Master Shake, usually referred to as simply Shake, is one of the four main characters of Aqua Teen Hunger Force.
The self-proclaimed leader of the Aqua Teens, Shake is self-absorbed, capricious, erratic, and attention-seeking. Often being unable to regulate his emotions, his moods change rapidly and unpredictably from positive to negative over extremely short periods of time. His judgement failing to correlate with a nuanced reality, he perceives and rationalizes nonsensical things that don't make sense to anyone besides him. Carrying a precarious and fragile sense of self, Shake has attempted to - at times drastically - change himself to support his delusional self-image and low self-esteem as seen in episodes such as "Supermodel,""The Dudies," and "Super Hero."
As his name implies, Master Shake is a giant white milkshake drinking cup with a pink bendy straw protruding from his head. Although Master Shake does not have a nose, arms, legs or feet, and any reproductive organs, he does have two yellow hands with only four fingers connected to each side of him. His lack of arms is shown to make picking up objects somewhat difficult. While Shake doesn't have legs, he refers to his base as his "one thick ankle" in "Kangarilla and the Magic Tarantula." Just like Meatwad and Frylock, Shake occasionally wears clothing, but does not typically wear them. Like Frylock and Meatwad, Shake has a jewel under his cup, only seen in the The Last One Forever and Ever (For Real This Time) (We Fucking Mean It)
Personality[]
Impulsive, self-centered, vain, insecure, and unstable, Master Shake is both the self-proclaimed leader of the Aqua Teen Hunger Force, and arguably its weakest link in terms of cohesion. He has a need to be in control of all things, and yet detests the responsibility that position and desire incurs. Best described as a Free Spirit at the best of times, and an active detriment at the worst, the sentient milkshake repeatedly proves himself to be foolish and one part of the duo of dorks that play off the straight man of their team, Frylock. Yet, despite the surface, Master shake is more than the seeming sum of his parts.
The world for Master Shake is different to the one others live in; within a hostile and cold reality, the warmth of acknowledgment and the blanket of attention are tools used to keep the drink cup sane, and a loss of such things only causes him to act out, searching for more of what he feels is missing. Desperate for any shred of attention - be it positive or, most often, negative - Shake lives to be an embodiment of spectacle. There is no length he won't go to, nor end he won't justify to cultivate some form of attention or acknowledgment. He feels almost entitled to their attention, that their ignoring him isn’t right, and that they should love and accept him for who he thinks he is – rather than his true self that he is oblivious to. Master Shake carries with him some traits associated with worst types of actors, politicians, and people, all for that sole purpose of attention.
However, his egotism, entitlement, anger, and vanity are, in actuality, a myriad web of defensive distortion used to mask feelings of deep vulnerability, envy, loneliness, and shame. Holding a profound fear of abandonment and rejection[1], he compensates for his underlying feelings of emptiness and insecurity with a grandiose persona. Internalizing both an intense superiority and inferiority complex, as well as an unstable, fragmented sense of self, and a lack of impulse control, Shake is overwhelmed and unable to cope, so he unconsciously projects those negative emotions onto others.[2] Taking the form of violent outbursts of physical and verbal abuse, he uses these to short-circuit unwanted feelings of humiliation and insult, as well as avail any criticism that threatens to fracture his fragile self.
Mirroring his own insecurities, shame, fragility, as well as his feelings of impending rejection onto those around him allows Shake some level of grounding using them. In addition, Shake has trouble comprehending a split between himself and others,[3] and going along with this, he flip flops rapidly and starkly between liking someone and despising them. Often thinking and acting in extremes with little to no gray area. Where one moment he will be jovial and having a good time with Meatwad, the next he will be mistreating and abusing him over something as innocent as an off-hand comment made as a surface-level joke.
