| “ | Meet Tink. My bodyguard and enforcer. And the most powerful creature you'll ever encounter in this or any world. My eternal slave. | „ |
| ~ Peter Pan to Herne in Fables #161 — "The Black Forest, Chapter Eleven: The Fight in the Dog" |
Tinker Bell is a Fable fairy and Peter Pan's unwilling associate. She debuts in Fables #151 — "The Black Forest Chapter One: Greenjack."
History
Background
For millennia, Peter Pan has held Tinker Bell captive with powerful magical bonds that bind her to his will, enslaving the fairy and forcing her to obey his every command. She is his slave, a prisoner of his will and magic.[4]
The mundane world
Tinker Bell is with Peter Pan as he watches Fabletown from a distance.[2] Disdainful of the fact that the mundane world has well and truly become magical, Peter blames Geppetto and confronts him as the woodcarver is having a conversation with Sam. Wanting to talk to Geppetto alone, he commands Tink to shove Sam through a portal which leads to the Homelands, before having Tink trap the woodcarver in the form of a stone. Claiming that the mundane world has become ruined and filthy, Peter and Tink leave.[5]
Pan dines at a restaurant on 241 West Broadway and engages in conversation with Tinker Bell. She shares her desire to be liberated from captivity, but Pan denies her request, knowing that it would only lead to her seeking revenge for years of servitude. The arrival of Jack in the Green, armed with her drawn bow and attempting to capture Pan, leads to the summoning of the police, who promptly arrive at the scene and take Jack into custody. Afterward, the police questions Peter Pan, who had witnessed the event. However, Pan becomes frustrated with their questioning and commands Tinker Bell to eliminate them all, leading to the merciless slaughter of twelve police officers.[4]
The Hesse
Peter Pan tasks Tinker Bell with moving any remaining containment boxes from the Hesse, and dumping them in the mundane world, to get them out of his way.[6] The boxes are found by Cinderella and her agents. Taking the form of an elderly woman, Tink warns her about the boxes' contents and advises her to keep them locked up and never open them. After confessing that she was the one who dumped the boxes, Tink is politely asked by Cinderella to come along with her. However, Tink explains that it would be impossible for her to do so. Transforming back into her true fairy form, she takes flight, referring to herself as a "girl on a string."[7]
Seeking revenge on the Wolf family, Pan orders Tink to eliminate all of them and anyone of importance to them. Tink begins by killing Herne, the son of the forest god Herne, and the boyfriend of Blossom Wolf. Blossom is helpless as she watches his body break apart into a swarm of grasshoppers, ultimately leading to his death. Tinker Bell makes her presence known and confesses to being the one responsible for his death, following orders from Pan himself. Twisting the knife in further, she explains that if Blossom had not loved Herne so dearly, she would have spared his life.[7] Right as Tinker Bell is seconds away from ending her life, Blossom is found by Sam and Ghost. Ghost uses his windy gifts to save his sister, flinging Tinker Bell around like a leaf in the wind. Thanks to Ghost's help, Sam and Blossom are able to get away unscathed and make it to the Wolf family abode, but their conversation is cut short when Tinker Bell suddenly appears in the house, looking for retribution. Tinker Bell traps Ambrose, Blossom, Connor, Snow White, Winter and Sam in[8] hardened amber,[3] but is called to Pan's side before she can kill any of them.[8]
Right as the forest god Herne is about to deliver a fatal blow against Pan, Tinker Bell swoops in to save her master and foil his plan for revenge. She engages Herne in a fierce battle and admits to Herne that she does not want to kill him, but she is compelled by strong bonds to do Peter's bidding. Just as she is about to finish Herne off, Jack in the Green shows up. With her bow drawn, and a Thanatos Arrow aimed at Pan,[3] she warns him to stand down and surrender. Pan commands Tink to handle the problem, but Tink is at a loss for how to eliminate Jack before she lets loose the lethal arrow.When Pan refuses to give up, Jack finally releases the arrow, breaking the magical restraints that force Tinker Bell to do Pan's bidding. The moment the constraints are shattered, Tink breaks free from Pan's control. Finally able to seek retribution on her former captor without any mercy or restrictions, she grows into a giant and kidnaps Pan and makes a swift escape.[1]
Tinker Bell's revenge
Tinker Bell drags her prey down to the lowest depths of the Hesse, where fiery flames erupt from the world's core. She tightly binds him with chains, rendering Pan completely helpless, and subjects him to unspeakable physical torture, but never gives him the release of death. Eventually, she grows bored and abandons him in his eternal imprisonment, bound by chains that will never release him.[1]
Physical appearance
Tink appears as a small, flying humanoid being surrounded by yellow light.[4]
Powers and abilities
- Flight[2]
- Magic: With her immense magical abilities, Peter Pan goes as far as claiming Tink is the most powerful being in all realms.[3] Sam believes her to be more powerful than even gods.[1]
- Magic detection[6]
- Shapeshifting: Tink's magic abilities allow her to transform into various shapes, such as an elderly woman[6] or a gigantic creature.[1]
Appearances
Fables
- Fables #151 (first appearance)
- Fables #152
- Fables #155
- Fables #156
- Fables #158
- Fables #159
- Fables #160
- Fables #161
- Fables #162
Original source
Tinker Bell, or "Tink" for short, is a supporting character in J. M. Barrie's 1904 play Peter Pan and its 1911 novelization Peter and Wendy. She is the fairy companion of Peter Pan, and is described as someone who mends pots and kettles, an actual tinker of the fairy folk. Her speech consists of the sounds of a tinkling bell, which is understandable only to those familiar with the language of the fairies. Though sometimes ill-tempered, jealous, vindictive and inquisitive, Tinker Bell is also helpful and kind to Peter. The extremes in her personality are explained in the story by the fact that a fairy's size prevents her from holding more than one feeling at a time, so when she is angry she has no counterbalancing compassion. At the end of the novel, when Peter flies back to find an older Wendy, it is mentioned that Tinker Bell died in the year after Wendy and her brothers left Neverland, and Peter no longer remembers her.
In the comic, Tink is surrounded by a glowing yellow light, a reference to the play, in which Tink appears as a flash of light moving around.[9]
Trivia
- In Fables #160 — "The Black Forest Chapter Ten: Tremble," Tinker Bell asks Blossom Wolf, "Have you prayed? I can never tell. The œcumenicum mundi is a closed book to me." Aecumenicum mundi is Latin for "ecumenical world";[10] the word "ecumenical" means "relating to, or representing the whole of a body of churches".[11]
- Tink's master Peter Pan also spouts Latin in Fables #158 — "The Black Forest Chapter Eight: Villainy."
See also