The Coon
Encyclopedia
"The Coon" is the second episode of the thirteenth season
of the American animated television series South Park
, and the 183rd overall episode of the series. It originally aired on Comedy Central
in the United States on March 18, 2009. In the episode, Cartman
poses as a superhero vigilante
named "The Coon", who grows increasingly jealous of the popularity and success of a rival superhero named "Mysterion".
The episode was written and directed by series co-founder Trey Parker
, and was rated TV-MA L in the United States. It was originally conceived as an episode about the economic recession, but those elements were later adapted into the future episode, "Margaritaville
". "The Coon" generated a great deal of speculation about the true identity of Mysterion. Parker and Stone originally said there was no specific answer to the question. In the fourteenth season
episode "Mysterion Rises
", Mysterion is revealed to be Kenny McCormick
.
The episode parodied several dark-toned comic book films that had been recently released at the time, including The Spirit
, Watchmen
and The Dark Knight
. It received generally positive reviews and, according to Nielsen Media Research
, was seen by 3.27 million households the week it aired. Comedian Bruce Vilanch
, who is mocked in the episode, sent a thank you card to Parker and Stone after the episode aired. "The Coon" was released on DVD
and Blu-ray
along with the rest of the thirteenth season on March 16, 2010. "The Coon" was also released on DVD of The Little Box of Butters on September 28, 2010. "The Coon" was re-released once more on DVD and Blu-ray as a "bonus episode" with the complete fourteenth season.
, Cartman
becomes a vigilante
dubbed "The Coon", who attempts to wipe out crime in South Park. Though Cartman tries to raise awareness about The Coon through word of mouth, nobody pays much attention to the Coon's efforts. When he reports "crimes" (such as mistaking a man innocently trying to kiss his date for a rapist) to the police department, he is threatened with jail time and snubbed off. During class, Cartman tries to hype up an appearance from the Coon, saying he will be on roof of a Walgreens
later that evening. Cartman (as the Coon) shows up to the spot to find another child superhero
named "Mysterion", who is far more successful in garnering appreciation as a crime stopping icon
from the police and South Park citizens who want to know just "Who is Mysterion?" Cartman is angered by his lack of popularity and the attention Mysterion is receiving. The Coon tries to discover the identity of Mysterion, but only finds more questions when Wendy suggests that it may not necessarily be a boy.
Cartman decides to rid the town of Mysterion, enlisting the help of Professor Chaos (Butters
) and his sidekick General Disarray (Dougie). Unlike the Coon, Professor Chaos and General Disarray are as familiar to the residents of South Park as Mysterion. Butters also wants to know the identity of Mysterion but can only narrow the list of suspects to the few boys from Mr. Garrison's 4th grade class whose appearances do not differ greatly from that of others. In a scheme to uncover Mysterion's identity, Cartman convinces Professor Chaos to threaten the destruction of a hospital unless Mysterion reveals his or her identity. After Cartman plants the TNT and leaves to buy detonators, Mysterion unexpectedly arrives and fights Professor Chaos and General Disarray on top of the building. A crowd forms below and cheers on Mysterion as the police take no actions realizing that their bullets are no match for Professor Chaos' aluminium foil
armor. Dramatically, Cartman appears to fight on the side of Mysterion, with the hopes that he too will be hailed as a hero. At that point, Professor Chaos and General Disarray run off in defeat. After their victory, Cartman convinces Mysterion to unmask himself by claiming such threats to public safety will continue until Mysterion's secret is revealed.
Despite the threat of imprisonment, Mysterion unmasks himself, showing the television viewers only the portion of his face that looks similar to almost all of Mr. Garrison's 4th grade class. The crowd, however, is shocked to learn Mysterion's identity and, much to the regret of all except Cartman, Mysterion is hauled to prison
. With Professor Chaos, General Disarray and Mysterion defeated, Cartman now perceives that he is the superhero in South Park and that every town should have a Coon like him.
. It first aired on March 18, 2009 in the United States on Comedy Central
. Like most South Park episodes, "The Coon" was first conceived by Parker and fellow co-founder Matt Stone
within a week of the episode's broadcast date. Kenny, Kyle and Stan were originally planned to be made superheroes as well as Cartman, and for the episode to revolve around a group of superheroes in the style of Watchmen
, a film based on a graphic novel that had been released earlier that month. They started working on sketches of the other superhero costumes, but Cartman and his alter-ego, the Coon, were finished first. From the start, Parker and Stone wrote Cartman as caring more about his superhero image than fighting crime, but as they worked further on the episode, it began to take up more and more of the story until they decided to make Cartman the only superhero of the four boys.
