[Theory] Wolfgang's Past

[SpikeGuy]

I was reading through Wolfgang's quotes and related stuff when I found a bunch of interesting things that give clues on what Wolfgang's personal history was like. Since I couldn't find a thread for this anywhere else, I decided to start one myself. Bolding is used to highlight parts I think are important in quotes, and italics is my commentary. Okay, here we go:

Beefalo (domesticated, rider/docile)- "Like I'm back in cavalry!"

This seems to go hand-in-hand with-

Mess Dress (Wolfgang's GoH body)- "Formal dinner attire for military officers."

So, a calvary officer?

Wolfgang's loading screen- "Whether in troupes or troops, Wolfgang has always thrived on the spirit of camaraderie. He considers the day he joined the survivors to be the moment his luck finally took a turn for the better."

This seems to refer to both the circus and the military, if my previous theory was correct. Well, the military part explains some of his more aggressive tendencies (way too many quotes to count calling things weak or cowardly). As for the circus part, I suppose that was what gave him his title (The Strongman) and if the circus in question is Abernethy & Parker (from the fourth William Carter puzzle), it probably explains how he ran into Maxwell. Moving on...

Frog (dead)- "Is delicacy in my country."

 

Hammer- "Needs sickle!"

 

That's definitely a reference to Communism. At this point, I'm not sure whether he was exposed to it in his early or later life.

 

Pitchfork- "Reminds me of childhood."

I guess he grew up on a farm or something.

 

Cooked Long Pig- "Babcia's secret recipe!"

Alright, I know that this is a removed quote, but since Long Pig was taken out as a feature and it was not just the corresponding quotes, I think there might still be some canonicity to them. Now, the really interesting part is that "babcia" is Polish for "grandmother". So if this is still kind of canon, Wolfgang, or at least one of his grandmothers, is Polish. (The fact that she might have been a cannibal is also a bit disturbing. I hope it was a famine and not something they did voluntarily when there were other options...)

Mosquito- "Reminds me of uncle!"

Mosquito Sack- "Uncle did not have gut like this."

So for some reason, he associates his uncle with mosquitoes. Maybe because the man looked like one?

 

So, what do you guys think?

I'll update when I find more things.

[Zeklo]

Yep the vignette was the final nail in the canon, so to speak.

Another tidbit is "Circus Rose Attire".

[pedregales]

The mosquito probably remembered him of his uncle possibly because he was scaredy or weak? Either that, or gut is a bit more literal than I want to admit considering the Babicia's secret recipe.

[SpikeGuy]

1 hour ago, pedregales said:

The mosquito probably remembered him of his uncle possibly because he was scaredy or weak? Either that, or gut is a bit more literal than I want to admit considering the Babicia's secret recipe.

Hopefully he was just talking about how big his uncle's waistline was, and not anything about dead bodies. Otherwise, quoth Willow:

Crispy Skeleton- "Ewwwwwwwwwww!"

[ShadowDuelist]

10 hours ago, SpikeGuy said:

Mosquito- "Reminds me of uncle!"

Mosquito Sack- "Uncle did not have gut like this."

Could it be a reference to Dracula maybe?  My point is that his country of origin seems ambiguous, but everything sort of references to be an undefined eastern European country. He just throws random references of different eastern european countries, and Kris probably meant it like that so its not really stereo-typically offensive to players on any particular country.

[Sinister_Fang]

10 hours ago, SpikeGuy said:

Mosquito- "Reminds me of uncle!"

Mosquito Sack- "Uncle did not have gut like this."

So for some reason, he associates his uncle with mosquitoes. Maybe because the man looked like one?

I think by this me meant his uncle was a blood sucker. Not a literal one mind you, but in terms of money.

[Szczuku]

17 hours ago, pedregales said:

The mosquito probably remembered him of his uncle possibly because he was scaredy or weak? Either that, or gut is a bit more literal than I want to admit considering the Babicia's secret recipe.

Now maybe my english is just not working but I thought that by "Uncle did not have gut like this" he meant his uncle couldn't drink too much alcohol or something like this

I personally though he was Russian. Well back in 1919 Poland was quite close to Russia so maybe he has some Polish roots.

[axxel]

I think his origin is Prussia. Prussia had German, Polish and Baltic people, and they fought for the country, German Reich, together. Wolfgangs GoH is similar to a Hussar (a light cavalary originally from Hungary) attire, his unused military skin has a "Pickelhaube", a helmet for the German military and police and usually associated with Prussia. Yes, as SpikeGuy pointed out, Wolfgang can have Polish or other Slavic ancestors. However, Wolfgang isn't a typical Slavic name, my best bet is that he has parents from different ethics.

