Hildy

Hildy is a character who appears exclusively in the “Dragon's Lair: Reign of Terror" multi-episode comic strip written and illustrated by Don Bluth which featured in each issue of Bluth’s Toon Talk magazine published between 2000-2001. Introduced as a mysterious and bellicose warrior woman, she tests the skill and resolve of Dirk early in his adventure, and evidences the magical ability to transform into a warthog.

Appearance

Described in the narrative boxes as a 350-Pound Viking Woman in full body armor, Hildy brandishes a sword and shield. She objects strongly to comments regarding her weight, claiming to be "big boned," rather than "fat." Her hair is braided into two long pigtails which extend down to her ankles. She has several missing teeth.

She also appears in a warthog form, maintaining her ability to articulate speech and distinguished by comically exaggerated eyes and large tusks. As a warthog, her combative ability seems to be far less prodigious, requesting help from Dirk to defeat a large striped Serpent.

Narrative Role

Hildy first encountered Dirk as he attempts to carefully crabwalk across a rickety suspended bridge. In contrast to Dirk's trepidation, Hildy rushed across the bridge's planks with reckless abandon, assuring the knight-in-training the bridge is strong enough to hold twice his weight. Dirk responded with an implication that Hildy must weigh at least as much as him, provoking her to pin him under her foot and swing her sword at him.

As Dirk evaded her strike, he called her a "pig-headed tub of lard" and agrees to fight her. But upon turning around to face her, discovered Hildy had mysteriously disappeared. Dirk continued his quest into the Forest of Despair, discovering a warthog suffocating in the constricting coils of a large striped snake. Despite the warthog's cries for help, Dirk resigned the beast to a gruesome fate and attempted to walk away. Dirk only decided to intervene after the struggling creatures tumbled into him and the snake warned him to stay out of the conflict and offended his honor by calling him "stupid." The snake failed to fit its jaw around the warthog's snout and was further thwarted when Dirk bit into its body.

As Dirk faced the serpent, the warthog considered she was "finally resigned to meeting the big warthog in the sky," but was optimistic to watch Dirk get the upper-hand on the serpent. The struggle resulted in the snake loosening its coils on the warthog, who could only scowl at Dirk and then transformed in a flash and a "Kazaam" sound back into Hildy the Viking warrior. Accusing Dirk of being a "heartless scoundrel" who was intending to walk away, she pined him beneath her full body weight and placed her sword to his neck, accusing him of lacking compassion for all creatures. As the serpent attempted to re-enter the fight protesting sympathy for "hungry creatures," Hildy knocked it unconscious with her sword. Hildy challenged Dirk's integrity, asking if he only cared for a princess, to which Dirk professed his desire to rescue Princess Daphne, whom Hildy suggested was already betrothed to Cedric. Hildy draws Dirk's attention to a nearby entrance to the Marshes of Muck, and claims that Daphne is inside. She further belittles Dirk for being too cowardly to enter but offers to give him one of her breast-armor plates as a makeshift helmet in addition to tossing him her own sword for his journey. Hildy suggests perhaps Daphne would be better off rescuing Dirk and warns him "if you have to swallow a toad, don't look at it too long."

Gallery

Viking Warrior

Warthog Form

Trivia

• Hildy is variation on the "Brawnhilda" archetype which appears in other media of the Dragon's Lair franchise, most notably The Mother-in-Law from Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp, whose real name was "Hilda."
  • Early drafts for a Dragon's Lair feature film introduced Daphne's "Teutonic Aunt Brunhilde" who would have protected her from a young age from the evil wizard "Mordrock".
  • The 2017 presentation pitch for Dragon's Lair: The Movie featured a similar character named "Hilde" who served as prince Dirk's royal nurse before saving Dirk and Daphne from Mordroc and raising them in exile. However, none of the other variations appear to possess Hildy's magical abilities.