Kyle Broflovski, voiced by Matt Stone, is one of the five main characters of South Park, along with Stan, Kenny, Cartman and Butters and is usually the show's deuteragonist, but sometimes swaps roles with Stan.
Appearance
Kyle without his hat in Elementary School Musical
Kyle wears a greenish lime ushanka, a bright orange jacket, dark green pants, and lime-green mittens. Kyle weighs 83 lbs., as stated in "Human CentiPad." Underneath his hat, he has a bright red Jewfro, a hairstyle he seems to resent. This was first shown in "How to Eat with Your Butt"; he is seen without his hat in "Lil' Crime Stoppers", "South Park is Gay!", "Quest for Ratings", "Mr. Garrison's Fancy New Vagina", "The Losing Edge", "Elementary School Musical", "W.T.F.", "It's a Jersey Thing", and the Coon and Friends arc (as his vigilante alter ego The Human Kite). His hair is a nod to Matt Stone's (his creator) old hairstyle, as well as his character in "Cannibal! The Musical".
In several episodes, he has appeared in different outfits other than his, such as in "Margaritaville", when Randy Marsh recommended that the townspeople wear bedsheets instead of normal clothes (and riding llamas, amongst other things) to propitiate the economy's anger, Kyle wore a red bedsheet in the form of a robe. Also, on several occasions, he has altered his Jewfro stylishly, as shown in "South Park is Gay!" (when he briefly followed the metrosexual fad), "Elementary School Musical" (in the style of Corbin Bleu), and in "It's a Jersey Thing" (whenever he 'transforms' into a Jerseyite). In the episode "Free Willzyx", a photorealistic image of him is drawn by the police (along with the other boys); his mother, Sheila Broflovski, comments that it's "kind of a bad drawing".
Kyle in the original Christmas short.
In "The List", Kyle was voted the ugliest boy in class out of the sixteen students attending the class. This shakes Kyle's confidence; he stoops down to the level of the ugly misfit kids at school (who are so ugly that he still stands out), who constantly talk about burning the school down. Eventually, Stan and Wendy informed Kyle that the list was the result of a corrupt compromise just before Kyle set the school on fire, technically relieving Kyle of his status as ugliest kid. Kyle's appearance was drastically different in the original Christmas short: instead of his orange jacket, he wore a green jacket, and instead of an ushanka, he wore a yellow baseball cap and looked very similar to Stan.
To see more images of Kyle, visit Kyle Broflovski/Gallery.
Personality
Kyle On Facebook
Originally, Kyle's personality was extremely similar to Stan's - he had firm morals and generally was the "good boy" of the group, generally being the one to deliver the "I learned something today" speech at the end of the episodes. After the abandoned plan to kill Kyle off in season 5 (that honor went, predictably, to Kenny) his personality was changed - most notably his temper shortened considerably.
Kyle has extremely strong beliefs, and when forced to question them, he becomes very upset and has somewhat of short temper (especially when it comes to Cartman. This is has caused a lot of fights between the two boys). For the most part, Kyle bases his decisions on both his emotions and beliefs; therefore, he is easily coaxed into fights or manipulated by control of emotions, an example of this being when Cartman sang a song about his mother being a "bitch" and got everyone to join in, which annoyed Kyle. As a result, this has happened at least twice (South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut, "Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo"). Cartman is more than happy to poke fun at Kyle in other ways as well, which has landed him in trouble many times. However, Kyle has been known to abandon his beliefs if there is a lot of money in it for him - he only changed his mind when he realised he was turning into Cartman (Crack Baby Athletic Association).
Kyle seems to have a strong fraternal instinct. Despite his initial displeasure after learning that Ike was his adopted brother in "Ike's Wee Wee", he recalls his bond with Ike prior and protects him when misconcieving that Ike was in immediate danger. Kyle has, in numerous episodes, dedicated all of focus on saving Ike or Ike's general well being. "It's Christmas in Canada", "Miss Teacher Bangs a Boy", "Canada on Strike", "Fat Beard", and "Dead Celebrities" In the "The Jeffersons", he was initally the first one to show concern for the new neighbor's son by promptly tending to Blanket's scraped knee when he was unnoticed by his father "Mr.Jefferson". Throughout the episode, Kyle willingly looks out for Blanket: taking him to Stan's house after showing outrage that Blanket was found alone in Kyle's backyard, trying to hide him from his neglectful father, and defending him by delivering that Mr.Jefferson should be more responsible for Blanket's well-being and should act as more a father figure
Despite his short temper, Kyle has a wide imagination and is easily the most compassionate of the boys, evident by how he did not find the invasive gossip from eavesdropper to be amusing unlike the majority of the other kids in his class. He shows genuine empathy by reasoning that others wouldn't find the site to be funny if it wrote about them (Bass to Mouth). Though, Kyle can also be mean and sometimes neurotic. He also is known to be the most sensible and intelligent of the four and even though he sometimes puts his own emotions before common sense, he usually manages to find logical solutions to problems - solutions which are often ignored in favour of something ridiculous (Cartman's "psychic abilities", for example - although Kyle did manage to offer his solution through his own equally fraudulent "psychic abilities" ("Cartman's Incredible Gift")). This is yet another thing that annoys Kyle.
