Characters / Family Guy - Stewie Griffin

Family Guy Main Character Index
The Griffin Family (Peter Griffin | Stewie Griffin | Brian Griffin) | The Neighbors (Glenn Quagmire) | Recurring Characters (Pawtucket Brewery | Adam West High School | Quahog 5 News) | Antagonists

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Stewart Gilligan "Stewie" Griffin

"Thank you. When the world is mine, your death shall be quick and painless."

Voiced by: Seth MacFarlane, who claims that his accent and mannerisms are based off of actor Rex Harrison.

Voiced by (Latin Spanish): Rene Garcia (understudied by Alan Prieto)

Voiced by (Italian): Nanni Baldini

Voiced by (EU French): Yann Le Madic

Debut: Death Has a Shadow

A perpetual one-year-old with a lust for world domination, and the matricide of Lois. He used to be a vicious criminal and Enfant Terrible Villain Protagonist throughout Season 1-6, but has become a much nicer character in the later seasons, with the exception of still being a trash-talking, unfiltered wisecracker.

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Tropes # to C

• #1 Dime: Rupert, his beloved teddy bear.
• Accents Aren't Hereditary: Speaks with a British accent that no one else in his family seems to share.
• Adorably Precocious Child: Stewie is just a baby yet has the behavior of a full-grown adult. Despite this, he still has some typical interests of an average baby/toddler, such as his Teddy bear Rupert.
• Aesop Amnesia: In "Stewie Kills Lois" and Lois Kills Stewie", Stewie learned about the possible outcome of him killing Lois, which ultimately led to himself being killed. This would have taught him not to keep trying to do that. Although this was the last time he tried killing Lois in a while, there was always an episode or two, where he suddenly went back to his old matricidal ways, such as "And I'm Joyce Kinney" and "Pal Stewie".
• Affably Evil: Especially in the later seasons. He is very homicidal at times, but aside from that he is the least obnoxious family member in the show. He always maintains a jovial and polite attitude when interacting with others, as long as he is in good mood.
• Affectionate Nickname: Chris would often call him "little dude" in the older episodes.
• Agony of the Feet: In "Saving Private Brian", he and Brian shot each other in the feet with pistols.
• The Alcoholic: Stewie became addicted to cough syrup in "Pilling Them Softly", which, as Brian noted, had alcohol in it. A more obvious example was in "Mind Over Murder", where Peter allowed him into Ye Old Pube and Stewie got drunk.
• All Just a Dream: This has actually happened to him a couple of times.
  • In "Lois Kills Stewie", Stewie took over the world and let everyone know who he was. His evil reign was stopped, however, when Lois came in and nearly killed him (she chose not too once she had him dead to rights then Peter killed him when he tried to take advantage of Lois' hesitation). Then and there, it turned out that all the events that transpired was just a simulation, he had set up for himself.
    Stewie: At least it didn't end like The Sopranos, where it just cut to black in mid-sen...
  • Somewhat subverted in "Send in Stewie, Please", Stewie had an emotional breakthrough with his psychologist, but didn't want him to share the information with the world, so he allowed him to die. Stewie wakes up at night from guilt over his actions. He doesn't even know if this was all just a dream as well or not.
• All of the Other Reindeer: In "Send in Stewie, Please", it's learned that Stewie doesn't fit in well with the other kids at his school, what with him being far more intelligent than everyone else.
• Alternate History: Stewie messes with time in some of his time travel episodes, causing this in the present.
• Ambiguously Bi: Despite the many, many gags pointing toward an attraction to males, any genuine romance relevant to the plot has always been with females. That being said, many times it's been implied he loves Brian...and his Teddy bear Rupert, whom Stewie has apparently done a lot of scandalous things as a love interest. Seth has also called him gay in interviews, and the "romances" with women can be attributed to the fact he is a baby.
• Ambiguously Evil: He starts out as Obviously Evil but as time went on he gradually Took a Level in Kindness. Regardless he still shows no regret for his past actions, will casually mention things like killing seven babies, and since it's a Sadist Show, he is still capable of as much Comedic Sociopathy as the other characters and generally doesn't seem to know the extent of certain actions.
• And I Must Scream: He was aware of the countless months that passed while in Lois' womb.
• Annoying Laugh: In "Brian Sings & Swings", Brian pointed out that Stewie had a messed up laugh, when he watched something, that he thought was really funny. A cutaway showed him watching Hope & Faith, and laughing a drawn out, obnoxious laugh, at every single joke.
• Annoying Younger Sibling: He can be this to both Chris and Meg, although it is usually not as big of a deal because he's a baby. For example, Meg was only mildly annoyed when Stewie stole her gifts at her birthday party. He also abuses Meg, but not as much as Chris, so he's a downplayed example.
• Antagonistic Offspring: Provides the page image, though this is primarily Played for Laughs.
• Anti-Hero: Was originally a Villain Protagonist, but became increasingly nicer and evolved into a more-or-less good guy as the series progressed.
• Antiquated Linguistics: He's occasionally prone to this, especially in the early seasons.
• Anti-Villain: He can do whatever he pleases, as long as he has a clear goal. In addition, he is opposed to wanting to kill his friend, Brian.
• Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: "The Hand That Rocks the Wheelchair" reveals that Stewie gets distracted and laughs whenever he looks at his feet.
