Mr. Hankey is a sentient, jolly piece of feces and the former Christmas deity of South Park, taking the place of others, such as Frosty or Rudolph. On Christmas, he comes to visit those who has a lot of high fiber in their diets. Prior to being relocated to the town of Springfield from The Simpsons, Mr. Hankey resided in the sewers beneath South Park, and therefore has been known to appear as if by magic from out of toilet cisterns, bringing with him tidings of joy, and a ghastly smell. He first appears in the Season One episode "Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo".
Background[]
Mr. Hankey made his first appearance in "Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo" and was seen as generally unknown to the other characters besides Kyle Broflovski and Chef, but after the episode's events he was popularized and by "Merry Christmas Charlie Manson!" there are several TV specials about him and he even takes a more Santa-esque role at malls, but he makes no actual physical appearance in the episode. In "Chef's Chocolate Salty Balls" the boys meet him in the sewer and he explains how the Hollywood people, led by Robert Redford were destroying the ecosystem. Kyle's and his calls are ignored and turned into a movie starring Tom Hanks called "Mr. Hankey and Me", and Mr. Hankey eventually dies. Using Chef's Chocolate Salty Balls to revive him, he uses magic to get rid of Redford and the Hollywood people, by transforming into a wizard (in the style of Mickey Mouse from Fantasia) and raises all the feces from the sewers to attack the Hollywood folk with swarms of fecal matter. While this successfully got rid of the Hollywood folk destroying the town, it ironically and very disgustingly covered the whole town in feces.
Mr. Hankey hosts "Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics", which features a new rendition of his theme song. He returns for "A Very Crappy Christmas" in which we meet his a wife Autumn, who has a drinking problem. We are also introduced to their three kids: Cornwallis, Amber, and Simon (who was born with a peanut in his head) Mr. Hankey later sings "Circle of Poo" with Corwallis and helps the boys make their Christmas short. He reappears briefly in "Red Sleigh Down" with his poo-choo train. This was his final appearance in the series until "201" when he is revealed to have orchestrated the previous episode's plot to hide Santa Claus in a Bear costume instead of Muhammad.
He is also mentioned in "Pre-School" by Trent Boyett.
He also appeared in "I Should Have Never Gone Ziplining", where he was seen rescuing the boys from extreme boredom on the boat they were on. He took them away in his magical "Helicrapter". After traveling so far, Hankey took the boys further on his "Seven Turdy Seven". From there, Hankey took the boys home on an hour-long ride on the Poo-Choo Express.
He reappears in "The Problem with a Poo" where he is the director of the Christmas pageant. He starts sending angry, crude tweets after his budget is cut and is later fired. After an unsuccessful hearing and Christmas concert, and refusing to take accountability by blaming his actions on the sleep medication Ambien, he is banished from the town of South Park, and ends up in the town of Springfield from The Simpsons, where his actions would allegedly be tolerated.
Concept and Creation[]
According to "Goin Down To South Park", Mr. Hankey was inspired by an event that happened to Trey Parker - as a child, he had the habit of not flushing the toilet; because of this, Trey's dad told him that if he did not flush the toilet, Mr. Hankey would come out and eat him. He and Matt Stone conceived an adult animated show of what is known today as South Park, where Stan, Kyle, Kenny, and Cartman are main protagonists, with Mr. Hankey being a minor character that would be saved for future episodes. They pitched the series to Fox Network executive Brian Graden, who was delighted at the show's premise. Afterwards, the three men discussed with executives from 20th Century Fox Television and Fox Network in order to get the show off the ground. However, the trio later said that the executives passed on the series, after not being fond of the show having to include a talking poo character and thought that the adult animated sitcom should be revolved around a family rather than children in order to be successful.
List of Vehicles[]
Mr. Hankey can be seen utilizing several vehicles, usually constructed entirely out of feces and having names with various synonyms for feces.
