This monstrous bipedal Clank is introduced powering a large freight-elevator in the lower levels of the Corbettite Depot Fortress of St. Szpac. When Krosp critiques this arrangement as inefficient, Brother Ulm counters that before being installed on lift duty decades ago, Humongulus had been known to "level mountains" ✣ .
Humongulus sports a vaguely cathedral-like motif, and shares certain design similarities with the armor ✣ worn and operated by Count Wolkerstorfer, possibly indicating they have a designer in common. Humongulus also has an inscription on its chest that reads Dost thou even lyft?
It seems very proud of its work and brags that it is the "primary clank in this location", an assessment that Zeetha appears to agree with. This boast is put to the test when Humongulus is brought into the fray as part of Agatha's plan to halt the on-going rampage of The Beast.
Years after Mechanisburg is reclaimed, Humongulus participates in a quest to retrieve a dragon's horde after being beaten in a fight by Franz Scortchmaw.
Latin[]
Humongulus, during his fight with The Beast, is paralyzed by its magnetic fields, prompting the mighty clank to say "Non est frigidus!", Latin for "It's not cold!"
Since Humongulus lived with (presumably) Catholic Monks, his understanding of Latin is perfectly reasonable.
It is possible, given Humongulus' personality, that a more accurate translation would be "It's not cool!" or even just "Not cool!"
That setback aside, Humongulus does indeed help defeat The Beast, holding it immobile long enough for other attacks to be inflicted on it.
The Future[]
Franz encounters Humongulus
In the 2022 side-story Franz Scortchmaw and The Story We Haven't Named Yet, set at some point after the Other War, it is revealed that Humongulus has been assigned to help with post-siege reconstruction work at the Corbettite station which services Mechanicsburg.
Humongulus challenges Franz to a brawl when Franz arrives to take a train. Franz wins by a well-planned stratagem, but freely admits that Humongulus has him beat in sheer strength. Humongulus heartily approves of this outcome, and begins referring to Franz as "brother".
Later in the same story, Humongulus unexpectedly reappears, joining Franz and others on their quest to claim the hoard of the late Hydrargyos. During the journey, Humongulus clears an ash choked lake bed during a single night as the others make camp. As Humongulus and Franz get to know each other better, they seem to strike up a friendship. When Franz allows himself to be temporarily altered to match Hydrargyos's alchemical composition, he again defeats the clank by pinning him under a large stone pillar and then pries him free after returning to normal. The expedition does finally gain access to the hoard, whereupon Humongulus suffers another defeat at the hands of the resident Fun-Sized Mobile Agony and Death Dispenser, starting with one of his legs getting ripped off.
After ✣ the expedition, a newspaper article proclaims that Humongulus is Mechanisburg's newest knight. Franz later ✣ decides to invite Humongulus on the band's newest adventure.
Possibly relevant outside information[]
"Do you even lift?" is a Internet meme[1] used disparagingly on weight-lifting and fitness forums. The general shape of Humongulus also brings to mind, in an exaggerated way, that of real-world professional weight-lifters.
The humongulus is a large number, 10![1]w /103 (as expressed in hyperfactorial array notation), according to the large number encyclopedia[2].
“Homunculus” is an alchemical term for a miniature, artificially created human[3]
Humongulus made a cameo appearance in the paintball-themed webcomic The Whiteboard.[4]