Rumble McSkirmish is a 16-bit video game character. He protects Dipper from Robbie under the belief that Robbie had killed Dipper's father, until Dipper confesses that he lied to Rumble. Later, during the events of Weirdmageddon, he becomes a sentient being and defects from Bill Cipher's regime for his attempt to destroy the universe and humanity. He then reconciles with Dipper.
History
Season 1
Rumble McSkirmish is a playable fighter in Fight Fighters, an arcade game that Dipper and Wendy like to play. Once, Dipper brought him into the real world by using the "ultimate power code" that he found on the lower left side of the arcade game. It said that to unleash the ultimate power to the game, he would have to hit a combination of buttons in order.
Since Dipper was his fighter in the game, Rumble McSkirmish made it his goal to protect him, and Dipper allowed Rumble to think that Robbie killed his father, which Dipper decided to use to his advantage in an upcoming fight with Robbie. But Dipper soon loses control of Rumble during the fight. Rumble chases Robbie through Main Street, where he destroys many things in the process, such as fire hydrants and cars.
After finally catching his prey at the water tower, Rumble finds out that Dipper had lied and Robbie didn't kill his father. This leads Rumble to believe that instead of Robbie being the "boss fight," it is actually Dipper. Following a greatly one-sided fight, he performs a ridiculously massive combo, and absolutely annihilates Dipper. Then, since he's beaten "the boss," the game ends, and a game over sign appears and Rumble disappears.
Season 2
Another version of Rumble (one who inhabits an arcade machine at Hoo-Ha Owl's Pizzamatronic Jamboree) appears in "Soos and the Real Girl" where he calls .GIFfany "a new challenger," before subsequently being zapped by her.
The original Rumble was later seen in "Weirdmageddon Part 1," during Weirdmageddon when many video game characters in the arcade are released from their games by a rogue weirdness wave.
As seen in "Weirdmageddon 3: Take Back The Falls," Rumble, seemingly injured, is among the refugees hiding out at the Mystery Shack, and has gained a different outlook on life, accepting that some fights can't be won, and calling himself "Humble McSkirmish." Once Bill Cipher is dead, after Stan sacrifices his memories to kill the dream demon and save the world, Rumble, along with the other supernatural beings who were released into the real world by Bill, vanish back to their home world. Rumble bids his allies a farewell by giving them a thumbs up, and gains 100 points after vanishing back to his video game world.
Appearance
Rumble is made up of pixels, making him seem "blurry" as a result. According to Dipper, his pixels are rather sharp. He has a blond mullet with a red band around his head, and is shirtless. He is very muscular and equally strong. He has tape on his forearms and wears cut indigo pants and a red belt similar to the band around his head. He has 屁, the Chinese character for "flatulence", tattooed on his back. He wears an eye patch on his left eye, and wears no shoes. And, as he said, along with this picture, this is as still as he can stay.
Sightings
Season 1
- 110. "Fight Fighters"
Season 2
- 205. "Soos and the Real Girl"
- 207. "Society of the Blind Eye" (mentioned)
- 218. "Weirdmageddon 1: Xpcveaoqfoxso"
- 220-221. "Weirdmageddon 3: Take Back The Falls"
Games
- Rumble's Revenge
- Mystery Shack Attack
- PinesQuest (mentioned)
Quotes
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"YOU TAKE THAT BAAACKKKK !!!!!!!!." |
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"Fireball! Upper cut! Downer cut! Bowl of punch!" |
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"You can hide, but you can not hide!" |
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"My entire journey, a lie. My honor has been insulted. Sensei warned me not to join the path of evil. The boy has led me astray from my teachings. If Robbie V is not my last stage, then it must be... YOOOOOOOOOUUUUU!!!!!" |
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"You fight like a girl, who is also a baby!" |
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"Do not be afraid. Weirdmageddon has taught me that there are some battles that I cannot win. I am now Humble McSkirmish." |
Trivia
- He is the main antagonist of the online game Rumble's Revenge.
- While walking on the street he pulls out a pipe and says he got it from an oil drum. This is a reference to games such as Final Fight, where food and weapons can be found by hitting containers like oil drums and crates.
- The four words and phrases Mabel had Rumble say were effervescence, apple fritter, riboflavin, and "Poop! Poop and butts!"
- It is shown he takes a huge offense to lying, even saying it brought him in on the path of evil.
- At one point, Rumble asks Dipper to take him to the Soviet Union, unaware that it has not existed since December 1991. This is a reference to a famous quirk in Street Fighter II. The original game, released in summer of 1991, contains a "USSR" stage. Several upgraded editions of the game were made in the following years which changed and updated various aspects of the game. Despite this, the "USSR" stage retained its name, even in versions released years after the Soviet Union fell.
- Rumble destroying a car is a reference to a bonus stage which appears in both Street Fighter II and Final Fight. In the latter game, successfully destroying the car will cause a character to run onscreen and say "Oh, my car," in a famously emotionless manner. This line is referenced directly in the episode.
- Rumble punching an oil drum and finding a large pipe inside, finding a sword lying in the street and even the GO! letters that appeared after destroying random things in the street are references to beat-em-up video games such as Final Fight and Streets of Rage, where such weapons could be found lying around on the ground or concealed inside objects like oil drums.
- Rumble chasing Robbie down a building's fire escape while throwing barrels at him is a reference to Donkey Kong.
- In a press release mentioning a sequel to Rumble's Revenge, his name is misspelled as "Rumble McSquirmish."
- Rumble claims that he possesses no looking up animation. This is clearly a contradiction, however, as earlier on in the episode he tilts his entire head and spine backward when asking the arcade's change machine to change him in a "powerful wolf". Rumble noticably tilts his head back again when Mabel has Rumble say "Riboflavin!"
- But even with his claimed inability, Rumble seems to have little trouble jumping and punching many things above his eye level even when he doesn't move his head. Rumble punches a hole in the ceiling of the Mystery Shack's kitchen, and snaps off telephone poles and trees. Rumble apparently doesn't feel the need to look up when lifting Robbie above his head for a body slam.
- Rumble presumably has no more trouble than a normal human using just his eyes to look upward. And may have done so when Robbie tried to hide on top of the water tower. Unfortunately Rumble is off camera when he calls out Robbie for his lofty hiding spot. Rumble may be slightly tilting back his head when pointing up at Robbie, but the exact degree is difficult to judge. In any case it is a far less dramatic example at the water tower than the earlier cited instances of Rumble's upward head movement.
- Rumble's request that the arcade's change machine change him into a "powerful wolf" is a reference to the arcade beat 'em up game Altered Beast, in which each stage offered the chance to transform the player character into a humanoid beast with unique abilities. The first of these is a wolf.
- Rumble is a parody of popular lead protagonist Ryu, from the Street Fighter series. The Fireball that he shoots bears a resemblance to the Hadouken, one of Ryu's signature moves. His appearance also incorporates design elements of Ryu's Street Fighter stablemate Ken and Streets of Rage protagonist Axel Stone.
- Gravity Falls: Journal 3 reveals that the Rumble at Hoo-Ha Owl's enters into a relationship with .GIFfany after she gets trapped in his machine.
- Gravity Falls: Journal 3 also reveals Rumble is very thin when viewed from the side. His pixels are described as being very sharp.
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- ↑ Dipper's and Mabel's Guide to Mystery and Nonstop Fun! by Disney Book Group. October 7, 2014. Published by Disney Press. ISBN: 978-1484710807.