• Attention Whore: According to the "The Life of Brian", he says he has a "pathological need to be liked"
• Ax-Crazy: In early seasons, Stewie was an extremely sadistic, deranged, homicidal baby psychopath obsessed with killing his mother, had a penchant for random violence, and did not hesitate to commit murder or torture if it brought him closer to his goals. He certainly has gotten saner and nicer over time, but it's still there.
• Baby Language: Implied. Subject to a large amount of Negative Continuity, but some ground rules have been made: MacFarlane states that Peter and Lois can understand what Stewie says just fine, but they never take him seriously. (This gets lampshaded by Stewie himself in the episode "Dial Meg for Murder", where the whole family pins Stewie as the one who'd talked smack about Meg, causing him to say, "Oh, so now everyone understands me?") Chris sometimes takes him seriously, while Brian and supporting characters always understand him.
• Babysitter from Hell: He and Brian become this to Chris when babysitting him in "North by North Quahog".
• Bad Future: In "Stu & Stewie's Excellent Adventure", Stewie's future self was a pathetic virgin, working a crappy, dead end job, and having lost all his villainous tendencies. It is unknown if Stewie will conform to this future, or if he'll change it.
• The Bad Guy Wins: As a villain protagonist, Stewie has done a number of evil things and gotten away with it.
• Badass Adorable: Easily the coolest badass character in the family and he's just a baby.
• Badass Bookworm: A baby genius with all sorts of weaponry and gadgets who's also able to beat up people bigger than him.
• Balloon Belly: In "He's Too Sexy For His Fat", Stewie ate tons of junk food and became a fat, ball-shaped baby.
• Barbie Doll Anatomy: One scene contains a frontal shot of a naked Stewie, with no male genitalia in sight. Promptly lampshaded when he looks down and doesn't see said genitals, causing him to think he's a woman.
• Berserk Button:
  • Don't mess with his beloved teddy bear, Rupert, just DON'T.
  • He goes ballistic after his TV time is interrupted.
  • Throughout the entire series in general, it can be seen that Stewie heavily disapproves of frauds, even to the point of holding said fraud hostage at gunpoint!
• Big Bad: In the earlier seasons. In "Stewie Kills Lois and Lois Kills Stewie" two-part episode, as well.
• Big Brother Instinct: Inverted. Despite being the youngest, Stewie is very protective of his two older siblings. He rescued Meg when she was kidnapped and he defended Chris from bullies. He also angrily yelled at Herbert to stay away from Chris.
• Brains and Brawn: He is the brains to Chris' brawn. When the two are together Chris is often portrayed as Stewie's mount for the episode. Which shown by Stewie being carried on his back via baby carrier, backpack or piggyback ride.
• Brainy Baby: The page image. A big part of the character's humor comes from him being a super-intelligent Mad Scientist (probably the most intelligent character on the show, in fact), but lacking some extremely basic knowledge that only babies would not know.
• Brainy Brunette: Scenes set in the future often show Stewie grows up with a head of brown hair.
• Bratty Half-Pint: In the earlier seasons.
• Cain and Abel: Initially an Evil Versus Evil story of Sibling Rivalry, this ended up being the case by the end of The Big Bang Theory, when he had to stop his half-brother Bertram from destroying the universe.
• Calling Parents by Their Name: Stewie refers to his mother as "Lois". In earlier seasons this was a sign of his Enfant Terrible nature and disdain for his mother. When his adult self does call them "mom and dad" he immediately and violently 'corrects' himself with "It's Lois and the fat man!"
• Chained Heat: In "Stuck Together, Torn Apart", Stewie and Brian's hands were superglued together.
• Character Catchphrase:
  • "Victory is mine!" was his for at least the first few seasons.
  • He also has "I shall do no such thing!"
  • Not to mention "Blast!" and "Damn you (all)/(vile woman)!" in earlier seasons, as well as, "What the deuce?"
• Characterization Marches On: After the sixth season, Stewie became less of a villainous killer, and more of an effeminate nice guy. He stopped using his inventions to kill people, and instead used them for good. For example, his time machine was probably his healthiest creation. Not to mention, he formed a stronger friendship with Brian. Before then Stewie didn't think much of Brain and aways called him "The Dog".
• The Chessmaster: The most manipulative member of the family.
• Chewing the Scenery: Whenever he's the central focus of any scene, he has some kind of wordy monologue, full of jokes, references, and little musical numbers. Even when he's not the central focus, if he's in the scene, he's going to make a number of sarcastic cracks and quips, sometimes gaining a stronger memorability or a higher joke total, than the characters actually in focus.
• Child Prodigy: He can build time machines and a multi-verse transporter and yet he is only one year old.
• Cluster F-Bomb: In "Chap Stewie", he unleashed an unspeakable amount of profanities onto his family, for being annoying and destroying the TV, while he was just trying to watch his show.
• Companion Cube: He shares a close bond with his Teddy bear, Rupert. The close bond he has with it borders on gay material.
• Creepy Child: Pre-Season 4. He's getting his edge back in Season 9. After all, he sniped Diane Simmons, pulled a bazooka on some teenagers who stole his Halloween candy, and traveled all the way to the freaking North Pole to try to assassinate Santa Claus, from whom he'd wanted yellow cake uranium.
• Cultured Badass: He's a sophisticated Child Prodigy and speaks with an advanced vocabulary.