Parker and Stone long planned to create an episode about the economic recession, and originally planned for Cartman to dress as a superhero named "The Coon" and fight the economy. This is why the opening scene of "The Coon" involves Cartman discussing the poor economic state of the nation and the election of U.S. President Barack Obama
. Eventually, Cartman would discover the recession stemmed from the sale of Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville blenders
, and he would have to battle singer Jimmy Buffett
and investor Warren Buffett
, who would be portrayed as Jimmy's brother. Eventually, the idea was scrapped, and "The Coon" turned into an episode revolving entirely around a comic book film parody. Elements of the economic recession and the Margaritaville blenders were eventually incorporated into future episode "Margaritaville
".
The identity of Mysterion is never revealed in "The Coon". After the episode aired, the question "Who is Mysterion?" became a frequently asked question at the FAQ for the official South Park website, South Park Studios. The answer posted at that site was that "there is no answer", and that only Trey Parker and Matt Stone actually know. Parker said it was one of the most common questions he was asked about the show, along with the identity of Cartman's father, which was resolved in the fourteenth season
episode "201
". Parker and Stone originally said there was no actual answer to Mysterion's identity, as they never chose a specific character to be him. In the original ending of the episode, after Mysterion is arrested, Kyle is shown to be in prison and it is believed he is the superhero. However, the real Mysterion visits him, and Kyle explains he pretended to be Mysterion so the real superhero could remain free and continue fighting crime. As a thank you, Mysterion revealed his identity by showing his face, but like in the actual episode, the viewer cannot determine who he is because all the children look alike without hats. The ending was ultimately cut because Parker and Stone decided it took too much time for a simple throwaway gag and to show that Kyle was not Mysterion. Although it is weird that they still included the scene where Mysterion contacts Kyle and asks him for help, and in the episode we never actually see him help Mysterion except in the deleted ending. The clip is available as a deleted scene in the thirteenth season DVD and Blu-ray sets. The superhero characters from "The Coon" returned in the fourteenth season
episodes "Coon 2: Hindsight
", "Mysterion Rises
" and "Coon vs. Coon and Friends
", in which Kenny
is revealed to be Mysterion.
Keo Thongkham and Kevin Dalton, who serve as South Park storyboard artists, drew the detailed image of Mysterion that appeared in a news broadcast within the episode. Within a week of the episode's original broadcast, the online retailer Zazzle
and South Park Studios, the official South Park website, released t-shirts and hooded sweatshirts based on the episode, including one with an image of Cartman as the Coon, and one of Mysterion with the words, "Who is Mysterion?"
(2008), The Spirit
(2008) and Watchmen (2009) are the most commonly referred to films, but others such as Spider-Man 3
(2007) are also frequently referenced. Matt Stone said the episode started as a parody specifically of Watchmen, but then elements of other comic book films were added as the writing progressed. The music used in "The Coon" is inspired by the style of film score
s by James Newton Howard
and Hans Zimmer
, both of whom collaborated on the scores for Batman Begins
(2005) and The Dark Knight. To promote The Coon, Cartman uses a similar tagline as was used to promote Darkman
, printing shirts asking "Who is The Coon?". The Coon and Mysterion use deep and ominous voices similar to that used by Christian Bale
in the Batman
films and Jackie Earle Haley
as Rorschach
in Watchmen. Stone said he found Bale's voice particularly annoying in The Dark Knight, and found it amusing that so many comic book movies had heroes whose voices were so low, it sounded like they were "whispering, like you've been up all night smoking".
Cartman and Mysterion both refer to themselves as "the symbol this town needs", a line from The Dark Knight, and Cartman encourages Butters to film a video threatening to blow up a hospital, the same as the Joker
from a scene in that film. The opening shot of "The Coon" is also inspired by a sequence from Watchmen: both feature a close-up of a city sidewalk and zoom out to someone looking down from the top of a tall skyscraper. A poster of the Coon shown at Cartman's Coonicon 2009 is inspired by the front cover of The Dark Knight Returns, the Batman graphic novel
by Frank Miller
. Other common comic book film traits parodied in "The Coon" include costumes that do little to actually conceal secret identities, trophies adorning superhero secret lairs, and sudden disappearing exits and entrances.
