Stanley "Stan" Marsh is the overall main protagonist of the South Park franchise.
Despite he's the show's main protagonist he used to have less screen time than Cartman. However Stan and Cartman currently have the same time so that makes both the show's main protagonists. Stan attends South Park Elementary as part of Mr. Garrison's Fourth Grade Class. Stan's father Randy is a geologist, and his mother Sharon is a secretary at Tom's Rhinoplasty.
Catch Phrases and Mannerisms[]
Since its beginning, the series has had a running gag where when Kenny is killed, Stan will announce, "Oh my God, you/he/she/they/we killed Kenny!" Kyle will then respond: "You/that/those/we're bastard(s)!", or vice versa.
Stan's often-used catchphrase during the early seasons was "Dude, this is pretty fucked up right here," which originated in the second The Spirit of Christmas short (the profanity was bleeped out). In recent episodes however this catchphrase faded.
In many episodes, Stan sums up the episode's main points in a small speech that often begins with, "You know, I learned something today." However, it is more common for Kyle to do it, and a few other characters such as Cartman and the Mayor have as well. Stan is often shown with his hands in his coat pockets as he walks, or when in deep thought.
In the later episodes, Stan also has a habit of pinching the bridge of his (unseen) nose and shutting his eyes tightly when frustrated or exasperated, saying phrases such as "Oh no." A good example of this is in "Manbearpig" where he does this motion when on the phone with Al Gore. Another example is in "With Apologies to Jesse Jackson", when he does it all the way home from the set of Wheel of Fortune. His mother is also seen doing the motion in that scene. He also does it the whole time when the reporter is talking to Randy in "Goobacks". The gesture seems to be a learned habit developed by his constant frustration with his parents. Kyle also has a mannerism like this, often closing his eyes when stressed. This isn't uncommon with Stan and Kyle, often throughout the series being criticized as having the same personality.
Stan often groans, "Aw-awww!" when he's upset, which seems to be an inherited habit; his father does this sometimes as well. This is the same catchphrase Trey Parker used in BASEketball.
If he agrees with someone or is unsure of something, he will often state "sure" or "yeah" in a very dull, unimpressed manner. Whenever he gets mad, frustrated or gets dragged into something, he often says "Goddamnit!", not to be confused with Cartman's catchphrase, "Aw! God-damn it!" Often in school, he'll say "Oooooh....." with a
slightly higher pitched tone than his normal voice. He will often
express shock with "Jesus Christ!" This is evident in "Super Fun Time" and "About Last Night...".
Criminal Record[]
Eco-Terrorism/Breaking and Entering: Attempts to save baby cows' lives by stealing them from Farmer Carl Denkins
and locks him Cartman, Kyle, and Butters in his room. Originally it
technically isn't terrorism but soon Cartman gives demand for a missile,
an arsenal of weapons, and the name for veal changed to tortured baby
cows. In the episode "Free Willzyx", him and his friends break into SeaWorld Park and steal the orca named Jambu.
The boys were tricked by two employees into believing the whale wanted
to be free and misses its family on the Moon. The boys eventually succeed with sending the whale to the Moon with the help of the Mexican Aeronautic Space Agency. During the events of "Whale Whores", he joins the anti-whaling reality show Whale Wars and sinks many Japanese whaling ships with a flare gun and Molotov cocktails. He, Kenny, and Cartman get arrested by the Japanese and put in a prison cell together. In "Ass Burgers", he broke into a random building while drunk and under the manipulation of the Secret Society of Cynics and began randomly firing an Uzi gun which contained several restaurant owners plotting to shut down Cartman's hamburger business.
Illegal Downloading: He downloads songs illegally which get him, Kenny, and Kyle arrested. However he never knew this law existed.
Arson/Framing: In "Pre-School", he and the others got Trent Boyett to set a fire in their preschool classroom and frame Trent for the crime, and in "Butt Out". However both of these arson's were accidental and unintentional and therefore do not count on his criminal record.