Tropes D to G

• Dating Catwoman: With Penelope, though it's much more like dating Moriarty.
• Deadpan Snarker: Becomes this full-time in the later seasons, giving quick snide remarks in scenes or episodes where he's not the main focus, not that most people listen to him. Even in the earlier seasons, he was no stranger to this trope; for example, in Petarded, he gets obnoxiously sarcastic towards Meg when she is afraid to go to school after her father is publicly labeled as mentally retarded.
  Meg: I can't believe this is happening to me. I can never go back to school again.
  Stewie: Oh, yes, Meg, yes. Yes, everything was going swimmingly for you until this. Yes, this is the thing that will ruin your reputation. Not your years of grotesque appearance or awkward social graces... or that Felix Unger-ish way you clear your sinuses. No, no, no, it's this. Do you hear yourself talk? I might kill you tonight.
• Death Glare: This was essentially Stewie's default facial expression in earlier seasons.
• Depending on the Writer:
  • His intelligence comes into question when it shouldn't. He is extremely smart enough to build many devices, but then, at times, he proclaims he is still learning his numbers.
  • He either is very well aware when people are trying to trick him, or he is very oblivious that he is being obviously tricked.
  • Either he likes Brian, hates him so much he wants to make him miserable, or he literally does love Brian.
• Diabolical Mastermind: From Seasons 1-6, he was a mechanical supervillain, hell-bent on killing his mother, destroying everything in sight, and taking over the world.
• Defied Trope: Refuses to abandon Brian's memory after Brian dies in the now Alternate Universe.
• Dirty Kid: He is definitely depraved and has shown attraction to several people of both genders (such as Brian).
• Disguised in Drag: He actually does this a lot. Also lampshaded by Brian in "Deep Throat".
• Disposing of a Body: Stewie has to do this, when murdering people.
• Disproportionate Retribution: On a frequent basis. He savagely beat Brian to a pulp for overdue gambling earnings. On another occasion he used his time machine to try and sabotage every meaningful moment in Brian's life, because he made a queer joke about him.
• Ditzy Genius: Although he's incredibly intelligent and has invented many inventions/devices beyond human knowledge, he does tend to miscalculate which is what causes some of his devices and plans to backfire. Plus, he isn't so good with basic knowledge such as shapes and the alphabet (justified, since he is still a baby).
• Does Not Like Spam: "I Never Met the Dead Man" reveals that Stewie really hates broccoli; the subplot is dedicated to him trying to destroy it in various ways.
• Doppelgänger: Stewie has met with quite a few of these, including Betram from "Missionary Impossible", Bitch Stewie from "Quagmire's Baby", and Evil Stewie from "The Hand That Rocks the Wheelchair".
• Driven to Suicide: Twice. In "Killer Queen" and "Mom's the Word", both thanks to Brian.
• Early Installment Character-Design Difference: He wears a yellow shirt with red overalls, but in the pilot, he wore a purple shirt with green overalls.
• Emperor Scientist: This was his original goal pre-cancellation, but it doesn't figure much anymore.
• Enfant Terrible: He was the page image. In Seasons 1-6, he was a sarcastic, ranting evil genius with a homicidal grudge against his mother. He still is against those he genuinely hates (or in some cases, those that know something they shouldn't), though it's rather rare.
• Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: Averted. Stewie has regularly tried to murder Lois, though this trait has mellowed down as the series progressed, with the exception of "Stewie Kills Lois".
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones:
  • It's shown multiple times that he truly does love Brian despite their constant bickering. In "New Kidney in Town", he's terrified at the prospect of Brian dying so that Peter can live and goes as far as to kidnap Brian to prevent that from happening. He outright admits to Brian that he doesn’t want to lose him because he loves him.
  • In "Life of Brian" he mourns Brian the most out of everyone and is desperate to bring him back. He gets his wish in "Christmas Guy" by performing a Heroic Sacrifice.
  • To a much lesser extent, he is close with Chris and to an even lesser extent than Chris, Meg. In recent seasons, he begins treating them like actual siblings and when Meg saves his life in "Stand By Meg", he tries to improve her dating life as gratitude.
• Even Evil Has Standards:
  • It's shown that he disapproves of Brian's sadistic love of torturing and killing squirrels. In "Point of Stew", he is disgusted when Brian runs down a squirrel, closing its open, staring eyes when he notices it stuck on the wheel next to him and gently assuring it that Brian can't hurt it anymore.
  • Also, he's the only member of the family who hates John Herbert, the local pedophile; in one episode where he takes over the mail route for Chris, when Herbert immediately starts hitting on him, Stewie shuts him down by calling him a pervert and telling him to piss off. In "Point of Stew", when he encounters Herbert doing an Underside Ride on the school bus, he snaps at the old man to stay away from Chris' butt.
  • At times Stewie is uncomfortable with Brian's flirting with women. At one point, he called Brian out for calling a woman a "bi-racial slam piece".
  • He also abhors Quagmire's uncontrollable lust for Lois. He immediately snaps back at Quagmire's request to smell his mouth to smell Lois' breasts on it.
  • Similarly, he's vehemently against Quagmire hitting on and sleeping with Meg, and helps the family protect Meg from Quagmire.
• Evil Brit: The "evil" part being in the first seasons. The accent was also slightly heavier than it is now.
• Evil Genius: In early seasons.
• Evil Is Petty: Often dips into this, performing such acts as using his time machine to try and sabotage every meaningful moment in Brian's life simply because he made a queer joke about him.
• Extreme Omnisexual: If there's anything he inherited from Peter, it’s his omnisexuality. He's attracted Brian the family male dog, daydreamed of a buffed up Rupert (his teddy bear), and a scene where he was hinted to have slept with a doll.
• Fan of the Underdog: He's good friends with Brian.
• Fake Brit: In-universe example. "Send in Stewie, Please" reveals that he is faking his British accent, though it's possible he was just saying this in the heat of the moment or even dreaming the whole thing.
• Fat Bastard: In "He's Too Sexy For His Fat", where he becomes obese after overeating to make fun of Chris. Played for Laughs.
• Faux Affably Evil: His pre-cancellation persona leans more towards this. Eloquent, charming and perfectly willing to kill or harm anyone who stands in his way, even those who have wronged him in some way. Take "The Kiss Seen Around The World", where he's capturing a bully who stole his tricycle:
  Stewie: You know, my hooligan friend, I've been racking my brain in a thus far fruitless attempt to resolve our recent unpleasantness. Then it dawned on me. Your cruelty merely stems from some deep-seated inner pain. So, the obvious remedy is a healthy dose of OUTER PAIN! [pulls out a net launcher]
  Stewie: I like to talk about world domination. Some people don't think I talk about it enough anymore.
• Friendless Background: Aside from Brian, Stewie isn't shown to have friends his own age.
• Future Loser: In The Movie, although it is unknown if he still is.
• Gadgeteer Genius: He converts many of his toys into diabolical inventions.
• Gag Penis: Surprisingly, in "You Can't Do That On Television, Peter", Peter compared his and Stewie's penis sizes, before it cuts away to Peter looking grumpy and complaining that it's a "Stupid game, anyway". Now, while this is Downplayed because Peter has a Teeny Weenie, "Trans-Fat" implies that Peter's original penis size was 4 inches, maybe even less. So a one-year-old baby having a penis bigger than that is... well, abnormal.
• Good Eyes, Evil Eyes: His eyes are much narrower at his most sinister, and were almost always like this back when he was evil (he'd even have a sour expression in his sleep). Otherwise, they appear very relaxed.

