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"So long as I breathe, I will do the duty I was trained to do: fight and die for humanity, no matter what I have to face."
Click here to see him unmasked
- "In honor of the home that shaped me into the weapon I am today, and which I will never see again, I shall be known as Krieg."
These efforts ultimately prove futile, as a combination of thoroughly different upbringings, the ineptitude and obnoxious behavior of his teammates, the (in Krieg's eyes) lack of effective results through being merciful to criminals, and the taint of Chaos following him to Earth to spread its poisons, eventually cause Krieg to snap and irrevocably reject the "hero" way in favor of fighting crime and purging Chaos his way.
He is the protagonist of the story, though calling him the hero would not be appropriate.
- Absolute Xenophobe: Anything that isn't human must be destroyed, in his eyes.
- Affectionate Nickname: Ravager calls him "Soldier Boy".
- An Arm and a Leg: He tends to cut off bits and pieces from criminals he catches in order to "motivate" them to stay in prison.
- He cuts Mercy Graves' arm off after it gets trapped under a pile of rubble and he can't get it off her.
- Animal Motif:
- Deathstroke compares him to a leashed lion, a nod to his natural viciousness being restrained by the Justice League.
- The symbol on his chestplate depicts an eagle.
- Anti-Hero: Krieg is brutal, racist, a religious fanatic, commits torture—including dismemberment—on a regular basis, treats his teammates with utter contempt... yeah, not what you'd expect from a hero. Then again, he doesn't really want to be one.
- Badass Longcoat: He usually wears a grey longcoat, in which he can store several weapons.
- Badass Normal: No superpowers whatsoever, just a decade-and-a-half of unfathomably brutal training and nightmarish combat experience. And yet he can get results, including against people whom, by all rights, should be able to kill him easily.
- Berserk Button:
- Don't try to read his mind.
- Don't lie to him, especially if it's about a mission.
- If you are human, then sacrificing your humanity to gain a power boost will earn his ire and make him decide that you deserve to die.
- Don't scratch the Imperial symbol on his uniform.
- Boom, Headshot!: He executes a group of captured cultists this way on live TV.
- Brutal Honesty: Krieg is very blunt and will say what's on his mind, consequences be damned. This includes self-criticism if he makes a mistake and acknowledgment of his physical capabilities (and limitations), traits that Black Canary likes about him.
- But for Me, It Was Tuesday: Metamorpho goes on a Motive Rant about how Krieg is an utter failure of a hero, blaming Krieg for his first death and treating it like it's the most important thing in existence. Krieg simply cocks his head and asks who Metamorpho is, then later dismisses him as another "heretic."
- Chainsaw Good: He briefly acquires a chainsword in "Perchance to Dream - Part Two", and uses it to banish Adrian Forge from his mind.
- Character Development: Defied in that he refuses to change his beliefs or his methods, but played straight in that his time amongst heroes has made him willing to question (or outright ignore) orders he thinks are stupid, something he never would have done back in his time. He's actually rather uncomfortable with this.
- Chaste Hero: Ravager's flirtations and innuendos sail right over his head. Later, when Rachel Roth makes a joke about how his escorting her back to her apartment might look to others, he doesn't understand what she means.
- Classical Music Is Cool: He enjoys listening to Beethoven.
- Cold-Blooded Torture: His fondness for leaving permanent injuries is one of the primary reasons why so many criminals are scared shitless of him.
- Combat Pragmatist: He explicitly says there's no such thing as cheating in combat, only victory or defeat. And even if you survive an encounter with him, he'll make sure to leave scars.
- Conditioned to Accept Horror: His brutal upbringing destroyed whatever squeamishness he may have otherwise had.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: He is thoroughly outmatched by Deathstroke, though he gives as good as he can.
- Dark and Troubled Past: He was born (read:cloned) for the sole purpose of being a death-seeking bullet sponge with no sense of self-worth or any hope of having a life outside the most unfathomably brutal combat zones, was pumped with psychotically religious and racist propaganda from the moment he could comprehend what was around him, and every authority figure he interacted with willingly played a part in molding him into what he is. It's slightly deconstructed in that he doesn't see his upbringing as a source of trauma.
- Deadly Upgrade: He discards the rubber bullets that the Justice League forced on him and replaces them with metal ones after the Chaos invasion kicks off.
- Death Seeker: Like any Korspman, Krieg believes that life is a punishment that can only be redeemed through honorable death in service to his species and the Imperium.
