Baxter (Hazbin Hotel: Journey to the Light)

"HOLY FISHPASTE!!!"

- Baxter's catchphrase.

"You actually expect me to discover a way to bride an aperture between two entirely separate dimensions, one of which can only be accessed by extradimensional entities of eldritch and transcendental origins?! That's just not empirically possible! ...For anyone but ME!!!"

- Baxter, accepting the hotel crew's request of constructing a portal back to Hell.

Baxter is a supporting protagonist in Hazbin Hotel: Journey to the Light.

He serves as a supporting protagonist in Season 3, and a supporting protagonist in the ongoing Season 4.

In life, Baxter was a scientist who conducted unethical experiments and aspired to create portals to alternate dimensions. Before his "revolutionary" research could be completed, Baxter died in the 1910s as a result of drowning. Following his death, he was reborn in Hell as an anglerfish demon and continued his work with the assistance of an aloof teenage sinner named Crymini. For reasons currently unknown, Baxter and Crymini ended up in the nightmarish prison dimension of Purgatory, where, after months or even years of living in the realm, they encountered one half of the Happy Hotel crew, where Baxter agreed to forge an alliance with the hapless crew in escaping Purgatory. After eight years, Baxter, Crymini, and the hotel crew successfully escaped Purgatory with the help of Archangel Forti, and Baxter, on the wishes of Charlie Magne, joined the Happy Hotel crew along with Crymini, if only so he could use the hotel as a means to continue his experiments.

Personality
"He's a new guy. 'Lil unstable... but you'll grow to like 'im."

- Angel Dust to Charlie about Baxter.

Baxter is an intellectual and introverted scientist who is insistent on finishing his experiments. He possesses a very self-inflated ego, always thinking himself to be the smartest person in the room, and appears to possess some sort of God complex. He has almost nothing in the way of manners, often rudely shoving people out of his way or speaking over them, and demanding that they refer to him as "Doctor" or "Captain". He also persistently attempts to persuade the other hotel members into allowing him to perform invasive and potentially lethal experiments on them, and at times attempts to do so even without their consent. Initially, he was very introverted and wanted nothing to do with anyone, preferring to conduct his experiments alone in peace. However, years of being stuck in Purgatory with no one but his asocial assistant and sycophantic robot minions made Baxter starved for contact with others and seems to have softened him up. Thus, when Vaggie, Angel Dust, Fergus, Cherri Bomb, and Husk stumbled into his laboratory, he was ecstatic to finally interact with new people and welcomed them to his home with hospitality.

Regardless, Baxter is still rather rude and insensitive in a sense that he possesses no sense in personal space; he pounced on Vaggie's chest in excitement upon meeting her, and forced her and Husk sleep with him in his bed at the threat of assaulting them, which is ironic considering that Baxter himself personally dislikes being touched by others. He is also rather inconsiderate and has a general disregard towards the feelings of other, as he seems completely oblivious to the fact that Crymini does not enjoy being his intern, and fails to notice when he is disturbing others or putting people off by his mannerisms and habits. Despite his brilliant mind, he is extremely arrogant, snapping at people who question his inventions, even when said inventions malfunction as a result of Baxter overlooking anly flaws. He is also heavily implied to be a tad insane, as he frequently carries on entire conversations with himself, and nonchalantly mentions having voices in his head. Angel Dust even called him a little "unstable" when introducing him to Charlie.

Although he is very arrogant and tends to inflate the overall importance of his experiments, Baxter is exceptionally intelligent in many regards; even while trapped in Purgatory on a dead planet, he was able to find a military base and convert it into a home and laboratory for himself and Crymini. He also constructed an army of functioning robots who followed his bidding, and was capable of somehow constructing a functioning spaceship with many amenities within, despite limited resources. After the eight year timeskip, he successfully built a portal back to Hell which would have been able to to transport himself and the hotel crew back to Hell, if not for the portal being destroyed by Vox.

Despite having little in the way of manners, Baxter was surprisingly friendly and cordial to the hotel crew in Purgatory. Although he abandoned Vaggie's team when the Army of Darkness attacked his laboratory, he justified that he was leaving them behind to protect Crymini, and after escaping, he used the B.A.X Galaxy Light to travel and rescue the hotel crew from Lucifer, Satan, and the VVV Overlords, proving he didn't completely abandon them. Even after the hotel crew split during the eight year timeskip, Baxter frequently kept in touch with Fergus by contacting him on his laptop screen, frequently checking in on him for eight years, even when the latter didn't desire Baxter's company. He also protected the seven angels on his ship when it was under siege by the Army of Darkness. He is also capable of showing a more fun-loving side, as he enjoys playing games with high levels of thinking, such as chess. However, it is implied that he will return to his grumpy, introverted ways now that he is at the Happy Hotel, as he insisted that Charlie find him the emptiest, largest room in the hotel and to leave him alone so he could create a new laboratory.

