History Main / TunnelKing

%%* Andy W. Hol from ''Anime/AquarionEvol'' is pretty much obsessed with his holes.

* ''Film/{{Andersonville}}'': Sgt. Gleason and his men (including Tobias and Blackburn) have been digging a tunnel out of the camp for a long time, using skills they learned coal miners before the Civil War. [[spoiler: They do complete their tunnel, but Gleason is the only man to escape]].

* The Diamond Dogs of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' are a group of doglike creatures who live underground, tunnel very fast and mine gems. In the episode they appear in they inhabit a complex system of tunnels and mines that they likely dug themselves.

* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' dwarfs are a bit like this, since they all live in underground kingdoms, and are skilled miners. More traditionalist groups tunnel ''everywhere'', and think seeing the sun is dangerous. In ''Discworld/{{Thud}}'', the network of tunnels that it's hinted will become Ankh-Morpork's underground railway were dug by traditionalist dwarfs because they were looking for something and it didn't occur to them ''not'' to dig tunnels throughout the city.

* Ze Mole from ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', as part of his infiltration expertise.

* Ze Mole from SouthPark, as part of his infiltration expertise.

* ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'', [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-2709 SCP-2709 ("Can Anyone Hear You Scream?")]]. SCP-2709-1 is a giant anomalous antlion that digs tunnels underground. It performs a DigAttack on human beings by collapsing the ground under their feet.

* The Diggers from ''WesternAnimation/{{Recess}}'' who are two boys who have enjoyed digging holes since kindergartern. In the first episode, they end up digging a hole [[DiggingToChina all the way to Beijing]].
* Tunnel Rat from ''WesternAnimation/GIJoe'' and related media. As with many Joes, often shown battling in situations having nothing to do with his or her specialty.

* [[WesternAnimation/PlutothePup Pluto]] shows that he's a Tunnel King of sorts in the 1943 short ''WesternAnimation/PlutoAndTheArmadillo'', diving underground to chase after a female armadillo who qualifies as a Tunnel ''Queen''.
%%* Franchise/ScoobyDoo is depicted this way in some episodes
* Superspeed digging was one of Zippy's many talents in ''WesternAnimation/ThePerilsOfPenelopePitstop''.

* Zoop from ''WesternAnimation/IggyArbuckle''. In "The Case of the Messy Marauder", she starts sleep tunneling.
* The badger-moles of ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender''. In fact, they're the first [[DishingOutDirt Earthbenders]]!
* The Whispering Death from ''WesternAnimation/DragonsRidersOfBerk'' has the ability to use its jaw (which has six inner rings of teeth that rotate in opposite directions of each other) to quickly travel through solid rock.
* In ''ComicStrip/DennisTheMenaceUK'' animated series, Gnasher is able to tunnel incredibly quickly as part of his ability to bite through anything.
* ''WesternAnimation/StreetSharks'': The titular characters can swim through solid concrete and dirt by ''[[ExtremeOmnivore eating]]'' the ground in front of them.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'' episode "Flood, Sweat, and Tears" reveals Sprig to be a pretty good hole digger.

* The Mole from the ''Literature/{{Burke}}'' novels by Andrew Vachss: He's an anti-Nazi Jew who specializes in bombs, weaponry, breaking and entering, biology and computer hacking and who lives in a series of tunnels he constructed under a junkyard.
* Mr Fox and his allies from ''Literature/FantasticMrFox'' are all digging animals, which works out nicely for them when they dig their way to the food-stuffed cellars of Farmer Boggis, Farmer Bunce and Farmer Bean.

%%* The moles in ''Literature/{{Redwall}}'', with rare exceptions like Egbert in "The Bellmaker".
%%* The two ancient sappers in ''Literature/TheWindOnTheMoon''.
* The Nome King from the [[Literature/LandOfOz Oz]] books. In Baum's universe, the Nomes are immortal rock fairies who dwell underground. They hide jewels and precious metals in the earth, and resent the "upstairs people" who dig down for those valuables. Apparently as revenge, the Nome King enjoys keeping surface-dwellers as slaves—not for their labor but simply to have them.

* Mulch Diggums in ''Literature/ArtemisFowl'' is a dwarf who can unhinge his jaw and inhale the earth to dig tunnels, and is often the subject of ToiletHumor. Dwarves from ''Artemis Fowl'' wear trousers with bum-flaps so they can... well... you get the idea.

* Soap Distant from ''Creator/{{Robert Rankin}}''s' Brentford trilogy, like his father before him, a Flat Earther looking for the underground kingdom of Ridgijenpo or something.
* In ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' has the Taxxons, one of the main alien species, which are good at digging (which makes sense, as they originally lived in mountain-sized hives). When Tobias morphs one, however, he notes that really Taxxons are good at ''[[BigEater eating]],'' and simply devour the earth in front of them very quickly.

