Dan

Biography

Dan is the titular character of the show. He is a short-stacked man in his 30s, has green eyes, black hair (with a noticeable retreating hairline) and a black goatee. His outfit consists of a black t-shirt with the word ‘Jerk’ in white bold capital letters, blue jeans and black leather shoes, resembling ankle boots. He first met his childhood friend Chris at a summer camp, where they were subjected to poor treatment by the camp leader and older campers. Their friendship continued into high school, where they were classmates. Dan remembers this time for being ridiculed by the other teens, while he was bullying Chris. His former classmates actually fondly remember his pranks on them, which included exploding chemical mixtures or letting scorpions loose on prom night. Dan’s career after school is unknown. It is clear that, at the time of the show, he is unemployed and always short on money. He is only able to keep a job for a few days in Chris’ workplace, a call center, where he becomes ‘Temp of the week’ and the demonic bosses’ favorite. However, when the boss asks him to get rid of Chris to prove Dan’s loyality to her, he decides to banish her to the fiery realm she came from. (S3E3) Dan lives in a rundown neighborhood in North Hollywood, LA, on the first floor of an apartment complex called ‘Casa Paradisio’, where parking spaces are rare. He drives a red car of an ‘offbrand Filipino model’. His car has been broken in some way nearly every episode, but restored to normal in the next one.

Supposed Age

Dan’s age can only be estimated by assuming the time the episode showing his drivers license first aired is correspondant to the time in the real world, which was in 2013. According to Dan’s drivers license, which lists his birthday on October 31th, 1975, he is 36 at that time.

Relationships

Dan is very fond of Chris’ company, even when he doesn’t really need his assistance. He will go to all lengths to spend time with Chris and to have him for himself. Commonly he will call him to come over to his apartment to help out with his plots or drops by Chris’ place without prior notice. He will even drag Chris around while unconscious (S1E5). Despite his affection, he takes advantage of Chris for money, shelter, human shield, work force and as a chauffeur. We learn that Dan absolutely despises his mother (S3E1) and got into some rough arguments with his grandma, who passes away during the series, which allows Dan to get his hands on her famous devilled egg recipe (S2E1, the recipe, 'almost').

Dan often expresses how he wishes Elise, Chris’ wife, would leave his friend. He is rude and talks down to her. At one point, he writes her on his revenge list, but crosses her name off because he deems her too dangerous. Dan is much more aware of her high-tech contraptions than Chris, however he never states or questions it. He will only team up with Elise when absolutely necessary and gets in her way from time to time, often while using her weapons without her consent.

During the runtime of the show, Dan falls in love with three women and a sandwich.

As for Becky, we see her on a date with Dan and she agrees to meet him again. While getting a haircut in anticipation, it turns out that her father is the barber and he ruins Dan’s hair completely, causing him to go on a revenge trip on him and at the very end, his daughter, who never wants to see him again after this. (S1E14)

In one episode, he fantasizing about a turkey sandwich as his significant other, who leaves him because ‘it’s not working out’ (S1E17).

The Burgerphile employee Hortence caught Dan’s attention, especially after staying by his side while protesting against bad restaurant service. It is clear that she is also impressed by his efforts. While not stated in the show, but by the official Facebook page, Hortence is underage. (link) However, Dan never gets to have a relationship with her, since she leaves the city for a promotion (S1E20). This is followed by her agreeing to marry Mr. Burger, her boss. Dan stops this wedding, but less for moral or legal reasons, but for his own affection towards her. This doesn’t work out in his favor and Hortence is done with him. (S2E9)

Ms. Honey O’Houlihan, who asks him to help retrieve her stolen cat, Poopsie. It turns out she was a fraud who staged the incident and even took Mr. Mumbles from him in the process, causing Dan to loose interest. (S2E10)

Dan rescued a cat from an animal shelter, who he named Mr. Mumbles, probably unaware of her gender. This is later revealed to him by a homeless man, who shoves her into his face, belly first, supposedly so he could take a closer look. He frequently talks to her – certain, that she understands his every word. He shares his sparse food with her (sandwiches, pizza etc.), holds and cuddles her frequently. He can’t stay mad at her, even though she scratches his face when scared.

In one episode, we learn that Dan’s car is always fixed by Mechanic Mike, a car enthusiast who works for free, as long as Dan pays for the spare parts. This beneficial relation is interrupted by Mechanic Mike ‘borrowing’ parts from Dan’s car, replacing them by common household items like a rubber band or a mixer (S3E4).

Dan kept his teddy bear Brutus into adulthood.

Personality and Traits

Dan is quick to anger, over-the-top aggressive, extremely thick-headed, destructive, paranoid, childish and has a wild imagination. He will choose revenge over love (S1E14) and will not stop until he reaches his goal. However, we learn that Dan’s history is so wild with random things happening to him, a lot of his traits are him just trying to overcome his daily obstacles. In every episode, we see him scream out (or at least moan (S2E8)) his revenge target while raising up his arms. Dan has a list of things he wants to take revenge in a storage room, supposedly because it outgrew his apartment. His abilities include close combat, fight dancing (S2E4), handling a crowbar, crossbow, as well as bow and arrow (S1E2), building a ballista (S2E3), metalwork (S1E2), chewing himself out of tape and lockers (S3E5), breaking into various buildings, setting up explosives, driving a truck (S3E10), very specific knowledge of facts (while being oblivious to some common knowledge) and he is good with felines. Even a saberthooth tiger won’t harm him (S2E10). As for other animals, Dan uses cockroaches (S2E3, S3E8) and scorpions (S3E5) as his allies on multiple occasions. A bat lives under his sink and he doesn’t seem to mind its presence (). Dan loves watching TV, including court shows (S3E9), horror and sci-fi movies. As a big fan of the ‘Population Control Johnny’ franchise he consumes the comics and movies. Like Chris, he is also into the movie ‘Space Monkeys from Outer Space’ (S2E17). He listens to a radio station which talks about conspiracy theories and it’s quite possible he believes in at least some of them. Despite his displeasure with the government, he votes with pride (S3E7).