Paul Bunyan (Quality Universe)

Paul Bunyan was born in a small logging village in Maine, to regular-sized parents, but grew to be ten feet tall. He roved the northern forests of America, usually accompanied by his giant blue ox, Babe. He first took a lumberjack job with L&M Logging Co., but after the group headed west, Paul sought new employment from the North American Timber Co., where he quickly rose to Chief Foreman.^[1]

He quickly became beloved by those he worked with, including his boss, cook Olie Hansen, and lumberjacks Charlie, Jake, and Joe. During a particularly harsh cold season, the Winter of the Blue Snow, a species of three-eyed lynx surfaced and attacked the lumberjacks, as did a mad moose. Paul managed to subdue the creatures and save his friend Pete Ayres's loggers and company.^[2]

Unlike the usual American folklore stories, Paul was not the only giant. He came into conflict with the one-eyed giant Mike Disogra^[3] and King the Man-Ape.^[4]

Paul ended up befriending and adopting King the Man-Ape until a professor from Raleigh University informed him that King was from a Himalayan society of others like him. They set off and King returned to his people, bidding his friend Paul goodbye.^[5]

In early 1941, Paul Bunyan of the northwest heard that Olie Hasen left the company to enlist. Paul also decided "to join Uncle Sam's forces,"^[6] the U.S.Army. Within a short time his heroic feats earned him a Congressional Medal of Honor. He commanded a unit which countered a trans-Canadian Japanese invasion.^[7]

After leaving army life behind, he returned to lumberjacking in the North American forests,^[8] as well as applying as a cowhand in Colorado.^[9] His time as a cowhand helps him hear about rustlers across the country, information that helps him track down kidnappers when the abduct Babe. He pursues them to Chicago (the city where fellow hero Wonder Boy original crash landed) and recuses his trusty ox.^[10]

As he continued his adventures, Paul would take down foes like the Buckshot Gang^[11] and eventually become the head of a logging company (whether it is his own or North American Timber Co. is unknown)^[12]

Summoned by Kid Eternity

Paul would be summoned by Kid Eternity on multiple occasions, the first being to protect him from Dr. Trask and his poachers along the Amazon River when Kid Eternity and Mr. Keeper flew there to investigate the Amazons.^[13]

Powers and Abilities

Powers

Superhuman Strength
Superhuman Speed
Superhuman Durability
Sound Manipulation: When singing, Paul is able to project his voice loud enough to be heard "for ten miles up and down the valley."^[14]

Abilities

Throwing: Paul Bunyan can throw 2,000-pound artillery shells far enough and accurately enough to destroy enemy warships.^[5]
Fiddling^[15]

Weaknesses

Diminished Intellect: While Paul Bunyan is usually able to solve problems with brute strength, he is frequently shown to not be the brightest when it comes to book-smarts.

Paraphernalia

Transportation

Babe, his gigantic blue ox

Weapons

Paul Bunyan's Axe
Paul Bunyan's Saw: This saw is so massive, that "to balance his pull, he needs three horses on the other end." It's capable of falling twenty full grown trees at once.^[8]

Notes

This character or object is an adaptation of Paul Bunyan, a character or object in traditional stories. These include, but may not be limited to religious texts, myth, and/or folk lore. More information on the original can be found at Wikipedia.org.
No existing records reveal what rank Bunyan held, when receiving the Medal of Honor,^[6] when commanding a 1000-man detachment,^[7] nor at the time of his presumably-honorable discharge.^[8] The units in which he served are likewise not identified.
While Paul displays great feats of strength by uprooting trees, shaping rivers, and hurtling boulders, he has been overpowered at times; for instance, it takes "all his strength" to tear open a bank vault.^[16] The upper limits of his strength may be largely tied to nature.
In later stories, Paul would react with much more anger when issues arose.

Paul Bunyan (Quality Universe)

Contents

History