| “ | When people are miserable and suffering, it brings out the best in me. Thanks for noticing. | „ |
| ~ Reese Wilkerson |
| “ | If there's one thing I learned, you can never clear your own name. You can only ruin someone else's. | „ |
| ~ Reese Wilkerson |
| “ | Then, why would you want empathy? | „ |
| ~ Reese Wilkerson |
Reese Wilkerson is the main antagonist of Malcolm In The Middle and the titular character's older brother and rival. His extreme personality, which can vary from a slow-witted bully, mischievous trickster or (at times) a mild sociopath who does bad things seemingly for the sheer thrill of it. His favorite target is usually his brother Dewey, often hitting him or breaking his toys and even roping him into his insane schemes.
He was portrayed by Justin Berfield. As a toddler, he was portrayed by Connor Swanek. As a child, he was portrayed by Dalton John Dailidonis, Austin Wolff and Jay Collette, and by Mimi Paley as a girl.
He seems reformed at the end of the series, having found a job as a janitor, emancipated from his parents and living with Craig.
Personality[]
Impulsive, often idiotic, but also capable of coming up with surprisingly devilish plans when he wants to, Reese is rarely liked by the other characters of the show (even his own family sometimes) due to his destructive and bullying nature. He is also considered by both his own brothers, parents and himself to be the dumbest member of the family with no one having any hopes for his future life.
Reese is theorized to have such a strong mean-streak that while still in the womb he kicked Lois so hard she delivered him prematurely and his first act upon waking into the world was to swiftly kick the doctor delivering him.
Though incredibly violent, he is still terrified of his mother Lois and even his father, Hal, should he evoke his wrath. Ironically enough he was also the only family member that the terrible Ida Kenzel (and her equally repulsive husband, Victor) liked, specifically because of his reckless and senseless violence that was apparently a socially acceptable trait in her home country. He also shows a soft side for Stevie due to his medical condition to the point of sparing him from most of his bullying and was even willing to numb his legs so he could have a fair fight in the seventh season (which ended badly when Stevie didn't play fair).
In his later appearances he showcases a talent and passion for cooking which he gets so immersed on that blackmailing him with taking away his cooking tools or preventing him from going through with his passion is the only way Hal and Lois find to keep him under control.
Powers and Abilities[]
- Extreme Torture: Reese is obviously an excellent torturer and has done so many incidents to his brothers and other innocent lives. He will often use physical coercion or succumb them into slavery for himself. He even goes to the point that his entire school is kept at bay from being infested with bullies and troublemakers because Reese's violence quells any uprisings.
- Food Prodigy: Reese has shown to be quite an exceptional cook and has made many extravagant dinners. His food has been praised so much by people, even by his own family who remarked that Reese had no talents whatsoever.