Artemis Fowl II

Dr. Artemis Fowl II is the eponymous character of the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer. Colfer has said that he based Artemis on his younger brother Donal, who as a child was "a mischievous mastermind who could get out of any trouble he got into." A childhood picture of his brother in his first communion suit caused Colfer to think of how much Colfer's brother resembled "a little James Bond villain" and "how funny...a twelve-year-old James Bond villain" would be, inspiring Colfer's creation of Artemis.

Colfer planned for Artemis to have been called Archimedes but changed the name due to an interest in using a "classic Greek name" and trepidation that "people would think [the series] was about [the historical figure] Archimedes". Artemis is a notable choice for a name because while it is traditionally a female name, it "was [historically] sometimes… given to boys as a kind of honorific if their fathers were great hunters", though the male equivalent of the name is usually spelled as Artimus instead of Artemis. Fowl was derived from the Irish name Fowler as a play on words to convey the characterization that Artemis was a nasty or foul individual at the beginning of the series. The character additionally takes the place of Hans Gruber in Colfer's description of the first book of the series as "Die Hard with fairies".

Prior to the events of the first book, Artemis's father, Artemis Fowl I, imperils the family fortune by investing "a huge chunk of the Fowl fortune in establishing new shipping lanes" to Russia, following the breakdown of Communism there. The Russian Mafia retaliates by sinking a shipping vessel Artemis I was travelling on, the Fowl Star, leading to his disappearance, the loss of a substantial amount of the Fowl fortune, and the mental breakdown of his wife Angeline Fowl, Artemis's mother.

In Artemis Fowl, which is set two years after those events, the 12-year-old Artemis decides to regain the Fowl fortune by following leads on the Internet that refer to an underground world of fairies collectively called the People. Artemis manages to blackmail a member of the People into giving him what they call "the Book" which is like their Bible, holding all their secrets, customs, rules, and history. This leads him to ransom Lower Elements Police (LEP) Captain Holly Short for a portion of the People's gold. Artemis and Holly agree to a deal whereby Holly retains half the ransom fee, while Artemis gets one wish from Holly and gets to keep the other half of the gold. After recovering Holly, the LEP attempt to permanently eliminate Artemis by setting off a biological weapon, but are thwarted when Artemis discovers a way around their attack (something not even the People had been able to develop).

In the sequel, The Arctic Incident, the 13-year-old Artemis learns that his father was only injured in the attack on his shipping vessel, and is being held hostage by the Russian Mafia. Artemis barters with the People to receive their aid in rescuing his father in exchange for assisting them in solving the mystery of who was behind a goblin rebellion. It is later revealed that Opal Koboi, a pixie criminal mastermind, and ex-LEP officer Briar Cudgeon are behind the plot. Their plan is thwarted, ending in Cudgeon's death and Koboi's arrest, and Artemis successfully recovers his father.

In the third book, The Eternity Code, Artemis (in what he considers to be his last criminal act before his father recovers from his injuries) creates the C Cube, a mini super-computer based on the People's technology that is decades ahead of human technology. He plans to make a deal with Chicago technology businessman Jon Spiro over the Cube, but Spiro double-crosses Artemis, steals the Cube, and wounds Domovoi Butler in the process. Along with Holly Short and Foaly, Artemis succeeds in healing Butler and ensuring that Spiro does not discover the existence of the People through use of the C Cube. The C Cube is recovered, with the help of Foaly, Holly, Juliet (Butler's sister), and Mulch. But to gain the help of Foaly, Holly, and their Fairy technology, Artemis has to agree to Butler's, Juliet's and his own memories being wiped by the People, to avoid future misadventures. This happens at the end of the book.

In the fourth book, The Opal Deception, Opal Koboi, who had been lying in an institution in a faked catatonic state, escapes with the help of pixie twins Mervall and Descant Brill, and begins plotting revenge against Julius Root, Holly Short, Foaly, and Artemis. Opal frames Holly for the murder of Julius Root and nearly terminates the now 14-year-old Artemis and Butler with a biological weapon. Holly rescues Artemis after being injured while escaping Opal's weapon. But Opal still seeks revenge on Holly and Artemis, so she traps them in an abandoned amusement park (comprising copies of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World plus four extra monuments determined by the People) with only hungry trolls for company. Meanwhile, Mulch Diggums has helped Butler regain his memories and together they save Holly and Artemis in the nick of time and also return Artemis's memory. With help from Artemis, Butler, and Mulch, Holly prevents Opal from achieving her goal to uncover the Fairy People to humans.

In the fifth book, The Lost Colony, Artemis works with the People to recover a young kidnapped demon imp from the 12-year-old child prodigy Minerva Paradizo. The team succeed in finding and rescuing the imp-warlock, but Artemis and Holly Short must then work to restore the imp's home, a floating island lost in a space and time Limbo, which threatens to breach its way onto Earth. In the process, several significant changes occur within the characters' lives. Artemis receives a small amount of magical power during the trip to Limbo, and swaps an eye with Holly on the return trip. The pair finds that they have been transported nearly three years into their future. Finally, Artemis learns that in the ensuing time he has become the older brother to twins, Beckett and Myles Fowl.