List of Fables characters

This article is a list of fictional characters in the Vertigo comic book series Fables, Jack of Fables, Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love, Cinderella: Fables Are Forever and Fairest, published by DC Comics.

These are the Fables who live in the Fable Homelands.

Colonel Bearskin and "Bearskin's Free Company"

These were some of the Fables who died defending the Last Free Gateway from the Homelands, as seen in The Last Castle. Every year, on 15 May, the people who were on the last boat out of the Homelands would get together to drink to the memory of those who died so they could get out to the Mundy World. Among the defenders were:

• Colonel Bearskin, the colonel of "Bearskin's Free Company", the Fables who held back the Adversary's forces and tried to hold their last unconquered territory. It is said that he fought in many famous battles. He was known for his cunning battle strategies which were the reason that the territory held as long as it did. He also cared for the safety of the people who had loved ones and sent them on the boat to Fabletown. Boy Blue was his orderly, and he gave Boy Blue the witching cloak so Blue would live to tell the tale of the battle and so he could escape to be with Red Riding Hood. He was the one of the last of the Fables that stayed to fight to be killed; he was stabbed in the side and died slowly while the Adversary's troops mocked him.
• The Valiant Little Tailor, identified through the text on his clothes, which says, "seven at one stroke". He was killed by goblins early in the battle. In addition, his name can seen on one of Kevin Thorn’s books in the Jack of Fables story arc The Bad Prince.
• The Red Cross Knight, who almost won the battle all on his own, and could not be beaten, "not by goblin or troll or giant. Not by the dozens or the hundreds." He was finally killed when the enemy set a dragon against him.
• Herman Von Starkenfaust, from Washington Irving's short story The Spectre Bridegroom. According to Boy Blue, he turned out not being a ghost after all.
• Britomart: Her final action before being killed, was throwing her magical spear, which would find any target she set for it, killing the general leading the Adversary's forces.
• Robin O'The Woods (Robin Hood), aka "Loxley": When the last ship out of the Homelands was leaving, Robin Hood (previously seen in flashbacks in the Legends in Exile story arc, while fleeing the Adversary's forces) chose to stay behind and defend the Gateway, to avenge his Marian, who was killed when the invaders took his homeland.
• The Merry Men, including Friar Tuck and John Small, died side by side with Bearskin's Free Company.
• Tam Lin, who was claimed to be the knight loved by the queen of the faeries. He had a reputation of a scoundrel, but after winning a place for himself on the last ship out of the Homelands, he gave it to his young page instead
• The King of Madagao and the King of Bornegascar, old enemies, from Fantastic Fables by Ambrose Bierce.^[1]
• The ancient King Pellinore: His rusty armor kept trying to fall apart during his weeks defending the Gateway, and his squire had to follow him around, retrieving the pieces that were dropped off in his way.

The Cardinal Winds

The North Wind

The North Wind, often referred to as Mr. North, is the father of Bigby Wolf. His real name is Boreas Frostheart, as revealed in Fables 110. When traveling the world, he fell in love with a wolf named Winter; they had seven cubs. Mr. North grew bored after several years and abandoned her. He is the only European fable that still holds his kingdom from the Adversary. He arrives in Fabletown when word reaches him about the birth of his grandchildren, and he spends several years at the farm helping Snow take care of them. He treats Snow like she were his own daughter even before she is married to his son, teaching his grandchildren how to fly and shapeshift. He is strong enough to fight Demons and is confident he would be able to beat the D'Jinn, or Genie, that Sinbad's adviser releases, though he tells Snow White and the others the battle would probably destroy most of the planet. He is based on many European wind gods, primarily Boreas (who has his own fable, entitled The North Wind and the Sun). Bigby has never forgiven him for abandoning Winter and considers him a monster. He eventually returns to his kingdom before Bigby returns to Fabletown. Following Bigby and Snow's visit to his castle, he agrees to help Fabletown during the war against the Empire by providing zephyrs trained to act as spies and messengers.

It is later revealed that Mr. North and Mr. Dark, although having different purposes, are of similar magic and power (though Mr. Dark claims to be superior). He tried to persuade Mr. Dark to leave the mundane world and the Fables alone - which Dark refused - and offered a challenge of single combat with Frau Totenkinder; it is shown that Mr. North did this in exchange for information from Totenkinder, confirmation that Snow had given birth to a zephyr, Ghost, and that he was living happily as a secret member of the family. Mr. North left, extremely displeased.

In Mr. North’s kingdom, zephyrs were viewed as predatory monsters. Long ago, following a child massacre at the hands the zephyrs, Mr. North had sworn an oath to his people that as long as he lived, no zephyrs would be allowed to survive. He was now facing a dilemma, as he loved the cubs - his grandchildren - and would never intentionally hurt any of them. Nor did he wish to further exacerbate the slight bond he had managed to form with his son. Desperately trying to find a way to get himself out of the predicament, he realized that the only way he could forsake his vow to kill Ghost was to die, as death canceled all obligations. A grim Mr. North confronted Mister Dark, the Dullahan who had sworn vengeance against the Fables and was out to kill all of them, including Mr. North’s family. Knowing that the damages from a battle between the two would be catastrophic for the Fables, Mr. North grabbed Mr. Dark by the throat and brought up him up into the North Wind’s own realm of elemental ice and wind, so that even the slightest brush of the Dullahan’s death would not touch the world below. There, he entered his Casket of Primordial Winds (a suicide mechanism kept in case he got tired of this life, since nothing much could harm him) and took Mr. Dark with him, killing them both. When informed of Mr. North’s death, Bigby felt conflicted, as he had hated his father for so long and now his father had done something so noble as this. His musings were interrupted when one of the North Wind’s aides showed up and informed him that now that Mr. North was dead, a new North Wind was needed from his bloodline. Since Bigby is "entirely unsuitable", they will have to choose from among his children.

The West Wind

Brother/cousin of the North Wind, and great uncle of the "cubs". The West Wind appears as a Native American, and goes by the name of Yaponcha, the Hopi wind god^[2] from Native American legends.^[3][4] He is also known as Zephyrus, the Greek god of the west wind. Another reference to Native American mythology is made when he compares wolves (more specifically, Bigby) to the mythological coyote.

