Bravest Warriors

Lore & Background

The fourth season was announced on October 20, 2016, produced by Nelvana in Canada in association with Frederator. It aired on VRV in the United States on December 25, 2017, and on Teletoon in Canada on September 3, 2018. Voice acting was recorded between Los Angeles and Toronto, making it a North American animated production that credits both SAG-AFTRA and ACTRA, though it was not the first to do so. A 21-minute documentary was released on December 11, 2017. On December 3, 2019, a Catbug spin-off was announced with Ward's involvement, but as of the latest available information, no updates have been announced.

Reader's Guide

Bravest Warriors holds significance as an early success in web-based animation, winning the Shorty Award for Best Web Show in 2013 and earning a Webby Award honoree status in 2015. Its fourth season was nominated for the 2019 Youth Media Alliance award for Best Digital First Content for all age groups. The series is notable for its production history, being the first North American animated production to credit both SAG-AFTRA and ACTRA unions. The show expanded into a comic book adaptation by Boom! Studios and introduced a popular character, Catbug, who later received a planned spin-off. The series explores themes of emotion-powered abilities and teenage relationships, with unresolved plot threads such as Beth's possible pregnancy with Aeon Worm offspring and the Emotion Lord's timeline.

Did You Know?

• The series is based on a short that aired on Random! Cartoons on January 10, 2009.
• The Emotion Lord is Chris from the future, who becomes the Emotion Lord after jumping 184 years forward.
• Catbug, a half-cat, half-ladybug creature, was announced for a spin-off on December 3, 2019.

From Incubator Short to Multi-Platform Franchise

Bravest Warriors traces its roots to a short produced for Frederator's Nicktoons animation incubator series Random! Cartoons, which aired on January 10, 2009. Creator Pendleton Ward expanded that concept into a full animated web series that began streaming on Frederator's Cartoon Hangover channel on YouTube on November 8, 2012. The show's premise follows four teenage heroes-for-hire who warp through the universe starting in the year 3085, saving adorable aliens and their worlds using the power of their emotions. A comic book adaptation published by Boom! Studios launched on October 24, 2012, extending the franchise beyond the screen. The series took a significant production leap when a fourth season was announced on October 20, 2016, produced by Nelvana in Canada in association with Frederator. It debuted on VRV in the United States on December 25, 2017, and on Teletoon in Canada on September 3, 2018. Voice acting was recorded between Los Angeles and Toronto, making it the first North American animated production to credit both SAG-AFTRA and ACTRA, a distinction born from using more American voice actors than Canadian ones.

The Warriors, Their Sticker Pets, and Team Dynamics

The core team consists of four teenagers, each bonded to a sticker pet that transforms into a weapon. Sixteen-year-old Chris Kirkman leads the group, his little bee forming a sword with a honey-comb hilt and a swarm of bees. His best friend Beth Tezuka wields a cat that becomes a cat o' nine tails with cat heads, and she emerges as the team's new leader after Chris disappears in Season of the Mitch. Danny Vasquez, the snarky inventor raised in the Martian badlands rather than the Invisible Hideout, commands a dog that shifts into a sword or gatling gun. Wallow, the offbeat member whose glove houses the jealous A.I. Pixel, has a falcon that forms an axe, bazooka, or guitar. Plum, the Merewif amphibious alien who can merge her legs into a mermaid tail, serves as the unofficial fifth warrior, possessing an ancient second personality in her second brain. The team's dynamic is further complicated by Chris's recurring crush on Beth and his fear of losing her, a theme woven throughout the series.

Awards, Recognition, and the Catbug Spin-Off

Bravest Warriors has accumulated a notable list of accolades since its 2012 launch. The series won the Shorty Award for Best Web Show in 2013 and earned a nomination at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, a prestigious venue for animated storytelling. It was also honored as a 2015 Webby Award recipient, cementing its status in digital entertainment. The fourth season's digital-first release on VRV and Teletoon led to a 2019 Youth Media Alliance nomination for Best Digital First Content for all age groups. A 21-minute documentary was released on December 11, 2017, offering behind-the-scenes insight into the production. On December 3, 2019, it was announced that a Catbug spin-off would be in development with Pendleton Ward involved, though as of September 2026, no further updates have been announced regarding that project. The show's trajectory from a 2009 incubator short to an internationally recognized multi-platform franchise represents a significant path in independent animation.

The Emotion Lord and the Concierge: Serialized Mythology

The Emotion Lord, voiced by Breehn Burns, is a seemingly immortal human whose reality-warping powers are tied to his emotions. In the episode Lavarinth, he reveals himself to be Chris from 184 years in the future, warning that Chris must start taking vitamin B12 supplements or they will both go bald. His absence from the episode Ultra Wankershim was explained by a pair of temporal socks he was forced to wear after accidentally giving Chris dangerous foreknowledge. He later returns in Parasox Pub by possessing Catbug to transport Chris to a bar locked in a timeless prism. Various stages of his life are revealed, and he is said to live to at least 3,000 years old. He is accompanied by the Concierge, a small grey-skinned, purple-haired creature in a suit who records everything the Emotion Lord says and does. The Concierge is supposedly invisible to all but the Emotion Lord, though Danny, Wallow, and Plum have seen him on occasion. This layered mythology underscores the show's central theme of emotions as a source of extraordinary power.