Teddy Ortiz (Big Nate)

**Teddy Ortiz** is Nate Wright's "**1A**" best friend, the tritagonist of Big Nate, and is also friends with Francis Pope. He is most commonly seen with a red shirt with a black circle in the middle, with green gridded pants. Teddy is the keyboardist and lyricist of Nate's garage band, Enslave the Mollusk. He plays basketball, soccer,baseball,and softball with Nate and Francis for P.S. 38's sports teams.

## Biography

### Early life

Teddy was born in Puerto Rico, to a Mexican mother and a Puerto Rican father. He has 3 older brothers, and an older sister. His dad is a Civil War buff, and he's been telling Teddy about Civil War battles ever since he was a baby. When he was two-years-old, he got a Skittle stuck up his nose. It is said that he ate too many gummy bears and threw up. One gummy bear came out of his nose.

### Sixth grade

#### **Arrival at P.S. 38**

In sixth grade, Teddy moved to P.S. 38. On the first day of school, Mrs. Godfrey assigned Nate Wright to be his "buddy". Nate thought he was a dork at first. Teddy also thought that Mrs. Godfrey seemed like a nice person. After Teddy started appearing in the comics, at the start, he was shown to be somewhat of a goody-two-shoes like Artur Pashkov, which ticked off Nate.

When Nate and Teddy were paired up for a science report for Mr. Galvin, they were supposed to dissect a squid. Halfway through, Teddy picked up the squid and pretended it was a giant booger, and they started laughing. Teddy accidentally dropped the squid and another student, Mary Ellen Popowski, stepped on it. They both had detention for two weeks, which caused Nate to believe that they were going to be friends for life.

#### **Fortune cookie mystery**

On his way to school, Teddy found Nate lying on the ground and made a joke of him. Along with Francis, they decided to race at the school. Nate was in the lead, only to slam into Wesley Nichols, who immediately forgives him. but then gets angry at Nate for implying that he is fat.

Teddy and his friends went into the school. Nate needed to put away his lunch in his locker, but he forgot it when he ran away from home this morning. Teddy covered for him by promising to share his lunch and giving him a fortune cookie. Nate cookie says"Today you will surpass all others" and Nate was jumping for joy. Teddy went to homeroom with the other students. When he left with Nate and Francis, they later received a detention from Mrs. Godfrey. Before their following class began, they were greeted by Artur Pashkov and Jenny Jenkins. Nate decided to do some poetry for Jenny as Mrs. Clarke went over the types of poems students can write, but things went out of hand and Nate received a detention because of student Gina. Teddy, Nate, and Francis headed off, where they saw drawings on a display case. Artur’s shoe drawing had been the most popular for two months in a row, which annoyed Nate. They congratulated Artur, who walked by them and headed to art class. Nate tried to force Mr. Rosa to put his drawing in the display case, earning him his third detention.

Later the three friends went to the cafetorium, only to see Chester Budrick was at their table. The trio later sat next to Chad Applewhite, who was reading the book of records. Nate settled on an eating competition for himself, during which time Teddy helped him by collecting green beans. The competition did not work out, however, and Nate received fourth detention.

Nate was angry about being late to gym class with the others being trailed behind. Then they saw Coach John, whom Teddy disliked. Teddy remained outside while Nate inadvertently dressed in a likeness to the coach, amusing Ortiz but infuriating John. Later, Coach John gave Nate a detention slip that made fun of his hair, making him furious. Teddy agreed that Nate's hair was odd.

He, Francis, and Nate headed off to math. But when they arrived, Mr. Staples gave them a pop quiz. Teddy took the quiz, though it is unknown what grade he got. In the mix, Nate received another detention. The three friends went to the last class of the day - science - where Nate received his final detention. Teddy left the school, parting ways with Nate for the day.

#### **Quest to Defeat the Raptors and aftermath**

Later on, Teddy Ortiz received an assignment on Benjamin Franklin, where he was assigned with Francis Pope. This made them very excited. Meanwhile, the S.P.O.F.F game of the season was fleece ball. Because he was on Nate's team, Teddy was determined for them to win, despite Gina naming them the Kuddle Kittens and the season starting roughly. Afterward, they continued against several other teams and won every single time.

Nate also included much information concerning the event in "Poor Nate's Almanac," which is named after "Poor Richard's Almanac," published by Benjamin Franklin. Teddy refused to buy the magazine when he learned about and read it, claiming it was not worth the price that it cost. In the final game, which pitched the Kuddle Kittens against the Raptors (Randy's team), Gina hit the ball, which hit over the banner, giving Kuddle Kittens a victory in the game (and thrilling Teddy). On Chad's suggestion, Nate wrote a story about their victory.

Shortly after Artur Pashkov joined the Timber Scouts, Teddy revealed that to Nate. During Nate's plan to win the skateboard, Teddy would occasionally interfere, albeit indirectly. Teddy also became involved when Nate competed against Jefferson Middle School when the students wound up there when P.S. 38 was damaged (but not beyond repair; it fixes in two weeks).

