Dick Simmons

"Suck it, Blue!"

- Simmons to the Blue Team in Everything Old is New Again

Private First Class Richard "Dick" Simmons, also referred to as Simmons 2.0 by Sarge, is a main character in the machinima series Red vs. Blue and serves as the level-headed, straight man of the Red Team, voiced by Gustavo Sorola. He is a compulsive sycophant towards Sarge, despite the latter's psychopathic and frequently delusional leadership. He also spends much time with Grif, who he has a complex friendship with.

Simmons has stated that his ethnicity is Dutch-Irish and, in Season 2, he became a cyborg. Simmons also claims that he can mentally multiply any two large numbers, but gives an incorrect answer when tested. On occasions, he joins Blue Team for a short time due to his teammates' actions.

Overview
Simmons is shown to be very much like a stereotypical nerd. He was quite hateful towards his teammates at first, except Sarge, which causes Grif to call him a "kiss-ass". As the series progressed, however, Simmons began to treat his fellow teammates, and sometimes the Blues, with the greatest concern, respect, and compassion than most others; like friends or even family members. Simmons was intended to be the "smart, troubled guy," according to Rooster Teeth.

Simmons is also one of the most logical and intelligent characters in the series but seems to have a large ego, although he does maintain a high level of confidence. He also seems to be very self-conscious, as he considers suicide after Sarge demotes him, runs back to Blue base to cry after Church calls him a know-it-all, only uses his own toilet at home, and usually seeks approval from several characters in the series. It's also shown that despite having different personalities, Simmons and Grif have the same curiosity and ideas, such as the reason they were sent to Blood Gulch is pointless in Season 1 or when Grif tempted him about using the armor enhancements in Revelation.

Misadventures in Blood Gulch
Simmons appears in the first episode discussing with Grif about their reasons in Blood Gulch, and then called down by Sarge to name the new jeep, which they call the Warthog. When Donut arrives, both Simmons and Grif send him off on a fool's errand to get elbow grease and headlight fluid. Later, he and Grif come to save Donut with the Warthog, and pin Church and Tucker behind a rock. They then leave the jeep to find another way to get them, but are attacked by Caboose and Sheila and are forced to retreat back to their base. When Sheila attacks Red base, the Reds are saved by Sarge's air strike.

During Tex's first attack on Red base, he faints, but he later wakes up, reports Donut's serious injury, and guards Tex who is then a prisoner. During Church's rescue, he is knocked out by a possessed Sarge. When Donut returns, healed, pink-clad, and bearing Lopez's new voice chip, he warns Sarge to be careful when installing it, only to be ignored, and ending with Lopez speaking Spanish. As Tex launches her second attack on the Reds with Sheila, he and Sarge go to fight them off with the Warthog, only to be defeated moments later. When Lopez runs to the tank, Simmons questions whether they should go help him, with Sarge stating it would only ruin the moment.

Cyborg Body
In Season 2, Simmons and the Reds attack the Blues and take Doc as their hostage. Later, after problems with Doc and failing to return him the the Blues, Simmons is the first one to speculate that Lopez has been reprogrammed to help the Blue team after seeing a blue repair the tank. Sarge comes to the conclusion that someone should volunteer to turn into a cyborg to even the odds. That someone must be so loyal that they would never betray the team and have the capabilities to repair things; making Simmons the perfect candidate.

Simmons' new robotic body was created by Sarge, using some spare parts from a fax machine, resulting in all faxes to come through Simmons' ass. His robotic body also leads him to occasionally shoot himself in the foot and be based on a Freon-cooling system. For a while, Sarge calls him "Simmons 2.0", but, in season 4, Sarge reverts to calling him just "Simmons" again.

After the operation, Simmons remaining organs — except for his spleen, are transplanted to Grif in order to save his life after he is run over by Sheila, but it is unknown why, since Sarge claims to hate Grif (though most likely to have a legitimate reason to make Simmons a cyborg). Later the Reds make a trade of two robots to save Donut, but are confused when seeing Lopez and Shelia on their own team and then being attacked by O'Malley. The Reds and Blues are then forced to work together to fight O'Malley off. The two teams follow O'Malley into the teleporter, but with the teleporter malfunctioning, each character is separated, sending Simmons (alone) into the Teleporter Nexus.

Into the "Future"
In Season 3, Simmons attempts to reunite the teams, finding Sarge and Caboose first. After rescuing them using the Teleporter Nexus, Simmons shows hatred toward Caboose after taking the attention of Sarge, but things get worse when Caboose activates the bomb inside Church. After reuniting all the teammates, Simmons leads everyone (except Tex) against O'Malley, and comes up with a plan to stop him. He opens a portal to Battle Creek and has the Grunts attack O'Malley; but the rest of the team are too late to destroy the bomb inside Church. After the bomb goes off, everyone (except Church) is sent into the future.

