Ron Stoppable

Ron Stoppable
File:Rons1-1-.jpg Ron Stoppable
Publication information
Publisher	Disney Channel
First appearance	"Crush"
Created by	Mark McCorkle Bob Schooley
In-story information
Alter ego	Ronald "Ron" Stoppable
Team affiliations	Team Possible, Middleton's Mad Dogs:#07
Notable aliases	The Middleton Mad Dog The Fearless Ferret Dr. Van Foker Dumple (clear throat) Stein The Monkey Master Zorpox The Conqueror (Evil alter ego)
Abilities	Stereotypical hero/sidekick abilities, "The Ron Factor" Mystical Monkey Powers Highly developed running and evasion skills, High stamina, Several demonstrations of genius level intellect

Ronald "Ron" Stoppable is a fictional character from the Disney animated television series Kim Possible. His first and last name is a take on “Unstoppable”, and he is voiced by actor Will Friedle.

He debuted in the series opening episode in June 2002, starred in all 87 episodes of the show (seasons 1-4), making his season 4 debut in an episode initially broadcast exclusively over the Disney Channel website in February 2007, and returned to Disney Channel on February 10.

Ron is a high school student with an eccentric personality who serves as a bumbling sidekick to the show's titular protagonist Kim Possible. He was Kim's best friend from seasons 1-3 and eventually progressed to the level of boyfriend during the season 3 finale. He provides much of the franchise's comic relief, but also serves as an anchor to Kim's competitive/image conscious personality.

Ron is of medium height and lanky; his round face has a wide mouth, a pointy nose, freckles on his cheeks, brown eyes, and messy blond hair.

Ron appears in most of the video games based on the show, but is playable in only two: Team Possible and Global Gemini.

History

Ron is an only natural child from an observant Jewish family (see religion). He met Kim during their first day at preschool and they have been firm friends ever since.

In the TV movie A Sitch in Time, Ron is depicted as having been an articulate, observant child able to comprehend concepts too complex for the average child of his age, as having an imaginary friend named "Rufus", and as having a strong social conscience but also underdeveloped social skills which set him apart from other children. As a teenager, he has a pet naked mole rat named Rufus and has slept with a nightlight since the age of four.

Many aspects of Ron's current personality can be traced back to various traumatic events from his childhood that have been shown in a variety of flashbacks throughout seasons 1-3. The event which is referenced most often in the series was a summer that he spent in a rundown sleepaway camp named Camp Wannaweep during which time he called home so many times, asking to leave the camp, that his mother eventually refused to accept his calls. While at Wannaweep, Ron was bullied by other campers and forced to share an insect infested cabin with the camp's overactive chimpanzee mascot “Bobo”. This led him to develop a pathological fear of monkeys and apes that has been frequently mentioned throughout the series, as well as a less-mentioned fear of insects and spiders.

It was also during this summer at Wannaweep that Ron first encountered fellow camper Gil Moss, with whom he traded his slot on the swim schedule for a second slot in arts and crafts. Gil later returned as Gill, a villain seeking revenge on Ron, whom he blamed for causing him to mutate (a result of spending all day swimming in the lake's polluted water).

During Season 2, it was revealed that Ron was first introduced to the freelance hero business when reclusive Upperton millionaire Mr. Paisley became trapped in his own vault. His associate, Mr. McHenry, attempted to contact “Team Impossible”, a group of heroes-for-hire, but accidentally contacted Kim Possible instead. Based on the period in which Kim wore braces, this event was some 2 years prior to the start of season 1.

Ron's feelings for Kim have been addressed several times during seasons 1-3, most notably when Kim came under the influence of a mood altering device that caused her to pursue him romantically, and were finally resolved during the last installment of the Season 3 finale (originally intended to be the final episode of the franchise). As of Season 4, he and Kim are officially a couple. Senior year also sees Ron join the high school football team as its star running back, using the running and dodging skills he honed as Kim's sidekick. It is speculated from the episode "Big Bother" that Ron is 18 years old but that is not confirmed.

Ron's status as an only child ended during season 4, when his parents adopted a baby girl from Japan named Hana. At first, the change angered Ron, calling Hana an "intruder" and evil. Eventually, he starts to love Hana, enjoying her company and learns to be a big brother.

In "Graduation" (the two-part final episode of the series), Ron truly stepped up and became the hero by singlehandedly saving Kim as well as the entire world. After Kim and Shego were knocked out by the menacing alien Warhok, Ron was the only one left to fight and was unsure of what to do. Sensei appeared to encourage Ron to summon his Mystical Monkey Powers, telling him that he is the Monkey Master and that this was his destiny. With Kim's very life on the line, Ron was finally given the motivation he needed to step up and in an incredible show of bravery and sheer power he singlehandedly takes on both Warhok and his battlemate Warmonga and apparently destroys them.

Zorpox

Initially, Zorpox the Conqueror was a fictional comic book villain within the Kim Possible universe. His name and trademark black and red costume were used by Ron Stoppable, during Season 3, as part of an attempt to infiltrate the Tri-City villains' convention. However, during the course of the convention, Ron became involved in a struggle with Drakken and Shego, which resulted in a device on display there, known as the "Attitudinator", transferring Drakken's "bad energies" (villainous tendencies) into him.

