Johnny Bravo (character)

This article is about the character. For the pilot, see Johnny Bravo (pilot) and for the series, see Johnny Bravo (series).

“	Oh, yeah! She digs me.	”
—Johnny, after being rejected by a woman.

Johnny Bravo (character)
Also Known As	Johnny B. J.B. Weird Guy (by NASA operator) Jenny Brava (as woman in "Witch-ay Woman")
Age	20s (Seasons 1 & 4) Early 20s (Seasons 2 & 3 retool)
Height	6’0” (6'3" with hair)
Weight	245 lbs
Relatives	Bunny Bravo (Mother) Jebedissa Bravo (Aunt) Myra Bravo (Aunt, mentioned) Fiona Bravo (Great-aunt, mentioned) Lou Bravo (Uncle, deceased)
Friends	Little Suzy, Pops, Carl Chryniszzswics
Enemies	Christopher, Donny Osmond and various
First Appearance	"Johnny Bravo" (pilot)
Voiced By	Jeff Bennett (impersonating Elvis Presley) Marc Silk (UK) Neil Kaplan (Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion) Oliver Feld (German) Marcin Kudełka (Poland)

Johnny Bravo is the titular protagonist of the series of the same name. His shallow, boorish, and dim-witted traits lead to an incorrigible inability to attract women, as well as getting beaten up by them or just about anyone, becoming a running gag throughout the series.

Appearance

Johnny wears a black shirt with sleeves rolled up, light blue jeans, black loafers, gelled up blonde hair, and his signature sunglasses. He is sometimes drawn without a mouth. He has a very muscular build, which is often exaggerated in size. As seen in "Bravo Dooby-Doo" and "Endless Bummer", Johnny has black, dotted eyes, similar to the other humans.

Personality

Johnny Bravo is an extremely dim-witted, ill-mannered and inconsiderate beefcake. He's very full of himself, constantly checking mirrors and flexing his muscles in front of women. During a conversation with women, Johnny will always try to find a way to turn the conversation around so that they are talking about him in an effort to make the girl realize his positive traits, although this effort to do so exemplifies him as a narcissist. Johnny also naively and faultily believes that all women want him, even when they express the fact that they are uninterested. Because of this, Johnny has the courage to talk to any woman without hesitation (and even kisses one upon meeting her in the pilot). Johnny also has no sense of personal space, as he often rushes at the women and bends them backward while flirting with them, causing most of them to hit him out of disgust. He even occasionally flirts with women who are already in a relationship, going as far as to suggest cheating without any fear of repercussions.

Another attribute Johnny possesses is extreme determination, as he will go through many tasks, even life-threatening ones, to win a girl's heart, although this most often results in failure. These failures are due to Johnny's incompetence and his belief that good looks and macho actions are enough to win one's heart. Because of his shallow views on dating, Johnny usually treats potential partners like "nagging housewife" types or ignores their needs in favor of his own.

Despite his muscular stature, he is easily beaten up by the majority of creatures and people he encounters. This could be due to a variety of reasons, including the high concentration of toxins and other substances in his body. Johnny's diet consists of mostly junk food and meat (sometimes consumed in bizarrely unhealthy ways, like drinking cups of bacon grease), not to mention meals others may find disgusting, such as dishes from Pop's Moon Palace. His interest in such food likely originated from being fed certain meals by his mother, Bunny.

Johnny is presented to be not too intelligent, totally lacking common sense and general knowledge. He can also be interpreted as a male representation of the "dumb blonde" stereotype. His level of intelligence and immaturity can vary from time to time, occasionally depicted in more extreme ways than usual. He is also very gullible and easy to prank, being known as a "bonehead" ever since he was a child. According to an anthropologist, he is far dumber than a monkey. Despite this, Johnny often talks in a snarky, dramatic manner and uses "big" words from time to time. Overall, Johnny seems to be more knowledgeable about his own interests than academics or nearly anything he deems nerdy. For instance, Johnny has encyclopedic knowledge about Jerky Jake's brand beef jerky. He also has a lot of knowledge about Mr. Kevin's Hair Gel due to taking the factory tour a large number of times.

