History Characters / TheBoondocksMainCharacters

** JerksWithHeartsOfGold: Every now and then, we see that [[AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther they really do care about each other]].

** AfroAsskicker: He's a [[KidHero preteen]] [[KidSamurai badass]] [[KungFuKid variant]] of this trope.
** BadassAdorable: He can kick ass despite being a preteen kid.
** BadassBookworm: He's very well read and has an interest in politics.
** RetiredBadass: As early as Season 3, he claimed to be retired from revolutionary activism (or "domestic terrorism" depending on one's views).

* AllIssuesArePoliticalIssues / EverythingIsRacist: Especially in the newspaper comics. Huey won't stop talking about politics, controversies, and other stressful thoughts, even at the most awkward of times. He wants to attach political or philosophical meanings to just about everything. He won't even give himself a break on holidays and vacations.
* [[AngryBlackMan Angry Black Boy]]: Especially in the comic, though [=McGruder=] [[http://24.media.tumblr.com/21e72b1a3eaaa92b1885d85ebcd0fad1/tumblr_mgewrfkXKh1rgam01o1_1280.gif has been known to use him to criticize the concept]].
* AntiHero

* CrazyPrepared [[CrazySurvivalist Survivalist]]: A rare far-left example. As a paranoid {{conspiracy theorist}}, Huey hoards a lot of emergency supplies in his house, as he is expecting an epic disaster to strike the world at any moment.

** TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior: Where do we begin? Huey owns a real sword and an electric shock glove, has planned a prison breakout, brought nunchaku to a cinema, kidnapped Ruckus and hijacked his school bus, and he created a bomb with the intent to assassinate Ed Wuncler II (although in Huey's defense, Ed II is a loan shark who isn't above murdering people).

* TheCynic / ThePessimist: He's the master of negative thinking. No matter the occasion, he will express his unpleasant thoughts about it.
** SillyRabbitCynicismIsForLosers: He's often at the receiving end of this. Granddad outright him asks him how making himself miserable will help bring any real social change.
** SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids: He probably believes this.

* DisappearedDad / MissingMom: It's implied that his parents are deceased.

* FascinatingEyebrow

* FreudianTrio: [[TheSpock The Superego]] to Robert's [[TheKirk Ego]] and Riley's [[TheMcCoy Id]].
* GenreSavvy: Listen to the kid. It might just save your life.

** JerkWithAHeartOfGold: But underneath his cynical elitism and detached stoicism, he does care about the well-being of his family and friends.

* MeaningfulName / NamedAfterSomebodyFamous: Named after [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huey_P._Newton Huey P. Newton]], co-founder of the Black Panther Party.
** Incidentally, Huey P. Newton was named for Louisiana governor [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huey_P._Long Huey P. Long]], making this kind of a layered example of the trope.

* RaisedByDudes / RaisedByGrandparents: He and Riley are raised by their grandfather Robert.

* RedOniBlueOni: Blue to Riley's and Caesar's red. Red to Tom's blue.
* [[FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling Responsible Sibling]]: To Riley's Foolish Sibling.

* StrawCharacter: Huey is a far-left radical who preaches socialism and black nationalism. [[DependingOnTheWriter It varies greatly]] whether he's a strawman of a [[NotSoAboveItAll fringe extremist]]...
** StrawmanHasAPoint: Or he's being used as a [[AuthorAvatar mouthpiece]] for [[AuthorTract Aaron [=McGruder=]'s views]].

* AnnoyingYoungerSibling / BrattyHalfPint: He frequently gets on the nerves of his big brother and granddad.
* AntiHero

** CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Despite not having any actual training and just being a kid, Riley has little sense of fear, and will take on ANY opponent, adult or not, that he thinks have wronged him. [[ButtMonkey He usually won't win]], but he puts up a hell of a fight.
** IJustWantToBeBadass: He's the definition of a "wannabe gangster".
** TookALevelInBadass: In Season 3, Riley performs badass feats, such as winning his first fight against Lamilton Taeshawn, who is a bigger kid. It is also notable that he is able to dominate Lando with [[WrestlerInAllOfUs wrestling moves]], such as the moonsault and Boston crab. Keep in mind that Lando is a ''grown'' man. In Season 4, Riley is shown to be ''far'' more agile and spry such as doing impressive aerial flips.

* BookDumb / TheDitz / ObfuscatingStupidity: DependingOnTheWriter; In the comics, he invokes this intentionally. But in the cartoon, he really ''is'' that stupid.

