History Characters / TheSimpsonsHomerJaySimpson

** [[WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy Peter Griffin's]] got him beat. Even in the same universe, so do Comic Book Guy, Chief Wiggum ([[HypocriticalHumor who actually had the nerve to call Homer fat]]), Mayor Quimby, and the Mexican Bumblebee Man (who's basically Mayor Quimby with tan skin and a Spanish accent), for starters.

** He is considered extremely fat and unfit. Actually he is only 239 pounds (which has been his weight ever since the water slide incident on "Brush of Greatness"), and tall to start (the season nine episode "Dumbbell Indemnity" had him at 6 feet even according to his mugshot photo).

* SimpletonVoice: He has a funny goofy voice. WordOfGod has it Creator/DanCastellaneta tried to mimic Creator/WalterMatthau's voice in the first season, but he couldn't get the inflection quite right, so he modified it from the second season onward.

* TranquilFury: [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness Very rarily]]. Homer's normally LargeHam, PlayedForLaughs HairTriggerTemper will be replaced with this and when it happens, you better do like Bart and Lisa did in "Who Shot Mr. Burns" and ''run like hell.''

* {{Omniglot}}: Has spoken [[UsefulNotes/GermanLanguage German]] (he can sing "99 Luftballoons" in its original [[UsefulNotes/GermanLanguage German]] language and knows [[UsefulNotes/GermanLanguage German]] verb conjugations), [[UsefulNotes/ChineseLanguage Chinese]], [[UsefulNotes/JapaneseLanguage Japanese]], [[UsefulNotes/SpanishLanguage Spanish]], and [[SpeaksFluentAnimal penguin]].

* OnlyInItForTheMoney: Basically the only reason Homer sticks around at the Power Plant at all (when he's actually there) is to earn enough money to provide for his family, and particularly Maggie.

* AmazonChaser: When Marge muscled up, he found it quite attractive. [[BrawnHilda At first]].

* AmbiguouslyBi: His love for Marge is obvious, and he's shown attraction to other women on occasion. He's also the TropeNamer for StupidSexyFlanders, has kissed a man and ''may'' have enjoyed it more than kissing Marge, complimented a naked hobo on his physique, and mourns [[spoiler: Fat Tony]] like a dead lover, among other examples. Although he identifies as straight and his attraction to women is serious while his feelings for other men is PlayedForLaughs. He becomes incredibly uncomfortable whenever the topic of homosexuality is brought up and doesn't seem to understand it. His attraction to other men might actually stem from an attraction to himself because his ego compels him believe that he is the greatest person in the world and he sometimes daydreams about flirting or making out with himself.

* TheBigGuy: While his weight is frequently brought up, Homer is also a pretty tall guy, and possesses a larger-than-life personality fitting this {{trope}}. He's also shown to be quite the fighter on occasion.

** A good example is "Homer's Phobia" where after initially rejecting his friendship with John because of John's homosexuality, Homer eventually overcomes his prejudice (despite that season two's "Simpson and Delilah" didn't show him being prejudiced against his gay male secretary Karl. Indeed, he was oblivious to Karl's sexuality until he got kissed, and even then, he didn't react the way a homophobe would if that happened to him). Indeed in later episodes, he has absolutely ''no'' problem befriending members of the gay community and actually is ''more'' supportive of Patty (despite that he hates her and Selma because they don't care much for him marrying their sister), when she comes out as a lesbian, than Marge is.

** His character varies with the plot's demands. He has been a well-meaning moron with selective common sense, so bored with life that he embraces any crazy idea he hears, and deliberately self-centered because he feels the rest of the world owes him. He's even lampshaded this:

* IdiotHoudini: He at first showed reasonably poor judgment, but repeated encounters have gradually turned him into this {{trope}}. However this is also downplayed, because Homer is also one of the show's prime {{Butt Monkey}}s. He can get away with his stupidity, but only when the plot calls for it. Other times, fate punishes him dearly, such as in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsonsMovie'', where, due to his actions getting the town stuck in a dome, the townspeople attack him with torches and pitchforks and his family leaves him, forcing him to make things right again.

* TheProtagonist: While the members of the Simpson family all get their time in the spotlight, Homer will basically almost always be involved in the main plot of an episode regardless of whether or not he's the focus of it. He's also generally front and center in promotional art and advertisements. He was not always this, however, as earlier seasons tended to focus primarily on Bart.

* SingleTargetSexuality: DependingOnTheWriter. Sometimes he only has eyes for Marge and doesn't realise when beautiful women are hitting on him. Other times he has shown attraction to other women ([[AmbiguouslyBi or even men on occasion]]).

