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Stephen Stotch


For other uses, see Steve (Disambiguation).

Stephen Willis[2] Stotch, also known as Chris,[3] is Butters' father as well as Linda Stotch's husband.[4]

Background[]

Untitled 2

Stephen Stotch's first appearance in "Chickenlover"

Sexuality[]

In "Butters' Very Own Episode", Stephen is revealed to be bi-curious, in that he likes women, but he is seen going to a gay men's bathhouse to perform homosexual activities. After it nearly cost him his family and marriage, he suppressed these urges. However, in "Cartman Sucks", he reveals his sexuality to Butters and does not mind if his son turns out the same way.

At times, Stephen seems to be homophobic. At the beginning of "Cartman Sucks", when he walks in on Butters with Cartman's penis in his mouth, he fears his son is turning gay and sends him to a camp where they supposedly "pray the gay away". Also, in "Raisins", it is revealed that he made a bet with his wife that their son would not turn out gay. When Butters tells them about his love interest, Lexus, Linda admits that Stephen beat her.

In South Park: The Fractured But Whole, there is a small quest involving breaking into a safe in Stephen's room. In the safe, there is a picture of him on the couch naked, on his hands and knees, with a seemingly pleasured face, implying that he was engaging in sexual activity with another man. The picture was labeled "wrestling". If you take the picture back to him, he gives you 20 dollars, possibly as a bribe, and says "I don't want any trouble from you Vigilante". At some point in the game, if you go into his bathroom, Linda Stotch can be seen bathing and reading a book titled "Dealing with your gay husband" implying that she may still fear/know that he is still into men, though she appears to be nonchalant about it. In the same game if you defeat him he drops a 1979s Men’s Underwear Catalogue and a tissue pack as a reward.

Personality[]

When he was first given an in-depth role in "Butters' Very Own Episode", Stephen appeared to be a very loving, almost a sitcom-like father, making bad, yet good-natured jokes and being rather sweet to his wife and son. However, as the episode progressed his bi-curious lifestyle was revealed, as was his desire to use extreme methods to cover-up things that could negatively affect him.

In later episodes, he is noted for the harsh way in which he treats his son, Butters, as he often grounds him for little things or things that were not his fault, or that he had no control over such as in "The Ungroundable". He has beaten him on a few occasions, such as "Jared Has Aides", and openly snapping at Butters, such as telling him to shut his mouth, as seen in "The Death Camp of Tolerance".

There is some debate over whether he really cares for Butters. His relationship with Butters is best described as "inconsistent"; although there have been instances where he has demonstrated his love and affection for Butters (such as in "Casa Bonita"), he often grounds butters for reasons that would normally be considered foolish and ridiculous and has abused him on numerous occasions. He has a very heavy-handed approach to discipline, which has resulted in Butters seeing him as a kind of monster, as shown in "Imaginationland, Episode III".

He is also extremely selfish, as he often considers his needs and ambitions above those of his son, as demonstrated in "Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Playset".

Stephen is a hypocrite and rarely takes responsibility for his own actions. In "Pre-School", he was quick to convince his wife that it was neither of their faults that Butters was badly beaten up by a bully on their doorstep, even though it was him who refused to let a frantic Butters back in the house. Additionally, in "City Sushi", when Stephen and Linda discovered Butters had inadvertently caused an Asian Turf War when wondering why Butters always caused so much trouble, he immediately ruled out the possibility of being bad parents, claiming he and Linda were "awesome".

At times, he does seem slightly more down to earth than the other adults in town, as seen in "Cartoon Wars Part I". Most often than not, he usually will overreact though, like all the other adults. He can also be noted for the strange manner in which he cries or weeps.

He is also shown to be very cautious about personal and social hygiene since the COVID-19 pandemic started, scolding Butters for still wanting to go to the Build-A-Bear Workshop during the pandemic and criticizing a group of people for not wearing protective masks properly, mockingly calling them "chin diapers" as seen in "The Pandemic Special".

Career and Occupations[]

He is the coach of the little league baseball team. In "Jared Has Aides", he is seen working in a cubicle.

In "Chef's Chocolate Salty Balls", he is shown as a movie theater projectionist, though this occupation has not been looked into any further than this episode.

In "Unfulfilled", he gets a new job at the Amazon Fulfillment Center.

In "Handicar", he is seen working as a handicar driver.

In "The Losing Edge", he is seen as the coach for the South Park Baseball Team.

Vehicles Owned[]

Stephen normally drives an animated version of an orange Lexus SUV, but in "Smug Alert!" and "Hell on Earth 2006" it is shown that the family also owns a Prius-like MPV. In "Smug Alert!" he changed his car to a "Hybrid" but then changed back to his normal vehicle at the end of the episode.

Criminal Record[]

  • Adultery: In "Butters' very own episode" Stephen is shown going to gay movie- and bathhouses.
  • Assault/Child Abuse: In "Jared Has Aides", he and his wife beat up Butters for badmouthing them over the phone when it was really Eric Cartman who did it. He also locks Butters in the basement thinking he was a hell-spawn in "Marjorine". In addition, his perpetual "grounding" of Butters has affected Butters psychologically.
  • Attempted Enforced Cannibalism: In "Marjorine" Stephen murders a curtain company employee and tries to feed her dead body to Butters.
  • Drunk driving: In "Christmas Snow" Stephen, along with most other adults, decide to drive drunk.
  • Graverobbing: In "Marjorine" Stephen digs up "Butters" and reburies him at an old Indian burial ground as an attempt to revive him.
  • Human Trafficking: In "Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Playset", he is willing to sell Butters as Paris Hilton's pet for a large sum of money.
  • Lying To Authorities/Filing a False Police Report: In "Butters' Very Own Episode", he and his wife lie to police and the press by saying that Butters was kidnapped by a Puerto Rican man when in actuality his wife put him in her car, which was streaming down bodies of water.
  • Murder: In "Marjorine", Stephen murders a curtain company employee with a shovel to feed Butters when they believe that his "resurrection" made him a hell-spawn.