During the process of choosing the North Wind’s heir, the three other cardinal winds arrived, intending to take possession of the “cubs”. They believed that the "offspring of one of the great houses" should be fostered for a time in the courts of other kings and that the cardinal winds themselves were best suited to determine who might be the most fit to rule Mr. North’s kingdom. Bigby, father of the cubs, was furious and would not allow this, and the West Wind then secretly attempted to persuade the East Wind and the South Wind to join him in taking over the North Wind’s keep and kill his family, including the children. Thus, they could construct a new north wind from pure materials. However, the South Wind accuses him of wanting to do this out of personal revenge on the North Wind. Both she and the East Wind remind him that he has been on bad terms with the North Wind for some years, even naming the "zephyrs" after him to insult him.

Winter, one of "the Cubs", was eventually chosen as the new North Wind. When this happened, the West Wind referred to the new situation as "a setback", but did not interfere.

The East Wind

The North Wind’s brother/cousin. The East Wind takes the form of an obese man and goes by the names of Eurus (the name of the Greek deity representing the east wind), Fei Lian (the Chinese god of the wind) and Dragon of the East. He does appear to have some physical traits similar to young Ambrose. Not much is known about him, but unlike the West Wind, he doesn't appear to wish to kill the North Wind's family. And like the South Wind, he believes the West Wind only wants to hurt them out of personal spite. With coaxing from the South Wind, she got them to decide to invite themselves as guests of the Wolf Clan. However, upon hearing the ideas of his fellow winds, the East Wind suggested that they not only killed the entire wolf clan, but the North Wind’s attendant winds as well. The others agreed to the plan. However, when Winter (one of the "cubs") is chosen as the new North Wind, the East Wind appears to accept it, and even tells a disgruntled West Wind to be quiet and mind the occasion. He also wishes to assist in Winter's training.

However, Winter becomes soon becomes deathly afraid when she starts having nightmares where she sees a grown-up version of herself as a cold, selfish North Wind that hurts people. The East Wind is very pleased with this new "marvelous" development in which they will have a "timid" North Wind, whereas the South Wind, equally pleased, says that their day of ascendancy has come at long last. During "Cubs in Toyland" arc Bigby asks as humbly as he could for their help in finding Therese and Darien. While of course all the winds at first refuse, Bigby makes a verbal threat that he'd make them pay if they didn't. It is noted, that while he's just as suspicious character as his siblings, he was the only one of them not griping or complaining about searching for them. He notes "Sometimes a doing a favor is its own reward", meaning he could have some benevolence in him at the most as he saw that while Bigby wasn't a god like them, he wasn't just an ordinary human either.

The South Wind

The North Wind’s sister/cousin, and the cubs' great aunt. The South Wind takes the form of an African-looking woman. Even though all the Cardinal Winds have the ability to take the form of both genders, she is the only one of the group who's chosen to take a female form. She goes by the names of Yoruba (after the Yoruba people of West Africa^[2]), Notus (the south wind in Greek mythology) and Storm Mother. She could be considered the more compassionate and sensible one of the Winds, although she has been shown to have a more ruthless, cunning side as well.

After hearing the West Wind’s ideas, the South Wind suggested that they should instead conduct themselves as proper guests until Bigby had another outburst. When that happened, they would be "fully justified" in stepping in with force. The other winds agreed to the plan, with a few modifications from the East Wind, who suggested that they not only killed the entire wolf clan, but the North Wind’s attendant winds as well. The West Wind and the South Wind both agreed. Later, it becomes clear to the winds that the testing might place the children in mortal danger, and the East Wind remarks that if the cubs are killing themselves in the process of testing, the fewer the winds will have to take out when they are compelled to step in. The South Wind reminds the others that their patience is paying off and that they were right to hold off taking a direct hand.

One of the "cubs", Winter, is eventually chosen as the new North Wind. The South Wind watches in silence and appears to accept the new development. However, Winter becomes very afraid when she starts having premonitions of her older self as a cold and selfish North Wind that hurts people. The East Wind refers to the new development as "marvelous" because the new North Wind will be timid, and the South Wind appears to be very pleased and answers that "our day of ascendancy has come at long last".

However, Winter proved to be stronger than the South Wind expected. In the Camelot story arc, Winter has grown into her role as the new North Wind, and has learned how to utilize her new powers. She has had enough of her guests overstaying their welcome, and banishes the cardinal winds from her palace.

Arabian Fables

A group of characters living in the Arabian Fable homelands, mostly from One Thousand and One Nights:

Sinbad

Sinbad, the famed mariner of legend, is a prince of the Arabian Fables. He arrived in Fabletown during the Arabian Nights (And Days) story-arc, accompanied by his minister, Yusuf, a host of servants and slaves and, to the consternation of his hosts, a d'jinn secured within a bottle, for a meeting carefully negotiated by Mowgli. Things got off to the worst possible start when Prince Charming forgot completely about the meeting and it was only when King Cole, who both spoke the language and was familiar with the customs, was brought in that things began to calm down. As things progressed, Sinbad began to see that the mundane world represented a new beginning, and decided to free all of his slaves. The enraged Yusuf used this as an excuse to release the d'jinn, giving it commands that would put him in control of both the European and Arabian fable communities. Fortunately, Frau Totenkinder had anticipated the possibility and warped his language, so that the commands he gave were not what he intended, ultimately leading to his own prolonged demise and the recapture of the d'jinn. Sinbad did indeed release his slaves, giving them the option to either accompany him back to Baghdad or to remain in Fabletown. He left Fabletown, taking King Cole with him as the official Ambassador to the Arabian Fables. They returned to Baghdad, where he revealed to Cole that, for the time being, the Arabian Fables still live in the Homelands equivalent of Baghdad, until such time as the Adversary's forces take it. Sinbad has learned from the uncontrolled exodus of the European Fables into the mundane world and has made plans to ensure that their own escape, should it prove necessary, will be much more orderly.

During the War and Pieces storyline, Sinbad participated bravely in the war against the Adversary, commanding the skyship Glory of Baghdad, with Prince Charming as his combat coordinator. After the destruction of the ship, he defended the injured Charming while the latter dragged the last bomb to its target and set it off. After the war, he married Rose Red, who divorced him around a week after their wedding to try to be with Boy Blue. Following failed attempt to reconcile, he returned to Baghdad, expressing a wish to build a new airship with which to explore the liberated homelands.

