Return To Castle Wolfenstein - Synopsis - Characters

Characters

Oberführer (Senior Colonel) Wilhelm Strasse or Deathshead is a gifted researcher who heads the SS Special Projects Division. He is the man behind both the Lopers, and the Super Soldiers, towering cyborg soldiers that were heavily armed and armored. He was also attempting to launch a V2 rocket on London with a chemical warhead. Unlike the other SS antagonists, Deathshead does not believe in the occult and would prefer to arm the Nazi war machine using advanced technology, but has been ordered to provide his creations to Operation Resurrection by Himmler himself. Himmler has also asked him to join the resurrection ceremony but Strasse declines due to his disbelief in the occult. Strasse continuously taunts Blazkowicz during his duel in the lab with an Übersoldat, commenting "Thus we will see the superiority of the machine over flesh and blood." After the protagonist wins the fight, Deathshead narrowly escapes in a rocket plane and goes into hiding, not to be seen again for the rest of the story. Deathshead returns as one of the main antagonists in the 2009 sequel Wolfenstein, where he has been promoted to Obergruppenführer (SS General).

Übersoldat is Wilhelm "Deathshead" Strasse's creation. It is a brutish cyborg with technological and cybernetic enhancements, armed with experimental weapons such as Tesla guns, Venom guns, and also Panzerfausts. The Übersoldaten are heavily armored and can take a massive amount of damage, functioning as game bosses.

Standartenführer (SS Colonel) Helga Von Bulow is a high-ranking officer within the SS Paranormal Division and also founder of the order of the Elite Guards, the SS Paranormal Division's all-female security force. She is Marianna Blavatsky's pupil and a firm believer in the occult. Although a capable leader, Helga tries too hard and makes rash decisions that jeopardize the safety of her troops. While the Elite Guards are loyal to her, the male soldiers under her command are skeptical of her choices.

SS High Priestess Oberführer Marianna Blavatsky is in charge of Operation Resurrection. She tutored Standartenführer Von Bulow in the ways of the occult. Little is mentioned of her until the OSA learns of the ceremony. She is first seen in the game conducting a ceremony near a chateau involving two Super Soldiers. At the finale, she transforms three Super Soldiers into Zombie Knights and uses them to revive Heinrich I. Blavatsky pledges her loyalty and servitude to Heinrich only for him to reward her by transforming her into a zombie slave. Blavatsky and the Death Knights end up being destroyed by Blazkowicz as he arrives to face Heinrich.

Olaric, the boss for the first set of missions, is the founder of the Dark Forge and involved in Thulian lore. Standartenführer Von Bulow finds Olaric's tomb and, despite Prof. Zemph's warnings about breaking the inner seal, she accidentally brings him back to life by taking his dagger. Olaric kills her shortly before Blazkowicz arrives on the scene.

Heinrich I was an evil warlord - allegedly Heinrich I of Germany - who launched a campaign of conquest in Medieval Europe. He had studied the black arts and used them to his advantage by raising the dead. In the intro movie, a wizard confronts Heinrich and magically seals the tyrant in limbo. 1000 years later the SS Paranormal Division discovers his tomb. The player's final task in the game is to stop the sorceress Blavatsky from reviving him, but this cannot be achieved. Instead, Heinrich must be defeated in the final boss battle.

Heinrich Himmler is the only non-fictional character of this game and the main person behind Operation Resurrection. He appears in a short cameo in the last cutscene, watching B.J. defeat and kill Heinrich I from a good distance. He expresses surprise at the Agent's victory, saying: "This American...he has ruined everything!". An aide-de-camp then informs him he must return to Berlin.