Bill Cipher is a triangular dream demon formerly existent only in the mindscape who wished to gain access to the real world. He has been running amok in Gravity Falls, Oregon since being summoned by Stanford Pines over thirty years ago. He is known for his mysterious demeanor and sadistic humor. He is the main antagonist of Gravity Falls, although he doesn't play a central role in the series until season 2.
Quick Answers
Is Bill Cipher a god or demon?
How did Bill Cipher lose?
Who is Bill Cipher in real life?
History
Background
Trillions of years prior to the events of the series, Bill originated from the 2nd Dimension. However, Bill despises living in that dimension, describing it as a "flat world with flat minds and flat ideas." He favored chaos and destruction over anything else, and made it his mission to spread it as far as it could go.
Bill "liberated" his dimension by taking to a higher plane of existence, the 3rd Dimension. He has no corporeal form, so he could only access the minds of the dimension's beings. He came to learn of a prophecy that stated he could bring his chaos into the alternate universe, and Bill manipulated countless humans over the eons to find a way into the Third Dimension as a physical being to "liberate" that dimension as well.
When he was caught, he was banished to the Nightmare Realm. Among his targets were Natives who lived in what would become a town called Gravity Falls, Oregon. The people discovered that Bill was too dangerous and found a way to temporarily defeat him using a zodiac with ten symbols. The people left behind a painting of their encounter with the demon, including how to summon him, and more importantly, a warning never to read it.
One day in the late twentieth century, a young man named Stanford Pines came to investigate a mysterious town in the same location where the Natives had encountered the demon. Ford discovered countless anomalies and secrets in Gravity Falls, but eventually hit a stumbling point and became desperate for more answers. Bill recognized that Ford's brilliant but cocky and insecure nature and near-friendless background made him an ideal pawn.
When Ford accidentally stumbled into a strange cave, he discovered the painting about a "being with answers." Desperate and naïve, Ford ignored the warnings and read the summoning inscription, but was confused when nothing happened. Later that day, while taking a nap, Bill entered the man's dreams. Bill deceived the man, telling him that he was a muse who chose one incredible person every hundred years to inspire. He told Ford that if he sided with Bill, they would unlock the greatest riddles in existence. Blinded by this flattery, Ford believed Bill to be a friend and agreed to the deal.
Ford seemed to idolize Bill and decorated his home with various images of him and a similar symbol, the Eye of Providence, which can be seen scattered across Gravity Falls. Once Cipher had tricked Ford into befriending him, he told him that to build a great machine which he claimed would create knowledge to benefit all mankind. However, when the time came to test it, one of Ford's human friends, Fiddleford McGucket, was sucked into the machine and discovered its true nature: a portal into Bill's world that would allow the demon to bring his chaos and destruction into their universe. Horrified and betrayed, Ford shut down the project and hid the instructions on how to operate it. Bill, however, could not be so easily deterred and has been patiently biding his time for the portal to reactivate.
Bill and the symbol he's based on, the Eye of Providence, appear frequently in Gravity Falls. He was the unseen creator of the cryptograms in the online game Rumble's Revenge. His name and existence is deduced by taking all the capital letters in the cryptograms from Rumble's Revenge, to form the message: "MY NAME IS BILL."[5]
Events of Gravity Falls
Season 1
Bill's entry in Journal 2.
A picture of Bill is shown briefly at the end of the opening theme. A similar picture is seen in the entry about him in Journal 2. Encircling him are various symbols that link to various characters in the show. Most notably, when he appears physically for the first time, he refers to Dipper, Mabel, and Soos, as "Pine Tree, Shooting Star, and Question Mark" respectively. The entry also makes special note of the glasses symbol, the author of the book seemingly having been alarmed by this. Underneath "Name: ???" is the text: "This odd, triangular being has appeared in my dreams every night for weeks."
Bill's Entry in journal 3.
His full name appears in his entry in Journal 3. Behind his name is a message encrypted with a symbol substitution cipher; when decoded it reads: "Liar Monster. Snappy Dresser." There are various notes scattered about the page, such as "Is he watching me?" and "Bill has proven himself to be one of the friendliest and most trustworthy individuals that I've ever encountered in my life. What a guy! I honestly can't trust him more. Not evil in any way, Bill is a true gentleman." However, the latter note is crossed out and below another note reading "Can't Be Trusted!" can be found written in red ink. On the next page, a diagram of a human head and various aspects of its mind is shown, its top being opened up for a drawing of Bill to enter it. In the lower right corner of the page "DO NOT SUMMON AT ALL COSTS!" is written in large, red letters. The rest of the page is spattered with a dark red substance.
