Bender (Futurama)

Template:Futurama character Bender Bending Rodríguez, more commonly known as Bender (assembled c. 2998 in Tijuana, Mexico) is a fictional sapient robot in the Futurama animated cartoon television series. He is voiced by actor John DiMaggio.

A comic anti-hero, Bender was described by Turanga Leela as an "alcoholic, whore-mongering, chain-smoking gambler," which largely sums up his personality. He curses, fights, argues, smokes cigars (to make himself look cool), drinks constantly (though, in his defense, alcohol is his primary fuel), reads robot pornography (in the form of circuit diagrams), and constantly demands attention and praise from everyone around him (he even created Bender Day). He also has a strictly voluntary sense of morals, being a kleptomaniac who snatches wallets and other valuables at every opportunity. He is easily the most offensive of the Planet Express crew. It is often stated that he has no emotions, though this is quite clearly not true ("We robots don't have any emotions, and sometimes *sniff* that makes me feel very sad!")

Character history

Template:Spoiler Bender was built at the Mom's Friendly Robot Company plant in "America's heartland", Tijuana, Mexico, circa AD 2998. He is a Bending-Unit 22, serial number 2716057, chassis number 1729. As his name indicates, he was created for the task of bending metal girders. In fact, without his personality disk, his responses and actions are limited to saying "I am Bender, please insert girder." and then bending said girder. On December 31, 2999, Bender was waiting in line to use one of New New York City's public suicide booths, having lost the will to live after learning that the girders he bent were used to make those very booths. There, he met Philip J. Fry, a pizza delivery boy from the 20th century who'd just been revived from cryonic stasis earlier that day. Fry believed the booth was a phone booth, completely ignorant of the fact that no one was exiting the booth, or the large advertisment on its side. After a somewhat rocky introduction, Bender gets impatient and pushes Fry into the booth along with himself, hoping to cheat the machine into killing them simultaneously. He even uses a quarter tied to a string to get out of paying the 25-cent charge. Fry's interference foils Bender's attempt to kill himself and, having nothing better to do, Bender decided to go drinking with Fry. After Leela is convinced by Fry to quit her own job, during which an electrical surge alters Bender's programming, thus allowing him to bend deconstructively, the three end up being hired at Planet Express, an intergalactic package delivery business. Despite what would seem like enough reason to life, Bender does in fact try to kill himself again when bored. In an ironic turn of events, this attempt occurs at a Past-O-Rama exhibit, where he mistakes a regular phone booth for a suicide booth.

Though Bender is initially paid to do absolutely nothing, aside from be present at deliveries, he becomes the ship's cook when confronted about it by Hermes Conrad. This is clearly a mistake, as it is frequently mentioned, as well as shown during his cooking sessions, that Bender's food is usually unedible, and would likely be fatal if consumed.

Bender shares an apartment with his human friend Fry, who said he always wanted a robot for a best friend when he was growing up in the 20th century. Bender, in turn, remarks that he "always wanted a pet."

Despite his vices and macho posturing, Bender has several tender traits, such as his semi-secret aspirations to be a famous cook and/or folk singer. If magnets are placed close to his head, they interfere with his inhibition unit, which causes him to act out his desire to be a folk singer by performing folk staples. He sometimes improvises variations on the songs' lyrics, such as "I'll be blasting all the humans in the world" in "She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain or "Froggy went a-courtin' and Bender is great, uh-huh!." Bender has a soft spot for turtles, because, much like a turtle, he has great difficulty getting back on his feet after he has been knocked onto his back. After a short stint as a penguin, he became their ruler and encouraged them to attack humans, only to be attacked himself after removing the tuxedo he had used to imitate them. He has also shown affection toward orphans, adopting twelve at one point and re-donating them after learning they were costing him money. Bender desperately wants to be a part of the Harlem Globetrotters, but was turned down.

