Real Name: Horst Kleinmann

Identity/Class: Alternate Reality (Earth-148611) human technology-user

Occupation: Dream researcher

Group Membership: Kleinmann Dream Institute

Affiliations: Gian, Mistress Midnight (Vivienne), Udo; unidentified royalty, heads of state, ministers of every nation and giants of commerce;
    formerly the assassin;

Enemies: Nightmask (Keith Remsen) Adam Remsen, Lenore Remsen, Theodora "Teddy" Remsen;

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: Herr Direktor (from Udo), Signore Direttore (from Gian), Gnome of Zurich

Base of Operations: His body was last seen in the Kleinmann Dream Institute, Zurich, Switzerland, Earth-148611;
    his mind was dispersed amongst humanity's collective unconsciousness, possibly in the realm of Dream (which he referred to as the Kingdom of the Gnome)

First Appearance: Nightmask#1 (November, 1986)

    His equipment further allowed him to synchronize his brainwaves with those of a dreamer, allowing him to access that person's dreams and to interact with the dreamer. He used these to help people with psychological issues.
    He basically had abilities comparable to, but slightly less than, Nightmask's early in his career.

    Additionally, he could alter his form within a dream (perhaps only due to the perception of the dreamer), taking on the large and powerful form of the Gnome. He could also manipulate and control events within the dream realm. His Gnome form typically wielded some variation of a war hammer, although he could also generate a small army of followers or through his "spear of destiny" to navigate the dreamscape and strike a specific target. 

    Kleinmann jealously guarded his technology and his dominion over the world of dream, and he was paranoid of others trying to steal it.

(Nightmask#1 (fb) - BTS) - Adam Remsen and his future wife, Lenore, both attended the Kleinmann Institute.

(Nightmask#1 (fb) - BTS) - Working from research and theories he had learned from Horst Kleinmann, Adam Remsen secured a post at the University of Maryland. Lenore, now a psychiatrist, collaborated with him. 

(Nightmask#1 (fb) - BTS) - Via technology, Kleinmann developed the means to project his consciousness into others' dreams (see comments).

(Nightmask#2 (fb) - BTS) - Heads of states and giants of commerce paid Kleinmann for his miracles in dream therapy, unlocking the secrets of their souls.

(Nightmask#1 (fb) - BTS) - Horst Kleinmann accepted Adam and Lenore's son, Keith, for a summer program at the Kleinmann Institute. 

    However, the paranoid Kleinmann -- who sought to be the only one with access to the realm of dreams -- had assumed that the Remsens were sending their son to spy on him to learn of his technology, and so he sent a man to kill the Remsens with a bomb. Not trusting his own assassin, Kleinmann altered the timing on the assassin's bomb so that it would go off prematurely so that the assassin would be killed, too.

(Nightmask#1 (fb) / Untold Tales of the New Universe: Nightmask#1 (fb) - BTS) <months before the White Event> - At Washington, D.C.'s Dulles Airport, the assassin dropped a bomb beside the Remsens as Keith prepared to depart.

    The bomb then went off, killing Adam and Lenore, and leaving Teddy paralyzed below the waist. Keith was struck in the forehead by a piece of shrapnel and sent into a coma. The assassin was seriously injured, left bedridden and bandaged from head-to-toe.

(Nightmask#4 (fb)) - At some point, Vivienne, the youngest daughter of France's reigning prince, came to the Kleinmann Institute, hiding from her family -- after her dream memory-consuming powers had unintentionally slain an older man -- and seeking treatment. In addition to obtaining useful information on one of Europe's royal houses to the Institute's well-stocked data banks, her abilities provided an interesting sidelight to Kleinmann's dream research.

    Gian implanted some of Udo's micro-circuitry into her, allowing them to both track and to some degree control Vivienne's activities, and Kleinmann provided dream therapy and hypnotic suggestions.

(Nightmask#1 - BTS) <July 22-24, 1986> - The White Event occurred, blanketing Earth with the energies of the Star Brand. These energies awakened Keith from his coma and granted him the power to enter and manipulate the dreams of others. 

(Nightmask#1 (fb) - BTS) - Based on his real name of "Kleinmann," which meant "small man," and because he was guarding what he perceived to be his own treasure, Kleinmann adopted the identity of the Gnome when projecting into the bomber's dreams. Kleinmann's technology-augmented and psychological power over the bomber granted him a monstrously large and powerful form. 

(Nightmask#1) - Keith had a dream in which he met the man who had planted the bomb. The man stated that the Gnome would never allow him to escape...he must die to protect the Gnome's treasure, as those others had had to die. 

    Keith was then grabbed by the monstrous Gnome before being pulled out of the dream by Teddy. 

(Nightmask#1 (fb) - BTS) - The stress of seeing Keith Remsen in his dream caused the bomber to have a heart attack.