Bill gives Gideon a little present.
"Dreamscaperers" is the first time Bill is directly addressed and introduced in the series. Gideon Gleeful, in an attempt to take over the Mystery Shack once again, summons Bill. Gideon tells him to steal Stan Pines' safe combination directly from his head, so that Gideon can steal the Shack's deed. Bill agrees once he knows it's Stan, but in return, Gideon would have to help him in his own plans, which are not revealed to the viewer. Gideon agrees immediately and the two shake on it. Unbeknownst to Gideon, Mabel and Soos witnessed the deal in the forest, and get Dipper's help to follow him into Stan's mind.
Once inside Stan's head, Bill confronts the trio and brags that he knows what they're all thinking. To prove his statement, he summons Xyler and Craz from Mabel's imagination. He tricks Mabel and Soos into looking for the memory of Stan's safe combination first, knowing they'd lead him straight to it. At some point Soos is separated from everyone else, and Bill takes his place. Once they find the correct memory he takes it and nearly escapes with it. But while he reads the combination out loud to Gideon (to whom he was connected), Mabel shoots the memory door into another memory of the bottomless pit with a nyarf dart. Gideon breaks off their deal, to Bill's fury. Bill turns his anger toward Mabel and Soos by bringing their nightmares to life and killing Xyler and Craz.
"I'll be watching you."
Dipper returns in a timely manner and tells Mabel and Soos that while they are in Stan's mindscape they can do whatever they want. They battle Bill and he is nearly defeated. And just as though it seems he will be forced out of Stan's head, he puts a stop to everything instead. Impressed, he decides to let them go, and after warning them of a mysterious darkness that will change everything they care about, he tells them that he'll be watching them. He leaves in a representation of the zodiac, almost identical to the one that appears in his entry in Journal 2.
Season 2
Bill (left) in Dipper's body, alongside a surprised real Dipper (right).
Bill Cipher appears again in "Sock Opera," when Dipper is trying to figure out the password for the laptop from "Into the Bunker." He offers the laptop's password in return for a favor he wants, but Dipper refuses the offer. Later, at the moment the laptop is on countdown for complete data erasure after too many failed password entries, he appears again and Dipper accepts the deal of trading a puppet to obtain the password.
Bill takes over Dipper's body as his "puppet" and destroys the laptop. He then follows Mabel to her puppet show in pursuit of Dipper's journal, which is being used as a prop in the show. After Mabel has been informed of Dipper's body having been stolen by him, he finds her with the journal as she is retrieving it for Dipper. He almost swindles her out of it but ends up in a fight with her. He ends up losing because Mabel uses Dipper's physical weakness and exhaustion to her advantage. As he collapses, he is thrust out of Dipper's body. Bill possesses the Dipper puppet afterward and says that he will return. However, Mabel activates the pyrotechnics of the play, destroying the puppets and removing any vessel Bill could use to talk to the kids.
In "Northwest Mansion Mystery," he appears on a tapestry hovering over a forest fire with two men either begging for mercy or worshiping him while skeletal corpses are underneath them, foreshadowing bad events.
At the end of "The Stanchurian Candidate," after a prison-bound Gideon fails to get his father elected mayor, he is shown to have drawn Bill Cipher's zodiac on his cell wall and hidden it behind a cat poster. The symbols on the zodiac have been changed around, and some have been altered. Gideon tears down the poster and completes the drawing by drawing Bill's eye before telling it he's ready to make a deal.
Bill deciding on who to be his next pawn.
In "The Last Mabelcorn", Bill Cipher appears in one of Ford's dreams, taunting Ford and telling him to keep the interdimensional rift safe, lest terrible things happen. Ford tells Bill that he has no place in the physical world, but Bill ominously warns Ford that "things change."
Bill then appears in multiple flashbacks revealing his past with Ford as Ford explains his time spent with Bill to Dipper. In the past, Bill and Ford were partners. Bill could enter Ford's mind at any time, and with his help, Ford built the portal. However, after Fiddleford came out of the portal, traumatized by the horrifying things he saw, which were Bill's actual plans, Ford realized Bill had lied to him. He confronted Bill, who revealed his plan to merge the Nightmare Realm he comes from with the real world, causing the apocalypse. Ford broke off his partnership with Bill then and there, despite Bill's warnings that he couldn't stop the rift from happening. Ford shut down the portal and swore to never trust Bill again.
At the end of the episode, Bill watches from the Nightmare Realm as Ford and Dipper manage to block him from entering the Mystery Shack. Undeterred, Bill decided to possess someone outside the shack instead.