After repairing a warthog the teams found, they obtain radio contact from Tex. The two teams reunite with her, later attacking O'Malley's fortress and defeat him. Simmons attempts to capture O'Malley with Grif during the attack, but O'Malley escapes. Simmons then tries to locate Lopez's head, but is interrupted when Caboose finds a message from Church before the entire complex shuts down. Later after the Reds get a distress signal from a "surviving red team", they follow it to the location to help them. In The Storm, the Red Team realizes that the distress signal has led them back to Blood Gulch.

Demotion
In Season 4, Simmons runs afoul of Sarge's fickle nature when he insists that Sheila is still roaming the canyon, Sarge declares him insane and demotes him. Having lost his purpose in life, Simmons suffers a breakdown, exiles himself from the Red Team, paints his armor mostly blue, and, assisted by Sheila, begins to wage a one-man war against his former team-mates. Before joining the Blue Team, Shelia tries to remember who the Blues were fighting and discovering his life is in danger tries to make a (terrible) lie. While on the Blue Team, Simmons starts noticing strange things have changed since they arrive, such as the bases having upgrades and more room when no one has been their since they left, making him question what has happened.

Simmons actually succeeds in "capturing" Grif, forcing Sarge and Donut to launch a rescue operation. But the two are foiled by Church, who suddenly returns to Blood Gulch. Although Simmons attempts to hide his true identity from Church, the latter privately reveals to Sheila that he has recognized Simmons all along. Tired of being used by him, Simmons challenges Church's authority, causing Church to contact Vic Jr. indirectly. After apparently hearing Church's conversation with Vic Jr., Simmons returns to the Red Base to relay information. With the rest of the Reds reluctant to accept him back, Simmons changes into maroon armor. Nevertheless, after a quick trial, Sarge imposes a hefty fine for treason and insubordination, to be split between himself and Grif.

Going forward, Sarge frequently called Simmons a traitor until Season 5, when Simmons went back to his normal role. Sarge seems to like Simmons even more, even saying that Simmons burying Sarge alive was a multi-layered tactic and that his treasonous insurrections hold the unit together. After rejoining the Red team, they find Lopez and have a message from command. When this message reveals no real information, Simmons and the reds are suddenly attacked by Church and Shelia, which Church explains every thing bad happening at their base, with only the Reds wondering about how Tucker is pregnant. The Blues retreat after Caboose reports on what just happened. Donut decides to see the baby after hearing that it was born, but is then crushed by a ship.

Red Team Takeover
At the start of Season 5, Simmons is concerned about trying to get the ship off of Donut, pointing out the best ways to do so, but Sarge ignores these ideas. When it is revealed that it is Grif's sister was in the ship, she states that she is their to replace their dead commander (really the Blue's), so he convinces Sarge that he is dead to become the new red leader. Yet, when it is revealed that Sister is on the Blue's team, Simmons realizes that now he and Grif need to go rescue their missing teammates from underground. Once they get underground, Simmons and Grif do contact Sarge and Donut, but are later drugged. When Simmons comes to, Grif is gone but then Sarge and Dount find him after Sarge realizes that Grif has his shotgun.

While underground, the Reds try to make contact with Vic Jr., but Simmons starts hearing an echo in a section of the caves and discovers that Vic Jr. was there communicating with Sarge, but then disappears, making Simmons believe that he has been lying. Once after getting back to the surface the Reds take the Blue Base but then come to save the Blues from the Wyomings. In the final episode, Simmons was possessed by O'Malley and when threatening to kill Sarge reveals that he'll take over the universe with an iron fist. But after the A.I. leaves Simmons mind, Simmons becomes normal again and figures out how to blow up the ship (if Church's plan fails) by using Andy. After the battle and witnessing the explosion, Simmons is last seen with Grif spying on the Blues, happy that things are back to normal, but then they go back to base to see the new motorcycles.

Later Adventures
After the events of the Blood Gulch Chronicles, Simmons, along with Grif, is transferred to a different base, with Grif being promoted to staff sergeant. Grif brings all of his typical laziness and incompetence to the role and the two soon face a firing squad for selling their ammo to the Blue Team. Sarge, on a mission to stop Washington, rescues them, and the three attack Wash and the Blues. An attack by the Meta forces them to team up, and Simmons and the other Reds assist Wash and the Blues in infiltrating Freelancer Command after facing some Freelancer soldiers in Valhalla. Here his insecure side surfaces again after Sarge praises Caboose for being willing to sacrifice himself for Church.

