Top 10 Worst Things Mr. Burns Has Done
For this list, we'll be looking at ten of the absolute worst atrocities that Mr. Burns has committed throughout the entire run of “The Simpsons.”
#10: Mistreating and Endangering His Employees
It’s no secret that the megalomaniacal, greedy, and incredibly selfish Mr. Burns isn’t the greatest employer in Springfield. Sure, there are the relatively little things like intentionally spying on his employees through security cameras and not bothering to learn their names. But then there’s the fact that he callously cuts their dental plans, willfully ignores even basic safety regulations, and regularly drops them down a secret trap door in his office with the full intention of killing them. Next time you whine about your boss, just remember that they don’t have a secret trap door in their office. At least, we hope they don’t.
#9: Li’l Lisa’s Patented Animal Slurry
Top 20 Worst Things Mr. Burns Has Done
If you thought that Mr. Burns was redeemable, your hopes were crushed when he unveiled Li’l Lisa’s Patented Animal Slurry. Throughout the episode “The Old Man and the Lisa,” Lisa tries to steer Burns away from his evil ways by teaching him the value of recycling. He even opens his own recycling plant but earns the ire of Lisa when he shows her “the best part” of the factory – one million plastic beer holders netted to catch sea life and turn them into an edible slurry. Yeah, that’s not how recycling works, at least for not-evil people.
#8: Stealing Oil from an Elementary School
Once he discovers that there is oil underneath Springfield Elementary, Burns immediately begins a slant drilling operation and steals the oil from the school. Not only is stealing the school’s wealth despicable, but his actions result in consequences throughout Springfield. Nearby Moe’s Tavern is closed because of dangerous fumes, some school staff is laid off, the Springfield Retirement Castle is destroyed, and Santa’s Little Helper is injured when an oil stream annihilates Bart’s treehouse. It’s all a brilliant commentary on the total disregard of greedy oil tycoons and business magnates, and it shows that Burns will do anything, including destroying Springfield, for a profit.
#7: Hitting Bart with His Car (And Not Caring About It)
While he’s skateboarding around Springfield, Bart is hit by Mr. Burns and suffers a near-death experience. While accidents certainly happen, it’s Burns’ callous disregard for Bart’s well-being that earns this a spot on our list. While Smithers checks on Bart and shows some concern for his health, Burns just wants to give him a nickel and drive away. Later in the episode, he offers the Simpsons $100 in compensation, which Homer refuses. We first see Mr. Burns’ penchant for evil, and with that revelation, a classic TV villain was truly born.
#6: Planning to Kill Puppies to Make a Tuxedo
The sixth season episode “Two Dozen and One Greyhounds” was clearly influenced by “One Hundred and One Dalmatians,” not just in its title, but in the way Mr. Burns mirrors Cruella de Vil throughout the episode. When Santa’s Little Helper fathers a couple of dozen puppies with a race dog, Burns and Smithers kidnap the young doggos so Burns can make a fancy “greyhound fur tuxedo” out of them. To be fair, he ultimately doesn’t go through with the plan. On the other hand: he does bust out these lyrics: See my vest, see my vest/Made from real gorilla chest/ Feel this sweater, there's no better/Than authentic Irish setter.
#5: Sexually Harassing and Firing Marge
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After the Simpsons are faced with an expensive house repair, Marge gets a job at the plant to pay for the work. Burns immediately takes a liking to Marge, but she refuses his advances. Burns instantly fires her in response; and when she threatens to sue, he makes an inappropriate sexual remark and, uh, a purring noise. He’s not only a disgusting boss, but a disgusting person in general. While much of Burns’ evil is outlandishly exaggerated for comedic effect, this scene is uncomfortably realistic, especially when you take the modern #MeToo movement into account.
#4: Attempting to Seal Homer in a Crypt
Aaaand, if he’s not sexually harassing Marge, he’s trying to immure her husband inside a crypt. In the fourteenth season episode “C.E. D’oh,” Homer takes a course on “successmanship,” overthrows Burns, and becomes the head of the power plant. To take back power, Burns drugs Homer and attempts to bury him alive in the Burns Family Mausoleum. However, his plan is foiled when Homer simply walks over the tiny wall he has painstakingly erected. We get wanting to take back power, but sealing a person alive inside a tomb? Good thing he was too old and out-of-shape to build a proper wall.
#3: Trying to Kill Grampa and Bart
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In a seventh season episode, Burns and Grampa become the only surviving members of a WWII infantry squad: The Flying Hellfish. The Flying Hellfish stole priceless paintings during the war, locked them away, and made a pact that the last surviving member would inherit the expensive artifacts. To become the last surviving member, Burns hires a hitman to kill Grampa; and then, when Grampa and Bart actually locate the paintings, Burns kicks Bart into a strongbox, which in turn falls into the water. Burns clearly values money over everything else. Including human lives.
#2: Possibly Murdering His Mother
There’s not a whole lot of love between Burns and his mother. First, he abandoned her for a billionaire when he was just a child. We later learn that Burns holds a grudge against his mother for having had an affair with President Taft, and he eventually attempted to murder her by unplugging her life support system. However, the plan didn’t work, and his mother tormented him for five more decades. That’s bad enough, but in one episode, Burns references eliminating his mother for “getting in his way.” That said, he has also stated that a lack of indoor plumbing caused her death, so we don’t really know what to believe. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few dishonorable mentions. Stealing a Trillion in Aid Money Kidnapping a Soccer Team and Forcing Them to Work in His Plant Crippling a Laborer with a Bumper Car
#1: Blocking Out the Sun
Burns isn’t afraid to put the entirety of Springfield at risk to get what he wants. To discourage a strike, he once shut off the entire town’s power supply. And in “Who Shot Mr. Burns?,” he unveiled his most nefarious, James Bond-ian scheme – blocking out the sun with a giant disc so the residents of Springfield would be forced to use his nuclear power. While Burns has always been evil, this is the scheme that finally pushed Smithers over the edge. After voicing his displeasure with Burns, Burns fires him for “insubordination.” When even Smithers calls Burns “insane,” you get a feeling for just how truly evil the man can be.
