The King of the Hill as a series doesn’t ever focus on world-ending battles or super-powered escapades, thanks to it being far more slice-of-life, but that didn’t stop the Hills from having “villains.” One of the biggest antagonists was always Hank’s father, Cotton, but the Hills bid farewell to the “villain” during a previous episode appropriately titled “Death Picks Cotton.” While the upcoming fourteenth season has featured plenty of returning characters to build up hype for Arlen, Texas’ return, there is one specific character that we are dying to see return thanks to how odious said character is.
Jimmy Wichard was easily a character in The King of the Hill’s history that could be seen as a big villain of the Hank family. On top of having the mentality of a schoolyard bully, Wichard had a negative effect on almost every single character on the show when he would encounter them. Perhaps most horrifically, Jimmy almost got Bobby killed during the second season episode, “Life in The Fast Lane, Bobby’s Saga” wherein Hank had to take drastic measures to fulfill his rage. Leaping his way across a race track and dodging cars in the process, Hank proceeded to kick Jimmy again and again for nearly getting Bobby killed thanks to Wichard’s stupidity.
Where Did We Last See Jimmy?
The last episode that featured Jimmy Wichard in King of the Hill was in the series original final season, season thirteen. In said installment, Bill is struggling with his loneliness once again and realizes that the best route of action might be to get a roommate. Unfortunately, of the list of potential candidates, Wichard became a prime candidate for joining Bill’s household. Luckily, Jimmy’s personality, and his desire for the sole owner of BIll’s house, made him get kicked to the curb and he played no further role in the series.
It’s been quite some time since last we saw the Hill family, with Bobby, for example, going from a bright-eyed teenager to a full-fledged adult. With all the changes we’ve seen thus far, we have to imagine that Jimmy Wichard would go through major shifts as well. From what Jimmy has shown us in the first thirteen seasons, we can’t imagine Wichard ever having a change of heart, though it would be interesting to see what he was up to without the Hill family in Arlen.
Originally, Jimmy Wichard was voiced by actor David Herman, who also took on the roles of LuAnne’s ex-boyfriend Buckley, Dale’s father Bug, and even deceased president Jimmy Carter. With there being a strong possibility of one of Herman’s characters making a return, pulling double duty on voice acting roles has clearly been something Wichard’s actor has had experience with.
A Villain’s Comeback
We won’t be waiting long to see whether Jimmy will be making a comeback as the entirety of King of the Hill’s fourteenth season will arrive on Hulu on August 4th. When it comes to what could be perceived as the “villain” of this revival, it appears as though the changing times and the Hill’s collective age jump will present the biggest challenges. Now that Hank and Peggy are retired, promotional material has been hinting at the idea that retirement isn’t all that they were dreaming of following their Saudi Arabia excursion.
As for Bobby, Hank’s son is quite lucky that his new fusion restaurant boss seemingly isn’t the same as his old boss. When Bobby worked for Jimmy at the race track, he was put through some wildly unethical scenarios as a child worker and from everything we’ve seen from the revival, Bobby has found his calling. This plays well with the previous series finale that ended on a heartwarming scene of Hank and Bobby connecting with their propane grilling enthusiasm. Now that Bobby is an adult, it will be interesting to see how the relationship between father and son has changed as a result.
Want to see what the future holds for Arlen, Texas? Follow along with Team Anime on ComicBook.com for the latest updates on King of the Hill and hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime, or hit us up in the comments.
