Alucard (hellsing)

Alucard is the protagonist of the Hellsing manga , and also the most powerful warrior of the Hellsing organization. He is not only a vampire, but also one of the most ancient ones. He usually dresses up in a Victorian fashion, including a charcoal suit, riding boots and a flamboyant and intricately knotted bowtie, covered by a long red trench coat. He also wears a wide flapping fedora hat and a pair of circular, wire-framed sunglasses. He does wear other outfits however: in the manga he dons a suit (with a notoriously awful tie) for a trip to South America, and in his highest state of power release his clothes change completely into what almost resembles an unlaced black leather straightjacket (more about clothes and release states below). He has an almost unbelievably vast range of supernatural powers, and he is an expert gunfighter, with his enhanced strength allowing him to wield pistols that most would consider heavy weaponry.

Powers

Alucard demonstrates, in Hellsing's various incarnations, an astonishing and overwhelming range of supernatural powers (the range and strength of which have led some critics to remark that he is simply too omnipotent a character); these include, but are probably not limited to:

• Vast strength (limits are unknown, but Alucard can rip people apart "as if they were wet tissue paper")
• Flight, teleportation and the ability to pass through solid objects.
• Transformation (into bats, insects or a giant eight-eyed hellhound)
• Manipulation of shadows into physical form.
• Telekinesis
• Telepathy and mind control.
• The ability to cast warding and summoning spells
• Total regeneration (Alucard can literally be reduced to paste and pull himself back together)

Weapons

• Hellsing ARMS .454 Casull Auto – Crafted from the melted silver cross of Lanchester cathedral, this gun fires custom made .454 Casull rounds containing a silver core. The weapon is 29 cm in length, making it unfeasably heavy and unwieldy for a human to use, but a perfect match for Alucard's heightened strength. It holds six rounds in a magazine in the handle
• Hellsing ARMS 14 mm Auto 'Jackal' – With a length of 39 cm and weighing at 16 kg, this gun, made of black gunmetal, is not a weapon a normal man could even hope to wield, but as its designer says, "it was never meant for a man". It fires specially made 14 mm armor-piercing, mercury core, silver-cased baptized bullets, and designed almost exclusively as a weapon to use against Iscariot's Alexander Anderson, who shrugged off the Casulls rounds with ease. The words 'Jesus Christ is in Heaven now' are engraved upon it in mockery of a similar statement on Anderson's gloves.

Release states

Alucard's vast powers are controlled entirely by the heir to the Hellsing estate (Currently Integra Hellsing). The anime makes a point out of either her, or, in exceptional cases Alucard himself, having to give Alcuard verbal permission to use his most devestating powers.

Clothes and release states

Many fans have noticed that Alucards state of dress seems directly related to the amount of power he's using: as he charges up to engage in battle, first his sunglasses, then his hat will dissappear; in the manga he also removes his arms from the sleeves of his coat letting it simply just hang on his shoulders whilst he fires from underneath it. It has been posited that these articles of clothing are direct physical manifestations of whatever system Hellsing uses to control Alucard, with the final, leather suited state representing his true nature. His gloves, which are engraved with the Hellsing seal (a pentagram decorated with occult symbols and several mottoes) are also thought to be part of this mechanism.

The Dracula Connection

One of the oft-discussed aspects of his character is whether or not he is actually Count Dracula (of Bram Stoker´s novel). Several hints have been given in both the anime and the manga, which most take (along with his highly suggestive name) to present irrefutable evidence:

• Anime:
  • Alucard impaled Incognito at the end of their fight in episode 13 in the same way that Vlad Tepes was famous for. Afterwards, his face is lit up by lightning to breifly reveal the image of Vlad Tepes for a few seconds (Tepes is the man said to be the historic origin of Dracula).
• Manga:
  • He impaled heavily armed Brazilian special tactics policemen (GATE) outside a hotel in Rio de Janeiro (volume 3).
  • In volume 4, he had a dream or a vision of the past, where he was pinned to the ground by Abraham Van Helsing (a character from the Bram Stoker novel) and addressed as 'Count' (Dracula was a Count).
  • In volume 7, the narrator spoke about another ship drifting to shore in England, just as The Eagle drifts into London. The incident happened a hundred years earlier, and the ship was named Demeter. (Demeter is the ship which brought Dracula to London in the novel. As it stranded, all aboard were found to be dead, like on The Eagle in Hellsing.)
  • In the final chapter of vol. 7, Alucard removed the final restraints, calling upon all his 'familiars'. These turned out to include Rip van Winkle, Alhambra, and thousands of other people he had fed on throughout the centuries (even Turkish soldiers from the time of Vlad Tepes). They arose from a literal ocean of blood, emanating from Alucard´s coffin (which he had stowed aboard the spy-plane used to reach The Eagle in vol. 5). Among them are knights riding undead horses, wielding banners representing Wallachia (Vlad Tepes ruled as prince of Wallachia). Finally, Enrico Maxwell utters the famous name 'Dracula', thus solidifying Alucard´s identity.