Initially, Ron was unaware of what had happened, and the device appeared to have had no effect. However, as the day progressed, Ron's personality steadily changed. He readopted a leather jacket-wearing "bad boy" look that he had unsuccessfully tried to pull off earlier in the episode (in the belief that "girls are attracted to bad boys"), and began to fixate on the idea of getting revenge on his cousin Shawn.

Soon afterward, Ron's skin turned blue, and he took to wearing the Zorpox costume and regarding Kim as an enemy. He also began to display a number of abilities and traits traditionally associated with a mad scientist-type villain, including a strong mechanical and scientific aptitude, possibly superior to Drakken's. These abilities allowed him to develop a number of high-tech weapons such as an "all terrain plasma catapult" and a weather machine.

Eventually, with the transformation complete, Ron made a double play for world domination. Using one villainous scheme as a decoy in order to prevent Kim from interfering with his true plan, he attempted to disrupt the world's weather in an effort to force the global community to surrender its supply of nacos.

Ron/Zorpox was eventually stopped by Drakken (now free from his dark side), who placed a newly repaired "Attitudinator" on Ron's head, restoring both him and Drakken to their original selves once more. Drakken realized that he had a responsibility to do so, because "it's better that I'm bad than if he's bad." Ron's villainous alter ego did not surface again during Season 3. However, Zorpox's personality makes a brief reappearance in "Stop Team Go", again under the influence of the Attitudinator, where he proceeded to battle the likewise temporarily-evil Team Go, showing amazing martial arts abilities while defeating a small army of Wegos, and helping to defeat Electronique. It is possible that as Zorpox, Ron has access to more of his suppressed abilities, and may be able to consciously use the Mystical Monkey Powers due to his overconfidence while evil.

Zorpox is one of several hints dropped during the show's run that Ron's constant bumbling and failures stem less from actual incompetence and clumsiness than from his lack of focus and, more importantly, his lack of confidence. Since Drakken seemed to retain his mad scientist inventing and engineering skills when his evil was transferred to Ron, Ron may possess untapped potential as an engineer and inventor himself. An example of this is in the episode "Naked Genius" when Ron is kidnapped and forced to make a fuctioning doomsday device out of everyday equipment, however, the fact that Ron is amazed that the device actually works indicates than Ron did not consciously design or build it to be so, suggesting that it may simply be a "fluke", or another expression of "The Ron Factor".

Great Blue?

In Graduation, Ron used his Monkey Ninja Powers to their fullest and surrounds himself with a blue ki. In the Episode Mad Dog and Aliens, Warmonga states that the Great Blue will lead the Lowardians to victory, believing that Drakken is the Great Blue. However it could be that the legend has been misinterpretated by Warmonga just as the Ultimate Monkey Master legend was by Monkey Fist. It could mean that the Great Blue will lead to victory over the Lowardians, implying that Ron rather than Drakken is the Great Blue. Though Drakken's flowers did conquer the droid army, it was Ron that defeated the Lowardian villains. It has never been settled though whether Ron or Drakken is the Great Blue.

Personality

Personality-wise, Ron is the polar opposite of Kim. Like Shego, he displays a lack of ambition and a propensity for sarcasm toward villains such as Drakken. He reacts differently from Kim in almost every situation, excels at things that she has difficulties with (and vice versa), and sees the world in a different way. He is probably also the most diverse character in the franchise, and is the character who has displayed the most contradictions/contrasts in terms of personality and capability throughout the franchise (see contrasts). He also tends to overreact to change, even when they're minor.

For most of the franchise, Ron's character consists of three primary teen comedy/drama stereotypes:

• A "type B" friend to a "type A" character
• A “bumbling sidekick”
• A “high school underdog”

Type B personality

As a type B, Ron is primarily cheerful and upbeat, is highly resistant to most forms of peer pressure, and is largely unconcerned with appearance and fads, which he considers to be shallow and transitory. Because of this, Ron frequently serves as a counterbalance to Kim's type A personality, often encouraging her to take a step back in episodes where her competitive nature goes into overdrive, and helping her to get things in perspective when she frets over “teen issues” such as the “food chain” and how others think of her. Kim herself often performs a similar function for Ron by motivating him, encouraging him to participate in some areas, and attempting to dampen down his enthusiasm in others.

Ron's personality is defined by ego but not in such an obvious way as type A Kim. He tends to become fixated with ideas, objects, and concepts that cannot be dislodged from his mind, even after they have proven to be flawed. During early episodes this usually took the form of Ron disagreeing with Kim over the intentions of a villain: for example, believing that Drakken wanted to "steal Christmas", or that Señor Senior, Sr. intended to create a global shortage of miniature corn dogs, and primarily served as dialogue during "covert entry" scenes. However, as Ron's personality developed with the franchise, this tendency became more pronounced. It was most evident in later episodes such as "Mad Dogs and Aliens" and "Grande Size Me".

In the former, Ron obsesses over the fact that Jim and Tim have replaced him as team mascot. He doesn't think they can live up to his legacy and takes it too personally, to the point where he tries to become their coach. In the latter, Ron refuses to believe that eating junk food can cause health and fitness problems. He tries to disprove it by eating nothing but Bueno Nacho meals (a play on the real world documentary Super Size Me). As a result, when his clothes start becoming tight he attributes it to shrinkage in the laundry and he attributes his shortness of breath to lack of clean air. However, when he grows in height he says it's the diet he's on, not realizing that his falling into Henchco's Titan vat was the reason.

