Egon Spengler/Animated

Sometimes I think the universe just waits for me to get cocky. -Dr. Egon Spengler

Egon Spengler, Ph.D.
Occupation:	Scientist, Ghostbuster
Appeared In:	The Real Ghostbusters, Extreme Ghostbusters
Played By:	Maurice LaMarche

Dr. Egon Spengler was one of the original Ghostbusters and was known as the brains of the outfit.

Personality

As he is in the movies, animated Egon is the brains of the ghostbusters. He many times will save the day by coming up with ways to defeat the ghost with a different setting on the equipment. He keeps to himself mostly. A traumatic experience with the Boogieman as a child served as the impetus for him getting involved in researching the paranormal and finding ways to combat it.

Egon has on occasion displayed a dry sense of humor. He also has little patience for non-scientific ways of approaching matters and frivolity in general. One of the few times he ever showed genuine terror was shortly after a near-death experience by getting knocked off a building, saved only by Winstons masterful control of Ecto-2. When believing that his death was imminent in a ploy to stop Ragnarok from occurring, he uttered Janine's name with a slight tone of sorrow and regret.

Changes Over the Seasons

His appearance changes slightly from RGB to EGB. He changed his hairstyle at some point between Real Ghostbuster to Extreme Ghostbusters from his trademark pompador and rat tail to a simple pulled back ponytail. His glasses change from rounded frames to more oval shaped.

Egon still wears a variant of his grey RGB coveralls in EGB, this time without the pink collar. In the EGB toyline he's been shown to wear both blue and green colored jumpsuits.

Characteristically he's the same phlegmatic type from RGB. He does seem to have accepted Janine as a regular part of his life, as he's been shown on one occasion holding her and even kissing on another, although that was initiated by Janine.

Extreme Ghostbusters

File:EGBEgon.png

As seen in Extreme Ghostbusters

Egon after being alone for years maintaining the Firehouse along with keeping Slimer there. However, the P.K.E. Meter started going off in the firehouse, and slimer took it to Egon which was at the University teachering students. Egon after getting the meter, went to the site of activity and no one believed him about the tunnel.

After tons of calls Egon decided it would be best to reopen the Ghostbusters. His role was of a mentor for the new team of Ghostbusters. For the most part, he usually leaves the field work to the new members, opting to provide audio back-up from the firehouse and information on their current adversary. He would still take to the field on some missions, but express frustration that he was no longer as agile or quick as when he was younger, and being very conscious of his age (39), in The Sphinx.

Relationship to Others

Janine Melnitz

Egon and Janine seem to have always been close to something more than just business. In the Ghostbusters movie there was a few moments that suggested that they may love each other. During most of The Real Ghostbusters the hints were still being thrown around in little parts in the episodes. However, the episode "Janine, You've Changed finally gave long time fans a bit of payoff, when Egon confessed that he loved her and cared about her.

In Extreme Ghostbusters, the relationship feel much like in The Real Ghostbusters. However, she feels even more like a wife or girlfriend as she cooks for him, always caring for him.

Louis Tully

Surprisingly not much to say, as they talked maybe a few times. Never argued or anything which may suggest that the cartoon may have been trying to avoid the Ghostbusters II issue of Janine and Louis relationship. In the comic based on the cartoon from NOW comics, Egon DID make a barbed comment to Janine about her having more time to spend with Louis when he was about to leave town on a mission. Janine immediately told him that Louis was sweet, but harmless, showing her heart was still with Egon.

Slimer

No matter when in the show, Egon has always got along surprisingly good with Slimer. Many times Egon used Slimer to test new theories and gadgets. Egon in many ways treated him like a pet, and that was still the case during Extreme Ghostbusters.

Eduardo Rivera

Most of the time, Egon gets along with Eduardo, however there have been those days that Egon has raised his voice to him in exasperation.

Trivia

• Egon owns a paperback copy of "Tobin's Spirit Guide" which he is known to bring with him on assignment. During "Extreme Ghostbusters" he was shown transcribing it onto CD Rom.

• Scientists and scholars run in the family. There has also been a wizard, but he is generally never talked about and looked down upon as a crackpot. All his ancestors are shown to resemble him facially, have blond hair and glasses. Curiously enough, Egon's ancestor during the Salem which trials is also shown to have Egon's pompadour and rat tail hairstyle.

• It is also a tradition amoung Spengler males to repress their emotions and focus on everything in a detatched, scientific manner. This explains why he tends not to be reciprical to Janine's affections for the most past. But he HAS shown signs that she has taken some claim to his heart. Faint displays of jealousy, dissapointment, relief, remorse and even mild pleasure have been displayed by him in matters regarding her. He even admits to her in the comic that he isn't very good at dealing with people he cares about.

• Egon knows at least two other languages, Sumerian and Sign Language.

• When Egon was a baby, his mother used to call him "Spookums". His mother makes a couple appearances on the show. Egon seems to have inherited his penchant for occasional dry humor from her.

• While it isn't outright stated, it seems likely that Egon has a Jewish background, although he isn't particularly devout regarding it. His name is a Jewish last name and even his mother even shows hints of a stereotypical Jewish mom.