Simmons (Red vs. Blue)

Template:Infobox RvB character Private First Class Dick Simmons is a main fictional character in the machinima comic science fiction video series Red vs. Blue. He is voiced by Gustavo Sorola, co-creator of the series. Simmons is the second-in-command of the Red Team, a position strengthened by his sycophantic demeanour to his superior, Sarge. Along with Grif, Simmons is one of the first characters to ever appear in Red vs. Blue; the pair of them debuted at the start of episode 1.

Character overview

Template:Spoiler Simmons acts as the straight man of the Red Team, usually acting rationally and thinking level-headedly. When one of the other members of the Red Team concocts an implausible theory or plan, Simmons denounces the suggestion and gives a more logical statement; after one such situation, Sarge and Grif comment that he has no imagination. Nonetheless, Simmons is often looked to solve problems. Sarge once labelled him as the "unofficial science officer", which Simmons reasoned as meaning he was smart. Simmons is extremely devoted to this image, doing whatever possible to appear intelligent to his teammates. He once claimed he could multiply any two large numbers in his head, and when Grif attempted to test this theory, Simmons gave a false answer in a credible manner, which convinced his teammates. When Church told him the other Reds all laughed at him and claimed he wasn't as smart as he pretended to be (see below), Simmons was distraught.

However, when circumstances fail to work in his favor, Simmons tends to break down and behave irrationally. This is best evidenced in Season Four, when Simmons was demoted for claiming that Sheila, the Blue Team's tank, was still roaming Blood Gulch. His position was filled by Donut, who, in a radio conversation, unwittingly rubbed Simmons's nose in the fact that he, Donut, now had Simmons's job. In an abrupt fury, Simmons painted his armour mostly blue, attacked the Red Base with Sheila in tow, and captured Grif. Sarge and Donut's rescue attempt and execution of Simmons was interrupted by the timely arrival of Church, the Blue Team's self-appointed leader, who saved Simmons and sent the Reds back to their base. Church, pretending not to recognise Simmons, then gave him an orientation on the Red Team's members and gave a scathing opinion of Simmons. Simmons's reaction of running back to the base to cry shows he is also very self-conscious. Despite the attempt on his life, Simmons still remains loyal to Sarge and the Red Team.

History

Simmons is first introduced with Grif at the beginning of Episode One, being the first character to speak in the entire series. Throughout Season One and the first half of Season Two, he acts as a supporting character rather than a focal member of the plot. This changes in Episode 30, when Simmons is selected by Sarge to be turned into a cyborg so the Reds will have someone with mechanical abilities. Following the operation, Simmons is referred to as Simmons 2.0, although this eventually stopped occurring in Season Three. Simmons's left-over body parts are then used to save Grif's life, the latter having been run over by Sheila. Simmons expressed his displeasure at having his organs harvested by Grif after it became apparent that Grif was abusing them as he had done to his own by smoking, drinking and over-eating.

Simmons was instrumental in regrouping the Red/Blue Alliance in Season Three; after a malfunctioning teleporter separated the teams, Simmons, who had been transported to a facility filled with teleporters, managed to find Sarge and Caboose, the Blue Team rookie and transport them to his location, saving them from some bizarrely homicidal characters called the Grunts. After the Alliance had to use the teleporters again to get to Sidewinder, Simmons had to reprogram a teleporter in the facility while simultaneously directing Donut, still in Blood Gulch, to do the same. According to Rooster Teeth, there was supposed to be a trait involved with his cyborg status that allowed him to manipulate teleporters, seen in the above instances and also to transport the Grunts to Sidewinder; however, this trait was eventually left out for pacing reasons.

After being blasted into the future and the Red Team's re-entry of Blood Gulch, Simmons is exiled from the Red Team by Sarge after claiming Sheila is still inhabiting the canyon (see above). This leads to Simmons's breakdown and subsequent spying on Church, who allows the ruse to continue so he can abuse Simmons and order him around. After Church accidentally makes contact with Vic Jr., a descendant of their contact, Vic, Simmons returns to the Red Team to give them the information he'd learned, changing back into his maroon armour. Before he is allowed to officially rejoin the team, Sarge and Grif hold a mock trial in which they force him to pay a fine for them to split, on the grounds of treason and insubordination. On a few occasions since then, Sarge refers to Simmons as a traitor.

Themes

Ethnicity

A recurring theme of Simmons's character is his ethnic background. Somehow, Grif comes to the conclusion that Simmons is "of a Latino persuasion", apparently because he thinks that Simmons is a Hispanic name. This exchange coincides with Lopez, the Red Team's robot, having gained the ability to speak, but only in Spanish owing to a damaged voice card; Grif believes that Simmons should know the language and thus should be able to translate. Simmons, however, maintains that his background is Dutch-Irish, but Grif does not believe him, and sometimes makes slurs on Simmons's ethnicity when Lopez is mentioned. Not mentioned throughout Season Three, the joke was revived in Episode 63, when Donut, acting as a telephone operator, gave instructions in Spanish, and then said "for unconfirmed Dutch-Irish, press one too, as in also". The whole issue is an in-joke based on the Mexican ethnicity of Simmons' voice actor, Gustavo Sorola.

Relationships with other characters

Simmons's main characterisation is brought out through his interaction with his teammates, particularly Sarge. A compulsive sycophant, he supports Sarge almost entirely whole-heartedly, despite the latter's psychopathic and frequently delusional leadership. Rooster Teeth notes that this was not an initial plan for Simmons; they needed a character to act as Sarge's right-hand man, and Simmons evolved to fit that character. Intially, he would only decry Sarge's plans if they involved dying for foolish reasons, and even then, he would do so in a subtle manner (although since Grif is generally the one whose death is part of Sarge's plans, Simmons has less to worry about than he thinks). He has referred to Sarge as his father figure, and claims he relies on Sarge for "love and support". As a result, Grif frequently calls Simmons a "kiss-ass". Sarge has, on occasion, acknowledged that all Simmons does is act slavishly to him, but does not seem to mind. Simmons is only frowned upon by Sarge when he outright claims Sarge is wrong, as in the situation where Simmons insisted Sheila had driven past. Deprived of Sarge's support, Simmons slowly breaks down, and eventually mutinies (his character profile hints at this outcome). After his reacceptance onto the team, he has openly spoken more logically more than usual, as in Episode 78, where he tried to suggest rational methods to lift a spaceship off Donut every time Sarge suggested an implausible plan.

Simmons outranks Grif and shares Sarge's dislike of him, and thus talks down to and openly expresses his displeasure of him, yet the pair have a love-hate relationship, and spend much of their time bickering and chatting with each other, with Simmons reacting to the various outrageous statements that Grif makes.

Simmons also appears to have a hand in dealing with the Blues when necessary. When the Reds managed to capture Tex, Simmons was assigned to guard duty. Much later on, when Simmons and Grif attempted to return Doc, a medic they had taken as a hostage, it was put to Simmons to do the negotiating. Late in Season Four, when the entire Red Team was pinned down by Church and Sheila, Sarge ordered Simmons to again take on the role of negotiating.

Filming and voice acting

Because Simmons's maroon armour colour is similar to the standard issue red that Sarge wears, the producers have used Simmons more flexibly than the other characters. While filming with the original Halo, characters of two different colours were unable to board the same vehicle at once. Taking advantage of this, the producers would sometimes film Simmons in red armour so he and Sarge could both sit in their car, the Chupathingy, as from a distance, the difference in colour is difficult to distinguish.

For some deleted scenes in season 2, as Simmons was getting prepared for his cyborg operation, the script required the character to be drunk; finding no alternative, Gus Sorola decided to get drunk himself.