Jack Harper, also known as the Illusive Man, is a supporting character of Mass Effect 2 and the secondary antagonist of Mass Effect 3. He is the elusive, secretive, and well-informed leader of Cerberus. He has close-cropped silver-grey hair with "steely blue" eyes which appear to be prosthetic. The Illusive Man's real name and his life before Cerberus are both long forgotten. For years, the Illusive Man has been using Cerberus and his immense network of contacts to achieve his goal - that of making humanity ascendant above all other races. He is described as having the best and worst traits of humanity rolled into one man.
He is voiced by Martin Sheen.
His Evil Ranking[]
What Makes Him Heinous?[]
In General[]
- The Illusive Man passes the heinous standard of the series due to committing some of the worst crimes in the series, such as experimenting on living beings, indoctrinating his own followers, his acts of terrorism, and attempting to control and manipulate advanced alien technology for his own benefit at the detriment of the entire galaxy. He manages to stand out within the Mass Effect universe due to his immense resources and the extent of his actions.
Past[]
- He orchestrated the assassination of an individual to ensure the right person came into power in the Terra Firma political party.
- Ordered the sabotage and detonation of Eldfell-Ashland Energy starships over human colonies to ensure the birth of biotic children. He claimed one of these biotic children and gave her to Paul Grayson to raise.
- Planted Cerberus operatives into the Ascension Project to exploit the Alliance's biotic research.
- Sought the transmission codes for the Quarian Migrant Fleet to spy on them, reflecting his distrust of an alien species with a powerful armada.
Mass Effect 1[]
- While he doesn't appear in Mass Effect 1, he's responsible for the heinous acts Cerberus commits in some of the side quests, such as conducting experiments on alien species, including torture and unethical genetic manipulation, infiltrating Alliance facilities, stealing sensitive information, and conducting covert operations, luring Rear Admiral Kahoku’s men into a thresher maw nest and later killing Kahoku himself, supplying test subjects to a rogue scientist, Dr. Saelon, who had been conducting illegal experiments on humans to improve their physical abilities, turning a human settlement into husks, getting a shipment of rachni from Benezia to experiment on for themselves and being responsible for the rachni infestation in the Maroon Sea and Hydra system, and causing the destruction of Akuze by luring the thresher maws there as part of an experiment.
Mass Effect 2[]
- Used Cerberus' resources to resurrect Commander Shepard through the Lazarus Project. While this act can be seen as beneficial to humanity, it is also part of his manipulation to use Shepard as a tool for Cerberus' goals.
- Recruits Shepard under the guise of providing resources to confront the Reaper threat. However, his true intentions are revealed to be more self-serving, as he manipulates Shepard and keeps important information hidden.
- Intentionally leaks information about Shepard's location, leading to an attack on the Horizon colony by the Collectors. This act puts innocent lives at risk to further his own agenda.
- Sets up a trap for Shepard at the Collector Cruiser, intending to gain information on how to pass through the Omega 4 Relay. This betrayal and manipulation demonstrate his willingness to sacrifice Shepard's well-being for his own purposes.
- He suggested using a radiation pulse to wipe out the Collectors and keep the base intact, showing a disregard for innocent lives.
- After Shepard defeats the Human Reaper, he suggests preserving the Collector base instead of destroying it, with the intention of using its technology for Cerberus' benefit. This decision showcases his disregard for the lives lost to the Collectors and his willingness to prioritize Cerberus' advancement over other considerations.
Mass Effect 3[]
- He collaborates with the Reapers, who are bent on galactic annihilation. He aligns himself with their destructive agenda, betraying his own species and sacrificing the lives of others to gain power. While he does believe that he can control them to serve humanity's interests, he disregards the fact that they pose a grave threat to all sentient beings in the galaxy.
- He orders Cerberus forces to launch attacks on innocent civilians and allied forces. He instigates acts of terrorism and sabotage, destabilizing governments and causing chaos throughout the galaxy.
- Had a Cerberus synthetic to steal information from the Prothean Arcives in order to use their technology to dominate the Reapers himself and had it nearly kill Kaiden/Ashley.
- He ordered direct attacks on other factions, including attempts to stop Shepard from recovering a fertile Krogan female and instigating a war between the Turians and Krogan.
- Orders an attack on the Citadel itself and the assassination of the Council in order to assist human Councilor Donnel Udina in taking control.
- He supported Cerberus' Sanctuary project, which involves studying Reaper indoctrination and Husks in an attempt to find a way to control the Reapers. This involves unethical experiments on subjects.
- Becomes indoctrinated by the Reapers, allowing himself to be implanted with Reaper-derived nanotechnology which leads to his loss of autonomy and alignment with their goals. He attempts to sway Shepard towards controlling the Reapers and orders his assassin, Kai Leng, to attack Shepard.
- The Illusive Man immobilizes and controls Shepard and forces them to shoot Anderson as a display of his control. He resists the Reapers momentarily when Shepard pleads with him but ultimately either shoots himself or is shot by Shepard, leading to his demise.
What Makes Him Inconsistent?[]
- He has a tragic backstory, where when he was in the first contact war, he lost his friends like Eve Core, who he loved, and Ben Hislop who later became indoctrinated by a reaper artifact. From then on, he became an extremist to advance humanity's agenda.
- His actions are driven by his strong belief in the advancement and protection of humanity. This dedication, although misguided, sets him apart from being Pure Evil or Near Pure Evil.
- If Shepard and his squad all died potentially except one during the suicide mission in Mass Effect 2, the Illusive Man will ask Joker how his ship is and they discuss the tragedy of Shepard’s death, in which the Illusive Man actually displays regret over it.
- Despite ultimately aligning himself with the Reapers, the Illusive Man initially expresses a strong anti-Reaper sentiment. He recognizes the danger they pose to organic life and seeks to find a way to control or neutralize them.
- Despite seeing Shepard as his enemy by Mass Effect 3, he has nothing but respect towards him/her and even tells Kai Leng to show Shepard the same respect as well.
- During his final confrontation with Shepard, he shows moments of doubt over his actions while indoctrinated and can even shoot himself while saying he did his best to save humanity, showing he isn't devoid of remorse and can potentially redeem himself. If Shepard shoots him, his death is still played for sympathy, as he wishes Shepard could see Earth as he does: beautiful and perfect.
External Links[]
- Illusive Man on the Villains Wiki
- Illusive Man on the Mass Effect Wiki
[]
 Inconsistently Heinous
| ||
|
Illusive Man | Gavin Archer | The Catalyst | Commander Shepard (Renegade) | ||