Malum Kranus, also known as Anti-Pops, is the main antagonist of Season Eight. He is the last and most powerful villain, and he made his first debut in the episode "The Dream Warrior,” and later made a full appearance in "Space Escape.”
He looks similar to Pops, having a darker appearance. He is Pops' illegitimate brother, and both siblings were born on their home planet Lolliland. He and Pops are fated to battle each other for the fate of the universe every 14 billion years, but every single time, the duel ends in a stalemate and their perfectly-balanced powers cause the universe to reset.
After billions and billions of failed attempts to kill Pops and destroy the universe, Anti-Pops actively seeks to hunt down and erase his brother from existence before their fated final battle, breaking the cycle so he can finally erase the universe for good. Mordecai and Rigby gave him the nickname "Anti-Pops" after they first saw him. In the finale, he dies with his brother Pops, showing some remorse for his past actions.
Biography
Endless Cycle
According to the chronicles of Lolliland, Anti-Pops (aka Malum Kranus) was born as the embodiment of pure evil because reality had to balance itself with his brother Pops, who is considered the embodiment of pure good and the most powerful being in Lolliland. Due to their personality difference and power, both beings fight each other, with Pops wanting to protect the universe and Anti-Pops wanting to destroy it.
The fight had always ended in a stalemate where they both threw a punch at each other and the universe reset once again. Each battle has ended in a draw and universal reset billions of times, causing Anti-Pops to attempt to seek out and kill Pops before he can unlock his true powers and before their final battle, breaking the endless cycle and allowing Anti-Pops to finally destroy the universe for good. However, the wider galaxy would become aware of him and his plans, establishing a resistance movement sworn to protect Pops from his brother (dubbing him "He Who Will Erase Us") at all costs.
The Search for Pops
While the Park gang is in the Space Tree and before, Anti-Pops managed to build an army and lived in a space station where it served as his HQ. During his time, he usually gives bad reviews and 1-star ratings to online food websites even though he didn't visit them or eat there himself.
In "The Dream Warrior" he hired Carl, a nightmare alien, to track Pops down. The alien managed to find the location, albeit beaten up by Pops in his dream. Having the location allowed Anti-Pops and his army to attack the Space Tree to kill Pops before he restores his original being.
He is first spotted by Mordecai and Rigby in "Space Escape" when they are shopping for a graduation party, when he joins his soldier hurrying the cashier for the change. Anti-Pops later erases the cashier from existence to get back to his ship for the Space Tree invasion. His army managed to capture the Space Tree but Pops and his friends escaped. He seized an escaping spaceship only to realize that it was a distraction for Pops to lure him away rescue the prisoners. All the Space Tree personnel escape and battle against Anti-Pops' army. Anti-Pops' space station used a tractor beam to capture the Park Dome but Chance Sureshot sacrificed himself by shooting the gunner while outside of the dome, giving time for the Space Dome to escape.
After losing Pops, Anti-Pops put a bounty of 50,000 space credits on him in hopes of somebody capturing or killing him. One bounty hunter attempted to capture Pops in the UMAK shop but was stopped.
In "Kill 'Em with Kindness", he has his first meeting with Pops through a telepathic connection, and Pops offers to make peace between them and become friends. Anti-Pops takes advantage of Pops' innocence and invites him to meet at an arcade. But when they meet, it turns out to be a trap and Anti-Pops tries to kill his brother, who tries to talk to him to no avail. When Anti-Pops is about to kill Pops, his friends arrive to save him and escape, but along the way, Anti-Pops manages to kill Pops' teacher, Earl, while fighting him.
Final battle and death
Anti-Pops appeared with his four bounty hunters in "A Regular Epic Final Battle". Arriving on Lolliland, Anti-Pops confronts Pops and Park Crew. Anti-Pops declares the duel, saying that if Pops wins, the universe will be safe, but if Anti-Pops wins, the universe will be destroyed. The two brothers took off their clothes and ended up in a fierce hand-to-hand combat duel until Anti-Pops ordered the bounty hunters to attack. Then Streaming arrives to pursue his own vendetta against the Park Crew, unintentionally lending Anti-Pops his assistance. Luckily for the Park Crew, Blu-ray, DVD, Death and several of their allies arrive and help Pops defeat Anti-Pops' minions. The bounty hunters and Streaming are killed in the battle as Anti-Pops unlocks his Titan Form, erasing and killing everyone on Lolliland and completely destroying Lolliland, devastating Pops, Mordecai, and Rigby.
