This is a list of fictional badgers. Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the weasel family, Mustelidae. The personality and behavior of the real badger has greatly informed the development of personality and characteristics of the badger character in fiction. Specifically, authors of fictional works employing badgers have often emphasized their natural reclusive privacy and their ferocity and courage when protecting themselves (this aspect drawing its origins from the early tradition of badger-baiting).
The badger's role as a character in fiction can be traced back to the folklore of Europe and Asia where their nocturnal habits have given them an air of mystery. In Chinese and Japanese folklore, the badger character is a shapeshifter. In European folklore the badger character is intimately associated with the bear and is considered a forecaster of the arrival of spring. Older versions of these stories ascribed similar powers to the bear, but as bear populations dwindled, the folklore shifted to use the badger (in Germany and England), and the groundhog (in the United States). In England, the badger character has been adopted in many quarters as a mascot—an evolution from the historic practice of using the badger in heraldic design.
Anthropomorphic badgers have frequently appeared in children's literature, although their personalities have never settled in one particular manner. Characters like Beatrix Potter's Tommy Brock represent the negative side of badgers and reflect the farmer's view of the real badger as a predator of small livestock. On the other hand, characters like Kenneth Grahame's gruff and ascetic Mr. Badger or Susan Varley's Badger (Badger's Parting Gifts) represent the positive side of badgers and reflect the real badgers' purposeful privacy in a way that allows authors to project human characteristics on them. Rural Economy and Land Use Programme fellow, Dr. Angela Cassidy, has noted that the literary figure of the "good badger" has become dominant since the early 20th century, but that more recently the figure of the "bad badger" (now a verminous character usually defined by stench and disease) has made a slight resurgence. Children's book critic, Amanda Craig, has also noted a modern trend away from any instances of the badger character in literature and has identified the lessening of interaction between humans and badgers in modern times as the underlying cause.
In more recent years fictional badger characters have become increasingly abstract, with thoroughly human characteristics and only the appearance of the badger. Indeed, Dr. Cassidy has noted that since 1990, the tendency with badger characters has "accelerated into surrealism and comedy" with the most prominent example being the "Badger Badger Badger" meme arising online in 2003. Modern badger characters have shown up in numerous visual media including animation, commercials, live-action film, the internet, and in video games.
Badgers in mythology and religion
The badger kinsmen of Tadg, King of Tara from Irish folklore
Mujina, shapeshifting badger in Japanese Mythology
Noppera-bō, shapeshifting spirits from Japanese folklore that usually take the form of a faceless human ghosts, but are occasionally translated as mujina (the Japanese badger spirit)
Rock hyrax have been translated from the original Hebrew as badgers in the King James Bible
Tanuki from Japanese folklore are often translated for English-speaking audiences as badgers
Badgers in literature, poetry, and comics
Aristotle Badger, the chairman of M.I.C.E. (Mammals in Co-operation Everywhere) in "M.I.C.E. and the Stone", a novel for children and young adults by William Coniston published 2014
Azrael Dak, a were-badger from the Ravenloft campaign setting in Dungeons & Dragons, as well as badgers, dire badgers, and dire badger skeletons included as monsters in the game
Badger, one of Franklin's friends from the Franklin the Turtle series of books by Paulette Bourgeois and the Franklin animated television series based on them.
Badger, a badger incarnation of Dagger (Tandy Bowen) from the Spider-Ham one-off in the graphic novel serial, Cloak and Dagger
Badger, a character from Percy the Park Keeper by Nick Butterworth
The HoneyBadger is a superhero and the titular character in the Super-Slacker webcomic, HoneyBadger and Friends
Badger, Shadow, and Frond, from the children's novel The Animals of Farthing Wood and its components The Fox Cub Bold and Battle for the Park all by Colin Dann.
Badger, the title character in Susan Varley's Badger's Parting Gifts, a Mother Goose Award-winning children's story that was showcased on Reading Rainbow in season 18.
Badger, from Roald Dahl's Fantastic Mr. Fox.