Poo-Choo Express[]
The Poo-Choo Express is a locomotive constructed out of feces and is Hankey's most prominent vehicle. It first appeared in "Red Sleigh Down", where it was used to take Cartman and the boys to the North Pole to see Santa Claus. Although Cartman seemed to be oblivious to the stench of the feces constructed train, Stan and Kyle were disgusted by it. The locomotive appears to be able to lay down its own tracks, also out of feces, which would indicate that it can travel anywhere.
The Poo-Choo Express makes a return in "I Should Have Never Gone Ziplining", where it was seen briefly as the last vehicle Hankey used to take the boys home.
Magical Helicrapter[]
The Magical Helicrapter is a small helicopter made almost entirely out of feces. After Kenny dies of boredom on the boat in "I Should Have Never Gone Ziplining", Hankey rescues the remainder of the boys and takes them on a ride in the Helicrapter. Although the Helicrapter is almost all feces, the boys seem unphased by the stench.
Seven Turdy Seven[]
The Seven Turdy Seven, also seen in "I Should Have Never Gone Ziplining", is a large aircraft also built out of fecal matter. The name is a reference to a similar aircraft by Boeing, which is designated the 737. Its appearance, however, resembles the Boeing 747, a long-range aircraft with four engines and an upper deck. This vehicle was used during the boys' trip home with Mr. Hankey.
Appearance[]
Mr. Hankey appears as a piece of poo with three major sections, or lumps. He typically wears a Santa hat and white mittens. He has occasionally worn a sailor hat and a wizard hat as well. In earlier episodes, he was a flat shade of brown, but in appearances from the fourth season onwards, he was given more definition with two color tones.
- To see images of Mr. Hankey, visit Mr. Hankey/Gallery.
Personality[]
For his first several appearances, Mr. Hankey was initially seen as good-natured, cheerful and often full of holiday joy, being a Christmas Deity. He sought to spread Christmas cheer and goodwill with his presence, and had shown he was very willing to help the boys on many occasions without asking for anything in return. However, when provoked, he has a vengeful and violent side, as shown when he attacked Robert Redford and the Hollywood people in South Park with magical feces and when he caused a blizzard that killed a thousand people.
In his later appearances, his kindness has disappeared, as he has been shown to be abusive towards his wife. Even before that, he admitted to molesting Kyle in his sleep. He also appears to have poor self-control, as when repeatedly asked to stop taking Ambien to help him sleep, he refuses to do so and begs that he can continue using the medication; he similarly could not prevent himself after taking medication from saying and tweeting out offensive things, which he later brushed off as humor and failed efforts at 'jokes' or spreading cheer.
Trivia[]
- A song entitled "Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo" was released on CD and cassette, alongside the song, "Simultaneous".
- The song is also used as the theme song for the Christmas expansion of Postal 2, entitled A Very Postal Christmas.
- Mr. Hankey first appeared in the intro for the "The Unaired Pilot. His first series appearance was in "Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo".
- Mr. Hankey was actually intended to be a sailor, this has been mentioned in the South Park Commentary of "Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo".
- Mr. Hankey is also an item in the game South Park Rally and the online game South Park: Big Wheel Death Rally.
- Mr. Hankey can be found in a clogged toilet in Park County Community Center in South Park: The Fractured But Whole.
- Once the player successfully unclogs the toilet using the Sandblaster buddy power, the player can take a selfie with him and he will follow the player's Coonstagram account.
- In the deleted scene from "The Problem with a Poo" Dr. Minus reveals that Mr. Hankey was created by voodoo magic that was performed by a white person.
- Mr. Hankey is the only character who appears in the pilot intro, but not the pilot itself.
Video Games[]
South Park: The Stick of Truth[]
Mr. Hankey is able to be friended on Facebook along with Mrs. Hankey, and gives the quest Dropping the Kids Off, where he asks the player to find his three children, who have gotten lost around the South Park Sewers. Once the player finds them all, he and Autumn Hankey will become the players friends on Facebook, and the player will unlock Mr. Hankey's Summon item, which can only be obtained once per in-game day, and cannot be used against bosses.
