Stan Pines

Stanley "Stan" Pines, also known as Grunkle Stan, and formerly under the assumed identity Stanford Pines is Dipper and Mabel Pines' great uncle and summer guardian. After many years of crime and infamy, he has taken up residence in the remote town of Gravity Falls, Oregon, where he exploits local lore and the gullibility of the "dumbest people in the world" to finance himself by running a dubious tourist trap known as the Mystery Shack.

Despite his initial claims of skepticism to the supernatural, he is later revealed to be deeply connected with the paranormal, most notably the decades-long operation of an interdimensional portal he has used to rescue his twin brother, Ford Pines. He is the tritagonist of Gravity Falls.

Early life
Stanley Pines was born on June 15th sometime in the 1950s to Filbrick and Ma Pines in Glass Shard Beach, New Jersey, along with his twin brother, Stanford. Though he failed to share his twin's brilliance, Stan made up for this through his personality, and when combined with his brother Ford, the duo were an unstoppable pair and the best of friends. In their early youth, the Pines children were faced with frequent bullying, most notably from their childhood foe Crampelter, which was credited to Stan's wimpish characteristics and Ford's six fingers, brought on by a congenital physical anomaly. Consequently, their father forced the pair into boxing lessons as a means of toughening them up, giving them the strength to overcome their tormentors and later allow Stan to win over Carla McCorkle, his high school sweetheart.

Stan's teenage years were initially pleasant, frequenting the 50's-themed Juke Joint with his newfound girlfriend and constructing the Stanowar with Ford, as they hoped to fulfill their childhood dreams of sailing around the world searching for adventure. However, his aspirations began to crumble near the end of senior year, due to Stanford's high chances of attending West Coast Tech -a prestigious college on the other side of the country- as well as his breakup with Carla due to her infatuation with hippie musician Thistle Downe (whose van was later driven into a ravine by Stan in an act of revenge). On the verge of losing his closest friend and barely passing high school, Stan seemed destined to stay in Glass Shard Beach forever, and his life entered a downward spiral when he inadvertently destroyed Ford's ingenious science fair experiment (perpetual motion machine) the night before it was to be shown to representatives of West Coast Tech. With Ford's chances of admittance to his dream school ruined, he accused Stan of sabotaging him because he couldn't handle Ford leaving on his own, prompting their father to disown him for losing the "potential millions" Stanford's scientific achievements would've achieved, and refusing to let him back unless he made up for it. Left with no friends or family to turn to, a furious Stanley set out on his own, determined to acquire fame and fortune twice the size his twin ever would've earned.

Establishing his self-employed company, Stan Co. Enterprises, Stan sold a variety of cheap and poorly-made household utilities, from Stan Co. Pitchforks to the "Sham Total" shammy towels, both of which were enough to have Stan Co. Enterprises (along with Stan himself) banned from the state of New Jersey. The process repeated itself after Stan altered his identity and reopened shop in Pennsylvania, where his rash-prone "Rip-Off" bandaids ran him out of the state yet again. With numerous encounters with the law and a plethora of fake I.D's and faulty products left in his wake, including a brand of vacuums called "The Stan Vac," Stan expanded his business out of the country, resulting in an awry heist in Colombia that landed him in foreign prison alongside cellmates Jorge and Rico. Upon his release, Stanley returned to the United States impoverished and nearly homeless, renting out a motel room from Dead End Flats, New Mexico. Banned from 32 of the 50 states, imprisoned in three different countries, and remaining in debt to his former cellmate Rico, Stan's life had seemingly hit rock bottom- until the arrival of a postcard from his brother Stanford, the first he had heard from his twin in over 10 years.

Following his brother's plea for him to arrive at his home in the woods of Gravity Falls, Oregon, Stan reunited with his brother- only to find him enigmatic and borderline insane, having locked himself in his home for months out of paranoia. Learning of the Universe Portal his brother had built deep underground, Stan was entrusted to leave with one of Ford's journals, detailing the paranormal anomalies of Gravity Falls and containing a portion of the schematics needed to operate the portal. Angry that his brother had no intentions of reconciling with him (and only called him after so long just to be turned away), Stan prepared to burn the book to spite Ford, causing a fistfight between the two to ensue within Stanford's laboratory. Throughout the brawl, the device was inadvertently activated, resulting in Stanley accidentally sending his brother into the portal before its immediate shutdown from a lack of fuel. Crushed at losing his brother and friend after just getting him back, Stan remained haunted by what he'd done for weeks, doing what he could with the first journal to get the portal working again (and realizing that he needed the other two), until he finally ran out of food and had no choice but to go into the town.

Upon arriving in town and realizing that the residents of Gravity Falls were curious about the mysterious house in the woods, Stan took advantage of their interest by constructing ramshackle and seemingly paranormal props and placing them on display in his brother's former home, eventually attracting enough popularity to convert the house into the Murder Hut, and later renaming it the Mystery Shack- an overpriced tourist trap filled with cheap attractions. Seizing his brother's identity and property, Stan obscured any remnants of his former twin, boarding up Ford's old bedroom and hiding his underground complex with a vending machine in the Mystery Shack gift shop. Faking his own death in a suspicious car crash, the new Stanford Pines took on the role of Mr. Mystery by day, while by night he worked tirelessly to locate his brother's hidden journals and reactivate the portal, hoping to return the real Stanford Pines back home.

As the years rolled on, Stan applied countless renovations to his prized tourist trap, intent on keeping its oddities and appeal alive. Stealing a collection of cursed wax figures from a local garage sale, the Shack's Wax Museum of Mystery was opened, becoming a huge success with incoming tourists until Stan inadvertently forgot of its existence. With the attraction's popularity increasing, Stan hired the teenage Edwin Durland as a handyman for the Mystery Shack's frequent impairments. After some time under Stan's employment, Edwin was fired and replaced by the 12-year-old Soos Ramirez in a matter of seconds, who grew to love and idolize his boss as a fatherly figure. The Shack's acclaim (along with Stan's) from tourists soon fell under competition, as the opening of the Tent of Telepathy under Gideon Gleeful created a fierce rivalry between Stan and the Gleeful family, fueled by Gideon's desire to possess the Mystery Shack for his own nefarious purposes.