* {{Delinquent}} / EnfanteTerrible: Well he is a wannabe gangster after all. He really believes that getting into trouble with the law will make him cool.
** TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior: Besides being very rude and foul-mouthed, he's also a willing accomplice to some of Ed III's and Gin Rummy's crimes.

* DisappearedDad / MissingMom: It's implied that his parents are deceased.

* [[FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling Foolish Sibling]]: To Huey's Responsible Sibling.

** JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Sometimes, we see that Riley does care about his brother and grandfather.

* TheMcCoy

* RaisedByDudes / RaisedByGrandparents: He and his brother are living with their grandfather Robert.
* RedOniBlueOni: Red to Huey's blue.
* {{Schemer}}

* SirSwearsALot / TrashTalk: He will insult anyone and will not care for whatever the response is.

* TokenEvilTeammate / VillainProtagonist: Riley finds a criminal lifestyle to be very appealing. He's already assisted local crooks such as Ed, Rummy, Lamilton, etc.

* UngratefulBastard

* UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist

* [[AbusiveParents Abusive Grandparent]]: Being an old-fashioned parental figure, Robert believes that beatings are a great way to discipline a bad child. He mostly beats up Riley, and rarely Huey.

* AdultsAreUseless / [[BumblingDad Bumbling Granddad]]: As Robert isn't very mature himself, he seems quite incompetent at raising his grandkids. Also see ManChild down below.
* [[AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents Amazingly Embarrassing Grandparent]]: For starters, Robert sometimes walks around the house with little to no clothes.

* AntiHero

* BadassGrandpa: [[DependingOnTheWriter Sometimes]], see the trope below.
** CowardlyLion / CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Robert has a bit of a cowardly streak, but he can prove to be good at fighting.
*** This is best shown when he accidentally joined the Freedom Riders, and their leader Sturdy Harris forced him to stay along. Robert considered nonviolent resistance to be suicidal; [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere he preferred to run away from the whole ordeal if he was able to]], [[ViolenceReallyIsTheAnswer although he fights back against an angry mob of white supremacists]].
** RetiredBadass: He was a [[AcePilot Tuskegee Airman]] during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, and also a UsefulNotes/CivilRightsMovement activist (although his level of involvement in it is frequently questioned).
** TookALevelInBadass: In "Stinkmeaner: Begun the Clone War Has", Robert takes up some kickboxing training in order to defeat Stinkmeaner's clone in a rematch.

** Hitting a woman, as Robert tells Slickback.

** Jimmy Rebel and his racist country music. [[note]]Well if any black man like himself saw country albums with titles like "Coonsville", "Welfare Queen & Cadillac King", "Help Me, I'm Surrounded by Coons", "Don't Let Your Niglets Grow Up To Be Niggers", "I Almost [=NAACPed=] Myself", "Spooks of Hazzard", "Black Toes & Ghettoes", "Those Crack Babies", "Nigger, Stay Out of My Wife", and "Niggers Dont Die, They Just Smell That Way", would you blame him?[[/note]]

* CasanovaWannabe / DirtyOldMan / KavorkaMan: Despite his old age and fat belly, Robert never stops chasing after younger women. Although his dates tend to go horribly wrong (see HorribleJudgeOfCharacter below).

** NakedPeopleAreFunny: At least when they're censored.

* DontMakeMeTakeMyBeltOff / WhipItGood: Granddad often pulls off his belt to whip Riley whenever he's out of line.
** ImprobableWeaponUser / WeaponOfChoice: Robert also frequently uses his belt for self-defense during fights, using it not only as a whip, but also as a lasso to bind an enemy's limbs.

* GrumpyOldMan / ScrewPolitenessImASenior

** HypocrisyNod: Especially in the comics - a common gag is for Huey to point out how he's acting foolish or hypocritical, only for Granddad to agree, but reply that since he's in his golden years he doesn't care.

** JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Sometimes. He does love his grandsons, no matter how much of a pain in the ass they are.
** TookALevelInJerkass: Compared to his role in the comics, Robert tends to act a lot more self-centered in the show. He also hits Riley even more frequently. He gets even worse in later seasons of the show to the point he literally sold himself and his grandchildren to be slaves under Ed Wuncler II to keep his house and tried to sell Huey's explosive compound as hair gel to pay off his debts to the Wunclers despite Huey's complaints that the gel would be lethal for whoever used it.
*** In "Stinkmeaner: Begun the Clone War Has", after a new Nigga Moment begins between Robert and Stinkmeaner's clone, Robert starts copying Stinkmeaner's behavior and becomes a full-blown bastard. Fortunately, he snaps back to normal in the end.

