Francis Von Bloodt is a fictional character and one of the main characters of the French-Belgian comic book series Zombillénium, as well as the movie adaptation of the same name. Von Bloodt is the director of the Zombillénium amusement park and strives for good cooperation between all of his employees, whether they are vampires, zombies or werewolves.
History[]
Zombillénium movie[]
Much like in the original comic book series, Francis Von Bloodt is the director of the Zombillénium amusement park, which he created on the site of a former mine in the French town of Douchy-les-Mines, which was destroyed (in what was officially described as a firedamp explosion) after the miners dug too deep and encountered the devil Behemoth (Von Bloodt's boss). Although Behemoth praised Von Bloodt's idea as brilliant, it turned out that the general public lost interest in the horror themes offered by the park (the audience believing that all creatures in the park are simply disguised employees with good special effects), resulting in severe profit losses which greatly angered Behemoth.
In the beginning of the movie, Von Bloodt is concerned by the arrival of Hector Saxe, a safety regulation controller. After Saxe discovers too much about how the park runs, Von Bloodt has no choice but to bite him (although Blaise, a werewolf and head of HR, also does the same, resulting in Saxe being neither a vampire nor a werewolf, but apparently a zombie instead) and to forcibly recruit him into Zombillénium, forbidding him to ever leave the park even to visit his young daughter. Von Bloodt is pleased when Saxe, accepting his fate, manages to dramatically improve the performance given by the zombies in the ghost train. This, however, causes another vampire, Steven (who is in charge of the very popular ferris wheel), to become jealous.
In order to improve the financial situation of the park, Von Bloodt plans on having human investors funding it. However, on the day they visit, Steven sabotages the efforts of the zombies and distracts Von Bloodt long enough to offer the businessmen a deal of his own, in which he will be appointed the new head of the amusement park, which will be renamed Vampirama and entirely focused on vampires (all this with Behemoth's approval, as he is only after profit), while the zombies will be relegated to underground manual labour and the werewolves will serve as simple security guards. Disillusioned, Von Bloodt joins the zombies underground, who give him a solemn salute.
Von Bloodt later takes part in a rebellion from the zombies instigated after Saxe, hearing the voice of his daughter having come to the park to look for him, achieves his transformation into a demon. At the head of the zombie march, Von Bloodt is attacked by a swarm of vampires in their bat forms, but they are dispatched by Gretchen (a witch and the daughter of Behemoth who disapproves of her father's choices), who dispersed the clouds above the park so that the sun will force the vampires away. Although also affected by the light, Von Bloodt is able to help Gretchen against a vampire that attempts to knock her off her broom. After Saxe successfully rescues his daughter from Steven, the investors, who witnessed the whole crisis (but still believe it is a big show), agree that the zombies are what the audience wants and reinstate Von Bloodt as the director.
Appearance[]
Von Bloodt looks like a middle-aged man with greenish skin, green eyes and short hair with both light grey and dark grey stripes. He typically wears a suit with a red tie. While unusual, the colour of his skin remains neutral enough so that a normal human like Hector Saxe will not think it is supernatural. He also appears to be able to keep his teeth at a regular size when not using them to bite someone.
Personality[]
Von Bloodt is a debonnaire and sympathetic individual who does his best to manage the Zombillénium amusement park which he initially saw as a way to provide undead creatures with shelter and purpose even after they passed away. Despite being a vampire himself, he holds no prejudice towards other creatures such as zombies and werewolves like other vampires do, and wants all of his employees to be treated equally: for instance, he forbids vampires to leave the park in their bat form (as they would go unnoticed by humans) since zombies could not be able to do the same. When Steven takes over the park, he refuses to follow him and chooses to work with the other zombies. Von Bloodt can still act with authority when the situation commands it, for instance when he refused Gretchen the ability to use her powers.
Abilities[]
Von Bloodt appears to have capabilities traditionally associated with vampires. He can turn into a bat, and can also bite other individuals to turn them into vampires (although, it appears that if someone bitten by Von Bloodt is then bitten by a werewolf shortly afterwards, the person will turn into a demon instead). Like other vampires, he has an extreme sensitivy to light. As opposed to traditional folklore, as explained by Steven in the movie, vampires like Von Bloodt are not affected by garlic whatsoever.
Appearances[]
- Zombillénium - Comic book series (8 volumes)
- Zombillénium - Movie (serves as a prequel to the comic book series)