"Fry" redirects here. For other people named Fry, see Fry (disambiguation).

Philip J. Fry (often referred to only by his last name, Fry) Fry is the main protagonist and character of Futurama. In the future, Fry is the executive delivery boy of Planet Express, which his distant nephew Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth owns. Before being employed by Planet Express in the year 3000 he had worked for Panucci's Pizza during the late 20th century. On New Year's Eve 1999 he was cryogenically frozen by accident while on delivery. The cryo-tube timer was set at 1000 years; hence Fry woke to the last moments of the year 2999.

Personality and abilities

Philip J. Fry

Philip J. Fry is a dim-witted man from the 20th century who gets frozen for 1,000 years, thawing out on New Year's Eve 2999. His character is largely an attempt by the show's creators to make the connection between the 20th century and the 31st century much easier for the viewers. Often, Fry is faced with differences in the future, which he then relates to things in his time. As a result, he frequently has to defend the actions of the 20th century.

Although he is often depicted as stupid, Fry does occasionally come up with brilliant schemes to save the day, an ability which possibly comes from his intense love of Star Trek. Fry, rivaled only by the energy being of Melllvar, has the largest encyclopaedic knowledge of Star Trek in the future. Another example of Fry's occasional brilliance was during the Brain Spawn attack on Earth. With the rest of the crew stupefied, Fry was able to save Earth by exploiting the Brainspawn's weaknesses. Strangely enough, Fry's stupidity appears to be his greatest strength as he the only known person in the universe who lacks a Delta brainwave and therefore is immune to the Brainspawn's stupification fields. Ken, a Nibblonian, has noted he possesses a "superior yet inferior" mind. He lacks the Delta brainwave because he is actually his own grandfather (3ACV19).

Also because he lacks the Delta brainwave, he is immune to telepathy (5ACV16, 2ACV08).

Fry is also usually quick to make very rash decisions, such as traveling back to the year 2000 (BBS) or stowing away on Zapp Brannigan's ship to leave the universe after being upset about Colleen (TBwaBB).

Despite being lazy, Fry's heart is in the right place, and when the situation calls for it, he will rise up to formulate a plan to save his friends, though because of his lack of intelligence he rarely comes up with any good plans. Fry cares about his friends, and in spite of Bender's awful treatment of him at times, he is still willing to risk his life to save him, which Bender reciprocates. However, it shows that Fry enjoys Bender being "mean" to him, because when Bender has to leave the planet express crew for his own saftey, Clamps takes his place and behaves in the same way Bender would towards Fry and Fry just laughs and continues.

Fry loves video games, and as such, he is usually shown to be very good at them, although not all games. He never actually managed to finish the final enemy on Space Invaders; he always had to get his brother Yancy to do it for him. Though he may not be good at all games, his skills have made him a crackshot, and he usually mans the ship's weapons when they are under attack. He has also got a lot better at fighting, by "Fun on a Bun" (7ACV08) Also, Fry absolutely loves sewers, he once surfed (was surprisingly good) in various sewers around Earth cities with Turanga Morris & Bender, but got temporarily sick as a result.

Savantism

Several instances throughout the series have suggested an abnormal mind tied to savantism and synesthesia:

Shown in "All the Presidents' Heads", he is a compulsive counter.

In "Roswell that Ends Well" and "The Why of Fry", he is a colour-gustatory synesthete.

Throughout the series, he shows great intelligence countered by an inability to properly express it as such.

He is capable of incredible musical creativity, but lacks the physical means to express it. [4ACV18]

Biography

Early years

Fry's birth in 1974 with umbilical cord still attached ( 3ACV04 ).

Philip J. Fry was born on August 14 1974, in the Brooklyn Pre-Med Hospital in Old New York, a native of Flatbush, Brooklyn. Fry is the second son of Yancy Fry Sr. and Mrs. Fry.

During his formative years, Fry endured a great sibling rivalry with his older brother, Yancy Jr. Yancy constantly stole his ideas and, shortly after Fry was born, even wanted his younger brother's name. Yancy also frequently belittled Fry. Fry also spent of a lot of time playing video games and watching Star Trek. He was never admitted to public school because his parents felt it would be a waste of taxpayer's money.

