The Three Stooges

Moe Howard,Curly Howard and Larry Fine, The relation of the three is unclear; if it is a blood relation or simply a close friendship is entirely unknown.

It was during the 1930s the trio found what could be called "success" in the United States. Working odd-jobs, from janitors to carpenters to garbage men to small-time actors, the trio traveled across the country in search of wealth. Their attempts at riches rarely worked, and triumphs were short lived. It was not until 1940 that the three got their big break.

Since the early 1930s, Moronika had teetered on the edge of an outright fascist government, despite the continued rule of the current king, Herman the Sixth and 7/8ths. Known as "Moronofascism," leaders often looked toward Italy, Germany, and other fascist nations of the period for support. The king, however, was only officially deposed in 1940, and only for a short period of time, not because of politics, but because of business.

By chance, the Stooges were working for a trio of capitalists, heavily invested in Moronika in an attempt to start a war and increase profits, Messrs. Ixnay, Onay (also known as Umpchay), and Amscray decided to overthrow King Herman and install a dictator. Due to his Moronikan heritage and the fact he was "stupid enough to do what [they] tell him," the stooges were the obvious choice. The three changed their names to Moe Hailstone, Curly Gallstone and Larry Pebble. After convincing the public to his side in a Beer Hall Putsch, he forced the king to abdicate in a bloodless coup, with Gallstone installed as Field Marshall and Pebble as the Minister of Propaganda.

Basing his style of rule heavily on Adenoid Hynkel(though many insist that Hailstone was, in fact, the first to come to power), Hailstone promised to "extend his neighbors two helping hands, and help himself to his neighbors." The slogan Moronika for Morons, popularized during the period, however, was a great misnomer thanks to rampant book burnings and use of "concentrated camps" for the most minor of offenses, public sentiment quickly turned against the ruler.

Princess Gilda, going by the name of "Mattie Herring," was sent to spy on the dictator by her deposed father. Despite catching the eye of Hailstone, she was revealed, and nearly executed. However, she escaped, rejoining her father in exile. In the meantime, Hailstone began to plan an offensive against the nation of Mickey Finlen, and met with the delegates from other neighboring countries, negotiations quickly broke down, ending in an outright assault on the visiting diplomats with pies. With so many distractions, Hailstone ignored the cries of protest from his people, and the king quickly returned with a force of a million men. Herman reclaimed power, forcing Hailstone and his men to abdicate. In their escape from the palace, the trio was attacked by lions that, ironically, were installed by Gallstone earlier that day. For a brief period, they were assumed dead.

However, Hailstone, Gallstone, and Pebble were very much alive and returned to power within days, crushing the revolutionaries with the help of his loyal storm troopers. Thanks to his previous assaults on foreign heads of states, virtually all neighboring nations succumbed to Moronikan forces, allowing the tiny nation to garner attention from Hynkel and the other Axis Powers. Roped into WWII, Hailstone was able, by some miracle, to successfully invade Holland, despite a distinct lack of accurate maps.

It was at this time that Ixnay, Umpchay, and Amscray returned to Moronika, surprised at the utter destruction they found. The three, now, wanted to reinstall the monarchy, convincing Princess Gilda to once again go undercover, this time, to assassinate Hailstone, with an explosive billiards ball. Hailstone's men, unable to recognize her, admitted her to the dictator's private quarters. Gilda, using pseudo-astrological means, convinced the already-paranoid trio that their allies were plotting against them.

In response, Hailstone invited delegates from Japan, Turkey's "Bay of Rum," Italy, and the Soviet Union to Moronika. When they arrived, he demanded his allies surrender their land and forces to him in an eerie repeat of his previous summit, the meeting devolved into a brawl, ending in the deaths of all four delegates, including the Sultan of the Bay of Rum and Bruno Chizzilini Napaloni, son of the Italian dicator Benzino Napaloni. Only moments later did the assassin's billiards ball detonate accidentally, due to the incompetence of Gallstone (now Herring). King Herman returned to the throne within days, becoming a staunch supporter of the Allied Forces.

As a ruler, Hailstone was a neurotic, childish man, often prone to bouts of extreme anger or sadness, regularly breaking into tears or long, incomprehensible rants, and was renowned for the physical abuse of his peers and inferiors. His rule of Moronika nearly destroyed the country, and his simultaneous fear and worship of Hynkel(never once did the two men meet face-to-face) led to many institutions and actions both criminal and insane. The trio of Hailstone, Gallstone and Pebble were notoriously hard to kill, returning from countless deaths and surviving blows that could slay any normal man As proof of their passing, King Herman had their heads mounted on the palace wall. Despite this, alleged sightings of the group (sometimes with other ne'er-do-wells) continued throughout the 1940s and 50s. The final recorded sighting occured in 1970, effectively putting an end to "the three stooges".