Despite being a synopsis page, this article focuses on the behavior the Hostile Mobs have in Minecraft and various related media, due to the game itself "lacking a story."
Minecraft[]
Overview[]
The Hostile Mobs are considered as the player's main obstacles in the game's Survival Mode, commonly threatening them and invading their base/shelter if unprotected or insufficiently lighted. Hostile mobs will attack any player - and sometimes, other mobs too - that comes within their range and line of sight (with some exceptions, such as Wardens). Typically, their range is only sixteen meters, which is one chunck length; thus, it is relatively easy to avoid most monsters, and if they did find you, sprinting for a bit is generally enough to flee from them. However, some mobs have much longer ranges, forcing players to remain more vigilant, such as Zombies, Husks and Drowned, who can detect players, villagers and Golems within a range of 42 meters. Illagers are particularly problematic, as they not only run fast but can detect players and villagers up to 64 meters, or four whole chunck lengths. Some hostile mobs will attack other mobs: for instance, both zombies and Illagers will attempt to kill any villager in their vicinity, even invading villages during raids.
The Creeper kills the player at nighttime.
They make mining much harder in caves, especially the large caves since dozens of those can spawn within. At the surface, most undead hostile mobs will burn to death and mobs unaffected by the sunlight will automatically despawn afterwards. Mobs are not affected in caves however, and can spawn at any time of the Minecraft day. Spawners can also regularly churn out a specific type of hostile mob (most commonly zombies and skeletons).
During the alpha and beta releases of the game, mining diamonds was considered one of the four optional endgames, and hostile mobs were mostly the game's "final enemies/boss" back then, as they were more challenging to fight. Hostile mobs are the primary threats in caves, resulting in many players losing the diamonds they mined underground (most often due to Creepers detonating behind the player's back, killing them instantly). Reaching the surface was considered a victory.
When Beta 1.8 and Release 1.0 was released, more hostile mobs had been added to the game by Notch, most notably the Endermen, silverfishes, magma cubes, cave spiders, and more mobs in the Nether. Since the release of 1.0, the End was also released, which means fighting and killing the Ender Dragon was the game's designated yet optional endgame. The player must first find the required materials to make an eye of ender, by hunting down at least 12 Endermen, then Blazes. Though the player must be careful since doing this will still attract many monsters and Nether mobs along the way, so be strategic. Once the player gathers the required materials, the eye of Ender can be crafted by turning blaze rods into blaze powders and then combining them with ender pearls. You can use Eyes of Ender to open the stronghold's portal, and find strongholds underground around the Spawn. When locating the stronghold, the player must throw an ender eye that points to the nearest stronghold and must be done carefully as finding it is hard. Along the way, players can encounter hostile mobs, either on the surface or underground, so players must be prepared for the hunt. Once there, in the portal room, players had to confront silverfishes, spawning through a monster spawner, and some monster block. Once settled, the player can safely put the ender eyes at the portal frames, which will grant access to the endgame dimension, The End. There the player can meet up and fight the Ender Dragon strategically.
To fight the dragon, it is first necessary to dispose of the End Crystals, put at the top of obsidian pillars dozens of meters high. Otherwise, the dragon will use the Crystals to regenerate, rendering any attempt to kill it vain. Once the Crystals are gone, the proper fight can begin. The dragon has two methods of attack: the first is simply charging the player, and the second is to spit magical acid, dubbed "dragon's breath" (which can be collected). It is easier to wound the dragon with ranged weapons, such as a bow, though it is possible, but far riskier, to wait for the dragon to come by and hit it with a sword, trident, or any other melee weapon. Beware, as you can still provoke nearby Endermen. Using a pumpkin prevents Endermen from turning angry by looking at them. Once the dragon finally dies, a portal will open, allowing the player to return to the Overworld (main world). When the player steps into the portal, they will be greeted by the "The End." achievement (only if the player has finished all the achievements), and the End Poem (ending) will scroll down and will show the game's end credits. After that, the player can continue the game indefinitely, as it is up to the player to end their journey or not.
When the Wither boss was added in 1.4, the player could continue their journey by fighting another boss. First, the player has to gather the resources needed to summon and fight the Wither. The Wither is an undead, aggressive, flying abomination built with four sand souls and three Wither skeleton skulls. It attacks (nearly) every living being in sight by throwing deadly explosive projectiles that can also inflict the "Wither" effect on Normal and Hard difficulty. Killing the Wither will reward the player with a nether star and an achievement called "The Beginning." as an ironic callback to the Enderdragon.
As hostile mobs were added and revamped more and more to the game, they can provide more challenges to the player's adventure. Mobs like Husks and Strays were added in the 1.10 update. The Illagers first appeared in the 1.11 update, and were significantly expanded in the 1.14 update. Nether mobs variation include the Piglin, Zombified Piglin and the Hoglins in the 1.16 update. The 1.19 added the Warden, the terrifying guardian of Ancient Cities, who has more health and deal more damages than either bosses despite not being one.
Below is a near-complete list of the hostile mobs seen through the game. Remember that the existence, behavior, abilities and spawn rates from each monster depends not only on the version but also on the Edition (mostly Java and Bedrock), the difficulty, the regional difficulty, and lastly the gamerules. This list assumes you're playing on the latest Vanilla Minecraft version.
Undead Mobs[]
Undead mobs' general attributes are: they can burn in sunlight, and many can pick up and use items. Some of them can wear armor, and they cannot be affected by most potions, except for healing (which harms them) and harming (which heals them). Undead mobs generally spawn in lightless places, with most of them hostile on sight. They can only spawn in the Overworld and Nether.
Zombies[]
The Zombies, attacking the player at sunset.
Zombies are considered one of the most iconic hostile mobs in the game. They only spawn in areas with neither light (block light, light emitted by any block) nor sunlight. They are found within all Minecraft biomes from the Overworld, excepted the Mushroom Islands and Deep Darks (ancient cities). Zombies are hostile to all players, villagers and golems, and can be hostile to other mobs who hurt them (the most likely being the Skeletons). Being undead, the Wither spare them. Zombies will burn during the day if directly exposed to the Sun, unless they are submerged in water (rain and snow also prevent them from burning), under a shade, or wearing a helmet (which will eventually wear off). They also attack turtle eggs for an unknown reason (much like every other undead).
