Bender Bending Rodríguez
Encyclopedia
Bender Bending Rodríguez, designated Bending Unit 22, is a fictional robot
character in the animated television series Futurama
. He was created by series creators Matt Groening
and David X. Cohen
and is voiced by John DiMaggio
. In the series, Bender plays the role of a comic anti-hero
, and is described by Leela as an "alcoholic, whore-mongering, chain-smoking gambler
". He was built in Mexico
and other characters refer to his "swarthy Latin
charm", though he does not even know how to speak Spanish. He is, per his own testimony, prejudiced against non-robots, often expressing an urge to "kill all humans" except his best friend, Fry
; however, he has also committed acts of kindness for humans and others, suggesting he is not truly as belligerent as he claims.
delivery crew and as the ship's cook
for the Planet Express ship
. He is Fry's
housemate and one of his closest friends, though the relationship is often one-sided. Bender is a heavy drinker, smoker, and gambler and has been referred to as "pure evil" by other characters, though is also something of a lovable rogue
. Bender drinks in order to obtain the alcohol needed to fuel his power circuits, and, ironically, enters an inebriated-like state when he does not consume enough. The process produces waste gases and heat, which he often expels as a flaming belch.
Bender often shows signs of sociopath-like behavior, as he is a pathological liar, and rarely shows empathy towards anyone. He has a mostly voluntary morality and constantly steals
, ranging from the petty theft of wallets to much higher crimes like kidnapping
Jay Leno
's head due to their long feud and stealing Fry's blood
. He also once stole Amy's
earrings while giving her a hug. It was shown in "Roswell That Ends Well
" that even in a disassembled state, his individual limbs carry on attempting to steal anything in proximity; the hand on his dismembered arm steals a wallet right out of a scientist's pocket before becoming inactive again.
Bender is a Bending Unit 22 model robot. Bender was built at a facility in Tijuana, Mexico by Mom's Friendly Robot Company, specifically for the task of bending
metal girder
s for the construction of suicide booth
s (ironic as Bender twice attempts suicide using such booths later on). In Hermes's flashback in "Lethal Inspection
", Bender is seen as a newborn with a baby-like body (also seen in "Teenage Mutant Leela's Hurdles
") and though he is defective, Hermes is revealed to have approved Bender's inspection out of empathy and thus saved him; the episode also reveals that because of his defective lack of a backup
unit, Bender is mortal, unlike other robots. In "Bendless Love
", Bender is portrayed as built with his normal adult-sized body and memory of his birth. As Bender's memory of his birth is an adult form, it is possible what he remembered wasn't his birth, but a transfer to an adult body.Bender attended Bending State University, where he majored in Bending and minored in Robo-American studies. He was also a member of Epsilon Rho Rho, a robot fraternity, where he became something of a fraternity hero for his many shenanigans; one night he chugged an entire keg
of beer
, streaked across campus, and stuffed fifty-eight people into a telephone booth
("A lot of them were children."). While different creation processes have been shown, David X. Cohen stated that the viewer has only been shown Bender emerging from the machine that created him, while what happened inside the machine was not revealed. In "Rebirth
", Bender's chassis is reconstructed from stem cells.
(although the name was later used in reference to his job of bending girders). There is also a significant similarity to the character in John Sladek
's novel Tik-Tok
(1983), whose title character is a robot that disobeys humans, calls them "meatfaces" (like Bender's "meatbags") and at one point even says:
"You can kiss my copper-plated ass!"
"bite my shiny metal ass"
"bite my colossal metal ass"
The design for Bender went through multiple changes before reaching its final state. One of the decisions which Matt Groening found to be particularly difficult was whether Bender's head should be square or round. Initially he worked under the idea that all robots would have square heads in 3000; however, it was later decided that Bender's head should be round, a visual play on the idea that Bender is a "round peg in a square hole". Bender's antennae, which would have been positioned in place of his ears, were also changed to give him a more streamlined appearance. Groening later states in commentary for the episode Crimes of the Hot
that the robot built by Professor Farnsworth
in that episode is very similar to the original design for Bender.
even attempted to audition after being told he sounded like a robot. John DiMaggio was eventually chosen for the role after his second audition. He originally auditioned using his Bender voice for the role of Professor Farnsworth
and used a voice later used for URL the police robot for Bender.
He describes the voice he got the part with as a combination of a sloppy drunk, Slim Pickens
and a character his college friend created named "Charlie the sausage-lover". Casting directors liked that he made the character sound like a drunk, rather than an automaton. DiMaggio has noted that he had difficulty singing as Bender in "Hell Is Other Robots
" because he was forced to sing the harmony part in a low key.
and even a vertical brick wall. Bender is shown to be extremely durable and strong, as he is able to break through solid objects, survive gunfire and explosions, and survive underwater
and in magma
(Suffering minor damage). Even when he is seemingly destroyed it has no effect on his personality, indicating that his "brain" is not stored in any particular location. He is also portrayed as a technologically advanced robot, with numerous features superfluous to his original purpose that appear at his will. As such, Bender is able to record video and audio; extend/retract/detach his arms, legs and eyes; project imagery; and use his head for a wide range of functions. Bender can also disassemble and reassemble his body at will, and each part can operate individually. In Bender Gets Made
, Bender says he has a nose, but chooses not to wear it. Bender's chest cavity seems to store much more than is physically possible
, often used to store heads in jars, small children, alcohol, and loot from a heist. On inspection of his body it is normally shown to be empty, though devices like the F-Ray reveal that he does have gears and other robotic components inside despite appearing hollow (and thus, giving another indication that his cavity is a pocket dimension).
Bender's metallurgical composition is occasionally mentioned, and he has inconsistently claimed in various instances to be some combination of 30% iron
, 40% titanium
, 40% lead
, 40% zinc
, 40% dolomite
, 20% or 40% chromium
, 40-50% osmium
, 0.04% nickel
, 60% storage space, 40% scrap metal and 40% lucky. His titanium composition is confirmed in A Head in the Polls
, in which he sells his body during a titanium shortage. His dolomite composition is supported in Jurassic Bark
when he survives a swim through a pool of magma, which the Professor suggested was only possible for objects made of this mineral. In A Pharaoh to Remember
, Professor Farnsworth revealed that Bender has a .04% nickel impurity. In Attack of the Killer App
, Third World workers stripping Bender for scrap claim that he is 40% chromium. He is described as made from an osmium alloy, which would then be somewhere in between 40 and 50%.
Other bending units such as Flexo show similar personality traits, though Flexo is not quite as "evil" as Bender. In the episode Mother's Day
, Leela looks through a simulation of a bending unit's sight, which targets potential rubes and then denotes a plan to rob them and leave them in a ditch, showing that they are thieving and amoral by design. However a bending unit named Billy West is helpful and kind, though this unit lives as a farmer on the moon. Bender's serial number is 2716057. (This can be expressed as the sum of 2 cubes. Specifically, 9523 + (-951)3 with Flexo's serial number 3370318 = 1193 + 1193)
": an accident involving a giant can opener
leaves Bender with a severely ripped-open chest and paralyzed from the neck down, and an encounter with Beck
during his hospitalization leads to him becoming his lead washboard, and the two teaming for a musical tour that turns Bender into a folk hero for other broken robots, only for his career to end when he recovers from the damage.
