Baron Klaus Wulfenbach/Mad

Character Analysis
aptly lists him among other classic examples of the, an uncommon role in fiction best summed up as “a villain with noble goals”. While he is feared for his ruthless methods, and he can be extremely dangerous when provoked, his motives are political stability and his love for his son, Gilgamesh. It is his personality and his willingness to commit morally questionable acts in the pursuit of his goals that causes him to conflict with the protagonists. However, his nobler qualities, along with his extremely dry sense of humor and cloistered romantic nature, have earned him a loyal cadre among the fans of Girl Genius.

His role in telling Agatha’s story is vital because his history provides not only the framing, but the continuity between her parents’ generation and her own. Without the Baron’s background, there is little context for naïve, small-town Agatha’s current struggles and the state of her world. He also contributes a “Scylla or Charybdis” dramatic conflict for Agatha to resolve; i.e., some of his actions must be opposed, but eliminating him would make things worse.

In Heterodyne shows within the Girl Genius universe, Klaus is usually portrayed as cowardly or traitorous and functions as the much-abused comic relief. He has also been subject to rumors that he was really The Other or that he fled Europe after being rejected by Lucrezia. The real Baron Wulfenbach seems to tolerate these portrayals, making no attempt to censor them. This comic role is occassionally echoed within the series itself, such as with his foiling by Othar , paranoia about female Sparks, or manhandling by Bang. To paraphrase the actor who played him in Master Payne’s Circus, he’s comic because he tries to maintain his dignity. However, it is his stoic dignity, which highlights the more tragic elements of his character, that makes him so compelling and memorable.

Tropes fitting this character

 * : See comments above on his attempts to maintain dignity.
 * : One of the tropes that fits him during his time with the Heterodyne Boys.

Theories on Klaus' Spark
Klaus’s Spark: He is a kind of meta-spark, which makes sense if he were in fact built up out of multiple sparks.

Location of Wulfenbach Lands
Careful study of the map for sale on Cafepress seems to indicate that his lands are on the western edge of the Transylvanian Plateau compared to current/our-universe maps of Romania) - near the city of Cluj-Napoca (a/k/a Klausenburg -- no, really).

The Wulfenbachs themselves could be of the Transylvanian ethnic group called “Saxons”, Germans hired in the 1100s as mercenaries to guard borders and as miners to improve the local economy, who settled and flourished in their new lands.

Implications
Okay, bear with me here. Take in everything that is the Baron Klaus Wulfenbach. His birthplace. His reputation for both ruthless cruelty and unrelenting attempts at fairness. The divided opinions; heartless dictator or just tyrant?

Here’s a story.

A merchant was traveling through a certain ruler’s capital city on business. After hearing about the ruler’s tight reign on the city, he decided his takings would be safe in his wagon while he was spent the night at the inn. Upon his return in the morning he discovered that 160 gold coins had been stolen from his wagon. He immediately asked for an audience with the ruler.

He informed the ruler of the theft and was told by the ruler that the coins would be returned and the criminal punished. The ruler then issued a statement to the city - the coins were to be returned and the thief found or he would have the city destroyed. Later that night the ruler himself returned the coins from his own funds - and added 1 extra gold coin.

In the morning the merchant returned to the ruler and told him the money was returned, but that a single gold coin had been added. The ruler informed him that the thief had been captured and punished, but if he had not confessed as to the extra coin he would have been punished as well.

Guess which ruler I’m referring to. Kalaong 15:00, 8 March 2009 (UTC)

Status as a Construct
Klaus von Wulfenbach is a construct, because the Foglios have stated this. However, so far, his status as a construct has not been referred to in the story itself. The power he wields with an iron fist could, of course, be sufficient reason to account for this.

But there is another consideration. In the Girl Genius universe, the term “construct” is apparently a broad one.

Thus, the J&auml;germonsters are also classed as constructs. Again from outside information supplied by Kaja Foglio, we know that they were living people who obtained their great strength, fearsome appearance, extended lifespan, and superior sense of smell through drinking a potion.

But apparently a typical construct is a being such as von Pinn or Zon or Torsti Lechwa or Agatha’s guardians at the beginning of the story, Punch and Judy. That is, an artificial human, constructed from pieces taken from corpses, and animated by the use of electricity, like Frankenstein’s monster.

Even Punch and Judy, who raised Agatha from childhood, and successfully posed as normal humans for many years, and who could therefore be assumed to be among the best of constructs, having mental limitations. Apparently, this type of construct lies somewhere on the continuum between a normal human being and a clank. Much closer to a human being than to a clank, it is true, but still without a fully-developed free will, still at least partially mechanical in thinking.

Klaus von Wulfenbach exhibits no sign of any such limitation. But he does have big stitches holding pieces of his body together, just like Punch or Judy.

My conclusion is that if he qualifies as a construct because some of the pieces from which he was patched together were not originally his, it is still the case that his brain either wasn’t revived from death or at least wasn’t dead long enough to require the normal method of revival used when a corpse’s brain is placed in a construct, and so the impression that might be given by terming Klaus a construct would be a genuinely unfair one in his case.

He wasn’t patched together from (relatively) long-dead corpses by a member of the Wulfenbach family in desperate need of an heir. He isn’t the typical construct that first comes to mind on hearing that word.

(It may also be noted that while we know that the rules of succession of the Fifty Families would disqualify Zulenna once she is revived from the dead, we have not been explicitly told whether, after such revival, she would be classed as a construct. However, if Klaus is included in that category, it would seem likely.) -- Quadibloc

As Wulfenbach is a house, with ancestral lands and a castle (since destroyed), it is unlikely that he is entirely artificial. Given his penchant for biological engineering, it is possible that he reconstructed himself to be faster, stronger, and maybe even sparkier.