Fry never made a success of himself, and during his twenties (or late teenage years) he got a job at Panucci's Pizza as a pizza delivery boy. While working for Mr. Panucci, he met up with Michelle and they began a relationship. On a delivery in 1997, he meets up with Seymour Asses, a dog he names after the addressee of the prank caller who ordered the delivery. Seymour becomes his best friend.

Fry is frozen for a thousand years in a cryogenics tube.

Cryogenically Frozen - for a Thousand Years

Further information: Space Pilot 3000

On the fateful night of New Year's Eve, 1999, Fry is sent on another prank delivery to I. C. Wiener. When he arrives at the destination, Applied Cryogenics, he realizes that it is a prank, but since he won't make it back to Panucci's before midnight, he decides to celebrate the New Year where he is. Then, while leaning his chair too far backwards, he falls into a cryogenics tube, which closes and freezes him for a thousand years.

On New Year's Eve, 2999, the tube's timer finishes and Fry wakes up again. He is not at all sad about leaving his old life behind, and actually happy and relieved that it is all now behind him. He meets Leela, who is employed by the Cryogenics Labs to assign unfrozen people to jobs. She tells Fry about his living relative Professor Hubert Farnsworth. Leela then tells Fry that the job that has been assigned to him is that of Delivery Boy. Faced with a return to the life of drudgery he knew in 1999, Fry flees. While running around New New York, he enters a suicide booth (having mistaken it for a phone booth) and tries to contact his nephew.

Fry meets a robot named Bender in the Suicide Booth and, after narrowly avoiding death, they grab a drink together. After a couple of beers, Bender decides to leave to re-attempt suicide, but Fry convinces him to stay by saying that he has always wanted a robot for a friend (or at least ever since he was six). Leela is still on his trail, though, after being forced by her boss, Ipji, to pursue Fry and force him to accept the career chip.

Leela follows Fry and Bender into the Head Museum and the ruins of Old New York, before finally catching up with them. To Fry's surprise, though, she decides to quit her job instead of forcing the job of delivery boy on him. Fry suggests they go to his distant nephew, Professor Farnsworth, to see if he can help. After confirming that he and Fry are related, the Professor decides to hire them as a replacement for his old crew.

Planet Express Delivery Boy, First Class

Fry is hired on at his nephew's company as a delivery boy. Faced with the ability to travel around space, Fry is pleased with his new position. At first Fry lives in the Planet Express building, but after an apartment hunt he ends up living in Bender's closet. Fry immediately develops an interest in Leela but, to his dismay, the feelings are not mutual.

His work at Planet Express sees him thrown into several absurd adventures: he is briefly in a relationship with Amy Wong, and while the company's bureaucrat, Hermes Conrad, is away, he has an affair with the company's replacement bureaucrat, Morgan Proctor. Neither lasts very long, but when he almost destroys the Planet Express building and Hermes fires him (along with Bender and Leela) he gets Leela's former job by accident and finds his old girlfriend, Michelle, unfrozen. She does not enjoy life in the future, and asks him to come with her to the year 4000. After they wake up and realize that they are actually just in Los Angeles two days later, she dumps him in favour of Pauly Shore.

At a truck stop Fry eats a bad egg sandwich and gets infected with parasites. The worms give him a complete tune up, and he becomes stronger, smarter, and is capable of impressing Leela with the Holophonor. He almost sleeps with her, but Fry fears that Leela is falling in love with the worms rather than himself, so he decides to get rid of them. He appears to be right: she immediately asks him to leave when he commits a relationship blunder; namely, talking about his previous fling with Amy Wong.

The most important person in the universe

Further information: Season 3

The Planet Express crew had gone to observe a supernova up close. While the crew prepared for the event, Fry went to make popcorn. He ignores the warning label on the aluminum popcorn pan saying not to cook in a microwave, which he does. The microwave emitted radiation that collided with the wave from the supernova, causing the Planet Express crew to travel back in time to 1947.

After Bender breaks apart, Zoidberg was captured by the U.S. military while picking up pieces of Bender's body. Fry and Bender's head attempt to infiltrate Roswell, with the Fry disguised as a soldier. He runs into his grandfather, Enos Fry, engaged to Mildred. Acting on Farnworth's warning, Fry did his best to make sure that his grandfather is not killed, otherwise he in turn would cease to exist. However, he became paranoid in his attempts to protect Enos, driving and locking him in a house in the middle of nowhere. But what he didn't know was that he left Enos within range of a nuclear testing ground, killing him in the resulting explosion. But for some reason, Fry was still existing.

