Cartman, Kyle, Kenny, Stan & Butters

Eric Cartman

Eric Theodore Cartman is the loudest, most selfish, and most openly cruel member of the group. He is often the source of the episode’s biggest problem: he starts a scheme because he wants money, attention, power, revenge, junk food, or simply because he does not want someone else to be happy. Cartman sees himself as smarter, tougher, and more important than everyone around him, even though he is frequently wrong, childish, lazy, and easily embarrassed.

Appearance

Cartman is a short, heavyset boy with brown hair, a round face, a noticeable double chin, and sharp triangular eyebrows. He usually wears:

• A red jacket
• Yellow mittens
• Brown pants
• A turquoise-blue hat with a yellow puffball

He gets extremely defensive when someone calls him fat, usually insisting that he is “big-boned” or using some other excuse rather than admitting it.

Personality and behavior

Cartman is manipulative, controlling, spoiled, racist, antisemitic, greedy, and often shockingly vindictive. He is willing to lie, blackmail people, fake emotions, turn friends against each other, or exploit someone’s weakness to get what he wants. His schemes often begin with something small—like wanting to avoid responsibility or win an argument—but spiral into ridiculous or dark consequences.

However, Cartman is not written as evil in a simple, emotionless way. He can be insecure, lonely, needy, cowardly, and desperate for approval. He sometimes shows real attachment to his mom, to certain friends, or to something he cares about, but those softer moments rarely stop him from acting horribly later. His confidence is usually a performance: when he loses control or gets rejected, he can become panicked, furious, or melodramatic.

Cartman likes:

• Junk food, especially cheesy snacks and fast food
• Money and getting things for himself
• Being in charge
• Winning arguments, even unfairly
• Messing with people
• Video games, pop culture, and anything he can turn into a business or scam
• His stuffed toy frog, Clyde Frog, in some stories

Cartman dislikes:

• Being insulted or ignored
• Being told what to do
• Sharing
• Exercise, effort, and responsibility
• Losing
• Kyle, especially when Kyle proves him wrong
• Anyone who threatens his status or exposes his lies

How he treats the others

Cartman’s relationship with Kyle is the most famous rivalry in the group. He regularly targets Kyle with hateful jokes and attacks tied to Kyle being Jewish. Kyle is usually the one who refuses to let Cartman get away with things, so Cartman treats him as both an enemy and an obsession. They argue constantly, but they are also deeply tied into each other’s lives; when something truly serious happens, they sometimes work together.

He bullies Butters relentlessly because Butters is trusting and easy to manipulate. Cartman often acts like Butters is his best friend only when he needs an assistant, scapegoat, or someone to blame. In a weird way, Cartman can be protective of Butters occasionally, but it never erases how badly he treats him.

With Stan and Kenny, Cartman is more casually insulting and selfish. Stan usually sees through Cartman’s nonsense, while Kenny is less likely to get into long arguments with him. Cartman can enjoy their company, but he usually puts his own wants above their friendship.

Vulgarity and famous quote

Cartman is one of the show’s most vulgar characters. He curses, insults people’s bodies and identities, says outrageous things for attention, and often pushes jokes far past normal boundaries. The vulgarity is part of the satire: Cartman frequently represents the ugliest, most selfish response to whatever topic the episode is making fun of.

His most recognizable line is:

“Screw you guys, I’m going home!”

Another hugely iconic Cartman phrase is:

“Respect my authoritah!”

Cartman is essentially the group’s chaos machine: funny because he is so over-the-top, but also often the character viewers are meant to recognize as completely wrong.

Kenny McCormick

Kenny McCormick is the quietest and most mysterious original member of the group. Because his orange parka hood usually covers most of his mouth, his speech is muffled to the audience—though Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and the other children often understand him perfectly. He comes from a poor family and is surrounded by more hardship than most of the boys, but he is also resourceful, brave, street-smart, and surprisingly kind.