Hit and Run: In "Two Days Before the Day After Tomorrow",
Stan and Cartman drove a boat into a beaver dam, which resulted in the
flooding of Beaverton, and the deaths of 'hundreds of millions', despite
the population of the town being only 8,000. It was also reported that
people were looting, raping, and resorting to cannibalism (which is a stretch). However this was also an accident because Stan did not know that this accident would go very far and does not count on his criminal record.
Piracy: In "Whale Whores", he sinks a Japanese boat. However, this does not count because the Whale Wars show was supported by national television.
Violation of Firearm Laws/Threatening with a deadly weapon: In Mystery of the Urinal Deuce,
Stan held Kyle's head at gunpoint and began to threaten him before
revealing that he was the one who defecated in the school urinal simply to avoid missing out on recess, He was eventually punished by Mr. Mackey
for it.
Attempted Murder: Stan has attempted to kill Cartman with a
laser gun while Cartman almost destroyed the world with his trapper
keeper and he and Kyle tie Cartman to a cross, knowing full well that he
would die, in order to give Kyle's dad a resurrection. He has also been known at attempting to murder his own grandpa (at his grandpa's
request). However he unintentionally attempts these assisted suicides.
Murder: In "Pinkeye",
he and Cartman killed many zombies by cutting them in half with
chainsaws. What neither of them knew at the time that all they had to do
was kill the original zombie, Kenny.
Attempted Unlicensed Surgery: In "Cherokee Hair Tampons",
when Cartman refused to donate his kidney to a dying Kyle, Stan tries
to take it by force by breaking into his house and removing it with a saw, however Cartman outsmarts him by using the "Kidney Blocker 2000" to
prevent this.
Unlicensed Surgery: In "Jared Has Aides",
He, Kyle and Cartman preformed unlicensed liposuction on Butters with a hose in order to get him thinner in hopes of getting money from a
weight loss scam. They even framed Butters by simply running away and hiding, causing yet another grounding for Butters from his parents.
Theft: Cartman misled him into stealing a boat which ends up breaking a beaver dam. But this is mostly Cartman's fault.
Black Marketing: In "The Tooth Fairy Tats 2000",
Stan came up with a plan with the boys in breaking into any rich kid's
house and placing a tooth under their pillow and have their parents place money under their pillow only for them to steal it from them afterwards. Though this idea was already used by a boy name Loogie
who started a business in doing these and ended up joining his
business, thought one of the members of the American Dental Association suspected this and was later caught by them but wasn't punished for due to Kyle's rather unusual altering reality abilities. Since this is black
marketing, this act was illegal and branded on his criminal record .
Underage Smoking: He along with Cartman, Kenny, and Kyle smoked in order to not be like the anti-smoking group Butt Out.
Underage Drinking & Alcoholism: He was given alcohol by a group of people who supposedly had Asperger's Syndrome, because they all literally saw the world as "shit". They consistently make Stan drink to do "missions", and although Stan later said he was through with
that group, he still had a bottle of whiskey in his drawer. However he
had little other choice because he apparently requires alcohol to cure himself of his cynicism.
Indecent Exposure: In "Butterballs", when Stan's awareness video about bullying came to a failure and the school ended up being sued by Dr. Mehmet Oz. Stan resorts in going to San Diego, stripping his clothes and began masturbating (or rather dancing)
in public though he was never arrested for this act and this rather
amused the San Diego's populace. He preformed this act again in "I Should Have Never Gone Ziplining" when he successfully raised an awareness on how horrible ziplining was for him.
Driving[]
Stan has been shown to be quite able to drive in quite a few episodes, despite his age and height, such as in "Towelie" (with Kenny operating the gas and brake pedals), "Red Sleigh Down" (he piloted Santa's back-up sleigh after Santa was shot down over Iraq), "Bloody Mary" (when he drove Randy to the Virgin Mary statue), and "Night of the Living Homeless" (when he drove a modified bus through the hordes of homeless and then lured them away to California).
