Stanley
- This article is about the character who appears in Greenhouse and Donkey Kong 3. For the Boo character from Paper Mario, see Stanley (Paper Mario). For the Trouter character from the Nintendo Comics System, see Stanley the Talking Fish.
Stanley | |
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Species | Human |
First appearance | Green House (1982) |
Latest appearance | Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (spirit cameo) (2018) |
Stanley, also known as Stanley the Bugman[1][2][3][4] (alternatively Stanley the bugman[5][6][7] or Stanley the bug man[8]), is a bug exterminator who first appeared in the Game & Watch game Green House. In this game, Stanley uses his spray gun to defeat hungry pests. He later appeared in the Donkey Kong franchise as the protagonist of the game Donkey Kong 3, in which he battles with Donkey Kong and several insects in a greenhouse with his spray. Stanley also battles Donkey Kong in Donkey Kong 3: Dai Gyakushū.
History
Green House
While the Green House manual refers to the playable character only as the "Fumigator,"[9] print ads and TV commercials refer to Stanley the Bugman by name.[1][10][2] Stanley must defend his plants from inchworms and spiders that seek to devour his flowers. Unlike his later depictions, he appears much taller in character artwork. He wears a white cap, a red shirt, and khaki trousers. Stanley also appears in the game's port included in Game & Watch Collection.
Donkey Kong series
Donkey Kong 3
Stanley reappears as the protagonist of Donkey Kong 3. Stanley works as a simple fumigator when Donkey Kong and various insects attack his greenhouse. In order to put a stop to Donkey Kong, Stanley needs to spray him and the insects with his sprayer while also trying to keep the bugs away from his plants. After pushing Donkey Kong up into a beehive, Donkey Kong flees to another greenhouse and Stanley chases after him in order to continue driving him off. In the arcade version, the bugs eat Stanley if he is defeated by one, while in the NES version, the bugs do not eat him, and instead simply disappear. His current appearance of being short, round-faced, bucktoothed, and clad in overalls is established in this game.
Donkey Kong 3: Dai Gyakushū
Stanley is once again the protagonist of the 1984 game Donkey Kong 3: Dai Gyakushū. His role is very similar to Donkey Kong 3 in that he must spray Donkey Kong to the top of the screen and while also blasting the invading bees, although this time there are no plants to protect, nor are there any multi-level platforms. These changes make for something that is somewhat akin to Galaga.
Donkey Kong 3 (Game & Watch)
In the Game & Watch game Donkey Kong 3, Stanley and Donkey Kong, who now uses his own sprayer, are at opposite ends of the greenhouse, where they spray at the bees to move them toward one another and get them to sting the other.
Saturday Supercade
Stanley made an appearance in the television series Saturday Supercade, in the Donkey Kong episode "Greenhouse Gorilla," where he is the owner of a greenhouse. Here he is seen taking care of a carnivorous plant called Herman, but then a thief (only referred once as Mr. X) steals it while Stanley is occupied with spraying a bug. The thief then convinces Donkey Kong that Stanley is the one who wanted to hurt the plant, so he starts throwing beehives at him. Once again, Stanley is too occupied fighting the bugs and lets the thief and Donkey Kong run away with Herman. Stanley then joins forces with Mario and Pauline and starts chasing them. After a confrontation at a supermarket, and one at a manor where a "grand ball" was taking place, Pauline convinces Donkey Kong that the thief is the evil one, so they finally defeat him with the ape's help. The thief is finally arrested and Herman returns to Stanley, but Donkey Kong runs away once again.
Game & Watch Gallery series

In the Game & Watch Gallery series, Stanley is first seen in the Museum's Green House exhibit in Game & Watch Gallery 2. He also appears in Game & Watch Gallery 3's Classic version of Greenhouse, although the Modern version replaces him with a Yoshi. In Game & Watch Gallery 4, Stanley is playable in the Classic version of the Game & Watch game Donkey Kong 3; however, the Modern version replaces him with Mario.
Super Smash Bros. series
Stanley appears in Super Smash Bros. Melee as one of the many collectible trophies. His overalls are white instead of red but his shirt remains blue, like how his sprite looks in the NES port. Mr. Game & Watch also uses the sprayer as a weapon called Greenhouse, matching its first appearance, and continues to use it in later games in the series as his neutral attack.