When the group split up, Sarge has Simmons hack into command so that they can delete the Blues. However, Simmons has second thoughts after finding the data, but Sarge quickly erases them before they regroup. When Wash and Church return, Wash explains to them that Church is the Alpha A.I. but the group don't believe it. Suddenly, the Meta arrives, prompting the group to escape with Epsilon while Wash stays to activiate an EMP, which will destroy all of the A.I. programs. As the Reds and Caboose escape, the EMP activates and shuts down the Reds' warthog. Luckily, however, Caboose manages to escape with Epsilon in hand. For bringing Project Freelancer to justice, the UNSC award the Reds and Caboose with bases at Valhalla as a result.

In Recreation, the Reds discover Donut in their new Hologram Chamber, built by Lopez, and debrief him. During so, Simmons slowly realizes that Sarge doesn't give him the respect that he thought he once had and becomes more unwilling to follow Sarge's orders. Later, when Sarge and Grif leave to help Caboose in finding Tucker, Simmons leaves to blow up the Blue base, but is slowed down when he accidentally insults Lopez for being a robot and later a Mexican when trying to apologize. He is again slowed down when he learns from Donut that Caboose still has the Epsilon A.I. When he tries to finish his goal of blowing up the Blue Base, he finds Donut in the Blue base meeting the Meta, then runs for his life to the Red Base.

After a continuous battle with the Meta, the Red team tries to get to safety as Simmons, Donut, and Lopez make a suicide run to find the Meta's vehicle. When they find the cloaked vehicle, they realize that it no longer functions. In a final attempt to save themselves, Simmons tries to use the vehicle's machine gun turret to kill the Meta, but isn't strong enough to move it without power. Washington then appears, seemingly to save the Red's, but reveals that he is working with the Meta and demands to have the Epsilon unit. The Red's, still confused, don't give an answer, making Washington shoot Lopez in the head and then Donut in the stomach, leaving Simmons alive. He then calls to Donut, hoping that he is alive.

Taken Prisoner
In Revelation, Simmons is forced to call for a medical officer (Doc) and reveals that Donut is dead. Before Washington and the Meta knock Doc out, he says he is sorry for putting Doc in the middle of the problem, wishing it wasn't him who was sent. When Doc wakes up Simmons explains most of what has happened and is forced to trick Sarge to return to Vahalla, but (accidentally) explains what has happened in a secret message. When the remaining Reds return, Simmons comes up with the idea of saving both him and Doc by overloading Doc's medical scanner to release a blast that could "reset" the Meta's systems, but when they get a chance to do it both are too scared to do so, then a large explosion is heard (where Washington was fighting the Reds), making the Meta decide to kill them.

However, Doc shoots the Meta with the blast causing the Meta to reset it's time control setting affecting itself just as Simmons predicted. Doc seems happy of himself, however Simmons states that the Meta is still a threat since he's moving at the same strength and speed, just that time is distorted at the moment; Doc refuses this fact and when the Meta touches Doc, he is thrown into a wall. Simmons attempts to help him but is forced to escape alone, due to the fact that the Meta was nearly done "recharging". He jumps onto the Warthog and is dragged by the Warthog's rear, before it's destroyed by the Meta. When the Meta prepares to eliminate the Reds, Epsilon suddenly arrives and leads the Meta away. The Reds then escape Valhalla, with Epsilon sealing their exit with a blast from his laser.

The Reds and Epsilon return, as Simmons is seen trying to fix Epsilon's systems before it is kicked away by Grif. Then, Grif tells him to be be cool which he does with a gangster impression. Once the Blues show up to see if they have Epsilon, the Reds (and Caboose) flee. They find Epsilon in the minefield but do not attempt to retrieve him. Unaware that it is a minefield, Simmons attempts to grab Epsilon but detonates a mine and gets caught in an explosion. While Epsilon is talking to Caboose, Simmons says that Blue Team has more stuff going on, all that ever happens in Red Team is food and guns. Sarge and Grif then confirm this as Grif says that he is hungry, and Sarge replies "Shut up or I'll shoot you in the head." He later joins Grif and Sarge to follow Caboose and Epsilon, unaware that Tucker is also following them.

Learning the Truth
Simmons is next seen outside the Freelancer Offsite Storage Facility with Sarge and Grif. After realizing that by posing as Agents of Project Freelancer F.I.L.S.S. would give them access to the facility, the Reds create Freelancer names in order to obtain access, but Grif calls himself Agent Pluto, ruining the attempt. Sarge, as a contingency plan, shoots F.I.L.S.S.'s module interface, giving them access. They discover a door that Caboose is guarding and the latter leaves as the door begins to weaken. Epsilon-Tex reveals herself from behind the door and attacks the Reds, and soon Tucker.

