"Stinkmeaner Strikes Back" is the 4th episode of the 2nd season of The Boondocks, and the 19th episode overall. It originally aired on October 29, 2007.
The spirit of Colonel H. Stinkmeaner (the old jerk whom Robert Freeman had once killed) is released from Hell with the permission of the Devil himself, so that he can get his revenge on the Freeman family. Stinkmeaner's ghost possesses a completely unwitting Tom DuBois so that he can break into Robert's home in an attempt to murder him. But after an intense fistfight, the Freemans hire Uncle Ruckus to exorcise Stinkmeaner.
Tropes:
- Afterlife Express: Invoked by Stinkmeaner when being confronted by The Freeman family threatening to send him back to hell.Aw Yeah! I'm going back, and I'm takin' y'all with me in the First Class Cabin on The Ass-Whoopin' Express. ALL ABOARD! WHOOP-WHOOP!!
- Arc Words: "Peace."
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Uncle Ruckus' exorcist tools are intended to instill fear in any negro spirit: a whip, a noose, a nightstick, a branding iron... and a job application!
- Axe Before Entering: The Stinkmeaner-possessed Tom, directly imitating Jack Torrance, bashes open a bathroom door while Robert screams inside, before Stinkmeaner chases him downstairs with the axe.
- Blatant Lies: Robert's claims on his online dating profile. No, Robert never sky-dived, he isn't Brazilian, and he was never a part of the G-Unit.
- Berserk Button:
- During their fight, Stinkmeaner is apparently still mad about how Robert took his parking space, way back from their very first encounter.
- The woman that Granddad invited for dinner is very offended and leaves after quickly realizing that Robert lied to her. (When Stinkmeaner (tied to a bed upstairs) was ranting at Robert, the latter lied that it was just noise from the TV, but his girlfriend somehow correctly knew that it was really a man possessed by an evil spirit chained to a bed.)
- Cassandra Truth:
- Robert doesn't listen to Huey's warning about Stinkmeaner's escape from Hell, mostly because it didn't sound believable, but also because he's more focused on his date.
- Lampshaded when Ghostface Killah tells Huey to stop Ruckus' stupid exorcism attempt, because Tom could end up getting beaten to death, and the police would never believe their crazy excuses about trying to remove an evil spirit from him.
- Cluster F-Bomb: Not surprising given who Stinkmeaner is. But especially when Tom attempts to cross-examine a defendant in a courtroom trial, only for Stinkmeaner to take control so he can publicly embarrass Tom in front of everyone by shouting various obscenities out loud, especially the words "fuck" and "nigga".
- Combat and Support: Huey does most of the fighting against Stinkmeaner, with Robert and Riley occasionally stepping in.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Even three on one, the Freemans are no match for Stinkmeaner, and only barely manage to win.
- Demonic Possession: The ghost of Stinkmeaner possesses Tom after the latter's soul is weakened from a Nigga Moment. Tom spends the rest of the episode being overtaken by Stinkmeaner's control intermittently.
- Devil's Job Offer: The Devil is so impressed by what a badass motherfucker Stinkmeaner has become, that he allows him to leave Hell so he can exact his vengeance on the Freemans, while also "spreading ignorance and chaos" among black people on Earth.
- Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?: Satan is actually rather impressed that Stinkmeaner had the gall to call him a "bitch-ass nigga".
- Dream Intro: Apparently, the Cold Open scene with Stinkmeaner in Hell was a vision that Huey had in his dreams. The premonition turns out to be completely true.
- HA HA HA—No: Grandpa's date when he asks if she's a man.
- A Hell of a Time: Stinkmeaner is just so evil and mean-hearted that he enjoys all the hatred and chaos of Hell. Though it certainly helped that he was learning kung-fu instead of being tortured.
- Hollywood Exorcism: Parodied in a manner vaguely reminiscent of The Exorcist. Uncle Ruckus' method for "exorcising" Stinkmeaner's soul out of Tom's body is to present "objects all niggas fear" (a whip, a noose, a nightstick, and a job application form), forcing him to read, then repeatedly beat him while chanting, "Nigga, get yo black ass outta here!" It doesn't actually work.
