Rumplestiltskin

"All magic comes with a price!"

- Rumplestiltskin's iconic phrase

Rumplestiltskin, also known as the Dark One and Crocodile, is a character on ABC's Once Upon a Time. He debuts in the first episode of the first season. He is portrayed by starring cast member Robert Carlyle and guest star Wyatt Oleff, and is the Enchanted Forest counterpart of Mr. Gold.

Rumplestiltskin is based on a character of the same name from the fairytale, "Rumpelstiltskin". He also takes the place of the Beast from the fairytale, "Beauty and the Beast" and the crocodile from Peter and Wendy.

Magical Abilities
When Rumplestiltskin became the Dark One the first time, he became arguably the most powerful character in the Once Upon a Time Universe; with only the Sorcerer Merlin being his equal to him in terms of magic, knowledge and raw power. Since the source of the Dark One's power comes from drinking from the Holy Grail (as does Merlin's powers), he or she is able to perform tasks beyond that of an ordinary magic practitioner, instantly becoming a master of dark magic and becoming immortal; with only the Dark One's Dagger being able to kill him. After losing his status as the Dark One to Emma Swan and Captain Hook, he used a magical potion to turn Excaliber into a magical conduit for the darkness to pass through so that when Captain Hook used the power of Excaliber to absorb all the previous Dark One's powers, it transferred to himself. Now as the newly re-instated and fully empowered Dark One, Rumplestiltskin is the most powerful sorcerer in all the realms, easily dwarfing the power of Merlin who previously shared the title with him; having the combined power of every Dark One that ever lived, including the first Dark One Nimue's power, Dark One Captain Hook's power, and the Dark One Emma Swan's power; who was stated by Merlin to be the most powerful Dark One until Rumplestiltskin regained his powers.


 * Belief (i.e. summoning a piece of cake in Neverland)
 * Blood Magic  which is the ability to use your blood to lock or conceal an object, door or room from being opened by anyone other than himself and his family. (i.e. hiding a secret wardrobe back in his castle that only he, Baelfire, and Henry could open)
 * Fairy Magic Rumple has the ability to use fairy dust and fairy wands to perform magic. Also used to enhance the magic of the user (ex: Rumple used the Black Fairy's wand to switch Henry and Peter Pan back to their original bodies). (i.e. gathering Fairy Dust in a wand in the Storybrooke Mines)
 * Foresight Rumplestiltskin has the ability to see the future. The future comes with many possibilities and paths, which Rumple learned over time to discern what can happen from what will happen. (i.e. foretelling of Emma Swan's role as the Saviour in the Dark Curse's upcoming years)
 * Potioncraft Rumple can create potions that have various effects. He once created a potion to take away Snow White's memories of Prince Charming. He also created the most powerful potion in all realms; a true love potion made from the hairs of Snow White and Prince Charming. He used that potion on the Dark Curse as a fail safe to make Emma the Saviour and after the curse was broken, used it to bring magic to Storybrooke. (i.e. making a potion that would turn Donna and Stephen into puppets)
 * Shapeshifting Rumple has the ability to transform himself and others into anything and anyone he chooses. (i.e. turning the Evil Queen into a peasant)
 * Witchcraft Rumplestiltskin is a master in all types of magic, particularly dark magic. He can but is not limited to creating fire balls, heal himself and others, teleport himself in either a puff of smoke or dissipate rapidly around or out of the area, heart-ripping (which allows him to control the being who's heart he holds), can use telekinesis to fling people around with a simple wave of his hand, can use magic to increase his strength speed and agility, which he used to easily overwhelm even Charming at sword fighting, he was able to protect a town from ogres and stop the ogre wars, (though it's unclear what method he used to defeat them all) he can wipe out groups of people if he wanted to with little to no difficulty (he once said he could melt an entire ice cave with a thought, etc.), he can completely freeze one or multiple people at once (which they never know that they were frozen) and can also immobilize one or multiple people in a similar fashion (which they are conscience of but cannot move). He is also capable of doing anything and everything that any other sorcerer/sorceress can do (I.e. summon magic blasts that emit a powerful stream of magic to do harm, hold off, or kill the being it hits (which can be a continuous stream or single blast); kill with a wave of his hand; conjure magic constructs and beings to do his bidding; among many other powers and abilities.). This is his main source of power and as the Dark One, every ability or spell he casts is more powerful than any other magic users in the Once Universe.
 * Super strength he is very strong, being able to snap a man's neck very easily, and smacking swords away from his face when people point them at him, he can enhance his blows with magic, flinging Charming into a tree.
 * Super agility (i.e he was able to catch Charming's sword between his fingers when Charming tried to stab him)
 * Super Speed Rumple can run at speeds faster than the human eye can see.
 * Teleportation  he can teleport from one place to another in the blink of an eye; it was implied that he was even able to teleport to a bottomless ocean, however, he's admitted a couple of times that he cannot bounce between worlds with his own power)

Trivia
|-|Character Notes=

Character Notes

 * Rumplestiltskin treats names as important, and describes them as his "stock and trade". In many cultures and some beliefs about magic, to know someone or something's "true name" gives you power over that person or thing.
 * His spoken phrase, "Tick-tock, dearie, tick-tock!", is a reference to the crocodile who swallowed a clock from J.M. Barrie's "Peter Pan".
 * Rumpelstiltskin once transformed a butcher into a pig.
 * Before he was imprisoned, Rumplestiltskin fought Cora and won. It is implied Cora came close to winning.
 * During his lifetime, Rumplestiltskin owned some sheep dogs.
 * He once made a deal with Don Juan.
 * There have been a few hints about Rumpelstiltskin's age on the show. According to Robert Carlyle, Rumplestiltskin is three-hundred years old by the time the Dark Curse is cast. However, the show itself has hinted that Rumplestiltskin is just a couple hundred years old: In "Going Home", his father says, "What are you now? A couple hundred?". In "Family Business", Hook (who knew Rumplestiltskin from before he became the Dark One) refers to himself as approximately two hundred years old.
 * -|Production Notes=

Production Notes

 * The role of Rumplestiltskin was written specifically for Robert Carlyle.
 * Rumplestiltskin's voice is inspired by Robert Carlyle's son. According to Robert, his son was wandering though the house making high-pitched voices and sounds. The actor thought this voice would fit Rumpelstiltskin, because there is a child-like quality to the character, and Rumplestiltskin enjoys gleefully tricking people.
 * According to Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis, every time we meet Rumplestiltskin in Fairy Tale Land, he is in a slightly different time period, and therefore Robert actually uses a slightly different voice every single time.
 * It takes approximately two hours to dress Robert Carlyle in Rumplestiltskin's costume, twenty minutes of which is spent on his boots. It takes about one hour to remove the costume.

Appearances
Note: "Archive" denotes archive footage.


 * Rumplestiltskin appears in Henry's storybook in "Dreamcatcher".
 * Rumplestiltskin's name appears on the list Tamara has in "The Evil Queen".
 * Rumplestiltskin is mentioned on Lily's bulletin board in "Lily".