Alexander Anderson (Hellsing)
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| Alexander Anderson | |
 Alexander Anderson as seen in the Hellsing TV series |
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| Publication information | |
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| Publisher | Young King OURs |
| First appearance | Hellsing volume 1 |
| Created by | Kouta Hirano |
| In story information | |
| Alter ego | Alexander Anderson |
| Team affiliations | Catholic Church and The Vatican, Section XIII Iscariot |
| Notable aliases | Father Anderson, Paladin Anderson, Executioner Anderson, Bayonet Anderson, Angel Dust Anderson (Dust to Dust Anderson in the OVA), Off With It's Head Anderson (OVA only), Assassin Anderson, Regenerator Anderson, Killing Judge Anderson (also Hanging Judge Anderson), Judas Priest (Alucard often calls him this) |
| Abilities | Superhuman Strength, Speed, and Agility; Regeneration, Enhanced Durability, Expert Fighter, Blessed Weaponry, Holy Barriers, Teleportation, Knowledge of Fighting Supernatural Creatures, Nail of Helena |
Alexander Anderson (アレクサンド・アンデルセン Arekusando Anderusen?) is a character from the manga/anime Hellsing, acting as both an antagonist and anti-hero. He is a warrior priest or paladin monster slayer who works for the Iscariot Organization. He has a Scottish accent in the English adaptations of the manga and anime series, but canonically his nationality is "unknown"; he lives in Italy, operating an orphanage outside Vatican City. Anderson, like many of Kouta Hirano's characters, was recycled from one of Hirano's old hentai works called Angel Dust, where he is involved in a few action sequences and is depicted with black hair, as well as using assault rifles rather than his bayonets.
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[edit] Appearance
In terms of facial features, Alexander Anderson has short, spikey blond hair (grey in the manga), green eyes (blue in the manga), a heavy-set squared jaw, and constant stubble around his cheeks and chin. He also has a large, wedge-shaped scar on his left cheek. In terms of physical features, Anderson is quite an imposing man. He is very tall (slightly taller than Alucard, who himself is over 2 meters in height) and lean, with broad and muscular shoulders. He wears round glasses, a large grey cassock (has purple trim in the TV series and white trim with blue interior in the OVA), khaki pants (black in the OVA and white in the TV series), black boots, a black shirt with clerical collar (the shirt is black with blue trim in the OVA and white in the TV series, both anime omit the collar), white gloves, and a silver cross (which often glows gold) around his neck. On his gloves, there are inscriptions written across the crosses drawn on the back:
- For the right hand, Jesus Christ is in Heaven
- For the left hand, Speak with Dead (later changed to Speak with the Dead)
In the manga, these inscriptions change sometimes, such as in the recent chapters, where his gloves read Iscariot Section XIII, the organization to which Anderson belongs.
[edit] Personality
Alexander Anderson appears as a calm and collected priest; he works at an orphanage in the manga and OVA and acts very kindly towards the children under his care. During battles, however, he reveals a darker side.
Anderson carries an obsession for what appears to be his "crusade," and compulsively quotes passages of the Holy Bible as he speaks. He is extremely determined to achieve his end, usually by whatever means necessary.
In battle, he is merciless and almost unstoppable due to his abilities. He has a habit of hissing during fights, and often loses all control of himself much like Alucard. Despite this, he can stop himself and focus on his mission.
[edit] Beliefs
Alexander Anderson is a Catholic. His words, and his constant quoting of scripture indicate a clear, almost fanatical obedience towards "the word of God,". His behavior, in the first volume, was depicted as an intense Catholic priest, who went as far as calling Integra "Babylon", as a reference to Whore of Babylon, and menacingly asked her if "They (Catholics) would ever give ground to them (Hellsing) Protestants". In the first episode of Hellsing Ultimate, some of Anderson's statements heavily imply a fanatical hatred for all non-Catholics. Anderson tells a pair of young boys that they should only engage in violence against "monsters and non-believers," and comments to his superiors that it is fortunate that a large vampire population must be killing many English Protestants. Anderson resents the control of England over Ireland, which he believes is Catholic territory, and states that it is his mission to kill unbelievers.