Bender is also fascinated with cooking
, being the Planet Express ship's chef
, though he is shown to have no sense of actual human taste
, in fact, his early dinners were so horrible that even the literally omnivorous Zoidberg couldn't eat it. In his first attempt, he creates a dinner for the crew that is so over-salted they all gag (which is aggravated further when their drinks turn out to be salt water
, or "Salt with water in it," as Bender puts it), then tells them that the food was fine since the salt
content was 10% below a lethal dose (Dr. Zoidberg remarks that he "shouldn't have had seconds"). In "The Problem with Popplers", he creates dinner consisting of nothing but caper
s and baking soda
, and mistakenly expresses the belief that humans eat rocks. He seems to improve his cooking skills over the series, cooking a lavish cake
for Nibbler
's birthday party and beating Elzar for the title of Iron Cook (though he uses a potion called "The Essence of Pure Flavor," consisting of water
and a generous portion of LSD
to make the judges hallucinate that his food tastes good). In Into the Wild Green Yonder he mistakingly bakes prison guards a cake with nutmeg
thinking it was a natural human sleep drug, before being corrected by Amy
that nutmeg is in fact a baking drug.
Bender also states, "I've always wanted to break in to gooning." in the episode, "Bender Gets Made
."
As a robot, Bender possesses an incredible amount of patience
. In the series and movies, he is shown to wait over a thousand years in sand after his head is lost during a trip back in time to 1947, and many thousands of years in subterranean caverns under New York (Although on this occasion he was also in the presence of multiple alternate versions of himself that had previously made the same 'trip'). Despite the long wait, it is suggested that Bender does not power down, apparently enjoying his own company so much that he does not consider it necessary. However, in one episode, he shows next to no patience as a one time joke.
Bender's constant drinking stems from the fact that he needs booze to power his fuel cell
s; the process generates waste gases and heat, which he often expels as a flaming belch (although it is not always a belch). Although booze is thus a necessity for Bender rather than a vice, he apparently drinks far more than he requires, contributing to his characterization as an alcoholic ("Hell Is Other Robots
" reveals that robots can function equally well on mineral oil instead of alcohol, also contributing to the perception of Bender's alcohol use as a vice). If Bender is deprived of alcohol, for instance during periods of depression
, he ceases to function properly and shows signs similar to human drunkenness
, including developing a rusty 5 o'clock shadow
. As noted above, his disembodied head has survived for millennia with, presumably, no source of alcohol, so it may be that, when a mere head, Bender neither requires alcohol nor suffers from its absence.
In addition to consuming alcohol for energy, he also has a nuclear pile, as seen in "Godfellas
". When he is sufficiently frightened or sickened, brick
s fall from his backside (a reference to the slang "shitting bricks"), as seen in "Space Pilot 3000
", The Beast with a Billion Backs and "Bendin' in the Wind". When sufficiently fascinated by something, he may pull out a camera and snap a picture, adding the catchphrase "Neat!" In addition to drinking, Bender also has an affinity for cigars. Unlike drinking alcohol for fuel, Bender tells Fry that he smokes cigars simply because they "make (him) look cool."
Despite being a robot, Bender has been seen to show emotion on many occasions, going so far as to shed a tear in "Crimes of the Hot", to the astonishment of Fry. One of the series' running jokes revolves around Bender having emotions, while technically he should be unfeeling. Bender is seemingly unaware of his emotions, stating in the episode "Anthology of Interest II" "I mean, being a robot's great but we don't have emotions and sometimes that makes me very sad". In his very first appearance, he tries to commit suicide via a suicide booth out of guilt
for having unknowingly participated in creating suicide booths. Bender has also been known to be nonchalant to the point of appearing both uncaring and incredibly brave, even when faced with life-threatening situations.
Bender can perform many functions that are often regarded as exclusive to humans, such as whistling, snoring, having bloodshot eyes, crying
, feeling at the least physical attraction, being tickled, dream
ing, and belching. Despite these anthropomorphic characteristics, he can function in the vacuum of space, in the deep sea, or while submerged in lava
for a short period. Bender is a classic narcissist, as seen in "The Farnsworth Parabox
" when he seemingly falls in love with an alternate gold
plated version of himself, stating that he has finally found someone "as great as me". In Bender's Big Score he converses with time-duplicates of himself under New New York in a limestone cavern for thousands of years because he is so in love with himself. Despite these human characteristics, Bender has no detectable soul, as seen in "Obsoletely Fabulous
" when he passes through a 'soul detector' without an alarm sounding.
Bender's family is rarely seen in the show. It is known that his mother
was an Industrial robot
, however he often refers to Mom
, the owner of the company that made him, as his mother. On several occasions he meets with another bending unit of the same manufacturer, Flexo, who looks and sounds exactly like him except for an arbitrary
metal goatee
. Flexo is later revealed to be the good twin despite the goatee, while Bender is the evil twin (an apparent twist on the classic Star Trek
episode "Mirror, Mirror"). Bender also claims to have an identical cousin
named Buster. It is also revealed that Bender has a young son
who he willingly sent to Robot Hell
in exchange for a robot army provided by the Robot Devil to get Fry's attention in The Beast with a Billion Backs. He also has an Aunt
Rita, a screw
, however this is only mentioned in a dream-sequence of Leela's, and may not be true, and in Beast with a Billion Backs
, during the Deathball sequence, Bender claims his grandmother was a bulldozer
. In "That Darn Katz!
" Bender claims he has a cousin named Turner, who is apparently an expert in turning, hence the name. Bender also had an Uncle named Vladamir who passed away in The Honking
, whose son, Tandy, is by extension Bender's cousin.
Bender's relationships with the crew of Planet Express vary from person to person, although he treats nearly all biological organisms with disdain. The only one of his friends who he has openly shown affection for is Fry, his best friend and roommate. "Of all the friends I've had, (he is) the first." Although he is verbally and physically abusive towards Fry and considers him to be vastly inferior to himself, he has been shown to care for him a great deal. In "Jurassic Bark
" he states that he loves Fry "the way a human loves a dog", and in "I Second That Emotion
" when Bender gets jealous of Nibbler and flushes him down the toilet, a distraught Leela asks how he would feel if she did the same to Fry, effectively describing Fry as Bender's pet (Bender responds with an apathetic "Only one way to find out."). He routinely takes advantage of his friends, framing them for crimes, robbing them, stealing Fry's blood on more than one occasion, stealing Fry's power of attorney
, using Fry's body to smash open a window, stealing jewelry from Amy, and using Zoidberg in various get-rich-quick schemes, although it is probable he does not consider Dr. Zoidberg a friend since in "Obsoletely Fabulous
" Bender begged the 1X Robot to "save (his) friends and Zoidberg" (Though it is seen that he helps Zoidberg from time to time, as seen in "That's Lobstertainment!
"). He even betrays Leela to Zapp when she becomes a wanted criminal out of jealousy of her steadily growing rap sheet in Into the Wild Green Yonder
, only to break her out of prison
to make sure his own rap sheet is longer than hers. Although he regularly frustrates the group, they have demonstrated a certain affection for him as well; during "How Hermes Requisitioned His Groove Back
" the entire crew travelled to the Central Bureaucracy to recover his brain after Morgan Proctor downloaded it onto a disc
and sent it away, Hermes Conrad
subsequently risking his bureaucratic license to locate the disc with Bender's brain on it by sorting the entire pile in just under four minutes. In this episode, when Amy asked why they had to fix him, after being met with a brief period of uncertain silence, Leela responded with "Those arguments aside, we're still going."