Religious beliefs
Kyle is of the Jewish faith, but this detail is not officially revealed until "Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo," despite having been mentioned briefly in the second The Spirit of Christmas short (which pre-dates the television series), and in "Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride". It was also mentioned in An Elephant Makes Love to a Pig. Cartman regularly makes derogatory remarks about the Jewish people, such as "Shut your goddamn Jew mouth!"
Kyle appears ambivalent toward Judaism, and there is conflicting evidence as to the religiosity of his family - for example, while they dress similarly to many religious Jews (Gerald, for example, always wears a yarmulke), they apparently do not keep the Sabbath or follow very strict sexual lives (Sheila Stone, mother of Matt Stone, was herself a secular Sephardic Jew). Kyle's apparent indifference to religion may be part of his effort to fit in with his friends, who are mostly Roman Catholic. Kyle is more often defensive than proud of his faith, and though he regularly attends such functions as "Jew Scouts," he often has a poor grasp of the history, traditions and rituals of his religion. He's very naive. This could be the fault of his parents, who, in a misguided attempt to shelter their son, generally don't discuss with him the finer points of their religion. For example:
- When he heard that his brother Ike was going to have a bris, he was under the misapprehension that it involved cutting off the entire penis rather than just the foreskin. This was despite the fact that Kyle got circumcised himself - though he was too young to remember this and didn't realize that he was circumcised.
- After seeing Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," he told Cartman that Cartman was right about the Jews all along and stood up in his synagogue to demand that the Jews apologize for the death of Christ. Ironically, he personally killed Jesus in "Fantastic Easter Special," though the act was not due to malice but Jesus' own request (so that he could resurrect himself and save Stan and the "Hare Club for Men" from being boiled alive like rabbits). Kyle was initially reluctant to agree to Jesus' request and, concerned as to the implications of a Jewish person killing Christ, only ultimately agreed provided that Eric Cartman would never know about it, this also echoes the unproven and highly controversial claim that Judas betrayed Christ upon request, not for malicious reasons.
- When he learned of Catholicism's conditions for getting into Heaven, he renounced his faith on the basis that if the Jews were right about the matter, it would make no difference if he were a Catholic, but if the Catholics were right, he would go to hell for not accepting Christ (see Pascal's Wager).
- In the early episode "Chickenpox," when his dad told him about how society works, he thought of a "better idea", which involved sending all the poor people to concentration camps so only rich people would live. Kyle's father promptly realized he was being intolerant of people less fortunate than himself and stopped this. This indicates that at least early in the show's run, Kyle did not have a very clear grasp of the Holocaust or other forms of genocide.
- Despite being Jewish Kyle seems very excited about the Baconalia event going on at the local Denny's. Cartman used "Bacon filled Pancakes" as an enticement to get Kyle involved in the Crack Baby Basketball League. Although Kyle is not seen eating bacon, his enthusiasm calls into question if his character keeps Kosher as part of his Jewish faith.
Family
Sheila Broflovski
- Main article: Sheila Broflovski
Kyle's mother, Sheila, is known to be extremely overprotective. She even goes so far as to instigate a war between the United States and Canada in the feature-length movie South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut because of Canadians Terrance and Phillip's extremely scatological R-rated movie. Her motto was: "Horrific, deplorable violence is okay, as long as people don't say any naughty words." Sheila is prone to making a mountain out of a molehill whenever something threatens her son. Even so, in "Cherokee Hair Tampons" she turns to holistic and natural medicine when Kyle almost dies of kidney failure because he is diabetic (though this is unconfirmed).
Gerald Broflovski
- Main article: Gerald Broflovski
Kyle's father Gerald is a lawyer. He serves as legal counsel for the Town Council, though the exact nature of his regular practice is unclear. He is involved in litigation at various points, one time briefly becoming quite wealthy from his involvement in a spate of sexual harassment lawsuits against the town. He has also represented townspeople at times, including Chef's case involving copyright infringement in "Chef Aid." In early episodes the Broflovskis appear to be more affluent than much of the population in South Park, but decidedly less so than the Black family (which also includes a lawyer).
Ike Broflovski
- Main article: Ike Broflovski
Kyle has an adopted younger Canadian brother, Ike. When Kyle first learned that Ike was adopted, he initially considered Ike not to be his "real" brother, becoming detached from and even resentful towards him. His feelings for Ike returned however after Ike showed him pictures of the times they had spent together, and later fled to Kyle's room for protection when in distress over an imminent circumcision, at which point Kyle fiercely defended him. Their relationship has been strong ever since, though has been strained at times. The greatest rift between them was in "Miss Teacher Bangs a Boy," where Kyle reveals the illicit relationship between Ike and his kindergarten teacher. Ike did not understand that Kyle was simply trying to protect him, and told Kyle "You're dead to me." Eventually Ike comes to realize the folly of his relationship with his teacher, and appreciates how much Kyle had cared about him. Ike then starts to see dead ghost like Michael Jackson in "Dead Celebrities."
