Count Brocken (TV)

Count Brocken is one of Dr. Hell's lieutenants, introduced after several of Baron Ashura's failures. He is mostly known for his the fact that his head is not attached to his shoulders and his rivalry with Ashura.

Background
In the anime, while still a Nazi soldier, he was killed in a car accident with his head hewn off. Dr. Hell fixed him up and made him a lieutenant.

Personality
Count Brocken is usually serious and very loyal to Dr. Hell. However, he is not very bright and some of his plans against the Mazinger Z are completely convoluted or overly simple. Brocken does make plans that could work, but Baron Ashura usually gets in the way.

Dr. Hell
Knowing Dr. Hell since World War II, Count Brocken is indebted to Hell bringing him back to life. His loyalty to Dr. Hell is as much as Baron Ashura. He would never want to disappoint Dr. Hell, though he would try to avoid responsibility so as not to look bad to Hell by blaming Baron Ashura for more than a few screwups to save himself.

Baron Ashura
As another of Dr. Hell's lieutenants, Count Brocken usually works closely with Baron Ashura. This started after Hell demoted Ashura to being Count Brocken's servant. They often argue and get in each others way, even for the things that might actually go right in Brocken's plans. However, their partnership did have some benefits for Hell, such as getting Super Alloy Z for Hell. Brocken did show some respect towards Ashura, trying to stop Iron Cross Corps from killing him and mourning his death.

Abilities
Thanks to they cybernetics added by Dr. Hell, Count Brocken's body is able to survive without his head attached. While Brocken's head is usually held under an arm, the head is able to float on its own. Brocken is also a strategist, guiding the Mechanical Beasts to certain points; unlike Ashura who used more underhanded tactics, Broken always resorted to direct strikes to an enemy. In combat he is armed with pistols and a saber.

History
After several defeats from the Mazinger Z, Dr. Hell has Count Brocken come in for reinforcements. With Brocken and the Iron Cross Corps added, Hell's forces became more formidable; but even then there was not much success against the Photon Power Laboratory. At times, Dr. Hell forced Brocken and Baron Ashura to work together. This was not usually much of a success either, Ashura and Brocken's arguments caused a lot of problems on the battlefield. Dr. Hell usually had to break them up and punish them.

Soon with Archduke Gorgon appearing, Brocken became very submissive. When Ashura started to show backbone against the giant to regain his honor, Iron Crosses loyal to Brocken tried to kill Ashura. Brocken did not approve of this and tried to stop it, but Ashura had already killed them (something Brocken did not believe). When Ashura died in a final attempt to defeat the Mazinger, Brocken payed his respects to his co-worker while mourning his death.

When the Mazinger team attacked Hell's island fortress, Brocken tried to keep them distracted with any remaining Mechanical Beasts while escaping with Dr. Hell. Ultimately, he is killed along with his master when the Mazinger attacked their vehicle.

Trivia

 * In the English dub of Mazinger Z: Infinity, Brocken is voiced by Bill Lobley, who also voiced Jeremiah Fink from Bioshock: Infinite.