Johan Liebert
The titular monster who seeks to erase every trace of his existence.
Johan Liebert is the younger twin son of the Lieberts, whose father—an East German trade advisor who defected to the West—is never given a confirmed name in the series. He is the titular "monster" and the main antagonist of the series. The mystery of his past is the focus of the plot. He is called a monster, the next Adolf Hitler and the devil himself.
As a child, Johan was shot in the head during a home invasion by a burglar—but his parents were killed by Johan himself, not by the burglar—and he is saved from death by Dr. Tenma. He claims to love his twin sister Anna (Nina), and has some loyalty to her. Johan has spent parts of his life in different places under different names. He possesses charisma and intelligence but is also cunning, manipulative and deceitful; while he is seemingly kind, compassionate and loving to children, he is actually cold, cruel and fundamentally incapable of empathy.
He uses his talents to manipulate and corrupt others, often with no apparent end except to cause suffering and destruction. His stated goal is to be the last person alive, or to erase his past, not simply to kill everyone who knows of his existence.
Lore & Background
Johan's past is the central mystery of the series. He was shot in the head as a child during a home invasion by a burglar—but his parents were killed by Johan himself, not by the burglar—and was saved by Dr. Tenma. He has spent parts of his life in different places under different names. He identifies with other killers, discovering their secrets.
After causing the death of Peter Čapek, he orchestrates the Ruhenheim Massacre and has his final encounter with Tenma. When Johan threatens Wim to get Tenma to shoot him, Johan is shot by Wim's drunken father, Herbert. He is flown to a hospital in a helicopter, with the bullet wound treated by Tenma. Comatose, he is visited by Tenma in a police hospital.
The final page shows his bed empty and an open window, ambiguously suggesting that Johan has either escaped the hospital or committed suicide by jumping to his death, depending on the spectator's interpretation.
Reader's Guide
Johan Liebert is the main antagonist of Monster. He is the older twin son of the Lieberts, whose father Michael was an East German trade advisor who defected to the West. He was shot in the head as a child when his parents were killed in their home, but was saved by Dr. Tenma. He claims to love his twin sister Anna, and has some loyalty to her.
He possesses charisma and intelligence but is also cunning, manipulative and deceitful; while seemingly kind to children, he is actually cold, cruel and fundamentally incapable of empathy. His goal is to kill everyone who knows of his existence. After causing the death of Peter Čapek, he orchestrates the Ruhenheim Massacre. In the final confrontation, he threatens Wim Knaup to get Tenma to shoot him, but is shot by Wim's drunk father, Herbert.
He is flown to a hospital, treated by Tenma, and left comatose in a police hospital. The final page shows his bed empty and an open window, ambiguously suggesting either escape or suicide.
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Elsewhere in Monster
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