Tropes H to L

• Hair-Trigger Temper: Naturally, being Ax-Crazy. One notable example of his temper is the time where he beat the ever-loving crap out of Brian after the latter failed to come up with the money he owed him from a bet and another time where he brutally beat one of Lois's piano students simply because he was playing while Stewie was watching the History Channel.
• Heel–Face Revolving Door: He routinely murders people on and off-screen. In one of the later episodes, it's implied he killed babies without remorse.
  Brian: How would you feel if you killed another baby?
  Stewie: [offhandedly] I've killed seven...
• Heroic Comedic Sociopath: He's a fan favorite whose antics are over the top mostly for comedic effect and he has little intent to kill or harm his family save for Lois. Yet it is made clear at varying times he does not always think much of Peter, Chris, or Meg either.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Brian, but his orientation is up for interpretation.
• Hey, You!: Refers to his parents as Lois and "the fat man", and violently reprimanded his mild-mannered future self for actually calling them "Mom and Dad" (However in the more recent seasons he has started to call Peter and Lois, "Mom and Dad" respectively). He also originally just called Brian "dog" before he mellowed out and the two became close companions.
• I Just Want to Be Special: His Wicked Cultured British accent is fake, an affectation he adopted to set himself apart from everyone else.
• Incompatible Orientation: Occasionally demonstrates he may have a crush on Brian.
• Innocent Prodigy: The Evil Counterpart to this trope. He's a Wicked Cultured Evil Genius, despite being barely a toddler and often almost as naïve as you'd expect a child his age to be.
  Stewie: Huh, this toy contains small parts. But why would they include small parts in a toy for someone my age...? Unless I'm supposed to eat them! Of course, it all adds up!
• Insufferable Genius: At times, he can annoy Brian, by constantly outwitting him at everything.
• Interspecies Romance: The longest running relationship he's had that's closest to romantic is his tight, sexually charged friendship with Brian the dog. He even impregnates himself with Brian's children in "Stewie Is Enceinte".
• Irony: The sole Ax-Crazy member of the family in the early seasons is currently its Only Sane Man among them.
• Jerkass to One: In early seasons, he was an evil Enfant Terrible with plans to Take Over the World, but was especially antagonistic towards his mother Lois and constantly plotted ways to kill her.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Currently. He even handled Brian's death by far the worst of the family, to the extent that he pulled a Heroic Sacrifice to go back in time to stop it and save him.
• Karma Houdini: He might have gotten nicer, but at the end of the day Stewie still the most murderous member of the Griffin family, if not the entire cast. His victims include men, women and children- including infant children- and his on-screen body count is easily in the double digits (and when he teams up with his Eviler than Thou soulmate Penelope, well into the hundreds of millions). He has committed theft, assault, arson, abduction, bombings, torture, murder, and acts of terrorism and mass murder, and he has plotted to Take Over the World literally since he was in his mother's womb (he claims to have left a bomb in there as well). It's all Played for Laughs, of course, but he's still way more evil than the rest of his family whose comparatively trivial behavior is occasionally treated much more seriously.
• Kiddy Coveralls: Stewie's Iconic Outfit is a pair of red overalls
• Knight of Cerebus: The lighthearted, albeit offensive comedy that Family Guy usually lives in, is shifted greatly, when things focus on Stewie. At that point, things are all about murder, crimes, and taking over the world.
• Lack of Empathy: In the early seasons. He gets better in later seasons.
• Large Ham:
  "HA! I GOT YOUR HAT! TAKE THAT, HATLESS! NOW GO BACK TO THE QUAD AND RESUME YOUR HACKEY-SACK TOURNEY! I'M NOT GONNA LIE DOWN FOR SOME FRAT BOY BASTARD WITH HIS DAMN TEVA SANDALS AND HIS SKOAL BANDITS AND HIS ABERCROMBIE AND FITCH LONG SLEEVE, OPEN STITCH, CREW NECK HENLEY SMOKING HIS STICKY BUDS OUT OF A SODA CAN WHILE WATCHING HIS FAVORITE DOWNLOADED SIMPSONS EPISODES EVERY NIGHT! YES, WE ALL LOVE "MR. PLOW!" OH, YOU'VE GOT THE SONG MEMORIZED, DO YOU? SO DOES EVERYONE ELSE! THAT IS EXACTLY THE KIND OF IDIOT YOU'D SEE AT TACO BELL AT 1:00 IN THE MORNING! THE GUY WHO JUST WHIFFED HIS WAY DOWN THE BAR SKANK LADDER!"
• Laughably Evil: Is considered one of the funniest characters.
• Little Brother Mentor: He's shown more concern for Chris and Meg's welfare than their parents ever have, and has tried to help them with their problems.

