Daniel Groth, Timid Sweetheart Turned Terrifying Vampire
Daniel was created by Sarah Nelson, it can be read on its own website and Tapas
WARNING
The webcomic contains material that isn't suitable for anyone under 18, as it includes graphic violence and suggestions of SA. Viewer discretion is advised
Welcome back to the blog! I'm surprised it took me this long to cover a vampire in one of my blogs. Not there aren't any I've encountered that seemed blog-worthy, but there weren't any I was actively interested in writing a blog on until now. Daniel's movepool isn't anything you haven't seen before, but after finishing his story, I really wanted to put more eyes on it.
Background
“The world won't come between us again, Christine.”
There isn't a lot about Daniel Groth that jumps out as extraordinary. In fact, his life is rather hapless. He is naturally mousey and awkward, has a history of alcohol abuse, and has trouble maintaining stable income. Considering he lives during the Great Depression, that's fair enough. His latest job has been working in a graveyard; maintaining the property and digging graves and the likes. It's an apt job for such a morose man.
A spark of hope lit in his gloomy life when he met Christine Lockwood, an empathetic and forward-thinking woman who appreciates Daniel's down-to-earth nature. The two have been best friends for a long time, but Daniel desires to take it a step further.
He is head over heels for her, but his insecurities have always gotten in the way of telling her how he really feels. That, and Christine's ex-boyfriend Wayne constantly puts him down just for being around his "girl" who clearly isn't interested in him.
Daniel finally musters the courage to ask Christine out, even using what was left of his savings to buy her a necklace. His proposal is hijacked when Wayne butts in to harass him and exposes his gift in front of his crush. Christine is appalled by Wayne's treatment of him and scared him off, but the damage is already done.
Daniel deflects when she asks if he intended to ask her out and chooses to keep to himself rather than spend the night of Fourth of July with her. He leaves Christine be, suggesting they hang out next week.
After that, Daniel goes missing. It was as if he'd vanished into thin air. All that's left of him is his hat, which some lowlife snagged at the cemetery he worked at. Despite her searching, he isn't anywhere in sight. Anything could have befallen the poor man, but there's nothing to be done. Life would go on, but she can't let him go.
It wouldn't be until three months later that he would be seen skulking outside her house.
Christine is overjoyed by his return, but Daniel's response is nowhere near as emotional. He's lethargic, rather annoyed that she'd found him. Christine can quickly tell something is off about his behavior. He isn't as warmhearted as he usually is around her, speaks more bluntly, and is far more secretive than he usually is. Daniel even has the confidence to kiss her and reveal his love to her, though this sudden change of character makes Christine even more confused.
He's tight-lipped about what happened in the months he was missing, and it's plain to Christine that his lackluster explanations aren't honest. The state of his body suggests some disturbing ideas. He's pale as a ghost, bears a scar on his lip, and is freezing cold to the touch. The most he's able to admit is that he's unable to eat most foods and be exposed to too much sunlight due to a sickness he contracted.
So what really happened to him all those months ago? The truth is quite bleak.
Daniel really did go to work after seeing Christine, but was kidnapped by men hired by Wayne. After some beating and torturing, Daniel was brought back to the cemetery where he was buried alive in a faraway grave. He was placed with a body that supposedly died from tuberculosis, but its skeletal head placed between its legs suggests something more ominous.
Daniel pleaded, cried for help, promised to never talk to Christine again, but nothing got through to Wayne and his men. They left him to succumb to his wounds and draining air. Later, he heard some shifting noises above his grave, like the dirt being moved. He wouldn't live long enough to see if he was being rescued or not… though he wouldn't stay dead for long.
Not even Daniel knows what happened next. His earliest memory afterwards was stumbling down the street covered in filth. Perhaps this grave originally belonged to someone special, someone that had mercy on him and allowed him a second shot at life, or rather unlife.
Daniel is a living corpse who can now only be satiated with the blood of humans. He had been turned into a vampire with a staggering amount of supernatural powers. In the months he was missing, he prowled in the night to feast upon anyone unfortunate enough to cross paths with him. His reflection is hardly visible, but when he gazes into mirrors he sees something mortifying. He has developed a severe hatred of mirrors.
He may be a monster now, but he hadn't fully lost his humanity. He'd deliberately avoided returning to Christine to protect her from himself. He knew he wouldn't let her be if he returned to her. Still, she was always on his mind whenever he drained a victim of their blood. Daniel didn't mean to return to her, he just naturally found himself back at her doorstep.
