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| “ | You're nothing but a monster pretending to be a man. | „ |
| ~ Bigby Wolf to Grendel, Fables: The Wolf Among Us #12 — "Chapter Twelve" |
Grendel is a Fable who comes in three incarnations:
The first version appears in The Unwritten #51 — "The Unwritten Fables, Part 2: The Rescue," in an alternate universe.
The second, most prominent incarnation is nicknamed Gren and lives in New York City (either in Fabletown, or elsewhere in the city), glamouring himself to pass for a human being. He debuts in Fables: The Wolf Among Us #4 — "Chapter Four."
A third version of the character is mentioned in Batman vs. Bigby! A Wolf in Gotham #6 — "Chapter Six: Wild Animals."
History
First incarnation
A version of Grendel from an alternate universe is seen alongside his mother while they're both in monster form, serving a version of Mister Dark who was never defeated. As mother and son guard Castle Dark in their monstrous forms, three children with magical abilities venture into the depths of the castle to rescue the captive Bigby Wolf. When Grendel and his mother spot the children, they express their joy at feasting on their flesh. However, the kids quickly use their magic to kill them, causing them to disintegrate in a dazzling flash of light.[2]
Second incarnation
Homelands
Grendel hails from Dane-land, where he lodged a complaint about the excessive noise caused by his neighbors, Hrotgar and the rowdy revelers at Heorot. When no one was willing to do anything about it, he took the matter into his own hands and bust down the door, grabbing thirty drunken Danes and devouring them.[5]
He liked the taste of them so much that he continued to come back to feast on more Danes. This went on for twelve years, until the legendary hero Beowulf sailed over to Dane-land with fourteen of his friends. He fought the Grendel in single combat, and managed to defeat him and rip his arm off. Grendel was sent off into the swamp to lick his wounds.[5]
Grendel sent his mother on a mission to seek revenge against Beowulf. She prowled around Heorot, trying to find Beowulf, but he ultimately killed her. Grendel sulked in the swamp for fifty years, until Grendel hired a fire dragon to kill his old nemesis, leaving a long paper trail along the way. The Dragon fried Beowulf where he stood and Grendel lived to tell about it, always claiming that he had the upper hand.[5]
Unemployment
| “ | Holly's sister goes missing, and and none of you people give one solitary fuck about it! I wait in that fuckin' line all morning to talk about it, just so I can file a complaint with a fuckin' monkey, who tells me "It'll be looked into." But you find something you think you can pin on Woody and suddenly you're goddamn Columbo. | „ |
| ~ Grendel to Bigby Wolf, Fables: The Wolf Among Us #11 — "Chapter Eleven" |
Years later in the mundane world, Gren appears standing in line outside of Fabletown's Business Office to sign up for unemployment. Upon seeing Sheriff Bigby Wolf cut the line to get in, he angrily confronts him, saying that he's been waiting there an hour. Bigby calmly explains that he works in the office.[1]
Grendel laments the challenges he encounters in securing employment, as his options are restricted to working exclusively for other Fables. He refutes the notion of possessing "violent tendencies," which he argues falsely hinders his ability to work for mundys. Bigby is insulted by him multiple times, prompting Bigby to go inside.[1]
He later appears sitting in the Trip Trap, having a drink. Gren soon has enough of Bigby and confronts the sheriff, shouting out his frustration with the rich folks in the Woodlands not caring about the less well-off Fables like him, and how Holly's sister has gone missing with the Business Office refusing to help locate her. Gren then transforms into his true form[6] and begins a violent brawl with Bigby.[5]
At first, he has the upper hand, until Bigby transforms into his half-wolf form and wins the fight, ripping Grendel's arm off.[5] Gren is left on the floor, wounded and whimpering. Bigby says that Doctor Swineheart should be able to sew his arm back on, but Gren says he'd rather lose the limb for good, and tosses it across the room.[7]
Grendel, still missing an arm, is again seen at the Trip Trap when Bigby and Snow White go to tell Holly about her sister's death. When Bigby informs Holly about Lily, Gren flips out, claiming that he and Snow don't care about the Fables living outside of the Woodlands and that they are never there when they need them. Holly, wishing to be left alone for a little while, kindly asks him to leave, so Jack Horner invites him to go hitchhiking with him.[8]
The funeral
Grendel, now with both of his arms, is in attendance at Lily's funeral, when Bigby shows up uninvited.[9] When Bigby is being held at gunpoint by the Tweedles, he is furious at their interrupting her funeral service. He abandons his glamour along with Holly and after Tweedle Dee insults Lily by calling her a dead whore, he viciously screams that he'll kill him. When Holly is shot after charging at Dee, Grendel knocks Tweedle Dum's gun away and pins him to the ground. However, Dum is able to quickly retrieve his gun when Grendel is distracted and shoots him.[10]
After the funeral
All parties injured in the attack are then brought to the Business Office, where they are cared for by Dr. Swineheart. Later, when Bigby asks the doctor about Gren and Holly's condition, Swineheart tells him that they both will recover and that he sent them both home.[11]
When Bigby goes to the Trip Trap hoping to look through Lily's belongings for a lead on Ichabod Crane's whereabouts, Grendel is there, accompanied by the Woodsman. He is in an unusually good mood. Woody informs Bigby that Swineheart gave the two injured parties barmecidal ambrosia to help cope with the pain, and Gren smugly remarks that the medicine has given him a pleasant high due to his refusal to sleep.[12]
The Woodsman warns Gren not to mix the drugs with alcohol, because Swineheart warned him not to; but he insists on having a round of drinks before he helps Bigby with the investigation. After the Woodsman tells him that he should rest, Grendel lashes out at him, but is stopped by Bigby.[12]
Grendel then tells Bigby that Holly discovered that Woody was paying Lily to have sex with him and kept it hidden from them, knowing she would object. After the Woodsman storms out, Bigby again tries to ask Grendel for help, but all he does is recommend that he check Holly's room before passing out from the medication.[12]
Grendel is present at the Crooked Man's trial at the Witching Well. Holly advocates for his punishment by being thrown down the well once he is convicted, while Grendel urges prudence, emphasizing the uncertainty surrounding his guilt.[13]
When Bigby comes to work after the Crooked Man is incarcerated, Grendel can be seen standing in line outside the Business Office, waiting for his turn to speak with the authorities of Fabletown.[14]
Third incarnation
Later on, Bigby is involved in a vicious fight with the mother of a different version of Grendel.[4] Having fought the second incarnation,[5] he initially mistakes her for Grendel, but she clarifies her identity as his mother and asserts her power to defeat a mere god of wolves.[4]
Appearances
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Original source
Grendel is based on the character from the epic poem Beowulf. He is a monstrous being defeated by the titular character. Condemned to wander the earth, Grendel is an outcast who traces his ancestry back to the biblical Cain. He takes revenge on humans by causing terror and sometimes feasting on the warriors of the Danish king Hrothgar. Beowulf, a warrior and leader of the Geats, a tribe hailing from Sweden, faces him in battle and fatally wounds him. Grendel's horrible mother seeks revenge for her son's demise, only to be vanquished and slain by Beowulf too.[15]