Tropes M to P

• Made of Iron: He can take a lot of punishment for a one year old.
• Mad Scientist: Stewie invented several futuristic machines, such as a time machine, a transporter or a device that allows him to travel between parallel universes.
• Manipulative Bastard: Especially in the early seasons. It kinda petered out for a while & got replaced with a Transparent Closet schtick, but they've been trying to bring it back recently.
• Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: Feminine Boy to Penelope's Masculine Girl.
• Mature Younger Sibling: His two older siblings, Chris and Meg, are an immature Dumbass Teenage Son and Bratty Teenage Daughter respectively. Stewie, who's just a one-year-old baby, is the closest to mature of the three Griffin children, usually bringing up valid points whenever his older siblings are acting up, which they usually ignore since the family normally can't hear him. However, considering that Stewie's a matricidal Enfant Terrible who's committed many heinous acts, insults his family, and occasionally uses Brian for personal gain, he's Only Sane by Comparison.
• Meta Guy: While most characters break the fourth wall Stewie uses it to complain about the show.
• Mighty Glacier: Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse. Stewie's teddy bear Rupert effectively becomes a stationary turret.
• Mister Seahorse: In the post-cancellation episode, "Stewie Is Enceinte", he uses his Mad Scientist skills to impregnate himself with a litter of Brian-fathered human/dog hybrid babies.
• Moral Myopia: Much in the same Played for Laughs way as Quagmire, Stewie will repeatedly pontificate over Brian for his immoral or unscrupulous qualities, though is still a remorseless mass murderer and Comedic Sociopath.
• Mundane Utility: In "Life of Brian", he recalls using the time machine prior to its destruction to easily buy a toy around Christmas later in the year. This becomes important in saving Brian when he happens to come across his past self secretly buying said toy, leading to him and Vinny planing to steal the return pad in order to save Brian.
• Muscles Are Meaningless: Stewie can brutalize adults 20 times his size.
• My Instincts Are Showing: A variation. Stewie occasionally gets a reminder that he's still technically a baby:
  [Peter covers his face with his hands]
  Stewie: Where the Devil did he go!?
  Peter: [removes his hands from his face] Peekaboo!
  Stewie: AAAH!
• My Own Grandpa: When his ancestor was killed, he was forced to take his spot.
• Named After Somebody Famous: Most likely, Peter drew inspiration from Gilligan's Island, and Lois was okay with it. Peter loves television, and classic TV series were an especially big influence on earlier seasons.
• The Napoleon: Small and vicious.
• Nightmare Fuel Station Attendant: In earlier episodes at least, Stewie is often amused, excited or even aroused by horrible and disgusting things.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: In "Life of Brian", after radically altering history by accident again, Stewie destroys his time machine to prevent anyone from changing history for the worse again. However, after Brian dies, Stewie tries to find parts to rebuild the time machine, except that the only provider of a major component had also died, meaning that Brian cannot be saved.
• No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: He dishes this out regularly, especially in the episode "Patriot Games".
• Normal Fish in a Tiny Pond: Comes to the realization that he shines among the below-average Griffins in "Chap Stewie" (after living with a sharper and much more affectionless family).
• Not Allowed to Grow Up: Granted, he's still one year old.
  • Lampshaded in "Road to Rupert", when Brian says that he's getting too old to be having a teddy bear, Stewie replies with "Brian, I'm one." to which Brian asks "Still?"
  • Lampshaded even further in "Christmas Guy", when Lois says that it's time for Stewie's first Christmas, to which Stewie replies, "Again?"
• Obfuscating Stupidity: Everyone except Brian believes he's a normal baby.
• Odd Friendship: He is best friends with Brian, the Only Sane Man, despite his homicidal tendencies.
• The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: Invoked when he snipes Diane, who's about to kill Lois.
  Stewie: If anyone is going to take that bitch down, its gonna be me!
• Only Sane Man: Ironically, he took a reverse Flanderization in this regard: Peter evolved from an alcoholic, working class guy to a dangerously Psychopathic Manchild; Lois went from being a sane voice of reason to a nasty Bitch in Sheep's Clothing; Chris went from an airheaded artist to a miniature Peter (with the added bonus of masturbating far too much); Meg turned from an unpopular teenager to an unstable Cosmic Plaything; and Brian went from being the smartest member of the house to an insufferable Know-Nothing Know-It-All. Stewie, meanwhile, went from a murderous sociopath to the most grounded member of the cast, whose only quirks are his Camp Gay tendencies.
• Parental Favoritism: Some recent episodes imply that Stewie is the only kid that Peter likes, such as introducing his family to Homer Simpson as "The Griffins. Peter, Lois, Stewie, and then, uh, you know, the others. Brian, I guess".
• Perpetual Frowner: Back in his diabolical mastermind persona.
• Pet the Dog:
  • Subverted in the Season 9 premiere. He saves Lois from getting killed by Diane, only because he wants to be the one to kill her.
  • Played straight at times especially with Brian. Notably, he immediately fell in victim with Lois after she repaired Rupert, though he changed his mind after she allowed him to break his arm.
  • Played straight again when he saves Chris from being strangled to death by Charles Yamamoto. With the Queen album News of the World (Queen), no Less!
• Ping Pong Naïveté: He has always varied between someone that apparently had an adult's knowledge of the world, frequently showing knowledge of popular culture and sex (he once knew how his parents were going to make another child and understood exactly how the biological function was), and being fairly erudite but possessing little knowledge that a baby wouldn't (he didn't understand his birth even after his first birthday).
• Pintsized Powerhouse: He's just a baby but he can hold his own in a fight against Osama bin Laden and Lois in "Lois Kills Stewie", almost killing her if it wasn't for Peter's arrival.
• Pop-Cultured Badass: Able to cite pop culture references that long predate his birth.
• Practically Different Generations: Less extreme than some examples, but he remains one while his sister Meg is 16-18.
• Precocious Crush: In "8 Simple Rules for Buying My Teenage Daughter", Stewie has a crush on his new babysitter, and when he finds out she has a boyfriend, he tries to kill him.
• Promotion to Parent: Despite being a megalomanical, world-domination obsessed super-genius toddler, Stewie has also done more to be a parental figure to Chris and Meg than Peter and Lois ever have.
• Psychic Powers: During the events of "Super Griffins".

