Vigo the Carpathian
A 16th-century European tyrant and powerful magician seeking to escape his painting and conquer the world through possession of a child.
Vigo the Carpathian is a 16th-century European tyrant and powerful magician who serves as the primary antagonist of Ghostbusters II. He is trapped within a painting at the art museum where Dana Barrett works, and comes to life to enslave her boss, Janosz Poha. Vigo orders Janosz to bring him a child to possess, allowing him to escape the confines of his painting and live again to conquer the world. Because of Janosz's infatuation with Dana, he chooses her infant son Oscar. Vigo ultimately takes on a physical form during the climax, immobilizing Dana and the Ghostbusters, but is weakened by the positive emotions of crowds singing 'Auld Lang Syne' and is sent back to his painting.
Quick Facts
- First appearance
- Ghostbusters II (1989 film)
Lore & Background
Vigo the Carpathian is a 16th-century European tyrant and powerful magician whose spirit is trapped within a painting at the Manhattan art museum where Dana Barrett works restoring artwork. The painting comes to life and enslaves Dana's boss, Janosz Poha, ordering him to bring a child for Vigo to possess, allowing him to escape the confines of his painting and live again to conquer the world. The Ghostbusters discover that the slime beneath New York City reacts to emotions and has accumulated from the negative emotions of New Yorkers, and determine that Vigo and the slime are connected.
On New Year's Eve, the slime rises to the streets, causing widespread supernatural chaos. The Ghostbusters use slime charged with positive emotions to animate and pilot the Statue of Liberty through the streets filled with cheering citizens, weakening the slime barrier at the museum. The gathered crowds outside begin singing a chorus of 'Auld Lang Syne', and their positivity weakens Vigo, sending him back to the painting and freeing the Ghostbusters.
Vigo possesses Ray, but the Ghostbusters use their weapons to free him and defeat Vigo, his painting being replaced by one depicting their likenesses surrounding Oscar.
More in Characters & Cast
Elsewhere in Ghostbusters
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