Johnny is the "biggest fan" of action TV star Squint Ringo, owning a life-time membership to his fanclub and a collection of merchandise. He claims to know all his moves, not to mention uses them in order to cut in line and be the last to get Squint's autobiography, signed by the star himself. He then became a stuntman for Squint for a short time, and once tried stealing prune spread from Little Suzy so he could get Squint Ringo tungsten knuckles. Johnny is also a big fan of nachos, and Pops' chili. He will do anything to get these foods.

Johnny has notably bad people skills, disloyalty, and various other issues that lead to him having very few friends. When Johnny finds someone annoying, he is often rude to them, although he may care about their feelings in secret. For example, when he makes Suzy particularly upset, he feels guilty and wants to fix the problem he caused. While he may not want to admit it, he sees her and Carl as the closest thing to friends and relies on them for help at times. Also, when he misunderstands that Carl is dying in "Carl Be Not Proud", he greatly regrets his behavior and promises to be a better friend for a short time. Despite this, Johnny is able to open up to people who he sees as parental figures, such as Bunny and Pops.

Johnny values his macho, "bad boy" lifestyle to the point of which he judges others for childish behaviors, such as playing with dolls or roleplaying, when he himself does the same. Johnny also usually does said activities in public, hoping that no one will notice his hypocrisy, such as Suzy or Carl. In such instances, he will often try and defend himself or make excuses to save his imaginary reputation.

In "Freudian Dip", after having numerous nightmares about a monster, Johnny gets a costly therapy session from Suzy to find the root of the issue. Quickly, he reveals his biggest insecurities in a comedic fashion:

Suzy: (talking through doll) Why are you so afraid, Johnny?

Johnny: Well, I-I'm afraid to love, so when people try to get close, I push them away, and— (screams) Talking doll!

Suzy: Dolls sometimes help us say things we can't say ourselves. Here, try it.

Johnny: Well, alright. (talking through doll) Poor Johnny, he's lonely and has problems with intimacy.

Johnny: (to doll) Quiet! Don't tell her that!

These insecurities are proven throughout the series by Johnny's inexperience with dating, how he pushes his close friends away, and how he avoids committing to a long-term romantic relationship (thus why he is open to the idea of cheating). Through the doll, Johnny also shows some self-awareness about his childish nature, ashamed of secretly sucking his thumb and kissing his pillow, pretending it is a girl. He claims he wants everyone to think he is in control, yet thinks of himself as a "little baby" for panicking about "monsters" at night.

Overall, Johnny can be very ignorant or judgmental toward anything he does not understand, such as people he sees as freaks, geeks, or otherwise odd. He also has a cynical attitude toward those who are overly nice or positive, most notably when Sister Sara once tried to help improve his behavior. After Sara said she was only interested in nice, noble men, Johnny agreed to become nicer to meet her standards. When he fails, she gives him more chances, which he views as pigheaded of her. Sara soon snaps entirely, realizing she "wasted her life" trying to help people like Johnny, beating him up and leaving to join a heavy metal rock band.

Biography

Childhood

Johnny's first kiss.

When Johnny was a baby, Bunny Bravo used to dress him in a bunny suit. When he would not eat, she would distract him by pointing out something in the opposite direction and sticking the food into his mouth. She once fed him a slice of baked ham instead of baby food and left him in his crib (turning the lights off) when she was going to watch her programs. This caused him to imagine his toys as monsters, giving him a fear of the dark that Johnny still retains in adulthood. However, in "Look Who's Drooling", Bunny brings a now-infant Johnny to a daycare, implying she used to when she got busy.

In certain episodes, Johnny is shown to have had his personality and interest in girls since he was a baby. In "Blanky Hanky Panky", a flashback reveals Johnny had his first kiss at a young age, the duo both being infants, although his playmate quickly slapped him for it, beginning Johnny's streak of romance and rejection.

In "T Is For Trouble", a young Johnny is shown to be a huge fan of celebrity Mr. T, who he wrote a letter to asking if he could teach him how to confront his bully, Little Ricky Simmons.

Elementary School

During elementary school, Johnny was bullied by Stinky Brownstein. She would pull various pranks on him, such as once telling him it was "Cross-Dressing Day" at school, convincing him a frozen flagpole was made of candy, and pulling his pants down on the day of their graduation.

School

During unspecified school years, Johnny was short and acne-ridden. Carl would bully Johnny, asking for his lunch money because he was bigger and older than him by three weeks.

High School

Johnny fascinated by Sandy.