- Deliberate Values Dissonance: Krieg is a soldier coming from a time period where humanity was forced to stoop to Nazi-level atrocities just to survive and has a damn good reason for distrusting aliens. This total lack of common ground between himself and, well, any hero means that there is little to no chance of him bonding with any of them and changing his ways. And he ultimately doesn't.
- Democracy Is Bad: He regards it as inefficient and backwards.
- Determinator: Nothing short of death will stop him.
- Did Not See That Coming: Krieg expected Superman to oppose killing or locking up Superboy, and is surprised when the Man of Steel instead struggles to avoid admitting that he wants Superboy disposed of just as much as Krieg does.
- Disproportionate Retribution: One of his major flaws is his belief that All Crimes Are Equal, which leads to this trope. While it would be wrong to say that none of his targets are deserving of harsh punishment, it would also be wrong to say they all do. Case in point: he savagely mauls a man simply for getting drunk and being a nuisance.
- Dissonant Serenity: He tries to strangle Robin during their first encounter, all with an empty expression on his face.
- Does Not Like Magic: Due to his upbringing, he regards magic as "heresy."
- Dramatic Unmask: Averted. Since he doesn't have a civilian life, taking off his mask isn't that big of a deal, provided he does it himself or it's removed with his permission.
- The Dreaded: He is so unfathomably vicious that many criminals outright beg to be arrested by other heroes before he can get his hands on them.
- Enemy Mine:
- He despises Speedy/Red Arrow, but when they are attacked by a group of criminals, Krieg tosses Roy's bow back to him so they can take out the group.
- He is forced to let Ravager aid him twice, and while he'll never admit it, she's an effective partner.
- He begrudgingly allows hardened criminals to aid in the defense of Los Angeles.
- Everyone Has Standards: He may be a colossal prick, but he isn't petty enough to take his problems with someone out on their relatives out of spite, contrary to what Martian Manhunter thinks.
- Final Solution: He advocates genocide of all alien species.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: Inverted, initially. The rest of the Team make every attempt to treat him as one of their own in the hopes of building a rapport with him. Their efforts fail, and it's not until he explicitly spells out that he hates their guts that they finally begin to give him the cold shoulder.
- Frontline General: He's no coward, and won't hesitate to lead by example if he's physically capable of doing so.
- The Fundamentalist: He may not look it, but he's very religious.
- Glasgow Smile: He receives one, courtesy of the Joker.
- The Gunslinger: After renouncing the Justice League, he gathers up a lot of guns and ammunition.
- Hates Small Talk: Krieg isn't one for casual banter, preferring to get to the point right away.
- Helmets Are Hardly Heroic: Averted. He wears a thick metal helmet.
- Hidden Depths: He internally admits that he's not exactly an ideal role model, and views his actions as necessary to prevent others from having to act like him.
- Hope Bringer: He's good at boosting morale, both by words and by deeds.
- I Gave My Word: He vehemently promises to sew Kid Flash's mouth shut after the speedster's loud mouth gets the Team in trouble. At the end of the chapter, he advances on Wally with a needle and a ball of yarn...
- Ignore the Fanservice: Ravager grinds her body against him and even steals a kiss. Krieg's only reaction is sheer confusion.
- Jerkass: He's not a nice guy, to say the least.
- Jerkass Has a Point:
- He frequently labels his teammates as inept. They tend to prove him right.
- He argues against freeing Superboy, as the clone was made by a known villain organization. The rest of the group doesn't listen, and it leads to them all getting captured.
- He is correct to question Aqualad's leadership capabilities, since the Team tends to be ineffective under his watch and yet he utterly fails to rein them in.
- Miss Martian is every bit as inept as he claims, and her uncle's refusal to properly train or prepare her for hero work isn't helping her.
- When he is tasked with rescuing Kid Flash, he is scolded afterwards by Batman for refusing to rescue the scientist who had taken him captive. Krieg bluntly points out that he did not have the means to do that, and they are better off with her dead. Batman doesn't even have a good counter-argument, preferring to attempt to intimidate Krieg into submission instead, which fails.
- Relating to Superboy again, he advocates either killing him or locking him up, as there is no indication that his creators didn't install a fail-safe to ensure that Superboy wouldn't turn on the heroes by command. Even Superman doesn't object to the latter.
- Kick the Dog:
- He goads Deathstroke into killing a hostage, telling the man beforehand that his fate is immaterial.
- He will go out of his way to be a jerk to Miss Martian, though at times his contempt for her is justified.
- While in a foul mood due to having his mind read, he mutilates a drunken man for simply being a nuisance.
- He ruthlessly uses an aspiring sidekick as a pawn in order to apprehend a runaway drug lord, uncaring that she might get killed. When she confronts him over this, he acts like he did nothing wrong, then beats her into unconsciousness.
