The ugly little spud is arguably the face of the Ghostbusters franchise, but we don’t know much about Slimer aside from his gluttonous ways. He’s only got a little screen time in the movies, and it’s not like The Real Ghostbusters dug deep into the past of any of the team. So, Paul Feig and Katie Dippold, while working on the new Ghostbusters movie, tried to figure out just how the little guy came to be.
Their answer? Slimer was originally a gangster in Depression-era New York noted for his greed for food, and wound up going to the electric chair after killing a waiter over his meal. Originally he’s a standard ghost, but a run-in with the Ghostbusters and their poorly configured proton packs blows off his legs, turns him green, and distorts his body. But he’s still got his food, so we guess in the end it’s all good as far as he’s concerned.
It’s a little hard to imagine Slimer as an Edward G. Robinson-type sneering his way through New York, but then again, at least he’s easy to deal with providing there’s a hot dog cart nearby. And the origin might not be canon, as Slimer once again doesn’t have much to do with the story. Still, considering his last origin was that he was a gluttonous king who died of a heart attack, arguably he’s gotten an upgrade.
(Via Wired)