During high school, Johnny was very scrawny, weighing at 98 pounds with a mullet. He had a crush on Sandy Baker, the prettiest and nicest girl in school. One day, Johnny was thrown into a trash can by a bully named Trent. Sandy intervened and made him apologize to Johnny for picking on guys without huge muscles. She then helped Johnny out, but accidentally knocked him over. Sandy apologized, and the two become acquainted with each other. Realizing they were in the same Spanish class, Sandy offered to come over and study with Johnny. That night, Johnny asked Sandy to the prom; she cried and happily said yes.

Johnny after constantly exercising.

Knowing that he was going to go to prom with Sandy, Johnny decided that she deserved to go with a "hunkin' stud". Inspired by a comic book, Johnny ordered workout equipment from Flex Bigarms. He initially struggled, but was eventually able to get the hang of it. After weeks of exercising and drinking muscle powder to ensure he would obtain a large build fast, Johnny became the strong man he is today. On prom night, Johnny showed up at Sandy's house, which appeared empty. He was heartbroken, assuming he got stood up. Johnny wanted to talk to her at school the next day, but he didn't see her again. Years later, Sandy explained that she had actually told him she was moving away and that he must have forgotten (it also turned out that, by the time they were reunited, Sandy was actually married and even had several children).

Memorable Attributes

The character is memorable for his incredibly fast movements (usually done while trying to impress women), which were accompanied by the loud crack of a whip sound effect. A few of Johnny's catchphrases are "She digs me!", "Whoa, mama!", "Wiggy!" (often used positively or in response to something strange), "Let's motor!", and "Yeah, whatever."

Three running gags are Johnny saying "Mmm, (word)-y", breaking the fourth wall, and him being beaten up by women who reject him. Another running gag is Johnny's short attention span (ie. "Right, what did I say?"), as it is very, very easy for him to get side-tracked by a pretty woman or any random thought occupying his brain.

Relationships

Bunny Bravo

Johnny is closest to his mother Bunny who he affectionately calls Mama. Bunny's been shown to be rather protective and smothering towards Johnny, ever since he was very young -- but at the same time, she can also be somewhat neglectful, resulting in Johnny being overly dependent on his mother (even as an adult) and being rather ignorant about most things.

One notable example of Bunny's negligence is that ever since Johnny's infancy, she has left Johnny alone or in daycare, and on one occasion she even gambled Johnny away in a poker game. Despite this, she cares deeply about Johnny and does her best to keep him safe or undo any danger she puts him in. She refuses to have him associate with any woman she considers a "hussy" and she also refuses to date a man who would dare to raise a finger against her son. Bunny has also gone out of her way to save Johnny from dangerous situations, even once donning a heroic persona to save him in "Bootman."

Little Suzy

Little Suzy is fixated on Johnny becoming her playmate, oftentimes having a crush on him. She tries to be a good friend towards him and supply him with some common sense when he needs it most. However, Johnny sees Suzy as an annoying tag-along who never leaves him alone, but he still considers her a friend at times and goes to her when in need of advice, usually as a last resort or even acts as her chaperone when needed. Suzy in turn is usually the one to get Johnny out of trouble most often, usually being assisted by Bunny in helping Johnny. Johnny has also helped Suzy out either willingly or against his will, most notably when he felt bad about telling Suzy that there wasn't a tooth fairy or making her happy whenever she's saddened by something, such as when he finally bought her Buttercup Scout cookies just so she wouldn't cry.

Carl Chryniszzswics

Carl is Johnny's self-proclaimed best friend who he has known since childhood. Johnny can't stand Carl and sees him as a nerdy nuisance who he enjoys bullying. Carl often shows Johnny his inventions and occasionally uses him for his scientific studies. Carl is often forgiving towards Johnny and does his best to help him or even do whatever Johnny wants when asked just to get a chance to hang out with him. Carl has even been willing to sacrifice himself just to save Johnny. Johnny though is usually ungrateful and couldn't care less about what happened to Carl, and this may often push Carl to his limit, either calling Johnny an idiot when he goes too far or leaving him to solve his own problems. However, they do seem to be inseparable in their own strange way -- in fact, despite how he usually treats him, Carl is probably the only real friend Johnny has aside from Suzy, whether he wants to admit it or not.

As revealed in "Freudian Dip," Carl used to bully Johnny before their high school days.

