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Othar Tryggvassen, Gentleman Adventurer

Othar Tryggvassen, Gentleman Adventurer
From Revenge of the Weasel Queen

Name Othar Tryggvassen
Age Unknown, but presumed young despite his white hair
Occupation Hero/Dangerous Madman (depending on your view)
First Appearance Hanging around.
Death Are you kidding? Just try to kill him!
Relatives Sister: Sanaa Wilhelm[1]
Marital Status Single/Widower?
"That letter is a fraud! Othar Tryggvassen may do things that lesser men find objectionable or slightly illegal, but I never apologize!" [2]

Othar Tryggvassen (Gentleman Adventurer) is a self-described hero determined to 'save' the world from Sparks by killing every single one of them, including, eventually, himself.[3] For whatever reason, he seems to consider Heterodynes exempt from the All Sparks Must Die rule, at least temporarily, and is very hot on the idea of Agatha Heterodyne becoming his new spunky girl sidekick. She herself is rather less enthusiastic.

Although he is quite insane, neither this nor his views and goals are widely-known; most people know of him only as a hero. This reputation seems to actually be earned, both because shooting random Sparks generally will rid the world of some (other) dangerous madmen and because he has at least some genuine heroics under his belt.[4]

He is, nonetheless, extremely unpopular among most of the Sparks who have met him, probably because he immediately attempts to murder them on discovering that they are Sparky. This is especially true for the Wulfenbachs, whom he regards as tyrants. The Baron wanted to drill into his brain[5] (but later had a job for him[6]); Gil, who has some as-yet-unelaborated history with him[7], regards Othar as dangerous, but merely wants him safely imprisoned for the sake those around him, though there does appear to be some genuine hatred between them. Despite their history, Othar currently plans to rescue Gil. He is also, like many heroes, annoyingly hard to kill; when he falls out a window[8], off an airship[9], or from some other great distance[10], it can be automatically assumed he survives.

When Othar enters a room he often announces "Othar Tryggvassen, Gentleman Adventurer, has arrived!".[11]

It has been mentioned by the authors (outside of the comic itself, so far) that he was set on his current path by the destruction of Oslo.[12] What this means is unclear, but some have speculated on the motivating power of guilt and the notoriously destructive nature of breakthrough devices.... what is certain is that he is responsible for the Great Wall of Norway[13], and that the Wall has something to do with his self-proclaimed mission. If it also has something to do with the destruction of Oslo, well... that's rash speculation. Confabulation. (Bloody likely.)

Othar is a, in addition to being a gentleman, a Deist[14], similar to many of the real-world archetypes for his Renaissance-man persona.

Contents

Othar's TwitterEdit

He also has a Twitter account[15]. It should be noted that just because he's insane doesn't mean he's stupid- though he can seem that way when his monomania leads him to edit reality[16], he is capable of surprising and even worrying insight[17] when reality runs reasonably parallel to what he thinks it should be.

RomanceEdit

Othar's sister Sanaa suspects[18], when the two reunite in the Castle Heterodyne, that Gil is Othar's boyfriend, citing as evidence for his sexual orientation his association with the "rich, smart and beautiful" Helga Gootergund--an association which ended badly, with threats of fishy cranial violence before Othar left Grimstad to keep away from her. Othar denies involvement with either individual; he is quite antagonistic toward Gil, and Helga has doubts about his sanity. According to the Radio Play "Deathwish DuPree," Othar's family wished him to marry Helga, who is the daughter of a wealthy codfishmonger. For whatever reason, she thinks that he is quite insane, and that's where the threatening violence with a marlin spike comes in.

The WorksEdit

According to The Works, Othar Tryggvassen is Mad, a Legend, and a Spark.

See alsoEdit

Secret Blueprints: Othar Tryggvassen


Possibly relevant outside information Edit

Othar Tryggvassen is probably named after Olaf Tryggvason, a real life king of Norway famous for his role in the conversion of the Vikings to Christianity, which, according to some accounts, he accomplished, in part, by having shamans executed.

Questions and Theories Edit

  • Where did he get his conviction that all Sparks must die?
  • The world map has a conspicuous hole in southeastern Norway. What happened to Oslo, and what did Othar have to do with it?
  • What's his history with Gilgamesh Wulfenbach?
  • Is that white hair due Nordic genetics - or to age or some event?
  • What does a man with such lovely blue eyes need that visor for, anyway?

References

  1. 2010-03-17 (Wednesday)
  2. Othar's Twitter 2 June 08
  3. "They're like mad dogs."
  4. Seen in Agatha's knowledge of him here -- his unwillingness to claim the one Agatha made up implies the other two actually happened.
  5. "I will destroy parts of your brain, until you no longer are a Spark."
  6. "Why do I think I'd prefer to be killed?"
  7. Enough for Gil to be annoyed that he still talks like that , and enough for him to know Gil's actual taste in women , in any case; also see here.
  8. Beamed by Gil: Oof! Foul!
  9. Disembarked by Agatha: Hey! Foul!
  10. Pitted by Castle Heterodyne: Foul!
  11. That's my thing!
  12. Mentioned here
  13. The Great Wall of Norway was a mistake.
  14. The Ultimate Spark
  15. Othar's Twitter
  16. A bad habit of his most evident on this page , but also to be seen when he expects Bangladesh DuPree to be at all helpful, or buys Agatha's line .
  17. insight ; also see the end of this
  18. Sanaa speculates on her brother's love life

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