Johann Kraus

* Biography
* Threat Assessment
* Trivia and Notes
* Gallery

### Johann Kraus: 1946 - 1971

Johann Kraus is the son of an automotive engineer and homemaker. Johann was always regarded as an intelligent and perceptive child and his family nurtured that by sending him to the best schools available. Johann began to realized his perceptive nature was not just exceptional but paranormal when he was ten years old. At first not. It was only after his grandfather visited him several months after the funeral that Johann realized he was seeing ghosts all this time.

Struggling for several years, Johann kept his arcane gift a secret - afraid of being labeled as disturbed and sent away for treatment. However, at university, Johann's studies into spiritualism eventually brought him to an encounter with skilled occultist Anneliese Steiner. Anneliese became a mentor to Johann, introducing him into the world of the occult. Through Steiner, Johann met many other spiritualists and was exposed to a variety of occult studies - many of which were rather questionable. Thinking he was being aimed toward down a dark path, Johann severed his ties with his mentor.

### Johann Kraus: 1971 - 1987

Johann opened a small office in Munich, where he established himself as a medium with a solid reputation among the supersitious locals, and fostering an even better relationship with European occult investigators and hunters. Johann quickly became a curious feature among Munich's wealthy elite. This allowed him to meet and court a famed opera singer who he would go on to marry.

Shortly after his wedding to the lovely Ilse, Johann first made the acquaintance of Trevor Bruttenholm when the BPRD were investigating the murders of dozens of American operatives within the Men of Letters. Bruttenholm revealed that Johann's former mentor Anneliese Steiner and several of her close associates were seen fleeing the scenes of several of the murders. In order to prove he had no part in this heinous act, Johann agreed to help Bruttenholm's investigation. Upon tracking Steiner down in Berlin, Bruttenholm revealed to Johann that his mentor was not Annelise Steiner at all but a devoted witch of the demon Azazel, Ilsa Haupstein.

Though Bruttenholm and Kraus attempted to apprehend Ilsa Haupstein, she would escape as the academic men were not matched for the arcane assassin. The two men parted ways and Johann returned home, hoping to have his wife nowhere to be found. Instead Johann found his wife's discarded clothing on a pile on the floor laying next to a shattered hand mirror that pulsed with powerful magical energy. Nearby, Johann found an opened gift box. The tag was addressed to Mrs. Kraus, but an interior note hidden in the box was written for Johann and revealed that the cursed mirror was a parting 'gift' from his old mentor.

Johann was in a state of painful grief for over a decade as he tried unsuccessfully to repair the broken mirror to retrieve his trapped wife. His efforts gave him expertise in astral projection as he tried to find alternative routes to the pocket dimension on the other side of the mirror's magic. And this expertise was soon called upon.

### Johann Kraus: 1987 - Present

At Bruttenholm's request, Johann came to America to investigate several psychic individuals, all of who were missing after a trip to New York City. Kraus was in the midst of an astral projection, snooping around a business identified as Pyramid Solutions when the Manhattaning hit. Johann did not realize at that time that his astral projection was just yards away from the New York City bomb at the moment of detonation. With his astral form being ionized by the close proximity to the bomb and his body being destroyed in the destructive blast, Johann underwent a change into a purely ectoplasmic being who had no right surviving the ordeal.

Johann went to the BPRD to seek Bruttenholm's help. He was contained inside an arcane stasis chamber for a time before a special suit was built to help anchor his ectoplasmic form. Without a body and few other options, Johann joined the BPRD.

