Peppermint Butler

Peppermint Butler (also called Pep-But, Peps, and occasionally Dark One) is a recurring character on Adventure Time. He is an inhabitant of the Candy Kingdom who is involved with dark magic and also a loyal butler to Princess Bubblegum.

Appearance
Peppermint Butler, as his name suggests, is a peppermint candy. He wears the traditional tailcoat of a butler, but opts for the less traditional blue version of the outfit. His shoes, gloves, and bow-tie are red, matching his red stripes. Peppermint Butler's eyes are white.

Personality
Peppermint Butler is generally portrayed as a happy, even-tempered, and carefree person, as shown by his interactions with the Candy People in "Slumber Party Panic." An ever-diligent worker, Peppermint Butler serves Princess Bubblegum, as well as the Candy Kingdom, in various ways; these include carrying Princess Bubblegum, working as a jailer, and serving as a castle chef (seen in "Ricardio the Heart Guy," "The Duke," "The Real You" and "Too Young" respectively). Though an adult, Peppermint Butler can occasionally be childish and immature; this is seen in Peppermint Butler's squabble with Chet over who got to be the grillmeister in "The Real You."

Peppermint Butler is a trusted member of Candy Kingdom society, but evidence suggests that there is more to him than meets the eye. Peppermint Butler is likely more intelligent and able than he lets those around him see. For example, in "Mortal Recoil," he realized that Princess Bubblegum was being possessed by the Lich, as evidenced by his hissing at the sight of her.

Peppermint Butler seems to have a dark and secret past, as he has close ties with Death (revealed in "Death in Bloom.") This acquaintanceship saved Finn and Jake from peril, but Peppermint Butler later claimed that he would steal the flesh from Finn and Jake's sleeping bodies as payment. Given that Finn and Jake still have their flesh, this may have only been a morbid joke. There is also some controversy with Peppermint Butler and a Goblin in the episode "The Eyes." It looks as though Peppermint Butler has killed the goblin; by claiming to Finn and Jake that the goblin had been dead when he found it ("I swear I found it that way,") Peppermint Butler diverts suspicion from himself. In "Return to the Nightosphere," a picture is shown of Peppermint Butler golfing with Hunson Abadeer as a background gag. In "You Made Me," when Finn asks to see his aura, Peppermint Butler declines, sweating nervously, backing away, and replying with "you don't wanna see that." In "The Suitor," Peppermint Butler summoned the demon Ogdoad to possess Cinnamon Bun. A Gumball Guardian seems to know that Peppermint Butler might have had a dark past, as seen in "The Suitor" when he went to his lair and called him "Dark One," not questioning the demon he had trapped.

It is revealed in "Nemesis" that he has an evil and vindictive side, even torturing Peace Master by turning his children into demon hybrids. Although Peppermint Butler does notice he has gone too far and allow Peace Master to leave, he does not turn his children back. This episode further displays his secretive side; Princess Bubblegum seems to be unaware of anything going on. Though the Gumball Guardian has called Peppermint Butler "Dark One," other candy citizens are either unaware of or accepting of Peppermint Butler's dark side. This is seen when the supernatural-seeking Veritas Society, led by Starchy, defend him from Peace Master in "Nemesis," with Starchy telling Peace Master, "That's my boy Peppermint Butler you're messing with!"

