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Mom (Futurama)
Encyclopedia
Mom, real first name Carol, is a character from the animated television series Futurama
. Voiced by Tress MacNeille
. Mom is one of the show's two main antagonists, the other being Zapp Brannigan
. However, unlike Brannigan—who is simply an idiotic, comic opera
buffoon—Mom is much more threatening and Machiavellian.
of a sweet, bustling old woman who often slips into the stereotype of a Deep South
grandmother (she wears antiquated clothes that greatly accentuate her bust and general figure, while using rustic metaphors such as 'squeaking like an old screen door'). Behind the scenes, however, Mom is a thin, malevolent, foul-mouthed, chain-smoking, deeply bitter, cruel and narcissistic gravel-voiced crow, who routinely abuses her terrified sons (see below) into submission, treating them like gofer
s. In the episode "Mother's Day
", it is heavily implied that at least some of her bitterness originates from an ill-fated romance with Professor Farnsworth
who, while reformatting the basic robot design, terminated their affair following savage rows about his work. According to Bender's Game, this has happened at least three consecutive times (due to Farnsworth's increasing senility, he would forget why they originally broke up or that they had even broken up in the first place).
She occasionally attends charity
functions as a way of boosting her public image, but really has no empathy for any of the people she's supposed to be supporting (in "A Fishful of Dollars
" she describes one such gathering as 'some charity BS for knocked up teenage sluts').
According to the DVD commentary for the aforementioned episode, Mom 'basically became Doctor Laura' when her character was decided.
In the episode "The Tip of the Zoidberg
", it is revealed by Dr. Zoidberg that her first name is Carol.
Accompanying Mom are her trio of sycophantic, petrified, childish sons: Walt (Maurice LaMarche
), Larry (David Herman
) and Igner (John DiMaggio
). They all wear matching uniforms and own a 0.1% share of MomCorp, indicative of the way she treats them like grunts instead of family. She frequently resorts to physical and emotional abuse as a way of enforcing discipline, incessantly slapping her sons' faces (sometimes hitting all three with one swing of her hand) and insulting them in an often incoherent way ("Jam a bastard in it, you crap!").
The oldest son, Walt, is theoretically Mom's second in command, the tallest and best built of the brothers with the best posture, and occasionally strikes his brothers. He seems to come up with the plans for many of the lesser schemes the trio must carry out for Mom — although they always involve poor disguises and only Fry is ever taken in. In "Mother's Day" he reveals his Oedipus Complex
. He usually calls Mom 'Mother' and slaps both of his brothers, capable of slapping both in one swing, although he strikes Larry more often than Igner.
The middle son, Larry, has an Inferiority Complex
and apologizes for everything, being described by Professor Farnsworth as "the snivelling middle child." He even thanks his mother for being slapped and insulted. He stands with a slouch, and can often be seen cowering whenever Mom flies into a rage. On one occasion, Walt and Mom laugh evilly, and Larry joins in nervously. Mom slaps him and asks what he is laughing about. He then comments, "...er, your laugh. It's so infectious." Mom snaps back "So is herpes, now shut up!" He usually calls Mom 'Mom', and is slapped the most often through the series.
The youngest and most pitiful son, Igner, speaks more inarticulately than Walt and Larry, seems to be mentally retarded
, and usually finds himself assigned the worst jobs, including being forced into Mom's brassiere for the purposes of a demonstration, and playing the part of Pamela Anderson
's body for her head in a jar. He habitually addresses her as "Mommy" instead of "Mom" and often repeats what his brothers say without any obvious understanding. In Bender's Game it is revealed that Professor Farnsworth is his father.
The one act of collective rebellion perpetrated by Mom's sons, albeit without her knowledge, happens during the aforementioned "Mother's Day", when they try and stop her robot rampage against humanity, by re-uniting her with her long-lost love, Hubert J. Farnsworth
, thus theoretically quenching her bitterness.
