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Girl Genius --Volume Nine Cast
Warning: Contains Spoilers

Cast Lists for Volumes:
One || Two || Three || Four || Five || Six || Seven || Eight || Nine

On This Page:
--Scene: In the Castle: With Agatha
--Scene: Elsewhere In the Castle
--Scene: The Great Hospital in Mechanicsburg
--Flashbacks
--Old Heterodynes
--The Faculty


The Setting for Volume Nine:

The Town of Mechanicsburg
The Ancestral Hometown of the Heterodyne Family. One can say many, many, many derogatory things about the state of the Heterodyne family's sanity, but, first and foremost, they were cunning. The townspeople were, as they say, "In on the take." While the Heterodynes rampaged over the land, the folks back home were left reasonably unmolested. In return for their loyalty, they served as minions, guards, troops and fencers of stolen goods; as opposed to everyone else, who served as experimental subjects, victims, sources of wealth and decoration. Under the Heterodyne Boys, the town changed its modus operandi, but not its underlying purpose. Today Mechanicsburg is a magnificently-crafted machine designed to separate tourists and the gullible from their money. It is also the center of several thriving black markets and smuggling operations. Still, many of the older people fondly remember the Glory Days, when "Made in Mechanicsburg" brought terror to the world at large.

Volume Nine Players:
I kind of gave up on order of appearance.
In the Castle: With Agatha

Agatha Heterodyne
(First Appearance: Vol. 1 )
The Girl Genius of the title. Agatha was recently revealed to the world as the last of the heroic Heterodyne family. Agatha is only now coming to realize her full potential as a Spark, and is finding that both her talent and her family make her a target in the eyes of the powerful.

She is now in Mechanicsburg, in the process of taking back the family castle.

Castle Heterodyne
(First Appearance: Vol. 7 )
The home of the Heterodynes. Several hundred years ago, Faustus Heterodyne modified it, turning it into a gigantic, self regulating A.I. It's been broken for years, but the stories say that when new it could repair itself, re-arrange itself, and defend itself and possibly even the town. It has the personality of old Faustus, who was an evil, bloodthirsty, megalomaniacal schemer. It is insanely loyal to the Heterodyne family, and it spends a great deal of time and effort making sure that there will be another generation of Heterodynes to carry on the trouble. Young Heterodynes learn very quickly not to bring home dates.

Castle Heterodyne was damaged years ago, and is currently not functioning properly. Part of the Castle has acknowledged Agatha as the ruling Heterodyne, but many other areas are still dangerous territory for her.
Tarvek Sturmvoraus
(First Appearance: Vol. 5 )
Prince of Sturmhalten, and descendant of the Storm King. Agatha met Tarvek while she was a prisoner in Sturmhalten. She is not sure if Tarvek is a friend or threat, his motives are murky. He is one of the few people who might be able to help Agatha rid herself of the Lucrezia personality that remains in her mind.
Moloch VonZinzer
(First Appearance: Vol. 1 )
Moloch and Agatha got off to a rocky start when Moloch's brother stole Agatha's locket; and died of it. Agatha and Moloch were captured and taken aboard Castle Wulfenbach, where Moloch was assumed to be the Spark who built the Beetleburg Clank. Actually, Agatha built the clank, a fact that the Baron's son and Moloch attempted to hide from the Baron. Moloch has just resurfaced as a prisoner in Castle Heterodyne, where he and Agatha have finally come to terms with each other. Moloch insists that he is "no-one's happy little helper," all the while carrying the luggage.
Violetta
(First Appearance: Vol. 8 )
An elite Smoke Knight who serves the Sturmvoraus family. She has just gone to a lot of trouble to rescue Tarvek, and isn't very pleased with him.
Elsewhere In the Castle
Gilgamesh Wulfenbach
(First Appearance: Vol. 1 )
The Baron's son and heir presumptive to the Wulfenbach Empire, Gil was raised in secret and only recently revealed to the World at large. Said World is less than thrilled. Gil would very much like to marry Agatha, and, as a top-notch Spark himself, has a reasonable chance of keeping up with her. Unfortunately, his father is dead set against it, what with the whole "possibly crazed person responsible for the last twenty years of war and assorted atrocities" thing. Gil wants nothing more than to find Agatha and sort all this out, and he might soon get his wish.
Zola "Heterodyne"
(First Appearance: Vol. 7 )
A young woman who claims to be the Heterodyne girl who beat Baron Wulfenbach. (Of course, we all know she's not, that was Agatha...) She has backers who have yet to reveal their agenda.