Despite his often criminal and immoral attitude, Bender is not free of a soft side; he can feel guilt and remorse over his actions if he goes too far, even for his patterns, indicating that he is not selfish or unkind as he appears to be. In fact, Bender intends to commit suicide in Space Pilot 3000
due to his role in the creation of suicide booths. In Bendless Love
, Bender intends to get rid of Flexo in order to gain the love of a fembot (Angelyne), but when the latter gets stuck under a gigantic steel girder, Angelyne shows sorrow for him. Bender decides that her happiness is more important than his own and he ends up saving Flexo. Also in Jurassic Bark
, when Bender becomes jealous of Fry's petrified dog, Seymour, he decides to throws it in magma. But when he realizes how Fry becomes deeply hurt, Bender apologizes for his misbehavior and in the finale, he saves the dog. And in Godfellas
, he becomes a god of a microscopic alien race (the shrimpkins), and abuses his title by commanding them to produce beer for him. But when his abuse causes their death, Bender cries in mourning and remorse.
Bender is known for his catchphrase "Bite my shiny metal ass", which he uses nearly every episode throughout the series (it was even his very first line of dialogue in the pilot) and sometimes varying the phrase. Bender also has the catchphrases "We're Boned" and "Cheese it!" Also, when referring to himself, Bender frequently refers to himself in the first and third person.
He also is capable of calculating split-second timing while time-traveling as seen in Bender's Big Score where he is capable of calculating the exact second when he can appear from the underground cave, immediately after his counterpart has left for the past.
Due to complications in the episode "Roswell That Ends Well
", Bender's head is 1055 years older than the rest of his body, and since "Bender's Big Score"- during which multiple versions of himself traveled back in time to as far back as Ancient Egypt before waiting out the intervening centuries in the stone caverns underneath Planet Express, Bender's age is many thousands or even possibly millions of years old, though he does at one point indicate that he is four.
) has made several cameos in different episodes of The Simpsons
, another series by Matt Groening
. Within The Simpsons, Bender has appeared in episodes "Future-Drama
", "Bart vs. Lisa vs. the Third Grade
", "Missionary: Impossible
", and "Replaceable You." He also appears as one of the enemies, along with Doctor Zoidberg, in The Simpsons Game
. Bender has a cameo appearance in the Family Guy
episode "The Splendid Source
", as one of the people who had heard and told a dirty joke whose original author Peter, Joe and Quagmire are seeking.
In 2008, Bender took second place behind the Terminator in a poll for the "Baddest Movie Robot" on Techradar.com.
The song "Bend It Like Bender!" from the Devin Townsend Project
album Addicted, is a direct reference to Bender, and contains the quote, "Game's over, losers! I have all the money!"
Bender is currently nominated for the Robot Hall of Fame
.
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
character in the animated television series Futurama
Futurama
Futurama is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a late 20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J...
. He was created by series creators Matt Groening
Matt Groening
Matthew Abram "Matt" Groening is an American cartoonist, screenwriter, and producer. He is the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell as well as two successful television series, The Simpsons and Futurama....
and David X. Cohen
David X. Cohen
David Samuel Cohen , primarily known as David X. Cohen, is an American television writer. He has written for The Simpsons and he is the head writer and executive producer of Futurama.-Early life:...
and is voiced by John DiMaggio
John DiMaggio
John William DiMaggio is an American voice actor. A native of North Plainfield, New Jersey, he is known for his gruff, deep voice and New Jersey accent, which he uses to voice mainly villains and anti-heroes.-Filmography:...
. In the series, Bender plays the role of a comic anti-hero
Anti-hero
In fiction, an antihero is generally considered to be a protagonist whose character is at least in some regards conspicuously contrary to that of the archetypal hero, and is in some instances its antithesis in which the character is generally useless at being a hero or heroine when they're...
, and is described by Leela as an "alcoholic, whore-mongering, chain-smoking gambler
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
". He was built in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and other characters refer to his "swarthy Latin
Latino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...
charm", though he does not even know how to speak Spanish. He is, per his own testimony, prejudiced against non-robots, often expressing an urge to "kill all humans" except his best friend, Fry
Philip J. Fry
Philip J. Fry, known simply as Fry, is a fictional character, the main protagonist of the animated science fiction sitcom Futurama. He is voiced by Billy West using a version of his own voice as he sounded when he was 25.-Character overview:...
; however, he has also committed acts of kindness for humans and others, suggesting he is not truly as belligerent as he claims.
Role in Futurama
Bender serves as a member of Professor Farnsworth'sHubert J. Farnsworth
Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth, or simply The Professor, is a fictional character in the American animated television series Futurama. He is voiced by Billy West using a combination of impressions of Burgess Meredith and Frank Morgan. Farnsworth is the proprietor of the Planet Express delivery...
delivery crew and as the ship's cook
Chef
A chef is a person who cooks professionally for other people. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who cooks for a living, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation.-Etymology:The word "chef" is borrowed ...
for the Planet Express ship
Planet Express Ship
The Planet Express Ship is a fictional spaceship in the animated series Futurama, which bears the official designation "U.S.S. Planet Express Ship." The ship was designed and built by Professor Hubert Farnsworth and is the sole delivery ship of Planet Express, a delivery service owned by the...
. He is Fry's
Philip J. Fry
Philip J. Fry, known simply as Fry, is a fictional character, the main protagonist of the animated science fiction sitcom Futurama. He is voiced by Billy West using a version of his own voice as he sounded when he was 25.-Character overview:...
housemate and one of his closest friends, though the relationship is often one-sided. Bender is a heavy drinker, smoker, and gambler and has been referred to as "pure evil" by other characters, though is also something of a lovable rogue
Lovable rogue
The lovable rogue is a literary trope in the form of a character, often from a dysfunctional or working-class upbringing, who tends to recklessly defy norms and social conventions but who still evokes empathy from the audience or other characters. The lovable rogue is male and is often trying to...
. Bender drinks in order to obtain the alcohol needed to fuel his power circuits, and, ironically, enters an inebriated-like state when he does not consume enough. The process produces waste gases and heat, which he often expels as a flaming belch.
Bender often shows signs of sociopath-like behavior, as he is a pathological liar, and rarely shows empathy towards anyone. He has a mostly voluntary morality and constantly steals
Kleptomania
Kleptomania is an irresistible urge to steal items of trivial value. People with this disorder are compelled to steal things, generally, but not limited to, objects of little or no significant value, such as pens, paper clips, paper and tape...
, ranging from the petty theft of wallets to much higher crimes like kidnapping
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
Jay Leno
Jay Leno
James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno is an American stand-up comedian and television host.From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ,...
's head due to their long feud and stealing Fry's blood
Blood
Blood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....
. He also once stole Amy's
Amy Wong
Amy Wong, voiced by Lauren Tom, is a fictional character, one of the main characters from the Fox and Comedy Central television animated series Futurama. She works as an intern at Planet Express...
earrings while giving her a hug. It was shown in "Roswell That Ends Well
Roswell That Ends Well
"Roswell That Ends Well" is the nineteenth episode of the third production season of the TV show Futurama. This episode, which won an Emmy Award, originally aired on December 9, 2001 as the season premiere of broadcast season four. It was written by J. Stewart Burns and directed by Rich Moore...
" that even in a disassembled state, his individual limbs carry on attempting to steal anything in proximity; the hand on his dismembered arm steals a wallet right out of a scientist's pocket before becoming inactive again.
