Kraus is a disembodied ectoplasmic spirit with psychic abilities, who inhabits a containment suit, without which his form would eventually dissipate and be lost forever.

A live action version of Kraus, named Johann Krauss, appeared in the 2008 sequel film Hellboy II: The Golden Army, with his voice provided by Seth MacFarlane.

This proved to be the worst possible time for such a lapse, as the halls of the Bureau came under attack by two separate monsters, one of them the were-jaguar form of Captain Ben Daimio.

Condemned to his ectoplasmic half-life once more, Johann began pursuing a private obsession with Ben Daimio, trying to track down his living relatives and hiding the ceremonial dagger that is supposedly the only weapon that can destroy him in his were-jaguar form.

In 2009, Johann returned to his beloved Munich for the first time since his 2002 accident during The Warning, only to see it destroyed and its inhabitants killed by a subterranean robot army, a blow from which he has found it hard to recover.

Johann has developed a brotherly relationship with zombie Iosif Nichayko, the director of Russia's "Special Sciences Service" who also lives confined to a containment suit.

His character's movements were supplied by British actors John Alexander and James Dodd, and his voice was performed by Seth MacFarlane.

In the commentary, Guillermo del Toro said that he used the character to express his idea of the perfect bureaucrat: lacking a face, body, or any individual identity.

This is a departure from the comics version, where Krauss is portrayed as quite compassionate and feeling, often playing an avuncular role towards the rest of the team.

When Liz Sherman and Abe decide to disobey orders and take the dying Hellboy to Prince Nuada, Krauss initially forbids them to, but reconsiders, remembering his own lost love.

Deciding to support the renegades, he helps Liz and Abe steal the Bureau's plane to find the Prince, participates in the battle against the Golden Army, and quits the B.P.R.D.

On a commentary on the Hellboy II DVD, director Guillermo del Toro states that Johann's helmet design was an unused idea for Master Chief in the unreleased Halo movie.