He is aware of how frightened everyone is around him, but Christine's trust in him hasn't faltered. Despite his peculiar behavior and how he continues to avoid telling her what happened, she knows he wouldn't hurt her. Her hopes are misplaced.
Daniel believes he could find a way to balance living his average life with Christine and his murderous cravings, but he couldn't even be close to her. Her life emanates from her with every heartbeat. Every touch they exchange drives him mad. To quell this, Daniel spikes her drink and sampled her blood from her wrist while she's unconscious. It's difficult to pull himself away, but he manages to back off to avoid killing her.
Christine willingly let Daniel back into her life, and now that he had a taste of her, that's when he truly could never let her go.
The only thing in the way of being with her forever other than his thirst for her blood is Wayne, who still won't leave his Chrissy alone. After startling him after their latest run-in with his changed self, it was time to finally claim vengeance. The vampire rounded up Wayne and his boys and brutally killed each one. Wayne had it the worst, enduring extensive torture before his grisly demise.
Daniel continues his murderous spree to satiate his blood thirst, but his eyes remain set on Christine. Now that nothing can stand between them again, he breaks into her home to make her his. Daniel may remain as civil as she remembers, but Christine can see him for the monster he has become. His soft-spoken politeness is only a thinly veiled mask for his predatory nature.
Daniel turns Christine a prisoner in her own home, boarding up all entrances and sucking her blood whenever he desires. He eventually tells her the truth of his supposed illness. He doesn't want to be the wimpy man he once was. He's something far greater now, a vessel of he lives of everyone he consumes. There's only one way he can love now, by feeling one's life flowing through him.
He knows his "love" is eventually going to kill Christine, so he wants to savor her for as long as he possibly can. If not her, then he'll go after those close to her, forming one big depressing family together.
Despite being subjected to deeply upsetting activities by Daniel, Christine is able to fight back against him. At the same time, the Chicago Police Department connects him to the murders and storms Christine's house. The blaring sunlight burns Daniel to a crisp and Christine is rescued.
Daniel's reign of terror seemingly draws to a close, but this tale isn't over just yet. Although he appeared dead, all it took for him was to bite into a police's neck to restore his vitality. He escapes after being rejuvenated and goes after head detective Leonard's family. He and Christine head to his house to check on them, only to be met with the lifeless body of Leonard's pregnant wife, who was also Christine's sister.
Their daughter was still alive, but in the arms of Daniel. He views her as a potential daughter, thinking she could live with him and Chrissy once he finds her. She isn't far behind, as she arrives to the scene to tell him that she's all his, so he can leave Leonard's family alone.
Thus, Daniel whisks her away to the cemetery he worked and died in. It's there that Christine finally convinces him to tell her what happened three months ago, and his story devastates her. She blames herself for everything that happened to him, as Wayne tried to kill him because of her. Daniel disagrees, believing his fate was inevitable. He thanks whoever the grave he was buried in previously belonged to. Thanks to them, he and Christine can be together again.
In spite of everything, Christine clings onto the hope that the real Daniel is in there somewhere. She had seen it before, but she still can't let this murderer roam freely. Christine actually proposed to go with him so she could kill him in isolation. In their previous scuffle she discovered that mirrors do more than deter him. A broken mirror shard is one of the few things in this world that can hurt him and prevent his healing.
She strikes as they kissed, but he'd anticipated it and goes to bite her neck. As she feels this is the end, Leonard comes to her rescue and the two face this monster together. Even two on one it's difficult to take down a supernaturally strong vampire. However, Daniel freezes up as he sees after all this time, Christine wore the necklace he attempted to gift to her. That hesitation gives her an opening to ram her mirror shard into his heart.
Black blood oozes out of his orifices as he struggles to pull out the shard, collapsing to the ground. Despite what she just did, Christine immediately asks Daniel to take all of her blood. The circumstances are so horrible that she wants nothing more than to die. If killing her can satisfy him, she'll allow it, but with the last of his humanity, Daniel tells her to not worry about him.
In his final act, he shoves Christine off of her as Leonard decapitates him and torches his body.
Daniel's fate was unfortunate, but Christine and the rest of the city won't have to fear him prowling the streets any longer. Perhaps Daniel, the "real" Daniel is in a better place now, waiting for Christine with a bouquet.
Experience and Skill
Before becoming a vampire, Daniel was just an average guy. His most notable skills pertain to specific oddjobs rather than anything notable in a fight. That all changed once he was turned. Daniel has only been a vampire for three months, and in that time became accustomed to his newfound powers and strength. Before returning to Christine, he had taken at least fifteen lives.