30 years after the disappearance of the real Stanford Pines, Stan had built the Mystery Shack into an expensive and low-budget empire, raking in thousands from unwitting tourists. In the summer of 2012, Stan was contacted by his nephew, who requested he act as the caretaker for his twin son and daughter, Dipper and Mabel, to get them some fresh air during their summer. Despite being wildly unfit to look after children and possessing his dangerous ulterior motives, Stan agreed, allowing his grand niece and nephew to both stay and work within the Mystery Shack.

Season 1
Sometime during the month of June, Stan's great niece and nephew, Mabel and Dipper Pines, are sent from Piedmont, California to stay with him for the summer. Stan immediately puts them to work in his house-turned into a tourist trap, the Mystery Shack. Stan's other employees include Soos and Wendy. At the end of "Tourist Trapped," it is revealed that Stan has a secret door behind the vending machine in his house.

In "The Legend of the Gobblewonker," Stan wants to take Dipper and Mabel to the Lake Gravity Falls to bond with them, and he states that the guys from the lodge won't go with Stan because they don't "like or trust him." He makes Dipper and Mabel fishing hats, but they try to get away from Stan's fishing idea by going with Soos to find the Gobblewonker so they can get $1,000 in a photo contest. Stan gets upset that Dipper and Mabel would rather go on a monster hunt rather than go fishing with him, so he tries to find his own fishing buddies around the lake. This doesn't turn out right for Stan since everyone just thinks of his jokes as annoying or creepy. Later, when Dipper, Mabel, and Soos return from their voyage, Dipper and Mabel asks if they can bond with Stan, feeling bad that they left him earlier. Stan accepts their request, and they all end up having the quality family time Stan has been waiting for.

After the twins and Soos discovers several wax figures in an abandoned room in "Headhunters," Stan tells them that he used to run the Wax Museum of Mystery, until he forgot all about it. Mabel uses some old wax to make a wax figure of Stan, which he then shows to the town. When Stan's promised free pizza is revealed to be a lie, the crowd goes on a rampage. Later that night, Wax Stan is murdered and his head is gone. While Dipper and Mabel try to figure out the murderer, Stan prepares a funeral. After failing to find out the culprit, the twins, Soos, the wax figures, and Stan holds the funeral. Stan tearfully leaves the room, and Soos follows him. It is revealed that the murderers are the wax figures themselves, who wanted revenge on Stan for forgetting about them for ten years. Mabel and Dipper defeat them, even though they destroyed Stan's parlor. When they tell Stan what happened, he just laughs them off, thinking they have over-active imaginations.

In "The Hand That Rocks the Mabel," when the twins and Soos see a commercial for the psychic Li'l Gideon Gleeful, Stan tells them that he is his arch enemy and has been nothing but trouble for him since he arrived in Gravity Falls. He also says they're not allowed to see Gideon's show, but Dipper and Mabel find a loophole and go anyway. Later, Stan learns that Mabel and Gideon are dating, and disapproves. He goes to talk to Gideon's dad, Bud Gleeful, about it, but he changes his mind when Bud says that they can pool their profits. Stan even tells Mabel she has to marry Gideon. After a short struggle with the Pines twins, Mabel breaks Gideon's mystic amulet. Gideon forces his dad to call off the deal. Stan then steals a clown painting and yells, "Try and catch me, suckers!"

In "The Inconveniencing," Stan falls in love with an old romance film, The Duchess Approves, and becomes glued to the television as he watches it. However, he breaks his television by throwing out of a window after disagreeing with the plot of the show.

When Stan takes the twins to Greasy's Diner in "Dipper vs. Manliness," Mabel learns that he has a crush on waitress Lazy Susan and tries to improve his appearance and behavior in order to appeal to his love. After nothing works, Mabel decides that she should present her uncle to Susan as is, and is successful. However, Susan's incessant phone calls make Stan regret ever expressing feeling for her.

He has a party at the Mystery Shack in "Double Dipper" to attract a younger audience for the Mystery Shack.

It is revealed that Stan despises Pioneer Day in "Irrational Treasure," and he later gets trapped in a wooden stock for physically hurting Steve, a mechanic. While Stan is locked up, Gideon throws tomatoes at his eyes, and he is asked by Pacifica Northwest to say that the Northwests are the best family in Gravity Falls, and instead writes "You Stink."

In "The Time Traveler's Pig," Stan opens up the Mystery Fair to earn more cash, and rigged the Dunk Tank by making the target connected to the seat very stiff, causing Stan to not fall no matter how hard the people threw. When Dipper and Mabel time travel, the twins pass the Mystery Shack from which a younger Stan briefly emerges. This 'younger Stan' is later revealed to be Stan's twin brother, Ford. Later, one of the members of the Time Paradox Avoidance Enforcement Squadron fires his blaster at the target, which causes Stan to fall off the seat and into the water, satisfying the crowd of people and making them cheer.

In "Fight Fighters," Stan is seen hanging out with Soos and the twins for a while before Robbie challenges Dipper to a fight, which Stan encourages. Later, Mabel learns that Stan is afraid of heights, despite his attempts to cover it up, and tricks him into letting her help him overcome his fear. When he and Mabel are attacked by Rumble McSkirmish, who is pursuing Robbie at the time, at the water tower, he is so relieved to have survived that he no longer fears high altitudes.

In "Little Dipper," a man is at Stan's door. He, Dipper, and Mabel are watching TV when he hears the door and thinks that the tax collector is here for him, so he runs and gets a bag of full of cash behind the painting that he stole from a restaurant (Mystery Shack Mystery) and starts looking for a trap door on the stones on the wall. Soon learning that it wasn't them and that they are the "Winninghouse Coupon Savers Contest" and that they are there to give him $10,000,000 since his dream was to "possess money" had finally come true, so he signs. but Gideon comes out saying that he just signed the Mystery Shack to him, but on the paper he signs "SUCK A LEMON, LITTLE MAN!" instead. Throughout the episode, Gideon tries taking the Mystery Shack away from Stan but ultimately fails. So, when Gideon had shrunk Mabel and Dipper and had them in his possession, he calls Stan saying that he has them and in order to get them back he'd have to give up the Mystery Shack, but Stan doesn't believe him so Gideon says that he would text Stan a photo of them, but Stan thinks he isn't even speaking English and hangs up. Afterwards, Stan and Soos set up a mirror maze that is supposedly gonna bring him lots of cash, which was Soos' idea that Stan is taking credit for. Once Gideon arrives at the Mystery Shack, he finds Stan, but since Stan is in the mirror maze Gideon couldn't find him so he breaks every single mirror he sees and eventually finds him. He corners Stan and tries to zap him with the shrinking device, but meanwhile tiny Mabel and Dipper start tickling him and Stan being unaware if this, is confused and states maybe their rivalry has gone too far, so he "rolls" Gideon out of the shack.