- He mistakes Artemis for a criminal when he first meets her and tries to shoot her. Later, when the mistake is revealed, he is unapologetic.
- Knight of Cerebus: Whenever he gets involved in something, things are going to get nasty.
- Knight Templar: His methods fall just short of outright murder, and that's only because he's not allowed to kill. While some criminals, like the Joker, deserve the full extent of his wrath, others clearly don't, but he doesn't care.
- Large Ham: When worked up, he can be quite loud.
- Laser Guided Tyke Bomb: He was raised from "birth" to be the kind of person he is, meaning the Justice League's chances of changing him were likely doomed from the start.
- Made of Iron: Downplayed. He can take a beating, sure, but he has his limits, being a human and a teenager.
- Mercy Kill: He slaughters Professor Pyg's henchmen, having concluded that the torture they've been put through has rendered them dead already.
- Murder by Inaction:
- He doesn't give a damn about saving hostages and will not lose a wink of sleep if they are killed in pursuit of his mission. As far as he's concerned, it's their fault for letting themselves get captured, so they deserve to die.
- He gives Professor Pyg's latest intended victim a knife and urges her to "take action." When she advances menacingly on the criminal, Pyg begs Krieg to save him, but Krieg kicks him away and departs while the girl takes her vengeance. Fortunately, Commissioner Steele covers for him.
- Murder Is the Best Solution: He certainly thinks so, much to the Justice League's dismay.
- '90s Anti-Hero: Krieg is effectively forced into this role once he joins the Team, and very quickly becomes a Deconstruction of it. Krieg may have the name, attire, and methods of this kind of hero, but his behavior and methods are not remotely healthy for the kind of teammates he has. He's horrifically offensive toward the rest of his team (to the point of seriously considering letting them die in several scenarios, only saving them because it is expected of him), advocates extreme methods for dealing with threats that are easily overkill in most situations, and has little to no interest in saving hostages. Notably, while he does have a Dark and Troubled Past to explain some of this, it doesn't excuse the fact that he is just as much of a danger to his teammates and innocent civilians as the villains that he fights; and unlike most cases, he doesn't see his backstory as a Freudian Excuse to act the way he does.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: On the giving and receiving end of this trope.
- Nominal Hero: By virtue of working under the Justice League, albeit very reluctantly, and going up against enemies who are even worse. Otherwise, he'd be a full-blown Villain Protagonist.
- No-Sell: Batman's Death Glare and typical methods of intimidation have no effect on him.
- No Social Skills: He was never taught any because he wasn't supposed to have any, thus he doesn't enjoy hanging out with others.
- Not Afraid to Die: Death is inevitable, and he would accept it without a moment's hesitation.
- Not So Above It All: He develops a taste for chocolate, and he enjoys watching sci-fi movies that involve mankind fighting off alien invasions.
- Only Friend: Rachel Roth seems to be the only person whose presence he can tolerate. Her refusal to judge his actions outright probably helps.
- Perpetual Frowner: He only smiles twice throughout the story, the first one being a Slasher Smile underneath his mask and the second one due to being sprayed by the Joker's happy gas.
- Pet the Dog:
- He saves Robin from Sportsmaster, even though he had no reason to and wasn't in a position where he would be obligated to yet. Even Krieg admits to himself that he's not entirely sure why he did it.
- He's not above showing respect and courtesy to professional soldiers, and even police officers.
- When he rescues a family from a group of crooks and the child among them hugs him in gratitude, he is annoyed but lets her do it.
- Politically Incorrect Hero: Krieg is a genocidal racist who views anything non-human as deserving of extermination simply for not being human.
- Power Fist: He carries a gauntlet that can emit electric shocks.
- Punch-Clock Hero: He hates being restrained by the Justice League, and their constant attempts to get him to change his ways only fuel his contempt. Inevitably, his patience runs out.
- Religious Bruiser: He's deeply religious, and can pack quite a punch.
- Repressive, but Efficient: He advocates authoritarian governance, believing it gets results.
- Rousing Speech: Gives a big one during the Chaos invasion, even executing several cultists on live television just to show he means business—and to give the middle finger to the Justice League."By now, you are all aware to the enemy we face. You have no doubt fought against their depraved servants, people you only days ago called friends and neighbors. You have seen the horrors that these heretics are capable of. And though the damage is great, and the casualties beyond reckoning, we have only faced the vanguard, only suffered a brief taste of the true power that the enemy can bring against us. I know this must seem impossible for you to comprehend at this stage, given the state of the world. It must feel like the whole world is collapsing all around you. Like nothing but madness and death exist," dismayed looks were shared among the survivors.