Near the end of "Dipper and Mabel vs. the Future," Bill approaches Mabel by possessing Blendin Blandin, recognizing Mabel's wishes of wanting summer to never end. Bill (as Blendin) convinces Mabel to give him the interdimensional rift, which he says can be used for making a "time bubble" that can make time stop. Mabel gives Bill the rift, which he promptly smashes with his boot. Bill reveals himself and leaves Blendin's body, knocking out Mabel with a snap of his fingers and initiating Weirdmageddon.
Bill possessing Blendin.
In "Weirdmageddon Part 1," after opening the rift, Bill gains physical form and imprisons Mabel in a bubble. He introduces himself to the people of Gravity Falls, claiming to be their new ruler as well as introducing his friends to the people. The townsfolk refuse to submit, but Preston Northwest welcomes him instead, offering to be a "Horseman of the
Bill gains a physical form.
Apocalypse." Bill thinks about the offer but instead decides to disfigure Preston's face, creating fear in the people.
He summons the Fearamid afterwards and begins "redecorating" the town, welcoming Weirdmageddon. Bill recreates the opening theme song in the process. When Bill and his friends prepare to cause havoc, Ford attempts to shoot Bill back into the rift but misses. Bill notices Ford and Dipper and blasts the clock tower, he then approaches Ford and thanks him for helping with the creation of the rift. Ford tries to warn his nephew about another way to defeat Bill, but is abducted. Bill offers Ford to join his friends. Ford refuses, so Bill simply turns Ford into his golden backscratcher. Dipper attempts to stop Bill using the journals but Bill simply burns the journals to ash and taunts Dipper. Angry, Dipper then attempts to attack Bill but Bill simply deflects the boy's attack. Bill then offers 8 Ball and Teeth Dipper as food while Bill and the rest of his friends party at the Fearamid.
In the middle of the party, Time Baby and the Time Paradox Avoidance Enforcement Squadron attempt to arrest Bill but Bill simply destroys them all, except Blendin who time travels away. 8 Ball returns to tell Bill he and Teeth failed to eat Dipper and worries about Dipper freeing Mabel. However, Bill is unconcerned as he has already sent someone to take care of the problem.
In "Weirdmageddon 2: Escape From Reality," Bill learns that Gideon, Mabel's jailer, has failed him and Dipper, Wendy, and Soos had entered the bubble to rescue her. Bill continues to show little concern, confident that the very nature of Mabel's prison will not allow them to succeed. By this point, Bill has been in power over the town for four consecutive days, has captured almost every person in town and changed them into stone, and intends to spread his insanity across the world. However, this is soon hampered by a strange force field-like energy dome that keeps his chaos and himself stuck in the town. He resolves to turn Ford Pines back to flesh and bone so he can tell him how to undo it.
In "Weirdmageddon 3: Take Back The Falls," Bill returns Ford to normal and demands that Ford explain how to reverse the boundary on the town. He tries to tempt the man by telling him the power and glory that would await the person who "frees" the dimension. Now a wiser man, Ford sees through the lie and refuses to tell Bill anything. He then tries to enter the man's mind to take the answer for himself, but Ford reminds him the rule of the mindscape - Bill is free to haunt a person's dreams, but the only way into a conscious mind is for the person to shake Bill's hand and agree to let him in. Unfettered, Bill resolves to physically torture Ford until he agrees.
Fortunately, help soon arrives in the form of Dipper, Mabel, and other survivors. Recalling that his uncle mentioned a secret weakness right before Bill petrified him, Dipper successfully rallied the survivors to rescue Ford and save the world. While Bill and his hench-maniacs are distracted fighting Old Man McGucket's latest invention, a rescue team consisting of Dipper, Mabel, Stan, Soos, Wendy, Old Man McGucket, and Pacifica Northwest sneak into the Fearamid.
Bill fights the Shacktron, but is prevented from attacking due to the Unicorn hair barrier. Bill eventually discovers that the barrier doesn't extend to the robot's legs, so he exploits that weakness to destroy it. With aid from the captured Gideon, the rescue team saves Bill's captive statues, including Ford. After a happy reunion with his niece and nephew, Ford explains that the way to thwart Bill is by using a zodiac with ten symbols. Each image represents a person, and once all ten people are gathered and holding hands, Bill can be defeated once and for all. For a moment, it seems that Dipper, Mabel, Soos, Wendy, Gideon, Old Man McGucket, Robbie Valentino, Pacifica, Ford, and Stan will be able to do it, but at the last moment, Ford and Stan break into an argument. Bill takes this opportunity to prevent the zodiac wheel from activating.
