# Girl Genius: Bosun Higgs is a Jagermonster, right?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-genius-bosun-higgs-is-a-jagermonster-right/694367
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [July 29, 2014, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-genius-bosun-higgs-is-a-jagermonster-right/694367 "2014-07-29T22:44:25Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2014, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-genius-bosun-higgs-is-a-jagermonster-right/694367/1 "2014-07-29T22:44:25Z")
He’s invincible in a fight, he can heal quickly from practically any injury, he’s working for the Heterodynes secretly at present while pretending to serve the Wulfenbachs, Mama Gika knows him but won’t talk about him, and Castle Heterodyne recognizes him. What else could he be?
No, he doesn’t look like a Jager, but, no two look alike, do they? The Jagerdraught mutates them each in a different way – some have horns, some look like reptiles, they come in all colors. It’s not implausible one might end up looking like an unmodified human. Or almost – [what’s with those pointed ears](http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php#.U9gjQE0g_Sc)?
In fact, he might be that mysterious hidden Jager General.
---
### Author:  [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2014, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-genius-bosun-higgs-is-a-jagermonster-right/694367/2 "2014-07-29T23:28:55Z")
My husband, the raving Girl Genius fanatic, says he agrees with your theory, but there is no official word yet.
---
### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2014, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-genius-bosun-higgs-is-a-jagermonster-right/694367/3 "2014-07-29T23:39:00Z")
Personally, I think he’s the ur-Jäger, the very first person ever to receive the jägerdraught (probably a prototype version of it). But it’s also always possible that he’s another sort of thing entirely, perhaps the only one of his kind. And it’s even conceivable that he’s a “normal” human who’s Just That Badass.
---
### Author:  [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2014, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-genius-bosun-higgs-is-a-jagermonster-right/694367/4 "2014-07-30T00:00:15Z")
Barring unknowns, such as **Chronos** suggests, my guess is that he’s the Jager General. While it would be cool if he were a Badass Normal, evidence suggests that he has substantially accelerated healing that would not have been possible under the circumstances for a factory-spec human. (Gil’s healing was similarly accelerated at Mama’s, but her comments on it suggested that he is not exactly standard issue, either.)
---
### Author:  [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2014, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-genius-bosun-higgs-is-a-jagermonster-right/694367/5 "2014-07-30T00:40:11Z")
Has Higgs ever been seen without his hat?
---
### Author:  [@Tabby\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabby_Cat)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2014, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-genius-bosun-higgs-is-a-jagermonster-right/694367/6 "2014-07-30T02:51:51Z")
I thought he was one of the lost Heterodynes, working undercover because he was tired of having to save the world, and letting the Wulfenbachs do it their way.
---
### Author:  [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2014, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-genius-bosun-higgs-is-a-jagermonster-right/694367/7 "2014-07-30T06:49:29Z")
If I recall correctly, Higgs was a character in the Girl Genius game. Which is noteworthy because the game was published six years before Higgs first appeared in the strip. This indicates that Higgs is a major character in the storyline that the Foglios had been planning for long in advance of his first appearance.
---
### Author:  [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2014, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-genius-bosun-higgs-is-a-jagermonster-right/694367/8 "2014-07-30T07:22:34Z")
BTW Higgs being a bosun would be a great joke, but he’s not, I checked. ☹
---
### Author:  [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2014, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-genius-bosun-higgs-is-a-jagermonster-right/694367/9 "2014-07-30T15:28:35Z")
> [@Chronos](#):
>
> Personally, I think he’s the ur-Jäger, the very first person ever to receive the jägerdraught (probably a prototype version of it).
My working theory is the opposite. Higgs underwent the final _perfected_ Jager process.
---
### Author:  [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2014, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-genius-bosun-higgs-is-a-jagermonster-right/694367/10 "2014-07-30T16:37:24Z")
> [@furryman](#):
>
> BTW Higgs being a bosun would be a great joke, but he’s not, I checked. ☹
Well, [Wiki sez:](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girl_Genius#The_Unstoppable_Airman_Higgs)
> [@](#):
>
> Airman Higgs **(aka “Bosun Higgs,” a pun on “Higgs Boson”),** a mysterious and extremely tenacious Wulfenbach soldier who first appeared rescuing the Baron from an airship accident (breaking almost every limb in his body in a series of more and more hilarious accidents, mishaps and enemy attacks whilst doing so).
>
> After encountering Gilgamesh and Zeetha as they passed through Mamma Gkika’s into Mechanicsburg, Higgs entered Castle Heterodyne with them, where he has demonstrated both an unusual prowess and resourcefulness. His true nature and identity appears to have been recognized by at least one of the Castle’s fragments (and also by Tarvek), and his actions suggest an insider’s knowledge of the history of the Heterodyne family and of the workings of Castle Heterodyne. He is also a suspiciously strong fighter, with an almost supernatural ability to survive and quickly recover from very serious wounds, making it even more obvious that he is far from a normal soldier.
>
> He and Zeetha have developed a mutual attraction, though Zeetha somewhat resents having to recognize that someone is a stronger fighter than she is, and has vowed to learn until she is able to beat Higgs, a challenge that Higgs has happily accepted. As of the end of Act 1, he was a double agent working for Gil as the Baron while reporting to the surviving Jägers and Mechanicsburg leaders.
But does not say whether the “Bosun” title is found anywhere in the strip or is some kind of fanfic/fanwank embellishment. If the latter, shame on the Foglios for missing that boat!
---
### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2014, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-genius-bosun-higgs-is-a-jagermonster-right/694367/11 "2014-07-30T16:42:30Z")
> [@](#):
>
> Quoth **Pleonast** :
>
> My working theory is the opposite. Higgs underwent the final perfected Jager process.