Cartman's Coonicon 2009 convention is held at the Airport Hilton
, the same place where he holds his "ginger pride" event in the episode "Ginger Kids
" and the AIDS
benefit in the episode "Tonsil Trouble
". Butters dresses up as Professor Chaos, and Dougie dresses as General Disarray, both of which are the supervillain alter egos they first take on in the sixth season
episode "Professor Chaos". Based on the physique of the Coon, Butters considers heavyset gay entertainers Bruce Vilanch
and Harvey Fierstein
as suspects for his secret identity. Vilanch sent a card to Parker and Stone after "The Coon" aired, thanking them for referring to him in the episode. Cartman plans to purchase detonators for his TNT from Ace Hardware
, a real-life Illinois
-based hardware company chain. Cartman refers to the economic recession as one of the primary factors that has led to an increase in crime. News footage of a group of South Park residents talking about Mysterion which focuses on a man with gold teeth and a blue baseball cap was inspired by the Crichton Leprechaun
sighting YouTube
video.
. The episode received a 1.8 rating/5 share among adults aged between 18 and 49, making it the most watched cable entertainment program in that age group for the week of March 16 to March 22.
The episode received generally positive reviews. Carlos Delgado of iF magazine said, "The mockery of comic book based movies is perfectly done...Though not quite as funny as last week’s 'The Ring', 'The Coon' is right up there as a classic episode, ... A beacon of hope in the sometimes drab world of television," while at the same time, he believed the episode title, "The Coon" (being a well-known ethnic slur against black people
) was a jab intended for Barack Obama
, the first African American U.S. President
.
Percy Olsen, television editor for Student Life, said "The Coon" was an improvement over "The Ring" because it was less heavy-handed in its morals. Olsen also said it raised the question, "What ever happened to the goofy superhero movies? From Batman to the Hulk, it seems like every comic book hero movie has been given a splotch of mud and some dim lighting before being sent out the door." Genevieve Koski of The A.V. Club
gave the episode a B+ grade, although she did not like the "non-reveal" ending. She also said the target material for "The Coon" is too easy, but she said the episode was "really likable" and she particularly liked Cartman's growing frustration when his superhero persona is ignored. Travis Fickett of IGN
also said he did not like the ending and, although he liked Butters' part in the episode and the riffing on comic book stereotypes, Fickett felt the episode lacked any "brilliant moments" and "ultimately runs out of steam with the super-hero riff". Mitchell Geller of The Tufts Daily
said the episode would be more enjoyable to people familiar with the comic book film franchise it was spoofing than it would be for those who are not, although he said Cartman "never ceases to be funny".
set and two-disc Blu-ray
set in the United States on March 16, 2010. The sets included brief audio commentaries by Parker and Stone for each episode, a collection of deleted scenes, and a special mini-feature Inside Xbox: A Behind-the-Scenes Tour of South Park Studios, which discussed the process behind animating the show Inside xBox.
"The Coon" was also released as a special "bonus episode", on the season fourteen
DVD on April 26, 2011.
South Park (season 13)
The 13th season of South Park, an American animated television comedy series, originally aired in the United States on Comedy Central between March 11 and November 18, 2009. The season was headed by the series creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, who served as executive producers along with Anne...
of the American animated television series South Park
South Park
South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
, and the 183rd overall episode of the series. It originally aired on Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
in the United States on March 18, 2009. In the episode, Cartman
Eric Cartman
Eric Theodore Cartman is a fictional character in the American animated television series South Park. One of four main characters, along with Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, and Kenny McCormick, he is generally referred to within the series by his last name...
poses as a superhero vigilante
Vigilante
A vigilante is a private individual who legally or illegally punishes an alleged lawbreaker, or participates in a group which metes out extralegal punishment to an alleged lawbreaker....
named "The Coon", who grows increasingly jealous of the popularity and success of a rival superhero named "Mysterion".
The episode was written and directed by series co-founder Trey Parker
Trey Parker
Trey Parker is an American animator, screenwriter, director, producer, voice artist, musician and actor, best known for being the co-creator of the television series South Park along with his creative partner and best friend Matt Stone.Parker started his film career in 1992, making a holiday short...
, and was rated TV-MA L in the United States. It was originally conceived as an episode about the economic recession, but those elements were later adapted into the future episode, "Margaritaville
Margaritaville (South Park)
"Margaritaville" is the third episode of the thirteenth season of the American animated television series South Park, and the 184th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on March 25, 2009. The episode is a satire and commentary on the global...
