Griffin (The Invisible Man) - Fictional Character Biography

Fictional Character Biography

Griffin is a gifted young university medical student with albinism, who studies optical density. He believes he is on the verge of a great scientific discovery, but feels uncomfortable working under his professor. To ensure he gets sole credit for the discovery, he leaves university and moves to a dingy apartment to continue his experiments alone.

To finance his experiments, Griffin robs his own father, who commits suicide after being robbed by his son, because the money had not been his own (probably resulting in his not being able to repay a debt or losing a trust). (Little is mentioned of Griffin's family background.) Working reclusively in his flat, he invents a formula to bend light and reduce the refractive index of physical objects, making them invisible. He intends from the start to perform the process on himself, but is forced to rush his experiments due to persistent intrusion from his landlord, who is suspicious of his activities. He processes himself to hide from his landlord, and sets fire to the building to cover his tracks. He winds up alone, invisibly wandering the streets of London, struggling to survive out in the open, unseen by those around him. To make himself visible again, he steals some clothes from a dingy backstreet theatre shop, including a trenchcoat and hat. He wraps his head in bandages to conceal his invisibility, covering his eyes with large dark goggles. He takes up residence in the Coach and Horses Inn in the village of Iping, so he can reverse his experiment in a quiet environment, but complications arise with locals unnerved by his appearance. As a result, his progress slows and he has insufficient money to satisfy the pub owners. To pay the bill, Griffin burgles the home of Reverend Bunting, and the police to come after him, at which point he reveals his invisibility by throwing off his clothes and escaping.

Now driven insane by his inability to reverse the experiment, Griffin seeks assistance from a tramp named Thomas Marvel. He has Marvel carry money for him, but Marvel runs away with the money. Griffin pursues him to the town of Port Burdock, and there runs into his old schoolmate Dr. Arthur Kemp. Griffin attempts to convince Kemp to be his visible partner and help him begin a reign of terror. Kemp, rather than assisting the crazed Invisible Man, alerts Colonel Adye of the Port Burdock police.

Furious, and still planning world domination, Griffin vows to kill Kemp, as the first execution in the reign of terror. He ultimately fails when Kemp rallies the people of Port Burdock, who find and mob the Invisible Man. Griffin is cornered and killed by navvy workers. The invisibility drug wears off in death, and Griffin's body becomes visible again.