* RedOniBlueOni: Red to Tom [=DuBois=]'s Blue

* SelfServingMemory

* UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist

[[quoteright:197:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/riley3498242_6108.png]]

[[quoteright:197:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/huey6876786_5425.png]]

** SillyRabbitCynicismIsForLosers: He's often at the receiving end of this.

* SkewedPriorities: This is a common joke with him. For example, when the Stinkmeaner-possessed Tom is choking him, Riley tries to save him by breaking several vases over his head. Granddad is just mad that Riley broke the vases.
** And later during that same night, Granddad is more focused on his date with a woman, than figuring out what to do with Stinkmeaner-Tom (who's been chained to a bed upstairs).

* FreudianTrio: [[TheKirk The Ego]] to Huey's [[TheSpock Superego]] and Riley's [[TheMcCoy Id]].

** TookALevelInJerkass: Compared to his role in the comics, Robert tends to act a lot more self-centered in the show. He also hits Riley even more frequently. He gets even worse in later seasons of show to the point he literally sold himself and his grandkids to be slaves under Ed Wuncler II to keep his house and tried to sell Huey's explosive compound as hair gel to pay off his debts to the Wunclers despite Huey's complaints that the gel would be lethal to whoever used it.

* SuperegoEgoId: Robert would be the Ego to Huey's Superego and Riley's Id, but is more easily to seen following Riley's crazy plans for self-gratification while being brought back to reason by Huey when things go too far.

** TookALevelInJerkass: Compared to his role in the comics, Robert tends to act a lot more self-centered in the show. He also hits Riley even more frequently.

* AfroAsskicker: He's a [[KidHero preteen]] [[KidSamurai badass]] [[KungFuKid variant]] of this trope.

* BadassAdorable: He can kick ass despite being a preteen kid.
* BadassBookworm: He's very well read and has an interest in politics.

* DirtyCommunist: The US government and right-wing leaders consider him to be one.

* RedOniBlueOni: Blue to Riley and Caesar's red. Red to Tom's blue.

* RetiredBadass: As early as Season 3, he claimed to be retired from revolutionary activism (or "domestic terrorism" depending on one's views).

* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Despite not having any actual training and just being a kid, Riley has little sense of fear, and will take on ANY opponent, adult or not, that he thinks have wronged him. [[ButtMonkey He usually won't win]], but he puts up a hell of a fight.

* [[FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling Foolish Sibling]]

* GuiltyPleasures: He feels great shame when it's revealed he's a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauryn_Hill Lauryn Hill]] fan. This isn't because Hill is a regular guilty pleasure, [[http://www.gocomics.com/boondocks/1999/07/16/ as Huey explains]] - he doesn't see Hill's positive messages as compatible with his chosen "gangsta" lifestyle. He has an image and mindset to maintain.

* IJustWantToBeBadass: He's the definition of a "wannabe gangster".

** In the comics, Cindy finds out that Riley likes Lauryn Hill, so then she assumes that he has other effeminate interests.

* RedOni: Red to Huey's Blue.

* ShakingTheRump: Does this in "The S Word" where Huey lampshades he's doing the "Celebratory Booty Dance".

* TookALevelInBadass: In Season 3, Riley performs badass feats, such as winning his first fight against Lamilton Taeshawn, who is a bigger kid. It is also notable that he is able to dominate Lando with [[WrestlerInAllOfUs wrestling moves]], such as the moonsault and Boston crab. Keep in mind that Lando is a ''grown'' man. In Season 4, Riley is shown to be ''far'' more agile and spry such as doing impressive aerial flips.

* CowardlyLion: Robert has a bit of a cowardly streak, but he can prove to be good at fighting. This is best shown when he accidentally joined the Freedom Riders, and their leader Sturdy Harris forced him to stay along. Robert considered nonviolent resistance to be suicidal; [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere he preferred to run away from the whole ordeal if he was able to]], [[ViolenceReallyIsTheAnswer although he fights back against an angry mob of white supremacists]].

* RefusalOfTheCall: In Season 4, it is revealed that Robert was drawn into the Civil Rights movement against his will after accidentally getting on a bus full of Freedom Riders whilst escaping from a bus station attendant [[spoiler:for using (and messing up) a white men's restroom.]] He was actually attempting to ''escape'' the South and return to Chicago. Once he was on the bus, despite his vehement protests, the protest leader wouldn't let him off, insisting that his people needed him.
* RetiredBadass: He was a [[AcePilot Tuskegee Airman]] during UsefulNotes/WorldWarTwo, and also a UsefulNotes/CivilRightsMovement activist (although his level of involvement in it is frequently questioned).