Tropes R to V

• Randomly Gifted: Stewie's supernatural level of intellect is confirmed to simply be random chance, as shown in Baby Stewie, where he removes the "Griffin" influences of his DNA and reverts to a normal baby.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Delivers a truly epic one to Dr. Pritchfield in "Send in Stewie, Please".
  • Read it here. ^note From the dog-eared pages of that volume of Shakespeare, I imagine you wooed Michael with a sonnet or monologue each day. And no one had ever done anything so romantic as reciting Shakespeare for Michael before. And he was smitten. While not as physically attracted to you as you are to him, that's okay You each bring something important to the relationship. Isn't that what you believe, Dr. Pritchfield? I see a prescription for heart medication on that table. My guess is you keep that at the office. You don't want to worry Michael, you say to yourself, even though the truth is it embarrasses you. Your age, your mortality. Best to keep appearing as vital as possible. And no need to have reminders at home of what's just around the corner, is there? And your office is your haven, since Michael doesn't work and is often at home, perhaps as a result of a low-level depression that you don't really want to get into with him. Oh, he always planned to have a career, but he could never settle on exactly what it was he wanted to do. And at first you liked having him at home to take care of the house and plan trips. So that's just what happened. "And that's a job, too," he reminds you over the years. Michael likes to travel, and he prefers the finer things. And you'd like to give them to him, wouldn't you? But it's a bit difficult on a child psychologist's salary at a Rhode Island preschool, I'd imagine. Fortunately, you don't have children, so you do have some disposable income. Oh, you have talked about it with other couples, just for show, probably at dinner with younger friends of Michael's who are starting a family, you know, to be part of the conversation, to feel included. But you said you preferred your trips and your rescue dog named after a character most likely from Dickens. Ah, how accomplished and affluent you both look in this photo. Just the image Michael is so desperate to project. Let's look a little closer, shall we? Now, I see you're both wearing Ralph Lauren Purple Label dress shirts that retail starting at $495. But from the disfigured button holes on one and the small discoloration on the other, I can see you bought them at the outlet in Providence. Probably third markdown, in which case, $49, give or take. Since you also have light jackets on, I can see that you went there during summer vacation, which is, in fact, winter in Rio, outside of the high tourist season. And I see that you're on the rooftop pool deck at the Fasano Hotel in Ipanema, the most exclusive hotel in all of Brazil. Michael would've been dying to stay there. Had a friend that went with his older boyfriend, who makes a lot of money in, most likely, banking, much to your chagrin. But even in August, it's almost $1,000 a night. You tell him people are starving in the streets in Brazil. How do you justify paying those prices? When the truth is, you simply can't afford it. It's for another class of gay people. The window that Michael is always desperately peering through and sadly on the other side of. But you do your best. You don't go on Airbnb, because you don't trust it, even though Michael has stories of friends who have found the most fabulous places. You like a hotel. Besides, it's more romantic, you tell him. But when you take him to the place you're actually staying, the one you found on TripAdvisor that was rated number 27 of all the hotels in Rio and was having a special rate of 295 U. S. dollars a night Which is still not cheap, you remind him, most people never get to visit half the places he's seen, you tell him you can't help but feel like a bit of a failure as you see the look of disappointment on his face as he enters the room. So you decide to go to the Fasano Hotel for dinner and drinks. No, just drinks, once you've seen the restaurant prices online. And once there, you can see how Michael begins looking at all the older men who can afford to take their boyfriends I'm sorry, husbands To such luxurious hotels. And you worry a little, that you're diminishing in his eyes with each passing year. But you tell yourself you're being ridiculous, as you see Michael glancing about the rooftop deck, looking at all the young men, men that would be 20 years younger than even Michael, men that you're invisible to. But he isn't yet, not completely, and you're jealous and you loathe yourself for it. But Michael wants a photo, and he says, "Let's take a selfie. " But you say, "Let's ask someone to take one of us" and make some tired joke about selfies that only you laugh at, wishing that you could take it out of the air as soon as you've said it, as it's just one more indicator that you're older than everybody here. So Michael calls over a young man wearing a tiny swimsuit to take the photo and makes a crude joke that embarrasses you. But the young man laughs, and he and Michael share a moment that you're not part of. And you feel humiliated and unseen. Which explains Michael's joyful grin and your slightly disconnected half-smile. And you've posted the photo on Facebook, and Michael's posted it to his 86 followers on Instagram You don't know how that one works To at least give the impression, in your Ralph Lauren shirts, holding your $20 cocktails, that you're both way more successful than you are. But it makes you feel a little dirty, the lengths you have to go to in order to keep Michael happy. And every time you glance at this picture, you wonder, "How long before he leaves me?" See? I guess we both know each other a bit.
  • ...Until Pritchfield retorts with:
    Pritchfield: You seem like a very lonely, little boy.
    Stewie: OH MY GOD, I AM! I'M SO LONELY! YOU CAN SEE INSIDE MY SOUL!
• Retired Monster: Best seen in The Movie " Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story". As an evident example of the early seasons, he was a psychopathic little brat who enjoyed using violence at any moment, a point that even the two-part episode "Stewie Kills Lois and Lois Kills Stewie" showed how monstrous he was able to be, not to mention that in the real canon has killed several people, even kids. However, the movie shows that his self-future is one of these. He is not violent and all his plans for world domination were scrapped by himself. However, he changes the past, possibly effecting this. Also there's the fact that in every new season, he seems to become increasingly sympathetic. It may seem strange that even now he can be considered an Anti-Hero, and less evil than Carter.
