User blog:YoungOtakuNerd/A "Grim" Theory

There are a lot of theories that fans create about cartoons-Samurai Jack is the sequel to The Powerpuff Girls, Dexter from Dexter's Laboratory has Asperger's, Adventure Time takes place after an atomic war...which eventually became canon-but I figured I had to create my own theory behind one of my favorite shows, so here goes.

Oh, and another not: I don't consider any of this canon, even if it is my theory.

The Theory in a Nutshell
The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy was a pretty dark show, even for Cartoon Network. But have you ever wondered why that is? Well, there's a strange secret behind it.

Irwin, the nerd who's always seen crushing on Mandy and hanging out with Billy, is a real person, and the show is based on his dreams.

Why We Never Realized This
Maxwell Atoms tried to hide this from us, and he succeeded for a while. First off, he created Evil Con Carne and had it share a time slot with Billy & Mandy to throw us off, and he threw in some of his own ideas. That way, we wouldn't suspect anything.

Despite this, Cartoon Network found out; this is why they cancelled Atoms's contract before he could make an Underfist series, since they thought making a show out of someone's dreams was unoriginal.

Irwin's Life and its Translation into His Dreams
Many aspects of Irwin's dreams (and, thus, the show) were based on his life.

Irwin and His Family
Irwin was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome as a baby. This made him into the socially awkward nerd he is in his dreams. However, given some of the "quirks" of Asperger's, Irwin was never treated like a normal member of society. Eventually, his father would plead him to "be normal for once", and Irwin started to believe that his Asperger's made him a bad kid. In his dreams, this was represented by him being evil as an infant before his dad taught him to be better.

Remember how Mandy thought that Irwin's mummy of a mom may have just been in a full-body cast? Well, this is because it's kind of true. In real life, Irwin's mother was in a horrible car wreck; while she's mostly fine now, she still covers her scars with bandages, making her look like a mummy. Because of this, she is a literal mummy in Irwin's dreams.

Irwin's grandfather (on his father's side) is Dracula in the show. In real life, Irwin's grandfather was a vampire fanatic, thus giving him the nickname Dracula. Additionally, he had a condition where he had to drink animal blood to receive certain nutrients. This is why he literally is Dracula in Irwin's dreams. Irwin was also fascinated with vampires, which is why he's part vampire.

Irwin's other grandfather (on his mother's side) is an undead pharaoh named King Poppin Lockin. In reality, his name was actually a nickname used to make fun of him (since he tried too hard to be "hip"), and he was in the business of construction (hence the pyramids). He wanted Irwin to follow along with the family business, but Irwin's mother didn't want him to get hurt, so she refused to let him work for her father's business (as opposed to his dreams claiming that Poppin Lockin abused his followers).

The Main Characters and Students at the School
Billy was a friend of Irwin's. He was nice, but he had a mental condition that stunted his brains growth, so everyone assumed he was stupid. This is why he's so dumb in Irwin's dreams.

Mandy was an ex-girlfriend of Irwin's (which is why he has a crush on her in his dreams). She was exposed to the world's evils and vices at an early age, which caused her to became delusional. She figured she was the only person in the world who could keep everyone else in check, hence why some dreams depict her as an authority figure. Some of her delusions turned her into a racist, and Irwin's dreams turn this into a hatred of vampires, including him. The reason that Irwin is half-mummy is because, like his mother, he wears bandages to cover the scars from Mandy's beatings.

Grim was included to represent fate. Irwin started to believe that fate was ruining the lives of him and his friends, so he often dreamed of his friends getting their revenge on their fate. The reason why Grim was specifically chosen to represent fate was because the Grim Reaper already respresents everyone's ultimate fate: Death.

Pud'n', Sperg, and Nergal Jr. all represent Irwin's mind. Pud'n' represents Irwin's personallity, which is why he seems like a lot like Irwin (minus the "wannabe" tendencies and some of the positive defining traits). Sperg represents Irwin's Asperger's Syndrome (hence his name); the fact that he's the school bully represents Irwin's belief that his condition is oppressing him. Additionally, Billy insulting Sperg's mother only to find that she's beautiful is based on reactions to Irwin's own mother; many people thought Irwin's mother was ugly because of her scars and bandages, but Irwin thought his mother was very lovely. Nergal Jr. represents Irwin's desire for friendship; his extreme methods of making friends represent Irwin's emotional breakdowns, his ability to take the form of other people represents Irwin acting like someone else to seem "cooler", and he and Irwin slow dancing at the end of "The Best Love Story Ever Told" is based on Irwin becoming his own friend and liking himself a bit more than usual (since he can be self-loathing at times).

General Skarr represents a neighbor of Irwin's (which will be mentioned later), and was specifically chosen because Irwin was a fan of Evil Con Carne (and was aware/approving of his dreams being used for the show; Maxwell was a close friend of his father's).

The Events of Underfist
The events of the Underfist special are based on a situation Irwin experienced. One Halloween, Irwin decided to help is local Neighborhood Crime Watch, which consisted of a monster fanatic (Hoss Delgado, the monster hunter), an army veteran (General Skarr), and two adults who were great with kids (Jeff and Fred Fredburger).

They managed to find a criminal who was tampering with Halloween candy, a.k.a. Bun-Bun and his evil candy army. Mindy was "Bun-Bun's" daughter, who was forced to help him sneak poisons and sharp objects into the candy. When Irwin's vampire-mummy powers developed, this was based on the fact he (accidentally) shot and (temporarily) captured the criminal. Bun-Bun's ultimate defeat represented his apprehension, and everyone accepting Mindy's apology was the police letting her go (since she was forced into it).

This was the first good dream Irwin had in a long time.

The Underfist series would have been based on the dreams Irwin had afterwards (which were also pleasant), but CN cancelled his contract when they found out how he got the ideas for the episodes.

A Brief Summary
Irwin is actually an ordinary kid with Asperger's who had some elusive dreams, and those dreams became one of the best shows on Cartoon Network. His life and mind are satirized in his dreams, and those dreams were turned into stories told around the world. The whole show is from his point of view.

That's just my theory. This is Erica Sakura, signing off.