In Bender's Game
, the three of them pose as owl exterminators in an attempt to infiltrate the Planet Express offices and steal a crystal with the power to ruin Mom's dark matter
business. When Fry leaves them at the door to announce them to Amy and Leela, they can actually be heard slapping each other in the background while he comments on how hilarious they are. Walt tries to take the crystal by claiming it is an owl egg which will hatch into an owl larva but the Professor stops them by loosing a real owl on them, which they can't handle. Later on, it is revealed that Igner is Farnsworth's illegitimate son, thus making him a nephew — many, many generations removed — of Fry himself. The commentary on the film hypothesizes that the other two may be the sons of Farnsworth's rival and Mom's ex-husband, Professor Wernstrom, but does not confirm this. Farnsworth stated that he had a relationship with Mom three times. Near the end of the film, Igner rebels against Mom by swallowing the crystal; his action ultimately causes all dark matter in the world to become totally worthless as starship fuel. On the DVD commentary track, the vowel at the end of Igner's name is specifically identified as an "e," with the writers and director commenting on how often the spelling used online is incorrect.
In Bender's Game, Farnsworth comments that his last relationship with Mom was "Thirty-something years ago". Nibbler later on adds that it was 36 years ago when Mom started mining Dark Matter. Mom was carrying Igner at this time but showed no signs of pregnancy (having only recently fired Farnsworth), making Igner approximately 35 years old, and his brothers born a year or two before him - in the movie, Larry as an infant cannot be much older than a year, while Walt at the same time is about three years old.
In Bender's Big Score
Mom is briefly seen hiring inter-galactic hit men to fight for her in the final battle. In the following film The Beast with a Billion Backs
she is seen dancing with Yivo and later is briefly seen in the audience of Fry's church sermon to Yivo.
Mom serves as the main antagonist in Bender's Game
. She tries to use one of two dark crystals to monopolize the dark matter industry. The Professor tries to prevent this, using the second crystal as a counterbalance to Mom's crystal and rendering the dark matter unusable as a fuel supply. During the ensuing events the characters are transported into a Middle-earth
-like dimension. In this universe, Mom is known as "Momon", a sorceress with a Medusa
-like head of snakes. The crystal in this reality is a mystical twelve-sided die Momon created in a set of five that she lost and desires to get back. At the film's climax, Momon retrieves the magic die and uses it to obliterate the fantasy world as well as sending everyone back to the proper reality. Upon returning to the correct dimension, Mom is defeated when Igner and Prof. Farnsworth cause the crystals to react, rendering her dark matter fuel useless.
Mom is briefly seen at the end of Into The Wild Green Yonder
when Fry reads her thoughts; she is silently gloating about how much money she has.
Mom appears as the primary antagonist where she buys out Planet express, which results in her owning 50% of earth, effectively making her Earth's ruler.
She then plans to make Earth into a warship, but needs Professor Farnsworth in order to help with the giant engine. Her plan succeeds, however the crew of the planet express, that managed to escape earlier, travel back in time before the takeover of the planet express, foiling Mom's scheme (the crew dies in the process). Angry at the fact that Mom killed his crew, the professor refuses to sell Planet Express. This prompts Mom to bribe him with a sombrero, after which the professor does sell, once again setting in motion the events that started the game. (It should be noted that the Professor enters the office of planet express with a sombrero at the start of the game).
list of the richest fictional characters. She was ranked at #4 with an estimated net worth of $15.7 billion. MomCorp was also included in the list of "The 25 Largest Fictional Companies" which estimated its sales at $291.8 billion.
Futurama
Futurama is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a late 20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J...
. Voiced by Tress MacNeille
Tress MacNeille
Tress MacNeille is an American voice actress best known for providing various voices on the animated series The Simpsons, Futurama, Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, Disney's House of Mouse, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Rugrats, All Grown Up!, Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, and Dave the...
. Mom is one of the show's two main antagonists, the other being Zapp Brannigan
Zapp Brannigan
Captain Zapp Brannigan is a fictional character in the animated sitcom Futurama. He is voiced by Billy West, but was originally intended to be voiced by Phil Hartman, with West taking over the role after Hartman's death. Brannigan is a 25-Star General in the Democratic Order of Planets, and captain...
. However, unlike Brannigan—who is simply an idiotic, comic opera
Comic opera
Comic opera denotes a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending.Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a new operatic genre, opera buffa, emerged as an alternative to opera seria...
buffoon—Mom is much more threatening and Machiavellian.