• Running Gag: Stewie is associated with a few of these, although most of them have been abandoned.
  • Cool Hwip
  • Sexy Parties
  • Gay Moments
  • Still Working on That Novel?
• Sadist: In early seasons. He still has his moments, but it's more general Comedic Sociopathy.
• Serial Killer: Stewie has committed many murders throughout the series, typically out of revenge or greed.
• Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: Early on. Lampshaded by Brian in "Back to the Pilot".
  Brian: Geez, what, did you carry a thesaurus around with you?
• Sissy Villain: Is Ambiguously Gay and is a serial killer. This is espcially evident in the earlier seasons. No surprise, given that he's largely a parody of various villain tropes.
• Smarter Than You Look: Simply because he's a baby, he's assumed to be unintelligent, until you find out about his plans for world domination, mastery of multiverse theory and so forth.
• The Smart Guy: Shares this role with Brian, usually.
• Smart People Speak the Queen's English: Possibly. There's some controversy over whether his accent is Received Pronunciation or Boston Brahmin.
• The Sociopath: Although he has become a nicer person over the seasons, Stewie in the early seasons fit the criteria for antisocial personality disorder very well: he rarely showed any kind of remorse, guilt, or conscience; he possessed a violent demeanor, a penchant for mistreating Brian whenever he could, and constantly enjoyed subduing and threatening others under the facade of being a harmless baby. He was also incredibly self-centered, selfish, and didn't hesitate to kill or torture someone if it brought him closer to his goals. However, over time he softened his maliciousness, and as the years passed he learned empathy towards others. Then there's the fact that he has fought antagonists much worse than him, making him a Sociopathic Hero.
• Sociopathic Hero: Stewie started out as an incredibly sadistic psychopath who constantly took advantage of situations, killed on a whim, and tried to kill his mother on multiple occasions. However, over the years, he Took a Level in Kindness and occasionally fights enemies that are much worse than him. Sure, his homicidal and sadistic tendencies are still there, though not as much as before.
• Spotlight-Stealing Squad: His character has developed much over the course of the series and gets more screentime with Brian than the rest of the family. The series may as well just be "The Brian and Stewie Show" in later seasons. In fact, said 150th episode was simply called "Brian and Stewie". They are the main characters of the 200th episode. Let's face it, it's all about them now. Not to mention the "Road To..." episodes, which focus on Brian and Stewie entirely.
• Stable Time Loop: Due to an accident with time travel, Stewie caused the Big Bang.
• Surrounded by Idiots: Stewie generally views the rest of his family as complete morons. With a father like Peter and a brother like Chris, he may just have a point.
• Temporary Bulk Change: In "He's Too Sexy For His Fat", he gains weight as a result of mocking Chris for being fat. He goes back to normal at the end of the episode.
• Token Evil Teammate: Exaggerated at first, then inverted as the series progressed. An exaggerated example in early seasons, being a cartoonishly villainous mastermind amidst a whimsical sitcom family. As his personality softened and his family became more sociopathic however, it's almost become completely reversed.
• Took a Level in Kindness: Initially portrayed as an apathetic child with plans of world domination and an unexplained desire to murder his family in the earlier seasons, Stewie has softened out considerably while everyone else Took a Level in Jerkass.
• Trademark Favorite Food: A bit subtle, but he really likes graham crackers. In one episode, he even attacked Peter with a baseball bat for eating the last ones!
• Tritagonist: He's the Deuteragonist of most episodes focusing on Brian (and thus, the overall Tritagonist).
• Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: Exaggerated almost as much as it can be. Stewie's only one year old, so he shouldn't even be able to walk and talk, much less carry and use heavy firearms, build advanced machinery (including a time machine), and generally participate in all the misadventures he and Brian get themselves into. However, the fact that he is just an infant sometimes shows even during moments that qualify for this trope, making for a humorous result:
  Peter: Stewie... how long you been all messed up and evil like this?
  Stewie: [holding the family at gunpoint] Oh, so now you're interested in Stewie. Last week when I made that macaroni picture of an owl, you didn't give a damn!
  Peter: [surprised] That was an owl?
  Stewie: Yes! And now we're going to look at it again. [Smashes butt of pistol into Peter's knee, then drags him screaming in pain over to a table and holds macaroni picture in front of him] Look! Look! Do you like it?!
  Peter: [shaken] Yes...?
  Stewie: What do you like about it specifically?!
  Peter: I don't know...
  Stewie: Pick something or I'll blow your brains out!
  Peter: I like... how it looks like an owl...?
  Stewie: Thank you for the compliment! [walks away with the drawing, leaving Peter to curl up and cry on the floor]
• True Companions: With Brian. Their friendship is one of the only consistent things about the show, at least in later seasons (he was his Sitcom Arch-Nemesis in early seasons).
• Undying Loyalty: He is very upset by how easily the rest of his family forgets about Brian during the whole...death stunt.
• Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist: In the early seasons, where he had an unhealthy obsession with killing his mother.
• Villain Decay: Lampshaded by Brian in "Stewie Kills Lois" (leading to a simulation of the titular action) "The Hand That Rocks the Wheelchair" (leading to him building a machine with the intent of amplifying his cruelty, which instead creates a clone embodying his former psychopathy) and "Mr. and Mrs. Stewie" (when suggesting that Penelope is Eviler than Thou).
• Villain Protagonist: In early seasons when he wanted to kill his mother.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: With Brian. Lampshaded in "Road to the Multiverse" when Brian and Stewie go to a version of Quahog where the US never dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Japan won World War II, resulting in them annexing the US:
  Japanese Stewie: I no like you, but I like you!
  Japanese Brian: I no like you, but I like you, too!
• Vocal Dissonance: An evil cultured accent on an infant.
• Vocal Evolution: Stewie’s British accent gets lighter and takes on a more flamboyant tone over time.
• Volumetric Mouth: In "Ready, Willing, and Disabled", as a parody of Peanuts.

