Alphonse Frankenstein

Alphonse Frankenstein is a character on ABC's Once Upon a Time. He débuts, with his only appearance, in the twelfth episode of the second season. He is portrayed by guest star Gregory Itzin and does not have a Storybrooke counterpart.

Alphonse is based on Victor's father from the classic novel, Frankenstein.

Before the Curse
In the Land Without Color, Alphonse is a leading military official in his home land of Austria. He has two sons, Gerhardt, who like his father is a brilliant soldier, and Victor, who is a scientist. Alphonse prefers Gerhardt and looks down upon Victor's profession. On Christmas Day, the three celebrate the holidays together. For each of his sons, he gives a gift. Because Gerhardt is his favored child, he presents him with his mother's antique watch. For Victor, he bestows a letter commanding him to join the army as a physician. Though Victor protests against the change, Alphonse thinks little of his son's antics in experimentation. To have the final word, Alphonse cuts off the monetary expenses to discontinue Victor's scientific work.

When Victor gains gold from Rumplestiltskin to continue his experiments, he heads out to the graveyard to dig up a corpse to bring back to the lab. While there, Gerhardt shows up. A graveyard guard fires at them for their intrusion, but they escape into Victor's awaiting carriage. Unexpectedly, Gerhardt sustains a gunshot wound and dies shortly after. Without his father's knowledge, Victor tries to bring Gerhardt back to life, but the strain of the operation causes his brother's heart to burn to a crisp black. Afterwards, Alphonse happens to enter into the lab and is stunned to see Gerhardt's body. Though Victor promises to bring his brother back so Alphonse can have his son back, he blames him for Gerhardt's death and bitterly states now he has no sons.

Later, Victor goes on a journey to the Enchanted Forest to procure a stronger, magical heart to revive Gerhardt with. The operation is a success, and he brings his father to show him the new Gerhardt. At first, Alphonse is pleased, but realizes the person he sees is not his beloved son. Angrily, he berates and physically attacks Victor for what has happened. Confused and agitated by the commotion, Gerhardt pushes his father to the ground and beats him to death while Victor stoically watches.

Trivia

 * The name "Alphonse" is of French origin derived from the Spanish and Italian form of the Germanic name "Alphonso" and itself derived from the words "adal" and "funs" that respectively mean "noble" and "ready".
 * The surname "Frankenstein" is of Germanic origin derived from surname bearers belonging to the knighthood class of Middle Rhine and Franconia regions of Germany with the origin being in Rhineland and Westphalia.