* ''Series/{{Oz}}''. Agamemnon 'The Mole' Busmalis, who likes tunneling into banks and out of prisons, which is why they gave him a cell on an upper floor. Eventually, he finds a storeroom on the ground floor and starts tunneling out during the day.
* The Horta from ''Series/{{Star Trek|The Original Series}}'' are a race that chew through solid rock like it was air. Unlike most diggers on this page, Horta use powerful acid to burn perfectly round tunnels.

* Kobolds in ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''. They're almost completely helpless in the open (arguably the weakest common monster in the game, to the point that a housecat can rip one to shreds[[note]]Admittedly, housecats are oddly dangerous in D&D[[/note]]), which they make up for by squeezing through narrow tunnels, leading attackers into traps, and using hit-and-run tactics. A tribe of kobolds in their home warren can be downright deadly.
** Purple worms and umber hulks, which are often credited as having dug out many of the tunnels of the [[BeneathTheEarth Underdark]] in their never-ending subterranean quests for food.
* The Mole, a villain from the ''Golden Age of TabletopGame/{{Champions}}'', who constructed a mechanical exoskeleton that enables him to tunnel through anything.

%%* Tunnelers from ''VideoGame/{{Stronghold}}''.

* Dwarves being [[TunnelKing Tunnel Kings]] is a central game mechanic in ''VideoGame/DwarfFortress''.

** Clay, "The Underground Boss", is a Gym Leader whose Gym is an underground maze and who specializes in [[DishingOutDirt Ground-type Pokémon.]] His signature Pokémon is Excadrill, the Ground/Steel mole from ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite''..

* One of the movement powers in ''VideoGame/ChampionsOnline'' is tunnelling... which moves you underground as fast as flight moves you through ''air!''

* Mogmas in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'', though they [[RememberedICouldFly aren't always quick to think of digging under a barrier]] even though they can barely move aboveground.
* Muddy of ''VideoGame/MoleMania'', digs to solve environmental puzzles.
* ''VideoGame/DigDug'' might be one of the earliest video game examples. The title character Taizo Hori uses a drill to tunnel through layers of soil and hunt monsters.
* ''VideoGame/MrDriller'' is the spiritual successor of the aforementioned ''VideoGame/DigDug'', and the title character Susumu Hori is the son of Taizo Hori. Susumu can drill through blocks in the vast underground tunnels with ease, but he has to take care to avoid drilling through wooden "X" blocks, which release DeadlyGas that causes a significant penalty to his OxygenMeter.
%%* Rockford from ''VideoGame/BoulderDash''.
%%* ''VideoGame/MrDo'', main character of the game of the same name.
* ''VideoGame/{{Spelunky}}'' has [[http://spelunky.wikia.com/wiki/The_Tunnel_Man the Tunnel Man]], who digs shortcuts to later areas in the game in exchange for money (or various items in the [[UpdatedRerelease HD version]]). In the original version, he was unlockable as a playable character, and came with an unbreakable mattock.
* In ''VideoGame/AgeOfWonders 3'', the Dwarves' irregular and Tier III units, the Prospector and Firstborn respectively, have the Tunneling ability, which allows them to dig through dirt wall underground. As such, dwarves doesn't have to rely on Builders to dig through the caves.
* ''Videogame/DeepRockGalactic:'' While every dwarf has a pick to dig with, the Driller's the one that can truly get you from point A to point B in a timely manner no matter how many tons of rock are in-between, thanks to his twin drills. Give him a point and enough fuel, and he'll get you there. Especially useful when the Drop Pod's waiting for everyone, and the main path through the caverns is a mess of glyphids and horrible terrain; it's often easier to just tunnel there directly.

* The Mole from the ''ComicStrip/DickTracy'' comic strip.

* ''WesternAnimation/SouthParkBiggerLongerAndUncut'': "The Mole" digs his way to the USO show stage to free Terrance and Phillip, but the boys forget to turn off the alarm on time and he's mauled to death by guard dogs.

* Behold the Underminer, the epilogue attacking villain in ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles''! He may always be beneath us, but nothing is beneath him!

* The TropeNamer is ''Film/TheGreatEscape'', which featured Danny and Willie, nicknamed 'The Tunnel Kings', as well as Archibald 'The Mole' Ives. Subverted in that Danny has claustrophobia, but it really just makes Danny more of a badass; he's scared as hell about the tight corners and cave-ins, but hey, stuck in a German POW camp, what choice does he have? Being portrayed by Charles Bronson also doesn't hurt.

