Bluto

Evil-doer
Full Name	Bluto
Alias	Brutus (in some appearances) Bluto the Terrible
Origin	Thimble Theatre
Occupation	Sailor
Powers / Skills	Cunning Trickery Impressive strength Great durability Combat proficiency
Goals	Win Olive Oyl's heart. Defeat or kill Popeye (both failed).
Crimes	Theft Assault and battery Harassment Sabotage Sexual harassment Attempted murder Property damage Torture Employee mistreatment Animal cruelty Kidnapping
Type of Villain	Brutish Love Rival

Bluto is the main antagonist of the Popeye franchise and a nasty sailor who loves to pester Popeye and try to win the heart of his crush Olive Oyl.

He varies between being a big strong brute of a man and very bold and smart. He is always depicted as extremely strong (often superhumanly so). However, after he usually beats up Popeye, Popeye finds a can of spinach, eats it, gets stronger, and beats Bluto into unconsciousness.

He was portrayed by the late Paul L. Smith in the live-action film, (Who also played Count Glossu Rabban in Dune) the late Allan Melvin in the Hanna-Barbera series The All New Popeye Hour, and the late Jackson Beck in the theatrical Popeye shorts.

Biography

Original series

Originally from Hollywood, California, Bluto has had a legendary rivalry with Popeye for most of their careers, though it is often shown that Bluto was once a friend of Popeye but the two became bitter enemies due to the fact that both were in love with Olive Oyl - while Popeye was a gruff but well-meaning sailor Bluto was always rough and mean, so naturally, he began to pester Popeye and even when Olive Oyl clearly made her choice he wouldn't let them be: going as far as regularly kidnapping Olive Oyl, expressing his affection as only the big brute can and doesn't seem to care if she gets killed in the process, showing a lack of empathy.

From time to time this friendship is rekindled, though it seldom lasts long, although Bluto is widely seen as Popeye's nemesis he is not actually the official archenemy of the sailor - that honor belongs to the Sea Hag: who Bluto has occasionally worked for both willingly and as a mind-washed slave. The Sea Hag barely is not in all Popeye cartoons and Bluto is the only in the cartoon series that Popeye faces off with and why he became his archenemy in the cartoon series.

The 1953 cartoon short Baby Wants a Battle has it that Bluto bullied Popeye even when they were both babies, and not only that but Bluto's father bullied Popeye's father. This, however, contradicts the comic's canon.

Popeye (1981)

Bluto also appears as the main antagonist of the Disney/Paramount live-action Popeye movie where he was not only his traditional bullying self but also a shameless criminal who terrorized the fishing community Popeye came to. This movie was rather unique in that Popeye hated spinach and near the end, Bluto's own stupidity got the best of him when he force-fed Popeye spinach out of spite: the resulting transformation scared Bluto so badly the big bully literally turned yellow and swam out into the sea.

Popeye and Son

Bluto appears as the main antagonist of the short lived 1987 series. Here, Bluto has since married a woman named Lizzie, although not by choice as revealed in the episode Happy Anniversary, and has a son named Tank, and moved to Sweet Haven. Primarily, Bluto owns the local used car dealership, with the occasional get rich scheme to suit his needs.

Gallery

Images

Bluto in the live-action film

Bluto (renamed Brutus) in the 1960's series

Bluto as seen in Popeye's Voyage: The Quest for Pappy

Bluto speedbags Popeye

Bluto's muscle dance

Bluto has Popeye stumped

Bluto the Bodybuilder

Bluto with Brutus

McGoofs

Hitchfields

Minions

Bluto's twin minions

Videos

POPEYE THE SAILOR MAN Parlez Vous Woo (1956) (Remastered) (HD 1080p)

Popeye - I'm Mean - Robin Williams Shelley Duvall

Bluto on the rampage (and singing)

Trivia

• In a series of 1960's Popeye cartoons, King Features Syndicate operated under the mistaken assumption that they had lost the rights to the name, "Bluto". As a result, Popeye's rival was named "Brutus" instead, even on merchandise. Later on, Brutus became established as Bluto's brother.
• Unknown to most, Bluto was actually a major inspiration for Nintendo's famous character Donkey Kong, as the original Donkey Kong arcade game was originally intended to be an adaptation of Popeye, starring Popeye, Olive Oyl and Bluto instead of Mario, Pauline, and Donkey Kong, but they didn't have the rights to use the Popeye characters although Nintendo would eventually be able to make Popeye game. Wario, another villain from the Mario franchise, has also been stated to be inspired by him.
• His first appearance was in the comic strip Thimble Theatre, on September 12th, 1932; while this version only appeared in one story, the character was created as a prototype for the villain who would appear in the animated cartoon a year later.
• "Bluto" is usually the character's first name, but in cartoons where he assumes different "roles" it has been used as a surname, such as the lumberjack Pierre Bluton in "Axe Me Another" and the etiquite teacher Professor Bluto in "Learn Polikeness".
• Stories involving him can be inconsistent regarding just how strong and tough he is compared to Popeye; in some, the hero has no chance without spinach, but in others, Popeye can put up a decent fight even without it. Still other times, Bluto has a terrible glass jaw, so much that even Olive Oyl can knock him out. In at least one story, he was even floored by Popeye's infant ward Swea Pea.

External Links

• Bluto on the Popeye the Sailorpedia Wiki
• Bluto on Wikipedia

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