History Characters / SouthParkKyleBroflovski

** His fear of being grounded by [[TheDreaded his mother]] is also the catalyst of all his DirtyCoward moments, and he's not above pinning his mistakes on Kenny in "Jewbillee", Butters in "Jared Has Aides" and "Good Times with Weapons", and "The Tale of Scrottie [=McBoogerballs=]", Cartman in "Good Times with Weapons", and Trent Boyett in "Pre-School". However, he does become more willing to face punishment in TheMovie and episodes like "Toilet Paper" and "Butt Out", after seeing the consequences of his unwillingness to do so.

[[center: [- [[Characters/SouthPark Main Page]] | [[Characters/SouthParkTheBoys The Boys]] ([[Characters/SouthParkStanMarsh Stan Marsh]], '''Kyle Broflovski''', [[Characters/SouthParkEricCartman Eric Cartman]], [[Characters/SouthParkKennyMcCormick Kenny [=McCormick=]]]) | [[Characters/SouthParkOtherStudents Other Students]] ([[Characters/SouthParkButtersStotch Butters Stotch]], [[Characters/SouthParkWendyTestaburger Wendy Testaburger]], [[Characters/SouthParkHeidiTurner Heidi Turner]]) | [[Characters/SouthParkAntagonists Antagonists]] ([[Characters/SouthParkAntagonistsBigBads Big Bads]], [[Characters/SouthParkAntagonistsSecondaryAndMinor Secondary and Minor]], [[Characters/SouthParkAntagonistsJerksAndBullies Jerks and Bullies]]) | [[Characters/SouthParkFamilyMembers Family Members]] | [[Characters/SouthParkElementarySchoolStaff Elementary School Staff]] | [[Characters/SouthParkOtherRecurringCharacters Other Recurring Characters]] | [[Characters/SouthParkTheStickOfTruth The Stick of Truth]] ([[Characters/SouthParkTheNewKid The New Kid]]) | [[Characters/SouthParkTheFracturedButWhole The Fractured but Whole]] | [[Characters/SouthParkPhoneDestroyer Phone Destroyer]] -] ]]

[[center: [- [[Characters/SouthPark Main Page]] | [[Characters/SouthParkTheBoys The Boys]] ([[Characters/SouthParkStanMarsh Stan Marsh]], '''Kyle Broflovski''', [[Characters/SouthParkEricCartman Eric Cartman]], [[Characters/SouthParkKennyMcCormick Kenny [=McCormick=]]]) | [[Characters/SouthParkOtherStudents Other Students]] ([[Characters/SouthParkButtersStotch Butters Stotch]], [[Characters/SouthParkWendyTestaburger Wendy Testaburger]], [[Characters/SouthParkHeidiTurner Heidi Turner]]) | [[Characters/SouthParkAntagonists Antagonists]] ([[Characters/SouthParkAntagonistsBigBads Big Bads]], [[Characters/SouthParkAntagonistsSecondaryAndMinor Secondary and Minor]], [[Characters/SouthParkAntagonistsJerksAndBullies Jerks and Bullies]]) | [[Characters/SouthParkFamilyMembers Family Members]] ([[Characters/SouthParkRandyMarsh Randy Marsh]]) | [[Characters/SouthParkElementarySchoolStaff Elementary School Staff]] | [[Characters/SouthParkOtherRecurringCharacters Other Recurring Characters]] | [[Characters/SouthParkTheStickOfTruth The Stick of Truth]] ([[Characters/SouthParkTheNewKid The New Kid]]) | [[Characters/SouthParkTheFracturedButWhole The Fractured but Whole]] | [[Characters/SouthParkPhoneDestroyer Phone Destroyer]] -] ]]

* DemotedToExtra: Kyle suffers from this fate in Season 26 after "The Worldwide Privacy Tour". He takes a backseat for the remaining four episodes, where he gets about one minute of screentime in each, at most (whereas he's entirely absent from the season finale).

