Gumball Guardian

Gumball Guardian
Name	Gumball Guardian
Gender	Male
Age	300+ (deceased)
Species	Gumball Machines
Occupation	Guardians
Relatives	Princess Bubblegum (creator)
Introduced in	"Slumber Party Panic"
Latest appearance	"Come Along With Me"
Voiced by	Tom Kenny (Guardian 1) Steve Little (Guardian 2)

The Gumball Guardians (also known as Guardians of the Royal Promise) are the primary protectors of the Candy Kingdom and the enforcers of the Royal Promise. The guardians make their first appearance in the episode "Slumber Party Panic." They also can be seen blowing bubbles on the walls of the Candy Kingdom in the opening sequence and many other episodes.

Quick Answers

What is the primary role of the Gumball Guardians in Adventure Time?

In Adventure Time, the Gumball Guardians serve as the main protectors of the Candy Kingdom. Stationed on the kingdom's walls, their role is to safeguard the Candy People and enforce the Royal Promise. They have the ability to identify and counter any malicious forces threatening the kingdom. Princess Bubblegum is credited with their design and construction.

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How do the Gumball Guardians enforce the Royal Promise?

Stationed in the Candy Kingdom, the Gumball Guardians uphold the Royal Promise by identifying and neutralizing any malicious entities. They freeze time and initiate a trial by fire when the Royal Promise is violated. Time reversal occurs if the violator is pardoned by Princess Bubblegum and solves a math problem correctly.

Provided by: Fandom

What is the significance of the Gumball Guardians blowing bubbles on the walls of the Candy Kingdom?

The Gumball Guardians, when not defending the Candy Kingdom, exhibit a docile and childlike demeanor, represented by their blowing bubbles atop the kingdom's walls. Created by Princess Bubblegum, their main role is to safeguard the kingdom and its inhabitants, while also maintaining a maternal bond with the princess, addressing her as 'mom'. Their key duty is to shield the Candy People from threats and uphold the Royal Promise.

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What physical characteristics make the Gumball Guardians resemble gumball machines?

Resembling gumball machines, the Gumball Guardians have spherical glass heads filled with vibrant gumballs. Their bodies are pink, and they sport ice cream cone hats. Their towering height allows them to easily stride over the Candy Kingdom's walls. Princess Bubblegum designed and built these robotic guardians to safeguard her kingdom's citizens.

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In which episode do the Gumball Guardians make their first appearance?

The Gumball Guardians are introduced in the 'Slumber Party Panic' episode of Adventure Time. Besides this, they are frequently seen in the opening sequence and various episodes, blowing bubbles on the Candy Kingdom walls.

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Appearance

The guardians are robots that resemble gumball machines, due to their spherical glass heads and the colorful gumballs inside them. They have pink bodies and wear an ice cream cone hat. They are tall enough to easily step over the walls of the Candy Kingdom.

Personality

The Gumball Guardians, when fighting, seem to focus only on defeating the target. However, when dormant, they are docile and almost childlike, blowing bubbles from atop the walls of the Candy Kingdom. Additionally, they have a seemingly maternal relationship with Princess Bubblegum, referring to her as "mom" and "mother".

Origins

The Gumball Guardians were designed and built by Princess Bubblegum to protect the citizens of the Candy Kingdom. They became operational during the time while the kingdom was still under construction. In their early days, the guardians referred to Princess Bubblegum as their "mother" and primarily focused on protecting her rather than everyone in the Candy Kingdom (as shown in "The Vault"). In addition, they were nuisances for the residents of the kingdom, especially during the night, as they would often loudly question them about their safety.

Abilities

The Gumball Guardians can utilize a wide range of offensive abilities for defending the Candy Kingdom. Their primary method of attack is through the use of lasers that can be fired from both their eyes and their mouth. In addition, the Gumball Guardians can breathe fire and use runic lasers that are capable of causing large explosions. Due to their immense size, the guardians are very strong, making them proficient hand-to-hand combatants. In "Sky Witch," the Gumball Guardians were given the capability to release sleeping gas into the air.

The guardians also have the ability to detect evil presences within the boundaries of the Candy Kingdom. This allows the Gumball Guardians to pinpoint their targets with great precision as shown in "Little Dude," where they recognize Finn's hat as a threat despite its small size. They also are able to put a stop to Peppermint Butler's demonic rituals on the top of the Candy Castle in "The Suitor." In addition, the Gumball Guardians can see through the disguises of evil entities as, in "The Lich," they reveal that Billy was actually the Lich wearing the hero's skin. The guardians' ability seems to have some limitations, as they were slow to confront Little Dude, Peppermint Butler, and the Lich.