Appearance[]

He wears a drab, olive-green shirt, a distinctive white tie, blue jeans, brown belt, and black sneakers. He is always seen wearing the formal shirt and tie even when working in occupations where such clothing is impractical, such as the Amazon warehouse. He has brown hair, in a style similar to a grown-out crew cut. He is also seen smoking a pipe at times, suggesting that he could be a regular smoker.

To see images of Stephen Stotch, visit Stephen Stotch/Gallery.

Family[]

Stephen's name suggests German and/or Scottish heritage.

Grandma Stotch[]

TFBW Stephen Stotch

A drunk Stephen has flashbacks about his mother.

During The Thin White Line mission in South Park: The Fractured But Whole, as the player approaches a drunk Stephen, he has flashbacks to his mother grounding him and pleads with his mother not ground him in a distressed tone. Based on this it can be inferred that Stephen had a nearly identical relationship with his mother as he has with his son, and his overbearing demeanor is a result of his past. However, in "Butterballs", he seems composed when his mother visits South Park and is oblivious towards her abusive attitude towards Butters. Either Stephen and his mother improved their relationship, or he is aware of her true colors and stays silent out of fear.

Linda Stotch[]

Linda Stotch is Stephen's quiet—and at times, submissive—wife. They normally appear to be a sweet and loving couple, who are often on the same wavelength regarding each other, and their raising of their son, Butters. However, their marriage suffers a painful shock when Linda discovers that Stephen is having homosexual affairs. This ends up driving her insane, and she attempts to kill Butters—and later, herself. While attempting to cover-up her supposed murder of their son, they create an elaborate lie regarding "some Puerto Rican guy". However, the lie soon becomes too complicated, and they fight constantly over how to keep the story straight until at last, they confess the truth. They seem to have recovered from that incident and have never discussed it again.

Linda constantly changes between calling him "Stephen" and "Chris". Since he is called "Stephen" more often than he is called "Chris", it can be assumed that "Chris" could be his middle name, although he states that his middle name is "Willis" in "The Magic Bush".

Butters Stotch[]

Butters Stotch is Stephen's son and only child. Stephen has been shown to sometimes care about Butters, but he often treats him very harshly, though he claims that it is for Butters' own good. However, in "Marjorine", when Butters pretends to kill himself, Stephen and Linda take his death horribly, and Stephen even goes so far as to bury what he believes to be Butters' body in an Indian Burial Ground in the hopes of reviving him. Eventually, he comes to believe that doing so would create a monster, and thus when Butters arrives home, he locks his son in the basement and feeds him dead bodies. Overall, while there have been many times he has given his son unfair punishment, it can be generally concluded that he does indeed love his son, as he said so in tears in City Sushi.

Interactions[]

He is a good friend of Randy Marsh and Gerald Broflovski and he is among the more prominent adults of the town. He has accompanied Randy and Gerald on many expeditions, such as when they try to save their kids in "Two Days Before the Day After Tomorrow" even when his own son was not missing. He and Linda also invited the Marshes, Broflovskis, and Cartmans to accompany them to Aspen in "Asspen".

Trivia[]

Prominence[]

Movies[]

Video Games[]

South Park: The Stick of Truth[]

Stephen can be found at his home where he will befriend The New Kid on Facebook and will later appear in the PTA meeting and at Donovan Residence, in front of Clyde's Fortress, to bring home Butters.

South Park: The Fractured But Whole[]

He plays a major role in the game, where he ground Butters and The New Kid and locks them in his room. After they manage to get out a Boss Fight will begin against him that ground everyone except The New Kid. Plus, after The New Kid finds a photo of him, Stephen will give 20 dollars if he chooses to return it.

References[]

  1. "South Park" Butters' Very Own Episode (TV Episode 2001). imdb.com.
  2. His middle name is plainly stated in "The Magic Bush".
  3. FAQ - South Park Studios. southparkstudios.com.
  4. Mr. Stotch - Character Guide. southparkstudios.com.
Stotch Family

Bud Stotch | Butters Stotch | Linda Stotch | Stephen Stotch | Nellie Stotch | Grandma Stotch

South Park families

Main characters' families
Broflovski Family | Cartman Family | Marsh Family | McCormick Family

Other characters' families
Adams-Makowski Family | Barbrady Family | Biggle Family | Black Family | Burch Family | Charlotte's Family | Cotswolds Family | Daniels Family | Donovan Family | Garrison Family | Gray Family | Gueermo Family | Hakeem Family | Hankey Family | Harrison Family | Mackey Family | Malkinson Family | Mephesto Family | Nelly's Family | Red's Family | Rodriguez Family | Stevens Family | Stotch Family | Tenorman Family | Testaburger Family | Tucker Family | Turner Family | Tweak Family | Valmer Family | White Family

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