| Series: | Beavis and Butt-Head |
| First: | Frog Baseball (1992) |
| Creator: | Mike Judge |
| Designer: | Mike Judge |
| Voice: | Mike Judge |
| Alias: | Cornholio |
| Occupation: | Student Fry cook at Burger World Honorary ATF agent |
| Gender: | Male |
| Family: | Shirley Beavis (mother), Mr. Beavis (father) |
Beavis is a fictional character who serves as one of two protagonists from the MTV/Paramount+ animated series Beavis and Butt-Head. He is voiced by the show's creator, Mike Judge.[1] In the movie Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe, Beavis' mother is referred to as "Shirley Beavis", implying that Beavis is actually the character's last name. His father is a former Mötley Crüe roadie.
Beavis has blond hair which he wears in an oversized pompadour style, a pronounced underbite, and an obsessive stare. He speaks in a hoarse voice frequently punctuated by his trademark snicker ("Heh heh"). He is nearly always seen in profile, rather than looking directly at the camera. He is usually seen wearing a Metallica T-shirt, though in merchandising appearances his shirt displays the slogan "Death Rock" to avoid licensing issues. In the episode "Give Blood", he wears a Slayer shirt, while in the Christmas special "It's a Miserable Life" Beavis is seen wearing a Winger shirt during the alternate reality section of the episode. In the 2022 revival, Beavis' older self wears glasses, a dark gray T-shirt and jeans.
He is slightly shorter than his best friend, Butt-Head, although he appears taller from a distance due to his hairstyle. Beavis works with Butt-Head as a fry cook at the (fictional) fast-food restaurant Burger World and once defiantly revealed that he is a fan of the rock band Bon Jovi to Butt-Head, who dislikes the band and its lead singer, Jon Bon Jovi.
Beavis in some episodes also transforms into a character called "Cornholio" who often shouts things like "Bunghole". He becomes Cornholio when he consumes an excess amount of sugar, or mind altering substances. [2] [3] It is not made clear in the series how or why he becomes Cornholio. Beavis's name was inspired by a friend of Judge's from his college days named Bobby Beavis.[4]
Dan Tobin of The Boston Phoenix described Beavis as "the sidekick and follower" who developed into "more of a loose cannon".[5]
Mike Judge once said in an interview that Beavis "is a zero" when it comes to intelligence; indeed, Beavis is often oblivious to what should be obvious. Generally subordinate to Butt-Head and willing to tolerate a large amount of physical and verbal abuse, Beavis nonetheless has limits. In "Murder Site", Beavis was driven to attack and nearly kill Butt-Head, who ceaselessly called him "Butt-Knocker", a term which Beavis resents. Beavis also stood up to Butt-Head while they were watching the video for Rancid's "Nihilism": Butt-Head kept talking about it derisively, prompting Beavis to tell Butt-Head to shut up. When Butt-Head reacted with fury, ordering Beavis never again to tell him to shut up and threatening to attack him, Beavis preemptively kicked Butt-Head in the testicles, told him to shut up again, and walked out of the room to get something to eat. In another episode, while the duo were watching a Bon Jovi video, Beavis claimed to like one part of the song, causing Butt-Head to slap him in disgust. After being struck a few times, Beavis kicked Butt-Head in the groin and proclaimed: "Bon Jovi rules!"[6]
In spite of his overt idiocy, Beavis possesses a number of character strengths. Though usually shown to be the (slightly) less intelligent of the two, he can be inadvertently witty, and when discussing subjects that neither he nor Butt-Head understands, he is more likely to guess the actual mechanisms at work. Also, on the rare occasion that a female exhibits interest in one of the duo, it is usually Beavis who gets the attention.[7] This could be because of Beavis' somewhat childlike temperament, which is less off-putting than Butt-Head's crasser, more blatantly sexual approaches. For example, when the two encounter members of the opposite sex, Butt-Head will typically lead off with a smug opening line such as "Hey, baby", which invariably flops; Beavis, on the other hand, will usually approach the woman with a less obvious "Hi!" or "Hey, how's it going?" Easily influenced by Butt-Head, however, Beavis will often imitate his buddy's cruder pick-up lines. Beavis has also shown instances of insight on such topics as the true meaning of Christmas, or in his analysis of a video by Korn. However, in both instances Beavis seems to be either in a trance or possessed, and shortly afterward he displays no recollection of what he just said.