This was the last straw for Pops, who unlocked his Titan Form and the two brothers fought. Just as they are about to collide their fists, the universe glitches, due to the intervention of Mordecai and Rigby, sending them back to the episode "The Power" and not completely resetting from the collided fists.
Later, Mordecai and Rigby arrive to assist Pops, but Anti-Pops attempts to erase them as well. However, Pops catches his brother in a hug, in which Anti-Pops returns to his original size. Upon seeing his brother heading to the sun, Anti-Pops accepted his fate. Accepting the hug, Anti-Pops looked at Pops and smiled at his brother in admiration as the two brothers died together.
Appearance
He is similar to his brother, Pops, but all black around him and fully glows white, in addition to a black colored cape. In the finale, he's revealed to have a 24-pack, and his eyes are completely white. He has a mustache and a long beard, he has white sharp teeth, and long eyebrows. He wears dark armor throughout with a belt and a large cape with spikes both at the bottom and at the top of his shoulders.
In his giant version, he retains his mustache and long beard, he has horns on his head, a half-broken one, and wounds can be seen on his face. He possesses armor with shoulder pads and dark clothing along with a large belt, though he wears no clothing on his torso. He is also much larger and more muscular, exceeding the size of a solar system, because in one scene it is seen that he creates one just by spitting saliva.
Personality
A complete opposite of Pops, Anti-Pops is introduced as a bookish, rude, tyrannical, homicidal, ruthless, destructive, malevolent, and genocidal entity bent on destroying all existences in the universe. His speech patterns are reminiscent of Victorian era England. He is also extremely picky about food and beverages as he often tries to rate the lowest rank (often one star) for any kind of online food and beverage service, which displeases him. On one occasion, he is enraged to know that he cannot post a negative star for bad service.
Anti-Pops acts disrespectfully towards anyone and does not even care about the life of any existing being, undoing his anger by erasing things or people. He is always angry and yells at others as he happens to his soldiers. The only thing that makes him happy and laugh is when he murders others for fun.
After being defeated by Pops due to an interference of time-traveling Mordecai and Rigby, Anti-Pops was afraid of dying at the same time that he and his brother die together to the sun during his brother's sacrifice to stop Anti-Pops' terror. But he did show remorse for his past actions and gave his brother a hug to atone them.
Abilities
- Immortality: Anti-Pops has existed for millions of years throughout countless universal resets, which also leads to him having great experience in space.
- Combat Techniques: Anti-Pops has proven to be a good combatant on par with his brother because he has trained for years for their eventual battle.
- Super Strength: Anti-Pops possesses a muscular body with up to 24 abs, he is capable of destroying planets with just his fist, and his strength can overcome the gravity of a black hole.
- Super Speed: Anti-Pops can travel quickly through space, since he passes through many planets in his path.
- Superhuman Resistance: Anti-Pops manages to resist being burned and exploded at the same time without harming him, claiming that the Park Crew's overly-destructive trap used to ambush him merely tickled him. Plus, he survives the explosion of the universe in the final battle without being affected.
- Flight: Anti-Pops has the ability to fly.
- Teleportation: Anti-Pops can teleport across great distances.
- Telekinesis: Anti-Pops has the ability to lift objects with his mind or hands.
- Energy Projection: Anti-Pops can launch red energy rays capable of disintegrating or lifting objects.
- Energy Manipulation: Anti-Pops demonstrates several times that he could easily manipulate energy.
- Matter Manipulation: Anti-Pops can create or transform various objects or living beings.
- Shield Projection: Like Pops, Anti-Pops can create energy shields.
- Existential Erasure: Anti-Pops can erase anything and anyone from existence in the form of white glitches. This power can be used by throwing lightning at others, moving his hand or with a simple thought.
- Immunity to existential erasure: Existential erasure does not affect Anti-Pops, managing to be in areas erased from existence such as planets erased by himself.
- Mental Connection: Both Pops and Anti-Pops can connect with other people through the mind like these two do in order to meet and make peace (although Anti-Pops has other plans) and they can also talk through their minds in the real world.
- Appearance Alteration: Anti-Pops managed to become larger than a solar system by unleashing his wrath during the final battle.
- Creation of life: Anti-Pops has so much power that his saliva can create, for example, a solar system or other types of life, such as turning objects into living beings.
- Reality control: Anti-Pops has can unravel the very fabric of reality itself, managing to create sticky notes to attack, send other beings to a sketch or pilot episode dimension or turn the universe into a storyboard. He only used this power at the end of his battle against Mordecai, Rigby and Pops.
