Othar Tryggvassen, Gentleman Adventurer
From Girl Genius
| Othar Tryggvassen, Gentleman Adventurer | |
 | |
| Name | Othar Tryggvassen |
| Age | Unknown, but presumed young despite his white hair |
| Occupation | Hero/Dangerous Madman (depending on your view) |
| Residence | |
| First Appearance | here |
| Death | Are you kidding? Just try to kill him! |
| Parents | |
| Relatives | |
| Children | |
| 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!" [1]
Othar Tryggvassen is a self-described hero determined to 'save' the world from Sparks by killing every single one of them, including, eventually, himself.[2] 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.[3]
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[4] (but later had a job for him[5]); Gil, who has some as-yet-unelaborated history with him[6], merely wants him dead. He is also, like many heroes, annoyingly hard to kill; when he falls out a window, off an airship, or from some other great distance, it can be automatically assumed he survives.
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.[7] 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[8], 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.)
Contents |
[edit] Othar's Twitter
He also has a Twitter account[9]. 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[10], he is capable of surprising and even worrying insight[11] when reality runs reasonably parallel to what he thinks it should be.
[edit] The Works
According to The Works, Othar Tryggvassen is Mad, a Legend, and a Spark.
[edit] See also
Secret Blueprints: Othar Tryggvassen
[edit] Possibly relevant outside information
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.
[edit] Questions and Theories
- 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
- ↑ Othar's Twitter 2 June 08
- ↑ "They're like mad dogs."
- ↑ Seen in Agatha's knowledge of him here -- his unwillingness to claim the one Agatha made up implies the other two actually happened.
- ↑ "I will destroy parts of your brain, until you no longer are a Spark."
- ↑ "Why do I think I'd prefer to be killed?"
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Mentioned here
- ↑ The Great Wall of Norway was a mistake.
- ↑ Othar's Twitter
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ insight; also see the end of this