He comforts his grandmother, who begins to make sexual advances on him, which made him uncomfortable. He then reasoned with himself that because he still exists, Mildred can't be his grandmother and has sex with her. The next day, Professor Farnsworth, Leela and Bender knock on the window informing Fry that because of his actions, he himself became his own grandfather; Fry realized what he had done and freaked out. Because of the paradox, the Planet Express crew decided that they should get back to their own time, regardless of what it would cause to history. They storm Roswell, rescuing Zoidberg during an autopsy, Bender's reconstructed body and stealing a microwave satellite dish to return to the future.

It is later explained by the Nibblonians that because of Fry becoming his own grandfather, it caused a genetic abnormality that caused him to lack the delta brainwave, which rendered him immune to the Brainspawn and telepathy in general.

At some point the Brain Spawn attack Earth and make all humans stupid. Fry is immune to the attack as he lacks the Delta brain wave. The Nibblonians work with Leela to get the message to Fry, who confronts the Big Brain in the New New York Public Library. Fry defeats the Big Brain, but when everyone is back to normal, no one has any memory of his actions and just think he is crazy.

The Nibblonians call for his help again when the Brain Spawn are found to be collecting all information in the universe and plan to to destroy it when their task is complete. The Nibblonians explain that due to him lacking the Delta brain wave, and is immune to the Brain Spawn as long as he avoids prolonged thinking. It is revealed to him inside the Infosphere that it was Nibbler who made him fall into the tube and come to the future in the first place. Fry is sent back to 1999 by the Brain Spawn to stop Nibbler from freezing him, but Nibbler persuades Fry to allow himself to be frozen to save Leela's life, as no one would be able to stop the Brain Spawn from destroying the universe in the future.

Fry pushes himself into the cryotube to save the world.

A deal with the devil

Further information: Season 4

During the events with his coworkers, he became a super hero, met the cast of Star Trek, wound up in a parallel universe where he and Leela had gotten married and gets his nose cut off.

But his passion and number one thing he always wanted still remains unexplored. He thinks back to when had the worms, and when he could play the Holophonor to impress Leela. Bender suggests that he should make a deal with the Robot Devil, and in an (to the Robot Devil at least) appalling ironic outcome, he gets the Robot Devil's hands. He can play the Holophonor now, and he becomes a famous musician, performing many classical numbers.

Hedonism Bot hires him to write an opera, Fry decides to write it about Leela. And after the first act of the opera, it is already deemed best opera of all time. But meanwhile the Robot Devil is plotting against Fry to get his hands back, because the Robot Devil is getting tired of Fry's hands. And so in the final act, the Robot Devil interrupts the opera and demands his hands back. Fry refuses, and the Robot Devil explains that if so, he will marry Leela for which she has unintentionally signed. Fry realizes that this ultimatum only has one solution: to give up the Robot Devil's hands. Since he cannot play any more, the opera is credited as the worst ever, though Leela remains behind to hear him finish.

The secret to time travel

Planet Express' delivery license is revoked by the Box Network, forcing the Professor to terminate his employees. But by the time the Professor gets around to telling them (two years later), their license is restored after a change in management at the Box Network- they are back in business. Fry becomes a centre of attention when Alien Scammers (led by Nudar) take over the Planet Express and find the machine language time code on Fry's buttocks. Using the code, a virus-infected Bender is ordered back in time to steal all of Earth's valuables from the past. However, Fry is more upset that Lars Fillmore is getting a chance with Leela.

The scammers feel it best to be rid of the time code once they finally become anxious that the universe will be destroyed. Utilising a mirror, Fry manages to read the code off his buttocks and escapes back to January 1, 2000. Here he attempts to get some food from Mr. Panucci, but is unable to since he has no money from that era. He takes the pizza he delivered to I. C. Wiener, and decides to travel back an hour when the pizza was warm. His time paradox duplicate refuses to do the same thing and walks off. But Fry himself manages to end up inside the same tube he was originally frozen in. When his frozen self wakes up, he closes the tube after him and leaves the timer for 7.95 years to wake up again appropriate to when he had left.

Even though Lars Fillmore calls off the wedding, Fry is unable to get Leela's attention. After having Hermes and Bender save the Earth, he decides on New Year's Eve of 3007, that Lars and Leela belong together. However, here it is revealed that Lars is the exact same time paradox duplicate he left at Applied Cryogenics.

