Mini-Ashes

Mini-Ashes
Alias	Little Ashes Tiny Ashes
Gender	Male
First Appearance	Army of Darkness
Portrayed By	Bruce Campbell Bruce Thomas Deke Anderson Jerry Rector

The Mini-Ashes were miniature duplicates of Ash Williams created while Ash was in 1300 AD.

The Mini-Ashes first appeared in the Army of Darkness film, but have gone on to appear in various other expanded media such as comic books and video games.

Biography

Creation

During a quest to retrieve the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis from a graveyard to help him return to his own time, Ash Williams was chased by the Kandarian Demon while riding through the woods of England. Finding safety in a nearby windmill, Ash decided that he would wait inside until sunrise before returning to his main quest. As the night continued, Ash heard strange noises coming from the outside of the windmill, and headed out (armed with his shotgun) to investigate. Though he couldn't find anything outside of the ordinary in the woods themselves, Ash thought he saw a figure standing in the windmill's doorway, who suddenly slammed the door shut. Ready for a fight, Ash ran back inside the windmill with shotgun in hand, only to run into a large mirror positioned in line with the doorway.

The mirror shattered to bits, leaving a bewildered Ash to realize that the figure was nothing more than his reflection. When Ash turned away from the mirror fragments, his image still remained, and several Mini-Ashes jumped out from the shards. The Mini-Ashes then began taunting their "giant" counterpart, such as poking him with a fork, dropping a bucked on his head, and sticking a nail under his shoe. Eventually, their antics knocked out the "giant" Ash, sending him crashing to the floor. While unconscious, the Mini-Ashes tied Ash down to the floor. Unable to move, two Mini-Ashes held Ash's nose closed as one Mini-Ash jumped off a high rafter, leading him to fall directly into the "giant" Ash's mouth. Ash's attention quickly moved from his little counterparts scurrying around to the one currently squirming around in his stomach. In an attempt to kill the him inside himself, Ash drank a pot of boiling water. This unfortunately did not kill the Mini-Ash, but rather seemed to instigate a mutation that caused him to grow into the entity that would be called Evil Ash.

What happened to the remaining Mini-Ashes following the "birth" of Evil Ash is unknown.

Personality & Traits

The Mini-Ashes were essentially hyperactive duplicates of the real Ash Williams. They retained his memories, and had their own mechanical gauntlet hands, but were more sinister and mischievous in their nature.

It is unclear if they were simply miniature humans created by supernatural activity, or if they were soul hungry Deadites (though there is no evidence supporting the latter).

Notable Mini-Ashes

• Evil Ash (multiple universes)
  • Only the original Evil Ash (from 1300 AD) is considered a Mini-Ash.
• Ash-It (Earth-818793)
• Lil' Ash (Death To The Army of Darkness)

In Other Media

Comic Books

• The Mini-Ashes comic debut was in the second issue of the 1992 comic adaptation of the Army of Darkness film.
• The Mini-Ashes make several appearances in Dynamite's Army of Darkness comics.
  • In the reality known as Earth-818793, the Mini-Ashes appeared as aliens to Ash while in the Tomb of The Necronomicon in Ashes 2 Ashes #4. In Shop 'Till You Drop Dead #2, more Mini-Ashes appear in S-Mart to once again torment Ash. The main antagonist of the first Army of Darkness/Xena crossover was a Mini-Ash who escaped the windmill using a mini-Necronomicon. The Army of Darkness Vs. Hack/Slash crossover has Ash Williams creating new miniature versions of himself to distract a team of supernaturally-enhanced assassins.
  • The Mini-Ashes briefly appear in the Tales of Army of Darkness short story "Till Death Do Us Part" when Ash's fiancee mentions wanting to have "a bunch of little Ashes running around".
  • The anthology one-shot comic Army of Darkness #1992.1 features a short story entitled "Return To The Windmill", in which Ash (from the Ash And The Army of Darkness comic series) confronts the remaining Mini-Ashes. In the climax of the story, the Mini-Ashes merge into one large Ash to fight their original counterpart.
  • A Mini-Ash (referred to as "Lil' Ash" in the series) is one of the members of Team Ash in the limited series Death To The Army of Darkness. Lil' Ash, like all the other members of the team, represent an embodiment of the original Ash's personality or a trait. He represents Ash's impulsivity.

Video Games

• The mobile game Army of Darkness Defense features the Mini-Ashes as non-playable enemies.

Gallery

The Mini-Ashes emerge from the mirror (Army of Darkness #2)

While in the Tomb of The Necronomicon, the Mini-Ashes take the forms of aliens (Ashes 2 Ashes #4)

Following Ash's return to the windmill, the Mini-Ashes merge into one large Ash (Army of Darkness #1992.1)

Trivia

• Bruce Campbell portrayed the "hero" Mini-Ash, the once which appears on screen for the longest amount of time, while Bruce Thomas, Deke Anderson, and Jerry Rector were "Fake Shemps" wearing fake chins.