Count Burg

Count Burg is a wealthy real estate tycoon. He is the first human to marry a robot, but his hatred of robots and general cruelty inspires the Blue Knight to start an uprising. Burg primarily appears in the Astro Boy manga series. His surname means "castle" in German.

Personality
While Count Burg puts on a calm, classy demeanour, it is all a cover for his cruel personality. Dr. Ross and his children first meet the "gentle" Burg who comes to ask for Maria's hand in marriage. He is charismatic enough to convince the whole family that he is a good man, to the point where Dr. Ross is in disbelief when Maria tells him about Burg's true nature.

In reality, Count Burg is a cruel, ruthless braggart. He has immense disposable wealth and military ties. When describing his resources, Burg claims to own "eight castles, nine mountains, and three resorts"; in Japanese, this combination of numbers can be read as "ya + ku + za" (八 + 九 + 三), as in yakuza, the famed Japanese crime syndicate. Burg will hurt as many people and robots as it takes to get his way.

It is unclear if Burg genuinely loves Maria. He finds her beautiful and recognizes her as his wife, even after Maria has been amalgamated into Blue Bon's body. However, this does not stop him from killing the siblings with Blue Knight's own spear.

Appearance
Burg is a white European man aged somewhere his 50s. He has short, slicked-back black hair, with a goatee and a pointed mustache. He wears formal western clothing, such as three-piece suits, top hats, and bow ties. He smokes cigarettes, but only via a long cigarette holder.

Burg's eyes usually look sharp and narrowed, with prominent bags under his eyes. He has a weak left eye and needs a monocle to see. He is relatively tall and well-built, standing about a foot taller than Professor Ochanomizu.

Manga
Count Burg's primary appearance is in the Astro Boy manga. However, he has made several brief appearances via the Osamu Tezuka Star System. One such role is in the Black Jack chapter "Money! Money! Money!" where Burg appears alongside Kin Sankaku and Umataro Tenma.

Burg's main role is in the Astro Boy chapter "Blue Knight". The chapter was serialized in several segments in Shounen magazine, from October 1965 to March 1966. He introduces himself as a poetic but simpering nobleman, describing how he has been so smitten with Maria that he cannot eat or sleep: "I was floored when I first laid eyes on her beautiful form! Ever since, I haven't been able to sleep, and can only take naps...my three square meals a day have turned into six round ones!" The family becomes convinced that Burg will be a suitable brother-in-law, and Maria marries Burg.

However, Burg immediately shows his crueller side at home. He begins berating and beating his robot employees, even around Maria, and refuses to understand why this would upset her. When Maria calls her father for help, Burg severely beats her with an electrified whip. Maria's younger brother Tonto breaks into Burg's castle to free Maria, and in response, Berg kills both of them.

The Blue Knight emerges about a year after these events. At first, Burg is only interested duelling the Blue Knight, claiming he is descended from knights, and wishes to defeat a robot through jousting. He soon begins investigating the Blue Knight out of fear that Maria's brother Blue Bon is out for revenge. Burg uses his political and military connections to stir up public hysteria against robots. The Blue Knight's sword can only be held by some robots with a specific type of electrical system. This causes paranoid humans to become convinced that a "Blue Knight type" of robot exists, and that all robots with this electrical system are capable of defying the rules of robotics. Burg watches contentedly as all robots of this type are rounded up and removed from Metro City, and among these robots are Astro's parents. Professor Ochanomizu refuses to let this mass anti-robot sentiment continue, and Burg has Ochanomizu kidnapped and locked in the Ministry of Science basement. Things come to a head between Count Burg and Blue Knight at Robotonia. Cobalt and Uran tunnel underground and pull Burg into the earth, like a molehill. The siblings threaten Burg into calling off the military, which he accepts...but as soon as he gets near a microphone, he orders his troops to descend upon the robot army. The Blue Knight crashes Burg's airship, which briefly renders the human unconscious.

Astro is reunited with Professor Ochanomizu thanks to a visiting Austrian scientist named Dr. Ross. Ross explains the Blue Knight is his son, Blue Bon, and everything that happened to the Ross family to make Blue Bon seek revenge against humans. However, Blue Bon removes his armour to demonstrate how he can morph into his siblings; Burg resumes consciousness, grabs the Blue Knight's spear, and throws it through Bon. It detonates, instantly killing all three Ross siblings. Burg stands in the midst of their remains, gloating, which makes Ochanomizu so angry that he beats Burg to a pulp. The chapter ends with Count Burg's true nature being exposed to the world, and he is subsequently detained by the authorities.

Anime
The Blue Knight arc was adapted into several episodes for the 1960s Astro Boy anime series. However, these were not dubbed into English due to the more mature themes presented in the story. The anime adaptation closely follows the story of the original manga, but gives slightly more screen time to Burg meeting the Ross family. An altered version of Count Burg appears in the 1980 Astro Boy series. As Count Walpur Guiss, Burg is still a brutal villain, but on a smaller scale. Guiss is a roboticist who has turned his back on humans. He hopes to create a new breed of robot that will overtake humanity, and creates Atlas with a power amplifying device called the Omega Factor. In Maria's place is Livian, Guiss's robot maid. He considers Livian to be nothing more than an ornamental servant, even demolishing her for accidentally breaking a statue, but attempts to steal her back after Atlas rebuilds her as an adult.

Count Guiss also appears in the 1980 gag manga chapter, "Astro vs. Atlas". Guiss is shorter and fatter than Burg, but their faces are nearly identical.