Ron has on occasion expressed his usually hidden arrogance, which typically results from a bout of self confidence combined with his tendency to go overboard with things. Kim once commented that Ron is "prone to big-headiness." The statement came as a result of the sudden ego boost Ron received from learning that Global Justice wished to study him over Kim because they believed that he was the reason for Team Possible's success.

Ron has also displayed considerable bouts of jealousy throughout the show, especially when he feels that he does not have Kim's undivided attention. However, all of Ron's Kim-centered jealousy is entirely restricted to the instance of Kim paying attention to others over him. He has never expressed envy over her abilities, instead offering her encouragement in the field and showing himself to be a loyal friend (and later boyfriend).

Another effect of this personality type is that Ron tends to doubt himself more often than not, making himself subservient to Kim. It is highly probable that his behavior patterns have been influenced by Kim's frequently overbearing and hypercompetitive Type A tendencies, causing him to back down as a trained response because he knows that Kim does not like to lose. Because he values Kim more than anything, Ron is willing to sacrifice anything for her, including his own potential for greatness.

All of these self-imposed restrictions are lost, however, when Ron becomes his alter ego, Zorpox. Because he is evil, Zorpox does not care about hurting Kim's feelings and therefore has no problem unleashing his full potential. The first time he was transformed, Zorpox was able to convert his tricycle into a plasma catapult, as well as create not one, but two doomsday devices in only a few hours. In "Stop Team Go", he demonstrated that Ron is a much more capable fighter than he normally appears, incapacitating a swarm of about thirty Wegos in under ten seconds.

Bumbling sidekick

As a “bumbling sidekick", Ron is typically portrayed as being extremely loyal but also clumsy and lacking in bravery. He tends to “trip over his own feet” in most episodes, often in comical or socially embarrassing ways, and during missions it is common for him to comically fail to do something that Kim has done flawlessly--for example, he might ski backwards down a mountain and collide with a tree just after Kim has successfully negotiated the slope. He also loses his pants often on missions. A regular running gag in the series is that Ron rarely receives any recognition for his actions helping Kim, and other characters have a hard time remembering his name, even if they've met him multiple times; Dr. Drakken has referred to him as "that guy," "the boy who always loses his pants" and most notably, "the buffoon." The only villain to consistently remember Ron's name is his archenemy, Monkey Fist. This has actually earned Ron's respect, as he tells Monkey Fist in the episode "Overdue".

Ron's clumsiness was very pronounced in early episodes, often resulting in him endangering himself or the mission, and forcing Kim to stop whatever she was currently doing to save him. However, as the series has progressed his skills have become more proficient and he has required rescuing much less frequently. In later episodes, much of his clumsiness primarily serves as comic relief and is portrayed as awkwardness rather than incompetence; he is often shown performing feats of physical skill and dexterity alongside Kim, albeit in an awkward and slightly panicked manner in contrast to Kim's usually graceful and deliberate performance. The show's creators have stated that Ron's performance during action sequences was originally supposed to be based on Jackie Chan, performing physical feats in an uncertain and improvised, but ultimately effective, manner.

Although Ron's clumsiness has caused problems (for example, allowing villains to escape) it also often works in his favor, allowing him to accomplish things through clumsiness that neither he nor Kim were able to do through pure skill (see The Ron Factor). According to Wade, this may be a quantifiable ability that Ron possesses, though the in-universe international espionage organization Global Justice has investigated this possibility and ruled it false.

Another long-running trait of Ron's is his sizable list of phobias. His fear of monkeys is frequently mentioned, and he has also been shown to be pathologically fearful of insects, mechanical horses (triggered by an accident with a coin-operated horse ride in which he lost 2 baby teeth), garden gnomes (triggered by a gnome-related tricycle accident), and many other things. Often, episodes show him panicking on missions when confronted by anything threatening or dangerous. He also had a tendency to be paranoid in some cases, an end result of his childhood phobias and bad experiences.

Despite his fears, Ron usually manages to come through in the end, and by the end of the series Ron has dealt with all of them at least once, and overcome them, again, most notably his fear of monkeys. Kim's cousin Joss remarks that Ron's actions in loyally following Kim into danger despite being afraid of practically everything is a mark of true bravery.

It is one of the show's most well known running gags for Ron to lose his pants or even get unwittingly stripped down to his boxer shorts in some comical way. In Season 2, he states that this has happened so often that he is no longer embarrassed about it. However, in season 4, he admits that he is still perturbed by the fact that this continues to happen even when he is a high school senior. Later that same season (in the episode "Clean Slate"), Kim gives Ron a titanium-enforced belt as a "half-iversary" present (it had been six months since they started dating) to help with "the pants thing" as it came to be known; Ron denies that he has a problem until a food cart passes him, ripping off his pants. He then admits his problem. Later in that episode, Ron took the belt off and accidentally dropped his pants yet again, which triggered in Kim a flashback of virtually all of the times Ron lost his pants, which somewhat ironically finished healing the amnesia Kim had for most of the episode. After the loss of his pants, Ron sometimes tends to make sarcastic comments about it, such as stating it happens "even in Japan" while at the Yamanouchi ninja school. In the video game Kim Possible 3: Team Possible, Ron loses his pants in the form of an idle animation.

