Krampus (American Dad!)

Krampus is a legendary demonic elf who is Santa Claus' former evil sidekick and the titular main character of the episode "Minstrel Krampus" of the hilarious adult TV cartoon series, American Dad!.
He was voiced by Danny Glover who also played Roger Murtaugh in the Lethal Weapon franchise, Miles in Barnyard, Barbatus in Antz and Mike Harrigan in Predator 2.
==Appearance==
Krampus is a mythical creature recognized in Alpine countries. According to legend, Krampus accompanies Saint Nicholas during the Christmas season, warning and punishing bad children, in contrast to St. Nicholas, who gives gifts to good children. When the Krampus finds a particularly naughty child, it stuffs the child in its sack and carries the frightened child away to its castle lair, presumably to devour for its Christmas dinner. Krampus is represented as a beast-like creature, generally demonic in appearance.
== History ==
Stan and Francine take Steve to visit Stan's imprisoned father Jack and teach him a lesson. Jack tells the legend of Krampus, a former companion of Santa Claus. Jack claims that as a boy growing up in Bavaria, he was visited by Krampus, but before Krampus could punish him, Jack imprisoned him in a large copper pot full of strudel, where he has been trapped ever since.
In a sideplot, Klaus almost tells Hayley what he got from the family, but Hayley cuts him off, singing a song about picking the perfect gift. She visits Roger's bar and asks to work for him, but Roger has already hired a number of water polo players. Stan finds the strudel pot in his basement with Jack's other belongings and, desperate to get Steve under control, opens it. Krampus escapes and kidnaps Steve, and demands that Stan deliver Jack in exchange. Stan gets Jack released from prison to assist him in locating Krampus, but Jack instead steals Stan's car and flees. Krampus takes Steve to an isolated castle populated by sentient household objects and sings a song about his legacy and purpose in life, scolding Steve for his rotten behavior.
Back at the Smith house, Stan tells Roger about the problem and that only Jack knows where Krampus went. Roger suggests asking Santa, which Stan is reluctant to do since Santa has sworn revenge on the family. With no better option, Roger uses the water polo players to take Stan to the North Pole; Santa agrees to help, only if they help him kill Krampus. Back at the castle, the group of household objects explain that Krampus is not bad, just serving his role in punishing misbehaving children. In a soul performance, Krampus himself explains that his punishments deter kids from turning out bad. Krampus blames his failure to punish Jack resulting in Jack growing up to be a criminal and neglectful father, and he seeks him out to apologize rather than punish him. Steve apologizes to Krampus for his bad behavior and Krampus thanks Steve for reminding him of his purpose.
Stan, Roger, and Santa set out on their journey to kill Krampus. Jack is seen complaining about his delayed flight to Jamaica, and he encounters Hayley, now working as an airline ticket clerk, who sings a reggae song about the importance of family, which persuades Jack to change his flight to Bavaria to save his grandson. Stan, Santa, and some of Santa's elves reach the castle and battle with the household objects, killing them and confronting Krampus. Santa shoots Krampus to death and reveals that he was the villain all along: Krampus disciplines children because he genuinely loves and cares about them, while Santa just spoils them and makes money off of it through his investments in toy companies. Santa then tries to kill Stan, but just as he fires his candy-cane-striped revolver, Jack crashes through a window on skis and takes the bullet in his chest. One of the skis impales Santa's chest, forcing him and the elves to withdraw. Jack then tells Stan that he realizes the importance of family, saying he's proud of Stan and that the world needs Krampus, then dies. His and Krampus' blood mix together and Krampus' soul goes to Jack's body, making him the new Krampus. 
==Gallery==
Krampus & Santa Claus.jpg
Krampus and Santa Claus.jpg
Old Krampus.jpg
Jack Smith & Krampus.jpg
The Demon of Christmas.jpg
Krampus with Steve Smith.jpg
Krampus the Stork.jpg|Krampus as a stork.
Demon of Christmas.jpg
Krampus and Steve Smith.jpg
Krampus & Steve Smith.jpg
New Krampus.jpg
==Trivia==
*Krampus' speaking voice before his transformation is done by legendary actor Danny Glover. His singing voice is by the late Charles Bradley.
*Before his transformation with Jack, Krampus had a failed relationship with a woman named Sheila, who cheated on him in Baltimore with a mechanic named Dennis.
*When travelling through the wormhole in "The Longest Distance Relationship", Sinbad and Jeff Fischer turn into stylized characters including that Santa Claus and Krampus.
*Krampus is similar to Disney's Beast:
**They are both hideous beings who live in decrepit castles with living inanimate objects as servants.
**They both took someone prisoner but soon bonded with that person.
**They were eventually killed by someone who utterly despised them, but were then brought back in a different way than before.
==Navigation==
Category:Male
Category:Demons
Category:False Antagonist
Category:Titular
Category:Cartoon Heroes
Category:TV Show Heroes
Category:Chaotic Good
Category:Redeemed Villains
Category:Elementals
Category:Jerks
Category:In Love
Category:Servant of a Villain
Category:Protectors of Innocence
Category:Honorable
Category:Brutes
Category:Nurturers
Category:Deceased
Category:Revived
Category:Insecure
Category:Cosmic Entity
Category:Magic
Category:Reality-Warpers
Category:Anti-Heroes
Category:American Dad! Heroes