Buford Van Stomm

"He's big, he's dumb, he's got the IQ of gum, he's got the brain about the size of a sourdough crumb! But he'll beat on your head, like a big-bass drum! His behavior is truly unruly; He's a Bully!"

- Ending lyrics of the song He's a Bully

Buford Van Stomm is a bully in the town of Danville.

Early life
Buford was born in the of a mother named Biff and an unnamed father. As a younger boy, he was weak and cowardly, and received a pet goldfish named Biff at a state fair after winning at a strength-o-meter. When a bully threatened to eat Biff, Buford, enraged, beat up the bully, and in turn became the bully himself. ("Voyage to the Bottom of Buford")

Personality
Although he is usually seen as a bully, including by the main cast, Buford is unusual in that he is just as often shown acting just like the other kids. Many events seem to indicatе that his usual bullying is used to hide a more caring nature beneath the surface. A significant display of his underlying character occurs when his fish, Biff, becomes lost in the ocean. Buford becomes extremely emotional, and when Phineas offers to help find Biff, Buford shows his appreciation by constantly wanting to give people hugs. ("Voyage to the Bottom of Buford") Buford also has a soft side for his long lost teddy bear Teddy Booboo (Picture This). Buford also is quite gentle behind his bully persona, such as when he said he always wanted to get into a giant bubble and float around like a pixie, or conveniently carrying a velvet rope.("Bubble Boys", "Chez Platypus") He also has a soft side for goldfish ("Let's Take a Quiz")

Despite being a bully, Buford seems to be friends with Phineas, Ferb and the rest of the main cast, and takes part in many of their exploits. He usually manages to get along fine with people, though he is often gruff or makes (usually idle) threats when annoyed. Whenever tasks are assigned, Buford inevitably seems to be partnered with Baljeet, with whom he has a particularly interesting relationship: while Baljeet seems terrified of Buford's threats at times, which is regularly justified, many other instances show them working together without any problem, and they are often seen together even when not involved in Phineas and Ferb's latest plan (i.e. "The Chronicles of Meap," "Swiss Family Phineas" and "The Lake Nose Monster").

To improve his skill at being a bully, Buford goes to Wedgie's: The Gym for Bullies ("Raging Bully"). He isn't always a bully. ("The Bully Code") Buford's Christmas wish is to be thought of as nice by his friends, despite generally acting naughty. ("Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation!") Buford can also play the drums,trumpet,and the violin. He's also in The Baljeatles, and in Phineas and Ferb's band (The Baljeatles, "Oh, There You Are, Perry")

Baljeet Rai
Buford seems to pick on Baljeet the most, yet seems to hang out with him the most, similar to a "frienemies" relationship. Unlike frienemies, there is no hatred between the two, with Baljeet even saving Buford from choking ("The Bully Code") and saying, "Merry Christmas, old buddy!" ("Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation!") It would seem that Baljeet cares for Buford, even though Buford treats him very badly. Baljeet often just gives up and lets Buford bully him. ("Get That Bigfoot Outa My Face!")

Phineas Flynn
Buford's first encountеr with Phineas during the summer resulted in Buford being embarrassed by ice cream falling on his pants. They settled their differences by thumb wrestling. ("Raging Bully") Outside of this incident, Buford has not done anything to Phineas that could be considered bullying, tending to reserve that treatment for Baljeet. However, it is revealed that Buford had stolen Phineas' bike when they were just toddlers, but later on returns it to him, along with everyone else's bikes he had taken. ("Summer Belongs to You!")

Later, after Phineas and Ferb helped rescue Biff, Buford became more friendly towards them and began taking a more active part of their adventures. He often appears in their backyard for bizarre or unexplained reasons.

Buford often calls Phineas "Dinner bell".

Isabella Garcia-Shapiro
The only one so far that sometimes makes him shut up is Isabella as she stands up to him when he is doing something to someone she knows or to herself. ("Raging Bully," "Out of Toon," "Got Game?")

