The Mystery Cartoon Character Game, now with 20% more ongoing.

Nice. And get this: Saltyboot and Oneuglybunny are tied at 259 Correct Answers each. Of course, neither come anywhere near EmeraldIsle's 491 or Glowworm's 350. But the Bronze in Cartoon Quizzing is still a worthy prize.

But here's a character given a starring role in his own series, and nobody's mentioned him. Fixing time.

1) This character began in comic books, because with his powers, it's either super-hero world-saving or super villainy for the Evulz. He picked the good side.

2) It's a good thing animation can do anything, because this character can do almost anything. He's got a regular Swiss Army body.

3) Interestingly, while this character got his own series starting in 1979, he also made a guest appearance in another cartoon series from a different studio. Man, this guy's versatile.

Way too simple, OUB. It's Plastic Man.

1. He started out in Quality Comics, then switched to DC, joining the Justice League. Originally, he was the criminal Eel O'Brien, until a botched robbery gave him his superpowers, and a monk advised him to give up his life of crime.

2. Self-explanatory.

3. "The Plastic Man Comedy Adventure Show" premiered in 1979. However, his animated debut was in the "Superfriends" episode "Professor Goodfellow's G.E.E.C," when he was brought in to remove a mouse from a computer that performed the most menial of tasks for humans.

Absolutely, this is Plastic Man, he of the elastic body and occasional knob tendencies. You described Clue #3 better than I could: Plas made a guest appearance in Hanna-Barbera's The Super Friends series before getting his own vehicle through Ruby-Spears Productions. And now, he's on the Character List. Yay. Good clicking, Emerald. :star:

Thanks, OUB. Now for another untapped and forgotten one:

1. Like a few others, I'm introduced by an iconic seaman.

2. My variation shouldn't be eaten by those with allergies.

3. I'm a nonverbal pachyderm.

Last three clues:

4. Like all the other variations, mine stays crunchy even in milk.

5. I was preceded by an unusual beast, and followed by a white whale, a hippo, and a chocolate creature. Heck, even an infamous barefoot pirate who'd been there from the get-go had his own cereal.

6. My flavor is something that goes with jelly.

Oh, Smedley the elephant, mascot for General Mills' Peanut Butter Crunch breakfast cereal, a companion line to their corn-based Cap'n Crunch cereal. Smedley didn't speak, but he could trumpet, and stomp on Jean LaFoot, the barefoot pirate. Crunch indeed.

Right, OUB. Good job. . You may now step back up to the plate.

Nice. Any more holes in the list? Yup, a main character is still on the outside looking in. Can't have that.

1) This character appears in a regularly televised animated series that's still in production. No one-and-done for this fellow.

2) As is typical, this character's wife is often the brains of the outfit, yet this character himself gets to be head-of-household simply by being louder.

3) Somehow, this character holds down a well-paying job (when he hasn't been fired, that is) despite being hopelessly incompetent. It's like assigning a box of nitro to a fellow with the hiccups.

Smells like Homer Simpson! Doh!

It smells like him, because it truly is Homer Simpson of The Simpsons, the longest running television show ever. He's been hired as a Safety Inspector by Monty Burns at the Springfield Nuclear Plant. Not quite the fox guarding the henhouse, but Homer is one poor choice to oversee critical system safety. Good analysis, Glowworm; you're up.

Think I got one.
1. I'm a little red dot.
2. I'm a soda mascot.
3. I don't actually speak--but do make little gibberish noises.

Ah, I think his name is Red, the dot that substitutes for a hyphen in the carbonated beverage 7-Up. He'd wear sunglasses, even indoors, like a zoid. And Red could fly through the air, though it was often closer to long bounces. As an aside, the company's later pitchman, that smiley Jamaican fellow, fielded the uncola nut as the source of the soda, and touted: "7-Up. No caffeine. Never had it, never will." Guess what ingredient got added less than nine years later, causing Red to make a minor comeback.

Correct, oneuglybunny. Actually, the little guy's name is Cool Spot--and there are more than one of them.

How tolerant, thanks. With all these close-enoughs, I'll be able to re-brick my patio walkway this summer.

Well now, we've tapped the father as a Mystery Character; it's time for the son to get some 'shine.

1) This character began life in cartoon shorts way back in the Fifties. He's been in other theater short cartoons, a few animated features, and an animated television series. Longevity rocks, y'know?

2) Like other early characters, this fellow has evolved over time, looking very little like his debut appearance. Despite fifty real-world years elapsing, this character has only aged from middle school to college freshman. No, he wasn't held back (that we know of), although his principal might add some unkind footnotes to his diploma.

3) Though mostly a good kid, this character is still overshadowed by his father, who's something of a legend among his peers. Junior is unlikely to ever eclipse Dad.

Whoopsie, slightly overdue for Intermediate Clues, so here they are:

4) Way back when this character first appeared, he actually was called Junior. That changed once the focus shifted from his father's exploits to his own teenage troubles.

5) Curiously, this character's best friend has a lot of the character's earlier traits, including social awkwardness and reticence. Of course, this best friend's father is the kind one has to walk on eggshells around, so the meekness is justified.

6) A girl in every port? Not quite, as two love interests don't quite tally that high. One from this character's hometown, then another once this character goes off to college.

Cupcake clues time.

7) "Like father, like son." "The apple falls not far from the tree." That's this character's nightmare.

8) This character's first feature film is a father-and-son road trip. See America, discover people weirder than any you've seen before.

9) While Father gets a goodly amount of screen time, Mother barely gets any, with nothing at all in recent productions. Could this character be a Cabbage Patch Kid, or something?

Aha! Can't let this one go unguessed. It's Maximillian "Max" Goof, son of Goofy.

Oh, thank Heaven. Poor Max Goof almost went to the forgotten, unguessed pile. Yes, this is Max Goof, the son of Goofy, part of Walt Disney Animation. Appeared in the Disney short cartoons during the Fifties, starred in A Goofy Movie and An Extremely Goofy Movie, and has his own television series: Goof Troop. Curiously, his best friend P.J. has many of Max's early subdued personality, back when Max was known as Junior. Great rescue, Em.

Thanks, OUB. Now for another one that's totally untapped:

1. I put up with the antics of the title character.

2. My animated series is part of a trilogy from 1963.

3. My name sounds like something used to breathe underwater.

Lessee, "Antics of the title character ..." Could this be Jabberjaw by Hanna-Barbera? If so, then Bubbles Blowton sounds like the girl we're after.