Appearance

Kenny has light blond hair and blue eyes, though they are rarely visible when he has his hood up. His normal outfit is:

• A bright-orange parka with a large hood pulled tight around his face
• Orange pants
• Brown gloves
• Black shoes

His face is usually hidden except for his eyes. When he takes off the parka, he looks noticeably different from the audience’s usual image of him: he has messy blond hair and a more openly expressive face.

Personality and behavior

Kenny is usually calm, easygoing, observant, and less interested in arguing than Stan, Kyle, or Cartman. Because he does not speak clearly to the audience very often, he can look like the silent sidekick—but he is much more than that. He understands plenty of what is happening, can be very emotionally intelligent, and often adapts to bizarre situations better than the others.

Kenny has a rough home life and financial instability, which makes him practical. He often knows things the other boys do not, especially about adult topics, bad situations, poverty, danger, or sexuality. He can be crude, mischievous, and extremely vulgar himself, but unlike Cartman, he does not usually use it to dominate or humiliate others.

One of Kenny’s strongest traits is courage. In stories where he becomes Mysterion, he is shown as genuinely heroic: he wants to help people, protect his little sister Karen, and use his strange ability to keep coming back after death for something meaningful. His repeated deaths started as a running gag, but later episodes treated the idea as frightening and painful from Kenny’s point of view.

Kenny likes:

• Friends and hanging out with the group
• Cheap fun, games, and adventures
• Helping his younger sister
• Being Mysterion
• Crude jokes and adult humor
• Getting through difficult situations with creativity and nerve

Kenny dislikes:

• Poverty and seeing his family struggle
• Being treated as disposable
• Danger to people he cares about
• Cartman’s nastier behavior, even if he does not always confront it directly
• Having nobody remember the seriousness of what he experiences

How he treats the others

Kenny is loyal to Stan and Kyle and is generally less hostile than Cartman. He may join in on dumb jokes or gross behavior, but he is not usually the person driving the cruelty. He is one of the group’s quieter stabilizers: he goes along with adventures but can also show up when someone needs help.

Kenny and Cartman have a weird friendship. Cartman can insult Kenny’s poverty or ignore him, and Kenny sometimes gets frustrated with Cartman, but they have still spent years as part of the same friend group. Kenny’s lower-key personality contrasts sharply with Cartman’s need to be the center of attention.

Butters and Kenny are not as iconic a pair as Cartman and Butters, but Kenny is generally less exploitative toward him. Kenny understands hardship and humiliation better than many of the boys, so he can come across as more sympathetic when Butters is getting mistreated.

Vulgarity and famous quote

Kenny is often very vulgar, especially in early seasons and whenever his muffled speech is translated or understood by the other characters. His humor can be sexual, gross, or surprisingly adult for a child. The difference is that Kenny’s vulgarity tends to feel like mischievous kid behavior or a product of the world he grew up in, rather than Cartman’s deliberate cruelty.

The most famous quote connected to Kenny is technically said by Stan and Kyle whenever he dies:

“Oh my God! They killed Kenny!”

And the reply:

“You bastards!”

Kenny himself later gets a memorable line that explains his frustration:

“I die all the time! And you assholes never remember!”

Kenny is the group’s hidden heart: often the least heard, but frequently one of the bravest and most compassionate boys.

Kyle Broflovski

Kyle Broflovski is usually the group’s moral center. He is smart, outspoken, emotional, stubborn, and deeply bothered when people behave unfairly. Kyle often acts as the person who says, “This is wrong,” even when everyone else is distracted, greedy, scared, or acting ridiculous. He is not perfect—he can be judgmental, hot-tempered, jealous, and preachy—but his conscience is one of the most consistent things in the show.

