The Big Bad Hippo

"earth"

- Hippo happy to see Blind Bandit!

The Big Bad Hippo is an Earthbender. He is one of the most recognizable fighters in the Earth Rumble tournaments. His extremely large size and his catch phrase "Hippo Mad!" are unique to him.

The Big Bad Hippo's fighting style is also unique; he tosses handfuls of rocks into his mouth, chews them up, and spits them at his opponents. His signature move is called "rocking the boat," where the Hippo shifts his enormous mass from side to side, literally rocking the ring and knocking his opponent off balance.

The Hippo is initially an Earthbending wrestler in an underground Earthbending tournament; he later becomes a soldier for his country when he, along with The Boulder, participate in the Invasion of the Fire Nation.

History


In "The Blind Bandit", The Big Bad Hippo is defeated by The Boulder in the first round of Earth Rumble VI. The Hippo does not appear to be very intelligent. Like the Boulder, he also refers to himself solely in the third person.

It is revealed in "The Day of Black Sun, Part 1: The Invasion" that the Hippo and The Boulder are two of the people that Sokka asked his father, Hakoda, to recruit for the invasion. During the Invasion, the Hippo and the Boulder proved to be very powerful Earthbenders as they took down a battlement together and another along with Toph. But in the end, the Hippo along with the Boulder and the adults of the Invasion force were captured by Fire Nation forces when the Invasion failed.

The Big Bad Hippo was eventually freed from his captivity when The War ended and is last seen at Zuko's coronation.

Trivia

 * The Big Bad Hippo may be based on King Hippo from the Punch Out!! series from Nintendo.
 * The Big Bad Hippo is one of the few characters to have underarm hair.
 * The Big Bad Hippo's gapped front teeth, resemble that of a Hippopotamus' mouth.