A Theory on How the Baron Became a Construct
Including speculation on his family, especially his parents, presented in the form of a work of storytelling.(fanfiction) In short, the theory is that Klaus was reassembled by his parents, as opposed to Bill and Barry. This was developed primarily from:
 * Klaus's parents were both Gifted scientists who ran their small holdings well, used their talents for the good of their people and for the most part kept out of the politics so common among the Gifted. This couple is said to have had three sons, all Sparks of varying degrees, who worked in the lab alongside their parents.  Klaus is the only one that anyone has seen in years. SB undefined

And also in small part from:

Missing Years: Klaus was sent to Skifander
One common theory is that, after Lucrezia drugged him, she sent him to Skifander, where he married someone of Skifander descent and fathered Gil. Points in favor:
 * He was gone for approximately three years and there was plenty of time for this to occur.
 * Klaus Skiff.
 * Although he had never seen Zeetha before the Battle of Sturmhalten, he had reason to believe that, implying that Gil had some connection to Skifander.
 * Now that Zeetha has had a few conversations with Gil, she seems to know something significant about their relationship.
 * The name "Gilgamesh" has the same geographical origin as "Ishtar", which seems to have been the inspiration for the Skifander goddess Ashtara.

Responses
The theory is based mostly on circumstantial evidence. We know that Agatha's Uncle Barry and both knew of Skifander, indicating that some sort of adventure took place there. It's likely that Klaus, as one of the adventuring companions of The Heterodyne Boys, would have gone with them. Although a lot is implied by the behavior of Zeetha and Klaus, very few of the facts are concrete. It's possible the readers will be thrown a curveball and the assumed version of events will be.

Queen of Skifander
At one point, Klaus mentions having a. It's worth noting that he uses the present tense when referring to her. Some have speculated that she is the Warrior Queen of Skifander, based on both Zeetha's reactions and the idea that if Klaus married anyone in Skifander that it would be the Queen.

Responses
It does seems more likely that he would attract the attention of a powerful female Spark (who, of course, would then try to ), but the bases stated above are the flimsiest possible reasons. Zeetha is also not necessarily the only heir, given the possibility of an electoral royal family, a pool of heirs (primogeniture is rather patriarchal). More crumbs are needed for this to be other than sugarspun wishful thinking.

Zeetha is Klaus's daughter
Based on both the Skifander theory and the idea that his wife is the mysterious Warrior Queen, some fans speculate that Zeetha is therefore his daughter. Points in favor of this theory:
 * Zeetha's exact age is unknown, which could make her either younger, older, or even a twin of Gilgamesh.
 * Her behavior is consistent with a brother/sister relationship.

Responses

 * If the whole Skifander theory is true, and Zeetha is almost certainly the daughter of the Warrior Queen, it's also possible that she's merely a half-sister to Gil and that they do not share the same father.
 * Unlike Gil, Zeetha has not exhibited any Sparky tendencies. However, it's also possible that she never broke through because she was never trained in sciences, that her spark favors swordwork and not hard science, or that the Baron's spark was simply not passed along to her.

Outside World
The Baron has his own fan club, the Klaus Defence League (KDL). He has also established consular missions to several gaslamp/steampunk lands in the otherdimensional realm called “Second Life”.

Quote: ''[http://kajafoglio.livejournal.com/130218.html?thread=2707370 “Oh, dear me. Your icon distills the reason I’m in love with Klaus...”]'' -- Corgi, quoting Kaja Foglio.

The meaning(s) of “Klaus Wulfenbach”

 * [From Wikipedia] The male given name Nicholas is derived from the Greek Νικόλαος, Nikólaos, a combination of the words for “victory” (níkē) and “people” (laós).

The name can be understood to mean victory of the people although some say it means “power of the people”. In addition, “laos” or “λαός” in Greek, originates from the word root “-las”, as found in the word “λα-τομείο” meaning “stone” or “rock”.

(In Greek Mythology, Deucalion and Pyrrha recreated the people after they had vanished in a catastrophic deluge, by throwing stones behind their shoulders while they kept marching on). The name became popular through Saint Nicholas, Bishop of Myra in Lycia, the inspiration for Santa Claus.
 * Male variations
 * Variations for males include:
 * German: Claus, Claas, Klaas, Klaus, Klas, Nickolaus, Nicolas, Nicolaus, Niklaus, Nikolaus, Niklas, Nico, Niko
 * Although the name “Wulfenbach” had been inspired by the gothic romance The Castle of Wolfenbach per confession of Professora Foglio, the name elements can be cheerfully translated as “Wolf Creek”.
 * Although the name “Wulfenbach” had been inspired by the gothic romance The Castle of Wolfenbach per confession of Professora Foglio, the name elements can be cheerfully translated as “Wolf Creek”.
 * Although the name “Wulfenbach” had been inspired by the gothic romance The Castle of Wolfenbach per confession of Professora Foglio, the name elements can be cheerfully translated as “Wolf Creek”.

The Wulfenbach badge reinforces the idea of his family being (Sachsen). As indicated on The Map, the Wulfenbach lands are not far from where Cluj-Napoca is in our world; Cluj is also known as Klausenburg, and is part of the Siebenbürgen, the seven principal fortified cities of the ethnic Germans brought in as mercenary border troops. The traditional arms for the former duchy or principality of Siebenbürgen include seven very familiar-looking towers.

Reference images: Siebenbürgen coat of arms with Sachsen, Sz&eacute;kely and Magyar symbols, Siebenbürgen coat of arms (provenance not given)

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