". "The Coon" generated a great deal of speculation about the true identity of Mysterion. Parker and Stone originally said there was no specific answer to the question. In the fourteenth season
South Park (season 14)
The fourteenth season of South Park, an American animated television comedy series, originally aired in the United States on Comedy Central between March 17 and November 17, 2010. The season was headed by the series creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, who served as executive producers along with...
episode "Mysterion Rises
Mysterion Rises
"Mysterion Rises" is the twelfth episode of the fourteenth season of South Park. It aired on Comedy Central on November 3, 2010 and is the second of a three-part arc that began with the episode "Coon 2: Hindsight"....
", Mysterion is revealed to be Kenny McCormick
Kenny McCormick
Kenneth "Kenny" McCormick is a fictional character in the animated television series South Park. He is one of the four central characters along with his friends Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, and Eric Cartman. His oft-muffled and indiscernible speech—the result of his parka hood covering his...
.
The episode parodied several dark-toned comic book films that had been recently released at the time, including The Spirit
The Spirit (film)
The Spirit is a 2008 American superhero noir film, written and directed by Frank Miller and starring Gabriel Macht, Eva Mendes, Sarah Paulson, Dan Lauria, Paz Vega, Jaime King, Scarlett Johansson, and Samuel L. Jackson. The film is based on the newspaper comic strip The Spirit by Will Eisner...
, Watchmen
Watchmen (film)
Watchmen is a 2009 superhero film directed by Zack Snyder and starring Malin Åkerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Patrick Wilson. It is an adaptation of the comic book of the same name by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons...
and The Dark Knight
The Dark Knight (film)
The Dark Knight is a 2008 superhero film directed, produced and co-written by Christopher Nolan. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, the film is part of Nolan's Batman film series and a sequel to 2005's Batman Begins...
. It received generally positive reviews and, according to Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
, was seen by 3.27 million households the week it aired. Comedian Bruce Vilanch
Bruce Vilanch
Bruce Vilanch is an American comedy writer, songwriter and actor. He is a six-time Emmy Award-winner Vilanch is best known to the public for his four-year stint on Hollywood Squares, as a celebrity participant; in the entertainment industry he is best known as head writer for the show...
, who is mocked in the episode, sent a thank you card to Parker and Stone after the episode aired. "The Coon" was released on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and Blu-ray
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
along with the rest of the thirteenth season on March 16, 2010. "The Coon" was also released on DVD of The Little Box of Butters on September 28, 2010. "The Coon" was re-released once more on DVD and Blu-ray as a "bonus episode" with the complete fourteenth season.
Plot
Disguised as a raccoonRaccoon
Procyon is a genus of nocturnal mammals, comprising three species commonly known as raccoons, in the family Procyonidae. The most familiar species, the common raccoon , is often known simply as "the" raccoon, as the two other raccoon species in the genus are native only to the tropics and are...
, Cartman
Eric Cartman
Eric Theodore Cartman is a fictional character in the American animated television series South Park. One of four main characters, along with Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, and Kenny McCormick, he is generally referred to within the series by his last name...
becomes a vigilante
Vigilante
A vigilante is a private individual who legally or illegally punishes an alleged lawbreaker, or participates in a group which metes out extralegal punishment to an alleged lawbreaker....
dubbed "The Coon", who attempts to wipe out crime in South Park. Though Cartman tries to raise awareness about The Coon through word of mouth, nobody pays much attention to the Coon's efforts. When he reports "crimes" (such as mistaking a man innocently trying to kiss his date for a rapist) to the police department, he is threatened with jail time and snubbed off. During class, Cartman tries to hype up an appearance from the Coon, saying he will be on roof of a Walgreens
Walgreens
Walgreen Co. , doing business as Walgreens , is the largest drugstore chain in the United States of America. As of August 31st, the company operates 8,210 locations across all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Founded in Chicago, Illinois in 1901, and has since expanded...
later that evening. Cartman (as the Coon) shows up to the spot to find another child superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
named "Mysterion", who is far more successful in garnering appreciation as a crime stopping icon
Icon
An icon is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity and in certain Eastern Catholic churches...
from the police and South Park citizens who want to know just "Who is Mysterion?" Cartman is angered by his lack of popularity and the attention Mysterion is receiving. The Coon tries to discover the identity of Mysterion, but only finds more questions when Wendy suggests that it may not necessarily be a boy.
Cartman decides to rid the town of Mysterion, enlisting the help of Professor Chaos (Butters
Butters Stotch
Leopold "Butters" Stotch is a fictional character in the animated television series South Park. He is voiced by series co-creator Matt Stone and loosely based on co-producer Eric Stough. He is a fourth-grade student who commonly has extraordinary experiences not typical of conventional small-town...
