Karl Ruprect Kroenen
Karl Ruprect Kroenen is a male comic character who features in Hellboy.
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Biography
Karl Ruprect Kroenen was a German scientist trying to extend life and conquer death, Dr. Kroenen was already active in the 1920s. Working for the Nazis, and a member of the Thule Society, he was presumed to be involved in an attempt to harness the 'shakti' energy force in 1930. An accident during the attempt left Kroenen injured, and the operations that saved his life left him resembling his monstrous creations and bound to live in a protective bodysuit. His later work led him to run afoul of A.N. Sandhu a number of times.
Kroenen would eventually become one of the top scientists for Project Ragna Rok, and a close disciple of Grigori Rasputin, along with Ilsa Haupstein and Leopold Kurtz. While serving Rasputin became his main goal, Kroenen would be allowed to indulge in his own projects towards creating an unstoppable army for the Reich.
In 1941, under the auspices of 'Operation Geist', he and Kurtz summoned the spirit of Albert Mayhew and bound it to the body to a German soldier for Rasputin to find and gain access to the tomb of Eugene Remy. While in Paris to find the tomb, Kroenen set up a laboratory to continue his personal project, where he was discovered by Sandhu and a young Trevor Bruttenholm. Kroenen initially had the upper hand until he was blinded and gunned down by Sandhu and left for dead. Recovering enough soon afterward, Kroenen reached Rasputin in the catacombs and found that he had killed Sandhu himself. He witnessed Mayhew opening Remy's sarcophagus and Rasputin gaining the ancient tablet he sought in the wake or Remy's retribution. Kroenen was later present with Rasputin at the secret ritual in Scotland that brought Hellboy to the world. Kroenen, Haupstein, and Kurtz have frozen inside a secret Nazi base sometime afterward, until they were resuscitated in 1994 by industrialist Roderick Zinco, acting on Rasputin's orders. Kroenen resumed work on several of his former projects, including making an 'Apocalypse Army' by combining corpses with robotics. He also convinced Zinco to retrieve the head of his colleague, Herman von Klempt, from South America. Kroenen retained an affection for his colleague, though Rasputin had rejected von Klempt as unsuitable for Ragna Rok. When von Klempt's head was re-animated, he tried to convince Kroenen to abandon Rasputin's plan - to awaken the Ogdru Jahad - and instead to use the Army to retrieve von Klempt's work in South America. Overhearing, Kurtz became furious and attacked von Klempt's head, screaming, "Rasputin is master!" In a panic, Kroenen seized a knife and stabbed Kurtz. When their plan failed, an enraged Rasputin struck Zinco blind. Wandering around, Zinco accidentally pressed a self-destruct button in the base, destroying it completely and seemingly taking Kroenen with it. Kroenen survived the explosion and reappeared in a meeting room of the Zinco Corporation with Leopold Kurtz many years later. Under the direction of Isiah Marsten, Kroenen began preparing a body to retrieve the soul of Rasputin, thinking it to be locked with the Ogdru Jahad. After acquiring a suitable body from the B.P.R.D., Kroenen and Kurtz succeeded before realizing that they had been duped by Marsten into bringing back the Black Flame instead.
Overview
Personality and attributes
Powers and abilities
Notes
- Karl Ruprect Kroenen was created by Mike Mignola where he made his first appearance in Hellboy: Seed of Destruction v1 #1 (March, 1994).
In other media
Films
- In Hellboy, Karl Ruprect Kroenen appeared in the setting of the 2004 live-action film where he was portrayed by Czech actor Ladislav Beran. This version was radically different from the comic incarnation with Kroenen being a silent murderous soldier of the Reich.
- In Hellboy, Karl Ruprect Kroenen appeared in the setting of the 2019 live-action film where he was portrayed by actor Ilko Iliev.
Appearances
- Hellboy: Seed of Destruction v1: (1994)
External Links
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