Nelson Muntz

"Haw Haw!"

- Nelson's catchphrase

Nelson Mandela Muntz is the main bully and main antagonist of the series. He is the leader of the bullies at Springfield Elementary School (despite being one of the youngest), although he is often seen independently of the other bullies, and is Bart Simpson's former arch-enemy (later one of his best friends). He is a 4th grader.

Biography
Nelson was first shown as a bully and nemesis of Bart. Over the years, he has terrorized virtually every kid in Springfield, and was even seen bullying teenagers (he once deliberately picked on Jimbo Jones and had once beaten Squeaky-voiced Teen). Nelson has a manner of showing up in awkward situations of surprise or misfortune and regularly pinpoint it by laughing at the concerned people ("Ha-haw!" became his catchphrase). When cornered about the awkwardness of those situations, Nelson usually gives a very reasoned explanation as to why he acted the way he did, sometimes even scientifically proving it ("See, epidermis means your hair, so technically it's true. That's what makes it so funny." though of course, "epidermis" means one's skin.)

Nelson currently studies in the 4th grade, but was already a student when Bart came to school, which suggests that he may have repeated a couple years. As such, he mainly remains sceptical to Krabappel's remarks and laughs at nerds present in his class as he well knows all the correct answers to teacher's every question. School has gotten in a way to Nelson in that he learned to like deliberate things about some matters, such as history, for example, all while ignoring most of general education nerds are fascinated about. For gag purposes, Nelson was once or twice shown acting as a nerd himself, which is normally not within his character.

As mentioned, Nelson has things he is specifically good at in school: he represents Japan in the school's club and serves as a quarterback for the Pee-Wee school's football team (on one occasion he even catches his own pass and plows through the opposing team with extreme ease), which he almost single-handedly carried over the rivals at some point. He also seemed to have a surprising amount of expertise on planning, as he tells Marge when she says she wants to take down Mixed Fighting that she'll need parents, sympathetic school officials and clergymen, a place to meet, snacks, staplers and a phonetree; (which he considers to be invaluable in regards to organizing a protest) to even have a chance at taking down an entire sport. Occasionally, he turns out to be a fan of many unexpected things, such as and. He is also an expert in the proper preparation of (Although he often quickly changes the subject to beating a kid up when one of the teachers or even Principal Skinner walks by, for unknown reasons.) and eats tadpoles for brunch and lunch. Another time he was apparently a master of disguise, fooling even Bart and Ned Flanders. Finally he was also depicted as having master answer sheets to various tests and assignments at school. He has an "office" located in a toilet stall where he has the answer sheets hidden in the toilet cistern. In Loan-a Lisa, he starts his own business using the fifty dollars Lisa donated to him. In a video link, Nelson says that he used some of the money to treat his mother the way she deserves. In the same episode, he is very caring towards Lisa at the end as he makes up an excuse to hold her hand as they are rollerblading.

Nelson's choice of social ethics seems to sprout from edgy reasons and rules understood only to himself: when Bart (truthfully) claimed to have been Krusty the Clown's assistant, Nelson punched him in the stomach, saying: "That's for taking credit for other people's work!". Nelson also hurt him after Bart wrecked Hitler's vehicle at a carnival ("You wrecked Hitler's car! What did he ever do to you?!"). Bart also got beaten for "Wasting teacher's valuable time!", after constantly raising his hand with the wrong answer to answer a question Mrs. Krabappel asked, and received pain for "Besmirching an innocent girl's name!" after trying to flaunt his relationship with Jessica Lovejoy to the other kids. Most of Nelson's behavior in this matter seems to come from a simple fact of being a bully and trying to find a punching ball to pummel for any reason good for him whatsoever. For example, when Milhouse claims to care about the environment in order to impress Lisa, Nelson stands over him with a fist raised and demands he "Say global warming is a myth!" Milhouse does so, and Nelson punches him telling him "That's for selling out your beliefs!"

It is revealed that Nelson is of German descent. However, he picks on Üter Zörker for being German, during a time when the town was in an anti-illegal immigrant hysteria, although he also may have done this to avoid being picked on for being German. It is implied that he has Canadian and Irish cousins in The Simpsons as both counterparts have been shown on the show.