) and his sidekick General Disarray (Dougie). Unlike the Coon, Professor Chaos and General Disarray are as familiar to the residents of South Park as Mysterion. Butters also wants to know the identity of Mysterion but can only narrow the list of suspects to the few boys from Mr. Garrison's 4th grade class whose appearances do not differ greatly from that of others. In a scheme to uncover Mysterion's identity, Cartman convinces Professor Chaos to threaten the destruction of a hospital unless Mysterion reveals his or her identity. After Cartman plants the TNT and leaves to buy detonators, Mysterion unexpectedly arrives and fights Professor Chaos and General Disarray on top of the building. A crowd forms below and cheers on Mysterion as the police take no actions realizing that their bullets are no match for Professor Chaos' aluminium foil
Aluminium foil
Aluminium foil is aluminium prepared in thin metal leaves, with a thickness less than , thinner gauges down to are also commonly used. In the USA, foils are commonly gauged in mils. Standard household foil is typically thick and heavy duty household foil is typically .The foil is pliable, and...
armor. Dramatically, Cartman appears to fight on the side of Mysterion, with the hopes that he too will be hailed as a hero. At that point, Professor Chaos and General Disarray run off in defeat. After their victory, Cartman convinces Mysterion to unmask himself by claiming such threats to public safety will continue until Mysterion's secret is revealed.
Despite the threat of imprisonment, Mysterion unmasks himself, showing the television viewers only the portion of his face that looks similar to almost all of Mr. Garrison's 4th grade class. The crowd, however, is shocked to learn Mysterion's identity and, much to the regret of all except Cartman, Mysterion is hauled to prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
. With Professor Chaos, General Disarray and Mysterion defeated, Cartman now perceives that he is the superhero in South Park and that every town should have a Coon like him.
Production
"The Coon" was written and directed by series co-founder Trey ParkerTrey Parker
Trey Parker is an American animator, screenwriter, director, producer, voice artist, musician and actor, best known for being the co-creator of the television series South Park along with his creative partner and best friend Matt Stone.Parker started his film career in 1992, making a holiday short...
. It first aired on March 18, 2009 in the United States on Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
. Like most South Park episodes, "The Coon" was first conceived by Parker and fellow co-founder Matt Stone
Matt Stone
Matthew Richard "Matt" Stone is an American screenwriter, producer, voice artist, musician and actor, best known for being the co-creator of South Park along with creative partner and best friend, Trey Parker....
within a week of the episode's broadcast date. Kenny, Kyle and Stan were originally planned to be made superheroes as well as Cartman, and for the episode to revolve around a group of superheroes in the style of Watchmen
Watchmen (film)
Watchmen is a 2009 superhero film directed by Zack Snyder and starring Malin Åkerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Patrick Wilson. It is an adaptation of the comic book of the same name by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons...
, a film based on a graphic novel that had been released earlier that month. They started working on sketches of the other superhero costumes, but Cartman and his alter-ego, the Coon, were finished first. From the start, Parker and Stone wrote Cartman as caring more about his superhero image than fighting crime, but as they worked further on the episode, it began to take up more and more of the story until they decided to make Cartman the only superhero of the four boys.
Parker and Stone long planned to create an episode about the economic recession, and originally planned for Cartman to dress as a superhero named "The Coon" and fight the economy. This is why the opening scene of "The Coon" involves Cartman discussing the poor economic state of the nation and the election of U.S. President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
. Eventually, Cartman would discover the recession stemmed from the sale of Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville blenders
Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville
Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville is the name of a United States-based casual dining American restaurant chain and a chain of stores selling Jimmy Buffett-themed merchandise...
, and he would have to battle singer Jimmy Buffett
Jimmy Buffett
James William "Jimmy" Buffett is a singer-songwriter, author, entrepreneur, and film producer. He is best known for his music, which often portrays an "island escapism" lifestyle. Together with his Coral Reefer Band, Buffett's musical hits include "Margaritaville" , and "Come Monday"...
and investor Warren Buffett
Warren Buffett
Warren Edward Buffett is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is widely regarded as one of the most successful investors in the world. Often introduced as "legendary investor, Warren Buffett", he is the primary shareholder, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is...
, who would be portrayed as Jimmy's brother. Eventually, the idea was scrapped, and "The Coon" turned into an episode revolving entirely around a comic book film parody. Elements of the economic recession and the Margaritaville blenders were eventually incorporated into future episode "Margaritaville
Margaritaville (South Park)
"Margaritaville" is the third episode of the thirteenth season of the American animated television series South Park, and the 184th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on March 25, 2009. The episode is a satire and commentary on the global...
".
