Walter The Softy
Encyclopedia
Walter the Softy, or Softy Walter as he is sometimes called, is the fictional antagonist of Dennis the Menace in the British children's comic The Beano. He made his first appearance in the Beano in 1953. He is a prime target of Dennis and his friends. His last name, in a Beano Christmas Carol was said to be Brown, but this may have been an easy rhyme excuse.
", wearing a blue schoolboy's jumper
, schoolboy's shorts, a bow tie
, and has glasses and slicked-back hair. He also has a strange resemblance to Cuthbert Cringeworthy of the Bash Street Kids strip. He lives next door to Dennis and his family. He often spends his time in his Wendy house
with his gang "The Softies", playing with dolls or pressing flowers etc. He is regularly featured in the Dennis the Menace strip, and when he appears it is nearly always the case that he is attacked by Dennis. If not, he is generally involved in a plot to attack Dennis, usually involving either chess
or perfume
. He has a white cat called Fluffy and a pink poodle
named Foo Foo
.
Walter is terrified of Dennis, as well as other (mostly harmless) aspects of life, such as butterflies, birds, rain, and a variety of others. He is often seen as a devoted and seemingly "perfect" child. He does well in school and is adored by his teachers and parents. Indeed, Walter is an only child and a stereotypical mummy's boy and a spoiled brat, luxuriously pampered by his wealthy parents. It can be considered slightly uncanny that Walter's parents resemble each other. Walter often dresses as a girl in some strips, mainly wearing a pink ballerina tutu
, but occasionally simply wearing a dress, along with his mother's makeup. His parents do not seem to be disturbed by Walter's transvestitism. In some strips, he is seen to wear pink boxer-shorts, mostly with either love-hearts or bunny rabbits on them. He has a teddy bear named 'Teddikins', which he often carries with him. However, it is not really the case that Dennis is "bad" and Walter is "good". Walter has been shown to have a deep streak of spite and malice in him that he is too weak to express. He and his family are typical snobs who constantly mock Dennis and his family, as Walter's father seems to earn higher than Dennis' father, although their occupations are never revealed. Walter's vindictiveness and determination to get Dennis into trouble have been highlighted in recent years, making Dennis' behaviour appear less like bullying. However, there are occasions in which he has been willing to help Dennis: when Gnasher went missing in the 80's, he tried to help Dennis find him, and more recently, he has helped Dennis several times: finding Gnipper's
long-lost sisters when the puppy had been poisoned, helping Rasher win a pig race, and trying to save Dennis's favourite tree by chaining himself to it, thus changing his relationship with Dennis from enemies to, if not outright friends, civil rivals.
In the 1996 television series, Walter is not scared of Dennis but acts like a snob, and lives in a huge house and acts more like a spoiled brat than before.
In one story, he and Dennis are revealed to be distant cousins, but nothing more has been said of this, so it was possibly a one-off joke.
Walter has two apparent friends named Algernon 'Spotty' Perkins and Bertie Blenkinsop. They are equally as camp as he is, and the three of them often wear their mother's clothes and makeup. He also got himself a girlfriend
named Matilda, who bore an eerie resemblance to him, except that she was a redhead
, and obviously wore a schoolgirl's uniform. She also spoke with a lisp. She first appeared in the 1996 TV series (although a character with the same name appeared in at least one comic library from 1993), and has rarely appeared in The Beano. Other softies include Sweet William, Dudley Nightshirt, Jeremy Snodgrass, Softy Matthew and Nervous Rex, a character who is scared of everything and everyone. If truth be told, the Softies seem to be bound together much more by fear of Dennis than by any real mutual liking; though they are scrupulously polite and strangely devoted to each other, they have occasionally decided to pick on someone perceived as a much bigger wimp than they are. Naturally, there are not many of these people.
Walter is parodied in some editions of the adult comic Viz
as "Cedric Soft" in the strip about popular character Biffa Bacon
. Their relationship is in a similar vein to Walter's with Dennis, with extreme comic violence added.
behaviour, it is argued that Walter is actually gay
. Because of this speculation, not only did he have a girlfriend created for him, but Dennis the Menace also had to soften his antics against Walter in fear it would be seen as homophobia
.
Profile
Walter is a camp and effeminate boy, who is always very stereotypically girly in his behaviour, this varies from a strong aversion to typically "masculine" interests and situations, to full-blown transvestitism. He is portrayed as a typical "geekGeek
The word geek is a slang term, with different meanings ranging from "a computer expert or enthusiast" to "a carnival performer who performs sensationally morbid or disgusting acts", with a general pejorative meaning of "a peculiar or otherwise dislikable person, esp[ecially] one who is perceived to...
", wearing a blue schoolboy's jumper
Jumper
-Clothing:*Sweater or heavy sweater pulled on over the head, used in the UK and Commonwealth*Jumper , in the USA, a sleeveless, collarless dress, known elsewhere as a pinafore or pinafore dress* Part of the uniform of the United States Navy...
, schoolboy's shorts, a bow tie
Bow tie
The bow tie is a type of men's necktie. It consists of a ribbon of fabric tied around the collar in a symmetrical manner such that the two opposite ends form loops. Ready-tied bow ties are available, in which the distinctive bow is sewn into shape and the band around the neck incorporates a clip....
, and has glasses and slicked-back hair. He also has a strange resemblance to Cuthbert Cringeworthy of the Bash Street Kids strip. He lives next door to Dennis and his family. He often spends his time in his Wendy house
Wendy house
A Wendy house is small play house for children. It is big enough for one or more children to go into and should not be confused with a doll's house. Size and solidity can vary from a toddler-high cheap and cheerful plastic kit to something resembling a small garden shed...
with his gang "The Softies", playing with dolls or pressing flowers etc. He is regularly featured in the Dennis the Menace strip, and when he appears it is nearly always the case that he is attacked by Dennis. If not, he is generally involved in a plot to attack Dennis, usually involving either chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
or perfume
Perfume
Perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils and/or aroma compounds, fixatives, and solvents used to give the human body, animals, objects, and living spaces "a pleasant scent"...
