Arnold Markdown

“	Unfortunately for you, I’ve exchanged your attack… FOR ONE OF EQUAL OR LESSER VALUE!	”
—Arnold Markdown, "All's Well That Ends Well"

Arnold Markdown is a frugal and snooty Banzai Vice Principal in the criminal organization known as the Banzai Blasters, who was paired with Bugsy Pugsler to raid the tiny backwoods town of Redwood Run. After a brief encounter with detective Percy King and the subsequent retreat of Bugsy, the police officer captured and interrogated him for Bugsy's location. Later, he was fully incarcerated, along with the rest of his Banzai group, by the Sweet Jazz City Police Department.

Arnold's epithet, Coupon, allows him to convert coupon deals into actual status enhancements for his allies.

Appearance[edit | edit source]

Arnold is an adult man of average height with light brown skin. He has striped white streaks that run through his slicked black hair, resembling a barcode. Arnold also wears rectangular glasses and keeps a pencil perched above his left ear. He wears a green-gray turtleneck sweater underneath his yellow Banzai Blaster outfit. The outfit has yellow diamond-shaped shoulder pads and a zipper running down the chest, with the Banzai Blaster logo as its slider. As a Banzai Vice Principal, Arnold wears the associated white "cartoon" gloves and a green-gray fanny pack around his waist. He also wears white boots similar to those seen on all Banzai Blasters.

He is 5'8"^[1] and his black and white striped hair is natural.

Personality[edit | edit source]

Arnold holds high regard for himself and belittles anyone below his rank, even mistreating his minions due to their undying loyalty.

He is a shopper obsessed with savvy dealings and savings of his coupons. But, this can be a fatal logical weakness. Without his coupons, he panics and whines. Ramsey Murdoch also psychologically manipulated Arnold by offering him coupons or financial savings.

History[edit | edit source]

Past[edit | edit source]

Arnold was born in Sweet Jazz City, Taiga Country.^[2] He joined the criminal organization known as the Banzai Blasters, and was eventually promoted to the rank of Vice Principal. Sometime afterward, he and fellow Vice Principal Bugsy Pugsler were assigned to raid the small rundown town of Redwood Run.^[3]

Western Arc[edit | edit source]

During the raid, Arnold and Bugsy Pugsler encountered Giovanni Potage, who had just left the Redwood Run Police Station to turn in the Arsene Amulet to the Banzai Baron. When they noticed the amulet in his hands, the two began to belittle Giovanni sheerly because of his rank. Arnold ordered Giovanni to hand it over to them. Reasonably upset, Giovanni complained that he had earned the amulet fair and square, afterward reinforcing they couldn't just take their minion's hard work. Arnold then responded that minions are tools, which deeply upset the captain. After Bugsy taunted Giovanni over where his minions were, the two crowded their Banzai Team around him. Seeing the distinct lack of Potage's lackeys, Arnold stated that they were simply the better villains before he ordered the Blasters to attack Giovanni.^[3]

After thoroughly beating Giovanni, Arnold complemented Bugsy on the stolen necklace around his neck. The two laughed in the wake of a possible promotion. Suddenly, Giovanni interrupted their guffawing by saying that the two weren't villains but jerks. Arnold stared at the captain, explaining that cheating and other selfish behaviors were how people of note moved up the ranks and why idiots stayed minions. In contempt of Arnold, Giovanni angrily announced his resignation from the Banzai Blasters. As he turned to leave, he remembered that his ride had not arrived yet. Ashamedly, he headed towards the tavern, causing Arnold and his fellow Blasters to laugh at the red-haired former captain before they left the scene themselves.^[3]

Later, Arnold and Bugsy entered the tavern and found Percival King, who had failed to arrest Giovanni, surrounded by their Banzai Blasters. After Bugsy briefly attempted to intimidate the detective, Arnold also tried to intimate her, saying she was surrounded and outnumbered. However, Percy paid no mind to their threats. She constructed a wizard tower to stop the Banzai Blasters' bullets magnetically. Arnold then cockily stated that she was still outnumbered and barked an order for his Blasters to attack her, the Blasters charging at her in response.^[4]

After a brief brawl, Howdy Morning entered the fight and shot his soup shotgun at Arnold. Arnold stared at the soup heading for his face, confused. Bugsy then pushed him out of the way and ate it. Seeing this, the Banzai Blasters hid under tables to cover themselves from Bugsy's upcoming use of his ability. The vice principal then used his epithet to shoot an ice blast at Percy's wizard tower, destroying it. After Bugsy briefly explained his powers, Arnold used his epithet to give the other vice principal a '2 for 1' deal. The coupon allowed Bugsy to fire another ice blast, freezing Percy's arm. Arnold bragged about his powers before the townies previously occupying the bar fled. Arnold then asked Bugsy if they should go after them, but the overweight principal kept their attention on Percy.^[4]

As the two made their way from the front of the tavern to the police officer, Ramsey Murdoch stood between them and threatened them with his box of crayons. Arnold taunted the artist before Bugsy pushed Ramsey out of their way. They continued their march when Ramsey threw his crayons at Bugsy, harming him. Arnold then used his epithet to exchange Ramsey's attack for one of equal or lesser value, consequentially healing Bugsy. Bugsy then consumed the crayons and coughed up a pile of rubber ducks, causing Arnold to stammer. Arnold was even more confused after Bugsy ate another shot of Howdy's soup shotgun, only for it to burn his mouth. Giovanni then revealed himself, pushed Bugsy over, and taunted the Blasters, causing Arnold to stutter even further. Giovanni mocked the vice principal and attempted to recruit his Blasters. Arnold tried to regain control of the situation, flipping through his coupons to see if they could apply to any of his minions. Annoyed, Giovanni spilled soup onto them, briefly stopping Arnold.^[4]