The identity of Mysterion is never revealed in "The Coon". After the episode aired, the question "Who is Mysterion?" became a frequently asked question at the FAQ for the official South Park website, South Park Studios. The answer posted at that site was that "there is no answer", and that only Trey Parker and Matt Stone actually know. Parker said it was one of the most common questions he was asked about the show, along with the identity of Cartman's father, which was resolved in the fourteenth season
South Park (season 14)
The fourteenth season of South Park, an American animated television comedy series, originally aired in the United States on Comedy Central between March 17 and November 17, 2010. The season was headed by the series creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, who served as executive producers along with...
episode "201
201 (South Park)
"201" is the sixth episode of the fourteenth season of South Park, and the 201st overall episode of the series. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on April 21, 2010. The episode continued multiple storylines from the previous episode, "200", in which a group of angry...
". Parker and Stone originally said there was no actual answer to Mysterion's identity, as they never chose a specific character to be him. In the original ending of the episode, after Mysterion is arrested, Kyle is shown to be in prison and it is believed he is the superhero. However, the real Mysterion visits him, and Kyle explains he pretended to be Mysterion so the real superhero could remain free and continue fighting crime. As a thank you, Mysterion revealed his identity by showing his face, but like in the actual episode, the viewer cannot determine who he is because all the children look alike without hats. The ending was ultimately cut because Parker and Stone decided it took too much time for a simple throwaway gag and to show that Kyle was not Mysterion. Although it is weird that they still included the scene where Mysterion contacts Kyle and asks him for help, and in the episode we never actually see him help Mysterion except in the deleted ending. The clip is available as a deleted scene in the thirteenth season DVD and Blu-ray sets. The superhero characters from "The Coon" returned in the fourteenth season
South Park (season 14)
The fourteenth season of South Park, an American animated television comedy series, originally aired in the United States on Comedy Central between March 17 and November 17, 2010. The season was headed by the series creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, who served as executive producers along with...
episodes "Coon 2: Hindsight
Coon 2: Hindsight
"Coon 2: Hindsight" is the eleventh episode of the fourteenth season of animated television series South Park, and the 206th episode of the series overall....
", "Mysterion Rises
Mysterion Rises
"Mysterion Rises" is the twelfth episode of the fourteenth season of South Park. It aired on Comedy Central on November 3, 2010 and is the second of a three-part arc that began with the episode "Coon 2: Hindsight"....
" and "Coon vs. Coon and Friends
Coon vs. Coon and Friends
"Coon vs. Coon and Friends" is the thirteenth episode of the fourteenth season of Comedy Central's series South Park. It originally aired on November 10, 2010...
", in which Kenny
Kenny McCormick
Kenneth "Kenny" McCormick is a fictional character in the animated television series South Park. He is one of the four central characters along with his friends Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, and Eric Cartman. His oft-muffled and indiscernible speech—the result of his parka hood covering his...
is revealed to be Mysterion.
Keo Thongkham and Kevin Dalton, who serve as South Park storyboard artists, drew the detailed image of Mysterion that appeared in a news broadcast within the episode. Within a week of the episode's original broadcast, the online retailer Zazzle
Zazzle
Zazzle is an online retailer that allows users to upload images and create their own merchandise , or buy merchandise created by other users, as well as use images from participating companies...
and South Park Studios, the official South Park website, released t-shirts and hooded sweatshirts based on the episode, including one with an image of Cartman as the Coon, and one of Mysterion with the words, "Who is Mysterion?"
Cultural references
"The Coon" is primarily a parody of dark-toned comic book movies. The Dark KnightThe Dark Knight (film)
The Dark Knight is a 2008 superhero film directed, produced and co-written by Christopher Nolan. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, the film is part of Nolan's Batman film series and a sequel to 2005's Batman Begins...
(2008), The Spirit
The Spirit (film)
The Spirit is a 2008 American superhero noir film, written and directed by Frank Miller and starring Gabriel Macht, Eva Mendes, Sarah Paulson, Dan Lauria, Paz Vega, Jaime King, Scarlett Johansson, and Samuel L. Jackson. The film is based on the newspaper comic strip The Spirit by Will Eisner...
(2008) and Watchmen (2009) are the most commonly referred to films, but others such as Spider-Man 3
Spider-Man 3
Spider-Man 3 is a 2007 American superhero film written and directed by Sam Raimi, with a screenplay by Ivan Raimi and Alvin Sargent. It is the third film in the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy based on the fictional Marvel Comics character Spider-Man...
