The Captain (大尉,, Taii) is a major antagonist in the Hellsing series created by Kohta Hirano. He doesn't have a speaking role in the entirety of the OVA, nor does he have any dialogue in the manga.

The Captain is The Major's silent, stoic adjutant and bodyguard; he stands subservient to the wishes of The Major, acting as one of his prime right-hand men and ever faithful bodyguard. The Captain is a natural werewolf, able to transform at will and fight in either human or werewolf form. He is the strongest soldier that the Last Battalion bears, the leader of the Werwolf Squad, and the namesake in which the elite squad is named after.

Appearance

The Captain was a tall man on par with Alucard and Anderson. He had a squared face with tanned skin in all medias of which he appeared, messy, unkempt blond hair, and bright red pupils.^[a] Underneath his coat, The Captain was shown to be extremely muscular. His wolf form could manifest along his body even in his human form. He wore a full uniform in the main story, which consisted of an overcoat similar to the brownish yellow Afrika Korps greatcoat with its neckguard constantly turned up and an M43 officer's cap emblazoned with the Totenkopf symbol.^[b] His trousers were the same color of brownish yellow, and he wore dark brown boots along with a pair of white gloves.^[c]

Personality

The Captain was mostly an expressionless man, not speaking a single word throughout the entire series. It was unknown why this was so, whether he was simply taciturn or unable to speak. He was a taciturn man who never showed emotion and carried out his duties without hesitation. Hirano's intentions in making The Captain spare Heinkel remains unclear though it may simply have been that Hirano intended to show that The Captain was more noble than his comrades, and/or had some sense of chivalry for fellow warriors.

He typically displayed a grim, determined, and gloomy expression. almost never smiling. His emotions only surfaced once, upon his eventual death, whereupon he was delighted.

His exact personality is hard to place, though he had been utterly obedient and monstrous in battle. Even in battle or enduring pain, the werewolf's expressions did not change much. His most expressive moments were during the final battle when Alucard released all his seals,^[2] surprising and alarming The Captain, and when Seras Victoria finally killed him, in which he smiled widely.^[3] He declined to participate in any action or celebration, even during the tribute to Rip Van Winkle.^[4] During The Major’s grand and bombastic speeches, The Captain maintained a near-constant icy demeanor, unmoved by actions unfolding before him.

He is not unkind, and never cruel, as he spared Heinkel, kept his agreement with Walter, allowed Schrodinger to view his pamplet over his shoulder when the absent minded boy lost his, and also chuckled warmly at his eventual death.

The Captain also seemed to have had a certain level of chivalry, as he denied killing Heinkel, instead firing into her jaw and offering a first-aid kit.^[5][6] He also allowed Integra to pass, even helpfully pointing out the correct path to follow.^[7] Although this could have been simply following previous orders. He did not taunt or jeer at his opponents, only glared menacingly and intensely at them with his eyes. The Captain met his final end with nothing but dignity and pride—having keenly noted that he could have slaughtered Seras with a moment's notice, he had deliberately led the battle to a bullion horde of confiscated Jewish treasures and pointedly kicked a silver Jewish tooth into her hands.^[8] Bemused, Seras simply studied the silver tooth, but her familiar, Pip Vernedead, pointed out that The Captain was a "nice dog" and noted that he had generously provided the very method of his own undoing, which is the final, and perhaps the greatest, testimony to his chivalry; he chose Seras to put him down, dying with a childlike cackle of wondrous joy and indeed apparent utter satisfaction.^[9][10][11]

Relationships

Allies

• The Major: It is unknown how The Captain met The Major; however, it is known that nonetheless, He was absolutely loyal towards him, carrying duties with extreme efficiency and without hesitation.^[12][13] When Walter threw the butter knife at The Major, The Captain stopped it mid-air with his hand, later caught Walter's Monofilament Wires and was ordered by The Major to fight Walter.^[14] The Major showed extreme faith in The Captain, showing no doubts in his ability as a natural werewolf, and stated that it was the sole reason why they should rely on him and no one else.^[15] In the first place, the Werwolf Squad was originally a name used only for The Captain, who was a real werewolf.^[16]

• Schrödinger: Despite his silence, he could have been seen to have had a tolerance for Schrodinger by allowing the boy to read his pamphlet on invading London over his shoulder, with no objection or consternation.^[17] The Captain's menacing glare would have also scared Schrödinger.^[18][19]

Enemies

• Seras Victoria: Having been Seras' toughest enemy she had overcome, it was possible that The Captain fought Seras seeking death. When Vernedead caught the finishing blow and impaled The Captain's heart with the silver tooth, The Captain died smiling—the first time he had shown any extreme emotion. Vernedead described him as a child who'd just had a smashing dream.^[20]

• Walter C. Dornez: The two had a history of fighting with each other. When the invasion started, The Captain brought Walter to the airship so that he could undergo the de-aging and vampirism process. Later, the two were seen side-by-side at multiple points in the series before Walter fought Alucard.

