The secondary antagonist of Fritz Langs silent science fiction classic Metropolis, Rotwang is tasked by the citys tyrannical ruler with completing a robot lookalike of Maria, the leader of the workers movement, in order that he can subvert it from within. Unbeknownst to the tyrant, however, the increasingly insane and delusional Rotwang harbours traitorous thoughts and seeks revenge upon his master If Frankenstein is the godfather of all mad scientists, then Rotwang is the grandfather of them all, including Frankenstein himself. Theres an oddly symbiotic relationship between the two at play: Lang based many aspects of the character on representations of Frankenstein in contemporary melodramatic stage adaptations of Mary Shelleys novel, while later cinematic versions of the Frankenstein story took great liberties with the production design of Rotwangs laboratory, all pipes and tubes, coils and instrument panels. Meanwhile, Rotwangs crazed expression, the manic white fright wig and sombre black clothing have become staples of the mad scientist trope in fiction of all kinds, even extending to parodies and satires based on the horror and science fiction genres: Peter Sellers based almost all of the appearance of his Dr. Strangelove character, including the mechanical hand, on Rotwang. Lost in the pop cultural shuffle is poor Rotwang himself: a genius who lost his love, builds her anew to achieve his vengeance, but loses his mind in the doing.
Professional writer, punk werewolf and nesting place for starfish. Obsessed with squid, spirals and story. I publish short weird fiction online at desincarne.com, and tweet nonsense under the name Jack The Bodiless. You can follow me all you like, just don't touch my stuff.
