Bular the Vicious

History

Backstory

During the Battle of Killahead Bridge, Deya the Deliverer exiled Bular's father, Gunmar, and the rest of his army into the Darklands. Bular managed to avoid exile (thanks to Nimue literally throwing him out of the battlefield) and remained roaming the human world, trying to steal the Amulet of Daylight and rebuild the Killahead Bridge to free his father.

Trollhunters (Part One)

Hunting the Amulet

Bular first appears in "Becoming: Part 1" when he duels Kanjigar at sunrise under a bridge in Arcadia. Although he manages to disarm the veteran Trollhunter and wound him by forcing him into the sun's rays, his plans to acquire the amulet are thwarted when Kanjigar sacrifices himself and leaves the amulet in sunlight where it cannot be reached.

Encountering Jim

Following Jim Lake's successful audition for the part of Romeo, Bular ambushes Jim and Toby on the streets of Arcadia Oaks. The Gumm-Gumm attempts to smash the pair and hurls a truck at them, but they evade him on their bicycles by squeezing behind a building where he cannot fit. Bular then attacks the two after they meet up with Blinky and AAARRRGGHH!!!, chasing the foursome back to the canal where Kanjigar fell. Unfortunately for the son of Gunmar, Blinky and AAARRRGGHH!!! managed to secret the duo into Heartstone Trollmarket, where he could not follow. After his failure to retrieve the amulet, Bular was sharply rebuked by Stricklander, who had come to Jim's house.

Bular desired to break open the Lake house and kill Jim on the spot, to which Stricklander argued would draw unnecessary attention and risk exposing their agenda to both humans and trolls. Grudgingly, Bular accepted Stricklander's advice to adapt and wait for another opportunity, though the Changeling was forced to push Bular out of the way before Jim could spot them.

Building the Killahead Bridge

Following the escape of Jim with the Amulet, Bular and Strickler changed tactics and began building the Killahead Bridge so that it would be ready when the Amulet was acquired. Bular was annoyed with the slow pace of the work and suspicious of Strickler's plan to build it in a human museum, but praised the bridge as the dawn of "The Age of Gunmar." As more pieces arrived, Bular secured the construction site, chasing down and presumably eating a hapless security guard.

Bular later attempted to execute Nomura for allowing Jim and Toby to discover the Killhead Bridge. However, he relented when she presented him with a Fetch. Figuring his father's army will require one more Changeling if they fall short, Bular spared her life so as to spite Strickler.

After disassembling the bridge before Jim could show it to Vendel and reassembled it back in the museum, Strickler informed Bular of Gladysgro's demise. The Gumm-Gumm prince offhandedly dismissed her as expendable, given that she already got the stones from Madagascar, and disregarded Strickler's advice to at least care for those in his employ, stating that once his father is free, he'll destroy the Trollhunter. Suddenly, a stone with trollish inscription appeared through the Fetch, confirming that Enrique Nuñez had been chosen to be swapped with his Changeling counterpart.

On Jim's birthday, an impatient Bular refused to wait for the Trollhunter to stumble onto the bridge again and thus decided to summon a Stalkling. Strickler subsequently learned of this undertaking and confronted Bular at a mine, reminding that this violated their agreement to avoid killing Jim least it caused unwanted scrutiny. Bular reasoned that the Stalkling would wait until Jim was alone to strike. However, he underestimated Jim once again, who managed to kill the Stalkling.

Eventually, Otto Scaarbach brought the Eyestone, allowing Bular and his henchmen to talk with Gunmar. Bular interrupted Strickler's attempt to stroke Gunmar's ego and told his father of the new human Trollhunter and how Strickler prevented him from killing Jim and taking the amulet from him. They got into a brief argument before an irritated Gunmar interrupted them. The Gumm-Gumm king acknowledged that Strickler was correct to spare Jim, least their enemies discover their plan. Furthermore, he declared that Bular shall be giving the orders, to the latter's smug delight.

Bular then spoke privately with his father, who noted that Strickler had grown soft. Bular explained that in his human guise, Strickler was Jim's teacher and thus he suspected the Changeling possessed affection for the child. Thus, Gunmar suggested Bular test Stricker's loyalty.