Powers and Abilities

Lycanthropy
As he was a natural werewolf,[21][22] the most prized asset of Millennium, and the leader of the Werwolf Squad, The Captain was inherently strong.[23][24] He fought with little regard for the damage done to his own body. This was likely because of his great regenerative powers and because, as evident by the fight with Seras, he wanted to die. He was very agile in battle and used his iron skin to stop lethal enemy attacks in their tracks. Alucard remarked he thought their species had been defeated, implying that The Captain was the last of his kind.[25] Like the other Trump Cards, his strength was unparalleled, with only a few being close to matching him in sheer might.[26]
Abilities
OVA Manga	Superhuman Strength: The Captain displayed monstrous physical strength. He was strong enough to overwhelm Walter's wires with one hand, bend steel bars and shatter limbs with a single kick.[27] He utterly overwhelmed Seras several times during their fight. He casually kicked away a missile that Seras had tossed at him with enough force to completely bend the entire casing.[28] Even Alucard himself balked at The Captain's raw strength.
OVA Manga	Superhuman Speed and Reflexes: The Captain displayed phenomenal speed. In London, after injuring Heinkel Wulf, he traveled across the city with astonishing speed, appearing as a bolt of lightning.[29] He was able to avoid Walter's wires in The Dawn[30] and caught his wires with a single hand in Hellsing[31]; The Captain was the only known person who was able to intercept and catch Walter's Monofilament Wires, further indicating his impressive senses and heightened speed. He dodged Seras' dark tendrils with ease,[32]remaining untouched by them through the duration of the fight until he was caught off-guard[33] and, at one point, dodged a kick from her traveling at high speeds just exiting a cloud of smoke.[34][35]
OVA Manga	Superhuman Durability and Endurance: His iron-like flesh was mostly able to withstand Walter's wires, which could easily slice solid steel, even as they were tightened around his bare neck, although his fingers were shown to bleed slightly while holding them in his hands.[36][37] He could fall great distances without sustaining any damage, as seen when he was deployed during the great battle in London.[38] He withstood a large nearby explosion from a missile that left him completely unscathed.[39]
Supernatural Accuracy: The Captain could accurately aim a weapon and hit a target without looking at them, as seen when he badly maimed Heinkel.
	Regeneration: The Captain had potent regenerative ability, as he quickly regenerated his mutilated hand in The Dawn as well as many other injuries sustained by Walter, including having half his head shredded by wires.[40][41][42] During his fight, Seras, he was impaled by her shadows but easily reformed via mist.[43] Only silver caused him to truly bleed and finally be killed.[44][45]
Immortality: The Captain appeared exactly as he did fifty years ago during The Dawn. This would indicate he had biological immortality.
Shapeshifting
OVA Manga	Mist Body: He had the ability to take on an invulnerable and intangible mist-like form, which allowed him to evade attacks, even ones designed to pin and trap. This form could become semi-tangible, which allowed the wolfhead to cause damage. The Captain had the ability to use his mist abilities to fend off attacks.[46] He did so while fighting Seras, abruptly halting the progress of her tendrils.[47] However, he was unable to deal any damage until he reassumed some sort of corporeality.
OVA Manga	Werewolf Form: The Major stated in The Dawn that The Captain was a natural werewolf.[48] He possessed the ability to change from his humanoid form into a large white wolf. The wolf was a considerable size, standing taller than Seras at its shoulders.[49] Supernatural Strength: His strength, as a half-werewolf or a full-werewolf form, was enhanced multiple times. In his half-werewolf form, he was able to kick Alucard in two.[50] In his battle against Seras as a full werewolf, a hit sent by The Captain caused Seras to ragdoll and ricochet off the walls in the hallway multiple times.[51] Later, he smashed Seras through the floor of a zeppelin with enough power to nearly destroy her morale, leaving her to state he was too powerful.[52] Supernatural Speed and Reflexes: As a werewolf, his speed and reflexes were greatly enhanced. He could easily dodge automatic gunfire coming from Alucard's tommy gun and later caught Alucard off-guard and instantaneously kicked him in two.[53][54] In this form, he was able to easily dodge Walter's wires.[55]

