~ Benson towards Mordecai and Rigby if they screw something up.
Benson Dunwoody is the anti-heroic tritagonist of the 2010-2017 Cartoon Network series Regular Show. He's not really a villain at all in the series but he does act as an antagonist in multiple episodes early on in the series. He serves as the main antagonist of the first two seasons until becoming kinder if still sometimes unreasonable.
Benson is a gumball machine (standing at 5'4” and about 150 pounds) with pinkish-purple gumballs enclosed by a glass dome, sunken eyes and a large, straight nose that just about overlaps his mouth. As seen many times, his gumballs and thus his face turn red whenever he's angered.
During the time montage following the final events of "A Regular Epic Final Battle" and at the 25 year park reunion, Benson has grown grey hair, although still bald on the top of his head, that is tied in a ponytail under a blue hat.
Personality
Benson's short temper is usually attributed to the continuous lack of productivity from Mordecai and Rigby on work time, thus he would scream and yell at them in an ear-bleeding way whenever the duo are doing something off-task, often threatening to fire them or at the very least, assign more work and/or refusing to let them have fun. He and Skips are the only serious workers of the park, although he still seems to have a sense of humour as he sometimes shows amusment towards the duo's antics after he calms down. He also joins in on his worker's zany antics off the clock as long as they don't take things too far. Furthermore, he does show a more generous side by buying dinner for his co-workers.
Although he is often angry at Mordecai and Rigby, he still considerably likes them, as he has invited them to special celebrations, and most notably in the episode Stick Hockey, he risked himself to help the two. He also admitted the two were cool in Cool Bikes, as he helped saving them from the cool police, and in Eggscellent after Benson downtalks Rigby at the hospital only to get punched by Mordecai. Benson later apologizes to him and then started training Mordecai for the omelette challenge. Afterwards, Mordecai tells Benson that despite acting like a jerk, he is still a true friend.
In Think Positive, while he was yelling at Mordecai and Rigby after Pops finally allows him to with the anger that was held up for days and released in a ear-deafening way, he mentions he's trying to teach them responsibility. From that point, he also promised to yell less of the time. He, for the most part, kept this promise as while he still screams at the duo whenever they go too far, he generally only does it when they cross the line like when they ruined the Thanksgiving Feast. Even then, he usually forgives them after cooling off. Furthermore, while he mostly targets the duo, he is willing to call out the other workers (except for Pops who he at most, expresses mild annoyance with) such as when Skips damaged Mordecai and Rigby's console once the latter kept bragging after beating him at arm-wrestling.
In later seasons, Benson becomes much kinder and more tolerant aside from a few episodes where he reverts back to his former ways. He treats Mordecai and Rigby with much more respect than before, even letting some things slide. His friendship with the latter grows even more as they find out that they relate to each other, and because Rigby eventfully earns Benson's respect after his maturity.
Villainous/Temper Acts
Due to the fact that he had to handle Mordecai and Rigby's antics, he often abuses them and planned to get revenge on them out of frustation by any means necessary. Not only that, he sometimes antagonizes others as well.
Just Set Up the Chairs: Got mad and blamed the boys for making a mess at the birthday party. He also assigned them the task of setting up the chairs in the first place. In the end, he threatens to fire them unless they clean up the mess.
Grilled Cheese Deluxe: Rigby didn't give him his Grilled Cheese Deluxe, then made him more angry by lying to him. Him eating the first sandwich also caused kick-started the plot in the first place. Furthermore, he got upset with Rigby when he tried telling him why it took them so long because he thought they were lying again.
The Unicorns Have Got to Go: One of the Unicorns tied him up in the closet. He later helps Mordecai and Rigby finish them off before hosing them down while berating them for bringing the Unicorns to the House and remind Mordecai to stop spraying that Cologne because that not gotta attract any ladies. He then, like most episodes, makes them clean up the mess.
Prank Callers: After Mordecai and Rigby prank-called him, he mercilessly destroyed the phone.