Bender's tenderness is also shown through his romantic relationships. After winning his five gold olympic medals in the episode "Bend Her", Bender has to undertake a robot sex change to physically become a fully-fledged fembot and pass the gender testing. During his time as a fembot, Bender attracts the amorous attentions of Calculon and they eventually become engaged. In order to avoid the marriage and return to his life as a manbot, Bender fakes his own death at the altar. Bender's love for Calculon lives on, however, as shown when he sheds a tear after watching the movie tribute by him, dedicated to their relationship. Bender also falls in love with a female robot named Angleyne in the episode "Bendless Love". Their relationship crumbles, however, when Bender disguises himself as Angleyne's ex-lover (and his own identical twin), Flexo, in order to entrap her; this backfires when Angleyne realizes Bender has shown her she is still devoted to Flexo.

Bender has periodically stated a desire to kill all humans, and has made several remarks (asleep or otherwise) indicating a repressed bloodlust. It should be noted that in the episode "The Sting", in which Fry is thought to be dead, Bender reveals that every time he stated that he wished to kill all humans, he would then whisper "except one," the one being Fry. This is likely a reference to the many movies set in the future in which robots turn against their creators. He, and by extention most of his kind, are clearly not bound by Isaac Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics. At one point, on a robot-controlled planet, he became a celebrity for his false reputation for killing humans. In the episode "I, Roommate" (wordplay on Asimov's classic book of short stories I, Robot), however, Bender contradicts his misanthropic personality with his description of "human stuff": "He laughs, he learns, he loves" (to which Fry responds, "Boring."). In another episode, Bender claims to have once "pounded a guy into the ground like a stake with a shovel".

Ultimately, it can be said that Bender's sense of morality or conscience is highly situational, based on his mood at the time and/or the comedic needs of the script. At times, he seems to respond with sympathy or guilt toward human suffering, at other times he is perfectly happy to join Robot Santa in killing much of the population of New New York City.

Notable events in Bender's life include his 'birth' (which he remembers, it being only 4 years previous at the time), his previously mentioned hiring at Planet Express, and a brief stint as pharaoh of the planet Osiris IV ("A Pharaoh to Remember"). Bender has met an intergalactic super intelligence which may or may not have been God ("Godfellas"), who seemingly encouraged Bender's gentler traits through inaction. He also cheated his way to five gold medals in the Earth Olympics by disguising himself as a fembot ("Bend Her"). He won a war medal as a hero of Earth ("War is the H-Word"). During his brief stint as a superhero ("Less Than Hero"), he went by the name Superking (which may be an allusion to the cigarette brand of the same name).

Hardware

There is very little consistency in Bender's hardware from episode to episode, and his internal workings vary as required for the story or for comic effect.

Bender's serial number is 2716057, which is expressible as the sum of two cube numbers ((952)³ + (-951)³). He shares this trait with another Bending Unit he meets called Flexo, whose serial number is 3370318 ((119)³ + (119)³). (This is one of several joke references to obscure mathematical facts; see Hardy-Ramanujan number.)

Bender's CPU is a MOS Technology 6502 ("Fry and the Slurm Factory"), an extremely primitive choice for a such sophisticated piece of technology, especially in AD 2998. Of course, in AD 2998, the 6502's clock speed could likely be manufactured to meet any need.

Bender's habit of hard drinking is a result of his design; like many robots on Futurama, he uses alcohol as fuel. Ironically, Bender only suffers symptoms of intoxication when he stops drinking, becoming disoriented and developing a kind of stubble which is actually "five o'clock rust" around his mouth, as his systems break down. While alcohol is his primary fuel source, he is also capable of processing mineral oil and dark matter. He is also equipped with a nuclear pile, the effectiveness of which is unknown, although it did keep his robot brain operational for over 1000 years when he was buried in "Roswell That Ends Well." Bender is seemingly capable of greater strength than he should be, as seen when he bends an "unbendable" girder. He is also water-resistant and can operate in a vacuum. When in the former situation, Bender can open his chest to reveal breathing masks, like in a plane that loses cabin pressure. He also notes that "in the event of an emergency, [his] ass can be used as a floatation device."

His "extend-o-matic" limbs are extendable, detachable, and capable of functioning independently of his body. In most cases, his eyes are shown to be extending cylinders with rounded ends, but in at least two episodes ("Anthology of Interest I" and "A Flight To Remember"), his eyes fall out and are shown to be spheres (in "A Flight To Remember", they are more like cylinders). Additionally, in the episode "The Farnsworth Parabox", Bender replaces his normal, cylindrical eyes with a set that feature a 90-degree bend, like a periscope. These are then used to check the surroundings from his location in the steam vent, to make sure Leela's not around.

Bender's chest cavity appears to have access to hammerspace, as Bender freqently pulls and stores objects within it that are far bigger than the laws of physics would normally allow. This access seems to be situational, as his chest cavity has been filled a number of times. It is large enough to hold a person, which he demonstrates on two occasions, the first being in "The Honking." The interior of Bender's chest cavity is actually seen in Futurama: The Game, wherein there are a variety of cogs, wheels, gyros, and various other mechanical components, some of which are outdated even by today's standards. The interior is indeed shown to be larger than it should be. As with most spin-off material for television shows, the videogame may not be considered canon. In "Insane in the Mainframe", an X-ray like "Gamma Scan" reveals a variety of axles and cogs, as well as a small bat. The bat could apparently survive both the deadly radiation and Bender's own 900-degree temperature at the time. In one episode, Bender distills about 30 bottles worth of malt liquor in his chest cavity, carrying it as though he were pregnant. A frequently used item in his chest is his purple camera. On different occasions, he will say the word "Neat!" and take a picture with the camera. No explanation has yet been given on why he does this or where he puts the pictures.

Like his limbs, Bender's head is detachable, and can continue to function when not attached to his body. Like his chest cavity, Bender's head seems capable of various fuctions depending on the situation. It has been seen functioning as an audio tape recorder, answering machine, CD player, film projector, camera (still and video, both of which can be recorded or transmitted on demand), martini shaker, credit card terminal, and a spray can. The camera aspect of his head is a consistent feature, which he uses in a few episodes. He also has a third camera somewhere on his torso. It's implied to be located on his crotch. In the comics, he claims he can't always get it to work, referencing impotence. On top of his head is an antenna, which is multifunctional and can work as a radio transmitter, a remote control receiver, or a toilet flusher, to name a few. Bender is quite sensitive about it, seemingly equating it with a human penis. In "I, Roommate", Bender responds to Leela's suggestion of removing his antenna with "You're not a robot or a man, so you wouldn't understand." Despite this assertion, he can unscrew it, but this is probably not as bad as cutting it off.

Bender claims to have a total of eight senses, four of which are regular human senses. He also has something called "smission", but lacks the regular sense of taste, much to his own dismay. Aside from his own faculties, Bender has several exteral devices which he uses in the series. One such device is his "gaydar", which is shown as a black box with a radar array attached. Another is his X-ray-glasses, though he admits to stealing these. Bender has a built-in, but unreliable, "Cheating Unit" for predicting the outcome of his own dice rolls. Bender makes mention of a Hilarity Unit (an opening subtitle for one episode of the show claims this unit may be powered by "Microsoft Joke"). One can assume he has other units devoted to displaying certain emotional states. Bender's computational abilities are self-admittedly poor, which he reveals in the episode "The Cyber House Rules". He also seems to have three different buttons for deleting information: one on his shoulder, one on his chest, and one where his rear end would be.

According to information from various episodes, Bender is composed of 30% iron, 40% zinc, 40% titanium, 40% dolomite and an unknown quantity of osmium with a 0.04% nickel impurity. No explanation for the total of over 150.04% was offered in the series, though it is pointed out in the DVD commentary. However, it could be implied that when Bender refers to "his body" being a certain percentage of alloy, it could possibly only refer to Bender's main chest plate and abdomen, excluding his arms, legs, and head. The incorrect total may simply be due to misinformation, although in a DVD commentary David X. Cohen at one point suggests that the various substances may overlap as compounds. Bender aforementioned calculation skills, or lack thereof, may also be a factor. In "Raging Bender", he is announced as weighing 525 lb (238 kg), but in a later episode, Leela was easily able to tip him off a couch (admittedly, Leela is quite strong). Fry and Leela also roll Bender up after he is flattened in the fight and carry him away without any problem. Additionally, Dwight Conrad was able to carry both Bender and the safe he was sleeping in easily.

The series provides contradictory information about Bender's origin. In several episodes, he is portrayed having been assembled in a factory in his current form only a few years prior to the start of the series, as an ordinary machine would be. However, in "Teenage Mutant Leela's Hurdles" he is shown as going through growth and development like an animal and said to have "robo- or RNA", a DNA equivalent. He also claims to have been assembled in a plant in Mexico, hence his surname of "Rodriguez". The episodes "Raging Bender" and "Bendless Love" confirm this, as his origins are announced as "America's heartland - Tijuana, Mexico." His full name is revealed to be Bender Bending Rodriguez in "The Luck of the Fryrish". This is also confirmed in "The Cyber House Rules" when the "Cookieville Minimum Security Orphanarium" is renamed the "Bender B. Rodriguez Orpaharium" in light of Bender's generous donation of twelve orphans and a government check for $1200 (presumably $100 per orphan donated).

Software

Template:Spoiler Bender initially couldn't act against his programming. In the first episode, Bender was deprogrammed after being electrocuted by a hanging light bulb. However, whenever his brain (in the form of a floppy disk) is removed, his vocabulary reverts to "I am Bender. Please insert girder." Like all other robots on earth, he is built with a "patriotism" chip in the event of war. When activated, he immediately becomes willing to obey orders from the military, and even offers himself for suicide missions. When he comes in contact with a magnet, it disrupts his inhibition unit and he sings various folk songs, including "She'll be comin' 'round the mountain when she comes".

When Bender is reactivated, he apparently automatically takes on the traits of the first organism he encounters. In "The Birdbot of Ice-Catraz", Bender reboots as a penguin after being mauled by a killer whale. His primary tasks in "Penguin Mode" are to acquire food and frolic. When he reboots back to to Human Mode after being shot by Leela, his two primary tasks are to bend and "Cheese it!".

Bender uses Windows 3.1

Possible inspiration

File:StartlingComics49.JPG

The inspiration of Bender?

Although unconfirmed, Startling Comics #49 may be the source of Matt Groening's depiction of Bender. Coincidentally, in the episode "Roswell That Ends Well", Bender and the crew of the Planet Express ended up in the year 1947 wherein Bender was mistaken as flying saucer debris at Roswell, New Mexico. It should also be noted that in the episode "Crimes of the Hot", the robot that Professor Farnsworth remembers building in his flashback is the prototype of all modern robots and looks almost identical to the robot in the comic.

Trivia

File:GABF12.jpg

Bender makes a cameo appearance in The Simpsons episode "Future-Drama".

• Bender has made cameo appearances in several episodes of Matt Groening's other show, The Simpsons. In "Future-Drama", Bart and Homer go through a portal/tunnel on a hovercraft. At the other side, Bender is seen in between Bart and Homer, saying "All right! You guys are my new best friends". Homer says "You wish, loser!" and throws him out of the car, where he breaks apart. Also, Bart makes a cameo (or at least a doll of him does) in various episodes. Bender once pulled a string on the back of a doll, which made it say "Eat my shorts," which Bender then did.
• Bender still has over $8 billion laying out of circulation from the sale of popplers. He made $1 per dozen popplers sold, with 198 billion sold with 'help' from Fishy Joe's Fast Food Chain.
• While against human-robot relationships, such as Fry and his Lucy Liu-bot, Bender himself had an affair with Lucy Liu's head, who appears once more in his chest cavity in "Love and Rocket".
• Bender is Flexo's evil twin, which was revealed in the first episode ("Lesser of Two Evils") to feature Flexo. Flexo has a goatee, which is a reference to the goateed Mirror Universe Spock from the "Mirror, Mirror" episode of Star Trek: The Original Series. Bender is unlike most "evil twin" characters as he is not just the twin without the goatee, but is also a main character. A similar storyline was used in a Halloween episode of The Simpsons and also a South Park halloween special.
• In addition to his twin, Flexo, Bender has a "family" of sorts. He has two "mothers": one is the industrial robot that assembled him, the other is "Mom" of Mom's Friendly Robot Company. Bender also has a screwy aunt named Rita, who, in fact, is a screw. He also has a (deceased) Uncle Vladimir, from whom he inherited the family castle (which he presumably still owns, even though he did not technically spend an entire night in the castle as he was supposed to as stipulated in his uncle's will).
• Bender's apartment number is 00100100, which when translated into ASCII, is the $ symbol.
• Although Bender is five years old at the end of the fourth season, if one takes into account the episode "Roswell That Ends Well", he could be considered 1060. In that episode, Bender's head was dropped from the Planet Express ship just outside Roswell Air Force Base in the year 1947, where it stayed buried in the sand until the crew dug his head up 1056 years later in the year 3002. This is widely seen as a reference to the "Time's Arrow" episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, in which Data's head is left in the past in a similar way.
• Bender's speed of speech has become faster over the seasons. In the first episode, he spoke with a more airy slow voice, but over the seasons his voice has picked up in speed and pitch. By the last episode he was talking at a faster pace.
• Despite being born 2 years prior to the commencement of the Futurama series, it is learnt that Bender has attended High School (with a robot shown in episode 1.02 - The Series Has Landed) and Mars University (this is somewhat contradicted during a sequence of his birth which shows him gaining a diploma).

Catchphrases and favorite words

Bender's most memorable catchphrase is "Bite my shiny metal ass!" This is his first line of dialogue in the show. Some derivatives include:

• "Bite my glorious golden ass!" (said by a golden Bender from a paralell universe during "The Farnsworth Parabox")
• "Bite my red hot glowing ass!" (said by Bender during "When Aliens Attack" just before he realizes his rear end is on fire)
• "The modern world can bite my splintery wooden ass!" (said by a wooden Bender during "Obsoletely Fabulous")
• "Bite my colossal metal ass!" (said by a giant Bender during "Anthology of Interest I")
• "Lick my frozen metal ass!" (said by Bender during "The Birdbot of Ice-Catraz" and "Xmas Story")
• "Bite my shiny metal-- NOOO!!" (he traded his crotch-plate -- his ass -- to the robot devil for an air horn)
• "You can interface with my ass. By biting it!" (said by Bender when asked by Leela to interface with the Femputer in "Amazon Women in the Mood"

Other catch phrases include:

• "Kill all humans."
• "Cheese it!"
• "I'm back, baby!"
• "Well, I'm/we're boned."
• "Neat!" (then takes a picture with a camera)
• "He's/You're pending for a bending"

Bender also enjoys referring to himself in the third person (example: "And then Bender ran" from "Leela's Homeworld") and never misses a chance to compliment himself.

Words used to describe humans:

• Meatball
• Meatbag
• Meatloaf
• Skintube
• Porkpie
• Bloodbag
• Pork pouch
• Organ sack
• Fleshwad
• Coffin-stuffer
• Sausage-link
• Meaty-meaty meat lump
• "Pets" (used in reference to Fry in the episode I, Roomate){This same term is also used by Queen Vespa in My Life as a Teenage Robot to describe humans}.