List of Bomberman series characters

Though usually light on story, there have been several recurring characters in the Bomberman series that often appear in the Story Mode of the various games.

Bomberman characters

Bomberman

Although he is also referred to as "White Bomberman", "White Bomber", "Shirobon", or most recently "Cheerful White", the hero of the series is usually simply called "Bomberman". In the standard games, he is the star and is always controlled by the player in the single player modes. He is portrayed as the heroic yet cheerful (and sometimes goofy) type, often saving his home planet from disaster. Like all Bombermen he has the ability to generate bombs in his hands. In the earlier titles he battles his rival, who was a black version of himself called "Kurobon", with whom he would later become friends and allies. In later games, such as Bomberman Max and Bomberman Tournament, he is shown to be part of an interplanetary police force stationed at Bomber Base. White Bomberman always tries to help and he means well.

The White Bomberman also made appearances in other games, such as "Wario Blast", a Bomberman game featuring Nintendo mascot Mario's rival, Wario. He also appears in "DreamMix TV World Fighters", a Hudson fighting game with characters from Hudson Soft, Konami and Takara.

Black Bomber

Also known as "Kurobon" or most recently "Cool Black", Black Bomberman looks identical to Bomberman, only colored black and does not wear white tights. In many of his first appearances, he was shown to be the main rival/enemy to Bomberman. His activities have included robbing banks (Bomberman 2), kidnapping (PC Engine Bomberman) and disabling cities (Bomberman '93). However, with the Super Bomberman series on the SNES, he was changed to being a gradual friend of Bomberman (a sure sign is in Bomberman Hero as he is seen flying White Bomber's space ship). In many games since then he is controlled by the second player in the two-player story modes. Hudson has given him a cool and collected personality in the later games (most notably in Bomberman Land Touch!). The instructions manual for Bomberman Land Wii states that he is surprisingly good at foreign languages.

Red Bomber

Red Bomberman is mainly just a background character, only used as a playable character in multiplayer modes. He originally appeared as a minion of Black Bomber, together with Blue, Green and Yellow. In some of the Bomberman Land games, there was a baby Red Bomber. Red Bomber has also been seen as a Citizen of Bomber Town in Bomberman 64's intro (seen tripping as the citizens try to escape the town as Altair leveled it).

Blue Bomber

Blue Bomberman is given more background than Red. In early games, he was only a background character and is only a multiplayer mode character. He originally appeared as a minion of Black Bomber, together with Red, Green and Yellow. In Bomberman Land Touch!, he is part of Giant Gold's team and was called "Kid Blue". He is a fun loving Bomber who is considered the Reality Checker of Team Gold, usually acting as the voice of reason when Gold plans or says something stupid (Gold usually ignores him). He was also seen in the Intro of Bomberman 64 as a citizen of Bomber Town .

Green Bomber

Mainly used as a background character, Green Bomber is the color used by the fifth player in Bomberman games that allow it. He originally appeared as a minion of Black Bomber, together with Red, Blue and Yellow, and appeared as a multipalyer character in Mega Bomberman for the Sega Genesis. He is also in Bomberman Land Touch!, as Bookworm Green. Like Kid Blue, he is a member of Team Gold. He is the Strategist of Team Gold and wears glasses. White usually asks him for help when he needs help with computers or other such machinery.

Gold Bomber

In Bomberman games, Gold Bomber is commonly used as the last round winner's color, replacing his other color (i.e, if White Bomber won in a battle, he would then appear coated in gold). In Bomberman Land however, there is a large Bomberman called Giant Gold who is a character of his own.

The Five Dastardly Bombers

The Dastardly Bombers are a gang of recurring boss enemies in several games of the series.

Magnet Bomber

One of the Five Dastardly Bombers, Magnet Bomber's true personality has yet to be revealed as he is always the first of the group to be defeated. Magnet Bomber sports a scarf-like cape and has a magnet shape attached to his helmet that has the apparent ability of magnetism, shown in several images. "Magnet" refers to Magnet Bomber's bombs (and possible ability), which are attracted to Bomberman and can put him in sticky situations.

Golem Bomber

Golem Bomber is intriguing because his real name is somewhat disputed -- although he is sometimes referred to as Golem Bomber, he is called Fire Bomber as well. This is probably just one of a few errors in the English Super Bomberman 2 manual, though. Also, his robotic features are more notable than in other bombers; this is most evident in his face (no eyes, just electricity crossing it), but can be seen in his limbs (the joints) and his finger joints too. Golem Bomber is the only member of the Five Dastardly Bombers who doesn't wear something around his neck. Golem Bomber's helmet has a flame emblem on the forehead. "Golem" refers to Golem Bomber's extreme strength (while Fire supposedly used to refer to the power of his bombs). Golem Bomber is also the largest of all the Five Dastardly Bombers (at about twice the height and 3 times the width compared to Magnet Bomber). In Saturn Bomberman Fight! he was depicted as being quite pacific (as seen on the opening where he is surrounded by wild animals).

