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Specifics: NOW and Marvel U.K. comics

The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man is a former enemy turned ally of the Ghostbusters and Slimer.

For more information of the movie version of this character, go to the movie article.

For discussion on theories about the animated version of this character, go to the Talk page.

History[]

Primary Canon[]

The Real Ghostbusters[]

After the Ghostbusters defeated Gozer and saved the world, they returned to the Firehouse covered in remnants of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. They quickly changed into their new uniforms. Egon Spengler stressed the old uniforms had to be destroyed because they absorbed a frightening amount of P.K.E. in the battle. Peter Venkman procrastinated and forgot about it. He left them in a box by the newly completed Containment Unit. Energy leaked out of the unit through an unseen crack and was absorbed into the uniforms. Soon, the Spectral Ghostbusters manifested and they attempted, but failed, to take the Ghostbusters' place.

During the Sandman bust, one of his dream by-products took the form of Stay Puft. As they avoided getting crushed, the Ghostbusters noticed that this version of Stay Puft is the by-product of a boy dreaming with a bag of Stay Puft Marshmallows in his possession.

At some later point, the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man was placed in the Containment Unit, though he was accidentally released by Egon's skeptical uncle Cyrus. The antagonistic Stay Puft initially marched after Cyrus, Janine, and Slimer as they ran outside to Ecto-1. Citizens started to notice Stay Puft and ran away. Egon knew they couldn't capture him with the Trap but Winston Zeddemore suggested they use several. Winston drove faster to get far enough away from Stay Puft. Egon took charge and had a cable tied to Ecto's bumper. Four to five Traps were laid out on the ground and Egon ordered Cyrus to drive Ecto forward and tighten the cable when he gave the signal. When Stay Puft appeared, he started going in the opposite direction but Egon got Stay Puft's attention by calling him "Fatboy." Stay Puft, with an angry look, turned around and headed for them. Cyrus complied and the cable tripped Stay Puft. He fell right on the Traps. The Ghostbusters opened fire on Stay Puft then opened the Traps and recaptured him. Cyrus realized what Egon was up against and released him from a promise to help out at Spengler Laboratories in the Midwest.

After the end of a supernatural drought and a stint as "Crimebusters", Stay Puft (having somehow escaped the Containment Unit) followed the Ghostbusters through the city without them noticing at first. He was eventually returned to the Containment Unit once more.

The Ghostbusters were too busy working at the Deadcon 1 convention undercover to think clearly after they were called by Janine Melnitz. Ray Stantz told her to do whatever the Deadcon Ghost Delegates asked. Stay Puft Marshmallow Man was released by Janine after she received an invite for him to attend Deadcon 1 as a guest of honor. The other Ghostbusters glared at Ray after Stay Puft arrived at Plump Towers. As Stay Puft practiced his speech, Ray and Peter eavesdropped on Deadcon 1's banquet and learned they wanted to initiate doomsday. The Ghostbusters captured all attendees of Deadcon and prevented their apocalypse agenda. They remembered Stay Puft while driving home and braked. Stay Puft was awarded the Best Costume Award by the American Association for the Advancement of Oral Hygiene (AAAOH), dentists who were holding their own convention at the same time. Stay Puft proceeded with his speech.

Some time later, the Ghostbusters reluctantly released him to fight a giant monster taking the form of Murray the Mantis that had been spawned from a possessed Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon. Egon considered a constant half-life breakdown rate for all ectoplasmic entities and cross calculated with the known P.K.E. pulse. He concluded Murray could have a life energy as high as Gozer's. Winston suggested their only choice was to release Stay Puft. Back at the Firehouse, Egon calculated Murray's energy level at 45 times 10 to the 14th power Mega Watts. Winston once again stated they needed Stay Puft. Egon implored Slimer to help but he refused. Peter promised Slimer a mini fridge, ice cream delivered every day, a crate of donuts, and a Diner's Club Card. Slimer agreed and kissed Peter then entered the Containment Unit. Soon enough, the newly completed airlock of the Containment Unit exploded and P.K.E. surged out of the Firehouse's roof into the sky. The energy formed into the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. Despite the reservations of the city authorities, Peter assured them that Stay Puft was "all better now" suggesting some rehabilitation had occurred. Stay Puft met Murray in Central Park and a fight soon broke out. Egon ordered Slimer to have Stay Puft coax Murray into the alley between two buildings. Ecto-2 landed in the alley. The Ghostbusters opened fire on Murray while Stay Puft held him in the crossfire. Soon enough, Murray exploded. Stay Puft and Ecto-1 were a little charred from the ordeal. Stay Puft took Murray's place in the Thanksgiving Day Parade as a substitute float.