The badgers in the badger colony raised by Ismaïl for food and to be raped in Urmuz' absurdist work, Ismaïl and Turnavitu
The badger orphans cared for by Belinda Blair from the "Badgered Belinda" story arc in Jinty
The badger that Arthur meets when he is transformed into a badger by Merlin in The Sword in the Stone (collected into The Once and Future King).
The badger on the barge, the eponymous badger from Janni Howker's Whitbread Children's Award and Carnegie Medal shortlisted book, Badger on the Barge (1984)
The badger mascot of Hufflepuff, one of the four houses of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the Harry Potter series. The mascot features on the school's coat of arms.
The badger who operates the rickshaw in Wildwood
The ex-badger who is a member of Bugsy's class in Gunnerkrigg Court
Many badgers appear in the Redwall series of books by Brian Jacques.
Badger Lord Urthstripe the Strong of Salamandastron, main character of the fifth book in the Redwall series
The badgers that destroy ThunderClan's camp in Sunset
The badger cub that Jed kills and the other two badger cubs that Harley and Pearl watch in My Sister Jodie
The badgers of Aphrodite Pandemos in "Cancer, or, The Crab" from Joseph Macleod's The Ecliptic (1930)
The badger from the 19th century poem "The Badger" by John Clare
The badger mascot of the fictional Miskatonic University in H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos
The badger in the basement from Ben Baglio's Animal Ark
The badger that is killed with a pitchfork in the "Helmut Werstler's Cruelty Zoo" comic strip from the February 1998 issue of PC Zone. Designed by humorist, Charlie Brooker, this strip was considered so offensive that the magazine was pulled from shelves in England.
The badger-folk that try to capture Tom Bombadil in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Adventures of Tom Bombadil
The badger god in The 'Immortals' quartet by Tamora Pierce
The badgers from The Disgusting Sandwich by Gareth Edwards and Hannah Shaw
The badgers from Stinkbomb & Ketchup-Face and the Badness of Badgers by John Dougherty
The old male badger from Brock by Anthony McGowan
The brown and cream badger that traps Askam and leads the maddened animals against Zared in Pilgrim
The mother badger from Incident at Hawk's Hill.
The belly-up badger mascot of the secret Tristero postal service in Thomas Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49, an inversion of the actual Thurn und Taxis badger mascot.
Beaufort and the badgers of Cilgwyn from The Cold Moons by Aeron Clement
Benny Badger from Slylock Fox & Comics for Kids
Bill, friend of Rupert Bear, originally created by Mary Tourtel
Bill Badger from Bill Badger and the Pirates and other stories in the series by 'B.B.'
Brock Blueheart (also known as "Stinky"), a badger character in the graphic novel, Fables
Bobby Badger, from Slylock Fox & Comics for Kids
Boomer Badger, a badger character who is Ranger Rick's friend in Ranger Rick
Borun and his family in The Badgers of Summercombe by Ewan Clarkson
Brock the Badger in Yours Ever, Sam Pig By Alison Uttley
Captain Ramshackle of Jeff Noon's Automated Alice
Charlie Coffer, the badger poet from The Crown Snatchers
Dashiel, Jocelyn, and Archibald, three badger space pirates from The Pirate Loop
Detective Inspector Archie LeBrock, in the steampunk comic book, Grandville by Bryan Talbot
Digger the Badger, in the stories of Thornton Burgess
Doraga, leader of the Marat, and all members of the Gargant tribe (a tribe of giant burrow badgers) in Codex Alera
Earth Badger of Root, a Taoist deity in the form of a badger from Journey to the West
Edgar Badger from Edgar Badger's Fix-it Day by Monica Kulling and Neecy Twinem
Frances, Gloria Brock Albert from the series Frances the Badger by Russell Hoban
Gar, the badger whose sett O-ha moves into after the death of A-ho in Hunter's Moon
The golden badgers that Meg Lewis protects from the badger-baiters in The Magician's House
Gregorius the badger, one of Paulus' friends in Paulus the woodgnome
Grimbeert the badger from the Dutch masterpiece, Van den vos Reynaerde (a variation of the classical tale of Reynard the Fox)
Henry, the badger that Alexa meets in the forest of Bridewell in the children's mystery novel, The Dark Hills Divide
Ingolf, a giant in badger-form that is run over by Malcolm Fisher at the start of Expecting Someone Taller
Kalthas of Garry Kilworth's Thunder Oak and the badger that Torca Marda resurrects to kill Scrif and Mawk in Castle Storm
Little Badger from Little Badger's Just-About Birthday by Eve Bunting
Lord Brocktree, Cregga Rose Eyes and various other badgers in Brian Jacques' Redwall series.