In the Adventure Time Mini-Series: "Stakes," it is revealed that Peppermint Butler is quite knowledgeable about vampires and has a secret vampire hunting kit that he keeps just in case Marceline ever becomes a threat. When Marceline learns that in being cured of her vampirism, the vampires whose souls she absorbed in the past have revived, Peppermint Butler supplies Marceline, Princess Bubblegum, Finn, and Jake with various vampire hunting implements from his kit so that they can hunt down the revived Vampires. In "May I Come In?," he learns that The Hierophant is an old school vampire who cannot enter a house unless he is invited, and informs Princess Bubblegum that The Hierophant is searching for Marceline. As well, Peppermint Butler aids in the vampire's defeat by informing Jake of The Hierophant's inability to enter a house unless invited in, which gives Jake the idea to shapeshift into a house; the Hierophant dies when pushed through Jake's doorway by Crunchy, allowing Marceline to reclaim his shapeshifting powers. In "Take Her Back," Peppermint Butler kills The Moon by shoving a stake through her back and into her heart, which bypasses her self-regeneration and allows Marceline to reclaim her self-healing powers. In "Checkmate," Peppermint Butler is shown to be a fan of the Vampire King, wishing to meet him in person as to get his autograph. However, when Peppermint Butler finally does get a chance to meet the Vampire King, he is nervous and has trouble talking to him. Fortunately, however, Vampire King reads Peppermint Butler's mind and uses his psychic powers to sign Peppermint Butler's book. After the Vampire King is cured of vampirism, Princess Bubblegum asks Peppermint Butler to carefully dispose of the vampire goo extracted from the Vampire King; however, an accident results in the creation of a Dark Cloud Monster that threatens the Land of Ooo. In "The Dark Cloud," as a result of the explosion that created the Dark Cloud, Peppermint Butler is broken into pieces; he survives this. Peppermint Butler denies Princess Bubblegum's claim that he once told her that he enjoys being broken into pieces. After Marceline defeats the Dark Cloud and returns to being a vampire, Princess Bubblegum (having reclaimed her throne due to the overthrow of the King of Ooo) is seen rebuilding Peppermint Butler.

Abilities
As revealed in "Death in Bloom," Peppermint Butler possesses a connection to the Land of the Dead. The extent of this "connection" is unknown, but he is capable of using a spell to enter the Land of the Dead and teaching other mortals said spell, allowing them to enter. He also possesses impressive knowledge of the Land of the Dead, such as knowing not to drink the water. In "Mortal Recoil," Peppermint Butler shows he has some ability that can sense evil within another, as seen by him hissing like a cat when he realized that Princess Bubblegum was being possessed by The Lich. In "Return to the Nightosphere," a picture can be seen displaying Peppermint Butler acting as a caddie while Marceline's Dad plays golf, furthering his connection to the Land of the Dead and now the Nightosphere. He also seems to have control of dark magic when he summoned a demon into Cinnamon Bun in "The Suitor." This also revealed that the Gumball Guardians know of his dark powers referring to him as "Dark One."

In "King Worm" Peppermint Butler is shown to have to ability to somehow deliver a message to Finn while he is being controlled by the King Worm, though it is possible that due to the seemingly reality bending aspects of King Worm's hypnosis, it wasn't the real Peppermint Butler speaking to Finn.

Like a real peppermint candy, Peppermint Butler has minty, cooling abilities for those who eat any part of his body; this was seen when he cooled down the mouth of the Earl of Lemongrab after he consumed a hot potion.

Peppermint Butler can burrow, as seen in "Goliad." He can also sing as shown in "Wizard Battle," though out of tune and not very well.

His title of "Dark One" is further explored in "Nemesis," when Peace Master hunts him down due to his connections and abilities connected to the Nightosphere. Peppermint Butler uses his dark magic to form a suit of armor, matched with a flaming sword. He also has the ability to turn Peace Master's children into demon hybrids.

In "Vamps About," it is revealed that he is quite knowledgeable about vampires and their weaknesses. He also keeps a secret vampire hunting kit full of vampire hunting implements such as stakes and garlic just in case Marceline ever becomes a threat. Due to his knowledge he is shown to be a competent Vampire Hunter, able to quickly deduce that The Hierophant was an old school vampire who was incapable of enter a house unless he was invited in and knew that The Moon's self-regeneration could be bypassed by stabbing her heart through her back with a giant wooden stake.

In "Take Her Back," he uses a form of crystal therapy to treat the poison that Marceline was afflicted with. While it wasn't quick, it did seem to be at least somewhat effective.

Princess Bubblegum
Peppermint Butler displays much loyalty toward Princess Bubblegum. In "The Suitor," after she needed a well-deserved break, he was determined to find her the perfect suitor.

When King of Ooo took PB's place as ruler of the Candy Kingdom, he stayed by her side.

