The Woodsman is one of the few men who went toe to toe with Bigby in his Black Forest days and lived to tell the tale. In an attempt to save Little Red Riding Hood, he split the great wolf's belly open with his axe, filled him full of rocks, and threw the beast into a river. To his dismay his popularity faded. Even his name is forgotten, and he is only known as The Woodsman

He and Bigby have a centuries-old history of fighting

The Woodsman is beating Faith, but later proclaims his innocence when she is found dead. He also has an entry in the Book of Fables. He later explains that the prostitute who would usually visit him was Lily, and she was willing to give him credit if he was short on cash, but on that night Faith covered for her, and she was not willing to make the same kind deal with him. Combined with the facts that the Woodsman was both broke and very drunk that night, he flew off the handle and assaulted her

In a twist of irony, the Woodsman drunkenly tells Bigby when their first meeting happened, he initially wasn't there to save Red Riding Hood or her grandmother; instead, he was there to rob them and found the wolf there instead. His demeanor while telling the story, indicates that he is full of self-loathing over the fact that he has been hailed as a hero after the event

The Woodsman drinks a beer, clearly drunk so if he knows you he doesn’t recognize you at first Whadda ya want?! Do I knows ya?! Call me Woody!