Once he returns to Chicago, he stalks and kills unsuspecting civilians at night. Despite the strange circumstances surrounding him, it takes a bit for others to connect him to the ongoing murders. His knowledge as a gravedigger has led him to use several tools of the trade in torturing people he's especially vindictive towards.
Before becoming a vampire, Daniel was just an average guy. His most notable skills pertain to specific oddjobs rather than anything notable in a fight. That all changed once he was turned. Daniel has only been a vampire for three months, and in that time became accustomed to his newfound powers and strength. Before returning to Christine, he had taken at least fifteen lives.
Once he returns to Chicago, he stalks and kills unsuspecting civilians at night. Despite the strange circumstances surrounding him, it takes a bit for others to connect him to the ongoing murders. His knowledge as a gravedigger has led him to use several tools of the trade in torturing people he's especially vindictive towards.
Equipment
Handsaw
Daniel's hideout houses several tools of torture, such as this handsaw. He used it to saw into Wayne's arm before tearing it off.
Daniel's hideout houses several tools of torture, such as this handsaw. He used it to saw into Wayne's arm before tearing it off.
Knife
A knife can be seen among his weapons for torture.
A knife can be seen among his weapons for torture.
Tourniquet
To prolong his suffering, Daniel fastened a tourniquet around Wayne's arm to keep him from spilling too much blood as he sawed it off.
To prolong his suffering, Daniel fastened a tourniquet around Wayne's arm to keep him from spilling too much blood as he sawed it off.
Blowtorch
Someone like Wayne doesn't deserve a quick death bleeding out. Daniel drags out his demise by painfully cauterizing his wounds with a blowtorch. For even more suffering, he can heat up his knives with it.
Someone like Wayne doesn't deserve a quick death bleeding out. Daniel drags out his demise by painfully cauterizing his wounds with a blowtorch. For even more suffering, he can heat up his knives with it.
Ice Pick
Ironically, he heated up this ice pick before poking out Wayne's eyes.
Ironically, he heated up this ice pick before poking out Wayne's eyes.
Wood Boards
Imagine waking up to seeing your room's windows boarded. Daniel put those up around Chrissy's house to keep her a prisoner in her own home.
Imagine waking up to seeing your room's windows boarded. Daniel put those up around Chrissy's house to keep her a prisoner in her own home.
Abilities
Vampirism
Daniel has many trademark qualities of a vampire, most notably the requirement to feed on human blood to sustain his vitality. Daniel consumes blood to feel life, and noted how he feels his victims' emotions and memories inside him after draining them. He has some other interesting traits as a vampire like his black blood and ability to turn his eyes red.
Daniel has many trademark qualities of a vampire, most notably the requirement to feed on human blood to sustain his vitality. Daniel consumes blood to feel life, and noted how he feels his victims' emotions and memories inside him after draining them. He has some other interesting traits as a vampire like his black blood and ability to turn his eyes red.
Enhanced Strength
The once feeble Daniel now possesses uncanny strength. Compared to other characters I've researched he's pretty grounded, but being able to bend a metal fire poker and pop a human head between his hands is nothing to scoff at.
The once feeble Daniel now possesses uncanny strength. Compared to other characters I've researched he's pretty grounded, but being able to bend a metal fire poker and pop a human head between his hands is nothing to scoff at.
Dream Manipulation
Christine had repeated nightmares about Daniel after he came back in her life, which isn’t out of the ordinary… until it’s revealed the same is happening to Christine’s sister, her daughter, and a stranger. Two of them recount feeling like they were being strangled, and found marks around their throat afterwards. Many vampires across fiction have been able to supernaturally control dreams, so it's no surprise Daniel is in that crowd too.
Christine had repeated nightmares about Daniel after he came back in her life, which isn’t out of the ordinary… until it’s revealed the same is happening to Christine’s sister, her daughter, and a stranger. Two of them recount feeling like they were being strangled, and found marks around their throat afterwards. Many vampires across fiction have been able to supernaturally control dreams, so it's no surprise Daniel is in that crowd too.
Vanishing
Numerous times across the webcomic, characters turn away from Daniel for a moment, only for him to disappear right when they look back. When Wayne and his boys cornered him in an abandoned house, he vanished from their sights only to drop down from the ceiling. It's unclear whether it's super speed or flat-out teleportation, so I'll just leave it as vague as Daniel does.