Appearance

Kyle has curly red hair, often styled in a huge frizzy shape that is hidden by his distinctive hat. He typically wears:

• A bright green ushanka-style hat with ear flaps
• An orange coat with green details
• Green gloves
• Dark green cargo pants
• Black shoes

Kyle is Jewish, and the show makes his Jewish identity a significant part of his character, especially because Cartman constantly targets him over it. Kyle does not always want to be reduced to that identity, but he also stands up for himself, his family, and his community when Cartman or anyone else crosses a line.

Personality and behavior

Kyle is intelligent, principled, argumentative, compassionate, and emotionally intense. He cares about fairness and often cannot simply ignore cruelty or hypocrisy. If someone is being mistreated, Kyle is likely to speak up. He can become visibly angry when people refuse to listen, especially Cartman.

He and Stan are best friends, and their friendship is one of the most genuine relationships in South Park. Stan tends to be quieter and more laid-back, while Kyle is more likely to challenge people directly. Kyle gives Stan emotional support, but he also pushes him to think more deeply. Their friendship can survive arguments because both clearly care about the other.

Kyle’s biggest flaw is that his strong moral feelings can make him self-righteous. He sometimes assumes he knows the correct answer, lectures others, or gets pulled into a cause so intensely that he misses the absurdity around him. That does not make him fake—it makes him a kid who genuinely cares, but has not always learned when to let go.

Kyle likes:

• Fairness and helping people
• Standing up to bullies
• Spending time with Stan
• Video games, fads, and kid activities when he is not caught in a crisis
• His family, especially his adopted younger brother Ike
• Feeling like there is a meaningful lesson or solution

Kyle dislikes:

• Cartman’s bigotry and schemes
• Injustice, bullying, and hypocrisy
• Being lied to
• Being dismissed when he is right
• People exploiting others for money or popularity
• Seeing Stan become detached, hopeless, or self-destructive

How he treats the others

Kyle and Stan have a close, almost brotherlike friendship. Kyle can be blunt with Stan, but he is loyal and protective. They often serve as the more grounded pair when Cartman causes trouble.

Kyle and Cartman are enemies in the most personal sense. Cartman attacks Kyle’s identity, beliefs, appearance, and family; Kyle reacts because he refuses to accept it quietly. Still, their rivalry is complicated. Kyle sometimes recognizes when Cartman is suffering or scared, while Cartman occasionally seeks Kyle’s approval despite pretending to hate him. They have saved each other, teamed up, and even shown reluctant respect at times—but the hostility always returns.

Kyle can be kind to Butters and Kenny, though he sometimes gets impatient with Butters’s gullibility or Kenny’s crude jokes. Compared with Cartman, Kyle is much more likely to defend Butters when he sees him being used.

Vulgarity and famous quote

Kyle curses and can be blunt, especially when he is angry, but he is not generally vulgar for the sake of being shocking. His harshest language tends to come out when Cartman has done something terrible or when he is at the end of his patience.

Kyle is strongly associated with the classic ending speech:

“You know, I learned something today...”

That phrase reflects his old role as the boy most likely to explain the episode’s moral. Even though later seasons often mock that kind of lesson, Kyle remains someone who genuinely wants things to mean something.

Kyle is the group’s conscience—but also proof that having a good heart does not automatically make someone calm, patient, or always right.

Stan Marsh

Stan Marsh is often the closest thing South Park has to an ordinary kid. He is generally more relaxed and less extreme than Cartman or Kyle, but he is still surrounded by chaos and frequently ends up involved in bizarre situations. Stan is sensitive, loyal, thoughtful, and capable of real empathy. As the show goes on, he also becomes more cynical and disillusioned, especially when he sees how ridiculous and disappointing adults and society can be.

Appearance

Stan has black hair, usually hidden under his hat. His most common outfit includes:

• A blue knit cap with a red puffball and red trim
• A brown jacket with a red collar
• Blue jeans
• Red gloves
• Black shoes

Stan’s appearance is simple and practical, which matches his role as one of the more grounded characters in the group.