High school underdog

Alongside his general clumsiness, Ron does not excel in school and often appears to have difficulty grasping simple facts or concepts, even if they are spelled out to him. This is attributed to the fact he has a limited understanding of the topic or the way in which it is being discussed or that he usually does not pay attention. Due to the nature of Ron's role within the series, it is not always clear when this is part of his permanent persona, and when it is intended purely as comic relief. Ron's problems are accentuated by his overall lack of focus, and by a tendency towards a laziness which, at its most extreme, included expecting his lab partner to do all of the work on the grounds that their natural motivation to succeed would compel them to pick up his slack.

Ironically, while it is a common gag for Ron to fail to understand everyday words or euphemisms (such as the phrase "fraternal twins"), Ron demonstrates a slightly more advanced vocabulary than other characters on the franchise, often using longer words than a person of his age might otherwise use, and maintaining more controlled style of speech throughout the series as well as reflecting complex and unusual lines of thought that slip other character's attention, including comments on Kim's own statements and behavior. However, such observations by Ron only serve to further give other characters the impression that he is odd and weird. These characteristics were particularly evident when Ron was younger; in later episodes, they are less prevalent, but still reasonably frequent.

Ron also has a tendency to hold onto childhood habits and customs, often stubbornly refusing to change despite the negative reactions of others. For example, he goes out trick-or-treating at a time when most people his age would have long ceased. In the Season 4 episode "Grande Size Me", he does not appreciate that eating nothing but Bueno Nacho food would cause him to decline in health and physique. In "The Big Job", when Monique hints that he should get a job, he doesn't understand even when Monique tells him that he'd have "mad money."

As is common for a fictional underdog, Ron has a tendency to have low expectations of his performance and to set low standards for himself, both academically and socially. He lacks focus and often appears to fare poorly due to either a lack of effort and a lack of belief in his own abilities or through trying too hard and coming across as a clown.

His efforts to fit in are often hampered by the fact that he is moderately hyperactive and has a tendency to act with a pronounced level of immaturity, which has earned him a reputation as a loser among his peers. However, for the most part, Ron's type B personality means that he either does not notice this, and thus tends to embarrass those around him more than himself, or that he passes his quirks off as part of his intrinsic “Ronness” and ignores what others think. This was most evidenced when he was first introduced in the pilot episode "Crush", when he declared his motto to "Never be normal!".

Though Ron appears to become accustomed to the idea that others see him as being uncool, and usually shrugs it off, he has been known to seek acceptance from peers on several occasions (usually in an attempt to be noticed by girls), with varying levels of success. Two notable occasions were when he attempted to reinvent himself during a spring break trip to Florida and when he tried out for school mascot the “Middleton Mad dog”. In the case of the former, Ron was branded a loser within a day of arriving. In the case of the latter, Ron won the crowd's acceptance, but managed to upset the entire cheer squad in the process. On the occasions that Ron has achieved a level of acceptance from his peers, he usually revels in it, and sometimes allows it to go to his head.

Though never directly stereotyped as being a dork/geek, he has been referred to as one on several occasions, and has many typical dork/geek traits. As evidenced by his love of “cult” computer games, his occasional fascination with the science fiction and fantasy genres, and by his ability to get along with Kim's geekish cousin Larry.

Ron's personality traits were most clearly demonstrated when his school was hit by a fictional personality-guide fad known as animology, under which he is classified as being a pink sloth: a socially inept outcast and follower, who smells of overripe fruit. This, in addition to his considerable largely trivial knowledge, combined with poor social skills, inability to understand euphemisms, refusal to accept change and tendency for fixating on things has led some fans to suggest he has Asperger syndrome. During the school career fair, Ron was drawn toward food service.

Constant transformations

Though not necessarily a personality trait, Ron's ability to get himself into situations where he was physically transformed seemed endless. It was even mocked in the episode "Grande Size Me", where Ron states to the audience the unpleasantness of being physically transformed. In "Ron the Man", Ron is transformed into a Muscle Man through the use of a muscle enhancing ring, though this was deliberate on Ron's behalf. In "Return to Camp Wannaweep", to combat the villanous Gill, Ron leapt into toxic waste and becomes a powerful man-beaver. In "Grande Size Me", Ron is transformed into a large Hulk- like orange skinned man this time against his will after falling into a tub where Jack Hench's Project Titan was being stored. In this episode, Ron defeated Gemini and arch foe Monkey Fist. This was the second time he defeated Monkey Fist one on one, but is largely ignored due to Ron's mutation. In "Nursery Crimes", Ron is transformed into a baby against his will. Though not necessarily a physical transformation, Ron is endowed with matter destroying powers against his will in "Mathter and Fervant" by the Mathter.

Contrast

Despite usually being portrayed as being awkward, childish, distracted, and an underachiever, Ron's character has been been shown to have hidden depths and abilities which the franchise occasionally explored as plot devices or MacGuffins.

Among Ron's hidden talents are demonstrable creative and intellectual streaks. He wrote the song that Kim sung at the school talent contest and the Naked Mole Rap, is a talented cook, and enjoys success in many craft-related activities (including constructing his own custom made Mad Dog head and trapping Gill with a net he made of lanyards, saying "Arts and Crafts is my element"). He also often makes profound observations on life, society, and all kinds of logics that belie his normal portrayal as having an “uncomplicated mind”, and he displayed all of the qualities needed to be rapidly promoted to a management position during his very short-lived career at the Middleton Bueno Nacho. He also has a lot of other talents, such as ventriloquism or dancing, as seen in the talent show. Although this might not count as a skill, he did invent the Naco (a nacho-taco hybrid).