Kyle Schwartz
- Main article: Kyle Schwartz
Kyle also has a cousin from Connecticut, Kyle Schwartz, who is a Woody Allen-esque Jewish stereotype. He complains about many things such as his asthma, gas caused by beef intake and getting slivers from wooden desks, and drives Kyle (Broflovski) crazy with his heavy breathing. Kyle became so desperate as to try to get rid of his cousin by methods such as tying his sled to a bus and putting him into cargo-load for an airplane.
Relationships
Kyle is one of the leaders of the male student population, along with Cartman, Kenny, and most notably Stan. He gets along with most characters, although his temper sometimes allienates children. He is shown to not have a great relationship with girls, finding is gross when Bebe had arranged for Wendy to have her kiss Kyle in Stan's clubhouse is "Clubhouses". Although, it is seen he is somewhat friends Wendy, often talking with her in background scenes. His best friendship with Stan is shown to get him high status among the children in 4th grade and in school.
Best Friendship with Stan Marsh
Kyle is best friends with Stan. They are the closest out of the four boys, and they are generally seen together on the show, standing next to each other as well as sitting together on the school bus. Kyle shares an affinity with Stan in many ways (particularly early in the show, when there were fewer distinctions to be drawn between their personalities), and they genuinely care about each other. They almost always side together on the many issues they encounter, mainly when it is Cartman who is opposing them. This is frequently manifested when there is a conflict between Kyle and Cartman, and Stan offers support to Kyle by siding with him.
The two have their differences, with Kyle sometimes becoming frustrated with Stan when they have divergent perspectives on something he feels strongly about (as when Kyle denounced Stan as his friend for siding with Cartman in voting for the new school mascot), and Stan in turn becomes concerned when Kyle gets obsessed in his rivalry with Cartman. Though rare, they have had serious disagreements and even "broken up" seven times (in the episodes "Prehistoric Ice Man", "Super Best Friends", "South Park is Gay!", "Douche and Turd", "Follow that Egg!", "Guitar Queer-o", and "You're Getting Old"), but they have almost always reconciled in the end (with the exception of "You're Getting Old", although they made up in the next episode. It is when their friendship is so tested that its depth is best illustrated on the show, as in "Guitar Queer-o," where their falling-out creates the major conflict of the story. The rift formed between them helps Stan realize that what he most enjoyed about his success wasn't success for its own sake, but rather, sharing the experience with his best friend. Hearing this from Stan, a previously spurned Kyle rejoins him in picking up where they left off with renewed enthusiasm (only to be called fags by the game after hitting a million points).
The strength of their friendship and mutual dedication has been demonstrated on the show many times. In "The List," Kyle is voted the ugliest of all the boys in his class. This depresses him a great deal (to the point of bringing him to arson), and Stan, seeing how it has affected him, tries to get the girls to change the list with the help of Wendy Testaburger (ultimately uncovering the fact that the list was wrongfully altered and that Kyle was not in fact voted last). The two have even helped save each others' lives numerous times. When Kyle develops renal failure in "Cherokee Hair Tampons," Stan gladly offers to donate one of his own kidneys to save his life, and ultimately orchestrates the plan that tricks Cartman (the only compatible donor) into donating one of his. Another example can be found in "Imaginationland Episode III," where Stan is trapped in Imaginationland and Kyle is the only one who can hear his voice. Kyle goes to extreme measures, including breaking into the Pentagon, to stop the government from nuking Imaginationland (and Stan along with it). Kyle even agreed to kill Jesus (at His request) despite his strong misgivings in order to help him save Stan's life in "Fantastic Easter Special."
Kyle and Stan's friendship has been mocked several times by others (particularly Cartman). At one point Stan's dad Randy Marsh even told him that they shouldn't hang out too much together or else people would start to think they are 'funny' (i.e. homosexual). Others have insinuated they were gay, as in "Super Best Friends," where Cartman asked them, "Aw, do you want me to get you a room so you can make out?" (to which Kyle and Stan responded by kicking him in the nuts repeatedly).
It is shown that Kyle could possibly be Stan's lawyer, seeing as he was sitting beside Stan after he was sued by Cartman in "Sexual Harassment Panda".
In "You're Getting Old", after Stan is diagnosed as being a cynical asshole Kyle first attempts to cope with him. But, after he gets worse, Kyle decides that he's too much of a killjoy and starts to avoid him with Kenny and Cartman. Finally, he realizes Stan has changed and ends their friendship. However, they don't make up at the end of the episode like the other times, and with Stan not showing a single sign of getting better (along with the doctors diagnosis that he will never get better). It seems to be permanent, but in "Ass Burgers", they made up at the very end.