Pops

Since we never see or hear anything about Johnny's biological father and since Bunny appears to have always raised Johnny as a single parent, Pops is the closest thing Johnny has to a fatherly figure. Pops is usually one of the first people whom Johnny goes to for advice, more so than his other friends and even his mother. For as greedy and self-centered as Pops can be, especially since he won't hesitate to use Johnny in some kind of moneymaking scheme or serve expired/experimental foods to him, there are plenty of times that show that Pops really does care about Johnny and sees him as a son -- Pops has risked his life to save Johnny on some occasions and also seems to genuinely enjoy spending time with Johnny. Bunny also doesn't seem to mind when Pops uses Johnny in his moneymaking schemes, especially since Pops usually gives her a share of the profits (and it also gives her son some focus in his life).

Donny Osmond

Donny Osmond, the famous groovy singer of the Osmond Family (or to be precise, his fictionalized 1972 cartoon counterpart) is Johnny's Mary Poppins-esque babysitter and considers himself Johnny's friend. Unlike Suzy and Carl though, Donny has never lost his temper towards Johnny no matter how badly he's treated or injured by Johnny, and he treats Johnny as not only a friend but like a pupil in need of nurturing and understanding. Johnny in turn hates Donny Osmond, possibly more so than Carl, seeing Donny as obnoxiously selfless and far too kind and helpful for his own good, with Donny even trying to make sure Johnny doesn't do anything he deems "naughty" like hitting on babes or watching TV that's not educational, or simply hating Donny for his obnoxious singing, rhyming and constant habit of hugging people. Despite this, Johnny was willing to work alongside Donny to save Christmas, and Donny is always ready to help Johnny whenever he's around for a guest star role, or even attend Johnny's birthday parties.

Relationships with Women

See: Johnny Bravo (character)/Relationships with Women.

Despite Johnny's many failed romantic pursuits, a few women did actually show an interest in Johnny and some even pursued a relationship with him, however many of these relationships either ended due to a misunderstanding, interference by a third party, Johnny himself ending it for one reason or another, or simply because the ultimate fate of their relationship with Johnny was left ambiguous.

Johnny has also attracted the attention of some rather strange females who have shown an interest in him, but who Johnny found awkward to be with for one reason or another. A few of these have usually been women that were obviously too old, too young or too unattractive for Johnny, and many of them have weirdly enough been anthropomorphic animals or even monsters, showing that Johnny has a very weird form of animal magnetism.

Others

Johnny briefly had a few dates with several random girls on some occasions but most of them didn't last long, usually due to Johnny being late to their dates. Johnny also had some rare success in flirting with single moms.

Trivia

A "collectible card" featuring basic info about Johnny from an issue of the "Cartoon Network Starring'" comics.

• Johnny's mannerisms towards women appear to bare some similarity to Elvis Presley characters such as Lucky Jackson in Viva Las Vegas. Jackson himself would get shoved into a swimming pool after poorly flirting with Ann Margaret character Rusty Martin and calling himself "hard to resist" during the film's "The Lady Loves Me" bit.
• Johnny Bravo's voice actor is Jeff Bennett in the series, but in Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion, he is voiced by Neil Kaplan.
• Two of Johnny's favorite shows are Nunchuck Chicks and Kung Fu Baywatching Chicks.
• Curiously enough, the majority of Johnny's mutual love interests have all been redheads.
• Johnny was the host of his own talk-show-styled spin-off, JBVO: Your All Request Cartoon Show.
• The name "Johnny Bravo" dates back to an episode of The Cheyenne Show, and was also Greg Brady's would-be stage name in an episode of The Brady Bunch. However, Van Partible stated in an interview for Cartoon Network that he also derived the name from his full given name, "Efrem Giovanni Bravo Partible."
• Johnny's appearance may be a reference to 1950's sub-culture called "Greasers".
• For the fourth season, Johnny was redesigned by Vaughn Tada, who had worked on the previous two seasons.
• He hates clowns, since they scared him frequently throughout his childhood.
• In "Ape is Enough" (an episode from Season 2), Johnny claims to be a Libra (which would mean that his birthday is anywhere on/from September 23rd to October 22nd). But this is contradicted in "It's Valentine's Day, Johnny Bravo," where it's stated that Johnny's birthday is on February 14th (which is Valentine's Day) -- this would make Johnny an Aquarius instead of a Libra.
• Johnny makes a cameo in the OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes episode, "Crossover Nexus", along with Carl.
• "Lone Star Bravo" reveals that many of Johnny's ancestors were just stupid and pathetic as he was:
  • Benedict Bravo betrayed the Americans to the British during the American Revolution.
  • Vasco D. Bravo went in search of the Fountain of Youth, but ultimately ended up old, poor and friendless.
  • Johnny "Lone Star" Bravo proved to be incompetent as a sheriff (ultimately being replaced by his mother) and was basically forced to become the "spittoon boy" at the saloon of Pops's ancestor.
• In the scrapped Season 2 bible (written by Van Partible and Seth MacFarlane), it is revealed Johnny's first car was the one he crashed in a Season 1 interstitial short.
  • During the retool era, Johnny's driving skills can vary, but he appears to have his own blue Ford Pinto car in "Thunder God Johnny", although he may have rented it or borrowed another car from Carl's family.