Theopholous DuMedd
(First Appearance: Vol. 2 )
Theo is Agatha's cousin. His mother was one of the less-famous Mongfish sisters. Until recently, he believed he was without any living family.

Most of his life was spent as a student on board the giant airship Castle Wulfenbach. There, he was well-liked and respected for his abilities as a Spark and his glamorous family connection. He was also an inventive story teller, with a penchant for Heterodyne stories. As children, Theo and Gil were good friends, but Theo had no idea that Gil was the Baron's son. The two lost touch when Gil went away to Paris, each blamed the other for the lack of communication. They reconnected briefly while Agatha was on board the Castle, but had very little time to get to know each other again.

Theo was last seen on board Castle Wulfenbach, helping Agatha escape from the Baron. He chose to remain behind on the Castle long enough to see if any of the other students wanted to run away with him, but promised to meet up with Agatha in Mechanicsburg. Agatha told him that Gil had "some kind of invisibility device" that might help him escape.

While Agatha was with the Circus, she received a visit from Othar Tryggvassen, who had recently met Theo on the road. It is from Theo that Othar learned that Agatha was part of the Heterodyne family.

Sleipnir O'Hara
(First Appearance: Vol. 2 )
Last seen on board the airship Castle Wulfenbach, where she was a student. Sleipnir is an childhood friend of Gil, but lost touch with him when he went away to the University in Paris. They saw each other very briefly again while Agatha was on board Castle Wulfenbach.

Sleipnir befriended Agatha on board the Castle. She, along with several of the other students, helped Agatha escape from Castle Wulfenbach.

Krosp I--Emperor of all Cats
(First Appearance: Vol. 2 )
A failed experiment designed to rule over all Catkind. Sadly, Cats are too ineffective to be good for much. Krosp escaped from Castle Wulfenbach with Agatha and considers her his first and only subject, even though she isn't technically a cat. Krosp is the cynical voice of reason and practicality, and thus is usually ignored.
Zeetha, Daughter of Chump
(First Appearance: Vol. 4 )
A Princess of the Lost City of Skifander, Zeetha doesn't remember how she got to Europe, so she's lost as well. She met Agatha while performing martial-arts tricks with Master Payne's Circus. Agatha was the first person who'd even heard of Skifander, in a story told by her uncle, Barry Heterodyne. Zeetha has now joined Agatha, with the idea of helping find Barry. She has also taken Agatha on as 'Kolee-dok-zumil', and is teaching her self defense, martial arts, and how to act like a princess. (It apparently involves swords and rescuing princes and such.)

Zeetha may or may not have been sent by an as-yet unspecified person to kill Gilgamesh Wulfenbach, for as-yet unspecified reasons.
The Unstoppable Higgs
(First Appearance: Vol. 7 )
Machinist Mate third Class Higgs has quietly served aboard various Wulfenbach airships for ten years without distinction. Recently he survived a airship crash and succeeded in rescuing the Baron while he was at it. Everyone was very impressed. Recently, Higgs met Gil in Mamma Gkika's and has now been assigned to carrying Gil's Fabulous Hat. (A gaudy, but heartfelt, gift from the Jägers.)
 