In addition to these talents, Ron sometimes undergoes periods of extreme focus or clarity, during which his personality, skills, and abilities undergo dramatic changes that allow him to perform feats that he is not usually depicted as being capable of performing. Most of these changes are in line with his role as a hero "who always comes through when the chips are down”". They include:

Bravery. In "Sink or Swim" and "Return to Wannaweep," Ron was able to overcome his fears in order to take on the villain Gill singlehandedly. In "Exchange", Ron overcame both his sense of self doubt and his fear of monkeys, in order to rescue Yori from Monkey Fist. In "Graduation", upon seeing Kim in mortal danger, as well as getting a pep talk from Sensei, Ron taps into the full extent of his Mystical Monkey Powers and takes on both Warhok and Warmonga all by himself and destroys them in an amazing display of sheer bravery and heroism.

Agility and Sports. In "Sick Day", Ron was able to master several different extreme sport related skills that he had previously been unable to master, in order to infiltrate Drakken's lair and escape with Ray X (suffering only a single trademark pants-related incident). In "The Twin Factor", Ron successfully evaded both Shego and a mind controlled Kim, even maneuvering himself so that the pair would cut his bonds, and in "Exchange" he easily defeated experienced Yamanouchi ( 山ノ内) ninja Fukushima in single combat. In "Ill Suited", Ron tried out for the Middleton High Football Team and it was discovered that his so-called "mad running away skills" made him a natural running back. In fact, he earned Middleton High's all-time rushing record (running the entire opposing team into exhaustion after just one play), which has actually earned him the nickname "Unstoppable Stoppable."In "Big Bother", Ron protects his baby sister Hana by quickly dispatching a couple dozen of Monkey Fist's monkey ninjas, displaying impressive martial arts skills in the process, and manages to hold his own against Monkey Fist himself. In "Stop Team Go", while evil, Ron has shown amazing talent and skill while fighting an army of Wegos and quickly dispatching them.

Yet another instance of these abilities appear in "The Fearless Ferret". As the superhero, Ron foils the plot of White Stripe after the villain incapacitates Kim. In the episode (a parody of the original Batman TV series) Ron becomes the apprentice of Timothy North (voiced by Adam West) who believes he is the character he has been playing (this is also a parody of the setup for the animated series Batman Beyond; Will Friedle voices both Terry McGinnis and Ron).

Communication with animals. Ron has also demonstrated an uncanny ability to actually converse with and understand animals. Most often, this is seen in his interactions with Rufus, although it could be argued that Rufus is already, albeit unusually, communicative with others as well. He has, however, also shown that he can communicate very well with other animals: Chippy, Roachie, and Professor Dementor's giant dogs, to name a few.

Flashes of inspiration/brilliance. In "Sink or Swim", Ron used misdirection to lure Gill into a trap. In "Sick Day", he successfully charted a way into Drakken's lair that enabled him to avoid detection, and in "Bad Boy", he showed a high level of forethought in his world domination plans and technical/mechanical talent. In "Naked Genius" he was able to successfully build a "doomsday device" out of junk parts despite in the process of doing so being extremely insecure of himself and terrified by Drakken's threats.

Perhaps the most pronounced of the changes/contrasts displayed by Ron was in "Bad Boy" when the stereotypical "mad scientist" elements of Drakken's personality were accidentally transferred into him, causing him to temporarily became a costumed "Mad scientist/Evil genius" type supervillain named Zorpox the Conqueror. As Zorpox, Ron created a series of increasingly sophisticated weapons, ranging from a mechanical device to fling mashed potatoes to an all terrain plasma catapult and a weather generator capable of instantly controlling the weather at a global scale.

Although these changes and this depth appear regularly throughout the franchise, they do not appear in every episode, and are not always consistent between episodes; however, some reappearances have indeed been made, such as his evil alter-ego "Zorpox."

Non-Judgmentalism Ron has the unusual ability (especially for a high school student) of moving between different cliques and social groups without showing any undue prejudice of their various activities. Ron associates both with the most popular girls in school (Kim, Bonnie), as well as the most outcast nerds in Middleton (Larry, Ned). He accepts, and is accepted by people as diverse as Monique (Kim's fashion oriented friend), Wade (a super-genius shut-in), Zita (a Hispanic girl), Felix (a wheelchair-bound genius), and of course Kim. He interacts with football players, roleplaying nerds, cheerleaders, geniuses, slackers, and everything in between on a regular basis, and never appears to judge them or their activities as being more or less worthy. He is not intimidated by supervillains who are theoretically smarter and/or more powerful than himself (although sometimes frightened, of course). He is baffled by Kim's insistence on buying her clothes at Club Banana, even though she can get the exact same clothes at Smarty-Mart for a fraction of the cost (and Smarty-Mart and Club Banana are owned by the same company). In short, Ron moves through and among all different groups easily, allowing their occasional ridicule to (usually) roll off him. This ability gives Kim a useful reality check in certain situations.

