Wolfgang

Wolfgang Scot, or Wolfgang the Wolf is a member of the Shoebox Zoo, and the son of Michael Scot. He appears as a blue-coloured toy wolf made of wood, and at first displays a cunning and deceptive nature before becoming more kinder and wise. He is partially responsible for most of the events in the television show, stealing the Book of Forbidden Knowledge from his father with help from Edwin, Bruno and Ailsa, and as punishment, is transformed into a toy and condemned to sleep forever until the Book is found by the Chosen One. Due to a longstanding hatred towards his father, Wolfgang works with Toledo the Shapeshifter for a period of time, but eventually makes up with his father and aides Marnie McBride in finding the Book.

Appearance
Wolfgang appears as a wooden toy wolf, coloured in navy blue and gold. His wolf head has an intricate design. His ears, the top part of his face, and nose are blue, while his entire snout and mouth sections are gold. Two small blue lines run along the top of his snout, and two small gold stripes are visible on his nose. His mouth is filled with sharp teeth and fangs. He has green eyes, the outline of his eyes being a light red. His eyebrows are gold, as are two stripes that run down the middle of his face to his snout and to the back of his head, which seem to be an area when he displays frown marks. His head's most notable feature is that of facial hair. He has a small pointed blue goatee under his snout, and curved pointed hair extending down from the sides of his head. Blue and golden coloured swirls mix together in the centre of his cheeks.

Wolfgang's entire body is blue, with golden swirled patterns located across his torso. He wears a golden detailed collar around his neck, although the ends do not connect at the back of his neck. He has thin but long limbs, with clawed paws at the ends. His ankles and wrists are placed in golden bracelets. His underbelly displays golden, curled hair. His tail is long, one half blue, the other gold in colour. As a human, although at a glimpse, Wolfgang appeared as a young man (despite being in his 60's or 50's), having black hair and a small beard.

While asleep as a toy, Wolfgang stands in a crouched position, his head staring down at the floor and his body poised, as if ready to pounce.

Personality
Being a wolf, and due to his hatred towards his father, Wolfgang first comes off as a rather dislikable character. He is fierce in nature, lashing out at the other members of the Shoebox Zoo and Marnie on some occasions, and can be tormenting and sadistic at times. He is quite cunning and deceptive, manipulating Marnie on a couple of occasions towards his or Toledo's own goals. He grows rather angry or hateful when someone mentions Michael Scot, and attacks Marnie on one occasion when she questions him in a playful manner about his childhood and parents, causing Wolfgang to nearly bite Marnie but is pinned down by the other Shoebox Zoo members. In his spite towards his father, he is quite distrustful towards Marnie. He has showed great intelligence, describing to Marnie what an alchemist is when Bruno and Edwin fail to. Interestingly, Marnie gets on quite well with Wolfgang when they are not at odds, often pointing out Wolfgang as a correct candidate when he and Edwin are in a challenge against each other.

As a toy, Wolfgang notes that he dislikes being made of wood and everything tastes like sawdust. Due to being made of wood, he displays a great fear of fire, often recoiling and whimpering when in its presence and several times, is tortured over flames by several characters. He has shown a liking towards butter, taking a delight to it whilst at Toledo's hideout. Wolfgang shows great guilty fear towards his father, and cowers even more when his father shouts at him. He eventually makes up with Marnie and above all his father, gaining a much more friendlier and trustworthy disposition, acknowledging that his friends have no reason to trust him, but becomes very loyal to Marnie. At times he has been sarcastic in comment, and a bit of a trickster, but most of it is to tease his friends. He has shown to be quite wise and supportive towards his friends.

He and Toledo, during their partnership, had a rather edgy and uncomfortable relationship. Whilst Toledo was often cruel to Wolfgang, he was also equally polite and patient with him, become quite affectionate towards the wolf and referring to him as "My Little Wolfie", which he still did even as Aurora Dexter. In regards to his relationships to his fellow Shoebox Zoo members, Wolfgang is easily bored with his friends' escape attempts and lays about in the shoebox, or watches from the sidelines to observe their incompetence. He is very much Edwin's rival in the department of exposition, often annoying Edwin with his simplistic explanations. He gets on well with Ailsa, often sharing similar thoughts and opinions. His relationship with Bruno is hardly explored, but they are shown to be on good terms.

