Line #135 Characters/PearlsBeforeSwine


1	%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them.
2	A list of characters from the comic strip ''ComicStrip/PearlsBeforeSwine''.
3	----
4
5	!!Major Characters
6
7	[[foldercontrol]]
8
9	[[folder:Rat]]
10	[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/75d3bc52_8d5f_4799_bb95_db7ecdc3db1a.gif]]
11	The main character; a ''very'' cynical rat who is critical of the strip's work and often schemes to get a quick buck. He believes himself to be utterly superior to everyone around him and constantly antagonizes and trolls everyone around him.
12	----
13	* AntiHero: He's not the nicest rat you'll ever meet.
14	* BabysitterFromHell: The ComicStrip/BabyBlues-ComicStrip/PearlsBeforeSwine crossover strip demonstrated that Rat is, bar none, the absolute ''worst'' babysitter that anyone can imagine.
15	* BatterUp: Rat's weapon is the Louisville Slugger bat, which he's more than happy to use on anyone or anything that draws his ire — usually Stephan Pastis.
16	* BerserkButton: ''Oodles.'' Some of which include: stupid people, people he sees to be stupid, anyone who does a stupid trend (i.e. man-buns, selfie-sticks), people who disagree with him, ''PUNS''; DO NOT make stupid, lame, or cheesy puns or he'll beat the crap out of you, like with [[ButtMonkey Stephan Pastis]].
17	* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: See WithFriendsLikeThese below
18	* CatchPhrase: When Pig does something stupid: "You dumb/stupid Pig!"
19	* ComicTrio: The schemer of the trio.
20	* TheCynic: He finds even the slightest bit of optimism as illogical.
21	* CynicismCatalyst: It's heavily implied that his break-up with Farina caused him to be even more cynical and spiteful than before, when he wasn't even near being so.
22	* DeadpanSnarker: He's got a very dry sense of humor coupled with a love to passive-aggressively criticize.
23	* FelonyMisdemeanor: says that he will make eating pineapple pizza a felony.
24	* {{Foil}}: To Pig. See below.
25	* {{Expy}}: There are many traits of Rat that fit the late George Carlin, such as his cynicism and threats of violence.
26	* GunNut: He fought with a [[BlandNameProduct Walmartopialand]] clerk for not selling him a rifle right away with the purchase, as the clerk kept insisting on a waiting period or a detailed analysis of his behavior.
27	* HairTriggerTemper: In a 2008 strip, he beat up Pig just for doing something completely harmless, yet stupid (drawing his body parts so that if he losers them he can identify them).
28	* HerCodeNameWasMarySue: When he [[http://comics.com/pearls_before_swine/2009-10-30/ hijacked the strip once]], he wrote himself as a "Raterpillar" who ate every single character in the strip.
29	* HeroicComedicSociopath: He occasionally prone to acts of disproportionate violence against other people. It's always played for laughs.
30	* {{Jerkass}}: Unrepentantly and sometimes proudly so.
31	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Rat is an asshole, no question, but his anger is occasionally directed at the rude behavior of others and his misanthropy is largely the result of being subjected to hundreds of little annoyances. When the mood strikes him, he's even capable of being nice to Pig, mainly by keeping him from harsh truths. It's also implied that his cynicism is partly due to Farina breaking up with him, as he wasn't nearly as bad before that. He's also not immune to random acts of kindness, such as treating a homeless man to a spaghetti dinner after thinking about how he himself could end up in those circumstances.
32	* JerkWithAHeartOfJerk: He sees himself as this, at one point refusing to look his love interest in the eye because he feels like she can see straight into his head and "it's not a nice place in there", though that shifts into JerkWithAHeartOfGold all the same, being aware that he is not a really good person and tends to be mean to everyone.
33	* KarmaHoudini: Rat usually gets away with his schemes and outbursts of violence against the rest of the cast. However, [[KarmaHoudiniWarranty he does sometimes get what's coming to him.]]
34	* KnowNothingKnowItAll: He ''frequently'' does this. In fact, the strip's title comes from the fact that he says things he thinks are wise to the stupid and gullible Pig (putting "pearls" before swine).
35	* LackOfEmpathy: Rat finds the misfortune of Pig, Goat, and others amusing. He once got a job writing cards for people. Guess how well that went.
36	* LargeHam
37	--> ...and the fat man is yelling "DIE, CRACKERS, DIE!!"
38	* ManChild: He is bratty and arrogant in contrast to Pig's innocence.
39	* MostWritersAreWriters: An aspiring novelist. Key word being "aspiring".
40	* NewJobAsThePlotDemands: "Rat gets a new job" makes up a fair portion of the strips content. Of course, StatusQuoIsGod and he always goes back to being unemployed (which is what you'd expect given his [[{{Jerkass}} general attitude]]).
41	* NietzscheWannabe:
42	--> '''Rat''': [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D80YutnbwSE Problems never go away.]]