In a ironic twist of fate, Ron at the start and end of season 4 has set up or "moved up the food chain" becoming the new star on the football team, realizing that he's the true mystic monkey master of kung-fu and was honestly elected homecoming king (suggesting that his peers have more developed respect and admiration for him than he believed.)

The Ron Factor

The Ron Factor is an intangible talent/element that Ron was hypothesized to possess. It supposedly allowed him to achieve results through a series of apparently random mishaps that would otherwise require great skill or an impossible amount of skill to accomplish. According to Wade, The Ron Factor may be a product of non-linear mathematical concepts (also known as Chaos Theory).

Initially, Global Justice believed The Ron Factor was the secret to Team Possible's success and they researched it heavily for a short period, hoping to be able to harness it themselves. However since they were unable to isolate it, GJ eventually concluded that it did not exist.

Independently of the conclusion from GJ, the Ron Factor was later revisited as a plot element during the Kim Possible movie: "A Sitch in Time". Shego realized that Kim was most effective as an adversary when working side by side with Ron. She then hatched a plan to separate them, thus severely hampering Kim's ability to thwart her adversaries. This separation weakened Team Possible sufficiently for Shego to be able to take over the world.

Mystical Monkey Powers

During the season 1 episode “Monkey Fist Strikes”, Ron was exposed to ancient magical energy from four jade monkey statues which imbued him with “Mystical Monkey Powers”, including an instinctive knowledge of the martial art of “Tai Sheng Pek Kwar” (大圣劈挂, translates to "The big saint divides hangs") as well as superhuman speed and strength.

It was initially implied that Ron lost these powers when the jade monkey statues were destroyed and they played no further part in season 1 (even during other Monkey Fist related episodes). However, they were revisited half way through season 2, during the episode "Exchange", when Ron was temporarily transferred to the Yamanouchi ninja school in Japan.

While at Yamanouchi, Ron was trained as a ninja and showed, in the final confrontation, great skill in Tai Sheng Pek Kwar, defeating the monkey ninjas almost instinctively. He displayed several "bursts" of monkey power throughout the episode but was unable to control them most of the time. He was also introduced to the Lotus Blade; a shape changing sword used by Toshimiru, the founder of the Yamanouchi ninja school, who was also a master of Tai Sheng Pek Kwar (a bit of a mistake on the part of the writers by setting it in Japan; Tai Sheng Pek Kwar is a Chinese martial art, not Japanese).

Although Ron was shown to be able to control the blade, his usual clumsiness was still shown as well as several comical moments such as losing his clothes when successfully calling the blade to him. In addition, Ron defeated traitorous Yamanouchi student Fukushima by kicking the ground with his foot, thus causing a small earthquake that made icicles fall and trap his foe. Considering it showed everything blue, Ron's hair and gi waving, blue shadows under Ron's eyes, and rocks levitating around him at the time, Ron most likely did this with his Mystical Monkey Powers. In a separate incident, Ron was prophesied to be "The Ultimate Monkey Master."

In "A Sitch in Time", he singlehandedly defeated a super-strong Drakken and destroyed the Time Monkey by causing a series of pillars to topple like dominoes. Considering that Kim could not defeat the genetically-enhanced Drakken on her own, his great anger at that time likely caused him to tap into his Mystical Monkey Powers and use his superstrength from that to defeat Drakken and Shego.

After "Exchange", Ron's monkey powers were not explicitly shown again for a while. The show even made a self-referential comment about this; during a fight, Ron's opponent is surprised by his terrible performance, believing Ron is supposed to possess some sort of mystical superpower. Ron sheepishly replies that "it comes and it goes, y'know."

Ron's Monkey powers are more regular and more reliable in the franchises game adaptations, including Team Possible, where Ron gains access to monkey power after defeating Monkey Fist.

The Mystical Monkey Power storyline picked up again in "Oh No! Yono!", with the revelation of the back story of Hana Stoppable and the final encounter between Ron and Monkey Fist.

During the final two-part episode, "Graduation", Ron's Mystical Monkey Powers sprung into a very powerful being when he singlehandedly confronted, fought, and defeated the nine foot tall alien duo of Warmonga and Warhok, with no help from Kim or Rufus. After Warhok made the very serious mistake of threatening Kim's life in Ron's presence, Sensei appeared to encourage him to summon his Mystical Monkey Powers. He revealed that Ron is the Ultimate Monkey Master (ironic for someone who once had such an extreme fear of monkeys) and that this (presumably being the Ultimate Monkey Master) is his destiny that he is now ready for. With Kim unconscious, her life being threatened, and no chance of anyone else saving the day, Ron consciously tapped into his Mystical Monkey Powers, another indication that Ron's failures and clumsiness stem more from his insecurities and self-doubt than lack of ability, and that he would prove much more capable if he was able to work past them.

Upon its manifestation, Ron's strength was superhuman. He was seen to grab both aliens by their wrists and launch them well over half a mile into the air, before they impacted with their crashing spaceship, presumably destroying them. Needless to say, this surprised those around him, including Kim, Shego, and Rufus. This action caused Kim, for the first time in the series (and the last, given that it was the final episode), to be lost for speech. Even Shego was completely impressed, saying that it looked like Ron "stepped up, monkey style." This was the first time in the series that Ron had complete control over his powers and he can now presumably access them whenever he wants.

