Principal Hieronymus Bump is a recurring character in The Owl House. He is the principal of Hexside School of Magic and Demonics, who is responsible for the care and maintenance of the facility, as well as the safety, well-being, guidance, and discipline of the student body.
While he is of a stern and intimidating visage, Principal Bump takes his responsibilities toward his students seriously and genuinely cares for their success within and beyond Hexside.
Appearance[]
Body[]
Principal Bump is presumably an older man, judging from the wrinkles surrounding his upper lip, with light-beige skin. He has long black hair, brown eyes but with his left eye sewn shut, and a scar runs down from his upper right scalp. Most of the time, his upper face is obscured by his palisman, an imp named Frewin. He also has the Abomination Coven sigil on his right forearm.
Clothing[]
Bump wears a traditional academic dress consisting of a long black gown with a gold yoke, a black cape, gold trim at the sleeves and cape hem, plus a blue stole draped over his shoulders and black pointed shoes. He also has an orchid abomination coven sigil on the inside of his right wrist. Frewin, the palisman on his head, covers half of his face, giving him the appearance of being consumed by said palisman. With Frewin on him, Bump has Frewin's eyes, which appear teal with bright yellow sclera.
When he was vice-principal in the past, he had a sleeveless overcoat with blue sleeves and pants underneath. The sleeves were also trimmed gold.
In the epilogue of "Watching and Dreaming", Bump now wears an orange floral print shirt with rolled-up sleeves, brown pants, a grayish-brown apron with pruning tools in the front pocket and a flower patch with Hooty's face, a light blue gardening glove on his right hand, and muddy blue boots.
Personality[]
As an educator and the principal of Hexside, Bump is fixated on the progress and well-being of the student body. He has shown a strong interest in the achievements of his students and a drive to have them progress in their field of expertise, such as acknowledging Willow's love of plant-based magic and as such had her transferred to the plant magic track. Aside from being a good judge of character, Bump has also demonstrated a stern disciplinary and protective side of his character. Detention at Hexside consists of brainwashing the students into becoming nicer, and Principal Bump utilizes powerful magic to lock down the school if an intruder breaks in. Despite these aggressive traits, he is not without a level of reason. He listens to his students when they have misgivings or are suspicious of something out of the ordinary, or if they confess to any wrongdoing. In the latter part, Bump will accept the apology as long as the said student makes up for their past actions, such as having former Hexside student, Eda Clawthorne, clean up after all of her previous pranks and stunts, or having Gus renounce his position in the Human Appreciation Society.
Bump's approach to teaching can often be somewhat contradictory. While he is strict and adamant about rules being followed, insisting that Luz choose one track and stay with it, his method of choosing one for her when she can't decide is rather unorthodox, pointing to the banners depicting them and going: "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe." After the events of "The First Day", he decided to rethink the rules and let students learn multiple tracks, much to their delight. He is notably much more lax than his predecessor, Principal Faust.
Background[]
Hexside years[]
Hieronymus Bump was once an abomination student of Hexside School of Magic and Demonics and eventually joined the Abomination Coven. At some point of time in his youth, he led Hexside to war and victory against a rival school, which was destroyed to make room for Hexside.[1] There is also a record of him playing flyer derby with Professor Hermonculus.[2]
Bump playing flyer derby with a young Hermonculus.
Before becoming the principal of his alma mater, Bump served as Hexside's vice principal under Principal Faust and frequently found himself disagreeing with his draconic boss. His job was put at risk when Faust assigned him to attend the IFWOT program with a young Eda Clawthorne and would be fired should the young student fail to win a blue ribbon. At first, Bump was worried about Eda's destructive antics, but since meeting Raine Whispers, she managed to pass all the challenges.
Bump being assigned by Faust to take Eda to the IFWOT program
However, Head Witch Terra Snapdragon would introduce a final challenge, a game of "Covens vs Wilds," and despite the game clearly violating many rules, Bump was powerless to stop the head witch. Eda and Raine managed to survive the vicious game and were expected to duel each other, but both of them defiantly attacked Terra, guaranteeing that nobody would win any ribbons. Bump was proud of Eda and accepted the fact that he would be fired, but Terra assured him that she would put in a good word for both Eda and himself.[3] At some point, Bump became the Principal of Hexside and frequently dealt with the troublesome, destructive antics of Eda.[4] The future Owl Lady would prove to be his most troublesome student, and she made frequent visits to his office before she dropped out after she was cursed.
Meeting Willow's abomination[]
Principal Bump inspects Willow's "abomination."
