Jonathan Septimus
Professor Jonathan Septimus is a fictional character in the Blake and Mortimer series, created by Belgian artist Edgar P. Jacobs. He makes his inaugural appearance in The Yellow "M", the third adventure and sixth album of the series, which was serialized in Tintin magazine on 5 August 1953.
A psychiatrist based in London, Dr. Septimus is a member of the high society of the Centaur Club. However, his outwardly gentlemanly demeanor conceals his true personality and thirst for revenge. His work on human mind control, published under the pseudonym Dr. Wade in the 1920s, was met with considerable opposition and criticism from journalists and the scientific community alike. Subsequently, he was exiled to Sudan, but returned to London before the outbreak of World War III, with the intention of exacting retribution. In his secret laboratory, he developed the "telecephaloscope", a device that uses the "Mega Wave" to control the brain of remotely, commanding him to commit a series of crimes marked with the letter μ in yellow chalk. Ultimately, Septimus is unmasked by before his creation turns against him, resulting in his destruction with his invention.
Jonathan Septimus represents the archetypal "evil scientist" in the oeuvre of Blake and Mortimer. His character is situated within a long tradition of literary and cinematic depictions of cursed scientists, evoking figures such as Dr. Jekyll, Dr. Mabuse, and Dr. Caligari.
The character in the series
Fictional biography
Jonathan Septimus is a psychiatrist based in London who has published many scientific monographs. He wears glasses and has an "intense and penetrating gaze, accentuated by the cold, arrogant sneer of his mouth." Septimus is outwardly respectable and is known to frequent the Centaur Club, as are many other gentlemen of London's high society. The impressive library in his home serves as a testament to his erudition. His personality, however, is more troubled. He exhibits a proclivity for emotional volatility, manifesting in both outbursts and periods of despondency.In 1920, he discovered the "Mega Wave", which he identified as the cerebral wave responsible for controlling the mind, actions, and instincts. He published his findings under the pseudonym Dr. J. Wade, asserting that "the individual who could capture and control the Mega Wave of a specific individual would master all their mental activity and transform them into a docile, powerful instrument." The book was met with considerable controversy and criticism. His publisher, James Thornley, filed a defamation lawsuit but ultimately lost when Judge Vernay ruled that "not only is this book a scientific heresy, but it also endangers public morals." Following Thornley's demise, Jonathan Septimus relocated to Fanaka, a modest community in Sudan's Blue Nile region. The district commissioner bestowed upon him the responsibility of caring for a man discovered wandering in the desert, exhibiting signs of amnesia. This individual was none other than Colonel, whom Septimus intended to use as a test subject to substantiate his hypotheses. He affectionately dubbed him "Guinea pig" and returned to London at the advent of World War III.
In response to the directives of the army's health services, Dr. Septimus constructed a shelter beneath his Tavistock Square residence, where he established a laboratory to pursue his research. A highly accomplished scientist, he clandestinely developed the "telecephaloscope", a device using the Mega Wave to regulate Olrik's brain functions from a distance, thereby fulfilling his aspiration for retribution against those who had previously humiliated him.
Appearances in the albums
Central role in ''The Yellow "M"''
Professor Jonathan Septimus makes his inaugural appearance on page six of The Yellow "M", which was pre-published in Tintin magazine on 5 August 1953. At the beginning of the narrative, the protagonist spends the evening at the Centaur Club with Leslie Macomber, the editor of the Daily Mail; Hugh Calvin, a judge; and Raymond Vernay, a professor. Like them, he is introduced to Captain of MI5, the British intelligence service, and his friend. As a result of the actions of a mysterious figure, London is engulfed in panic as he marks his crimes with the letter μ in yellow chalk.In the aftermath of the abductions of Vernay, Macomber, and Calvin, Captain Blake secures the police protection of Jonathan Septimus and persuades him to depart from London. However, during his journey, Septimus is abducted by train to his Suffolk cottage. While Blake and Scotland Yard Inspector Glenn Kendall pursue multiple leads, Mortimer conducts his investigation and discovers a link between the four victims: a 1922 case involving the publication of a book titled The Mega Wave, written by the mysterious Dr. Wade. He locates a copy of the book and determines that its true author is none other than Jonathan Septimus. Mortimer promptly takes a taxi to Limehouse Dock, where the Yellow "M" has set a trap for Captain Blake. The police successfully thwart the criminal's plan, and Mortimer intercepts the perpetrator. A chase ensues, leading Mortimer to Septimus's hideout, where he is astonished to find, his archenemy, under the influence of Dr. Septimus, operating behind the Yellow "M."
