Herman von Klempt
Encyclopedia
Herman von Klempt is a villain created by writer/artist Mike Mignola
for the Dark Horse Comics
series Hellboy
. He first appeared in the Comics Buyer's Guide.
at university. Although the two men apparently shared similar ideas, Von Klempt was not, like Kroenen, recruited by Rasputin
as a disciple. Von Klempt was assigned to other Nazi projects.
During the Second World War, and especially during the final years, when Germany faced defeat, Adolf Hitler
launched a series of what the Allies called "Doomsday Projects," attempts to combine science with black magic. Among these was Project Vampir Sturm (1944, proposed by Heinrich Himmler
); Project Ragna Rok
(The Fatal Destiny), which resulted in the appearance of Hellboy
in a church in East Bromwich, England (December 23, 1944); and, lastly, the Nazi Space Program.
The Nazi Space Program was initiated in or around 1939, when German scientists managed to make contact with non-corporeal beings in outer space (which Hellboy, half-facetiously, nicknamed "space ghosts"). These beings promised that, if a human shell was sent into space to provide a host for them, it would return to Earth powerful enough to destroy the Nazis' enemies.
The Nazis prepared to launch into space the remains of Dr. Ernst Oeming, a German physicist
often referred to as the "Nazi Einstein," who had been assassinated by a car bomb earlier that year. The launch platform was Hunte Castle in Austria.
On the night of March 20, 1939, the date Oeming's body was to be launched, the American hero Lobster Johnson
led a group of American troops in an attack on Hunte Castle. In a state of panic, the Nazis launched Oeming's ship before the roof's doors could open. Although the rocket cleared the castle and made it into space, the explosion resulted in the immediate incineration of everyone inside the castle except one man: Herman von Klempt.
Although most of his body was destroyed, his head was kept alive in a jar, which was attached to a robotic body. Von Klempt also created what he called a Kriegsaffe (German, "war ape"), a sort of Frankenstein's monster
-like ape, to be his henchman. At some point he had a swastika
tattooed to his forehead.
, Brazil
, where he began working on other projects. It was there in 1959 that he was confronted by Hellboy
, who was investigating the disappearance of peasant girls in the area (von Klempt had been drawing fluid from their spinal columns in order to prolong his life). In the fight that ensued, Hellboy defeated von Klempt and his Kriegsaffe, "Brutus". Von Klempt's inert head would not be seen for decades.
with Ilsa Haupstein and Leopold Kurtz, two other members of the Ragna Rok Project. Asleep in a Norwegian castle, they were awoken in 1994 by Roderick Zinco
, with the intent of carrying out the deceased Rasputin's agenda. Secretly, Kroenen sent Zinco to Brazil to retrieve von Klempt's head.
After being revived, von Klempt tried to convince Kroenen to abandon Rasputin's plan to awaken the Ogdru Jahad
, and instead use Zinco's resources to retrieve von Klempt's projects in South America, which he promised could let them rule the world. Overhearing, Kurtz began attacking von Klempt's head, and Kroenen killed Kurtz in a panic. Furious at von Klempt and Kroenen, Rasputin's ghost blinded Zinco, who accidentally set off an explosion that destroyed the castle.
. There he began work on his Kriegaffe #10, but was suddenly stricken with despair over the seemingly endless failures of his life and the loss of his purpose: Hitler's Third Reich had collapsed, as had all his plans for world domination. In this moment of weakness, he was contacted by Rasputin's ghost, whom von Klempt mistakenly believed to be the Angel of Death. Rasputin reminded von Klempt of the Nazi Space Project, and showed him the destruction that would be unleashed if Dr. Oeming's capsule could be returned to Earth, and the thing that now inhabited his body was released. Von Klempt, finally given purpose - to watch the destruction of the world - returned after sixty years to Hunte Castle.
Secretly, Rasputin's aim was still the same: once the world had been overtaken, the Ogdru Hem
would be released from their prisons, and they would, in turn, release the Ogdru Jahad
, who would reduce the world to ashes.