Pretty Bomber

A female bomber who is distinguished from her male counterparts by her pink skirt, yellow neckerchief, and the large yellow heart attached to her helmet. In her first appearance, Super Bomberman 2, she was an enemy and one of the Five Dastardly Bombers. She was resurrected in Super Bomberman 3 and was a playable character in the multiplayer mode. She reprised her role as villainess in Bomberman Tournament. However, she has also been portrayed as a close friend to Bomberman in several games, and both he and Black Bomber are implied to be in love with her. In Super Bomberman 3 it was revealed that without her helmet she looks very much like a human girl, it is unknown if this is a characteristic of the Five Dastardly Bombers. She has brownish hair, equally colored eyes (which differs from the blue eyes she has while with her helmet on) and apparently smiles a lot. That could also be a homage to the Hudson Honey, who represented her in the various commercials and videos for Bomberman back in the SNES era. She also differs from the others in the fact that she looks nothing like a robot (while the others display some parts that appear robotic). She has made a short cameo in the "Bomberman Jetters" anime.

On a side note, along with the other enemies in the game her name was mistranslated as "Ms. Flashy" in the Virtual Boy game "Panic Bomber". She also makes an appearance in "Bomberman Land Touch!" for DS as one of the main characters under the name Pretty Pink (Cute Pink in the U.S. version). Pretty Bomber is the only member of the Five Dastardly Bombers to switch to the side of good in other games, despite the fact that Plasma Bomber tried to make peace with White Bomber at the end of Super Bomberman 2.

Brain Bomber

Brain Bomber is probably the most wicked Bomberman in the group, although Plasma Bomber was the leader at first. Brain Bomber somehow became leader of the Five Dastardly Bombers beforehand or through the duration of Bomberman Story/Bomberman Tournament, and it is unknown if he is going to stay in this position or not, as the team has yet to make another appearance. Brain Bomber wears a cloak and has the symbol of a crown on his helmet (similar to Golem Bomber's in some games), his arms and legs are not covered (like Pretty Bomber's and Kurobon's); he is shorter than the other characters and sometimes floats above the group. "Brain" refers to the fact that Brain Bomber is the engineer of the group, as shown in Super Bomberman 2 and Bomberman Story/Bomberman Tournament.

There is a connection between him and Max, but details are, so far, only suggested and up to interpretation.

Plasma Bomber

Plasma Bomber is normally the leader of the Five Dastardly Bombers, who are (to a lesser extent than that of Bagular, their supposed creator) Bomberman's arch enemies. Plasma Bomber seemed to want to make peace with Bomberman at the end of Super Bomberman 2 (by his gesture of alighting from his war machine and wanting to shake hands with Shirobon), but he was killed by a bolt emitted from his own war machine, within which had been hiding a strange alien monster. Afterwards, revived by Bagular, he seems to have forgotten or regretted this action. Plasma Bomber wears a handkerchief/neckerchief around his neck and has a lightning bolt attached to his helmet which seems to be able to create electric currents. "Plasma" refers to the fourth state of matter, plasma.

The Hige-Hige Bandits

The name of this group is a bit of a misnomer, as they are more interested in universal conquest than they are in theft. The Hige Hige Bandits are composed of 3 main commanders and a legion of robotic minions.

Hige-Hige Bandits (minions)

The basic (and incompetent) members of the Hige-Hige gang (hence the name) [Hige-hige-dan in Japanese] . They are very weak and usually seen doing Mujoe's dirty deeds. In Saturn Bomberman and Bomberman Jetters, they had the ability to make bombs. They don't show personality and apparently don't have free will.

Bagular

The main villain in many of the games. He looks like a blue and white, large, elderly Bomberman with a bushy white beard, and (in some games) appears to be bigger than Bomberman. Bagular's monocle and cape are also distinguishing features. He supposedly first appeared as the main villain of Bomberman '94, in which he attempted to run a comet-disguised ship into Planet Bomber after throwing it into chaos, but his name was not stated. He went on to appear in Super Bomberman 3, 4, Bomberman Hero, Bomberman Wars, Bomberman World (PSX), and Neo Bomberman, among other games.

In the English manual for Super Bomberman 3 Bagular is known as "Bugler" and in the PlayStation game known as Bomberman World "Burglar", which is another possible translation of his Japanese name, as is "Bagura", though another official translation could be "Bugglar" since that name was shown in the credits of Bomberman Fantasy Race in both English and Japanese versions. Bagular is also the main villain in the recent new Bomberman PlayStation Portable. The English manual of Bomberman PSP refers to Bagular as Professor Bagular.