Don: Fires Muscle Man JUST for telling a my mom joke, then forces Mordecai and Rigby to call Rigby's brother Don to stop an audit, despite Rigby's objections because Don steals his (Rigby's) popularity all the time, and when Rigby refuses to respect Don in order to stop the audit, Benson immediately threatens to fire Rigby if he's not nice to Don. Thus, abusing his power. On the other hand, he was mostly upset because Rigby kept putting his petty feud against his brother over The Park.
Appreciation Day: Refused to give Mordecai and Rigby appreciation plagues, instead giving Muscle Man and Hi Five Ghost the credit for stuff Mordecai and Rigby did, causing the duo to write lies in the Park Records to make Benson like them.
Peeps: He is so obsessed with making Mordecai and Rigby do work all day that he installed surveillance cameras called Peeps to spy on them, even when they were on break and went to the bathroom. This was the only one episode to portray him as a villain until the arrival of the more sinister Peeps.
My Mom: Calling Muscle Man to supervise Mordecai and Rigby for no reason.
High Score: He never respect Mordecai and Rigby at all and refuses to give them checks. This is another time he abuses both.
Stick Hockey: Promises not to give away a stick hockey table if Mordecai and Rigby do their work. Despite that the two finished their work, Benson gives away the table as he assumed that they weren't going to do their work, leading them to grow upset with him. However, he later discovers that they are in danger for trying to win it back against thugs. Benson risks his own safety to fix his mistake and retrieve the stick hocky table, making this one of few instances where Benson does something nice for Mordecai and Rigby in first few seasons.
Eggscellent: Downtalks Rigby, blaming him and Mordecai not working for his condition. Mordecai responds by punching Benson and storming out of Rigby's hospital room. Later on the episode, Benson apologizes to Mordecai and corrects his mistake by helping him train for the challenge. He also forgives Mordecai for punching him and doesn't fire him as he knew he deserved it.
Weekend at Benson's: Mordecai and Rigby accidentally knock Benson unconscious by making him fall off a ladder. They take him to a party where he was supposed to meet his date Audrey. They go up against her ex-boyfriend Chuck in a spicy food contest. Benson wakes up and makes Mordecai and Rigby participate in the contest. Afterward, when they wake up in the park, Benson nearly fires Mordecai and Rigby, but changes his mind when he discovers Audrey's phone number written on his chest.
More Smarter: Threatened to kill Mordecai and Rigby if they don't clean up their equations.
Replaced: Tried to replace Mordecai and Rigby with Jeremy and Chad, unfairly fires them and flashes a camera at them repeatedly, then gets his punishment when Jeremy and Chad refuse to take the job, and Mordecai and Rigby take the job and flash the camera at him in revenge.
Think Positive: Pops threatens to fire Benson if he yells at Mordecai and Rigby. Benson tries to hold his anger, eventually destroying most of the park and nearly exploding in the likeness of a Super-Saiyan. Pops then allows Benson to let out his anger, causing Benson to yell so loud at Mordecai and Rigby that he accidentally deafens their hearing.
Trash Boat: He, along with Mordecai, Muscle Man, Hi Five Ghost, Pops and Skips made fun of Rigby when he changed his name to "Trash Boat".
Busted Cart: Mordecai and Rigby accidentally destroyed a cart, resulting in Benson being forced by Mr. Maellard to get another one before the warranty expires. Their foolishness later upsets Benson to the point of him crying over the fact that he is about to lose his job. However Mordecai and Rigby felt bad that Benson was going to lose his job over this, the two manage to save his job by getting the cart to the dealership on time although they were still taken to the hospital at the end of the episode.
Exit 9b: Although he was brainwashed by Garrett Bobby Ferguson Jr. in this scenario he was close to killing Mordecai and Rigby when they attempt to reason with him before regaining his memory when Mordecai and Rigby annoy him with his antics this redeems him as he signs the document as well.
Muscle Mentor: Humiliates Rigby by forcing him to stay attached to Muscle Man for eight hours, then allowed Muscle Man to almost kill Rigby, despite Mordecai's pleads to stop him. Unlike most episodes, aside from Mordecai getting upset with him, no one holds him accountable for putting two employees in danger. He did this all because he wanted to get back at Rigby for badmouthing him and not taking him seriously.