Bender is a Bending Unit 22 model robot. Bender was built at a facility in Tijuana, Mexico by Mom's Friendly Robot Company, specifically for the task of bending
Bending
In engineering mechanics, bending characterizes the behavior of a slender structural element subjected to an external load applied perpendicularly to a longitudinal axis of the element. The structural element is assumed to be such that at least one of its dimensions is a small fraction, typically...
metal girder
Girder
A girder is a support beam used in construction. Girders often have an I-beam cross section for strength, but may also have a box shape, Z shape or other forms. Girder is the term used to denote the main horizontal support of a structure which supports smaller beams...
s for the construction of suicide booth
Suicide booth
A suicide booth is a fictional machine for committing suicide. Suicide booths appear in numerous fictional settings, including the American animated series Futurama and the manga Gunnm/Battle Angel Alita...
s (ironic as Bender twice attempts suicide using such booths later on). In Hermes's flashback in "Lethal Inspection
Lethal Inspection
"Lethal Inspection" is the sixth episode of the sixth season of the animated sitcom, Futurama, and originally aired on July 22, 2010 on Comedy Central. In the episode Bender learns that he suffers from a terminal manufacturing defect, effectively rendering him mortal...
", Bender is seen as a newborn with a baby-like body (also seen in "Teenage Mutant Leela's Hurdles
Teenage Mutant Leela's Hurdles
"Teenage Mutant Leela's Hurdles" is the ninth episode of the fourth production season of Futurama. It first aired on March 30, 2003 as the seventh episode of the fifth broadcast season. The episode was directed by Bret Haaland and written by Jeff Westbrook.-Plot:Professor Farnsworth is chasing...
") and though he is defective, Hermes is revealed to have approved Bender's inspection out of empathy and thus saved him; the episode also reveals that because of his defective lack of a backup
Backup
In information technology, a backup or the process of backing up is making copies of data which may be used to restore the original after a data loss event. The verb form is back up in two words, whereas the noun is backup....
unit, Bender is mortal, unlike other robots. In "Bendless Love
Bendless Love
"Bendless Love" is the sixth episode in season three of Futurama. It originally aired in North America on February 11, 2001.-Plot:After an overly dramatic takeoff results in an inelegant crash onto the streets of the city, the crew discovers that the Planet Express ship's essential L-unit has been...
", Bender is portrayed as built with his normal adult-sized body and memory of his birth. As Bender's memory of his birth is an adult form, it is possible what he remembered wasn't his birth, but a transfer to an adult body.Bender attended Bending State University, where he majored in Bending and minored in Robo-American studies. He was also a member of Epsilon Rho Rho, a robot fraternity, where he became something of a fraternity hero for his many shenanigans; one night he chugged an entire keg
Keg
A keg is a small barrel.Traditionally, a wooden keg is made by a cooper used to transport items such as nails, gunpowder., and a variety of liquids....
of beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
, streaked across campus, and stuffed fifty-eight people into a telephone booth
Telephone booth
A telephone booth, telephone kiosk, telephone call box or telephone box is a small structure furnished with a payphone and designed for a telephone user's convenience. In the USA, Canada and Australia, "telephone booth" is used, while in the UK and the rest of the Commonwealth it is a "telephone...
("A lot of them were children."). While different creation processes have been shown, David X. Cohen stated that the viewer has only been shown Bender emerging from the machine that created him, while what happened inside the machine was not revealed. In "Rebirth
Rebirth (Futurama)
"Rebirth" is the premiere of Futuramas sixth season, and the revival of the series. It originally aired in North America on June 24, 2010, on Comedy Central. The episode was written by David X...
", Bender's chassis is reconstructed from stem cells.
Creation
The name Bender was chosen by series creator Matt Groening as a homage to the character John Bender from The Breakfast ClubThe Breakfast Club
The Breakfast Club is a 1985 American teen drama film written and directed by John Hughes. The storyline follows five teenagers as they spend a Saturday in detention together and come to realize that they are all deeper than their respective stereotypes.-Plot:The plot follows five students at...
(although the name was later used in reference to his job of bending girders). There is also a significant similarity to the character in John Sladek
John Sladek
John Thomas Sladek was an American science fiction author, known for his satirical and surreal novels.- Life and work :...
's novel Tik-Tok
Tik-Tok (novel)
Tik-Tok is a 1983 science fiction novel by John Sladek. It received a 1983 British Science Fiction Association Award. A later paperback edition was issued by Gollancz in 2002.-Plot summary:...
(1983), whose title character is a robot that disobeys humans, calls them "meatfaces" (like Bender's "meatbags") and at one point even says:
"You can kiss my copper-plated ass!"
"bite my shiny metal ass"
"bite my colossal metal ass"
The design for Bender went through multiple changes before reaching its final state. One of the decisions which Matt Groening found to be particularly difficult was whether Bender's head should be square or round. Initially he worked under the idea that all robots would have square heads in 3000; however, it was later decided that Bender's head should be round, a visual play on the idea that Bender is a "round peg in a square hole". Bender's antennae, which would have been positioned in place of his ears, were also changed to give him a more streamlined appearance. Groening later states in commentary for the episode Crimes of the Hot
Crimes of the Hot
"Crimes of the Hot" is the eighth episode of the fourth production season of the television show Futurama. It originally aired in North America on November 10, 2002 as the season premiere of Futuramas fifth broadcast season. The episode was written by Aaron Ehasz and directed by Peter Avanzino...
that the robot built by Professor Farnsworth
Hubert J. Farnsworth
Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth, or simply The Professor, is a fictional character in the American animated television series Futurama. He is voiced by Billy West using a combination of impressions of Burgess Meredith and Frank Morgan. Farnsworth is the proprietor of the Planet Express delivery...
in that episode is very similar to the original design for Bender.
Voice
When casting for Futurama , Bender's voice was the most difficult to cast, in part because the show's creators had not yet decided what a robot should sound like. Because of this, every voice actor who auditioned, no matter for what character, was asked to also read for Bender. After about 300 auditions, series co-creator David X. CohenDavid X. Cohen
David Samuel Cohen , primarily known as David X. Cohen, is an American television writer. He has written for The Simpsons and he is the head writer and executive producer of Futurama.-Early life:...
even attempted to audition after being told he sounded like a robot. John DiMaggio was eventually chosen for the role after his second audition. He originally auditioned using his Bender voice for the role of Professor Farnsworth
Hubert J. Farnsworth
Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth, or simply The Professor, is a fictional character in the American animated television series Futurama. He is voiced by Billy West using a combination of impressions of Burgess Meredith and Frank Morgan. Farnsworth is the proprietor of the Planet Express delivery...
and used a voice later used for URL the police robot for Bender.
He describes the voice he got the part with as a combination of a sloppy drunk, Slim Pickens
Slim Pickens
Louis Burton Lindley, Jr. , better known by the stage name Slim Pickens, was an American rodeo performer and film and television actor who epitomized the profane, tough, sardonic cowboy, but who is best remembered for his comic roles, notably in Dr...
and a character his college friend created named "Charlie the sausage-lover". Casting directors liked that he made the character sound like a drunk, rather than an automaton. DiMaggio has noted that he had difficulty singing as Bender in "Hell Is Other Robots
Hell Is Other Robots
"Hell Is Other Robots" is the ninth episode of Futurama. It originally aired in North America on May 18, 1999, as the season finale of the first season. The episode was written by Eric Kaplan and directed by Rich Moore. Guest stars in this episode include the Beastie Boys as themselves and Dan...
" because he was forced to sing the harmony part in a low key.
Design
As a bending unit, Bender is shown to have extraordinary strength, even bending unconventional objects including enormous steel girders marked "UN-BENDABLE", Professor Farnsworth's spineVertebral column
In human anatomy, the vertebral column is a column usually consisting of 24 articulating vertebrae, and 9 fused vertebrae in the sacrum and the coccyx. It is situated in the dorsal aspect of the torso, separated by intervertebral discs...
and even a vertical brick wall. Bender is shown to be extremely durable and strong, as he is able to break through solid objects, survive gunfire and explosions, and survive underwater
Underwater
Underwater is a term describing the realm below the surface of water where the water exists in a natural feature such as an ocean, sea, lake, pond, or river. Three quarters of the planet Earth is covered by water...
and in magma
Magma
Magma is a mixture of molten rock, volatiles and solids that is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and is expected to exist on other terrestrial planets. Besides molten rock, magma may also contain suspended crystals and dissolved gas and sometimes also gas bubbles. Magma often collects in...