In the TV series, Order 3: Sword Dancer, Paladin Alexander Anderson's actions are vaguely relativist. He ignores his true mission, and instead focuses on the basic requirements of his crusade; thus, attacking Seras Victoria, Alucard and killing Captain Gareth of the Hellsing Organization, though Gareth was a human being and attempting to exterminate the same target as Alexander Anderson. While his orders from Iscariot specified the extermination of a single rogue vampire, he engages in combat with Alucard as well.
In the manga, however, his character is more complex, and he shows a greater sense of morality both in his treatment of his orphan charges and his eventual assistance to Integra and betrayal of Enrico Maxwell (who becomes drunk with power and starts killing innocent humans), quite unlike TV series Anderson who is portrayed as little more than a mindless, psychotic killer. His complexity in the manga is later demonstrated by his respect for Integra's conviction and for Seras's bravery. Specifically, he agrees to escort Integra to Hellsing HQ, because it would be impolite to leave a lady to walk there alone. He also appears to have a form of respect for Alucard at points, shouting "The black peril comes!" while laughing as Alucard enters the Thames at the end of Volume 7. In his final moments, he consoled his grieving rival in his own way, telling him that monsters do not cry.
[edit] Motives
Anderson's crusade seems to be against vampires and their allies. He has gone as far as killing humans with no apparent remorse. One may assume that Alucard and Seras may be the main reason he hates Hellsing and Integra. He shows little fanaticism unless confronted with a vampire or ghoul, either in presence or in mention. On one occasion, when speaking with Father Renaldo, he is collected and patronizing until vampires are mentioned, at which point he becomes agitated. In Brazil, however, he acts in a very cold and rational way when facing Alucard. Many incidents and details suggest that he may have had past traumatic experiences with vampires, and that the pain of those affects him to this day. Since Anderson has been killed by Alucard, it seems unlikely that his past will be detailed fully.
[edit] Abilities
- Combat: In battle, Alexander Anderson uses scores of blessed bayonets in many shapes and sizes. He wields the bayonets in close combat (one in each hand) like swords and can also throw them with alarming accuracy (especially considering that he often throws them in large numbers, usually holding the bayonets between his fingers). Some of the bayonets are shown to have hand guards in the manga and TV series. The type of bayonets he uses the most appear to be Austrian sword bayonets with custom hand grips for easier slashing and stabbing. The degree of blessings on the bayonets seems to vary: in Volume 1, they irritate and sting vampires, but in Volume 6 they are so powerful that vampires literally crumble around them. (However, one possible reason for this is that Alucard and, by extension, Seras Victoria are "true" vampires, while the vampires killed by Anderson in Volume 6 were Millennium's weaker vampires. Another reason could be that he equipped more powerful bayonets; he states to Alucard in Volume 1 that he can't defeat Alucard and Seras with the weapons he has on him at the moment. This suggests that he does have access to weapons to deal with more powerful vampires.) Still later, in Volume 8, he hurls a chain of bayonets that seem to explode and destroy swarms of Alucard's familiars in an instant hinting that Anderson's abilities lie mostly in what Iscariot equips him with. He has a seemingly limitless number of these blades at his disposal; Kouta Hirano jokingly attributes this to him being 4-dimensional. More or less he is considered to have his own Hammerspace, along with that there is also a theory that Anderson's unlimited bayonet works have something to do with his hair (see Cartoon physics). In the OVA, he is seen pulling them out of his sleeves, but that still doesn't explain the number. A possible explanation is that he really doesn't carry many bayonets but rather duplicates them, not unlike many miracles seen in the Bible where many objects are made from relatively few eg. the fish and loaves miracle performed by Jesus.
