| |
|---|---|
| Gabriel Van Helsing | |
| Biographical information | |
| Aliases |
|
| Gender |
|
| Species |
|
| Status |
|
| Age |
|
| Relations | |
| Love interest |
|
| Friends |
|
| Enemies |
|
| Appearance | |
| Portrayed By |
|
| Source | |
Gabriel Van Helsing is the main protagonist of the 2004 film, Van Helsing.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Gabriel was once one of God's mighty angels in heaven. He was known as the "Left Hand of God" and served as a messenger of God. He appeared to the prophet Daniel, revealing secrets about his future. He also appeared to Zacharias and to the Virgin Mary, foretelling the births of John the Baptist and Jesus. He was also one of the four archangels whom God sent to deliver his messages to his prophets. Gabriel was also the angel sent to destroy Jerusalem.
At some point, Gabriel descended to earth and took on living flesh, becoming human. During his time on earth, Gabriel fought many great battles. At some point near the 1460s, he was under the service of the Knights of the Holy Order when he met Count Vladisalus Dracula, with whom he became close friends. However, during a great battle, and for reasons unknown, Gabriel murdered Dracula in 1462. For this crime, God erased Gabriel's memory (though the video game claims that Dracula had broken the oath of celibacy of the Knights of the Holy Order and when the woman he loved was banished and killed he tried to bring her back to life with dark magic which forced Gabriel to kill him and unable to deal with the guilt, Gabriel asked God to erase his memories which God did).
Gabriel spent the next 400 years wandering the earth until one day after a battle, again with no memory, he was found half-dead crawling up the steps of the Vatican.
Van Helsing: The London Assignment[]
Gabriel travels to London to investigate a series of horrific, and decidedly supernatural murders, being committed by the mad scientist Dr. Jekyll, in the form of his evil alter-ego, Mr. Hyde. When tracing Hyde to his underground fortress, Van Helsing finds a young woman who claims to be Queen Victoria and discovers that Dr. Jekyll is in love with the Queen and in order to keep her young has been placed under a spell by Dr. Jekyll that turns her into a young woman for one night. In order to create the potion which causes the transformations, Dr. Jekyll needs the drained souls of his freshly killed victims and thus the killings will never stop. Dr. Jekyll to kidnaps the Queen and using the Golden Jubilee Balloon to escape. Van Helsing uses his grappling gun to follow the balloon then proceeds to board it. In the balloon, Dr. Jekyll becomes Mr. Hyde to kill Van Helsing and crashes the Balloon in the process. While fighting on the in-construction London Bridge, Mr. Hyde is shot through the arm but manages to escape. Upon returning the Queen, Van Helsing says that daybreak will break the spell, returning her to her real age. To reward him, the Queen kisses him, at the precise moment of daybreak, causing her to slap him and call for guards. Van Helsing sends word back to the Vatican about what has happened while he tracks Jekyll to Paris.
Van Helsing[]
The Knights of the Holy Order, stationed at the Vatican, dispatch Gabriel to kill Dracula. He is also tasked with preventing the last of the Valerious family from falling into purgatory; the family swore to kill Dracula nine generations ago and is unable to enter Heaven until they succeed. He is given a torn piece of paper with a Latin insignia on it. He is joined by Carl, a friar who provides support and weapons.
Dracula confronts Van Helsing, who recognizes him from his past, and realizes that Dracula is impervious to all conventional of killing vampires. While escaping, Van Helsing and Anna fall into a cave, where they find Frankenstein's Monster still alive. Though the Monster pleads to be killed so that Dracula cannot use him, Van Helsing decides to take him to Rome so he can be protected (As he could not feel any evil intentions inside the monster). They flee in a carriage, but while crossing the Carpathian Mountains, the brides and Velkan attack them. The carriage plummets down a precipice and Verona tries to save the Monster, but on opening the door reveals that it is a decoy carriage containing only stakes bundled against explosives, which kill her when the carriage hits the bottom. The genuine carriage is attacked by Velkan and Van Helsing kills him, but not before Van Helsing is bitten by him; when the next full moon occurs, Van Helsing will become a werewolf.
Anna is then captured by Aleera and is taken to Budapest. In Budapest, Van Helsing agrees to trade the Monster for Anna (never actually intending to submit the Monster) and hides the Monster in a cemetery before he and Carl head off to save Anna, who is at a masked ball which is later discovered to consist only of vampires. At the ball, after placing her in a trance, Dracula attempts to seduce Anna, and nearly bites her in the process. Van Helsing and Carl manage to rescue her, but the Monster is captured and taken away on a boat. Escaping from Dracula's Summer Palace, Van Helsing, Anna, and Carl return to Castle Frankenstein, where they find all the equipment has been removed. At Anna's castle, Carl explains that Dracula was the son of Anna's ancestor. Dracula was murdered by "The Left Hand of God", but not before making a Faustian Bargain, which gave him new life as a vampire. Carl explains that although Anna's ancestor made the vow to kill Dracula, he could not kill his own son. Instead, he banished Dracula to an icy fortress from which he should not have been able to return, but the Devil gave him wings and the power of flight, which allowed him to escape.
