Roger Smith's Best Personas On American Dad

With over 300 episodes and counting, Seth MacFarlane's "American Dad!" has become a genuine pop culture phenomenon since it first aired back in 2005. It owes its success to its surreal brand of humor, its relatable storylines, and, perhaps more than anything, its entertaining characters — none more so than the show's breakout character Roger Smith.

An amoral, narcissistic alien who crashed on Earth in the late 1940s, Roger moved into the Smith household after saving CIA agent Stan Smith from an accident at Area 51. Dwelling in the family's attic, Roger spends his time shuffling through different disguises that allow him to venture into the outside world, each possessing a unique name, backstory, personality, and style of dress.

With "American Dad!" having been on television for so long, Roger has been able to invent a huge range of memorable personas, many of whom have served key roles. From dangerous villains and power-mad authority figures to his surprisingly sweet characters, these are his all-time best.

Roy Rogers McFreely is a persona born out of Roger seeking revenge against Stan for refusing to pick up grenadine for his Roy Rogers cocktail. Knowing Stan's affinity for authority, Roger (under the guise of Roy Rogers McFreely) becomes chairman of the Homeowners Association, using his newfound authority to antagonize Stan.

During his short time in office, McFreely has a fire hydrant built in front of the Smiths' home, allowing him to have Stan's car towed away. He also orders trash pickups to commence in front of the Smith household first thing in the morning, and he sets up motion-sensing lights on the Smiths' lawn, all designed to get under Stan's skin. It's only when Stan finally relents, allowing Roger a voice in the house, that McFreely resigns his position as chairman, comically revealing to Stan that he is, in fact, Roger in disguise (as though Stan never knew).

There's a lot to like about Roy Rogers McFreely, from his love of his namesake cocktail, his admiration for salsa music and impressive dance skills, to his embroidered all-white cowboy getup. It's a character that also reveals the depths of Roger's infamous pettiness, as well as how corrupt Roger can become when given even the smallest amount of power.

Every now and again, Roger portrays someone who already exists within the context of "American Dad!," appearing several times as individual members of the Smith family and portraying real-life celebrities like Kevin Bacon. One of these pre-existing characters includes General Juanito Pequeño, the dictator of a small South American nation called Isla Island.

When the real Pequeño is accidentally killed while spending time with Stan, the CIA man tricks Roger into playing him, a way to ensure that the United States gains access to Isla Island's lucrative oil reserves through an international treaty. When Roger discovers Stan's deception, he decides to stay on Isla Island, becoming yet another corrupt ruler. During his time in office, he changes the island's name to Bananarama, switches the national anthem to "Venus," and orders the citizens to paint the entire island yellow — only to change his mind halfway through and order it to be painted turquoise instead.

As we mentioned while discussing Roy Rogers McFreely, things tend to get out of hand quickly when Roger is placed in a position of authority. As Pequeño, Roger regularly abused his office for his own gain, having servants severely punished over minor infractions (such as improperly buffed floors or poorly-made desserts). It's always a wild ride when Roger is in charge, and here, it's no different — Pequeño remains one of Roger's most corrupt officials yet.

Roger has created several personas who have pursued criminal careers outside of the Smith household, foremost among them the professional fake ID seller Kevin Ramage. Heavily tattooed and dotted with piercings, Ramage appears as a low-level street thug trying to intimidate Hayley and Steve, who are pushing into his "turf" in the counterfeit license business in Season 9's "Faking Bad."

As part of his intimidation tactics, Ramage orders his burly twin henchmen to beat him up in front of Hayley and Steve, promising the Smith kids that such rough treatment is waiting for them if they don't leave his territory. After Steve has a falling out with Hayley later in the episode, he joins with Ramage's outfit, quickly getting in over his head when Ramage arranges a deal to sell fake IDs to a drug cartel.

A Slim Shady lookalike with a role similar to Jesse Pinkman's in "Breaking Bad," Ramage is a hopelessly inept crook whose incompetence knows no bounds. Despite thinking he's a legitimate criminal, Ramage is anything but, with the latter part of the episode showing just how humorously out of his element he is when it comes to hardcore criminals like the Armenian mob.

A riff on '00s teen comedies, Scotch Bingington appears in Season 3's "Spring Break-Up." In the episode, Roger creates Scotch as the ultimate party animal, having grown angry over an MTV program detailing the previous year's wildest spring break party. Seeking to throw the ultimate college bash and be crowned "King of Spring Break," Roger takes the opportunity to throw a massive party while Francine is away, inviting busloads of college students to the Smith residence.

By the time Francine has left for her parents' place, Roger (as Scotch) has almost completely converted the Smith household into the ideal party mansion. Within the span of a few minutes, Roger fills the Smiths' living room with sand and sets up an indoor volleyball court, installs a margarita-filled waterfall, a lazy ride filled with beer, a human-sized hamster wheel, a "tunnel of booze," and a huge stage in the backyard.

