Hello, yes, hi, hello your headcanons are amazing, and i know u said you're backed up with asks so this is just me adding to the pile: headcanons for Captain? owo
Oh, Captain. For brevity, I'm just going to call him Hans like most fans.
We're introduced to Hans in The Dawn, and on sight, Alucard clocks him as a genuine werewolf. I think Hans is incredibly old, and the last of his kind, as Alucard states. I imagine he was born centuries before (maybe Germanic or Norse in origin) and was a warrior or a criminal. We see him with a wolf's head sometimes. The Old English word wulfeshēafod/Middle English wolfesheved which meant to pursue an outlaw.
Hans is the most stoic out of all the Mill members. Everyone else is incredibly gleeful about the harm they are causing, but never Hans. In some panels, he looks extremely attentive or focused, but he never has the manic grin nearly everyone else in Hellsing (all sides included) displays at some point, which leads me to think that the man. Doesn't. Want. To. Be. There.
His outfit means he's a high ranking officer. Still, he's wearing the Afrika Korps uniform (who were pretty much the only section of the German Army who didn't commit horrific atrocities during the war.) So that further makes me believe he either doesn't want to be part of Millennium or is different from the rest of them. Also, the Totenkopf is drawn wrong on him but is correct on all the other SS officers. Which also seems like another tip that him being there is not by choice. But that's entirely speculation since the man never says a word.
Hans has opportunities to cause more death but doesn't. He wounds Heinkel by shooting her in the cheek and offers a first aid kit to her, which is a stark contrast to how Walter murders Yumiko without a second thought. He could also stop Integra from going to see Major but doesn't. This makes me think the man doesn't enjoy absolute destruction like his colleagues and only performs actions he's explicitly ordered to do, sort of like Alucard. For example, he only attacks Walter after being ordered in Dawn.
He also sort of tries to communicate with Heinkel by shaking his head, which can be interrupted as "Don't interrupt the battle between Alucard and Walter." He also points Integra in the Major's direction for their final battle. The fact that he doesn't ever say anything, even when trying to communicate with others, makes me think that man is entirely mute.
There's just so much werewolf mythology. You can really make whatever backstory you want from him because the canon is limited. In Hellsing lore, becoming a monster means forsaking your humanity. Hans was probably near death (like Alucard and Major) and did...something to forever alter himself. I imagine either eating human flesh or drinking blood or water out of a paw print from the ground to save his life, thus cursing him with lycanthropy.
There's a long history of killing werewolves during various witch trials throughout the middle ages. I think Hans managed to escape with his skin, but any other werewolves like him were killed over the centuries. I feel like Hans is a living relic Millennium was able to capture somehow, not unlike how Abraham enslaved and tossed Alu in his basement.
Hans seems incredibly loyal, but also wants to die in battle. He leads Seras to a treasure room filled with piles of stolen gold and other precious metals to fight, putting himself at a direct disadvantage. Like, the man all but GIVES Seras the silver tooth that ends his life, even though it's technically Pip who stabs him with it. If that doesn't scream, "I don't want to fucking be a part of this, please end me." I don't know what does?
The only time we see Hans smile is when he dies. The way he immediately follows orders and only seems to act when told coupled with his happiness at dying in battle makes me think he's a lot like Alucard: he's Mills supernatural servant who wants to die in battle to a worthy opponent. And just like how Alucard was captured, I think Hans was too. Like Alu, I don't think Hans has much agency and is bound in servitude to Major/Mill.
While I believe Hans is mute, I think he can read and write several languages. I imagine he uses writing and a made-up sign language to communicate with the other Mill members. I don't think anyone in Mill would even think of learning actual sign language, and he created his own to get his point across. He'll gesture, write across your palm letter by letter, or use whatever is around (paper, whiteboard, chalkboard, etc.)
