Over 33 seasons and countimg, the cast of The Simpsons has exploded into a massive library of comic figures. While some have become recurring players in the show, others serve as joke characters or play bit parts. At one point, there was a fan-created addition to The Simspons in the form of Ricardo Bomba. But don’t be surprised if you don’t remember him — he only appeared once and was killed off almost instantly.
“Million Dollar Maybe” was a Season 21 episode that focused on the perpetually broke Homer winning $1 million in the local lottery. But because Homer had skipped a wedding ceremony he and Marge were supposed to attend, he spends the episode trying to hide the situation — even when that means agreeing to Bart’s various absurd demands. The episode was funny, but it also has a unique place within the history of the show, as it featured the result of a contest that Fox had held the year before.
The “Best. Character. Ever.” contest was announced in 2009 to honor the show’s then-20 years on the air. The contest saw fans submit their own concepts for a new character, and out of over 25,000 entries, the winning one was Ricardo Bomba — a muscular ladies’ man who could be Springfield’s Casanova. His creator — Peggy Black from Connecticut — was flown to Los Angeles, introduced to the Simpsons animation team and helped design the character. But despite all the effort that went into his creation, Ricardo didn’t have much of a shelf life.
The Simpsons executive producer Al Jean claimed Ricardo could become a recurring figure in the show — only for that potential to be upended by the actual events of “Million Dollar Maybe.” At one point in the episode, Homer’s car was sent careening over the side of the highway, tumbling down a mountain. He passed by Ricardo, who’s driving towards Springfield with the intent of moving there. Played by series regular (and former voice of Apu) Hank Azaria, Ricardo recited his self-admitted catchphrase — “Soon, you will be mine!” — but was so distracted that he crashed his car into the side of the mountain and died.
It was a sudden and violent end to the character, which isn’t all that out of the ordinary for the series that casually killed off characters like Frank Grimes almost as soon as they were introduced. What made Bomba’s death more surprising is that it quietly turned the entire contest into a joke. The stunt set up the possibility that the winning character was poised to become a new addition — only for the producers to kill him off instantly as if commenting on the whole concept.
Ricardo’s potential role as a seductive man in Springfield wasn’t a bad concept, as it would have likely added some fun potential drama in his various pursuits. But that kind of character is also one the show has tackled before, stretching all the way back to Season 1’s “Life on the Fast Lane” and Jacques, the bowling instructor who tried to start an affair with Marge. Other characters like Apu and Lou have been cast in that kind of role at various points, too. With that in mind, there wasn’t much room for Ricardo in Springfield, so maybe it’s better that he never made it there.