During that time, Nate also uncovered Jefferson's weakness (their lack of creativity). In the mix, Teddy made an enemy in a boy named Nick Blonsky when he stole a camera to start a rigged fight between his two best friends. The event made Teddy conflicted between Wright and Pope, as they were his two best friends, but it was resolved and the trio resumed their friendship.

#### **Fitness Zone**

Later still, his school was introduced to a new "Fitness Zone," which he is very upset about. At this point, Nate's luck seemed to decrease rapidly, leading to a series of incidents he was not responsible for causing. Teddy was responsible for one of them since he (accidentally) soaked Wright's book report with an open maple syrup bottle that he knocked over.

However, the tables turned when Nate received a good luck charm, something Ortiz quickly came to believe in when Nate scored an impossibly perfect shot in the gym. It is unknown how Teddy felt about the Fitness Zone. Finally, Nate gives the lucky foot back to Chad, only for Ms. Godfrey to steal it. During the following Field Day event, Chad teamed up with a girl named Maya for a much-needed victory. They also re-performed their song afterward.

#### **The Edna Birkdale mystery**

As the year continued, Teddy Ortiz helped Nate triumph in the school's Scavenger Hunt in Big Nate Lives it up. He and his friends sought to uncover the truth about Edna Birkdale and ultimately succeeded.

#### **Girlfriend (2015)**

Teddy began dating Paige when Nate and Francis once found out Paige was calling Teddy "Teddy Bear". Paige then asked Teddy out to the Sadie Hawkins Dance. Although Cindy had a crush on him, he did not reciprocate her feelings for him. On January 27, 2016, Teddy was invited to Dee Dee Holloway's party. Shortly afterward, Teddy received a phone call from Nate; the latter wanted to learn what had conspired at Dee Dee's home. Teddy informed him that it was the "best party in the history of the universe", something Francis wholeheartedly agreed with. Later, on March 14, 2016, Teddy attended a very special cartooning club meeting that a professional joined them in. However, Trudy reminded Nate that they had a plan to go rollerskating that same afternoon, leading to the latter's absence from the event.

## Physical appearance

Teddy has black eyes and is usually seen wearing a long-sleeved red shirt with a black circle. In 2 Sunday strips, he had a different color shirt but still with a black circle. In his debut, his head looked blockier only to gradually turn into a more circular shape in a few months.

## Personality

Teddy is usually laid-back and mellow. There is much evidence that Teddy is a jokester, which sometimes gets on his friends' nerves. He is also the sporty one of the trio, although Nate Wright is a faster runner. When it comes to Artur Pashkov, Teddy is comfortable to have him around, much to Nate's dismay. He and Francis also gang up on Nate when Nate refuses to involve Artur. He is typically upbeat and is only beat-up when he gets in trouble or loses one of his favorite things (Ex: His Supa-Sno Tube). He's not featured as much as Francis, possibly because he doesn't have as much of a personality.

## Relationships

### Nate Wright

Nate and Teddy are the best of friends. They met when Teddy moved into Nate's school. Teddy is now Nate's #1A friend. According to Nate's Q-score list, Teddy is a 96.

### Francis Pope

Likely, Francis and Teddy are also best friends.

### Trudy

It is unknown how Trudy met Teddy, if at all. However, she is determined to spend time with her friends instead. Whether or not she was trying to avoid Teddy and Francis for any reason remains unknown.

### Paige

Paige is Teddy's ex-girlfriend. They broke up when Teddy didn't feel comfortable with her (ex. The sweater Paige made for him), and she has not been seen in the strip since.

### Artur

It is inferred that Teddy and Artur are good friends, as he is comfortable being around him (unlike Nate)

## Behind the scenes

He is mainly the tritagonist of Lincoln Peirce's Big Nate book series and comic strip.

Like his uncle, he can speak Spanish since he taught Nate to say "Mrs. Godfrey Is Fat" in Spanish (*Señora Godfrey Es Grasa*), as seen in Big Nate: In A Class By Himself.

Since his parents are math teachers, his middle name is √, so his full name is Teddy Square Root Ortiz.

* He is a fan of sports and likes sports stars like Yao Ming.
* At first, Lincoln Peirce wanted Teddy to be the rival of Nate, but soon he became one of Nate's dearest friends.
* Teddy is one of the original four characters in *Big Nate* in the 1990s.
* His dad is one of the leaders of the Timber Scouts. He scouts Troop 3 with his friends.
* It is revealed he is of Mexican and Puerto Rican origin.
* Teddy has acrophobia (the fear of heights).
* His first full appearance was on January 27, 1994, however, Teddy Mertz, who could be mistaken for Teddy, was mentioned before this time.
* It was shown on May 18, 2003, that a girl named Cindy has a crush on Teddy, however, he does not like her back.
* He used to date Paige.
* His mom bakes brownies for timber scout meetings.
* When Teddy first appeared in 1994, It appeared that Teddy asked Nate to find out if Jenny liked him. Jenny said that Teddy wasn't her type although later in around 2009, Jenny had a rather dreamy voice talking to Teddy while Nate was playing aloof.

To learn more about Teddy Ortiz, go to this link