Zola's Minions
(First Appearance: Vol. 7 )
A bunch of guys in funny hats who appear to be along to carry the equipment and get killed.
Professor Hristo Tiktoffen
(First Appearance: Vol. 7 )
A senior prisoner within Castle Heterodyne. He is an "old timer," meaning he's been there for longer than three months. In charge of figuring out the layout of the defenses, wiring and such, and also one of the people who keep track of how many points prisoners earn. When someone is sentenced to work in Castle Heterodyne, they are sentenced not in years, but in points. They have to complete X number of points of service in order to be released. Go-getters, while they accumulate points quickly, also tend to take on more dangerous assignments and thus die. Some slackers have survived for years by doing nothing. Hristo is actually part of the conspiracy to install a false Heterodyne.
Back to the Top
Scene: The Great Hospital in Mechanicsburg
Sergeant Scorp
(First Appearance: Vol. 6)

An old soldier. One of the Wulfenbach soldiers who specializes in dealing with slaver wasps and revenants. Scorp was injured a bit in the chaos surrounding Agatha's escape from Sturmhalten in Volume Six, but appears to have been patched up nicely in the Hospital at Mechanicsburg.
Captain
(First Appearance: Vol. 9)

One of the Wulfenbach soldiers currently charged with keeping things from getting any hairier in Mechanicsburg.
Major Resetti and Lieutenant "Scopes" Krishnamurti of the First Subterranean Mecha Mole Brigade.
Craft: Dante's Gadabout.

(First Appearance: Vol. 9)

Wulfenbach affiliated.
Grantz
(First Appearance: Vol. 9)

A monster hunter. She has a package to deliver to the Baron.
Sergeant Nak (Formerly: Big Green Hairy Guy)
(First Appearance: Vol. 8 )
First seen with the Wulfenbach troops who try to stop Gil on the street. Later we meet him while he is guarding the front entrance to the Great Hospital. He appears to like Grantz.
Bangladesh DuPree
(First Appearance: Vol. 3 )
Our favorite bloodthirsty maniac. A dethroned pirate queen currently working for Baron Wulfenbach.
Baron Klaus Wulfenbach
(First Appearance: Vol. 1 )
Probably the most powerful Spark around. Rules a large part of Europe from his vast airship Castle Wulfenbach. Even though he traveled with the Heterodyne Boys in his younger days, and therefore has some claim to "hero" cred, he is now considered a despot. He's the first to admit that he is a despot, but he doesn't enjoy it. The Baron tried his best to capture Agatha because he believes her to be The Other, a malevolent Spark who almost destroyed Europe nineteen years ago. This idea was bolstered when Agatha, who was being possessed by The Other at the time, infected Klaus with a new form of slaver wasp, unleashed monsters upon the city of Sturmhalten, beat back his army, and dropped a chicken house on him. (Actually, Agatha wasn't possessed when she dropped the chicken house on the Baron, that was all her own doing. But he'd got her mad.) He is currently recuperating at the Great Hospital in Mechanicsburg.
Othar Tryggvassen
(First Appearance: Vol. 2 )
Gentleman Adventurer and Professional Hero. Thinks of Agatha as his "Spunky Girl Sidekick," but still tried to kill her when he found out she was a Spark. Othar's sworn mission is the destruction of all of the World's Sparks--including, eventually, himself.
Characters in Flashbacks
Baron Oublenmach & Duke Strinbeck
(First Appearance: Vol. 7 )
Some of the people behind the false Heterodyne. Oublenbach's current whereabouts are unclear, the last mention of him implied that he may not have been on board the airship at the time of its capture.
As far as we can tell, Strinbeck is currently learning to fly after threatening to have the airship crew flayed alive.
Their airship and her crew were captured by Baron Wulfenbach after Agatha activated a Castle Heterodyne security system that chased them from the skies above Mechanicsburg.
Back to the Top
Old Heterodynes
Heterodyne Shows
The Heterodynes aren't really around anymore, but they still have a big impact. Heterodyne Shows are popular commedia-style stage plays featuring well-known adventures of the Heterodyne Boys and other popular folk heroes. Shows of this type can be found all over Europe. Although some of them may have roots in actual historical events, most are simply entertainments created and added to by innumerable theatre troops for the entertainment of a public which has no interest in anything so boring as facts.
 Bill and Barry: The Heterodyne Boys
(First Mention: Vol. 1 )(First "Appearance": Vol. 2 )
A generation ago, Bill and Barry Heterodyne renounced their family's tradition of evil, and traveled the World righting wrongs, helping the helpless, and having fantastic adventures. They gathered together a group of like-minded individuals and changed the face of Europe. But after Bill's wife Lucrezia was kidnapped and his son killed in a mysterious attack on Castle Heterodyne, they began a long war with the mysterious Other, which culminated in their disappearance. The peace they worked for fell into ruin, paving the way for the far less patient Baron Wulfenbach. Today, close to twenty years later, they are still great favorites in song and story. Many say that they will someday return, bringing about the fall of Wulfenbach and free beer for all.
Lucrezia Mongfish
(First "Appearance": Vol. 2 )
The Beautiful Daughter of one of the Heterodyne Boys most persistent foes, Lucifer Mongfish. She is/was worshipped as a Goddess (for reasons that her family always found a bit confusing) by a lost civilization of ghost-white amazons living near her father's secret base/summer home. After a series of futile clashes with the Heterodynes, she eventually married Bill and joined the Forces of Good. This lasted until Castle Heterodyne was attacked while the Heterodyne Boys were off on a mission. That was the last anyone in Europe ever heard of Lucrezia, and she was presumed to have been kidnapped by the mysterious person who came to be known as "the Other." In reality, as Agatha has recently discovered, Lucrezia herself is the Other. Her purposes are, as yet, unexplained.
The Other
Big Nasty Mysterious Spark of unknown origin. Made a real mess of Europe before the Heterodynes went off to put a stop the whole business. They must have succeeded, because the Other's attacks stopped right around the time they disappeared. That's all most people know. Recently, Agatha has discovered that the Other was actually her own Mother, (Lucrezia Mongfish) backed by Geisterdamen priestesses and an as-yet unnamed order of knights that she apparently subverted for her own purposes.
Faustus Heterodyne
(First "Appearance": Vol. 7 )
One of the old Heterodynes, which means a dangerous madman of the first water. Faustus was responsible for "awakening" Castle Heterodyne, endowing it with his own charming personality.
Back to the Top
The Faculty

