The Unstoppable Higgs

Airman Third Class Axel Higgs, better known as The Unstoppable Higgs, is a most improbable legend in his own time. Formerly an undistinguished crewman on the Wulfenbach airship Rozen Maiden, he has achieved a certain degree of fame for his single-minded devotion to duty in the face of circumstances that can reasonably be called "daunting." If there was a Medal of Honor in the Foglio-verse, he'd probably deserve several.

Higgs rescued the Baron after the retreat from Sturmhalten. How that came about is known only to himself, since he's the only survivor except for the unconscious Baron and the delirious Bangladesh DuPree, but this is the story he subsequently told: Higgs was snoozing peacefully in his hammock aboard a Wulfenbach medical airship when he was awakened by alarm bells going off. This was NOT a drill, as they say; the airship had come under bombardment at the tail end of the little dust-up at Sturmhalten, its bridge crew was dead, it had been invaded by weird slime monsters, and it was on fire in the bargain. Higgs managed to stabilize the situation and escape with the splattered Baron (reasonable enough, since it's his job) as well as the delirious (and subsequently very violent) Bangladesh DuPree (which has prompted many fans to wonder just what he was thinking), breaking Bang's jaw in the process but incurring a few injuries of his own (a broken arm and leg plus a nasty bite). He and his charges escaped the burning airship in a launch while he was taking further damage from (and administering further damage to) DuPree. He was able to get the launch on the ground more or less safely, but on arrival, took friendly fire and was assaulted by a nesting goose, both of which did yet more damage. The doughty fellow nevertheless managed to recount his tale of derring-do to Bug Squad troops before collapsing and being filled with rum, not necessarily in that order.

Subsequent events (see below) suggest that Higgs may not have been entirely forthcoming in his account.

Rumors that Higgs was able to perform these astounding feats because he's atomic-powered are unfounded. Probably.

Zeetha’s dance partner

 * "Wait—How do you know they are smart?"
 * "They’re not fighting a bar full of Jägers."
 * "Heh. Good one. Hey! Just what are you implying?"
 * Zeetha and Higgs

Higgs next shows up in the scheduled kick-back-and-relax, blow-off-some-steam bar fight at Mamma Gkika's, teaching Zeetha the finer points of bar-room brawl etiquette. (The warrior princess is a fast learner, of course.) While he has shown himself to still have the unflappable cool personality, he has learned that Zeetha can be a bit scary at times.

It should also be noted that he seems to have healed two broken arms, a broken leg, bullet wound and a bite (that was infected, by the way) pretty darn fast. His amazing healing abilities seem to be directly related to Gil's recent recovery, possibly indicating that Gil isn't the first non-Jäger to get treated to 'Slightly Better Than Death'. Also, he's in the secret bar.

Some fans, probably motivated by the banter between Zeetha and Airman Higgs, began Shipping the two of them under the Portmanteau Couple Name of "Zeethiggs" at this point. This gets reinforced as the two of them seem to have paired up. After Zola has made her move to escape Castle Heterodyne, Higgs and Zeetha spring into action as a team. Both of them demonstrating remarkable physical talent. Higgs feels they should stick together.

When Zola runs Zeetha through with her own sword, Higgs appears to have taken it personally. Higgs requests permission to leave Castle Heterodyne to get Zeetha to Mamma Gkika's. Tarvek notes Higgs concern for Zeetha as well as his Heterodyne connection. As he leaves, even Der Kestle joins the Shippers. Later at Mamma's, Zeetha proposes a date and Higgs accepts. Later still, Zeetha has recovered enough to go for a walk.

With the Siege of Mechanicburg turning in favor of the defenders, Zeetha can't stay out of the action. Even Da Boyz have noticed "Zeethiggs". Then Zeetha sees the man of her dreams in action. Der Kestle tells Zeetha how Higgs feels and even the authors get in on the act. As Wulfenbach forces are being routed in the streets of the town, Der Kestle sets up Higgs so Zeetha can watch him fight. . Higgs refuses to blow his cover and Zeetha saves him from being trampled. Higgs finally says what he feels. Zeetha suggests that they discuss this in private.