Opportunity came knocking when Jim ventured into the sewers, challenging Bular to a duel, which the Gumm-Gumm prince was happy to oblige. Spotting a Grit-Shaka around his neck, Bular immediately guessed why the Trollhunter was so eager to challenge him. Due to the Gumm-Gumm totem negatively influencing him, Jim proved arrogant in the ensuing duel before Bular crushed the totem under his heel. As Jim cowered in fear, Bular attempted to pounce at him, only for Toby to pull off a manhole cover up top, exposing sunlight that forced Bular back. As he stalked around Jim, Blinky and AAARRRGGHH!!! appeared to help him only for a goblin to kick off another manhole cover, keeping them at bay. Bular then subtly revealed Stricker's identity as a Changeling by calling Jim, "Young Atlas", which was Strickler's nickname for him. Jim then escaped, which was just what Bular had planned.

Strickler was less than happy to learn of what Bular did until Gunmar stated it was all to force a confrontation, in which Strickler would kill Jim and take the amulet. Being sporting, Bular told Strickler he was to kill Jim if he couldn't get the boy to hand over the amulet.

The Battle for the Killahead Bridge

Strickler managed to succeed in his task, managing to swap the amulet for a fake. Desiring the honor for himself, Bular then took the amulet and inserted into the bridge only for it to fail. Strickler took a closer look at the inscription on the amulet and told Bular that only the Trollhunter can open the bridge, so he sent Nomura after Jim. However, Jim was able to summon the amulet back him while fighting goblins and Nomura was unable to capture him.

Fortuitously, NotEnrique delivered Blinky right into Bular's waiting arms and thus the villains sought to use him as a hostage to force Jim to open the bridge. But just before Jim could insert the amulet, everyone hears a beeping sound and Nomura announces that the Trollhunter was wearing a Chubby Tracker, which was the same device that led Jim to the bridge the first time. Toby, Draal and AAARRRGGHH!!! then show up and a battle ensues. Bular briefly clashed swords with Jim before grappling with Draal, who identified himself as Kanjigar's son. Bular nearly overpowered Draal before engaging AAARRRGGHH!!! and taunted his father's former general, calling him a pet.

At the height of the battle, Strickler manages to open the bridge, at which Bular heard Gunmar calling out to him. But he soon disengaged in an attempt to stop Draal from pulling out the amulet, resulting in the bridge being destroyed. Bular emerged from the rubble and attempted to call out to his father before pursuing the Trollhunters through the sewers.

Bular confronts Jim in their final battle under the same bridge where he fought Kanjigar. They traded blows for a while before Jim slipped beneath Bular's blindspot. Seeking to draw his foe out, Bular guessed that Jim wanted Enrique back. He then caught Jim attempting to attack him from behind. Though reminded that the bridge would never open without him, Bular stated he'll just use another Trollhunter. But then Jim summoned his sword to his free hand cut Bular, forcing him to release the boy. The Trollhunter then sympathized with Bular's desire to see his father once more, but stated they don't always get what they desire. Enraged, Bular attacked Jim again, forcing the boy to seek the safety of daylight. Standing over the Trollhunter as the latter stabbed his sword into the side of the bridge, Bular mocked that he assumed Jim's death would more entertaining that Kanjigar's. Catching Jim before he could fall, Bular pressed him against a wall, stating that the amulet should never have chosen a human.

Ultimate Demise

As Jim's friends wash up in the shadow of the bridge, Bular taunted they're going to watch their Trollhunter slain. Jim reminded he was no troll and removed his armor, enabling to slip out of Bular's grasp before stabbing him through with the Sword of Daylight, causing him to fall off into the sunlight and petrifies as he falls into the water.

However, Bular was far from finished. Even as he turns to stone, Bular ascended the bridge, catching the Trollhunters by surprise, only to be punched and shattered to pieces by AAARRRGGHH!!! before he could crush Toby.

Aftermath

Even after his defeat at the hands of Jim and AAARRRGGHH!!!, Bular has been mentioned several times throughout the second half of Part One, which begins Angor Rot's story arc.

In "Where Is My Mind?", Bular appears in Strickler's hallucination caused by a pixie, which shows that Strickler has secretly feared Bular. "Bular" then demands the changeling to remove the Inferna Copula, until Strickler sees through his delusion and confronts Angor.

Around "Something Rotten This Way Comes", Jim learns from Gnome Chompsky that Gunmar knows that he killed son and wishes to kill everyone close to him as an act of revenge.