Aladdin

The Arabian Fables' best spy, ostensibly acting under the orders of Sinbad. Aladdin is seen briefly learning English in preparation for the war against the Adversary. He is later seen in Dubai, disguised as a concierge in the Burj al-Arab hotel, holding a knife and preparing to attack an oblivious Cinderella, as seen in Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love. Both end up working on the same spy job together, looking for the ones who are selling magical contraband. They eventually discover it is the three girls from Sinbad's harem and find they are in dealing with Cinderella's own Fairy Godmother. Cinderella eventually defeats her grandmother with the help of Hickory and leaves with Aladdin. She reveals she knows about him spying on the other Fable-communities, but states she'll keep quiet because she's attracted to him. Aladdin returns her feelings and they decide to spend a night together. Not living "happily ever after", but, in Cindy's words, living "happily for the moment".

Ali Baba

Ali Baba was briefly mentioned during the Arabian Nights (And Days) storyline. He also appears in the first storyline of the Fables spin-off Fairest, where the famous prince of thieves makes his way to the Imperial Capital in the Homelands. The city has recently been burned down by goblins. While looking for treasures hidden among the char and ash, he finds a magic bottle, which he opens, but the bottle does not contain a d'jinn, but a little bottle imp. Although the imp cannot grant him three wishes, it promises to lead him to great riches. The imp leads him to the encampment of the goblins who burned down the city, and where Briar Rose, still asleep, is being held. The imp explains to Ali Baba that the sleeping girl is blessed with eternal wealth and riches, but needs to be woken with true love's kiss from a prince, and that if Ali Baba marries her, he will get everything she gets. Ali Baba sneaks into the camp, and finds both Briar Rose and, Lumi, the Snow Queen, also asleep. Since he doesn't know which woman the imp meant, he first kisses the sleeping Snow Queen. When that doesn't work, he kisses Briar Rose, who awakens from the spell, along with the Snow Queen.

The Snow Queen, wanting revenge on Briar Rose for putting her to sleep for years, takes both of them captive, but does not harm them. While Ali Baba and Briar Rose are forced to spend time with Lumi, Ali Baba eventually realizes that he has no feelings for Briar Rose after all, but is in love with Lumi. It is revealed that because Ali Baba risked his life to wake and rescue Briar Rose, his actions fell under the definition of true love, but was not romantic love. Lumi likes and is attracted to Ali Baba, and believes that love can grow from that. The two become a couple, and start a new life together in Lumi's homeland. Unfortunately, this is only temporary, as both of them are killed during the events of the Fairest graphic novel Fairest In All The Land at the hands of Golilocks. Cinderella was able to bring Goldilock's victims back to life, but unfortunately, she could only pick half of the victims to resurrect. So she choose Lumi, feeling she was a victim at the hands of the Adversary, and a potential ally for Fabletown.

Other Arabian Fables

• Yusuf: Sinbad's minister who released a d'jinn from a bottle, in order to destroy Fabletown and its citizens and put him in control of both the European and Arabian fable communities. Unfortunately for him, Frau Totenkinder used her magic powers to warp his language, so that the commands he gave were not what he intended, ultimately leading to his own prolonged demise and the recapture of the d'jinn.
• Sidi Nouman: The first victim of the d'jinn released by Sinbad's servant, Yusuf, as seen in Arabian Nights (And Days). Appears in the One Thousand and One Night story "The Caliph’s Night Adventure" (as Sidi Nu’uman), which includes the chapter "History of Sidi Nu’uman".^[5] The d'jinn makes references to the story by calling Sidi Nouman "famous abuser of horses", "celebrated husband of corpse-eaters" and "a dog who's occasionally a man - or is that the other way around?". (Note that the Fables Encyclopedia erroneously states that Sidi Nouman was created by Bill Willingham^[2])
• King Shahryār: In the graphic novel 1001 Nights of Snowfall, Snow White is dispatched to the Arabian sultan's court in the Homelands to enlist his support in the fight against the Adversary. King Shahryār entraps her, and for a thousand-and-one nights in a row, she must tell Shahryār a story, each time stopping at dawn with a cliffhanger, thus forcing him to keep her alive for another day so that she can complete the tale the next night, while at the same time wooing his cooperation.
• Scheherazade: Makes a brief appearance in 1001 Nights of Snowfall. It is revealed she got the idea of telling the Sultan a new story every night from Snow White, who has been using the same trick herself to keep herself alive for a thousand-and-one nights while acting as an ambassador for Fabletown.
• Scheherazade's father: Also makes an appearance in the graphic novel.
• Aladdin's father and the d'jinn: From the tale of Aladdin. Mentioned in Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love.
• Morgiana: Referred to in the Fairest story arc Wide Awake.
• Abd Al Qadir: Appears briefly in flashbacks from Ali Baba's life, in the Fairest story arc Wide Awake. A minor character referred to in the One Thousand and One Night story "Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat", during the "Two Hundred and Fifty-third Night" (as Abd al-Kadir).^[6]

The Blue Fairy

The Blue Fairy was the one who turned Pinocchio into a real boy centuries ago. She took his wish too literally and made it so that he would be a real boy, therefore never growing up and experiencing puberty. She lent Geppetto some of her power in order for him to turn more of his puppets into real people, but soon she saw how greedy Geppetto was becoming, and started resisting. This prompted Geppetto to trap the Blue Fairy and use machinery to drain power from her body so he could use her power on his own.

Pinocchio stated early on he only went to Remembrance Day celebrations to see when the Blue Fairy would show up, and that he would "kick her pretty little azure ass" whenever she did. Many years later, in the early period of the power struggle over the Farm, Ozma brought the Blue Fairy to the Farm, obviously wanting revenge on Geppetto for his wicked deeds. The Blue Fairy tried to attack Geppetto, but was interrupted when Pinocchio attempted to beat her up, wanting revenge for being stuck as a boy for centuries. She quickly overpowered him and went after Gepetto, but the Sheriff, Beast, intervened and managed to talk the Blue Fairy into going away for 777 days, at which time she promised to return and expected Beast to have Geppetto ready and waiting to receive her vengeance. If not, she was going to take Beast prisoner for 777 years.