- Universal Reset: Anti-Pops also requires Pops to do this, but when they clash their fists, they end up causing a great explosion of power that restarts the universe, repeating their endless cycle. The only way this can be averted is if both brothers are killed by a means other than themselves.
Episode Appearance
Season Eight
- "The Dream Warrior" (Debut)
- "Space Escape"
- "New Beds" (mentioned)
- "The Ice Tape" (on a scroll)
- "The Key to the Universe" (vision)
- "No Train No Gain"
- "Kill 'Em with Kindness"
- "Meet the Seer"
- "Cheer Up Pops" (Mentioned)
- "A Regular Epic Final Battle"
The Lost Tapes
Fate
He was defeated from Pops' hug and died from burning in the sun, along with Pops, thus, he is now in the afterlife.
Relationships
Pops
He is his brother and although Pops does not hate him, Anti-Pops considers him his greatest enemy and has searched for him for years in order to kill him. When he finally fights with Pops, (who tried to avoid the fight) he murders all his friends, unleashing his rage. At the end of the battle Pops sacrifices himself by hugging Anti-Pops and flying into the sun with him. When Anti-Pops sees how someone really cares about him, he repents of his evil ways and hugs his brother, dying peacefully next to him.
Kill Count
- Comet Cashier ("Space Escape")
- Previous Universes ("The Key to the Universe")
- Alien ("Kill 'Em with Kindness")
- Earl ("Kill 'Em with Kindness")
- Engine Room People ("Kill 'Em with Kindness")
- Weird Mushroom Guy ("A Regular Epic Final Battle")
- Quadravi-Kranus ("A Regular Epic Final Battle")
- Frivola-Kranus ("A Regular Epic Final Battle")
- Guardian of Lolliland ("A Regular Epic Final Battle")
- Muscle Man ("A Regular Epic Final Battle")
- Hi Five Ghost ("A Regular Epic Final Battle")
- DVD ("A Regular Epic Final Battle")
- Blu-ray ("A Regular Epic Final Battle")
- Chance Sureshot ("A Regular Epic Final Battle")
- Toothpick Sally ("A Regular Epic Final Battle")
- Recap Robot ("A Regular Epic Final Battle")
- Guardians of Eternal Youth ("A Regular Epic Final Battle")
- Gary ("A Regular Epic Final Battle")
- Death ("A Regular Epic Final Battle")
- Carter and Briggs ("A Regular Epic Final Battle")
- Party Horse 42699 ("A Regular Epic Final Battle")
- Baby Ducks ("A Regular Epic Final Battle")
- Andy ("A Regular Epic Final Battle")
- Skips ("A Regular Epic Final Battle")
- Eileen ("A Regular Epic Final Battle")
- Benson ("A Regular Epic Final Battle")
Trivia
- He is voiced by Robert Englund, who previously voiced the Stag-Man and is most famously known for portraying Freddy Krueger from the popular horror movie franchise Nightmare On Elm Street.
- He is one of the antagonists of Regular Show with the most appearances with a total of 10 appearances in the Eighth Season.
- Due to his massive power, he is the largest threat that Mordecai and Rigby, as well as the rest of the characters, have ever faced in the series.
- His weakness is being suppressed by someone like Pops, who has high amounts of inner peace and goodness, through a hug.
- Malum Kranus can be interpreted in English as "Bad Head".
- He hates that Pops calls him his brother.
- His signature catchphrase is opposite to Pops, which is "Jolly Bad Show".
- He calls blue orange and vice versa.
- Anti-Pops is the only antagonist in the series to have permanently killed a minor character in the series, which in this case was Earl.
- He shares a few similarities with Mr. Ross:
- Both of them want to destroy the universe.
- Both have huge armies to back them up.
- Both of them have a grudge against one of the show's main characters:
- Mr. Ross has a grudge against Rigby.
- Anti-Pops has a grudge against Pops.
- However, Anti-Pops came to regret his actions moments before his death while Mr. Ross did not.
- Anti-Pops serves as a foil to Pops, had he chose to not regret the behavior intended to disrespect others.
- Anti-Pops' dark figure, glowing white eyes, and universal capability is very similar to Antispiral from the anime series, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann.
Gallery
Season Eight
"The Dream Warrior"
"Space Escape"
"The Ice Tape"
"The Key to the Universe"
"No Train No Gain"
"Kill 'Em with Kindness"
"A Regular Epic Final Battle"
The Lost Tapes