** Despite his [[AlcoholicParent reckless drinking problem]] and [[MoodSwinger mood issues]], he's leans more on the [[ParentsAsPeople flawed, but well-meaning parents]] than [[WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy Peter Griffin]], but it still counts, given how strangling Bart and his {{jerkass}} behavior sometimes becomes a threat to his children's lives. And then there's the original shorts, where he's almost as bad as Peter.

* AlcoholicParent: To the point that one of the contact numbers at Springfield Elementary is at Moe's Tavern.

* AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents: His dad harps about his embarrassing childhood and his mom is a double agent who's always leaving clues only he can understand. Homer himself is this to Bart and Lisa.

* AmbiguousDisorder: In one episode, a crayon he stuck up his nose into his braincase acted as a RestrainingBolt on a genius-level intellect. In another episode, it's stated he (and, in fact, ''all'' male Simpsons) has a degenerative form of autism that takes him from smarter-than-average in youth (nuclear physics is not for the dull-witted), to dumb as a rock in adulthood, to rambling nutcase in old age. Another states he held his breath to get his way once as a kid and fainted, causing him brain damage. Yet another states that his cerebrospinal fluid is especially cushiony, rendering him immune to head trauma while squishing out a few IQ points. He also occasionally argues with ''his own brain,'' implying a mental illness of some kind.

** At his best. Despite his abusiveness towards his son, the two of them have, at times, shown that they do love each other. He has these moments with Grampa, Lisa, Marge, Maggie and even his sister-in-law Selma as well.
** In "Hello Gudder, Hello Fudder", after [[InterruptedSuicide Otto saves him from nearly jumping off a building]][[note]]in a PlayedForDrama scene, Homer is DrivenToSuicide as a result of his 15 minutes of fame having dissipated[[/note]], Homer's purpose in life is restored, and he decides to teach Maggie, who he often forgets about, how to swim as a way of spending time with her, inspired after seeing Creator/RonHoward take his kids to the zoo. Homer even proclaims that he'll be spending more time with Maggie from that moment on ([[StatusQuoIsGod though of course, that doesn't carry on into future episodes]]).

%% * BaldOfEvil: It's more like "Bald of JerkAss", but Homer on his worst days really deserves this trope.

* BigEater: He's also the king of this trope, to the point that he's an ExtremeOmnivore (he's eaten things considered highly inedible, such as the plastic bride and groom wedding cake decoration, dishwashing soap, ''hot wax from a candle'', etc). [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS4E8NewKidOnTheBlock One episode]] had him becoming the mascot of the Captain's "All-You-Can-Eat" fish restaurant because he sued over being kicked out before eating all he could; taking the moniker "Bottomless Pete," described as "a beast more stomach than man." In exchange for being allowed to gorge himself, people pay an admittance fee to gawp at him. In a Halloween episode he literally ate all the donuts in the world [[ItMakesSenseInContext during a stay in hell]], and then asks for more.

* TheBigGuy: While his weight is frequently brought up, Homer is also a pretty tall guy, and possesses a larger-than-life personality fitting this trope. He's also shown to be quite the fighter on occasion.

* BreakoutCharacter: While Homer was always prominent, Bart was initially treated as the show's protagonist. After the initial wave of "Bart Simpson mania", however, Homer became the most popular character, and the show came to focus more and more on him as a result.

* ButtMonkey: Even with all his {{jerkass}} tendencies, you do feel sympathy for what he goes through at times. This is best examplified in the iconic {{Couch Gag}}s.

* CaptainObvious: Has a tendency to state the obvious (in a usually comical way), like in this lovely jewel from "The Spy Who Learned Me":
-->'''Marge:''' [[MamaBear HOMER...]] [[WomanScorned SIMPSON.]]\\
'''Homer:''' [[FearIsTheAppropriateResponse AAAAH!]] [[CaptainObvious THE WOMAN I LOVE!]]

* CallingTheOldManOut: In "Mona Leaves-a", he does this to Mona, chewing her out for abandoning him and repeatedly choosing her various agendas and GranolaGirl lifestyle over her own son. [[PartingWordsRegret It's the last thing he ever says to her]].

** A good example is "Homer's Phobia" where after initially rejecting his friendship with John because of John's homosexuality, Homer eventually overcomes his prejudice (despite that season two's "Simpson and Delilah" didn't show him being prejudiced against his gay male secretary Karl. In fact, he was oblivious to Karl's sexuality until he got kissed, and even then, he didn't react the way a homophobe would if that happened to him). Indeed in later episodes, he has absolutely ''no'' problem befriending members of the gay community and actually is ''more'' supportive of Patty (despite that he hates her and Selma because they don't care much for him marrying their sister), when she comes out as a lesbian, than Marge is.

* CluelessChickMagnet: As the series went on he had a lot of women falling for him either due to new gained fame or talent or just his good traits, while he will be as clueless as ever.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: He almost always fails to understand metaphors, sarcasm, subtext or statements with implications. Unless he's told something bluntly and directly, it will just fly over his head. So much so that most of the examples shown in the shows own [[ComicallyMissingThePoint/TheSimpsons page]] for this trope are from him.