Zombies are often considered among the least dangerous of hostile mobs, given that they are slow, very audible from afar, lack any ranged attack, and deal little damages, even on Hard difficulty. That said, zombies have several abilities that make them deadlier than they seem to be. First, they can appear with armor, allowing them to sustain significantly more damages. They can also wield weapons, including iron shovels and rarely swords. The higher the regional difficulty is, the more likely they spawn with better gear. In exceptionnally rare cases, zombies can appear with an entire set of diamond armor. On Hard difficulty, zombies can also break wooden doors and call for backup whenever they are hit - causing other zombies to spawn nearby. Also, in both Normal and Hard difficulties, zombies can turn villagers into zombie villagers, with a 50% conversion rate on Normal and a 100% rate on Hard. Zombie sieges can also randomly occur in villages at midnight, during which a massive amount of zombie spawn within the village, ignoring conventional spawning rule, and are likey to destroy the village if the player doesn't act very quickly.
In addition, baby zombies have a rare chance to spawn. Those infantile menaces not only share the same behavior as their older brethren, but also run instead of slowly walking and hit just as hard. They can also spawn with armor and weapons. Worse, they can spawn on a chicken, the duo called a chicken jockey. They are extremely fast and ignore fall damage (thanks to the chicken's properties). Given their small heights, baby zombies are hard to hit and can fit into tiny gaps of only a block width. Baby zombie villagers can spawn as well.
Zombies are much rarer in deserts, replaced with the more dangerous Husks (momified zombies). Zombies also turn into Drowned if fully submerged in water for 45 seconds.
Husks[]
Husks are the desert variant of the zombies, replacing most zombies in the area. They only spawn in areas with neither light (block light, light emitted by any block) nor sunlight. Like zombies, they will attack players, villagers and Golems on sight. They also attack turtle eggs for an unknown reason (much like every other undead). Otherwise, they share the same abilities as regular zombies, with some additionnal feats that make them even deadlier: first, they do not burn in daylight, and second, gives the Hunger effect to any player they hit. This effect makes the player hungry (even if already filled a minute ago), which could be debilitating, if not fatal to players lacking food (especially in a desert). Baby husks can also appear. Much like baby zombies, they can spawn on top of other animals to give chase, and are generally much faster and deadlier.
Drowned[]
Drowned either naturally spawn in rivers and oceans with neither light (block light, light emitted by any block) nor sunlight, or result from a zombie fully submerged in water for 45 seconds. During the day, those zombies only dwell in water and never move out of it unless absolutely forced to do so (for instance, by removing all water around them with sponges or the /fill command); they will attack on sight any player, villager and golem that wander in water, and will also attack axolotls (though the fight isn't one-sided as axolotls also attack them), but as long as you stay out of the water, drowned with not attack even if you do (from a distance), making them the only example of passive undead mob (if only for pragmatic reasons). At night, they will move out of the water if they see a prey, so staying on the shore isn't an option. They also attack turtle eggs for an unknown reason (much like every other undead). Drowned can rarely spawn with tridents. Those Drowned are among the most dangerous of undeads (bar Withers), as they are deadly accurate, and their trident deals considerable damages (up to four hearts of health in Java, or six in Bedrock Edition). They carry an unlimited number of tridents but can only drop one when they die. Drowned can also spawn as babies, who are faster and more dangerous than their elder brethren, and also ride chickens.
Zoglins[]
Zoglins are the zombified variant of hoglins. Unlike hoglins however, they are extremely aggressive beasts, attacking everything on sight excluding other zoglins and creepers. They also ignore warped fungus, nether portals, and respawn anchors and also cannot be bred. They fling their target into the air.
Zombie Villagers[]
Zombie Villagers are a variant of Zombies that have the same stats and abilities as a normal one. They share very similar attributes, but the Zombie Villager is an infected version of a Villager. They either result from a Zombie killing a Villager (except in Easy difficulty), or spawn naturally, replacing 5% of zombies that would've spawned (or 1 in 20).
It is possible to cure Zombie Villagers. If a Zombie Villagers gets the Weakness status effect and eats a Golden Apple, it will be cured and become a normal villager again. The "conversion" time is quite long (between three and five minutes in Java) and Zombie Villagers remain hostile, not to mention vulnerable to sunlight. In addition, they will gain a Strength effect, making their attacks much more deadlier (especially if they have a weapon).
Giants[]
Giants are bigger variant of Zombie, though they cannot spawn naturally (only with the command /summon minecraft:giant). They can kill the player with one-hit according to official stats, however in-game they lack any A.I. and as a result do not move at all. They can not be damaged from sunlight and they don't attack villagers.
Skeletons[]
Skeletons are among the most common undead and use bows. They only spawn in areas with neither light (i.e. block light, light emitted by any block) nor sunlight. They are found within all Minecraft biomes from the Overworld, with the exceptions of the Mushroom Islands and Deep Darks (ancient cities). They can also rarely spawn in the Nether. They attack on sight players and golems, but unlike zombies they spare villagers. Skeletons can also attack each other if one of them accidentally shoots another, as the other one will immediately retaliate - the ensuing escalation can be used to quickly flee the scene, though you can also kill the surviving skeleton. Skeletons can also anger other hostile mobs, bar Creepers. Being undead, they are spared by the Wither. Skeletons will burn during the day if directly exposed to the sun, unless they are submerged in water (rain and snow also prevent them from burning), under a shade, or wearing a helmet (which will eventually wear off). They also attack turtle eggs for an unknown reason (much like every other undead). Unlike zombies, Skeletons have a self-preservation instinct and will run off to find the nearest shade or pool of water when the day is about to break; they will also not leave their shelter as long as it is the day, even when provoked unless it begins to rain or snow.
Skeletons can spawn with enchanted gear, including enchanted bows and armor, with an increased chance as the regional difficulty rises. Skeletons, while typically hostile, are actually quite cowardly and will flee when players, wolves, or dogs come too close to their comfort, though they will aggressively seek out any prey who is hiding behind a wall, corner or makeshift pillar; this behavior can be exploited to lure them in for an easier kill. They also cannot swim in water, but cannot drown for obvious reasons. Skeletons' accuracy heavily depends on the difficulty: on Hard mode, you can be certain to be hit if you do not quickly dodge when they shoot. It is especially perilous to fight several Skeletons at a time, as they will attempt to surround you from all sides, making any attempt to dodge or block their arrows moot; in this case, luring them by taking cover is your best bet, though you can also attempt to set them on each other. Skeletons are faster than regular zombies, and can easily catch up with players that aren't sprint-jumping. They can use melee weapons, but do not naturally spawn with them.