43	* OddFriendship: Being a [[TheCynic cynical]], mean pessimist, he's best friends with a friendly WideEyedIdealist. Huh?
44	* RageAgainstTheAuthor: Often criticizes or threatens Pastis when a bad {{Pun}} or PainfulRhyme is let off as a punch line. He also shows up at Stephan's house just to mess with him frequently.
45	* SentimentalDrunk: If [[http://www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine/2015/04/12 this strip]] is any indication.
46	* SirSwearsALot: Expressed with SymbolSwearing.
47	* SitcomArchNemesis: Is this to Stephan and Goat, who he {{troll}}s constantly.
48	* SmallNameBigEgo: Very much so.
49	* SocialDarwinist: Due to his far-right views, Rat opposes any form of government welfare for the poor but advocates heavily taxing them. Rat even idolizes rich, powerful [=CEO=]'s of financial institutions or large corporations as heroes.
50	* [[StrawCharacter Strawman Political]]: A ''very'' right-leaning conservative.
51	* TheyKilledKennyAgain: Once was run over by a car. Died again after exploding from the stress of smiling too much. Died from a heart attack when Pastis himself died in the strip. His head was cut off by Jim Davis for accidentally eating ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}. He came BackFromTheDead each time.
52	* TokenEvilTeammate: Pig, Goat, and Zebra are all generally good, but Rat is nasty enough for the four of them.
53	* {{Troll}}: He appreciates the internet because it allows him to be anonymously rude. He also enjoys annoying Stephan by mocking his failures (being unable to win a Ruben award), getting him into legal trouble (ripping out a drawing of a bike from "Baby Blues" because Stephan can't draw bikes, leading to a angry phone call with the strip's creator), or screwing with the strip (spilling beer on a strip Stephan was working on, blurring the last panel).
54	* UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist: A generally unpleasant and acerbic person whose snark happens to often be the punchline.
55	* VillainProtagonist: Sometimes, especially back when the strip lacked any characters outside him and Pig.
56	* VitriolicBestBuds: Type 1 with Pig. He is the primary target of Rat's abuse, but Rat really does care for him and they remain best friends.
57	* WithFriendsLikeThese: He treats Pig badly, constantly trolls Goat and Pastis, and has sided with the Crocs whenever it would benefit him.
58	* YouDirtyRat: Literally and figuratively.
59	[[/folder]]
60
61	[[folder:Pig]]
62	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ccd50066_2d56_4f95_bb6b_968f600ebf36.jpeg]]
63	The second most important character of the strip and Rat's roommate: a good-natured, yet naive and dimwitted anthropomorphic pig who lives with Rat.
64	----
65	* AllLovingHero: His good nature leads him to make friends with even inanimate objects.
66	* ButtMonkey: Was this in the early days of the strip, but recently the burden has been tossed to Goat.
67	** Even at birth he cannot avoid this; he was kicked repeatedly in the head by his siblings while he was a fetus.
68	* CharacterizationMarchesOn: Some early strips showed him to be surprisingly dishonest and underhanded, such as when he tried to make money by ripping off one of Rat's ideas for a toy. This side of him disappeared very quickly into the run of the comic.
69	* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: He can come up with and say really weird things sometimes.
70	* ComicTrio: He's often the blind follower to Rat's schemes.
71	* ExposedAnimalBellybutton: Though all of the animal characters are unclothed, Pig is the only one with a visible navel.
72	* FatIdiot: Much of the strip's humor is based on mocking him.
73	* FlatEarth: He believes the earth is just like a table, only a round table. Goat tried to dissuade him, but to no avail.
74	* {{Foil}}: To Rat. Pig's idealistic view on life contrasts with Rat's very cynical view. Both of them are [[ManChild manchildren]], but while Rat is bratty and aggressive, Pig is kind and innocent.
75	%%* IdiotHero
76	* KindheartedSimpleton: By far the nicest of the main cast despite being one of the dumbest.
77	* ManChild: His immaturity gets him ridicule from all of his friends.
78	%%* MessyPig
79	%%* NiceGuy
80	* OddFriendship: With Rat. Being a friendly, optimistic WideEyedIdealist, he has no problems being friends with a pessimistic cynic.
81	* ThePollyanna: He keeps a positive attitude even when Rat abuses him.
82	** He's so optimistic that he fails at doing pessimistic things, like [[http://comics.com/pearls_before_swine/2010-03-10/ playing the blues]].
83	** He once tried to go Goth, but failed abysmally, as he had Series/HannahMontana playing on his iPod, who is probably tied with Music/TaylorSwift as the farthest thing from Goth.
84	* RealLifeWritesThePlot: Pastis hints in a strip dedicated to his father-in-law that Pig was based on him, a big optimist.
85	* SherlockScan: Yes, really. A RunningGag is that whenever Rat buys a pig-based meat product, (pork, bacon, sausage, etc.), it only takes Pig a single glance to correctly identify; how long the pig has been dead for, and whether or not its a relative of his, (and their names).
