Nailbunny

Origin

Nailbunny started life as a regular rabbit that Johnny purchased from a pet store. Johnny fed the unfortunate rabbit only once, then nailed it to a wall. At the start of the series, Nailbunny has been nailed to the wall for approximately three years.  

Creation

Nailbunny was created by Jhonen Vasquez. According to Vasquez, Nailbunny was not a planned addition to the series, and was created on the spur of the moment while illustrating the page on which he first appears.  

Major Story Arcs

Johnny the Homicidal Maniac

Nailbunny is, appropriately, a bunny with a nail through his midsection. He is one of the personifications of the numerous voices that counsel and guide Johnny. Nailbunny is the external representation of the closest thing that Johnny has to a conscience. He acts as Johnny’s voice of reason, fighting against the machinations of the doughboys and struggling to keep Johnny as sane as he needs to be to continue to function. Unlike Johnny, he realises early on that there is something wrong with the doughboys, and attempts to alert him to the fact that they are attempting to manipulate him. He is ultimately reduced to a floating head by skirmishes with Mr Eff, who decapitates him because of his constant attempts to warn Johnny of the doughboys’ treachery. Throughout the series he counsels and comforts Johnny, assuring him that he is not crazy and should seek help and encouraging him to not commit suicide. He also talks to Johnny during Johnny’s more lucid introspective moments. 

Powers and Abilities

Nailbunny is a hallucinatory manifestation, and thus functionally immortal so long as Johnny remains alive and continues to hallucinate him. He is a true hallucination in that, unlike Mr Eff or Psychodoughboy, he has no capability for action or thought outside of Johnny’s influence. Following his decapitation, Nailbunny is shown to be capable of levitation. It is unclear if this is due to the supernatural atmosphere of Johnny’s house, or just another facet of Johnny’s hallucinations.