Punch
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This article is about a member of the Clay Family. For others in the family or other uses, see Clay (disambiguation).
| Punch | |
  Added by Acaciaonnastik | |
| Name | Punch; Adam Clay |
| Occupation | sidekick, blacksmith |
| Death | torn to pieces by Von Pinn [1] (since revived) [2] |
| Parents | created by the Heterodyne Boys |
| Children | Agatha Heterodyne (fostered) |
| Marital Status | paired with Judy, either for appearances or for real |
- "That's different. Did Punch ever mention a Master Heliotrope?"
- "No, because he couldn't talk."
- "Oh my. Not many people know that."
- "They probably also don't know that he hiccups after he encounters electricity."
- Carson von Mekkhan and Agatha [3]
Punch is one of the constructs built by the young Heterodyne Boys, along with his wife Judy. Punch has been revealed to be very strong [4], but is flawed in that he shows obvious signs of being a construct, including his huge size in addition to being a mute. [5] It is perhaps those flaws that might have helped disguise him and Judy in later years, for while some might see that he was a construct, they could not accept that this 'imperfect' work was the product of the legendary Heterodyne Boys. [6] Being active in the Heterodyne Boys' adventures, he has some impressive fighting skills, including being able to 'flick' what appear to be rivets at bullet speeds with a high degree of accuracy and control. [7]
After adventuring with his creator for a time, he went into retirement and took the name Adam Clay. The "Punch" persona remained popular as a dopey comic-relief character in Heterodyne stories, [8] much to the annoyance of Punch and those who knew him[9].
When Barry returned from parts unknown with a young Agatha, he and Lilith took charge of raising her. They eventually settled in Beetleburg, a town run by the old family friend Tarsus Beetle, where Punch worked as a blacksmith/mechanic. Their life was reasonably peaceful for a while, despite the uneasy knowledge that Barry had been gone too long and that an old friend they now suspected of something horrible was gaining more and more power. Toward the end, Beetleburg was independent in name only.
Eventually things came to a head when the Baron invaded, on the same day as Agatha's locket was stolen. While Punch and Judy searched for it, she ended up taken to Castle Wulfenbach over a misunderstanding. Fortunately the couple were skilled enough adventurers to steal an airship and track her down there, interrupting a less-than-romantic moment between their foster daughter and Gilgamesh Wulfenbach. Sadly, they were stopped on the way out by a Wulfenbach party [10] including Klaus and Von Pinn, who killed them both. Since then, Gil has revived them and it has been revealed that Punch now can speak[11]. Whether this is an improvement made by Gil (perhaps by accident, as he appeared startled when Punch spoke), or Punch could speak all along is not yet established. If he could speak before, it is theorized that he chose not to do so either to conceal a Jäger accent or because he could only speak with great difficulty, and then only in a whisper.
The last news we had was that the pair were stable enough for Gil to leave them unattended without fear of catastrophe. How soon they'll be ready for action has yet to be determined.
Of course, when they do get moving, they might find that Klaus has already made preparations for this. [12]
Outside information and speculation
Edit
When Punch and Judy kept Agatha in hiding with them as their child, they went by the aliases Adam and Lilith Clay. Adam was the name given to the first man in the Bible, and some myths refer to Lilith as the wife of Adam prior to Eve. Given that some creation accounts refer to humans being fashioned from clay, and that the medieval story of the Golem also refers to its being made from clay, it appears that the aliases chosen for Punch and Judy were intended as an ironic reference to their status as constructs. We have no explanation for why the name Lilith was chosen, other than that it would have been less obvious than Eve, though it does raise another interesting point for fan discussion on religion.
Their actual names, of course, are references to Punch and Judy, characters from a traditional English puppet show dating back to the 16th century in the real world. Whether such a show actually exists in the Girl Genius universe is unknown.
References
- ↑ Vol. III p. 103 ✣ Frunch!
- ↑ Vol. 5 p. 104 ✣ Gil's side project revealed
- ↑ Vol. VII p. 35 ✣ Carson testing Agatha with facts about Punch
- ↑ Vol. I p. 47 ✣ Adam is pretty strong…
- ↑ As Agatha and Carson discuss in the flavor quote
- ↑ See the Secret Blueprints article
- ↑ Vol. III p. 100 ✣ Punch using his rivet skills
- ↑ Vol. II p. 51 ✣ Theo mentioning 'dopey monsters'
- ↑ Vol. V p.36 ✣ Jägers describing Punch
- ↑ Vol. III p. 94 ✣ The Clays run into Klaus
- ↑ Vol. 5 p. 104 ✣ Gil's side project revealed
- ↑ Vol. VI p. 8 ✣ Klaus knows the Clays live