Beavis has a more volatile, unpredictable nature. His hasty actions usually end in disaster, ranging from being deported to Mexico[8] to severely injuring himself and occasional arrest for crimes such as trespassing.[9] In some early episodes, Beavis displays signs of being a pyromaniac.[10] Though his obsession with fire remained an obvious trait, as the seasons progressed and network censorship pressures increased, his fixation became more of a passing gag. In a deleted scene from the 1996 film, Beavis steals the Declaration of Independence to use as toilet paper.
Cornholio is an alter ego of Beavis. Though the Cornholio character was developed in the episode "The Great Cornholio", Beavis first plays the entity as a passing gag in "Generation in Crisis".[11] Beavis sometimes undergoes a radical personality change, usually after consuming large amounts of sugar, caffeine or stimulants. In "Holy Cornholio", the transformation occurs after Beavis takes many pain pills. He pulls his shirt collar over his head, raises his forearms in a right angle to his chest, and then begins to yell or scream erratically, producing a stream of gibberish and strange noises, with his eyes wide. Cornholio is a normally dormant persona (apparently, the name is derived from the word cornhole). Cornholio tends to wander aimlessly while reciting "I am the Great Cornholio! I need TP for my bunghole!" in an odd faux-Spanish accent. Whenever someone asks him a question or challenges him in a threatening or negative manner, Cornholio will respond with "Are you threatening me?!" Sometimes Beavis will momentarily talk normally before resuming the persona of Cornholio. When he stops acting as the Cornholio persona, Beavis usually has no memory of what happened. In the guise of Cornholio, Beavis becomes a successful beat poet.[12] In "Vaya Con Cornholio", he is deported to Mexico after wrongfully being subjected to immigration detention by an agent of the INS. During his detention the agent and his superior attempt to make sense of the gibberish, going so far as to look up the definition of bunghole. In that same episode, he claims to be from Lake Titicaca (because of the scatological sound of its name), but when asked where it is, he responds (incorrectly) with "Nicaragua".[13] Nicaragua may be one of the few things Beavis remembers from class lectures. Beavis' teacher, Mr. Van Driessen, refers to Nicaragua during a lecture on world economic systems in "The Great Cornholio", after which Beavis repeats the word while pacing back and forth in the classroom. Cornholio resurfaces in "Bungholio: Lord of the Harvest", in which he steals candy from everyone and Butt-Head tails him. He had stood up to Todd Ianuzzi, who demanded he move out of the road. Todd prepared to beat Beavis up in his Cornholio form with his friends. He later spares Beavis, deeming him too insane, in favor of beating up the saner Butt-Head.
Though the closest of confidants, Beavis and Butt-Head have a jaded, violent, and at times borderline sadistic relationship. Butt-Head often insults and physically abuses Beavis (usually by slapping him, sometimes accompanied by a request to "Settle down, Beavis!" if Butt-Head feels his friend is getting a bit too hyperactive, as he often does). On occasion, Beavis will fight back or stand up for himself ("Madame Blavatsky", "They're Coming to Take Me Away, Huh Huh"). His favorite means of retribution is kicking Butt-Head in the testicles. On at least one occasion, Beavis throws the first punch. In "Canoe", he initiates a fight by smacking Butt-Head across the head with a paddle (although Butt-Head goaded him into doing it). Butt-Head usually knows when Beavis is approaching his breaking point and will back off (as seen when he calls Beavis "Buttknocker" or insults Metallica one too many times). Despite being a victim of Butt-Head's abuse, Beavis may prefer it to other options. For instance, in "Nice Butt-Head," in which Butt-Head takes pills to curb his aggression and is shown to be kind and considerate, Beavis quickly tries to find a way to turn him back into his normal self. In "Choke", he specifically states that Butt-Head is "not really my friend," and in "Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe," Butt-Head says that Beavis is "not really my friend, he just follows me around." Nevertheless, it can be inferred that the duo are still best friends (or at least that their relationship is the only significant one for either), considering their shared activities, residence, interests, and their lack of any other friends. The two usually complement each other when one undertakes any sort of endeavor, especially if it involves their lifelong goal to "score with chicks".
Beavis is usually a follower, willingly taking Butt-Head's instructions and cooperating in his endeavors. This appears to be a byproduct of Beavis' own general witlessness rather than any fear of Butt-Head's abuseas demonstrated in the alternate reality of "It’s a Miserable Life",[14] in which Butt-Head had never been born and Beavis was instead the dim but productive friend of younger neighbor and schoolmate Stewart Stevenson.
