Ed Wuncler, Sr.

Boondocks character
name = Ed Wuncler, Sr.
picture =
gender = Male
hair = White, balding
job = Industrialist
relatives = Ed Wuncler III (grandson) Ed Wuncler, Jr. (son)
bestfriend =
interests = Money
Capitalism
Big buisness
Neo-Conservatism(possibly)
Libertarianism (possibly)
voiceactor = Ed Asner
firstepisode = "The Garden Party"

Ed Wuncler, Sr. is a fictional, wealthy industrialist and entrepreneur from the comic strip and animated television series, "The Boondocks". He bears a strong physical resemblance to American actor Ed Asner, who voices his character. Ed Wuncler, Sr. is the grandfather of Ed Wuncler III. Ed Wuncler Sr. owns nearly everything in Woodcrest — the fictional town and setting for the series — from banks to fast food restaurants. He also has strong influence with Woodcrest's police force.

Name origin

The name "Wuncler" may derive from Dr. Seuss' character "The Once-ler" (from "The Lorax"), a greedy entrepreneur who despoils the verdant fields of trees and pollutes the environment. The spelling of "Wuncler" may also be an unsubtle reference to former President George H.W. Bush, although McGruder has not said this explictitly. His grandson, who represents Bush in multiple scenarios with his companion Gin Rummy, frequently wears a large "W" pendant around his neck, making the presidential reference even more likely.

Personality

Ed Wuncler Sr.'s most predominant trait is his insatiable greed to possess more money. He sets up a business with Robert Freeman to start a restaurant which sells delicious, but addictive, food. The popularity of the restaurant has a corrosive effect on the once-friendly neighborhood. The resulting drops in property value allowed Wuncler to purchase a nearby public park (Meadowlark Park) from the state and develop the land into something profitable which, apparently, was his ultimate goal with the restaurant venture, as though he knew the negative effect the restaurant would have, made even more likely by his ominous quote in the beginning when he states that the town has made the price of the park exorbitant in order pull one over on him and that he plans to in turn pull one over on the town ("The Itis").

At one point, he tricks ten-year-old Jazmine into signing a contract that sold her lemonade stand to him for the price of a pony. She ends up working around the clock, and not only does she not get the pony, she wound up owing Wuncler some 300 dollars ("The Block is Hot"). He also used the failure of her stand to market his own brand of "cruelty-free" lemonade, just like he might have used Robert's restaurant to buy Meadowlark Memorial Park.

Moreover, he apparently "owns" the town's police force and because of that, whenever Ed Wuncler III and Gin Rummy commit criminal acts, they always get away with it.

Relationships

Robert Freeman

Whether Robert Freeman is considered a friend to Ed Wuncler, Sr. is unclear, but Wuncler did invite him to his garden party and forgave him when Riley shot Ed III out of a second story window. Wuncler and Robert also bond over a shared sense of humor and Wuncler also asks Robert to join him for a friendly drink with a toast: "To the old school Robert. Grandad: To the old school". He also sets up a new restaurant with him, but at the end of the episode, it becomes apparent he probably just used him to get ownership of land property. Still, he appears to be a regular at the Freeman's "traditional" Sunday dinner (along with the Dubois family). Moreover, Ed Wuncler Sr. has a tendency to pronounce Robert Freeman's last name as "Free Man", perhaps alluding to slavery or integration.

Ed Wuncler III and Gin Rummy

Ed Wuncler Sr. is generally unimpressed by his grandson's idiotic behavior, but apparently has high ambitions for him, mentioning how he thinks of him as the future President of the United States of America. His ownership of the Woodcrest police force allows Ed Wuncler III and Gin Rummy to escape prosecution from any unconscionable acts they may commit. Wuncler may even be the mastermind behind many of Ed III and Rummy's crimes, as the two state they were generally robbing homes to further benefit his home security business.