Sporting a homemade crown and with a scepter that shoots Chivas Regal, Scotch is very much the stereotypical college frat bro. As "American Dad!" fans are sure to know, when Roger gets a specific goal in his head, he goes the extra mile to make it happen. Scotch brings out all of Roger's craziest, carefree traits and amplifies them tenfold.

Far and away Roger's wealthiest persona, Max Jets (full name Maximus Horatio Shamus Benny and the Jets) was an elderly eccentric who occasionally visited the Smith family, showering them with cash and extravagant gifts. He made his fortune by blackmailing Bill Gates — he claimed to "know something" about the Microsoft billionaire. Max finished a six-year prison sentence for an unspecified crime in the Season 8 episode "Max Jets." In it, the Smiths warmly welcome Max to their home, each vying for his financial attention. Before long, a gold-digging waitress is trying to secure Max's wealth for herself.

Described by Klaus as "rich and obnoxious," Max was a millionaire (possibly even a billionaire) who used his comically large quantities of money to act like a jerk. To ensure their relationship with Max stayed intact and that the river of gifts Max continuously gave them didn't dry up, the Smiths allowed Max to act as crudely as he wanted.

No matter how poorly Max could treat people, you have to hand it to him — he had style. From hiring a celebrity musician to perform at his wedding to flying a panda bear in from China to officiate the ceremony, Max Jets is without a doubt one of the most flamboyant personas that Roger has ever created. It's just a shame that his son Jerry (also Roger) schemed with his fiancée to kill him for his fortune, with Roger essentially stealing from himself.

Ruby Zeldastein is a medium who Roger invents when the Smiths become haunted by a supernatural presence in the Season 9 episode "Poltergasm." Having been unnerved at the odd happenings occurring within the Smith household, Roger calls in the one person he believes can help, "a medium to the other side who makes a hell of a shoofly pie." An obvious parody of the "Poltergeist" character Tangina (played by Zelda Rubinstein, whose name clearly served as the inspiration for the "American Dad!" character), Ruby explains that Francine's years of frustration in the bedroom have somehow manifested into a physical presence. This presence will dwell in the house until Francine's desires are fulfilled.

The great thing about Ruby — other than her hilariously on-the-nose character name and her dainty Southern voice — is how utterly unhelpful she is over the course of the episode. She's able to figure out what the cause of the disturbance is, but she is otherwise useless, appearing more concerned about her paycheck than actually helping the Smiths. Arguably her shining moment comes when she quickly draws a symbol in the air after telling the Smiths about the "Poltergasm" phenomenon, informing them she has the term trademarked and that they will have to reimburse Ruby should they produce any scripts they write about their experiences in the house.

Yellow journalism is one of the most dishonest, disingenuous tactics a news organization can employ to boost ratings. Knowing that, it shouldn't be surprising that Roger indulges in it during the Season 9 episode "News Glance with Genevieve Vavance." Trying to settle down in a legitimate profession, Hayley begins interning for a news reporter — only to find out that the reporter is actually one of Roger's personas, a no-nonsense news anchor named Genevieve Vavance.

At first, Hayley tries to focus on stories of importance to her, highlighting environmental issues she feels are underrepresented in most news outlets. Genevieve, however, quickly squashes her aspirations, underscoring the value of ratings above all else. When Hayley convinces Steve to run away for what she hopes will be a small news story to pique her audience's interest, Genevieve takes her story and runs with it, eventually framing Stan, Francine, and Hayley for kidnapping Steve and holding him hostage in the woods.

Favoring tabloid journalism and sensational news over factual reporting, Genevieve will lie and falsely mislead her entire audience so long as it means her program earns high ratings. She's without a doubt one of the most irredeemably twisted of Roger's disguises.

A hilarious parody of Dog the Bounty Hunter, Horse Renoir is the persona Roger adopts after discovering that there's a bounty for Jeff's arrest in Season 2's "Joint Custody." Roger partakes in a "Roger Fashion Show" to find the right persona to pursue Jeff before settling on the mullet-rocking, goateed Horse, a veteran bounty hunter from the bayou.

After making his introduction on the back of a motorcycle, Horse demonstrates a complete lack of knowledge and almost immediately derails his new career. For example, when he tries to track Stan by calling the credit card company, he completely bungles the whole thing by being unable to answer basic questions about Stan, such as his social security number, his date of birth, or even his mother's maiden name.

Of course, it's normal for Roger to think of elaborate backstories for his characters and then fail to live up to the persona he actually creates. Horse is everything a bounty hunter shouldn't be — he's an unprofessional, cowardly, overly sensitive biker who hates confrontation, and he nearly kills himself and Stan accidentally several times throughout the episode.