Character
Mom manages and owns 99.7% of MomCorp, a large, multi-billion dollar industrial complex with numerous subsidiaries and a monopoly on robot production. Publicly, she retains the corporate imageCorporate image
A corporate image refers to how a corporation is perceived. It is a generally accepted image of what a company stands for. Marketing experts who use public relations and other forms of promotion to suggest a mental picture to the public...
of a sweet, bustling old woman who often slips into the stereotype of a Deep South
Deep South
The Deep South is a descriptive category of the cultural and geographic subregions in the American South. Historically, it is differentiated from the "Upper South" as being the states which were most dependent on plantation type agriculture during the pre-Civil War period...
grandmother (she wears antiquated clothes that greatly accentuate her bust and general figure, while using rustic metaphors such as 'squeaking like an old screen door'). Behind the scenes, however, Mom is a thin, malevolent, foul-mouthed, chain-smoking, deeply bitter, cruel and narcissistic gravel-voiced crow, who routinely abuses her terrified sons (see below) into submission, treating them like gofer
Gofer
A gofer or go-fer is an employee who is often sent on errands. "Gofer" reflects the likelihood of instructions to go for coffee, dry cleaning, or stamps, or to make other straightforward or familiar procurements. The term gofer originated in North America...
s. In the episode "Mother's Day
Mother's Day (Futurama)
"Mother's Day" is episode fourteen in season two of Futurama. It originally aired in North America on May 14, 2000.- Plot :Every Mother's Day, robots made in Mom's Friendly Robot Company factories around the world give gifts, money and cards to the owner of the corporation, Mom.She,...
", it is heavily implied that at least some of her bitterness originates from an ill-fated romance with Professor Farnsworth
Hubert J. Farnsworth
Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth, or simply The Professor, is a fictional character in the American animated television series Futurama. He is voiced by Billy West using a combination of impressions of Burgess Meredith and Frank Morgan. Farnsworth is the proprietor of the Planet Express delivery...
who, while reformatting the basic robot design, terminated their affair following savage rows about his work. According to Bender's Game, this has happened at least three consecutive times (due to Farnsworth's increasing senility, he would forget why they originally broke up or that they had even broken up in the first place).
She occasionally attends charity
Charity (practice)
The practice of charity means the voluntary giving of help to those in need who are not related to the giver.- Etymology :The word "charity" entered the English language through the Old French word "charité" which was derived from the Latin "caritas".Originally in Latin the word caritas meant...
functions as a way of boosting her public image, but really has no empathy for any of the people she's supposed to be supporting (in "A Fishful of Dollars
A Fishful of Dollars
"A Fishful of Dollars" is episode six in the first season of Futurama. It originally aired in North America on April 27, 1999. The episode was written by Patric Verrone and directed by Ron Hughart and Gregg Vanzo. Pamela Anderson guest stars as her own preserved head in a jar. This episode marks...
" she describes one such gathering as 'some charity BS for knocked up teenage sluts').
According to the DVD commentary for the aforementioned episode, Mom 'basically became Doctor Laura' when her character was decided.
In the episode "The Tip of the Zoidberg
The Tip of the Zoidberg
"The Tip of the Zoidberg", is the twenty-third episode of the sixth season of the animated sitcom Futurama. It aired on Comedy Central in the United States on August 18, 2011.- Plot :...
", it is revealed by Dr. Zoidberg that her first name is Carol.
Sons
Maurice LaMarche
Maurice LaMarche is an Emmy Award winning Canadian-American voice actor and former stand up comedian. He is best known for his voicework in Futurama as Kif Kroker, as Egon Spengler in The Real Ghostbusters, Verminous Skumm and Duke Nukem in Captain Planet and the Planeteers, Big Bob Pataki in Hey...
), Larry (David Herman
David Herman
David Herman is an American actor, comedian and voice actor best known as an original cast member of MADtv and for his role as Michael Bolton in Office Space. He is also known for his voice roles on television programs such as Futurama and King of the Hill.- Biography :David Herman was born in New...
) and Igner (John DiMaggio
John DiMaggio
John William DiMaggio is an American voice actor. A native of North Plainfield, New Jersey, he is known for his gruff, deep voice and New Jersey accent, which he uses to voice mainly villains and anti-heroes.-Filmography:...
). They all wear matching uniforms and own a 0.1% share of MomCorp, indicative of the way she treats them like grunts instead of family. She frequently resorts to physical and emotional abuse as a way of enforcing discipline, incessantly slapping her sons' faces (sometimes hitting all three with one swing of her hand) and insulting them in an often incoherent way ("Jam a bastard in it, you crap!").