Bill's end.
He changes all but Mabel, Dipper, Stan, and Ford into tapestries, traps the men in a cage, and angrily chases Dipper and Mabel through the Fearamid after Mabel puts spray paint in his eye to distract him. After recapturing the twins he gives Ford an ultimatum--let Bill into his mind, or Mabel and Dipper will be killed. Ford reluctantly agrees, shakes the demon's hand, and lets Bill into his mind. However, Bill is shocked to realize that he, master of trickery and manipulation, has been deceived. He had not entered Ford's mind at all, but Stan's.
While the demon was distracted chasing Dipper and Mabel, the brothers devised a plan to destroy Bill once and for all. They tricked Bill into going inside Stan's mind instead of Ford's by changing their clothes and impersonating each other and then Ford would shoot Stan with the Memory erasing gun, which would completely wipe away Stan's mind and erase Bill from existence. Bill gets trapped inside Stan's mind and becomes terrified. He begs for his life and promises Stan anything he'd ever want, but nothing can sway Stanley Pines, not even losing his own identity in order to save his family. Once Stanford shoots his brother's mind away, Bill's form grossly distorts until Stanley punches him and Bill vanishes from existence while his physical body is turned to stone permanently. All his monsters, chaos, and damage done to the residents are sent back to where they came from.
At the very end of the episode, Bill's statue form is shown in the real world.
Personality
Bill is a cunning, eccentric, insane, psychopathic, and physically irreverent demon who finds most things amusing. He's outrageous and outlandish, as well as a quick talker and thinker. Though he may come across as simply annoying, he shouldn't be underestimated; for when he is angered, he's a force to be reckoned with as he will unleash his near-omnipotent powers on those unfortunate enough to make him angry. When accused of being insane, Bill proudly takes it in stride.
Bill is not one who believes in rules. Instead, he follows his own selfish philosophy which means doing whatever he wants regardless of the consequences. He thinks of laws and physics as senseless and displays an irresistible urge to break those rules down by causing absolute chaos however he can. The lives he ruins hold no merit to him and he finds amusement in tormenting and turning people's worlds upside-down. He also sees reality as an "illusion," and values its destruction.
When possessing Dipper's body, Bill is shown to be rather masochistic, hurting himself in various ways for the thrill of it, finding pain "hilarious." He seems to have little knowledge about the human body—specifically its physical limits. This comes back to harm him when he gains a physical form and endures pain when the Shack-tron rips out his eye, temporarily weakening him, or when Mabel spray-paints it shortly after.
In "Weirdmageddon Part 1," he shows sadistic tendencies, such as when he shuffles "the function of every hole in [Preston Northwest's] face" and in "Weirdmageddon 3: Take Back The Falls" when he decides to kill one of the Pines twins just for his own pleasure.
Appearance
Bill is a yellow, triangular creature that bears a strong resemblance to an Ancient Egyptian pyramid and the Eye of Providence. He has a single large eye rimmed with four short black lashes on its top and bottom. He moves around mostly by floating about, and rarely actually stands on his own two feet. He has thin, black limbs, wears a small, black bow tie, and has a tall, thin, black top hat that floats just above his head. His arms do not seem to be in any fixed position, and can be moved along his perimeter without any difficulty. He has also been seen carrying a small, black or yellow cane. Among the bottom part of his body is the pattern of a pyramid. When he gets mad, he turns red and his eye glows a light red. His exact age in the show is unknown, although Ford describes him as "older than our galaxy, and just as twisted".
Summoning ritual
To summon Bill Cipher, one needs a picture of their victim. The eyes must be crossed out and the picture must be surrounded by eight candles in a circular formation. Then the following incantation must be recited: "Triangulum, entangulum. Meteforis dominus ventium. Meteforis venetisarium!" Your eyes will glow blue. The sky will turn grey as you enter the mindscape. You'll say "backwards message" backwards 5 times (Asetnoheptus Asetnoheptus Asetnoheptus Asetnoheptus Asetnoheptus). A triangle appears. One eye opens and it turns into Bill's normal appearance. However, it is shown that Bill has the ability to temporarily pull other beings into his plane of existence, if he so pleases, as seen in "Sock Opera."
Preventing Bill's chaos
In order to prevent Bill's chaos inside someone's mind, one must light nine candles and place their hand on the victim's forehead. Say the following incantation: Fidentus omnium. Magister mentium. Magnesium ad hominem. Magnum opus. Habeas corpus. Inceptus Nolanus overratus. Magister mentium. Magister mentium. Magister mentium. If spoken the reciter of the incantation's eyes will turn blue and will be brought to the victim's mind on how they picture, where they have to find a way to stop Bill themselves.