Best Burgers in the World: After Mordecai and Rigby failed to finish their work for an entire week, Benson forces them to finish all of their work before they can go to a food truck to get the "best burgers in the world". This is by far Benson's cruelest role in the show by the fact he wouldn't let them even go near the truck until they finished the work, he even beat them down and ate their burgers when they finally managed to buy them arguably he crosses the Moral Event Horizon. On the other hand, he did have the right to be angry with them considering that they slacked off for an entire week.
A Bunch of Full-Grown Geese: He forces Mordecai and Rigby to get rid of the geese, then at the end of the episode, Benson yells at Mordecai, Rigby and the baby ducks for destroying the park rather than thanking them for getting rid of the geese. This time, however, he finally gets his due when the ducks' mother scolds him for his actions. He apologizes and walks away, humbled from getting rebuked for being ungrateful.
Sandwich of Death: He attempted to punish Mordecai and Rigby eating his own grilled cheese deluxe sandwich by stealing their sandwich and eating it, unaware that it was the Sandwich of Death, which kills those who do not eat it in the correct way. Benson falls ill and almost gets himself killed because of this. He is cured by the end of the episode and survives.
Dodge This: He is devastated; eleven years losing in a row. Meanwhile, he is kneeling on the ground, sobbing over his defeat. That said, the chicken wings made him act more depressed than he normally would. He also scolds Mordecai for letting his crush on CJ distract him.
Return of the Mordecai and the Rigbys: When they leave, they find out that Benson overheard them and was extremely mad and called them "backstabbers" and left the band. When they are told it was a lie, Mordecai messes with Benson's drum kit. They argue messing with each others stuff and then every begins destroying their instruments.
Take the Cake: He storms into Pops's house with Thomas just as Skips finishes patching up the teleporter, launching into an angry tirade about the failed plan. Mordecai and Rigby quickly try to explain themselves but Benson would have none of it and snatches the teleporter. The three wrestle over the device which finally goes off and teleports the cake and everyone else with it out of the room.
Gold Watch: He blames Mordecai and Rigby for getting stranded in the desert during a drunken stupor, despite eating the hot wings that intoxicated him on his own accord. Instead of showing concern for the two when he found out they were missing too, he attempts to strangle Mordecai. This act is one of the worst things he did throughout the series.
The Lunch Club: Benson and Rigby are forced to write a letter to Mr. Maellard after the latter ruins Maellards lunch and are locked in the office and the two eventually decide to have fun and ultimately the two leaves Maellard and insulting letter both deciding to resign.
Quotes
“
Maybe if you'd been working like you were suppose to, none of this would've happened.
„
~ Benson blaming Mordecai and Rigby's laziness after the latter landed in a coma.
“
No you don't, you're not getting that chair, but here's what you do get, you get to flip that cart back over. You're throwing that chair away, and then your cleaning up this whole MESS!!!!!! Pops you're coming with me And you two idiots if this isn't cleaned up when I get back, YOUR FIRED!!!!!!!
„
~ Benson scolding Mordecai and Rigby in the pilot.
“
NOW CLEAN UP THIS MESS OR YOU'RE FIRED!!!!!!
„
~ Benson.
“
YOU IDIOTS! That's the last time I entrust you with something important, LIKE THE CHAIRS!!
„
~ Benson.
“
I can't believe you idiots let those unicorns in here. You two morons have better get this mess cleaned up or I'll make you wish it was YOU DRIVING THAT CAR!!!
„
~ Benson yelling at Mordecai and Rigby while spraying the two with a hose.
“
No you won't! You be nice to your brother or YOU'RE FIRED!
„
~ Benson.
“
No he didn't buy it! Now get off your lazy butts, and GO GET ME ANOTHER GRILLED CHEESE DELUXE!!!
„
~ Benson after finding out that Rigby took his sandwich.