Professors Foglio and Foglio
Of the Transylvania Polygnostic University dept. of Almost Certainly True History. "We make our textbooks fun!"

Both Professors research and write their version of the life of Agatha Heterodyne, entitled Girl Genius. Professor Phil Foglio storyboards the action and draws the pictures. Colors are provided by various assistant professors. Professora Kaja Foglio does all the digital work, such as scanning, lettering, book layout and Web design. Both professors are responsible for hashing out the final scripting between them. The resulting fights are fine examples of high drama, and are spectacular to behold. No, you can't watch.

Professora Foglio provides the voice of Agatha Heterodyne in the University's popular, if dangerous, Girl Genius Radio Theatre productions. Professor Foglio does the voice for Krosp, the Emperor of Cats, Deathwish DuPree, and various others, depending upon how he feels that day.

Professor Cheyenne Wright
Professor Wright teaches Advanced Experimental Color Theory at Transylvania Polygnostic University. He also provides the beautiful colors for Professors Foglio and Foglio's popular graphic textbooks on the life of Agatha Heterodyne, and performs the voice of: "Othar Tryggvassen, Gentleman Adventurer!" for the University's controversial radio plays.
Winslow
HI! He's everywhere. All hail.


Cast Lists for Volumes:
One || Two || Three || Four || Five || Six || Seven || Eight || Nine


Girl Genius is written by Professors Phil & Kaja Foglio of TPU, with drawings by Prof. P. Foglio.
Volume One was inked by Brian Snoddy. Volumes Two and Three were colored by Mark McNabb. Volume Four was colored by Laurie E. Smith. Cheyenne Wright is our current colorist. His work begins with Volume Five. Our email and social media assistant is Chris Sorensen.

Girl Genius is a registered trademark of Studio Foglio, LLC. Agatha Heterodyne, Transylvania Polygnostic and all Girl Genius art, characters, design elements and logos™ & ©2000-2022 Studio Foglio, LLC., All rights reserved. Airship Entertainment™ is an imprint of Studio Foglio LLC, and publishes Girl Genius Graphic Novels on a yearly basis. Look for them in your favorite bookstore!

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