Pop Culture References in Wizard101: Empyrea – Blue Oxen

Blue Ox – Babe the Blue Ox
https://wiki.wizard101central.com/wiki/Creature:Blue_Ox
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Bunyan
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Bunyan_and_Babe_the_Blue_Ox

The Cretan Bull is the leader of the local Blue Oxen. When they are not being controlled by the Dark Cloud, the Blue Oxen normally congregate in the Oxen range of the Southwest Aero Plains

Paul Bunyan is a giant lumberjack and folk hero in American and Canadian folklore. His tall tales revolve around his superhuman labors, and he is customarily accompanied by Babe the Blue Ox, his pet and working animal. The character originated in the oral tradition of North American loggers, and was later popularized by freelance writer William B. Laughead (1882–1958) in a 1916 promotional pamphlet for the Red River Lumber Company. He has been the subject of various literary compositions, musical pieces, commercial works, and theatrical productions. His likeness is displayed in a number of oversized statues across North America.

In 1916, advertising copywriter William B. Laughead wrote an advertising pamphlet for the Red River Lumber Company using the Paul Bunyan folk character. Laughead’s first endeavor was a pamphlet entitled “Introducing Mr. Paul Bunyan of Westwood, California”, but it did not prove effective. It was not until “Tales about Paul Bunyan, Vol. II” appeared that the campaign gained momentum. Laughead took many liberties with the original oral source material, embellishing older exploits and adding some of his own. Among other things, Laughead gave the name “Babe” to the blue ox, created the first pictorial representation of Bunyan, and increased Paul Bunyan’s height to impossible proportions (in Laughead’s version, Paul Bunyan towers over trees, while in the earlier folktales Bunyan had been extraordinarily tall and strong, but of human proportions). Babe was a huge beast that is said to be 93 hands high and 42 axe-handles in width.

Laughead attributes the creation of several American landscapes, landmarks and natural wonders to Paul Bunyan. He wrote that Paul Bunyan and Babe are said to have created the 10,000 lakes of Minnesota by their footprints. Later writers made up more details and exploits, such as the creation of bodies of water including Lake Bemidji (which has a shape somewhat resembling a giant footprint when viewed from above). Later authors, and possibly tourist agents, would add other geographic features to those Paul Bunyan was supposed to have created. Stories about Bunyan credited him with creating the Grand Canyon by pulling his ax behind him, and Mount Hood by putting stones on his campfire.

Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox are the names of a pair of large statues of the American folk hero Paul Bunyan and his ox, located in Bemidji, Minnesota. This roadside attraction has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1988. This pair of statues are said by the Kodak Company to be the “second most photographed statues in the United States”, behind Mount Rushmore in South Dakota.

The current list of all the (known) Empyrea references can be found here.

Although I am well versed in Pop Culture references but I do not claim to have caught them all. Let me know your favorites in the comments and if I’ve missed one you caught, let me know so I can add it to the list.

Text for this article is excerpted from the linked wiki pages

Blue Ox image is from Wizard101, and is copyright of KingsIsle Entertainment.

Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox cover is borrowed from Amazon.com It is copyright Jenson Books Inc.

Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox statue image is borrowed from Wikipedia. It is shared under the CC BY-SA 4.0 Creative Commons license. It is copyright Kubber333

Image usage qualifies as fair use under US copyright law.