Hansel

Hansel
Biographical information
Real name	Hansel
Aliases	Lord Hansel Player Three (secret agent code name)
Status	Alive (resurrected)
Species	Human (Fable)
Gender	Male
Occupation	The Shadow Players field agent (formerly) Inquisitor General for the Empire (formerly) Witch hunter (formerly)
Affiliation	The Shadow Players (formerly) The Empire (formerly)
Homeland	The Hesse
Family information
Relatives	Gretel — sister
Appearances
First issue	Fables #52 — "Some Ideas Toward the Prospect of a Final Solution for Fabletown: Part One of Sons of the Empire"
Last issue	Everafter: From the Pages of Fables #12 — "The Bones of What You Believe: The Conclusion of The Unsentimental Education"
Sources
Original source	Hansel from "Hansel and Gretel"

Hansel is a human Fable who served the Empire as their Inquisitor General and is later their ambassador to Fabletown before being confined to a wheelchair when Cinderella shoots him in both kneecaps. He debuts in Fables #52 — "Some Ideas Toward the Prospect of a Final Solution for Fabletown: Part One of Sons of the Empire." Hansel and Sam are summoned by Kevin Thorn to help inspire his destruction of the world, but Sam eventually pushed Hansel off a cliff. Hansel later becomes an agent for the secret Fable intelligence organization known as The Shadow Players.

History

Homelands

Hansel lived with his sister Gretel and their father. When his father got remarried, his new wife forced him to leave his children in the woods to die. Frau Totenkinder, who lived in those woods, turned her house into candy to lure the children to her, so she could sacrifice them. The two were able to turn the tables and kill her. Hansel's obsession with killing witches began that day.

When the pair escaped the woods, the Adversary's armies were attacking the surrounding area. Hansel concluded that God was allowing the "creatures of the debts" to attack these people as punishment for their sins. The siblings kept ahead of the Adversary's armies, eventually coming to the mundane world, where they assumed all the good people were gathered.

Mundane world

Hansel and Gretel signed the Fabletown Compact and arrived in the Fabletown happy enough. When Hansel saw Frau Totenkinder, he became angry and left the settlement. He became a famed witch hunter in Europe.

He returned to America during the Salem witch trials. While there, he visited his sister in Fabletown. He was shocked to discover that his sister was studying witchcraft. Enraged, he struck her and broke her neck. Officially, the story was that she fell down some stairs. Hansel was never charged with murder, but he was struck from the Fabletown Compact and expulsed.

In service of the Empire

As witch hunting became rarer in the mundane world, Hansel disappeared from the public eye. He returned to the Homelands. There, the Empire employed him as a witch hunter, seeking out anyone doing unauthorized magic.

More recently, Hansel was made an ambassador to Fabletown. Officially, his mission is to negotiate a treaty between them and the Empire. His true purpose is to rescue Baba Yaga and Geppetto's wooden soldiers.

Rewriting the story

Sam dumps Hansel off a cliff

Shortly afterward, Kevin Thorn recruits Sam and Hansel for advisors, hoping they can inspire him in writing his masterpiece: a brand new universe. Hansel is happy when they learn that Thorn intends to do away with the current universe, which Hansels considers depraved and fallen. Time and time again, Thorn attempts to end the story, but ends up failing. He learns this is because he is now haunted by his twin brother, Writer's Block. Hansel attempts to beat Writer's Block to death with his cane, but Sam stops him, reminding him he cannot kill someone in cold blood, especially someone who is unable to protect themselves. Hansel argues that Thorn does not need to kill his brother for good, just for now (as Literals are immortal, much like many Fables).

After numerous disagreements, Sam has had enough, and uses his superspeed to roll Hansel and his wheelchair away from Thorn's estate, and proceeds to dump Hansel out of the wheelchair and off a cliff. However, when he returns, he discovers that Thorn has followed Hansel's advice and finally killed his brother (for now).

Shadow Players

Several years later, Hansel is working for the secret intelligence organization known as The Shadow Players. He and his fellow agents Bo Peep and Peter Piper embark on a mission in the mundane world to capture Jordan Yow, a twelve years old mundy girl who has gained magical abilities since the introduction of magic into the world. The comrades battle against a swarm of zombies and other horrifying beings. As they cautiously explore an abandoned train station, they stumble upon a peculiar train that seems to have appeared out of nowhere, not resting on any rails as if it was simply dropped in place by some unknown force. Inside the train, Bo and Hansel discover Jordan. However, instead of capturing her, Hansel declares he will kill her. When Bo attempts to stop him, she receives a blow to her knee from his walking stick. However, Jordan can take care of herself and causes Hansel to combust into a gooey mess.

Following Hansel's demise, Thomas of Erceldoune conducts a ritual aimed at bringing Hansel back to life. The attempt is successful, but the results are grotesque.

Personality and traits

The most defining characteristic of Hansel's personality is his hatred of witches. He considers killing witches his purpose in life and lets nothing get in the way of it. This is due to the trauma he experienced after his encounter with Frau Totenkinder.

Original source

Hansel is based on the character of the same name from the fairy of "Hansel and Gretel." In the story, Hansel and Gretel are left in the woods to die. They happen upon a gingerbread house belonging to a witch. The witch captures them and fattens them up to eat. They manage to push the witch into her own stove and escape back home.