Skeletons can turn into Strays if submerged in powdered snow. They can also ride spiders - henceforth named Spider Jockeys. There is no baby skeleton variant.
Wither Skeletons[]
Wither Skeletons are a variant of Skeletons that spawn only in the Nether. They are bigger than normal Skeletons (three meters tall, instead of two) and wield a stone sword most of the time. Their tall height however can be used to the player's advantage, as players can easily dig tunnels too small for Wither Skeletons to fit in. Fighting them is especially hazardous, as not only do they deal a lot of damages, but they also inflict the Wither effect, causing the player's health to slowly decrease as the effect goes on, until death ensues (unlike the Poison effect which stops at 1 HP). They drop 0-1 coal, 0-1 bones and sometimes a Wither Skeleton skull: meaning they are the only renewable source of coal (not including charcoal). They hate Piglins, and will try to kill them on sight. If wielding a bow, they will shoot arrows on fire even if the bow isn't enchanted with Flame. Wither Skeleton skulls are necessary to summon the Wither.
Strays[]
Strays are a variant of Skeletons that either spawn naturally in snow-covered biomes, or are the result from a skeleton submerged in powdered snow. They wield bows like normal Skeletons, though the player gains the Slowness effect if a Stray hits them. Other than this, they behave pretty much similarly to regular Skeletons: they attack players, golems and turtle eggs, burn in daylight (and seek shelter or a pool of water when the day is about to break), and can use melee weapons if forced to do so by commands. There is no baby stray variant.
Phantoms[]
Phantoms are one of the undead mobs that can fly. They spawn at night in the Overworld if the player's stat "Time since last rest" reached one hour (three Minecraft days), if the player isn't under any opaque block (in other words, is exposed to the sky), and lastly if the player is above sea's level. They attack by diving down from the skies and retreating back up after a successful hit or after being hit. The longer the player stays without sleeping, the more Phantoms spawn, and they also ignore mob capping.
Though they do not deal much damages, they are especially difficult to kill even with a ranged weapon, and thus are best not to be triggered by regularly sleeping (just clicking on the bed is enough to reset the "Time since last rest" counter). The Phantoms drop 0-1 membranes that can be used to repair Elytras (with an anvil).
Underwater Mobs[]
For obvious reasons, underwater mobs can't drown, though most of them can't survive in land (or are weakened).
Guardians[]
Guardians are hostile mobs that can only spawn underwater inside of or around ocean monuments. Their eye will always look toward a nearby player or a squid. They attack by sending out a large laser beam which will harm a player. In addition, guardians can target and damage players who are riding in boats. However, once a player is out of range, the guardian's laser will disengage from a player, and it will deal no damage. It is however impossible to dodge a guardian's beam; taking cover or escaping the beam's radius is necessary to avoid any damage. Guardians will swim around in water, and they will attack any players or squids that come into sight. They swim in abrupt charges and move their tail rapidly when doing so. Unlike squids, guardians will not die outside of water. Instead, they will jump and flail around while making wet and squishy sounding noises, though they will be completely harmless.
They will also quickly move towards the nearest water source at which point they swim away. When they are swimming, their spikes will retract, and they won't deal any damage when attacked if their spikes are retracted. When they are not swimming, they will sink. Guardians' eyes will follow and stare at any nearby players, and it will always look directly at who they're attacking. This makes them the first mob with dynamic eyes. As of 1.13, Guardians also attack fish mobs.
Elder Guardians[]
Elder Guardians are an elder and tougher version of Guardians, spawning in the monument's center, guarding its treasures. They are often considered mini-bosses by players, as they cannot be taken down easily without heavy weaponry. Not only do they share Guardian's abilities, but they also have the power to curse nearby players (causing a loud hallucination of the elder guardian's face), which will cause affected players to get the Mining Fatigue III effect. This malicious effect decreases the mining speed by a factor of 37 - in other words, mining takes 37 times longer.
This essentially traps any player within an ocean monument, as even breaking blocks using Netherite tools with Efficiency V becomes very impractical with Mining Fatigue, especially in the water. Fortunately, the effect, as all other effects, can be removed with a simple bucket of milk, giving a player one minute before the Elder Guardian curses the player again.
The Elder Guardian's curse has also been used in various multiplayer contraptions, especially high-security prisons or trapped mazes, significantly slowing down any prisoner who would attempt to escape by breaking the prison's/maze's walls, especially if made of obsidians. This mechanic can however be easily cheated with the use of milk buckets, or simply by killing the Elder Guardian, who should be trapped in a cube of obsidian several meters-thick to prevent any attempt on its life.
Nether Mobs[]
Nether Mobs spawn only in the Nether. Except for Piglins, Piglin Brutes, and Hoglins, they are immune to fire and lava. Most of them are hostile.
Blazes[]
Blazes are uncommon, flying, flaming abominations guarding Nether fortresses, and hostile to all players. They have rods levitating around them. It is possible to collect them by killing them, but be warned, Blazes attack by throwing every few seconds a volley of deadly fireballs (which are especially dangerous since you can't put water in the Nether, unless in a cauldron), with near-pinpoint accuracy over even long distances. While charging their attack, they will rise in the air, making it harder to hit them.
Using a shield is often necessary to safely avoid fireballs, but the shield's durability will quickly decrease under Blaze's attacks. Blazes are all the more dangerous that they tend to spawn in groups. Touching a Blaze will result in damages, unless the player wields a shield (but the shield will break in seconds). Blazes unlike any other hostile mob will not pursue any threat, instead remaining at their post.
Blazes are one of the few mobs taking damages from snowballs, so snowballing them can be much cheaper (and funnier) than shooting them with arrows (though snow must be retrieved from the Overworld). Snow golems could theorically kill Blazes, but will generally melt before they can harm any nearby Blaze. If somehow brought in to the Surface, Blazes will take damage in water (or powder snow) and under the rain (but not snow). Blaze rods are necessary to craft several objects, including the famous Eyes of Ender, necessary for finding and opening (most) End portals.
Ghasts[]
Ghasts are hostile, giant Nether dwelling mobs that float around and shoot explosive fireballs at players. Ghasts are large cube shaped with nine large tentacles hanging beneath them, and their main body is an exact 4×4×4 meters cube, but despite their ghost-like appearance and their ability to move through other mobs, they cannot move through solid blocks, and they do not take extra damage from the smite enchantment. Ghasts were first added in the Halloween update and will spawn anywhere in the Nether where there is a 5×5×5 block space. When a ghast finds a player, it will keep floating around, but it will face a player and start opening its red mouth and eyes and spitting fire charges whenever it has a clear shot.