Midnight of the Warriors series. And other badgers from the series such as the badger that kills Willowpelt in Firestar's Quest
Mr. Badger in The Wind in the Willows and later sequels such as The Willows at Christmas by William Horwood
Mr. Badger, one of the animen created by Dr. Moreau that interrupt Quatermain and Murray while they are having sex in "Red in Tooth and Claw" from The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume II
Mr. Badger, a recurring character in the works of Leigh Hobbs. Mr. Badger appears in The Big Surprise (2010), The Missing Ape (2010), The Difficult Duchess (2011), and The Magic Mirror (2011) among others.
Mrs. Badger, from Slylock Fox & Comics for Kids
The Mujina of the Akasaka Road from Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things
Old Brock, a badger from the tale of "El-ahrairah and the Lendri", and the lendri in Watership Down.
Old Silver Grizzle from Old Silver Grizzle the Badger and Other Stories by Ernest Thompson Seton
The One-Armed Badger, The King of the Badgers, and various other badger inhabitants of Badgertown in J. P. Martin's Uncle series.
Pon-chan, a shape-shifting tanuki living in D's pet shop in Pet Shop of Horrors. The creature is translated for English-speaking audiences as a badger.
Rahrah, a badger traveling with Scully and Wynn throughout the run of Chuck Dixon and Jorge Zaffino's series Winter World.
Raths, a species of badger created by Lewis Carroll for the original poem Jabberwocky from his Mischmasch column. The rath would later be identified by Humpty Dumpty in Through the Looking Glass as a sort of green pig. Another badger character in the Alice in Wonderland universe is the lizard badger that lives alongside the rath in the Garden of Underland. This character was created by Linda Woolverton for her screenplay, Alice, that later became Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. Yet a third badger appears to sing a duet with the March Hare in the Alice in Wonderland opera.
Sincerity and the badger messengers of Brock Marsh in New Crobuzon from China Miéville's Bas-Lag novels, Perdido Street Station, Iron Council, and The Scar
Tanuki, the principal of Botchan's school in the Japanese novel, Botchan. He is translated into a badger for English audiences.
Tanuki Hirayanu, badger spirits from "Land of Eight Million Dreams" in the Changeling: The Dreaming role-playing game
The tanuki who causes trouble in the farmer's fields in Kachi-kachi Yama is translated as a badger for English-speaking audiences
Tommy Brock from The Tale of Mr. Tod - Kidnaps the Flopsy Bunnies and gets into a scuffle with Mr. Tod.
Trufflehunter is a talking badger from C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia series.
Tummeler, a talking badger from Here, There Be Dragons, his son Uncas from The Shadow Dragons, and his grandson–Uncas' son Fred, from The Indigo King
Martin Badger, from The Love of Simon Fox, by Jonathan Schork (sms2, 2016), introduced in chapter 6 as an unnamed, ill-mannered, semi-wild beast, returns in chapter 7 with "a cane & good manners", and emerges as one of the heroic, ferociously loyal characters of the book.
The badger that young Norbert brought home because it was injured only to have his stepfather Larry kill it. This character was responsible for inspiring the most prominent of Norbert's split personalities in the graphic novel series, The Badger
Billy the Bionic Badger, from Space Moose, had extensive surgeries to turn into the world's strongest rodent, even though badgers are not rodents.
