Ingrid Krüger
Character Analysis
Of German birth, with a sophistication and superiority all of her own,
Minx is the Stingers' keyboardist. I must admit a certain fondness for Minx,
despite my dislike of the Stingers in general - she makes me laugh.
On first assessment, Minx comes across as someone who is both self centred
and somewhat full of herself. But on closer inspection there are a number
of little foibles which makes her more endearing to watch. You get the feeling
that she's proud of her German heritage - she often makes disdainful remarks
about 'foreigners' and 'stupid Americans', making no attempt to distinguish
Jetta from the other Misfits in this criticism (indeed she probably doesnt
even care). She is a definite flirt, who latches onto Rio in order to prove
to Rapture that she really can have any man she wants, and when this isn't
as easy as it first seems she rises to the challenge. However, there is
perhaps more to this casual game than meets the eye (see below).
Minx is more than an airheaded flirt, however. She is a competent musician
(playing keys and in Change of Heart writing songs) and also fairly good
with gadgets (She can build synthesisers and alarm systems, according to Change
of Heart, and picks up quickly the capabilities of Techrat's gimmickry in
That Ol' Houdini Magic). Though she was only in a handful of episodes, her
basic character profile is not so hard to pick out. Superficial in most areas,
Minx's determined sophistication appears to be little more than a veneer
when her world is shaken up in Change of Heart. I wonder if we get a glimpse
of the real Ingrid Krüger in that episode. Also, in Riot's Hope, when
there are flashbacks to Minx in her days with Nirvana, there is no hint of
her being anything of a flirt. Her attire is not a bit the kind of wear that
Minx of the Stingers chooses to wear, and you wonder how real her flirtatious,
don't care attitude really is. She also has a good heart in there somewhere,
because of her misplaced kindness towards the Starlight Girls in Change of
Heart and her anxiety over Rapture in That Ol' Houdini Magic, but she has
learnt that she can get things in life by being a charmer and a minx, so
she takes that line more often. Her insecurity in Change of Heart makes me
wonder if she's really just looking for a place to belong...in this she is
very like Roxy.
There is no hint as to what kind of background she came from, apart from
her country of origin and the allusion to the fact she maybe knew Riot in
high school (Stingers Hit Town), though this is muddling since the evidence
in Riot's Hope contradicts this completely.
Friendships/Roles
Minx's closest bonds in the series are of course with Riot and Rapture...but
I don't think that the bond with Rio can be totally overlooked either. Though
Minx sets her stall out to steal Rio from Jem and Jerrica (she feels it
would be twice as fun to steal him away from two women), and she is spurred
on by Rapture's teasing, I wonder exactly what her feelings towards him are.
In Change of Heart, when she's vulnerable, she turns to Rio as the only man
she can trust, and it's Rio who talks her down when she threatens to jump
from the top of a building and end her life. It's also Rio she sets out
to spite at the end of the episode, by tossing his synthesiser from the
roof.
Aside from Rio, there have been rumblings to the effect that Minx and Techrat
were destined to have a relationship. In short, I can't see it. Techrat
is attracted to Minx in the same way most men appear to be (Even Eric),
and Minx flirts with him in no different way than she does any other man.
It's not what I'd call the makings of a good relationship.
I do wonder if at one stage Minx was (or perhaps still is) in love with
Riot. In the flashbacks to the days of Nirvana she seems utterly devoted to
him, and he is protective of her. Though the relationship has developed more
into a big brother/little sister bond, she is still very fond of him, and
believes him to be flawless. Additionally, the Midsummer Night Madness music
video also sheds a little light on this subject. Minx and Riot begin the
video as a greek god and goddess trying to thwart cupid (?) and break Jerrica
and Rio apart, but at the very end of the video comes the most significant
stinger animation clue - Minx and Riot (as some greek god and Medusa) embrace
and kiss, then become a statue. Its a very interesting piece of animation,
if Minx and Riot have always been just friends, to appear in a music video.
Her bond with Rapture is perhaps the closest of them all. I would call
them almost sisters...they are very rarely apart (Change of Heart being
the exception) and they have a far warmer rapport with each other than either
of them tend to with anyone else. It is possible that it was through Minx
that Rapture joined the Stingers, but that's just speculation on my part.
Minx also repays the Stingers' abandonment of her in Change of Heart by
refusing to fix the fuse box at the end of the show so they can perform...this
indicates that loyalty within the band is important to her and she is making
a very firm point to that effect - they need her and she knows it. It's also
a way to indicate she's back to being Minx again (as opposed to being Ingrid)
Minx has little love or respect for the Holograms or the Misfits and tends
to look down on both groups with a fair amount of disdain.