** His fear of being grounded by [[TheDreaded his mother]] is also the catalyst of all his DirtyCoward moments, and he's not above pinning his mistakes on Kenny in "Jewbillee", Butters in "Jared Has Aides", "Good Times With Weapons", and "The Tale of Scrottie [=McBoogerballs=]", Cartman in "Good Times With Weapons", and Trent Boyett in "Pre-School". However, he does become more willing to face punishment in TheMovie and episodes like "Toilet Paper" and "Butt Out", after seeing the consequences of his unwillingness to do so.

** Though in later seasons he's become increasingly frustrated with his inability to make an impact on the world around him, the time where he actually ''did'' change major events (bringing peace to Cuba) was done in the early seasons when he couldn't actually care less, and only did it to [[ItMakesSenseInContext win a bet against his parents]].

* NiceGuy: Post season 18, he's become a lot more self-reflective and genuinely altruistic than he used to be, even surpassing the other boys on occasion, and, while still imperfect, is as approachable and kind-hearted as he can possibly be, and is always happy to solve disagreements with a dialogue instead of his previous KnightTemplar tendencies.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Near the end of "Stunning and Brave", Cartman utilizes a plan for getting rid of PC Principal and his friends ([[PetTheDog and shockingly doing so for Kyle's benefit no less]]!), so what does Kyle do? He intervenes by saying he changed his mind about Caitlyn Jenner, which foiled the plan and allowed the PC Frats to be able to stay. {{Subverted}} when you realize that if Kyle ''hadn't'' done that, PC Principal would've never been able to begin his RedemptionQuest.

* NoSympathy: Though he subverts this on occasion when his conscience gets the better of him, Kyle will usually feel anything but sympathy when Cartman suffers a HumiliationConga, even if he hasn't done anything to warrant it, though this hasn't stopped him from helping him out on several occasions when the stakes are high, especially in the latter seasons.
* NumberTwo: While never directly stated, Kyle is usually the one to take charge of the group when [[TheLeader Stan]] is absent or incapacitated (unless Cartman comes up with a plan), though he often fails to convince Cartman to cooperate. That being said, Kyle does occasionally do a decent job at leading without fighting much with Cartman if at all. In "Freemium isn't free", while Stan wasn't available due to his addiction to the Terrance and Phillip app-game, Kyle was the one who lead the boys into finding information about the app from Jimmy in order to help Stan. In "Nobody Got Cereal?" he managed to convince Cartman and Kenny to hide at the school while Manbearpig was terrorizing the town and the police were searching for them. Granted, Stan and later the police found them there and Cartman and Kenny complained about going to school in the weekend, but the fact that Kyle managed to get the team there safely in the first place despite their unwillingness to do so is no small feat.

* PayEvilUntoEvil: His general view of how he deals with Cartman. Even in early seasons, where he was a {{Jerkass}} himself and was more VitriolicBestBuds than an actual rival for him, he still justified messing with him because he was an InsufferableImbecile and "sucked as a friend". After Cartman became less bumbling and more overtly malicious, Kyle became a lot more active in trying to put an end to whatever he's doing, sometimes even revelling in his torment, as shown in "Cartmanland", "Ginger Kids" and "Tonsil Trouble".

* PromotionToParent: His situation isn't quite as bad as Kenny's, but he has to act as the adult towards his younger brother Ike when their parents are acting crazy or oblivious. In "Child Abduction Is Not Funny", after the parents hear from the news that most children kidnappings are done by their own parents, the parents don't trust their spouses anymore and send their children away to live by themselves. Gerald and Sheila tell Kyle that he has to become Ike's parent from then on. [[spoiler: However, the children eventually return home.]]

