0254 - Benjamin Franklin (Patreon)

He's not identified by name within the scene, but there's no denying who this is.

Key clues to his identity are the fact that he references his inventions and, you know, the fact that he looks like Benjamin Franklin.

I was getting a little tired of the almost monochrome colour palette so I decided to draw Ben's appearance from a more well known appearance, in season four's "Homer The Heretic":

It wasn't until right now that I realised there is another scene portraying the signing of the Declaration of Independence, in season 6's "Homer the Great":

If either of these versions is true, it looks like it was a wonderful day. This depiction of Franklin as a drunken lout continues into season 11's "Pygmoelian", where he is shown in the "Alco-Hall of Fame":

The quote "Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy" is often misattributed to Franklin, and it appears he actually loathed drunkenness.

He also appears on the hundred dollar bill, and speaks to Homer in season 16's "Mobile Homer":

His final appearance to date in the show is in season 20's "Gone Maggie Gone", in which it is revealed that he, George Washington and King George III faked the Independence War. Shocking late post reveal!

This isn't even his strangest appearance: he appears as a very late boss in The Simpsons Game from 2007.

It's very bizarre, comes out of nowhere. I'm looking to see if I can feasibly play this game, we'll see if it's possible.

This was the final speaking character of "Bart Gets an F"! So far: I'm enjoying season 2! Let's do another bonus character tomorrow and one of those big group shot things on Friday. You know how this works by now.

This post is part of my "Every Simpsons Character Ever" series. For a list of my rules in this project, click here.