- Superhuman Physical Attributes: Anderson possesses extraordinary strength, speed and reflexes, far above the human norm. He also had a great deal of dexterity (he wields bayonets in each hand equally well), agility, coordination, balance and stamina. In the anime TV series, he slices a subway car in two using only his bayonets, and in the manga as well as the OVA he has fought even Alucard to a standstill. Specifically, he has managed to trade punches with him, and both of them emerge bruised and bloodied but otherwise unharmed, thanks to the intervention of Seras. Anderson shows great strength in being able to stagger a being such as Alucard with a single punch, as Alucard shrugs off bullet shots with ease. Anderson can easily throw bayonets with enough force to pierce human skulls and, as shown in the TV series, can cut through steel pipes with little effort. It doesn't appear difficult for Anderson to slice humans or vampires (even Alucard) to pieces with his bayonets. His speed and reflexes are suffecient enough to dodge bullets (not that he would need to thanks to his regeneration) as well as rival the likes of even Alucard. It is unknown if these abilities are a byproduct of his regeneration (something common with other comic book characters that have similar powers, such as Wolverine of the X-Men) or are some other form of artificial enhancement. Given the seemingly superhuman abilities of other, non-augmented humans (Walter C. Dornez, for instance, appears to possess vast celerity even in old age despite being human), Anderson's abilities may not be from augmentation. Anderson's skills, like Walter's, may simply be a combination of natural ability and years of fighting experience against supernatural foes. It is still likely, however, that Anderson's strength and speed are a result of his biotechnological treatment to make him more equal to the vampires he hunts.
- Consecration: Anderson is capable of using nails (small bayonets in the TV series) to affix pages of scripture onto the walls of a building, in order to "purify the house" and prevent any usage of black magic. In the manga and OVA, this ability is referred to as a "barrier," the pages of which are stapled using nails and act more like a ward against demons. Seras, specifically, could not escape through a door or window blocked by this barrier. He can also use his Bible pages to teleport, though how far he can travel has not yet been determined. In the TV series, Anderson was also shown to use bible pages to trap Alucard, specifically by using them to entangle the vampire's arms.
- Regeneration: Alexander Anderson is a "Regenerator," meaning that he is able to restore body parts that are lost and heal himself. This is clearly demonstrated in Episode 3 of the anime; Alucard's bullet enters his head, and yet, he recovers almost immediately, alive and unscathed. (This has raised some confusion over why he retains the scar on his left cheek; the most likely explanation is that he received the scar before he received his regeneration ability. He was also shown in a flashback in the manga without the scar, further proof of this). Thanks to his healing Anderson is very durable, able to shrug off gun shots (even Alucard's silver bullets) with ease. Anderson claims that his ability is "the divine gift of God," but later states that it is due to "man's technology." In the manga he calls it a "technique" while Integra calls it biotechnological regeneration (possibly some form of nanotechnology). In certain adaptations, she claims his regenerative powers surpass biotechnology, being divine. Anderson is often considered not entirely human due to this augmentation, and Integra goes so far as to call him a "thing" while in the TV series Alucard says that Anderson is less than human and is a "failed science experiment." Still, in the manga and OVA it appears that Alucard considered Anderson human enough to fight monsters (Alucard believes there are dogs, men, and monsters, only men can destroy "monsters" like himself). This is shown when Alucard becomes enraged at Anderson for choosing to use the Nail of Helena on himself, truly becoming a "monster of God" rather than a man. In the TV series, however, where Anderson is portrayed quite differently than in the OVA and manga, Alucard states that Anderson is a "dog of the church" and can never defeat him, only a man can do that. In the manga, Alucard goes so far as to compare Anderson to the men who defeated him (Abraham Van Helsing and the others from Bram Stoker's Dracula) saying that although they were human, they could defeat a being like Alucard and that he is destined to be destroyed by humanity. Alucard seems to believe that through battle, Anderson had proved his worth as a human to kill him. Anderson instead, much to Alucard's anger and dismay, chooses to become a monster in order to destroy one. With great grief Alucard states that he and Anderson are one in the same, which may because Anderson's reasoning behind using the Nail was to become more powerful, while Anderson states that when someone's tears have all dried up they become monsters and consoles Alucard by saying monsters don't cry. It is implied, at times, that Anderson's healing has retarded and made it harder to tell his exact age. It may be that the regeneration has prolonged his life, making him appear to