History Characters / GenLock

* DecoyProtagonist: {{Play|ingWithATrope}}ed with. Julian Chase has always been the Main Protagonist of the season, but [[spoiler:the one the series follows from the second half of Episode 1 on is not the same iteration of Chase. Rather, he is a [[CloningBlues copy]] of the original Chase's cyberbrain after the original was captured by the Union. The Chase followed during the first half of Episode 1 is the original, and currently in Union custody, serving as the basis for [[DarthVaderClone the Nemesis]]]].

* DarthVaderClone: It has a [[RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver black and red aesthetic]] (especially after it's been upgraded in "Identity Crisis" and even uses red-tinted nanotech to create swords), speaks with an electronically distorted voice that makes it sound very machine-like, and is [[TheEmpire the Union's]] (whose army consists of fully armored soldiers with face-concealing masks and {{Spider Tank}}s) primary enforcer against the gen:LOCK program. Nemesis [[FallenHero is later revealed to be]] [[CloningBlues (an instance of)]] Chase after the original Julian Chase [[ReforgedIntoAMinion had been captured and experimented on by the Union]] and now carries a grudge against the Polity Chase for having "his" body. Nemesis' holographic avatar is a paler and scarred version of Chase. And, much like Anakin himself, Chase lost both of his legs and one of his arms prior to becoming part of the gen:LOCK program. After being defeated in the Season 1 finale, Chase {{Mercy Kill}}s Nemesis which is represented in the mindscape as [[DiedInYourArmsTonight Chase holding Nemesis in his arms as he dies]].

* DefectorFromDecadence: [[spoiler: Season 2 reveals that the real Sinclair eventually turned his back on the Polity after witnessing their forces commit [[ObligatoryWarCrimeScene war crimes]] against non-combatants.]]

->Voiced by: [[Characters/FunHaus Lawrence Sonntag]]

->Voiced by: [[Characters/RoosterTeethOthers Miles Luna]]

->Voiced by: [[Characters/RoosterTeethTheOriginalSix Matt Hullum]] (S1) / Creator/KiffVandenHeuvel (S2)

->Voiced by: [[Characters/RoosterTeethOthers Gray Haddock]]

* DespairEventHorizon:[[spoiler:Implied to have hit this hard after the death of her husband, seeking solace in the comforting stories of the Union's Omnifaith and converting in the hopes it would keep her children safe and reuinite with them in a peaceful afterlife despite all evidence to the contrary.]]

* PhlebotinumOverdose: [[spoiler:The spy could not handle the strain of bonding with a Holon because he was incompatible. Unlike the chosen pilots, he was outside the narrow parameters that allow a person to make the link. Instead, his mind overflowed from too much data going in than he could handle and had a very nasty death.]]

* TookALevelInJerkass, After losing his family, his sense of identity, and fighting an unending wave of Nemesis, Julian becomes more stoic, loses his optimism, and swears.

* BodyHorror: What happened to him after he crashed in the Battle of New York in 2068. Basically, he's missing every limb save his left arm, and he's forced to stay inside the Holon tank to survive. As it turns out, it wasn't the crash that caused this damage, but the Union's nanotech eating away at him before he was recovered.

[[folder:Heng Li "Henry" Wu]]
!!'''NAME:''' WU, HENG LI

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/henrycas.jpg]]

->Voiced by: [[Creator/ProZD SungWon Cho]]

Heng Li "Henry" Wu is the Lead Engineer at the RTASA facility. He was presumed dead after the loss of the Polity's base in Cape Canaveral, but had instead been captured and held prisoner alongside other Polity scientists by the Union. He was rescued by the Vanguard Strider Team and the gen:LOCK team, and returned to RTASA.