In "Summerween," Grunkle Stan steals items from the Summerween Superstore by using his Smoke Bomb, and tells the twins that the townspeople love Halloween so much they celebrate it twice a year. Later a group of kids who are trick-or-treating rings the doorbell of the Mystery Shack, and Stan comes to the door with a skeleton mask. This scares the kids, who ran away, but two kids remained. Stan asks them why they weren't scared, and the kids reply they've been watching horror movies since they were two years old. For the rest of the episode, Stan tries to scare the two kids. He first pulls out "guts" from his stomach, but the kids weren't scared because the guts were just sausages. Then Stan had a pig come out of his stomach, but it was just tucked under his shirt the whole time. Stan feels shameful because he used to scare every child in the previous Summerweens, so he took a shower to wash off the shame. The two kids, who wanted candy from Stan, walked inside the Mystery Shack to find him. They finally get scared and runs away after they see Stan partially naked. When the twins come home from trick-or-treating, they were disappointed they couldn't eat any of the candy they collected (all but one fell in a creek). Stan shows them two big bags of candy he got, and the family, along with Soos, Wendy, Candy Chiu and Grenda, watch a horror movie at the Mystery Shack for the remainder of the night.

File:S1e13 $300,000.png In "Boss Mabel," Stan's relentless attempts at making money and poor treatment of his employees get on Mabel's nerves, and she decides to confront him about it. So, the two bet that whoever makes more money in three days' time—Stan on vacation or Mabel running the Shack—is in charge for the rest of the summer. After heading out, Stan lands a spot competing on the game show Cash Wheel, and, despite doing very well at first, ends up losing all $300,000 dollars he earns after failing to correctly guess the final puzzle. Consequently, Stan offers Mabel the chance to be the new boss in accordance with their bet, but she declines, although she still makes him perform the apology dance he promised to do if he lost the bet.

In "Bottomless Pit!," Stan has his first major encounter with the supernatural side of Gravity Falls as he, Soos, and the twins fall down a bottomless pit and tell stories to pass the time. In Dipper's tale, Stan makes fun of Dipper's frequently cracking voice and develops an obnoxious, female voice after his nephew dumps a voice-altering formula in his coffee. In his own tale, Stan wins a major football game with the help of his robotic sidekick, thereby teaching a group of football players a lesson and winning a gigantic trophy. In Mabel's story, Mabel observes his excessive lying habit and grows more and more annoyed by it to the point of forcing him to be honest, via a set of Truth Telling Teeth. Stan's truthfulness is unfiltered, however, and gets on the twins' nerves, and Mabel finally decides to remove the teeth from her uncle's mouth after he almost gets himself arrested. As the group nears the end of the pit, they simply come out the top, though Stan falls back in shortly afterwards.

In "The Deep End," on the hottest day of the year, Stan, Dipper, Mabel, and Soos go to the town pool to cool off. When Stan tries to get his ideal lawn chair, he is horrified when he finds that Gideon has taken it from him. As he tries to reclaim his seat, he is put into pool jail for roughhousing, and Gideon foils his other attempts. At night, Stan decides to go to the pool extremely early to get the chair before Gideon shows up, but is enraged upon finding out that his young foe yet again anticipated and ruined his plan ahead of time, at this instance by gluing him to the pool chair.

In "Carpet Diem," when Dipper and Mabel are fighting over a new room they found in the shack, Stan takes the key and tells them that whoever sucks up to him the most will get the room. He makes them run around and do chores and make things for him, all the while rewarding them with 'suck-up points'. Eventually though, after Dipper and Mabel switch bodies, he catches Dipper (Mabel) spying on the sleepover and thinks that Dipper is at 'that creepy age where you spy on girls' and drags Mabel over to a room where he tells her all about puberty as well as where babies come from, much to Mabel's horror. When she tries to sabotage Dipper by calling Stan a stupid old jerk, he is proud of Dipper and decides that Dipper would get the room and gives Dipper (Mabel) the key and sends her out.

In "Boyz Crazy," Stan listens to Dipper talk about how Robbie got Wendy to go on the date with him and relates it to something that happened to him and his old sweetheart Carla "Hotpants" McCorkle. He helps Dipper uncover a hidden message in the song, and drives Dipper to Lookout Point to help him tell Wendy about it. When Wendy breaks up with Robbie, he calls it "a victory for every man who's hands are either too weak or fat to play a musical instrument." After Wendy gets mad at Dipper for asking her to go bowling, Stan tells Dipper that he could always just go bowling with him and that he was trying to do the right thing even if he destroyed a relationship.

In "Land Before Swine," Stan kicks Waddles out of the house against Mabel's wishes. Because Waddles was outside, a pterodactyl took him and Stan lies to Mabel about it, saying that the pterodactyl came inside the house to catch him. Eventually, Mabel figures out that Stan had lied and refuses to talk to him. She only forgives him after he saves Waddles and punches the pterodactyl in the face.

In "Dreamscaperers," Gideon sends Bill Cipher into Stan's mind to find the combination to the safe containing the deed to the Mystery Shack. Cipher is prevented from doing so by the efforts of Dipper, Mabel, and Soos, so Gideon uses dynamite to blow open the safe. With the deed in hand, he then forces Stan and the others out of the Shack and has it demolished via a wrecking ball.

