Noggin, at one point known as Algernon, was an antagonist in Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, serving as a major antagonist of Season 1, and the main antagonist of the first half of Season 2.
He is a gremlin and a member of the old batch. He later became the sole survivor of this batch to remain a gremlin and became a leader to the wild batch. Following this and subsequent events, he became the leader of the wild batch.
Appearance[]
Mogwai[]
As a mogwai, Noggin was a short critter with brown fur and spots. He had a large head with lazy eyes.
Gremlin[]
Once he became a gremlin, Noggin grew in size. His furry appearance turned to a scaly greenish-brown with spindly limbs and sharp claws. His eyes turned red and were still unfocused. Still, following an event where he drank a magical potion, Noggin's intelligence increased dramatically, which caused his eyes to re-center and become more focused.
As of "Never Give Up", Noggin has started to wear clothes, as opposed to the other Gremlins.
Personality[]
Initially, Noggin acted as destructive and mischievous as the other Gremlins. This changed when he drank a potion that boosted his intelligence and allowed him to understand all languages.
After he drank the potion, he gained the ability to speak English and other languages. He also adopted a civilized demeanor, speaking with an articulate voice, and enjoyed conversing with humans. Despite his new heightened intelligence, his mischievous nature remained, as shown when he deferred to Claw as his superior and went along with her plans to invade Shanghai, with a tendency to be blunt about his group's malevolent intentions. He also attacked a citizen of Shanghai, as well as attacking and eating a cluster of chickens, showing his vicious side.
He admitted fascination with human culture and their way of life, particularly his sense of fashion and need to accessorize, which included a ring that made him impervious to magic and dressing in sleek 1920s attire. He was intrigued to learn about compassion. Following the defeat of the Old Batch and moving to San Francisco, Noggin initially desired to reform himself but soon abandoned this. He wished to educate his fellow gremlins and make them civilized like himself, but could not succeed. He was also formal to Gizmo and addressed him as "father-brother," initially joyful at meeting one of his kind, more intelligent than others he had spawned.
History[]
Secrets of the Mogwai[]
Noggin started life as a nameless Mogwai that spawned from Gizmo after Sam Wing accidentally knocked water over Gizmo.
Along with the rest of The Old Batch, he escaped Sam's custody and broke into a restaurant, where he ate after midnight and underwent his transformation to Gremlin. As a Gremlin, he was taken captive by Riley Greene and his henchman, who took them with him on his quest for the Valley of Jade. After the Gremlins broke out of their prison cell on Riley's ship and disposed of Riley's crew, Riley struck a deal with them that they could have his ship if they helped him reach his goal.
Nogging tastes the potions.
Once the group reached the Ghost City, they followed Sam, Gizmo, and Elle through a portal into the spirit world. Here, Noggin's attention was caught by a spirit selling various magic potions, and he began to taste them all. Riley was not amused initially, but allowed Noggin to continue so he could see the effects of the potions for himself. One of the potions Noggin drank gave him the power to speak any and all languages, including The Queen's English and the tongue of the spirits. He first revealed this ability when he translated the speech of a spirit who had been shrunk by Nuwa, thus allowing Riley to question the spirit about Gizmo's whereabouts.
Noggin walks through the magic barrier.
While in the spirit world, Noggin also purchased a magic ring that would protect him against any and all magic. This ring came in handy when Greene and the Gremlins tried to follow Gizmo to the Valley of Jade but found their path blocked by Nuwa, who used a magic barrier that even Greene could not overcome to hold them off. Thanks to the ring, Noggin could walk through the barrier without trouble and attacked Nuwa, causing her to drop her weapon and the barrier to be lifted. This allowed Greene to overpower and absorb Nuwa, becoming a god himself.
After Greene and the Gremlins arrived in the valley, Noggin assisted Greene in rounding up the Mogwai. However, when Greene came back on his deal with the Gremlins and stated his intention to keep them in the valley forever rather than allow them to wreak havoc on "his" world, Noggin sided with Claw to take the Knife of Creation from Greene. With the knife now in their possession, the Gremlins ditched Greene and went to Shanghai.
While his fellow Gremlins wreaked havoc on Shanghai, Noggin took his time to observe the city and human culture. He got his hands on some fancy clothes and a monocle.
When Sam Wing got his hands on the Knife of Creation and used it to turn all Gremlins back into Mogwai, Noggin was the only one spared because he was still wearing the ring. Now, the last of his brethren, Noggin, boarded a ship for San Francisco.
The Wild Batch[]
Boss Noggin.
During the journey to San Francisco, Noggin created more Gremlins, but they did not share his intelligence and quickly got themselves killed when they tried to leave the ship while it was still day. Noggin thus arrived in San Francisco alone. He adopted the name "Algernon" and tried to make a new life. He ended up in Chinatown, where he met the local crime boss Boss Chang. Despite Algernon's struggles to control his violent impulses and repeated indignities, he managed to work his way up to Boss Chang's favorite employer. When Boss Chang was near death, he declared Algernon his successor since his son Chang was in prison at the time.