Later, Beast is able to stall her by saying that Gepetto wishes to marry her. The Blue Fairy chooses the Lady of the Lake as her intermediary in the wedding negotiations. In the Fairest graphic novel Fairest In All The Land, the Blue Fairy and the Lady of the Lake both become victims of a serial killer, who is revealed to be Goldilocks. Cinderella is able to resurrect the victims, but can only bring back half of them, and chooses the Lady of the Lake over the Blue Fairy. The Blue Fairy is cast into what the Magical Mirror calls the "stay dead group" - meaning even the mirror does not expect her to return to the living (though her severed head can continues to talk).

Santa Claus

Stationed at the Homelands version of the North Pole, according to Fables 137 (Camelot, Part 6), Santa Claus is a Fable who can magically be at every house in the world at the same time on Christmas night. Following an attempt by Jack Horner to steal the naughty and nice list in 1956, Santa has left the list with Bigby to put in a safe place every year since. He is said to be one of the most powerfully magical of the fables, and plays an important role in beginning Flycatcher's quest to restore his Homelands kingdom. It is also implied by Rose Red that Santa is the guardian of a gateway from the Homelands. Santa has also been revealed to be a Paladin of Hope, specifically the Hope for Justice, and the Hope for Reward as well as the hope that everything will turn out all right in the end, claiming that this is why Christmas takes place at the end of the year.

The Camelot story arc reveals that Santa is "a creature of the north"; a subset of the North Wind, who has always been the North Wind's vassal. Winter, the New North Wind, asks him to expand his primary duties. From now on, Christmas will come to any world where the North Wind resides.

• Mrs. Claus
• Santa Claus's reindeer, who are intelligent, capable of speech and can magically fly.

King Arthur and Camelot

King Arthur and his court appears in flashbacks during The Good Prince story arc, where the spirit of Sir Lancelot tells his story to Flycatcher. Camelot and the fabled King Arthur set the standard of "true chivalry" for all of Christendom and its legend touched much of the pagan worlds beyond. The Fables graphic novel 1001 Nights of Snowfall reveals that Lancelot, Camelot's most gifted champion, was blessed by Frau Totenkinder, who told him that he would be unbeatable in battle as long as he remained pure and honorable. Lancelot was unbeatable, until he lost his honor by having a love affair with the King's wife, Guinevere. The Knights of the Round Table are referred to in Lancelot's story, and Gawain makes an appearance. Lancelot's betrayal, and the "unforgivable acts" that he perpetrated afterward, split the Round Table and led to the downfall of Camelot. Even though Arthur eventually forgave him, Lancelot couldn't forgive himself. He hanged himself, and became the mysterious Forsworn Knight who appears in the early issues of Fables. Dialog between Flycatcher and Lancelot's ghost reveals that Arthur was eventually laid to rest in a crypt. Arthur appears briefly in flashbacks during the Fables story The Destiny Game. According to the Fables Encyclopedia annotations, "Sir Grimauld" from The Good Prince is Bill Willingham's creation, as there is no such character in the King Arthur mythos. Based on the color of his armor, he may be the Green Knight from the poem "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" (circa A.D. 1390).^[2]

King Pellinore makes an appearance in the Fables story The Last Castle, as one of the defenders of the last free gateway.

The Lady of the Lake was first referred to in The Good Prince and the Jack of Fables story arc The Bad Prince (in addition, Arthur, Lancelot and Merlin are all referred to in the latter story). She first appears in the story arc The Destiny Game. Also known as the "Green Lady", she is a messenger of the Fates and has the ability to assign and reassign different destinies to particular individuals. She is a green-skinned woman who sometimes lives in ponds. Initially a sly and conniving woman, she turns more diligently after two encounters with Bigby Wolf. Years later, she is in a well-established relationship with Bigby's cub Ambrose. In later Fables story arcs, Lady of the Lake was shown to be a good friend to the Blue Fairy and came to represent her friend in the engagement to Geppetto. In the Fairest graphic novel Fairest In All the Land, Lady of the Lake and her friend were attacked and apparently murdered at the hands of Goldilocks. Cinderella was able to bring Goldilocks' victims back to life, but was only allowed to choose half of the victims to resurrect, and she chose Lady of the Lake over the Blue Fairy.

Merlin appears briefly in flashbacks in the Fables story The Destiny Game.

Uther Pendragon, Gorlois and Mordred are mentioned in Fables 136 (Camelot, Part 6). In addition, Arthur's half-sister, Morgan le Fay, is one of the 13th floor witches of Fabletown.

Dunster Happ

A warlock and former Boxer (hunter of rogue spellcasters and magical beings) for the Empire. Though he did not invent the sealing boxes used by the Boxers to capture their targets, he was able to enchant them so that they would entice their targets to enter them willingly. He had been key to boxing Baba Yaga, Mr. Dark and the last of the Baleful Hernes. Frau Totenkinder (after rejuvenating and using her true name again: Bellflower) asks him to teach her how to box Mr. Dark - despite her initial concerns that such boxes may have been made to capture her as well. During their time, Totenkinder apparently seduced him and became his lover. They would develop a deep relationship and would become engaged. They later came back to The Farm. In the Fairest graphic novel Fairest In all the Land, they were both killed at the hands of the murderous Goldilocks. Cinderella, unfortunately, could only pick half of Goldilocks' victims to resurrect, and ultimately choose Totenkinder over him.

King Valemon and his royal subjects

Various characters from Norwegian Folktales, as seen in the Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love storyarc.

• King Valemon and his queen, rulers of Ultima Thule, one of the Fable Homelands. They were deposed of and killed when an unknown, powerful magic user from another realm invaded their kingdom. The usurper eventually turned out to be Cinderella's fairy godmother. Among the people still loyal to King Valemon include:
• Askeladden, now without his ship.
• Butterball, always hungry.
• Mrs.Gudbrand, widow of the late Gudbrand from Gudbrand on the Hill-side,^[7] whose home has become a refuge for dissenters still loyal to the old king.
• Little Freddy, from Little Freddy with his Fiddle.^[8] Now without his musket.
• Little Annie the Goose-Girl.
• The ram and pig from The Ram and the Pig Who Went Into the Woods to Live by Themselves.^[9]

The people of Oz

A group of Fables from the books of L. Frank Baum, living in the Fable Homelands of Oz and Ev. (The Nome King is listed under "Villains".) In addition, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion are prisoners at the Golden Boughs Retirement Village in the mundane world.