For the frog legs quote: I think Wolfgang refers to the status of this food as luxury, as French culture ( language, lifestyle, cuisine) was lived by most European nobilities. 

For the hammer quote: Socialism and Communism were huge themes in the 19th century, as OP said. But hammer and sickle were also depicted on German Reich's money.

SpikeGuy made good observations, well done

[b1b3r0n]

I like to believe he his half german and french, because of his name (definitively not french) and delicacy froggies (totally french)... I don't know if european countries are eating frogs exept France so I may be wrong.

Just thinking about it: there was a part of France, Alsace - Moselle, that had been "given" by France to Germany in 1871 after the Prussian war and reclaimed back after WW1. During the war, there has been a lot of Alsaciens fighting for Germany (380 000 wiki). It can be a ground for Wolfgang.

After the war, and fighting France, he didn't went home (know back French) and leaves Europe to start a new life in a circus in America

Also, like @axxel said, socialism and communism were huge at that time, even in France and Germany

[Rellimarual]

6 hours ago, Szczuku said:

Now maybe my english is just not working but I thought that by "Uncle did not have gut like this" he meant his uncle couldn't drink too much alcohol or something like this

When used like this in English, “gut” usually means a protruding belly.

[minespatch]

On 1/2/2018 at 1:36 PM, SpikeGuy said:

1. Cooked Long Pig- "Babcia's secret recipe!"
   Alright, I know that this is a removed quote, but since Long Pig was taken out as a feature and it was not just the corresponding quotes, I think there might still be some canonicity to them. Now, the really interesting part is that "babcia" is Polish for "grandmother". So if this is still kind of canon, Wolfgang, or at least one of his grandmothers, is Polish. (The fact that she might have been a cannibal is also a bit disturbing. I hope it was a famine and not something they did voluntarily when there were other options...)
2. Mosquito- "Reminds me of uncle!"
   Mosquito Sack- "Uncle did not have gut like this."
   So for some reason, he associates his uncle with mosquitoes. Maybe because the man looked like one?

1. Wolfgang might be German due to his name but it'd be interesting for him to have Polish and Russian family members.
2. Probably a reference to his uncle's stomach.

On 1/2/2018 at 1:36 PM, SpikeGuy said:

^{I was reading through Wolfgang's quotes and related stuff when I found a bunch of interesting things that give clues on what Wolfgang's personal history was like. Since I couldn't find a thread for this anywhere else, I decided to start one myself. Bolding is used to highlight parts I think are important in quotes, and italics is my commentary. Okay, here we go:}

^{Beefalo (domesticated, rider/docile)- "Like I'm back in cavalry!"}

^{This seems to go hand-in-hand with-}

^{Mess Dress (Wolfgang's GoH body)- "Formal dinner attire for military officers."}

^{So, a calvary officer?}

^{Wolfgang's loading screen- "Whether in troupes or troops, Wolfgang has always thrived on the spirit of camaraderie. He considers the day he joined the survivors to be the moment his luck finally took a turn for the better."}

^{This seems to refer to both the circus and the military, if my previous theory was correct. Well, the military part explains some of his more aggressive tendencies (way too many quotes to count calling things weak or cowardly). As for the circus part, I suppose that was what gave him his title (The Strongman) and if the circus in question is Abernethy & Parker (from the fourth William Carter puzzle), it probably explains how he ran into Maxwell. Moving on...}

It's pretty much canon. I'm hoping this and the teacher Wickebottom skin get released in the future.

 

[Ali Bun]

I feel as though why he is so afraid of the dark and monsters has to be from the truama's of being in a war...possibly. 

[SpikeGuy]

I'm not sure this is really necessary, but here's Wolfgang's older alternate GoH portrait:

Does anyone know exactly what kind of sword that is? It looks like something a calvary officer from Wolfgang's time and place would use, but I'm not too good with weapons history.

[b1b3r0n]

30 minutes ago, SpikeGuy said:

 

Does anyone know exactly what kind of sword that is? It looks like something a calvary officer from Wolfgang's time and place would use, but I'm not too good with weapons history.

French cavalerie

 

Source: http://www.cheminsdememoire.gouv.fr/fr/les-uniformes-de-la-premiere-guerre-mondiale (in French, WW1 outfits)

 

Btw, German army

German Hussard

 

German Hussard military parade suit in the middle.

