The Final Turnabout
The Severin von Karma Story
Early Childhood – Law and Loss
"That's when I heard his father was a defense attorney. I remember his eyes would shine whenever he talked about his father."- Phoenix Wright
Severin von Karma was born and raised in Stuttgart, Germany by his father Gregory von Karma - a famous criminal defense attorney. Severin's mother tragically passed away while giving birth to him thus leaving the young Severin to be raised by his father. As Severin grew older he began to idolize his father, wanting to follow in his footsteps and become a defense attorney as well. Throughout elementary school Severin won numerous awards for a wide range of activities and became an accomplished golfer, essay writer, and flute player. Despite being such a bright pupil, he hated the limelight and refuted all accolades and prizes he received. He was also especially hard on himself and was known to break down into tears when he failed at a task. However Severin would always go to great lengths to ensure that his next attempt was successful and work even harder to achieve perfection.
While Severin was accomplished in many hobbies, the game of hockey was easily his favorite. He especially enjoyed its fast pace and the numerous amount of strategy involved with it. He likened the way the momentum of a game could rapidly shift sides to the way his father was able to use a key piece of evidence to shift the course of a courtroom trial. It wasn't uncommon for Gregory to come home late after work to find Severin had fallen asleep on the couch in front of the television watching a hockey game.
When Severin was nine years old, he went down to the district court to see one of his father's trials. Gregory was arguing against his brother, the undefeated prosecutor Manfred von Karma. Manfred had an unhealthy obsession with perfection and was rumored to go to any means necessary in order to obtain his guilty verdict. During the course of the trial, Gregory accused Manfred of forging evidence and proved that the prosecutor had coerced a confession from his client. Because of this, Manfred received his first and only penalty and the case was thrown out.
After court was adjourned, Severin and his father exited the courthouse through an elevator. While in the elevator an earthquake struck the courthouse and shut off the power leaving Severin, Gregory, and several others trapped in the elevator with little oxygen. A five-hour blackout would ensue, and as time went along the elevator’s inhabitants started to panic and become increasingly aggressive to one another. A young bailiff reached a breaking point and eventually attacked Gregory who was doing his best to keep everyone calm. At this point, the young Severin started to drift out of consciousness. As he passed out he would hear a single ear-deafening gunshot that would haunt him for the rest of his life. Severin would wake up hours later in the hospital to learn that his father was dead, fatally shot in the heart by the bailiff’s pistol.
Upbringing / Law School - The Prosecutor’s Path
"A von Karma is someone who is destined to be perfect!" - Manfred von Karma
Severin would be taken under the wing of his uncle Manfred von Karma, who was also in the elevator at the time of Gregory’s death. Manfred would train Severin to become a ruthless prosecutor like himself and put overwhelming pressure on the boy to become a “perfect prosecutor”. Severin would spend many hours vigorously studying the law and was able to successfully gain admission into the Harvard school of law at the young age of 20. However, Severin found law school to be incredibly easy having already mastered all the material he was expected to know. Harvard would however require him to attend school for at least a year before being allowed to challenge the BAR exam in order to get a Harvard degree. Severin begrudgingly accepted this and decided to spend the year picking up some new hobbies and mastering other skills.
Despite the trauma he faced in his early childhood, he would still possess a deep passion for the game of hockey and spent many hours at the Bright-Landry Hockey Center fine-tuning his skills. It wasn't long before he caught the eye of the head coach of the Harvard Crimson, Ted Donato who would ask him to try out for the Men’s hockey team. Severin was intrigued by the offer as he had never actually played in an organized hockey league before and had merely just practiced his skills in drop in hockey games. Severin quickly jumped at the offer hoping it would help his year at Harvard go by faster. While at first he had trouble adapting to the team environment and the physical play of the game, Severin’s skill was undeniable and he soon found himself as the Crimson’s number one center and had the uncanny ability to setup his teammates for highlight reel goals. At the end of the year, Severin led his team in points, passed the BAR exam, and was ready to begin his career as a prosecutor.
A Twist of Fate – Old Scars and Onwards
“Even until his last moments, my father ran along his own path. I, too, shall advance along mine.” -Severin von Karma
Shortly after graduating from the Harvard School of Law, Severin would head back to Germany upon hearing some devastating news. For 12 long years Severin believed that the young bailiff who was in the elevator with him was guilty of murdering his father. The bailiff however was able to get off on an insanity plea and Severin had thus dedicated his life to using the law to put criminals behind bars. However while in the United States, Severin’s uncle Manfred would attempt to frame a rival prosecutor for the murder of Gregory. Manfred’s plan would however ultimately backfire when a young defense attorney named Phoenix Wright would prove to the court that it was actually Manfred who had committed the murder when he saw the perfect opportunity to take revenge on Gregory for ruining the perfect record that he valued so dearly. Severin was left heartbroken; his own uncle who had trained him to become a ruthless prosecutor had murdered his father because of his obsession with perfection. The von Karma name would be ruined in Germany and Severin had lost all desire to practice law. Left without a purpose, Severin started spending many long nights at the bar drinking away his sorrows while watching hockey, the sport that had always been his escape from law.
One night Severin would run into Bismarck Köenig, a highly touted hockey prospect who was projected to perhaps become one of the greatest players to ever play the game. Bismarck recognized Severin, having heard about his impressive performance playing for the Harvard Crimson and encouraged him to declare for the S41 VHLM Dispersal Draft. Severin said he would think about it but couldn't motivate himself to start playing again. Severin however was intrigued by the VHLM and would one day turn on his television to see a game between the Yukon Rush and the Bern Royals. Bismarck Köenig would lead the Rush to a dominating victory and Severin finally decided that it was time to start moving on. He declared his eligibility for the VHLM the next day and was promptly picked off waivers by the Bern Royals. The next time the Rush played the Royals, Köenig wouldn’t be the only German raised star on the ice.
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