** Pretty much his entire character hinges on what's funniest. Some episodes portray him as a well-meaning simpleton who's a danger to everyone around him, others have him be a grumbling JerkWithAHeartOfGold, while others make him an unrepentant {{Jerkass}}.

** Of course, his intelligence ranges from merely stupid to TooDumbToLive. In some rare cases he can even be [[SimpleMindedWisdom deceptively lucid]] and even be an OnlySaneMan of sorts.

* DirtyCoward: Undoubtedly, during the "{{Jerkass}} Homer'' years. Subverted, earlier and later. Even then he still had a lot of bravado at times.

* DrivesLikeCrazy: Downplayed. He's ''usually'' shown to be able to follow the rules of the road just fine, but his wild impulses have lead to a lot of traffic accidents over the years.

* ElderAbuse: Is frequently callous and distant towards his father, with the excuse that Abe himself was an AbusiveParent when he was a child. They also both still insult each other with equal vitriol.

* TheEveryman: Homer started as one of these characters (and InUniverse he's still seen as one), but [[{{Flanderization}} as the series went on]] more and more absurd and amazing things have happened to him (such as winning a Grammy, becoming an astronaut, being neighbor to two former presidents, etc) and he has demonstrated such absurd, bizarre tastes and [[IdiotHoudini a capacity to thrive even with absurdly low levels of
intelligence]] that one episode ("Homer's Enemy") flat-out stated that he's not this.

** A lot of people end up doing this to him, even the NRA at one point as they said his RecklessGunUsage was dangerous and gave them a bad name.

* FatBastard: Homer's gluttony, depending on the episode, can be taken to extremes. This can range from Homer eating to the point of being bloated and watching his belly bulge out and obscure his view of his feet, to Homer deliberately gaining weight to push past 300 pounds so that he could avoid ''fifteen minutes' worth of exercise'' at work and do his job at home. He was a bastard, in particular, in the Ullman shorts.

* FirstNameBasis: His son Bart often calls him Homer instead of Dad, probably just to mock or annoy him, and even refers to his parents as "Mom and Homer" (although he also calls him Dad at times, depending on the situation).

** An interesting aspect of Homer's Flanderization is the role that pop culture has played into it. Unlike most media, ''The Simpsons'' redefined prime time entertainment, and reshaped the very concept of sitcoms. The show started as a counter-culture reference towards mainstream "Father knows best"-type sitcoms from the 50s to the late 80s/early 90s (In particular ''Series/TheCosbyShow'', which Matt Groening has outright stated as his inspiration). But the Simpsons became such a hit, they ''themselves'' reshaped popular culture. This in turn forced the entire show to adapt. ''The Simpsons'' became a satire of a society ''they themselves helped shape''. Homer, in turn, was flanderized further, into a caricature of his old self, as that original self became much more the norm of regular sitcoms. Webvideo/FoldingIdeas has a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gDn3rdFgpw video essay]] explaining this shift in more details.

* FleetingPassionateHobbies: Has a tendency to get a new "lifelong dream" as the plot needs him to.

* ForgetfulJones: He occasionally forgets that Maggie exists, and he has a tendency to mix up Lenny and Carl. In "Homer's Paternity Coot", he's primarily driven by the possibility that Mason Fairbanks could be his real father, but by the time a DNA test taken by Dr. Hibbert seemingly confirms it, Homer had forgotten who Mason is.

* GetRichQuickScheme: If you presented him with a choice between being given a thousand dollars or spending a thousand dollars on lottery tickets, he'd pick the tickets without a second thought. Homer is as eager to jump on an insane plan to make a lot of money fast as he is averse to hard work and has at multiple times in the past risked his job, his family and himself to make a tonne of money only slightly less quickly than it takes for him to [[AFoolAndHisNewMoneyAreSoonParted lose it.]]

* HanlonsRazor: In general, there are three reasons why Homer Simpson causes the chaos he does: because [[FatIdiot he's stupid]], because [[{{Jerkass}} he's an asshole]], and because [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs he's a stupid asshole.]] In his absolute worst moments (such as the "Treehouse of Horror" episodes), he's Grey's Law incarnate -- it doesn't matters whether he's doing it out of deliberate malice or because he doesn't understands the consequences of what he's doing, he's still making people suffer and/or die, up to and including ''[[MikeNelsonDestroyerOfWorlds causing the annihilation of mankind]]''.
* HappilyMarried: While he and Marge have had plenty of marital problems, their deep love for each other is always able to overcome them. In fact, the sole consistent aspect of each future shown in the various FlashForward episodes is that Homer and Marge will remain married and happy together till the end of their lives.