* Gnorm in ''Film/AGnomeNamedGnorm'' is a tunneler gnome who helps investigate a botched sting by tunneling to a crime scene.
* Film/BadBoysII when drug lord Johnny Tapia flees to Cuba with kidnapped sister of DEA agent Burnett and agent Vargas mentions his crazy cousin Tito who helps by using his network of tunnel diggers to infiltrate Tapia's guarded mansion.

* ''Film/{{Andersonville}}'': Sgt. Gleason and his men (including Tobias and Blackburn) have been digging a tunnel out of the camp for a long time, using skills they learned coal miners before the Civil War. [[spoiler: They do complete their tunnel, but Gleason is the only man to escape]].

* Simon the Digger from ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann''. Yes, "The Digger" is his [[TheMagnificent title]]. Prior to discovering Lagann, his main job and talent was to dig very fast (that's how he discovered Lagann in the first place), and it's therefore fitting enough that his mecha (and its successive upgrades) employs drills as weapons. He manages to fight off several enemies with tunneling tactics, including Viral, the Dai-Gunzan and the Dai-Gundo. Even his name reflects this, as it's pronounced "Shimon" - and "shimo" means "below" in Japanese.
%%* The mole guy from ''Anime/TheVisionOfEscaflowne''.
* Oddly, one of Team Rocket's specialties on ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'', and often noted by them. Their holes are good enough to impress the very ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann''-esque Byron.
* Ryoga from ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'', once he learns the Bakusai Tenketsu, a pseudo {{Pressure Point}}s attack that lets him demolish rock with a touch of a finger. Once he learns the [[KamehameHadoken Shishi Hokodan]], he gets even better at it. Why someone with [[NoSenseOfDirection his directional issues]] is burrowing under the ground in the first place is a mystery.
* The Prince of the Underworld, from ''Manga/UruseiYatsura''. Being a TunnelKing was literally his power, akin to Lum's flight and [[ShockAndAwe lightning bolts]], but with NoSenseOfDirection.

%%* One of the characters in ''Manga/DokonjoGaeru'' (Frog with Guts), named Mogura (Japanese for Mole), is this.

%%* In ''Manga/FairyTail'' there is Virgo and [[{{Gonk}} Everlue]] with the former being Tunnel Queen.

%%* Andy W. Hol from ''Anime/AquarionEvol'' is pretty much obsessed with his holes.
* ''Manga/DokonjoGaeru'' has Mogura, the local bully's sidekick, whose name is Japanese for "mole". As his name implies, he can dig underground.
* ''Anime/GingaDensetsuWeed'': Mole the dachshund may look small and useless to the group but he proves to be a useful ally when he uses his digging skills to dig through a tunnel to Gin's prison for stealth purposes.

* An early ''Magazine/{{MAD}}'' (back when it was a comic book) story featured a character named Melvin Mole, who could dig through anything given an implement, be it a spade, a lunch spoon, a toothpick, or even his nose hair. This leads to his downfall when he tried to tunnel out of prison and [[spoiler: ended up tunneling into his own execution chamber.]]
* Melvin Mole inspired a one-shot Franchise/{{Batman}} villain, also called The Mole. Attempting to tunnel out his prison, he tunneled his way into a pipeline carrying toxic waste was was mutated into something resembling an actual mole with phenomenal digging abilities.

* Cave Carson, an obscure Creator/DCComics character from the '60s who still makes the occasional cameo. He's a spelunker with a tunneling machine that he and his team use to explore underground caverns.
* The Mole was also an antagonist of ''ComicStrip/MandrakeTheMagician'', a genius inventor with a headmounted broad-beam heat ray capable of vaporising rock. It was so effective, his regular outfit included a jetpack so he could keep up. Naturally, [[CutLexLuthorACheck he used it to steal from banks.]]

* ''Henry Burrows'' was a similar concept in ''Comicbook/TheBeano'' in TheNineties, minus the criminal aspect.

* Tunnel Rat from ''ComicBook/GIJoeARealAmericanHeroMarvel'' is the squad's tunnel-making expert. He was an EOD tech (like Hama) and the toy was designed to resemble him.

* [[PunnyName Molier]] in ''Disney/AtlantisTheLostEmpire:'' He's not only the team excavations expert, but also ''absolutely obsessed with dirt.'' He keeps piles of it from different parts of the world! There's apparently an explanation for his... er, profession, and equally apparently, [[YouDoNOTWantToKNow we don't want to know]]. Near the end of the movie, he even head towards a potted plant to dig up the dirt once a formal photo-shoot of the team was over.
* ''All'' the Meerkats in ''Disney/TheLionKingOneAndAHalf''. Except Timon. (He gets better at it, though, eventually using it in the series.)

* BadBoysII when drug lord Johnny Tapia flees to Cuba with kidnapped sister of DEA agent Burnett and agent Vargas mentions his crazy cousin Tito who helps by using his network of tunnel diggers to infiltrate Tapia's guarded mansion.