The oldest son, Walt, is theoretically Mom's second in command, the tallest and best built of the brothers with the best posture, and occasionally strikes his brothers. He seems to come up with the plans for many of the lesser schemes the trio must carry out for Mom — although they always involve poor disguises and only Fry is ever taken in. In "Mother's Day" he reveals his Oedipus Complex
Oedipus complex
In psychoanalytic theory, the term Oedipus complex denotes the emotions and ideas that the mind keeps in the unconscious, via dynamic repression, that concentrate upon a boy’s desire to sexually possess his mother, and kill his father...
. He usually calls Mom 'Mother' and slaps both of his brothers, capable of slapping both in one swing, although he strikes Larry more often than Igner.
The middle son, Larry, has an Inferiority Complex
Inferiority complex
An inferiority complex, in the fields of psychology and psychoanalysis, is a feeling that one is inferior to others in some way. Such feelings can arise from an imagined or actual inferiority in the afflicted person...
and apologizes for everything, being described by Professor Farnsworth as "the snivelling middle child." He even thanks his mother for being slapped and insulted. He stands with a slouch, and can often be seen cowering whenever Mom flies into a rage. On one occasion, Walt and Mom laugh evilly, and Larry joins in nervously. Mom slaps him and asks what he is laughing about. He then comments, "...er, your laugh. It's so infectious." Mom snaps back "So is herpes, now shut up!" He usually calls Mom 'Mom', and is slapped the most often through the series.
The youngest and most pitiful son, Igner, speaks more inarticulately than Walt and Larry, seems to be mentally retarded
Mental retardation
Mental retardation is a generalized disorder appearing before adulthood, characterized by significantly impaired cognitive functioning and deficits in two or more adaptive behaviors...
, and usually finds himself assigned the worst jobs, including being forced into Mom's brassiere for the purposes of a demonstration, and playing the part of Pamela Anderson
Pamela Anderson
Pamela Denise Anderson is a Canadian-American actress, model, producer, author, activist, and former showgirl, known for her roles on the television series Home Improvement, Baywatch, and V.I.P. She was chosen as a Playmate of the Month for Playboy magazine in February 1990...
's body for her head in a jar. He habitually addresses her as "Mommy" instead of "Mom" and often repeats what his brothers say without any obvious understanding. In Bender's Game it is revealed that Professor Farnsworth is his father.
The one act of collective rebellion perpetrated by Mom's sons, albeit without her knowledge, happens during the aforementioned "Mother's Day", when they try and stop her robot rampage against humanity, by re-uniting her with her long-lost love, Hubert J. Farnsworth
Hubert J. Farnsworth
Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth, or simply The Professor, is a fictional character in the American animated television series Futurama. He is voiced by Billy West using a combination of impressions of Burgess Meredith and Frank Morgan. Farnsworth is the proprietor of the Planet Express delivery...
, thus theoretically quenching her bitterness.
In Bender's Game
Futurama: Bender's Game
Futurama: Bender's Game is the third of the four direct-to-DVD Futurama films that make up the show's fifth season. It was released on November 4, 2008 on DVD and Blu-ray....
, the three of them pose as owl exterminators in an attempt to infiltrate the Planet Express offices and steal a crystal with the power to ruin Mom's dark matter
Dark matter
In astronomy and cosmology, dark matter is matter that neither emits nor scatters light or other electromagnetic radiation, and so cannot be directly detected via optical or radio astronomy...
business. When Fry leaves them at the door to announce them to Amy and Leela, they can actually be heard slapping each other in the background while he comments on how hilarious they are. Walt tries to take the crystal by claiming it is an owl egg which will hatch into an owl larva but the Professor stops them by loosing a real owl on them, which they can't handle. Later on, it is revealed that Igner is Farnsworth's illegitimate son, thus making him a nephew — many, many generations removed — of Fry himself. The commentary on the film hypothesizes that the other two may be the sons of Farnsworth's rival and Mom's ex-husband, Professor Wernstrom, but does not confirm this. Farnsworth stated that he had a relationship with Mom three times. Near the end of the film, Igner rebels against Mom by swallowing the crystal; his action ultimately causes all dark matter in the world to become totally worthless as starship fuel. On the DVD commentary track, the vowel at the end of Igner's name is specifically identified as an "e," with the writers and director commenting on how often the spelling used online is incorrect.
