Trundle

General
**Gallery**

* Movie
* Graphic novel

**Trundle**, also known as the **Mountain King**, is a Troll that appears in the sixth issue of Hilda, as well as the movie adaptation. In both versions he is the main antagonist of the story.

## Appearance

Trundle is one of the biggest trolls in the world, towering even over the walls of Trolberg. He has a single, red eye, which can be removed from his body. When removed, the eye resembles a red orb that can allow anyone who touches it see his plans to awaken Amma.

## Personality

Trundle can present himself as a kind soul who wants to help others, but in reality all he wants is to wage war on Trolberg and the humans living there. He is not above tricking people into helping him.

## Biography

Trundle is the first and only troll to take a leader role and get a large group to agree on one idea, naming himself "The Mountain King". This idea was him waging war on the humans of Trolberg, in the hopes to wake up Amma, the mother of all Trolls who was sleeping underneath Trolberg. However, several trolls, including his older brother, stopped him from completing this plan. He was afterwards stripped of his eye and locked away in a cave with dozens of bells hanging at the entrance to keep him confined. His eye was stored in the ruins of his castle among his treasure.

When Hilda was turned into a troll by Trylla, she accidentally stumbled upon the cave and Trundle. Trundle told her he could turn her back into a human if she helped him first. On his request, Hilda removed the bells (using pillows to silence them), and got Trundle's eye out of the ruins. While carrying the eye to Trundle, it granted her a vision in which she saw herself attack a city of tiny trolls, who fought back but this in turn caused a gigantic humanoid resembling Johanna to rise up from the floor and destroy the city.

Hilda was eventually turned back into a human when Johanna and Baba found her and both children were reunited with their real mothers, but by then she had already given Trundle his eye. Trylla warned her of Trundle's true nature, but it was too late; Trundle escaped from his cave and resumed his initial plan. This time he managed to reach Trolberg and smashed a hole through the walls. He was stopped when the Trolberg Safety Patrol used their new weapon against him; a giant version of their torch guns. The ray from the weapon instantly petrified Trundle, and his body subsequently collapsed under its own weight, falling apart into rocks and the red orb that was his eye.

Before Amma could get up in response, Hilda realized Trundle's intentions and used the eye to show Erik Ahlberg a similar vision to what she saw, resulting in him ordering a ceasefire and allowing the trolls to enter the city. As a result, Trundle's goal to destroy Trolberg failed, but his goal to reunite trollkind with Amma succeeded.

## Trivia

* The Mountain King does not appear in the Hilda Tie-In series.
* On the front cover of "Hilda and the Stone Forest", a huge troll can be seen spying on Hilda and her mum. This is not the Mountain King though.
* The Mountain King fully appears in "Hilda and the Mountain King".
* Trundle is the only character to die on-panel/on-screen(not counting the Knudsen Clan and Torgund's Clan in Chapter 4: The Eternal Warriors as they were revived by Sigurd).
* While his role in the movie is for most part identical to the graphic novel, there is an additional scene in which his brother confronts him just outside Trolberg. Trundle claims he is not there to fight anyone, and indeed he lets his followers restrain his brother, and after breaching the wall he simply stands still and watches patiently how the events unfold. He doesn't even try to fight back as the Safety Patrol kills him, since this is all part of his plan.
* In Chapter 11: The House In The Woods, Trundle is referenced as an Easter Egg near the end of the episode, with Hilda picking up a book from the mess of wishes that has a crown above a mountain, referencing his title as The Mountain King.

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