Suzy Johnson
Buford seems to fear Suzy as Phineas told the kids to dress as the scariest thing they knew and he dressed up as her and after Isabella and Phineas left the room Buford is seen "wash[ing] away the horror" by a water faucet. ("One Good Scare Ought to Do It!")

Candace Flynn
Candace and Buford are considered frenemies. Buford helps Candace get to the top of a hill, then Candace thanks Buford and feeds him. ("S'Winter") As far as a conflict, Buford told Candace "Hey! Get back on your own chariot!" and threw her on her chariot. ("Greece Lightning") However, Buford says if Candace is in "Let's Take A Quiz", he's in. Also, Candace asks how Buford lost 5 points. ("Let's Take a Quiz") However, Buford wouldn't let Candace and Jeremy in the Chez Platypus. ("Chez Platypus") Candace then asks Stacy how him and Baljeet got the pizzazium infinionite, which they thought was a lantern. ("Vanessassary Roughness") Buford saves Candace's life. ("The Bully Code") Candace also said that Buford was naughty until one of Santa's elves puts him on the nice list. She says that Buford wanted to be thought of nice by his friends, which she is considered one. ("Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation!") In "Wizard of Odd," Buford speaks almost sweetly to her at the beginning of the episode. He is included in her dream sequence and she puts up with his song I Want Nothing because it was short.

Clothing and Hairstyle
Buford wears a black shirt with a skull on the front, set up in a "Punisher" style. He wears large, red hiking boots, with green khaki shorts. His hair is brown and cut in a buzzcut style.

Background Information

 * Buford's last name, Van Stomm, is derived from a Dutch word meaning "of the stupid", as told by Dan Povenmire in Dan Povenmire Correspondence. (Correct spelling provided by Jeff "Swampy" Marsh.) This is later confirmed in the Christmas special, Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation!.
 * Does not like to be embarrassed. ("Raging Bully")
 * Any time he loses to a girl in a competition, that competition doesn't count. ("Got Game?")
 * Plays Canasta. ("One Good Scare Ought to Do It!")
 * Plays the concertina, the trumpet, and the violin. ("The Ballad of Badbeard", "Chez Platypus")
 * Plays the drums. ("Gaming the System", "Don't Even Blink", "Tip of the Day", "The Baljeatles")
 * When asked to be a part of a haunted house and what frightens him most, Buford drеssed as Suzy Johnson, saying that she gives him the "willies". ("One Good Scare Ought to Do It!")
 * He owns a skateboard, which is shown in "Bowl-R-Ama Drama".
 * Described as "being from a bad home" and "missing a chromosome" by the ring announcer ("Raging Bully").
 * Carries a velvet rope with him wherever he goes. ("Chez Platypus")
 * Was afraid of giant squids until one tried to eat his goldfish. He overcame his fear and easily defeated it in one punch. ("Voyage to the Bottom of Buford")
 * Buford seems to be hungry very often. ("Swiss Family Phineas," "Vanessassary Roughness")
 * Buford often speaks about himself in the third person. An еxample of this would be when he says "Buford hungry" when holding the Pizzazium Infinionite. ("Vanessassary Roughness")
 * Great-nephew of Otto H. Adjacent, founder of the adjacent area which was unified with the Bi-State Area to form the Tri-State Area. ("Hip Hip Parade")
 * Buford sports a black T-shirt with a picture of a skull of on it. This is most likely a reference to Sid Phillips, the main antagonist of the film Toy Story.
 * He owns a video game player with a game "Jump and Duck" ("Gaming the System")
 * Buford seems to be able to speak fluent French (although he has only spoken one line in the language.) He does not want the others to know this, as it would tarnish his "bully" personality. ("Phineas and Ferb: Summer Belongs To You")
 * He could also be german.

Appearances

 * - These episodes are Spot the Diff episodes.