* TookALevelInBadass: In "Stinkmeaner: Begun the Clone War Has", Robert takes up some kickboxing training in order to defeat Stinkmeaner's clone in a rematch.

* TookALevelInJerkass: Compared to his role in the comics, Robert tends to act a lot more self-centered in the show. He also hits Riley more frequently.
** In "Stinkmeaner: Begun the Clone War Has", after a new Nigga Moment begins between Robert and Stinkmeaner's clone, Robert starts copying Stinkmeaner's behavior and becomes a full-blown bastard. Fortunately, he snaps back to normal in the end.

* {{Badass}}: He's a skilled martial artist.
** AdaptationalBadass: In the comics, Huey's martial arts skills are an InformedAbility. In the cartoon, not so much.
** BadassAdorable: He can kick ass despite being a preteen kid.
** BadassBookworm: He's very well read and has an interest in politics.
** RetiredBadass: As early as Season 3, he claimed to be retired from revolutionary activism (or "domestic terrorism" depending on one's views).

* TheWorfEffect: While a skilled martial artist, he is often the one kissing concrete when he gets into fights, though to be fair, a lot of his opponents are adults and elite {{Badass}}es. The only fights he has won or at least, had the advantage in, were against either those in his own age group, or just {{Mooks}}.

* {{Badass}}
** BadassAdorable: [[DependingOnTheWriter Sometimes]], see the trope below.
** CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Despite not having any actual training and just being a kid, Riley has little sense of fear, and will take on ANY opponent, adult or not, that he thinks have wronged him. [[ButtMonkey He usually won't win]], but he puts up a hell of a fight.
** IJustWantToBeBadass: He's the definition of a "wannabe gangster".
** TookALevelInBadass: In Season 3, Riley performs {{Badass}} feats, such as winning his first fight against Lamilton Taeshawn, who is a bigger kid. It is also notable that he is able to dominate Lando with [[WrestlerInAllOfUs wrestling moves]], such as the moonsault and Boston crab. Keep in mind that Lando is a ''grown'' man. In Season 4, Riley is shown to be ''far'' more agile and spry such as doing impressive aerial flips.

* {{Badass}}
** BadassGrandpa: [[DependingOnTheWriter Sometimes]], see the trope below.
** CowardlyLion / CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Robert has a bit of a cowardly streak, but he can prove to be good at fighting.
*** This is best shown when he accidentally joined the Freedom Riders, and their leader Sturdy Harris forced him to stay along. Robert considered nonviolent resistance to be suicidal; [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere he preferred to run away from the whole ordeal if he was able to]], [[ViolenceReallyIsTheAnswer although he fights back against an angry mob of white supremacists]].
** RetiredBadass: He was a [[AcePilot Tuskegee Airman]] during UsefulNotes/WorldWarTwo, and also a UsefulNotes/CivilRightsMovement activist (although his level of involvement in it is frequently questioned).
** TookALevelInBadass: In "Stinkmeaner: Begun the Clone War Has", Robert takes up some kickboxing training in order to defeat Stinkmeaner's clone in a rematch.

* TheGrinch: While Riley doesn't hate {{Christmas}} itself, he does hold a grudge against SantaClaus, as he blames him for not giving him any gifts he wanted. So what does he do about it? He [[DisproportionateRetribution assaults]] a {{mall Santa}} at a department store.

* DirtyCommunist: The US government and right-wing media consider him to be one.

* {{Sibling Yin|Yang}}

* TrashTalk: He will insult anyone and will not care for whatever the response is.

* TookALevelInDumbass: While Robert seemed to have some common sense in the comics (except when it came to technology), in the show he's far more stupid and impulsive, a problem that seems to worsen with every season. Whenever there's anything involving money or women, he well jump into it without thinking of the consequences.
** In the Season 4 episode "Good Times", Ed II keeps tricking Robert into worsening his own debt, until he makes Robert sell himself into indentured servitude.

** In "Stinkmeaner: Begun the Clone War Has", after a new Nigga Moment begins between Robert and Stinkmeaner's clone, Robert starts copying Stinkmeaner's behavior and becomes a full-blown bastard. Fortunately, he snaps back to his senses in the end.

!!Riley Freeman

* {{Jerkass}}: He's very arrogant and condescending to just about everyone. These traits were especially pronounced in the comics.
** JerkWithAHeartOfGold: But underneath that cynical elitism, he does care about the well-being of his family and friends.