(Nightmask#1) - Within the bomber's dreams, the Gnome confronted the bomber, criticizing his hiding and assuring him he needed the man alive. When the man complained about the Gnome sabotaging the bomb, the Gnome acknowledged that that had been both unfair and short-sighted, as the Remsen children still survived. 

    Having sensed the bomber's dreams and re-entered them, Keith heard the Gnome's statement and vocalized in surprise and drew the attention of the Gnome, who attacked and noted that the dying assassin had served his purpose as his dreams had drawn back this invader into the realm the Gnome considered his own. The Gnome overpowered Keith when he adopted the Nightmask form and assaulted him, but Teddy pulled Keith out before he could be killed. However, she was somewhat traumatized by the Gnome's assault as well. 

(Nightmask#1 (fb) - BTS) - Following some research on Germanic legends, Keith realized the Gnome's true identity. He tried to drug Teddy so she wouldn't be at risk, and he re-entered the assassin's dreams. 

(Nightmask#1) - As vultures circled the bomber, the Gnome exhorted him to crawl his way to a water fountain. Complaining of weakness, the bomber begged to be allowed to rest, but the Gnome urged him forward toward the water.

    Nightmask confronted the Gnome, identifying him as Kleinmann himself, which disrupted the Gnome's confidence, causing him to revert to smaller, de-powered form of Kleinmann. 

     When Nightmask's statements caused Kleinmann to realize that Nightmask was the Remsens' son, Kleinmann noted that the Remsens had been sending him to spy on him and learn his secret of moving in dreams, which was why they had to die. 

     Denouncing Kleinmann as a paranoid madman and telling him that his parents had admired him, Keith tackled Kleinmann. 

    Retorting that Keith was mad and pointing out that as he ranted, the bomber had approached an abyss, Kleinmann ordered the bomber back. The bomber noted that, at last, he was beyond the Gnome, and he then allowed himself to fall forward into the abyss and apparently perished.

    Although Nightmask tried to save him, Kleinmann let go of his hand and fell into the abyss. 

(Nightmask#1 (fb) - BTS) - Teddy pulled Keith out in time, saving him.

(Nightmask#1 (fb) - BTS) - Kleinmann managed to escape the dying man's dreams, too, though his equipment was destroyed in the strain of recovering him. 

(Nightmask#2 (fb) - BTS) - Kleinmann was badly injured, leaving him scarred and bedridden.

(Nightmask#1 - BTS) - Kleinmann's agents -- presumably Udo & Gian -- predicted that when he recovered and learned of this that he would insist they rebuild.

(Nightmask#2) <August 17, 1986> - Kleinmann's agents advised him that each day inquiries grew and that they were losing valued patients, but Kleinmann interrupted that these patients were ego-ridden fools insistent on him personally treating them. Little caring if he lost them, he insisted that his status was to remain "unknown," and he noted that only the status of his machines was important. 

    At Kleinmann's insistence, Udo reported that all damaged equipment had been repaired or replaced, but some installation and fine tuning was needed; he predicted three weeks, two if they were lucky. However, Gian then interjected that it was not the machines that needed luck, but rather Kleinmann himself: Reminding Kleinmann that he was not a young man, he noted that even with all of their skill and resources, it would be months before he was ready. 

    Kleinmann interrupted, insisting it would be weeks, and that like his wealthy and powerful clients paid him, he paid Gian. Nonetheless, he ordered that until he was ready, he had an agent <not named at the time, but this was Vivienne, aka Mistress Midnight> who could act in his stead. Acknowledging her abilities, Gian argued that she was too unstable,  but Kleinmann noted that she was in their debt and that she was right for the task. Noting his paranoid fear of protecting his technology, the desire to be the sole person able to access the dreamworld, and blaming Keith Remsen for his current state, he considered that they were at war, and that they knew how and where to strike at his enemies.

(Nightmask#4 (fb) - BTS) - Kleinmann suggested that Mistress Midnight seek out Dr. Lucian Ballad, Keith's guardian, as a prospective patient and then use that connection to contact Keith.

(Nightmask#4 (fb) - BTS) - Via Udo's technology (including an exoskeleton) and Gian's surgery, combined with Kleinmann's own will, Kleinmann was back on his feet in weeks (they estimated that standard medical care would have taken months or perhaps even years to accomplish this). 

(Nightmask#4 (fb) - BTS) - Lucian Ballad's sources noted the vast expenditures to restore the equipment in Kleinmann's lab, although they could not uncover information on Kleinmann himself. 

(Nightmask#4) <November 20-24, 1986> - While acknowledging the "miracles" that his agents had accomplished, Kleinmann expressed frustration with his limited control and lack of dexterity (shattering delicate objects that he grasped). Considering himself a creature of nightmare, he fully blamed and eagerly looked forward to his planned vengeance of Keith Remsen.