There are also three known preemptive methods to stop Bill from entering minds. The first known method is a shielding spell that involves moonstones, mercury, and unicorn hair, which also protects against his chaos when he cans corporeality. The second method is placing a physical barrier around the mind, such as Ford's metal plate, though Ford stated it's not the safest method. The last method is "encrypting" a subject's thoughts, making it too difficult for Bill to read. It is safer than the second method and more mobile than the first, but very time-consuming.
The Cipher File
A page depicting how Bill enters a person's mind.
Stanford Pines has a file containing information on Bill Cipher and various sighting of him throughout history. The file contains pictures and a page ripped out of a book, with images of a pyramid (presumably in Egypt) and the Eye of Providence. Another page in the file is titled "Alligans Contractus" (which is Latin for "Binding Contract" with a picture of an old man shaking Bill's hand, both of which are surrounded by a blue flame, signifying the man is making a deal.) There is also a trifold paper with three titled: Our World (with a drawing of a human head), Mindscape (with a drawing of a person and Bill and the coded message: Black and White), and Nightmare Realm (with a picture of Bill).
Left: Book excerpt Right: Examples of sightings
Left: Alligans Contractus Right: Book excerpt
The page ripped out of a book ("book excerpt" on images to the right) reads: "Pyramids, also known as square-cones, are found all around the globe and have deeply mysterious origins. Modern engineers marvel at their seemingly impossible construction, but many don't realize they're actually just the skeleton remnants of an ancient race of large triangular dinosaurs who had very blocky bones. The Cycloptostoneosaurus was a feared predator and roamed the plains of North Africa where it subsisted on a diet of warthogs and meerkat, is made tender by their carefree lives and trouble-free philosophies. The reign of the pyramid continued well into the 18th century where a young George Washington once saw one on summer vacation and swore that he would found a nation with the sole purpose of putting an image of it on the back of dollar bills. Pyramids today are mainly tourist attractions and setting for conspiracy movies. Like that one where the guy has to steal the Declaration of Independence. You know the one, "Conspiracy Hank Goes Overboard". If you ever get a skateboard go to Egypt and try riding down the side of a pyramid. I hear that's really encouraged."
Abilities
Bill's abilities are focused around the mind and mental manipulation. He's described as a "dream demon" and displays some of the characteristics of a demon including creating contracts with his summoner. When he is summoned, he appears to put everyone and anyone observing into a trance-like dream. The effect is that the world seems to turn colorless, and he can manipulate the surrounding environment however he likes, as demonstrated by pulling out and returning a deer's teeth. The people observing are unaware they've fallen asleep until Bill leaves and then they realize their eyes have been closed during his whole meeting. Bill can enter people's minds through their dreams. Once inside a mind, he can manipulate anything, including his shape and form and changing the landscape. He can communicate with his summoner like a video call, using his body as a window. In fact, he can use his whole body as a projector and display images.
Once inside of a mind he can also easily pluck information from any others who are also inside and bring those ideas and images to life. The conjured images seem to take a life of their own such as the case with Xyler and Craz.
Bill is also at least close to omniscient. He knows "lots of things," including the truth of many well-known conspiracies as well as future events, such as the destruction of the Gideon-bot and that Gideon Gleeful would go to prison. To supplement this ability, Bill is able to see things from the eyes of any image of himself.[6] This is why he is pictured throughout the show.
Bill possessing Dipper
Bill also has the ability to remove people's souls from their bodies and take possession of the body afterwards. The person who is removed from their body is stuck in a ghost-like form in the mindscape, unable to affect the rest of the world, unless they find a vessel. This vessel doesn't have to be a living thing, as Dipper, who was a victim of this, used Mabel's sock puppets to warn her.
At first, Bill's abilities were limited to the mindscape, requiring him to possess someone to interact with the world. After smashing the interdimensional rift and creating a gateway from the Nightmare Realm, Bill can now exist in the physical world, along with his powers which were previously only limited to the mindscape.
In his physical form, Bill can now utilize his abilities at full power in the real world. He is virtually omnipotent as he can now do anything that would seem impossible, including bringing inanimate objects to life and turning normal people into statues. His abilities in his physical form includes Apportation, Matter Manipulation, Mind Control, Reality Warping, Inter-universal travel, Time Manipulation, Dream Manipulation, Clairvoyance, Cross-universal awareness(is capable of viewing different realities), Innate Capability, Illusion Manipulation, Intangibility, Laser manipulation, Levitation, Molecular Manipulation , Nightmare Inducement, Possession, Precognition, Pyrokinesis, Size shifting, Telekinesis, Telepathy, Madness Inducement(can create bubbles that can induce madness into whatever it touches), Regeneration, Fourth Wall Awareness (is aware of the real world and can "see" us), Soul Removal (Did this when he possessed Dipper's body) and Resistance to reality warping and space-time manipulation. Bill is perhaps the most powerful villain in the show. He even surpasses Time Baby's own power, as he disintegrated Time Baby in "Weirdmageddon I".