86	%%* UnluckyEverydude
87	* VitriolicBestBuds: Type 1 with Rat. Even when Rat abuses him, he remains best friends with him.
88	* WideEyedIdealist: Even when Rat, Goat, and Zebra are all cynical, Pig remains optimistic.
89	[[/folder]]
90
91	[[folder:Goat]]
92	[[quoteright:150:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/e716a1e5_9139_4290_b457_44a6de7dc41e.jpeg]]
93	A goat who lives near Pig and Rat. He is much more intelligent than both of them, but his intelligence is usually not acknowledged by either of them.
94	----
95	* {{Bookworm}}: He's often seen reading while at the diner that he and his friends go to.
96	* BritishStuffiness: Sometimes falls into this, as he has a British accent in the official animated shorts.
97	* CannotTellAJoke: The other characters reacted with visible dread when Goat was [[ItMakesSenseInContext the only character who wasn't in prison]], and thus the one who had to carry the humor of the strip. When the best he could do was a weak pun about reading [[Creator/{{Shakespeare}} the bard]] in a bar, Guard Duck offered to take him out.
98	* CatchPhrase:
99	** CheckPlease
100	** After reading Rat's latest work: "You cannot put this in X!" (usually a children's novel) or "You really should stop writing X."
101	** "I give up", "Why do I even...?"
102	%% * CharacterFilibuster
103	* ComicTrio: He's the smart yet powerless one between Rat and Pig.
104	* DeadpanSnarker: Being associated with jerks and idiots is bound to make him sarcastic.
105	* EnragedByIdiocy: Sometimes, his conversations with Pig will leave him enraged by the latter's stupidity.
106	* FacePalm: Or occasionally an EyeTake.
107	* IgnoredExpert: His expertise is always getting ignored by Rat and Pig, due to the former's ego and latter's naive stupidity.
108	* IneffectualLoner: Prefers to keep to himself and his books for the most part. This may be because many of the other characters are irredeemably stupid in spite of Goat's efforts to correct their misconceptions. He seems to get along best with the level-headed Zebra.
109	* MommasBoy: Averted. Goat himself admits that he hasn't talked to his mother for a period of some years, though there is later a week-long arc when he does visit her. She's very critical and overbearing.
110	* NotSoAboveItAll: Even he can't stand the puns the strip occasionally puts up. Also, he's usually the first one to take a shot at Rat whenever the latter lets his guard down.
111	* OnlySaneMan: Along with Zebra.
112	* SurroundedByIdiots: Rat and Pig are both [[{{Manchild}} manchildren]], with the former acting like a bratty sociopath and the latter being so stupid and annoying, he has literally driven Goat to run away screaming.
113	%%* NoRespectGuy
114	%%* TheSmartGuy
115	* StageNames: [[spoiler:He claims Goat is a stage name. His real name is Paris.]]
116	[[/folder]]
117
118	[[folder:Zebra]]
119	[[quoteright:150:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/449cfe56_d713_4765_8296_2769cac96c8e.jpeg]]
120	A friend of Pig, Rat, and Goat. He's also quite intelligent and also very kind and gentle. At first, he was seen patching relations long-distance with his relatives back home and a pride of lions. Later, he primarily tries to avoid the schemes of the crocodile fraternity Zeeba Zeeba Eata.
121	----
122	* BreakoutCharacter: He was supposed to be a one-shot, but fan demand brought him to major character status.
123	* CaptainObvious: He often has to state very obvious things to correct the crocodiles of the many flaws in their plans to kill and eat him.
124	* DeadpanSnarker: Towards the crocodiles, anyway.
125	* {{Hypocrite}}: While he doesn't want the Crocs or lions to eat him, he has no problem with eating lobster — though, to be fair, it's not the same thing as stalking and threatening a living creature. However, he did kill Larry when he got stuck on a desert island with no food when Larry became a crab, and when Larry got shrunk in the "Alice in Wonderland" story arc.
126	* InTouchWithHisFeminineSide: He has some rather effeminate tastes and hobbies, much to the chagrin of his lion friends who are afraid their wives might take them as signs of weakness and hunt him.
127	* OnlySaneMan: Usually, but not as often as Goat.
128	* TheWoobie: He tries his best to help his species and predators get along, but all his attempts have failed and many of his family members have died due to the predators refusing to change.
129	[[/folder]]
130
131	[[folder:Zeeba Zeeba Eata/ The Crocs]]
132	A fraternity of crocodiles whose fraternity house is next door to Zebra. Their primary goal is to kill and eat Zebra, but due to their stupidity, they are unable to accomplish this.
133	----
134	* [[ArchEnemy Arch-Enemies]]: Of Zebra, but they aren't on good terms with the rest of the cast.
135	* ButtMonkey: Next to Stephan himself, the crocs take the most abuse of any regular characters in the strip.
