Story
Death is none other than the Grim Reaper, and is a recurring character on Family Guy. When people die, he comes to collect them. He is a mamma's boy who lives with his mother and finds it hard to interact with women. He has asthma, hates the fact that he is dead and that he has no buttocks ("I am minus an ass"). He has also stated that he has lost his gag reflex due to taking part in films he is not proud of (as is evident when he eats a turkey leg off the bone in less than 3 seconds). Death is only responsible for people; when dogs die, it's up to Death's Dog.
Death has met the Griffins several times, usually having interactions with Peter.
On one occasion, in Death Is a Bitch, Death suffers a sprained ankle while trying to chase Peter, and has to rest up at the Griffins'. Concerned that people must not learn that the rules of death have been suspended, Death sends Peter to do his work, lending Peter his cloak and scythe. In the meantime, Death stays in the living room wearing a Providence College sweatsuit loaned to him by the Griffins
During Death Lives, Peter helps Death to get a date with Amy, an assistant in a pet store. When they finally get together over a coffee, Death discovers that her views on animals are irritating and boring, so he touches her with the usual results (she falls dead, spilling her coffee, as he calls for the check). Death in return helped Peter out with his relationship with Lois, as he also did in Meet the Quagmires, where he allows Peter to travel back in time to 1984 repeatedly to try and save his marriage with Lois. Death has only showed his face (which is actually a skull, with snakes where his hair ought to be) twice.
In Family Guy Viewer Mail a young Quagmire, in an argument with the young Peter over who was braver, bets Peter is too chicken to laugh Death in the face. Peter does this with extreme confidence, and Death, who is wearing a pro-smoking T-shirt, responds by saying 'Oh. Thanks. Like I don't have enough trouble fitting in'.
Trivia
- Death can be seen without his hood in Wasted Talent and Death Lives. His head is a skull covered with bugs, and a snake lives inside his skull.
- Death fits the stereotypical description of a teen rebel, never thinking he fits in and having girl troubles.
- In one episode, Death twists his ankle badly while chasing Peter under the mistaken impression that he's dead and has to stay at the Griffins until he feels better. However, in Death Lives, he is shown to have his entire lower leg broken off by a stray soccer balls and is later shown, legs intact and apparently none the worse for the wear.
- Stewie is a big fan of Death.
- Death is of ambiguous sexual orientation, evidenced by a number of things, such as:
- In Death Lives, he asks Peter for a photo of Edward James Olmoss' ass back, saying "I'm gonna need that Photo of Olmos's ass back."
- In Death Is a Bitch, he states that when he was younger he "Took part in some movies he was not proud of," and as a result lost his gag reflex.
- When animals see him they go into a panic.
- Oddly enough, whenever death touches someone, they usually die, but he has touched Peter multiple times with no harmful effects. In Death Lives this could be explained because Peter was having a near death experience, but other times he was fully healthy. This as of yet is unexplained.
- Death has no ass.
- When Death comes to collect Mr. Weed when he chokes to death, he scares the Griffins by imitating the cops.
- In Death Is a Bitch, Stewie is massaging his foot. However, he does not die.
- If death becomes incapacited then humanity becomes immortal and unable to feel pain until he is recovered