* ButtMonkey: His attempts at jokes are often looked down upon by his fellow RTASA members and when he's given the task of looking after Nugget by Cammie, Nugget ends up jumping and latching onto his face.
* CommonalityConnection: He and Cammie quickly form a friendship due to their shared love of tech and social awkwardness.
* TheEngineer: He's the Lead Engineer for RTASA, something that made him valuable to the Union and led to his initial capture. After being rescued he aids Cammie and Dr. Jha in upgrading the Holons for their rematch with the Nemesis.
* InSeriesNickname: Everyone refers to him as "Henry" rather than his given name.
[[/folder]]

!!!Former Members
[[folder:Dr. Rufus Weller]]
!!'''NAME:''' WELLER, RUFUS
!!!'''RANK:''' UNK
!!!'''CURRENT ASSIGNMENT:''' TOP SECRET//GL
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dr_weller.PNG]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''You don't have to save the world; you just have to make a difference where you can, with the opportunities you are given.'']]

->Voiced by: Creator/DavidTennant

Dr. Rufus Weller is the English scientist who spearheads the gen:LOCK project, and recruits the six heroes to the fledgling force.
----

!!The Vanguard

The front-line, mainstream military force stationed at the Anvil that defends the Polity's American front against the Union.

[[folder:In General]]
[[quoteright:243:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_vanguards_logo.png]]
[[caption-width-right:243:''The Vanguard fights for those who can't.'']]
* UncertainDoom: After the Union's attack on the Anvil, it's unknown what became of any of them once the Union flooded the base with nanotech. Chase's attempts to contact Miranda and Colonel Marin ultimately bore no results. [[spoiler:They managed to survive thanks to Dr. Weller spoofing the Union's IFF signals.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Colonel Raquel Marin]]
!!'''NAME:''' MARIN, RAQUEL
!!!'''RANK:''' COL

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/general.PNG]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''We did not seek this conflict, but we will rise to meet it.'']]

->Voiced by: Creator/MonicaRial

Colonel Raquel Marin is a grizzled Puerto Rican officer who commands the Anvil base and collaborates with Dr. Weller on the gen:LOCK project. She provides engineering teams to the project and has the pull Dr. Weller needs to recruit the candidates as they crop up.