When Epsilon arrives Tex begins to beat him up, until they are all sent into Armor Lock where Simmons and the other Reds argue. Luckily, Epsilon soon releases them from armor lock when they agree not to hurt Tex. When Tex goes to find data files to find out who she is, Sarge sends Simmons with her so he can re-add the Blues back into the database. Later, while taking inventory, Grif comes to see Simmons overlooking some armor enhancements. He hooks up Grif with a Speed Unit and Grif runs around the whole facility, eventually coming back where he started, crashing into a wall.

Simmons later goes back to the files and, with the help of F.I.L.S.S., re-enters the Blues back into the database. While there, he also discovers that the war truly is fake, upsetting Sarge. As a following result, Sarge quits the army. When Caboose comes out to tell the others that Church and Tex are in danger Sarge decides to go with him surprising Simmons and the others. Sarge then makes a speech to the others, where he tells Simmons that he believed the latter would be given his own squad a thousand times over. After Sarge's speech, Simmons tells everyone he knows how to get to Epsilon and Tex: by Pelican.

After the defeat of Epsilon-Tex, the Reds and Blues rescue Washington from the Meta, and are soon sent to find power supplies to sustain the memory unit while Wash tries to get Tex out from it. However, the Meta returns and attacks Wash and Epsilon, so the Reds and Tucker fight the Meta off. Simmons and Grif manage to push the Warthog over the cliff, taking the Meta as well. As the Meta attempts to kill Grif, Simmons grabs hold of Grif, preventing the Meta to succeed; however, he loses his grip and Grif falls over the edge. Luckily, Grif is revealed to be alive, hanging on the Brute Shot over the edge. Simmons then attempts to aid Caboose with the capture unit but can't stop it from shutting down. The group are later interrogated by a UNSC Police officer. When the interrogation ends, the Reds talk about the Blue Team's "new member" before they steal a Hornet to go back home.

Conflict with Carolina
Afterwards, Simmons and the other Reds and Blues went on the mission with Carolina to rescue Epsilon from the UNSC Archives. He was the driver of one of the extraction Warthogs, where Tucker complains about him following all of the traffic laws, despite being under fire. After departing with Epsilon in hand the group make a pit stop at Zanzibar. While there, Simmons acknowledges his worry towards Carolina to Sarge and Grif, believing that she would betray them when they need help. After viewing more of Carolina's actions, the Reds agree on the conclusion of Simmons' theory about her and decide to abandon the mission. However, Washington convinces them to stay by stating that an ambush may be waiting for them back at their base, due to them being wanted criminals.

The Reds, Blues, and Carolina then venture off to the desert, to find C.T. The Reds make a truce with the Blues in order to talk about their concerns about Carolina and try to figure out how to get closer to her without her knowing. Simmons gets the idea to transfer Epsilon into Carolina's Mongoose to spy on her, and has Caboose assist him. When Carolina departs with Epsilon, the group gather inside the temple. Afterwards, when Carolina returns, she informs everyone that they are heading to Outpost 17-B.

When the group return to Valhalla, Sarge and Simmons run off to find Lopez, in which they find the latter mounted on post as a scarecrow. They also discover a hut containing Donut and Doc, who happily greets them. Upon returning to the Red base, Simmons and Grif discuss "why they are here", with Simmons coming up to the conclusion that they are here because of the Director, due to the fact that he caused them all their problems. Sarge joins them and states the teams are reunited again and safe, but if they leave to go kill the Director, their lives will become much worse.

After talking to Carolina, Epsilon gathers everyone inside the Red team's Holographic Chamber, where the final plan to kill the Director is discussed. However, the group refuse to help Epsilon and Carolina on their mission, with Sarge adding that Epsilon and Carolina's mission isn't their fight, in which Simmons agrees on. This causes Epsilon to angrily blame the group for all his problems, which results in them leaving the chamber, disgusted by Epsilon's words. Depressed afterwards, the Reds and Blues continue their shenanigans, until Doc interrupts them and reminds them on how much they have changed since they first met and, in the end, all got what they wanted, such as Simmons being reunited with his old teammates.

Rescue Mission
Following Doc's speech, the Reds and Blues decide to go help Epsilon and Carolina but Wash reminds them that the mission will be dangerous and the Director plays for keeps. Sarge, however, tells Washington that despite their troubles with Freelancers, the Reds and Blues have always managed to overcome them, due to their trust in each other. Simmons also adds that they gave Wash another chance after facing the Meta, and Wash, as a result, agrees to help. Suddenly, a trio of UNSC Police Hornets surround the group and attempt to arrest them, but the Reds and Blues manage to steal the Hornets and fly off to  help Carolina and Epsilon.

