Astonishing Adventures: Mini-Profiles

I decided to do some mini-profiles for some of the supporting characters in my story. As usual, any artwork is not mine or of my character. Since I don't have the ability to draw, I scour the internet looking for pictures of people or characters who resemble them. This helps the character seem more real, not only for you, but for me too.

All set? Here we go.

Dietrich von Frankenstein

He is the great grandson of the legendary Victor von Frankenstein who has co-opted the cultural cache of his ancestor to build himself a bit of celebrity. He is the original goth; a poser of the worst kind. Although he has learned a lot of occult tricks, most of his mastery of monsters and witchcraft was stolen from others. He is the first to boast over a captured enemy, and the first out the door when that enemy escapes.

Dr. Josef Mueller

A mild-mannered, idealistic German scientist who raised a eugenics experiment as his own daughter while he taught the young Mechanic. At his daughter's insistence, he joined the Nazi Party in their search for Atlantis and was exposed to the Atlantian's telepathic library. The experience changed him and turned him into a man who will stop at nothing short of transforming the world into his own twisted utopia.

Die Gestapo Geist

An elite German soldier who, after the death of his family, volunteered for an experiment that gave him the ability to turn intangible. It also changed his molecular structure so that the color of his body is not reflected leaving him looking like a real life black-and-white photograph. Generally, he's just referred to in the story as Geist. I've had this character in my head for a long time and I really love the character. His emotionless and colorless nature reflect a simplicity that underlies his motivation. Like a good soldier, he does what he's told, but Geist's service has extended past death... past ideology or ambition. He is simply a force of cold, murderous will. Still, I see him as somewhat sympathetic due to his ability to see past the foolishness and hubris of the living and to the bitter nihilistic reality of death.

The Hidden Khan

While on the surface there isn't much to distinguish this character from the average Asian megalomaniacal stereotype, to me he represents the end of imperialism and the decadence that comes with it. While his arch-nemesis, Dr. Alchemy, is trying to redeem his soul before death, the Khan is desperately trying to escape death, not only to preserve his existence but his way of life. Yet for the world to move forward, his way of life has to die. This makes him something of an endangered species.

The Illusionist

If a villain loses all of the time, how can he be a serious threat? What if he arranges things so that even when he loses, he still wins? That was the idea behind the Illusionist. He has grown so bored with mundane society that he creates huge games to amuse himself. His latest game is supposed to make the Enigma just like him. The Illusionist would mentor him again, if the Enigma would allow that, but instead he is going to force the Enigma to see the world as he does by baiting him into conflicts.

Milla Mueller

Milla was the first generation of an early eugenics and special breeding program. The Mechanic met and fell in love with her as a child while she was contained in a special chamber designed to control her environment with additional air pressure and controlled contaminants designed to increase her strength, speed, stamina, and resistance to disease. As she grew up, she became a leading member of the Nazi party believing that she is following the destiny of her blood. She is one of the few people the Mechanic has met who is a challenge for him both physically and mentally. The Mechanic shot her eye out for threatening Padre's life, now she both wants to kill him and marry him.

Lizard King

The lizard king was once a normal person until Dietrich subjected him to modified alligator hormones. Now as the Lizard King, he has become bitter and angry. He has allowed his monstrous appearance to define him and sought the physical pleasures which are all he has left. Since only the Nazis have offered him that, he has made some very powerful allies.

Padre

This is the Mechanic's best friend... which shows you how socially inept he is at heart. Padre got his name from a white stripe on his neck that vaguely resembles a priest's collar. He is extremely well read, spending almost all of his time in the library. His other favorite hobby is flying. He is the helmsman on the Mechanic's airship and frequent pilot.

Rosie Rocket (AKA Rosario Rios AKA Rosie the Riveter)

Rosie is one of the few sidekicks I have in this story. Possibly the only one. My rough plan is to have her start out as the Enigma's best friend, confidant, and Girl Friday, and then to gradually allow her to become a protege to the Mechanic and take an active role in the war. For me, Rosie represents demands of a female show of strength that was important during the war and inappropriate after the war. The fact that she is (to borrow Kevin Smith's phrase) "a male affectionate lesbian" not only gives her a "one of the guys" quality on the team, but also means she doesn't need a man to complete her... which I imagine a lot of American women were learning at the time. Still, she has her own issues with love which should come into play at some point.

The Silk Spider

A late addition to the war, the Silk Spider is a spy and assassin who is only a rumor in the highest offices of defense. She seems to have superhuman abilities of seduction and manipulation, but nothing so overt as to define it as a power. On the surface, she has a flapper's laisez faire, hedonistic demeanor, but what's going on behind that is anyone's guess.

Tin Man

A Nazi war machine invented by Dr. Mueller, discovered and befriended by two orphans and their young dog in the middle of dust bowl America. This is one of my simplist and most fun ideas for this project. It's like a "boy and his dog" story, but instead it's a boy, a girl, a dog, and their Nazi war machine. The Mechanic meets it at some point and invites Tin Man and the kids to join him in their secret headquarters figuring that nowhere in the world is particularly safe right now.

Tokyo Rose

Tokyo Rose is a young female samurai in the direct service of Emperor Hirohito, but conflicted by her Zen and Confusian principles. She rides an A6M Zero like it was a horse and keeps at her katana and Type 26 hammerless revolver on her at all times. She is a highly skilled warrior, incredible disciplined and serious as death. Unlike a traditional samurai, she wears fairly light armor, preferring mobility and speed over protection. I'm not sure what I'll do with this character, but then, it's best not to have everything planned.

Twilight & Dawn

There is a comic book cliché of people (almost always men) who are perfect in every way mastering everything that is cool to master from boxing and swordfighting to detective work and science. There was often a certain arrogant charm that came from that kind of hubris, like they are genuinely disappointed with everyone and everything for being so flawed. I decided to mix that stock character with Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and the Thin Man series and twist it into an eccentric Hollywood couple of the most glamorous sort with a penchant for adventure. I used this picture of Fairbanks and Ginger Rogers to say, "Anything Twilight can do, Dawn can do backwards and in high heels."

Übermensch

This character is pretty much a blend of Marvel's Thor, DC's Superman, and Nazi ideology. I always thought it was unfair to criticize other countries by making their heroes into monsters. Don't get me wrong, Übermensch is as much a monster as Hitler, but I want my readers to see him as someone who can proudly embody the Nazi ideal. I want them to imagine the hope, faith, and love that the German people must have placed in their leaders, because that is one of the worst evils. Übermensch was created in a Thule Society ritual designed to summon the Norse god Thor, but the rules of magic manifest him in the form of the creator. He is, therefore, a modern Nazi ideological distortion of the original character. He truly believes in the Nazi ideal, but that's easy when it says that you are the most perfect being on Earth. As of yet, he is far more powerful than any one of the Allies... perhaps more powerful than all of them combined.

Well, that's it for now. Comments, questions, and criticisms are always appreciated.