StupidFox Contest Essay

Proving StupidFox's intelligence, or lack thereof, would be almost impossible. While he does have moments of brightness, they are always balanced by moments of sheer stupidity. It seems difficult to see how the fox that can slap on a coat and pose as a child in costume to pilfer sweets on Halloween¹  could then turn around and drink out of a toilet bowl². The only logical answer appears to be that he is an extremely stupid fox that has anomalous moments of insight. However, while at first glance it seems impossible that someone who is smart would allow themselves to have such moments of stupidity, it is a combination that is relatively common.

There are many reasons why someone who is highly intelligent would decide their best course of action would be in pretence of stupidity.  It is, therefore, rather difficult to randomly assign a particular motive to StupidFox. As a fox of few words, an in-depth analysis of his thoughts is not an easy task. It might be possible to remove some of the more unlikely possibilities though, and as Sherlock Holmes said – "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."³

Children, and occasionally adults, may hide their intelligence to keep themselves safe from bullies - or avoid a bigger workload. While a common reason for trying to appear stupid, this is easy to discount in the case of StupidFox.  He lives an extremely simplistic life, so there is no work for him to avoid; the few tasks he does have give the impression of games more than work. As for bullies, rather than making himself safer by hiding his intelligence, he would appear to be endangering himself. This seems obvious when StupidFox eats a flower Raccoon is admiring⁴. The irritation Raccoon displays could easily end up in a sore nose for StupidFox.

Another option is that StupidFox may be a highly sensitive person, or HSP. Being HSP is a genetic trait that affects around twenty percent of humanity. For obvious reasons, the study of HSP has centred largely on humans, but it has been established that HSP has a similar ratio among animal species, including foxes.  Developed as a group survival technique, individuals with HSP are wired slightly differently so they are more sensitive to their surroundings, thus they are better at noticing danger and warning the rest of their social group. It is effective as a means of survival, but humans that are HSP often have other traits that can be negative; which often may include the urge to avoid attention.  This may involve hiding their intelligence, to make themselves appear more average.  Superficially, this does seem to fit StupidFox's personality. He appears to be sensitive to the changes in the environment around him; however, that does not seem to include a sense of his own danger – as can be suggested in StupidFox 17, whereby the oblivious fox received a gift from a child which rapidly led to the wrath of a mother. As a sense of one's own safety is one of the defining features of HSP, it may not apply to StupidFox⁵.

This brings us to the last possibility.  Recently, SilentReaper uploaded a comic which features BatFox and Rabbit⁶. While both were masked and identification was accordingly impossible, it should not be overlooked that perhaps BatFox is none other than StupidFox.  They appear to have no more than a passing similarity – there are many foxes in the world, after all – but after consideration of the man who must have inspired BatFox, the alikeness of Batman and StupidFox make it clear who may be the fox behind the mask.

It takes more than average intellect to create a secret identity and successfully hide it from even their closest friends, and if StupidFox is capable of such a thing, it is a very strong indication of his intellectual ability. There is a precedent for this though, in the form of Bruce Wayne. He also gives an impression of vapid stupidity, and in much the same way as StupidFox, he drifts through life in a carefree way. If stupidity were the only qualification though, there would be Batmans all over the world. The other point is that if Bruce Wayne were not rich and famous, pretending he was stupid would be pointless. The common knowledge of his stupidity is what keeps him safe from anyone at all suspecting he is Batman, and once that is known, the likelihood of StupidFox being BatFox gets higher.  While there are other foxes in the StupidFox world, as can been seen in the comics,⁷ StupidFox himself is the only one that enjoys such fame from his actions. As he is so famous, the illusion of stupidity is completely necessary to remove all suspicion that he is BatFox.

While Bruce Wayne and StupidFox do have many similarities, there is one underlying difference that will forever keep the two distinct. Behind Bruce is a permanent sense of purpose, a never-ending mission to avenge his parents and keep the senseless act that ruined his life from ever happening again. Behind StupidFox, there is happiness, and light-heartedness. However, this difference is not enough to quash the theory that StupidFox is BatFox, and therefore more intelligent than he often acts.  To truly appreciate the injustice of criminals who murder, steal and generally destroy lives, it is necessary to realise how wonderful and unique life is.  The joyful, intelligent creature that StupidFox appears to be would not be capable of watching evil without trying to stop it.

Thus, it seems clear that BatFox and StupidFox are one and the same.  The dichotomy displayed by StupidFox with his random moments of intelligence or stupidity all makes a certain kind of sense when it is known that there is a sharp brain behind the actions, and that nothing is without purpose; and it becomes obvious that, despite appearances, StupidFox is not stupid.

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^{1 StupidFox comic "Halloween".
2 StupidFox comic 14.
3 Sherlock Holmes in "The Sign of the Four".
4 StupidFox comic 25.
5 'The Highly Sensitive Person', Elaine N. Aron
6 StupidFox "BatFox and Rabbit".
7 StupidFox comic 33}