Stan and the rest of his group are stuck living with Soos and his grandmother in "Gideon Rises," after the events following "Dreamscaperers." He attempts to reclaim the Mystery Shack after Gideon unveils his plans to no avail. During the course of the skirmish, however, he unintentionally discovers the truth behind Gideon's powers. Later, after Gideon's arrest, he swindles Dipper out of Journal 3.

His secret underground laboratory is a series of rooms containing computers and electronic equipment deep beneath the Shack. He keeps Journal 1 down there and uses the unmarked pages of the three books together to activate an illuminated, triangular doorway of sorts.When the three books are gathered he says either "Finally, I have them all" or "Finally, we have them all" but there is no consensus on what he actually says.

Season 2
In "Scary-oke," late at night Stan continues with his mysterious research using the three journals. The following day he gives Dipper back his journal, having made copies of its pages. Two government agents show up trying to investigate a strange phenomenal occurrence they picked up on the radar during Stan's late night workings. Stan insists that nothing is out of the ordinary, but Dipper tries telling them about the journal. Stan manages to make Dipper's claims seem as if it's a part of his imagination, and so they leave, but not before leaving behind their business card for Dipper which Stan confiscates, placing it in his room. Standing at the admission table counting the money he's made, he was happy at the amount of people that showed up. He ends up catching Dipper in his room trying to contact the agents and angrily tells him to leave the room, saying that after the grand re-opening party tonight he'll be grounded. At some point in the night, Dipper mistakenly brings the dead back to life and they go on a rampage. Stan saves Dipper and Mabel from the zombies with Dipper gloating that the supernatural is real to him. Stan reveals to the twins that he knew all along and was only trying to protect them. After Dipper reveals a weakness for the zombies he, Dipper and Mabel use the sound frequencies from singing karaoke to kill them. He tells Dipper to promise that he won't use the book to go looking for trouble, only for self-defense. In return, he had to promise Dipper that he didn't have anything else to hide. Stan states his promise, crossing his fingers behind his back as well.

In "Into the Bunker," he is seen giving orders to the construction workers as they fix the damage done from the zombie attack. When one of the workers asked what caused this, he lied and said, "A big woodpecker."

In "The Golf War," he, the twins and Soos went to Ye Royal Discount Putt Hutt. While there, they see Pacifica with her parents. She insults each of them and Stan whispers to Soos, "Is it wrong to punch a child?" Pacifica makes a fool of Mabel after she scores the shot Mabel missed. Mabel calls her out and asks her for a rematch after dark. Stan is thrilled to help Mabel and Dipper break in while he and Soos stand look out. Before they go in, Stan gives Mabel a gold trophy sticker for encouragement.

In "Sock Opera," Mabel enacted her impression of him with her Stan sock puppet while he sipped his coffee, trying to ignore her. He also makes a joke towards Dipper after seeing him with bags under his eyes.

In "Soos and the Real Girl," he is seen trying to show off with his novelty coin dispenser, Goldie, to a kid. Because it was old and worn out, it leaked oil and made a loud screeching sound that made the kid run away in tears. Wendy suggests he throw Goldie away, which he declines until he slips and his arm gets caught in it's mouth. Later, he tosses Goldie in the garbage by Gravity Malls after having a heartfelt moment. He follows some children into Hoo-Ha Owl's Pizzamatronic Jamboree, where he finds the arcade to be a nightmare. He spots an animatronic badger and thinks it'd be a great way to con others out of their money, to which he asks the manager to sell it to him. The manager, however, declines and insults him. Stan then vows to get the badger at all cost. The next day, Mabel and Dipper ask him if he's seen Soos, to which he comments he missed work for the first time ever. Later on, he steals the animatronic badger, but after .GIFfany takes control of the electronics, it attacks him and he is forced to face it. Despite being outmatched, he is able to dodge one of its attacks with it mistakenly hitting the garbage, turning on Goldie, which munches on the animatronics' arm. Not long after, the badger shuts down due to Soos stopping .GIFfany, although Stan believes it was Goldie and suddenly decides to go to Las Vegas with it. While they are there, they get married at a Wed and Breakfast joint.

Stan tells three stories in "Little Gift Shop of Horrors." In the first story, Hands Off, he plays a major part. He steals a golden watch from the Hand Witch. Despite the Dipper and Mabel's warnings to return it, he ignores them. The next morning he wakes up with no hands. Though he tries to hide this fact from Dipper and Mabel by putting mittens where his hands would be, the mittens fall off and the twins find out anyways. Stan tries to get along without his hands but eventually decides to go and return the watch. After reaching the Hand Witch's cave with the twins, they all scream in the surprise of the many living hands in the cave. They fight off the hands but are subdued. Stan is willing to give her the watch back in exchange for his hands back, which she accepts. However, she tells him he has to kiss her to seal the deal, much to his dismay. Refusing, Stan decides to leave, and the Hand Witch confesses that she's "desperate" to get a date. After Mabel redecorates her cave, the Hand Witch gives Stan his hands back. She then asks him to be her boyfriend. Stan refuses and admits that he learned nothing from the whole escapade.

In "Society of the Blind Eye," Stan continues to work in secret on the enigmatic machine beneath the Mystery Shack, accidentally cutting his hand on a flying pipe in the process.

In "Blendin's Game," Stan goes to Big Gunz Laser Tag with the rest of the gang to cheer up Soos. He exclaims that it used to be a mattress store.

In "The Love God," Stan is working on a new exhibit when he notices the Woodstick festival's balloons, bikes, and folk singers. Panicked, he instructs Soos to lock up and attempts to shoot down the balloons with a crossbow. Soos then stops him, pointing out that there is a potential for profit, and Stan deduces that he can appeal to the youth by advertising to them via a Mystery Shack-themed balloon. Later, when Stan and Soos send off their poorly-made balloon, it terrifies the crowds, ultimately crashing on Love God. When the people see Stan, they panic, and he welcomes their fearful reactions.

In "Not What He Seems," Stan struggles with the idea of telling Dipper and Mabel the truth about what he is doing, but is suddenly arrested and brought in by the government agents for interrogation. Later on, it is revealed that Stan has used fake identities and may be an entirely unknown person, and it is shown that the actual Stan Pines had died in a car crash. At the end of the episode, Stan convinces Mabel not to turn off the Universe portal. Afterwards, a man walks out of the portal, and is revealed to be the long-lost twin of Stan; the author of the journals.