136	* CatchPhrase: "Hullo, zeeba neighba." and "Peese shut mouf."
137	* [[DroppedABridgeOnHim Dropped a Bridge on Them]]: Their plans constantly get their own members killed.
138	* FailureIsTheOnlyOption: They will never eat Zebra.
139	* FunetikAksent: See their CatchPhrase above. They also occasionally lapse into YouNoTakeCandle.
140	* GoldfishPoopGang: Their plans mostly kill their own members rather than Zebra.
141	* HiddenDepths: They can swim. Yes, really. For all their idiocies, they can swim to save their lives. Rat found this out [[http://www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine/2009/07/03 the hard way]].
142	* InUniverseFactoidFailure: If any of their plans involves a famous person, odds are they not only get the person's history and/or personal details completely wrong, but the person is most likely dead.
143	* PaintingTheMedium: They speak in a unique, properly capitalized font in contrast to the BoldInflation used by the rest of the cast.
144	* PaperThinDisguise: A frequent part of their schemes. Zebra is never fooled.
145	* {{Red Shirt}}s: All of them, with the exception of Larry.
146	* TeamRocketWins: They do occasionally succeed in eating their prey, like with an antelope family that moved in in one story arc.
147	* TooDumbToLive: Literally, as noted above.
148	* UndignifiedDeath: Many of them have met humiliating ends.
149	* WhatTheHellIsThatAccent: They all speak with a very strange unidentifiable accent. One of them tells Zebra what it is when asked, but [[TheUnreveal Stephan accidentally spills white-out on the answer]].
150	[[/folder]]
151
152	[[folder:Larry]]
153	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/a8c52f60_061b_4d18_8d10_02e246929b7b.jpeg]]
154	A member of Zeeba Zeeba Eata, Larry lives in the house behind Zebra's and is even dumber than his fellow Crocs, though not by much. He also has a wife, Patty, and a son, Junior.
155	----
156	* TheAlcoholic: Often seen drinking beer.
157	* BirthdayHater: He's revealed to really hate his birthday. He tries some strange tricks like hiding from his birthday cake, and covering his ears(?) and saying "Me can't hear you!" more than once when his name is called in the "Happy Birthday" song. He does these things because he thinks he won't grow a year older if he does them. He wants to think of himself as 26 years old, when he's apparently twice that age.
158	* BumblingDad: To Junior. Like the other crocs, FailureIsTheOnlyOption when it comes to his attempts to eat Zebra.
159	* [[EducationMama Education Papa]]: Inverted. He doesn't want Junior to go to school, and instead just wants him to stay home and play Wii, at one point even tackling Junior to keep him from going to school.
160	* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: While he's a murderous predator, he loves his son.
161	* FantasticRacism: He’s extremely prejudiced against amphibians.
162	* ItsAllAboutMe: When Patty got kidnapped once, his first instinct was to beg for food until he realized she was gone. If it wasn't for Junior begging him, he probably would have let Zebra keep her.
163	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Despite his greedy nature, he loves his son.
164	* ManChild: He believes that tofu comes from a "Tofu Cow" (which he sculpts the tofu into), and will follow any Simon Sez order without question, for example.
165	* MauveShirt: Originally, "Larry" was just another generic name that the crocs used. However, he was eventually elevated to the status of a main character.
166	* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: [[https://www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine/2018/03/23 This strip,]] roughly one month after the Parkland school shooting. Also a TearJerker.
167	* TheyKilledKennyAgain: Has died at least once.
168	* WackyParentSeriousChild: Wacky parent to Junior's serious child.
169	[[/folder]]
170
171	[[folder:Patty]]
172	Larry's wife and Junior's mother. Puts up with a lot from Larry and is constantly disappointed in him.
173	----
174	* DamselInDistress: Zebra kidnapped her for a few weeks in an attempt to get Larry and his fellow crocs to stop trying to eat him. He eventually returned her when he realized Larry really didn't care and Zebra was only hurting Junior.
175	* FantasticRacism: Does not like her son dating a zebra and wants Larry to kill Zebra. Justified in that Larry's a predator. Later Subverted, in that, while she still wants Zebra dead, she's willing to put differences aside so Junior will come home for Christmas.
176	* [[OnlySaneMan Only Sane Woman]]: She's one of the only crocs that isn't [[TooDumbToLive completely brain-dead]].
177	[[/folder]]
178
179	[[folder:Junior]]
180
181	Larry and Patty's son. He tries not to be like the rest of his race and is not only friends with Zebra but a vegetarian. He has a zebra girlfriend named Joy, who happens to be Zebra's niece. Larry and Patty are not happy about any of this.
182	----
183	* CarnivoreConfusion: Does not eat meat, yet Crocodiles cannot digest plant matter in real life.
184	* InterspeciesRomance: With Zebra's niece Joy.
185	* MoralityPet: Larry clearly cares for and loves him very much. The only real reason Larry tried to plan a rescue of Patty was because of Junior's unhappiness.
