Characters: Spike

Spike (occasionally referred to as Butch or Killer) is a fictional character from the Tom and Jerry series, created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. He is a stern but extremely dumb British bulldog who is particularly disapproving of cats, but a softie when it comes to mice. In the shorts Jerry would often try to get Tom in trouble with Spike making him a shoo-in for a beating from the bulldog. Spike has a few weaknesses that Tom tries to capitalize upon: his possessiveness about his bone and his ticklishness. He made his first appearance in the 1942 Tom and Jerry cartoon Dog Trouble, and his first speaking role was in 1944's The Bodyguard, where he was voiced by Billy Bletcher up until 1949, from which point he was voiced by Daws Butler.

In his very first appearance, Dog Trouble, Spike was presented as the primary villain, chasing and attacking both Tom and Jerry on sight, even trying to eat Jerry, which forced the two to work together to defeat him. In later shorts Spike only went after Tom and either didn't notice Jerry or would help him against Tom. Spike, however, is not without a softer and sympathetic side: in the episode Pet Peeve, after believing that Tom is willing to leave the house in Spike's favour, Spike feels sorry for him to the point that he offers to leave instead, which he does until realising that Tom was only using reverse psychology to trick him into leaving. From the 1942 cartoon Dog Trouble to 1949 cartoon Heavenly Puss he was voiced by Billy Bletcher and kept unnamed with two exceptions: in Solid Serenade he was named "Killer", in The Truce Hurts he signed "Butch" on a peace treaty.

In 1949's Love That Pup, Spike was given a puppy son, Tyke, who became another popular supporting character in the Tom and Jerry cartoons. His voice was taken over by Daws Butler, who styled Spike's voice after Jimmy Durante taking after his 1940s radio series with Garry Moore. He is named Spike from then on and will not be changed again. A short-lived Spike and Tyke cartoon series was produced by MGM in 1957; only two entries were completed. Within a year, the MGM cartoon studio had shut down, and Hanna and Barbera took Spike and Tyke and retooled them to create one the first television successes for Hanna-Barbera Productions, Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy. Spike and Tyke would not appear in new Tom and Jerry cartoons, until 1980s The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show, and 1990s Tom & Jerry Kids (In which Tom and Jerry themselves were made younger, but Spike and Tyke remained the same age, and appeared both with Tom and Jerry, and in new episodes of their own). He had also made a cameo in the 1967 MGM Animation/Visual Arts production Matinee Mouse, which reused footage from Love that Pup and The Truce Hurts, and added some new animation in the final punchline. Spike would continue to appear in Tom and Jerry full length features released in the early 2000s and finally, Tom and Jerry Tales.

Spike also appeared (sans Tyke) in the Filmation's The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show.

This Spike is not to be confused with another character of the same name who appeared in Tex Avery and Michael Lah's Droopy cartoons, and four solo shorts, for MGM. However, the two characters were essentially combined into one in the Tom and Jerry Comedy Show, where the Tom & Jerry version of Spike would also appear in the new Droopy cartoons, filling the role of the other Spike as an antagonist of Droopy. They were not separated as distinct characters again, until the feature Tom and Jerry: The Magic Ring.