Von Klempt contacted his granddaughter, Inger. Believing that they were unlocking a power that would help them rule the world, Inger helped her grandfather to restore the equipment at Hunte Castle and recall Dr. Oeming's capsule to Earth.
A gigantic creature called "The Conqueror Worm" surged forth from the capsule. Spewing a noxious gas, the worm turned von Klempt's human agents into frog-men, then devoured them immediately to feed its insatiable hunger. Only quick intervention by Hellboy and Roger the Homunculus
, aided by the ghost of Lobster Johnson, managed to halt the worm's march. Von Klempt was pulled off of a cliff by Roger; the madman's jar was smashed and his life came to an end.
. In this game, he has a body, and is not just a disembodied head.
released in 2005 by Mezco Toyz
. A variant
of von Klempt's head (with the Nazi swastika on his forehead) was released with a limited-edition Hellboy figure.http://mezco.net/products.asp?pline=hbc2005
Mike Mignola
Michael Joseph "Mike" Mignola is an American comic book artist and writer who created the comic book series Hellboy for Dark Horse Comics. He has worked for animation projects such as Atlantis: The Lost Empire and the adaptation of his one shot comic book, The Amazing Screw-On Head.-Career:Mignola...
for the Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
series Hellboy
Hellboy
Hellboy is a comic book superhero created by writer-artist Mike Mignola. The character first appeared in San Diego Comic-Con Comics #2 , and has since appeared in various eponymous miniseries, one-shots and intercompany crossovers...
. He first appeared in the Comics Buyer's Guide.
Character Biography
A German scientist, von Klempt was a close colleague of Karl Ruprecht KroenenKarl Ruprecht Kroenen
Karl Ruprecht Kroenen is a fictional character in the Hellboy comic book series, created by Mike Mignola.In the comics, Kroenen was a relatively unremarkable Nazi SS scientist, whose most distinguishing characteristic was that he always wore a gas mask and protective bodysuit, which Mignola...
at university. Although the two men apparently shared similar ideas, Von Klempt was not, like Kroenen, recruited by Rasputin
Grigori Rasputin (Hellboy)
Grigori Efimovich Rasputin is a fictional supervillain in the comic book series Hellboy. The character was created by Mike Mignola and John Byrne, based on the real life Russian mystic of the same name....
as a disciple. Von Klempt was assigned to other Nazi projects.
During the Second World War, and especially during the final years, when Germany faced defeat, Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
launched a series of what the Allies called "Doomsday Projects," attempts to combine science with black magic. Among these was Project Vampir Sturm (1944, proposed by Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
); Project Ragna Rok
Project Ragna Rok
Project Ragna Rok is a fictional plan from Mike Mignola's Hellboy comics.It involved a secret team of Nazi scientists and occultists, headed by Rasputin, aiming at creating a doomsday weapon which could end World War II and bring about a victory for the Third Reich.It was named after the apocalypse...
(The Fatal Destiny), which resulted in the appearance of Hellboy
Hellboy
Hellboy is a comic book superhero created by writer-artist Mike Mignola. The character first appeared in San Diego Comic-Con Comics #2 , and has since appeared in various eponymous miniseries, one-shots and intercompany crossovers...
in a church in East Bromwich, England (December 23, 1944); and, lastly, the Nazi Space Program.
The Nazi Space Program was initiated in or around 1939, when German scientists managed to make contact with non-corporeal beings in outer space (which Hellboy, half-facetiously, nicknamed "space ghosts"). These beings promised that, if a human shell was sent into space to provide a host for them, it would return to Earth powerful enough to destroy the Nazis' enemies.
The Nazis prepared to launch into space the remains of Dr. Ernst Oeming, a German physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
often referred to as the "Nazi Einstein," who had been assassinated by a car bomb earlier that year. The launch platform was Hunte Castle in Austria.
On the night of March 20, 1939, the date Oeming's body was to be launched, the American hero Lobster Johnson
Lobster Johnson
Lobster Johnson is a fictional character featured in the Hellboy and Bureau For Paranormal Research and Defense comic books published by Dark Horse Comics. He was created by Mike Mignola....
led a group of American troops in an attack on Hunte Castle. In a state of panic, the Nazis launched Oeming's ship before the roof's doors could open. Although the rocket cleared the castle and made it into space, the explosion resulted in the immediate incineration of everyone inside the castle except one man: Herman von Klempt.
Although most of his body was destroyed, his head was kept alive in a jar, which was attached to a robotic body. Von Klempt also created what he called a Kriegsaffe (German, "war ape"), a sort of Frankenstein's monster
Frankenstein's monster
Frankenstein's monster is a fictional character that first appeared in Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus. The creature is often erroneously referred to as "Frankenstein", but in the novel the creature has no name...
-like ape, to be his henchman. At some point he had a swastika
Swastika
The swastika is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing form in counter clock motion or its mirrored left-facing form in clock motion. Earliest archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization of Ancient...
tattooed to his forehead.
B.P.R.D : 1946
in 1946 Von Klempt was working for the Vampir Sturm project. He was confronted by Prof. Bruttenholm, who was young at the time, and set two of his Kriegaffen upon him. Von Klepmts head was attached to a set of mechanical spider legs that allow him to move about on his own. Bruttenholm defeated the large Apes as they battled in a rocket that had launched from the ground and managed to push Von Klempt out, who then fell to the ground.Comics Buyer's Guide
Von Klempt escaped Europe after the war and retreated to a base in the jungle near MacapáMacapá
Macapá is a Brazilian city, capital of Amapá state. Located in the North Region, it is the only state capital that has no highway connections with other capitals...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, where he began working on other projects. It was there in 1959 that he was confronted by Hellboy
Hellboy
Hellboy is a comic book superhero created by writer-artist Mike Mignola. The character first appeared in San Diego Comic-Con Comics #2 , and has since appeared in various eponymous miniseries, one-shots and intercompany crossovers...
, who was investigating the disappearance of peasant girls in the area (von Klempt had been drawing fluid from their spinal columns in order to prolong his life). In the fight that ensued, Hellboy defeated von Klempt and his Kriegsaffe, "Brutus". Von Klempt's inert head would not be seen for decades.
Wake the Devil
Von Klempt's old friend and colleague, Kroenen, had placed himself in suspended animationSuspended animation
Suspended animation is the slowing of life processes by external means without termination. Breathing, heartbeat, and other involuntary functions may still occur, but they can only be detected by artificial means. Extreme cold can be used to precipitate the slowing of an individual's functions; use...
with Ilsa Haupstein and Leopold Kurtz, two other members of the Ragna Rok Project. Asleep in a Norwegian castle, they were awoken in 1994 by Roderick Zinco
Ogdru Jahad
The Ogdru Jahad are fictional characters in Mike Mignola's Hellboy comic. They are the Dragon of Revelation, and are destined to bring about the end of the world. Though the Ogdru Jahad are the ultimate antagonists in the series, they are not themselves active, their release from imprisonment...
, with the intent of carrying out the deceased Rasputin's agenda. Secretly, Kroenen sent Zinco to Brazil to retrieve von Klempt's head.
After being revived, von Klempt tried to convince Kroenen to abandon Rasputin's plan to awaken the Ogdru Jahad
Ogdru Jahad
The Ogdru Jahad are fictional characters in Mike Mignola's Hellboy comic. They are the Dragon of Revelation, and are destined to bring about the end of the world. Though the Ogdru Jahad are the ultimate antagonists in the series, they are not themselves active, their release from imprisonment...
, and instead use Zinco's resources to retrieve von Klempt's projects in South America, which he promised could let them rule the world. Overhearing, Kurtz began attacking von Klempt's head, and Kroenen killed Kurtz in a panic. Furious at von Klempt and Kroenen, Rasputin's ghost blinded Zinco, who accidentally set off an explosion that destroyed the castle.