Death
In the episode "Death in Bloom," it was revealed that Peppermint Butler has a very close friendship with Death. When Finn told Death about Peppermint Butler, Death returned Jake's memory free of charge.

Quotes
See Peppermint Butler/Quotes.

Major appearances

 * "Death in Bloom"
 * "Too Young "
 * "Five Short Graybles" (grayble)
 * "The Suitor"
 * "Nemesis"
 * "Hot Diggity Doom"
 * "Checkmate"
 * "Jelly Beans Have Power"
 * "Marcy & Hunson"

Minor appearances

 * "Slumber Party Panic" (debut)
 * "Ricardio the Heart Guy"
 * "The Duke"
 * "The Eyes"
 * "Power Animal"
 * "The Real You"
 * "Susan Strong"
 * "Video Makers"
 * "Mortal Folly"
 * "Mortal Recoil"
 * "Wizard Battle"
 * "From Bad to Worse"
 * "No One Can Hear You"
 * "Holly Jolly Secrets Part II"
 * "Dream of Love"
 * "In Your Footsteps"
 * "Goliad"
 * "Princess Cookie"
 * "King Worm" (dream)
 * "You Made Me"
 * "Sky Witch"
 * "Earth & Water"
 * "The Vault" (baby)
 * "Apple Wedding"
 * "Rattleballs"
 * "Wake Up"
 * "Something Big"
 * "Ghost Fly"
 * "Jake The Brick (cameo)
 * "Hoots" (cameo)
 * "The Comet"
 * "Sow, Do You like Them Apples"
 * "Bonnie and Neddy"
 * "Varmints"
 * "Marceline The Vampire Queen"
 * "Vamps About"
 * "May I Come In?"
 * "Take Her Back"
 * "The Dark Cloud"
 * "The More You Moe, The Moe You Know (Part I)"
 * "Scamps" (cameo)
 * "Don't Look"
 * "The Music Hole"
 * "High Strangeness" (cameo)
 * "Skyhooks II"
 * "Fionna and Cake and Fionna"

Others

 * "Return to the Nightosphere" (picture)
 * "Beautopia" (mentioned)
 * "All the Little People" (as a toy)
 * "The Party's Over, Isla de Señorita" (mentioned)

Trivia

 * Peppermint Butler has the same initials as Princess Bubblegum.
 * Furthermore, he has three syllables in the first part of his name and two in the last, whereas she has two in the first and three in the last.
 * He bears similarities to Princess Bubblegum in that he outwardly appears and acts benevolent, but harbors dark secrets.
 * In "You Made Me," Peppermint Butler doesn't let Princess Bubblegum see his aura, hinting at the possibly that his dark past has resulted in him having a dark aura or not having aura at all.
 * In "Slumber Party Panic," his voice sounded a little higher than usual.
 * In a special feature, "Little Did You Know," it is said Peppermint Butler's species is mentha piperita.
 * Finn refers to him as "Pep-But" in the episode "King Worm."
 * Susan Strong refers to him as "Red Stripe Man."
 * Lemongrab refers to him as "Mr. Peppermint."
 * In "The Suitor," one of the Gumball Guardians refers to him as "Dark One."
 * Princess Bubblegum refers to him as "Peps" in "The Suitor."
 * In this episode it is also revealed that he uses Cinnamon Bun's body to communicate with spirits. It is also revealed that his "lair" is the amber chamber in which The Lich was previously held.
 * In "Nemesis," it is shown his dark past has affected others when the Peace Master comes back for revenge. In the same episode, he uses his dark power to turn children into demon hybrids and makes himself a suit of armor matched with a flaming sword.
 * In "Wake Up," he admits he is terrified of the Lich.
 * He has kept an emergency vampire kit in case Marceline ever goes rogue.
 * Peppermint Butler could be a reference to Sebastian Michaelis, the butler with secrets and a dark past, in the manga and anime series Black Butler.
 * Like many other characters, he has a gender-swapped version of himself, Butterscotch Butler.

Appearances in other media

 * Peppermint Butler is a playable character in Adventure Time Battle Party.

Names in other languages

 * His Italian name is Maggiormenta

Gallery
Mentita