Comic book logic: Prototypes are always better than final versions. Besides which, Jägers get more powerful with age (as Vore is about to remind Gil), so for Higgs to be the most powerful of the Jägers, he must be the oldest of them.
---
### Author:  [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2014, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-genius-bosun-higgs-is-a-jagermonster-right/694367/12 "2014-07-30T16:43:58Z")
> [@Balance](#):
>
> Barring unknowns, such as **Chronos** suggests, my guess is that he’s the Jager General. While it would be cool if he were a Badass Normal, evidence suggests that he has substantially accelerated healing that would not have been possible under the circumstances for a factory-spec human. (Gil’s healing was similarly accelerated at Mama’s, but her comments on it suggested that he is not exactly standard issue, either.)
My theory on Gil is: When Lucrezia drugged Klaus to get him out of the way, she shipped him out of Europa entirely and he somehow wound up in Skifander. His mysterious wife is either the queen or a princess of Skifander – that’s why Gil is entitled to be addressed as “Your Highness.” The reason Klaus suspects that Zeetha might have been sent to kill Gil is that Skifandrian tradition requires all males born to the royal family be killed at birth, to preserve the matriarchy. (After all, we never hear anything of the warrior kings or princes of Skifander, do we? Only of warrior queens and princesses.) Which would make Gil and Zeetha siblings or half-siblings or cousins.
But, that would not account for Gil having any unusual healing ability. If he has, maybe he gets it from his father’s side – Klaus, whenever we see him with his shirt off, has so many stitch-scars that he looks like a novice spark’s construct; he must have healed from a **lot** of injuries.
---
### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2014, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-genius-bosun-higgs-is-a-jagermonster-right/694367/13 "2014-07-30T17:20:41Z")
I think it’s actually canon that Gil and Zeetha are siblings or half-siblings: IIRC, there’s Word of Author somewhere that “Chump” (as in, Zeetha, daughter of) was the name Klaus went by when he was in Skifander.
---
### Author:  [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2014, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-genius-bosun-higgs-is-a-jagermonster-right/694367/14 "2014-07-30T18:03:21Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#):
>
> But, that would not account for Gil having any unusual healing ability. If he has, maybe he gets it from his father’s side – Klaus, whenever we see him with his shirt off, has so many stitch-scars that he looks like a novice spark’s construct; he must have healed from a **lot** of injuries.
Perhaps, but when Mamma Gkika notes that the treatment device on Gil’s leg is already ready to remove, she [says](http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080428#.U9kxKLGIf_c), “Hy guess hyu poppa gots more ov our secrets den he lets on.” That may suggest that his rapid healing is related to the jagers’ recuperative ability in some way, if only in that he responds well to battledraught, which is [brewed for jagers](http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080502#.U9kx47GIf_c). (I’m not suggesting that _Gil_ is a jager, by the way, just that his father may have used his knowledge of jagers in some way that gave Gil some enhanced abilities.)
---
### Author:  [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2014, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-genius-bosun-higgs-is-a-jagermonster-right/694367/15 "2014-07-30T19:08:51Z")
Shtill, zis teory raises der qvestion: Vhy duz Meester Higgz not **tok** lak a Jagermonster?
---
### Author:  [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2014, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-genius-bosun-higgs-is-a-jagermonster-right/694367/16 "2014-07-30T19:19:05Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#):
>
> Shtill, zis teory raises der qvestion: Vhy duz Meester Higgz not **tok** lak a Jagermonster?
He does when he gets very angry.
(Given how wel the castle knows him, I am partial to the ur-Jaeger theroy.)
---
### Author:  [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2014, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-genius-bosun-higgs-is-a-jagermonster-right/694367/17 "2014-07-31T07:46:49Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#):
>
> Shtill, zis teory raises der qvestion: Vhy duz Meester Higgz not **tok** lak a Jagermonster?
Not all Jagers talk like that, it depends on how schmott they are and on whether their teezs/mouzs got deformed by the process.
---
### Author:  [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2014, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-genius-bosun-higgs-is-a-jagermonster-right/694367/18 "2014-07-31T10:50:18Z")
> [@Chronos](#):
>
> I think it’s actually canon that Gil and Zeetha are siblings or half-siblings: IIRC, there’s Word of Author somewhere that “Chump” (as in, Zeetha, daughter of) was the name Klaus went by when he was in Skifander.
Yeah.
> **[Baron Klaus Wulfenbach](https://girlgenius.fandom.com/wiki/Baron_Klaus_Wulfenbach)**
>
> This article is about the head of House Wulfenbach. For other uses, see Wulfenbach (disambiguation). The Baron redirects here. For other uses see Baron (disambiguation). "So I stopped it. And I did it my way this time. No more negotiating. No more...
> [@](#):
>
> The Professors have “leaked” a confirmation, mostly via book preorder bookplate sketches[14], that Klaus was also known as “Chump” while he was in Skifander, and therefore is Zeetha’s father ✣ .
---
### Author:  [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2014, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-genius-bosun-higgs-is-a-jagermonster-right/694367/19 "2014-07-31T21:56:46Z")
> [@bldysabba](#):
>
> Yeah.
> [Baron Klaus Wulfenbach | Girl Genius | Fandom](http://girlgenius.wikia.com/wiki/Baron_Klaus_Wulfenbach)
Hmm . . . it also says Klaus is a construct!
Can constructs reproduce (other than by making other constructs)?
---
### Author:  [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2014, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-genius-bosun-higgs-is-a-jagermonster-right/694367/20 "2014-07-31T21:59:53Z")
Here’s another thing: Higgs met Zeetha in the secret bar under Mama Gkika’s, where ordinarily only Jagers go.
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-genius-bosun-higgs-is-a-jagermonster-right/694367.md?page=2)