Jägermonsters

The Jägermonsters (singular: Jägermonster), also called the Jägers (singular: Jäger) or the Jägerkin, are a group of Constructs from the print-and-web comic Girl Genius by Phil and Kaja Foglio.
The Jägermonsters are an army of super-soldier monsters who have served the House Heterodyne for centuries, acting as their main military force. All of the Jägers were originally humans who drank the Jägerbrau (or Jägerdraught), which transformed them into monstrous super-soldiers. They are unable to die of old age, so the typical Jäger is centuries old.
==History==
===Under the Old Heterodynes===
The Jägerdraught was created, and thus the first Jägermonsters made, over half a millenia before the comic's start by Vlad "the Blasphemous" Heterodyne (Vol. 9 p. 112). Upon drinking the draught, a select few of the Heterodyne's best fighters were mutated and joined the Jäger horde. From that point for the rest of history, the Jägers would be the elite soldiers of the House of Heterodyne, fighting in presumably every war the Heterodynes were involved in. Their service to their dreaded lords made the sight of a Jäger cause for terror and revulsion for the average person (save for the people of Mechanicsburg, the Heterodyne lair).
There are a few times that specific events in their service to the Old Heterodynes are mentioned in-comic - since they do not die from old age, many Jägers personally remember these events. For instance, at one point, the horde was stuck with the "Red Heterodyne" in some caverns for two years (Vol. 6 p. 50). A few Jägers personally remember fighting the Storm King Andronicus Valois (Vol. 14 p. 18, Vol. 16 p. 87, Vol. 17 p. 86) in the famous war he waged against Lord Bludtharst Heterodyne.
===Under Lords Bill and Barry===
When William (Bill) Heterodyne inherited the family title, ashamed of the house's evil past, distanced himself from his estate. Dimo explained (Vol. 16 p. 92) that this included the Jägers, who were ordered to stay behind in Mechanicsburg. This is why they rarely show up in the Heterodyne stories about the adventures of Bill and his brother Barry.
General Goomblast remembers (Vol. 11 p. 61) that William's wife Lucrezia (Mongfish) Heterodyne treated the Jägers like property when she stayed in the Castle.
===Under Baron Wulfenbach===
At some point, William and his brother Barry disappeared. One of their allies, Baron Klaus Wulfenbach, reached out to recruit the Jägers into his army. The Jägers agreed on the condition that some of them be detached (Vol. 5 p. 47) to look for a Heterodyne heir. They agreed, with the Baron forbidding them from entering Mechanicsburg (Vol. 7 p. 13) until a Heterodyne returned. From that point onwards for the next two decades, the Corps of Jägermonsters served the Wulfenbach Empire. The Generals lived on board the Castle Wulfenbach airship.
===Under Lady Agatha===
One day, three detached Jägers named Maxim, Oggie & Dimo were being executed in the town of Zumzum but had met a young lady named Agatha. They soon learned that Agatha was actually the long-lost Heterodyne heir, and so pledged themselves to her service. They had travelled with Agatha on her journey to Mechanicsburg.
Agatha eventually entered the Castle Heterodyne, spent a few days repairing it, and ordered Mechanicsburg's Doom Bell rung to herald the new Lady Heterodyne. Upon the ringing of the bell, all the Jägermonsters defected from Wulfenbach to serve the House of Heterodyne once again. The subsiquent Siege of Mechanicsburg saw the Jägers defending the city and its Lady from a multitude of invaders.
The siege ended with Baron Wulfenbach freezing the city of Mechanicsburg in a time-bubble. Some of the Jägers were outside of the bubble, but the majority (including the active Generals) remain stuck inside. Agatha Heterodyne would re-appear two years later through a portal, where the few free Jägers yet again served her.
==Sociology==
===Generals===
The oldest Jägermonsters alive at a given time become promoted to the rank of General. While special circumstances have led to some de facto informal Generals, there are eight official Generals mentioned in the comic. They are:
*General Goomblast
*General Khrizhan
*General Koppelslav
*General "Mamma" Gkika
*General Øsk (†)
*General Zadipok
*General Zog
*A "hidden" general, eventually revealed to be Axel Higgs.