Badgers in animated movies and TV series
Angus McBadger in The Madcap Adventures of Mr. Toad from the Disney animation The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
Badger from Bodger and Badger
Badger, a character voiced by Mark Hamill in The New Woody Woodpecker Show
The Badger, a guest character on Jim Henson's Animal Show
Badger, a character from the 1937 French stop-motion film, The Tale of the Fox
Badger, played by Rod in the "The Fox" episode of The Rod, Jane and Freddy Show
The badgers whose habitat is protected by Lucy when she becomes an environmentalist in an episode of Yes Minister
The badger mascot of Buckner Middle School in The Suite Life of Zack & Cody.
The badger that launches an attack on all humans and nearly disembowels Homer in the The Simpsons episode, "A Tale of Two Springfields"
The badger in the "Badger Milk" commercial featured in The Animal
Badgers that Timmy's dad periodically brings to Grandpa Vlad in The Fairly OddParents
The badger family from the Bob the Builder episode "Bob and the Badgers"
The badger that helps to teach trustworthiness from the Adventures from the Book of Virtues episode, "The Bear and the Travellers"
The badger that is very jealous in the The Bellflower Bunnies episode, "Treasure hunt"
The badger that has a splinter removed from its eye by David the Gnome in the The World of David the Gnome episode, "Good Medicine"
The badger that angrily attacks Elf Cup in the Toad Patrol episode, "Winter Woes"
The badgers of Rastepappe from the TV show, Archibald the Koala
The badger that Benjy befriends and that leads to him leaving home in the 1975 Disney film, The Boy Who Talked to Badgers
The badger who wants to sleep in Sharon Colman's 2005 Academy Award nominated short, Badgered
The badger that Gary cooks as roadkill when he decides to write a Roadkill Cookbook in the I'm with Busey episode, "Environment"
The badger that defeats Lobo's father in Disney's The Legend of Lobo
The badgers delivered to Raul in UHF
The badger on which MacDhui performs surgery, bringing he and Lori together to ultimately fight the gypsies responsible for animal cruelty in Disney's The Three Lives of Thomasina.
The dead badgers in Bernard's shop from the episode "Manny Come Home" in Black Books
The badger that George Dent looks after in the episode "Beasts, Badgers and Bombshells" from Drop the Dead Donkey
The badger that Dwight put in Holly's car in the original script of Goodbye, Toby
The badger on the barge from Series 5, Episode 16 of Dramarama, as well as the badger from Series 7, Episode 3
The badgers that are fought for sport in Series 1, Episode 2 of Forever Green
The badgers featured in Evan Almighty
The badgers from the "Badger Girl" story series on Look and Read
The badgers from the "Badgers and Bears" episode of Pogles' Wood (Series 1)
The badger family shown underground when Ben, Saoirse, and Cú are traveling back to the island in Song of the Sea
Badger Bandits, defeated by Master Croc in the Kung Fu Panda series.
Badger Moles, from Avatar: the Last Airbender, are a chimeric animal based on badgers.
Bark the Badger, a minor character in the Watership Down TV series.
Mayor Bascombe Badger, the mayor of Green Meadow in the The Get Along Gang TV series
Becky and Stacy, from The Penguins of Madagascar, Season 2 Episode 14 "Badger Pride"
Bert and Betty Badger and their parents, Mr. and Mrs Badger from Maple Town
Bix Badger from the Canadian TV show, The Raccoons
Bunga, the young male honey badger from The Lion Guard, and the first to join Kion.
Chris the honey badger from 64 Zoo Lane
Clive Badger, Mr. Fox's lawyer voiced by Bill Murray in the 2009 Wes Anderson film, Fantastic Mr. Fox
Constance the badger, Badgermum of Redwall, in the Redwall TV series
Crites from the Critters series of films have been described as badgers.