Weapons

Modified Mauser C96

OVA Manga

The Mauser C96 is a semi-automatic pistol that was the preferred firearm of The Captain. Although originally designed as a sidearm, The Captain uses a modified version with an extremely long barrel. With its shoulder stock, long barrel, and high-velocity cartridge, the Mauser C96 had superior range and better penetration than most other standard pistols of its day; the 7.63×25mm Mauser cartridge was the highest velocity commercially manufactured pistol cartridge in existence until the advent of the .357 Magnum cartridge in 1935. It first appears holstered in volume 3 and it was first used in volume 9 against Heinkel. Caliber: 7.63×25mm Mauser Total length: 508mm (estimation, unofficial) Weight: ? Magazine: 10 or 20 Rounds

Concept and Creation

Hirano based off The Captain on Hans Günsche (ハンス・ギュンシュ)—a character from one of his earlier works—Desert Guardian.^[56] A callback to the one-shot is made in a chapter cover;^[57] it also implied that The Captain participated in the Malmedy massacre.

Hirano thought about putting The Captain as someone who can truly match Alucard's powers in the side of Millennium, as Iscariot has Anderson, but stated that he wasn't strong enough to be that. He also implied that The Captain is the weakest of the three, saying that he doesn't think that he would win had he joined Anderson and Alucard's battle. Hirano saw The Captain as a war machine that acted with no relation to a creed or belief and stated that The Captain didn't hold a particular grudge against either side of Iscariot or Hellsing.^[58]

Name

The Captain's title has been translated consistently as "Captain" in all official media; the guidebook is the first to name it otherwise, as it spells out his title in German, resulting in "Kapitän."^[59] Fans also refer to The Captain as his old prototype name, specifically the translation resulting in "Hans Günsche." Although this is unofficial, the name only appeared once in Hellsing as "Hance Ginsshu," but it appears in a chapter where The Captain didn't even make an appearance.^[60]

Trivia

• In chapter 3 of The Dawn, in the scene in which The Professor reacts to Walter dropping the Hellsing Organisation name, an odd textbox is placed aside The Captain, making it look like he's the one speaking.
• Despite the Totenkopf on his cap, The Captain seemed to have worn the full Afrika Korps uniform, including the sage green pants of the early '41 forces. It is also the only Heer (Army) uniform seen in the series, in direct contrast to the paramilitary Waffen SS uniforms.
• Given all evidence throughout the series, The Captain seemed to have been a member of the Wehrmacht, who were members of the German military, but for alternative reasons than believing in the Nazi ideology, such as being unwilling to fight fellow countrymen.

Footnotes

Notes

References

Character Navigation
Hellsing Agency Director(s) Abraham Van Helsing Arthur Hellsing Integra Hellsing Trump Cards Alucard Seras Victoria Staff Walter C. Dornez Dextely Alphensys Hellsing Agency Special Military Forces Pip Vernedead Wild Geese Deputy Wild Geese Round Table Council Hugh Irons Shelby M. Penwood Rob Walsh Irons IV Penwood III
Iscariot Agency Director(s) Enrico Maxwell Makube Trump Cards Alexander Anderson Staff Father Ronald Young Priest Armed Priest Vanguard Heinkel Wulf Yumiko Takagi Ninth Crusade
Millennium Project Director(s) Adolf Hitler The Major Scientist(s) The Professor The Occult Researchers The Werwolves The Captain Walter C. Dornez Schrödinger Zorin Blitz Rip Van Winkle Associates Tubalcain Alhambra Luke Valentine Jan Valentine Rheinhold Fortner Colonel
Miscellaneous Characters London Police Commander Vicar Richard Hellsing Chief Malfas Huger and Jessica Mark and Nepis The Pope Julia Edward Traitorous Bishop Ferdo Paciel The Queen Mrs. Victoria Mr. Victoria Dracula Mina Harker Arthur Holmwood Jack Seward Quincey Morris Jonathan Harker Crossfire Maxwell Anderson Aphram Unnamed Priest Ilyushin Mr. Ridgeway Abraham Van Rogh Tomily Fedeo Prototype Alucard Yuri Kate Hellman Hellman's Brother