Mortal enemies

Despite his position as a sidekick until the very end of the series, Ron has in fact several enemies who could conceivably consider him as their primary foe rather than Kim Possible.

Monkey Fist: Ron's deadliest and most vicious foe; once a respected archaeologist and expert on all things Simian, Lord Montgomery Fiske turned to Kim and Ron to help him recover a jade monkey statue from a temple in Cambodia. He spent the family fortune on radical genetic mutation, which was revealed in the season two episode "Partners" to be the work of DNAmy. He is a master of Tai Sheng Pek Kwar, also known as Monkey Kung Fu. In his debut episode, "Monkey Fist Strikes", he succeeded in his goal of obtaining the mystical monkey power and changed his name from Monty Fiske to Monkey Fist in an appropriately ironic anagram.

Ever since their first encounter, Monkey Fist has considered Ron his greatest enemy, although he once told him, "You're not an arch foe, you're an arch-bumbler!" He, Ron, and Rufus are the only ones who possess the Mystical Monkey Power, although Ron's adopted sister Hana is implied to have it as well. In his battles against Monkey Fist, Ron is generally at his peak, though he has not actually beaten Monkey Fist in a one-on-one battle since their first encounter. In many ways, Ron and Monkey Fist have a similar relationship and similar personalities to that of Shego and Kim. In almost every episode where Ron and Monkey Fist have fought, Ron displays ability he rarely shown in other episodes not featuring Monkey Fist. Of all of Kim and Ron's adversaries, Monkey Fist alone is able to remember Ron's name most of the time, something which Ron has admitted he respects.

As season four draws to a close, Monkey Fist is reverted into a stone statue after he gives up his 'destiny,' to follow the path of the Yono, and is unable to free himself as of Ron's graduation from high school. Presumably, this is the first time a recurring enemy has been "killed off".

Dr. Drakken: While Drakken is clearly Kim's arch-foe, it almost always seems to be Ron that he ends up mixing it up with in battle. Still, even if their fights have never been truly epic confrontations, like Señor Senior Jr., Drakken has proven to be one villain that Ron can actually manage quite handily without the use of his Mystical Monkey Power. In "A Very Possible Christmas", the two of them got into a long standing battle which resulted in Drakken being unable to go the distance with him. Also, in "So the Drama", when Ron prevents Drakken's escape, incensed at him for using Bueno Nacho as a pawn in his "L'il Diablo" scheme, Drakken actually fears for his safety, knowing full well that Ron is capable of beating him up if he wants to.

Fukushima: Ron displayed arguably his greatest example of monkey kung fu in his battle with Fukushima. Throughout the episode, Fukushima taunted and humiliated Ron referring to him as "Outsider" and constantly tried to cause him injury. During the first encounter between them, Ron was able to hold his own in a staff sparring session between them. In the second, Fukushima's blows constantly missed the dodging Ron who used his famous leg twist to bring down Fukushima, catching and flinging him when he launched himself at Ron and finally causing a minor earthquake with his Mystical Monkey Powers to bring down icicles and trap Fukushima taunting him with "It was my honor to defeat you!"

Gill: During their time at Camp Wannaweep, Ron, afraid of the polluted water in Lake Wannaweep, allowed the bullying Gil Moss to have his turn at swimming time in the lake, while Ron took Gil's arts and crafts sessions. The result was that Gil was transformed into a hideous sea monster, Gill. Ron has battled Gill twice, once alone and once with assistance from Kim, each ending with Ron victorious. The second continued a series running gag of Ron being transformed or altered, in this case being mutated by a toxic lagoon off of Lake Wannaweep into a large man-beaver. While Monkey Fist has some small grudging respect for Ron, Gill has only disrespect and hatred referring to him dismissively as "Ronnie" or "squeeb".

Señor Senior Jr.: While hardly a major villain in the series as a whole, Jr. and Ron have gotten into physical confrontations on more than one occasion. Mostly, these face offs were about minor things, like hair combs or parking spaces. Still, despite being so muscular, Jr. is one opponent that Ron has surprisingly proven to be a physical match for, even without Ron's Mystical Monkey Power assisting him. However, none of their "battles" have ever resulted in a clear winner, mostly because their conflicts have ended up being cut short by third parties.

Warhok and Warmonga: Arguably, these two can be considered arch-foes of Ron's after they make the critical mistake of threatening Kim's life in his presence. Realizing that he is about to lose the most important person in his life, and aided by Sensei's encouragement through a vision, Ron taps into his Mystical Monkey Powers to take on the aliens. This time he has full control of his powers and is rendered unstoppable. In the end, he tosses the two into their crashing spaceship causing a huge explosion that presumably destroys them. This is also the second time in the series that a living enemy is visibly killed by a main character (Rufus "killed" Eric in "So the Drama", but he was just a Synthodrone and not alive).

Religion

As a Jew, Ron is the only Kim Possible character whose religious background is specifically mentioned in the series. This is handled in a similar way to that of fellow fictional Jew Willow Rosenberg - it forms part of his character's background and mannerisms, but is not an issue addressed directly by the series.

As such, Ron does not openly partake in religious activities or discuss his religion on screen. Instead, his background is usually referenced through stereotypes and cultural references associated with Judaism in the modern United States--for example, requesting kosher meals in the school cafeteria, despite not keeping kosher in other aspects of his diet.