186	* WackyParentSeriousChild: The serious child to Larry's wacky parent.
187	* WhiteSheep: He's one of the only crocs that doesn't try to kill Zebra.
188	[[/folder]]
189
190	[[folder:Guard Duck]]
191	[[quoteright:226:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/65d2b074_589c_495e_99d4_5bb3332c9504.jpeg]]
192	Pig's, well, Guard Duck that he bought when he and Rat couldn't afford a guard dog. He is highly paranoid and his first solution to most problems is to shoot like the dickens. He occasionally works as a soldier of fortune and is usually off on his own adventures separate from the group these days.
193	----
194	* AcrophobicBird: He never learned to fly. [[BerserkButton Make fun of this at your own peril.]]
195	%%* AxCrazy
196	%%* BadassAdorable
197	* BerserkButton: Don't insult him or talk down to him. It won't end well. And as the Crocs learned, don't mention Maura leaving him if you don't want to become a pair of boots. Also, don’t make fun of the fact that he can’t fly.
198	* BreakoutCharacter: Was originally just another week of one-off strips, but the fans liked him enough that Stephan brought him back.
199	* TheCaligula: During his brief term as Mayor he used the city's funds to get revenge on his enemies list, build a giant statue of himself, and saw ''All the President's Men'' as an instruction book on how to run the city.
200	* CharacterizationMarchesOn: Originally, he was just a very violent guard duck. Later, his personality shifted to paranoid and delusional soldier who sees Pig's neighborhood as a war zone.
201	* ConspiracyTheorist: Eventually comes to the conclusion that cows are in control of the world and he tries to convince Pig and his friends about this.
202	* DisproportionateRetribution: The most minor slights cause him to retaliate viciously, often with beatdowns or explosives.
203	* FeatheredFiend: Less in the “vicious bird of prey” way, and more in a OneManArmy way, but still.
204	* HairTriggerTemper: Even before he adopted a military persona, it doesn’t take much to set him off.
205	* HeartbrokenBadass: During the times Maura has left him he's made one of the Crocs into a pair of boots, and killed one with a copy machine.
206	* HeroicBSOD: After Maura, his non-anthropomorphic duck girlfriend, leaves him again he proceeded to stalk other couples in Paris and tell them how long he thinks the relationship will last and burns down the greeting cards section of a store.
207	* HesBack: After his HeroicBSOD after Maura left him to be an AFLAC spokesduck, he takes out the last member of the Crocs "Fantastic Four" and destroys a puppet Rat had been using to torment Pig into obeying him.
208	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Despite his violent tendencies, he did genuinely love Maura, is friends with Snuffles, and cares deeply about Pig.
209	* KillerRabbit: When he first appeared, he was routinely shown savagely attacking or even murdering those who underestimated him.
210	* NoKillLikeOverkill: His usual solution for problems, often involving StuffBlowingUp.
211	* PermaStubble: He’s occasionally depicted with stubble, despite being a duck.
212	* PsychoForHire: Worked as one of these before coming back to Pig and Rat.
213	* PutOnABus: Granted, we still saw snapshots of his life with Maura, but he left the main cast for a while to live with her.
214	* TriggerHappy: Seriously so. His first response to almost anything is a rocket launcher.
215	[[/folder]]
216
217	[[folder:Stephan Pastis]]
218	The creator of the strip. Frequently visits, or is visited by, Rat, to his never-ending frustration.
219	----
220	* AuthorAvatar: Literally.
221	* AuthorGuestSpot
222	* ButtMonkey: He's criticized and threatened by Rat all the time. He doesn't get much love from the other characters, either.
223	* CharacterizationMarchesOn: He used to be HeWhoMustNotBeSeen, then an arrogant douchebag, and many other appearances until he settled on one modeled after himself.
224	** Interestingly enough, the cartoon design for his wife Staci (the rare times she's been drawn in the strip) has always been pretty consistent.
225	* OnlyInItForTheMoney: His motivation for creating "Licensable Bippy" (see down below).
226	* SelfDeprecation: Despite being the creator of the comic, his creations (especially Rat) do nothing but ignore or mock his sad life.
227	* SmokingIsNotCool: Stephan is a non-smoker in real life, but he draws himself as a cigarette lover and characterizes himself as a pathetic, money-grubbing, and all-around lame ButtMonkey. Pastis' author commentary reveals that he started drawing himself smoking because he intended to make himself look like a "[[SelfDeprecation degenerate loser]]".
228	* WritersSuck: Pastis is portrayed as a fat loser who delights in [[IncrediblyLamePun awful puns]], and gets no respect from the other characters — even [[NiceGuy Pig and Zebra]] won't hesitate to insult him to his face.
