- “Hello, my name is Mr. Snrub, and I come from, uh... someplace far away! (Yes, that will do.) Anyway, I... I say we invest that money back in the nuclear plant!”
- ―Mr. Snrub[src]
Mr. Snrub is a disguise Mr. Burns adopted while attending the town meeting being held in order to decide what to do with the $3 million he had been fined for illegal dumping of nuclear waste. The disguise consisted solely of attaching a large black mustache under his nose, with no other alterations to his appearance or voice. On this occasion, he wore a darker blue suit than he normally does, but the style of the suit, along with the tie and white shirt, was the same as his usual attire.
After introducing himself as "Mr. Snrub" and coming up with the explanation of being from a location described as "someplace far away", he made the suggestion the money be invested back in the nuclear plant. The idea was given immediate support by Smithers, who had been sitting next to him.
The crowd attending the meeting began grumbling about the suggestion, which quickly turned towards hostility. Mr. Burns became nervous. Seeing the crowd turn against them, Smithers pulled a grappling hook gun out of his coat and fired it at the opening in the dome overhead. Mr. Burns hopped onto Smithers, and Smithers carried him to safety via the roof of the Springfield Town Hall.
Disguise or separate person[]
Arguments have been made both for and against Mr. Snrub being a disguise or a separate person. Guy Incognito is given as an example of how even though a person initially appeared to be Homer Simpson wearing a disguise, they turned out to be a separate person.
Guy Incognito appeared in "Fear of Flying", walking into Moe's Tavern for a drink shortly after Homer had been banned for playing a prank on Moe that Moe and the other bar patrons objected to. He had the same physical appearance as Homer but with a moustache of a style in between a "Dali" and an "English" moustache. Guy's voice was also the same as Homer's but with a pronounced or exaggerated English accent. The suit and top hat were different than what Homer might normally wear.
Moe immediately identified him as Homer and told him to leave. Despite saying he did not know who Homer was and giving his name, he did not convince them it was true. He was beaten up and tossed out the front door. A few seconds later, Homer walked by and spotted his look-alike lying unconscious on the sidewalk.
In the case of Mr. Snrub, it becomes clear it is Mr. Burns in disguise by the following:
- At the beginning when he identifies himself and says "Hello, my name is Mr. Snrub", the "Snrub" is said with a little bit of difficulty, as if he is not used to saying it. A person born with the name would say it much more easily. This indicates the name was chosen on the spur of the moment and is simply "Burns" spelled backwards.
- The hesitation before stating he came from "someplace far away", followed by shiftily telling himself, "Yes, that will do" also point to this being made up on the spot.
- Likewise when Smithers approves of Snrub's suggestion, Smithers also has difficulty saying the name, even though he heard it said a few seconds before. The difficulty comes from having to call Mr. Burns by the new name instead of the one he is used to.
Further information supporting Mr. Snrub being a disguise comes from Smithers attending the meeting. He sits next to someone he supposedly hasn't met before, yet gives his approval to what this stranger recommends. A person behaving as Smithers did is called a "shill" or a "plant".
Finally, the fact that Smithers had the grappling hook gun with him indicates he was prepared in case he and Mr. Burns needed to leave quickly. In order for Mr. Snrub to be a separate person and not Mr. Burns in disguise, the following would have needed to occur:
- Smithers in the habit of carrying the grappling hook gun with him on a regular basis, or decided that carrying it to the meeting at the Town Hall would be necessary for some reason other than preparing for an escape.
- Smithers would have had to make a split-second decision that the crowd becoming angry at this other man required that the man be rescued and they should both leave immediately.
- A second split second decision would have been made that the best way both for them to leave was for Smithers to use the grappling hook gun he just happened to have with him, rather than helping the man leave by one of the doors.
When the behavior of Snrub and Smithers is added to to the unlikely situation of Smithers carrying a tool with him like the grappling hook gun for no apparent reason other than "just because", the information points to Snrub being a disguise for Mr. Burns.
Appearances[]
Tapped Out