The worst of it all is the void within himself, however; its presence grows when he remains unstimulated. Boredom, it would seem, is the vehicle of despair and a safe harbor for self-loathing and anger. Thus, when Shake becomes bored, his worst self shows; he can and will commit awful acts to distract himself – or cause a reaction in others to become a distraction – in order to escape the dreadful emotions within. From hurting himself to tormenting Meatwad, Master Shake will do anything to feel something besides that. When all else fails, this turns on himself and his boredom becomes self-destructive with no-one around to inherit the actions. Compounded with his anger at his failures - whether real or imagined - this progresses into direct suicidal tendencies.
While it wouldn't be wrong to say that Master Shake is a bad person, it would, however, be both objectively incorrect and morally bankrupt to merely brand him with a label as 'True Evil' and throw him into that pile with no further thought. Master Shake suffers a myriad of mental issues cast through a humorous lens, but when removed from the lens of comedy it's clear he is a tragic character in his own way.
Powers and Abilities[]
Unlike his brothers Frylock and Meatwad, Shake does not appear to possess any kind of special or remotely useful powers. The only real power that he frequently displays is his ability to rhythmically contract his body and eject some type of thick, green fluid through his straw (which does absolutely nothing except splatter on the ground).
Shake can also suck up water through the end of his straw, as shown in the episode, "Bus of the Undead."
On the very last episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force Forever, Shake had the same jewel like Frylock on the bottom of him. And he was going to blast them with his eyes, but it didn't work because his jewel was dying out too.
Jobs[]
Given his laziness and contempt for authority, most of Shake's actual paying jobs (not counting his get-rich-quick schemes that never pan out) have been forced on him by Frylock and never last very long.
The closest thing Shake has had to an actual job is likely found in the episode "Robositter," where he worked at "Slurp-a-Lunch" at the mall with Frylock as his supervisor. This job involved him turning meats, particularly ham, into smoothies. Shake quickly decided that the job was stupid and started goofing off. He even broke into a room that only managerial staff are allowed into, so he could steal and destroy the rain poncho that Frylock was working so hard for. The only other instance of Shake performing a relatively honest job was in the episode "Piranha Germs," where he was hired to spread a deadly disease.
Shake has also tried making many business deals, usually to scam others out of money. In "Dumber Days," he tried to take advantage of Meatwad's newfound intelligence by taking ten percent of Meatwad's profits by doing almost nothing. Shake also pulled a scam with Carl sometime before the events of "The Meat Zone." This involved selling a large amount of tacky merchandise to promote an oil stain on Carl's driveway that vaguely resembled Jesus. He also tried becoming a musician in "Spirit Journey Formation Anniversary," where he made a deal with Zakk Wylde to create a new birthday song to replace the old one. He pulled a similar stunt, when he tried to become a musician after Meatwad became famous in "Chicken and Beans." He also tried to patent the "Buddy Nugget" behind Frylock's back in the episode "Buddy Nugget."
He's also tried to be an assassin in both "2-And-a-Half-Star Wars Out Of Five" and "Working Stiffs." However, in the former, he tried too hard to be cool and missed every shot, and in the latter, he was too stupid to do anything right and abandoned Meatwad at the first sign of danger.
He's also tried getting into show business. He pitched Meatwad's comic book to [adult swim] in "Rocket Horse Jet Chicken," and he was an actor in "Deleted Scenes." He also stole the identities of two famous rappers to release his own album in "A PE Christmas." He tried performing in "Antenna" and "Dummy Love." Furthermore, he had a hallucination about performing in "Hypno-Germ."
Shake has also held some miscellaneous jobs, such as being a circus freak in "Circus" or becoming a marine in "The Marines", both of which ended in failure and humiliation. He tried becoming a superhero in "Super Hero," but he did not succeed in any way, mostly because of his failed attempt to get superpowers. He ruined Carl's car in a demolition derby in the episode "Kidney Car." He tried becoming a beta tester in "eDork" and "IAMAPOD". In "Last Dance for Napkin Lad," it was supposedly revealed that Shake was actually a spy, and so were Frylock and Meatwad.