(Suffering minor damage). Even when he is seemingly destroyed it has no effect on his personality, indicating that his "brain" is not stored in any particular location. He is also portrayed as a technologically advanced robot, with numerous features superfluous to his original purpose that appear at his will. As such, Bender is able to record video and audio; extend/retract/detach his arms, legs and eyes; project imagery; and use his head for a wide range of functions. Bender can also disassemble and reassemble his body at will, and each part can operate individually. In Bender Gets Made
Bender Gets Made
"Bender Gets Made" is episode thirteen in season two of Futurama. It was originally shown in North America on April 30, 2000.- Plot :...
, Bender says he has a nose, but chooses not to wear it. Bender's chest cavity seems to store much more than is physically possible
Magic satchel
Magic satchel is a term often used in reference to computer role-playing games. It refers to the use of a character's inventory in the game, which can often contain more items than is physically possible for the character to carry without any visible means to hold or transport them.A similar...
, often used to store heads in jars, small children, alcohol, and loot from a heist. On inspection of his body it is normally shown to be empty, though devices like the F-Ray reveal that he does have gears and other robotic components inside despite appearing hollow (and thus, giving another indication that his cavity is a pocket dimension).
Bender's metallurgical composition is occasionally mentioned, and he has inconsistently claimed in various instances to be some combination of 30% iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
, 40% titanium
Titanium
Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. It has a low density and is a strong, lustrous, corrosion-resistant transition metal with a silver color....
, 40% lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
, 40% zinc
Zinc
Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...
, 40% dolomite
Dolomite
Dolomite is a carbonate mineral composed of calcium magnesium carbonate CaMg2. The term is also used to describe the sedimentary carbonate rock dolostone....
, 20% or 40% chromium
Chromium
Chromium is a chemical element which has the symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in Group 6. It is a steely-gray, lustrous, hard metal that takes a high polish and has a high melting point. It is also odorless, tasteless, and malleable...
, 40-50% osmium
Osmium
Osmium is a chemical element with the symbol Os and atomic number 76. Osmium is a hard, brittle, blue-gray or blue-blacktransition metal in the platinum family, and is the densest natural element. Osmium is twice as dense as lead. The density of osmium is , slightly greater than that of iridium,...
, 0.04% nickel
Nickel
Nickel is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile...
, 60% storage space, 40% scrap metal and 40% lucky. His titanium composition is confirmed in A Head in the Polls
A Head in the Polls
"A Head in the Polls" is the third episode in the second production season of Futurama. It originally aired in North America on December 12, 1999 as episode seven in the second broadcast season. The episode was written by J. Stewart Burns and directed by Bret Haaland. Claudia Schiffer makes a guest...
, in which he sells his body during a titanium shortage. His dolomite composition is supported in Jurassic Bark
Jurassic Bark
"Jurassic Bark" is the seventh episode of season four of the television series Futurama, airing November 17, 2002. It was nominated for an Emmy Award, but lost to The Simpsons episode "Three Gays of the Condo".-Plot:...
when he survives a swim through a pool of magma, which the Professor suggested was only possible for objects made of this mineral. In A Pharaoh to Remember
A Pharaoh to Remember
"A Pharaoh to Remember" is episode seventeen of Futuramas third season. It originally aired on March 10, 2002.-Plot:After a pool heist Bender committed is attributed to a human felon, Bender grows concerned that he will be doomed to obscurity, and sets off to rectify the situation...
, Professor Farnsworth revealed that Bender has a .04% nickel impurity. In Attack of the Killer App
Attack of the Killer App
"Attack of the Killer App" is the third episode of the sixth season of the animated sitcom, Futurama which first aired July 1, 2010 on Comedy Central. The episode focuses on the release of the new eyePhone, resulting in Fry posting a viral video of Leela on the Internet...
, Third World workers stripping Bender for scrap claim that he is 40% chromium. He is described as made from an osmium alloy, which would then be somewhere in between 40 and 50%.
Other bending units such as Flexo show similar personality traits, though Flexo is not quite as "evil" as Bender. In the episode Mother's Day
Mother's Day (Futurama)
"Mother's Day" is episode fourteen in season two of Futurama. It originally aired in North America on May 14, 2000.- Plot :Every Mother's Day, robots made in Mom's Friendly Robot Company factories around the world give gifts, money and cards to the owner of the corporation, Mom.She,...
, Leela looks through a simulation of a bending unit's sight, which targets potential rubes and then denotes a plan to rob them and leave them in a ditch, showing that they are thieving and amoral by design. However a bending unit named Billy West is helpful and kind, though this unit lives as a farmer on the moon. Bender's serial number is 2716057. (This can be expressed as the sum of 2 cubes. Specifically, 9523 + (-951)3 with Flexo's serial number 3370318 = 1193 + 1193)
Personality
Bender is shown throughout the series as having a secret desire to be a folk musician that only manifests itself when a magnet is placed on/near his head. This desire is finally fulfilled in the episode "Bendin' in the WindBendin' in the Wind
"Bendin' in the Wind" is the thirteenth episode in season three of Futurama. It originally aired April 22, 2001. The title comes from the Bob Dylan song "Blowin' in the Wind". In South America, this episode was #1 in "Bender's Best" top ten Bender-related Futurama episodes.- Plot :Fry gets a free...
": an accident involving a giant can opener
Can opener
A can opener is a device used to open metal cans. Although preservation of food using tin cans had been practiced since at least 1772 in the Netherlands, the first can openers were patented only in 1855 in England and in 1858 in the United States. Those openers were basically variations of a...
leaves Bender with a severely ripped-open chest and paralyzed from the neck down, and an encounter with Beck
Beck
Beck Hansen is an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known by the stage name Beck...
during his hospitalization leads to him becoming his lead washboard, and the two teaming for a musical tour that turns Bender into a folk hero for other broken robots, only for his career to end when he recovers from the damage.
Bender is also fascinated with cooking
Cooking
Cooking is the process of preparing food by use of heat. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely across the world, reflecting unique environmental, economic, and cultural traditions. Cooks themselves also vary widely in skill and training...
, being the Planet Express ship's chef
Chef
A chef is a person who cooks professionally for other people. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who cooks for a living, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation.-Etymology:The word "chef" is borrowed ...
, though he is shown to have no sense of actual human taste
Taste
Taste is one of the traditional five senses. It refers to the ability to detect the flavor of substances such as food, certain minerals, and poisons, etc....
, in fact, his early dinners were so horrible that even the literally omnivorous Zoidberg couldn't eat it. In his first attempt, he creates a dinner for the crew that is so over-salted they all gag (which is aggravated further when their drinks turn out to be salt water
Saline water
Saline water is a general term for water that contains a significant concentration of dissolved salts . The concentration is usually expressed in parts per million of salt....
, or "Salt with water in it," as Bender puts it), then tells them that the food was fine since the salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
content was 10% below a lethal dose (Dr. Zoidberg remarks that he "shouldn't have had seconds"). In "The Problem with Popplers", he creates dinner consisting of nothing but caper
Caper
Capparis spinosa, the caper bush, is a perennial winter-deciduous species that bears rounded, fleshy leaves and large white to pinkish-white flowers. A caper is also the pickled bud of this plant...
s and baking soda
Sodium bicarbonate
Sodium bicarbonate or sodium hydrogen carbonate is the chemical compound with the formula Na HCO3. Sodium bicarbonate is a white solid that is crystalline but often appears as a fine powder. It has a slightly salty, alkaline taste resembling that of washing soda . The natural mineral form is...