In "A Tale of Two Stans," Dipper, Mabel, Soos, and Ford corner Stan in the basement of the Mystery Shack, Stan tells his entire past to explain everything to his relatives and Soos. After Stan's tale they hear the government agents about to break in the basement until Dipper grabs out the Memory Eraser from the Blind Eye Society and gives it to Ford, who connects the gun's power to the outside and erases the agents' memory and makes them leave. The Stan brothers later have a talk. Ford says that Stanley can have the Mystery Shack for the rest of the summer and Stanley tells Ford to stay away from Dipper and Mabel saying that they're his only family left.

In "Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons," Stan tells Dipper that his brother is dangerous and should be avoided. Later in the episode, Stan and Mabel (who are joined by Grenda afterwards) prepare for the season finale of Duck-tective, but without warning, they find Dipper and Ford playing Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons board game in the TV room. To their dislike, the two new bounding friends take up the entire room with their game, Stan then argues with Ford for the right of the room, then which out of anger, Stan throws the bag containing the infinity sided die on the floor, by doing this he unwillingly sends the main characters from the board game into Gravity Falls' dimension. As soon as unleashed Probabilitor the Annoying and his servants kidnap Dipper and Ford and bring them to the forest so that Probabilitor can eat their brains to gain their intelligence. Stan then decides to help Grenda and Mabel save Dipper and Ford from getting their brains eaten, but to do so the group must travel to Probabilitor's base camp and defeat him in a game of Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons "real life" edition, in which Dipper and Ford must face Probabilitor's characters, two ogres. Stan and Mabel win the game, Probabilitor and the others are forced back into their own realm, and Dipper and Ford are broth out of the game. Stan then tells Dipper that if he wants to hang out with Ford he won't get in his way. After a day's work Stan, Mabel, Dipper, and Grenda go watch the Duck-tective season finale's second showing.

In "The Stanchurian Candidate," Stan wants to make a name out of himself since everyone sees him as some dumb old man or less than his brother, so he decides to run for mayor against Bud Gleeful. Since his first speech was a total failure, Dipper turns to Ford to help him. Ford gives him a tie to control Stan's mind. Dipper and Mabel use this tie to make Stan the perfect candidate. Stan later realizes that it has been controlling him the entire time so he decides to never wear it. But his decision only makes things worse. He goes back to being the worst candidate and with Gideon controlling Bud. Bud starts to win the election. Later, Stan sees Dipper and Mabel falling out of the statue of Mayor Befufftlefumpter's nose and goes to save them, by saving the twins' lives he successfully wins the election. Later that day Stan hears that he hasn't won the election because of his criminal record, so Tyler wins instead.

In "The Last Mabelcorn," Stan is seen speaking to a man named Santiago about smuggling barrels of pugs over the U.S. border. When Ford gives Mabel a crossbow, Mabel accidentally shoots the crossbow outside the shack and Stan mistakes it for the police. Later, when the girls put a treasure chest overflowing with gold on the table, Stan runs towards it, shouting "money!" and taking most of the gold.

In "Roadside Attraction," Stan takes the twins, Soos, Candy, and Grenda on a RV trip to sabotage various tourist traps across Oregon. When he notices Dipper having a hard time forgetting about his crush on Wendy, he gives him advise on how to be confident with girls, which works out extremely well for Dipper at first. When Dipper approaches Stan with feelings of uneasiness due to Candy's sudden attraction to him, Stan decides to make an example of how confidence can get girls with a woman named Darlene. As Stan flirts with Darlene, she reveals herself to be a "spider-person," and she captures Stan in order to eat him. Stan calls for Dipper to help over his walkie-talkie, and Dipper along with the girls go to rescue Stan. After being rescued, Stan confides in Dipper that he really isn't that smooth with women. The gang return to the Mystery Shack, only to see it vandalized by the vengeful owners of the tourist traps they destroyed.

In "Dipper and Mabel vs. the Future," Stan joins the twins and Soos in the excitement for the upcoming week as his senior ponytail kit arrives on the coming week, stating he is going through some things. When the twins and Soos prepare for their birthday party, Stan forbids them from throwing a party due to their previous party incident, with Stan finding zombie pieces around the Shack. After Mabel becomes saddened over the summer ending, Stan comes to comfort her, telling Mabel that while summer is ending, Mabel still has Dipper around to be with her, telling his niece that not everyone can say their siblings are there for them.

In "Weirdmageddon Part 1," Stan makes a brief appearance as he's in the forest putting up signs until Gompers eats the tassel of his hat. As he gets angry at Gompers, a weirdness wave hits Gompers and turns him gigantic, causing Stan to run away screaming from the gigantic goat.

In "Weirdmageddon 2: Escape From Reality," Dipper, Mabel, Wendy, and Soos approach the Mystery Shack to find shelter. Inside, Dipper hears noises and the group proceed inside and find Stan as well as a number of people and creatures taking refuge within the Shack due to its protection from Bill.

During "Weirdmageddon 3: Take Back The Falls," after reuniting with the twins, the Mystery Shack is scouted by an Eye-Bat. When the Eye-Bat leaves, Stan explains that after realizing the Mystery Shack is immune to Bill's powers, McGucket took all the remaining refugee into the Shack to escape Bill, Stan then appointed himself Chief and decided that the best course of action was to wait until they run out of supplies and eat the gnomes as backup. Dipper attempts to get Stan to help rescue Ford from Bill but Stan shrugs it off commenting that Ford should get himself out of the mess. He then persuades Dipper and Mabel to simply stay inside the Shack as it is the safest place to be in. Stan watches with the other refugees as Shandra reports about what happened to the citizen of Gravity Falls. Dipper and Mabel encourage everyone to fight against Bill but Stan objects as the Mystery Shack is the only safe place and there was no way to bring it to Bill. McGucket suddenly has an idea as to how they could fight Bill but Stan remained pessimistic.