Van Helsing then finds a portal to Dracula's castle disguised as a wall map, completed using the paper that Van Helsing brought from Rome. They enter the portal, emerging on a cliff near Castle Dracula. As the trio sees the Monster being lifted to the laboratory, he tells them that Dracula has a werewolf cure. Carl realizes that only a werewolf can kill Dracula and that he uses werewolves to do his bidding, but needs a cure in case they have the willpower to turn against him. Making his way to the laboratory, Van Helsing frees the Monster—but not before Dracula's spawn are given life. He then confronts Dracula. Van Helsing tells Dracula that his children will die if he is killed. Dracula confirms this to him whereupon Van Helsing becomes a werewolf and enters a final battle with Dracula (who turns into a giant bat-like creature). Dracula reveals that Van Helsing is really The Archangel Gabriel, the Left Hand of God—as well as the one who originally murdered him. He offers to restore Van Helsing's memories, but Van Helsing refuses, deciding that "some things are better left forgotten".
Anna and Carl retrieve the cure but are attacked by Aleera after Igor traps them in the room. Igor, attempting to kill Carl, falls to his death off a bridge thanks to some help from the Monster, and Aleera gets impaled by Anna with a silver stake thrown to her by Carl. They make their way to the laboratory just as Van Helsing bites into Dracula's throat, killing him and his offspring. Anna injects Van Helsing with the cure, only to be killed by him at the same time, much to his grief. Van Helsing and Carl hold a quiet ceremony for Anna and cremate her as the Monster departs on a raft into the ocean, having been allowed a chance at life. As Anna's body burns, Van Helsing sees her and her family in Heaven at peace, thanks to Dracula's death.
Personality[]
Gabriel is a lonely and silent man, always expecting something to happen, as prey expects an ambush. He has fought many battles (though he lost his memories so he doesn't remember) and hunted countless monsters for years. Even though he hunts without question, he is always asking the church for forgiveness, as he sees them becoming who they used to be. Besides, no matter how many monsters he kills, he is seen as a murderer to the eyes of the people (mainly because the general public doesn't know that monsters exist) He often works alone, but can be a good partner or a powerful ally.
Despite Gabriel's slight contempt for the church, he is a devout man who does God's work.
Powers and Abilities[]
Archangel Powers[]
Gabriel, in his true form, is an archangel of immense power. He possessed incredible destructive power, enough to destroy whole cities. However, because he is inhabiting living human flesh, he is both mortal and virtually powerless. His abilities in archangel form include:
- Immortality - As an archangel, Gabriel is immortal.
- Flight - Gabriel could fly through the heavens with his large swan-like wings.
- Self-Incarnation - Gabriel can create a living human vessel for himself to inhabit.
- Atmokinesis - Gabriel had the power to influence the weather.
Monster Hunter Powers and Abilities[]
Though he is an incarnate archangel, Van Helsing has no verifiable supernatural powers, but his human abilities make up for it, as they are on a greater scale than a normal man:
- Longevity - Gabriel is somewhere around 2000 years old in 1888, the year he's in Transylvania in the Van Helsing film (In his second scene with Carl, he mentions remembering the Siege of Masada). Further, it was Van Helsing who killed Dracula more than 400 years before, yet he retains the appearance and health of a fit man in his prime.
- Enhanced Strength - While not superhuman, his physical strength can easily allow him to lift or press his own weight. During his fight with Mr. Hyde, he was almost able to pull him off a building (but Hyde was able to counterattack).
- Enhanced Speed - Van Helsing has shown to be extremely agile as well as having great reflexes. His reflexes can stand up against creatures likes vampires or werewolves.
- Enhanced Durability - He can withstand attacks that would normally kill a man. He survived hits from Dracula's brides and Dracula himself and other creatures and the bite of a werewolf. After being bitten by a werewolf he was far more durable, even as a human, allowing him to survive a lightning strike (though he didn't receive the full impact) and surviving a fall from a tower.
- Detect Evil - Van Helsing refused to kill Frankenstein's Monster or allow it to be killed because he detects no evil in it. He explained to Anna Valerious that detecting evil in his prey is one of his abilities.
- Master Combatant - Van Helsing is a skilled warrior trained in combat for centuries by monks from different countries (as stated by Dracula).
- Hunter Instincts - Due to the fact that he has been hunting for years, Van Helsing developed an instinctive reaction on how to react when hunting, also to warn himself of any danger.
- Weaponry Expert - He has shown to be extremely proficient in handling almost every gun he used. These include dual spinning razor-sharp saws, dual pistols, silver stakes, a crucifix, and his most important weapon, his repeater crossbow. He is also a very good aim, though he is not to be an expert.
Werewolf Powers[]
Werewolf physiology - After being bitten by the werewolf Velkan he gained new abilities, also improving his old abilities.
- Superhuman Strength - He is far stronger than his human form, able to fight Dracula's vampiric form and overpower him. Even while in human form, he could bend thick iron bars, throw a power cell, and climb up a chain.
- Superhuman Stamina - He can fight longer than any human.
- Superhuman Durability - He was able to withstand all of Dracula's attacks.
- Superhuman Senses - His senses are far greater than any human.
- Superhuman Agility - Allows him to jump great distances and heights.
- Werewolf Venom - His fangs produced venom that could turn other humans into werewolves and also kill Dracula.
Werewolf Weaknesses[]
- Full Moon Deprivation - If the full moon is covered by clouds, the transformation will end, until the clouds move.
- Werewolf Cure - The werewolf cure removed the curse, making him human again.
- Silver - Can kill werewolves