Grounded Moments[]
Like the other South Park Boys, Stan is also grounded often. He usually does not understand why he gets grounded after doing something that causes him to be grounded and unlike the other boys, Stan's grounding limit is usually determined by a random time by his parents and is usually not set to two to three weeks. Stan has been grounded on the following occasions:
South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut-
Stan was grounded for two weeks by Sharon Marsh for going to see an R
rated Terrance and Phillip Movie, which caused Kenny's death when tried to imitate a stunt seen in the film.
"Proper Condom Use"- Stan was grounded for ten months for masturbating his dog, Sparky in front of his family's book club during one of their meetings. His grounding was immediately lifted when Randy and Sharon found out that Stan had no knowledge of sexual education.
"Butt Out"- For smoking outside school but it was not mentioned.
"Goobacks"- Stan was grounded for calling the people of the future "Goobacks", which was a timecist slur in a fast food restaurant. His grounding was lifted after Randy's job was stolen by one of these people from the future.
Leadership[]
Stan shows his leader skills as (Pirate) Captain Marsh of the "Sea Shepard" in "Whale Whores". He sinks several of the Japanese boats to protect the whales and dolphins in the Ocean, until their boat was hit by Japanese kamikaze planes. Stan is often selected to be the captain of assorted sporting events such as captain and pitcher of the baseball team in "The Losing Edge" and captain/quarterback in football as seen in "Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride". When the boys are playing police in "Lil' Crime Stoppers", Stan acts in the role of a lead detective during the investigations. Although there is no specific leader within his primary group of friends, Stan is often the one to motivate the other boys, due to his moral beliefs, as seen in episodes such as Fun with Veal.
Superhero Alter-Ego[]
Toolshed is the alter ego of Stan Marsh, and is a member of "Coon and Friends". He has a Coon and Friends siren in his house, courtesy of Cartman, which Randy
cannot get down because Stan has stolen all his tools. Toolshed's
"power" is that he has mental powers over every type of tool. It is noteworthy that, excluding Kenny and Bradley, he, along with the rest of
Coon and Friends, do not actually have superpowers.
In "Coon 2: Hindsight", he is part of the vigilante group Coon and Friends. His alias is Toolshed, and uses a power drill. It is revealed in "Coon vs. Coon & Friends" that his superpower is being able to control electric tools with his mind.
Talents[]
Music[]
In earlier episodes, such as "Summer Sucks" and "World Wide Recorder Concert", Stan began to show an aptitude for music. He is also shown to be capable of writing music, as seen in "Chef Aid".
In "Something You Can Do with Your Finger", he and the boys started a boy-band group named Fingerbang. They made a video for the song "Fingerbang" and performed it at the South Park Mall.
In "Die Hippie, Die", he was seen playing a guitar. He was also seen playing a guitar in "Smug Alert!", where he wrote and performed a song about the importance of hybrid cars.
In "You Got F'd in the A", his father taught him how to line dance to the song, "Achy Breaky Heart" by Billy Ray Cyrus. He and the rest of The South Park Diggities participated successfully in a dance competition with The Orange County Crew.
In "Christian Rock Hard", the boys formed a rock band, called Moop. The group refused to play their music in a protest of illegal music downloading on the internet.
Stan has been shown to be able to play Guitar Hero very well in "Guitar Queer-O". He was able to successfully achieve his goal of scoring 1,000,000 points with Kyle in cooperative mode.
In "Night of the Living Homeless", he and the boys sang "California Loves the Homeless" to a large crowd of homeless people, in an effort to drive them away from South Park.
In "Pandemic" and "Pandemic 2: The Startling", the boys formed a Peruvian flute band with Craig Tucker. They played "Mary Had a Little Lamb" at an outdoor mall in Colorado, where they were arrested by the Department of Homeland Security.
In South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut and "Eat, Pray, Queef", Stan was shown to be a talented vocalist.
In "Elementary School Musical", in an effort to become more popular, like Bridon Gueermo, he and the boys performed a musical number, similar to those of High School Musical.
In "Butterballs", his musical talents were shown again, where he was shown to have written and directed the musical video for "Make Bullying Kill Itself", a "lip-dub" video aimed to stop bullying.