As of the end of season 3, the only time that his background was referenced directly was during season 1, when teacher Steve Barkin noticed that Ron's rabbi, Rabbi Katz, had given him a Bar Mitzvah certificate but had forgotten to sign it. Afterwards, he is seen consulting with a rabbi and makes several references to different aspects of Jewish culture. However, the reference primarily serves as a MacGuffin designed to lead up to a subplot which explored traditional teenage insecurities. After Barkin's discovery, Ron is sent into a spiral of self-doubt and resorts to using technology from supervillain supplier Jack Hench to give himself huge muscles, before discovering that manhood comes from within, not from what you look like on the outside or from a piece of paper (which Rabbi Katz eventually signs). This experience suggests that Ron is not particularly devoted to or knowledgable about Judaism, since a boy has a Bar Mitzvah and becomes a man on his thirteenth birthday, signed certificate or not. The certificate and the ceremony are just formalities.

Despite his upbringing, Ron is an active participant in the secular aspects of Christmas, which he usually spends with the Possible Family.

Ron's Jewish heritage was not prominently featured in any storyline during season 4.

Bueno Nacho

Bueno Nacho, a fictional Mexican fast food chain, is Ron's favorite restaurant. He gets mad when something gets in the way, tries to destroy, or challenge it in any way. He goes there with Kim almost all the time. He invented the "Naco," a combination of nachos and a taco, which got him promoted to assistant manager. He subsequently quit this position to help Kim. The "Naco" also earned him 99 million dollars in royalties — a nickel for every Naco sold.

Love Interests

Ron has had a variety of love interests and crushes throughout the show, more than any of the shows other characters:

• Zita Flores: Ron's crush in early season 2; she might have been his first girlfriend. However, sometime prior to graduation from high school, Zita is implied to be dating Ron's best male friend, Felix Renton.
• Amelia: Addressed in "The New Ron", "Animal Attraction", and "Ron Millionaire". In "The New Ron", Amelia crushed on Ron because of his new hairdo. When he lost the haircut, he lost Amelia's interest. Ron got excited in "Animal Attraction" when he found out that Animology said that Amelia was his soulmate. Ron was also seen flirting with Amelia in "Ron Millionaire".
• Tara: Tara is the most well-known of Ron's love interests, with the exception of Kim and Yori. Tara is one of the many girls that gazed at Ron in "The New Ron". Unlike the others, she saw Ron's true self afterwards, and she apparently liked what she saw. Another indication that Tara liked Ron was seen in "Number One", where Bonnie buys new cheerleading outfits to win the team over; Tara refers to the uniforms as "badical", a term which Ron is more known for using. She even kissed him on the cheek in "Sink or Swim" after he rescued the cheerleading squad from Gill the mutant; that was the first kiss seen on the show. Fortunately for Ron and Kim, Ron never realized her interest until long after it had ended.
• Yori: Yori, is a student of the Yamanouchi ninja school in Japan, who had a crush on Ron. After Kim, she appears to be the most popular of Ron's romantic interests. In "Exchange", Ron was shown repeatedly to be interested in Yori, both at their first meeting where he was stunned by her appearance, and again later when he informed Fukushima that he will be the one to save and win the pretty girl's affections. However, Ron was not aware of her affection for him until she was leaving at the end of their second meeting; even after Yori kissed his cheek while leaving, Ron didn't fully recognize that she "liked me liked me" until Kim explained it to him. On their third meeting, Ron told her of his newly-formed relationship with Kim, which she accepted with good grace. Kim has repeatedly displayed jealousy towards Yori, possibly due to Kim's belief that Yori is her greatest competitor for Ron's affections.
• Kim Possible: The eponymous star of the show and Ron's best friend; at the end of Season 3 they became boyfriend and girlfriend. Throughout the series, it was hinted quite regularly that Kim and Ron would eventually come to date each other. This was made fun of in the episode "Bad Boy", in which Kim and Ron, while watching a soap opera, say "Oh, please! Are they still teasing that Charity and Danny are gonna get together?" "Like that's ever gonna happen, it would end the series!" Little awkward moments between the two became common during their multi-gender relationship. One example of this is that Kim first gave Ron a kiss on the cheek under a mistletoe in "A Very Possible Christmas". The directors of the show, as stated in an interview, had chosen to couple Kim and Ron so as to impart the moral, "give geeks a chance." Kim and Ron had a very durable friendship before their romantic involvement in "So the Drama". This is suspected by some fans to be a type of maxim communicating the idea a strong friendship should first precede romance. As of season 4, Kim and Ron are dating. It was believed by some fans the addition of the element of romance would be a positive thing, although some others were opposed to it and feared it might cause the show to jump the shark (during the episode "Ill Suited" the show makes reference to this when Ron asks Kim if she had ever water skied over a shark, as in a dream he had). Schooley and McCorkle noted the potential risk, admitting that while Kim and Ron's blossoming love gave them a chance to do something new with the characters, the relationship had to be handled delicately to avoid turning the series stale. In the episode "Clean Slate", Kim acknowledged that she loved Ron. The fact that her impending death spurred him to destroy their adversaries in "Graduation", would illustrate the fact that this love is indeed mutual; the ending of the series finale heavily implies that Kim and Ron's relationship will endure.

See also

• Booyah
• Rufus
• Naked mole rat

External links

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