still be a man in his prime despite advanced age. In what appear to be flashbacks, Anderson was shown to have raised (or at least cared for) Enrico Maxwell, Heinkel Wolfe and Yumie Takagi as children (this makes sense as he is commonly shown to take care of orphans for the church), explaining the fatherly attitude he has towards them. This is further emphasized when Anderson leaves Maxwell to die, Maxwell cries out for his "teacher" (Anderson) to help him. If this is fact the case with Anderson's age then he is possibly over 60 years old despite appearing in is 30s or 40s (his age is listed as "unknown") as Enrico Maxwell is around 30 and appeared as a young child in the flashbacks, where Anderson appeared the same as he does in the present day. Though much stronger than the regeneration of average vampires, Anderson's healing is not without its limits. Using the Jackal, which was specifically designed for use against strong regenerators like Anderson, Alucard is able to shoot out a chunk of Anderson's arm which doesn't seem to be able to regenerate. A similar event occurred in the original TV series, during a battle in a subway. Alucard shoots off both of Anderson's arms with the Jackal and they don't regenerate. Anderson is forced to flee, and he is not seen again until the final episode where he is in a crowd watching Alucard fight Incognito. At this point, his arms have been restored. Another possible weakness to Anderson's healing might be his inability to restore vital organs. Anderson's eventual demise comes when Alucard rips out Anderson's heart, which is pierced with Helena's Nail. It may simply be, however, that the only reason Anderson couldn't regenerate is because once his heart had been pierced with the Nail, removal would inevitably cause death (or because much of his body was destroyed when Alucard performed the attack, making healing after such a devastating attack impossible). It appears that Anderson's healing, like his bayonets, can be "upgraded" by Iscariot (in the OVA, Integra mentions that Anderson's healing has been upgraded when they first meet, meaning that it is better than what she had previously heard) for more challenging situations.
- The Nail: Alexander Anderson receives "Helena's Nail" from Section III Matthew, the Vatican's relic retrieval division. The Nail is one of the nails from the True Cross discovered by Constantine's mother Helena, and upon ramming it into his heart, Anderson became, in the words of Alucard, a "monster of God" (which is similar to line said by Van Helsing in Francis Ford Coppola's film version of Dracula about how he and the other men who hunted Dracula have become "God's madmen", as a side note Kouta Hirano has stated that this film was a major influence on his work). Anderson displayed some peculiar plant-related powers, and has shown himself to be now fully equal, if not greater, than unrestricted Alucard in terms of strength and speed. Also, his blades were powerful enough to affect even Alucard's immortality. He was able to regenerate himself using thorny vines, while similar vines grew from the nail embedded in his body. Alucard has noted a relationship between these thorns and Christ's Crown of Thorns. In addition, these vines can wrap themselves around and in his foes cause injury, and instantly ignite all things "unholy" or "satanic," causing them to erupt in flames. Anderson's face and likely all of his fleshy body was transformed into a humanoid mass of thorny vines.
[edit] History
The early history Of Alexander Anderson is largely unknown, such as when he joined Iscariot or what his childhood life was like. Supposedly his history is revealed in the manga Angel Dust, however given that Hirano has not made any definite links to his past works, this is uncertain. He first appears in Hellsing volume 1, when he is convinced by Father Renaldo to travel to Northern Ireland to deal with Alucard and Seras Victoria who are hunting a vampire. Believing that Northern Ireland is Catholic land and Protestant England has no jurisdiction there, Anderson agrees and travels there. He confronts Alucard, soon cutting off his head and chases Seras through the building they are in. He catches up to Seras and is stopped by Integra just as he is about to kill Seras. Anderson swiftly kills Integra's bodyguards, but before he can kill Integra herself, Alucard regenerates his head and the rest of his body. Anderson retreats, shouting: "We'll meet again, Hellsing! Next time, I'll butcher you all".
Anderson appears in volume 2 with Enrico Maxwell, the head of Iscariot to discuss with Integra about the instigator of the attack on Hellsing Manor led by Luke and Jan Valentine. Alucard appears after Maxwell insults Integra, to which Maxwell responds by calling Anderson into play. Before they can start another duel, they are interrupted by Seras leading a group of elderly Japanese tourists (possibly because of some agreement with Walter that Alucard and Alexander would not destroy the museum, since the two smiled to each other after everyone had gone). The two decide to postpone their fight. Anderson proceeds to leave, commenting on the quality of the museum and asking Maxwell if next time he could bring some of the orphans to visit. In an almost humorously agitated manor, he then swears that he will rip Alucard to pieces the next time they meet.