“
I'm the only one around here who hires and fires! So if you really don't want to do your own job, I'd be glad to accommodate you. Otherwise, you're on toilet duty for the next THREE MONTHS!!! UNBELIEVABLE!!!"
„
~ Benson.
“
I don't hate you. I just hate some of the things you do! Okay, I really hate some of the things you do. I know you don't mean them, but I'm your boss and it's my job to push you to do better.
„
~ Benson gets honest with Mordecai and Rigby.
“
Excuses, excuses! How am I supposed to trust you, when all you give me are excuses?! When are you two gonna learn, that your actions have consequences?! Consequences that affect other people! (voice breaking) Like me! Don't you two understand? I'm about to lose my job! You may not care about keeping your jobs, but I care about keeping mine! Cause if I lose my job, I have nothing! Do you hear me? I have nothing! (cries) … Now if you'll excuse me, I need to take my last bathroom break as an employed man.
„
~ Benson's breakdown after Mordecai and Rigby let him down.
“
RRRAAARHHAAARGHHRRRGHH!! YOU LAZY NO GOOD SLACKERS DRIVE ME NUTS!! CAN'T YOU JUST LISTEN TO ME ONCE IN YOUR WORTHLESS LIVES!? 'CAUSE IF YOU DID YOU'D SEE I'M TRYING TO TEACH YOU SOME SIMPLE RESPONSIBILITY!! SOME PRIDE IN DOING A JOB WELL DONE!! BUT YOU WOULDN'T KNOW A JOB WELL DONE IF YOU PAID SOMEONE TO DO IT FOR YOU!! AND EVEN THEN YOU'D SCREW IT ALL UP ON THE ACCOUNT THAT YOU CAN'T EVEN FOLLOW THE SIMPLEST OF INSTRUCTIONS!! WORRYING MORE ABOUT LOOKING COOL THAN DOING YOUR JOB!!
„
~ Benson letting out all his destructive anger.
“
YOU! DAMAGE TO THE HOUSE, DAMAGE TO MY CAR! MY BUS FARE FOR THE NEXT MONTH! YOU'RE PAYING FOR ALL OF IT!!!
Benson, Muscle Man and Hi-Five Ghost were the show's main antagonists in early seasons. In later seasons, he is only an antagonist when he goes too far.
Although he didn't appear in the episode Rigby's Body, it appears that he made Mordecai and Rigby work at the Snack Bar to pay off all they ate (because only Pops can have free snacks while working there).
In Stick Hockey, it was shown that he was once a coach, until his student was killed during a tournament. He then implies that the whole sport supposedly lead him to his current job.
Benson is spoofed in one episode of the TV show, MAD TV. In the episode, Benson appeared in a snippet called "Celebrities Without Their Make-Up", and said that actor Zack Galifianakis "looked like a regular guy" without make-up, and a make-up brush paints Benson's face of Galifianakis' face.
Sam Marin, Benson's voice actor, almost sounds like the younger version of Doug Lawrence, the voice of Plankton and Edward Platypus.
Benson is most likely to be in his 30s for most of the series until the finale.
He is revealed to have a crush on his neighbor, Audrey, who made her debut in the season three episode, "Weekend at Benson's". They started dating and formed a relationship but eventually broke up.
In Dumptown USA, it was revealed that Benson has been to the town of the same name before and got over multiple break-ups there (including his break-up with Audrey). While he appeared to have enjoyed his time there, it is more than likely his responsibility as park manager was what brought him back.
In Think Positive, it was revealed that Benson's family told him that he wouldn't get what he wanted in life unless he yelled for it, explaining his personality and anger issues. Part of his character arc involved him losing this mentality.
Due to his constant anger issues, extreme methods, and sometimes criminal actions, many fans consider Benson to be the most hated character in the show even more so than Rigby. This hatred mostly died down in later seasons after Benson mellowed out and became somewhat nicer. Some people even defend some of Benson's earlier actions; stating that given the amount of trouble the two cause, Mordecai and Rigby are lucky that Benson even lets them keep their jobs.