The Ghostbusters wanted to help a hospital in financial distress. The hospital needed $50,000 to save the children's ward. Marty Tillis, President of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Company, approached the Ghostbusters and explained he wanted to use the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man for a commercial for Stay Puft Marshmallows. Everyone was reluctant to give their consent. Tillis offered to pay them $50,000 if all went well and he'd invite the children from the hospital to watch the filming. The Ghostbusters accepted the offer. The Ghostbusters silently volunteered Slimer to go into the Containment Unit and find Stay Puft. He eventually agreed to do it for the children. Slimer eventually found Stay Puft and told him about the situation. Stay Puft agreed to help and walked to the Containment Unit grid, unaware that a ghost called the Phantom had sneaked underneath his collar. Egon remotely opened a Trap outside the Firehouse and let out the three ghosts. Egon then turned on a homing signal to that would lead Stay Puft to the site of the commercial. Peter radioed Tillis to apprise him of their progress. As Stay Puft followed Ecto-1, the Phantom made its presence known and started to harass Stay Puft. Phantom then scorched the roof of Ecto-1. Stay Puft got annoyed and swiped at the Phantom, causing all sorts of property damage. Phantom kidnapped Slimer and Stay Puft chased after Phantom but got stuck between two buildings. Egon and Ray went into the alley blind and got cornered by Phantom. Luckily, Peter and Winston were topside aboard Ecto-2 and fired on the ghost. Slimer was released during the firefight as well.

Back in Ecto-1, the guys fired a giant lasso onto Stay Puft. Slimer then greased up the big guy with some slime. Ecto-1 went into reverse and managed to tow Stay Puft out of his bind. Back at the set, Tillis became concerned about the Ghostbusters, they were past due. Egon worked to modify the homing signal and made it stronger. It worked and they all arrived at Battery Park, where the commercial set was awaiting them. Down below in the sewers, the Phantom used his pyrokinetic powers and melted the street above. Ecto-1 and Stay Puft got stuck in the hot tar. Phantom then flew past Ecto and wielded the doors shut. It then manned a construction crew and tossed Ecto-1 into the harbor waters. Winston activated the car's water craft and they surfaced. Stay Puft took the crane and snagged Phantom's tail with it. Slimer manned the crane and reeled it in. The Ghostbusters regrouped and trapped it. Tillis was ecstatic at the action and his cameraman recorded it all. After Slimer kissed each Ghostbuster, Tillis cut a check for $50,000 and handed it to Dr. Perkins. They looked on as the children played with Stay Puft and Slimer licked him on the cheek.

When the Halloween Deal was broken, a manifestation of Stay Puft was among Boogaloo's army of ghosts. It was seen dancing with Boogaloo and his forces in Times Square.

At some point after the Vigo incident, Janine and Louis Tully were kidnapped by a ghost named Poso and held ransom for the Ghostbusters' business. Remembering that they trapped one of Poso's associates, Shifter, the Ghostbusters sent Slimer into the Containment Unit to retrieve him. During his time in the Containment Unit Universe, Slimer ran into Stay Puft, who was was playing with a yo-yo the same size as he was. Initially unaware of Slimer, Stay Puft almost hit him with the yo-yo before noticing and greeting him. Slimer continued on and extracted Shifter.

Secondary Canon[]

The Real Ghostbusters Pilot[]

Stay Puft Marshmallow Man and a horde of ghosts haunted New York City. Slimer ate Stay Puft Marshmallows and Ray Stantz, with his Stay Puft doll, was woken up from his sleep. Stay Puft grabbed Peter and Ray, "saving" them from an incoming subway train. He smiled at the delight of holding them in his hand until a Skeleton Pilot Ghost riding an airplane flew by and snatched them from him.

