Brer Bear

Not part of Riordanverse The following article/section is from the Tristan Strong continuity under Rick Riordan Presents and not the Riordanverse canon.

Brer Bear
Biographical information
Full name	Brer Bear
Gender	Male
Alias	Shamble Man
Family	Unnamed Son Unnamed Daughter
Residence	Alke
Status	Immortal
Physical description
Species	Bear God
Behind the scenes
Appearances	Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky (mentioned) Tristan Strong Destroys the World Tristan Strong Keeps Punching

“	YOU CAN'T HAVE HER BACK! I want you to suffer! You hear me? Suffer I'm taking from you what you took from me. Someone you care about, 'grum grum', and they will die, just like you will, knowing that you failed to save them. Just like you failed to save MidPass.	”
–Brer Bear to Tristan in inflicting the same pain he indecently inflicted upon him in Tristan Strong Destroys the World.

Brer Bear is a character in the stories of Uncle Remus, a fictional narrator created by Joel Chandler Harris. He is later revealed to take on the identity of the Shamble Man after the death of his children, albeit unconsciously manipulated by what remains of Uncle C.

History

Brer Bear, along with Brer Fox, are depicted as the arch-enemies of Brer Rabbit. The two are always trying to catch and eat the rabbit who always outsmarts them, similar to how a slave would outsmart and escape his captors. Brer Bear was the muscle to Brer Fox's plans. He stood in the background and growled or gnashed his teeth if necessary. He was an enforcer, he never really acted of his own free will.

After Brer Rabbit tricked him into going into Brer Fox's snare trap, the rabbit disguised himself as Brer Bullfrog and escaped. Brer Bear wanted revenge so he went to the real Brer Bullfrog and talked to him saying he wasn't going to let the same thing happen again. The bullfrog didn't know what he was talking about, he pleaded the bear to let him off but he wouldn't listen. So the bullfrog told him to kill him at the big flat rock near the mill pond so he can see his family one last time. Brer Bear did so, but the bullfrog dodged the bear's ax at the last minute and leaped into the pond.

Brer Bear lived with his son and daughter and would play with them and tell stories to them on a daily basis. He would also talk to Brer Fox about upcoming troubles, something he would hide from his children. When Brer Fox went missing, he became depressed and spent longer and longer away from his children looking for his friend. When he returned one day, his children were dead and he blamed Tristan Strong for their untimely demise.

As he was exploring the Maafa for parts, he found a mask embed with the essence of Uncle Cotton. The mask manipulated and twisted his anger into acting on his worst impulses.

Tristan Strong Trilogy

Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky

When he first met Brer Fox, Tristan Strong remembers Brer Bear as the two animals who always tried to catch Brer Rabbit. When asked where he was, Brer Fox only said that he was gone and refused to talk about any further.

Tristan Strong Destroys the World

He goes to John Henry to voice his opinion of the state of Alke and kidnaps the steel driving man. Later he goes to the Strong family farm and abducts Nana Strong while taunting Tristan and blaming the boy for destroying MidPass. He opens a rift with Alke and takes Nana with him.

He later attacks Lady Night's Juke Joint and Tristan reveals his true identity. As Tristan tries to tell him about his children, he attacks the Anansesem and blames him for not only their deaths, but also for the death of Brer Fox and the current condition of Brer Rabbit. He tells Tristan he wants him to feel the pain of losing a loved one and tells him to call the gods as he believes they won't come. He drops Tristan and prepares to strike as Junior beams him with a stone. He reveals the boy's identity as Stone Thrower, one of Anansi's sons, just as Lady Night uses her magic to distract him as Tristan and the others escape.

Later, he goes to the Golden Crescent with Tristan's to unleash the storm he used Mami Wata to create to sever the ties between Alke and Tristan's world. Tristan tells him to stop but a fight breaks out. Tristan knocks his mask eschew and throws a quilt embedded with his children's story at him. In a brief moment of clarity, he begs for help. However the mask takes back control before he can be helped and attacks Tristan. He is soon pulled into the bay by Mami Wata and doses with multiple jets of water, causing the armor to come off. Tristan removes what is left it and removes the mask before tossing it into the bay. Brer Bear comes to his senses and asks what happened. Tristan hugs him before Gum Baby points out that the storm is getting worse. As they evacuate Alke, he comforts a young hedgehog.They make it to Tristan's world, but some of the Alkeans are separated. He takes refuge in the keelboat along with John Henry, Keelboat Annie, Lady Night, Mami Wata, Nyame, and Brer Rabbit. Two day later, they discover that Uncle Cotton is still around and has freed more haints. As they relay this information to Tristan, he tells them that the SBP can locate the missing Alkeans and shows them pictures of Ayanna, Junior, and Gum Baby.

Tristan Strong Keeps Punching

He entertains the Strong family on the River Queen, putting on music as the gods talk to Tristan. A few days later He is freed from the SBP and flies into battle on Old Familiar with Anansi, Brer Rabbit, and Granny Z. He slashes at the breakers with his claws. They are almost overwhelmed when hundreds of breakers swarm the beach, however Tristan takes out the living plantation giving King Cotton his power, as well as the haint himself. After the battle, he and the others congratulate Tristan as he exits the ruble that was Old Angola. After the sky god buys a tour bus, he and the other gods decides to take the others gods on a tour of the United States to search for more Alkeans.

Appearance

Brer Bear is a bear with brown fur.

As the Shamble Man, he covers himself in armor made from broken pieces of wood and metal tied to his body by chains that he took from defeated iron monsters. He wears a face covered in a mask of amber. He also has patches of exposed skin on his fur.

Personality

Brer Bear was originally a kind and caring person. However after the deaths of his best friend and children, and the influence of Uncle Cotton’s mask, he became a creature of pure rage.

Abilities

• Enhanced Strength: Brer Bear is stronger then most, being able to deliver a devastating blow to his operations.

Trivia

• A lot of adaptations go so far as depicting Brer Bear as being dim-witted.
• He has a habit of saying “grum-grum” when he talks.