Trollhunters (Part Two)

A Wrathful Mourning

Acting under orders of Otto Scarbaach, Janus Order agents managed to retrieve most of the shattered pieces of Bular's body from the canal, storing them in a Changeling safe house within Arcadia. Upon Gunmar's return from the Darklands, Otto brought him there to rest and see the remnants of his son. Dismissing the rest of his entourage, Gunmar raked his claws over the last physical remains of his son. For the first time in his life, Gunmar willingly showed weakness, mourning his son with a muted wail. He reflected that of all his progeny, Bular was the one most like him. He then summoned for Otto once more, vowing to act out a plan of vengeance upon the Trollhunter and his allies.

"Return" in an Alternate Reality

Bular makes a brief return in the episode "Unbecoming", in which Jim is given a second chance to live his life without ever having found the amulet. In this universe, he ends up winning the battle and freeing his father.

Wizards

Bular returns when Jim, Claire, Steve and Douxie are transported back to medieval England. He is seen once more serving as his father's second in command and ironically saves Jim from King Arthur's knights. It is also revealed how he avoided imprisonment in the Darklands, as Bular was hurled far away from the battle at Killahead by the Lady of the Lake, avoiding the fate of his father and tribemates.

Physical Description

Bular is a large Gumm-Gumm Troll with black skin, yellow and orange eyes, and a set of horns which curl around his face (the right horn end chipped off after his fight with AAARRRGGHH!!! during the first Battle of Killahead Bridge). In "Young Atlas", he gains a small scar under his left eye after getting cut by Jim's sword.

He wears a kilt with a wide belt, decorated with skulls, and two belts across his chest, which hold his swords. He also has a leather wrap on his right arm, and what appears to be hair on the back of his head.

Personality

“As the last remaining Gumm-Gumm soldier in the human world, Bular has one goal: to free his father, Gunmar, from the Darklands. Due to his limitation of not being able to maneuver in the daylight, Bular must initially concede to falling in line and letting Strickler take the lead.”

―The Art of Trollhunter.

Bular is monstrously arrogant and cruel to friend and foe alike. He is quick to anger and quick to act and enjoys lording himself over his subordinates. Like many trolls, Bular is dismissive of changelings, seeing them as fodder or cheap labor to further his plans. Bular is devoted to his father, Gunmar, and will stop at nothing to bring him back to the surface world. He is also extremely impulsive and impatient, something Gunmar himself has admitted.

In many ways, Bular can be considered an evil version of Draal; both are arrogant, dismissive of those that they consider weaker than themselves, and rash. They both also wish to live up to their fathers' expectations of them. However, unlike Draal, Bular never learns humility and the value of true friendship, which leads to him dying alone against the might of Jim and his friends.

Powers & Abilities

Powers

Gumm-Gumm Troll Physiology: Bular was much stronger and endurable than a human and even the average troll.

Superhuman Strength: Bular was strong enough to easily hurtle a truck several feet away and punch through a sewer cover.

Superhuman Endurance: As a troll, Bular could endure more than an average human.

Superhuman Durability: Thanks to his thick stone skin, Bular was more resistant to most blows.

Superhuman Stamina: Bular could physically exert himself for long periods of time without tiring.

Enhanced Speed: Despite his bulky build, Bular was able to move much faster than an ordinary human on foot as he is fast enough to catch up to a bike.

Superhuman Reflexes: Bular possesses enhanced reflexes, which aided him in his swordsmanship.

Superhuman Senses: As a troll, Bular's senses are much more acute than an average human.

Longevity: As a troll, Bular was capable of living for hundreds of years, but could still fall in battle.

Abilities

Swordsmanship: Bular was an excellent swordsman, capable of taking on a fully fledged Trollhunter, Kanjigar, and defeating/disarming him. Blinky himself even claims that Bular was a formidable opponent, despite his obvious impulsiveness. He specialized in ambushing his prey and using powerful strikes and crushing grips to overwhelm them. He was equally proficient with one or both of his twin swords.

Weaknesses

Direct Sunlight: Like all trolls, Bular was highly vulnerable to sunlight as it can burn and turn him to stone.

The Sword of Daylight: Unlike his father, Gunmar, Bular is capable of being killed by the Trollhunter's signature sword.

Hubris: He showed that he worries about his father's judgment on himself as he showed to take it personally that causes himself to be misguided.

Equipment

Twin Swords: Bular's twin swords are his weapons of choice, which he uses to defeat Kanjigar and later fight Jim on multiple occasions. Bular also uses his weapons to intimidate and threaten, as seen when he menaces Strickler for arguing with him and when he attempts to coerce Jim into giving up the amulet. Bular's weapons are stowed in sheaths on his back when not in use, and it is assumed that they were destroyed when he was killed by Jim and AAARRRGGHH!!!