The group find them being attacked by an army of robotic Tex drones and quickly rescue them. Simmons, equipped with a rocket launcher, and the others then go into battle against the army and eliminate multiple Tex drones, but are soon overwhelmed. Epsilon successfully manages to shut down the drones and then tells the group that he and Carolina must complete the next task alone. After Carolina and Epsilon confront the Director, they decide to relocate the Reds and Blues to a place where they can call home. However, on their way back home, the Reds and Blues crash land a pardoned ship in an unknown location. So as a result, they build temporary bases to reside in until they are can be found.

Shipwrecked on Chorus
At Red base, after Sarge "borrows" the Blue team's tank, he, along with Simmons, uses it to rejuvenate the base. Wash stops them and explains that they must focus on repairing their communications tower in order to get help before they run out of food, before retreating to Blue base with the tank. Later, the Reds discuss the problems of the base layout, designed by Simmons, and Sarge decides to split the base in half, with Simmons and Grif sharing one half. Simmons, however, soon begs Sarge to split the base equally, due to Grif's laziness and filthiness. When Wash comes to grab some tools from the Reds, Simmons tells Sarge that they could use the robot kit parts from the ship to aid in repairing the comm tower. However, Sarge decides to build a robot and have it aid in the construction instead, creating Lopez 2.0 as a result.

Later, the Reds meet up with the Blues at the comm tower, where Lopez 2.0 manages to fix it allowing the group to make contact with Donut, who agrees to rescue them. Overjoyed, the group celebrate until Caboose introduces his new robot pet Freckles, terrifying Simmons. Concerned about an enemy advantage, Sarge orders Simmons and Grif to recon on Blue team. However during their recon, Tucker spots them and reveals that they're only following Wash's orders (consisting of drills, cleaning, and a organized chart). This causes Simmons to decide to stay with the Blues so he can avoid his team's disorganization and uncleanliness while he enjoys the Blue team's arrangements.

Simmons later eagerly waits for Washington, cleaning several furniture and coming up with ideas on how to improve the base. When Wash arrives, Simmons tells him he's joining the Blues before Sarge, who overreacted and assumed Simmons was kidnapped, attacks them with an unwilling Grif. During the standoff, Simmons explains that he willingly went to Blue base, blaming Grif and Sarge for his choice. Sarge then decides that he has committed treason, much to the teams' annoyance. When Caboose is "elected" to lead Blue team, Simmons tries to return to the Reds, but Freckles threatens to kill him if he leaves. Suddenly, Donut, Doc, and Lopez arrive and interrupt the tension, overjoying the Reds and Blues. Donut, however, reveals to them that he simply had the pilot drop them off and leave, prompting both sides, enraged that they are still shipwrecked, to pummel him for his stupidity.

Still held prisoner by Freckles, Simmons is on the verge of tears before Caboose orders him to do what he usually does for the Reds for the Blues, which he accepts. After Simmons questions Tucker on the team's grav lift, in which Tucker explains that the ship provides them with a limited supply of power, he uses the base's power supply to create the internet, which allows both teams to communicate. Wash, noticing Simmons' depression, suggests that he spend some time outside to improve his morale, but he declines. As Simmons begins to use Basebook to cheer up, a teleportation cube, thrown by Donut, lands in Blue base and releases Grif's mess, causing Simmons to go into a catatonic state briefly.

The New Republic
After Simmons witnesses Wash's apology to the team, which moves him greatly, they are attacked by an unknown group, despite Simmons' attempts at telling them they are friendly. After Freckles kills the group, the Reds and Blues regroup and meet Felix and Locus, who confuse Simmons. After Locus retreats, he and the others tend to Felix, who was injured while protecting them. Felix reveals that many see them as the greatest soldiers in the galaxy and that they crashed landed on the planet Chorus, where a civil war is occurring. Felix also reveals that the New Republic want the Reds and Blues to join their faction to win the war, but they refuse. Despite this, Simmons and the others help Felix fend of an attack by the Federal Army of Chorus.

Simmons soon rejoins the Reds and presents his base fortifications: a minefield. Grif, however, points out that the mines are stationed above the ground rather than under it, which Simmons also thinks is foolish. When the teams complete work on their defenses, Lopez 2.0 attacks them while in control of C.C. As Freckles protects the Reds and Blues, the group are suddenly attacked by Locus and his team of federal soldiers. With no reinforcements arriving and surrounded, the group engage the enemy, where Simmons and Sarge use the tank to draw their fire and eliminate many Feds, before it's destroyed by Locus. During the battle, Donut uses Simmons' minefield to destroy Cyclops/Lopez 2.0 and Simmons (with Tucker's help) is able to restore power to Freckles by using the ship's power supply.