In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Stanley appears as a spirit. In this game, Mr. Game & Watch's Greenhouse attack transforms him into Stanley's Green House sprite.
WarioWare series
Stanley makes various cameos in the WarioWare series. In WarioWare: Twisted!, Stanley is playable in Donkey Kong 3, where he has to spray Donkey Kong until he gets his head stuck in a beehive. In WarioWare: Touched!, Stanley is playable in another microgame titled Donkey Kong 3, where instead of spraying Donkey Kong, Stanley blows clouds out of his mouth to move him up into a beehive. In WarioWare: D.I.Y., Stanley appears in the microgame Greenhouse, where he has to defend his plants from two worms. In WarioWare: D.I.Y. Showcase, Stanley is playable in DK 3, where the objective is identical as the Donkey Kong 3 microgame in WarioWare: Twisted!
NES Remix
In NES Remix, Stanley is the playable character in various Donkey Kong 3 based challenges, which only appear in the Bonus stages.
List of appearances
Title | Description | Release Date | System/Format |
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Green House | Playable Character | 1982 | Game & Watch |
Donkey Kong 3 | Playable Character | 1983 | Arcade |
Donkey Kong 3: Dai Gyakushū | Playable Character | 1984 | NEC PC-88/Sharp X1/PC-6601 |
Donkey Kong 3 | Playable Character | 1984 | Game & Watch |
Game & Watch Gallery 2 | Cameo in the Museum | 1997 | Game Boy/Game Boy Color |
Game & Watch Gallery 3 | Playable Character in port of Green House | 1999 | Game Boy Color |
Super Smash Bros. Melee | Cameo as trophy | 2001 | Nintendo GameCube |
Game & Watch Gallery 4 | Playable Character in port of the Game & Watch Donkey Kong 3 | 2002 | Game Boy Advance |
WarioWare: Twisted! | Playable Character in Microgame | 2004 | Game Boy Advance |
WarioWare: Touched! | Playable Character in Microgame | 2004 | Nintendo DS |
Game & Watch Collection | Playable Character in port of Green House | 2006 | Nintendo DS |
WarioWare: D.I.Y. | Playable Character in Microgame | 2009 | Nintendo DS |
WarioWare: D.I.Y. Showcase | Playable Character in a Microgame | 2009 | WiiWare |
NES Remix | Playable Character in Donkey Kong 3 based challenges | 2013 | Wii U |
NES Remix Pack | Playable Character in Donkey Kong 3 based challenges | 2014 | Wii U |
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate | Cameo as spirit; sprite used in attack | 2018 | Nintendo Switch |
Profiles
Super Smash Bros. Melee
- Trophy
- Stanley
- Donkey Kong 3
6/86 - Stanley is a plucky exterminator who takes on Donkey Kong and an army of insects in the third installment of the original Donkey Kong series. Stanley has a tough job: he has to chase Donkey Kong away to another greenhouse with his insect repellent, then climb up the ivy to pump the main hive with the deadly spray.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate spirit
Name | Image | Game | Type | Class | Effect | How to obtain | Spirit battle | |||
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Opponents | Battle conditions | Stage | Song | |||||||
Stanley | ![]() |
Donkey Kong Series | Primary (2) | Advanced | deepskyblue | Spirit Board | Villager (♂) |
|
75 m | Donkey Kong / Donkey Kong Jr. Medley |
Gallery
Stanley in a print ad for Game & Watch
- SaturdaySupercadeStanley.jpg
Saturday Supercade
Names in other languages
Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
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German | Stanley[?] | - | |
Italian | Stanley Il giardiniere[11] |
- The gardener |
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Russian | Стэнли[?] Stenli |
Stanley |
References
- ^ a b "There's MULTI SCREEN GREENHOUSE. With Stanley the Bugman fighting masses of creepy, crawly creatures." – February 1983 Nintendo of America print ad. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
- ^ a b "Stanley the Bugman battles creepy, crawly creatures." – July 1989 Game & Watch catalog from Nintendo of Japan. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
- ^ "Donkey Kong later appeared in Donkey Kong III, where he antagonized a one-time hero known as Stanley the Bugman." – Mario Mania Player's Guide, 1991, p. 16. Scan here.
