Jimbo Kern

Jimbo Kern, voiced by Matt Stone, is Stan Marsh's uncle, a Vietnam veteran, and an avid gun enthusiast.

Vietnam War
Jimbo was a helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War where he met his lifelong buddy Ned Gerblansky. However, his memory of the events are heavily distorted. When he relates his memories to the boys for their history assignment, he recalls that there were amusement park rides and that he and Ned defeated the entire Viet Cong by themselves, while on horseback.

Mr. Garrison doesn't believe the boys' story, thinking that they made it up, and gives them detention. Mr. Garrison also hints that he was in Vietnam himself. However, a cameraman who was also a Vietnam veteran also appeared to share memories of amusement park rides, implying that Jimbo's story was either true or that the cameraman shared Jimbo and Ned's delusion.

In South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut and in "The Red Badge of Gayness" shows that Jimbo is known for his guerrilla tactics.

Hunting
Jimbo is best known for being a hunter. Most of his episodes circle around him hunting with his ever-present companion, Ned Gerblansky. Jimbo is often shown carrying a rifle.

In "Volcano", Jimbo revealed that because there was a law issued, which forbade the killing of an animal unless in self-defense, he and Ned would always say, "It's coming right for us!" before killing an animal. However, in the episode, "The Mexican Staring Frog of Southern Sri Lanka", it was revealed that hunters were no longer allowed to exploit this loophole. Instead, he would say, "We need to kill them to thin out their numbers", under the pretense that they were culling animals in order to prevent overpopulation.

Jimbo also runs the local gun shop. This was first shown in "Weight Gain 4000", when he sold Mr. Garrison and Mr. Hat a gun to shoot Kathie Lee Gifford with.

Television Show
Jimbo and Ned also co-host a TV show called Huntin' and Killin'. It is first featured in "The Mexican Staring Frog of Southern Sri Lanka", in which Jimbo and Ned get into a ratings war against Jesus and Pals. Huntin' and Killin' pulled in about twenty-four viewers, beating Jesus and Pals by about two viewers.

The show has not been mentioned since that episode, but one of its episodes can be heard on Cartman's TV in the episode "Hooked on Monkey Phonics".

Cannibalism
In the episode "Cartman's Mom is Still a Dirty Slut" he and Ned, the Mayor, Officer Barbrady, Mr. Garrison and Mr. Hat, the film producer and his assistant, and actor Eric Roberts all got snowbound. After a while, they got hungry, and Jimbo said they would have to eat each other, since there was no other food available. They started with Eric Roberts, and eventually ate the film producer and his assistant. Curiously, this does not seem to have affected Jimbo or Ned, and they have simply moved on with their lives.

Sexuality
Jimbo's sexual orientation remains ambiguous. Jimbo has never been married, and his only companion is his lifelong partner Ned Gerblansky, who in "Jakovasaurs" is shown walking around Jimbo's house wearing skimpy underpants and an open short red dressing gown, which Jimbo seems entirely comfortable with. In the episode "It Hits the Fan", Jimbo is able to say "fag" without being censored, implying that he is gay. In "Two Guys Naked in a Hot Tub" he admits that "everyone is a little gay," and he admitted to once jerking off Ned while sitting in a hot tub.

However, in the episode "Goobacks", he is reluctant to participate in a gay orgy in order to prevent the future people from ever existing. In the "Cartman's Mom is a Dirty Slut", it is revealed that he had a sexual relation with Liane Cartman (but so did Mr. Garrison). In "South Park is Gay!", he is caught in the metrosexual craze, and explains to Mr Garrison that he isn't gay. In the episode "Scott Tenorman Must Die", he got excited when Mrs. Tenorman was taking of her bra.

The confusion surrounding Jimbo's sexuality may be a reflection of his own confusion; he identifies with a very stereotypically heterosexual and macho culture, which he may find hard to reconcile with his homo/bisexuality.

Appearance
He wears an orange hat, orange shirt, green vest, and brown trousers. Underneath his hat, he is nearly bald, but what little hair he has is shown to be light brown. He is overweight, and has a double chin. His jawline is very broad and square.

Jimbo was given an updated look in the episode "Night of the Living Homeless"; his jacket was shaded around the edges of the pockets. In the episode, "South Park is Gay!", Jimbo shaved his head, however, it is likely his hair has since grown back, since the "metrosexual" fad faded near the end of the aforementioned episode.