The Gumball Guardians have the ability to manipulate time and space, as revealed in "Slumber Party Panic." They automatically freeze time if a person breaks the Royal Promise and seize them to put them through a trial by fire. The guardians can also reverse time if the individual who has broken the Royal Promise receives a pardon by Princess Bubblegum and correctly answers a given math problem.

The guardians have a few minor abilities which include the projection of holographic images with their eyes and the production of both simple and complex math problems and their answers.

Quotes

“	Finn the human! You have broken a royal promise, for which the penalty is trial by fire. Because you care for the promise-breaker, we will give him a less hot trial. You must now answer math questions.	”
—"Slumber Party Panic"

“	Oh wait, wait. I thought of a better one. Yes! Two plus Two! Solve it or die.	”
—"Slumber Party Panic"

“	Evil presence detected! Must defend!	”
—"Mortal Recoil"

“	Duuuuude!	”
—"Mortal Recoil"

“	Lich alert! Lich alert!	”
—"The Lich"

“	MUST DEFEND Candy Kingd... wraghhhhh	”
—"Reign of Gunters"

“	Peanut Butler, eh, Peppermint Butler, cease these dark magic activity.	”
—"The Suitor"

“	Sorry, Mom...	”
—"Come Along with Me"

Appearances

Major/Moving appearances

• "Slumber Party Panic"
• "Mortal Recoil"
• "Reign of Gunters"
• "The Lich"
• "Little Dude"
• "The Suitor"
• "Sky Witch"
• "The Vault"
• "Love Games" (fantasy)
• "James II"
• "Hot Diggity Doom"
• "Reboot"
• "The Invitation"
• "Blenanas"
• "Gumbaldia"
• "Come Along With Me"

Minor/Non-moving appearances

• "Trouble in Lumpy Space"
• "The Enchiridion!
• "Ricardio the Heart Guy"
• "The Duke
• "What Have You Done?"
• "To Cut a Woman's Hair"
• "Susan Strong"
• "Go With Me"
• "Too Young"
• "Fionna and Cake" (Ice King's fan fic)
• "From Bad to Worse"
• "Five Short Graybles"
• "Lady & Peebles"
• "Bad Little Boy" (Ice King's fan fic)
• "Candy Streets"
• "Rattleballs"
• "Earth & Water"
• "Something Big" (deactivated)
• "Nemesis"
• "Bonnie and Neddy"
• "Varmints"
• "The Empress Eyes" (far background)
• "Take Her Back"
• "The Dark Cloud"
• "Angel Face"
• "Blank-Eyed Girl"
• "Jelly Beans Have Power"
• "Seventeen"
• "Diamonds and Lemons"

Trivia

• There is a model of a Gumball Guardian in Princess Bubblegum's lab. It is seen after the real Guardians leave her and Finn.
• In "Slumber Party Panic," Princess Bubblegum seems to be unaware that a math problem can be chosen as an alternative penalty for breaking the Royal Promise, despite her being the creator of the guardians.
• In "Ricardio the Heart Guy," when Finn decides to spy on Ricardio, one of the Royal Guardians appears to be missing his cone hat.
• In "Ricardio The Heart Guy," there are two smaller Royal Guardians in the throne room where Ricardio holds Princess Bubblegum hostage. They are seen wearing royal cloaks and blowing horns.
• A Royal Guardian's head is seen in Jaybird's lair in the episode "Apple Thief."
• In "Mortal Recoil," one of the Guardians has his glass bowl head broken without consequence, but in "Reign of Gunters," when Gunter threatens to do the same, the Gumball Guardian reacts as if such an act would be fatal.
  • After one had his head shattered in "Come Along With Me," he was indeed apparently killed, as he is not seen in any future appearances of the Candy Kingdom.
• They are set off by "evil presence," which they can detect. However, neither Ice King, Peppermint Butler, nor Marceline triggers this reaction, suggesting that despite those characters' respective origins as a wielder of dangerous magic, a powerful dark wizard, and a demon/vampire, they are not of evil alignment.
  • Marceline was even able to push a Guardian out of the way, enter Princess Bubblegum's tower, and close the curtain without raising any objection from the Guardian, suggesting it has no problem with her or this behavior.
• They are bosses in Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I DON’T KNOW!

Cultural references

• They are similar to Benson from Regular Show in that they are both based off of gumball machines.
• In "Mortal Recoil," the way the Guardian speaks resembles the dialect used by the Daleks, from the sci-fi TV series Doctor Who.

Gallery

In the opening sequence

A guardian model on a chrome stand

The guardians breathing fire

Forcing Finn to solve trigonometry or something completely impossible for Finn

"Uuuugh..."

They change to an easier problem.

The guardians grab Finn and the Princess.

"Duuuude."

"Evil presence detected — Must defend!"

The Guardians of the Royal Promise can be seen on both sides of the Candy Kingdom.

Gumball Guardian in the promo art for "Something Big"