Jack Pumpkinhead

Jack Pumpkinhead first appearance was early on in the series, in flashbacks during the Legends in Exile story arc, where he can be seen among a large group of Fables fleeing the Adversary’s forces. His next appearance took place almost a hundred issues later, in the Fables story The Ascent, where he is on the run from the Nome King’s (now the ruler of a pan-Ozian empire) enforcers in the Fable Homeland of Ev. It is revealed that he was drafted into one of the Nome King’s press gangs, but eventually managed to escape with Bungle the glass cat and the Sawhorse. While sitting in one of Ev's native Lunch Box Trees, Bufkin accidentally saves the group from a couple of "Rumble Tumble Tom's", the Nome King's enforcers. The group joined forces with Bufkin, and went on to appear in the subsequent Fables story arcs, working to overthrow the Nome King.

Bungle, the Glass Cat

At some point, Bungle, the Glass Cat escaped into the mundane world and became one of the helpers of Dorothy Gale, a killer for hire. Bungle was later recruited by Dorothy to aid her in her quest for revenge on her nemesis, Cinderella, as seen in Cinderella: Fables are Forever. Bungle assisted in kidnapping Cinderella and Ivan Durak of Shadow Fabletown and brought them to the Deadly Desert of Oz in an airship. Ivan seemingly manages to overpower their captors and throw Bungle and the other captors out of the ship, rescuing Cindy and himself. Bungle is shown floating down in a parachute, indicating that she’s working with Ivan. In a surprising plot twist, it is revealed that Dorothy was Ivan all along, disguising herself using her magic slippers.

Bungle's story continues in the Fables series. After Bungle landed, she was drafted into one of the Nome King’s press gangs, building a road across the deadly dessert. She managed to escape with Jack Pumpkinhead and the Sawhorse, also in the press gang. Bufkin came across the group in the Land of Ev, and accidentally saved them from the Nome King’s enforcers, who were chasing the fugitives. All four of them then secretly formed a secret resistance movement.

Other Oz-characters

• Glinda the Good: Shown driving her swan chariot during flashbacks in Legends in Exile, while fleeing the Adversary’s forces (note that annotations in the Fables Encyclopedia speculate that this may be Apollo,^[2] but the figure is clearly a woman). She also appears briefly in flashbacks from Dorothy Gale's adventures in Oz, in Cinderella: Fables Are Forever.
• The Sawhorse: One of several Oz-fable who’s ended up in the Fable Homeland of Ev while on the run from the Nome King's enforcers. He joins Bufkin's revolution.
• The Spoon Brigade: From The Emerald City of Oz: recruited by Dorothy to aid her in her plot for revenge on her nemesis, Cinderella.
• One of the Chiss: Also recruited by Dorothy. They are creatures the size of a Volkswagen, covered in poisonous quills which they can shoot out of their body at will. They can only be found in Oz. Dorothy brought one of the Chiss to the mundane world to aid her in her quest for revenge on Cinderella. When Cindy set out find Dorothy, she encountered the creature in Thailand. The creature killed Meng Chiang-Nu (from the Chinese folktale Seeking Her Husband at the Great Wall^[10]) of Shadow Fabletown, and then attacked Cinderella, who was forced to kill the creature in self-defense.
• The Wicked Witch of the East, assorted munchkins, the Wizard of Oz, the Wicked Witch of the West and the Good Witch of the North: They appear briefly in flashbacks from Dorothy's adventures in Oz. In addition, several allusions to the Wicked Witch of the West are made in the Witches story arc.
• Winged monkeys: All working in the Nome King's air corps. One of the monkeys discovers Bufkin's group of revolutionaries in Ev, and is subsequently killed by Bufkin.
• The Yoop: From The Patchwork Girl of Oz. Now working in the Pan-Ozian administration of the Nome King, who feeds his enemies to the Yoop. The Yoop eventually got tired of his job as the Nome King's "people eater", feeling that he couldn't keep up with the large amount of people being fed to him every day. He was sent out to capture Bufkin, Jack Pumpkinhead, Bungle the Glass Cat and the Sawhorse, but decided to join their revolution instead.
• A group of Kalidahs: Also working for the Nome King. They joined Bufkin's revolution because they were tired of being made to sleep in filthy cages when off-duty.
• General Blug, with his fifty thousand soldiers: From The Emerald City of Oz. Jack Pumpkinhead, Bungle the Glass Cat and the Sawhorse attempt to recruit Blug and his troops in their revolution.