* IdiotHoudini: He at first showed reasonably poor judgment, but repeated encounters have gradually turned him into this trope. However this is also downplayed, because Homer is also one of the show's prime {{Butt Monkey}}s. He can get away with his stupidity, but only when the plot calls for it. Other times, fate punishes him dearly, such as in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsonsMovie'', where, as a result of his actions getting the town stuck in a dome, the townspeople attack him with torches and pitchforks and his family leaves him, forcing him to make things right again.

** [[WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy Peter Griffin's]] got him beat. Even in the same universe, so do Comic Book Guy, Chief Wiggum ([[HypocriticalHumor who actually had the nerve to call Homer fat]]), Mayor Quimby, and the Mexican Bumblebee Man (who is pretty much Mayor Quimby with tan skin and a Spanish accent), for starters.

* InvincibleIncompetent: DependingOnTheWriter. He may not advance a lot in life, but he very rarely wants to and he's [[StatusQuoIsGod always retained his status quo]] while many other more competent people have lost it all (sometimes thanks to him).
* ItsAllAboutMe: Zigzagged. Homer endlessly causes chaos as a result of his selfishness, though he also has several unbelievable displays of self sacrifice and compassion. One episode had him walk out on a favor for Marge to buy a lottery ticket. When he actually wins however, his first instinct is to spend it all on his family. He even volunteered becoming a circus act instead of the octuplets in a situation where snakes are biting him.
* ITasteDelicious: In "Treehouse of Horror IV", “XV”, and [[NauseaFuel a plot point]] in “XXVIII”.

* JadedWashout: Homer has plenty to regret in life, but is usually just too light-hearted to let it get him down. He always admits at the end that he also has a lot to be proud of.
* {{Jerkass}}: The TropeNamer! He was this in small doses during the early years (seasons 1 to 8)[[note]]Homer's main schtick was being a BumblingDad and an idiot in modern society, so the Jerkass deal didn't get played around with a lot -- and when it did, the writers at least had Homer realize the error of his ways, like when Homer was kicked out of the house for blabbing Marge's secrets to his "How to Maintain a Successful Marriage" class, which is more than what can be said for what Mike Scully did to him[[/note]]; became a major one in the Mike Scully years (season 9 to 12); in the Al Jean years, it depends on who's writing the episode (seasons 13 to present). He can also be quite nasty and abusive in the Tracey Ullman shorts.

** Homer has always had moments of being a horrible person and being extremely caring. In later seasons, he recreates his first date with Marge so she'll fall for him all over again, repeatedly turns down sex so he can read to Lisa, gets very involved in making Bart a good student and making Lisa popular, lives in a terribly cramped apartment by himself so his kids can go to a good school, and on and on.
** The movie shows this in spades and they went through numerous rewrites in order to portray Homer as sympathetic, but also make him such a selfish jackass that when Marge decides to leave him, he realizes to his horror that he has definitely gone too far. It ends up causing him to immediately snap out of his bravado and vow to save the town, despite the odds, because he ''needs'' to do it in order to win his family back. Homer even admits that he honestly ''can't'' live without them.
* KarmaHoudini: He rarely receives a punishment when he strangles Bart, even for the smallest things. He also has had many bad things happen to him as a result of his moments of being an asshole, including ending in prison and on the verge of divorce, but [[StatusQuoIsGod things have always returned to normal by episode's end]].

* KindheartedSimpleton: Homer on his better days is worthy of this title. He generally is this at the end of the day when he comes through to show his love to his family, even if his idiocy [[TooDumbToLive is a main cause of conflict]].

* LoserSonOfLoserDad: As Bart points out, Homer is on both ends of this trope, being the son of the loser Abe, and having a loser son in Bart.

* MadeOfIron: One of Homer's more consistent traits is that he can take a beating. In "The Homer They Fall" Dr. Hibbert explains to Homer that he has an extra-thick layer of fluid around his brain, making him very resistant to head injuries. He also traveled with a freak show for a while because of his ability to survive being shot in the stomach by a cannon. And he more-or-less has survived working at a blatantly unsafe power plant, and no less than four heart attacks.

* MagneticHero: On far too many occasions to list, Homer's displayed a tendency to convince people to go along with his ideas, regardless of how dangerous or insane they might be.
* {{Manchild}}: He was originally just a stereotypical BumblingDad but eventually developed into, in the show's own words, "a drunken, childish buffoon". A combination of low intelligence, emotional immaturity brought on by a neglectful father and absent mother, and simple CharacterDevelopment turned him into this trope.

* AMistakeIsBorn: Just like Bart, Homer was an accident. Abraham took a revitalizing tonic which made drove his libido wild and he impregnated Mona as a result.

* MotorMouth: He has a tendency to talk ''really'' fast under stress, such as in "King Size Homer".