Nelson's enigmatic personality had an impact on many individuals, notably some who try to find good traits in him, if any, and "convert" his demeaning character into whatever it is that they see in him. Edna Krabappel once tried to make a teacher's pet out of Nelson after he passed a test with A+. Bart was able to befriend him in order to gain popularity, notwithstanding their earlier conflict, which resulted in Nelson bullying Bart even harder at the end. Lisa went out with Nelson for the same reasons, only to be persuaded that he will never change. At some point Nelson teamed up with Martin and attempted to put him straight, therefore not all of his actions are mere intimidation.

After Season 10, Nelson became portrayed rather as an insecure teenager who is ashamed of his ways and beats kids out of fear that they will find out some piece of his biography he cherishes most, rather than out of fun and boredom. Since his father left the family at that time and Nelson remained with his mother, who is a drunken prostitute, he fears the judgment of others on this and dreams that one day his dad (whom he calls "papa") will come home. It is also possible Nelson may be gay or at least bisexual, because in the episode Smart and Smarter, after Nelson had just called Lisa gay, Lisa replies with, "People who accuse others of being gay are often covering up their own homosexuality." Then, Nelson leaps out the school bus and rolls down the road, saying, "Bullies rule!" Nelson also is revealed to wear diapers in the in Midnight Rx since he says he was grateful of Homer and Abe's drug smuggling since it cures his diaper rash.

Family
Nelson's parents are Mr. Muntz and Mrs. Muntz. His grandfather is a Judge.

Nelson lives in a dilapidated house with his mother, who he learned his trademark laugh from. The negligent Mrs. Muntz works on the fringes of the sex industry, either as a waitress at Hooters or in a topless bar.

Although in "Brother from the same planet",Nelson's father appears,It is shown many times that Nelson's father abandoned him and his mother at an early age when he "went to pick up some cigarettes". Nelson's father appears as the children's soccer coach and awards Nelson with a free trip to Pele's Soccer and Acting School.

At one time, Nelson is adopted by Marge Simpson. To get rid of him, Bart finds Nelson's father and brings him to meet Nelson. It turned out that he did not leave Nelson deliberately; he bit into a chocolate bar, not knowing it had peanuts and had an allergic reaction. Looking like the Elephant Man, he ran out of the store and encountered a circus that made him a part of its freak show. At performances, circus attendees threw peanuts at him, which perpetuated his reaction, never allowing him to return to normal. When the circus came through Springfield, Bart recognized him and brought him home to rid himself of Nelson (who had been taken into the Simpson home by Marge). However, Nelson's reasons for wanting to hang out with Mr. Burns suggest that Nelson's father had either disappeared again or had died. It would stand to reason that his allergy killed him.

Fellow bullies
As mentioned above, Nelson is shown to lead his fellow bullies. As well as having two cronies he calls The Weasels (who become rarely seen with him after earlier seasons), Nelson also teams up with Jimbo, Dolph, and Kearney. However, Nelson is not seen with the bully trio very often, hinting that his friendship with them is superficial. Nelson himself was subjected to a beating at the hands of Kearney and Jimbo at the racetrack when he used the word "guff" instead of swearing . However, Nelson has shown to be a lot stronger than the other bullies, when protecting Bart.

Victims
Although in the first season and many seasons afterwards, Nelson seemed to be Bart's antagonist, he gradually moves through grudging respect to become Bart's friend, having become his "other best friend" besides Milhouse as said in The Debarted. Nelson once described Bart as having "spikey hair, soft kidneys, and always hitting himself". Although still prone to violence, he hangs out with Bart and his less popular friends such as Milhouse Van Houten and occasionally even common bullying target Martin Prince, more often than the bullies. However, Bart beats up Nelson in the episode, smashing his head with a trash can and then smashing him against the wall. When Nelson replied 'Yes' to a question asked by Bart, Bart punched Nelson while the trash can was still on his head and Nelson had to answer 'Yes, sir.'

