Peter Charles,[1] more commonly known as PC Principal, is the current principal of South Park Elementary. He first appears in the Season Nineteen premiere episode, "Stunning and Brave". He is highly dedicated to bringing a more politically correct agenda to South Park Elementary but often resorts to punishment and violence to achieve his ends.
He was originally going to be a one-time character in "Stunning and Brave", and was intended to be killed off at the end of the episode, but Matt Stone and Trey Parker liked him so much that they decided to keep him around.[3]
Background[]
PC Principal is the current principal at South Park Elementary. He replaced Principal Victoria after she was allegedly fired, ostensibly because she did not take action against a student referring to rape as a "Hot Cosby". He is also an Alumni member of the PC Bros fraternity and an alumnus of the Texas A&M University.
Though he is initially portrayed as an antagonist, particularly towards Stan, Kyle, Kenny, Cartman, and anyone else who is not "PC", he mellows out significantly in the middle of the season. He is eventually revealed to merely be a pawn in the grand scheme of things, which causes him to become a protagonist in the season's final episode, "PC Principal Final Justice".
Alma Mater[]
In "Back To The Cold War", it is revealed that he studied in West High (2000-2004) and Texas A&M University (2004-2008).
Criminal Record[]
PC Principal has committed several crimes already in his so far short prominence, several of them only in his debut episode.
- Littering: Before giving his debut speech as the new principal of South Park Elementary, he drinks from a plastic bottle and casually tosses it aside.
- Assault and Battery: He viciously beats up Cartman in the bathroom severely to the brink of death, primarily for using the term "spokesman" (instead of "spokesperson"), resulting in Cartman's hospitalization at Hells Pass Hospital temporarily.
- Hazing: The PC Delta fraternity engages in typical fraternity hazing practices, such as branding pledges with hot metal (for example, Randy Marsh). Many states have legislation prohibiting this behavior. Since he is in charge of this fraternity branch, the responsibility lies on him to prevent this behavior, and thus, he is criminally responsible for hazing.
- Assault/Burglary/Indirect Hate Crime: Ordered fellow frats to harass Kyle in his sleep and leave pigs - animals which are not Kosher and thus offensive to his Jewish heritage - in his room. The fact that PC Principal used non-kosher animals to shame Kyle for insulting Caitlyn Jenner means that its possible PC Principal is anti-semitic. Kyle also wakes up with shaved hair and penises drawn on his face.
- Child Labor/Forced Labor: In "Safe Space", he forces Butters to filter various people's social media accounts to get rid of negativity and shaming comments. The amount of work involved drove him to commit suicide. His suicide attempt failed but resulted in injuries that appear in every episode in Season 19. Though he regrets making Butters do this, Randy Marsh comes up with a solution that is even worse, by forcing starving African children to do the same.
- Abuse/Misuse of the Emergency Number (911): Called the police for a "Code Red", which turns out to be Leslie merely interrupting an assembly. The Police, interpreting "Code Red" as an active shooter situation, entered the gym with their guns drawn, which ended near-tragically when he shined a laser-pointer into Officer Barbrady's face, causing him to panic and open fire, hitting one of the students. It turns out he only called in the police to remove Leslie from the School. This counts as both misuse and abuse of the emergency number 911.
- Threatening to Endanger the Life of a Minor/Infirm: Threatens to 'break the legs" of the student who used the term "r*****ed" in the school newspaper. However, when the student turns out to be Jimmy, he chose not to carry out the threat and instead spoke with him in his office over the matter.
- Terrorism: Used the threat of violence numerous times to encourage people to adhere to his PC ideology (i.e. The incident with Cartman, threatening to break legs over the use of the word "r*****ed" in the newspaper.)
- Murder: In "PC Principal Final Justice" he murders several Russians and later kills Leslie Meyers, who were depicted as robotic advertisements in human form. In these instances, however, it could be considered self-defense, as all his victims were robotic advertisements in human form or their status as non-humans could also exclude it.