. He has a white cat called Fluffy and a pink poodle
Poodle
The Poodle is a breed of dog. The poodle breed is found officially in toy, miniature, and standard sizes, with many coat colors. Originally bred as a type of water dog, the poodle is highly intelligent and skillful in many dog sports, including agility, obedience, tracking, and even herding...
named Foo Foo
Foo Foo
Foo Foo is a little white/pink pet poodle belonging to fictional comic strip character, Walter the Softy in The Beano. Foo Foo's main enemy in The Beano is Dennis's pet dog Gnasher. His character and personality is much like that of Walter's...
.
Walter is terrified of Dennis, as well as other (mostly harmless) aspects of life, such as butterflies, birds, rain, and a variety of others. He is often seen as a devoted and seemingly "perfect" child. He does well in school and is adored by his teachers and parents. Indeed, Walter is an only child and a stereotypical mummy's boy and a spoiled brat, luxuriously pampered by his wealthy parents. It can be considered slightly uncanny that Walter's parents resemble each other. Walter often dresses as a girl in some strips, mainly wearing a pink ballerina tutu
Tutu
Tutu may refer to:* Ballet tutu, a type of costume for ballet performances* Tutu , poisonous New Zealand plants of the genus Coriaria* Tutu , a 1986 album by Miles Davis* Tūtū, a composition by Liliuokalani of Hawaii...
, but occasionally simply wearing a dress, along with his mother's makeup. His parents do not seem to be disturbed by Walter's transvestitism. In some strips, he is seen to wear pink boxer-shorts, mostly with either love-hearts or bunny rabbits on them. He has a teddy bear named 'Teddikins', which he often carries with him. However, it is not really the case that Dennis is "bad" and Walter is "good". Walter has been shown to have a deep streak of spite and malice in him that he is too weak to express. He and his family are typical snobs who constantly mock Dennis and his family, as Walter's father seems to earn higher than Dennis' father, although their occupations are never revealed. Walter's vindictiveness and determination to get Dennis into trouble have been highlighted in recent years, making Dennis' behaviour appear less like bullying. However, there are occasions in which he has been willing to help Dennis: when Gnasher went missing in the 80's, he tried to help Dennis find him, and more recently, he has helped Dennis several times: finding Gnipper's
Gnasher and Gnipper
Gnasher is the pet dog of Dennis the Menace in the British comic strip Dennis the Menace from The Beano. First introduced in 1968, in issue 1363 dated 31st August 1968 , seventeen years after Dennis the Menace started in The Beano...
long-lost sisters when the puppy had been poisoned, helping Rasher win a pig race, and trying to save Dennis's favourite tree by chaining himself to it, thus changing his relationship with Dennis from enemies to, if not outright friends, civil rivals.
In the 1996 television series, Walter is not scared of Dennis but acts like a snob, and lives in a huge house and acts more like a spoiled brat than before.
In one story, he and Dennis are revealed to be distant cousins, but nothing more has been said of this, so it was possibly a one-off joke.
Walter has two apparent friends named Algernon 'Spotty' Perkins and Bertie Blenkinsop. They are equally as camp as he is, and the three of them often wear their mother's clothes and makeup. He also got himself a girlfriend
Girlfriend
Girlfriend is a term that can refer to either a female partner in a non-marital romantic relationship or a female non-romantic friend that is closer than other friends....
named Matilda, who bore an eerie resemblance to him, except that she was a redhead
Redhead
Redhead may refer to:* A person with red hair* Redhead , an album by Bleu* Redhead , a North American duck, Aythya americana...
, and obviously wore a schoolgirl's uniform. She also spoke with a lisp. She first appeared in the 1996 TV series (although a character with the same name appeared in at least one comic library from 1993), and has rarely appeared in The Beano. Other softies include Sweet William, Dudley Nightshirt, Jeremy Snodgrass, Softy Matthew and Nervous Rex, a character who is scared of everything and everyone. If truth be told, the Softies seem to be bound together much more by fear of Dennis than by any real mutual liking; though they are scrupulously polite and strangely devoted to each other, they have occasionally decided to pick on someone perceived as a much bigger wimp than they are. Naturally, there are not many of these people.
Walter is parodied in some editions of the adult comic Viz
Viz (comic)
Viz is a popular British comic magazine which has been running since 1979.The comic's style parodies British comics of the post-war period, notably The Beano and The Dandy, but with incongruous language, crude toilet humour, black comedy, surreal humour and either sexual or violent storylines...
as "Cedric Soft" in the strip about popular character Biffa Bacon
Biffa Bacon
Biffa Bacon is a cartoon character in the British comic magazine Viz.- Overview :Biffa and his family—Mutha and Fatha —hail from the Tyneside region of North East England and speak in the Geordie dialect...
. Their relationship is in a similar vein to Walter's with Dennis, with extreme comic violence added.
Possible Homosexuality
Because of Walter's profoundly feminineFeminine
Feminine, or femininity, normally refers to qualities positively associated with women.Feminine may also refer to:*Feminine , a grammatical gender*Feminine cadence, a final chord falling in a metrically weak position...
behaviour, it is argued that Walter is actually gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
. Because of this speculation, not only did he have a girlfriend created for him, but Dennis the Menace also had to soften his antics against Walter in fear it would be seen as homophobia
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
.