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Stan Marsh
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Stanley "Stan" Marsh is a fictional character in the animated television series South Park. He is voiced by and loosely based on series co-creator Trey Parker. Stan is one of the show's five central characters, along with Kyle Broflovski, Kenny McCormick, Eric Cartman and Butters Stotch. He first appeared in The Spirit of Christmas shorts created by Parker and long time collaborator Matt Stone in 1992 (Jesus vs. Frosty) and 1995 (Jesus vs. Santa).
Stan often trades places with Kyle as the protagonist of the show.
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Encyclopedia
Stanley "Stan" Marsh is a fictional character in the animated television series South Park. He is voiced by and loosely based on series co-creator Trey Parker. Stan is one of the show's five central characters, along with Kyle Broflovski, Kenny McCormick, Eric Cartman and Butters Stotch. He first appeared in The Spirit of Christmas shorts created by Parker and long time collaborator Matt Stone in 1992 (Jesus vs. Frosty) and 1995 (Jesus vs. Santa).
Stan often trades places with Kyle as the protagonist of the show. Stan is generally honest, kind, very mature for his age, and well-meaning. He is slightly more assertive than his best friend Kyle and often takes the leadership role. Although not particularly troublesome, he is often distinctly unimpressed by adults or adult influences, and generally holds very little respect for them.
Character
A fourth grade student (third grade during the first 58 episodes) attending elementary school in his home town of South Park, Colorado, Stan is modeled after his voice actor, co-creator Trey Parker, also sharing his birthday of October 19.
In many episodes, Stan often reflects on the moral lessons he's attained in a speech that often begins with, "You know, I learned something today...". He suffers from asthma and is often subject to the harsh bullying of his older sister, Shelley. His father Randy is a geologist, and his mother Sharon, works as a secretary at Tom's Rhinoplasty.
Stan has indicated a fondness for animals, and reluctantly refused to shoot any wildlife while on a hunting retreat with his uncle Jimbo. He lovingly accepted his dog Sparky, even after briefly shunning the pet for being homosexual. He once set out to rescue calves from a slaughter and briefly became a vegetarian, and aided Kyle in their misguided effort to save a captive killer whale. Stan is shown to have a fear of snakes.
Stan is often skeptical of popular trends. He challenged the character Miss Information and her shop of alternative medicine, helped battle David Blaine's suicidal cult, and accused psychic medium John Edward of being a fraud. Stan is usually the one who is unaffected by the many scams, cults, and mass influences that South Park has been subjected to, and has a knack for seeing through falsely glorified practices and celebrities (with the notable exceptions of the "Chinpokomon" craze and the metrosexual fad). He was at first taken in by Scientology, but after finding out that it was actually a global scam, he denounced it and exposed it for what it really was.
A huge fan of the Denver Broncos and an admirer of figure skater Brian Boitano, Stan himself is athletically proficient. He is the captain and star quarterback of the elementary school football team, and is often seen playing pick-up football during recess. Stan also plays pitcher for his little league baseball team, and participated in a Pee-wee hockey league. Stan even coached a current Pee-wee hockey team for community service.
Stan is also musically inclined, having composed entire songs. He is also a skilled guitarist, as well as being proficient with Guitar Hero.
Appearance
In tradition with the show's animation style, Stan is composed of simple geometrical shapes, and isn't offered the same free range of motion associated with hand-drawn characters. In the show's earliest episodes, he was composed of construction paper cutouts and animated through the use of stop motion. Stan is now animated with computer software, though he is portrayed to give the impression that the show still utilizes its original technique.
Stan is usually seen in a brown jacket, blue denim jeans, red gloves/mittens, and a red-brimmed blue knit cap adorned with a decorative red pom-pon. In "Raisins", he briefly takes part in the goth subculture, wearing most of his same clothes, just in shades of black and gray. He has black hair like his father, and blue eyes according to Kyle in "A Very Crappy Christmas".
Family
Stan is frequently embarrassed and/or annoyed by his father Randy's frequent acts of public drunkenness and other antics, such as when Randy enthusiastically overused his new digital camera, and said "nigger" while a contestant during a live taping of Wheel of Fortune. His older sister Shelley, his only sibling, bullies and beats him up on a regular basis. On a few occasions, she has defended Stan to deny others the opportunity to harm him, which she sees as a right exclusive to herself. Stan's wheelchair-bound centenarian grandfather Marvin lives with Stan's family, dementedly calls Stan "Billy" and had previously tried to influence Stan to commit a mercy killing upon him. Stan's relationship as nephew to his uncle Jimbo received some attention in the show's first two seasons. In one episode, Stan is shown to have a great Aunt Flo, who was eventually murdered by his evil pet goldfish, and briefly had an evil clone who was euthanized after wreaking havoc upon the town.
Relationships and friends
Kyle
Kyle is Stan's best friend, and their relationship is a common topic throughout the series. They always sit or stand together whenever they are in class, at assemblies, waiting at the bus stop, or generally hanging around. The two do have their disagreements, but always reconcile without any long-term damage to their friendship. There have been numerous times where the duo hug or put a hand on the other's back to show signs of affection.
Wendy
A recurring topic in the early seasons was Stan's relationship with his girlfriend Wendy. As a running gag, a nervous Stan would often vomit whenever she approached Stan to kiss or speak to him. The relationship started to diminish greatly in the later seasons, and it ultimately ended when Wendy dumped him in the episode "Raisins" , which drove Stan into a depression and caused him to briefly join a local goth clique. The two would later reconcile in "The List", with Stan confirming in "Super Fun Time" that Wendy is once again his girlfriend.
Kenny
Stan is usually seen solely with Kenny when Kyle is not around. In return, Kenny also considers Stan a close friend, professing that he's one of "the best friends a guy could have". Stan can understand Kenny's muffled voice perfectly, and typically exclaims "Oh my god, he/she/you/they/we/I killed Kenny!" following one of Kenny's trademark deaths.
Butters
Stan and Butters are generally on friendly terms, although at times Stan tends to be generally annoyed by Butters. He seems to hold a level of concern over him, due to his reluctance to allow Butters to be on the receiving end of Cartman's schemes and volunteering to search for him when he is deemed missing. However, Stan, as well as everyone else, occasionally makes fun of Butters. He also agrees to "fire" Butters from his role as "Kenny's replacement" within his circle of friends, replacing him with Tweek.
Cartman
Although Stan does not share a hatred of Cartman as deeply as Kyle, Stan will defend Kyle whenever the two get in a fight. Despite the fact that Stan often resents Cartman and enjoys making fun of him, he does show a slight bond with Cartman, and is seen enjoying himself during the few times he is shown to be playing solely with Cartman.
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