The only warning a player will get is the ghast's high-pitched scream before the shot is fired. These fireballs create explosions and light nearby blocks on fire. The achievement "Return to Sender" can be earned after succesfully backfiring the ghasts' fireball towards the player back to them, which can be done by hitting the fireball with any mean (including fists). Prior to 1.0, before the addition of the first boss, The Ender Dragon, most players commonly acknowledged the Ghast as the "final boss" of the game due to its size and strength, despite being a mini-boss-like mob (although there is simply no designated endgame at the time).
Hoglins[]
Hoglins are hostile, boar-like mobs that roam in the Crimson Forest. They are the only hostile mobs (other than Killer Bunny, who doesn't naturally appear) that can be bred - meaning they can be babies (it's worth noting that baby Hoglins can naturally spawn). Their attacks not only deal huge damages, but fling their target to the air, causing additionnal fall damages. Unlike most other nether mobs, they aren't immune to fire and lava. They will decay and zombify in the overworld and end, becoming Zoglins. They are afraid of warped fungus, nether portals, and respawn anchors, and try to keep distance from them.
Magma Cubes[]
Magma Cubes are the Nether variants of Slimes. They can jump very high (but their jumping rate isn't as fast), and they attack the player in the same manner as normal Slimes, dealing more damages. They are immune to the fire and drop magma cream. Unlike the Slime, which only has three sizes, the Magma Cube has four. The smallest Magma Cubes are also able to hurt and potentially kill the player.
Piglin[]
Piglins are Pigmen who weren't zombified. They appear in small groups in Nether wastes, crimson forests, and Bastions, making them a rather ubiquitous threat. Unlike most types of mobs, some are wielding crossbows while others wield swords. They can also wear golden armor. Baby Piglins also appear and are passive.
Unlike their undead brethren, Piglins are hostile unless the player is wearing any piece of golden armor on them. Using golden boots is advised as they are the least costly to make (only four gold ingots). They also possess several levels of aggravation, depending on what a player does. Not wielding gold or opening any container within a Piglin's line of sight mildly trigger them. Breaking gold-related blocks or containers moderately aggravate them, while causing them damages seriously aggravate them, causing all nearby Piglins to turn hostile.
Piglins are also enemies of the Hoglins and WIther Skeletons. Piglins will chase Hoglins if they are in greater numbers, but otherwise, flee. Piglins will sometimes dance if they manage to successfully hunt down and kill a Hoglin. However, baby Piglins are friendly towards baby Hoglins and can even ride them. Piglins can also be bartered with, by throwing them any gold-related item, causing them to drop a random item among a list of possible drops (which include ender pearls, potions of Fire Resistance, and magma creams, among others). They can be distracted by throwing golden items, causing them to temporarily halt their pursuit to inspect the object, and even barter with the player.
Piglin Brutes[]
Piglin Brutes are stronger variant of Piglins that are determined to guard the loot within Bastion Remnants. Like Piglins, they can burn and will become Zombified Piglins in the overworld or end. Unlike piglins however, they can't be bartered with, aren't afraid of things that would scare normal piglins, and are always hostile to the player. They are among the most dangerous mobs of the game, dealing 19 HP of damages in Hard difficulty, and should be taken out with a ranged weapon.
Arthropod Mobs[]
Arthropod Mobs are bug-like venomous mobs. They spawn in mines and lightless places.
Spiders[]
Spiders are half-neutral, half-aggressive mobs (depending on the time of day) which can spawn in groups of 1–4. They are also one of the iconic character of the game. Spiders move slightly faster than other hostile mobs, making creeping noises as they move around. They are aggressive at night, attacking nearby players, but neutral during daytime. However, a spider will always attack any player who provokes them, regardless of the time of day. Spiders will perform a leap attack at a player when close enough. In caves, spiders are always hostile since there is no sunlight.
It's worth noting that a spider's aggressivity will only depend on the time of the day, and not on the amount of block (artificial) light nearby, so lighting an area will not prevent nearby spiders from turning hostile once the night falls, though they will prevent most monsters, including spiders, from spawning.
They make an audible sound similar to a loud hissing. Unlike the other mobs that spawn during the night, spiders have the ability to see through every block, which makes them particularly dangerous to players. This, and their unique climbing skills, make them one of the greatest risk to players who are active during the night (especially in a shelter, where spiders can sneak onto a roof or over walls, in order to reach a player). Unlike most other mobs, spiders can move easily through cobwebs.
Spider Jockeys can also appear. They are spiders ridden by a Skeleton. Those extremely dangerous duos should only be taken out with a ranged weapon.
Cave Spiders[]
Cave Spiders are a variant of Spiders that can spawn only in the abandoned mineshafts. They are stronger and smaller than normal Spiders. Cave Spiders inflict poison to the player. They drop the same things as normal spiders.
Silverfish[]
Silverfish are small, bug-like hostile mobs that have silver skin, black eyes, and hide in monster eggs/infested blocks found in strongholds.
Silverfish can spawn from silverfish eggs and monster spawners. They are also able to spawn, albeit rarely, underground in extreme hills, inside of certain blocks. In the former case, they can only spawn in light level 11 or lower, except on top of stone blocks, where they can spawn at any light level. They also cannot spawn within a five-block distance of any player.
The blocks in which silverfish hide look identical to stone bricks, cobblestone, or regular stone, but take slightly more time to mine than normal with a pickaxe, and will take noticeably less time to mine without one. When the block is broken, Silverfish will pop out and attack. Destroying one of these blocks via creepers or TNT will kill the silverfish instantly before it has time to emerge. In regular gameplay, silverfish blocks occur rarely. If left alone, silverfish can re-enter some blocks, namely cobblestone, regular stone, and stone bricks.
Illagers[]
- Main article: Illagers
Illagers are a group of hostile mobs closely related to the Villagers - and by extension, the player. They primarily target Villagers and their Golems, but are also hostile to players. They patrol accross the entire world, and if one of their leaders is killed, will launch a raid on the next village entered by the player. Significantly tougher than most monsters and well-organized, Illagers are often considered the primary threat of any player despite their role of secondary antagonists.