, and mistakenly expresses the belief that humans eat rocks. He seems to improve his cooking skills over the series, cooking a lavish cake
Cake
Cake is a form of bread or bread-like food. In its modern forms, it is typically a sweet and enriched baked dessert. In its oldest forms, cakes were normally fried breads or cheesecakes, and normally had a disk shape...
for Nibbler
Nibbler (Futurama)
Lord Nibbler is a fictional character from the animated television series Futurama. He is voiced by Frank Welker, who provides not only his speaking lines but also the various noises he makes when not speaking English....
's birthday party and beating Elzar for the title of Iron Cook (though he uses a potion called "The Essence of Pure Flavor," consisting of water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
and a generous portion of LSD
LSD
Lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD or LSD-25, also known as lysergide and colloquially as acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family, well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed and open eye visuals, synaesthesia, an...
to make the judges hallucinate that his food tastes good). In Into the Wild Green Yonder he mistakingly bakes prison guards a cake with nutmeg
Nutmeg
The nutmeg tree is any of several species of trees in genus Myristica. The most important commercial species is Myristica fragrans, an evergreen tree indigenous to the Banda Islands in the Moluccas of Indonesia...
thinking it was a natural human sleep drug, before being corrected by Amy
Amy Wong
Amy Wong, voiced by Lauren Tom, is a fictional character, one of the main characters from the Fox and Comedy Central television animated series Futurama. She works as an intern at Planet Express...
that nutmeg is in fact a baking drug.
Bender also states, "I've always wanted to break in to gooning." in the episode, "Bender Gets Made
Bender Gets Made
"Bender Gets Made" is episode thirteen in season two of Futurama. It was originally shown in North America on April 30, 2000.- Plot :...
."
As a robot, Bender possesses an incredible amount of patience
Patience
Patience is the state of endurance under difficult circumstances, which can mean persevering in the face of delay or provocation without acting on annoyance/anger in a negative way; or exhibiting forbearance when under strain, especially when faced with longer-term difficulties. Patience is the...
. In the series and movies, he is shown to wait over a thousand years in sand after his head is lost during a trip back in time to 1947, and many thousands of years in subterranean caverns under New York (Although on this occasion he was also in the presence of multiple alternate versions of himself that had previously made the same 'trip'). Despite the long wait, it is suggested that Bender does not power down, apparently enjoying his own company so much that he does not consider it necessary. However, in one episode, he shows next to no patience as a one time joke.
Bender's constant drinking stems from the fact that he needs booze to power his fuel cell
Fuel cell
A fuel cell is a device that converts the chemical energy from a fuel into electricity through a chemical reaction with oxygen or another oxidizing agent. Hydrogen is the most common fuel, but hydrocarbons such as natural gas and alcohols like methanol are sometimes used...
s; the process generates waste gases and heat, which he often expels as a flaming belch (although it is not always a belch). Although booze is thus a necessity for Bender rather than a vice, he apparently drinks far more than he requires, contributing to his characterization as an alcoholic ("Hell Is Other Robots
Hell Is Other Robots
"Hell Is Other Robots" is the ninth episode of Futurama. It originally aired in North America on May 18, 1999, as the season finale of the first season. The episode was written by Eric Kaplan and directed by Rich Moore. Guest stars in this episode include the Beastie Boys as themselves and Dan...
" reveals that robots can function equally well on mineral oil instead of alcohol, also contributing to the perception of Bender's alcohol use as a vice). If Bender is deprived of alcohol, for instance during periods of depression
Depression (mood)
Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person's thoughts, behaviour, feelings and physical well-being. Depressed people may feel sad, anxious, empty, hopeless, helpless, worthless, guilty, irritable, or restless...
, he ceases to function properly and shows signs similar to human drunkenness
Drunkenness
Alcohol intoxication is a physiological state that occurs when a person has a high level of ethanol in his or her blood....
, including developing a rusty 5 o'clock shadow
Stubble
Stubble is the regrowth of shaven hair, when it is short and has a rough, abrasive texture.-Facial:During the 1980s, facial stubble on men became fashionable, partly due to being popularized by the singer George Michael, as well as Miami Vice. This was also known as designer stubble and was...
. As noted above, his disembodied head has survived for millennia with, presumably, no source of alcohol, so it may be that, when a mere head, Bender neither requires alcohol nor suffers from its absence.
In addition to consuming alcohol for energy, he also has a nuclear pile, as seen in "Godfellas
Godfellas
"Godfellas" is the twentieth episode of the third production season of Futurama. It was first shown in North America on March 17, 2002, as the eighth episode in the fourth broadcast season. The episode was written by Ken Keeler and directed by Susie Dietter. It features Bender becoming the god of...
". When he is sufficiently frightened or sickened, brick
Brick
A brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually laid using various kinds of mortar. It has been regarded as one of the longest lasting and strongest building materials used throughout history.-History:...
s fall from his backside (a reference to the slang "shitting bricks"), as seen in "Space Pilot 3000
Space Pilot 3000
"Space Pilot 3000" is the pilot episode of Futurama, which originally aired in North America on March 28, 1999 on Fox. The episode focuses on the cryogenic freezing of the series protagonist, Philip J. Fry, and the events when he awakens 1,000 years in the future...
", The Beast with a Billion Backs and "Bendin' in the Wind". When sufficiently fascinated by something, he may pull out a camera and snap a picture, adding the catchphrase "Neat!" In addition to drinking, Bender also has an affinity for cigars. Unlike drinking alcohol for fuel, Bender tells Fry that he smokes cigars simply because they "make (him) look cool."
Despite being a robot, Bender has been seen to show emotion on many occasions, going so far as to shed a tear in "Crimes of the Hot", to the astonishment of Fry. One of the series' running jokes revolves around Bender having emotions, while technically he should be unfeeling. Bender is seemingly unaware of his emotions, stating in the episode "Anthology of Interest II" "I mean, being a robot's great but we don't have emotions and sometimes that makes me very sad". In his very first appearance, he tries to commit suicide via a suicide booth out of guilt
Guilt
Guilt is the state of being responsible for the commission of an offense. It is also a cognitive or an emotional experience that occurs when a person realizes or believes—accurately or not—that he or she has violated a moral standard, and bears significant responsibility for that...
for having unknowingly participated in creating suicide booths. Bender has also been known to be nonchalant to the point of appearing both uncaring and incredibly brave, even when faced with life-threatening situations.
Bender can perform many functions that are often regarded as exclusive to humans, such as whistling, snoring, having bloodshot eyes, crying
Crying
Crying is shedding tears as a response to an emotional state in humans. The act of crying has been defined as "a complex secretomotor phenomenon characterized by the shedding of tears from the lacrimal apparatus, without any irritation of the ocular structures"...
, feeling at the least physical attraction, being tickled, dream
Dream
Dreams are successions of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. The content and purpose of dreams are not definitively understood, though they have been a topic of scientific speculation, philosophical intrigue and religious...
ing, and belching. Despite these anthropomorphic characteristics, he can function in the vacuum of space, in the deep sea, or while submerged in lava
Lava
Lava refers both to molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption and the resulting rock after solidification and cooling. This molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites. When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at...
for a short period. Bender is a classic narcissist, as seen in "The Farnsworth Parabox
The Farnsworth Parabox
"The Farnsworth Parabox" is the fifteenth episode of the fourth production season of Futurama. It first aired June 8, 2003, as the tenth episode in the fifth broadcast season. The episode was written by Bill Odenkirk and directed by Ron Hughart.- Plot :...