Sports[]
Stan is quite athletically proficient, and is regularly the captain or star player of his school's sports teams, except in basketball where Kyle is the best player in the school and dodgeball where Pip is the best player. He was the quarterback of the school football team in "Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride". In baseball, Stan is seen hitting home runs and is the pitcher (though this is rare in professional baseball) and apparent captain of South Park's team in "The Losing Edge". He and the other boys also play baseball in "Child Abduction is Not Funny". He was also a member of the South Park dodgeball team that won the world championship and was on the pee-wee hockey team when he was 4 years old, revealed in "Stanley's Cup". Stan also coached a pee-wee hockey team that episode, and showed he quit from hockey after failing to win a hockey game for the team on a 'breakaway'. His favorite sports team, regarding the setting is in Colorado, is the Denver Broncos. He also manages to go from a beginner skier to a near-professional in only two days in the episode "Asspen" (thanks to the timely use of a montage). The episode ends with him successfully skiing the K-13, "the most dangerous run in America", in order to beat a much older man who repeatedly insulted him and challenged him to the run. He also tries out for the South Park wrestling team in "W.T.F.", but leaves after the coach makes Butters do a "gay" move on Cartman. In the episode he goes on to form a wrestling league with the other boys.
Weaponry[]
For his age, Stan appears proficient with weaponry. In "Red Sleigh Down", he was able to hold an M16 assault rifle (but didn't actually use it), and in "Mystery of the Urinal Deuce", he was able to get hold of a handgun. In "Good Times with Weapons", Stan wields a pair of tonfa. In "Whale Whores", Stan was able to take a flare gun and fire a flare into the fuel storage of a Japanese whaling ship, resulting in the whole ship blowing up. He commandeered the Sea Shepard in the same episode and sunk a
fleet of Japanese whaling ships with a rather impressive arsenal for a 9 year old, including Molotov cocktails and a large caliber deck gun. His proficiency is probably a result of his Uncle Jimbo's influence. He was also able to kill Scuzzlebutt in the episode "Volcano". Also, in "Make Love, Not Warcraft", he uses the Sword of a Thousand Truths successfully. He also broke into a building while wielding and firing an Uzi gun at random areas of the
building while intoxicated in "Ass Burgers".
Voice Acting[]
In "Cartmanland", Stan changes his voice in order to get into Cartman's theme park, Cartmanland, pretending to be a child named "Mick Ganer". In "A Very Crappy Christmas", he changed his voice to sound like Cartman in order to finish a Christmas short; the two of them are also voiced by the same person, Trey Parker.
Appearance[]
Stan is mostly shown wearing a brown jacket with a red collar, a blue hat with a red puffball and rim, and blue jeans. Under his jacket, he either wears a red and blue baseball shirt or a white T-shirt/V-neck. He also wears a blue Terrance and Phillip shirt to bed and a green suit for special occasions. In some episodes, it is clear he has black hair (like his father Randy) when his hat is partially or completely removed - this was first seen in "A Very Crappy Christmas".
All of the boys' hats are removed and their hair is seen for an extended period during the shower room scene in "Lil' Crime Stoppers", although Kenny's head is only seen from behind. Stan also apparently has blue eyes, as noted by Kyle when Butters draws their cartoon forms in "A Very Crappy Christmas", but this is uncertain, because Kyle said it was similar because he had a sharper nose, so it could have been a mistake.
In "Good Times with Weapons", he was portrayed with brown eyes, so odds are it was Butters' error when his eyes were blue. Even at a young age, Stan has always worn his red and blue hat (as shown in "Pre-School") and even sleeps with it on.
In "The List", he ranked third in the initial corrupt list of which boy was cutest. However, he was not mentioned among those who had to change places due to the corruption, so it is possible that he remained the third cutest boy, behind Clyde (who was actually in the bottom five somewhere) and Token.
In the original Christmas short, he had a different appearance; his hat was the same, but it was fully red, he also had a dot as a nose and his jacket was blue.