South Park: The Fractured but Whole[]
Mr. Hankey makes a brief appearance in the game. When the New Kid goes into the men's bathroom in the South Park Community Center, the toilet in the room is shown to be clogged by a gigantic piece of poo. The player will need to get assistance from Toolshed and use the Sandblaster Buddy Ability to unclog the toilet, and after it happens, Mr. Hankey will thank the player and then let them take a selfie with him and let him follow them on Coonstagram. Afterwards, he will leave and let the player use the toilet.
South Park: Phone Destroyer[]
Mr. Hankey is a 3-Cost Legendary Assassin of the Neutral theme. When summoned, he will double the speed rate of Charge skills of all allies for 20 seconds.
South Park: Snow Day![]
Mr. Hankey covertly returns to South Park after he was forced by the citizens to leave the town in "The Problem with a Poo" due to his offensive Tweets. He can be found in a porta-potty located on the left side of Kupa Keep. There he lets the players choose different perks by using their collected Dark Matter .
Over the course of the game, he is identified as the source of the snow storm. Cartman secretly sides with Mr. Hankey because Hankey's snow storm keeps the schools closed. At the end of "The Test of Strength" Cartman gives out "cocoa", in which Mr. Hankey was floating, to the townsfolk, who then fall under his control.
After defeating Cartman and his brainwashed minions, the New Kids get on their way to the Hell's Pass Hospital, which is now Mr. Hankey's fortress.
As the boys tell the player to end Mr. Hankey, who seems to be asleep, Hankey instead absorbs the New Kids' power and transforms into a sandworm-like form named "Scheisse-Hulud", which is then taken out by the players by shooting toilet paper at the creature.
The snow storm stops and the boys encounter Jesus, who berates them for turning their backs on Mr. Hankey when he really needed them. They then apologize to Mr. Hankey, saying they are sorry. Hankey forgives the boys, stating he only needs them, not the rest of the town, and continues the snow storm after Stan and the others ask him to do so, so they can have another snow day.
Prominence[]
- "The Unaired Pilot" - Seen during the intro.
- "Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo" - Debut appearance.
- "Damien" (cameo) - Seen in Damien's storm.
- "Mecha-Streisand" (cameo) - He appears on a newspaper Mr. Garrison is reading.
- "Chef's Chocolate Salty Balls" - People of Hollywood are destroying his ecosystem.
- "Merry Christmas Charlie Manson!" (cameo) - Appears on a billboard when Liane Cartman and the boys drive to Nebraska.
- "Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics" - Hosts the show.
- "A Very Crappy Christmas" - The Boys and his family help him bring back the spirit of Christmas.
- "Red Sleigh Down" - Helps Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski and Eric Cartman bring Christmas to Iraq.
- "I'm a Little Bit Country" (cameo) - Seen in the crowd of people along with the rest of his family.
- "The Jeffersons" (cameo) - Seen as a fountain in Mr. Jefferson's house.
- "Pre-School" (mentioned only)
- "201" (cameo) - Revealed to be behind hiding Santa in a bear costume.
- "I Should Have Never Gone Ziplining" - Rescues the boys from boredom on the boat.
- "The Problem with a Poo" - Deemed offensive by the townsfolk and hated. Eventually moves to Springfield from The Simpsons.
- "Tegridy Farms" (indirectly mentioned) - Randy Marsh mentions him taking Ambien.
- "The Scoots" - Mentioned on a poster about his canceled Christmas Concert.
- "Bike Parade" - Mentioned by the townspeople that they got rid of Mr. Hankey due to his offensive tweets.
Movies[]
- South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut - Seen in the end when "Mountain Town (Reprise)" was being sung.
- South Park: Post Covid - (referenced) Kyle hears Christmas music while on the toilet.