* {{Jerkass}}: He doesn't care about how his actions affect others (or himself).
** JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Sometimes, we see that Riley does care about his family.

* {{Jerkass}}: Robert usually places his interests before everyone else, and is quick to avoid responsibility.

* ScatterbrainedSenior: One interpretation of his tall tales is that he is suffering from the early stages of dementia.

* UnreliableNarrator: It's unknown just how much of Robert's alleged involvement in the UsefulNotes/CivilRightsMovement (or most of his stories for that matter) actually happened.
** Creator/WernerHerzog theorized that Robert might be either a [[ConsummateLiar pathological liar]], or in the [[ScatterbrainedSenior early stages of dementia]].

* VagueAge: How old is Robert anyway? It's not helped by the apparent ComicBookTime used by this franchise. If he's a WWII veteran, he would probably be in his 90s (as of the 2010s); although he still has prepubescent grandchildren.
** Creator/WernerHerzog also had trouble estimating his age, and gave a guess between 80-120.

* WouldntHitAGirl: Even though Robert has [[DoubleStandard no problems with smacking his grandsons]], he finds it unacceptable to smack a grown woman. Robert forbids Slickback from hitting Cristal in the Freeman house.

->''"Vision? What do you know about my vision? My vision would turn your world upside down, tear asunder your illusions, and send the sanctuary of your own ignorance crashing down around you."''
-->'''Voiced by:''' Regina King

->''"Game recognize game, and you lookin' kinda unfamiliar right now."''
-->'''Voiced by:''' Regina King

[[folder:Robert Jebediah "Granddad" Freeman]]

->''"Y'all need to start appreciating your Granddaddy! I went and spent your inheritance on this beautiful house in this neighborhood, and all I ask you to do is act like you got some class..."''
-->'''Voiced by:''' John Witherspoon (old), Aaron [=McGruder=] (young)

* TheCassandra: Riley and Granddad often ignore his advice.

* TheSpock
* StraightMan

* SupportingProtagonist: He's the main character and StraightMan to his brother and Grandpa. Most of the show focuses on the schemes of his brother and his Grandpa though.

* CutenessProximity: One of Grandad's crazy ex-girlfriends tried to [[ImTakingHerHomeWithMe kidnap Riley because of how adorable he was]].

->''"Y'all need to start appreciating your Grandaddy! I went and spent your inheritance on this beautiful house in this neighborhood, and all I ask you to do is act like you got some class..."''

* {{Weirdness Magnet}}s: For some reason, the Freemans have encountered many strange villains over the course of the series. They include, but are not limited to: {{evil old folks}}, an [[EnfanteTerrible evil little kid]], a crazy lady who loves wolves, [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything mobsters who sell chocolate bars]], a dead old man who returned as a vengeful ghost (and later as a clone), and even a [[AIIsACrapshoot psycho phone app]]!

* BrutalHonesty: Due to his cynical and pessimistic personality, Huey is not one to mince words about the truth, especially when it concerns the world.

* WeirdnessMagnet: For some reason, the Freemans have encountered many strange villains over the course of the series. They include, but are not limited to: {{evil old folks}}, an [[EnfanteTerrible evil little kid]], a crazy lady who loves wolves, [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything mobsters who sell chocolate bars]], a dead old man who returned as a vengeful ghost (and later as a clone), and even a [[AIIsACrapshoot psycho phone app]]!

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Huey Freeman]]
[[quoteright:197:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/huey6876786_5425.png]]
->''"Vision? What do you know about my vision? My vision would turn your world upside down, tear asunder your illusions, and send the sanctuary of your own ignorance crashing down around you."''
-->'''Voiced by:''' Regina King

A young black boy who [[FishOutOfWater moves]] with his brother and grandfather from [[TheCity inner-city]] UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}}, Illinois to [[{{Suburbia}} suburban]] Woodcrest, Maryland. [[ChildProdigy Intelligent]] yet [[ThePessimist pessimistic]] for his age, he is a [[SoapboxSadie radical left-wing activist]] and an alleged "domestic terrorist".

-->Wow, Huey. You were totally right this time. [[CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot Just imagine all the problems we could avoid if we just listened to you]]. Oh well.

* TheUnfavorite: Implied in the animated series because he's less likely to go along with his Granddad's crazy schemes than Riley is. On the other hand, do we ever see him getting belt-whipped by Granddad? Though of course Riley causes most of the trouble.