As powerful as Bill seems, he does have limitations. While Bill is able to haunt dreams as he pleases, it requires a deal in order for him to enter someone's conscious mind. The prophecy of the zodiac explained that if ten individuals gathered in a circle, they would be able to stop him, but this would not come true if they broke the chain. Upon entering the physical world, Bill is exposed to unpleasant bodily sensations including pain. He initially regards these things as "hilarious", but after prolonged periods of time, it takes a heavy toll on him while possessing Dipper's body, or when he must stop to regenerate his eye in "Weirdmageddon III". In the mindscape, Bill is still nothing more than a thought in the the head and can be forgotten about through means such as the memory gun. Bill's own ego proves to be his most fatal flaw, not recognizing Stan's trick in the heat of the possibility of learning how to spread his chaos.
Cameos
The following are sightings of Bill and the Eye of Providence outside his physical appearance.
Season 1
| Image | Episode | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
"Gravity Falls Main Title Theme" | Top left of the scrolling page. For a brief flicker at the end of the opening. |
|
In a page of book 2, hidden in one frame at the end of the intro. | |
|
Multiple episodes | The 'A' in Mystery Shack over the main entrance. First seen in "Tourist Trapped." |
|
On the rug in the Mystery Shack's gift shop. First seen in "Tourist Trapped." | |
|
The red stained glass window on the main attic floor. First seen in "Tourist Trapped." | |
|
"Headhunters" | The window in the room which stored the forgotten wax figures, and melted Wax Abraham Lincoln. |
|
"The Hand That Rocks the Mabel" | "Bill Jar," a glass jar holding Gideon's paint brushes. In upper right corner of the image. |
|
"The Inconveniencing" | The window under Wendy's hangout spot. |
|
"Irrational Treasure" | On the right side of the negative twelve dollar bill. |
|
"The Time Traveler's Pig" "Candy Monster" |
On the back of playing cards. |
|
"Fight Fighters" | On the screen of an arcade game. |
|
"The Hand That Rocks the Mabel" "Little Dipper" |
Carpet pattern, such as under the chair and to the front left of Gideon. |
|
"Summerween" | On Dipper's shield. |
|
"Carpet Diem" | On a tube of makeup-gel. |
|
On the top of the spine of Boy Cray Cray. |
Season 2
| Image | Episode | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
"Scary-oke" | On the top left corner of Dipper's Big Mysteries board. |
|
"Society of the Blind Eye" | Old Man McGucket tents his fingers to resemble him. |
|
"Northwest Mansion Mystery" | On a tapestry in the Northwest Manor. |
|
"Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons" | His name is displayed on the cash register. |
|
"The Stanchurian Candidate" | Drawn on a wall in Gideon's prison cell, behind a poster. |
|
"Roadside Attraction" | Carved in the wooden fence on the far left. |
Sightings
- Intro: "Gravity Falls Main Title Theme"
Season 1
- 101. "Tourist Trapped" (pictured)
- 103. "Headhunters" (pictured)
- 104. "The Hand That Rocks the Mabel" (pictured)
- 105. "The Inconveniencing" (pictured)
- 108. "Irrational Treasure" (pictured)
- 109. "The Time Traveler's Pig" (pictured)
- 110. "Fight Fighters" (pictured)
- 111. "Little Dipper" (pictured)
- 112. "Summerween" (pictured)
- 113. "Boss Mabel" (pictured)
- 114. "Bottomless Pit!" (pictured)
- 116. "Carpet Diem" (pictured)
- 117. "Boyz Crazy" (pictured)
- 118. "Land Before Swine" (pictured)
- 119. "Dreamscaperers"
- 120. "Gideon Rises" (pictured)
Shorts
- 1. "Candy Monster" (pictured)
- 6. "The Hide-Behind" (pictured)
Season 2
- 201. "Scary-oke" (pictured)
- 202. "Into the Bunker" (pictured)
- 203. "The Golf War" (pictured)
- 204. "Sock Opera"
- 205. "Soos and the Real Girl" (pictured)
- 206. "Little Gift Shop of Horrors" (pictured)
- 207. "Society of the Blind Eye" (pictured)
- 209. "The Love God" (pictured)
- 210. "Northwest Mansion Mystery" (pictured)
- 211. "Not What He Seems" (mentioned)
- 212. "A Tale of Two Stans" (mentioned)
- 213. "Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons" (likeness)
- 214. "The Stanchurian Candidate" (pictured)
- 215. "The Last Mabelcorn"
- 216. "Roadside Attraction" (pictured)
- 217. "Dipper and Mabel vs. the Future"
- 218. "Weirdmageddon 1: Xpcveaoqfoxso"
- 219. "Weirdmageddon 2: Escape From Reality"
- 220-221. "Weirdmageddon 3: Take Back The Falls"
Games
- Oddity Creator (pictured)
- Mystery Shack Mystery (pictured)
- Postcard Creator (pictured)
- Fright Night (pictured)
- Rumble's Revenge (pictured)
- PinesQuest (pictured)
- Villains Unite!