===Allegiance to House Heterodyne===
Among the things that Jägermonsters value most of all is loyalty to the House of Heterodyne. Betrayal of the Masters is considered particularly grave among them. General Goomblast explained (Vol. 11 p. 61) that the Jägers highly value free will, and so serve the Heterodynes out of love and loyalty that their Lords in turn were expected to earn. Even Bill and Barry, who wanted little to do with them, inspired loyalty among the Jägers.
===General Mannerisms===
Jägers tend to be boisterous and think highly of themselves. They like a challenge, and often see combat as a form of entertainment. Generally speaking they aren't particularly smart, though the older Generals are more clever than the average soldier.
They put high value on hats. A hat is seen as a status symbol and a marker of prestige. The story of "Old Man Death" demonstrates that they'd even risk their lives fighting an opponent just to lay claim to their hat.
The Jägers have a distinct voice. In the comic, this is represented as an exaggerated German-like accent with words spelled phonetically in text form, and also with a distinct kind of speech bubble. In-universe this likely represents an old Mechanicsburg dialect.
==Powers and Abilities==
Jägermonsters are biologically enhanced humans. While many of their physical features change, their DNA isn't altered, meaning from a genetic standpoint they are all still human. Still, the transformations give them abilities that a normal human would not have.
*Enhanced fighting ability: Jägers are shown to be very capable in combat. They were chosen among the best warriors of the old Heterodynes to serve as their special unit. To be able to fight a Jäger - let alone win that fight - is a great feat of strength for any normal human.
*Enhanced durability: During combat, Jägers are seen to have high durability rates, being able to soak up damage that would gravely wound if not outright kill a normal human.
*Longevity: Once they drink the Jägerbrau, the recruited Jägers are not able to die of old age. They are able to continue aging in the form of developing more mutations, but not to the point of their systems starting to fail. This is how many Jägers are able to be centuries old.
*Enhanced smell: Jägers typically have an enhanced sense of smell. Near the beginning of the comic, some Jägers note they like Agatha's smell, hinting at her ancestry.
*Sharpened claws and teeth: It is not uncommon for Jägers to mutate sharper claws and sharper teeth than usual, which can be helpful in battle.
It should be noted that what changes in appearance will happen differ from person to person. At least one person, Axel Higgs, didn't experience any notable changes in appearance even if he had an enhanced body.
==Known Members==
===Generals===
*Goomblast
*Khrizhan
*Koppelslav
*"Mamma" Gkika
*Øsk (†)
*Zadipok
*Zog
*Axel Higgs
===Soldiers, Officers, and Commanders===
*André
*Gorb
*Grishnarf
*Jorgi
*Minsk
*Rerich von Billiguether
*Shadsnaf
*Stosh
*Zudok
===Wild Units===
*Dimo
*Füst ("Jäger bear")
*Ivo Sharktooth ("private Jäger")
*Jenka
*Maxim
*Ognian
===Defectors===
*Vole
==Gallery==
File:Generals-v2p75.png|(Left to right) Agatha Heterodyne having tea with Generals Goomblast, Khrizhan, and Zog.
File:Generals-v11p81.png|(Bottom; left to right) The Jäger Jorgi, introducing Tarvek and Krosp to (top; left to right) Generals Goomblast, Koppelslav, Zog, and Khrizhan.
File:Jaegers-v1p79.png|(Right to left) Stosh, Zudok, and an unnamed third Jäger.
File:Vonpinnjaegers-v3p67.png|Von Pinn and a group of Jägers getting ready for a fight.
File:Jaegersplayingpoker.jpg|Extra art: "Jägers Playing Poker!"
File:Jaegernewyear.jpg|Extra art: "New Year's Eve with the Jägermonsters!"
==Trivia==
*Their name is likely a pun on the alcoholic beverage called Jägermeister.
*The Jägers weren't part of the original draft. Phil Foglio just drew a monster to accompany the Baron's troops (Vol. 1 p. 16 in the webcomic version) as a place-filler. Phil got a bunch of responses from readers saying they liked him and wanted to see more. So the Jägers were made part of the comic's storyline for future installments.
*Much information about the Jägermonsters came from an interview the Foglios had with a fan at Comic Con '08 (on 27 Jul. 2008), posted to LiveJournal on 28 Jul. 2008. The facts revealed then included that Jägers still have human genetics, and that only the best soldiers were chosen to be Jägers.
==Notes==
==External Links==
*Jägermonster on the Girl Genius Wiki.
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