* MrImagination: He has had several fantasies about solving his real life problems. This includes life under the sea, robbing the Kwik-E-Mart or living in a chocolate land. A lot of them are listed under trope IfIWereARichMan.

* NeverMyFault: In "Kidney Trouble", when his dad's kidney explodes as a result of Homer refusing to stop at a rest area during a family road trip, Homer refuses to take the blame when Marge holds him accountable for Grampa's fate, instead sarcastically acknowledging his fault.
* NewJobEpisode: A lot of episodes, especially in later seasons, revolve around Homer getting a new job. Lampshaded in "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS13E22PoppasGotABrandNewBadge Poppa's Got A Brand New Badge]]":

* {{Omniglot}}: Has spoken German (he can sing "99 Luftballoons" in its original German language and knows German verb conjugations), Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, a little bit of French (describes "Trash Night" as "La Nuit des Poubelles"), and [[SpeaksFluentAnimal penguin]].
-->"I can understand food talk in any language."
* OnlyInItForTheMoney: Pretty much the only reason Homer sticks around at the Power Plant at all (when he's actually there) is to earn enough money to provide for his family, and Maggie in particular.
* OnlySixFaces: Homer's facial features are the most commonly seen in the series. He's got a half-brother and half-sister who look like him, as well as two high-class doppelgangers wandering around town and when he puts on clown makeup he can easily pass for Krusty the Clown even among people who know Krusty personally.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: See TranquilFury. If the jovial, slow-witted LargeHam is staring you down with shrunken irises and speaking in a straight, menacing baritone, you've crossed a '''MAJOR''' line.

** [[AbusiveParents Bart, whom he strangulates regularly as a running gag, however, is comparatively shit outta luck.]] Even then, Homer spearheaded an effort to dig Bart out after Bart fell down a well, took some nasty physical punishment while disguised to be a battle-robot that Bart controlled, and forced crooked T-shirt manufacturer Goose Gladwell, who cheated Bart out of the ideas he'd come up with for T-shirt slogans, by threatening Goose with a ''portable nuclear fission reactor'' that he made himself for Lisa's science fair project until Goose paid Bart the money he deserved.

* PartingWordsRegret: In the episode "Mona Leaves-a", Homer blows up on his mother Mona, [[CallingTheOldManOut chewing her out for never being there for him and constantly putting her various agendas ahead of her own son]]. Later that night, Homer calms down and makes her an apology card... only to find that she died sometime during the night.

* TheProtagonist: While the members of the Simpson family all get their time in the spotlight, Homer will pretty much always be involved in the main plot of an episode regardless of whether or not he's the focus of it. He's also generally front and center in promotional art and advertisements. He was not always this, however, as earlier seasons tended to focus primarily on Bart.
* PsychopathicManchild: Again, DependingOnTheWriter.

* RecklessGunUsage: While he is sometimes portrayed as a crack shot, other times (well, mostly) he'll fit this trope instead, which is why Marge has a tendency to confiscate and bury them immediately. An example is when he buys a handgun and uses it for the most menial of tasks, such as getting something down from a cupboard instead of simply fetching a chair; later in the same episode, he freaks out the NRA of all people as they say [[EveryoneHasStandards he's completely nuts]]. On one occasion, he fired a handgun at his chest while he was wearing body armour, which left him going between grunts of pain and surprised giggles; everybody else is cowering behind cover and most of the glass cases have been shattered.

* SelectiveEnforcement: In the Tracey Ullman shorts and early series episodes, Lisa was just as bratty and dysfunctional as Bart, though Homer tended to only target Bart for discipline. This was excused by the creative team, they were apparently a lot more uneasy when offered gags with Homer strangling and comically abusing Lisa compared to Bart.

* StrongAsTheyNeedToBe: A non-super variant; Homer's athletic ability depends on what the writers need for that episode. In "The Homer They Fall," when Homer is training to be a boxer, one of his punches can't even kill a fly that lands on Moe's training glove, and he's often shown out of breath after the smallest amount of physical activity. However, {{Acrofatic}} and StoutStrength are also on his trope list.

* TooDumbToLive: Nine times out of ten, the vast majority of [[ButtMonkey the numerous incidents of physical harm that Homer suffers]], it was brought upon himself due to his own carelessness and ignorance. It's amazing that he hasn't ended up in an early grave yet (aside from some moments in the non-canon ''Treehouse of Horror'' where that does happen).

* TookALevelInKindness: In season 1 he was angry and grumpy all the time but becomes sweeter after season 2, though his angry personality still sometimes surfaces up (usually whenever Bart makes him mad). When the show's {{Flanderization}} kicked in, he TookALevelInJerkass, especially in the Mike Scully years. Now, DependingOnTheWriter, he occasionally snaps back to being nice, then back to a jerk, and so on.