Relationships[]
While Master Shake doesn’t have many relationships, even being implied to isolate himself in “IAMAPOD,” he has the tendency to become easily and quickly attached to new people, idealizing them to support his needs and mental narrative, often even clinging onto them.[4] His mind reshapes them and their relationships to be wholly beneficial to himself, and this becomes his reality. It's when they contradict the narrative, and worse: his needs, that they become subjects for his ire, or malice. This is directly correlated with his desire to be loved and accepted; if the people around him can find something to appreciate about him and accept him as he is, then he can use that validation to love and accept himself in spite of his self-esteem.
This cycle is born from his fear of abandonment and rejection[5], as well as a yearning to protect himself from feelings of shame and disappointment. Shake’s immediate reflex when faced with humiliation, inadequacy, or betrayal is to lash out and devalue the one’s he once idolized for breaking the illusion, splitting on them.[6] This usually manifests as outward verbal attacks and assault. Although, this isn't always the case: it can also manifest internally towards himself, taking form of self-destructive behavior, bursts of self-harm, or suicidality.
The natural consequence of these actions and thoughts, of course, begets a specific slew of complicated and unstable relationships; those subjected to his changing whims and temperament don't know why they're treated how they are, and it makes relationships with Shake rocky. This distance with Shake is perceived as yet another negative reaction towards himself and fuels the self-same cycle, while also worsening his self-conscious issues. This pushes him to act out in anger against his family, his friends, as well as objects around him, and even himself, in order to feel something beyond the loneliness inside.
Frylock[]
Master Shake’s relationship with Frylock is the most consistent one Shake has, even though it’s not a good or healthy relationship. Frylock demonizes and demeans Shake at almost every opportunity and when he isn’t, he’s either downplaying Shake’s desires or ignoring his existence as best he can. He makes it no secret that he has little patience for Shake and almost no care left for him either, almost always taking Meatwad’s side instead, preferring Meatwad over Shake.
Shake, despite acting as Frylock’s scapegoat, has shown a yearning to become closer with Frylock. He admits this in “Hospice” as well as seeking Frylock’s approval and validation in “The Dudies.” Nevertheless, Frylock’s chronic remoteness and antagonism toward Shake creates a contention point between them. Shake despises Frylock for continuously shattering his illusions of closeness as well as thinking the worst of him no matter what. Shake reflects Frylock’s subtle and not-so-subtle abuse back at him, his projection only causing more anger and distrust from Frylock, creating an endless cycle of passive aggressiveness and not-so passive slights.
Meatwad[]
Shake’s maladaptive thoughts and behaviors commonly affects Meatwad the most. Shake is seen frequently abusing, tormenting, and bullying the young meatball.[7] These actions are, however, not one-sided as we’ve seen Meatwad unfairly mistreat and manipulate Shake even without provocation,[8] most notably in “Party All the Time” where Meatwad tricks Shake into getting stung by a swarm of bees and eating a scorpion which later almost kills him. Perhaps worse than that, Meatwad heavily manipulates and exploits Shake’s insecurities and self-conscious nature in “Supermodel” to convince him to undergo dangerous and illegal plastic surgery, mutilating Shake’s body and then mocking and shaming Shake afterwards. Despite this, Shake does not hate Meatwad, he’s actually fond of him, he just doesn’t like him all the time. There are multiple instances of the two brothers getting along and even playing games together as seen in “Wi-tri” and “Grim Reaper Gutters.”
These erratic shifts between liking Meatwad to despising him for no apparent reason are unpredictable and haphazard with seemingly little to no warning or awareness on Shake’s behalf. On the few cases he seems to be aware of his actions, they are predominantly impulsive.
It’s worth noting that since the shift to Aqua Unit Patrol Squad 1 and onward, Shake has been treating Meatwad with more respect.
Carl[]
Despite Carl’s apparent disdain for the drink cup, Shake often mistakes their relationship to be closer than it actually is. As seen in “Super Squatter”, Shake dismisses Carl’s boundaries, completely oblivious to them; believing himself to be entitled to Carl's possessions as two best friends might be. Carl often abuses Shake’s mostly one-sided friendship with him to order the milkshake into doing favors for him while also implanting unhealthy ideas and habits inside Shake.