Marvel Comics U.K.[]

Gozer, the Destroyer, a demon came to Earth to signify the end of the world. It asked the Ghostbusters to choose the form of the Avenger. They kept their minds blank, except Ray. A slip in concentration led to the creation of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. They triumphed over Gozer and Stay Puft and saved the world. Ashura The Destroyer teleported to the Firehouse and told Janine a lie about destroying the Ghostbusters. He claimed to have turned into the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man and destroyed Egon. Janine became suspicious because it was Ray who was hung on the entity. She asked Ashura what Egon's last words were. Ashura nervously replied, "I want my mummy!" Janine knew he was lying because she knew Egon would say "This usually doesn't happen." Janine realized he was lying about destroying the others, too. She ordered Ashura to get into a Trap.

On Tuesday, November 15, 1988, Egon was a guest speaker at the 13th annual Congress for the Research, Experimentation, and Evaluation of the Paranormal (C.R.E.E.P.). During the question-and-answer session, Egon was asked what was the most dangerous thing he ever faced. Egon answered it was the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, the massive host body summoned by Gozer. Hubert Dangerfield, of the Idaho chapter of the International Ghostfinder's Brotherhood, asked how Gozer was summoned. Egon believed it was probably done with the Fifth Incantation of Baskshadaskidaskerok. Dangerfield remembered it but got carried away and said it out loud. Gozer, in the form of Stay Puft, manifested in the room and began growing in size and power. When it was 12 feet, Winston grabbed his pack and destroyed Stay Puft. On Thursday, March 30, 1989, Egon and Winston were invited to Hamstrung International's California headquarters. The Series G Ectodyne Simulation Generator was demonstrated to them. Roger Bollinger, the chief technician, made a holographic computer simulation of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. Gozer possessed the simulation and grabbed Bollinger. Egon realized they couldn't use their Proton Packs against it. Winston simply pressed the terminal key and crashed the memory banks. Stay Puft vanished but $14 million worth of microchips were ruined, 18 video terminals worth the size of a European country each blew up, over $8 billion worth of parapsychological data was lost, and Bollinger sprained an ankle after he was dropped.

Somehow, some of Stay Puft's residue got into a jar of Stay Puft Marshmallow Fluff and ended up in the Firehouse. Janine made herself a sandwich, but Peter swiped it. He took a bite and was bit back by the sandwich, now an entity called Monster Munch. It chased Peter throughout the Firehouse only to be eaten by Slimer in the basement. The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man manifested in the New York sewers with revenge on its mind. It made its way through the sewers in search of the Firehouse. It reached its destination just as several gallons of proton rich coolant water was dumped from the Containment Unit's coolant system into the sewers. Stay Puft was drenched and reduced to component ectoplasmic atoms then swept down the tunnels. During the first anniversary of the Ghostbusters defeating Stay Puft, a statue was unveiled their honor at Central Park. Stay Puft manifested underground and rose up. Ray tied some rope from Egon to trees then yelled at Stay Puft to follow him to a free bar with go-go dancers. Stay Puft tripped on the rope and cracked the ice rink. They opened fire on him. Egon instructed them to cause a plutonic inversion explosion. Peter hit a baseball into Stay Puft's mouth. The negative ion field created by the inversion reacted to the ball's stable mass. The ball imploded then exploded with the force of a small bomb, destroying Stay Puft again.

Gas workers in London unearthed a chest containing the Torc of Morrigan. They opened it and Morrigan fed on people's fears to generate a Fear Field. The Ghostbusters were called into deal with the epidemic. They chased after Morrigan up the Telecom Tower. Egon realized sub-sonics were at play to manipulate people into thinking of their fears. He advised everyone to think of nice things and warned Ray not to. It was too late, Morrigan generated the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. After Morrigan grabbed Ray, Egon realized the Torc was keeping her anchored in their world. They opened fire on the Torc, now around Stay Puft's neck, and blew him up. They threw the Torc back in the chest to defeat Morrigan and save Ray from being possessed. A demon war broke out in Central Park, many demons left Hell to join the battle. After ending the war, the Ghostbusters realized Stay Puft was heading towards Broadway and gave chase.

