| キャラクター | ギャラリー | 関係 |
A charming name a child would give. 'A' for Alliteration! Big smile! Little life experience. Doesn't quite know what a frown looks like... or a tree... or, well, grass.
Steven "Steve" Paul Cobs, labeled as The Creator, is the main antagonist of the Inanimate Insanity franchise, serving as the unseen overarching antagonist of Season 1 and Season 3 and the main antagonist of Season 2. He is voiced by Joshua Waters.
Appearance[]
Steve Cobs, like his surname says, is a yellow corncob. He has black-framed glasses and also has a tag with the Meeple Logo on it, around his shoulders.
Changes[]
Debut
- He has a green sweater-like part in the place of his husk resembling the sweater of Steve Jobs.
- He has no outline.
- The Meeple logo on his tag is white.
II2 13
- He now has a normal corn husk instead of his sweater.
- His shape is smoother and less sharp.
- His kernels are slightly larger.
- The Meeple logo on his tag is now black.
- His glasses are no longer bent.
- He now has a dark green pedicel below his husk.
II2 16+ (Current)
- The shines on his kernels are darker and no longer thin lines, making more of a drop shape.
Personality[]
Steve Cobs is the big-headed, brash, pompous, egotistical, and persuasive founder, CEO, and chairman of Meeple Inc.. He is often full of himself. His intelligence is also stated in his remarks he says to the contestants. He is seen as being scary and creepy when people underestimate his intellect. He is also very arrogant and presumptuous when Balloon stated that the Meeple Watch is dumb, which he later popped him for it. He becomes wicked and manipulative when the contestants leave with the egg and battery and later claims that he will be in charge sooner or later.
Although we see that he is an antagonistic figure in his debut episode, in "Mine Your Own Business", more about his relationship with MePhone4 is shown through flashbacks due to this episode and the amount of heavy implications of MePhone4’s trauma throughout the whole show. He wouldn't spend any time with him aside from making sure he's doing his tasks and training him. Justin Chapman says that Cobs is supposed to have a father-like presence over MePhone, meaning MePhone saw him as his father, allowing him to manipulate him. It is also implied that he did horrible things to MePhone3GS, shown when MePhone3GS is dissociating and mistaking MePhone4 for Cobs.
Coverage[]
Appearances[]
- Inanimate Insanity II
- "Theft and Battery"
- "Alternate Reality Show" (mentioned and depicted)
- "Mine Your Own Business" (flashbacks)
- "Hatching the Plan" (mentioned)
- "Truth or Flare" (mentioned)
- "The Reality of the Situation"
- Inanimate Insanity Invitational
- "Out of Body Experience" (shadow only)
- "A Jury of Your Fears" (indirectly mentioned)
- “You Can’t Do This Forever” (mentioned)
When the crew arrives at Meeple, Steve Cobs introduces himself and welcomes them to the headquarters. After a while of thinking, Baseball gets the pun in his name. A firm believer in the concept that the future is so yesterday, Cobs seems displeased by the prospect of a MePhone4. Only when the Bright Lights run in and he notices Fan's egg does Cobs seem to change his tune and agree to give them the battery after a tour. When doing so, he cites that he "appreciates that, really, you have no idea," and though this can be assumed to refer to Fan's compliment about the headquarters, he does not definitively specify.
When Microphone brings up her concerns that Cobs created MePhone5S and MePhone5C to kill MePhone4, not help him, Cobs replies that MePhone4 is his business partner. He mentions that the "staged fights" on II get him a lot of product placement. Microphone seems skeptical, but Knife interrupts, shocked by the fact that the MePhone fights were all fake. Cobs concludes that MePhone4 lied in order to garner better dramatic performances from the contestants and lets the idea sink in for a moment, causing the contestants to consider their trust in MePhone4. Fan later goes up to Cobs bringing up the comment, unsure of if to believe it. Cobs assures him that "of course some of it" is true and that the show brings great product placement, along with other possibilities that Cobs vaguely refers to.
Cobs shows off the garage in which he built his first computer to the contestants. He mentions that he hasn't spoken to his parents ever since having ripped out the garage from their home. Fan is impressed. When Toilet excitedly notices a wire in one of the display cases, Cobs says that though he's glad Toilet likes it, it is merely a wire and urges the crew to move on.
Cobs overhears Soap talking about a "big head" and mistakenly assumes she's referring to him. Though at first, he seems angry, he covers it up and says that he appreciates the gesture, apparently since having a large ego is flattering to him.
Cobs repeatedly states "tick tock" in order to emphasize the latest Meeple gadget, the Meeple Watch. Balloon doubts its significance, explaining that his current watch already displays the time and that the idea of taking calls on a watch is "dumb." Appalled, Cobs hits a button and a contraption appears from the floor that pops Balloon. Cobs pretends to be upset and blamed Soap, "always looking for trouble." He announces that the tour has been completed.
