted in Banana Barbara's painting from the end of "The Future." It is unknown if Rob survived or not.
