Master Payne
From Girl Genius
| Master Payne | |
 | |
| Name | Payne |
| Age | |
| Occupation | Circus master |
| Residence | Itinerant |
| First Appearance | What an entrance! |
| Death | |
| Parents | |
| Relatives | |
| Children | |
| Marital Status | Married |
Head of Master Payne's Circus of Adventure and minorly Sparky self-professed evil (or is that good?) magician. He is married to Countess Marie (to whom he often wisely defers as voice of the last word), a member of the International Brotherhood of Evil Magicians, and protective of his circus family as its pseudo-patriarch. He is responsible and deeply aware of the long-term difficulties of hiding a troupe of minor sparks in Europa. He is a captivating ringmaster in his star-spangled longcoat, and knows how to manipulate an audience with his flashy brand of illusion. He has a superstitious (or perhaps just highly intuitive) side, seriously observing and relying on Moxana's mysterious games. He is also superb at quickly assessing talent when he sees it.
Agatha first encounters him when he realizes she is on the run from Castle Wulfenbach. However, he is also responsible for keeping Agatha with the circus and disguising her from the forces of Bang Dupree and Gilgamesh Wulfenbach when they appear at the circus searching for her. Clearly, he is quick at devising a good subterfuge and respecting honorable risk-takers when he meets them. However, Master Payne is not one for foolish bravery; he knows that despite his troupe being Sparky, they are still actors and not trained to handle real combat like Zeetha or the Jägermonsters. After foolishly stealing one of the Baron's airships to rescue Agatha and faced with the horrible prospect to disband his beloved circus/family, Master Payne accepts Ardsley Wooster's offer to take the Circus of Adventure back to England.
His name, despite being a homophone for pain, may be a reference to a pane of glass, as would be used to create a mirror, appropriate for a man who uses "smoke and mirrors" to hide things.
[edit] The Works
In The Works, Master Payne is labeled (uniquely) Circus Magician.
[edit] Outside world
Art imitates life. Just like magic itself, Master Payne is very real. See him in full sparky regalia here (for as long as the link stays up) assisting the Professors Foglio with one of their popular radio plays. See also his own site here for information on how to hire him for your own great dissemblances.[1]
