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This article is for a character that is approved as a Silly Pure Evil example, meaning they are a character that fits the criteria for Pure Evil while being consistently played for laughs. |
| “ | Attention Springfield. Your government has realized that putting you inside this dome was a terrible mistake. Therefore, we are commencing with Operation Soaring Eagle! [crowd cheers] Which involves killing you all. |
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| ~ Russ Cargill revealing his true nature to the townspeople of Springfield, before planting a bomb inside the domed city with the intention of blowing it up. |
| “ | Well, always leave 'em laughing. Heh. Goodbye, sir. | „ |
| ~ Russ Cargill modestly acknowledging Bart's joke before suddenly snapping and preparing to shoot Homer, also his last words. |
Russell "Russ" Cargill is the main antagonist of the 2007 animated feature film The Simpsons Movie, the film adaptation of the long-running animated sitcom The Simpsons.
He is the head of the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), who traps Springfield in a dome after Homer Simpson's reckless and harmful actions towards the wildlife result in a squirrel being mutated. He is the former right-hand of U.S. president Arnold Schwarzenegger and the second arch-nemesis of Homer Simpson.
He was voiced by Albert Brooks.
What Makes Him Pure Evil?[]
In General[]
- Despite having several comedic moments, like such as him telling everyone that they should listen to him because he is a man on a big TV, him throwing binoculars at the dome only for it to hit him back, and his defeat of Bart tricking him into calling himself a "wiener", followed by Bart and Homer laughing before Maggie (who is only a baby) crushes him with a boulder, he is still taken seriously after his reveal to nuke Springfield, with everyone being horrified by his plans, and the last one only happening during his final attempt to kill Homer and Bart.
- While he started off with noble intentions, wanting to destroy Springfield because Homer was polluting the environment and endangering wildlife by dumping large amounts of feces into the Springfield Lake, he later admitted to have gone mad with power and attempted to nuke Springfield and replace it with a new Grand Canyon out of greed as well as capture the Simpson family for escaping, which could potentially harm or even destroy wildlife, the very thing he claimed to save, even further as well had he succeeded blowing up Springfield. This proves he is not a well-intentioned extremist and simply wants to save his own skin.
- Initially, he showed reluctance to enclose Springfield in a dome and even questioned President Schwarzenegger about whether he didn't want to read Option 3 first before choosing it. However, he would later subvert these redeeming qualities by becoming power-mad, wanting to capture all those who escaped from the dome at all costs, and even manipulating Schwarzenegger so that he didn't read the new options he presented and unknowingly chose the option that Cargill specifically wanted to use, which was to blow up Springfield completely.
- While Lyle Lanley does worse by destroying three towns with fewer resources and screen time, Russ Cargill still stands out due to trapping the city in a dome which drove the inhabitants crazy and started riots, giving him a unique niche to stand out from Lyle.
The Simpsons Movie[]
- He incited President Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose incompetency he took advantage of, into choosing to encase the city of Springfield inside one of the domes Cargill's company fabricates to contain the high pollution levels Lake Springfield has since Homer Simpson dumped a silo with his own and his pet pig Plopper's feces into it.
- During the dome's installation, Martin Prince was ejected from a seesaw into another part of the dome, possibly injuring him, a panicked man got fatally crushed by the dome while deciding on whether staying trapped inside or alone outside, and a flock of swallows crashed against the dome and knocked them out so the hungry cats below could devour them with little difficulty.
- He is also indirectly responsible for nearly all of the Springfield population turning against Homer (and the rest of the Simpson Family when they got in their way whenever they are protecting Homer) after the truth went out that Homer was responsible for causing the high pollution in the first place as warned by Abraham Simpson (who also targeted his own son).
- While he gave Schwarzenegger four other options, it is unlikely any of these were good, given that he said that all five solutions would cause "untold misery" to Springfield.
- He removed any mentions of Springfield from GPS devices from all of America to prevent anyone from finding out what happened to Springfield.
- He organized a manhunt after the Simpson family after they found a way out of the dome, framing them as wanted criminals by the American government and making sure to replenish his troops around the dome to prevent any others from escaping.
- The dome caused the citizens of Springfield to start causing riots and public disturbances as the dome deprived them from their basic needs, while also risking several lives due to the hospital generator about to give out.
- He proposed President Schwarzenegger to adopt new measures once an elephant manages to leave a crack on the dome to prevent any Springfielders from escaping and alerting others, tricking Schwarzenegger into choosing the fourth option, which involved blowing up Springfield from the face of the Earth, rather than the third one again.
- To cover up for Springfield's attempted annihilation, he recruited renowned Hollywood actor Tom Hanks to promote a new touristic attraction called the New Grand Canyon, which is meant to be the crater of what will remain of Springfield after Cargill detonates the bomb, he intends to use to obliterate the city.
- He announced his destructive intentions to Springfield's population by making it seem as though the government would remove the dome and restore their freedom, then suddenly declaring that he intended to kill everyone, claiming it was the government's decision.
- He sadistically smiled as the bomb was lowered to destroy Springfield, keeping his monitor on to watch it.
- Angered by Homer foiling his plans, he attempted to shoot him down dead with a shotgun and it's heavily implied he was going to do the same to his son Bart (who is a child) for aiding his father in destroying the dome with the bomb only to be knocked out by being hit in the head with a boulder by Maggie Simpson.
- He also pretends to respond affably to Bart's joke (asking him about the treasure of Ima Weiner) before snapping at them, making this even more spiteful.
Trivia[]
- He used to be on the Near Pure Evil Wiki (and was even headlined) as it was believed he failed the heinous standards to Lyle Lanley and genuinely was an extremist. When it was pointed out that the dome drove its inhabitants insane and that he shed his redeeming quality throughout the movie, he was allowed to become Pure Evil.
- Early iterations of the story for The Simpsons Movie had Hank Scorpio from the Season 8 episode "You Only Move Twice" as the film's main antagonist, but weeks into development, was replaced by the newly-created Russ Cargill as the writers felt that Scorpio was too likable to target the Simpson family in spite of his friendship with Homer Simpson and that audiences that didn't see his episode would feel alienated. Had this concept been kept, it's possible that Scorpio would have qualified as Pure Evil or come close.
- Another early concept for the film conceived by Mike Scully had Steven Spielberg himself being the one behind the plot to destroy Springfield just to shoot a new movie with Tom Hanks, a plot most producers liked but opted to mix with Matt Groening's idea of involving pig-waste management before coming up with the character of Russ Cargill. Just like Scorpio, had he been kept as the main antagonist, Spielberg would have possibly qualified as Pure Evil.
External Links[]
- Russ Cargill on the Villains Wiki
- Russ Cargill on the Simpsons Wiki
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 Pure Evils
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Mainline Continuity Alternate Continuities See Also | ||