## Threat Assessment

### Resources

* **Psionic Powers:** Johann was a metahuman with psionic abilities connected to the Odic energies that stem from the intrinsic field and psychic nexus known as the Dreaming. A skilled psychic, Johann mastered many psionic disciplines in his forty-one years of mortal life. Due to unusual circumstances that destroyed his body yet supercharged his astral projection at the same time, Johann's soul and consciousness remain intact in a vaporous cloud made of potent ectoplasm that retains his psionic ability.
	+ ***Astral Projection:*** Johann can shift his ectoplasmic form into astral energy, allowing him to navigate the astral plane. He can revert to his ectoplasmic form at will, allowing him to use this ability to cover great distances in a short amount of time.
	+ ***Corporealization:*** Johann can flood his immediate area with psychic energy that will cause any incorporeal beings in the area to manifest into a physical form. He can use a weaker version of this ability to cause unseen spirits to become visible and audible to those usually to perceive such beings.
	+ ***Psionic Resistance:*** Johann is highly resistant to psionic intrusion or manipulation.
	+ ***Supernatural Senses:*** Johann is able to see, hear, and interact with beings on the astral plane, unmanifested ephemeral entities, and invisible spirits such as ghosts. He is also sensitive to intrinsic and psychic phenomena.
* **Ectoplasmic Entity Physiology:** Though Johann is usually operating an external apparatus, such as his containment suit, a corpse, or an object - his natural form is a gaseous white cloud of supercharged ectoplasm. This form comes with inherent perks.
	+ ***Immortal:*** Without a body of his own, Johann does not age or suffers the rigoes aging or disease. His incorporeal mind does not appear to deteriorate either. He may be functionally immortal, but that has yet to be determined. Johann also has no need to eat or drink, does not require to sleep, and is basically immune to damage.
	+ ***Teleplasty:*** Johann has the ability to inhabit soulless bodies or inanimate objects. This differs from possession as Johann's presence cannot cohabitate with an existing soul, nor can he dominate or evict a soul bound to the apparatus he is attempting to occupy. When melded with a body or object, Johann is able to integrate his mind and use the capabilities of his chosen housing.
* **BPRD Training:** Even before joining the BPRD, Johann was considered to be an expert philosopher, parapsychologist, and general occult lore. Since joining the BPRD and gaining access to their archives, Johann has become a world-class authority in these fields.
	+ ***Expert Marksman:*** Johann is a capable marksman.
	+ ***Expert Martial Artist:*** Johann is an exceptional hand-to-hand combatant.
* **Containment Suit:** Johann's current suit is the fourth incarnation of the hardware originally designed by Trevor Bruttenholm. It is designed to give Johann more utility in the field with several onboard forensic sensors. It can be depressurized almost instantly but also allows controlled leaks. The suit is partially mechanized, giving Johann its immense strength while operating it, but in tandem with its onboard A.I., the suit can also be programmed to move on its own (to follow Johann or other BPRD agents, meet Johann at a second location, or simply return to the nearest BPRD safehouse).

### Weaknesses

* **Beckoned:** Though Johann is alive and not undead, his soul is still drawn to the afterlife. Whenever he is not properly anchored, Johann's soul begins to shed its ectoplasmic shell. The longer he is out of containment, Johann runs the risk of moving on or becoming an actual ghost.
* **Numb:** Johann has a sixth sense, but he lacks other senses - namely touch taste, and smell. When afforded the chance to partake in these lost senses, Johann can become overwhelmed to the point of becoming unfocused or severely distracted.
* **Romance:** Johann has feelings for Kate Corrigan, but his unresolved guilt concerning his wife keeps him from a proper relationship - which only frustrates him more.

### Analytics

* **Physicality:** 0 — Abysmal / Nonexistent (5 — Master / Remarkable)
* **Occult:** 6 — World-Class / Superb (5 — Master / Remarkable)
* **Weaponry:** 3 — Trained / Exceptional (4 — Expert / Enhanced)
* **Expertise:** 4 — Expert / Enhanced (5 — Master / Remarkable)
* **Range:** 6 — World-Class / Superb (4 — Expert / Enhanced)
* **Strategy:** 4 — Expert / Enhanced (5 — Master / Remarkable)
	+ **TOTAL:** 75 / 80 (In Suit)
	+ **RANKING:** Moderate Threat

## Trivia and Notes

### Trivia

#### General

* He is friends with Hellboy, Abe Sapien, Liz Sherman and Roger.
* Kate Corrigan has been trying to develop a romantic relationship with Johann since the early 90's but the snail-pace of it has caused Kate to lose interest several times. However, with the recent passing of her father giving her a fear of mortality, Kate has been eager to cut the break lines on her lovelife.
* After Abe was severly burned, he stepped in to help with delivering the children when Liz Sherman gave birth.
* He's one of Brig and TJ's teachers. TJ shadows him, trying to learn more.

#### Personal Quirks

* Though he recognizes the divinity of multiple deities, Johann identifies as atheist.
* Johann appears to have a weakness for blonde women.

### Notes

* Johann Kraus is a character from the *Hellboy* series and its related media.

## Network Files

Network Files Johann Kraus.jpgNetwork Files: Johann Kraus

## Links and References

* Appearances of Johann Kraus

1. ↑ Network Files: Johann Kraus
2. ↑ Network Files: Kate Corrigan
3. ↑ Network Files: The Bruttenholm Twins