Hoppy Easter everybody! Easter is a bizarre holiday – while its origins lie in the story of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ from the New Testament of the Bible, of course, it is also represented commercially by a bunny rabbit.
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Yes, a bunny rabbit – who comes into your house and gives you candy. It’s glorious.
To celebrate this holiday, we thought it was time to hop on down to the archives, scamper around, and um, multiply your knowledge of the Best Bunnies in Comics. This is the definitive list you’ve been waiting for, and surely this shows you that you can find a list on the Internet about anything.
Captain Carrot – Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew!
Created by Roy Thomas and Scott Shaw, Captain Carrot is the leading superhero of DC Comics’ Earth-C, later Earth-26. After eating his Cosmic Carrots, Roger Rodney Rabbit gains similar powers to Superman’s early appearances.
The character, and his Zoo Crew, was mostly a simple one-off joke in New Teen Titans. But somehow, they found their own fanbase and a 20 issue series, plus a few guest appearances and mini-series since then. Most recently, this hoppity hero has appeared in The Multiversity, which is surprisingly the second time Grant Morrison has written him.
Jaxxon – Star Wars #8 (1977)
Come on, you didn’t think I’d make it through a list without a Star Wars reference, did you?
Jaxxon came into the now-Legends Star Wars universe very early on – the same year the franchise debuted! His race, the “Lepi,” are anthropomorphic rabbits, and Jaxxon in particular was a smuggler. Everything about Jaxxon was rabbit themed. His ship was the Rabbit’s Foot, his mercenary crew was dubbed “the Star-Hoppers,” and his race was named for the scientific name of rabbits, Lepus curpaeums.
Shockingly, this didn’t exactly make Jaxxon catch on with readers. After only five brief appearances, he was lost to time, although it is possible he exists in-canon; a skull that looked like a Lepi’s could be seen in The Clone Wars season 5 episode, “A Sunny Day in the Void.” Perhaps there’s hope for the Lepi and Jaxxon yet.
Hoppy the Marvel Bunny
DC Comics loves their bunnies, and this is probably the real reason they bought out Fawcett Comics and all their properties* (*that statement has zero basis in reality). Created by Chad Grothkopf for Fawcett’s Funny Animals #1, Hoppy, like the other nine thousand Captain Marvel derivatives, says the magic word SHAZAM! and transforms into a superpowered hero. While he has the same powers as his human counterpart(s), his deities are different. This next sentence is the weirdest thing I’ve ever typed.
Hoppy has abilities from Salamander, Hogules (a super strong demigod Pig, because why not?), Antlers, Zebreus, Abalone (that’s a sea snail), and Monkury (apparently a very fast monkey).
This Earth-S inhabitant is also notable as the oldest character on this list, debuting in 1942, for having the second most appearances, with multiple series, and for having also fought alongside his fellow DC Super bunny, Captain Carrot.
3 aka Pirate – We3
Grant Morrison really likes his bunnies. In We3, ia three issue series with Frank Quitely for Vertigo, a squad of cybernetically enhanced animals are created to be military weapons. There’s one problem, though: they don’t actually want to fight for anything other than their own freedom. Bandit the dog, Tinker the cat, and (relevant to our story here) Pirate the rabbit have a heartfelt and exciting adventure. It’s one of the best examples that sometimes, thanks to genius storytelling, animals are people, too. Pirate was constantly looking out for his fellow animals, cybernetic and normal alike, and these animals give anyone who reads their story a greater appreciation for the meaning of a free and fruitful life.
Miyamoto Usagi
The lead character of Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo is a ronin rabbit on a journey of self-discovery and more than the occasional heroics. Through a – so far – 145 issues-long journey, Usagi has had many adventures, made several close friends (with varying backgrounds and moral compasses), and thwarted evil around every corner.
The character also broke out beyond the pages of his own stories, as the noble rabbit crossed over into the world of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in multiple animated series and games. He’s the best kind of hero: simple, driven, effective, and relentless in his drive to better himself and do what’s right and honorable.
What comic book bunny makes you hop for joy? Let us know in the comments below.