Dante, the racist badger from "The Strange Tale of the Crack Fox" from The Mighty Boosh
David's badger from 2point4 children features prominently in "Bird on a Wire" (Series 2, Episode 6)
Debura, the fat badger cop who chews cigars on Kure Kure Takora
Dennis the Badger from Doctor Snuggles. Dennis is a recurring character that features in episodes such as "The Extraordinary Odd Dilemma of Dennis the Badger"
Edward R. Furrow, a psychiatrist badger from the Garfield and Friends episode, "Supersonic Seymour"
Edwina Badger, a concert-goer from the "The Great Bandini" episode (Season 4, Episode 15) of Bear in the Big Blue House
Egbert, a badger character from the Poppy Cat TV series
Friar Tuck, an American badger monk from Disney's Robin Hood
Gaming Badger, a character from the show X-Play
Grevlingen from Kosmorama award recipient, Two Buddies and a Badger
Gupta, a Bengali badger character from Ice Age: Continental Drift
Hachi the tanuki is translated into English as a badger in the English dub of the anime series InuYasha.
Hans, the butler of the von Bruinwald Castle in the TaleSpin episode, "The Balooest of the Bluebloods"
The honey badger who appears as a running gag in The Gods Must Be Crazy II
The honey badger from Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked
Jazavac, a badger character from Lapitch the Little Shoemaker
Lacey Badger in My Gym Partner's a Monkey
The lendri (a badger) that appears in the 1978 film of Watership Down.
Michelle and her uncle Cornelius, from Once Upon a Forest
Minnie, a badger character from The Mysteries of Alfred Hedgehog
Mr. Badger, a badger from several film adaptations of Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows including The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949), The Wind in the Willows (1983), The Wind in the Willows (1987), Wind in the Willows (1988), The Wind in the Willows (the 1984 TV series), and Oh, Mr. Toad
Mr. Digger, a badger character voiced by John McIntire in Disney's The Fox and the Hound
Nakamura, the badger friend of Eguchi in Papuwa
Nodeppou, a badger spirit from the Requiem from the Darkness episode, "Field Gun"
Orchid, a shy badger that lies to Kimba in Kimba the White Lion.
Mr Policeman Badger (later Sergeant Badger), the authority figure in the 1960s UK road safety cartoons of the Tufty Club.
Red Badger of Courage, Dale's TV-show hero from Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers who prominently shows up in the episode "The S.S. Drainpipe"
Smash Badger, a video game badger that is brought to life by Johnny in the Johnny Test episode, "Johnny vs. Smash Badger 3"
Sticks the Badger, a supporting character in the animated series Sonic Boom.
Stripey the badger cub from Timmy Time
Sersant-Inspekteur Tienie Ratel, a character from the South African children's TV show, Haas Das se Nuuskas
Tasmin Archer Badger and Gareth Southgate Badger, badgers from Harry Hill's Channel 4 show that featured several talking badgers warming up for their 'Badger Parade'. However, the parade would always end up cancelled for increasingly bizarre reasons.
Tougho, the honey badger from the Wild Kratts episode "Honey Seekers"
Yoshiro the tanuki prince, Chiyo (his tanuki samurai), and Saemon (his tanuki chief retainer) are all translated as badgers in the English-language version of The Badger Palace
Iron Tail in the fable Why Honey Badger Lost It's Tail
Badgers in tabletop, card, and video games
Badgecicle, the badger pinata from Viva Piñata
The badger that must be threatened with the vacuum in Goose, Egg, Badger, a 2004 XYZZY Award winner under the category of Best Puzzles.
The badgers whose minds are controlled by Dwayne the Verminator in Over the Hedge
The badgers from Dwarf Fortress
The diseased badgers that are launched from trebuchets in Stronghold 3
The psychotic killer badger that eats Barnsley in Episode 3 of Hector: Badge of Carnage
Badgers in SimAnimals. If you complete a number of badger-related tasks in-game, you are awarded the "Way of the Badger" Medal.
Blue Badger, police mascot in Ace Attorney series.
The British Badger who guards the town hall in Falderal & Nonesense Land from King's Quest VII: The Princeless Bride.
Bumper in Diddy Kong Racing
The Badger-Saw, a weapon in Postal III.
The mother badger and the badger cubs from Shelter
Brocks, giant badgers used as cavalry units by berzerkers of the Dwarf armies in the miniature wargame Kings of War.