• Johnny often tells others (usually women) random facts about himself, such as saying he once had a salamander or a fish living in his mouth for a long period of time.
  • In "Prep School Johnny", he claims to have three webbed toes. This is false.

• In the episode "Johnny's Guardian Angel", it is revealed that everyone in his life would be more successful without him being born. With some exceptions:
  • Little Suzy is child supervillain.
  • Carl, though certainly richer and more successful, is also a lot more arrogant and self-centered.
  • Bunny's devotion to her espionage has resulted in her losing her left eye at some point.

• In merchandise, such as books, comics, and the Cartoon Network Block Party video game, Johnny often tries to coach Carl on how to be manly or impress women, which backfires due to him seeing himself as the ideal man and Carl not wanting his help to begin with.
  • In the series itself, Carl is nowhere near as women-focused as Johnny, while Johnny is much too self-absorbed to help Carl impress any women he may also find attractive (ex. Melinda).
• Before "The Time Of My Life" was produced, most character descriptions for Johnny mentioned that he earned his muscles after constantly going to the gym.
• For one episode, Johnny becomes obsessed with Clam League 9000, a parody of the Pokémon and Dragon Ball Z franchises. In an unrelated comic story, "Love Match", Johnny misunderstands a woman and hands her his trading card of Pikachu.
• In the Cartoon Network: Name That Toon trivia book, it is revealed he and Carl were actually close friends at one point, but Carl only got nerdier as Johnny got buffer and more girl-crazy. Although this goes unaddressed in the series (and must be from the series bible), it could serve as explanation as to why Carl is so attached to Johnny despite how poorly the meathead usually treats him.
  • According to an old character description for Carl on the Cartoon Network Latin America website, the two were beaten up twice a day in high school: First at 10:00 AM by their classmates, and later at 3:00 PM by their teachers.
  • The book also states Johnny is even more irritated by Carl's luck with women than his nerdiness, which was evidenced in the series.

• For Cartoon Network's first and only 4th Annual Fancy Anvil Award Show Program Special: Live in Stereo, Johnny was somewhat re-imagined as a spoof on the typical award show host.
• A woman stated that his manner is far worse than a gangster.
• Although Johnny is unemployed, he did work a few short-lived jobs across the series' run.
• Johnny was among the toon cameos in the 2022 live-action film adaptation of Chip n Dale Rescue Rangers but it's not physical. He appears on a billboard for "Johnny Bravo Fitness" in the background at one point while Chip and Dale drive to Main Street.
• Johnny's presumably an only child and it's unknown who his father, because in all the flashbacks we see of his infancy, childhood and teen years, we never see or hear anything about Johnny's dad or any potential siblings. Bunny also appears to have raised her son as a single parent.
• Other than being confirmed to be in his early-20s (which would put him at around 20 to 23-years-old), Johnny's exact age is never revealed and it's also unknown what year he was born in. Since the second and third seasons are confirmed to take place in the late-1990s/early-2000s, and assuming that the first and final seasons also take place around that same time, Johnny must've been born anywhere from the mid-1970s to the early-1980s.
• Ironically, Fox would debut Boomhauer on King of the Hill before Johnny Bravo had a regular cartoon series. Like Bravo, Boomhauer dressed in a black shirt and blue jeans, had blonde hair (though noticeably shorter) and was a skirt-chaser. However, unlike Bravo, Boomhauer was more successful at obtaining love flings.

Gallery

Click here for the full image gallery for Johnny.