In addition, just like Meatwad and Frylock, Carl is also subjected to Shake’s varying and, at times, volatile mood swings, temper, and projection. In “Laser Lenses,” Shake treats Carl as though he is beneath him, and thus servile to him, demanding Carl buy him food and then bullying him for the entertainment of it and to feel in control.
Nonetheless, the two have bonded partially;[9] notably in “The Dudies” when Shake admits he admires Carl and processes to takes his advice, attempting to win Carl’s approval by mimicking him. This is an example of not only Shake’s unstable sense of self, but also his need for validation and attention from others. Their strongest bonding occurred most recently in “Anubis” when Shake sweetly comforts a crying Carl and reassures him of their friendship.
Criminal Record[]
NOTE: This list is not yet complete.
Animal Cruelty: In "Reedickyoulus", he microwaves his cat and Meatwad's numerous pets. In "The Marines", he kills a cat with a drill. In "Freedom Cobra", he kicked Meatwad's pet dog, Bobby.
Armageddon: In "The Granite Family", he causes a nuclear war and kills almost all life on earth.
Arson/Terrorism: In "Super Hero", he sets the city on fire in an attempt to get some publicity.
Assault: In “Time Machine”, he knocks Carl out with a lamp.
Attempted Murder: Shake attempted to drown Ezekiel in Carl's pool with a block of concrete in the episode titled "Ezekiel."
Bestiality/Necrophilia: In "Reedickyoulus", he has sex with the numerous pets he killed. This may also count for necrophilia since they were zombies.
Breaking and Entering: In “Super Squatter” he invades Carl's house without his permission. Additionally, in “A PE Christmas”, he attempts to break into a Better Buy.
Counterfeiting: Shake, along with Frylock, use their cloning device to counterfeit money in "The Cloning."
Draft Evasion: In "The Marines", he attempts suicide in order to avoid having to join the marines. However, he survives and is forced to go anyway, despite his injury.
Destruction of Property: Shake often has the tendency to lash out against his surroundings, most notably in "Hands on a Hamburger" wherein Shake shatters a sliding glass window.
Eco-Terrorism: In "Revenge of the Trees", Shake, along with Carl, decides to dump the deep fryer's oil in the forest.
Enforced Suicide: In "Lasagna", he teases Carl with his lasagna and makes him chase after it, causing Carl to jump out the window, presumably kill himself in the process. He traumatized Meatwad to the point of becoming suicidal in "Zucotti Manicotti", and in “Gee Whiz”, after the Homeless Guy stands on the billboard and claims to be Gee Whiz, Shake asks him if he can fly. In response, the guy jumps off of the billboard and dies upon impacting the road.
First-Degree Murder: Manipulated by The Freedom Cobra, Shake murders Carl inside his home.
Frameup: In "T-Shirt of the Living Dead", Shake tells Meatwad to take on a hammer form while he breaks the glass case that contains an ancient T-shirt. As he steals it, he leaves Meatwad to take the fall for the security guards as they pile on top of him.
Graverobbing: Via Frylock request, Shake is ordered to find a substitute body for Carl in "Total Re-Carl."
Identity Theft: In “A PE Christmas”, he steals Flavor Flav's identity and releases a Christmas album under his name.
Illegal Possession of Firearms: Shake and Frylock own at least two guns; these had to have been obtained illegally as the two are not U.S. citizens.
Mayhem: Shake, by his tattoo's demand, was put into a trance and forced to eat human flesh in "Freedom Cobra."
Manslaughter: In "Juggalo", he throws a piece of concrete at a highway, causing a car crash and killing at least one person in the process. In "Brain Fairy", he accidentally runs over a homeless man while taking his drivers test.
Murder by Proxy: In "Zucotti Manicotti", he tricks Meatwad into killing the titular character.
Obstruction of Justice: In “The Creditor”, Shake is coerced and blackmailed into helping the titular character bury dead bodies.