When everyone takes a break from building McGucket's plan, Stan rants to Schmebulock about the resistance's plan. Dipper and Mabel ask Stan why he's upset, and he admits to being angry that Ford never thanked him for his efforts to bring him back to their dimension (as well as Ford's folly causing Weirdmageddon in the first place). He laments that he's always seen as "the screw-up" while Ford's always "the hero." Dipper and Stan argue, but Mabel quickly breaks the argument and reassures the two that everything will turn out fine.

Stan is next seen inside the Shack-tron, stating it was a bad idea as the Shack is surrounded by Bill's henchmen. He is then sent inside the Fearamid to help rescue Ford. When all of the citizens of Gravity Falls are returned to normal after toppling Bill's throne, Dipper asks Ford about Bill's weakness, which he tried to tell Dipper about before being initially frozen. Ford then draws the Cipher Wheel and tells everyone who matches a sign to stand on their sign and hold hands.

However, Stan refuses to join the circle, as it would require him to hold Ford's hand- and he won't until until Ford thanks him. Ford grudgingly does so, and the ritual seems to work- however Stan and Ford bicker over Stanley's grammar, and break the circle. Bill approaches the group and turns everyone on the Wheel but the Pines into tapestries. Bill attempts to persuade Ford to help him but Dipper and Mabel distract Bill. Stan and Ford are imprisoned while Bill chases the younger twins.

Stan grieves over the kid's possible deaths, believing it his fault because he "couldn't shake [Ford's] stupid hand." He laments his belief that that his dad was right about him-that he really is a screw-up. A saddened Ford tells him it wasn't his fault- he himself was the one who originally made a deal with Bill and fell for his easy flattery, and claims Stan would've instantly "seen him for the scam artist he is." Stan and Ford have a brief moment to reflect on their childhood and how they were once as close as Dipper and Mabel. Ford, believing all hope is lost, tells Stan that he'll let Bill inside his mind and get the equation needed to completely take over the universe if means the children will be safe. Stan disagrees with the plan, asking if there's any other solution. Ford brings up the fact that, while he could simply erase Bill with the memory erasing gun once he steps into his mind, the metal plate in his head prevents Ford's mind from being erased. Stan gives an alternative solution- what if Bill went into his mind instead?

When Bill returns, Ford appears to surrender, agreeing to let Bill inside his mind on the condition that he lets Stan and the kids go. However, when Bill enters the mindscape and opens the single door there, he's shocked to find Stan waiting there instead. Stan reveals that he and Ford switched clothes and faked each other's voices, tricking Bill into making a deal with the wrong person- and leaving him vulnerable to the memory erasing gun's effects. In the physical world, Ford begins erasing Stan's memories to erase Bill along with them, while Stan defeats Bill with a single punch from within his mind. Stan, looking at a photo of himself with the twins, comments that he was "good for something after all" before becoming engulfed by the blue flames consuming his mindscape.

With Bill's defeat, everything in Gravity Falls returns to normal- but it's a bittersweet victory. Ford, Dipper and Mabel are saddened by Stan's sacrifice, with Ford lamenting the fact that Stan has no idea that he saved the world (as well as Ford), calling Stan "our hero" as he hugs him.

Ford, Dipper, Mabel and Soos then take Stan back to the ruined remains of the Mystery Shack. Stan doesn't remember the place, but slides easily back into his favorite chair. Seeing everyone's distraught faces, he asks why everyone seemed downed, claiming that it's "like [they're] at someone's funeral." Mabel, frantically trying to find some way to bring him back despite Ford's insistence that he's gone, finds her Summer Memories scrapbook. After the children's failed attempt to jog his memories using it, Waddles licks Stan and Stan subconsciously calls him by name. When Soos tells the twins to skip to his page to make Stan remember him, Stan also calls Soos by name, telling him not to try giving himself a raise just because he has amnesia, making everyone happy that Stan is slowly recovering his memories as Mabel reads from the book.

When the town of Gravity Falls return to their normal lives, Shandra reports that Stan has fully recovered his memories and is celebrating Dipper and Mabel's 13th birthday (and final day in Gravity Falls.) At the party, Ford takes Stan aside and tells him about a new anomaly near the Arctic Ocean. Ford wants to investigate, but feels he's too old to go it alone. Stan asks if Ford wants someone to go with him on an adventure of a lifetime, but Ford doesn't want just someone to go with him, but Stan himself, showing Stan a old picture of them together on the Stan o' War as children. While Stan and Ford seem happy about their new adventure, Ford questions what to do with the Mystery Shack in their absence.

After a hushed conversation between himself and Ford, Stan announces to the town that the Mystery Shack will shut down for good, as Stan and Ford have catching up to do and will be away for quite some time. Soos quickly objects, stating that his own dreams will be shut down should the Mystery Shack close. Stan states that no one would be around around to run it, but then quickly takes it back, telling Soos he found someone perfect to run it, and gives Soos his fez as he announces that the Mystery Shack is "under new management."

The next day, Stan joins with Soos, Ford, Wendy, and Mabel's friends in saying farewell to his niece and nephew. Stan makes an excuse about wearing Mabel's Goodbye sweater and, along with Ford, silences Soos when he brings up how hot it is to be wearing a sweater. When the bus arrives, Waddles appears and wants to go with Mabel,but can't because her parents won't let her bring him back with her (as well as the bus not allowing pets) Stan gets upset and tells Mabel that he lived with Waddles all summer, and now Dipper and Mabel's parents will have to. When the bus driver attempts to remove Waddles from the bus, Stan and Ford threaten the bus driver into letting him stay. Stan says goodbye to the twins one more time, attempting to hide his emotions from them. Mabel says they'll miss him too. Stan joins everyone in shouting their final goodbyes to Dipper and Mabel, he is then approached by his twin brother and the two look as their niece and nephew depart. In Dipper's monologue, Stan and Ford are seen venturing the ocean and fighting a giant squid on their new boat, the Stan o' War II. After the two defeat the squid, they huddle and laugh.

Personality
Grunkle Stan is a gruff, selfish, cynical, and greedy salesman who has managed to set up his tourist trap in a town with enough unsuspecting customers to sell worthless knickknacks to and take on tours of so-called "mysteries." His flair for showmanship is oddly hypnotizing, and thus he is able to make money by peddling bogus trinkets and baubles in his store.