Other Homelands Fables

• The Jabberwock: Mentioned in the Legends in Exile and Homelands story arcs. Just like in the Jabberwocky poem, the vorpal sword was the Jabberwock’s bane.
• Don Quijote and his squire Sancho Panza: Appear briefly in flashbacks during the Legends in Exile story arc.
• The Great Lion: According to the Fables Encyclopedia annotations, this is a reference to Aslan from The Chronicles of Narnia.^[2] The Kingdom of the Great Lion was one of the Fable Homelands that was conquered early on, as seen in flashbacks during Legends in Exile. The lion himself was felled and killed by arrows. King Cole points out that "we always found the old lion to be a bit too pompous and holier-than-thou for our tastes". The Great Lion also appears in an illustration for The Good Prince, where the ghost of Sir Lancelot refers to the lion as "the Great Lion on his stone" (Aslan sacrificed himself and was killed on a stone table) and one of the "true kings". Bill Willingham has commented on the issue, saying: "Narnia is my favorite fantasy series, bar none. (...) Problem is, Narnia isn't in the public domain, so we couldn't use it in Fables. So who is the lion mentioned in that one panel [in Legends in Exile] and what kingdom is depicted? I can't say it's Aslan and I can't say it's Narnia. But that doesn't stop any of you from looking at the first lines of this paragraph and coming to your own conclusion."^[11]
• Thumbelina's mother: Referred to in the Fables story Barleycorn Brides.
• Count Aucassin de Beaucaire: From Aucassin and Nicolette. A general leading the Adversary's attack on the Last Free Gateway from the Homelands, as seen in The Last Castle. He was killed by Britomart's magical spear.
• Maid Marian: Mentioned in the story The Last Castle. She was killed when the invaders took Robin Hood's homeland. According to annotations in the Fables Encyclopedia, she is the woman by Robin Hood's side in flashbacks during the Legends in Exile story arc.^[2]
• The Queen of Fairies: Also mentioned in The Last Castle. Apparently, Tam Lin, one of the defenders of the last free gateway, was loved by her.
• Jack's mother: From Jack and the Beanstalk. Mentioned in the March of the Wooden Soldiers story arc, the Jack of Fables story arc The Bad Prince and in The Great Fable Crossover. In The Bad Prince, it is revealed that Jack Horner is actually an unknowing copy of Wicked John and that John was actually the one involved in the Beanstalk and Giant-killing incidents, thus making the woman the mother of Wicked John, not Jack. Jack's real mother is Prose Page, who is also the mother of the Page Sisters.
• The man who sold the magic beans to Jack (or actually Wicked John): Referred to in March of the Wooden Soldiers and the Jack of Fables story arc The Bad Prince.
• Chernomor: From Ruslan and Lyudmila. A Governor-General in the Adversary's empire. He was killed by Boy Blue during Blue's exploits in the Homelands. After his death, Blue impersonated the governor, ordering his underlings to lower the tax rate.
• Mice and cat from the Russian lubok The Mice are Burying the Cat: As seen in the Homelands story arc, during Boy Blue's exploits in the homelands, Blue comes across the strange group in the Rus, the Homelands version of Russia. A train of mice are pulling a sleeping cat on a sledge, saying that they're planning a funeral for the cat. When Blue points out that the cat isn't dead but merely sleeping, the mice reply that "nevertheless, we have our plans".
• The Three Knights of the Rus: Baba Yaga's servants. They appear in the fairy tale "Vasilisa the Beautiful", from Alexander Afanasyev's Russian Fairy Tales.^[2] They were defeated in single combate by Boy Blue.
• Trusty John's king: Mentioned in the Fables story Meanwhile, where is revealed that long before John signed the Fabletown compact, he had sworn an unbreakable vow of loyalty to his King, who he believed had been killed leading his forces against the Adversary. This would turn out not to be the case and John's King was now actually working for the Adversary. The King contacted John and ordered him to spy on his fellow Fables. John was bound by his vow, which overruled the later compact, and had no choice but to obey and spent four years passing information to the enemy before Kay caught him.
• Solomon: Referred to as Sulymon the Wize in the comic. He appears in a brief flashback from ancient times during Arabian Nights (and Days). He is also mentioned in 1001 Nights of Snowfall and the Witches story arc. Sulymon was the one who invented the idea of tricking a d'jinn into a bottle.
• Daedalus: Appears in a brief flashback from ancient times during Arabian Nights (and Days). He was the greatest sorcerer-scientist of that age, and was the inventor of the magic bottles used to capture d'jinns.
• The Seven Dwarfs: First appeared in flashbacks in the Fables prequel 1001 Nights of Snowfall. In the story, Prince Charming is investigating a series of murders around his kingdom. The victims are revealed to be the Seven Dwarfs, whereas the killer turns out to be Charming’s wife, Snow White. The flashback sections of the Rose Red story arc reveals that unlike in the fairy tale, the dwarfs treated Snow badly and turned her into their slave, abusing her physically and sexually. It is also revealed that the dwarfs were the sons of the dwarf from Snow White and Rose Red. More flashbacks are seen in the Camelot story arc, where it is revealed that Snow White was their prisoner for several years. The story also shows what actually happened when she killed one of them.
• Princess from The Frog Prince: Appears in flashbacks from Flycatcher's story in 1001 Nights of Snowfall. She also appears as a ghost before Flycatcher in the Fables story Jiminy Christmas.
• Red Riding Hood's grandmother: Appears briefly in flashbacks from Bigby Wolf's story in the March of the Wooden Soldiers story arc and 1001 Nights of Snowfall. She and Red Riding Hood survived being eaten because of the magic in them.
• The Farmer's Wife: Mrs. Sprongwallow. Appears in flashbacks in 1001 Nights of Snowfall. Her husband, the farmer, was killed when the Adversary invaded her homeland, the kingdom of Old King Cole.
• Hansel and Gretel's parents: Referred to in the Sons of Empire story arc. Unlike in the fairy tale, Hansel and Gretel did not go home after burning Frau Totenkinder, realizing that their "wicked parents" had meant for them to die out in the Black Forest.
• The Gingerbread Man: Appears in the Sons of Empire story arc and in the story Waking Beauty. He works with Mr. Porky Pine and Chicken Ripple to steal unguarded pies being put out on a windowsill (or other places) to cool. Another gingerbread man can be seen on the Farm in the story Kingdom Come, when the Fable animals are asking Boy Blue questions about Haven.
• Mr. Porky Pine and Chicken Ripple: Their names are taken from the lyrics of Neil Diamond's song Porkupine Pie (from the album Moods). They appear in the Sons of Empire story arc and in the story Waking Beauty. Porkupine Pie is also the name of the duo's chapter in Sons of Empire. Mr. Porky Pine and Chicken Ripple were two Fables in the Homelands who had banded together with the Gingerbread Man to steal unguarded pies being put out on a windowsill (or other places) to cool. Mr. Porky Pine once convinced a human girl to give him a big kiss, claiming he was an enchanted prince. After the girl ran away with both hands stuck by needles, he explained to the Gingerbread Man and Chicken Ripple that he was actually cursed by a witch, only the curse was, in his own words, a perverse attraction to human women. In the Fables story In Those Days, it is revealed that the porcupine was cursed by a young Frau Totenkinder: Mr. Porky Pine angered Totenkinder by calling human women ugly, and she threw a curse on him that made him desire only human women.