229	[[/folder]]
230
231	!!Recurring Characters
232
233	[[folder:Farina]]
234	[[quoteright:230:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bfb80046_0059_46db_a68e_5ddf51991c04.png]]
235	Pig's sister and the love of Rat's life. More like the one that got away.
236
237	* [[BubbleBoy Bubble Girl]]: By choice, as she's really germaphobic. So is her father.
238	* InterspeciesRomance: All her romances have been this, except when she [[spoiler: was briefly married to another pig.]]
239	* NeatFreak: Hence being germophobic.
240	* ReallyGetsAround: Has dated both Dilbert and Hagar the Horrible while apparently with Rat and then left him for Ziggy. She's also apparently dating someone else now.
241	* TookALevelInJerkass: After Rat sent letters to her in an attempt to get back together with her, instead of telling him [[spoiler:that she got married and has a kid,]] she throws away his letters, which leads to her [[spoiler:husband trying to kill Rat]]. Then in another strip, she has the gall to ask Rat to watch her child while she and her [[spoiler:husband go on a honeymoon.]] Which leads to Rat attempting suicide. She then comes back to tell Rat that she divorced her husband, but when Rat asks to date her again she says that she doesn't want to because she just went through a divorce, [[spoiler:but she is dating other comic book characters, like Dilbert and lies about to Rat, then when he finds out, she treats it like nothing.]]
242	[[/folder]]
243
244	[[folder:Pigita]]
245	[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fed26b43_6932_4a5f_a045_ca3221a2aa3d.gif]]
246	Pig's on-and-off girlfriend of many years. She is constantly frustrated with his immaturity.
247	----
248	* MoodSwinger: She didin't used to be called moody Pigita for nothing.
249	* {{Tsundere}}: Due to her mood swings, her interactions with Pig can switch from loving to hostile on a dime.
250	* WhatDoesSheSeeInHim: She only sees the bad in Pig and threatens to break up with him constantly, but never does for long.
251	[[/folder]]
252
253	[[folder:Snuffles]]
254
255	A cat that the Crocs bought to maim Zebra, but who ended up as Zebra's pet. Does shady activities including terrorism, selling stolen watches, and running a gambling ring. Also Guard Duck's best friend.
256	----
257	* BashBrothers: With Guard Duck.
258	* CatsAreMean: He's one of the most violent characters in the strip. However, despite his shady activities, he loves Zebra, as he let himself get arrested when Zebra got blamed for one of his activities.
259	* TheDragon: To Guard Duck.
260	* FriendVersusLover: Would not leave Guard Duck and Maura alone when they were in Paris, to the point of chaining himself to the toilet and then threatening to blow himself up when asked to leave.
261	* TheUnintelligible: Only says Meow.
262	[[/folder]]
263
264	[[folder:Maura]]
265	A non-anthropomorphic duck and the love of Guard Duck's life. Left him to go south for the winter and later came back for him, only to leave him again to be a spokesduck for Aflac.
266
267	%%* TheUnintelligible
268	[[/folder]]
269
270	[[folder:Jef the Cyclist]]
271	A rude cyclist that occasionally interacts with the main cast, usually to brag about his lifestyle.
272	----
273	* HypocriticalHumor: In one panel, he’s praising the virtues of a healthy life to Pig. The next, he’s injecting himself full of steroids when nobody‘s looking.
274	* JerkJock: Very rude and prideful about his habits as a cyclist.
275	* SuddenNameChange: He used to be called “Jeff”, but dropped the extra F from his name to [[InsaneTrollLogic reduce his body weight.]]
276	* WeAreStrugglingTogether: He doesn’t get along well with the other members of the Conference of the Self-Righteous, especially not Victor the Vegan.
277	[[/folder]]
278
279	[[folder:Alphonse]]
280	A suicidal porcupine, though he mainly plans it for attention.
281
282	* AttentionWhore: Most of his plans for suicide are for sympathy.
283	* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Anti-Suicide groups were not amused.
284	[[/folder]]
285
286	[[folder:Annie May]]
287	Pig's arch enemy who's also a sea anemone.
288
289	* BackFromTheDead: [[AsteroidsMonster Became two sea anemones]] after Rat killed her the first time.
290	* HurricaneOfPuns: Annie May, Pig's sea anemone enemy. The puns keep getting more exaggerated every time she appears.
291	* NoodleIncident: It's never specified how Pig, the strip's biggest NiceGuy, became mortal enemies with a sea anemone.
292	* UndignifiedDeath: Cut in half by a garage door.
293	[[/folder]]
294
295	[[folder:Leonard]]
296	A man who worked at an amusement park. Wore his costume all the time and moved in with Rat and Pig. Was eventually killed off.
297
298	%%* DeadpanSnarker
299	* DroppedABridgeOnHim: Got his head stuck in a toilet and died. Justified in this case as Rat was put in charge of deciding how he died.
300	%%* KilledOffForReal
301	%%* SixthRanger
302	* UndignifiedDeath: He got his head stuck in a toilet and drowned.