After Bump hears about Willow Park successfully making an abomination from Amity Blight, he wishes to see the abomination for himself. Upon seeing it, he tells Willow to dissect it. The dissection is cut short when Gus Porter knocks over three pots of abomination goo, distracting the principal long enough for Luz and Willow to escape. Bump seals off the entrances of the school to keep the intruder from escaping and commands three abominations to seize them, but when Willow unleashes vines upon the school, Bump is impressed with her mastery of plant magic and transfers her over to the plant track. However, he also bans Luz Noceda from visiting the school.[5]
During the covention event, Bump announces the arrival of the Emperor's Coven and introduces its special guest, Lilith Clawthorne.[6]
Lifting the ban[]
Principal Bump agrees to let Luz enroll if Eda cleans up the mess she left.
Wanting to enroll Luz into Hexside, Eda walks into Bump's office to have the ban lifted. He is surprisingly open to the idea of having a human transfer student, but before he can officially enroll her, Eda has to answer for all the troubles she caused during her high school years. Bump forces the former student to clean the messes she left decades ago. After Eda cleans up everything, Bump agrees to enroll Luz and not rat her out to the Emperor's Coven, but the destruction of detention nearly causes the principal to change his mind. However, Gus takes responsibility for the detention incident, and for his punishment, Bump removes Gus from the Human Appreciation Society.
After Eda completes some paperwork, Bump allows Luz to officially enroll in Hexside's next semester.[4]
Change of heart on tracks[]
Bump letting Luz become a student at Hexside.
After watching Luz try out for Hexside, Bump is amazed at seeing her cast spells through glyphs, though he becomes critical of her once she botches one of her tricks. However, he passes her anyway, knowing of worse entries. When Luz arrives in his office to select a track, she wishes to study all kinds of magic, but Bump refuses, firmly telling her that she can only be in one track. He places Luz in the potions track, which causes her to struggle in said track. Soon, Bump catches her with a crystal ball from the oracle track, and becomes furious, he places her in the detention track.
Bump relenting on allowing students in multiple tracks.
Later, Bump greets a representative of the Emperor's Coven, who has come to Hexside to evaluate whether or not the school deserves the funds for a new detention pit. He and the inspector watch as Amity puts on a performance with an abomination. Here, the inspector reveals herself to be an impostor basilisk, and she drains Bump and Amity of their magic, continuing to wreak havoc on Hexside. After it is defeated by the students in the detention track, Bump berates them for using magic and prepares to discipline them again, but Luz argues that they should be allowed to practice whatever magic they want to. Bump concedes, allowing the students to study more than one track, in addition to letting Luz study all nine tracks at Hexside. While writing a report about the basilisk to the Emperor's Coven, he finds King pretending to be a teacher and chases him out of Hexside with a broom.[7]
A few weeks later he selects Amity to be Grom queen,[8] and shortly after watches Eda's petrifaction and joins in chanting for his former student to be freed.[9]
Opposition to the Emperor's Coven and Day of Unity[]
Bump forced to expel Willow, Luz, and Gus.
After Odalia Blight speaks with the school board, Principal Bump is forced to expel Luz, Willow, and Gus for distracting Amity and reluctantly stops the three from entering the school, sobbing after their failed attempts.[10]
A few weeks after Luz, Willow, and Gus are allowed to return, Bump helps students get paired with abandoned palismen and watches them for the night before the Bat Queen takes them back.[11]
Bump and the illusion teacher blocking Adrian from Edric.
A few days before the Day of Unity, Principal Bump is expressing his shock at students wanting to learn more after taking on multiple tracks to a teacher when a visitor comes in. The visitor reveals himself to be Adrian Graye Vernworth, the head of the Illusion Coven, who announces that the Emperor has decreed all young witches must be placed in a coven before the Day of Unity. After saying that he will place temporarily fake sigils on the students, Bump watches as Edric is about to be given a fake sigil, but Gus realizes that it is an illusion, dispelling it. This reveals a Coven Scout that was going to brand Edric for real, and multiple other Coven Scouts appear, in addition to Adrian himself. Before the Head Illusionist can give him the Abomination Coven sigil, Gus creates an illusion that covers most of the school, allowing Principal Bump and the students to escape. He leads the students to the healing homeroom, where they take up shelter.
Bump and his students ready to face off against the Emperor's Coven.
After the flyer derby team finds Hunter, Principal Bump and the others are skeptical of the former Golden Guard's loyalties until Willow realizes that he's not lying, recognizing a breathing technique he is referring to. After forming a plan, Bump and the students fight the Emperor's Coven to get to Gus. Upon defeating them, he taunts the Emperor's Coven for being defeated by teenagers before prompting Hunter to explain the truth about the Day of Unity.[12]
Bump under the effects of the Draining Spell.