Pope of new religion

Further information: The Beast with a Billion Backs

After a brief relationship with Colleen, he left through the anomaly and met Yivo, they developed a relationship and Yivo took control of everyone in Universe Gamma (this universe) through tentacles in their necks. The brainwashed people joined Yivo's religion, with Fry as their new pope. Eventually they found out that the tentacles in their necks were "genticles" and that Yivo was mating with them. The religion was immediately abandoned. He was brought to live on Yivo, but was taken back by the Damned Army.

The bearer of the Die of Power

Fry took part in Planet Express' Attack on Mombil "Mine" and was taken to Cornwood by Bender's imagination. Once there, he became Frydo, and was given the duty of carrying the Die of Power and destroying it in the Geysers of Gygax. He was eventually corrupted by its power and fought Momon as a dragon. Momon won, and Cornwood was destroyed.

Fry works undercover as a security guard for Leo Wong

Saving the universe again

Further information: Into the Wild Green Yonder

In 3009, Fry was needed by the Legion of Mad Fellows to help defeat the final Dark One and stop it from wiping out all life in the entire universe. Because he lacked the Delta Brainwave, his mind could not be read, and due to an accident he could temporarily read minds. With all of creation on his shoulders, he found the Dark One by chance after believing himself to be it. However, the Dark One was only a small leech, the Violet Dwarf Star became the final Encyclopod, which gave the once extinct plants and animals to the universe and easily destroyed the last Dark One, whom Zoidberg then ate. The whole Planet Express crew flew into a wormhole, after Fry and Leela expressed their true love for each other and kissed.

Reborn

Further information: Season 6

After emerging from the Panama Wormhole, the Planet Express crew crashed just outside the company headquarters and was killed in the explosion. Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth, however, did not die, as he was using a safety sphere to protect his whole body. The Professor rebirthed his crew with the Birthing Machine. In the next few weeks, Fry helped save Earth from the V-GINY, became one of the most popular Twitcher users ever after buying Mom's eyePhone, and assisted in the passing of Proposition ∞, which legalized robosexual marriage in New New York. Philip also went to Planet Vinci with his nephew to uncover Leonardo da Vinci's shocking secret, participated in the 3010 Sith Invasion reenactment and forward-time-travelled through three different universes. In August, he witnessed the Thubanian Invasion of Earth, went to the Robo-Planetoid wherein Robots were capable of both Creation and Evolution and changed minds with Dr. John A. Zoidberg and Sweet Clyde. In September, Fry became one of the Mutant leaders of the Devolution Revolution (although he was, in fact, not mutated but was in actuality lodged in the mouth of the mutated Mr. Astor, which finally granted the sewer people their freedom with equal rights, as well as access to the surface of the city and celebrated his 100th delivery along with the rest of the Planet Express crew members. During that year, his relationship with Leela progressed largely. He also killed celebrated business consultant Dan McMasters, believing that he was a vicious alien killer.

Character description

Family

Age

Fry was frozen at age 25 for 1000 years making him 1025. Then 4 years later at age 1029 chronologically, was youthisized to age 14, reverse-aged to near unbirth, then re-aged, supposedly to his correct biological age, 29, in the fountain of aging (4ACV09). 4 years later at age 33 he went back in time and was frozen yet again for 1007.95 years making him 2040 but still biologically only 33. Based on Leela's speculation there is a chance after the fountain of aging he is less than 30: the Professor never scans them with his age detector. After the events of the fourth movie he is about 2041 years old. His biological age may have reset entirely in "Rebirth" as, unlike the others, he was reduced to only a lump of flesh and his hair before being reborn. After the events of "The Late Philip J. Fry", Fry may potentially be over 20 duodecillion(short scale) years old, having travelled through the entirety of the universe twice with Bender and Professor Farnsworth. However, the forward time machine appeared to be insulated from the passage of time outside of it, and so this has only biologically aged him a few minutes older than he should be relative to the inhabitants of the new universe.

Lars Fillmore

Main article: Lars Fillmore

In Bender's Big Score, he has a duplicate that lives in Old New York with Leelu and everyone from Fry's old, 20th-century life. He was thought to be killed by an explosion caused by an obedience virus controlled Bender, but it actually burns off his hair and damages his voice box, turning him into Lars Fillmore.

Relationships

The women at Fry's funeral, whom he had previously slept with, signing their lack of impression with his skills in bed.

