Bart Simpson

Bart Simpson is a fictional character and member of the Simpson family in the American animated television series The Simpsons. Nancy Cartwright provides his voice, and he first appeared on April 19, 1987. While waiting in the lobby of James L. Brooks's office, cartoonist Matt Groening created and designed Bart. While the other characters were named after members of Groening's family, Bart's name is an anagram of the word brat. Bart has appeared in other Simpsons-related media such as video games, The Simpsons Movie, The Simpsons Ride, commercials, and comic books, and he has inspired an entire line of merchandise.

Bart is the eldest child and only son of Homer and Marge, as well as the brother of Lisa and Maggie, and he is ten years old. Mischievousness, rebelliousness, and disrespect for authority are among Bart's most prominent and popular personality traits. Character traits include his chalkboard gags in the opening sequence, prank calls to Moe,... During The Simpsons' first two seasons, Bart was the show's breakout character, and "Bartmania" ensued, spawning Bart Simpson-themed merchandise touting his rebellious attitude and pride in underachieving, which led many parents and educators to cast him as a bad role model for children. The series began to focus more on the family as a whole around the third season, though Bart remains a prominent character. Bart's character traits of rebelliousness and disrespect for authority have been compared to that of America's founding fathers, and he has been described as an updated version of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, rolled into one. In his book Planet Simpson, Chris Turner describes Bart as a nihilist, a philosophical position that argues that existence is without objective meaning, purpose, or intrinsic value.

First appearance: Good Night (1987)