Griffin (The Invisible Man)

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Griffin is a fictional character, also known as The Invisible Man, who appears as the protagonist in H.G. Wells' 1897 science fiction novela The Invisible Man. In the original novel, Griffin is a scientist whose research in optics and experiments into changing the human body's refractive index to that of air results in his becoming invisible. The character has become an iconic character, particularly in horror fiction, and versions of it have appeared throughout various media.

Character overview[edit]

Griffin was a brilliant research scientist who discovered a formula that made a human being invisible. The formula entails taking opium and another drug, which make his blood clear, then processing him in a radiator engine. It succeeds, but he finds himself unable to reverse the process. Unlike the character in the 1933 film, the Griffin of the novel is possibly a psychopath, even before he makes himself invisible.

Fictional character biography[edit]


To finance his experiments, Griffin robs his own father. The father commits suicide afterward because the money had not been his own. Working reclusively in his flat, he invents a formula to bend light and reduce the refractive index of physical objects, making them invisible. He intends from the start to perform the process on himself, but is forced to rush his experiments due to persistent intrusion from his landlord, who is suspicious of his activities. He processes himself to hide from his landlord, and sets fire to the building to cover his tracks. He winds up alone, invisibly wandering the streets of London, struggling to survive out in the open, unseen by those around him. To make himself visible again, he steals some clothes from a dingy backstreet theatre shop, including a trenchcoat and hat. He wraps his head in bandages to conceal his invisibility, covering his eyes with large dark goggles. He takes up residence in the Coach and Horses Inn in the village of Iping, so he can reverse his experiment in a quiet environment, but complications arise with locals unnerved by his appearance. As a result, his progress slows and he has insufficient money to satisfy the pub owners. To pay the bill, Griffin burgles the home of Reverend Bunting. The police pursue him, and he reveals his invisibility by throwing off his clothes and escaping.

Now driven insane by his inability to reverse the experiment, Griffin seeks assistance from a tramp named Thomas Marvel. He has Marvel carry money for him, but Marvel runs away with the money. Griffin pursues him to the town of Port Burdock, where he runs into his old schoolmate Dr. Kemp. Griffin attempts to convince Kemp to be his visible partner and help him begin a reign of terror. Kemp, rather than assisting the crazed Invisible Man, alerts Colonel Adye of the Port Burdock police.

Furious, Griffin vows to kill Kemp. Kemp rallies the people of Port Burdock, who find and overcome Griffin. Griffin is killed by navvies. The invisibility wears off in death, and Griffin's corpse becomes visible again.

1933 Universal Studios version[edit]

In the 1933 film The Invisible Man, Griffin's first name is Jack. (The novel never reveals his first name.) He was played by Claude Rains.

Jack Griffin works for Dr. Cranley, assisting him in food preservation experiments alongside his friend Dr. Arthur Kemp. Griffin is deeply in love with Cranley's daughter, Flora, and the two plan to marry. Griffin is afraid he has nothing to offer her, however, and begins experimenting with an obscure and dangerous drug called monocane, hoping his work will make him rich and famous—and a worthwhile husband for Flora.



Curious locals, maddening side-effects of monocane, and frustration from multiple failed tests drive Griffin insane. After he assaults Jenny Hall and severely injures her husband, Herbert, Griffin sheds his clothing to be invisible, and eludes the police. He seeks help from Kemp, but the monocane has made him so insane that he succumbs to megalomania and plans world domination with 'invisible armies'. He wants and makes Kemp his visible partner and assistant.


Griffin dies from the gunshot wounds in the hospital, apologizing for his crimes, saying, "I meddled in things man must leave alone." The invisibility wears off in death, and Griffin's body becomes visible again.


Other character appearances[edit]

Mad Monster Party?[edit]

The Invisible Man appears in Mad Monster Party? voiced by Allen Swift impersonating Claude Rains. This depiction of the Invisible Man is shown to wear a fez, some sunglasses, and a house robe. He is among the monsters invited by Baron Boris von Frankenstein to attend his meeting at his castle on the Isle of Evil in the Caribbean Sea.

Mad Mad Mad Monsters[edit]


The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen[edit]



The Martian War[edit]


Anno Dracula[edit]


The Invisible Man (2000 TV series)[edit]

On The Invisible Man television series on Syfy, the character played by Joel Bissonnette was a thief whose brother was a scientist who worked on the development of the invisibility gland. His character's nom de guerre was Swiss German, Arnaud DeFöhn, although he went by the Swiss French name Arnaud De Thiel as a cover, while working on the gland. In attempting to retrieve the gland, he later uses the pseudonym Hawley Griffin (a reference to the League of Extraordinary Gentleman and the original Invisible Man), pretending to be a CIA agent from the South.

The Nobody[edit]


Hotel Transylvania[edit]


See also[edit]