Eustace Bagge is one of the three main characters in the Cartoon Network series, Courage the Cowardly Dog and serves as one of the major (on-off) antagonists of the show, specifically to Courage. He is Muriels husband and an elderly, skinny, jaded, disgruntled, cynical, greedy, hard-working American man who is interested in money and obsessed with his truck. Eustace is also the current owner of the farmhouse, which was previously owned by his now-deceased brother Horst. Eustace wears glasses identical in appearance to Muriels, and his brown hat shields his bald head.
Lionel Wilson originally voiced the character, but left midway through the third season (and eventually died five months after the show ended) and was replaced by Arthur Anderson. In the 2014 short titled The Fog of Courage, Wallace Shawn replaced Anderson as the voice of Eustace, while in the 2021 Scooby-Doo/Courage the Cowardly Dog crossover film Straight Outta Nowhere: Scooby-Doo! Meets Courage the Cowardly Dog, Jeff Bergman took over as the voice of Eustace.
Eustace often refers to Courage simply as “Dog” and rarely addresses him by name. Eustace is commonly the subject of an unpleasant ending, whether it being a backfire of his get-rich-quick scheme or the villain of the episode going after him, or better yet, getting his comeuppance at the end, often in quite brutal or fatal ways.
Lack of talent and good looks fuel Eustaces demeanor that has been a wreck since his childhood. Throughout his life, he lived under the shadow of his mean spirited brother Horst, was hated by his mother; and neglected by his father. This is probably why he is so angry all the time. He is in constant denial over his lack of abilities and, as such, believes he can fix anything. Eustace is excruciatingly greedy, and will seize any opportunity to be paid. Courages arrival was an unwelcome addition to his life, as it distracts his wife Muriel from feeding him; a fact that he emphasizes frequently, and paying attention to him in general. Despite this, Eustace has shown a genuine love towards Muriel (though not unbending in the least) and has on occasions allied with Courage to protect her. He is immune to emotions but has a soft spot for children that remind him of himself. His constant tormenting of Courage seems to be a disguise to cover up his own cowardice, which is also quick to be displayed in a scary situation; in fact, he often displays even more cowardice than Courage himself. His favorite musician is Velvet Vick, and his interests include watching television, fishing, and reading his newspaper.
Eustace is a very cynical and jaded old man who is usually irritated and frustrated by the world around him. Eustace has an unquenchable thirst for monetary gain. In almost every episode, he is seen sitting in his favorite red chair while reading a copy of the Nowhere newspaper and possibly watching his television which he deems precious to him. He has an adamant disliking for Courage and frequently calls him “stupid dog”, taking great pleasure in scaring and messing with him whenever possible, which largely stems out of jealousy that Muriel constantly pampers and dotes on Courage; however, it is not uncommon for Eustace to scare or mess with Courage just for fun or to get Courage to leave him alone.
Despite his seemingly mean demeanor towards Eustace, he may have some degree of care towards him. This can be seen when he initially refused to reveal the location of the key to his money box. Furthermore, he hid the key inside Eustaces hat for reasons unknown, which may mean that he trusted Eustace to some extent. And, the reason he never allowed Eustace to accompany him during his many travels was presumably to keep him safe from any danger. It should be noted that it was Courage who always saves Eustace from many danger with the latter always ignorant of it.
In contrast to Eustace, he was successful at any act he performed. He was a skilled hunter, a remarkable explorer, and collected several billion dollars over his lifetime. His ego is as massive as his profit, as he recognizes his own superiority. Throughout all his accomplishments, he never once enabled Eustace to be anything more than his “useless” younger brother. Horst has an odd connection to the supernatural. A photo of him shows conquest of a tentacled creature, and his box of money is seemingly an infinite realm containing a demonic monster.
He denied this information, claiming the box held nothing for Eustace. After much insisting, he submitted and revealed that it was hidden in his hats lining, but warned Eustace one final time not to open the box. It is unknown whether this was to protect Eustace from the demon within it, or keep his fortune concealed from him.
As an adult, Horst became a renowned explorer, well known for his discoveries of the Spa of Horns (Ep.44-2) and the Golden Hat (ref.Forbidden Hat of Gold). He created a legendary map to the latter, the location of which remains an archaeological mystery to this day. His finds gave him a prosperous fund that he kept hidden away within a secret box. By the time of his death, not a single person knew where the key to said case was, including Eustace. Posthumously, Horst was contacted by a medium, hired by his brother in an attempt to find the missing key.
Eustace and Horsts sibling rivalry was an unbalanced struggle that stretched through most of their lives. In their younger days, Horst was an amazing hunter, partnered with his favorite gun that he called Big Bob. The farmhouse was decorated with his trophies, but he didnt ever allow Eustace to accompany him.