* SoapboxSadie: As he became more aware of the world's problems, he became more unwilling to let them slide, and he becomes particularly angry with apathetic people (like [[TheCynic Stan]] on occasion), hopelessly naïve people (like Butters or sometimes Clyde) or people who take advantage of a problem for their own benefit (like Cartman most of the time). He's called out on being this on multiple occasions. It becomes defied several times in Seasons 19, 20, and 21, though. Even though Kyle is one of the most sensible and aware kids at his school, he switches between calling people out for catering to peer pressure, and then begrudgingly betraying his own ideals by catering himself, usually after suffering a HumiliationConga for his opinions (calling Caitlyn Jenner a hero in Season 19 after vehemently refusing to, joining the Wieners Out movement in Season 20 after trying to quell it, and then victimizing himself in Season 21 after criticizing Cartman for doing the same). Though he always has good intentions, his inability to meaningfully impact the world around him frustrates him to no end, and the few times where he does, he unwillingly ends up making things worse for everyone.
* SociallyAwkwardHero: It's subtle, but taking great risks for the people he loves and South Park in general tend to be in his comfort zone more often than talking to people about emotional issues or readily being able to come across as casual and reliable. "Doubling Down", "Lil' Crime Stoppers", "A History Channel Thanksgiving", "Let Go, Let Gov" and even the early episode "Hooked on Monkey Fonics" are some good examples.
* SociopathicHero: Despite the fact that Kyle is not nearly as malicious as Cartman, he has proven to be less sensitive than Stan and has had several moments where he has proved to be cold, callous, and willing to do reprehensible things, especially when his CharacterDevelopment comes into play. One example being in "Cow Days" when he forced Cartman to train for a rodeo and sustain repeated head trauma all so Kyle could use the prize money to buy some dolls. Granted, that was back when they were all more immature third-graders.

* SuperpoweredEvilSide: Kyle's Jersey self is treated as this. While it's not explicitly superpowered, it is the only way to take on people from Jersey on their own terms.

* TookALevelInJerkass: Though as the seasons progressed he has mostly changed for the better, Kyle occasionally has moments where he shows a darker side when under pressure . Particularly in the episode "Tonsil Trouble" when he makes fun of Cartman when he contracts HIV. This happens in the later seasons a lot more frequently, or "The List", where he attempts to burn down the school after being supposedly voted the ugliest boy in the class.

** After the future is revised in "Return of Covid" so that Kyle reconciles with Stan and the others, he starts cutting them all some slack and dials down on his self-righteousness a lot. As an adult in the new timeline, he's mostly a NiceGuy towards everyone, and even [[SympathyForTheDevil shows sympathy]] towards ''Cartman'''s predicament.
** The seasons following this change also show him being a lot more self-reflective and patient, and even agrees to pay for the surgery of Cartman's mom (even if this [[NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished comes back to bite him later]]). "The Worldwide Privacy Tour" is a crowning example of Kyle dealing with being the episode's ButtMonkey in a mature and nuanced way, later even agreeing to play with the Prince of Canada despite the latter being an asshole to him for most of the episode.
* TragicHero: Kyle wants to do the right thing and convince others to do the same, but he often gets NoSympathy from others who believe him to be a SoapboxSadie. On his side, his antagonism towards Cartman and obsession in beating him tends to override this and put his own morals into question, an issue which he's aware of and tries to address on occasion but is constantly overshadowed by Cartman's massive [[{{Jerkass}} Jerkassery]], which is directed at ''him'' most of the time, making him double down on his morals. It reaches its climax in Season 21 when he tries to "save" a girl he liked who was in an abusive relationship with Cartman, only for her to dump him and not only return Cartman but also become his DistaffCounterpart and start treating Kyle like dirt too, so Kyle promptly goes on a moral crusade against Canada (or specifically ''Terrance & Phillip'', whose humor now reminds him of Cartman's bullying) so no one else will become like Cartman, [[spoiler:only to get the country nuked when he reached out to the president with his complaints]].

* TragicMistake: [[spoiler:Accidentally causing President Garrison to nuke Canada. It plagues him until the end of the season, and it damages his relationship with Ike]].

* AndIMustScream: In the episode "Human Centipad" his mouth is sewn onto a Japanese man's anus by Steve Jobs. This arrangement leaves him unable to speak and forced to consume the Japanese man's explosive diarrhea on several occasions.

** In "Return of Covid", he becomes this again from the perspective of the Cartman family. He strives to complete Kenny's goal of going back in time to erase the events of the pandemic, since he blames it for ruining his childhood alongside Stan and Kenny's. However, he ignores the implications that doing this would erase Cartman's happy future as well. Though the conflict soon devolves into GreyAndGreyMorality since Cartman falls back into villainy in order to stop him, both his wife and kids consider Kyle to be the villain since he is partly acting out of jealousy for Cartman's happy life.