Pillagers[]
Pillagers are hostile mobs that can spawn in Illager patrols. They wield a crossbow and they attack Villagers, players, and Iron Golems. They drop arrows, crossbows, emerald, banners, iron swords and armors.
Evokers[]
Evokers are hostile mobs that can spawn in mansions and raids. They are spellcasters and they attack with magic. They summon Vexes and fangs and drop totems of undying and emeralds. Also, they can change a sheep's wool color from blue to red. They are often considered the most dangerous Illagers.
Vindicators[]
Vindicators are hostile mobs that can spawn in mansions and raids. They handle an iron axe to attack their enemies. They are very strong and fast mobs. They drop emeralds, enchanted books, and iron equipment. If they are named “Johnny” with a name tag, they will ruthlessly attack any other mob (including Creepers and bosses) except for other Illagers.
Illusioners[]
Illusioners are spellcaster/hostile mobs that can not spawn. They are unused mobs. They become invisible when they get damage, and can duplicate themself. They handle bow to attack their enemies.
Ravagers[]
Ravagers are bovine monsters that can only spawn during raids who, like all Illagers, attack Villagers and players. They are very strong, fast, and durable mobs, deal heavy damages, and also destroy nearby leaves and crops. However, they drop a saddle when they die, which is very valuable considering it cannot be crafted and is required to ride other mobs. Their former name is Illager Beasts. Illagers and Evokers can also spawn riding them in later waves of the Raid.
Vexes[]
Vexes are small hostile mobs that can be summoned by the Evokers, and attack Villagers and players with an iron sword. They primarily serve as an Evoker's minions, as they always levitate around the one who summoned them, and die after a short while. They fly, and also can cross through solid walls, making them the first (and so far only) example of a non-corporeal hostile mob (or mob in general). They attack Villagers, Iron Golems, and players. They can drop their sword if they are killed by a sword with looting enchant.
Witches[]
Witches are ranged mobs, added in the 1.4. update. Witches are hostile and are found mostly in swamp regions on their witch hut wandering around their houses. When a witch notices a player, they begin to viciously attack them with splash potions. Witches also have the ability to regenerate health by drinking potions. It fires splash potions of weakness, slowness, poison, and harming to weaken a player so it makes it easier to attack a player.
Witches also spawn during raids, which is why they are considered Illagers. Witches play the roles of support, throwing health potions at nearby Illagers (which however can accidentally heal nearby players, Golems and Villagers), and do not attack. Still, they must be killed regardless to complete a wave.
Witches can also spawn randomly in areas with neither sunlight nor artifical light, albeit at a much smaller rate than other regular hostile mobs, in this case serving as "mini-bosses", especially for players without much stuff. A randomly generated witch can also join a raid triggered by the player. Villagers hit by lightning also turn into Witches, and it can't be reversed. For this reason, making sure all nearby Villagers are shielded during a thunderstorm, or sleeping as soon as a thunderstorm occurs, is paramount to prevent any loss.
End Mobs[]
End Mobs spawn in the End biome. They are the final hostile mobs that the player encounter in the game.
Shulkers[]
Shulkers are hostile mobs that can spawn in End Cities. They have a natural shield that reduces damage that goes up when they attack. They attack the player by shooting bullets. If the bullet hits the player, the player will levitate. Shulkers drop a shell. With these shells, a shulker chest can be created.
Endermites[]
Endermites are similar to silverfishes, except they are smaller, more cube-like, lack the ability to hide in blocks and are purple. An endermite will occasionally spawn when a player throws an ender pearl. It will repeatedly attack the player, dealing 1% of damage per strike. If it is killed by a player or a tamed wolf, it will drop 3 EX. An endermite will despawn within two minutes unless it is named with a name tag. Endermen are aggressive to them.
Endermites currently experience multiple bugs, and have a tendency to stay in one place and become glitched, as opposed to moving like other mobs.
Other Hostile Mobs[]
Creepers[]
Creepers are one of the most famous Minecraft antagonists and are also the most unique and iconic hostile mobs found in the game, to the point that they became Minecraft's mascot (even more so than Steve, Zombies, or the Enderdragon), with its face appearing in the A of the official Minecraft title logo. An armless (but definitely not harmless), dark green mob standing the same height of the player, they are easily recognizable. It is one of the most dangerous enemies in the game, as it is not affected by sunlight (but it can despawn after a while), which makes it a constant threat as it silently roams the map, searching for a player to explode near. It should be noted, however, that most creepers do despawn during the day, along with spiders.
A creeper who has found a player will chase down that player until the distance between them is only a few meters. The creeper begins to inflate while near a target (usually 2–3 meters) before exploding. Creepers will generally attempt to move as closely as then can to their intended target; however, if attacked from a height, they can trigger themselves in a desperate attempt to harm their victim. A player's only warning to when the creeper is about to explode is by a very distinctive hiss, as well as the swelling and flashing of the creeper itself, which starts about one second prior to the explosion. If a player moves away when a creeper is hissing, it will cancel the detonation. It takes 1.5 second for the creeper to detonate. After it explodes, it will generally leave a large crater in the ground.
They deal the highest damage of any mob in the game for a given difficulty, bar their supercharged version (see below). The size of this crater is solely dependent on what the terrain is made from. Typically, a hole few meters deep in the topsoil is created. For those reasons, Creepers are best to be avoided completely, or taken out with a ranged weapon.
When a creeper is killed by an arrow shot by a skeleton, it will drop a random music disc, which can be played in a jukebox. It doesn't matter what dealt most of the damage, as long as the last blow was the arrow of a skeleton. Creepers cannot use doors, but they can climb ladders and vines, unlike other hostile mobs and despite being armless. To make collecting disks easier, Creepers will not retaliate if a Skeleton shoots them. However, they do retaliate against any other mob who attacks them with ranged weapons (such as Illagers), by blowing up to their face.
Creepers hit by lightning turn into Charged Creepers (see below).
Charged Creepers[]
Charged Creepers are stronger variants of normal Creepers. If a lightning strikes a Creeper, the Creeper will transform into a Charged Creeper. Their explosion is much stronger and bigger than those of normal Creepers. If a Creeper/Zombie/Skeleton/Wither Skeleton dies by a Charged Creeper's explosion, they will drop their head. Charger Creepers deal the most damages out of any mob in the game, with an incredible 127.5 damage on Hard difficulty (much deadlier than the Warden, and deadly even with Netherite armor maxed with "Protection"). Foor this reason, they should always be taken out with a ranged weapon.