His work ethic is mainly driven by his desire to make money, so when he's not generating an income, he's usually at home watching television. Stan is also a lot more cunning and aware of his surroundings than he first appears; as he's shown on multiple occasions outwitting Gideon Gleeful. Even though he sends the twins on unpredictable and outrageous errands, he always has their best interests at heart and loves them unconditionally.

Despite his cynicism, Stan loves his family deeply. This is outright expressed in "Weirdmageddon 3: Take Back The Falls," where Stan says to Bill, "You're a real wise guy, but you made one fatal mistake- you messed with my family." He cares for Dipper, Mabel, and Ford. His relationship with Ford had been tense ever since they disputed once Ford returned from the portal, but they were able to eventually bond again in "Weirdmageddon 3: Take Back The Falls."

When he isn't busy trying to make a quick buck from his unsuspecting customers, Stan is guarding his own secret that might hold the key to unlocking the mystery of Gravity Falls.

Stan sees the tourists as easy cash and nothing more. He's a popular con artist, and his business tends to draw in a more oblivious crowd, whom he easily fools with his entirely fake exhibits. Ironically in the episode "Bottomless Pit!," he said that no one would believe that a bottomless pit exists.

Despite his history as a con artist, he has a compulsion to tell the truth and state his honest opinions on the subject at hand. Some examples include; during "Headhunters" Stan stated to the man who sold him the cursed wax figures that he would just rob him later on for charging twenty dollars per statue, has employed the excuse "Non-specific excuse" to get out of a bad date, and many of his early products stated his products were not worth the money. Stan even admits in "The Stanchurian Candidate" that he has little to no filter between his thoughts and his words.

Appearance
Stan has brown eyes with cataracts, gray eyebrows, and gray hair (Both of which were brown in his youth), that is almost always covered by Stan's trademark maroon fez, which bore a yellow crescent shape (through episodes 1 to 13) and later a similar figure (because the original fez was eaten by a goat), albeit with straight edges, with a dot next to it. He bears a somewhat large, droopy, pear-shaped, reddish-pinkish nose, large ears, and fair skin. As a result of his age, Stan has wrinkly skin, a hearing aid, dentures and a slouched posture. He has a faded burn mark of the symbol on the side of Ford's desk on his back. He usually wears a pair of rectangular glasses with a black rim which later had its outline thinned. Stan also has a perpetual five o'clock shadow covering his lower face.

Stan's typical outfit is a black suit, with the jacket buttoned closed, a bow tie similar in color to his fez, and a white dress shirt. He also wears big, light brown shoes and the aforementioned fez and glasses. He frequently carries an eight ball cane with him and often wears an unnecessary eye-patch over one of his eyes while working.

Around the house, he tends to wear a white tank top, a gold necklace, striped blue underwear, slippers, and his glasses and fez. This particular outfit shows Stan's body hair, of which he has an excessive amount, burly arms, skinny legs, and his very large belly.

Dipper Pines
Dipper is Stan's great-nephew. Stan does not often supervise Dipper as he is supposed to as the boy's summer caretaker, and is known to take advantage of him, which angers Dipper. Stan also teases his nephew frequently, and Dipper can get annoyed with Stan. However, they still love each other and like to bond, and Stan seems to have a soft spot for both of the twins, and is well-meaning, as mentioned in an interview. In "Dreamscaperers," It is revealed that the reason Stan is hard on Dipper is because he sees his old weak self in him. Like his late father, he wants to toughen up Dipper so that he could stand up for himself. He also finds Dipper a bit nerdy. At the end of "Not What He Seems," Dipper's trust in Stan is left in tatters once he discovers what Stan has been hiding, and Stan is left distraught. Although their relationship is somewhat repaired after Dipper apologizes after hearing Stan's story.

Mabel Pines
Mabel is Stan's great-niece. Stan and Mabel's conflicting personalities sometimes clash, often resulting in arguments and disapproval between them. Nevertheless, they care about each other and enjoy spending quality time with one another. Mabel often gets involved in whatever problem Stan is dealing with on a given day and tries to help him solve it, usually when Stan does not ask for her help. Stan can be protective of his niece and will get jealous when she spends time with others instead of him, and he has a tendency to find Mabel more likable than Dipper.

Soos Ramirez
Soos is Stan's employee. Stan views Soos as a loyal employee since he's been working at the Mystery Shack for many years, though he still takes advantage of the man-child, using his naivety to his advantage. Soos, on the other hand, admires Stan and attends to his boss' every whim, spending a great portion of his time at work. The two men have developed a friendship over the years. In "Not What He Seems," Soos' faith in Stan is damaged after he and the twins discover his secret, with Soos refusing to listen to Stan when he tells him to stop the twins but Stan forgives Soos for siding with Mabel and Dipper. At the end of the series, Stan gives ownership of the Mystery Shack over to Soos.

Wendy Corduroy
Wendy is Stan's employee. She is disrespectful toward Stan and is notorious for slacking off and breaking rules when he is not looking. Stan is harsh on her, contributing to her view of him as the "worst boss ever," and she is not above playing pranks on him. But she overlooks all this, as Wendy is still willing to help Stan from time to time, even with his personal life.

Gideon Gleeful
Stan and Gideon have been rivals for years, both in business and life. Stan sees Gideon as a moronic, hindering, and irritating nuisance. As Stan mocks and is angered by his young foe, not taking him to be a threat in any way, Gideon plots his revenge on Stan and his family, with pranks on the side. Gideon also seeks a mysterious secret hidden within Stan's Mystery Shack. His relationship with Gideon after Weirdmaggedon is unknown.

Ford Pines
Ford is Stan's twin brother. As children, Stan and Ford were very close and considered themselves best friends. Stan stood up for Ford when he was bullied and Ford helped Stan with school by letting him copy off of his papers. After Stan accidentally broke Ford's science project, ruining his chance of getting into West Coast Tech, Ford became very angry with Stan, who was kicked out of the house by Filbrick Pines. The two did not see each other until over a decade later when Ford told Stan to hide Ford's journals. Their reunion turned into a fight, resulting in Ford being sucked into the Universe portal. Stan spent the next thirty years trying to figure out how to reopen it. The two still hold grudges against each other, but recognize each other's needs. They mostly ignore each other, and what interactions they do have often end up with an argument. However, it has been shown that they still care about each other and are capable of getting along.