(Nightmask#4 - BTS) - Dr. Ballad told Keith of his strong suspicions of Kleinmann's survival, and Keith and Teddy sought to confront him anew. 

(Nightmask#4) - As Gian and Udo entered Kleinmann's private laboratory, Kleinmann greeted them, noting that they had been forced from their warm beds quite early but that satellite relay conditions were perfect and they would be able to see the fruits of their labors during Vivienne's visit there. At Udo's and Gian's queries, Kleinmann confirmed her implant allowed them to track her a continent away and that her brain showed no evidence of rejecting the micro-circuitry. Gian and Kleinmann discussed that the hyperactivity they were reading was normal for her as she was in her midnight phase, stalking prey. 

    Udo noted a increase in her excitement, Kleinmann confirmed that she had contacted Keith, and he approved of this meeting in a social situation, where Keith might be more vulnerable; Gian noted that her readings mirrored the peaks of when she first came to the Institute. 

    After Kleinmann reviewed her history, her abilities, and her psychological profile, he considered that while he may be able to "cure her" of her abilities, "why sacrifice a thing of wonder on the altar of stability of personal adjustment"? He continued that she was far more useful following their therapy, and that when she leeched off Keith's dream-memories, they would be transmitted to and recorded by their monitors. This would allow Kleinmann to identify Keith's dream pattern, enabling him to strike the next time Keith dreamed or entered another's dream.

(Nightmask#4 - BTS) - As Vivienne and Keith prepared to kiss, Teddy, having sensed Vivienne's threat, interrupted. As the youngest in her family, Vivienne sympathized with Teddy's concerns over her brother, and her Mistress Midnight persona began to fade. She gave Teddy a kiss on the forehead, leaving Teddy a little disoriented and wishing to go home. 

(Nightmask#4) - Gian noted the changes in Vivenne's readings, and Kleinmann appreciated that her dream lust was beginning to fade. 

(Nightmask#4 - BTS) - After seeing Teddy back home, Keith returned to make sure Vivienne at least got a cab home, despite Teddy's concerns.

(Nightmask#4) - As Kleinmann and his agents appreciated that Vivienne's meek baseline persona was trying to reassert itself, but Kleinmann asserted that the hypnotic conditioning he had given her should prevent that. As he predicted, when Keith returned to her, she leapt forward and kissed him, noting how this would please both her and their mutual acquaintance, Horst Kleinmann.

(Nightmask#4 - BTS) - Nightmask ultimately overwhelmed Vivienne on the psychic plane when he dropped his defenses, feeding her not only his dreams and memories, but the dreams and memories of all those whose dreams he had visited. She withdrew and fled.

(Nightmask#4) - Kleinmann recalled how Vivienne had kissed Teddy, hinting that this might be used against Keith in the future.

(Untold Tales of the New Universe: Nightmask#1 (fb) - BTS) - Vivienne's cybernetic implants transmitted Teddy's psychic signature to Kleinmann's laboratory.

(Untold Tales of the New Universe: Nightmask#1 (fb) - BTS) - The next time Teddy went to sleep, Kleinnman's machines plunged her psyche into Kleinmann's artificial dream from which he prevented her awakening. 

(Untold Tales of the New Universe: Nightmask#1) - At the Ballad Dream Clinic in Georgetown, Virginia (see comments), Keith entered Teddy's dreams and confronted the Gnome as Nightmask. The Gnome plotted to kill Nightmask over and over again in his dream until his body eventually perished of old age; however, Nightmask's powers allowed him to control the dreamscape to prevent this, although he could not kill the Gnome either (although the both required medical attention for their physical bodies, which was provided to Kleinmann by Udo and Gian). The Gnome next plotted to leave Nightmask trapped forever in the dream, but Nightmask prevented the Gnome from leaving. The Gnome then threatened to destroy Teddy's psychic essence, killing her, willing to sacrifice his own life to also thusly kill Nightmask, as he considered death preferable to life as slave to his greatest enemy. 

    The Gnome briefly sent Nightmask into a dreamworld where his fondest wishes were granted (mirroring Earth-65279; see comments), but the fact that the Remsen family made their money by stealing Kleinmann's technology allowed Nightmask to realize situation and escape the dream. With this having failed, the Gnome hurled his "Spear of Destiny" to destroy Teddy's essence. Appreciating that the Gnome always hoarded treasure, Nightmask tracked her essence to a treasure chest in a cave behind a waterfall, and he flew in the spear's path, sparing Teddy, although the dreamscape temporarily fragmented due to the energy disruption. 

    After Nightmask opened the chest, Teddy awakened in the real world, and she pulled Keith back to the real word. At the same time, Nightmask changed the direction of the portal through which the Gnome tried to escape, sending and dispersing Kleinmann's mind into humanity's collective unconsiousness. Kleinmann's body awakened, and he began endlessly ranting of fairy tales, myth legends, and even shouting "Dy-No-Mite!")