Although Felix's backup arrives, Locus injures Donut, Sarge, and Wash, much to Simmons' horror. Despite their efforts, Simmons, Grif, Tucker, and Caboose, are forced to retreat with Felix into the tunnels before it's sealed off. After the battle, the four are taken to the New Republic's underground base, where they are informed of Wash, Sarge, and Donut's capture. The New Republic leader, Vanessa Kimball, persuades them to stay and fight in order to rescue their friends and end the war. While the group express their doubts, Kimball explains that her soldiers are in need of a shred of hope and asks them to try and lead them. As a result, Simmons, Grif, Tucker, and Caboose have the New Republic troops perform drills, taking on leadership positions for the first time.

Personality
Simmons is portrayed as a stereotypical nerd, as he enjoys working, staying logical, and telling jokes that only he seems to enjoy. Simmons is also a very considerate person, as he has been shown to be very compassionate and kind to many characters. In addition to being intelligent and logical, Simmons enjoys being in physical combat, as he was ecstatic when the Reds attacked the Blues in 1.21 Giga-Whats?? and Everything Old is New Again and the Wyoming clones in Repent, the End Is Near; he also seemed annoyed when Carolina told him to stay put when the group returned to Valhalla. He also enjoys cleanliness and order as he believes it's more efficient and peaceful.

Simmons seems to also be very forgiving, such as when he returned to the Red Team in Season 4 and gave Washington, Carolina, and Epsilon second chances. Though he has many positive traits, Simmons does have some flaws. Simmons is very self conscious, causing him to breakdown and sometimes cry. Also, it's shown that he easily becomes jealous and annoyed, which caused him to leave and once betray his team. It's even shown that Simmons hates robots, as validated in Heavy Mettle. However, Simmons is still a caring soldier who will do what he can for his team and friends as he has shown many times.

Relationships
Simmons has developed various relationships with many characters throughout the series.

Shotgun!
During the Blood Gulch Chronicles, Simmons has called shotgun for the Warthog before Grif almost every time since episode 2. However later in the series, Simmons has had the misfortune of not calling shotgun in time, being constantly beaten by Grif. He nearly broke this streak in Reconstruction: Chapter 9, however Grif promptly pulled rank on him and took the passenger seat for himself and is later mentioned in Reconstruction: Chapter 19 after the Reds and Caboose obtain Valhalla for bases.

The gag was absent in the series until Out of Body, as after Epsilon is implanted into Carolina's motorbike, Grif states that Simmons can call shotgun 'this time' but he refuses. In Fire, when Simmons and Sarge decide to use the tank to draw the Federeal Army's fire, he calls shotgun. It was also voted by fans to be the best running joke on The Best of Red vs. Blue Awards.

Shouting Injuries
During the Blood Gulch Chronicles, every time Simmons is hit or knocked unconscious, he shouts where he is hurt, for example, "Ow, the back of my head!", "The front of my face!", or "The back of my lower legs!" He even goes as far as saying "Ooh, the back of your head!" when Church knocks out Sarge before he executes Simmons for treason. However, the gag has had little to no mention in the later sagas.

Ethnicity
Also, a running gag of Simmons' dubious ethnicity begins when Grif, unable to understand Lopez's Spanish, believes Simmons can translate, due to being "of a Latino persuasion." Simmons, however, insists that he is Dutch-Irish in Points of Origin. This is referenced a few more times before being dropped, until it is resurrected in Season 4, where Donut lists the language menu options when called by Simmons, and says "For unconfirmed Dutch-Irish, press one too, as in, also."

The joke returns in episode 99, when the Reds (except Donut) fight the Wyoming copies in the Warthog. As Simmons shoots at them with the chain-gun, he says "Suck it, cracker!". Wondering why he would use such a slur, Grif asks "Cracker? I thought you said you were Dutch-Irish!" Since then, the joke has been less referenced in later seasons, only being mentioned a few times. The gag is also related with his own voice actor, Gustavo Sorola, on his own ethnicity.

"Wanna talk about it?"
During The Blood Gulch Chronicles someone will say something odd then Simmons will ask if they want to talk about it. He has had this discussion with Grif and Sarge in seasons 1 and 2. In Season 4, the gag returns, but reversed, as Simmons (on Blue team) tried to convince Church Donut's armor was pink and Church asked if he wanted to talk about it. It appears again in Recreation reversed, as Simmons said something odd and Donut asked to talk about it. It is also used between Sarge and Epsilon in Season 10 with Sarge asking if Church had a fetish with women with quick tempers.

"Suck it Blue!"
Simmons has developed an urge to tell an enemy, most commonly the Blues, to 'suck it' since Season 2. The phrase, much like Tucker's catchphrase, has become a staple of Simmons' character and has become very popular. There are multiple variations as well as the series progressed, such as: "Suck it Red!", "Suck it cracker!", "Suck it Freelancers!" and "Suck it evil soldier dudes!" This quote was also voted to be Simmons' most memorable quote by fans in The Best of Red vs. Blue Awards.