Appearance
Baxter is an anglerfish demon who has grey skin with a blue-grey tone. He has a notably short stature, being the second smallest member of the hotel crew after Niffty. He has two fins on the side of his head, which resemble ears, and has three cyan-colored, bioluminescent freckles dotted on his "hair" and on both of his cheeks, underneath his eyes. He has styled, short and swept back "hair", which are actually royal blue scales with blue-grey streaks. He has sharp cyan-colored teeth, and his mouth curls at the sides whenever he grins. He has cyan sclera with coral pink irises, and his eyelids are a dark royal blue.

Baxter almost always wears glasses (which he insists are goggles), the frames of which are coral pink with yellow lenses. Whenever experimenting of crafting inventions, he wears actual goggles with black straps, and cyan lenses. Baxter primarily wears a full-length, grey laboratory suit with yellow buttons down the length. He wears a small black hat with his esca protruding from it. The "light" is of a yellow gradient that glows in the dark, and there are two cyan stripes above it. He wears wrist-length black lab gloves, and boots.

Natural Powers

 * Demonic Transformation: Baxter is capable of accessing a far more intimidating and demonic Full Demon Form at will, and then effortlessly transform back into his normal demonic form.
 * Immortality: Having already experienced death, Baxter cannot be killed again in a traditional sense, as he lives eternally as an undead soul. Despite being hundreds of years old as a sinner, he is eternally youthful, having shown no signs in aging, and seemingly impossible to kill again without divine intervention.
 * Nigh-Invulnerability: Baxter's demonic physiology enables him to endure extreme amounts of punishment with little hindrance, as shown by him constantly and easily surviving violent chemical explosions that are capable of devastating his surroundings.

Unique Powers

 * Electrokinesis: Baxter is capable of emitting a small electric charge around his face whenever he gets excited. When he met Vaggie and her team for the first time, he buzzed excitedly as electricity generated from his lure and down to his head.

Abilities

 * Bioluminescence: Baxter has several bioluminescent dots across his head that glow in pitch black darkness, illuminating the area around him. This, combined with his enhanced ocular vision and bright lure, enables him to see perfectly in dark environments.
 * Genius-level Intelligence: Baxter is a genius inventor and scientist in many fields and regards. While stranded with Crymini in Purgatory on a dead planet, Baxter was capable of converting an abandoned military base into a functioning laboratory for himself and Crymini to reside in. During this time, he constructed an army of functioning robots capable of carrying out complex demands for him, including cooking food and gathering lab materials from the nearby city for him and Crymini. Said robots were also built with energy blasters that Baxter presumably created, and were capable of defending Baxter and his allies from external threats such as intruders, as shown when they easily restrained Vaggie, Fergus, Angel Dust, Husk, and Cherri Bomb. Baxter also constructed a massive, functioning spaceship in the form of the B.A.X Galaxy Light, with a built-in defense system containing missiles and laser cannons. Said ship was also capable of lightspeed, contained many amenities such as a shower room, robotic servants, and a rec room, despite having limited resources. After the eight year timeskip, he successfully constructed a portal back to Hell using a rare substance known as Celumite, and the portal would have been able to to transport himself and the hotel crew back to Hell. Regardless, Baxter is often hazardous with his creations and is very much a trial-by-error type of scientist, often overlooking critical flaws, which are usually rectified by Crymini or his robotic servants. This tendency often led to violent lab explosions or equipment malfunctions.
 * Lure: An an anglerfish demon, Baxter possesses a lure on his head that illuminates his surroundings whenever he enters a dark environments, allowing him to be aware of his nearest surroundings and easily maneuver in complete darkness.
 * Natural Weaponry: Baxter possesses razor sharp teeth which he can use as offensive weapons.
 * Ocular Illumination: Baxter's eyes glow a bright cyan color when in darkness, enabling him to see in complete darkness.
 * Spacecraft Intuition: Baxter is extremely skilled in piloting and operating spacecrafts, specifically his own spacecraft, the B.A.X Galaxy Light. During the hotel crew's journey to escape Purgatory, he was able to maneuver the Galaxy Light through inhospitable areas such as an asteroid field, and was able to ride the shockwaves of a black hole that was summoned by Satan and use them to speed the ship away from the singularity.

Crymini
Prior to the events of the series, Baxter hired Crymini as his assistant and "intern". Baxter appears to view Crymini as a type of ward and a friend. During their experiments, he usually shouts at her in a dramatic manner to perform various actions for his experiments, much to her chagrin. He also enjoys playing games such as chess with Crymini in his free time, with the latter mindlessly playing along while on her phone and paying no attention. In addition, Baxter is protective of Crymini, as when the Army of Darkness attacked his base to kill the hotel crew, Baxter prioritized his and Crymini's safety by choosing to leave the hotel crew behind and save them at a later time. Even though Baxter is generally friendly, if a little bossy, towards Crymini, she has the tendency to behave asocial and aloof to both Baxter and his experiments, and superficially does not seem to enjoy his company, although Baxter seems oblivious to this, or just chooses to ignore it.

That being said, Crymini does ultimately see Baxter as a friend, although she has difficulty expressing it. It is shown that she does not accept Baxter being insulted or degraded by other people. After Baxter used the B.A.X Galaxy Light to rescue the hotel crew from Satan, Lucifer, and the VVV Overlords, Fergus called the scientist a "crackpot" behind his back and questioned whether the hotel crew should stay with the scientist, which caused Crymini to become rather irritated, threatening that if Fergus did not take back his insult, she would drive the Galaxy Light right back to Satan and leave the hotel crew there.

