WHO's gonna start a rock 'n ROLL band?!?!
THE cheat.
THE cheat.
The Cheat hails from the comical wonderland cartoon website that is Homestar Runner. Quite a peculiar character, that The Cheat.
Yes, The Cheat is always referred to as "The Cheat", never "Cheat" or "The." Always The Cheat.
He's a small, yellow, trapezoidal creature with two tiny triangle appendages for arms. Black spots dot his unnatural looking tuff of hair, his sides and his back giving his two dimensional figure a cheetah like appearance. Actually, he looks more like a dinosaur than a cheetah. Or, as The Cheat Theme Song implies ("Who's the guy that looks like The Cheat?"), he looks strangely similar to the highly celebrated pop culture icon of Pikachu. The Cheat also reveals a gold tooth whenever he opens his crescent shaped mouth.
The Cheat communicates in a speedy, muffled animalistic dialect that sounds something like "meh neeaaah mrreaaaa mmreeerr naaee mmrrreeff mmbbaaarrrs ne." Bizarre as these noises may seem, they fit the little creature's character well.
His official role in the world of Homestar Runner is that of the sneaky henchman, the villainous sidekick. He's supposed to assist the bad guy, Strong Bad, in schemes by cheating ("you know, 'cause he's The Cheat"). While The Cheat does indeed hold a strong allegaince to the Brothers Strong, he pretty much does what he does. He's a free little dude.
The Cheat originated inside of a large, speckled egg, along with a life time supply of fish-sticks. This is according to Strong Bad, however, and due to his less than credible reputation, this scenario of The Cheat's origin is likely apocryphal.
Currently, The Cheat makes his home in a grill and he sleeps on top of it very similar to the way that Snoopy sleeps on top of his dog house.
In the alternate reality of Homestar Runner 1936, The Cheat's persona is a sideways rat called "The Sneak." The Sneak probably looks more deranged than The Cheat, what with having the sideways mouth and everything, but it also has that strange, comforting appeal. Such a strange little sub-character.
Among the wide variety of skills The Cheat has, he prides himself especially on making animations with his computer. We have only been graced with a handful of these artistic masterpieces, but, I assure you, they are all worthy of a trophy or three. Just don't ask him to make one for your band, though.
I am flat out amazed a character this cool and cute did not come from Japan. The Cheat has all the markings, all the strengths of the obligatory cute anime animal... Yet he has none of the weaknesses! He is a quite simply a phenomenon of character design in American cartoons.
At times, I wonder, why is The Cheat so cool? Why did my sister buy an overpriced hoodie with The Cheat on the front? Why do people use The Cheat in their AIM buddy icons, their forum signatures and all manners of internet avatar usage?
I've yet to find a clear answer. It could be his paradigm as a loyal, pet-like creature with a bit of a bad attitude. It's possible that he could represent a universal truth and understanding about the underlying order of the world that touches people in a profound way on a subconscious level. These possibilities might have something to do with The Cheat's irrevocable coolness, but... Call it circular logic if you must, but I think The Cheat is cool because he's cool.
The Cheat is a millionaire! A parade for The Cheat!
GTKY The Cheat