Psyche
Throughout the series, Simmons' psyche has been brought up to question and suggests that he's suffers from several psychological issues. One example is his relationship with Sarge, who he's shown to consider a father figure, possibly implying that Simmons lacked one in childhood. This is also shown when he tries to join the Blues in Season 11, stating Wash can call him "champ" or "son". In Season 4, Grif states that Simmons punches mirrors when he cries, which shows Simmons hates himself when he's at his weakest, making him even more self conscious as mentioned before.

Along with this, Simmons gets enraged by very minor details, such as in Exploring Our Differences, where he believes yelling should be used when someone drinks milk out of the carton, and in Heavy Mettle, where he pulls his gun on Grif for using his toothbrush. It's even implied that he ate a dog to survive a blizzard in Retention Deficit. His Epsilon-counterpart is also shown to have similar psychological issues, once mentioning that his father left him despite promising he would return.

Weaponry
Simmons has been shown to have some skills as a soldier, defeating some of the Wyoming clones and Recovery soldiers with some degree of ease using the Warthog's turret. He also claims to be an expert at handling rocket launchers, as shown in Recreation, Revelation, and Season 10. Simmons' skill with the rocket launcher is basic yet effective as he was able to force the Meta onto the defensive in n+1, which made the Meta target him as the prime threat, and was also able to eliminate several Tex drones with the weapon in True Colors. Because of his skills with both the machine gun turret and rocket launcher, Simmons could be considered the heavy weapon specialist of the Red Team.

Combat
Simmons is also physically fit, for example: in Season 1, after running back to Red base, Grif is clearly out of breath but Simmons isn't; in Season 5, he successfully lands on his feet from dropping hundreds of feet from the air when entering the caves; in Recreation, he was shown to out run the Meta's blasts; and in Revelation, he was able to hold on to the warthog while being dragged by it and after the Meta destroyed it. Also, Simmons has quick reflexes as shown throughout the series, such as when facing the Meta, where he was able to avoid the Meta's fire and quickly blocked the Meta's brute shot blade with his own rocket launcher.

Intelligence
Simmons' greatest strength is his intellect and proves to be one of the smartest characters in the series. Sarge considers Simmons the Red Team's unofficial science officer, something Simmons approves of. He has keen computer skills, as he was able to control the teleporters in reuniting with everyone and was able to hack into Project Freelancer's main computers. Simmons also seems to have knowledge of physics, sometimes quoting Einstein's Theory of Relativity and making scientific observations of situations that others, such as Grif and Sister, find incomprehensible.

He has some skills in engineering as well, as he was shown to successfully insert an armor enhancement on Grif in Revelation and was able to install Epsilon into Carolina's mongoose in Season 10 with Caboose's help. Also it's shown in Season 3 that Simmons can use holographic projections by unknown means. When the Reds and Blues find out that they are only simulation troopers, Grif asks why Simmons would be with them, since he seems so smart. Simmons states that time tests are not fair as it's not how fast you know the information, but that you know it at all. This, along with other skills Simmons has, makes him possibly the only Blood Gulch soldier worth any actual military status.

Leadership
Due to having a great deal of skill, compassion, and a high intellect for a simulation trooper, Simmons has shown a great degree of leadership. Such as in Make Your Time, where he not only leads the Reds, but the Blues as well, and together briefly defeated O'Malley using the Grunts; or in Recreation, he took command of the Red Team in Valhalla and was able to defend against the Meta with no casualties until Washington appeared. Sarge even states that command would've given him his own squad to lead. In the Season 11 finale, Simmons, along with the remaining Reds and Blues, takes leadership of the young New Republic soldiers.

Kills
With his surprising amount of skills, Simmons has successfully killed many of the Wyomings in Episode 99, two Recovery soldiers in Reconstruction: Chapter 13, and several Feds in Fire with a machine gun turret. He also helped Sarge and Grif kill the Meta in n+1 and managed to kill several Tex drones in True Colors using a rocket launcher. Also, he's partially responsible for destroying  Lopez 2.0 and C.C. as he was the one who set up the mines.

