| “ | I thought that was fin-flapping-tastic! | „ |
| ~ Darwin in "The Joy." |
What's The Work?[]
The Amazing World of Gumball is a popular surreal animated series that follows the life of the titular Gumball Watterson, a 12-year-old cat, and his shenanigans and misadventures in the fictional city of Elmore. Gumball’s family and friends, including his adoptive brother Darwin, often find themselves in ridiculous and goofy scenarios. The show combines different animation styles with live-action backgrounds.
Who Is He?[]
Darwin Watterson is the second main character in the series and Gumball's adoptive brother/best friend. He was originally Gumball's pet goldfish, but developed legs and the ability to talk/walk. He's known for being naive, innocent, very optimistic and sees the best in the world. He also loves and is extremely loyal to his brother Gumball. He usually serves as the voice of reason to Gumball's more impulsive nature, but he can also be equally ridiculous at times.
Shonen Hero Traits[]
Basic Traits[]
- Heroic/Honorable: Darwin is always seen acting charitably due to his love for others and humanity in general. Some heroic acts include saving Gumball from the Evil Turtle, rescuing a kidnapped Banana Barbara from Rob, helping Molly escape the Void, saving Anais from a house flood, stopping Bobert from committing genocide on all human life in "The Loophole," and making Richard feel like a hero by having him save his two sons from being dropped in a crusher.
- Courageous/Reckless: Darwin is very brave and reckless, as sometimes he goes into things head first without thinking.
- Energetic: Darwin is very energetic and unpredictable, and he loves to goof around and have fun
- Stubborn: Darwin is usually very stubborn to Gumball because he doesn't like being treated like a doormat/sidekick and often insists on Gumball to do the right thing, frequently telling him off. He is also sometimes disobedient to his parents like Gumball. H
- Pursues a Big-End Goal: In "The Signature" Darwin says he wants to start a charity corporation. In "The Safety" Darwin looks to eradicate any "hazard" across the entire globe. In "The Rerun" Darwin looks to help Gumball stop Rob before Rob eliminates their family and warps reality with the Universal Remote. In "The Scam" Darwin helps Gumball and Carrie stop Gargaroth, an apocalyptic monster, from destroying all life.
- Hard-Working: Darwin often does the most to achieve his goals.
- Unintelligent: While he has moments of intelligence, he is usually a massive goober and dimwit. For instance, in "The Potion," he thought that the recipe for a potion read "Zero Rangutan toenails" when really it said "Orangutan toenails" simply because he thought that the O was a zero. In "The MIsunderstandings," Darwin believes that he is "wearing a wire" and catching audio because he is holding a broken piece of a metal fence.
- Optimistic/Idealistic: Darwin is endlessly optimistic. In "The Wicked," Mrs Robinson begins torturing people in Elmore out of pure sadism and is clearly evil, but Darwin insists that there must be good in her and even pretends to choke on a toy to provoke her into helping him and prove she is good. He is idealistic, as in "The Signature" he wants to create a charity business to help people, but he doesn't consider how ripe it is for corruption and, in his imagination, all of the budget goes to financing the business rather than helping people, which makes him sad.
- Determined: Darwin is frequently determined to do the right thing and will stop at nothing.
- Unpredictable: Like Gumball, he is very unpredictable and seemingly does the most absurd things on a whim. In "The Safety" he goes mad and becomes a dictator over Elmore to enforce strict "safety" precautions that preclude people from doing simple things like running or eating food that isn't literally just pure molecules. In "The Pony," he kicks Rob down a manhole for no reason other than he was being annoying.
- Self-Sacrificing: Darwin often risks his safety and well-being to help other people, such as diving into the Void to rescue Molly even when Gumball was being cowardly about it on the chance they might not make it back.
- Resilient: Even though Darwin doesn't know his biological parents and sometimes feels like an outsider or belittled by his family he never gives up on doing the right thing.
Bonus Traits[]
- Believes in the Power of Friendship: Darwin loves Gumball especially, but also all of his other friends and believes that loyalty and love among others is powerful.
- Possesses Plot Armor: Darwin is the secondary main character and constantly gets into absurd situations but appears find afterwards or in the next episode.
- Short-Tempered: While he is usually a nice kid, he has been known to get very angry at times, such as screaming at Gumball in "The Castle" for making fun of his voice.
- Has Rivals/Mentors: Darwin has rivals like Tobias and Rob, and mentors like his parents Nicole and Richard and also teachers like Miss Simian, Mr Small and Principal Brown. the latter two often try to help him do good.
- Big Eater/Drinker: Like his brother Gumball and father Richard, Darwin enjoys eating junk food and drinking a lot of soda.
- Has an Idol: Darwin looks up to his brother Gumball mostly because he views him as a more decisive "big brother," but he also looks up to Richard
- Mischievous: Darwin is mischievious and enjoys playing pranks on his family and friends, such as in "The Prank" where he and Gumball engage in a prank war with their dad.
- Rebellious: Darwin doesn't let any part of society change who he is
- Tragic Past: Darwin doesn't know his biological parents, and in "The Origins," it is revealed that Darwin was originally a pet fish, and when he was adopted by Gumball's family, Richard accidentally flushed him in the toilet and Darwin had to find his way across miles back to Elmore. He was eventually taken by pest control but later escaped and emotionally reunited with Gumball. However, his feelings of being an outsider in his family still persist through the series and it is shown that his backstory affected him.
- Forgiving: Darwin is very loving and forgiving to everyone who antagonizes him, such as Gumball and others at school. Even Rob, who had tried to kill him, Darwin felt bad for in "The Future" after helping paint him out of existence and, alongside Gumball, requested that Banana Barbara paint their archenemy back into reality.
- Is a Delinquent: Darwin is a juvenile delinquent who often pulls pranks and breaks the rules for fun.
- Is a Chick/Dude Magnet: Darwin has attracted Carrie, Sarah, Teri, and Masami in the series, girls at his school
- Is an Underdog: He is an underdog because he is treated like Gumball's sidekick
- Is a True Hero: Darwin is a true hero because he believes in doing good by others and cares about humanity more than himself
- Is a Mascot with Attitude: Darwin has a lot of attitude and can be snarky, mischievious, fun-loving, optimistic, etc. depending on the episode which makes him relatable to young boys
- Street-Smart: While not conventionally, Darwin is capable of coming up with out-of-the-box solutions and creative challenges.
- Is a Kid/Teen Hero: Darwin is ten years old
Caution Categories[]
- On & Off: While Darwin is on and off, it is mostly (or only) because of his proximity to Gumball, who is far more inconsistent and heinous than Darwin is. In these moments, Darwin is usually the one telling Gumball off for how cruel and ridiculous he is being and wants to do the right thing, and when Darwin does participate, it is not because he is mean but because he is naive and lacks confidence in making his own choices. Gumball even calls Darwin his moral "guardian" in the episode "The Sidekick" and says that his role is important so that Gumball doesn't go off the rails. His on & off moments are also not taken seriously enough to detract from his overall hero status
Verdict[]
Easy Yes imo but you decide