Personality
Although Jimbo generally seems amiable, he occasionally has streaks of madness, such as when he saw Kenny McCormick as a platypus in "Damien". Though the platypus stood on two legs, was dressed like Kenny, and indoors with the other children, he shot him immediately.

He tried to kill him again in "Cripple Fight". Timmy had given Jimmy Valmer an orange parka to make him look like Kenny, in hopes that this would kill him. One of the obstacles he narrowly escaped was Jimbo, saying "Look! There's Kenny! Get him!" and firing, before taking a closer look, and saying "Oh wait, that's not him!".

He also directed the other men in South Park on how to bully Mr. Cotswolds in "Hooked on Monkey Phonics". He likes the idea of being Stan's "cool uncle"; he takes him hunting, openly swears in front of him and the boys and offers them alcohol in "Volcano").

Although he has good technical knowledge (being a pilot and being able to operate many different weapons) he is frequently shown as quite dimwitted; being unable to tell the difference between Cartman and Scuzzlebutt in "Volcano", thinking that a plastic frog was a deadly animal "The Mexican Staring Frog of Southern Sri Lanka", and repeatedly forgetting to lie to checkpoint controllers when smuggling in Mexican fireworks "Summer Sucks".

Stan Marsh
Stan is Jimbo's nephew. He cares for his nephew, but he gets frustrated by Stan's animal-loving nature. In "Volcano", Jimbo seemed to give up on Stan, because he refused to shoot anything. All the same, at the end of the episode, when Stan shot the Scuzzlebutt, Jimbo still got upset, and explained that you don't shoot just anything, especially not when it just saved your life. He then tells Stan that he'll always be his nephew, and he'll always love him, even if he is a sissy.

Shelly Marsh
She is Jimbo's niece. He doesn't seem to interact with her much, and prefers his nephew.

Randy Marsh
He is Jimbo's half brother by a different father. They appear to have a decent friendly relationship, often drinking together and talking about normal guy stuff. Despite the fact their mother left Jimbo's father, Jimbo himself seems to hold no ill-will towards his half-brother.

Sharon Marsh
She is Jimbo's sister-in-law. They don't interact much either, but when they do, they seem to be on good terms.

Grandma Marsh
She is Randy and Jimbo Kern's mother. She apparently divorced or cheated on Jimbo's father to be with Marvin Marsh, Randy's father. It's implied in "Cartman's Mom is a Dirty Slut", that his father died when he was very young. Grandma's relationship with Jimbo remains unknown.

Ned Gerblansky
Jimbo and Ned met while deployed in Vietnam. They soon formed a solid friendship, and are almost always seen together. They share each other's enthusiasm for firearms and hunting. It is not known if their relationship is entirely platonic, as they both live together and neither are married. Ned is also seen walking around immodestly dressed in Jimbo's house in "Jakovasaurs". In South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, they work together to fight

The Boys
Jimbo takes the boys on a hunting trip in "Volcano". He warms especially to Kenny, whom he makes his honorary nephew. He usually tries to be helpful towards the boys in later episodes.

Kenny McCormick
As of "Volcano", he became Jimbo's honorary nephew, because he enjoyed hunting animals and shooting or bombing them, like he did. However, shortly thereafter, Ned accidentally shot Kenny dead. He also enjoyed guzzling down alcohol and gasoline.

However, in later episodes, Jimbo has (sometimes successfully) attempted to kill Kenny on several occasions. In "Damien", he sees Kenny in the form of a duck-billed platypus and immediately opens fire on him. In "Cripple Fight", Jimbo shouts, "There's Kenny, shoot him!" when he sees Jimmy in the orange parka Kenny always wears. Exactly why Jimbo attempted to kill Kenny in this instance is not known.

Prominence
Jimbo's role is one of those which has diminished greatly since the beginning. In the first several seasons, he had an average of three or four prominent roles per season. Around the seventh season and onward, his importance faded to the point at which he now gets to have about 1 or two prominent appearances each season. He made a temporary comeback in Season 10, though, when his level of prominence equaled three episodes once more.