Fan mentions that he wishes he could give to the world the way Cobs has, which gives Cobs the opening to state the potential the egg has to change his "scientific community" (first stating the overall community, but quickly correcting himself). He politely asks for Fan to loan it to him so he could do some research, even remarking that one of these days Fan will be an innovator and a thinker just like him. When Fan realizes that, by Cobs' slogan, the egg is destined to eventually become a product of yesterday, Cobs changes course and says that Fan has done enough thinking for one day. Since the egg is not really Fan's, Cobs concludes that Fan shouldn't feel a sense of responsibility for it. Fan does, however, and politely declines to give it to Cobs. Cobs momentarily looked peeved, but offers another suggestion, claiming that if he receives the egg, the Bright Lights can receive the MePhone4 battery immediately. Test Tube and Paintbrush stand up for Fan, with Paintbrush telling Cobs to "stop getting all creepy." and Lightbulb replying if Cobs wants to get all creepy, she knows a guy. Cobs displays a new level of creepiness when he tries to forcibly take the egg, but Suitcase's unexpected entrance and the triggering of Meeple's alarms interrupts the whole debacle.
Cobs drops Fan (and the egg with Fan holding the egg) on the floor, concerned about addressing the fact that something may have been stolen. He shuts off the security alarms as if they're a car alarm, and accuses Soap of being the culprit, as her "big head" comment indicates she's jealous of his knowledge. When Cobs realizes all that was stolen was the MePhone4 battery, he laughs and says they can keep it and the egg. He declares, "It's just the beginning, and I'll be in control soon enough. It's only.. a matter... of time!" and throws one of his Meeple Watches on the floor, breaking it. He adds that the watches also bend to no one in particular.
In an after-credits scene, Cobs gives a computer the room in which Suitcase stole the battery so that it can be repaired. He mentions that they've gone several months without any patients, but Cobs' concept of time is hampered due to his broken watch from earlier.
Alternate Reality Show[]
Paintbrush and their painting of Steve Cobs.
Cobs makes an appearance in Paintbrush's painting. MePhone4 appears to twitch and have a look of disgust on his face when seeing it. He then gives Paintbrush's painting a zero.
Mine Your Own Business[]
In the first flashback, he introduces himself to MePhone4 right after he named him. Before he was about to finish his sentence, MePhone4 suddenly interrupts him by saying a joke "I put the "unctional" in functional." He says that it's "the fun" but he immediately dismisses his sentence and hits MePhone4 in his right arm. He tells MePhone that he may feel nervous about his future tasks, that's because MePhone4 has an emotion emulator. But MePhone4 interrupts him again, but this time he is asking for food. Steve, not amused, explains to MePhone4 that he is the latest technology that doesn't need food, then proceeds to give him his screen protector.
Out of Body Experience[]
Steve Cobs makes a slight cameo as Ballpoint Pen's shadow as MePhone4 explains Ballpoint Pen. This is the first and only time that he is seen in any form in Inanimate Insanity Invitational.
Truth or Flare[]
In Truth or Flare, Steve Cobs calls MePhone4, for ulterior motives
In the ending on the episode, when MePhone4 is ending the episode, Steve Cobs suddenly calls him for unknown motives, horrifying him, Knife, and Suitcase in the process, and the motives Cobs had would likely be revealed in II2 Episode 17.
The Reality of the Situation[]
Cobs calls MePhone4 multiple times this episode, despite repeated missed calls. He then dispatches MePhoneX to suck the life out of Pickle, OJ, and Nickel at Hotel OJ. He also sings The Future Is So Yesterday and reveals to Suitcase and Knife that MePhone4 created them.
Trivia[]
- AnimatedJames (James Barkley) was announced to have a guest role on Inanimate Insanity a little under two months before his debut.
- Though the Meeple company has been specifically referred to since "4Seeing the Future", its founder Steve Cobs has neither been seen nor mentioned until "Theft and Battery".
- In the Episode 8 livestream, Cobs was confirmed to be a recurring character.
- He is one of the few characters on the series who are thought to have parents.
- His character is based on Steve Jobs, who was the co-founder of Apple who unfortunately passed away on October 5th 2011 (before the release of Sugar Rush).
- Steve Cobs is one of the two Inanimate Insanity characters to have a human name, the other being Nick Le.
- Rusty Jo may be so, but it may be a nickname.
- Cobs' name makes an early appearance, albeit in leetspeak, in Everything's A-OJ, in which on the back of the van that MePhone is thrown out of shows the letters "C0B5".
- Steve Cobs has a strong resemblance to Ballpoint Pen, and vice-versa.
- When asked if Cobs would ever date a man at the BFDI x II Meetup 2022, Adam replied there was a 50/50 chance he would.[1] This would imply Cobs is bisexual, albeit there's no confirmation about this whatsoever.
- In response to a video of this question in September 2024, Adam tweeted "Personally, I don't think Cobs would ever date anyone. Any time taken away from innovating would be deemed a distraction!"[2]
- Steve Cobs had a different voice actor in each of his first three episodes with voice roles.
Steve Cobs' Creations[]
References[]
- ↑ #inanimateinsanity Diversity Win! Steve Cobs ambiguously bisexual.(dead link) (Archive)
- ↑ LOL apologies for the complete non-answer. Admittedly was a little in a daze at the 2022 event after speaking with thousands of people! Personally, I don't think Cobs would ever date anyone. Any time taken away from innovating would be deemed a distraction!