- Gravity Falls: Legend of the Gnome Gemulets (pictured)
Quotes
|
"Deer teeth. For you, kid!" |
|
"A darkness approaches. A day will come in the future where everything you care about will change... Until then I'll be watching you! I'll be watching you..." |
|
"Look kid, you've been getting way too close to figuring out some major answers. I've got big plans comin' and I don't need you gettin' in my way. Destroying that laptop was a cinch. Now I just need to destroy your journal. Race ya' to the bottom of the stairs!" |
|
"For one trillion years I've been trapped in my own decaying dimension, waiting for a new universe to call my own. Name's Bill! But you can call me your new lord and master for all of eternity!" |
|
"Ha ha ha ho! This is just too perfect! Didn't you brainiacs know the zodiac doesn't work if you don't all hold hands? And what's better, you've brought every threat to my power together in one easy-to-destroy CIRCLE!" |
Trivia
- Bill Cipher's name was originally going to be Bill Black, but Disney turned it down because there was a man with the same name who could potentially sue them.
- He is based on the Eye of Providence, which is most commonly seen on the back of the American dollar bill.
- His name is a combination of Bill, referring to the Eye of Providence which appears on dollar bills, and cipher, which is the algorithm for encryption or decryption.
- His name may also be an allusion to the Beale ciphers, a set of three ciphertexts, one of which allegedly states the location of a buried treasure of gold, silver and jewels estimated to be worth over USD $63 million as of September 2011.
- It may also be a reference to the names Lou Cipher (Lucifer) and Bill Zeebub (Beelzebub), which are common pseudonyms for Satan. Beelzebub is also viewed by some religions as one of the seven princes of hell and is known as the Lord of the Flies.
- Being a demon based on the Eye of Providence, Bill Cipher can also be seen as a reference to the Illuminati, a popular gag in pop culture.
- His name is a combination of Bill, referring to the Eye of Providence which appears on dollar bills, and cipher, which is the algorithm for encryption or decryption.
- On the page about Bill in Journal 2, the −$12 bill says "semper vigilantem," which in Latin means "always watching."
- Bill has been shown to ignite a blue flame in his hand in order to seal a deal with one of his clients.[2][3]
- Both Journals 2 and 3 contain sections on Bill, but whereas Journal 2 contains instructions on how to summon Bill, Journal 3 contains instructions on how to stop Bill if he is summoned.
- Additionally, Journal 2 states that his name is not known, while Journal 3 gives the name Bill Cipher. If we assume the journals were written in sequential order, Ford may not have had this information when he wrote Journal 2.
- In the game Rumble's Revenge, one of the translated cryptograms says "I will be returning to Gravity Falls….," foreshadowing his appearance in "Dreamscaperers."
- When Bill Cipher states that "reality is an illusion, the universe is a hologram," he is referencing both Einstein and The Matrix. This is also the ending message of Mark Twain's The Mysterious Stranger.
- In "Dreamscaperers," Gideon summons Bill with an incantation or spell of some sort. In reverse, Gideon is simply saying "backwards message" repeatedly.[7]
- In "Sock Opera," when possessing Dipper, he states "It's been so long since I've inhabited a body!" suggesting he's either had a body before, or has taken another's body before.
- He was most likely referring to Ford, as shown in "The Last Mabelcorn."
- David Lynch of Twin Peaks was originally offered to voice Bill, but when he declined the offer, Alex Hirsch took over the role with a "bad impression of him."[8]
- A code from "Sock Opera" says that he is made from pure energy, not skin and bones, which was also said by Bill when chasing Mabel.
- He was mentioned by Li'l Gideon in a Creepy Letters from Lil' Gideon.