* AtLeastIAdmitIt: [[spoiler: Season 2 shows her giving the order to commit actions that border on being evil, much like the Union. In sharp contrast to Tate, who has shown next to no regret for any of the horrors he's perpetrated, she knows full well that she's no hero in this. Best shown in the battle to reclaim the Anvil. While both sides are willing to kill their own people to claim victory, Tate is almost rabid in unleashing smoke to kill everyone on the battlefield out of spite. Marin, on the other hand, solemnly notes that it's a difficult choice to make in order to win.]]
* DarkSecret: [[spoiler:She made the first strike in the war, not the Union, attacking their holy city to try and destroy their nanotech because the Polity feared its potential. The Polity covered it up and blamed the Union for starting the war.]]
** [[spoiler: Marin also took a page from the creation of the Nemesis and ordered the minds of the gen:LOCK pilots to be copied and uploaded to the blank Holon frames the Polity have stockpiled so they could be used as CannonFodder against the Union. She kept this order classified from the team due to the [[WhatTheHellHero ethical backlash]] that would likely ensue from each pilot.]]
* FreudianExcuse:[[spoiler:As revealed in "The Grand Guignol", she watched her grandmother, the governor of Puerto Rico, dragged from her home and torn apart by an angry mob after she enforced a brutal martial law which prevented social collapse in the wake of mass death and famine from the first Great Flood. Seeing this and hearing her grandmother's final words ("This is my burden, I alone know the weight) permanently stuck with Marin to the point she came to believe any atrocity she commits would be justified as long as it maintained the greater good and kept civilization stable while expressing lip service to feeling guilty.]]
* IronLady: As a high-ranking military officer, she's straight-laced, forthright and uptight; this contrasts quite starkly with the more kooky and creative Dr. Weller.
* JerkassHasAPoint: [[spoiler: When Chase calls her out on her increasing GreyingMorality she fires back at him that the BlackAndWhiteMorality he wants to believe in is not how the world works and that despite what he wants to think the Vanguard are not heroes but soldiers, which means doing the necessary thing instead of the morally right one. While there is an ''immense'' amount of refusal to own up to how horrid what she's doing is, she also has a valid point. They are at war and struggling against the Union, who have employed utterly horrific tactics well in excess to anything the Polity had done in their initial strike, so she is fighting as hard as she can to make sure the Polity is still standing; no matter how terrible the actions that requires may be.]]
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: She's no-nonsense and stern, impatient with Weller's antics and scathing of the recruits he's chosen for the project. However, she also cares about the lives under her command and does soften towards the people she's communicating with when they need it. It's also implied that she's turning a blind eye to Chase and Miranda's relationship prior to the Battle Of New York.
* LaserGuidedKarma: [[spoiler: Marin's actions throughout the series will ultimately come to backfire on her. Not only does she loses Miranda's trust, gen:Lock Team goes rogue, and leads to her death by Sinclair.]]
* RomanticismVersusEnlightenment: The Enlightenment to Weller's Romanticism. When he calls her designs for the Holons piloted by Chase and Yasmin "utilitarian" with audible contempt, she replies that they were designed by the same team of engineers that designed the Vanguard's Strider mechs.
* SlashedThroat: [[spoiler: Her throat gets slashed by a vengeful Sinclair who kills her for kidnapping and using him as the pilot for Odin.]]
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: The default dynamic between herself and Dr. Weller during the recruitment process consists of her criticizing his decision-making and him dismissing her concerns with a mischievous sense of humor. Once they're working side-by-side in the Anvil, their interactions range from him airily deflecting her impatience to her bringing runaway creativity back to earth with a dose of practicality. When they're not arguing or winding each other up, it's shown that they agree on almost everything; it's their different approaches to handling situations that bring them into each other's crosshairs.
* UnderestimatingBadassery: Initially she wasn't impressed by any of the recruits, as a result of their individual circumstances and records. She's also not convinced they have what it takes to adapt as fast as the Polity needs them to. Weller points out that the very nature of being gen:LOCK compatible means such people are going to be the most resilient people she'll ever meet -- she just needs to give them a chance.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: A firm example of the trope, willing to do whatever evil needed for the greater good of the Polity.[[spoiler:This trope gets turned on its head when she finds out the greater good she sacrificed for was a massively corrupt lie.]]

[[folder:ABLE]]
!!'''NAME:''' ABLE
!!!'''RANK:''' N/A
!!!'''CURRENT ASSIGNMENT:''' UNK
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/able_9.PNG]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''Colonel, you have a message from a modern major general.'']]

->Voiced by: [[Characters/FunHaus Lawrence Sonntag]]

A robotic adjutant to Colonel Marin.
----
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: Dr. Weller reprograms him to only speak in ''Creator/GilbertAndSullivan lyrics'' after he mixes into Dr. Weller's lab without permission one too many times.
* RedAlert: He serves as the base's alert system and flight dispatcher.
* RobotSoldier: He's a robot who serves Colonel Marin, and is capable of mixing into various parts of the base to announce messages.

!!!Strider Team
[[folder:Miranda Worth - Tempest]]
!!'''NAME:''' WORTH, MIRANDA
!!!'''RANK:''' LT, [[spoiler:MAJ]]
!!!'''CURRENT ASSIGNMENT:''' UNK
!!!'''CALL SIGN:''' TEMPEST
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/miranda.PNG]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''How'd the song go? "You only live once"?'']]

->Voiced by: Creator/DakotaFanning

Lieutenant Miranda Worth, age 21 at the start of the war, currently 25, is a member of the Vanguard ground team and pilots a Strider. She and Julian are lovers at the start of the series.

