Edwin Gruber was a German doctor and Nazi officer. His final mission was to find the secret Haitian formula used to create invincible men and secure it for the Reich.
Biography[]
Prior to the summer of 1943, Edwin Gruber had worked his way through the Nazi ranks of the Schutzstaffel, having served in the Waffen-SS Medical Corps, and was a founding member of the Röntgensturmbann SS-HA in the Hauptamt X-Ray Battalion. Colonel Doktor Gruber was personally sent by Adolf Hitler to investigate rumors of people invulnerable to bullets in Haiti, and if possible, recover the formula. He hoped that the successful completion of his mission would allow him to leave the tropics, which he despised for the heat, rain, and poor taste in alcohol.[1]
By the summer of 1943, he was stationed in Port-au-Prince, in the guise of a Dutch sisal buyer, while a squad of soldiers led by Schäefer hidden in the Dominican Republic was only a radio call away, and well aware that the visiting Chinese scholar was actually a Japanese spy, Yamada Hajime. When his local contact, Henri reported that an American and a Brit had arrived from Saint-Marc, inquiring about Zile Muri-yo, he began to prepare to follow the pair, believing that they had a clue to the location of the supernatural strength formula. After the pair had left town with a local woman, Gruber forced Henri to confess the details of their departure, and then shot and killed his informant. Traveling to the airport, he learned that Yamada had already left for Marigot, and radioed his troops to meet him at Jacmel. Flying solo to the rendezvous point, he met up with Schäefer and his troops and traveled by boat to Zile Muri-yo.[1]
Personality and traits[]
Edwin Gruber was fluent in Dutch due to his grandmother's Flemish heritage, also knew English as well and some French, Italian and Japanese. A loyal supporter for the Nazi cause, especially in the superiority of the German people, Gruber considered himself smart enough to not underestimate opponents of "inferior" races.[1]
Behind the scenes[]
Unlike most Indiana Jones villains, Edwin Gruber was an unusual case of one who was given as much focus over the titular character, just like his fellow antagonists Yamada Hajime and Boukman. According to Indiana Jones and the Army of the Dead author Steve Perry, it was his decision to give Gruber the spotlight because he felt that his motivations needed to be worked to make him a more intriguing and interesting villain, as Indy's were familiar to the audience and George McHale's backstory was just being fleshed out, in addition to his personal beliefs that villains who don't believe they are villains are more entertaining than those who embrace being evil.[2]
Appearances[]
- Indiana Jones and the Army of the Dead (First appearance)
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Indiana Jones and the Army of the Dead
- ↑ Interview with Steve Perry at El Recoveco del Geek (Spanish site)