Following Boss Chang's passing, Algernon thus became the new crime lord. However, Boss Chang's former employees did not acknowledge his authority and tried to kill him by throwing him into the San Francisco Bay. This led to Noggin spawning a new army of Gremlins that helped him kill the other gang members and take over China Town. Algernon ditched his new name and declared himself "Boss Noggin," the new leader of the Chinatown underworld.
Now, the society leader, Noggin, kept trying to civilize his fellow Gremlins, even hiring teachers to help him—all to no avail. He also sealed off the old smugglers' tunnels under the city so no one could use them against him and provided manual labor to punish those who opposed him.
When Gizmo and his friends arrived in San Fransisco, Noggin was finally overjoyed to have a fellow smart Mogwai. He had Gizmo brought to him and tried to form a sincere friendship with him. He seemed to succeed for a moment, but when Sam, Elle, and Chang arrived to rescue Gizmo, Gizmo quickly sided with his human friends again. Feeling betrayed, Noggin sought to eliminate Gizmo. A chase ensued, which ended with Noggin being trapped in a fireworks factory with his fellow gremlins, whose wild antics caused the place to explode, seemingly killing them all.
Noggin boards the train.
At the end of "Never Get Out of the Truck", it is revealed that Noggin somehow survived the explosion, though how he managed to do that is never shown or stated. He sees Hon Wing, Fong Wing and Grandpa Wing board The train between worlds, and stows away as well. While hiding on the train, he spies on the Wings and overhears Grandpa Wing recall how, 60 years ago, he came close to freeing Kung Kung. When Grandpa is done with his story, Noggin reveals himself. He overpowers the Wings and ties them all up. Grandpa Wing manages to trick Noggin into freeing him by appealing to Noggin's intelligence and inviting him to talk more about himself and Mogwai in general over a cup of tea. Noggin falls for it and frees him. Grandpa Wing secretly drugs Noggins tea, causing him to fall unconscious.
Noggin hanging on the branch.
After Sam, Elle, Chang and Gizmo also board the train in Purple Mountain Majesties, Noggin begins to regain consciousness. He sees how Gizmo, who by now considers himself a danger to Sam because of his increasing evil episodes, sneaks away from the others and jumps off the train. Noggin follows him. They both end up in the dessert, where Noggin confronts Gizmo and blames him for ruining his life. The two fight, which triggers another one of Gizmo's evil episodes. He overpowers Noggin and they both fall into a ravine, where Noggin ends up hanging from a small branch, while Gizmo tries to make him fall off. For a moment Noggin accepts his fate as he claims there’s no point to keep living without friends. This remark snaps Gizmo back to his senses. By working together both Gizmo and Noggin escape the branch, but they are no stranded on a small ledge that will soon be exposed to sunlight. As the sun closes in, Gizmo finally acknowledges Noggin as a friend. That is what Noggin needed to hear, and he reveals he stole the whistle for summoning the train between worlds from Grandpa Wing. He summons the train, and he and Gizmo escape the cliff just in time. The train takes them to Chang's City, where they see Kung Kung has been set free.
In "Always Make the Hard Choice", Gizmo and Noggin are still on the train. After giving it some thought, Noggin comes with a theory that Gizmo's evil episodes are the result of him still carrying the curse that all Mogwai where inflicted with by Fuxi. Deep down Gizmo still has evil urges, and that urge will continue to emerge as long as Gizmo tries to be the perfect Mogwai all the time. Noggin states that nobody can be perfect and good all the time, and that Gizmo should allow himself to cut loose a little every now and then. He suggests that they start by hijacking the train to go help Sam and his friends.
Noggin and Gizmo depart on good term.
The two arrive back in Chang's city and ram Kung Kung with the train, but this is not enough to stop the water god. Their only hope is for Elle to find the Wishing stones. To buy her more time, Noggin and Gizmo voluntarily jump into the water, and spawn an army of Mogwai and Gremlins to attack Kung Kung. The plan works and Kung Kung is kept busy until Elle finds the stone and wishes Kung Kung away. Noggin decides to stay in Chang's city with his new spawn, as here they are far away from civilization and have an indestructible city for themselves. He hopes that here Mogwai can finally learn to live in peace. He changes his name back to Algernon again, and vows to rule with love this time, like Boss Chang thought him. Gizmo leaves with Sam, but promises to stay in touch.
Trivia[]
- He is the first Gremlin to gain human speech and intelligence chronologically. The Brain Gremlin would do so decades later. Their means of acquiring this ability differed slightly.
- He is the first Gremlin to leave China and settle in America.
- His other name, Algernon, might be a reference to the novel Flowers for Algernon. Like Algernon, the protagonist is a mentally challenged man whose intelligence is unnaturally enhanced by genius-level comprehension.
- In "Never Try the Cider", Noggin states to have a fast metabolism, and that this is the reason grandpa Wing's drug wore off so quickly.
Gallery[]