King of the Hill was an adult animated sitcom like no other. While its contemporaries relegated to the pessimistic commentary and parody, this series was steadfast on portraying the humble ongoings of a small, Texas town and mocking/romanticizing the conservative, Texas lifestyle.
Throughout the course of the series, Hank, the show's protagonist, has been used as a vehicle to comment on Texas men at their worst and overly conservative as well as them at their most rational and respectful. It is with the latter that this list celebrates Hank as a hero of the series, using that integrity and common sense to often save the skins of the bumbling people of Arlen, Texas. Here are 10 times that Hank Hill has saved the day.
10 He Takes A Literal Bullet For Dale
Dale Gribble and all of his gun crazy, conspiratorial energy can be quite a handful for the series. Whether he's hatching some get rich quick scheme or putting on some faux-action hero personality, he tends to bring the series to some of its wilder extremes, often positioning himself within the eyes of the community as a less than stable individual.
When Dale goes to fumigate the watchtower at the local community college, everyone's imaginations go off, and they assume that he's a sniper. Knowing better, Hank goes in to save him, confirming that he's no danger to anyone but not before a stray vigilante actually takes a shot at the two. It is then that Hank literally takes a bullet to save Dale, revealing in a little while that he had actually been wearing a bulletproof vest the entire time.
9 He Finds A Way To Make A Propane Delivery For Mr. Strickland
It's practically meme history at this point that Hank Hill is a proud and consistent Propane Salesman, selling and speaking the good word of all manner of propane and propane accessories. However, he begins to question his loyalty, when Buck Strickland decides to give a new, manager position to one of the younger members of Strickland Propane.
After initially trying to quit the company, a sudden protest among Strickland Propane's truck drivers calls him to action, as he proves exactly why he was an assistant manager in the first place. Using some creativity and quick thinking, he and his friends manage to drive the trucks themselves, circumventing the need for hazmat certification by cleverly hauling them with tow trucks. It's just a shame that his man never got that promotion.
8 He Saves Bobby From Becoming Mr. Strickland
Hank Hill splits a lot of his energy between keeping his friends and family out of trouble and picking up Buck Strickland out of a bad spot, with the latter coming up quite a bit given Buck's infamous downward spiral. One episode, that same spiral begins to suck in Hank's son Bobby, when Buck hires the boy as his new golf caddy and begins to spoil the boy with all manner of finances and foul language.
When that same spiral brings Buck and Bobby to a back alley and a couple of hoodlums taking them for some of Buck's lost money, Hank Hill swoops in for a twofer, managing to both save Buck's skin and teach Bobby a valuable lesson about the real heroes in life.
7 He Puts On A Dress For Bill
Bill is a constant adventure for the series. As the woes of poor family life and a nasty divorce send him through the wringer, Bill Dauterive has been on constant watch within the community for potentially hurting himself or getting someone else into trouble with his own obsession.
It is within one of the series' most beloved Christmas specials that he really hits the bottom of the well and begins dawning a dress and acting like a more adoring version of his ex-wife, Lenore. Having learned that just yelling at the man wasn't going to be enough, Hank swallows his pride and dawns a dress to throw any attention away from Bill and to act out how Lenore really was to Bill, finally knocking the man out of one of his worst spins.
6 He Buys A Timeshare For Cotton
Hank Hill is an infamous tightwad and skeptic of any and every scam out there. When his father inherits some money from his last friend, Dale insists that everyone take a nice, free vacation, gratis of a timeshare pitch. Ever one to be skeptical of his friend's own ability to discern a scam, Hank tags along. And while he does a good job of stopping Bill from buying into the timeshare, he is unable to keep Cottong from signing.
However, after revealing that Cotton only has limited resources, he eventually convinces the timeshare people to rip up Cotton's contract, only for Hank to realize how much buying that timeshare really meant to Cotton. Being a better son than Cotton was ever a father, Hank ditches his typical tight wallet and buys the timeshare for him.
5 He Fights Off Tammi Duvall's Pimp
With Peggy being the strong, independent that she is and Luanne typically being Peggy's territory, there haven't been that many classic damsel-in-distresses for Hank to do his whole cowboy schtick with. That all changes when the Hill's take in one of Buck's new, female hires, Tammi Duvall, and suddenly find that she's actually a prostitute.
When her pimp comes to town, Hank easily looks past Tammi's history to protect her from her Oklahoman abuser, even adorning a pimp hat and tongue to punk the man out.
4 He Keeps Buck Strickland And His Competitors From Going To Jail
Perhaps even more so than Hank's eccentric friends, Buck Strickland is a 24/7 job for Hank. When Hank manages to convince him and his propane competitors to end a price war, the group that he brings together begin a new scheme to price gouge their customer base.
When the propane commission gets word of this and undergoes an investigation that could spell severe jail time for the group, Hank enlists the help of the stars of American Chopper to drown out their bugged offices so that he can knock some sense into the group and convince them, once again, to be actual, responsible businessman.
3 He Saved Bill And Dale From Dying In A Ditch
When Bill and Dale become jealous when Hank starts to spend more time with a new friend, the two steal his rented backhoe to practice with at the local, pet cemetery.
A menagerie of practicing and messing around brings a turn for the worst, as the two would literally dig themselves into a hole. In comes Hank having learned the true value of his regular friends and dropping a few not so subtle hints as to how the two should work the backhoe to pull themselves out.
2 He Keeps His Friends From Being Crushed To Death
As the series has loved to show time and again, Hank Hill never had an anger problem (at least not a severe one). He just happens to be living alongside a few knuckleheads who won't respond to anything but pure discipline, even when their own lives are in danger.
This is especially the case when Dale leads Bill and Boomhauer to house themselves in a newly, dug tunnel under the alley, not knowing that a heavy, garbage truck was barreling its way to them. What eventually saves them wasn't kind words or petting an imaginary kittie but the harsh yelling of a Texas man who cares too much about his friends to dial it down.
1 He Keeps Him And His Friends From Dying At Sea
Last but not least, when Hank decides to take a break from being an old, fuddy-duddy, he suddenly finds him and his friends trapped at sea, when everyone haphazardly decides to do some cannonballs into the waters without dropping their boat's side ladder prior.
Putting his bossy hat back on, Hank get all of his friends to line up, as he hatches up a quick plan to start an oil fire to get the attention of an overhead plane. Again, this series has an idiot problem, not a Hank problem.