(2007) are also frequently referenced. Matt Stone said the episode started as a parody specifically of Watchmen, but then elements of other comic book films were added as the writing progressed. The music used in "The Coon" is inspired by the style of film score
Film score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film, forming part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects...
s by James Newton Howard
James Newton Howard
James Newton Howard is an American composer best known for his scores to motion pictures. He is one of the most popular and respected composers for cinema, and has scored over 100 films...
and Hans Zimmer
Hans Zimmer
Hans Florian Zimmer is a German film composer and music producer. He has composed music for over 100 films, including critically acclaimed film scores for The Lion King , Crimson Tide , The Thin Red Line , Gladiator , The Dark Knight and Inception .Zimmer spent the early part of his career in the...
, both of whom collaborated on the scores for Batman Begins
Batman Begins
Batman Begins is a 2005 American superhero action film based on the fictional DC Comics character Batman, directed by Christopher Nolan. It stars Christian Bale as Batman, along with Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Cillian Murphy, Morgan Freeman, Ken Watanabe, Tom Wilkinson,...
(2005) and The Dark Knight. To promote The Coon, Cartman uses a similar tagline as was used to promote Darkman
Darkman
Darkman is a 1990 superhero action film directed by Sam Raimi. It is based on a short story Raimi wrote that paid homage to Universal's horror films of the 1930s...
, printing shirts asking "Who is The Coon?". The Coon and Mysterion use deep and ominous voices similar to that used by Christian Bale
Christian Bale
Christian Charles Philip Bale is an English actor. Best known for his roles in American films, Bale has starred in both big budget Hollywood films and the smaller projects from independent producers and art houses....
in the Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
films and Jackie Earle Haley
Jackie Earle Haley
Jackie Earle Haley is an American film actor. Establishing himself from child actor to adult Academy Award-nominee, he is perhaps best known for his roles as Moocher in Breaking Away, Kelly Leak in The Bad News Bears, pedophile Ronnie McGorvey in Little Children, the vigilante Rorschach in...
as Rorschach
Rorschach (comics)
Rorschach is a fictional comic book character and antihero that was featured in the acclaimed 1986 DC Comics miniseries Watchmen...
in Watchmen. Stone said he found Bale's voice particularly annoying in The Dark Knight, and found it amusing that so many comic book movies had heroes whose voices were so low, it sounded like they were "whispering, like you've been up all night smoking".
Cartman and Mysterion both refer to themselves as "the symbol this town needs", a line from The Dark Knight, and Cartman encourages Butters to film a video threatening to blow up a hospital, the same as the Joker
Joker (comics)
The Joker is a fictional character, a comic book supervillain published by DC Comics. He is the archenemy of Batman, having been directly responsible for numerous tragedies in Batman's life, including the paralysis of Barbara Gordon and the death of Jason Todd, the second Robin...
from a scene in that film. The opening shot of "The Coon" is also inspired by a sequence from Watchmen: both feature a close-up of a city sidewalk and zoom out to someone looking down from the top of a tall skyscraper. A poster of the Coon shown at Cartman's Coonicon 2009 is inspired by the front cover of The Dark Knight Returns, the Batman graphic novel
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
by Frank Miller
Frank Miller (comics)
Frank Miller is an American comic book artist, writer and film director best known for his dark, film noir-style comic book stories and graphic novels Ronin, Daredevil: Born Again, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Sin City and 300...
. Other common comic book film traits parodied in "The Coon" include costumes that do little to actually conceal secret identities, trophies adorning superhero secret lairs, and sudden disappearing exits and entrances.
Cartman's Coonicon 2009 convention is held at the Airport Hilton
Hilton Hotels
Hilton Hotels & Resorts is an international chain of full-service hotels and resorts founded by Conrad Hilton and now owned by Hilton Worldwide. Hilton hotels are either owned by, managed by, or franchised to independent operators by Hilton Worldwide. Hilton Hotels became the first coast-to-coast...
, the same place where he holds his "ginger pride" event in the episode "Ginger Kids
Ginger Kids
"Ginger Kids" is the 136th episode of Comedy Central's series South Park. It originally aired on November 9, 2005. The episode caused a controversy after its ironic premise was misunderstood by people who acted violently against gingers...
" and the AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
benefit in the episode "Tonsil Trouble
Tonsil Trouble
"Tonsil Trouble" is the first episode of the twelfth season of the animated television series South Park, and the 168th episode of the series overall. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on March 12, 2008...
