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Illusive Man
The Illusive Man is a fictional character in BioWare's Mass Effect video game franchise. He is the leader of the pro-human group Cerberus. The Illusive Man wears an open suit that connotes both futuristic style and the "casual swagger of a charming billionaire". His eye implants make him appear slightly inhuman. He is normally seen in an empty office with no indication of his living arrangements. He is voiced by Martin Sheen.
The character first appeared in 2008's novel Ascension, and made his video game debut in Mass Effect 2 as a supporting character. In the game, he arranges to revive Commander Shepard from death, provides Shepard with a ship and crew, and sends Shepard on several missions against the human-abducting Collectors. The Illusive Man later appears in Mass Effect 3 as the secondary antagonist, where he works against Shepard's attempts to destroy the Reapers, wishing to control them instead. He appears in several other Mass Effect comics series and novels. Mass Effect: Evolution reveals the character's origin story as a mercenary named Jack Harper, who worked for the Human System Alliance during the First Contact War.
The Illusive Man is the leader of Cerberus, a pro-human group officially regarded as a terrorist organisation by the Citadel Council and the humans' Systems Alliance. The character was voiced by Martin Sheen in both Mass Effect 2 and 3. According to Casey Hudson, Sheen really got into the role. Sheen has said he would suck on a pen to simulate smoking when recording lines, as he himself did not smoke.
At one point, the Illusive Man was planned as the boss fight for Mass Effect 3, having been altered by the Reapers. However, this was changed to avoid a clichéd ending. Additionally, BioWare felt it did not fit the Illusive Man—the Illusive Man's "weapon" being his intelligence, not physical strength—and wanted to let the player fight a character they recognised.
His face was based on a catalog model, a decision made early in his development. He is largely symmetrical, and is meant to appear almost "perfect". He smokes, drinks, and is in his fifties but shows no signs of age due to in-universe medical improvements. His eye implants were designed to make him appear slightly inhuman. These implants are explained in Evolution as the result of interaction with a mysterious artifact that huskified those who directly touched it. For his indoctrinated appearance in Mass Effect 3, numerous facial concepts were drawn to determine just how much the character had been indoctrinated, with some referencing Saren Arterius (the main antagonist of the first Mass Effect game).
His suit was designed to both be recognizable as a suit and to combine "an impeccable futuristic style" and "the casual swagger of a charming billionaire". While the suit was designed with futuristic style in mind, it also had to not fit into any particular decade. It was decided that the Illusive Man's suit should be open, to give the impression he could do whatever he pleased.
The Illusive Man's main setting is his spacious and barren office. His personal quarters are never shown. The holographic computer terminals surrounding his office desk serve two functions: to show his connection to "a vast web of information" while decreasing his humanity for only communicating through holograms. He rarely sees actual people, but rather facsimiles of them. His office view of a dying star reinforces his desire for full control of his environment. Only a small amount of concept art was made for the Illusive Man's room.
The Illusive Man is described as believing "the end justifies the means", and was made to be morally gray. John Jackson Miller, who penned the script for Mass Effect: Evolution, Invasion, and Redemption, personally viewed him as a searcher that saw a "darker side to some of the great things humanity's discovered", the object of his search. During the course of the games, the writers did not want to reveal too much about him. His character development's "basic idea" was "one of these guys we don't know much about". BioWare considered his backstory and motivations, but could not elaborate in the games due to this narrative technique.
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Illusive Man
The Illusive Man is a fictional character in BioWare's Mass Effect video game franchise. He is the leader of the pro-human group Cerberus. The Illusive Man wears an open suit that connotes both futuristic style and the "casual swagger of a charming billionaire". His eye implants make him appear slightly inhuman. He is normally seen in an empty office with no indication of his living arrangements. He is voiced by Martin Sheen.
The character first appeared in 2008's novel Ascension, and made his video game debut in Mass Effect 2 as a supporting character. In the game, he arranges to revive Commander Shepard from death, provides Shepard with a ship and crew, and sends Shepard on several missions against the human-abducting Collectors. The Illusive Man later appears in Mass Effect 3 as the secondary antagonist, where he works against Shepard's attempts to destroy the Reapers, wishing to control them instead. He appears in several other Mass Effect comics series and novels. Mass Effect: Evolution reveals the character's origin story as a mercenary named Jack Harper, who worked for the Human System Alliance during the First Contact War.
The Illusive Man is the leader of Cerberus, a pro-human group officially regarded as a terrorist organisation by the Citadel Council and the humans' Systems Alliance. The character was voiced by Martin Sheen in both Mass Effect 2 and 3. According to Casey Hudson, Sheen really got into the role. Sheen has said he would suck on a pen to simulate smoking when recording lines, as he himself did not smoke.
At one point, the Illusive Man was planned as the boss fight for Mass Effect 3, having been altered by the Reapers. However, this was changed to avoid a clichéd ending. Additionally, BioWare felt it did not fit the Illusive Man—the Illusive Man's "weapon" being his intelligence, not physical strength—and wanted to let the player fight a character they recognised.
His face was based on a catalog model, a decision made early in his development. He is largely symmetrical, and is meant to appear almost "perfect". He smokes, drinks, and is in his fifties but shows no signs of age due to in-universe medical improvements. His eye implants were designed to make him appear slightly inhuman. These implants are explained in Evolution as the result of interaction with a mysterious artifact that huskified those who directly touched it. For his indoctrinated appearance in Mass Effect 3, numerous facial concepts were drawn to determine just how much the character had been indoctrinated, with some referencing Saren Arterius (the main antagonist of the first Mass Effect game).
His suit was designed to both be recognizable as a suit and to combine "an impeccable futuristic style" and "the casual swagger of a charming billionaire". While the suit was designed with futuristic style in mind, it also had to not fit into any particular decade. It was decided that the Illusive Man's suit should be open, to give the impression he could do whatever he pleased.
The Illusive Man's main setting is his spacious and barren office. His personal quarters are never shown. The holographic computer terminals surrounding his office desk serve two functions: to show his connection to "a vast web of information" while decreasing his humanity for only communicating through holograms. He rarely sees actual people, but rather facsimiles of them. His office view of a dying star reinforces his desire for full control of his environment. Only a small amount of concept art was made for the Illusive Man's room.
The Illusive Man is described as believing "the end justifies the means", and was made to be morally gray. John Jackson Miller, who penned the script for Mass Effect: Evolution, Invasion, and Redemption, personally viewed him as a searcher that saw a "darker side to some of the great things humanity's discovered", the object of his search. During the course of the games, the writers did not want to reveal too much about him. His character development's "basic idea" was "one of these guys we don't know much about". BioWare considered his backstory and motivations, but could not elaborate in the games due to this narrative technique.