Hatman to the Schmott Guy
Gil reassigned Higgs to the duty of carrying his Magnificent Hat, a duty which Higgs has performed admirably, except possibly in Gil's eyes. He has been accused by Gil of trying to cheer him (Gil) up. Though somewhat less unstoppable in the situation he's been railroaded into, he still shows great cunning and foresight (he quickly and quietly ditched the Hat when he realized Gil would rather not reveal himself as a Wulfenbach to Zola just yet).

Has since taken a currently containing the Castle's consciousness, and apparently used that to determine whether or not the construct was functioning properly, while remaining deadpan, being apparently unhurt, and leaving a silhouette punched into the stone wall behind him.

he smacked the Muse in half. With a wrench. And his motivation for doing so appears to have been that it was about to reveal his true identity. Otherwise, presumably he would have stopped it in a way that better allowed for future repairs, and which would not have raised questions about his (apparently) new-found enormous strength. And with his expression, he makes it clear to Tarvek that the others are not to be encouraged to suspect that he has a secret. He has subsequently made it clear that whatever secret Tarvek knows

He subsequently leads the others through the castle to Lucrezia's chambers and the secret passages beyond, claiming to have "found a map" that describes the  (Theopholous DuMedd wisely decides not to question Higgs' knowledge, despite Sleipnir O'Hara's whispered protest and confusion). There, he displays superhuman strength, speed and durability when he goes toe-to-toe with Zola while the latter is powered by a nearly-fatal dose of Moveit #11. Despite sustaining four different sword wounds that would disable or outright kill a human, Higgs not only stays upright and fighting but seems not to feel pain at all.

Clearly, we can expect him to play an important role in the story at some point in the future; he is probably far older than he seems, as he displays what seems to be that matches even that of the piece of Castle Heterodyne's intelligence implanted into the Muse. In the three years after Agatha's disappearance from Mechanicsburg, he has remained in Gil's service.

The Works
In The Works, The Unstoppable Higgs is given the epithets Hero and Sidekick. He is depicted as a young blond man with a sleepy grin. In his right hand he holds a full stein with a voluptuous feminine relief on it. He wears blue pants, a brown and orange horizontally striped button-down shirt with bars on the lapels. Over this he wears a purple coat with orange shoulder pads. On his head is a purple sailor's tam/toque (same kind of hat in the comic). The hat appears to be labeled "BONNER", "DONNEK" or something similar. In the comic the hat is labeled "".

Possible Source of the Name
Higgs introduces himself an airman third class. In old navies, a third mate is a bosun. (sometimes written "boatswain"). In modern navies, third class is the lowest rank of non-commissioned officer. This may be a play on a Higgs boson, a proposed elementary particle of physics responsible for endowing particles with mass via the Higgs mechanism. 

The Higgs Mystery - Who is he... Really?
What We Know -

1 - Higgs appears to have an uncanny knowledge base regarding Van Rijn's Muse of Protection (who is currently possessed by the Heterodyne house) She (the muse) recognizes Higgs who silences her before she can say why.

2 - The Muse has been trapped in the House for at least the last 20 years so if she recognizes him, he must be at least 30-40 years old (possibility older than he appears to be?). Also, he reminisces with the Muse about the last Heterodyne that blew up, an ancestor of Agatha's.

3 - In his fights with the Muse and Zola, Higgs survives attacks that would kill, or at least grievously injury any unaltered human -- including being thrown into a wall hard enough to break the stone, and being impaled through the guts on Zola's sword. He is also stronger than most humans in Europa, and fast enough to surprise Zola when she's boosted by Moveit #11.

4.- At times of extreme stress, such as when Zeetha was stabbed, Higgs has briefly adopted a Mechanicsburg accent reminiscent of the kind the Jägers have ("I vas starting to like her"). This implies he may have origins in Mechanicsburg somehow. On another occasion, while remarking on Tarvek's wits, he used the phase "smart guy", which The Boyz have used in describing Gil.

5 - Higgs also has some knowledge of Castle Heterodyne's interior, although whether this is due to information resources or first-hand knowledge is unclear.

6 - While it isn't, necessarily, something in relation to Higgs, it is known that there are several more Jäger generals than the ones seen, and at least ONE is noted to be subtle, stealthy and hidden...and what better way than to hide in plain sight as a airman third class?