- ^ "Also known as Donkey Kong Sr., Cranky’s days of kidnapping Pauline and terrorizing Mario and Stanley the Bugman have long since passed." – Playing With Super Power: Nintendo Super NES Classics eGuide, Donkey Kong Country Characters Tab.
- ^ "Donkey Kong's loose in the greenhouse and only Stanley the bugman can stop him." – Donkey Kong 3 NES instruction manual, p. 2.
- ^ "Stanley the bugman has his hands full in the greenhouse with flowers to protect and snakes, bees and Donkey Kong making all kinds of trouble". – "Donkey Kong 3: Bugman In the Greenhouse". The Official Nintendo Player's Guide, 1987, p. 156.
- ^ "In Donkey Kong 3, he makes trouble for Stanley the bugman." – "Sneak Peeks". Nintendo Fun Club News Vol. 5, Feb/March 1988, p. 10. Scan here.
- ^ M. Arakawa. Nintendo Power Pak Source. Page 15. – "Stanley the bug man has his hands full with a greenhouse full of pesky critters, including the most bothersome pest of all, Donkey Kong!" Scan here
- ^ Greenhouse info page on In The Attic, a website dedicated to classic videogames (Internet Archive: Wayback Machine).
- ^ Nintendo Game & Watch commercial YouTube. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
- ^ Game & Watch Collection, Green House, European manual, pagg. 88-89
Donkey Kong 3 | ||
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Characters | Donkey Kong • Stanley | |
Enemies | Buzzbee • Creepy • Super Bee* • Vine Eater* • Beespy • Attacker • Kabutomushi • Butterfly | |
Items and objects | Beehive • Flower • Sprayer • Super Sprayer | |
Greenhouses | Blue • Gray • Yellow | |
Other | Gallery • Staff | |
Saturday Supercade (Donkey Kong segments) | ||
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Episodes | Season 1 | Episode 1: "Mississippi Madness" • Episode 2: "Gorilla Gangster" • Episode 3: "Banana Bikers" • Episode 4: "The Incredible Shrinking Ape" • Episode 5: "Movie Mania" • Episode 6: "Gorilla My Dreams" • Episode 7: "Little Orphan Apey" • Episode 8: "Circus Daze" • Episode 9: "The Great Ape Escape" • Episode 10: "Apey and the Snowbeast" • Episode 11: "How Much is That Gorilla in the Window?" • Episode 12: "Private Donkey Kong" • Episode 13: "Get Along, Little Apey" |
Season 2 | Episode 1: "Sir Donkey Kong" • Episode 2: "The Pale Whale" • Episode 3: "El Donkey Kong" • Episode 4: "New Wave Ape" • Episode 5: "Greenhouse Gorilla" • Episode 6: "Hairy Parent" | |
Characters | Recurring | Donkey Kong • Mario • Pauline |
Other | Barnacle • Barney Todd • Belle • Billy Bob • Boris • Brian • Bruto • Cabeza • Clovis • Coach • Colonel Culpepper • Dee-Dee • Don Diego • Doug's Health Club • Flint Westwood • Harry • Herman • Hooligan brothers • Hoss • José • Jumbo • Kenworth • Knuckles Darklings • Long John • Maxwell • Miss Persimmon O'Hara • Momma • Mr. X • Mugsy • Panther and the Thunderbolts • Slam • Solmes • Sonny • Stanley • Trapper Jack • Trixie • Whale | |
Locations | Acme Video • Africa • Barney Todd's Circus • Big Banana Malt Shop • Cutting Edge Salon • Don Diego's Hacienda • Greenhorn (One Star Saloon) • Hornby Manor • Los Angeles (Golden Studios) • Mississippi Maid • New Orleans • Pet City • Pleasant Bluff • Speed-Oil Car Wash • S.S. Romance • Safari Land • Stanley's Nursery • State Prison • Sooper Dooper Market | |
Miscellaneous | Banana • Barrel • Emerald of the East • Gallery • Ladder • Mechanical bull • Quotes • Staff |