 

Hussards were nearly all Prussians, it was a cavalery unit

[Zhuzha]

On 02.01.2018 at 9:36 PM, SpikeGuy said:

Mosquito- "Reminds me of uncle!"

 

Mosquito Sack- "Uncle did not have gut like this."

So for some reason, he associates his uncle with mosquitoes. Maybe because the man looked like one?

I think, his first quote is a joke, meaning his uncle was annoying and/or noisy like a a mosquito. And the second quote is a clumsy attempt to elaborate on the joke, like "even though my uncle was annoying like a mosquito, he didn't have the gut like one."

 

Another interesting quote: when examining Clockwork Bishop - "Padre!"

It seems to imply Wolfgang was/is catholic.

[YumoS]

Also wasnt wolfgang the incredible strongman in the circus where maxwell was working? My guess is he was in the war and all the quotes are from his time in the military. But i think his work still was in the circus.

[minespatch]

7 hours ago, YumoS said:

Also wasnt wolfgang the incredible strongman in the circus where maxwell was working? My guess is he was in the war and all the quotes are from his time in the military. But i think his work still was in the circus.

The first world war was in 1914 while William Carter was grabbed into the Constant in 1905. Joining the war  was probably after his work in the circus.

[SpikeGuy]

Alright, a few more notes. First, the "Pure White" Riding Boots skin is also part of Wolfgang's GoH ("A pair of 'pure white' colored riding boots. Yee-haw!"). Also, this DST quote of his:

Potted Fern- "Wolfgang worry greenthumb is gangrene."

Now, I don't know much about the historical significance of gangrene, but I heard that armies had to deal with that problem in wounded soldiers. Medically, it's when flesh dies from not enough exposure to the bloodstream, and starts to suffer signs of decay. While the rest of the organism is still living. (In case you didn't get the hint, DO NOT look this up if you're squeamish, and especially if you're preparing to eat.)

As for greenthumb, I couldn't get any solid data through web searching, but I'm guessing it's some kind of fern-related plant from the contest.

[MondayNight]

"Greenthumb" - dark-green is a tegumentary chromatic stage in gangrene evolution. Also gangrene usually starts with body extremities. Wolf's quotation probably refers to what type of wounds he saw in war - and that, sadly, cannot provide info on what war he is talking about, as gangrene wounds were common in all wars (and poor medical conditions).

[pedregales]

Green thumb (with space in middle) is also an expression for a person that is very careful with plants. So I guess "Wolfgang worry greenthumb is gangrene" might be that another characters told him he had "green thumbs" but he understood it as "greenthumb" the gangrene stage? That sounds oddly specific, but if true it means Wolfgang likes gardening or at least is good with it, and maybe he suffers from PTSD from whichever war he fought (which also explains his fear from the darkness). About the possible gardening-lover, here are some quotes of wolfgang, and it does seem he cares for them:

"Little flowers are weak, but look nice." End table with flowers.

"I will grow mighty crops here!" Basic/Improved farms.

"Grow my little friends! Grow!" Basic/Improved farms (growing).

"Dirt is not dirty enough to make plants." Basic/Improved farms (needs fertilizer).

"It makes me happy." Potted Fern (DS alone).

[Zhuzha]

Well, since he probably grew up on a farm, I'd imagine he knows a thing or two about caring for plants.

[minespatch]

On 1/10/2018 at 10:02 PM, pedregales said:

Green thumb (with space in middle) is also an expression for a person that is very careful with plants. So I guess "Wolfgang worry greenthumb is gangrene" might be that another characters told him he had "green thumbs" but he understood it as "greenthumb" the gangrene stage? That sounds oddly specific, but if true it means Wolfgang likes gardening or at least is good with it, and maybe he suffers from PTSD from whichever war he fought (which also explains his fear from the darkness). About the possible gardening-lover, here are some quotes of wolfgang, and it does seem he cares for them.

Thanks to this thread, I now know Wolfgang has a farming niche. It's a interesting trait that it separates from his Strongman aesthetic. I guess that it adds to Wolfgang's gentle giant persona.

[b1b3r0n]

I do want a farmer Wolfgang skin now

[Sinister_Fang]

1 hour ago, b1b3r0n said:

I do want a farmer Wolfgang skin now

Overalls, long gloves, and steel toe boots. And for extra style points you can wear a straw hat and carry a pitchfork.

[minespatch]

3 hours ago, b1b3r0n said:

I do want a farmer Wolfgang skin now

On 4/6/2017 at 8:00 PM, MatheusR31 said:

 

MAtheus did some spring skins(the original thread has broken image links), maybe something like this?