Appearance[]
PC Principal has dirty blond hair and a beard, slightly resembling Stuart McCormick. He visibly had a mustache, which is now stubble. He wears a blue polo shirt, khaki pants, and dark, sporty sunglasses in which he is rarely seen without them off, only in "Stunning and Brave" and at the conclusion of "Sponsored Content". He is heavily implied to be a fitness enthusiast and looks noticeably more realistic than the other characters in terms of build.
In the future timeline set in South Park: Post Covid, he appears to have gained some weight. He has balding gray hair and goatee, and wears a gray South Park Cows sweatshirt, blue gym shorts, and white sport shoes.
- To see images of PC Principal, visit PC Principal/Gallery.
Personality[]
PC Principal is, as the name suggests, dedicated to political correctness and social justice causes. He is a maniacal idealist who passionately supports equal rights for all, often to the point of behaving extremely rudely, violently, even outright bullying and criminally menacing to anyone who shows even the slightest perceived sign of intolerance of any kind. He is therefore prone to aggressive, profane outbursts over minor transgressions, such as a student talking during an assembly (or even when she isn't). He is highly dedicated to his beliefs, despite themselves being inherently and drastically intolerant, and will stop at nothing to enforce them upon others. He can also become very sensitive to the needs of those he feels are oppressed, even if they don't feel it as such (as in the case of Jimmy Valmer) or when he's being clearly manipulated (as in the case of Eric Cartman and Leopold Stotch).
PC Principal generally believes in using punishment to achieve his ends, such as up to two weeks of detention, such as when Butters correcting him when the former was talking about Chef, or for not helping Eric Cartman feed out bad tweets. He even gives the faculty detention, giving Mr. Mackey two days of detention for using the term "Black" instead of African American. When he feels pushed further, he has resorted to bullying, violence and threats as a form of manipulation, beating up Cartman and breaking several of his bones. He also fires Herbert Garrison for a display of racism during an assembly, after previously being warned. In this situation, the firing was justifiable, as Mr. Garrison was openly insulting all Canadians.
He, and all his PC Bros, are loud and obnoxious, often being characterized as stereotypical "frat guys" with an uncommon awareness of social justice issues, and they describe themselves as loving "beer, working out, and.. social justice". They are perfectly prepared to stand up for equal rights by whatever means they feel are justified. PC Principal has a wide range of knowledge of equal rights and political correctness issues and initially seems willing to scare and beat anyone who does not share his views, demonstrating signs of mental instability. Unlike his bros, he does not seem interested in sexual conquests or "pussy crushing".
Despite his violence towards those who disagree with him, PC Principal appears to be relatively mellow and relaxed when he feels he has won out and can be very patient in these situations. He admits that he feels he has changed South Park successfully in "The City Part of Town" and appears proud of the town. He can also be somewhat forgiving, as he seems to hold no ill will against Cartman in later episodes in the season, and is very sympathetic towards him when he is bullied in "Safe Space", and later realizes and admits to his mistake by putting too much pressure on Butters.
In "Sponsored Content" it is shown that he is uncomfortable with handicapped people, such as Jimmy Valmer. After threatening to "break the legs" of the editor of the school newspaper because a student used the word 'r*****ed', he was stunned to discover a handicapped child was in charge of the school newspaper, and had trouble discussing the issue with him. This is because threatening a handicapped with violence, which he does with everyone, would violate his PC ethics. Thus handicapped people disarm him of his only method of getting his way. He acknowledges the use of a "micro-aggression" to his PC frat brothers in the same episode.
After the ad conspiracy, PC Principal seems to cease and relax his prejudice against straight white men as they are now considered just as disenfranchised by ads as every other group, and is not depicted reacting violently to South Park students anymore so far.
He is also seemingly a feminist as he beats up Eric for saying "Spokesman" instead of "Spokesperson", accusing him of "Abusing his male privileges."
Quotes[]
- "Watch your micro-aggressions, bro!"- "Stunning and Brave".
- "Damn it, Leslie, shut your fucking pie hole!" - "Tweek x Craig".
- "You PC, bro?" - "Stunning and Brave".
- “And that’s two days detention for you, young man, we’ll see you at four!” - “Stunning and Brave”.
- "You're expelled." - "PC Principal Final Justice".
- "I'm in a bit of a PC pretzel here." - "Wieners Out".
