4. Joe Swanson "Gets His Legs Back"
Joe Swanson is one of Peter's best friends and a regular member of the group. A wheelchair-bound cop, he doesn't let his disabilities get in the way of his career and is often seen chasing down perps using his chair. In the "A Hero Sits Next Door" episode, it is revealed that Joe became paralysed as a result of falling from a rooftop after trying to stop the Grinch from stealing Christmas presents from an orphanage. However, in "Joe's Revenge", it is later revealed the Grinch story was a cover up and that he was actually disabled as a result of Bobby Briggs, who shot him in his legs and became the only felon to escape from Joe. In season six, Joe gets "his legs back" in the episode "Believe It or Not, Joe's Walking on Air" after undergoing a transplant, but later angers his friends when he dumps them for a more active group, leading Peter, Quagmire and Cleveland to reach the conclusion that they need to "re-cripple" their friend in order to get him back. The final scenes of the episode where the group fail in their efforts to break Joe's legs are humorous, as the cop easily fends off his assailants. It is only when wife Bonny intervenes that Joe decides he has become a jerk since regaining his independence, and shoot himself in the spine. "Believe It or Not, Joe's Walking on Air" is a refreshing change to usual episodes in the series run where we always see Joe in his wheelchair, and helped to mix things up a bit.