303	%%* UnluckyEverydude
304	[[/folder]]
305
306	[[folder:Wee Bear]]
307	A young bear and social activist.
308
309	* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: He never really caught on.
310	* SoapBoxSadie: He's always quick to lecture the other characters on their misdeeds, though it sometimes backfires on him.
311	%%* ThePollyanna
312	%%* WideEyedIdealist
313	[[/folder]]
314
315	[[folder:Chuckie the Non-Anthropomorphic Sheep]]
316	A sheep. That's about it.
317
318	%%* TheUnintelligible
319	* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: Subverted. Though he's non-anthropomorphic, he does stand on his back legs a lot. Otherwise, he can only say "Baa!" and it's not certain that he understands what's going on around him.
320	[[/folder]]
321
322	[[folder:Miss Bootyworth]]
323	A syrup bottle that Pig fell in love with until Pigita and Rat killed her.
324
325	%%* BlandNameProduct
326	%%* KilledOffForReal
327	%%* ReallyGetsAround
328	* UndignifiedDeath: Emptied and recycled.
329	[[/folder]]
330
331	[[folder:Toby The Agoraphobic Turtle]]
332	A turtle who never leaves his shell. Drinks from a beer bong into it.
333
334	* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: He never really caught on.
335	[[/folder]]
336
337	[[folder:Angry Bob]]
338	A fictional character created by Rat. Dies at the end of almost every story, often in bizarre and unlikely ways.
339
340	* BackFromTheDead: Or as Rat puts it, "[[UnexplainedRecovery Angry Bob undied]]."
341	* FailureIsTheOnlyOption: No matter what he does to try and find happiness, no matter how good his motives, he will always get killed for his troubles.
342	* TheyKilledKennyAgain: He dies at the end of every story, but Rat always brings him back to life.
343	* TooDumbToLive: There are times when he dies due to making a really stupid decision. For example, he once tried to fly a couch like it was a kite, and got crushed under it when it inevitably fell.
344	* UndignifiedDeath: Some of his deaths are downright humiliating, like that time he choked while [[ItMakesSenseInContext trying to eat a magazine]].
345	[[/folder]]
346
347	[[folder:Andy]]
348	A dog tied up to a chain in his owner's backyard, but that doesn't stop him from trying to follow his dreams. [[spoiler: [[http://www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine/2012/12/12 Not anymore, it would seem.]] ]]
349
350	%%* ParentalNeglect
351	%%* ThePollyanna
352	* YankTheDogsChain: Had a girlfriend who was also chained up in the backyard for a while. They couldn't reach far enough to touch each other. She escaped in the middle of the night and did not try and help him. Ouch.
353	** He finally escapes to visit his dying father. Turns out his father couldn't care less about him.
354	*** PetTheDog: [[spoiler: [[http://www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine/2012/12/25 Love you too, kid.]] ]]
355	[[/folder]]
356
357	[[folder:The Killer Whale]]
358	A killer whale who tried to trick a family of seals by befriending them so he could eat them. Eventually died, but later "un-died".
359
360	* AffablyEvil: Yeah, he's soft-spoken and friendly, but he still wants to kill and eat his neighbors.
361	* BackFromTheDead: Made a brief appearance at a strip from October 28, 2008 (lampshaded by Rat in the strip afterwards) and again at the conclusion of the "Killer Dolphins" arc.
362	* BlatantLies: Most of his attempts to get into the seals' house.
363	* KilledOffForReal: Was seemingly this at first, but then subverted in that Pastis decided to "un-die" him in a later strip.
364	* PaintingTheMedium: Like the crocs, he speaks in a unique, properly capitalized font in contrast to the BoldInflation used by the rest of the cast.
365	* VillainousRescue: He appeared to rescue Larry from the killer dolphins.
366	[[/folder]]
367
368	[[folder:Jeffy]]
369	A character from fellow comic strip ComicStrip/TheFamilyCircus, but who is ''very'' different in characterization.
370	----
371	* AdaptationalJerkass: The worst the original Jeffy was in ''Family Circus'' was that he was a troublemaker. The Jeffy in ''PBS'' on the other hand is a violent, short-tempered prude who is willing to betray even Zebra to get out of a bad situation.
372	* BitchInSheepsClothing: Despite his innocent appearance, he is a raging alcoholic and all around jerk.
373	-> "So I'm battling a few demons."
374	* ButtMonkey: Along with the rest of the comic, he is the target of parody, violence, and even being kidnapped by the Crocs.
375	[[/folder]]
376
377	[[folder:Controlling Connie]]
378	A girl rat dated. Very very controlling.
379
380	* ControlFreak: Taken to the point where she was timing Rat's sneezes and tried to give him a different ''mother''.
381	* DistractedByTheSexy: The only reason Rat put up with her is because he thought she was cute.
