Nine
| Secondary character | |
| Nine | |
|---|---|
| Species | Human |
| Planet of origin | Probably Earth, USA, New New York |
| Profession | Grand Curator of the Legion of Mad Fellows |
| First appearance | "Space Pilot 3000" (1ACV01)  |
| Voiced by | David Herman |
Nine (also known as the Number 9 Man) was originally a cameo character appearing in the first and second seasons of Futurama. He was merely used as an Easter egg in crowd scenes, and was slowly forgotten, having not appeared in the third and fourth seasons. However, he re-appeared in two of the movies (BBS, ItWGY) and in the sixth and seventh seasons.
Biography
Nine is a bearded, bald white male Human, who wears a white shirt with a black 9 on it, and brown shoes. He attended a special 3000 edition New Year's Rockin' Eve (1ACV01), was in Little Neptune (1ACV07), saw the Titanic begin her maiden voyage (1ACV10), witnessed the First Omicronian Invasion of Earth (1ACV12), probably watched a movie (2ACV08), queued in front of the Central Bureaucracy (2ACV11), was part of a crowd of people acting unlike themselves, which can be confirmed with him not wearing the 9 shirt (US#011), attended the Turanga-Fillmore wedding (BBS), along with the remainder of the Legion of Mad Fellows, led Fry on his mission to exterminate the Dark Ones and prevent the destruction of the Violet Dwarf Star by Leo Wong (ItWGY), was a member of the jury at Famous Original Ray's Superior Court (6ACV25), and witnessed the Aliens who communicate by dancing attack EarthDisputed canon (6ACV26). When Nine became Grand Curator of the Legion is unknown, but the commentary for Into the Wild Green Yonder seems to hint that he was in the Legion prior to the year 3000. In 3013, he was working in a discount spy store (7ACV24).
Production
Nine was supposed to represent a fictional caste system in which a person's number corresponded to their social status. Specifically, lower numbered people were slaves while higher numbered people were masters. However, this idea was abandoned before the series went live. When given a speaking role in Into the Wild Green Yonder, Nine was rewritten to be the leader of a small hidden society while the number on his shirt functioned as his actual name.
In the commentary for "Murder on the Planet Express", writer Lewis Morton jokes that the 9 is the number of years that it was going to take for the character to get a line. This actually checks out, as "Space Pilot 3000" premiered in March 1999 and Into the Wild Green Yonder was released in February 2009.
Image gallery
Cameos
In the crowd wearing a green shirt (1ACV01).
On the right (1ACV07).
On the left (1ACV10).
On the left (1ACV12).
Only from the neck up (2ACV06).
Walking outside a movie theatre (2ACV08).
On the right (2ACV11).
In the left down corner wearing a blue shirt (US#011).
In the back row (BBS).
In the front row (6ACV25).
In the middle (6ACV26).
Some of us were crazy before it was cool (7ACV02).
I'm a lot of people, but I'm not Fry (7ACV02).
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Into the Wild Green Yonder
Meeting Fry.
Telling the story of the Legion.
Footswearing.
Introducing Fry to the Encyclopods.
And other extinct species.
Asking Fry for a plan.
Getting hot sauce on his shirt.
Beginning a new green age.
Addressing the Great Encyclopod.
Nine is voiced by David Herman.
Additional Info
Trivia
- Nine's appearance seems to be based upon that of the character Exidor, from the science-fiction TV series Mork & Mindy, who was seen wearing a similar attire (long-sleeved robe), although his bore the number 32, in red.
- His ninth canonical appearance on Futurama is precisely Into the Wild Green Yonder, where he played his major role.
- It is very interesting that he can read others' minds and keeps on a tinfoil hat to protect his, as well as block the Dark Ones' psychic attack. In seasons 1 and 2, as well as in Bender's Big Score, he was not wearing it. This may have been to conceal his involvement with the Legion of Mad Fellows, but it would have required not thinking about his mission and dealing with the thoughts of other people coming into his head.
- His number of nine could be a reference to The Beetles' song, "Revolution 9".
Quotes
Hutch: The Grand Curator will tell you more.
Fry: Take me to him.
Nine: [He is just behind Hutch.] Hey, man.
Fry: Hey.
Nine: So dig this, Fry. Our commune's been monitoring the Universe's life energy for, like, a really long time, and we're grokking some super-weird junk.
Fry: Um, I don't mean to be rude, but it's kinda hard to take you seriously when you say junk like grok and junk.
Nine: What about commune?
Fry: Especially commune!
Nine: [He turns off the hologram.] Well, that's the show.
Fry: Neat. What's it got to do with me?
Nine: Ahh, pooperdoodle! I mean, pardon the omission.
Fry: Cool. I can't wait to tell Leela. [He dials a few digits on his cellphone-telephone.]
Nine: No! If you tell anyone, then their thoughts could be read, and our enemies would know of our existence. For the sake of those you love, you must keep this secret. Do you footswear?
Fry: Oh, okay. I footswear.
Nine: [They perform a footshake agreeing to the terms.] Good. Now, to save the coming of the green age, you must stop this man.
Fry: [Leo Wong is shown on the hologram.] I know him. Leo Wong. I work with his daughter.
Nine: Oh, good. That'll cut about 15 minutes of explanation. You must gain Wong's confidence, infiltrate his organisation, and prevent him from destroying the Violet Dwarf! [Fry salutes Nine with his foot. The act is reciprocated.]
Nine: We call these noble beings the Encyclopods, because their DNA incorporates the DNA of every endangered species they encountered, so they can re-create them if they go extinct.
Fry: Just as a pillow, a wig, and a corncob pipe can be used to re-create my old girlfriend!
Nine: Bingo.
Fry: So, where is this egg?
Nine: In the Violet Dwarf Star system.
Fry: And what does it look like?
Nine: A Violet Dwarf Star!
Fry: [Screaming.] Hello? Mad Fellows? I need to-- [He is hit on the head with a bottle and passes out. Small time lapse and he awakens.] Okay, Leo Wong's about to destroy the Violet Dwarf. So, whatever I need to know to stop him, tell me now.
Nine: Alas! Stopping Wong isn't the only problem. One of the Dark Ones will try to stop you from stopping him. So, you must stop it from stopping you from stopping him.
Fry: But how can I stop it stop me stop him?
Nine: Stop it!