History
Wolfgang Scot was born to Michael Scot and his unnamed wife in the 1000's, around the 1040's. His childhood was never described but he was relatively held in close regards to his father. He eventually became a student and scholar under his father's tutoring along with Edwin de Wyntor, Bruno and Ailsa. Wolfgang's relationship with his father became more and more restrained, Michael forbidding his son and other students in using his magical spyglass helmet. Michael eventually created the Book of Forbidden Knowledge, and eleven months after its completion, he created Toledo using its magic and the four elements. Concerned for his father's wellbeing, Wolfgang expressed objection to Michael's obsession with the Book and its contents, worried he might become consumed by its dark magic. At some point the two had a falling out when Wolfgang asked to be a part of his father's work, but was coldly rejected.

Wolfgang eventually grew jealous and angry that the Book was more important to his father than he was, growing to hate Michael with a passion. To gain attention, teach Michael a lesson and perhaps save him from his own destruction, convinced Edwin, Ailsa and a reluctant Bruno, to spirit away the Book one night in the 1100's. The four took the book and fled from Tantallon Castle, pursued by Toledo who desired the Book for his own evil purposes. Coming to a cliff edge and cornered by Toledo, the students cast the Book off the cliff into the watery depths below. An outraged Michael punished his students and transformed them into toy animals, Wolfgang becoming a wooden wolf, and were placed into a deep slumber. After several events following that, involving McTaggart stealing the Book and its eventual loss (and also the creation of a fake copy of the Book to destroy Toledo), Michael placed the Zoo in a seemingly permanent slumber until a Chosen One was found to find the Book and thus restore the Zoo's humanity.

Wolfgang and the other members spent many centuries asleep, owned by several people include Rosemary McBride when she was a child, forever under the watchful gaze of Michael who often placed the Zoo in a junkshop that could appear in several cities across the world. On November 11th, 2004, Marnie McBride and her father Scott McBride came across a junkshop in Edinburgh, Scotland, Marnie finding the Zoo and being given them for free by Michael when an old clock chimed eleven o'clock for the first time in eleven-hundred years. Marnie, the Chosen One, successfully awakened the Zoo after 1100 years of slumber. Wolfgang was rather distrustful of Marnie, but explained to her the Zoo's past, but did not tell her that he was Michael's son and lied that they "lost" the Book, interrupting Bruno when he was about to admit that they stole the Book.

Wolfgang accompanied Marnie and the rest of the Zoo to his old home of Tantallon Castle, and after being berated by his angry father, Wolfgang ventured outside where he met Toledo. He was previously captured by Toledo for a brief discussion regarding his opinions on Marnie. Wolfgang decided to be Toledo's "Chosen One", manipulating Marnie to some extent to help Toledo. His full betrayal was eventually revealed by Michael, who turned Toledo into a white rat and angrily tossed his own son away, although he safely landed in Marnie's grasp. Marnie caught Wolfgang communicating with Toledo and interrogated him by holding him over a lit candle, Wolfgang revealing his relationship to Michael by claiming that Michael threw away his own descendant and legacy. A shocked Marnie teleported herself and Wolfgang to Tantallon Castle where she confronted the wizard. She successfully rebuilt Wolfgang and Michael's relationship as father and son, Michael petting his son and commenting on how he would love to see his son as a human once again. Marnie and Wolfgang then teleported to Edinburgh's library where they and the other members of the Zoo discovered the fake Book.