Slimes[]
Slimes are a rare mob that can spawn in three different sizes: big, small, or tiny. Slimes attack by jumping at the player. Some of the most dimwitted mobs of the game, Slimes only chase a player if they have a direct line of sight and ignore dangers (such as lava). A slime will split into two or more smaller slimes when killed unless the slime is already the smallest size, at which point they can drop a slime ball (that can be used to make trampolines and sticky pistons).
Slimes only appear in swamp biomes, below layer 40 (in a tenth of all chucks), or super flat worlds. Big and small slimes are hostile, but tiny slimes are passive and are popular pets because they will follow a player around and do not require taming. However, a slime can despawn if not given a nametag. Tiny smiles can climb ladders.
Magma Cubes are the nether variation of the Slimes (see above).
Warden[]
The Warden is one of the most unique mobs in the game for a few reasons: its purpose is to act as a mini-boss and is the first and only mob in the game that is not meant to be fought, but avoided. Also, they do not spawn like other mobs, as the player must activate four sculk shrieker blocks to summon them. When this happens, the Warden will emerge from the ground and patrol for any nearby targets. The Warden is also completely blind and relies on its sense of hearing and smell to find targets. Despite this, it is ironically more efficient, speedy, and ruthless than other non-boss mobs of the game. Wardens are very hard to outrun if found.
The Warden has a whopping 500 health, as much as the Wither and Ender Dragon combined, making it by far the mob with the most health in the game. It also has alarmingly high damage attacks, as even players with enchanted netherite armor can still be killed in just a few hits from a Warden. If the player manages to pull off the task of killing a Warden, it will drop a skulk catalyst: a block that spreads itself when mobs die near it.
The Warden functions off of an "anger" mechanic, which increases the more sounds it hears. There are two attacks the Warden can do, simply hitting a target with its arms or using a ranged sonic boom attack that doesn't affect blocks. Wardens will attack almost any nearby mob that makes a sound, which can make escaping from it much easier, but note that Wardens prioritize player sounds more than mob sounds. The sonic boom attack is so powerful that no armor can resist it. Only the "resistance" potion effect can do that.
Neutral Mobs[]
Neutral mobs are passive but will turn hostile if attacked or otherwise provoked. Piglins and Zombified Piglins are neutral Nether mobs, and Endermen are neutral End mobs. Spiders are neutral Overworld mobs, which also include:
Zombified Piglin[]
Zombified Piglins are the undead, and less hostile, variant of piglins. They usually spawn in the Nether, holding gold swords. However, they can appear in the Overworld if lightning hits a Pig. They drop 0-1 rotten flesh, 0-1 gold nuggets, rarely gold ingot, and a golden sword. Before 1.16, they were called Zombie Pigman and had a different model and a slightly different texture.
They travel in large groups of up to twenty and do not attack a player unless a player attacks them first. Zombified Piglins can drown, but lavaa do not harm them. Because they are well-armed and strong, zombified piglins are highly dangerous to an unsuspecting player, not mentioning Ghasts and the Nether's terrain itself. Fortunately, they only attack the player if the player attacks them or a nearby zombified piglin.
For some reason, they also attack turtle eggs, a trait shared by most undead mobs.
Endermen[]
Endermen are also one of the most recognizable mobs found in the game. It is a mob with unique teleportation abilities, that will attack players who look at its head. Endermen have long legs, and purple eyes and sometimes pick up blocks and move them around. In the Overworld, endermen typically only spawn at night in groups of 1-4, but they can spawn in The Nether at any time (since there is no day/night cycle in there). In The End, encountering very large groups of Endermen is quite common. Endermen wander and/or teleport around randomly, until a player attacks or "stares" at them from less than 65 meters away.
"Staring" at an enderman is defined as aiming the cross-hair at the Enderman's head. Once a player looks at an enderman in the right spot, it becomes hostile toward that player. It will open its mouth, and either run or teleport to the player. Endermen aren't only strong and swift, but can also teleport to avoid attacks. They cannot be hit with projectiles (including arrows and potions), as they will instantly teleport (if there is nowhere they can teleport to, they will instead block the projectile). However, it takes damage in the water (including rain), so staying in a pool of water is enough to protect yourself from an Enderman's wrath. Putting water on an Enderman (most easily done with a bucket) often resets its aggressivity. In addition, it can't bear sunlight and will randomly teleport until it finds any shaded area, though it won't take any damage from the sun.
Even though Endermen are often considered as hostile mobs by others, they are actually neutral mobs, because they only attack when the player stares at them, or attack them first.
Bosses[]
Bosses are aggressive, difficult mobs that pose a challenge to players. Bosses tend to have much higher health, deal more damage, and attack the player constantly. There are only two bosses in Minecraft (excluding the story mode content), the Ender Dragon, and the Wither. Each has its ways of spawning and attack methods. Elder Guardians are said to be a "boss" in the Pocket Edition, as they tend to be quite a challenge to kill in survival. The final boss, the Ender Dragon is widly considered the most dangerous hostile mob.
Killing a boss will give the player a rare drop or change the Minecraft world. All bosses will always drop a heavy amount of experience points.
Wither[]
- Main article: Wither (Minecraft)
The Wither is another boss mob in Minecraft that has 300 health points, 600 in Bedrock Edition. It is a three-headed flying skeletal monster that one can summon by arranging four soul sand blocks in a T-shape and placing three Wither Skeleton Skulls on the structure.
The Wither is very aggressive and strong, being one of the three mobs to kill almost any other mobs in Minecraft, even its fellow hostile mobs (aside from undead mobs). It fires many explosive Wither Skulls (black ones and blue ones that are more destructive but can be deflected) and can destroy almost any block it comes into contact. At half health, it can no longer fly higher than its opponent, but it will gain a shield that makes it immune to any projectiles. In Bedrock Edition, it also gains the ability to charge at its enemies. Once killed, it will drop a Nether Star, which you can use to create beacons.
Ender Dragon[]
The Ender Dragon.
The Ender Dragon, also known as Jean, is a hostile mob considered to be the final boss of Minecraft, appearing on the main End island and sometimes being acknowledged as the main antagonist of the game. She was added to the game in its official PC release in 2011.