" when he seemingly falls in love with an alternate gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
plated version of himself, stating that he has finally found someone "as great as me". In Bender's Big Score he converses with time-duplicates of himself under New New York in a limestone cavern for thousands of years because he is so in love with himself. Despite these human characteristics, Bender has no detectable soul, as seen in "Obsoletely Fabulous
Obsoletely Fabulous
"Obsoletely Fabulous" is the fourteenth episode of the fourth production season of Futurama.-Plot:At a robot expo, Mom's Friendly Robot Co. introduces a new, more advanced robot: Robot 1-X. Feeling unwanted after Professor Farnsworth buys one to help out around the office, Bender decides to get a...
" when he passes through a 'soul detector' without an alarm sounding.
Bender's family is rarely seen in the show. It is known that his mother
Mother
A mother, mum, mom, momma, or mama is a woman who has raised a child, given birth to a child, and/or supplied the ovum that grew into a child. Because of the complexity and differences of a mother's social, cultural, and religious definitions and roles, it is challenging to specify a universally...
was an Industrial robot
Industrial robot
An industrial robot is defined by ISO as an automatically controlled, reprogrammable, multipurpose manipulator programmable in three or more axes...
, however he often refers to Mom
Mom (Futurama)
Mom, real first name Carol, is a character from the animated television series Futurama. Voiced by Tress MacNeille. Mom is one of the show's two main antagonists, the other being Zapp Brannigan...
, the owner of the company that made him, as his mother. On several occasions he meets with another bending unit of the same manufacturer, Flexo, who looks and sounds exactly like him except for an arbitrary
Arbitrary
Arbitrariness is a term given to choices and actions subject to individual will, judgment or preference, based solely upon an individual's opinion or discretion.Arbitrary decisions are not necessarily the same as random decisions...
metal goatee
Goatee
Goatee refers to a style of facial hair incorporating hair on a man’s chin. The exact nature of the style has varied according to time and culture.Traditionally, goatee refers solely to a beard formed by a tuft of hair on the chin...
. Flexo is later revealed to be the good twin despite the goatee, while Bender is the evil twin (an apparent twist on the classic Star Trek
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
episode "Mirror, Mirror"). Bender also claims to have an identical cousin
Cousin
In kinship terminology, a cousin is a relative with whom one shares one or more common ancestors. The term is rarely used when referring to a relative in one's immediate family where there is a more specific term . The term "blood relative" can be used synonymously and establishes the existence of...
named Buster. It is also revealed that Bender has a young son
Son
A son is a male offspring; a boy or man in relation to his parents. The female analogue is a daughter.-Social issues regarding sons:In pre-industrial societies and some current countries with agriculture-based economies, a higher value was, and still is, assigned to sons rather than daughters,...
who he willingly sent to Robot Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
in exchange for a robot army provided by the Robot Devil to get Fry's attention in The Beast with a Billion Backs. He also has an Aunt
Aunt
An aunt is a person who is the sister or sister-in-law of a parent. A man with an equivalent relationship is an uncle, and the reciprocal relationship is that of a nephew or niece....
Rita, a screw
Screw
A screw, or bolt, is a type of fastener characterized by a helical ridge, known as an external thread or just thread, wrapped around a cylinder. Some screw threads are designed to mate with a complementary thread, known as an internal thread, often in the form of a nut or an object that has the...
, however this is only mentioned in a dream-sequence of Leela's, and may not be true, and in Beast with a Billion Backs
Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs
Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs is an animated science-fiction comedy film, the second of the four Futurama straight-to-DVD films. The film was released in the United States and Canada on June 24, 2008, followed by a UK release on June 30, 2008 and an Australian release on August 6, 2008....
, during the Deathball sequence, Bender claims his grandmother was a bulldozer
Bulldozer
A bulldozer is a crawler equipped with a substantial metal plate used to push large quantities of soil, sand, rubble, etc., during construction work and typically equipped at the rear with a claw-like device to loosen densely-compacted materials.Bulldozers can be found on a wide range of sites,...
. In "That Darn Katz!
That Darn Katz!
"That Darn Katz!" is the eighth episode of the sixth season of the animated comedy show, Futurama. It first aired on Comedy Central on August 5, 2010. In the episode, Amy's rejected doctoral dissertation—a device to harness the Earth's rotational energy—is used by evil invading space cats to fix...
" Bender claims he has a cousin named Turner, who is apparently an expert in turning, hence the name. Bender also had an Uncle named Vladamir who passed away in The Honking
The Honking
"The Honking" is episode eighteen in season two of Futurama. It originally aired in North America on November 5, 2000. The title comes from The Howling, a modern werewolf film.-Plot:...
, whose son, Tandy, is by extension Bender's cousin.
Bender's relationships with the crew of Planet Express vary from person to person, although he treats nearly all biological organisms with disdain. The only one of his friends who he has openly shown affection for is Fry, his best friend and roommate. "Of all the friends I've had, (he is) the first." Although he is verbally and physically abusive towards Fry and considers him to be vastly inferior to himself, he has been shown to care for him a great deal. In "Jurassic Bark
Jurassic Bark
"Jurassic Bark" is the seventh episode of season four of the television series Futurama, airing November 17, 2002. It was nominated for an Emmy Award, but lost to The Simpsons episode "Three Gays of the Condo".-Plot:...
" he states that he loves Fry "the way a human loves a dog", and in "I Second That Emotion
I Second That Emotion
"I Second That Emotion" is a 1967 song primarily composed by Smokey Robinson and originally released as a single from his band Smokey Robinson & the Miracles for the Motown label. The song peaked for three weeks in the United States at #4 on the Billboard pop singles chart in December 1967...
" when Bender gets jealous of Nibbler and flushes him down the toilet, a distraught Leela asks how he would feel if she did the same to Fry, effectively describing Fry as Bender's pet (Bender responds with an apathetic "Only one way to find out."). He routinely takes advantage of his friends, framing them for crimes, robbing them, stealing Fry's blood on more than one occasion, stealing Fry's power of attorney
Power of attorney
A power of attorney or letter of attorney is a written authorization to represent or act on another's behalf in private affairs, business, or some other legal matter...
, using Fry's body to smash open a window, stealing jewelry from Amy, and using Zoidberg in various get-rich-quick schemes, although it is probable he does not consider Dr. Zoidberg a friend since in "Obsoletely Fabulous
Obsoletely Fabulous
"Obsoletely Fabulous" is the fourteenth episode of the fourth production season of Futurama.-Plot:At a robot expo, Mom's Friendly Robot Co. introduces a new, more advanced robot: Robot 1-X. Feeling unwanted after Professor Farnsworth buys one to help out around the office, Bender decides to get a...
" Bender begged the 1X Robot to "save (his) friends and Zoidberg" (Though it is seen that he helps Zoidberg from time to time, as seen in "That's Lobstertainment!
That's Lobstertainment!
"That's Lobstertainment!" is the eighth episode in season three of Futurama. It originally aired February 25, 2001.-Plot:After a disastrous attempt at stand-up comedy, Dr. Zoidberg informs the crew that his uncle, Harold Zoid, was a star in the silent hologram era. Zoidberg writes to his uncle,...
