Dr. John "Jack" Griffin, also known as the Invisible Man, is a fictional character who serves as both the main protagonist and antagonist of H. G. Wells' 1897 science fiction novel The Invisible Man. In the original work, Griffin is a scientist whose research in optics and experiments into changing the human body's refractive index to that of air results in him becoming invisible. After becoming invisible, he wraps his head in bandages and dons a pair of goggles or glasses in order to enable others to see him. Unable to reverse the invisibility process, he descends into insanity and becomes a criminal.
The character and variations thereof has been featured in various media, including films, television series and merchandise. The most famous non-literary incarnation is portrayed by Claude Rains in the 1933 film The Invisible Man, where he is given the first name Jack and a love interest named Flora Cranley. The film was distributed by Universal Pictures and spawned a number of sequels that feature different invisible characters. Griffin and the 1933 film have become iconic in popular culture, particularly in regards to horror fiction. A new film, loosely inspired by the original novella and the original film, again titled The Invisible Man, was released in 2020.
