Mr. Bender

Mr. Bender
Mr. Bender is John Bender's father and husband of Mrs. Bender. According to what his son says, he is a deadbeat alcoholic father who doesn't care for his child. He abuses him and his wife and with John even showing Andrew Clark and Claire Standish a cigar burn on his arm for revenge after John accidentally spilled paint on his garage floor.

Trivia and Allusions

 * In the original script, Mr. Bender was supposed to drop off his son in a rusty old tow truck, briefly quarrel with him, then send him off with a sack lunch, and scream, "you are a waste of lunch meat!"--This means we would have seen what Mr. Bender looks like.
 * In a 2015 interview with Judd Nelson, Bender's actor (who was 25 at the time), Nelson stated that, "I'm now that kid's dad!"--This means that if we were to film something with Mr. Bender today, directors would probably hire Judd Nelson for the role of Mr. Bender (and probably Avan Jogia or Blake Michael for John Bender).


 * Mr. Bender is the perfect example of a common TV trope--A parent, typically the father, who is alcoholic, and due to the alcohol, gets drunk and is physically abusive to his/her respective kid, and also his/her respective spouse. Typically, the abuse from the alcoholic parent leads to the kid becoming mean and/or aggressive him/herself. Other examples, besides Mr. Bender, of the alcoholic parent TV trope, are:
 * Harrison Thompson from Marvel works--Harrison Thompson works as a cop for the NYPD, a job that puts stress on him. Thompson, to cure the stress, turns to alcohol. Unfortunately, this only makes him drunk and alcoholic, so at home, he is physically abusive to his son (presumably out of being drunk), Flash Thompson, leading to the latter becoming an aggressive bully at school.
 * Oscar "Butch" Bowers from It--Butch Bowers is a police officer, and the alcoholic father of bully Henry Bowers. Presumably out of drunkenness, Butch physically abuses Henry, as well as forces the latter be "manly" (the outdated gender stigma of "tough male, weak female"). This abuse is what makes Henry become an aggressive bully.