Dale Gribble

Heroic Benchmark
Full Name	Dale Alvin Gribble
Alias	Rusty Shackleford
Origin	King of the Hill
Family	Unnamed Mother (deceased) Bug Gribble (father) Joseph Gribble (legal son) Nancy Hicks-Gribble (wife) Bunny Hicks (mother-in-law)
Allies	Hank Hill Bill Dauterive Boomhauer John Redcorn Peggy Hill Bobby Hill Cotton Hill
Enemies	The American Government Aliens Mad Dog
Powers / Skills	Security technology Stealth
Goals	Depending on the episode.
Goodness Zone	Saving Bobby from getting stung by multiple fire ants.
Type of Hero	Paranoid Pragmatist

Dale Alvin Gribble is one of the main characters of the animated comedy television series King of the Hill.

He was voiced by the late Johnny Hardwick.

His Good Ranking

Debated Validation

• He was hesitant to give up one of his kidneys to a racer named John Force, but after hearing how he and John could be friends, he decided to do it, but only if he got something in return. But after hearing that his kidney was going to a sick 12-year-old boy, he tries to get his kidney back and nearly got away with it. Even though he decided to let the kid have his kidney, he wanted candy and toys in return. While sacrificing one of his major organs is a noble act, he only did for his own selfish needs and wanting something in return.

His Heroic Deeds

• He is often a good husband and father to Nancy and Joseph.
  • He meets a female exterminator named Sheila, though he admires and respects her for her professionalism and skills, it was out of a fanboy-ish way and nothing romantic. When the two went out for a nighttime extermination job, he learns that she had feelings for him. While Dale acknowledges that he likes Sheila, he makes it clear that he loves Nancy, and even makes a heartwarming speech, calling her “The greatest woman in the world.” And makes it clear to Sheila that he doesn’t want to be with anyone else other than Nancy.
• He can also be a good friend to Hank, Bill, Boomhauer, and John Redcorn.
  • He helped John Redcorn get his land back from the government.
  • While he acted unsupportive and cruel to Bill when he entered Hot Dog competitive eating, he was the only one who saw the dark side of it, because he used to eat bugs as a kid. Since he was humiliated by his eating-related past, Dale didn’t want Bill to suffer the same fate that he did. When Bill still chose to enter the Hot Dog eating contest, he experienced the humiliation Dale suffered and understood what Dale was talking about and decided to give up on competitive eating. At the end of the episode, Dale tells Bill that he’s proud of him and that he’s no longer making a fool of himself.
  • He helped Hank get his driver’s license fixed from an error calling him a female. Even though Dale went overboard with his newfound patriotism and harassed Hank early on in the episode, he still came through for him.
• He kept Chuck Mangione’s secret about him living in the Megalo Mart to escape his constant Megalo jobs and sticking it to the man. (Which Dale respects.)
  • In the same episode, he caught the teenagers messing with the Megalo Mart and proving to be a competent exterminator.
• When Bobby was swarmed with fire ants, Dale told him to grab his hand and let the fire ants crawl on to him and took the stings from the ants. He did this without hesitation and asked for nothing in return.

Why Doesn’t He Stand Out?

• His actions are too bog-standard with him saving Bobby from getting stung by multiple fire ants being the only thing that stands out.
• He’s an anti-hero and has done plenty of bad deeds.
• He can often be a jerk to his friends, especially Hank and Bill.
  • When Hank Hill got new grass for his lawn, he fires Dale as his personal exterminator. Afterwards, Dale does everything he can to ruin Hank’s new lawn by planting fire ants and messing with Hank and Peggy’s efforts to get rid of them. He kept planting more ants several times a day. Even after getting what he wanted (Which was being rehired), he still destroys Hank’s lawn with his ridiculous amount of chemicals, leaving it as nothing but a patch of dirt, and leaving Hank heartbroken. He didn’t feel any remorse about this at all. If it weren’t for Peggy finding out, he likely would’ve never revealed the truth. Even after Hank found out, he’s more concerned about not getting beat up, than apologizing.
  • He dug a “Friendship Tunnel” under Hank’s house, but kept it a secret, because he knew Hank was going to be mad about it. After the hole was discovered, Hank’s house was considered condemned and unsafe, so the Hills were forced to move in with the Gribbles, and Dale only offered because Nancy forced him to. While the Hills were there, Dale was obnoxious to them, and drove Hank to his wit’s end. When Dale puts his hand in front of a saw Hank was using, causing him to accidentally cut Dale’s finger, Dale lies to everyone, and completely blames the accident on Hank, and then taunts him with a restraining order afterwards.
  • When he was attacked by a raccoon, he thought he came in contact with rabies. Wanting to get rid of the rabies, he kidnaps Hank and Bobby, and then tries to steal Hank’s blood and replace his own blood. When Bobby thought Ladybird was going to attack Hank, he told Bobby to shoot her.
• He can sometimes take advantage and be a bad husband and father to his own family.
  • He tries to sue the tobacco company that makes his cigarettes, in order to make some extra money for Nancy’s face-lift. To help his case, after finding out the company is recording him, he verbally insults Nancy over and over for the company to hear, and claiming that his second-hand smoking damaged her face. Because he sees Nancy as a bad liar, he keeps her in the dark, making his insults seem real and devastating to her, and Nancy was already in a fragile and self-conscious way.
  • When Joseph was scouted by a wealthy prep school, and wants him to play on their football team. Dale barely even tries to acknowledge what Joseph wants. Instead he gets wrapped up with the so-called wealthy lifestyle, and all the perks that he could get as a parent at a prep school. Even when Joseph makes it clear he wants to stay at his old school, Dale forces him to leave his friends behind and go to the prep school.
  • When everyone sees Joseph hanging out with some bad kids, Dale sees this as Joseph hanging out with the popular crowd, and encourages Joseph to impress them so that he could be “cool” too, and even tells Joseph that being cool and popular is the most important thing in life. When Joseph has his vision dream, Dale thought he was Native American (for ridiculous reasons). When he learns that the “cool” kids are going to the zoo and spray paint their names on some pandas, he tells Joseph to take it one step further and actually kill a panda. He even drives Joseph to the zoo and gives him the weapon.
• Dale was forced to quit being an exterminator and take an office job. But while at Stik-Tek, Dale discovers that he can fire employees without feeling bad about it. This power quickly goes to Dale’s head and he enjoys holding the fear of losing their jobs over the heads of his co-workers. He also becomes a bigger jerk to his own friends and family, even neglecting Joseph and breaking his promise to help him with his science project.
• Dale stole the identity of Rusty Shackleford (A classmate Dale had, who he thought had died, but in actuality, he just moved away). When the real Rusty Shackleford showed up, Dale believed he was there for revenge and forces Rusty to stay in Arlen for a week, just so he could avoid getting close to him.

External Links

• Dale Gribble on the Heroes Wiki