Stay Puft was content with torturing demons and displaced ghosts in the Lower Levels of the Sixth Circle. The Ghostbusters got a call about a haunted bakery but Ray encountered Stay Puft, bigger and stronger than ever. He marched on Fifth Avenue towards Central Park. They took off after it in Ecto-1. They drove to the Brooklyn Bridge and opened fire on Stay Puft then suddenly withdrew. Stay Puft fell on his face. They fired again. Stay Puft tried to roll out of the way but fell right into the river and dissolved. Evor Chandelier, a boxing promoter, summoned Stay Puft from the top of the Shandor Building once Uranus was in place and challenged the Ghostbusters to a rematch. They animated the Statue of Liberty like in the Vigo incident to fight in their place. After several rounds, the Statue was starting to crack. They dropped a Proton Pack onto one of its gloves to give it a power boost. It punched out Stay Puft. Stay Puft's face dissolved and its ectoplasmic residue rained down on Chandelier.

NOW Comics[]

WAKO-TV was taken over by ghosts and the programming was altered at The Nameless One's command. It was a ruse to lure the Ghostbusters to the TV station. Janine braved watching the channel and saw a program that depicted Slimer, armed with a Proton Pack, saving the Ghostbusters from the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.

Personality[]

The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man was initially a seemingly hostile entity, likely due to when it was a Destructor Form for Gozer. Starting in "The Revenge of Murray the Mantis", Stay Puft has become a kind giant that seems to respect and like the Ghostbusters, to the extent that he once states all of them are his friends.[6] He can be very child friendly as shown in "Sticky Business" but is a free spirit still.

Stay Puft's vocabulary was inconsistent throughout the series. In "Cry Uncle" and "The Revenge of Murray the Mantis", he could not speak and communicated with grunts and growls. This was contradicted in the "Deadcon 1" and "Sticky Business" when he was shown to be able to speak fluent English. On another note, in "Sticky Business", Stay Puft's grammar was inconsistent. Some of the sentences he said had perfect grammar, such as "I don't like being stuck" and some did not, such as "Me hate Phantom. He bad dude!"

Classification[]

Secondary Canon[]

Marvel Comics U.K.[]

Stay Puft is a Class 6 free-roaming phantasm and a Servitor.[7]

Extreme Ghostbusters Official Website[]

Stay Puft is stated to be a Class 10.

Trivia[]

  • A doll of Stay Puft appears in many episodes being held by either Ray or Slimer.
  • The Ghostbusters and Slimer often refer to him as "The Big Guy."
  • Stay Puft is the only ghost from both movies other than Slimer to receive a toy in the original Kenner toyline for the Real Ghostbusters.
  • In both the the pilot and first intro of the show, Stay Puft could be trapped using a single Trap. However, in "Cry Uncle", Stay Puft had to be trapped by multiple Traps together due to his massive size.[8][9]
  • In "Apocalypse - - What, Now?", there is an advertisement for Stay Puft Marshmallows on the TV screen during the Special Report. The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man mascot appears in the ad.
  • In "Rollerghoster", the Ecto-1 roller coaster features artwork of Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.
  • On page 24 of The Real Ghostbusters Volume 1 Issue #9, Stay Puft appears on a billboard for Stay Puft Marshmallows.
  • On page 7 of The Real Ghostbusters Volume 1 Issue #10, Stay Puft appears on a store sign for Stay Puft Marshmallows.
  • On page 15 of The Real Ghostbusters Annual 1990, Winston is attacked by a toy Stay Puft.
  • In "Jailbusters", the Prosecutor ghost shows the Ghostbusters a photo of Stay Puft.
  • Though he neither appeared nor was mentioned in Extreme Ghostbusters, he is mentioned the now inactive Extreme Ghostbusters Official Website, in the chart in the Spengler's Spirit Guide's Ghostbusting 101 Part II: The Ghost Classification System, albeit with his name misspelled "Sta-Puft".
  • On the subscription cover of Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #13, Stay Puft makes a non-canon cameo.
  • On the subscription cover of Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #16, Stay Puft makes a non-canon cameo behind Ecto-1.
  • On Page 7 of Ghostbusters Annual 2017, in panel 4, the lower half of Stay Puft makes a non-canon cameo.