In Bender's Game, Farnsworth comments that his last relationship with Mom was "Thirty-something years ago". Nibbler later on adds that it was 36 years ago when Mom started mining Dark Matter. Mom was carrying Igner at this time but showed no signs of pregnancy (having only recently fired Farnsworth), making Igner approximately 35 years old, and his brothers born a year or two before him - in the movie, Larry as an infant cannot be much older than a year, while Walt at the same time is about three years old.
Movies
Although Mom has appeared in all four Futurama movies her role is only expanded in the third; in the others she appears only briefly.In Bender's Big Score
Futurama: Bender's Big Score
Futurama: Bender's Big Score is an Annie Award-winning direct-to-video film based on the animated series Futurama. It was released in the United States on November 27, 2007. Bender's Big Score, along with the three follow-up films, comprise season five of Futurama, with each film being separated...
Mom is briefly seen hiring inter-galactic hit men to fight for her in the final battle. In the following film The Beast with a Billion Backs
Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs
Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs is an animated science-fiction comedy film, the second of the four Futurama straight-to-DVD films. The film was released in the United States and Canada on June 24, 2008, followed by a UK release on June 30, 2008 and an Australian release on August 6, 2008....
she is seen dancing with Yivo and later is briefly seen in the audience of Fry's church sermon to Yivo.
Mom serves as the main antagonist in Bender's Game
Futurama: Bender's Game
Futurama: Bender's Game is the third of the four direct-to-DVD Futurama films that make up the show's fifth season. It was released on November 4, 2008 on DVD and Blu-ray....
. She tries to use one of two dark crystals to monopolize the dark matter industry. The Professor tries to prevent this, using the second crystal as a counterbalance to Mom's crystal and rendering the dark matter unusable as a fuel supply. During the ensuing events the characters are transported into a Middle-earth
Middle-earth
Middle-earth is the fictional setting of the majority of author J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings take place entirely in Middle-earth, as does much of The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales....
-like dimension. In this universe, Mom is known as "Momon", a sorceress with a Medusa
Medusa
In Greek mythology Medusa , " guardian, protectress") was a Gorgon, a chthonic monster, and a daughter of Phorcys and Ceto. The author Hyginus, interposes a generation and gives Medusa another chthonic pair as parents. Gazing directly upon her would turn onlookers to stone...
-like head of snakes. The crystal in this reality is a mystical twelve-sided die Momon created in a set of five that she lost and desires to get back. At the film's climax, Momon retrieves the magic die and uses it to obliterate the fantasy world as well as sending everyone back to the proper reality. Upon returning to the correct dimension, Mom is defeated when Igner and Prof. Farnsworth cause the crystals to react, rendering her dark matter fuel useless.
Mom is briefly seen at the end of Into The Wild Green Yonder
Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder
Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder is the last of a series of four straight-to-DVD Futurama movies. The movie was written by Ken Keeler, based on a story by Keeler and David X. Cohen, and directed by Peter Avanzino. Guest stars include Phil Hendrie, Penn Jillette , Snoop Dogg and Seth...
when Fry reads her thoughts; she is silently gloating about how much money she has.
Games
In Futurama: The GameFuturama (video game)
Futurama is a 3D platform game based on the science fiction cartoon series Futurama. Versions are available for the PS2 and Xbox, both of which use cel-shading technology. Nintendo GameCube and Game Boy Advance games were planned for release, though they were cancelled due to a belief that their...
Mom appears as the primary antagonist where she buys out Planet express, which results in her owning 50% of earth, effectively making her Earth's ruler.
She then plans to make Earth into a warship, but needs Professor Farnsworth in order to help with the giant engine. Her plan succeeds, however the crew of the planet express, that managed to escape earlier, travel back in time before the takeover of the planet express, foiling Mom's scheme (the crew dies in the process). Angry at the fact that Mom killed his crew, the professor refuses to sell Planet Express. This prompts Mom to bribe him with a sombrero, after which the professor does sell, once again setting in motion the events that started the game. (It should be noted that the Professor enters the office of planet express with a sombrero at the start of the game).
Cultural impact
Mom was included in the 2007 ForbesForbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
list of the richest fictional characters. She was ranked at #4 with an estimated net worth of $15.7 billion. MomCorp was also included in the list of "The 25 Largest Fictional Companies" which estimated its sales at $291.8 billion.