Stalking: In "Freda" after falling into depression, Shake stalks Freda in attempt to win her back several times.
Theft/Robbery: In “T-Shirt of the Living Dead”, he steals an ancient T-shirt from a museum. In “Kidney Car”, he steals Carl's car and enters it in a demolition derby. Shake also steals Carl's chair, lamp, and pants in "Time Machine."
Torture: In "PDA", he uses their portable crane and Carl's pool to torture Meatwad via drowning.
Shake knows how to make a dish of lasagna, steak, and duckling a l'orange. It is heavily implied that throughout the series, Shake enjoys cooking to some extent.
Shake also knows how to operate a helicopter at the end of Lasagna.
Shake appears to have no brain. This is because when Dr. Weird was creating him, he instead gave Shake half of his hair and his kidney to use as a brain, and he believed this would be enough to compensate for a brain.
Although it is unknown if it was truly a brain, The Brain Fairy from the episode of the the same name harvested him of it. This also reveals that he has internal organs, like a heart, veins, and intestines. He is able to continue moving and talking even without the "brain."
In the Space Ghost Coast to Coast episode, Baffler Meal, early versions of the entire Aqua Teen Hunger Force are shown. As a result, Master Shake's flavor is depicted to be that of chocolate ice cream. This was later changed due to the fact the show's creators and producers felt that chocolate resembled fecal matter. The green substance he ejects from his straw on occasion is suggested to be pistachio flavored ice cream, though this has not been confirmed or elaborated on.
It seems like Shake has a taste for human flesh, eating Carl's dick and enjoying the flavor in Dickesode, as well as eating "Inside-Out Boy" after mistaking him for cherry cobbler left in the bathtub at the end of the episode Circus. Shake even ended up devouring Meatwad's dog, Carl, and a doctor's hands in order to satisfy his tattoo in Freedom Cobra.
In "Last Last One Forever and Ever", he is portrayed by H. Jon Benjamin, who wears a white jumpsuit, yellow gloves, and a backwards pink baseball cap (to mimic Shake's pink straw), and goes by the name "Don Shake."
In 2010 during the "Aqua Teen Hunger Force Live" tour, series creator Dave Willis confirmed that Dr. Weird is indeed the creator of Master Shake, Frylock, Meatwad, and Chicken Bittle, making them all brothers.
In a Season 5 episode, Shake claims that he is 30 or 40 years old (despite acting like a teenager). In "Rabbot Redux", it is mentioned that Shake is almost 40 years old. In Aqua Teen Hunger Force Zombie Ninja Pro-Am, Frylock mentioned that "he was pushing 40".
Shake is not depicted as being religious, but in the episode "Der Inflatable Fuhrer," it is implied that Shake is a Scientologist.[11]
Shake had previously been depicted as a fan of Battlefield Earth (and a collector of 7-11 Cups related to the movie) in the episode "Broodwich".[12]
Shake does not have his own bedroom in the house. The only mention of this in the show was at the end of "Handbanana". It is implied throughout the show he simply sleeps on the chair or the floor in the living room in front of the TV. According to Dave Willis, this is because they forgot to give him a bedroom. [13]
In a 2009 interview, Snyder has said, "I’m into old showbiz stuff like Don Rickles, which I think reflects in Master Shake, of course. I always inject little secret nods to my old comedic heroes..."[14] Co-creator and co-writer Willis said, "The guy who's the main voice of Master Shake, Dana Snyder, is really, really talented, and helped us take that character in a totally different direction."
Out of the deaths of the Aqua Teens, Master Shake has the most deaths. Also on that note, Shake has the second most deaths out of all the main characters, beaten by Carl who has the most deaths of all of them.
It is shown in "She Creature" when Shake jumps off Carl's roof and his lid falls off he can't breathe without it.
During the end credit scene for Aqua Teen Forever: Plantasm, Master Shake is transformed into a vampire by Markula. Shake has expressed extreme fear of vampires many times throughout the show