The Ender Dragon is a massive dragon that spawns in the End and attacks the player when they arrive at the dimension. She has 200 health points (about 100 hearts) and is only aggressive to the player. She mainly attacks by diving down and ramming the player, and when she flies around, she can shoot Dragon Fireballs that explode on the ground and leave a patch of particles that deal damage similar to a Lingering Potion of Harming. She occasionally dives down to the bedrock structure in the middle of the End and stays there for a while shooting a purple dragon breath attack that lands on the ground and deals damage like the Dragon Fireballs. This dragon breath can also be collected in a bottle.
To fight the Ender Dragon, the player must first gather 12 or 13 Ender Pearls by killing Endermen, then kill Blazes in the Nether for Blaze Rods (which can then be crafted into Blaze Powders) to gather the required materials to craft the Eye of Ender. Once the player finally crafted the right amount of Eye of Enders, they must now locate the Stronghold, which will lead to the "final" confrontation of the overworld hostile mobs. Once the surrounding hostile mobs were killed, and the silverfish spawner was destroyed, the player can now fill up the end portal with the right amount of ender eyes, then must proceed to the End dimension to fight the Ender Dragon.
The Ender Dragon is a very difficult boss, because of the End Crystals on the tall obsidian pillars that line the main End Island which replenishes her health when she comes near them. These crystals can be destroyed by hitting them, however, they will emit a large explosion which can deal lots of damage to a player. When the player also has equipped a pumpkin on their head, the Endermen won't kill the player since they cannot look them in the eyes. It's recommended to destroy the Crystals first before taking on the Dragon.
When the Ender Dragon dies, she floats up in the air and lets out a loud sound while her body disintegrates with rays of light shooting out of her. She will then drop lots and lots of experience and spawn a dragon egg on top of the exit bedrock portal in the middle of the main island.
Up until update 1.9, it was actually possible to respawn the Ender Dragon by putting Ender Crystals in the middle of the four sides of the bedrock portal, which would close the portal and bring back the Ender Crystals on the pillars before the beams'd shoot up into the air, bringing back the Ender Dragon.
Additionally, Jean appears in Minecraft Story Mode: Season One, as a minor antagonist (albeit posthumously). It's here where she gets murdered by the Order of the Stone, in a flashback.
Unused/Deleted Mobs[]
Killer Bunnies[]
Killer Bunnies are a variant of Rabbits. They are powerful, agile and can jump very high. They attack the player and Wolves and deal lots of damage. They were rare in the game, though they could be created by naming a rabbit "The Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog", in reference to the monster from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. However, they were removed and now can only be spawned via codes.
Humans[]
Humans are humanoid/hostile mobs that can be spawned only in the older versions of Minecraft. They were the first mobs ever added in the game and had the same appearance as the traditional player skin (Steve). They only jumped around aimlessly while flailing their arms around and attacked the player like a zombie would, simply running into them and dealing damage with the same strength as a regular player without weapons. Eventually, they were removed from the game when the Java Edition was released.
Minecon 2017 Mobs[]
During Minecon 2017, Mojang proposed four hostile mobs, and players could vote on which one they wanted to be implemented into the game. The victory went to Phantoms, but the cut hostile mobs included The Monster of the Ocean Depths, The Great Hunger, and The Hovering Inferno. However, the Phantom became one of the most debated and hated mob of the game since it forced players to sleep and brought very little to the game.
Iceoleger[]
Iceolegers would have been an Illiger variant that would have been found on top of mountains and in snow biomes. They would have attacked with magic, summoning ice chunks over a player's head to drop down on them. Proposed during the Minecraft Live's in 2020 among three other mobs, people eventually chose the Glow Squid.
Herobrine[]
Herobrine is an infamous Minecraft Creepypasta/urban legend, stated to be a humanoid entity with vast magical and supernatural powers, commonly regarded as the bogeyman/devil of the Minecraft universe. While his motives are ambiguous, Herobrine is often considered a hostile entity who, unlike other mobs, prefers to psychologically torment players, stalk them and plunge their worlds into destruction.
Herobrine was never in the game and is simply an urban legend, but Mojang repeatedly jokes about his inclusion, such as adding the line "Removed Herobrine" to patch notes, referencing him in the splash screens for the PS3 edition, and including him in promotional material for Minecon 2011. Recently though, Mojang ceased with this joke. Still, Herobrine became the most known Minecraft Creepypasta and one of the most famous Creepypastas in general, with pretty much everyone who played the game aware of it. It is so popular that it entered mainstream culture, appearing or being referenced in many other media.
Minecraft: Story Mode[]
Hostile Mobs appear in Minecraft: Story Mode and serve as the main antagonists of the intro sequences. In the second episode, they appear as the secondary antagonist since Aiden use them to destroy Sky City. The monster mobs threaten all the players and the main characters as they go on their journey. The most notable examples are the intro sequence of some episodes of that season.
The main antagonists, PAMA, Hadrian, and Romeo use the hostile mobs to prevent Jesse and their friends from continuing and succeeding in their own journey in the whole series. Luckily, The hostile mobs were defeated after Romeo's defeat in Episode 5 of Season 2 but still returned posthumously after daytime offscreen afterward.
In Seasons 1-2, Jesse, alongside his friends, fight all the aforementioned hostile mobs except the post-1.11 hostile mobs.
Minecraft Dungeons[]
The hostile mobs are present in Minecraft Dungeons, serving as the secondary antagonists and one of the main conflicts in the player's quest to defeat the Arch-Illager.
They have teamed up with the Illagers to destroy the player during their journey. They have appeared in most levels of the game, before the Fiery Forge level, where they have failed to kill the player if the player reaches the illagers' main headquarters, The Fiery Forge.
Other Media[]
Hostile mobs also frequently star in other medias, generally as antagonists. Keep in mind this section does not feature every hostile mob's appearance outside Minecraft, only the most notable ones.
Minecraft media[]
Hostile mobs also appear in many media based on the game, most currently in YouTube videos and graphic novels. As usual, they will still have to kill the player or YouTubers. They are sometimes portrayed as Herobrine's pawns and also appeared in some series such as Monster School, Mob Life series, Mod Showcases, Machinima Animations, and Realistic Minecraft, as the secondary antagonists, or even the protagonists. They also appear in countless mods, maps, and many more as the main or secondary antagonists. Lastly, hostile mobs, especially Creepers, are popular merch.