(In chronological order):

Fry as a woman in " Neutopia ".

Concept art of Fry in anime style in " Reincarnation ".





Alternate appearances

This list is incomplete.

Friends/Enemies

Friends

Bender (best friend and roomate)

Enemies

Production

The character of Fry was intended as the viewer's representation in the future, with the future being presented to the audience through Fry's eyes. Fry was originally intended to have a Pocket Pal with him to explain the future for him,[2][3] though that idea was scrapped with the future being described through the events the occurred around him.[2][3] Fry's jacket is based on James Dean's outfit in Rebel Without a Cause.[4]

The story of his brother, Yancy Fry, Jr., was not an original idea from the beginning of the series, but at the same time, they avoided specifying Fry's siblings in the early episodes, to leave space for additional stories.[5] In the original storyboard to the pilot, Fry mentions having a sister, but this was abandoned in the final episode.

Name

Fry was originally set to be named Curtis, but was renamed Philip to honor Phil Hartman, a voice actor who had played several roles on The Simpsons over the years. Hartman was originally set to play Zapp Brannigan on Futurama, but died only shortly before Futurama's beginning. Within the show, Fry was named Philip by his father after Phillips screwdrivers.

Another actor who was intended to play Fry is Charlie Schlatter.

He is not to be confused with Philip J. Fry of Hovering Squid World 97A (4ACV10), his nephew Philip J. Fry II (named after him), or his time paradox duplicate who later identified himself as "Lars Fillmore."

Additional Info

Trivia

Quotes

Fry: Hey, I'm beginning to think you guys don't think I'm very smart.

Professor Farnsworth: You can barely remember your own name, Einstein.

Fry: Einstein is a hard name to remember! Leela: I'm sorry Fry, but I have to install your career chip.

Fry: Yeah, well, if you're sorry, why are you doing it? Leela: Acting like a moron won't bring your dog back.

Fry: Then all hope is lost! Fry: No I'm... doesn't! Fry: Bender! Have you seen my Sombrero? Fry: People said I was dumb, but I proved them. Fry: That's the saltiest thing I've ever tasted. And I once ate a big, heaping bowl of salt! Fry: But, but, Bender need brain... for smart making. Fry: Leela, let's turn back. There is absolutely no shame in wussing out. Fry: Did everything just taste purple for a second? Fry: Don't you worry about Planet Express, let me worry about blank. Fry: Hey, wait. I'm having one of those things. You know a headache with pictures.

Leela: An idea?

Fry: Uh! Uh! Fry: What smells like blue? Morgan: Why is there yogurt in this cap?

Fry: [He stutters.] I can explain that. Uh, see it used to be milk, and well, time makes fools of us all. Fry: I did do the nasty in the past-y. Fry: OW! My sperm! Fry: OW! My small intestine! Fry: OW! My head! OW! My feet! OW! My head! OW! My feet!

Farnsworth: Keep your chin up, Fry.

Fry: OW! My chin! Leela: Now, if you're all finished being stupid...

Fry: Well I had more but, you go ahead. Fry: I'll be whatever I wanna do. Fry: I'm literally angry with rage! Leela: I'm sorry you saw that, Fry. I usually try to keep my sadness pent up inside where it can fester quietly as a mental illness.

Fry: Yeah, I do that with my stupidness. Morbo: Are you ready to play?

Fry: I didn't come here to play, I came here to win. Now let's play! Fry: Help, police! Fry: Bender, could you smell this milk? Fry: Help! Bender's gone crazy! Also, smell this milk. Fry: You bastard! I'll kill you! YOU BASTARD! Amy: These costumes are gonna make it hard to go to the bathroom.

Fry: I'm not havin' any problem. Leela: You non-creatives can catch a bus home.

Fry: Non-creative? Ha! I'll have you know I bedazzle my own underpants. Fry: Never bet against me being stupid. Fry: Wha- what's going on? Why do I look like some stupid cartoon character? Fry: Michelle, I don't regret this, but I both rue and lament it. Fry: Fine. If it will make you happy, I'll overthrow society. Fry: There, on the screen! It's that guy you are! Farnsworth: And Fry, you've got that brain thing.

Fry: I already did! Fry: Bender, if this is some kind of scam, I don't get it. You already have my power of attorney.

Appearances

While Fry appears in every episode/film/comic, these categories may be of interest: