Johann Kraus
Encyclopedia
Johann Kraus is a fictional character
in the Hellboy
universe, created by Mike Mignola
. He is featured in the comic book
B.P.R.D., published by Dark Horse Comics
.
Krauss is a disembodied ectoplasmic spirit with psychic
abilities, who inhabits a containment suit, without which his form would eventually dissipate and be lost forever.
, West Germany
, in 1946, Johann Kraus became aware of his psychic abilities when he was ten years old. Frustrated with his inability to help the spirits that appeared to him, he sought out spiritualists in attempts to better understand his powers. Disappointed with occultism, Kraus turned to the church, which allowed him to focus on the spirits themselves rather than the occultist's focus on study and academia. In 1971, he opened an office in Munich
, where he became a well-respected medium before relocating to Heidelberg
.
In early 2002, Kraus was the only survivor of a seance affected by a mystical disaster. His ectoplasmic form survived when his body was incinerated, and knowing he would dissipate without a physical body, he sought out the best paranormal minds on the planet for help: the B.P.R.D. At first, he was sustained inside a transparent tank apparatus developed by the B.P.R.D. for other purposes; eventually the technology was sized down into his distinctive containment suit. Kate Corrigan
has said of him that, "He's not dead. He just doesn't have a body anymore."
After the loss of Hellboy
, Kraus was hired to replenish the Bureau's pool of 'enhanced talents'. Kraus soon proved an invaluable member of the team. His psychic abilities are better than ever due to his condition (similar to a musician who has lost his eyesight). Where once he could speak with the dead, now he can give them temporary physical form. Johann is also an accomplished scholar in occult lore and, since he no longer requires sleep, works constantly. It was largely he who researched and organized the mountains of files culled from the sub-basement of the Bureau's new base in the Colorado
mountains, resulting in the revelation that Ben Daimio
's grandmother had been a Nazi occult war criminal. There was tension between the two for some time after this. Their sometimes difficult relationship was perhaps not helped by the death of Roger
the homonculus, who Johann had been closer to than perhaps anyone else, owing at least partly to Daimio's actions.
When the Bureau came into possession of two giant vat-grown bodies awaiting a soul in the aftermath of the Garden of Souls storyline, Johann took possession of one of these.
Overcome by giddy euphoria at finally having regained life, at being able to taste and touch once more, Johann let himself be seduced by the pleasures of the flesh. He all but abandoned his work and commitments to the Bureau to indulge his vices. This proved to be the worst possible time for such a lapse, as the halls of the Bureau came under attack by two separate monsters, one of them the were-jaguar form of Captain Ben Daimio. Johann returned in the nick of time, saving the lives of Kate and Abe, but was himself savagely killed.
Condemned to his ectoplasmic half-life once more, Johann began pursuing a private obsession with Ben Daimio, trying to track down his living relatives and hiding the ceremonial dagger that is supposedly the only weapon that can destroy him in his were-jaguar form. In 2009 Johann returned to his beloved Munich for the first time since his 2002 accident during The Warning, only to see it destroyed and its inhabitants killed by a subterranean robot army, a blow he has found it hard to recover from.
The only protection Johann has from dissipation is his B.P.R.D.-built containment suit; once the suit is breached, he must find a new container for his essence or he will cease to exist.
actors John Alexander
and James Dodd, and his voice was performed by Seth MacFarlane
(Thomas Kretschmann
was previously cast for the voice, but was replaced).
Krauss is head of the B.P.R.D.'s Ectoplasmic Research division in Washington, D.C., and is sent to the Bureau's headquarters to take command of the team, after Hellboy embarrasses the Bureau and the government by revealing himself to the public.
The cause of his condition is not explained, but he hints that it was connected with the loss of the woman he loved - a fiancé or a wife, whose ring he still carries around with him. He said that his containment suit was designed by the B.P.R.D.'s former head, Trevor Bruttenholm
. According to the film commentary, Guillermo del Toro
stated that, in the planned story for the third Hellboy film, Krauss would also have some past history with the character of Nazi scientist Karl Ruprecht Kroenen
.
Krauss immediately strikes Abe Sapien
and Tom Manning
as knowledgeable and efficient, while Hellboy dislikes him, possibly because he feels overshadowed, and possibly because, as Hellboy himself says, Johann's name "sounds German... I don't like Germans" (though, according to a deleted line from the script, he is actually Austrian
).
Krauss is punctilious, straight-laced, and scrupulously "by-the-book". In the commentary, Guillermo del Toro
said that he used the character to express his idea of the perfect bureaucrat
: lacking a face, body, or any individual identity. This is a departure from the comics version, where Kraus is portrayed as quite compassionate and feeling, often playing an avuncular role towards the rest of the team.
Both the comic and film version of Johann can leave their containment suit at will, though it is uncertain how long he can do so without dissipating; once freed from his suit, his ectoplasmic form can physically manipulate objects (as demonstrated when he gives Hellboy a sound thrashing in the B.P.R.D. locker room with a set of locker doors), or can be used for teleplasty, (from the Greek τηλε (far)+ πλαστειν (to mold or form); the word ectoplasm
derives from the same root) - enabling him to temporarily reanimate dead creatures and possess mechanical objects or living things. He uses this talent to great effect near the film's climax, when he takes over one of the Golden Army's soldiers and uses it to fight the others.
Outside his containment suit, he appears as a roughly humanoid shape in whispy, ghostly form.
When Liz Sherman
and Abe decide to disobey orders and take the dying Hellboy to Prince Nuada, Krauss initially forbids them to, but reconsiders, remembering his own lost love. Deciding to support the renegades, he helps Liz and Abe steal the Bureau's plane to find the Prince, participates in the battle against the Golden Army, and quits the B.P.R.D along with his new comrades.
On a commentary on the Hellboy II DVD, Director Guillermo Del Toro, states that Johann's helmet design was an unused idea for Master Chief
in the unreleased Halo movie.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the 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...
universe, created by Mike Mignola
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...
. He is featured in the comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
B.P.R.D., published by 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...
.
Krauss is a disembodied ectoplasmic spirit with psychic
Psychic
A psychic is a person who professes an ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses through extrasensory perception , or is said by others to have such abilities. It is also used to describe theatrical performers who use techniques such as prestidigitation, cold reading, and hot...
abilities, who inhabits a containment suit, without which his form would eventually dissipate and be lost forever.
Fictional character biography
Born in StuttgartStuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
, West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
, in 1946, Johann Kraus became aware of his psychic abilities when he was ten years old. Frustrated with his inability to help the spirits that appeared to him, he sought out spiritualists in attempts to better understand his powers. Disappointed with occultism, Kraus turned to the church, which allowed him to focus on the spirits themselves rather than the occultist's focus on study and academia. In 1971, he opened an office in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, where he became a well-respected medium before relocating to Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
.
In early 2002, Kraus was the only survivor of a seance affected by a mystical disaster. His ectoplasmic form survived when his body was incinerated, and knowing he would dissipate without a physical body, he sought out the best paranormal minds on the planet for help: the B.P.R.D. At first, he was sustained inside a transparent tank apparatus developed by the B.P.R.D. for other purposes; eventually the technology was sized down into his distinctive containment suit. Kate Corrigan
Kate Corrigan
Kate Corrigan is a fictional character from the Dark Horse Comics universe, featured in the comic book series Hellboy and BPRD written by Mike Mignola, et al. Her appearance is based on Mignola's wife, Christine.-History:...
has said of him that, "He's not dead. He just doesn't have a body anymore."
After the loss 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...
, Kraus was hired to replenish the Bureau's pool of 'enhanced talents'. Kraus soon proved an invaluable member of the team. His psychic abilities are better than ever due to his condition (similar to a musician who has lost his eyesight). Where once he could speak with the dead, now he can give them temporary physical form. Johann is also an accomplished scholar in occult lore and, since he no longer requires sleep, works constantly. It was largely he who researched and organized the mountains of files culled from the sub-basement of the Bureau's new base in the Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
mountains, resulting in the revelation that Ben Daimio
Ben Daimio
Ben Daimio is a fictional character in the Dark Horse Comics universe. He works for the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense.-Fictional character biography:...
's grandmother had been a Nazi occult war criminal. There was tension between the two for some time after this. Their sometimes difficult relationship was perhaps not helped by the death of Roger
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....
the homonculus, who Johann had been closer to than perhaps anyone else, owing at least partly to Daimio's actions.
When the Bureau came into possession of two giant vat-grown bodies awaiting a soul in the aftermath of the Garden of Souls storyline, Johann took possession of one of these.
Overcome by giddy euphoria at finally having regained life, at being able to taste and touch once more, Johann let himself be seduced by the pleasures of the flesh. He all but abandoned his work and commitments to the Bureau to indulge his vices. This proved to be the worst possible time for such a lapse, as the halls of the Bureau came under attack by two separate monsters, one of them the were-jaguar form of Captain Ben Daimio. Johann returned in the nick of time, saving the lives of Kate and Abe, but was himself savagely killed.
Condemned to his ectoplasmic half-life once more, Johann began pursuing a private obsession with Ben Daimio, trying to track down his living relatives and hiding the ceremonial dagger that is supposedly the only weapon that can destroy him in his were-jaguar form. In 2009 Johann returned to his beloved Munich for the first time since his 2002 accident during The Warning, only to see it destroyed and its inhabitants killed by a subterranean robot army, a blow he has found it hard to recover from.
Powers and abilities
Because Kraus is made of ectoplasm and has no solid body, he requires neither sleep nor food. However, the extreme sensitivity of his powers makes him vulnerable to psychic attack. His ectoplasm can be taken over by stronger spirits, who are then made corporeal. This can be either dangerous or helpful, depending on the spirit's nature.The only protection Johann has from dissipation is his B.P.R.D.-built containment suit; once the suit is breached, he must find a new container for his essence or he will cease to exist.
Film
Johann Kraus appeared in the 2008 film Hellboy II: The Golden Army. In the film his name is spelled "Johann Krauss". His character's movements were supplied by BritishUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
actors John Alexander
John Alexander
-Arts and entertainment:* John Alexander , American stage and film actor* John Alexander II , Scottish film actor; see * John Alexander , British television director* John Alexander -Arts and entertainment:* John Alexander (actor) (1897–1982), American stage and film actor* John Alexander II...
and James Dodd, and his voice was performed by Seth MacFarlane
Seth MacFarlane
Seth Woodbury MacFarlane is an American animator, writer, comedian, producer, actor, singer, voice actor, and director best known for creating the animated sitcoms Family Guy, American Dad! and The Cleveland Show, for which he also voices many of the shows' various characters.A native of Kent,...
(Thomas Kretschmann
Thomas Kretschmann
Thomas Kretschmann is a German actor best known for playing Leutnant Hans Von Witzland in the 1993 film Stalingrad, Hauptmann Wilm Hosenfeld in The Pianist, Hermann Fegelein in Der Untergang, and Captain Englehorn in the 2005 remake of King Kong.-Early life:Kretschmann was born in Dessau, former...
was previously cast for the voice, but was replaced).
Krauss is head of the B.P.R.D.'s Ectoplasmic Research division in Washington, D.C., and is sent to the Bureau's headquarters to take command of the team, after Hellboy embarrasses the Bureau and the government by revealing himself to the public.
The cause of his condition is not explained, but he hints that it was connected with the loss of the woman he loved - a fiancé or a wife, whose ring he still carries around with him. He said that his containment suit was designed by the B.P.R.D.'s former head, Trevor Bruttenholm
Trevor Bruttenholm
Professor Trevor Bruttenholm is a fictional character in the Hellboy comic book universe, created by Mike Mignola and John Byrne. His first appearance was in the comic book Hellboy: Seed of Destruction, issue #1 .-Fictional character biography:...
. According to the film commentary, Guillermo del Toro
Guillermo del Toro
Guillermo del Toro is a Mexican director, producer, screenwriter, novelist and designer. He is mostly known for his acclaimed films, Blade II, Pan's Labyrinth and the Hellboy film franchise. He is a frequent collaborator with Ron Perlman, Federico Luppi and Doug Jones...
stated that, in the planned story for the third Hellboy film, Krauss would also have some past history with the character of Nazi scientist Karl Ruprecht Kroenen
Karl 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...
.