Like Butt-Head, Beavis shares scorn for Stewart and Mr. Van Driessen. Though he shares Butt-Head's mutual hatred for Coach Buzzcut for the way he exploits their lack of intelligence, manliness and strength, Beavis has a little respect for him. He has shown some respect for Daria, as she is the only student who tolerates the duo and doesn't lose her cool in response to their actions.
While Butt-Head's main interest in life is "chicks", Beavis seems to be more interested in toilet humor and displays of violence. Beavis has a penchant for making off-beat sound effects to suit the occasion. Whenever he sees something that is sexually arousing, he imitates a spring (onomatopoetically saying "Boi-oi-oi-oi-oiiing!!!") indicating a quick erection. He sometimes makes a Bronx cheer by puckering his lips. He occasionally does impersonations, such as of Principal McVicker ("Speech Therapy"), motivational speaker Mr. Manners/Mr. Candy ("Manners Suck/Candy Sale"), and Woody Woodpecker ("Top O' the Mountain”). A special ability of his is speaking backwards, as seen in "Vidiots", while the duo review a music video; however, he forgets how to do so by the end of the video. Beavis also displays a predilection for defecating and things that are related to it, and in a high-pitched tone will often enthusiastically utter the word "poop", or will say the word "plop" to indicate a bowel movement. He frequently pulls down his pants during music video reviews. He also took Kaopectate once after hearing it is for diarrhea under the misconception he would get diarrhea; he was only soothed by an enormous bowel movement which he saved in his dresser drawer, much to Butt-Head's disgust. Beavis sometimes displays savant syndrome, such as when slapped hard by Butt-Head or when attempting to pass out by holding his breath and blowing into his thumb. In this state, Beavis makes intellectual statements, usually regarding the music video he is viewing.
Beavis' family is occasionally mentioned but has never been seen in the show in person. An example is when Beavis states: "My mom's a slut... meh heh heh." According to discussion during some music video segments, Beavis' mother shares her son's peculiar hairstyle, is somewhat obese, and (most significantly) is an ignorant slut. While Beavis is conscious of his mother's promiscuity, it doesn't seem to bother him much, as he often laughs along in agreement whenever Butt-Head brings it up (in fact, when Butt-Head refers to Beavis' mother as a whore, Beavis nonchalantly says "She's not a whore, she's a slut, she doesn't charge for it"). The irony, however, is lost on Butt-Head, whose own mother's promiscuity is implied in Beavis and Butt-Head Do America.
In Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe, it is revealed that Beavis' mother's name is Shirley Beavis. After the duo disappear into a black hole in 1998 and end up in the year 2022, they are told what happened to her by the real estate agent selling their house. The duo weren't paying attention to the story and were busy playing with the garbage disposal which drowned out much of what the real estate agent was saying, but it can be deduced that Shirley Beavis was affected by the loss of her son and she (and possibly Butt-Head's mother) won a settlement from NASA but ended up spending it all.
In "Be All You Can Be", Butt-Head states that Beavis' father was in the Navy and told the Army recruiter that Beavis' father was "a seaman"although this could have been a joke designed to allow Butt-Head to use the word "semen".
In Beavis and Butt-Head Do America, Beavis is reunited with his biological father, who seems to exhibit the same pyromania obsession as Beavis, as well as an overt physical resemblance. He is said to be a drifter and a one-time roadie for rock band Mötley Crüe. However, they remain oblivious of their father-son relationship and part ways before they make the connection.
In Mike Judge's Beavis and Butt-Head, Beavis and Butt-Head are shown in an alternate timeline as middle-aged adults. The duo live together in an apartment. Beavis maintains the same hairstyle, albeit darker. He also wears glasses, smokes, has a few wrinkles, along with missing or chipped teeth. He no longer wears the Metallica t-shirt of his youth, instead donning a black t-shirt and blue pants. It's revealed that Beavis was fired from Burger World in 1999. Beavis and Butt-Head both live on disability and unemployment benefits. In the episode "Kidney", Beavis accepts a kidney from an adult Stewart after holding in his urine for two days. The kidney bursts from drinking wine after the surgery.
The song "The Arsonist" by the experimental-rock group Puscifer, off its 2015 album Money Shot, explicitly refers to Beavis with the fire theme of the song, including the chorus and a line "Beavis sure do love his matches."