Bart Simpson (seasons 1-15, 31-present)

Bartholomew "Bart" JoJo Simpson, is the deuteragonist of The Simpsons. He is the mischievous, rebellious, misunderstood and "potentially dangerous" eldest child of Homer and Marge Simpson, and the older brother of Lisa and Maggie.

Why He Is America's Bad Boy

 * 1) Bart is one of the most iconic kid characters in adult animation, especially being popular in the early 1990s.
 * 2) Even at a young age, Bart has accomplished many feats. He has won an award for his Angry Dad web series, he has discovered a new comet which was named after himself, and he also has performed in a successful band with Milhouse Van Houten, Nelson Muntz and Ralph Wiggum.
 * 3) He is the most misunderstood of the family (After Maggie, who currently can only speak a few words), constantly frustrated by the narrow-minded people of Springfield, who judge him merely by his thoughts and actions.
 * 4) Despite his behavior, Bart is also extremely good at science, art and even sports like skateboarding.
 * 5) His actions and speech frequently show considerable mental agility, street-smarts, and understanding.
 * 6) His antics are funny at times.
 * 7) Although he got flanderized during Seasons 16-30, he, along with his mom Marge, were never flanderiazed during the show's decline throughout Seasons 11-15 and in Season 31, and still kept their original personas during those seasons.
 * 8) Although he gets into trouble and is sometimes shallow and selfish, Bart also exhibits many qualities of high integrity.
 * 9) He is a great friend to Milhouse Van Houten, Nelson Muntz and Ralph Wiggum. He even shows friendship with Seymour Skinner and Edna Krabappel, despite the fact he often terrorizes them, helping them with their love life, along with being the only one in the entire town of Springfield to support them and stand by their side when an angry mob was against them.
 * 10) He is an amazing brother to Lisa. While he loves teasing her, Bart has shown himself willing to put himself through labor, swallow his pride, and even purchase things for her, as when trying to make her feel better, he offered to make her bed, start a foundation for the animals she saved, and even spend money on a $500 record instead of a long-desired novelty. Bart has even sacrificed a dream job (Hall Monitor) and good grades to protect her from a damaging punishment caused by her own actions and helped her restore her reputation among the other children when she betrayed them by way of posing as a college student.
 * 11) For fans, he is considered the true main protagonist of the series since the beginning, especially in the following seasons.
 * 12) A memorable music video titled Do the Bartman was why we love Bart.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) Bart often seems to have trouble understanding even the simplest concepts, such as the word "irony," what the equator is and that the logo on his globe ("Rand McNally") is not actually a country. It was also once implied that his mischievous behavior may have been a result of Marge accidentally ingesting a droplet of champagne while pregnant with him.
 * 2) His antics can get mean spirited and over the top at times.
 * 3) He had some early flanderizations during Seasons 11-15 before being flanderized completely in Seasons 16-30 where became a dumb sociopath, but he, along with Homer, can still be likable and memorable at times. Thankfully though, he did recover from his flanderization.

Trivia

 * Bart is loosely based on Matt Groening and his older brother, Mark Groening.
 * He also has been nicknamed "Cosmo", after discovering a comet in "Bart's Comet". Bart has also been on the cover on numerous comics, such as "Critical Hit", "Simpsons Treasure Trove #11" and "Winter Wingding". Bart also has a 100-issue comic series entitled the Simpson Comics Presents Bart Simpson.