American Dad! episodes typically feature a new persona for Roger Smith, the show's resident alien, housemate and walking chaos engine. However, even when most of his personas can skew towards dark comedy, there's one that stands above the rest as perhaps his most vile and memorable identity: Ricky Spanish.
Ricky Spanish first appeared in Season 7, Episode 17, "Ricky Spanish." After lecturing Steve that sometimes things are truly disgusting and there's no chance for redemption, Roger stumbles upon his old persona -- Ricky. This persona is a devious and unpredictable figure within Langley Falls, with everyone in town having a reason to hate him, but Steve promises to redeem Ricky's name -- only for Ricky to betray Steve and make him the fall guy for a jean heist.
Ricky is one of Roger's most destructive personas, acting more maliciously and unpredictable than Roger ever does elsewhere, which is saying something since Roger has casually killed countless people over the years. The show even gives Ricky a unique motif, with any mention of his full name often resulting in quick flashes to his various crimes, which have ranged from attacking the elderly, to burning down a petting zoo, to stealing candy from a child. The unburdened potential of Ricky is so infectious that even others besides Roger have fallen into the trap of indulging it.
In Season 13, Episode 13, "Personal Assistant," a sickly Roger requires Stan to take over his personas, but his lackluster attempts only result in chaos erupting across Langley Falls. This requires Stan to adopt the Ricky Spanish persona in an attempt to overwhelm the anarchy, but Stan becomes too enamored with the power he gains from the experience.
This requires Roger -- along with his newly born homunculus, Rogu -- to reprise another one of his personas to fight him. Roger becomes Jeannie Gold from Season 6, Episode 6, "Shallow Vows," revealing she's actually meant to be Ricky's sister. The three come to blows, with Rogu ending the fight by "killing" Stan. He slices his throat open with a knife, but in reality, he's just opened up the Ricky Spanish disguise and allowed Stan to return to normal. There's something powerful about the kind of chaos one can bring as Ricky Spanish, making it one of the most dangerously addictive personas. Not even Stan was able to keep himself from going all out in this form.
Of all of Roger's personas, Ricky is perhaps one of the most memorable. He serves as the true identity for someone like Roger, giving him a darker edge than almost any other persona. It's an infectious power, even corrupting Stan within little time of using it. It's also notably one of the few personas to have fully "died," likely keeping Roger from utilizing it again. However, if he does, it's worth remembering just how destructive and chaotic this version of the character can really be.