Talk:Stanley

Should this really be here? Even if he "appeared" in Smash Bros. Melee...ae we going to make articles on all the trophies? No. This will ge deleted if you don't give me a good reason to not delete this. Paper Jorge

He is part of the extended Marioverse though I think he belongs at DKWiki as he has only appeared in Donkey Kong 3.

Another Good reason: DK Wiki was merged with Mario Wiki :)

I heard on a different website that Stanley was Mario's cousin. Is this true? --User: Chill Guy

Hmmmm......he does resemble Mario, so maybe... 14:49, 10 December 2011 (EST)

Is Stanley the Bugman really in Greenhouse? ...And is he really "The Bugman"?
I just found out that Stanley... IS NOT the same guy as in Greenhouse! I mean it was never officially confirmed... I checked everything and it turns out: While:
 * Donkey Kong 3 arcade poster calls him "Stanley".
 * Donkey Kong 3 NES manual calls him "Stanley".
 * "Greenhouse Gorilla", the Donkey Kong 3-themed episode of the Donkey Kong cartoon calls him "Stanley".
 * His trophy in Super Smash Bros. Melee is called "Stanley" and references his only appearance as Donkey Kong 3, it doesn't state Greenhouse. It may be 'cause its a minor game, but still.
 * Greenhouse manual calls him "Fumigator" it never, ever calls him Stanley.
 * Game & Watch Gallery 2, where Greenhouse is a museum game, and Game & Watch Gallery 3, where it's playable, always talk in second person, both on the manual and in in-game instruction, thus keeping him unnamed (technically being referred to as "you").
 * Game & Watch Collection manual's section about Greenhouse calls him "The person with the spray".

(I posted scans/screenshots of everything here: ) The only thing I couldn't effort is the manual for Game & Watch Gallery 4, where Greenhouse is playable, but he's not named in in-game instructions. So, as you can see, he's always called "Stanley" in DK3, but NEVER in Greenhouse! And if you look at them they even have a different appearance! Ok, the graphics are not the best, but Stanley wears overalls and no cap, while "Fumigator" wears cap and no overalls! So why people believed he's the same? The game was basically the same, only without DK, so everyone assumed he's the same guy, but is that enough? If I missed anything let me know. So assuming I'm right, should we split this page into 2 characters? No way, it wouldn't make sense to have the "Fumigator" page; should we remove the Greenhouse page not being part of the Marioverse anymore? No, we have pages for other G&W games that only have a "Modern" version in G&W Gallery and a SSB move, such as Oil Panic. My suggestion is leaving everything as it is, except changing his "Greenhouse" section into like "the main character in the game might be Stanley", and removing his name from the Greenhouse page, but adding like "the character from this game might be Stanley". I didn't directly do it waiting for your response. What do you guys think?

Additionally, after reading everything through I noticed one thing: he's only named "Stanley"! Where is he ever called "the Bugman"? If it's just to identify him, the page should be renamed into Stanley (Donkey Kong 3), the same way Stanley the Boo was renamed Stanley (Paper Mario). (let alone that "Bugman" is not even an efficient way to call him, he should be "Stanley the Exterminator").--Kombatgod (talk) 22:17, 20 March 2013 (EDT)


 * In the Greenhouse's case, we should probably relocate this part of the article to trivia since he has never appeared there. I don't know when Stanley is called Stanley the Bugman, since the only time I've seen him is in Melee, and again, he's called simply "Stanley". 23:49, 20 March 2013 (EDT)


 * I think I'll edit everything soon. Respond here if you disagree.--Kombatgod (talk) 15:28, 12 January 2014 (EST)
 * This commercial implies that the character in Greenhouse really IS Stanley. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ss3gZ6yV79c Zakor1138 (talk) 00:54, 16 November 2014 (EST)
 * "Implies" though. We need more unambiguous evidence than that. 01:39, 16 November 2014 (EST)
 * True, but the commercial supposedly aired in 1983, while the G&W Donkey Kong 3 was released the following year. Zakor1138 (talk) 01:47, 16 November 2014 (EST)
 * Also, Stanley looks exactly like the Fumigator. Zakor1138 (talk) 01:48, 16 November 2014 (EST)
 * Hm, but that's not my point. One manual calls him the Fumigator while a manual for Game & Watch collection refers to the character as the generic "the person" as in "move the person to this and that". While this evidence is not as definite as I like it to be, it's clearer than the commercial. And no, the Fumigator doesn't look exactly like Stanley. 01:51, 16 November 2014 (EST)
 * I meant in the commercial. I know what Stanley looks like. Zakor1138 (talk) 01:53, 16 November 2014 (EST)
 * Hm, I've made a compromise about this. I made a "possible appearances" section, although I think there is more and better evidence pointing against the guy in Greenhouse's being Stanley. Nevertheless, I guess the commercial does qualify as official media in some way, but manuals are a much better source than commercials. 01:58, 16 November 2014 (EST)

In response to the debate over the "Bugman" name
I have found an official promotional blurb from Nintendo of America that refers to this character as "Stanley the bugman". This excerpt from Nintendo Fun Club describing Return of Donkey Kong uses the bugman name. I have not yet found any other official material which references this name, but in response to the above debate over its legitimacy, "Stanley the bugman" is a perfectly legitimate epithet for this character.