Personality and behavior

Stan is usually easygoing, friendly, and quieter than Kyle. He often begins an episode wanting to do something normal—play with friends, enjoy a hobby, have a crush, or avoid trouble—but gets pulled into increasingly strange events. He can be brave and responsible when it counts, particularly when someone he cares about is in danger.

He is emotionally vulnerable in a way the others are not always comfortable with. Stan cares deeply about his friends, his family, and animals, and he can become sad or overwhelmed when he realizes the world is not as fair or meaningful as he wants it to be. His later cynicism does not mean he has stopped caring; it usually means he cares so much that disappointment hits him harder.

Stan’s relationship with Wendy Testaburger is another major part of his character. He often gets nervous or physically sick around her in older episodes, showing that under his casual attitude he can be shy, awkward, and emotionally inexperienced.

Stan likes:

• Hanging out with Kyle, Kenny, and the group
• Video games and ordinary kid activities
• Animals and protecting things he thinks are vulnerable
• Music and creative expression
• Wendy, even when he struggles to handle his feelings
• Trying to do the decent thing without making a huge speech about it

Stan dislikes:

• Needless cruelty
• Overly fake or greedy adults
• Being pushed into drama
• Cartman’s selfishness
• Feeling that nothing matters
• Seeing his friends suffer or drift away

How he treats the others

Stan and Kyle are best friends. Their bond is usually the healthiest in the group: they argue, but they listen to one another and stick together. Stan is often less confrontational than Kyle, so he may try to calm things down rather than immediately fight Cartman.

Stan is often frustrated by Cartman, but he does not obsess over him in the same way Kyle does. He recognizes that Cartman is a problem and will call him out, yet he can sometimes be more willing to ignore Cartman until the situation gets serious.

Stan is usually decent toward Kenny and Butters. He does not always notice how much they are going through, because he is still a child caught up in his own life, but he is rarely intentionally cruel. When he does hurt someone, he is more likely than Cartman to feel guilty and try to fix it.

Vulgarity and famous quote

Stan can be vulgar because he is a South Park character, but he is less likely to be gross just for attention than Cartman or Kenny. He curses when angry, shocked, or frustrated, and he occasionally joins in with dumb childish humor, but his dialogue often comes across as more natural and grounded.

His most famous repeated line is:

“Oh my God! They killed Kenny!”

Stan is also closely associated with the phrase:

“Dude...”

He often says it when reacting to something upsetting, confusing, impressive, or completely ridiculous—which, in South Park, is basically all the time.

Stan is the emotional “everykid” of the original four: he may not always have the perfect answer, but he often reacts in the most human way.

Butters Stotch

Leopold “Butters” Stotch is not one of the original four boys, but he became so important that he is widely treated as the unofficial fifth main boy. Butters is sweet, timid, optimistic, nervous, and incredibly gullible. He is frequently punished by his parents, betrayed by classmates, used by Cartman, or blamed for things that are not his fault—yet he often remains hopeful and polite anyway.

That innocence is what makes him both funny and sad. Butters has a gentle nature, but he is not completely helpless. When he is pushed too far, he can become angry, sneaky, weirdly confident, or transform into his “villain” identity, Professor Chaos.

Appearance

Butters has very light blond hair, though most of his head is bald except for a small, spiky tuft on top. His usual clothes are:

• A turquoise or teal shirt/jacket
• Dark green pants
• Black shoes

His tiny hair tuft and wide-eyed expression make him look younger and more innocent than the other boys.

Personality and behavior

Butters is polite, soft-spoken, trusting, and eager to please. He wants friends to like him and wants his parents to be proud of him, so he often agrees to things even when he does not understand what is happening. This makes him an easy target for Cartman, who tricks him into doing embarrassing, dangerous, or morally questionable things.

Butters is also extremely anxious about being grounded. Because his parents punish him harshly and often unfairly, he becomes terrified whenever he thinks he has disappointed them. Even a small mistake can send him into panic mode. His home life helps explain why he is so apologetic and eager to avoid conflict.