Lisa Simpson Nelson has many other moments where he displays his hidden good nature, such as his brief amorous relationship with Lisa. Although he cannot control his delinquent tendencies, he treats her with respect and even tries to change for her, although both of them realize that he is not being true to himself by doing so. Nelson kisses Lisa, only to be berated by Jimbo, Kearney, and Dolph, who believe that kissing girls is gay (despite the fact that Jimbo kissed Laura Powers). They stop dating when Lisa finds out that Nelson threw old coleslaw at Principal Skinner's house. He also helps Lisa punish Sherri and Terri for tormenting Lisa about her butt. Their romantic relationship has been referred to several times throughout the series, most notably in the Season 22 episode, "Loan-a Lisa" in which Lisa invests in Nelson's business venture. The episode ends with Nelson taking Lisa rollerblading and the pair holding hands, hinting at a possible future romance. Nelson has even told God "If you don't bring my Lisa back ants will burn tonight". He as actually said this twice in the The Great Simpsina and in Lisa's Date with Density.

Martin Prince
Another curious example of his "good side" is with Martin, a boy whom Nelson picks on perhaps more so than any other kid in town. Despite the utter cruelty, there are occasional hints that Nelson does not harbor any hate towards Martin, and only bullies him to maintain his 'tough guy' reputation. Both Nelson and Martin attend Space Camp and it is implied that Martin had helped Nelson quite a bit and the two may have been very friendly. When it is believed that Martin has died after accidentally falling over a cliff, Nelson seeks out to learn the truth and find Martin's killers. When it is revealed that Martin is alive, Nelson mocks and punches him, but also states that he is glad Martin is not dead. When Lisa tries to bribe him to not rat her out by offering to get back together with him, he denies it. While helping rescue the Springfield Lemon Tree, which is in the hands of some kids from Shelbyville, Nelson saves Martin from getting beaten up by a Shelbyville kid, even though he is clearly embarrassed by doing it, but did it so he could keep Springfield pride.

Physical appearance
Nelson has light brown hair and wears a short-sleeved light pink shirt with a light blue dirty, torn vest. Nelson's front teeth are false, and on a removable plate.

Personality
Although Nelson is a ruthless bully on the outside, he is a nice person deep inside. Although physically tough, Nelson is not always mentally tough, as shown in the episode "The Haw-Hawed Couple", where after he finds out Bart had been playing with Milhouse, Nelson finds tears in his eyes.

Nelson feels very bad about nobody liking him for who he is, and is extremely happy about new friends. He says that Bart had been a bad friend, as he took advantage of Nelson's protection but not actually liking Nelson.

Catchphrases
Nelson's catch phrases are "Ha-ha!" (also spelled as "Haw-haw!"), "Aw, crud!", "Smell ya later!", and "Stop hitting yourself!". The last phrase can be modified to suit the current situation/method of beating, resulting in phrases such as "Stop butlering yourself!", "Stop zapping yourself!"

Future
The episode &quot;Future-Drama" depicts Nelson to have dated and impregnated identical twin sisters Sherri and Terri, becoming the father to two sets of twins. He then claims to be going out to the store for a pack of cigarettes, and then flees, later explaining himself in a similar manner to his father.

In "Bart to the Future&quot;, Nelson is shown to be a rich, powerful businessman (or mob boss) who owns a bar.

At the end of "Barting Over", an elderly Nelson is seen laughing at Homer Simpson's grave.

In "Holidays of Future Passed", Nelson is shown to be in love with Lisa Simpson. It is implied that the two were almost married, as Lisa asked Bart, "Should I have married Nelson? "Cause we still talk on the phone!", while drunk. Secondly, Nelson talks to Lisa, asking her, "Is your marriage still dead and unfulfilled?", implying that the two had an affair. Also, Lisa says to Bart, "Well, someone calls someone.", when asked, "Nelson calls you?", implying that she calls him, rather than he calls her.

The Simpsons Game
Nelson mostly appears whenever both playable characters are killed off to taunt the player.

Name
According to the DVD commentary on the season five The Simpsons episode "Lady Bouvier's Lover", Nelson's first name comes from the wrestling hold, the full nelson. However, others stated that it was named after actor Judd Nelson, who portrayed John Bender in The Breakfast Club. Both Bender and Nelson have a similar appearance, personality and delinquencies. His middle name is an obvious reference to South Africa's former President and anti-Apartheid activist Nelson Mandela.

Quotes
"Who hath summoned me?"

"Ha ha!"