 * An addendum: "Stanley the Bugman" is also used on page 16 of the Mario Mania Player's Guide. Thanks to User:UltraMario3000 for noticing this first!

Article name
Let's see, we now have four citations for "Stanley the Bugman," which is also what he's known as by everybody who has ever heard of him. We also have a rule for "if better name exists for name with identifiers, use that instead based off of community decision." I think the page can be moved back now. Doc von Schmeltwick (talk) 00:06, 22 December 2017 (EST)
 * I found a "Stanley the bugman" in the NES instruction manual. I support moving this article back now that five sources confirm the bugman appellation. Bugman disambiguates him from other characters with the same name and it is how he is commonly known.--Platform (talk) 08:02, 5 December 2018 (EST)
 * We have more citations for "Stanley the bugman" than we do for "Stanley the Bugman" (and one of the two for the latter has "Donkey Kong Sr." in the same sentence, which I don't entirely trust given that guide also revitalized the Cranky Kong confusion). Bugman seems like it was supposed to his job description than a real name, considering the character's appearance as a trophy in Super Smash Bros. Melee and recently as a spirit in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate both go with "Stanley". LinkTheLefty (talk) 09:00, 7 December 2018 (EST)

In response to
I'm referring to the "Stanley the bugman or Stanley the Bugman" bit, which I think should be worded in a less redundant way. RickTommy (talk) 08:15, March 22, 2019 (EDT)
 * It has to be worded that way, as the opening sentence should say the subject's other official names, which in this case are Stanley the bugman and Stanley the Bugman. It is not redundant in the slightest. 09:00, March 22, 2019 (EDT)
 * Oh yes it is. The sole difference is the capitalisation of one letter. RickTommy (talk) 09:32, March 22, 2019 (EDT)
 * I don't think "redundant" is the right word you're looking for... 09:44, March 22, 2019 (EDT)
 * They still are different official names, and thus should and need to be noted in the first sentence. 10:08, March 22, 2019 (EDT)
 * No they're not. They're the same name with different capitalisation. RickTommy (talk) 10:17, March 22, 2019 (EDT)
 * Again, they're not redundant. Different capitalizations still need to be noted. 10:22, March 22, 2019 (EDT)
 * Well, how about something along the lines of "Bugman (with varying capitalisation)".
 * Oh, and did I mention that the difference is not obvious to casuals? RickTommy (talk) 10:32, March 22, 2019 (EDT)
 * They both stay, we note the different capitalization. 10:36, March 22, 2019 (EDT)
 * The capitalization denotes whether or not it's considered a proper noun, which is important. Doc von Schmeltwick (talk) 16:42, March 22, 2019 (EDT)

Proof Greenhouse Fumigator is Stanley the Bugman
The first piece of evidence is from a July 1989 Game & Watch catalog from Nintendo of Japan. Green House appears on page 3 and it says, "Stanley the Bugman battles creepy, crawly creatures."

The second proof comes from a Nintendo of America print ad. It reads, "There's MULTI SCREEN GREENHOUSE. With Stanley the Bugman fighting masses of creepy, crawly creatures." I could not find a higher resolution image but the three games showcased in the ad came out in October, November, and December 1982. The next G&W release, Donkey Kong II, would not come out until March 1983. It's extremely likely the ad dates between that time as it says "NINTENDO is committed to making ... games for 1983". That also makes it the earliest known mention of Stanley, predating the G&W TV ad which aired in the summer of '83 (and the release of DK3 which came out October '83). I suspect there are a lot more ads out there we haven't taken a look at.

The argument that Greenhouse Stanley and DK3 Stanley don't look alike doesn't hold up. Early characters went through many changes. Mario's appearance didn't stabilize until around The Lost Levels while Pauline went through more radical redesigns. Here are Greenhouse Stanley's other appearances: and alternative Greenhouse box art.

If you agree with me, then the article also needs to be renamed as DK3 is no longer Stanley's first appearance. It would either have to be renamed Stanley (Greenhouse) or Stanley the Bugman. Personally, I am in favor of the latter.--Platform (talk) 10:49, October 1, 2021 (EDT)
 * Update: The second proof's print ad is dated to February 1983. It was used for the New York Toy Fair. This makes it the earliest known appearance of Stanley the Bugman's name.--Platform (talk) 10:25, October 4, 2021 (EDT)

Another alternative is to rename this article Stanley. We delete the Stanley disambiguation page and add on top. This article should have greater priority.--Platform (talk) 07:30, October 5, 2021 (EDT)