"). He even betrays Leela to Zapp when she becomes a wanted criminal out of jealousy of her steadily growing rap sheet in Into the Wild Green Yonder
Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder
Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder is the last of a series of four straight-to-DVD Futurama movies. The movie was written by Ken Keeler, based on a story by Keeler and David X. Cohen, and directed by Peter Avanzino. Guest stars include Phil Hendrie, Penn Jillette , Snoop Dogg and Seth...
, only to break her out of prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
to make sure his own rap sheet is longer than hers. Although he regularly frustrates the group, they have demonstrated a certain affection for him as well; during "How Hermes Requisitioned His Groove Back
How Hermes Requisitioned His Groove Back
"How Hermes Requisitioned His Groove Back" is episode eleven in season two of Futurama. It originally aired in North America on April 2, 2000...
" the entire crew travelled to the Central Bureaucracy to recover his brain after Morgan Proctor downloaded it onto a disc
Optical disc
In computing and optical disc recording technologies, an optical disc is a flat, usually circular disc which encodes binary data in the form of pits and lands on a special material on one of its flat surfaces...
and sent it away, Hermes Conrad
Hermes Conrad
Hermes Conrad is a fictional character in the Futurama animated series. He is voiced by Phil LaMarr.- Appearance and personality :Born in 2959, Hermes is a grade 36 bureaucrat from Jamaica. He manages the Planet Express delivery business with responsibilities that include paying bills, giving out...
subsequently risking his bureaucratic license to locate the disc with Bender's brain on it by sorting the entire pile in just under four minutes. In this episode, when Amy asked why they had to fix him, after being met with a brief period of uncertain silence, Leela responded with "Those arguments aside, we're still going."
Despite his often criminal and immoral attitude, Bender is not free of a soft side; he can feel guilt and remorse over his actions if he goes too far, even for his patterns, indicating that he is not selfish or unkind as he appears to be. In fact, Bender intends to commit suicide in Space Pilot 3000
Space Pilot 3000
"Space Pilot 3000" is the pilot episode of Futurama, which originally aired in North America on March 28, 1999 on Fox. The episode focuses on the cryogenic freezing of the series protagonist, Philip J. Fry, and the events when he awakens 1,000 years in the future...
due to his role in the creation of suicide booths. In Bendless Love
Bendless Love
"Bendless Love" is the sixth episode in season three of Futurama. It originally aired in North America on February 11, 2001.-Plot:After an overly dramatic takeoff results in an inelegant crash onto the streets of the city, the crew discovers that the Planet Express ship's essential L-unit has been...
, Bender intends to get rid of Flexo in order to gain the love of a fembot (Angelyne), but when the latter gets stuck under a gigantic steel girder, Angelyne shows sorrow for him. Bender decides that her happiness is more important than his own and he ends up saving Flexo. Also in Jurassic Bark
Jurassic Bark
"Jurassic Bark" is the seventh episode of season four of the television series Futurama, airing November 17, 2002. It was nominated for an Emmy Award, but lost to The Simpsons episode "Three Gays of the Condo".-Plot:...
, when Bender becomes jealous of Fry's petrified dog, Seymour, he decides to throws it in magma. But when he realizes how Fry becomes deeply hurt, Bender apologizes for his misbehavior and in the finale, he saves the dog. And in Godfellas
Godfellas
"Godfellas" is the twentieth episode of the third production season of Futurama. It was first shown in North America on March 17, 2002, as the eighth episode in the fourth broadcast season. The episode was written by Ken Keeler and directed by Susie Dietter. It features Bender becoming the god of...
, he becomes a god of a microscopic alien race (the shrimpkins), and abuses his title by commanding them to produce beer for him. But when his abuse causes their death, Bender cries in mourning and remorse.
Bender is known for his catchphrase "Bite my shiny metal ass", which he uses nearly every episode throughout the series (it was even his very first line of dialogue in the pilot) and sometimes varying the phrase. Bender also has the catchphrases "We're Boned" and "Cheese it!" Also, when referring to himself, Bender frequently refers to himself in the first and third person.
He also is capable of calculating split-second timing while time-traveling as seen in Bender's Big Score where he is capable of calculating the exact second when he can appear from the underground cave, immediately after his counterpart has left for the past.
Due to complications in the episode "Roswell That Ends Well
Roswell That Ends Well
"Roswell That Ends Well" is the nineteenth episode of the third production season of the TV show Futurama. This episode, which won an Emmy Award, originally aired on December 9, 2001 as the season premiere of broadcast season four. It was written by J. Stewart Burns and directed by Rich Moore...
", Bender's head is 1055 years older than the rest of his body, and since "Bender's Big Score"- during which multiple versions of himself traveled back in time to as far back as Ancient Egypt before waiting out the intervening centuries in the stone caverns underneath Planet Express, Bender's age is many thousands or even possibly millions of years old, though he does at one point indicate that he is four.
Reception and cultural influence
Bender (being the show's breakout characterBreakout character
A breakout character is a fictional character in different episodes, books or other media that becomes the most popular, talked about, and imitated. Most often a breakout character in a television series captures the audience's imagination and helps to popularize the show, sometimes inadvertently...
) has made several cameos in different episodes of The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
, another series by Matt Groening
Matt Groening
Matthew Abram "Matt" Groening is an American cartoonist, screenwriter, and producer. He is the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell as well as two successful television series, The Simpsons and Futurama....
. Within The Simpsons, Bender has appeared in episodes "Future-Drama
Future-Drama
"Future-Drama" is the fifteenth episode of The Simpsons sixteenth season, the 350th episode overall, and originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 17, 2005. In the episode, Bart and Lisa stumble into Professor Frink's basement, and he gives them a look into their future as...
", "Bart vs. Lisa vs. the Third Grade
Bart vs. Lisa vs. the Third Grade
"Bart vs. Lisa vs. The Third Grade" is the third episode of The Simpsons fourteenth season. It aired on November 17, 2002.-Plot:The family is bored with the terrible reality shows inundating the six major networks, so Bart has a suggestion: buy a satellite dish...
", "Missionary: Impossible
Missionary: Impossible
"Missionary: Impossible" is the fifteenth episode of the 11th season of The Simpsons, which originally aired February 20, 2000.-Plot:In an attempt to end a pledge drive which interrupts a favorite show of his on PBS , Homer pledges $10,000 to the network...
", and "Replaceable You." He also appears as one of the enemies, along with Doctor Zoidberg, in The Simpsons Game
The Simpsons Game
The Simpsons Game is an action/platformer video game based on the animated television series The Simpsons, made for the Wii, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, and PlayStation Portable. The game was developed, published, and distributed by Electronic Arts. It was released in North...
. Bender has a cameo appearance in the Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
episode "The Splendid Source
The Splendid Source
"The Splendid Source" is the nineteenth episode of the eighth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. Directed by Brian Iles and written by Mark Hentemann, the episode originally aired on Fox in the United States on May 16, 2010. The episode follows Peter, Joe and Quagmire as they set out...
", as one of the people who had heard and told a dirty joke whose original author Peter, Joe and Quagmire are seeking.
In 2008, Bender took second place behind the Terminator in a poll for the "Baddest Movie Robot" on Techradar.com.
The song "Bend It Like Bender!" from the Devin Townsend Project
Devin Townsend
Devin Garret Townsend is a Canadian musician and record producer. He was the founder, songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist in extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad from 1994 to 2007 and has had an extensive career as a solo artist....
album Addicted, is a direct reference to Bender, and contains the quote, "Game's over, losers! I have all the money!"
Bender is currently nominated for the Robot Hall of Fame
Robot Hall of Fame
The Robot Hall of Fame was established in 2003 by the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. It is designed to honor both achievements in robotics technology and robots from science fiction that have served as creative inspiration in robotics...
.