* AbsenceMakesTheHeartGoYonder: After the Battle of New York, Julian is declared dead. It takes her years to get over his death, but she eventually moves forward with Jodie. Four years after the battle, she learns that Julian is still alive. Although they do mention the possibility of rekindling their relationship in the future, their interactions remain relatively tense, since Julian walking back into her life after supposedly being dead for four years is difficult for her to process.
* ActionGirl: She has some good combat skills, enough to disarm a man in a strength augmenting super suit. Since his suit is invulnerable, she's shown deliberately targeting his unprotected head in an effort to disorient him.
* CynicismCatalyst: She is introduced as a strong and capable woman who is the girlfriend of Julian Chase; while she's firm and no-nonsense with Julian's friends, she's also shown to be friendly, outgoing and has a teasing sense-of-humor. After the Battle of New York, there is a four-year TimeSkip. She's reintroduced as a scarred, battle-hardened warrior, who has become much more grim and terse than she was prior to Julian's apparent death. She appears to have lost her sense of humor and has become impatient with her friends and co-workers.
* DeadSparks: By Season 2, it's clear that whatever spark Miranda once had with Jodie has long since been fizzled out. She now finds sex with him to be unfulfilling and constantly [[DoggedNiceGuy rebukes his attempts to be intimate]]. Miranda even reiterates to Jodie in frustration that they're just [[FriendsWithBenefits fuck buddies]] at best, not an actual couple.
* EtTuBrute: [[spoiler: After Julian confesses to her that he's been [[ConflictingLoyalty questioning the Polity's cause]] after discovering that ''they'' were the ones who started the war with the Union by ordering an unprovoked attack that killed numerous civilians, Miranda accuses Julian of being a Union sympathizer then sells him out to Marin shortly afterwards [[RankUp in exchange for a promotion]].]]
* ExpositoryHairstyleChange: After the TimeSkip, in addition to the scars, her hair is more disheveled, complete with a lock that hangs down between her eyes.
* InSeriesNickname: Kazu calls her ''Sensei-chan'' which puzzles both her and Julian.
* LoveInterest: The show introduces her at the house of Julian's mother, meeting his family for the first time. His sister's questioning of her makes it clear that she is interested enough in Julian to consider the possibility of there being marriage in their future. Instead, the Union attacks New York and Julian is presumed killed in action. The bulk of the story takes place four years after the battle.
* RuggedScar: The four years of war after Julian's disappearance gave her a scar running from on her neck up to her right cheek, and a smaller one on the same side coming upward from her chin. Her nude scene in Season 2 reveals that they're much bigger than we previously knew, on the upper right side of her chest and back, and down her left leg.
* ShamelessFanserviceGirl: Miranda has the show's first nude scene in Season 2, Episode 3. When Chase mixes in on her having sex with Jodie, she is quick to kick Jodie out and stands naked before Chase for quite some time before getting dressed. She reacts with impatience to Chase's discomfort at her nudity, apparently considering that boundary now nonexistent since he had seen her body before when they were dating.
* WalkingTank: Pilots one of these (referred to in-show as a Strider) for the Vanguard's ground forces, as do Leon and Jodie.

!!!Former Members
[[folder:Leon August - Drifter]]
!!'''NAME:''' AUGUST, LEON
!!!'''RANK:''' LT

!!!'''CALL SIGN:''' DRIFTER
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/leon_6.PNG]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''Shut up, both of you. It's game on.'']]

->Voiced by: [[Characters/RoosterTeethOthers Gray Haddock]]

A Vanguard Strider pilot, who leads the team that features Miranda and Jodie and doubles as head Drill Instructor for the gen:LOCK recruits.