Tropes W to Y

• Wacky Parent, Serious Child: He is the Serious Child (a brainy Child Prodigy) to Peter's Wacky Parent (An idotic Manchild who says and does crazy things like getting into fights with Ernie the Giant Chicken).
• "Well Done, Son" Guy: "A Lot Going On Upstairs" reveals that he cares about Brian's opinion about him and is afraid of disappointing him because he subconsciously looks up to him as a father-figure.
• Wicked Cultured: Brilliant, sophisticated, and devious.
• Wise Beyond Their Years: Very much so. He is at the very least far more intelligent than normal babies tend to be.
  See-n-say: The cow goes, SHAZOO!
  Stewie: ...It most certainly does not.
• With Friends Like These...: The things Brian does to him in episodes like "Be Careful What You Fish For", "Brian Writes A Bestseller" and "Herpe, The Love Sore" makes you wonder why these two are still friends. Granted this is Stewie, so the toxicity is very two-way, ranging from Stewie making endless petty jabs over Brian's failures as a writer and lover, gaslighting him or sabotaging many circumstances he stands to make any other relationships besides him, or beating him to a pulp for handing him gambling fees late.
• Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Several facts of his life have been excuses of why he's a psycho. He claims to have lost his sanity while he was aware in Lois' womb.
• Yandere: The main reason why he can't keep a potential relationship together, he either scares them away, or in the case of Olivia, murders them.

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