You might have heard the derogatory slang “bimbo” used several times throughout pop culture history, coupled with like-minded phrases such as “bubble-headed” to refer to attractive but unintelligent women, often of the frivolous kind. An exemplary use of the term “bimbo” comes from Batman: The Animated Series, in which Joker’s sidekick Harley Quinn describes how many enemies underestimate her as a “bubble-headed blonde bimbo” but she’s “not even a real blonde.”
The term “himbo” is a counterpart to “bimbo” that bares the same meaning, but instead refers to males. Himbos are large, well-built men who are often fundamentally stupid, but have giant hearts and oodles of kindness to spare. They’re oftentimes incredibly innocent and oblivious to the events happening around them, but fiercely loyal and optimistic… and the entertainment industry is full of them.
Adam Warlock — Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Introduced as the secondary antagonist of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Adam Warlock is the son of the High Priestess, who rules a race of hyper-intelligent and powerful beings known as the Sovereigns. The Sovereigns themselves were created by the High Evolutionary, who uses Adam’s gifts to track down and capture Rocket Raccoon. Although Adam might appear intimidating, he’s actually extremely dim-witted, which the High Priestess blames on the High Evolutionary removing him from his cocoon prematurely. In the end, he adopts a furry critter called Blurp and even saves Peter Quill’s life.
Ken — Barbie
The King of Himbos, if you will. Barbie has become a worldwide phenomenon since it destroyed the patriarchy and humanity’s toxic perception of male and female societal roles. Although Margot Robbie steals the show as “Stereotypical Barbie,” Gosling shines as Ken, a hopeless romantic conditioned to chase a love from Barbie that doesn’t exist. When entering the real world, Ken begins to believe that the patriarchy revolves around horses, akin to the civilization of the American Frontier. From “beaching off” to the “Mojo Dojo Casa House,” he isn’t the brightest bulb of the bunch.
Kevin Beckman — Ghostbusters
Replacing Annie Potts’ Janine Melnitz, the Ghostbusters‘ receptionist, Chris Hemsworth actually plays two himbos on this list. Maybe he has a certain aura about him, but everyone seems to cast Hemsworth as a gentle giant. As Kevin Beckman, he attends an interview with Erin, Abby, and Jillian to join the Ghostbusters crew, but when asked if he was “seeing someone” romantically, Kevin replied that he was seeing the three women in front of him. He also took the lenses out of his eyeglasses so that he “didn’t have to clean them,” if that’s any indication of his intelligence. But at least he was dubbed “eye candy” by Erin.
Kronk — The Emperor’s New Groove
Perhaps the prime example of a himbo, Kronk from The Emperor’s New Groove is Kuzco’s friend as well as Yzma’s sidekick. Essentially, he aids Yzma with her schemes to kill Kuzco and assume the throne while also helping Kuzco avoid Yzma’s death traps. Honestly, we’re not too sure whose side he’s on. Kronk can communicate with animals, for crying out loud. He’s always unintentionally foiling Yzma’s plot to kill Kuzco despite signing on as her assistant, plus he and Kuzco tend to make dumb decisions together, so he’s nothing short of wildly entertaining.
Kyojuro Rengoku — Demon Slayer
One of the biggest himbos of the anime sphere, Kyojuro Rengoku has a muscular-athletic build and a selfless nature. He was the late Flame Hashira and a major character in Demon Slayer‘s Mugen Train Arc. Kyojuro would always come across as enthusiastically eccentric, eventually devoting his life to his duties as a Hashira. He would often have an overbearing and loud disposition, which would make him seem immature despite working with extreme tactical finesse. And that’s where the himbo stereotype comes in, largely due to his volatility and naivety.
Johnny Storm — Fantastic Four
Marvel actors seem to be naturals when it comes to portraying himbos. Chris Evans’ Johnny Storm is the embodiment of a prankster, always making inappropriate comments about his teammates and their personal lives, such as when he interjected about Ben and Alicia having sex. He’s a “think first and ask questions later” kind of guy, but that gets him into heaps of trouble. He may be conventionally attractive, but Johnny is certainly the weakest link of the Fantastic Four when it comes to overall smarts. He took his superpowers for granted and acted out of self-interest when assuming the responsibility of protecting others.
Thor — Thor: Ragnarok
We’ll give Thor a pass, given that he’s from another world. Things aren’t the same in Asgard as they are on Midgard, so Thor had some major adjustments to make when he chose a life with Jane Foster. From discovering coffee for the first time to his run-in with the local psych ward, Thor has always been a little slow on the uptake when it comes to Earth. But even in later Thor features, namely Ragnarok, he’s proven to be far too innocent when it comes to dangerous situations. Just look at his fight against Hulk. Rather than preparing to defend himself, he simply waves and acknowledges Hulk as his companion.
Kristoff — Frozen
If not Marvel, then most of our beloved himbos come from Disney. If there were ever a hopeless romantic who’s far too precious for this world, it would be Kristoff. When he first meets Anna, he instantly falls in love, there’s no doubt about it. He would do anything for her, even put himself in harm’s way to protect her. He agrees to embark on a journey to find Elsa despite knowing Anna for less than a day. He then expresses interest in marrying her, which triggers Anna’s PTSD when it comes to Hans. Nice one, Kristoff. There certainly isn’t a light on upstairs.
Hercules — Hercules
When you have your own Disney movie named after you, you have more of a right to embrace the himbo title. Similar to Kristoff, Hercules falls in love with Meg at first sight. He then becomes this blubbering buffoon of a man who can’t even articulate how he feels about this gorgeous woman. He’s always been clumsy from a young age, but once Hercules gains formidable strength, it makes him extremely egotistical, which isn’t an attractive quality when courting a fine damsel in distress. He redeems himself, though not before falling for Hades’ painfully obvious plan to capture Meg.
Steve Harrington — Stranger Things
Often referred to as the “mom” of the Stranger Things kids, Steve very much takes on the responsibility of raising a bunch of teenagers once things start to get a little too real with the Upside Down. And that’s very commendable of him, but that doesn’t make him any less of a himbo. In the beginning, we’ll admit it, Steve was a resident douchebag. He changed after calling it quits with Nancy and discovering his independence, namely through his friendship with Robin, but he’s still as air-headed as ever and always asks the most outrageous questions.