• Radiskop: The Fables version of Ratatoskr, the squirrel from Norse mythology who lives on Yggdrasil, the tree that spans the world.^[2] He appears in the Fables story Happily Ever After, where he works as a messenger for Cinderella.
• The Headless Horseman: He ran into Jack Horner during Jack's Jack O'Lantern days, as seen in the Jack of Fables story Jack O Lantern. Jack, needing something for holding a hot piece of coal given to him by the Devil ("Old Scratch"), steals the Horseman's "head" pumpkin.
• Natty Bumppo ("Hawkeye"): One of Bookburner's men. In the Jack of Fables story arc Americana, an angry Bookburner sends him and Slue-Foot Sue after Jack and his group. They eventually managed to shake them off. Bookburner can also be seen holding up a copy of Natty Bumppo's story, the Leatherstocking Tales.
• Slue-Foot Sue: One of Bookburner's people. In the Jack of Fables story arc Americana, an angry Bookburner sends her and Natty Bumppo after Jack and his group. They eventually managed to shake them off. Her husband, Pecos Bill, is a prisoner at the Golden Boughs Retirement Village.
• Giants from Jack and the Beanstalk: Appear in flashbacks in the Jack of Fables story arc The Bad Prince.
• The Jersey Devil: Also known as Omar, he was a soldier in Bookburner’s army of Forgotten Fables, which attacked the Golden Boughs Retirement Village.
• Till Eulenspiegel: He was abducted by Max, The Pied Piper Of Hamelin, in Peter and Max: A Fables Novel. Max later mentioned that all of the abducted children died horribly - two of the youngest were sacrificed by Frau Totenkinder to maintain her youth and keep her magical powers, while all the others were sold to various masters (whatever happened to them before their death is open to speculations).
• MacBeth: Jack Frost 2 has read works of "fiction" and "fact" about MacBeth and he called his new owl friend after MacDuff. Incidentally, one of his quests involves a cow named Gertrude (like Hamlet's mother).
• Freddy and Mouse: Based on the Fritz Leiber characters Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser from the Lankhmar series. A pair of adventurers who unleashed and were enslaved by Mr. Dark.
• Cinderella's stepmother and -sisters: They appear briefly in a one-panel flashback in Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love.
• Robin Redbreast: Jenny Wren's lost love, mentioned in Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love. From the nursery rhymes "Jenny Wren Fell Sick",^[2][12] "Little Robin Redbreast" and "Cock Robin Got Up Early".^[13] He was murdered when the Adversary invaded Jenny Wren's homeland.
• The seven fairy godmothers from Sleeping Beauty: Their names were Katrya the Pure, Sofiya the wise, Nyura the Graceful, Ionna the Gifted, Alyas the Noble, Yeva the Lively and Leysa the Defender. They appear in the Fairest story arc Wide Awake. In Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love, it is implied that Briar Rose and Cinderella share the same fairy godmother, but this is proven apocryphal in the Fairest.
• King and queen from Sleeping Beauty: Appear in flashbacks from Briar Rose's life in Fairest.
• Rapunzel's prince: Appears in flashbacks in Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love, and the Fairest story arc The Hidden Kingdom. It is revealed that it was Cinderella's fairy godmother who showed him the way to Rapunzel's tower. Rapunzel and the Prince shared a passionate love affair, which resulted in Rapunzel becoming pregnant. She then spent months trying to find him, but unbeknownst to her, the fairy godmother now forbade the prince to contact Rapunzel, as the godmother had "plans for" her.
• Baleful Hernes: Apparently a reference to the Wild Hunt. The last of their kind (presumably Herne the Hunter) was boxed offscreen by Dunster Happ during his "Boxing Days".
• Kermit the Frog (maybe): Either he is a cheerleader/mascot who does not need a costume, or an actor is impersonating him, during the Frog Prince's baseball matches in Haven, as seen in the story Out to the Ball Game.
• The Scorpion and the Frog: One of the Scorpion's brothers, Ollikandar Strikeswift, appears in the story Out to the Ball Game, and both the Frog and the Scorpion, Gallifar Strikeswift, are mentioned. The brother's testimony plays a pivotal role when a murderer is trialled in Haven, in front of Flycatcher. It was unclear if the Scorpion's existence was genuine fact or pure myth - even within the Fables themselves (besides, the original tale itself was subject to ambiguity, as it is usually wrongly attributed to Aesop).
• In the Rose Red story arc, several characters from the fairy tale Snow White and Rose Red appear in flashbacks from Snow White's and Rose Red's childhood:
  • The girls' mother: A poor widow who is secretly a witch
  • The wicked dwarf: The father of The Seven Dwarfs
  • The eagle: After the girls save the dwarf from the eagle, the eagle is angry and says that for one of them, seven evils await, for the other, the loss of one dear
  • Brandish, the bewitched prince (described in the "villains" section)
  • Holben, the prince's brother: Unlike in the fairy tale, the prince does not marry the Snow, nor does his brother marry Rose; Holben makes it clear that he has no wish to marry Rose Red, and their father, the king, is against letting Brandish marry a common peasant girl.
• The Evil Queen: Mentioned in Storybook Love and appears in flashbacks in the Rose Red and Camelot story arcs. The queen is actually Snow White's and Rose Red's aunt, and sister of their mother (from the fairy tale Snow White and Rose Red). She is the widowed queen of a distant land, a position that her sister, secretly a witch, helped her achieve. When Snow's mother is forced to send Snow away, she arranges for her daughter to live with her aunt. Years pass, until the queen is one day told by the magical mirror that Snow is lovelier than her. Even though the queen promised her sister that she would love Snow dearly, the queen orders a hunter to kill her adopted daughter. The hunter spares her and Snow flees into the forest. The Queen eventually discovers that Snow White is alive by consulting the magic mirror. Cloaking herself in the guise of an old woman, she visits the cottage of the seven dwarfs and gives her a poisoned apple. Snow eats the apple and falls into a deep coma, but Prince Charming's love is enough to overcome the poison, since all nobles of that world had some degree of magic in them.
• The World Turtle: Once the queen of a great kingdom in the Fable Homelands. When the king discovered that she was being unfaithful, he punished her by turning her into a turtle. He transformed her soul into a teacup of delicate ceramic, which she had to carry on her back. The cup contained her entire homeland, an archipelago of "surging seas and sun-dappled islands", and all of its people. If she let the teacup fall or break, her people and her homeland would be destroyed, and her soul would be lost to her forever. Her horrible trial would end when she found a heroine of low station willing to trade places with her. The heroine would then become the new queen, and the turtle a new peasant. Once, the turtle passed through the woods where a young Rose Red, now without her sister, lived, but the turtle understood quickly that Rose Red, sad and depressed, was not the one she was looking for. The turtle once crossed paths with Bigby Wolf, and was the one who told him about the Lady of the Lake and her powers to assign fates.