Krauss immediately strikes Abe Sapien
Abe Sapien
Abraham "Abe" Sapien is a fictional character in the comic book series Hellboy, created by Mike Mignola. He takes his name from "Icthyo sapiens," the fanciful species designation chosen for him by his colleagues in the 19th-century Oannes Club, and from Abraham Lincoln, on whose assassination date...
and Tom Manning
Tom Manning
Tom Manning is a fictional character from the Dark Horse Comics universe. He is director of the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense.Manning has classically been portrayed as a stuffed-shirt bureaucrat who refuses to trust the paranormal members of his agency, even though their presence is...
as knowledgeable and efficient, while Hellboy dislikes him, possibly because he feels overshadowed, and possibly because, as Hellboy himself says, Johann's name "sounds German... I don't like Germans" (though, according to a deleted line from the script, he is actually Austrian
Austrians
Austrians are a nation and ethnic group, consisting of the population of the Republic of Austria and its historical predecessor states who share a common Austrian culture and Austrian descent....
).
Krauss is punctilious, straight-laced, and scrupulously "by-the-book". In the commentary, Guillermo del Toro
Guillermo del Toro
Guillermo del Toro is a Mexican director, producer, screenwriter, novelist and designer. He is mostly known for his acclaimed films, Blade II, Pan's Labyrinth and the Hellboy film franchise. He is a frequent collaborator with Ron Perlman, Federico Luppi and Doug Jones...
said that he used the character to express his idea of the perfect bureaucrat
Bureaucracy
A bureaucracy is an organization of non-elected officials of a governmental or organization who implement the rules, laws, and functions of their institution, and are occasionally characterized by officialism and red tape.-Weberian bureaucracy:...
: lacking a face, body, or any individual identity. This is a departure from the comics version, where Kraus is portrayed as quite compassionate and feeling, often playing an avuncular role towards the rest of the team.
Both the comic and film version of Johann can leave their containment suit at will, though it is uncertain how long he can do so without dissipating; once freed from his suit, his ectoplasmic form can physically manipulate objects (as demonstrated when he gives Hellboy a sound thrashing in the B.P.R.D. locker room with a set of locker doors), or can be used for teleplasty, (from the Greek τηλε (far)+ πλαστειν (to mold or form); the word ectoplasm
Ectoplasm (paranormal)
Ectoplasm is a term coined by Charles Richet to denote a substance or spiritual energy "exteriorized" by physical mediums...
derives from the same root) - enabling him to temporarily reanimate dead creatures and possess mechanical objects or living things. He uses this talent to great effect near the film's climax, when he takes over one of the Golden Army's soldiers and uses it to fight the others.
Outside his containment suit, he appears as a roughly humanoid shape in whispy, ghostly form.
When Liz Sherman
Liz Sherman
Elizabeth 'Liz' Sherman is a fictional character appearing in the Hellboy comic book series created by Mike Mignola.-Fictional character history:...
and Abe decide to disobey orders and take the dying Hellboy to Prince Nuada, Krauss initially forbids them to, but reconsiders, remembering his own lost love. Deciding to support the renegades, he helps Liz and Abe steal the Bureau's plane to find the Prince, participates in the battle against the Golden Army, and quits the B.P.R.D along with his new comrades.
On a commentary on the Hellboy II DVD, Director Guillermo Del Toro, states that Johann's helmet design was an unused idea for Master Chief
Master Chief (Halo)
Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 is a fictional character and protagonist of the Halo fictional universe, created by Bungie. Master Chief is a player character in the trilogy of science fiction first-person shooter video games Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, and Halo 3 and will appear in the...
in the unreleased Halo movie.
See also
- Mike MignolaMike MignolaMichael 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...
- Guillermo del ToroGuillermo del ToroGuillermo del Toro is a Mexican director, producer, screenwriter, novelist and designer. He is mostly known for his acclaimed films, Blade II, Pan's Labyrinth and the Hellboy film franchise. He is a frequent collaborator with Ron Perlman, Federico Luppi and Doug Jones...
- HellboyHellboy (film)Hellboy is a 2004 supernatural superhero film, starring Ron Perlman, John Hurt and Selma Blair, directed by Guillermo del Toro. The film is based on the Dark Horse Comics work Hellboy: Seed of Destruction by Mike Mignola. It was produced by Revolution Studios, and distributed by Columbia Pictures...
- Hellboy II: The Golden Army