After learning of the Draining Spell, he allows the students and staff to camp out at Hexside. When the spell is activated, he and the other adults are affected by the spell despite the distance from the ceremony. After the Collector takes over the Isles, Bump and the other adults recover quickly, but the Collector's spies appear at the school and turn him, the adults, and a few students into dolls and take them to the Archive House. Afterwards, the students built a statue of him wearing sunglasses and skateboarding, in honor of his sacrifice.
Months later, after Belos is defeated, he is returned to normal and goes back to Hexside with Amelia and Cat. The three are welcomed back warmly.
Epilogue[]
Four years after Belos is defeated, he has retired from his position as principal and has taken up gardening. He attends Luz's belated quinceañera.
Relationships[]
Eda Clawthorne[]
Bump talking with Eda.
Principal Bump has a complicated past with Edalyn Clawthorne, who used to be a student at Hexside. During her school days, Eda caused a series of pranks and misdemeanors, numbered in the thousands, which Bump had to catalog and place in her permanent record. The sheer volume and intensity of trouble that Eda had resulted in Bump becoming weary of his job, oftentimes expressing his grief by writing it down in Eda's record. However, it has also been seen that in the past, he did care about her as a student and told her he was proud of her after her participation in the IFWOT. Additionally, he has been shown to have become more accepting of Eda in her adult years. He gladly accepted her proposal of having Luz enroll at Hexside provided that Eda cleaned up after every single problem she had caused in the past. Bump was able to put up with her current attitude and badmouthing, using his magic to correct her posture while at his desk and pretending to ignore her when she told Luz to act rebellious at Hexside. He even agreed to keep Eda's location a secret from the Emperor's Coven while Luz studies at Hexside, claiming he is, in his words, "not a stooge". In the episode "Young Blood, Old Souls", Bump claims Eda was the one who rekindled his love of teaching - after she left.
Luz Noceda[]
Bump asking Luz about her educational path after she and other students stop a basilisk.
Originally, Principal Bump assumed Luz was an abomination - not a human, explaining why he tried to dissect her in "I Was a Teenage Abomination". However, now Principal Bump is very fond of Luz, mentioning to Eda how he wanted a human to go to Hexside very much.
In "Escaping Expulsion", his fondness for Luz and her friends is shown to have grown, as even though he was forced to expel them and keep them from re-entering Hexside, he showed clear sadness and even said that life is dull without her.
Frewin[]
Frewin is Bump's palisman, and like all witches, he is bonded to his palisman for life. Besides forming the totem on the top of a witch's staff, Frewin also serves as Bump's hat and helps him see.
Bat Queen[]
In "Hunting Palismen", it is established that Bump and the Bat Queen have a good relationship, as they host Hexside's Palisman Pairing Day together.
Principal Faust[]
Bump trying to convince Faust to go easier on the students.
During Faust's tenure as principal of Hexside, Principal Bump was the vice principal and worked directly under Faust during his younger years. Bump would often disagree with Faust during his time as vice principal, and make multiple attempts to have Faust treat the students less harshly, fearing how the dwindling student body would affect the school. However, Faust would ignore Bump's words and continue his strict oversight of discipline. The current status of their relationship is unknown.
Powers and abilities[]
- Magic: The full range of Principal Bump's magical abilities have not been largely explored or defined, although his spells have been shown to be refined and advanced.
- Abomination magic: Bump has shown advanced control of abominations, as he commanded them to capture Luz and Willow. "Escaping Expulsion" reveals that he is currently a member of the Abomination Coven.
- Magic barrier: While on school grounds, Bump can conjure up magical walls of red light that prevent intruders from escaping. These barriers can be conjured from seemingly any location inside the school and can expand through the entire premises. This ability is used for defense against intruders on school grounds and had been demonstrated in the episode "I Was a Teenage Abomination". However, this could also be a computer-like system in the school, since the magic is red while his isn't.
- Telekinesis: With a gesture of his index finger, Bump can encompass an object or a person within a green aura which permits them to levitate/lift off of the ground, or to relocate them in the immediate surroundings. Bump used this spell on Eda in the episode "Something Ventured, Someone Framed", and later did so with Luz in "The First Day".
- Clothing switch: With a gesture, he can surround a subject with golden magical rings and switch the subject's clothing with a Hexside uniform; he does this with Luz three times in "The First Day".
- Prowess in Battle: Bump is a skilled fighter, being able to hold his own against a Coven Scout.