* TranquilFury: On [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness very rare occasions]], Homer's normally LargeHam, PlayedForLaughs HairTriggerTemper will be replaced with this and when it happens, you better do like Bart and Lisa did in "Who Shot Mr. Burns" and ''run like hell.''

* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Homer has done this a few times. In his defense, sometimes the doom came from things nobody could have reasonably foreseen.
* UsedToBeASweetKid: While he can definitely be a good guy nowadays, he was an absolute sweetheart as a kid before getting beaten down by his abusive father.
* VillainProtagonist: On his worst days. While "JerkAss Homer" is most commonly associated with the Mike Scully era and onwards, it definitely still happened prior - One of the most extreme examples was "Homer the Vigilante", where he ran a VigilanteMilitia that effectively amounted to a violent gang.

* WhatHaveIDone: In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS3E3WhenFlandersFailed When Flanders Failed]]" Homer wishes for Flanders' new Leftorium store to go bust. When he gets his wish, he is guilt-ridden and sets about trying to save the store.

* WithFriendsLikeThese: He can be disloyal to his friends at times.
* WouldHurtAChild: He has no problem throttling Bart, even when he was a baby. He also sucker punched a baby dolphin, albeit for biting Lisa after she [[UngratefulBastard took a can ring]] [[NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished off its nose]].

* WrongGenreSavvy: In the episode "Homer Goes to College," Homer is convinced his college experience will be exactly like the [[WackyFratboyHijinx party atmosphere]] college is often depicted as in [[Film/AnimalHouse movies]], not realizing he's in a satire that thoroughly subverts the trope.

* YoungerThanTheyLook: In the earlier seasons, he was only 34 years old, despite easily passing for a man in his late forties at least. Later seasons aged him up to 40 because the writers couldn't imagine being older than Homer. An amnesiac Marge actually believed he was her uncle given how damaged he looks.

* BigEater: He's also the king of this trope, to the point that he's an ExtremeOmnivore (he's eaten things considered highly inedible, such as the plastic bride and groom wedding cake decoration, dishwashing soap, ''hot wax from a candle'', etc). One episode had him becoming the mascot of the Captain's "All-You-Can-Eat" fish restaurant because he sued over being kicked out before eating all he could; taking the moniker "Bottomless Pete," described as "a beast more stomach than man." In exchange for being allowed to gorge himself, people pay an admittance fee to gawp at him. In a Halloween episode he literally ate all the donuts in the world [[ItMakesSenseInContext during a stay in hell]], and then asks for more.

* BigEater: He's also the king of this trope, to the point that he's an ExtremeOmnivore (he's eaten things considered highly inedible, such as the plastic bride and groom wedding cake decoration, dishwashing soap, ''hot wax from a candle'', etc). In a Halloween episode he literally ate all the donuts in the world [[ItMakesSenseInContext during a stay in hell]], and then asks for more.

* TheEveryman: Homer started as one of these characters (and InUniverse he's still seen as one), but [[{{Flanderization}} as the series went on]] more and more absurd and amazing things have happened to him (such as winning a Grammy, becoming an astronaut, being neighbor to two former presidents, etc) and he has demonstrated such absurd, bizarre tastes and [[IdiotHoudini a capacity to thrive even with absurdly low levels of intelligence]] that one episode ("Homer's Enemy") flat-out stated that he's not this.

* GetRichQuickScheme: If you presented him with a choice between a thousand lottery tickets or a thousand dollars, he'd pick the tickets without a second thought. Homer is as eager to jump on an insane plan to make a lot of money fast as he is averse to hard work and has at multiple times in the past risked his job, his family and himself to make a tonne of money only slightly less quickly than it takes for him to [[AFoolAndHisNewMoneyAreSoonParted lose it.]]

* AMFMCharacterization: He's a huge fan of classic rock and even had dreams of being a rock star.

* ThinksOfSomethingSmartSaysSomethingStupid:

--->'''Big Brothers Employee:''' And what are your reasons for wanting a little brother?
--->'''Homer's Brain:''' Don't say revenge. Don't say revenge.
--->'''Homer:''' Uh... revenge.
--->'''Homer's Brain:''' [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere That's it, I'm gettin' out of here.]] [sounds of walking away, followed by a door slamming]

--->'''Homer's Brain:''' O, Glory of Glories. O, heavenly testament to the eternal majesty of God's Creation.
--->'''Homer:''' Holy macaroni!

[[WMG:[[center: [- ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' '''[[Characters/TheSimpsons Main Character Index]]'''\\

* AbusiveParents: Downplayed. While he genuinely loves his children dearly (especially [[MoralityPet Maggie]]), it doesn't change the fact that he is still absolutely terrible at parenting.

* AbandonedCatchphrase: He used to say "Let's all go out for some frosty chocolate milkshakes" during [[Series/TheTraceyUllmanShow the Tracey Ullman shorts]].