Erratic, Arnold checked up on Bugsy, who irately told him to continue the fight. Arnold then barked at the Blasters to get out from under the tables, calling them cowards. He tried to rally them by again bragging about his epithet's abilities, only to realize he had used most of his beneficial coupons early on. Seeing a worried Arnold looking through his catalog, Ramsey nonchalantly turned his coupons to gold, utterly defeating Arnold. Bugsy, reading the room, then selfishly retreated, causing Arnold to throw insults at him as he left the tavern. Suddenly, Arnold was held at sword point while the remaining Blasters followed Bugsy. The vice principal tried to escape himself, but Ramsey merely tripped him.^[4]

While down, Percy cuffed Arnold and asked where Bugsy would have gone. Despite Bugsy's betrayal, Arnold stayed loyal, telling her nothing. However, Ramsey convinced Howdy to promote one of the tavern's meal deals. Arnold, entranced by the thoughts of savings, then gave up Bugsy and told the two that he and the other vice principal planned to leave Redwood via the train station. He then beckoned Howdy to hand him his deal, to which the bartender complied. Percy and Murdoch then gave chase, keeping Arnold under the surveillance of Howdy and explicitly ordering him to keep Arnold in his sigh. However, once the two left the tavern, Howdy grabbed his shotgun, reasoning that being blind meant he couldn't see Arnold. Arnold gulped in terror as the bartender did so.^[4]

Hours later, Arnold was led into the back of a cruiser by a Sweet Jazz City police officer and sent to prison.^[5]

Non-Canon[edit | edit source]

TWO-LOWEEN[edit | edit source]

As part of his parole after his arrest in Redwood Run, Arnold worked as the cashier for a costume store. While shopping for a costume, Ramsey Murdoch teased him about the role before Arnold vented about his job, complaining that customers don't care about their wallets whatsoever. He continued, ranting on about customers not using any coupons or using the savings at the bottom of their receipts. Arnold then left to assist Sylvester Ashling in buying a giant bag of Halloween raisins.^[6]

Abilities[edit | edit source]

Epithet: Coupon[edit | edit source]

Arnold carries many coupons that he can use to enhance his allies in various ways magically. However, tampering with the barcodes in any way renders the coupons useless, this includes turning them into gold.^[4]

2 for 1: When Arnold uses this, it can repeat his ally's last attack.^[4]
Heal Up: When Arnold uses this, it can heal for the same amount of damage that his allies gain (or less).^[4]
Strength Up: When Arnold uses this, it can give his allies the power of five men. But, it will only work if four or more people attack simultaneously.^[4]

Equipment[edit | edit source]

Banzai Vice Principal Uniform: The cosmetics he has chosen is a scarf and a fanny pack to hold the coupons from his epithet.

Trivia[edit | edit source]

General[edit | edit source]

His hair is a barcode. Scanning it at a grocery store will get you the secret prize of being thrown out.^[4]
In-universe, he is Deepwood-raced.^[7]
Arnold is gay.^[7]
- Brendan Blaber was initially unsure, and couldn't guarantee that it would first come up in the show.^[8]
Arnold and Molly Blyndeff are Jello's favorite characters from the Epithet Erased cast.^[9]
Arnold could print and use his coupons. But, they would not save him any money if he opened a store as he would have to pay for the merchandise stock.^[10]
If, by some miracle, Arnold reaches Nova class, then everything is free!^[11]
If Bugsy Pugsler and Arnold had succeeded in delivering the Amulet to Banzai upper management and gotten promoted, only Arnold would have moved up a rank.^[12]
His height is 5'8"^[1]
His birthday is January 1.^[1] This makes him a Capricorn.
His favorite animal is the skunk.^[1]
His favorite food is free samples.^[1]
His likes are birdwatching and small collectibles like coins & stamps.^[1]
On Twitter, Jello said, "Arnold seems like the kind of person who's room is covered top to bottom with painstakingly organized collectibles and he spends most of his time waiting on internet auctions to snipe more of them at low prices."^[1]
On Twitter, Jello joked, "In his old age Arnold will be visited by three ghosts who will tell him to stop being such a cheapskate and instead of listening to them he'll ask if he can exchange them for better ghosts of equal or lesser value." ^[13]

Adaption from Anime Campaign[edit | edit source]

In the original Anime Campaign, Arnold is an officer of Bliss Ocean and a rival to Bugsy. Additionally, his epithet was "Groupon" instead of "Coupon."^[14]

Design[edit | edit source]

His last name, Markdown, refers to when a store lowers an item price to clear stocks.

Tier Lists[edit | edit source]

On Twitter, Jello made a tier list of how well-liked in the fandom each character is, placing Arnold in "Mid."^[15]
On Twitter, Jello made a tier list of Stardew Valley spouses; Arnold was paired with Abigale as "Arnold marries Abby because her dad runs the store, he wants to set it up so he can inherit the family business and makes TEN! TENS OF DOLLARS!."^[16]

Fanworks[edit | edit source]

On Twitter, Jello revealed he was sent a set of teas inspired by characters from Epithet Erased. Arnold, along with Bugsy, were used on a tin of lemon balm tea titled "Bugsy and Arnold ."It had the caption "E.V.I.L. Every Villain is Lemon (balm)".^[17]