Giant Badger, a character from the Magic: The Gathering card game
Gulo, the rare golden honey badger of the Kyrat region of Far Cry 4, as well as the nameless badgers in the Oros region of Far Cry Primal and honey badgers in the Kyrat and Oros regions of Far Cry 4 and Far Cry Primal.
Badgers in music and spoken word
Badger, the ousted former owner of the vixen Bystrouška's home in Leoš Janáček's opera, The Cunning Little Vixen
The 11 badgers baiting - the penultimate gift that the true love sends to the singer in the Cliftonian version of The Twelve Days of Christmas (1867)
The badger that is shot to death in William S. Burroughs' "Kill the Badger!", a track on the album, Dead City Radio. The same character appears in Burroughs' novella, The Cat Inside
The badger from "The Badger Song", a track on The Dead Milkmen album, Bucky Fellini
The badgers from the Badger Badger Badger internet meme and the badger from the Badger phone internet meme.
Chunt, a shapeshifter in the popular podcast Hello from the Magic Tavern, is most commonly in the form of a Badger.
Badgers as mascots, logos, and insignias
The badger mascot created by Roger Dean for the band Badger (appears on One Live Badger and White Lady)
The badger mascot of Badger Books
The badger mascot of Badger Brewery
The badger mascot of the Badgerline livery
The badger mascot of Thurn und Taxis
The Badger Springs Badger, mascot of Badger Springs Middle School
Barney the Badger, mascot of Arkadelphia High School
The Beebe Badger and its female counterpart, the Lady Badger, mascots of Beebe High School
The Ben Bolt-Palito Blanco Badger and his female counterpart the Lady Badger, mascots of Ben Bolt-Palito Blanco High School and the Ben Bolt-Palito Blanco Independent School District
The Bennington Badger, mascot of Bennington High School and Bennington Elementary School.
The Berkshire Badger, mascot of Berkshire High School
Bert Badger, mascot for New Zealand's SKY Network Television
Bertie Badger, mascot for the St John Ambulance
Billy Badger, mascot of Amarillo College
Billy the Badger, mascot of Fulham F.C.
The Bishop Badger, mascot of Bishop Consolidated Independent School District
Boomer the Badger, mascot of Brock University and the Brock Badgers
Breezy Badger, the mascot and production name for Ubuntu v5.10
The Bristol Badger, mascot of the Bristol Badgers
The Buckholts Badger and his female counterpart the Lady Badger, mascots of Buckholts High School
Buckingham U. Badger (aka Bucky Badger) the mascot of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, originally a cartoon in campus publications. This badger mascot later gave its name to the 1953 Lake Michigan ferry, SS Badger.
Buddy the Badger, mascot of Bonners Ferry High School
The Craig Badger, mascot of The Craig School
The Everett Badger, one of the mascots of Everett Christian School
Fearless Honey Badger mascot of Young Democrats of North Carolina
The Flying Badger, emblem of the 95th Airlift Squadron
Howie the honey badger, mascot of the Calgary Roughnecks
The Klamath Badger, mascot of Klamath Community College
The Lampasas Badger and his female counterpart the Lady Badger, mascots of Lampasas High School that appear on the school logo and also serves as the mascot for Lampasas Independent School District
The Milwaukee Badger, mascot of the Milwaukee Badgers
The Osbourn Badger, former mascot of Osbourn High School
The Powder Valley Badger, mascot of Powder Valley School
The Prescott High School Badger, mascot of Prescott High School
Ronald, the badger mascot of University of Sussex's The Badger newspaper
The SnowBadger, mascot of Snow College
The Spring Hill Badger and his female counterpart the Lady Badger, mascots of Spring Hill College that appear on the school logo and who also serve as the mascots of Spring Hill College Athletics.
The Tandem Friends Badger, mascot of Tandem Friends School
The Tucson Magnet Badger, mascot of Tucson High Magnet School and the school's Badger Foundation
Urbie, the badger mascot of The Wildlife Trusts
Victor E Badger, mascot of Valentine High School
The Wisconsin Army National Guard Badger, mascot of the Wisconsin Army National Guard who appears on the shoulder sleeve insignia
List of fictional badgers Wikipedia (Text) CC BY-SA
