Hpt. Hans-Jurgen Jaeger


 * Information:
 * Name: Hans-Jurgen Jaeger
 * Gender: Male
 * Affiliation: German Army
 * Rank: Hauptmann
 * Debut: #12- ‘…And I Hope You Like German Too’
 * Armour: Unnamed ‘Silber’ class

Hans-Jurgen Jaeger is currently the only named antagonist in ‘Operator’, and holds the rank of Hauptmann, equivalent to Captain, in the German Army. He operates an unnamed ‘Silber’ class Armour.

Appearance
Jaeger is a young man with pale blonde hair, almost platinum-blonde, spiked up dramatically away from his face. His blue eyes have dark shadows underneath them, and appear to lack proper black pupils. He wears a black uniform with red edging that incorporates a long greatcoat.

Personality
At his first appearance, Jaeger appears to operate with a strict sense of honour, approaching Griff with a bodyguard instead of a regular attack advance, challenging him to single combat. Jaeger talks in near-perfect, though stilted, English, having learned various languages for the express purpose of challenging and taunting foes. When he enters combat, Jaeger fights exclusively with melee weapons, and attacks relentlessly, lecturing opponents on his superiority.

History
Jaeger himself mentions that he has been trained since birth to use Armour. While his exact age is currently unknown, it is safe to assume that this means that the Armour technology has been in service for something like twenty years. He has spent the war eliminating targets considered threats to German morale under specific order from the Kaiser.

Synopsis
While Fairfax and Holbrook Companies are out in the field, Jaeger approaches with a delegation of ‘Bronze’ class Armours as bodyguards, and challenges  Griff to single combat, which he accepts. Jaeger questions Griff’s wisdom in throwing away his rifle, claiming that the British Captain will need every advantage he can get in the ensuing combat. Jaeger proves as good as his word, relentlessly beating Griff’s machine with little apparent effort on his part. Jaeger’s more manoeuvrable Armour completely outclasses Griff’s and negates the advantage of 'The Eye'. After using his ‘Flamberge’ attack to tear up the Raging Griffon, Jaeger’s machine is caught as The Eye takes control of Griff’s body and Armour, and loses an arm. The Raging Griffon attaches this arm to itself and starts absorbing Jaeger’s Armour, forcing Jaeger to escape his machine and flee as it is dismantled and incorporated into the Raging Griffon. However, Jaeger is among those bathed in the blue light given off by the Raging Griffon as the narration says ‘...that light had already bound our fates together…’, suggesting that Jaeger will certainly return.

Abilities
Jaeger is a master Armour operator, able to completely outclass other Captain-ranked opponents in single combat. Given his claim that he has trained with Armours since birth, this is believable, as is his claim to have killed armies of opponents.

Flamberge
Uniquely, Jaeger has a named attack called ‘Flamberge’, using the wavy flamberge-style blades that extend from his Armour’s wrists. Jaeger dashes past his opponent, blades extended, and the opponent is typically torn up by repeated sword slashes a fraction of a second later. This style of ‘dash attack’, as well as the concept of calling out an attack name, is one of the most anime-like features of the series, hence the name of page #15, ‘Anime Power!’.

New Era
Griff has a cameo appearance on the first page of New Era. It is unknown if his claim to have been trained in Armour usage since birth will still be canon in New Era, since this would make him 14 at the oldest. He is seen wearing a regular grey German army uniform, with a black overcoat on top.

Relationships

 * Griff: Initially, Jaeger approaches Griff as a worthy opponent- after all, he is considered dangerous enough by the Kaiser that Jaeger was sent to kill him directly.

Trivia

 * Jaeger means ‘hunter’ in German, a fitting title for Jaeger’s role in the German Army as a hunter of threats to morale.
 * The name ‘Flamberge’ is, interestingly, French rather than German, and is the name of the type of wavy-bladed swords that Jaeger’s Armour uses.

Quotes

 * ’Good morning, my enemies. Would the operator of the red-liveried Captain’s Armour step forward? Let us have a duel.’
 * ’This is the difference between us. I have been trained since birth to use these machines. I am assigned by the Kaiser himself to eliminate threats to our morale. I have killed and forgotten armies of men like you.’