Vaggie
Baxter and Vaggie first met when Baxter's robot minions attacked Vaggie and her side of the hotel crew upon them trespassing into Baxter's laboratory. Once Vaggie made it clear that she and her group were only seeking help, Baxter became ecstatic and pounced on Vaggie, hugging her with excitement, and allowed her and the others to stay at his laboratory. In their sporadic interactions, Vaggie is often put off by Baxter's overly affectionate tendencies, such as invading her personal space and at point, forcing her and Husk to sleep with him in his bed, even when they weren't willing and couldn't sleep due to Baxter's bright lure keeping them awake. Despite this, Vaggie does respect Baxter as a competent scientist and helpful addition to the hotel crew.

Fergus
Baxter treated Fergus with as much hospitality as he did the rest of Vaggie's team, allowing him and Angel Dust to test the firearms in his laboratory's shooting range. Baxter appears to especially like Fergus moreso than most of the hotel crew, as he frequently kept tabs on Fergus during the eight year timeskip, constantly contacting Fergus via laptop screen simply to make sure he was still alive. Fergus overall does not seem to reciprocate Baxter's affection, calling Baxter a "crackpot" behind his back, and was visibly annoyed by Baxter's numerous video calls, although he is capable of acknowledging Baxter's intelligence at times.

Niffty
"I don't quite know how to tell you this, but... Actually, I do. You have the face only a post-mortem, scavenging organism would love."

- Baxter turning Niffty down after she attempted to flirt with him.

Niffty is smitten over Baxter and seeks his attention and affection. Baxter clearly does not reciprocate Niffty's feelings as he is too obsessed with his inventions, and largely seems indifferent to her the majority of the time, even going as far as to insult her looks upon meeting her for the first time as a way to turn her down. Regardless, Niffty was not phased by his comment persisted in her attempts to woo him. Niffty has a habit of excitedly glomping Baxter, and assists him by keeping the Galaxy Light clean. Niffty will often agree to do whatever Baxter asks, as she constantly seeks his praise and affection. For the same reason, she frequently praises his inventions, ideas, and plans, regardless of how unreliable and poorly planned they turn out to be. Eventually, Baxter grew to slightly appreciate Niffty when she put her speed to use by fixing and cleaning the inside of Baxter's dimension portal.

Season 3
"Oh, how my cerebral cortex has been starved for lasting coalitions with new test subje- Erm, I mean, living organisms..."

- Baxter to Vaggie's crew upon meeting them.

"PULL THE SWITCH, MY HYAENIDAE SERVANT!"

- Baxter to Crymini.

"Arachnid, would you like to see my flux capacitor? I assure you, it's perfectly safe and has a five star rating from yours trul- (the "flux capacitor" explodes in Baxter's hand as he presses the button) AHHH!!"

- Baxter showing his inventions to Angel Dust.

"(giggles) Look at these feeble, dumb little creatures... They have no idea their entire lives are forged by my whim... I am the God of sea monkeys!"

- Baxter showing his pet sea monkeys to Fergus, Vaggie, Husk, and Angel Dust.

"WE'RE HERE, FERGUS! WE'VE RETURNED TO RESCUE YOU!!!"

- Baxter as he and Crymini make a sudden appearance to help the hotel crew escape from Satan, Lucifer, and the VVV Overlords.

"Me? Assist you? Let me analyze... A dingbat, a diminutive twerp, a queen, a dipsomaniac, and eight louses? Hmm.... I do suppose this wisenheimer could straighten out this loony bin!"

- Baxter accepting Charlie's request to help the hotel crew escape Purgatory.

"Come here, winged feline! I just want to strap electrodes to you and see how you respond to moderate stimuli!"

- Baxter while chasing Husk with the intent to experiment on him.

"Alright, plebeians, let's discover if we can escape this domain not with magic... but with science!"

- Baxter before activating the portal back to Hell.

"Charlie: I-... It's working! Baxter: OF COURSE IT WORKS!!! ...Erm... I mean, yes. It works quite well."

- Baxter to Charlie after his portal to Hell began to activate.

Trivia

 * Jim Miller, the creator of Hazbin Hotel: Journey to the Light, considers Baxter to be his favorite character.
 * Although not confirmed, it is discreetly implied that Baxter might be transgender, as despite being male, he possesses several trademark features of a female anglerfish, specifically the lure on his head.
 * It has never been revealed how exactly Baxter and Crymini ended up in Purgatory.
 * There is a deleted scene from "Survival" in which Husk inquires this question, but Baxter's explanation is drowned out by Fergus and Angel Dust playing with firearms in the background.
 * Baxter claims that he is a virgin during a conservation with Angel Dust.
 * In "Into the Darkness", he claims that he has 20 Ph.Ds.
 * Baxter's laboratory/room within the Happy Hotel is located within the ship sticking out of the hotel's lower left side.