* AbusiveParents: He loves his children dearly but is absolutely terrible at parenting.
** Despite his [[AlcoholicParent reckless drinking problem]] and [[MoodSwinger mood issues]], he's less so than [[WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy Peter Griffin]], but it still counts, given how strangling Bart and his {{jerkass}} behavior sometimes becomes a threat to his children's lives. And then there's the original shorts, where he's almost as bad as Peter.

* VitriolicBestBuds: With Flanders. Homer may openly claim he hates Flanders, the amount of times that Homer has helped him out of the fire and vice-versa, makes it clear they really are the only people in Springfield who can count on the other for support.

* FatAndProud: Shifts depending on his mood. Most of the time, Homer is unashamed to admit that he's overweight. He even puts on enough weight to avoid a corporate fitness program and work from home. On a few occurrences, he's upset that he weighs so much. He currently provides the page image.

* FatAndProud: Shifts depending on his mood. Most of the time, Homer is unashamed to admit that he's overweight. He even puts on enough weight to avoid a corporate fitness program and work from home. On a few occurrences, he's upset that he weighs so much. He currently provides the page image.

* TheChewToy: He is constantly hurt for the sake of funny. Lampshaded in a special episode that shows a series of clips of Homer getting hurt. Even in the opening, most of the couch gags (especially starting in Season 8) end with him being killed, maimed, or humiliated. The opening sequence alone features Homer almost getting hit by the family car and crashing through the garage door or some variation of it.

* TerribleArtist: When Bart was young, Homer tried to build a Krusty the Clown-themed bed for him, but ended up making a terrifying monstrosity of a clown bed with soulless black voids for eyes and messed-up teeth. The next day, Bart was curling up in the fetal position downstairs and repeatedly muttering, "Can't sleep, clown will eat me..."

* TerribleArtist: When Bart was young, Homer tried to build a Krusty the Clown-themed bed for him, but ended up making a terrifying monstrosity of a clown bed. The next day, Bart was curling up in the fetal position downstairs and repeatedly muttering, "Can't sleep, clown will eat me..."

'''Homer:''' '''''F--'''[SmashCut to an overview of the street, a ScareChord, birds flying away in fear, and the entire neighborhood stopping in its tracks to look in the direction of the Simpson house]''\\

-->'''Homer:''' Because that's the kind of guy I am this week!

-->'''Homer:''' (Dad) said he didn't want to have me.
-->'''Marge:''' You didn't want to have Bart.
-->'''Homer:''' I know, but you're not supposed to ''tell'' the child!
-->'''Marge:''' You told Bart this morning!
-->'''Homer:''' [[InsaneTrollLogic But when I do it, it's]] ''[[ComicallyMissingThePoint cute]]''!

-->'''Homer:''' Why don't you [jailed delinquents] pick on someone bigger than you who has this? (draws a gun)

-->'''Homer''': Look, if it were up to me, I'd be harassing [those manatees] with you. If anything, I'd be the guy who took it too far...

-->'''Homer''': ''(slowly lowering the letter, shaking with unabashed anger)'' [[TranquilFury Kids, would you step outside for a second?]]\\
''(Bart and Lisa [[OhCrap gawk at their father and go running out of the room]])''\\
'''Homer''': '''''F--'''(SmashCut to an overview of the street, a ScareChord, birds flying away in fear, and the entire neighborhood stopping in its tracks to look in the direction of the Simpson house)''\\
'''Ned''': Dear Lord, that was the loudest profanity I've ever heard!

-->'''Mr. Bergstrom''': Lisa, your homework is always so neat. How can I put this? Does your father help you with it?\\
'''Lisa''': No. Homework's not my father's specialty.\\
'''Mr. Bergstrom''': Well there's no shame in it, I mean, my dad--\\
'''Lisa''': Not mine.\\
'''Mr. Bergstrom''': You didn't let me finish--\\
'''Lisa''': Unless the next word was "burped", you didn't have to.

-->'''Marge''': [[MamaBear HOMER...]] [[WomanScorned SIMPSON.]]\\
'''Homer''': [[FearIsTheAppropriateResponse AAAAH!]] [[CaptainObvious THE WOMAN I LOVE!]]

* ChronicHeroSyndrome: For all his flaws, he's the most loyal friend you can have, as he'll always help his friends with their problems. Hell, you don't even have to be a close friend of him to get his help, he'll surely help you even if he only met you just some moments ago. Even his enemies, like Mr. Burns or Selma, might get his aid if he's on a good mood.

-->'''Homer''': If you're happy and you know it, [[InnocentSwearing say a swear!]]\\
'''Nelson''': Boobs!\\
'''Milhouse''': Heinie!\\
'''Ralph''': [[ComicallyMissingThePoint Mitten!]]