- "Alright, everyone, listen up!" - At the start of every school assembly and sometimes even when casually speaking among groups.
- "MICROAGGRESSION! HIT HIM!" - South Park: The Fractured But Whole.
- "I AM NOT UNCOMFORTABLE AROUND DISABLED PEOPLE!"
Video Games[]
South Park: The Fractured but Whole[]
PC Principal appears as a supporting NPC in the game. He first appears in the story quest Microaggression Academy, and teaches the player how to use microaggressions to their advantage in combat. In his battle, he teaches the player the difference between what is a microaggression and what is not. If the player attempts to attack him when he is not saying a microagression, he will retaliate against the player. After his battle is over, he grants the player access to attacking enemies who use microaggressions in battle.
Later on Race Academy: First Class, PC Principal will let the player choose their race and ethnicity, and lets them change their skin color.
South Park: Phone Destroyer[]
PC Principal is a 4-Cost Rare Tank of the Neutral theme. His in-game description says "Knocks back social injustice with PC pushes." Every time PC Principal attacks the opponent, he will knock them back. In addition, the game has a cosmetic for the player where they can dress up in PC Principal's outfit.
Prominence[]
- "Stunning and Brave" - Becomes the new principal of South Park Elementary.
- "Where My Country Gone?" - Fires Mr. Garrison for his racist remarks about Canadian students.
- "The City Part of Town" - Briefly seen during the Whole Foods inspection, and states the town has really turned itself around, P.C.-wise.
- "Safe Space" - Helps Cartman and other celebrities with online shaming by having Butters filter their social media of any and all negativity. Later, he commends Butters for his efforts.
- "Tweek x Craig" - He once again yells at Leslie, this time not chatting to her friend. Later he attempts to educate Tweek and Craig in sexual consent, to their annoyance. He later calls Mr. Tucker to inform him that Craig has been in a fight. In this call, he announces Tweek as Craig's boyfriend, to their annoyance. Then he announces that he wants to be supportive and that he is going to send them both home with some money casing Thomas to be confused.
- "Naughty Ninjas" - He calls the police asking to remove Leslie from the school, for chatting with her friend, despite not chatting with her friend (again) and witnesses an officer shoot a kid.
- "Sponsored Content" - Gets into a war with Jimmy over the school newspaper content. Later starts to believe he is an advertisement after a PC Bro shows him and Leslie in a picture selling insurance, much to his horror and confusion.
- "Truth and Advertising" (mentioned) - Goes missing along with the rest of the PC Delta Frat, despite ostensibly being on hunger strike within their own frat house. According to the Newsman Leader, the story of the hunger strike was made up to protect the ads.
- "PC Principal Final Justice" - He murders several Russians in an attack against advertising. The South Park residents, believing he is the enemy, all buy guns. He later murders Leslie Meyers and holds an assembly about how ads want to put an end to mankind, and how he can help stop ads by getting everyone to be as PC as possible.
- "Member Berries" - Returns as principal.
- "Skank Hunt" - Seen at the school assembly.
- "The Damned" - Seen having a discussion with Kyle Broflovski, Stan Marsh, Butters Stotch, and Tolkien Black about Eric Cartman's sudden disappearance from social media.
- "Wieners Out" - Seen lecturing Wendy Testaburger, Bebe Stevens, Annie Knitts, and Nichole Daniels about the boys' right to protest during the national anthem.
- "Douche and a Danish" - Seen introducing Eric and Heidi's assembly and supervising the making danishes in the school cafeteria.
- "Oh, Jeez" - Seen hosting the school assembly.
- "Members Only" - Seen in his office having a meeting with President Garrison.
- "Put It Down" - Discusses to raise awareness about being on the phone while driving.
- "Hummels & Heroin" - Oversees Marcus Preston's presentation in the school cafeteria.
- "Sons A Witches" - Seen listening to the dads as witches in the school assembly.
- "Moss Piglets" - He is forced by Heidi to cancel the special education science fair.
- "SUPER HARD PCness" - Struggles with his romantic feelings for Strong Woman.
- "Splatty Tomato" - He goes to a restaurant to celebrate Butters being the "Student of the day" as an excuse to go on a date with Strong Woman. Strong Woman and he are later caught in a tent in the woods having sexual intercourse.