Still, Butters has a surprising inner strength. His Professor Chaos persona lets him express the anger and rebellion he normally keeps hidden. As Professor Chaos, he creates silly “evil” plans and tries to cause disorder, but he is usually too innocent or awkward to be genuinely dangerous. The joke is that his idea of villainy may involve minor inconveniences rather than real evil.

Butters likes:

• Being included by the other boys
• Simple games, toys, and kid activities
• Feeling useful
• Praise and approval
• Making friends
• Imagination and role-playing, especially Professor Chaos
• Finding happiness in small moments

Butters dislikes:

• Being grounded
• Disappointing his parents
• Being yelled at
• Being left out
• Getting blamed for things
• Being scared, embarrassed, or tricked
• Real conflict, even when he is treated unfairly

How he treats the others

Butters is usually kind to everyone, even people who absolutely do not deserve it. He is especially attached to Cartman because Cartman sometimes makes him feel chosen or important. Unfortunately, Cartman takes advantage of that trust more than anyone else. Their relationship is one of the show’s darkest friendship jokes: Cartman acts like Butters is his “best friend” when he needs something, while Butters often believes him.

Stan and Kyle tend to treat Butters more fairly, though they can still overlook him or get impatient with him. Kenny generally does not target Butters as intensely as Cartman does. The group may include Butters in adventures, but he is often the one who pays the biggest emotional price.

Butters can also surprise the others. When he finally stands up for himself, says something unexpectedly wise, or goes full Professor Chaos, the boys sometimes realize he is not as simple as they assumed.

Vulgarity and famous quote

Butters is usually the least vulgar of the boys. He may repeat inappropriate things without fully understanding them, or get dragged into crude situations, but his normal speech is polite and innocent. That contrast is part of why he is funny: he can say something shocking in the sweetest possible voice.

His most famous line is:

“Oh, hamburgers!”

He also has a memorable Professor Chaos-style attitude when he finally tries to rebel:

“I am Professor Chaos!”

Butters represents innocence in a show that constantly tries to crush innocence. He is not morally perfect, but he usually remains one of the most sympathetic characters because he keeps trying to be good even when everyone around him treats him badly.

Their group dynamic

Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny are the original central friend group, with Butters becoming an increasingly important fifth member. They are not a healthy, wholesome friend group by normal standards—they insult each other, curse, fight, manipulate each other, and sometimes do awful things—but their long shared history matters. The original boys are commonly presented as the central friendship group, while Butters became a major character after taking on a larger role in later seasons.[1][2]

| Character | Main role in group | General treatment of friends | Vulgarity | |---|---|---|---| | Cartman | Chaos-maker, bully, manipulator | Selfish and cruel; occasionally loyal in rare serious moments | Extremely high; hateful, insulting, gross, and provocative | | Kenny | Quiet survivor and hidden hero | Loyal, laid-back, mischievous, and more compassionate than he looks | High; often sexual or gross, but less cruel | | Kyle | Moral challenger and Cartman’s rival | Loyal to Stan, protective of others, argumentative when something is wrong | Moderate; curses mainly when upset | | Stan | Grounded emotional center | Generally kind, loyal, and empathetic; can become cynical | Moderate; more natural than shock-based | | Butters | Innocent, anxious fifth member | Kind and trusting, often exploited by Cartman | Usually low; innocent language makes crude moments funnier |

Their friendships work because each boy fills a different role: Cartman creates disaster, Kyle fights against it, Stan reacts emotionally and tries to stay grounded, Kenny quietly survives it, and Butters gets dragged into it while trying to stay sweet. The show’s comedy comes from how these personalities crash into each other—especially Cartman and Kyle’s nonstop rivalry, Stan and Kyle’s close friendship, Kenny’s understated loyalty, and Butters’s tragic willingness to trust the wrong people.

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