They play a bigger role in Twilight Forest and RLCraft, with an expanded bestiary and increased abilities, making them much harder to defeat compared to the base game. They are easier to deal with in Twilight Forest than RLCraft since a good strategy is usually enough to get the best of them. The mod also adds more bosses to the game. In RLCraft, hostile mobs are more active and more common. They can outsmart players or even surprise and scare any players wherever they go within their worlds since many players believe RLCraft to be one of the hardest Minecraft modpack ever released.
Cracker's Wither Storm mod, released in 2022 for Java 1.16 (updated for the latest versions), adds the Wither Storm from Story Mode to the main game. The Wither Storm behaves like its original counterpart can mutate by eating blocks and players, and finally can track the nearest player across the entire Overworld. The Wither Storm can also inflict its sickness on players and most mobs after a while, which reduces the victim's health to naught, heart after heart. It became one of the most popular mods of late since the Wither Storm is incredibly well-made and difficult to beat.
They also serve as the secondary antagonists in the 2010 popular mod, The Herobrine Mod. They still act similar to their Vanilla versions except Herobrine is the one hunting and killing the player whenever the player summons him, with the mobs just serving as side enemies this time.
Many of these mods exist to add more variety and difficulty to hostile monsters in the game. They can also appear in many mod-related maps, depending on which genre the player choose.
Gameknight999[]
The Hostile Mobs, more commonly known as "Monsters" in the books, serve as the main antagonistic faction in the Gameknight999 books. They are pawns of Herobrine and his monster-kings, as Herobrine created most monsters. Erebus, Malacoda, Xa-Tul, Feyd, Reaper, Charybdis, Shaikulud, Oxus, Shaivalak, and Vo-Lok are all monster kings created by Herobrine to lead his armies of monsters.
Super Smash Bros.[]
Zombies and Endermen appear as alternate costumes for Steve in DLC for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Additionally, Creepers and other hostile mobs appear in Steve/Alex/Zombie/Enderman's Final Smash, where opponents are locked in a stone building full of TNT and mobs. They are then attacked and caught in an explosion. They also appear in the background of the Minecraft World stage during the night, throughout Steve's reveal trailers (most watching from the shadows, although a Creeper does appear directly to explode behind Mario), and as various spirits.
List of spirits:
- Zombie: Novice attack type. Its ability increases the fighter's weakness to fire. Its battle is a Stamina battle on the savanna biome of the Minecraft World against ten Zombies with super armor.
- Creeper: Advanced attack type. Its ability increases fire attacks. Its battle is against five green Mr. Game & Watches on the plains biome of the Minecraft World equipped with Bombers.
- Skeleton: Advanced support type. Its ability increases shooting attacks. Its battle is against three Links on the plains biome of the Minecraft World that favor neutral specials (Link's bow) and may obtain a sudden Final Smash.
- Slime: Advanced support type. Its ability increases the fighter's jump distance. Its battle is a Stamina battle on the taiga biome of the Minecraft World against a giant green Kirby, then three green Kirbys, and then six tiny green Kirbys.
- Enderman: Ace neutral type. Its ability increases the fighter's weakness to water. Its battle is against four Enderman with increased speed on the plains biome of the Minecraft World. POW Blocks are the most commonly spawned, though only Abra will emerge from Poké Balls.
- Villager and Iron Golem: Ace grab type. Their ability increases the distance of throws. Their battle is on the plains biome of the Minecraft World against a giant R.O.B. with super armor and increased throw damage, and three Steves.
- Ghast: Advanced support type. Its ability increases attacks in the air. Its battle is against a giant metal Jigglypuff on Norfair with a lava floor with Andross as a hostile assist trophy.
- Piglin: Advanced support type. Its ability increases attacks made by weapons. Its battle is a two-minute timed battle on the Reset Bomb Forest against two tiny golden Alexes. After defeating them, three golden Mii Brawlers in pig outfits appear equipped with Killing Edges.
- Ender Dragon: Legend support type. Its ability starts the battle with the curry status. Its battle is a Stamina battle on the Find Mii stage against Ridley and two Enderman, where they will be healed when highly damaged. Only Ridley has to be defeated to win.
Henry Stickmin[]
The hostile mob Creeper appears in the episode Stealing the Diamond in the "Just Plain Epic" route. It first appears when Henry Stickmin equips a Minecraft pickaxe in order to break in, then all of a sudden, a creeper walks up to him before detonating, injuring Henry and creating a large hole for Henry to enter.
Animator vs. Animation[]
The Hostile Mobs first appear as the secondary antagonists of the original Animation vs. Minecraft, although consisted only of zombies, skeletons, and creepers. They later returned as the main antagonists of the AvM Shorts, this time with the majority of the species appearing.
In the original Animation vs. Minecraft, they act as Herobrine's pawns, and all of them are quickly killed by the heroes and then deleted when the game meets the same fate. In the shorts, their behavior is mostly the same as in the original game, except they are far more aggressive and deadlier than their in-game counterparts. They also torment the stick figures whenever they see them, as they countlessly attempt to kill all of them in their adventures, foil each of their plans, and destroy all their creations.
They are Season 1's primary antagonists, making their first appearance in Episode 8, "The Nether". They appear as obstacles that are easy to kill but can overwhelm the stick figures if they are too numerous. On top of armies of mindless and nameless mobs, there are a few unique mobs which serve as the main antagonists of specific episodes, such as a cannibalistic rabbit or a gigantic cave spider. Although keeping their role as the main antagonists of Season 2, they are still downgraded to a supporting role while the season revolves around each main character's abilities, with the Wither being the only recurring antagonist.
In Season 3, they return to play a major role. At first, it seems like they will return to hunting down the protagonists, with one specific witch being the first antagonist of the season. However, this season also portrays the Hostile Mobs in a better light. The first episode reveals that some species, specifically the Piglins, can become friendly with the stick figures if they gain their respect (Blue gained the Piglins' respect by saving the Piglin Child from death). In the second half of the season, this would become a major plot point, with all the heroes managing to redeem monsters into helping them fight against King Orange, those mobs including the Warden, an Enderman, a Skeleton, a Spider, a humongous Ravager known as the Titan Ravager, and none other than Herobrine himself. However, for the first half of the season, King Orange (and by extension his right-hand man Purple) had an army of Piglin Brutes serving under their command, at least until they were wiped out.
The Simpsons[]
During the episode "Luca$"'s couch gag, Moe Szyslak appears as a green cubical monster before blowing up near the end, similar to the hostile mob, Creeper.
South Park[]
Magma cubes and creepers were mentioned by two characters, Randy and Butters, during the "Informative Murder Porn" episode.