In volume 3, Anderson is briefly seen watching the fight between Tubalcain Alhambra and Alucard on television.
In volume 4, Anderson is sent to deliver a message to Alucard and Seras to return to London and report on the Millennium Organization, a task which he fails to accomplish without first getting into a brief scuffle with the red-wearing vampire. Afterward, he engages in battle with some paramilitaries sympathetic to the Millennium cause.
In volume 6, after Major Montana Max declares war against England, Anderson brings the rest of Iscariot with him to England, saving Integra from a group of Nazi vampires. When Heinkel Wolfe attempts to apprehend her, Integra disagrees and asks Anderson if this is permissible, to which Anderson says it is not. He instructs Iscariot to follow Integra's instruction of escorting her back to the Hellsing manor.
Later, in volume 7, Maxwell comes with the remnants of the armies used in the Holy Crusades and takes this opportunity to kill the English "heretics". Seeing this, Anderson believes Enrico has quit serving God and now only serves his power. When Heinkel informs him of Iscariot's new orders to take Integra prisoner, Anderson expresses his displeasure, but before he can act against the rest of Iscariot, Seras arrives with her True Undead powers awakened and does it for him. He acknowledges her newfound power, telling Heinkel that Seras was not something that the ordinary members of Iscariot could hope to fight any more.
[edit] Anderson's Last Stand
After watching Maxwell's attack on London and Alucard proceeding to decimate the Catholic Army and the Last Battalion with his familiars, Anderson decides that it was finally time for him to finish Alucard. However, when he engages Alucard in combat, Alucard introduces him to the Jackal, which Anderson had never encountered before. Using the Jackal, Alucard blows off a large portion of Anderson's left arm, which does not seem to be able to regenerate itself. Alucard then taunts Anderson, who blindly charges into Alucard's familiars in an attempt to re-engage Alucard.
Trapped in the mesh of undead, Anderson is saved by the remnants of Section XIII, who use suicide-bomber-like tactics to fend off the familiars. Anderson finally arrives before Alucard and reveals the weapon that Vatican Section III Matthew had provided him with: Helena's Nail. Alucard begs Anderson not to become a monster like himself, but Anderson doesn't heed the warning. After impaling himself with the nail and transforming, Anderson and Alucard do battle, with Anderson nearly destroying Alucard with his newly acquired powers. Seras intervenes at this point, just long enough for Alucard to regain his senses and regenerate his wounds. Alucard then charges Anderson and, plunging his hand into Anderson's chest, removes the nail along with Anderson's heart, destroying most of Anderson's body in the process. As Anderson dies, he and Alucard exchange words as what remains of him decays and turns to ash, telling Alucard that he is about to go, but Alucard must forever live on. He also has a moment of deep insight into Alucard's state of being, rhetorically asking him if he "became a monster so that he would not have to cry." Telling from the words he is saying it sounds that he is going to Heaven. With a final "Amen" (which Alucard respectfully repeats, signaling the feelings of comradery he felt for Anderson), Walter, now in his brainwashed state descends from the sky and crushes what's left of Anderson's ashes under his shoe and grinds it into the ground. Walter then insults Anderson by saying "Mourning is not necessary for rubbish".
[edit] Voice actors
In the TV series, his voice in Japanese was done by Nachi Nozawa, and his English voice by Steven Brand. For the new OVA series, he is voiced by Norio Wakamoto, with Steven Brand returning for the English dub.
[edit] Trivia
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Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- In volume 1 of the manga and OVA I, Walter says one of his nicknames is Angel Dust Anderson, a reference to one of Kouta Hirano's hentai works, which featured an Anderson prototype. This was changed to Dust to Dust Anderson in the English dub.
- Alucard often refers to Anderson as "Judas Priest" which is no doubt a reference to the Iscariot Organization he works for but also to the heavy metal band Judas Priest, both of which are named for Judas Iscariot.
[edit] Notes and references
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