Inconsistencies

 * In Why Are We Here?, Simmons is shown to be annoyed when Sarge demands to see him and Grif, while Grif seems quite positive. The staff would seemingly switch the relationship of Simmons and Grif with Sarge for the rest of the series.
 * In Season 3, Simmons is shown to not only have great skills with teleporters, but also can use a holographic projection, yet it's never explained on screen. Although it's mentioned in the Season 3 commentary that it was planned to be explained as having something to do with him being a cyborg.
 * Even though Simmons is part cyborg, due to a majority of his organs being transferred to Grif after he got hit by Sheila, the EMP in Reconstruction finale doesn't affect him at all. Simmons' status of a cyborg was largely ignored after Season 3, seemingly forgotten until being mention in Recreation and again in Season 11. He also states that he's only 1/8 cyborg, but this would go against Sarge's list of the many organs he removed from him, meaning he's either wrong or Sarge didn't remove as many as he stated.
 * Although Simmons is a skilled and intelligent soldier, he was placed in the 10% of worst soldiers. This is brought up by Grif in Revelation after learning the truth of the simulation tests, who sees it as odd. Simmons defends himself by mentioning he is simply a slow tester, which pushed him into the lower percentile.
 * In Lost But Not Forgotten, Simmons and the others state that none of them have ever led a team before. Yet, Simmons has in fact been a leader three times: in Season 3, he leads the Reds and Blues against Omega; in Season 5, he briefly takes command of Red Team; and in Recreation, he takes command of the remaining Reds at Valhalla when the Meta appears. However, each of these were only temporarily.

Filming
Simmons was sometimes portrayed by another colored Spartan in the Halo: Combat Evolved engine, due to the fact that Spartans of different color couldn't board the same warthog. Because there was a noticeable difficulty in differentiating between the game's red and maroon colors, Rooster Teeth could have Simmons and Sarge board a Warthog at the same time. With Grif, the staff sometimes used camera angles to obscure one of the soldiers or have Simmons get edited in after filming Grif driving, which proved difficult. Fortunately, this issue was not present in future Halo games.

Trivia

 * "Dick" is short for "Richard", making Simmons' name "Richard Simmons", a reference to the famous exercise video actor.
 * In The Rookies, Grif's story about Simmons not wanting to go to the Vegas Quadrant is a real-life reference to when Gustavo Sorola didn't want to go to Las Vegas with his fellow employees.
 * Simmons was the first cyborg introduced in the series and is one of the only two shown.
 * Simmons is the first character in the series to have an armor color scheme consisting of two colors: blue with maroon trim.
 * Simmons is shown on the Season 4 DVD box art in his blue armor, the first time he had appeared on a season DVD box art.
 * Simmons doesn't use anyone's toilet except his own, even though he's been in 'the war' for nearly 3-4 years. In Simmons' own words "It's going to be a very eventful homecoming."
 * Sheila and Church have called Simmons "tomato can", which he takes offense to.
 * Simmons suffers from ophidophobia, the fear of snakes, as validated in Episode 89.
 * Simmons is one of the few smart characters of the Blood Gulch soldiers (examples: explaining Einstein Theories of Relativity, being the most logical of the Reds, able to hack into the Freelancers files, ect.), the others being Lopez, Church, and Tex.
 * Simmons spoke both the first and last lines of the Blood Gulch Chronicles. His first line ("Hey?") asking Grif "Why they were here?" and his last line ("Fuck!") was exclaimed after Grif called shotgun on the Reds' new vehicle at the end of Episode 100.
 * Simmons has the most appearances in the first saga of the series out of all characters (94 episodes).
 * When the series moved onto the Halo 3 engine, Simmons armor color was changed to crimson as maroon wasn't a selectable color. In the series the 2 colors are considered the same.
 * According to Sarge in Upon Further Review, Simmons code name is Maroon One, which relates to his armor color (maroon) and his rank (Private First Class).
 * Like everyone else in the series, Simmons is right handed in video game format. However, in This One Goes to Eleven, while in CGI animation, he appears to be left handed, possibly meaning that he's ambidextrous.
 * In Check Your Local Listings, Simmons states that he becomes very nervous when girls pay direct attention to him.
 * The rocket launcher seems to have become Simmons' signature weapon since Recreation, as he has used it in several battles, such as: the battles against Epsilon-Tex, the Meta, and the robotic Tex-drones. He also appears with the rocket launcher on the "Simmonsisms" poster, the Red Team artwork, and uses it in Red vs. Blue: Animated.
 * As shown in Deja View PSA where the Reds and Blues are temporarily shown in Hemorrhage, Simmons gained the ability to project holograms of himself through his Armor Ability, though the holograms will become "self aware" if not deactivated within a few minutes.
 * Simmons, along with Grif, is one of the only characters in the series to appear in all types of animation forms used in Red vs. Blue (machinima, animated, and CGI).
 * Simmons has, at one point, been shown to be capable of farming cabbage.
 * Simmons created the websites Simmons and Basebook, which is used by several characters in Season 11. They're also parodies of the popular websites, Google and Facebook.
 * Simmons has several similarities to Ruby from RWBY, as both are somewhat socially awkward, both are very self conscious, both are "nerds" in subjects (technology for Simmons, weapons for Ruby), and both greatly care for their respective teams. However, Simmons is more intelligent and less skilled in combat than Ruby.
 * Humorously, in Season 12 Simmons is the commander of a squad of girls, which he has a hard time communicating with due to him disliking it when girls pay direct attention to him..