Dr. Septimus discloses the truth to Mortimer while he is held captive. Blake and Kendall eventually locate him with the assistance of the taxi driver who had transported him to Limehouse Dock. Law enforcement officials then proceed to Septimus's residence, forcibly breaching the reinforced door to the professor's clandestine laboratory. Inside, Olrik is abruptly liberated from the doctor's influence by a phrase Mortimer utters, resulting in his betrayal of his master and the use of his apparatus to annihilate him. Dr. Septimus is ultimately reduced to ashes.
''The Septimus Wave''
In 2013, the twenty-second album in the Blake and Mortimer series, entitled The Septimus Wave, was released. The text was written by Jean Dufaux, and the illustrations were created by and. This adventure serves as a sequel to The Yellow "M", taking place several months after the preceding narrative and reintroducing numerous characters from Jacobs's album. In this narrative, four devotees of Professor Jonathan Septimus—Lieutenant McFarlane, Lady Rowana, banker Oscar Balley, and Professor Evangely—prepare to resume his research clandestinely. also endeavors to unravel the enigmas of the Mega Wave in his laboratory situated in the periphery of London. In his absence, the telecephaloscope activates independently, conjuring an image of Dr. Septimus.Meanwhile investigates a mysterious illness affecting Major Banks's troops, which causes them to experience delirium as if preparing for an enemy attack. After his treatment at Bedlam Hospice, Blake discovers a cavernous structure housing a spacecraft of a kind, positioned on its side. Upon entering the structure, he encounters the image of Dr. Septimus in a giant column of liquid crystals, which subsequently vanishes to reveal a figure clad in a diving suit, presumably in control of the vessel. Concurrently, Mortimer is incarcerated in Professor Evangely's laboratory, where he encounters too. Mortimer succeeds in triggering the telecephaloscope's disruptor before being rendered unconscious, while throngs of Septimus doppelgängers swarm outside the warehouse and in London's streets. The telecephaloscope appears to malfunction, continuously generating the doctor's image.
Ultimately Captain Blake decides to destroy the mysterious spaceship. Meanwhile, Mortimer, temporarily allied with Olrik, uses the telecephaloscope on him, this time giving him control over the Mega Wave. The colonel joins Blake inside the ship, urges him to leave, and triggers an explosion that destroys it.
Other appearances
In 2020 Jean Dufaux authored the script for a new sequel, entitled, which constituted the twenty-seventh album in the series. The illustrations were provided by and Étienne Schréder. Scholars have critiqued the narrative as lacking convincingness. This adventure represents the conclusion of a trilogy initiated with The Yellow "M." While Jonathan Septimus's role is minimal, he is referenced on numerous occasions throughout the album. This is evident in instances such as Mortimer's summarization of previous adventures and the auctioning off of the hypnotic disc used by the doctor to subdue his victims. Septimus's silhouette reappears when Francis Blake drives an explosives-laden truck into the Moloch, resulting in its destruction.In September 2021, released, a picture book written by and illustrated by. This constituted part of a spin-off series. This adventure directly references Edgar P. Jacobs and The Yellow "M", as well as British director James Whale's films, particularly The Bride of Frankenstein. In this narrative, Whale returns to London in the 1950s to adapt The Yellow "M" Affair for the screen. Professor Mortimer, who assisted in resolving the case, is consulted for his expertise during the film's production.
A series of enigmatic occurrences guides the two men, accompanied by Richard Murray, 's nephew, to the desolate residence of Doctor Septimus. There, they uncover a clandestine laboratory where the brain of biologist Ursula Phelps, Septimus's partner, is preserved. Due to his experiments, the organ, sustained and linked to an electrical apparatus, can control machinery. Ultimately, Professor Mortimer annihilates it in a conflagration.