Stan's issues with his brother come to a head in "Weirdmageddon Part 3: Take Back the Falls" where Stan is reluctant to rescue Ford due to Ford never being grateful for Stan spending 30 years trying to rescue him from the portal. Stan only agrees to join the Zodiac Wheel after Ford thanks him, but Ford's petty correction of Stan's grammar gets Stan agitated and he starts attacking Ford, which disbands the wheel, causing it to fail.

Stan and Ford are then imprisoned by Bill and both are distressed seeing Bill chase Dipper and Mabel. Stan and Ford reflect on their failings and what went wrong with the bond they used to share. While they discuss what to do, they come up with a plan to defeat Bill which would involve Stan having his mind erased. Ford reluctantly does so which destroys Bill and saves the world, but leaves Stan an amnesiac unable to remember anything. Ford laments the loss and calls Stan "our hero," embracing him. Initially believing that Stan's condition was irreversible, Ford and everybody else was overjoyed to see Stan's memory start to come back after seeing Mabel's scrapbook. Later after Stan's memory is fully recovered, Ford tells Stan that he's discovered anomalies in the Arctic Ocean that he wants to investigate with Stan at his side fulfilling their dream of sailing out on the high seas when they were kids. After Dipper and Mabel leave Gravity Falls, Stan joins Ford on his voyage as they fight monsters on the ocean with their bond being stronger than ever.

Quotes
"Sounds like something a responsible parent wouldn't want you doing... Good thing I'm an uncle! Avenge me, kids! AVENGE ME!!!"

- Stan Pines

"When there's no cops around, anything's legal!"

- Stan Pines

"No buts except yours out the door! Now shut your yap and get to work!"

- Stan to Mabel

"Remember folks, we put the 'fun' in 'No Refunds!'"

- Stan Pines

"I don't understand! What did I do that warrants this much arresting?!"

- Stan Pines

Trivia

 * Stan was raised Jewish but is now an atheist.
 * Stan is called "Grunkle Stan" by Dipper and Mabel because he believes "Great Uncle" takes too much time to say, and, according to him, time is money.
 * "Grunkle" was chosen because Hirsch's great aunt, Lois, used to insist on being called "Graunty Lois."
 * Stan's full name, Stanley, may have been inspired by the Boyoma Falls, which were formerly known as the Stanley Falls.
 * In the episode "Bottomless Pit!," Stan's fez design and every instance of it is replaced.
 * Coincidentally, at the end of The Stan Wrong Song, Stan's fez falls off and Gompers tries to eat it. Although we do not see the result, it's not unlikely that Gompers won the battle and made off with the fez, forcing Stan to get a new one.
 * The fez that Stan is wearing is actually a Shriners hat.
 * The symbol on Stan's fez may be the Luwian hieroglyph for "Luna" or moon.
 * In some countries, the first symbol on Stan's fez is removed.
 * Stan owns 10 guns.
 * He has been sent to jail in Colombia.
 * He is often seen running away with various items.
 * Stan, Mabel, and Dipper have been to the county jail due to them making counterfeit money during one of Stan's "family fun days."
 * In "A Tale Of Two Stans," it was revealed that Stan has a sibling, Shermy, who is Dipper and Mabel's grandfather. Although it isn't stated outright, it can be inferred from the fact that Stan shares last names with Dipper and Mabel that Shermy is the latters' paternal grandfather.
 * Toffee peanuts are Stan's favorite treat.
 * In "Gideon Rises," it is shown that Stan wears a hearing aid.
 * Bob Odenkirk of "Breaking Bad" fame was originally going to be cast as Stan, but he turned the offer down.
 * Stan wears the same necklace as Sheriff Blubs, Sergei, and the carney who gives Wendy the Stuffed creature of indeterminate species, but they wear them under their shirts.
 * In "Bottomless Pit!," Stan admits to the police that he has violated the Lacey Act.
 * In "Dreamscaperers," it is revealed that his belly button is an innie.
 * Stan's appearance has not changed in at least a decade.
 * Stan is banned from airplanes.
 * Every depiction of Stan (wax sculpture, puppet, photo, or otherwise) has been "killed" in some way and most deaths have been related to fire or melting.
 * Though Stan's depictions and figurative deaths may have foreshadowed his showdown in the mindscape with Bill.
 * Stan has a box of fake IDs and passports. Some of said IDs are:
 * Hal Forrester. Idaho ID. His appearance is slightly altered, including the presence of a mole. The number on the card is: 2145152831545
 * Andrew "8-Ball" Alcatraz. Mississippi ID. His appearance is altered, including a scar on the left side of his face, and a soul patch. He is wearing the gold necklace. He also doesn't wear glasses. The number on the card is 231188111289.
 * Stetson Pinefield. United States passport. His appearance is slightly altered, including different hair style and white shirt. Visa stamps include London, Seattle.
 * Steve Pineington. He advertised the Rip Off, a non-sticky bandage that gave you rashes, in Pennsylvania.
 * All the fingerprints on Stan's right-hand exhibit a double loop whorl pattern.
 * "Northwest Mansion Mystery" is the only episode in which Stan doesn't appear.
 * According to Bill Cipher, Stan's burn mark means "watch your step." It is revealed in "A Tale of Two Stans" that Stan got this mark after being kicked by Ford and stumbling backward into hot metal.
 * In the original pilot, Stan is in his eighties. In the series, he is in his sixties.
 * Stan was divorced from a woman named Marilyn only six hours after being married.
 * Stan has no children.
 * Stan has always needed glasses, but he went for stretches of time without wearing them because he wanted "to look cool."
 * Stan was born after Ford.
 * He has been practicing the same coin trick since 1982 and still can't master it.
 * In "Weirdmageddon 3: Take Back The Falls," it is revealed that Stan can do a perfect vocal impression of Ford.
 * Stan already used Ford's identity twice and at the same time with Ford using his only once.
 * Stan wants his body taxidermied and placed like it's about to pounce on the Mystery Shack when he dies.

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