Gabriel Van Helsing is the protagonist and titular character of Van Helsing: The London Assignment and Van Helsing. He is a monster hunter under the employ of the Vatican. He is a re-imagined version of Abraham 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 Vladislaus Dracula, with whom he became close friends.
Later, Dracula broke the oath of celibacy of the Knights of the Holy Order. 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. Unable to deal with the guilt, Gabriel asked God to erase his memories, which He 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. Taken under the wings of the Vatican, he was sent to train under the monks and Mulahs from Tibet and Istanbul to combat the forces of darkness.
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 tracking 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. Thus, the killings will never stop. Dr. Jekyll kidnaps the Queen and uses the Golden Jubilee Balloon to escape.
Van Helsing uses his grappling gun to follow the balloon and then proceeds to board it. In the balloon, Dr. Jekyll becomes Mr. Hyde in order to kill Van Helsing and crashes the balloon in the process. While fighting on the under-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. Van Helsing 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 methods of killing vampires. While escaping, Van Helsing and Anna Valerious 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 Valerious (Anna's brother who had been changed into a werewolf) attack them. The carriage plummets down a precipice and Verona (one of the brides of Dracula) 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. During the next full moon, Van Helsing is cursed to become a werewolf.
Anna is then captured by Aleera (another bride of Dracula) and is taken to Budapest. In Budapest, Van Helsing agrees to trade the monster for Anna. Van Helsing doesn't intend to exchange the monster, so hides him in a cemetery before he and Carl head off to save Anna. Anna is being held captive at a masked ball which is later discovered to consist only of vampires. At the ball, 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 which was completed using the paper that Van Helsing brought from Rome. They enter the portal and emerge on a cliff near Castle Dracula. As the trio see the Monster being lifted to the laboratory, he (the Monster) 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.
Van Helsing 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 actually 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 (the last of Dracula's brides) 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 with a silver stake that was thrown 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, but only was killed by him in the process, much to his grief. Van Helsing and Carl hold a quiet ceremony for Anna and cremate her as the monster departs on a raft, 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[]
Van Helsing 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 his slight contempt for the church, Gabriel is a devout man who does God's work.