Conqueror Worm
Somehow surviving the castle's detonation, von Klempt's head retreated to a secret laboratory under a graveyard in GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. There he began work on his Kriegaffe #10, but was suddenly stricken with despair over the seemingly endless failures of his life and the loss of his purpose: Hitler's Third Reich had collapsed, as had all his plans for world domination. In this moment of weakness, he was contacted by Rasputin's ghost, whom von Klempt mistakenly believed to be the Angel of Death. Rasputin reminded von Klempt of the Nazi Space Project, and showed him the destruction that would be unleashed if Dr. Oeming's capsule could be returned to Earth, and the thing that now inhabited his body was released. Von Klempt, finally given purpose - to watch the destruction of the world - returned after sixty years to Hunte Castle.
Secretly, Rasputin's aim was still the same: once the world had been overtaken, the Ogdru Hem
Ogdru Hem
The Ogdru Hem are fictional creatures in the Hellboy universe. After awakening, the demonic Ogdru Jahad gave birth to the 369 Ogdru Hem. The Ogdru Hem are essentially weaker versions of their parents, but even so they wield unimaginable power...
would be released from their prisons, and they would, in turn, release the Ogdru Jahad
Ogdru Jahad
The Ogdru Jahad are fictional characters in Mike Mignola's Hellboy comic. They are the Dragon of Revelation, and are destined to bring about the end of the world. Though the Ogdru Jahad are the ultimate antagonists in the series, they are not themselves active, their release from imprisonment...
, who would reduce the world to ashes.
Von Klempt contacted his granddaughter, Inger. Believing that they were unlocking a power that would help them rule the world, Inger helped her grandfather to restore the equipment at Hunte Castle and recall Dr. Oeming's capsule to Earth.
A gigantic creature called "The Conqueror Worm" surged forth from the capsule. Spewing a noxious gas, the worm turned von Klempt's human agents into frog-men, then devoured them immediately to feed its insatiable hunger. Only quick intervention by Hellboy and Roger the Homunculus
Roger (Hellboy)
Roger the Homunculus is a fictional character featured in the Hellboy and B.P.R.D. comic books published by Dark Horse Comics. He is an unusually large homunculus, a humanoid being said to be created by means of alchemy....
, aided by the ghost of Lobster Johnson, managed to halt the worm's march. Von Klempt was pulled off of a cliff by Roger; the madman's jar was smashed and his life came to an end.
Video games
• Herman von Klempt and several of his Kriegaffen are the primary villains of the video game Hellboy: The Science of Evil voiced by renowned German actor Jürgen ProchnowJürgen Prochnow
Jürgen Prochnow is a German actor. His most well-known roles internationally have been as the sympathetic submarine captain in Das Boot , Duke Leto Atreides I in Dune , the minor, but important role of Neo-Stalinist dictator General Ivan Radek in Air Force One and the villain Maxwell Dent in...
. In this game, he has a body, and is not just a disembodied head.
Toys
• Herman von Klempt's head is an accessory to the Kriegaffe #10 action figureAction figure
An action figure is a posable character figurine, made of plastic or other materials, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, video game, or television program. These action figures are usually marketed towards boys and male collectors...
released in 2005 by Mezco Toyz
Mezco Toyz
Mezco Toyz is a toy company that makes action figures and other collectibles based on original and licensed properties. Its most popular product is the cult hit toy line Living Dead Dolls. Other popular licensed properties include Family Guy, South Park and Hellboy...
. A variant
Variant
Variant is a free cultural magazine based in Glasgow, Scotland, and founded in 1984. Available in both print and internet editions, it is distributed mainly though arts and cultural institutions through Britain and Ireland. Although nominally an arts and cultural bulletin, the magazine also deals...
of von Klempt's head (with the Nazi swastika on his forehead) was released with a limited-edition Hellboy figure.http://mezco.net/products.asp?pline=hbc2005