Numerous times across the webcomic, characters turn away from Daniel for a moment, only for him to disappear right when they look back. When Wayne and his boys cornered him in an abandoned house, he vanished from their sights only to drop down from the ceiling. It's unclear whether it's super speed or flat-out teleportation, so I'll just leave it as vague as Daniel does.
Levitation
Being able to ominously hover into the air is a great intimidation tactic.
Being able to ominously hover into the air is a great intimidation tactic.
Telekinesis
Daniel mainly uses his telekinetic powers to fuck with people by locking them in rooms. He even pulled that trick on Chrissy to keep her trapped in her house. He can even use it to deflect projectiles thrown at him, like when a lighter was tossed at him while he was covered in gasoline.
Daniel mainly uses his telekinetic powers to fuck with people by locking them in rooms. He even pulled that trick on Chrissy to keep her trapped in her house. He can even use it to deflect projectiles thrown at him, like when a lighter was tossed at him while he was covered in gasoline.
Regeneration (Mid-Low)
The worst Daniel regenerated from was after being caught in sunlight. He was assumed dead, but after drinking blood he was good as new. As powerful as that sounds, there are some drawbacks. He can't heal the remnants of the wounds he had when Wayne buried him alive, which explains the scar on his lip. There's also a way to negate his regeneration, but I'll save that for the weaknesses section.
The worst Daniel regenerated from was after being caught in sunlight. He was assumed dead, but after drinking blood he was good as new. As powerful as that sounds, there are some drawbacks. He can't heal the remnants of the wounds he had when Wayne buried him alive, which explains the scar on his lip. There's also a way to negate his regeneration, but I'll save that for the weaknesses section.
Immortality (Types 3 and 7)
Daniel is an animated corpse, so he's unbound by life. Sure he has to worry about sunlight, but he can easily regenerate any tissue damage after slurping peoples' blood.
Daniel is an animated corpse, so he's unbound by life. Sure he has to worry about sunlight, but he can easily regenerate any tissue damage after slurping peoples' blood.
Self-Sustenance (Type 3)
Ever since becoming a vampire he hasn't needed to sleep. He does a similar activity by just lying still in a dark place, but he's still aware of everything around himself.
Ever since becoming a vampire he hasn't needed to sleep. He does a similar activity by just lying still in a dark place, but he's still aware of everything around himself.
Claw Growth
Damn Daniel, tell me about your manicure routine!
Damn Daniel, tell me about your manicure routine!
Resistances
- Pain resistance: Daniel is already dead, so there are few things in this world that can actually cause him pain.
- Pain resistance: Daniel is already dead, so there are few things in this world that can actually cause him pain.
Techniques
N/A
Feats
Overall
- Took revenge against Wayne and his boys for burying him alive
- Got away with killing at least fifteen other people before Leonard pieced everything together
Strength
- Bashed a hole through a guy's chest and neck
- Busted open a safe by unknown means
- Telekinetically swung a door so hard it cracked
- Bit Frank's throat open
- Popped Tim's head with one hand, creating a crack in the wall behind him (graphic violence warning)
- Broke Wayne's back
- Sawed into Wayne's arm and pulled it off (graphic violence warning)
- Bent a fire poker with his bare hands
Speed
- Daniel vanishes in the blink of an eye multiple times throughout the series. One time he suddenly appeared on the ceiling when no one was looking at him.
- Leapt as high as a staircase
Durability
Weaknesses
- Daniel plays on vampires' classic welcoming rules, where he can't enter someone's home unless they give him express permission. Once they welcome him, their words are binding. He can easily break into a locked house with his telekinesis.
- To the human eye only a vague outline of him appears in mirrors, but to Daniel his reflection looks monstrous. If he sees his reflection, he freaks out. Holding a mirror and shining it at him is an easy a way to ward him off. Being stabbed with a mirror shard is one of the rare things that causes him pain. It even drains him of his lifeforce if it's stuck there long enough. Stabbing him in the heart with it is a surefire way to put him down for good.
- It's no surprise he has a weakness to sunlight, burning up if he’s exposed to it. It’s one of the few things that causes him real pain.
Matchup Potential
Although Daniel's story treads familiar ground, I don't have enough experience with vampire horror media to easily think of a cool matchup for Daniel. An ideal opponent would be grounded in nature and pair well with the dark turn his bond with Christine takes after becoming a vampire. A character from his time period would be an added bonus but it's not required.
NEXT TIME ON WCAB… whenever I feel like it