Roger isn't a follower of the rules by any stretch of the imagination, frequently mocking most laws and the individuals that enforce them, often to the chagrin of the straight-laced Stan. His violations of the law are usually flagrant, but sometimes he's more subtle. For evidence of this, look no further than his shrewd businessman character Martin Sugar, who Roger portrays in the Season 6 episode "The People vs. Martin Sugar."

Sugar's appearance in the episode comes when he is summoned to court to answer for crimes related to his unethical business practices. In particular, the crimes involve allegations that Sugar ran an underground sweatshop, using undocumented immigrants to produce counterfeit luxury handbags. Though obviously guilty of his crimes, Sugar successfully charms everyone in court — including the lead prosecutor — by appearing as a kind-hearted, generous employer. Of course, the reality couldn't be further from the truth.

Martin Sugar is a noteworthy Roger persona owing to his clashing personalities. On the surface, he's a likable enough guy prone to making lame jokes. As it turns out, though, Sugar's actual personality is far more sinister. But, as shady as he is, we can't help falling for his nice guy act as easily as the jury does.

The closest disguise Roger has to a supervillain, Tearjerker appears prominently in two themed "American Dad!" episodes, Season 4's "Tearjerker" and its sequel, Season 9's "For Black Eyes Only." Breaking from the regular continuity of the show, the two episodes lampoon the James Bond series of spy films, presenting Stan as a secret agent who regularly combats his nemesis, the wealthy international terrorist Tearjerker.

In terms of personality and appearance, Tearjerker is more along the lines of Dr. Evil than he is 007's archenemy Ernst Stavro Blofeld. In the first episode he appears in, Tearjerker's evil plan is to make the saddest movie ever made in the hope that audiences will cry themselves to death (as revenge for Tearjerker not being taken seriously when he tried to make it as an actor). Despite seemingly dying at the end of the episode, Tearjerker reappears in "For Black Eyes Only" as a reluctant ally to Stan — that is, until he betrays him and sides with the episode's main villain.

Tearjerker has all the classic makings of a Bond villain: There's the over-the-top name, the striking visual appearance, the extravagant secret hideout (a luxury fortress built into the side of a volcano with his face etched into the side), and the overly complex plan for world domination. Ultimately, it's not even Stan who beats him in either episode, with Tearjerker meeting his end through his own incompetence or disloyalty.

Officially named Braff Zachlin, the Legman is one half of Roger and Steve's private investigating duo Wheels and the Legman. The team serves as a comedic portrayal of '70s and '80s TV private detectives, born out of Roger and Steve's avid love for the genre. They are basically playing a children's game when they adopt their alter egos, with Wheels and the Legman seldom leaving the house on a case, charging $20 a day plus expenses, and using a teddy bear as their receptionist.

The Legman is one of the few identities Roger has who he created with the help of another person. He and Steve devise an entire continuity for their fictional series and their starring detectives, establishing Legman as the "bad cop" of the duo, plagued by a troubled past. According to Roger, Legman was a NASCAR driver who swerved out of the way to avoid hitting a baby — the baby being, somehow, also the Legman.

The Legman has popped up in several episodes, usually when Roger and Steve are presented with a mystery that needs to be solved. These mysteries range from small things like trying to find Hayley's missing iPod Shuffle to trying to locate kidnappers who have taken Francine hostage. No matter what the case is, though, Roger is almost always shown to be the guilty party, even if he isn't entirely aware of it.

The closest thing Roger has to a wise character is Dr. Penguin. An apparent psychiatrist by trade, Roger acts as the voice of reason for the Smiths when they come to him with a problem, providing advice and possible solutions to their issues. However, as Klaus points out, Dr. Penguin's solutions are usually the easy way out, and are in fact harmful ways to deal with problems (he advises a guilt-ridden Steve to continue lying to his parents, telling him that "eventually, lying will become second nature and you'll stop feeling guilty about it").

Dr. Penguin is another of Roger's disguises that continually pops up. Though he usually appears as a therapist to the Smiths, he has also been shown to run group therapy sessions in the outside world. The income he receives from his official jobs supports Dr. Penguin's drug habits, according to Roger.

For as frequently unhelpful as Dr. Penguin's advice is, there are a few moments where we see him actually reach the family's inner emotions. Amazingly, he can cause someone to completely break down just by giving them a simple look, helping them come to terms with their feelings in a meaningful way. More often than not, though, Dr. Penguin simply pretends to be a therapist, sometimes even manipulating his clients to his advantage — such as trying to trick Stan into killing an innocent man who got the last pretzel at Wetzel's Pretzels (all in the name of Stan's clinical health, of course).