Sightings[]
| Season 1 | ||||||||||||
| The Owl House Main Theme: | Absent | |||||||||||
| The Owl House Credits Theme: | Absent | |||||||||||
| 1. "A Lying Witch and a Warden": | Absent | 10. "Escape of the Palisman": | Absent | |||||||||
| 2. "Witches Before Wizards": | Absent | 11. "Sense and Insensitivity": | Absent | |||||||||
| 3. "I Was a Teenage Abomination": | Debut | 12. "Adventures in the Elements": | Pictured | |||||||||
| 4. "The Intruder": | Absent | 13. "The First Day": | Appears | |||||||||
| 5. "Covention": | Appears | 14. "Really Small Problems": | Absent | |||||||||
| 6. "Hooty's Moving Hassle": | Absent | 15. "Understanding Willow": | Pictured | |||||||||
| 7. "Lost in Language": | Absent | 16. "Enchanting Grom Fright": | Appears | |||||||||
| 8. "Once Upon a Swap": | Absent | 17. "Wing It Like Witches": | Appears | |||||||||
| 9. "Something Ventured, Someone Framed": | Appears | 18. "Agony of a Witch": | Appears | |||||||||
| 19. "Young Blood, Old Souls": | Appears | |||||||||||
| Season 2 | ||||||||||||
| The Owl House Main Theme: | Absent | |||||||||||
| The Owl House Credits Theme: | Absent | |||||||||||
| 1. "Separate Tides": | Absent | 11. "Follies at the Coven Day Parade": | Appears | |||||||||
| 2. "Escaping Expulsion": | Appears | 12. "Elsewhere and Elsewhen": | Absent | |||||||||
| 3. "Echoes of the Past": | Absent | 13. "Any Sport in a Storm": | Pictured | |||||||||
| 4. "Keeping up A-fear-ances": | Absent | 14. "Reaching Out": | Absent | |||||||||
| 5. "Through the Looking Glass Ruins": | Absent | 15. "Them's the Breaks, Kid": | Flashback | |||||||||
| 6. "Hunting Palismen": | Appears | 16. "Hollow Mind": | Absent | |||||||||
| 7. "Eda's Requiem": | Non-speaking | 17. "Edge of the World": | Absent | |||||||||
| 8. "Knock, Knock, Knockin' on Hooty's Door": | Absent | 18. "Labyrinth Runners": | Appears | |||||||||
| 9. "Eclipse Lake": | Mentioned | 19. "O Titan, Where Art Thou": | Absent | |||||||||
| 10. "Yesterday's Lie": | Absent | 20. "Clouds on the Horizon": | Absent | |||||||||
| 21. "King's Tide": | Imagined | |||||||||||
| Season 3 | ||||||||||||
| The Owl House Main Theme: | Absent | |||||||||||
| The Owl House Credits Theme: | Absent | |||||||||||
| 1. "Thanks to Them": | Absent | 2. "For the Future": | Appears | |||||||||
| 3. "Watching and Dreaming": | Non-speaking | |||||||||||
| Shorts | ||||||||||||
| Owl Pellets | ||||||||||||
| 1. "Welcome to Hexside": | Debut | 2. "Eda's Cursed Brush": | Absent | |||||||||
| 3. "Paint Scare!": | Absent | 4. "Art Lessons with Luz": | Absent | |||||||||
| 5. "Coven Lovin Soap Opera": | Absent | |||||||||||
| Chibi Tiny Tales | ||||||||||||
| 1. "The Bake Off!": | Absent | 2. "Hooty the Palisman Sitter": | Absent | |||||||||
| 3. "Lumity Date": | Absent | |||||||||||
Foreign voice actors[]
| Language version | Actors | Notes |
|---|---|---|
 Spanish (Latin America)
|
Guido D'Albo(1st voice) Alejandro Scaravelli (2nd voice) |
Guido D'Albo voices Bump up to "Something Ventured, Someone Framed"; from "The First Day" onwards Alejandro Scaravelli replaces him. |
 Portuguese (Brazil)
|
Tatá Guarnieri | |
 Czech
|
Zdeněk Mahdal | |
 German
|
Patrick Zwingmann | |
 French
|
Jean-Marc Delhausse | |
 Hungarian
|
Németh Gábor | |
 Indonesian
|
Hermano Suryadi | |
 Hebrew
|
Gadi Levy (גדי לוי) | |
 Italian
|
Massimo Bitossi | |
 Japanese
|
Taisuke Nakano (中野泰佑) | |
 Korean
|
Sa Seong-woong (사성웅) | |
 Norwegian
|
Simen Sand | |
 Polish
|
Jacek Król | |
 Portuguese
|
José Neves | |
 Russian
|
Andriy Pirog (Андрей Пирог) | |
 Turkish
|
Ümit Belen |
Behind the scenes[]
Name and basis[]
The name "Hieronymus" comes from the painter Hieronymus Bosch whose art style sets the aesthetic for The Owl House. His surname, Bump, is a possible reference to his voice actor, Bumper Robinson.