". Butters dresses up as Professor Chaos, and Dougie dresses as General Disarray, both of which are the supervillain alter egos they first take on in the sixth season
South Park (season 6)
Season six of South Park, an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, began airing on March 6, 2002. The sixth season concluded after 17 episodes on December 11, 2002. This season is notable for being the only one without Kenny as a main character, as he was...
episode "Professor Chaos". Based on the physique of the Coon, Butters considers heavyset gay entertainers Bruce Vilanch
Bruce Vilanch
Bruce Vilanch is an American comedy writer, songwriter and actor. He is a six-time Emmy Award-winner Vilanch is best known to the public for his four-year stint on Hollywood Squares, as a celebrity participant; in the entertainment industry he is best known as head writer for the show...
and Harvey Fierstein
Harvey Fierstein
Harvey Forbes Fierstein is a U.S. actor and playwright, noted for the early distinction of winning Tony Awards for both writing and originating the lead role in his long-running play Torch Song Trilogy, about a gay drag-performer and his quest for true love and family, as well as writing the...
as suspects for his secret identity. Vilanch sent a card to Parker and Stone after "The Coon" aired, thanking them for referring to him in the episode. Cartman plans to purchase detonators for his TNT from Ace Hardware
Ace Hardware
Ace Hardware Corporation is a hardware cooperative based in Oak Brook, Illinois, United States. ACE Hardware Corporation, with 4,444 stores, does over $3 billion in retail hardware sales annually down from its peak of $12.5 billion in 2007.-History:...
, a real-life Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
-based hardware company chain. Cartman refers to the economic recession as one of the primary factors that has led to an increase in crime. News footage of a group of South Park residents talking about Mysterion which focuses on a man with gold teeth and a blue baseball cap was inspired by the Crichton Leprechaun
Crichton Leprechaun
The Crichton Leprechaun is a leprechaun purported to have been sighted in March 2006 by the residents of the Crichton neighborhood in Mobile, Alabama...
sighting YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
video.
Reception
In its original American broadcast, "The Coon" was watched by 3.27 million overall households, according to the Nielsen Media ResearchNielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
. The episode received a 1.8 rating/5 share among adults aged between 18 and 49, making it the most watched cable entertainment program in that age group for the week of March 16 to March 22.
The episode received generally positive reviews. Carlos Delgado of iF magazine said, "The mockery of comic book based movies is perfectly done...Though not quite as funny as last week’s 'The Ring', 'The Coon' is right up there as a classic episode, ... A beacon of hope in the sometimes drab world of television," while at the same time, he believed the episode title, "The Coon" (being a well-known ethnic slur against black people
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
) was a jab intended for Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
, the first African American U.S. President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
.
Percy Olsen, television editor for Student Life, said "The Coon" was an improvement over "The Ring" because it was less heavy-handed in its morals. Olsen also said it raised the question, "What ever happened to the goofy superhero movies? From Batman to the Hulk, it seems like every comic book hero movie has been given a splotch of mud and some dim lighting before being sent out the door." Genevieve Koski of The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
gave the episode a B+ grade, although she did not like the "non-reveal" ending. She also said the target material for "The Coon" is too easy, but she said the episode was "really likable" and she particularly liked Cartman's growing frustration when his superhero persona is ignored. Travis Fickett of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
also said he did not like the ending and, although he liked Butters' part in the episode and the riffing on comic book stereotypes, Fickett felt the episode lacked any "brilliant moments" and "ultimately runs out of steam with the super-hero riff". Mitchell Geller of The Tufts Daily
The Tufts Daily
The Tufts Daily, known on campus simply as The Daily, is the student newspaper at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts. Its first issue was published on February 25, 1980...
said the episode would be more enjoyable to people familiar with the comic book film franchise it was spoofing than it would be for those who are not, although he said Cartman "never ceases to be funny".
Home release
"The Coon", along with the thirteen other episodes from South Parks thirteenth season, were released on a three-disc DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
set and two-disc Blu-ray
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
set in the United States on March 16, 2010. The sets included brief audio commentaries by Parker and Stone for each episode, a collection of deleted scenes, and a special mini-feature Inside Xbox: A Behind-the-Scenes Tour of South Park Studios, which discussed the process behind animating the show Inside xBox.
"The Coon" was also released as a special "bonus episode", on the season fourteen
South Park (season 14)
The fourteenth season of South Park, an American animated television comedy series, originally aired in the United States on Comedy Central between March 17 and November 17, 2010. The season was headed by the series creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, who served as executive producers along with...
DVD on April 26, 2011.
External links
- "The Coon" Full episode at South Park Studios
- "The Coon" at South Park Studios