Friendship/Conflict with Eric Cartman
Cartman is disliked by most of the South Park kids and Kyle is no exception, although in the newest episode, "You're Getting Old", Kyle and Cartman are getting closer to each other, while Stan's trying to get over his view as if everything was shit. The feud between the two has been a recurring theme since the show's beginning. Cartman and Kyle often exchange insults, with Kyle, the target of Cartman's anti-Semitism, and with Kyle taunting Cartman about his weight in return. Whenever making a point, Cartman will often try to outsmart Kyle, sometimes by making a bet with him just so that he can gloat in his face. Though Cartman usually winds up the loser of the argument, there are exceptions when Cartman's improbable assertions prove true. In such cases as in "Die Hippie, Die," where Cartman saves the town from a hippie music festival, and Kyle is forced to watch Cartman play with his new Tonka bulldozer in the school parking lot every day and in "Imaginationland" at the beginning of the episode Cartman is taking Kyle, Stan, Kenny, Butters, Clyde and Token into the forest because had seen a leprechaun in the area and sets traps for it though Kyle of course does not believe him, so Cartman makes a bet with Kyle that if Cartman is right then Kyle has to suck his balls. Kyle agrees to do the bet. When a leprechaun does show up Kyle is shocked but does not mention the bet until Cartman brings it up saying that he has to suck his balls now, however Kyle refuses to do it. So Cartman tries various different
Cartman and Kyle, fighting in "Cartoon Wars Part II.
things to get him to do his side of the bet such as making him go to court and make him do it. When Kyle is at court he says that he didn't think that Cartman had actually seen a real leprechaun but he does not get away with it, so then he has to do it. Eventually he doesn't end up doing it in the episode "Imaginationland Episode III" though they are in Imaginationland and when you are in Imaginationland if you think of something it appears right before your eyes. Upon hearing things Cartman does so and thinks of Kyle sucking his balls and then it appears though Kyle believes it's just in his imagination and it's not real. Though they often hang out together as a part of the core group of main characters, Kyle does not include Cartman in all of his activities (as when he invites Butters instead of Cartman to his birthday party at Casa Bonita because he doesn't consider Cartman to be his friend). On the rare occasions that Cartman's harassment leads the two to a physical confrontation, Kyle is consistently shown to have the advantage. For example, Kyle beats Cartman up in "Kenny Dies" upon discovering he never intended on getting stem cell research passed to potentially save Kenny. In a later episode, "Goobacks," while the four boys shovel the driveway of a woman's property, Cartman sits down chatting away on his cell phone while the others work diligently. Kyle catches him in the act and exclaims he isn't getting his share of money since he wouldn't work and Cartman responds by daring Kyle to "bring it on," and. The next scene features the boys pausing from their work and informing the woman that Cartman has a bloody nose. When the lady asks what happened, Cartman says with his nose and mouth covered "shoveling accident" while Kyle stands there with an irritated expression. When they all go inside to treat Cartman's injury, Cartman then said "I hate you Kyle," implying that Kyle indeed did "bring it on." In "It's Christmas in Canada" Cartman threatens to beat Kyle up if they weren't home in time for Christmas. Following Cartman's
Cartman and Kyle smiling at each other and getting along at the end of You're Getting Old.
incessant complaining and threatening when it appears that they would not in fact make it home in time, Kyle throws one jab at Cartman's face, who quickly breaks down and cries for his mother. Perhaps the most extensive physical confrontation between the two is their "final battle" during "Cartoon Wars Part II." Kyle initially beats Cartman, but Cartman gains the upper hand by pretending to surrender and then immediately turning on him (by kicking him in the balls) (neither really "wins" this conflict, though; Kyle is saved by Bart when he knocks Cartman out from behind with his skateboard). Also in "Imaginationland Episode III" Cartman imagines a picture of how Kyle sucks Cartman's balls.
Despite the tension between Kyle and Cartman, they have each demonstrated some concern for the others' well-being. In "Up the Down Steroid," Kyle referred to Cartman as a friend and explained that he was really concerned that Cartman would go to Hell if he tried to participate in the Special Olympics. Kyle even risked his own life to save an ostensibly sick Cartman in "Manbearpig" by carrying him to safety in a flooding cave, despite the fact that Cartman's weight threatened to sink Kyle (and nearly did). Cartman has also saved Kyle's life. In "Smug Alert!" Cartman realizes that his life is empty and hollow without having Kyle around to rip on, and he braves the Smug Storm to save Kyle and his entire family. He did not however take credit for this, not wanting to admit how important Kyle was to him. Cartman also brought Kyle back to life in "Imaginationland Episode II" after Kyle was attacked by Manbearpig, this time because he had not yet had a chance to humiliate Kyle by making him suck his balls. Also at the end of "It's a Jersey Thing" Cartman say that he is still a "Jersey Kid" and that he's a monster inside but he'll always be his little monster. Their relationship is perhaps best summarized by Kyle in "The Entity," where he refers to Cartman as "my sort-of friend...ish." Kyle also saves Cartman from a Snooki that is raping him.
Even with Cartman's consistent hostility and genuinely antisocial behavior, Kyle is sometimes deceived by Cartman's feigned good intentions. This is seen in "Casa Bonita," "Cartoon Wars Part I," "Kenny Dies" (see below) and other episodes. This may be due to an idealistic belief that there is some good in everyone, even in Cartman. Other times, Kyle makes it perfectly clear that he knows Cartman is manipulating him (or trying to), as in "Something Wall-Mart This Way Comes" and "Fat Butt and Pancake Head." In "Tonsil Trouble," Kyle cannot resist laughing at the irony that Cartman of all people was infected with HIV, feeling on some level that he deserves the disease. Kyle has also occasionally turned the tables and manipulated Cartman into doing foolish things, such as when he convinced Cartman that he would die and suggested he go out to the ocean to be a pirate in "Fatbeard." His conflict with Cartman has had been turn to increasingly cruel ways to stop Cartman, such as in "Fatbeard", where he told Cartman to go to Somalia even though he knew it would get Cartman and any innocent people following him killed. Cartman and Kyle got along in "Miss Teacher Bangs a Boy" when Cartman helped Kyle get Ike away from Mrs. Stevenson.