Voice[]
Principal Bump is voiced by Bumper Robinson.
Debut[]
Principal Bump debuted in the episode, "I Was a Teenage Abomination", and in Owl Pellets, he debuted in "Welcome to Hexside".
Gallery
Click here to view the gallery.
To view the various designs of Principal Bump, click here.
Quotes[]
 |
| Click here to see Principal Bump's quotes. |
Trivia[]
- Judging by the magenta sleeves on Principal Bump's Hexside student uniform in "Adventures in the Elements", his control of abomination magic, and the seal on his arm seen in "Escaping Expulsion", he was originally a part of the abomination track, and is currently a part of the Abomination coven.
- He is, so far, the only character who has the coven sigil on his left wrist rather than his right.
- For some reason though, his sigil is shown on his right wrist in "For the Future".
- He is, so far, the only character who has the coven sigil on his left wrist rather than his right.
- Hieronymus Bump was a student at Hexside when it conquered and destroyed the school previously occupying that site.
- When the greater basilisk attacked the school in "The First Day", Bump complained he had "only three hundred years until retirement" as the monster drained his magic. While this suggested that he could live for that long, Dana Terrace later stated this was intended to be a joke.[13]
- It was confirmed by Terrace in a Reddit AMA that the imp on Principal Bump's head is named "Frewin" and that he has a purpose.[14]
- In "Hunting Palismen", Frewin was revealed to be Bump's palisman, and he helps him see better through his own eyes.
- In a photograph shown in "Any Sport in a Storm", it is revealed that Bump used to play flyer derby when he was younger.
Video[]
References[]
- ↑ Dana Terrace, John Bailey Owen (writers) and Sage Cotugno (director) (July 18, 2020). "Adventures in the Elements". The Owl House. Season 1. Episode 12. Disney Channel.
- ↑ John Bailey Owen (writer) and Amelia Lorenz (director) (April 2, 2022). "Any Sport in a Storm". The Owl House. Season 2. Episode 13. Disney Channel.
- ↑ Zach Marcus (writer) and Bridget Underwood (director) (April 16, 2022). "Them's the Breaks, Kid". The Owl House. Season 2. Episode 15. Disney Channel.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Zach Marcus (writer) and Sage Cotugno (director) (March 13, 2020). "Something Ventured, Someone Framed". The Owl House. Season 1. Episode 9. Disney Channel.
- ↑ Dana Terrace, John Bailey Owen (writers) and Stephen Sandoval (director) (January 24, 2020). "I Was a Teenage Abomination". The Owl House. Season 1. Episode 3. Disney Channel.
- ↑ Dana Terrace, Rachel Vine, Charley Feldman (writers) and Stu Livingston, Aminder Dhaliwal (directors) (February 7, 2020). "Covention". The Owl House. Season 1. Episode 5. Disney Channel.
- ↑ Dana Terrace, Rachel Vine, John Bailey Owen, Zach Marcus (writers) and Sage Cotugno (director) (July 25, 2020). "The First Day". The Owl House. Season 1. Episode 13. Disney Channel.
- ↑ Molly Ostertag (writer) and Stu Livingston (director) (August 8, 2020). "Enchanting Grom Fright". The Owl House. Season 1. Episode 16. Disney Channel.
- ↑ Dana Terrace, Rachel Vine (writers) and Stephen Sandoval (director) (August 29, 2020). "Young Blood, Old Souls". The Owl House. Season 1. Episode 19. Disney Channel.
- ↑ Dana Terrace, Molly Ostertag (writers) and Bo Coburn (director) (June 19, 2021). "Escaping Expulsion". The Owl House. Season 2. Episode 2. Disney Channel.
- ↑ Dana Terrace (writer) and Bridget Underwood (director) (July 17, 2021). "Hunting Palismen". The Owl House. Season 2. Episode 6. Disney Channel.
- ↑ Dana Terrace, Luz Batista (writers) and Bridget Underwood (director) (May 7, 2022). "Labyrinth Runners". The Owl House. Season 2. Episode 18. Disney Channel.
- ↑ Drawing Cartoons to Save Democracy (September 16, 2020). Archived from the original on September 17, 2020.
- ↑ "Dana Terrace's AMA". Reddit (September 2, 2020). "His name is Frewin and he has a purpose but that's all I'll say for now."