In Bomberman Hero, he is only a brain whose body is then revived when Nitros collects the four disks needed to revive his body, thus allowing him to take charge and battle bomberman once more. The fact that he is a brain until revived is possible that it was showcasing the battles Bagular has had with bomberman in the past (at the end of Super Bomberman 3 he is seen to be reduced to a living brain, and he reappears in that state in Super Bomberman 4).

He is the true leader of the Hige Hige Bandits, with Mujoe as his second-in-command.

Mujoe

A pawn of Bagular, Mujoe is usually in charge of commanding the Hige-Hige Gang's troops. His first appearance was in Saturn Bomberman, was behind the events in Bomberman Max 2 and he also summons the final boss in Bomberman Generation and is seen as the main antagonist of said games. Mujoe alsoplays a large role in Bomberman Jetters. In the English version of Saturn Bomberman, his name was "Mr. Meanie"

Dr. MechaDoc

Dr. MechaDoc is the Hige Hige Bandit's corrupted mad scientist who first made his appearance along with Mujoe in Saturn Bomberman. In early games, MechaDoc has white hair, whereas, in recent games, he has grey hair. He prefers not to engage in combat, but to rather create the many machines used by Mujoe and the Hige Hige bandits. He also appears in the anime Bomberman Jetters.

Other Characters

Max

One of Bombermans several allies. He is some what competitive and arrogant, as shown in Bomberman Blue Champion/Red Challenger where, despite the urgency of the mission, he challenges bomberman to a contest to who can gather the most charaboms. He also has a habit of chastising Bomberman if you, the player, do poorly against a boss in Bomberman Generation. Max wears a black suited armor with a helmet that resembles Ultraman Ace. In Bomberman Tournament, his disappearance in the game is a vital plot point and judging by the game's ending, he could be related to a royal family of some sort. Max makes brief appearances in Bomberman Generation, usually in the midst of a boss battle, in the ending, and as an unlockable character. In the game's story, he hardly has any semblance of involvement within the plot rather than stating that he will deal with the game's antagonists his own way. He is also a playable character in the game "Bomberman Jetters", where he joins bomberman in the fight against the hige hige bandits again.

In the jetters anime, he is instead a villain and a member of the hige bandits.

Max first appeared in Bomberman Max where in the red versions, he is the main playable character.

Dr. Ein

A scientist who assists Bomberman in a lot of games, usually responsible for conducting the tutorial of most games. He is eccentric and doesn't seem to show much emotions. He is fat, has white spiky hair, and glasses with spirals covering the lenses.

Charaboms

Charaboms are small creatures that appear in a few games that help Bomberman progress in the story. First appearing in Bomberman Max (where the name "charabom" was coined), each new game that features charaboms always feature a unique set of them. In a majority of the games, Bomberman would find Charaboms in cages, or just trapped in certain areas of a single stage. After rescuing one, bomberman can equip them and gain new abilities that help bomberman progress through the game. There are a variety of Charaboms, each classified by element (fire, earth, thunder/lightning, water, etc.). There s also an rpg element unique to charaboms. Leveling up charaboms requires the player to bomb destructible blocks to find "charabom feed". Collecting a certain number would increase the stats and level of the currently equipped charabom. Charabom battles play out first by selecting a skill set (attack, special, guard) in any order. When the battle begins, charaboms automatically fight. Charaboms can be merged (given that they are of different types) into stronger Charaboms with combinations of the abilities of the two Charaboms that were merged, that can help Bomberman even more in the game.

Three Charaboms that have appeared in all games are Pommy, Dorako, and Kai-Man.

Pommy

Pommy is a character in which he first appeared in Bomberman 64: The Second Attack, where he is a loyal, but cowardly sidekick and was a mimic. In the following games, charaboms were introduced and Pommy became one. Pommy has been Bomberman's first charabom to receive up until Bomberman Generation. He is capable of shooting lightning and taking on many different forms, such as Pommy Dragon when merged with Pteradon (or, in the earlier games, fed the right food). Pommy has appeared in every Bomberman game that involved Charaboms.

Rooeys

Rooeys are kangaroo-like animals with rabbit ears who help Bomberman by letting him ride on their backs. Louie is the name of one of these creatures. Louie is green, as all Rooeys have individual colors. His most recent game appearances were in Super Bomberman 3 and 5, Hero, Fantasy Race, Tournament, and the opening scenes of Party Edition and Jetters. He also has a large, if not major role in the Bomberman Jetters anime.