"However, I come before you know to tell you this simple truth: there is nothing to fear. The enemy may appear strong, they may appear invincible. But the truth is, they are weak. They prey upon the weak and cowardly, luring them in with empty promises and then spend them like cheap ammunition. Those who have fallen to their sweet lies are nothing more than spineless wretches, the dregs of society that skulked in the shadows like rats, and now fueled by falsehoods of power and immortality. I ask you then, are they foes worthy of fear? No. All they deserve is our scorn and hatred.
"And that is also why we will triumph. Because all they know is fear, all they know is weakness. They dare not strike at us in the open, so they turn our closest against us and makes them do the deed in their stead. They hope to sow chaos and discord among us, robbing us of our true strength, but I tell you now that they will never succeed. We will survive the coming storm, we will endure whatever blow they deal against us, and we will never break. Why? Because we are humans, and when humans stand together, nothing can bring us down.
"The defining moment of humanity is upon us now, the time that will shape the course of our history for centuries to come. Destiny calls, and it shall not find us wanting. And that is why I now call out to every man, woman and child that still draws breath, take up arms against the enemy. Resist him at every turn. Fight him on every field, every road, every building, and every room. Show no quarter, for none shall be given to you. Stand with those still loyal to humanity's future, and cast out those of have forsaken their very souls.
"And to those who are able, I ask that you join me in Los Angeles. We have broken the enemy here, driven them out like the filthy cockroaches that they are. We now stand as a bastion against the hordes of hell, and we ask all that are willing to come join us in its defense. Together, we will make the enemy break like water splashing against a rock, and then drive them back into the pits from which they crawled out of.
"And to those traitors who have turned their backs on humanity, I have a final message for you as well, I am sure that you are celebrating even as I speak, confident in your imminent victory. Allow me then to dispel these foolish notions of yours. I name every last one of you as traitors, heretics and cowards. I spit upon your very existence and deny your right as human beings. You are vermin, every last one of you, and I shall dispense justice upon you as such. You have lived for too long shielded by the blanket of the Justice League's mercy. But that ends today.
"There will be no surrender. There will be no quarter. There will be no forgiveness. There will be no remorse. There will be no respite. And there will be no mercy.
"Know this, heretics, that what you just saw is the fate of you all. Even if it takes a lifetime, even if I have to do it on my own, I will hunt you all down and kill you like the vermin you are. And if you wish to challenge my claims, then hear this: I am here, I am still standing. Come and get me if you dare." - Save the Villain: Averted usually, as he feels that doing so is a waste of his time. Played straight with Luthor, though only because he considers Luthor a necessity, to the latter's amusement.
- Shut Up, Kirk!: When Aqualad berates him for executing captured cultists and rallying an army, Krieg socks him in the face and spells out that he has no time for the Team's moral grandstanding.
- Sociopathic Soldier: He commits atrocities (though that's the norm where he's from), and has all the makings of a sociopath.
- Sweet Tooth: He develops a taste for M&Ms.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: He doesn't attempt to hide his utter loathing for the rest of the Team, and their drastically different preferences for how to get things done leads to messy confrontations.
- Terror Hero: Similar to Batman, his MO involves intimidating criminals. Unlike Batman, he does it via torture and mutilation until he starts killing again.
- Token Evil Teammate: He hates his teammates, treats them with just barely less contempt than his enemies, and has no problem with killing.
- Torture Technician: Downplayed. He has no formal training in torture, but he's A-okay with using it to get information he wants, and he's not bad at it.
- Training from Hell: His entire life prior to becoming a Korspman was this, complete with a gang of drill instructors who made Gunnery Sergeant Hartman look like, in Krieg's own words, an "amateur."
- What the Hell, Hero?: Gets slapped with this a lot, not that he ever listens.
- The Workaholic: Krieg devotes every waking moment to fighting crime and gathering information, as he, unlike his teammates, doesn't have a civilian identity. He only takes a break from work when he's ordered to, or if he's sufficiently bribed with M&Ms.
- Would Hurt a Child: The age of the people he kills is a matter of complete indifference to him.
- You Are Number 6: His full name (well, designation) is 769355-637566-Keled.
- You Can't Go Home Again: As that quote at the top of the page indicates, he's stuck 38,000 years in the past with no way of getting back to his time.
- You Keep Using That Word: He is exasperated by other people constantly berating him for not acting like a "hero", and repeatedly states that he is a soldier.