Appearances[]

Primary Canon[]

The Real Ghostbusters[]

Secondary Canon[]

The Real Ghostbusters[]

Note[]

Marvel Comics Ltd[]

NOW Comics[]

IDW Comics[]

References[]

  1. Marsha Goodman (1986). Episode Call Sheet and SAG Report - "Cry Uncle" (1986).
  2. Marsha Goodman (1986). Episode Call Sheet and SAG Report - "Deadcon 1" (1986).
  3. Marsha Goodman (1986). Episode Call Sheet and SAG Report - "The Revenge of Murray the Mantis" (1986).
  4. Marsha Goodman (1989). Episode Call Sheet and SAG Report - "Partners in Slime" (1989).
  5. Marsha Goodman (1987). Episode Call Sheet and SAG Report - "Sticky Business" (1987).
  6. Peter Venkman (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "The Revenge of Murray the Mantis" (1987) (DVD ts. 15:31-15:34). Time Life Entertainment. Peter says: "Yeah! And he's all better now. We think."
  7. Narrator (1990). Marvel Comics Ltd.- "The Real Ghostbusters Annual 1990" (1990) (Comic p.22). Narrator says: "Class Six. Major free-roaming phantasms such as the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man, or any demonic Servitor of a similar type."
  8. Egon Spengler (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "Cry Uncle" (1987) (DVD ts. 19:15-19:18). Time Life Entertainment. Egon says: "He's too big for the Ghost Traps we have with us."
  9. Winston Zeddemore (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "Cry Uncle" (1987) (DVD ts. 19:18-19:19). Time Life Entertainment. Winston says: "By themselves, yes."
  10. Mayor Lenny (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "Adventures in Slime and Space" (1987) (DVD ts. 11:51-11:55). Time Life Entertainment. Mayor says: "First, Terror Dogs. Then a walking marshmallow. Now this!"
  11. Ray Stantz (2009).The Real Ghostbusters- "Short Stuff" (1988) (DVD ts. 02:20-02:23). Time Life Entertainment. Ray says: "Remember the good old days? Stay Puft. The Sandman."
  12. Ashura The Destroyer (1988). Marvel Comics Ltd.- "The Real Ghostbusters Issue #15" (1988) (Comic p.5). Ashura The Destroyer says: "Finally, I turned into the thing, Egon feared most... The Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man... you should have seen his stupid scientific face... ha ha ha!"
  13. Janine Melnitz (1988). Marvel Comics Ltd.- "The Real Ghostbusters Issue #15" (1988) (Comic p.5). Janine Melnitz says: "Hang on a minute... it was Ray who was hung up on the Stay Puft Man, not Egon... if that's true, what were his last words."
  14. Narrator (1989). Marvel Comics Ltd.- "The Real Ghostbusters Issue #48" (1989) (Comic p.13). Narrator says: "Anyway, somehow a very small trace of Mr. Staypuft's ectoplasmic residue had found it's way into that jar, and when it was released onto a sandwich, it had mayhem on it's mind."
  15. Narrator (1990). Marvel Comics Ltd.- "The Real Ghostbusters Issue #100" (1990) (Comic p.12). Narrator says: "There was a muffled roar from somewhere off Broadway."
  16. Peter Venkman (1990). Marvel Comics Ltd.- "The Real Ghostbusters Annual 1990" (1990) (Comic p.33). Peter Venkman says: "Ray... don't you dare! Don't think of the Stay-Puft Man!"
  17. Narrator (1990). Marvel Comics Ltd.- "The Real Ghostbusters Annual 1990" (1990) (Comic p.42). Narrator says: "I speak, of course, of the giant Mr. Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man."
  18. Narrator (1990). Marvel Comics Ltd.- "The Real Ghostbusters Annual 1990" (1990) (Comic p.42). Narrator says: "In Gozer's case, Zuul made the containing form, or Servitor Race, in the shape of The Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man."
  19. Narrator (1990). Marvel Comics Ltd.- "The Real Ghostbusters Annual 1990" (1990) (Comic p.42). Narrator says: "In the case of Mr. Stay-Puft, the Ghostbusters arrived in time and the rest, and Gozer, is history."

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Primary Canon[]

Secondary Canon[]

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