In You're Getting Old , Kyle and Cartman seem to be friends , while they smile at each other while playing Xbox. However, their friendship with each other was short lived and completley shattered in "Ass Burgers" after Kyle found out that Cartman was sticking hamburgers up his butt and selling them to people, therefore causing their business to shut down.
His relationship with Cartman may be the most complex relationship portrayed in the entire show, even more than his friendship with Stan. It's really difficult to define their connection as friendship or as enemies. They seem to fit in the middle, as many people often describe them using the combined word: "frenemies".
Friendship with Kenny McCormick
Kyle's friendship with Kenny is not as strong as his friendship with Stan (in the episode Chickenpox he claims that he doesn't "give a rats ass about Kenny" to try and get out of spending the night at Kenny's poverty and then chickenpox stricken household) nor is it adversarial (like that with Cartman) but is clearly existent. They rarely interact one-on-one. Kyle regularly includes Kenny in many of his activities and although his friendship with Kenny is not as noticeable when Stan or Cartman are around, when the two are alone together they have been known to be quite friendly towards each other. Kyle promptly beats up Cartman in defense of Kenny's honor and memory following his "permanent" death. In "Best Friends Forever," he bequeathed all of his belongings (except his PSP) to Kyle and Stan, and in his will said, "Dudes, you were the best friends a guy could have", to which Kyle responded "That's really touching...", indicating a meaningful relationship between the two. He was also noted un-officially as Kenny's best friend of the three because he was loyal to him at his (initially permanent) death. Stan was overcome with grief and could not bring himself to visit Kenny before he died, while Cartman's true motivation in collecting stem cells was revealed to be not to save his friend as purported, but trying to make his own Shakey's Pizza. On learning this, Kyle promptly beats up Cartman for his insensitivity and callous manipulation of Kenny's death. He invited Kenny to Jew scouts in Jewbilee, and in The Ring comforted Kenny before leaving to confront Disney about the purity rings, one of which was slowly turning Kenny into a boring douche. this is also seen in the episode 'wing' where kyle mourns kennys death instead of taking cover from the oncoming gunfire.
Friendship with Butters Stotch
Kyle's friendship with Butters is fairly decent and prefers him over Cartman; Kyle generally treats Butters more nicely than the other boys (such as when he defended Butters for not kissing a girl in "Butters' Bottom Bitch"). However, he is not against using Butters as a "guinea pig" when it comes to experiments or undercover jobs, blaming him for writing The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs in the episode of the same name. He also occasionally makes fun of Butters, swears at him or calls him names. Conversely, Butters has been shown to harass Kyle, as shown in "The List," and he has also "bullied" him for being Jewish, though this is usually under Cartman's influence. Kyle tried to help Butters and himself however when they were diagnosed as sex addicts in Sexual Healing.
Bebe Stevens
Bebe Stevens had a crush on him in the episode "Clubhouses", mainly because she was turned on by his buttocks. She wrote in a note that she "could sleep for days on his perked cheeks" and "wanted to wear his ass as a hat." Unfortunately, as the note was being passed around, it got to Stan, and Mr. Garrison thought that he was trying to pass it around, so he forced him to read it aloud to the class, and Stan subsequently got in trouble for that. Wendy then helps Bebe try to pursue a relationship with Kyle, who is oblivious to her attempts. It eventually becomes clear that Kyle doesn't share her feelings, as when he, Stan, Wendy and Bebe play Truth or Dare in Stan's clubhouse, Wendy dares Kyle to kiss Bebe on the lips, and when she does, Kyle expresses fear and shock and flees from the clubhouse. Bebe ultimately decided that she couldn't take the co-dependency of a relationship, and purported to break up with an uncaring Kyle, in a manner of speaking.
The only time Kyle ever showed any interest in Bebe was when she began developing breasts in the episode "Bebe's Boobs Destroy Society," although every other boy in the class shared the sudden interest. Later in the episode, Kyle helps her to throw rocks at cars with the other boys, and eventually goes into an ape-like primal state with all of the other boys. At the end, Kyle and all of the other boys realized that they were attracted to Bebe's breasts and decided they should not be influenced by them.
Ms. Ellen
In "Tom's Rhinoplasty," Kyle (along with Stan, Kenny, Cartman and all the other boys in the class) develops a crush on their slutty substitute teacher, Ms. Ellen. Chef eventually tells the boys that Ms. Ellen is a lesbian; however, since neither Kyle nor his friends (not even Kenny) understood what a lesbian is, their crush on Ms. Ellen continued in a misguided attempt to become lesbians themselves. The crush evaporates however when Ms. Ellen is removed as a substitute and eventually launched into the sun by a large scale plot orchestrated by Wendy.
Rebecca Cotswolds
Rebecca was a girl Kyle had a crush on in "Hooked on Monkey Phonics". The two first met at the Annual School Bee for South Park Elementary, despite the fact that she and her brother Mark were home-schooled. Rebecca lacked knowledge on love and was quite inept socially due to her sheltered upbringing, however, a determined Kyle explained to her the importance of love. They then kissed after he explained love is displayed by a kiss, and almost immediately, Rebecca's confidence grew. The two agreed to go to the School Dance together, but Rebecca ended up making out with other boys at the due, much to Kyle's shock. She has not appeared, or been mentioned, since, so it is a major possibility that Kyle had got over her.
Talents
According to Mr. Garrison, Kyle is a "smart" and "A+" student. Also Kyle, along with the other boys, is portrayed as having multiple useful and trivial talents. However, at rare times he is also portrayed as being ignorant.
Knowledge of the Universe
In "The Tooth Fairy Tats 2000," Kyle begins to question reality once he discovers the Tooth Fairy isn't real. He reads what seems to be every book on psychology, reality, and science ever written. In the end of the episode, Kyle goes into a god-like state for a while; disappearing and making a giant rabbit gerbil hybrid appear. Subsequently towards the end of the episode "Cartman's Incredible Gift" Kyle screams at Cartman and the psychic detectives causing the lights to go out and the shelves behind his hospital bed to shake and their contents to fall.
Video Gaming
Kyle is often seen playing video games with Stan, Kenny and Cartman, and owns an Xbox. In the episode "Guitar Queer-o," the boys compliment Kyle and Stan's skill on Guitar Hero 123, and later in the episode they pass the million point mark together in co-op mode - a feat that was thought to be practically impossible. In the episode "Whale Whores," Kyle is shown playing guitar or bass in Rock Band for the song Poker Face.
Sports
Kyle has played numerous sports including Basketball, Football, Baseball, Soccer, Hockey, and Dodgeball. He is very good at the sports too. Kyle is known to be the best basketball player at South Park Elementary, one of two sports at which Stan isn't the best (the other being Dodgeball, at which Pip is considered the best). However in the episode "Mr. Garrison's Fancy New Vagina", he goes to the all-state game tryouts and is rejected not because of his skills, but because of the fact that he's short and Jewish (rather than tall and black). He then changes his body to look tall and black, and the coaches let him on the team. Neither Kyle nor the coaches were aware that his limb extensions were relatively fragile and not meant to withstand the stress of actually playing basketball, and his knees rupture while playing, severing his leg extensions. Oddly, Kyle was not in the basketball team in "Elementary School Musical", though this was probably to avoid Kyle being active in the fad. Kyle has stated that he wants to play in the Denver Nuggets someday. On the football team however, he is very talented. He made a touchdown, which remarked his skills. He played as a Guard in Basketball, a Wide Receiver in Football, and Second Base in Baseball.
Music
In "Hooked on Monkey Phonics" Kyle plays the guitar to serenade home-schooled Rebecca, who responds by throwing him money. He also performs with the boy band Fingerbang in "Something you can do with your finger". And accompanied Stan in their attempt at reaching one million points in co-op mode on Guitar Hero, in the episode "Guitar Queer-o". And is seen performing a musical number in "Elementary Musical". Though I don't think Kyle's musical talents are brought to attention until he sings "Mister Hanky the Christmas-Pooh". He also played bass in the boys' band Moop. He does not appear to have much sense of rhythm in terms of dancing however, as in "Rainforest Schmainforest" he kept messing up every time the group performed. Kyle also shouts afterRobert Smith in the episode "Mecha Streisand" that "Disintegration is the best album ever!"
Computer Skills
Kyle is shown to have relatively strong computer skills, as shown in "The Snuke", the film, and "Whale Whores".
Writing & Poetry
Kyle occasionally phrases what he says in a somewhat poetic way when he speaks philosophically, questioning reality and why things are as they are. In "Roger Ebert Should Lay Off the Fatty Foods" Mr. Garrison begins to explain haikus (a form of poetry) to the class, but stops on noticing Cartman wasn't in the classroom. Kyle shortly after came up with three haikus on the spot which were all used to insult Cartman. Also, in "The Wacky Molestation Adventure" Kyle is informed that Cartman had three extra tickets on the 28th row at the Raging Pussies concert, but Kyle's mom tells him he cannot go to see it unless he done all his chores and brought democracy to Cuba (assuming it to be an impossible task). This prompts Kyle to write a letter to Fidel Castro, who is actually convinced to bring democracy to Cuba after reading Kyle's innocent, persuasive rhymes, lyrics and words. Kyle also seems to take a leading role in writing the book "The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs" with the other boys in "The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs".
Languages
In the episode "Cartman's Silly Hate Crime 2000" Kyle seems to speak pig-Latin extremely well, even losing Stan in conversation. He can also speak and understand Marklar really well.
Vigilante
In "Coon 2: Hindsight", Kyle is part of the vigilante group Coon and Friends. He is The Human Kite, who can fly and shoot laser beams out of his eyes. However, unlike Kenny and Bradley he doesn't really have that power and it is just for the fun.
Health
Kyle becomes sick more often than any of the other boys (excluding Kenny if his frequent dying can be considered a health issue). He experiences a painful infectious hemorrhoid when Cartman inherits $1 million from his grandmother and uses it to buy his own amusement park in "Cartmanland." He also experienced renal failure and needed a kidney transplant (that only Cartman could provide) in "Cherokee Hair Tampons." In the episode "Guitar Queer-o," sickness apparently prevents Kyle from practicing Guitar Hero as much as Stan does. By contrast, in "Chickenpox" he is the only person in his class who does not easily catch the illness, even after playing a game in which Kenny (who had chickenpox) spit into his mouth and he had to swallow it while saying "ookymouth" (an activity suggested by his mother in hopes that her son would catch chickenpox). He ultimately catches it after prolonged exposure to the Stan and Cartman (who are sick), and contracts a more severe case than any of the other children.
Kyle and Cartman share the AB negative blood type, as revealed in the episode "Cherokee Hair Tampons". It was also revealed in "Cherokee Hair Tampons" that Kyle is diabetic. His diabetes may be the root for his many health concerns.
List Of Health Issues
- Chicken Pox (possibly Shingles) in "Chickenpox" (Semi serious, passed out and collapsed backward, but he was stabilized at the hospital.)
- Kidney Failure in "Cherokee Hair Tampons" (Fatal unless he received a kidney a that matched his AB- blood type; Stan tricked Cartman into donating a kidney)
- Type I Diabetes mentioned in "Cherokee Hair Tampons" but it might have been cured from the transplant
- Hemorrhoid in "Cartmanland" (Infection was to be fatal due to Kyle giving up on life after a religious crisis. Stan wheeled Kyle to the amusement park; he regained hope when he witnessed Cartman's tantrum.)
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) in "Make Love, Not Warcraft".
- AIDS in "Woodland Critter Christmas" (Cartman's story) and "Tonsil Trouble". He was cured of the AIDS though with a cash injection.
- Was sick with the common cold during the events of "The Snuke" but grew better at the end of the episode.
- Was diagnosed with sex addiction in "Sexual Healing".
While not directly related to his health, the following events jeopardized his life:
- Almost Died in a Smug Storm in "Smug Alert" (saved by Cartman)
- Died in "Imaginationland Episode II" from a ManBearPig attack (saved by Cartman).
- Died in "Imaginationland Episode III" from missile fired by Al Gore (reimagined by Butters).
- Bashed his head in "Cartman's Incredible Gift".
Name Dispute
Kyle's last name has been alternately given as Broslovski, Broflowski, Broflowsky, Broflofski, Broflovski, and Brovlofski in the series, though the characters say "Broflovski" or "Broslovski" the most often. The name comes from the maiden name of Matt Stone's mother, Sheila Belasco (Broslovski had been changed to Belasco when her ancestor immigrated to America). In "Spontaneous Combustion" there is a shot of Kyle's father Gerald's law office - on the facade it says 'Brovlofski'. In "Sexual Harassment Panda" his name is shown as 'Broflofski'. The various spellings may be due to some confusion in trying to transcribe the Cyrillic surname Бровловский into the Latin alphabet; the letter в is normally transcribed "v" but when voiceless is often written as "f" in English, like in the name "Rachmaninoff". Parker and Stone have confirmed that Kyle's last name is indeed Broflovski, which was first used in promotional materials for South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut before being seen in the "4th Grade" intro. His last name is Polish or Russian.
Absences
Season 2
- "Terrance and Phillip in Not Without My Anus" (Though briefly seen on Terrance and Phillip's TV and on a t-shirt)
Season 3
- "Cat Orgy"
Season 4
- "Pip"
Season 5
Season 10
Season 11
Season 13
Grounded Moments
Like the other boys, Kyle was also grounded a lot for many things. He does regret most of the things he is grounded for. These are the grounded moments Kyle had.
"South Park- Bigger, Longer, and Uncut"- Kyle was grounded for two weeks with the other boys for going to see an R rated Terrance and Phillip Movie, which caused Kenny's death.
"Butt Out"- Kyle was grounded for three weeks for smoking outside school with the other boys and for accidentally starting a fire on the school.
"Major Boobage"- Kyle was grounded by his parents in this episode because they caught him hiding a cat and thought that he was cheesing when in fact, Kyle was keeping the cat away from Kenny. His grounding was later lifted after his father, Gerald cheesed and was caught in a huge scandal.
Catch Phases and Quotes
You bastard(s)!" [preceded by Stan's exclamation, "Oh my God, they killed Kenny!"]
Kyle (to aliens): Hey, you scrawny-assed shit! What the fuck is wrong with you?! You must be some kinda dick to be able to ignore a crying child!
Stan: WHOA, DUDE!
Kyle: You know what you like? You like to fuck, shit and fuck and fuck and fuck!
"It's like the Disneyland of Mexican restaurants!"
Kyle: Okay, hang on guys. I'll use my special power to see into the future, and find out where we should head next.