- "Dead Kids" - He is trying to solve problems between Tolkien and Eric.
- "The Problem with a Poo" - He tries to reconnect with Strong Woman, who is revealed to be pregnant with five PC Babies. He helps her with the children as a "manny" because Strong Woman does not want anybody to know he is the father.
- "Buddha Box" - He and Strong Woman get a Buddha Box to deal with the PC Babies and leave them unsupervised.
- "Bike Parade" - Seen at the bike parade with his PC Babies and Strong Woman.
- "Shots!!!" - Seen intervening Eric Cartman and Mrs. Cartman after attempting to kick Eric out of school for not receiving his vaccinations as mandated by the state government.
- "Let Them Eat Goo" - Introduces the Goo Man to the school.
- "Tegridy Farms Halloween Special" - He tells the students what costumes he doesn't want to see in the Halloween Special.
- "Board Girls" - Defends Strong Woman from her ex-boyfriend who recently switched genders Heather Swanson from harassing her and bragging about winning first place. Got in trouble by making a transphobic statement and become hated in the South Park community.
- "The Pandemic Special" - Seen at the hospital with a mustache.
- "South ParQ Vaccination Special" - Interviews Mr. Garrison for the latter's return to the school faculty. Later seen at the end celebrating the end of the pandemic.
- "Pajama Day" - He bans pajamas on Pajama Day because of the kids' lack of respect for Mr. Garrison.
- "The Big Fix" - Lets Stan tell his speech to the kids in the assembly.
- "Back To The Cold War" - Tries to convince Mr. Mackey to lay off the nuclear bombing attacks.
- "Cupid Ye" - Warns Cartman for declaring that Kyle runs Hollywood, threatening him with a two-month-long detention.
Movies[]
- South Park: Post Covid - Oversees the well-being of those seeking shelter from the outbreak in the school.
- South Park: Post Covid: The Return of Covid - Seen attending a party at Denny's Applebee's Max.
- South Park: Joining the Panderverse - Reprimands the boys for their racism towards alternate Cartman.
- South Park (Not Suitable For Children) - Holds a parent-teacher meeting over the issue of a teacher's activity on OnlyFans.
Trivia[]
- PC Principal was seen in the San Diego Comic-Con 2016 trailer for the video game South Park: The Fractured But Whole, and was implied to be an antagonist. However, in the game proper, he has no place in the overarching plot, being instead of the one who introduces the player to the gameplay mechanic of getting a free attack if the opponent uses a micro-aggression.
- His initials "PC" stand for two things. One is politically correct, while the other is his real name "Peter Charles" which was later revealed in the Season Twenty-Three episode "Board Girls".
- PC Principal was one of the only main members of the South Park Elementary school staff to not be referred to by a realistic name of any kind (Strong Woman being another example). He was initially universally known as "PC Principal" to students, adults, and even Russians.
- His attire, hairstyle, and mannerisms were similar to the Grand Theft Auto V antagonist Steve Haines. He also somewhat resembles Metallica lead singer James Hetfield who has also appeared in the show.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 He is referred to as Peter Charles in the news in "Board Girls".
- ↑ "South Park" PC Principal Final Justice (TV episode 2015). IMDb.com.
- ↑ Trey Parker and Matt Stone Talk South Park Season 20. IGN (July 24, 2016).
South Park Elementary staff | |
---|---|
Coach Miles | Girls' Volleyball Coach | Herbert Garrison | Mitchell | Mr. Derp | Mr. Garrett | Mr. Harris | Mr. Mackey | Mr. Meryl | Mr. Thompson | Mr. Wyland | Mrs. Streibel | Ms. Bronski | PC Principal | Pearl | Recess Supervisor | Richard Adler | Strong Woman | Substitute Teacher | Unnamed Bus Driver | |
Former | |
Diane Choksondik | Jerome "Chef" McElroy | Jose Venezuela | Margaret Nelson | Miss Claridge | Mr. Conners | Mr. Slave | Ms. Ellen | Ms. Stevenson | Nurse Gollum | Principal Victoria | Randy Marsh | Veronica Crabtree |