In the early seasons of South Park, the most prominent running gag was Kenny dying in every episode. But as the series went on, the creative minds behind the scenes got bored of thinking up new wars to kill the little guy in the orange coat. Eventually, that ongoing joke came to an end and Kenny died somewhat permanently. Though he did eventually come back, his absence gave a fan-favorite character named Butters a chance to shine.

Leopold "Butters" Stotch has been a part of the series since the very first episode, though he didn't speak until Season 2, Episode 11. At that point, he was still pretty much just an odd little blonde boy who happened to be in the same class as the four main characters. Pip was still alive then, as well as getting more lines and screen than Butters did.

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After the movie South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, Butters started picking up a little steam. A series of episodes during Season 3 detailed the boys' separate adventures during a meteor shower. Stan ended up trapped at a party with Pip, Butters and Dougie. Ironically, Butters would push Pip aside over time. Also, Dougie would eventually become General Disarray to Butters' Professor Chaos.

The Butters Show

Season 5, Episode 13 ended Kenny's first run on South Park. While the disease he was diagnosed with was never named in the episode, it was later confirmed to be Muscular Dystrophy. After Kenny's final death, he was replaced in the core group by Butters. Season 5, Episode 14 was titled "Butters' Very Own Episode" and followed his exploits as he learned that his father was leading a secret double life. It is arguably one of the funniest episodes in the series.

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Butters didn't last long as the fourth member of the group. This led Stan, Kyle and Cartman to have a Bachelor-style competition to determine their new fourth, which ended up being Tweek. Butters embarked in a new direction, developing his evil alter ego Professor Chaos and trying to destroy the world. From that point on, Butters has been considered one of the main characters of the series, second only to the main crew.

Butters Casa Bonita

Despite the fact that Cartman usually ends up throwing Butters under the first available bus, he's often still the first guy on board with Cartman's plans and crackpot theories. Butters is earnest, endearing and often makes the worst possible decision in almost every scenario. Somehow, that just makes him that much more lovable. Plus, his parents ground him even when he does something right, which has become its own excellent running gag.

Season 6, Episode 17 saw Kenny inexplicably come back to life and reclaim his top spot in the overall hierarchy of the series. But his season away from the show gave Butters a chance to cement himself as a key player on South Park. While other less versatile characters like Tweek or Pip faded into the background, Butters' absurd star has only continued to shine brighter throughout the series. Without him, fans might not have stuck with the series for this long.

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