- Last-Second Word Swap: Dubois gets annoyed at that ni-nincompoop who stole his parking spot.
- Minor Flaw, Major Breakup: A woman Robert brought home walked out on him, not because of the chaos Stinkmeaner-possessed Tom was causing, but the fact that he lied about it.
- Not Right in the Bed: When Tom returns home at night to hug Sarah, Stinkmeaner takes control of him again in order to exploit the opportunity of having some wild sex with the man's wife. Stinkmeaner and Sarah both enjoy it (the latter doesn't usually have that much fun in bed with Tom).
- Our Demons Are Different: The Devil and his henchmen appear as the classic red-skinned, horned humanoid beings.
- Our Ghosts Are Different: Obviously, Stinkmeaner returns as an undead spirit. There's also Ghostface Killah, who appears as a ghost to Huey (despite not even being dead yet).
- Paranormal Episode: The only episode of this show that involves ghosts and demons from Hell.
- Pedophile Priest: This trope is mentioned for a joke. When Robert attempts to call the local branch of the Roman Catholic Church for help with exorcising Stinkmeaner's ghost, he only gets a voice mail from their answering machine, ending with the statement "If you want to report sexual abuse..." before Robert hangs up.
- Power of Love: What ultimately defeats Stinkmeaner in the end; a Nigga Moment can't be solved with violence, but with peace. Huey manages to trick Stinkmeaner into getting himself exorcised by having Ruckus and Stinkmeaner bond over their shared hatred of black people.
- Previously on…: In the very beginning, Ghostface Killah narrates a recap describing the Nigga Moment in "Granddad's Fight" from the last season.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Stinkmeaner plans to murder Robert as payback for the latter killing the former way back in Season 1. But first, he wants to have some fun by messing around with other people.
- Say My Name: When Stinkmeaner-in-Tom attacks Robert, he challenges him to remember his name.
- Sequel Episode: To "Granddad's Fight" from Season 1. The old Nigga Moment between Robert and Stinkmeaner is continued when the latter's spirit rises from Hell to get revenge on the former.
- Shout-Out: Pretty much the entire sequence when Ruckus comes to the house to try and exorcise Stinkmeaner from Tom is one big reference to The Exorcist with Ruckus playing Father Merrin's role and paraphrasing a lot of his dialogue. Even the soundtrack sounds like the iconic theme from the movie.
- Skewed Priorities: After chaining down Stinkmeaner-Tom to Riley's bed, Robert goes downstairs to have his dinner date, despite Huey and Riley struggling to keep Stinkmeaner restrained. Robert only comes back upstairs after Stinkmeaner inadvertently ruins his date.
- Special Guest:
- Terry Crews voices Satan.
- Ghostface Killah voices himself.
- Spirit Advisor: The spirit of the rapper Ghostface Killah occasionally appears to Huey to advise him about what do with Stinkmeaner. But he may or may not just be Huey's Imaginary Friend (something which Stinkmeaner mocks him for).
- Suspiciously Specific Denial: When Tom is in the courtroom, the defendant he's trying to prosecute is a little old Chinese lady. According to the woman's own defender, she did not beat and rob a younger black man with a golf club, nor stole his car and drove it through the walls of a J.C. Penny's store.
- Training from Hell: Literally! Stinkmeaner trained in Hell, learning to become an expert martial artist.
- Took a Level in Badass: Colonel H. Stinkmeaner. During his martial arts training, he beats the crap out of dozens of demonic minions. And he later beats the Freeman's asses very hard, and the only reason he failed to kill them is due to Riley knocking him out from behind, and they had to tie him down to a bed.
- Urban Fantasy: This tale of a ghost returning to haunt an old man takes place in a modern suburban city.
- Voices Are Mental: Stinkmeaner's voice is heard whenever he takes direct control of Tom. On a related note, both characters are voiced by Cedric Yarbrough.