Cartman: Hold on, you guys, I actually have another power. I can see into the future too but better than Kyle. Let me try...
Kyle: Goddamnit, Cartman, you can't keep making up powers!!
Stan: Yeah, dude, that's like the fifth power you've come up with!
Cartman: ...I am Bullrog, and I have lots and lots of powers.
Kyle: No, asshole! From now on you only get to have one power! So, what is it?
Cartman: I have the power to have all the powers I want.
Kyle: That doesn't count, fatass!
Stan: Yeah, that's it, Cartman, now you don't get to have any powers!
Narrator: And they all lived happily ever after, except for Kyle, who died of AIDS two weeks later.
Kyle: Goddamnit, Cartman!
Jimmy: Hey fellas, where's Cartman?
Stan: Cartman isn't our friend anymore.
Kyle: We're ignoring him.
Token: Ignoring him, how come?
Kyle: Because he's a fat, racist, self-centered, intolerant, manipulating sociopath.
Token: Oh, yeah.
"I'm totally tripping balls."
"We're all here today, because Chef has been such an important part of our lives. A lot of us don't agree with the choices Chef has made in the past few days. Some of us... feel hurt... and confused that he seemed to turn his back on us. But we can't let the events of the last week take away the memories of how much Chef made us smile. I'm gonna remember Chef as the jolly old guy who always broke into song. I'm gonna remember Chef... as the guy who gave us advice to live by. So, you see, we shouldn't be mad at Chef for leaving us. We should be mad at that fruity little club for scrambling his brains."
"You know, I've learned something today."
"Friendly faces everywhere, humble folks without temptation!" (sung in tandem with Stan in the opening theme song)
"Ready, Ike? Kick the baby!"
"Holy shit, dude!"
"That son of a bitch!"
"Goddammit, Cartman!"
"Fat ass."
"Cartman, you fat fuck!"
"I didn't feel comfortable in that stuff, dude. I'm just being me."(in "South Park is Gay")
"Cartman, you are such a big fat ass, so when people walk down the street, they go, "Goddammit, that's a big fat ass!"
"Go fuck yourself, Cartman."
"Don't belittle my people, you fucking fatass!"
"You're such a fatass, Cartman."
"Look, Stan. When Kenny died I learned how important friends are. I'm not gonna lose another friend."
"You don't know anything about Jews, fat ass!"
"Blow it out your ass, Cartman."
"He's not my brother!"
"Listen, doucher."
"Cartman, I really, really have a problem with what you're doing. I object to it morally, and I find it grossly offensive."
"I'm kinda finger painting right now."
"I think the rabbit just crapped on my jacket."
[to Stan] "You're my super best friend!"
[to Stan, regarding the removal of Kenny's feeding tube] "Cartman was right, but for the wrong reasons, and we were wrong, but for the right reasons."
"I'm Jewish, I've got some hang-ups about killing Jesus"
"Dude, weak!"
"I hate pee! I'm grossed out by pee! The only thing I find more disgusting than pee is bananas!"
"Muff cabbage!"
"Sick dude!"
Cartman: Kyle? Wanna be buddies?
Kyle: No dued! I hate you, remember?!"
---
Stan: Wow, that was beautiful, man.
Kyle: Yeah... Did it work?!
Trivia
- Kyle is one of the three main characters to have never been absent for more than one episode in the same season the other being Stan and Cartman.
- Kyle is the only person in South Park who shares Eric Cartman's blood type, AB minus.
- Kyle's birthday is revealed to be May 26th, however, in the episode Casa Bonita, Kyle is having his birthday party and says he is inviting Butters because he invited him to his birthday party last month. As revealed in "AWESOM-O", Butters' birthday is September 11th. This is probably just a continuity error.
- In the episode "Spookyfish" it is shown that Stan's evil twin has a black beard/mustache and Kyle's evil twin has a brown beard/mustache though according to his hair color it should be red. However, his hair color hadn't been chosen back then, and it's also common for people with red hair to have a brown beard.
- Kyle has killed Jesus Christ and Kenny McCormick.
- Kyle finds pee and bananas disgusting.
- In the episode "Ginger Kids", even though he is a "Daywalker", the other ginger kids still capture him. This is because he isn't a full ginger.
- Kyle's last name, "Broflovski" is a Polish name, meaning that his family is of Polish descent.
- In the episode "Guitar Queer-O", his name is spelled "Kile Barffloski” outside of the bowling alley.
- In the episode "It's a Jersey Thing", Kyle is revealed to have been in New Jersey for the first couple of months of fetal development. He is also seen to reveal his Jersey side when angered.
- In "Good Times with Weapons", Kyle's anime self has black hair, which he does not have.
- Like Stan who pinches his "nose bridge" when stressed, Kyle often closes his eyes.
- Up until Season 5, Kyle had never removed his hat.
External links
- Kyle Broflovski at South Park Studios
- Kyle Broflovski at the Kyle Fan Club (KyleFanClub.com)
- Kyle Broflovski at the South Park Fanon wiki
| Main Characters | |
|---|---|
Kyle Broflovski | Eric Cartman | Stan Marsh | Kenny McCormick | |
Template:Broflovski familyTemplate:South Park children