[[center: [- [[Characters/SouthPark Main Page]] | [[Characters/SouthParkTheBoys The Boys]] ([[Characters/SouthParkStanMarsh Stan Marsh]], '''Kyle Broflovski''', [[Characters/SouthParkEricCartman Eric Cartman]], [[Characters/SouthParkKennyMcCormick Kenny [=McCormick=]]]) | [[Characters/SouthParkOtherStudents Other Students]] ([[Characters/SouthParkButtersStotch Butters Stotch]], [[Characters/SouthParkWendyTestaburger Wendy Testaburger]], [[Characters/SouthParkHeidiTurner Heidi Turner]]) | [[Characters/SouthParkAntagonists Antagonists]] ([[Characters/SouthParkAntagonistsBigBads Big Bads]], [[Characters/SouthParkAntagonistsSecondaryAndMinor Secondary and Minor]], [[Characters/SouthParkAntagonistsJerksAndBullies Jerks and Bullies]]) | [[Characters/SouthParkFamilyMembers Family Members]] ([[Characters/SouthParkRandyMarsh Randy Marsh]]) | [[Characters/SouthParkElementarySchoolStaff Elementary School Staff]] ([[Characters/SouthParkHerbertGarrison Herbert Garrison]]) | [[Characters/SouthParkOtherRecurringCharacters Other Recurring Characters]] | [[Characters/SouthParkTheStickOfTruth The Stick of Truth]] ([[Characters/SouthParkTheNewKid The New Kid]]) | [[Characters/SouthParkTheFracturedButWhole The Fractured but Whole]] | [[Characters/SouthParkPhoneDestroyer Phone Destroyer]] -] ]]

* BrutalHonesty: If he's not purely exasperated with him (though on some occassions, even that doesn't stop him), Kyle very frequently lampshades the many flaws of Cartman's asinine logical fallacies and thus tells him what he needs to hear rather than what he wants to hear.

* DidNotGetTheGirl: Unlike the rest of the boys, Kyle has never been in a serious relationship. In total he has been romantically tied to Bebe Stevens, Rebecca Cotswolds, Nichole Daniels, Leslie Meyers and Heidi Turner, and every time he gets romantically involved with someone, the world gives him the middle finger and the girl ends up dumping him for whatever reason -- though in the case of Bebe he was not interested, running away after she kissed him, and Leslie only feigned her interest in order to manipulate him.

* FriendlyEnemy: With Cartman to varying degrees. It tends to fluctuate from Cartman being an ArchEnemy to VitriolicBestBuds. Muddying matters further is Kyle's idealism pushes him to try to find the good in everyone and Cartman's morality tends to be more [[BlueAndOrangeMorality unconventional]] than flat out evil. While Cartman is often called a sociopath, he is capable of feeling strong attachments to people and he's mostly just really screwed up in the head. Put best by Kyle:

* GoodIsNotNice: Seeing some of the conflicts between him and Cartman [[ItMakesSenseInContext out of context]] wouldn't make all that clear that Kyle's supposed to be the good guy. While he's very moral and isn't EnragedByIdiocy like Stan or hyperactive like Kenny, being challenged tends to make him lash out at people, even if they weren't directly involved (e.g. "Post-COVID", "It's a Jersey Thing") and he's not always patient.

* HairTriggerTemper: He is frequently pissed off because of something Cartman says or does, though in general it won't take much to push him too far, even (or perhaps especially) when it's a barely coherent moral issue. "South Park Is Gay!" (where he tries to murder the ''Queer Eye for the Straight Guy'' cast), "Mexican Joker" (where he becomes incensed at the guards' using unwritten, alleviating morals for the detainees instead of them just coming up with improper conclusions) and "It's a Jersey Thing" (where people seeing him with raw emotion that they dislike is enough for him to try and ''force'' them to dislike it or stop even the slightest chance of them imagining it) give credence to where he'll often struggle with being TheConscience.