Toledo manipulated Edwin to briefly open the Book, releasing dark magic which awoke the Los Contrarios. He, McTaggart and Los Contrarios invaded Marnie's house, Wolfgang taking shelter in the kitchen with Marnie and the Book, until Toledo entered. Wolfgang leapt to Marnie's defence, lying that he'd give Toledo the Book in exchange for the shapeshifter turning him into a human again. Toledo easily saw through the ploy and snatched Wolfgang with a pair of tweasers and suspended him over the lit fireplace. Marnie revealed the Book's location, and threatened to destroy the Book unless Toledo released Wolfgang. Wolfgang, Toledo and Michael (who was watching via his own fireplace), objected. Toledo opted to leave, but upon learning that his Los Contrarios had been destroyed, he vengefully stated he would return, even if Wolfgang did not.

Toledo then cast Wolfgang into the fireplace, much to the horror of all those present. As he burnt away, Wolfgang apologised to Marnie for failing her, and bid farewell, disintegrating shortly afterwards in the view of Marnie, the other Zoo members and a horrified Michael. The day after his death, Ailsa lamented on Wolfgang's death, declaring that he died a hero and had his moment of redemption. Michael appeared before Marnie, realising his faults resulted in Wolfgang's death. The Book was revealed to be a fake, and the real Book was located in America.

In the second season, Wolfgang survived as a spirit, but appeared to be stuck in a fiery afterlife. He managed to contact Marnie by speaking via medium Aurora Dexter, who would later be taken over by Toledo to become the Dawn Queen. Wolfgang then repeatedly appeared within Marnie's dreams as a giant floating head engulfed in fire, warning her not to venture into her grandfather's woodshed. When the Wolf Rune appeared on the Torn Page, both Marnie and Toledo/Aurora realised Wolfgang likely had a role to play in locating the Book. A corrupted Marnie summoned Wolfgang as a spirit, the wolf shown to be in pain as a spirit and asked Marnie why he could not be left alone in peace. She forced him to lead her to the Book's location, Wolfgang challenging Marnie's reasons for wanting the Book and admitting he knew she wanted it to resurrect her mother, Rosemary. Wolfgang eventually led her to the Falls of Faith, Marnie angrily challenging Wolfgang's knowledge of the Book's location. Wolfgang returned to the spirit world after, wisely advising Marnie to pick the right path.

After the Book's discovery and theft by the Dawn Queen, the deceased Michael (who had been murdered by Toledo) appeared before Marnie and told her to reform the Zoo's members, including Wolfgang. Marnie successfully managed to resurrect Wolfgang in his wolf form, Wolfgang displaying great surprise at being alive and even tapped himself on the head to confirm his new life. Hunter the Horse jumped in, a confused Wolfgang asking who he was, the horse ignoring the question and pointing out that the group needed to stop the Dawn Queen and Toledo from destroying the world with darkness. The group teleport to a television studio in Denver, Colorado and head off to stop the villains.

Ailsa stops Wolfgang, Edwin and Bruno and protests to destroying the Book, losing their only chance of regaining their humanity. Wolfgang expresses no opinion over the matter, other than shaking his head when Ailsa poins out their potential eternal fates, although it is unknown whether or not he is shaking his head to disagree with Ailsa's protest or out of frustration. Hunter arrived and convinced the Zoo to help Marnie for the greater good, honouring Wolfgang as having passed through death and fire to return to life. Wolfgang and the rest of the Zoo form a magical barrier against the Dawn Queen to prevent her from touching the Book. Toledo, however, breaks the barrier, knocking the Zoo to the ground and holds the Book aloft. Marnie teleports to the Falls of Faith, fires the Arrow of Truth and magically flies to the Book and strikes it, destroying it, Toledo and the Dawn Queen's evil influence.

Shortly after Marnie's 12th birthday, she drops the Zoo off at a junkshop in Denver, the same one her mother purchased them from when she was girl. Marnie has an emotional goodbye with the Zoo, Wolfgang being the one who states that the Zoo will miss her but is not shown to cry like the other members. He is last seen with the other Zoo members asking a new unseen master on what to do upon their awakening.

Trivia

 * Wolfgang proved to be the most popular of the Shoebox Zoo among fans and viewers. On the Shoebox Zoo website, now offline, Wolfgang represented "The Wolves" team, and was the highest-ranked.
 * Wolfgang's actor, Simon Callow, also voices Hunter.