382	[[/folder]]
383
384	[[folder:Christmas Tree Girl]]
385	A girl who sells Christmas trees and occasinally dates Rat.
386
387	%%* IncorruptiblePurePureness
388	%%* WhatDoesSheSeeInHim
389	[[/folder]]
390
391	[[folder:Connie The Judgmental Cow]]
392	A cow that shouts insults from a distance.
393
394	%%* {{Jerkass}}
395	[[/folder]]
396
397	[[folder:Hobart]]
398	A train conductor for toy trains. Got laid off, then had his wife leave him and things just kept getting worse from there.
399
400	* HumiliationConga: Lost his job, lost his wife, had her move the new guy into his house, got stepped on, was forced to move to the microwave, was almost cooked alive in said microwave, and then finally held on to Pig's balloon and got sent into a ceiling fan.
401	%%* ThePollyanna
402	* UndignifiedDeath: Killed by a ceiling fan.
403	[[/folder]]
404
405	[[folder:Dickie the Cockroach]]
406	A comic strip character created by Rat that came to life. Kidnaps people who he doesn't like.
407
408	* BoundAndGagged: What he does to his victims.
409	* DisproportionateRetribution: As Rat puts it: "If you say something stupid, Dickie ties you up and slaps duct tape over your mouth."
410	* TurnedAgainstTheirMasters: Has done it to Rat on one occasion.
411	[[/folder]]
412
413	[[folder:Danny Donkey]]
414	A children's book character created by Rat. Like to drink to forget his problems.
415
416	%%* TheAlcoholic
417	* EvilCounterpart: To Hobbes of ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes
418	%%* LivingToys
419	[[/folder]]
420
421	[[folder:Ellie the Elephant]]
422	Another one of Rat's creations, Ellie is an elephant that has a terribly thoughtless boyfriend, Henry the Hippo.
423
424	* TheDogBitesBack: Her response to Henry Hippo's thoughtlessness is to stomp him on the head.
425	[[/folder]]
426
427	[[folder:Max and Zach]]
428	A pair of Lions who live next door to Zebra. Despite being Zebra's predators, they are actually on quite good terms with him since their wives do all the hunting and even warn him when their wives sense weakness in Zebra.
429
430	* AntiVillain: Really, they have no reason to antagonize Zebra since their wives catch plenty of other animals for them, but they still eat other zebras and antelopes.
431	* BewareTheNiceOnes: They are usually friendly and harmless, but when the Crocs steal their meat, they proceed to viciously hunt them until the one responsible (or at least the one Larry framed) was caught.
432	* NightmareFace: Max demonstrates one after their first set of wives leave.
433	* {{Polyamory}}: As it is in nature, the wives are really not assigned to either of them and are free to mate with whichever one they feel like at the moment and vice versa.
434	* PredatorPreyFriendship: They're friends with Zebra despite being his natural predators. Justified, since their wives do the hunting, but also deconstructed, since they're afraid their wives will target Zebra if they think he's weak.
435	* SpannerInTheWorks: Help Zebra avoid being eaten.
436	%%* TotallyRadical
437	[[/folder]]
438
439	[[folder:Licensable Bippy]]
440	A character that Stephan created to grab a quick buck. He is described by his creator as bland, big-eyed, and smiling.
441
442	* ButtMonkey: Abused by Rat as soon as he was introduced.
443	* ContractualPurity:[[invoked]] Unfortunately lost his licensable status once Rat got him drunk.
444	* PerpetualSmiler: An integral part of his licensable status.
445	* TheVoiceless: He never speaks.
446	[[/folder]]
447
448	[[folder:The Lemmings]]
449	A group of lemmings, always standing on top of each other in a group of four, who plan to leap off their cliff to their deaths. Often, however, they will do silly things prior to this, diminishing the impact of said deaths. Even away from the cliff, they will always stand on top of each other, even on a date.
450
451	* MattressTagGag: One lemming decides to pull the tag off of a mattress before jumping to his death. The others are stunned, since [[FelonyMisdemeanor he seemed so law-abiding.]]
452	* SuicideAsComedy: They are lemmings, after all.
453	[[/folder]]
454
455	[[folder:The Penguins]]
456	A group of penguins -- including Moe and Saul -- living on a tiny ice shelf in the South Pole. Originally their strips involved a polar bear trying to eat them, then we saw them struggling to tell their wives apart. To escape from the polar bear, they got adopted by the Crocs, who thought they were Oreos due to their colour scheme.
457	[[/folder]]
458
459	[[folder:Neighbor Bob]]
460	* TheGenericGuy: Stephan Pastis only uses him when the strip calls for a human character to interact with the main cast.
461	* PlanetOfSteves: Pastis confirmed in one of the treasury books that there are many "Neighbor Bobs" in the comic strip, and are never meant to be the same individual, even if they are all drawn similar.
462	[[/folder]]
463
464	[[folder:Wise Ass on the Hill]]
465	A donkey who lives on a mountaintop.
466
467	* HermitGuru: He lives alone, and only interacts with those who seek his advice.

Context Characters / PearlsBeforeSwine