 * "Weight Gain 4000" - Jimbo's first appearance. Jimbo sells Mr. Garrison a gun to shoot Kathie Lee Gifford with.
 * "Volcano" - Jimbo and Ned take the kids on a hunting trip.
 * "Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride" - Jimbo and Ned sabotage the opposing football team's mascot.
 * "Pinkeye" - Jimbo and Ned can be seen on top of a building shooting the zombies.
 * "Cartman's Mom is a Dirty Slut" - Jimbo is a potential father of Cartman.
 * "Cartman's Mom is Still a Dirty Slut" - Jimbo, Ned, and several other people get trapped in the filming studios due to a heavy snowstorm outside, and resort to cannibalism in order to survive.
 * "The Mexican Staring Frog of Southern Sri Lanka" - Jimbo's television series rivals against Jesus and Pals.
 * "Summer Sucks" - Jimbo and Ned try to smuggle fireworks from Mexico after South Park bans them.
 * "Cow Days" - Jimbo tries to find out who stole the cow clock on "Cow Day".
 * "Jakovasaurs" - Jimbo, Ned, and the boys discover a near-extinct species known as "Jakovasaurs" and help it repopulate.
 * "Tweek vs. Craig" - Jimbo and Ned teach Tweek how to box.
 * South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut - Seen with the army and fighting in the war.
 * "The Red Badge of Gayness" - Jimbo participates in the war reenactment.
 * "Chef Goes Nanners" - Jimbo and Ned try to get the South Park flag to remain the same.
 * "It Hits the Fan" - During a debate with Mr. Garrison, Jimbo says "fag" uncensored.
 * "Cripple Fight"
 * "Super Best Friends" - Jimbo participates in one of David Blaine's magic tricks.
 * "Scott Tenorman Must Die" - Jimbo and Ned helps Cartman to spy on the Tenormans.
 * "Here Comes the Neighborhood" - Jimbo and the other men in South Park try to get rid of the rich, black residents.
 * "Bebe's Boobs Destroy Society" - Jimbo and Ned drive their van.
 * "A Ladder to Heaven"
 * "I'm a Little Bit Country" - Jimbo is a pro-war fighter.
 * "Red Man's Greed"
 * "South Park is Gay!"
 * "Casa Bonita"
 * "Goobacks"
 * "Something Wall-Mart This Way Comes"
 * "Die Hippie, Die"
 * "The Return of Chef"
 * "Smug Alert!"
 * "Miss Teacher Bangs a Boy" - Jimbo admires the beauty of Ms. Stevenson
 * "Night of the Living Homeless" - Jimbo becomes a fugitive of the homeless people.
 * "More Crap" - Jimbo supports his half-brother, Randy, in the crapping competition.
 * "Medicinal Fried Chicken" - Gets cancer to get a prescription to smoke marijuana legally.
 * "201" - Tells Eric Cartman his father is a Denver Bronco
 * "It's a Jersey Thing" - Fights against the Jerseyites trying to take over South Park
 * "I Should Have Never Gone Ziplining" - Seen driving the boys to Backcountry Adventures.
 * "Insecurity" - Jimbo is among the adult males that rally to get rid of the UPS man.
 * "A Scause For Applause" - Seen in the background while Jesus Christ gives his speech.
 * "World War Zimmerman" - Jimbo sells Eric Cartman a rifle.
 * "Gluten Free Ebola" - He is seen at the gluten presentation.
 * "The Magic Bush" - He is shown on the news, outraged at a police drone shooting down a Neighborhood Watch drone.
 * "Cock Magic" - Watching the Cock Magic fights with Ned at City Wok.

Let's Go Tower Defense Play!
Jimbo plays a major role in the game South Park Let's Go Tower Defense Play! alongside Ned Gerblansky, hunting out at Stark's Pond when it is attacked by Jakovasaurs and other enemies. He and his partner both function as powered-up 'fiery-works' towers, but without costing the player any money. Neither character is playable, however, and it is unknown if the game is canon.

The Stick of Truth
Jimbo has his store in the northwest corner of South Park, right next to Skeeter's bar. In addition to selling the player a number of high-level weapons, he also gives the player a quest to hunt down a bunch of rare wild creatures for rewards.

Trivia

 * Jimbo drives a Hummer H1.
 * Jimbo Kern and Ned Gerblansky were inspired by characters Trey Parker drew while in high school.
 * As of Season Seventeen, Jimbo has had a speaking role in 62 episodes.