* ''Film/Bad Boys II'' when drug lord Johnny Tapia flees to Cuba with kidnapped sister of DEA agent Burnett and agent Vargas mentions his crazy cousin Tito who helps by using his network of tunnel diggers to infiltrate Tapia's guarded mansion.

* ''Film/Bad Boys II'' when drug lord Johnny Tapia flees to Cuba with kidnapped sister of DEA agent Burnett and fellow agents offer to assist and agent Vargas mentions his crazy cousin, who is Cuban, who helps by using his network of tunnel diggers to infiltrate Tapia's guarded mansion.

* ''Film/Bad Boys II'' when drug lord Johnny Tapia a.k.a. ''Trope/Big Bad'' flees to Cuba with kidnapped sister of DEA agent Burnett and fellow agents offer to assist and agent Vargas mentions his crazy cousin, who is Cuban, who helps by using his network of tunnel diggers to infiltrate Tapia's guarded mansion.

* ''Bad Boys II'' when drug lord Johnny Tapia a.k.a. ''Big Bad'' flees to Cuba with kidnapped sister of DEA agent Burnett and fellow agents offer to assist and agent Vargas mentions his crazy cousin, who is Cuban, who helps by using his network of tunnel diggers to infiltrate Tapia's guarded mansion.

* ''Bad Boys II'' when Johnny Tapia a.k.a. ''Big Bad'' flees to Cuba with kidnapped sister of DEA agent Burnett and fellow agents offer to assist and agent Vargas mentions his crazy cousin, who is Cuban, who helps by using his network of tunnel diggers to infiltrate Tapia's guarded mansion.

* Simon the Digger from ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann''. Yes, "The Digger" is his [[TheMagnificent title]]. Prior to discovering Lagann, his main job and talent was to dig very fast (that's how he discovered Lagann in the first place), and it's therefore fitting enough that his mecha (and its successive upgrades) employs drills as weapons. He manages to fight off several enemies with tunneling tactics, including Viral, the Dai-Gunzan and the Dai-Gundo. Even his name reflects this, as it's pronounced "Shimon" - "shimo" means "below" in Japanese.

* Simon the Digger from ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann''. Yes, "The Digger" is his [[TheMagnificent title]]. Prior to discovering Lagann, his main job and talent was to dig very fast (that's how he discovered Lagann in the first place), and it's therefore fitting enough that his mecha (and its successive upgrades) employs drills as weapons. He manages to fight off several enemies with tunneling tactics, including Viral, the Dai-Gunzan and the Dai-Gundo.
** Even his name reflects this, as it's pronounced "Shimon" - "shimo" means "below" in Japanese.

** Which may make him something of an {{Expy}} of the Prince of the Underworld, from ''Manga/UruseiYatsura''. Being a TunnelKing was literally his power, akin to Lum's flight and [[ShockAndAwe lightning bolts]], and he also had NoSenseOfDirection.

-->'''Chin Chao:''' I dug it myself in 1990! Started with a spoon...
-->'''Bast Honazo:''' How...?
-->'''Chin Chao:''' How else? With patience... Chinese patience, of course.
-->'''Dr. Tijera:''' Right... And where does it end?
-->'''Chin Chao:''' In the house, that's how I found it and set up the up-and-down mechanism.
-->'''Giorgio Papino:''' Okay, then where does it ''start''?
-->'''Chin Chao:''' In the Cuatro Caminos prison, it was my first escape... ''(every other character's eyes [[RedEyesTakeWarning suddenly turn red]], some of them can clearly be seen making angry faces)''

-->'''Giorgio Papino:''' How's the tunnel progressing?
-->'''Chin Chao:''' At a rate of 5 centimetres a day. The spoon isn't of much more use...

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
* The Mole from the ''ComicStrip/DickTracy'' comic strip.
* The Spook in ''ComicStrip/TheWizardOfId''. He can tunnel out of prison relatively easy, he just can't keep from getting caught again.
[[/folder]]

* The [[BugWar Tyranids]] from ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' have tunneling creatures with the size and power of tanks.

Human versions of this character are almost always nicknamed TheMole, but that title was already taken for a different trope. {{Mole Miner}}s and MoleMen are often this. In a fight, expect some kind of DigAttack.

* Dwarves being [[TunnelKing Tunnel Kings]] is a central game mechanic in ''VideoGame/DwarfFortress''

** Level 5.5 of Impel Down is said to have been created by someone with a similar power.

* [[WesternAnimation/PlutothePup Pluto]] shows that he's a Tunnel King of sorts in the 1943 short "Pluto and the Armadillo", diving underground to chase after a female armadillo who qualifies as a Tunnel ''Queen''.