--->'''Homer''': Ned! You're having a family reunion and you didn't invite me!?
--->'''Ned''': Oh, gosh Homer. This is strictly a Flanders affair. I've got family here from around the globe.
--->'''Homer''': I can't believe you didn't invite me. After I painted those cool stripes all over your car. I know! I'll throw my own barbeque. The greatest barbeque this town has ever seen, and I'll only invite who I want. That'll show you.
--->'''Ned''': Can I come?
--->'''Homer''': Sure. [Turns away.] D'oh!

-->'''Grampa:''' (''in flashback'') Homer, you're dumb as a mule and twice as ugly. If a strange man offers you a ride, I say take it!
-->'''Homer:''' ''(in the modern day)'' Lousy traumatic childhood.

--->'''Homer''': He said I was an accident...he didn't want to have me.
--->'''Marge''': You didn't want to have Bart.
--->'''Homer''': I know, but you're never supposed to tell the child.
--->'''Marge''': You tell Bart all the time! You told him this morning.
--->'''Homer''': But when I do it, it's cute.

-->'''Brain''': What the hell are you doing?
-->'''Homer''': Don't yell at me, brain! [[PottyFailure This]] happened on your watch! You have two jobs: thinking and bladder control!
-->'''Brain''': I'm doing the best with what I got. All you feed me is reality shows!

-->'''Homer:''' Boy, push down on the bumper! Then I can back the car up and save myself!\\

''(Bart pushes down on the rear car bumper, Homer suddenly goes berserk)''\\

''(Bart lifts the car up and glowers at him)''\\
'''Homer:''' ''(calmly)'' Kidding! I'm kidding. We can do that, we have a special friendship.\\
''(Bart pushes the car down again and Homer immediately goes back into rage mode; he continues to slip back and forth between anger and tranquility as Bart simultaneously lifts and pushes the car)''\\
'''Homer:''' I'm gonna ''DOUBLE-KILL YOU!'' THEN I'M GONNA BURY YOU IN A SHALLOW GRAVE! THEN I'LL DIG YOU UP AND KILL YOU AGAIN--''THAT'S'' THE BEAUTY OF A SHALLOW GRAVE! ''(car up)'' You sweet little angel, Oh, I'm ''(car down)'' GONNA RIP YOUR HEAD OFF, AND SPIT ''(car up)'' down your adorable little neck, because I ''(car down)'' WANNA SMASH YOUR LITTLE STUPID HEAD! ''(car up)'' Oh, but I love you, we'll go on a fishing trip. ''(car down)'' BUT FIRST I'M GONNA PUT YOU IN A SAWMILL, THEN PUNCH YOUR LITTLE FACE OUT! THAT'S WHAT I'M GONNA DO!

* ActionDad: Homer is a surprisingly competent street-fighter whose combination of strength, low-cunning and explosive-anger allows him to pound better trained opponents into the ground on ''multiple'' occasions; '''especially''' those who threaten his family. The fact his is not averse to using improvised weapons and dirty tricks (such as using a cinder block as an EpicFlail, which he dubs "The Defender") makes him even more formidable when he does put his mind to it.

* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: At his best. Despite his abusiveness towards his son, the two of them have, at times, shown that they do love each other. He has these moments with Grampa, Lisa, Marge, Maggie and even his sister-in-law Selma as well.
* AxCrazy: Sometimes when he gets really mad, but this is mostly seen in the Treehouse of Horror segments.
* BaldOfAwesome: Well, not entirely bald. He still has three hairs left.
* BaldOfEvil: It's more like "Bald of JerkAss", but Homer on his worst days really deserves this trope.

* ManipulativeBastard: Let's not kid ourselves...he may be the de-facto main character and the big doofus ({{Jerkass}} most of the time...) we all love...but just consider how many situations he slimed his way out of by playing on people's emotions...whether it'd be Marge, the townsfolk, or even YOU! This doesn't mean he's a bad man, anyone who's watched the show knows that he's got a good heart somewhere in there...but he really is a manipulative man in many ways. Thinking otherwise means you're under his spell most likely.

* ManChild: The most immature in the family, even more so than his son Bart.

%%* ManipulativeBastard: During the Jerkass Homer years.

* GeniusDitz: When properly motivated, Homer is incredibly intelligent. Across various episodes, he speaks several languages, is a Grammy-Award-winning songwriter and musician, a skilled poker player, a master marksman, and may know a bit of astrophysics. He's also juggled many, many careers with varying degrees of success, pulled off a scheme to trick Mr. Burns into making him [=CEO=] of the power plant, and formed a security company so successful and efficient that Quimby appointed him chief of police and fired Wiggum. The episode "HOMR" reveals he has a crayon stuck up his nose that limits his brain functionality, but when he has it temporarily removed his IQ jumps 50 points and he realizes his full potential ([[StatusQuoIsGod before having it put back at the end of the episode]]).