- Bill Cipher appeared at Comic Con before the preview of Season Two.
- When Alex Hirsch had originally conceived Bill's character, he had planned for him to be green as opposed to yellow, though he eventually switched to the latter after the appearance was too akin to a leaf.[9]
- In Dipper's and Mabel's Guide to Mystery and Nonstop Fun!, he began talking about his "nightmare realm" bringing forth something. He then stopped, saying that he's getting ahead of himself. He also shared the following knowledge:
- Chairs have feelings and feel pain whenever you sit on one.
- The lunar landing was faked to hide the fact the moon doesn't exist. It's a two-dimensional disk hiding alien space surveillance.
- Western democracy is a sham propped up by an elite cabal of the super rich.
- It was stated by Alex Hirsch that, "Time Baby and Bill do not like each other, if they saw each other at a party they would be doing that 'awkward circle thing' where they're making eye contact but they're not talking to each other and everybody's like 'Do they know each other? Do they have a history?'."[10]
- Bill is older than the Universe. In fact, he is older than time itself, as he is at least 1 trillion years old.[11]
- Bill is destroyed when Stan's mind is erased with him inside it. His physical body, which turned to stone when he left it, remains in the Gravity Falls Forest. In fact, it is implied near the credits that the writers have hidden this statue of his body somewhere in real life Oregon.
- In the finale, it is revealed that Bill is from the second dimension.
- Bill's backstory parallels the novel Flatland, about a two-dimensional square who begins to question his plane of existence. This is further supported when Bill said in an AMA that "EDWIN ABBOTT ABBOTT [the author of Flatland] HAS A DECENT IDEA [about Bill's origin]."[12]
- He also stated in the AMA that he used to have a family, but not anymore.
- Although he was erased from existence, it is hinted that Bill can still be brought back somehow, as shortly before disappearing he relays a distorted message that when reversed says "A X O L O T L MY TIME HAS COME TO BURN I INVOKE THE ANCIENT POWER THAT I MAY RETURN".
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- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Hirsch, Alex (April 1, 2015). I'M BILL CIPHER! I know LOTS OF THINGS! ASK ME ANYTHING!. Retrieved on June 6, 2015. “I CAN SEE A KALEIDOSCOPE OF TEMPORAL PROBABILITY WITH FLUCTUATING RANGE! I CAN ALSO SEE THAT THERE ARE INFINITE ALTERNATE VERSIONS OF ME IN INFINITE ALTERNATE DIMENSIONS ANSWERING YOUR QUESTION WITH INFINITE VARIATION!”
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 "Dreamscaperers." Matt Chapman, Tim McKeon, Alex Hirsch (writers) & John Aoshima, Joe Pitt (directors). Gravity Falls. Disney Channel. July 12, 2013. No. 19, season 1.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Sock Opera." Shion Takeuchi, Alex Hirsch (writers) & Matt Braly, Joe Pitt (directors). Gravity Falls. Disney XD. September 8, 2014. No. 4, season 2.
- ↑ Hirsch, Alex (April 2, 2015). I'M BILL CIPHER! I know LOTS OF THINGS! ASK ME ANYTHING!. Retrieved on October 28, 2015.
- ↑ Rumble's Revenge#Cryptograms
- ↑ Hirsch, Alex (April 1, 2015). I'M BILL CIPHER! I know LOTS OF THINGS! ASK ME ANYTHING!. Retrieved on June 6, 2015. “JUST DRAW MY FORM ANYWHERE IN YOUR HUMAN WORLD- EACH IMAGE OF ME ACTS A PEEPHOLE FROM MY DIMENSION TO YOURS.”
- ↑ Gravity falls - What Gideon says backwards in "Dreamscaperers" (YouTube) (July 15, 2013). Retrieved on July 20, 2013.
- ↑ Alex Hirsch (27 September 2014). Tweet Number 515689891334987776. Twitter. Retrieved on November 20, 2014. “@DiscoChao No coincidence! We originally went to David Lynch to voice Bill. When he turned us down, I just did a bad impression of him haha”
- ↑ Gravity Falls - Alex Hirsch at Amazing Houston Comic Con (September 6, 2015).
- ↑ Gravity Falls - Alex Hirsch at Amazing Houston Comic Con (September 6, 2015).
- ↑ "Weirdmageddon Part 1." Josh Weinstein, Alex Hirsch (writers) & Sunil Hall (director). Gravity Falls. Disney XD. October 26, 2015. No. 18, season 2.
- ↑ I'M BILL CIPHER I KNOW LOTS OF THINGS ASK ME ANYTHING (April 2, 2015).