History Characters / CalvinAndHobbes

->'''First Appearance:''' [[https://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1991/03/18 March, 18th, 1991]]

* HateSink: While [[ParentsAsPeople Calvin's parents]], [[SternTeacher Miss Wormwood]] and [[BadlyBatteredBabysitter Rosalyn]] [[AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther have moments where they genuinely care for Calvin's well-being]], Mr. Lockjaw never shows such feelings. He assumes that Calvin already knows the rules which leads to him not being aware that he's defending against his own team. When Calvin gets an earful from his teammates over it, his solution is to accept Calvin's decision to quit rather than correct him or stop the bullying all together.

* AdultsAreUseless: While [[ParentsAsPeople Calvin's parents]], [[SternTeacher Miss Wormwood]] and [[BadlyBatteredBabysitter Rosalyn]] [[AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther have moments where they genuinely care for Calvin's well-being]], Mr. Lockjaw fits this trope to a tee. He doesn't correct Calvin for catching a flyball for his own team, doesn't stop his teammates from bullying him and calls him a "quitter" when he decides not to play anymore.

* HateSink: He's an apathetic coach who doesn't put his foot down when he sees one of his students getting bullied, not even when one of them asks to ''hit Calvin with a bat''.

* AdultsAreUseless: While [[ParentsAsPeople Calvin's parents]], [[SternTeacher Miss Wormwood]] and [[BadlyBatteredBabysitter Rosalyn]], [[AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther have moments where they genuinely care for Calvin's well-being]], Mr. Lockjaw fits this trope to a tee. He doesn't correct Calvin for catching a flyball for his own team, doesn't stop his teammates from bullying him and calls him a "quitter" when he decides not to play anymore.

* AdultsAreUseless: Unlike [[ParentsAsPeople Calvin's parents]], [[SternTeacher Miss Wormwood]] and [[BadlyBatteredBabysitter Rosalyn]], Mr. Lockjaw doesn't seem to care for Calvin's well-being. He doesn't correct Calvin for catching a fly ball for his own team, doesn't stop his teammates from bullying him and calls him a "quitter" when he decides not to play anymore.

* AllegoricalCharacter: The raccoon can be said to represent the natural and random cruelty of life. It is only an innocent baby animal that never harmed anyone, but is wounded due to unknown circumstances and unfortunately dies despite Calvin's and his parents' efforts to save it.

* HateSink: He's an unpleasant coach who doesn't put his foot down when he sees one of his students getting bullied, not even when one of them asks to ''hit Calvin with a bat''.

* PerpetualFrowner: Appears in three panels, and he doesn't smile in any of them.

* SmallRoleBigImpact: Although he appears for only one arc, he's instrumental in getting Calvin [[{{Calvinball}} to set up his own sport]].

* SmallRoleBigImpact: Although he appears for only one arc, he's instrumental in Calvin [[{{Calvinball}} setting up his own sport]].

* HateSink: Who would want to be a student under a teacher with the name of "Lockjaw"?

* CatchPhrase: Whenever Calvin grosses her out with disgusting descriptions of his lunch, her reaction is always to shoot her hand up in the air and yell, ''"MISS WORMWOOD!!!"''

* CatchPhrase: "Psst! Hey, kid!"

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Mom is no stranger to yelling at Calvin when he caudes trouble. But when she is completely calm when scolding him for locking Rosalyn out of the house, he knows he’s really screwed up.
-->'''Mom''': Calvin, listen closely. Locking Rosalyn out wasn’t just mean, it was dangerous. If you’d hurt yourself or if there had been a fire, she wouldn’t have been able to help you. You go apologize to Rosalyn right now.

* TookALevelInKindness: Rosalyn is considerably less abrasive in her final arc. Instead of threatening him with brute force, she strikes a deal with Calvin after his parents leave. Calvin fulfills his end of the bargain by willingly doing his homework, and the two play Calvinball together.

* CloningBlues: Averted, they're all aware they're copies but don't really care.

* CloningBlues: He eventually turns on Calvin because he gets sick of the fact everyone judges him based on the selfish, bratty original.

* DaylightHorror: The Snow Goons are only active during the day, and go inert at night, giving Calvin a chance to destroy them.

--->'''Mom:''' ''(to Hobbes)'' I don't think this poor little guy is going to make it, Hobbes. ''(sigh)'' I hate it when these things happen. [[GotMeDoingIt...You can tell I'm upset when I start talking to ''you]]''...

** Another strip had a monster successfully convince our heroes they outnumbered him, but then another monster named Maurice told the others to quit shoving him. Our heroes started screaming for Mom as [[NiceJobFixingItVillain another monster called Maurice out for his screw-up.]]

* SatelliteCharacter: He exists solely to be Calvin's bully and is only seen interacting with another character ''once'' (a nameless background character at that).

* BehindAStick: In [[https://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1987/10/11 this strip]], he hides his entire body behind a lamppost while waiting for Calvin to get home.

* {{Deuteragonist}}: Hobbes qualifies as this, since there are many strips and even story arcs where he doesn't appear at all or only plays a minor role.

** He also periodically gets washed in the washing machine, which Watterson notes "is one of the stranger blurrings of what Hobbes is".

* InterspeciesFriendship: His best friend is a human boy (Calvin).

** Another time when Calvin comes home, his mom takes his jacket and hands Hobbes to him, noting that Hobbes [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane somehow]] got put in the back of the closet.

** Mom once got rather upset at the fact that the little raccoon was clearly not long for the world when Calvin found it. So she turned to Hobbes for comfort, even lampshading it.
--->'''Mom:''' ''(to Hobbes)'' I don't think this poor little guy is going to make it, Hobbes. ''(sigh)'' I hate it when these things happen. [[LampshadeHanging ...You can tell I'm upset when I start talking to]] ''[[GotMeDoingIt you]]''...

** He also notably smiles and praises Calvin for 'building some character' upon seeing him utterly brutalized from trying to wrangle his bike.

** The latter years of the strip were also the time when The Internet first started to become a part of human life, and the "information superhighway" is mentioned a couple of times. In [[https://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1995/05/02 this May 1995 strip]] Calvin asks why they aren't hooked up "to an on-line service, so we can connect to other computers". His father answers "Because it's bad enough we have a telephone." The last panel has Calvin screaming "HELLLPPP!!" [[SkywardScream at the sky]].

** In [[https://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1995/06/28 this June 1995 strip]] Calvin asks what "Give it the ol' college try" means. His father answers "It means you join your friends, get some cheap beer, order a pizza, and forget about tomorrow."

** Also of note: When he tells Calvin about how Christmas will go, with the tree out in the garage, and ''if'' Calvin gets a present...even Calvin's Mom is [[EveryoneHasStandards furious with him.]]

** He also takes the time to read Calvin a bedtime story every night. Even if it's ''Hamster Huey and the Gooey Kablooie,'' which he hates. Or at least hates as the same one every single night.

** Also teases Calvin by pretending to be this. Notably, he suggests getting a Christmas Tree sometime after New Year's. They can just grab a tree off the street, possibly with tinsel still on it, to save time and money. If Mom's reaction is anything to go by, he may be paying for it ''dearly''. According to Watterson, this was a joke his own father used to tell him a lot.

* AbusiveParents: Downplayed; his teasing and sarcasm towards Calvin sometimes trudges into verbal abuse. The best exemplification of this is a strip where he tells Calvin their Christmas tree will go in the garage undecorated, possibly without any presents. [[MamaBear His wife]] is understandably [[DudeNotFunny not happy]] to see Calvin so traumatized. He doesn't learn his lesson in later strips, where his off-handed comments are usually met by a stern "Dear!"