William B.J. Blazkowicz (Polish pronunciation: [Blazkɔvitʂ] pronounced: Blaz-ko-vitch) is fictional protagonist of the Wolfenstein series of video games, first introduced in the action-adventure game Castle Wolfenstein in 1981.[1] He starred in the 1992 first-person shooter Wolfenstein 3-D[2] and most of the following games in the series, except of the multiplayer Enemy Territory.
[edit] In video games
William Joseph Blazkowicz was born in United States on August 15, 1911, to a family of Polish immigrants, and got nicknamed "B.J." by his friends. During World War II, B.J. became a sergeant in the U.S. Army Rangers, before being recruited as the top agents for the United States Office of Secret Actions (OSA), a fictional version of the Office of Strategic Services. His talents are needed to investigate rumors of strange goings-on within the Third Reich and Blazkowicz is ordered to find out the truth behind reports of occult activity in the German hierarchy at the Wolf's Lair. During his service he was accoladed with Medal of Honor and other military decorations.
Blazkowicz got married after the war, at age 40, to Julia Marie Peterson. Their son, Arthur Kenneth Blazkowicz became a television host in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Being a TV host, Arthur changed his last name to Blaze. Then, he married Susan Elizabeth McMichaels. They had one son, which was named after Arthur's father, William Joseph Blazkowicz II, or as he signed his grade school homework, Billy Blaze.
[edit] In film
In the 2005 German movie Der Goldene Nazivampir von Absam 2 – Das Geheimnis von Schloß Kottlitz, William "B.J." Blazkowicz, portrayed by Daniel Krauss, tracks down Nazi scientists in secret laboratories located in the Austrian Alps in order to disclose the secret of "miracle weapons" and Dracula's bones and to find that events occurring in the Kottlitz Castle are beyond imagination.[3]
[edit] Reception
In 2008, IGN included him on the list of characters they would like to see in an ultimate fighting game, calling him "the soldier who fired the first shot in the first-person-shooter wars",[1] as well as in an ultimate "zombie strike team" of the best zombie fighters in entertainment,[4] and listed him as first on a list of top commandos in video games, adding: "Really, there's no greater victory for a commando than killing Hitler. Kudos, Blazkowicz."[5]
UGO.com included William B.J. Blazkowicz on the 2007 list of the greatest soldiers in fantasy entertainment history, calling him "a true American hero",[6] and in 2007 speculatively featured him on the list of the greatest Jews in gaming: "Being the Nazi-hating son of Polish immigrants does make B.J. a candidate, but his Judaism remains woefully unconfirmed. For all the Nazis he's chain-gunned through, B.J. deserves a framed honorary Jew certificate."[7]
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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