• Aunt Em: Dorothy Gale mentions her in Cinderella: Fables Are Forever, saying her aunt always said "you should find something you love to do and then do it". Dorothy, having killed two witches and liking it, was inspired to become a killer for hire.
• Prince Lindworm: Was beheaded by the Imperial General Mirant when Lindworm attempted to make himself the new Emperor in the wake of the defeat of the Adversary. He came back to life when his head was reunited with his body by his loyal goblin troops.
• Coyote: This mythological character is mentioned by the West Wind in the story arc Inherit the Wind, in which he (Coyote) is described as "cunning".
• The Little Match Girl: One of Hope's paladins and the caretaker of Hope Deferred. Rose Red meets the little girl on Christmas Eve in the Fables story "All in a Single Night", where Rose is taken "worlds away", in a Fables takes on A Christmas Carol. The Little Match Girl is still making a living selling matches. Rose asks her to get out of the cold, or else she'll die. The girl answers that she has no home and many matchstick bundles yet to sell. Rose says to her that she will die tonight, as in the fairy tale, but the girl answers that no one knows what will be and that she is young and can stand the cold. She speaks of her hopes for the future, and hopes that her (future) children will have a better life than her. Rose is heartbroken, because she knows that the girl will freeze to death, with all her hopes unfulfilled.
• The false bride from the fairy tale The Goose Girl: Another one of Hope's paladins and the avatar for the Hope of Revenge. She wanders at the edge of the living world, night after night, never to know rest. She explains to Rose Red that "all those good men and women" had their revenge on her; for her crimes, they locked her in a barrel, pounded iron spikes though it and sent her tumbling down the cobbles to her death. The people who sentenced her to death are lying in their graves, but each Christmas Eve, they are freed from their resting places and allowed to walk about as ghosts. They all hope to be released from their confinement and pass on to "rewards long delayed", but the false bride tells Rose that they hope in vain, because "they attend me and I'll never dismiss them". In addition, The Goose Girl is one of the fairy tale books seen in Kevin Thorn’s home in the Jack of Fables story arc The Bad Prince.
• Various funa yurei: From Japanese folklore. Hundreds of years ago, Rapunzel tried to kill herself by sailing off the edge of the world; and was washed up on the shores of the Fable homeland The Hidden Kingdom. The funa yurei, the spirits of the drowned, rescued her, and brought her to safety.
• Various tanuki. They were banished from the Hidden Kingdom, as part of the Shogun's plan for laying the way for The Adversary to invade. According to Rapunzel, "no one minded too much. They were smelly, drunken, pesky little bastards".
• Various kappa, who were banished for the same reason. The Shogun claimed that they were "a terrible influence" and "violent monsters".
• Various kitsune. Rapunzel had a passionate love affair with a female Kitsune named Tomoko. Tomoko kept her soul outside her body in the foxfire that burned beside her bed. The Shogun manipulated the Emperor of The Hidden Kingdom into banishing Tomoko and all her kind from the kingdom. The Shogun confiscated Tomoko's foxfire and used it to bend the emperor's will.
• Sorcerer Atlantes from Chanson de Geste and Orlando Furioso, he strikes a deal with the Green Lady in order to obtain a fantastic destiny but later gets betrayed by her. He mentions getting trained by Ulmore the Uncanny, which is a reference to Bill Willingham's earlier story "Thieves of Daring" where Ulmore is the legendary last Atlantean Sorcerer.
• The Fates appear briefly in flashbacks in the Fables story The Destiny Game.
• Various Valkyries appear during The Destiny Game, escorting fallen warriors to Valhalla.
• The Minotaur appears briefly in flashbacks in the Fairest story arc The Hidden Kingdom. It is revealed that it was actually Rapunzel who entered the Labyrinth and slew the beast, while searching for her lost children.
• Various kirin. Yet another group banished by the shogun. After he took control of The Hidden Kingdom, he started hunting them for sport.
• Nalayani: From the epic Mahabharata. The main character of the Fairest story arc The Return of the Maharajah. When her village is attacked by a group of talking dholes, she joins forces with the provincial Maharajah, who turns out to be none other than Prince Charming. Charming falls in love with her, but although she is fond of him, she does not want any emotional entanglements for the time being; although she still chooses to come with him after he relinquishes his title and travels back to Fabletown.
• Tabaqui: From Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book. The golden jackal appears in The Return of the Maharajah. He was Nalayani's companion for during her journey to the Maharajah's palace. She was forced to kill him when he became infected with rabies.
• Nathoo: From Kipling's Jungle Book. Appears in The Return of the Maharajah, as Maharajah Charming's servant and companion. It was Nathoo who found Charming after the bomb went off in the Fables story arc War and Pieces (where Charming was presumed dead). When Charming decides to go back to Fabletown, he makes Nathoo the new Maharajah.
• Buldeo: The golden jackal from Kipling's Jungle Book. Another aide of Maharajah Charming. He is eventually killed by wild animals.
• Various Asuras: Appears in flashbacks in The Return of the Maharajah. They came down from the mountains and attacked Maharajah Charming's palace, although Charming's forces were able to drive them away.
• A Pishacha: This flesh-eating demon appears, unseen, in flashbacks in The Return of the Maharajah. It possessed a child and then ate all the people in her village.
• Various magicians who were boxed away by the Boxing League, appear in the final story arc, Happily Ever After. The Boxing League were the Emperor's army of highly specialized combat sorcerers, who were tasked with locking up any magician and magical creature who did not directly serve Geppetto's empire; because they were a potential threat to the Adversary's monopoly on power. Several years after the fall of Geppetto's empire, the boxes mysteriously sprung open and the prisoners were released. For unexplained reasons, they were drawn to Rose Red, and were absorbed into her body, in order to serve as members of her army. These magical beings include:
  • Ragana: Goddess of trees from Lithuanian mythology
  • Slogutis: A personified nightmare from Lithuanian mythology.^[14] Was released along with Ragana.
  • The grindylow [misspelled as "grindlylow"]: From folktales in the English counties of Yorkshire and Lancashire. Released along with Black Shuck and Habetrot
  • Black Shuck: The ghostly black dog said to roam the coastline and countryside of the East Anglia region of England.
  • Habetrot: A figure in folklore of the Anglo-Scottish border counties of Northern England and Lowland Scotland
• Baobhan sith: From Scottish mythology. Appears in the Fables story arc The Boys in the Band. Subjugated a group of monsters who plagued the Fable Homeland Hybernia, and set herself up as their witch queen, before taking control of the land and declaring herself the new queen in the wake of the Adversary's defeat. She was eventually defeated.
• Various Cu sith: From Scottish mythology. Servants of the Baobhan Sith.

References