* BusCrash: Comatose at the end of the first season with his future uncertain, [[spoiler:he promptly passes away mid-way through the second season's first episode, an unfortunate side effect of his voice actor being the show's disgraced creator.]]
* DroppedABridgeOnHim: [[spoiler:He abruptly dies while still in a coma early on in Season 2. [[RealLifeWritesThePlot This was unfortunately necessary, as his voice actor and the show's creator Gray Haddock had been fired from Rooster Teeth for embezzling money and overworking the staff to produce the first season.]]]]
* FeelingTheirAge: Dr. Weller drops the bombshell on Leon that he's actually gen:LOCK compatible. However, the human aging process means that candidates only have a finite window in which they can safely upload to the Cyberbrain. Leon is older than the safety threshold, so Weller never recruited him. Leon is shocked when he learns about this. [[spoiler:This doesn't stop him from uploading into a Holon in the finale, though he doesn't come out of the experience unscathed.]]
* HeroicRROD: [[spoiler:While uploading into the sixth Holon was difficult, uploading back to his body was even worse. The process ultimately forced him into a comatose state due to his mind not possessing the necessary neurons to partake in the gen:LOCK program, and it's unknown if he'll ever wake up. To this end, Dr. Jha arranges with Colonel Marin to have him transferred to the RTASA facility in the hopes they can find a way to wake him up.]]
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Leon uploads into the spare Holon meant for Sinclair in the Season 1 finale in order to buy the gen:LOCK team time to reset while fighting Nemesis, but the strain it puts on his brain leaves him comatose after he downloads back. His comatose body is transferred to the RTASA facility in hopes their technology can help him awaken, though he ultimately dies when his life support system fails.]]
* RealLifeWritesThePlot: [[spoiler:Gray Haddock's controversial exit from Rooster Teeth necessitated killing Leon off.]]
%% * SergeantRock: He certainly has the personality of one, although he's actually a Lieutenant.
* TheLeader: The Strider pilots function in teams. Leon is in charge of the alpha team, which comprises himself, Miranda and Jodie. He is also in charge of training the gen:LOCK candidates as their head drill instructor. Furthermore, Leon serves as an overall field commander during both the Dallas mission and the raid on the Georgia Union base, commanding infantry and giving orders to the gen:LOCK team as well as his Strider unit.

[[folder:Simone Rasmussen - Razzle]]
!!'''NAME:''' RASMUSSEN, SIMONE
!!!'''RANK:''' CPT
!!!'''CURRENT ASSIGNMENT:''' DUTY [=VB110=] AEIRE VAP
!!!'''CALL SIGN:''' RAZZLE
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/razzle.png]]
[[caption-width-right:250:''Damn it Chase, form up!'']]
[[caption-width-right:100:[[labelnote:Click here to see her Memorial Plaque Picture]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/razzle.PNG[[/labelnote]]]]

->Voiced by: [[Characters/AchievementHunter Lindsay Jones]]

Simone "Razzle" Rasmussen was the captain of the Vanguard's "Silver Falcons" ready alert squadron, and Julian Chase's commanding officer. She was killed in action during the Battle of New York.

* AdvertisedExtra: Razzle was advertised alongside Sinclair and Migas as being voiced by RT regulars Lindsay, Blaine, and Miles respectively. Of the three, however, Razzle is killed in the pilot episode. Made more egregious by the fact that she's actually featured in the group shot with the rest of the cast at the end of the intro sequence.
* AllThereInTheScript: She's only referred to by her code name, Razzle. In a FreezeFrameBonus, her real name and rank are detailed on the Anvil's Memorial wall just above Julian's plaque.
* SacrificialLamb: She's introduced as an ace pilot who is partnered with the main character, Julian Chase. However, her role in the story is to confirm that the Polity isn't able to handle the Union's attack by dying in the attempt to detonate the only weapon the Polity has against Union tech, as the Union can now sense an EDS while it's still powering up.
* WeHardlyKnewYe: Her plane explodes in the battle for New York in 2068, killing her instantly.

[[folder:Jodie Brennan - Gale]]
!!'''NAME:''' BRENNAN, JODIE
!!!'''RANK:''' UNK

!!!'''CALL SIGN:''' GALE
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jodie.PNG]][[caption-width-right:300:''With the border getting closer every day, [[GallowsHumour at least it's a shorter commute]]''!]]

->Voiced by: Chad James

Another pilot of the Vanguard.

* ArtificialLimbs: His nude scene in Season 2 reveals that he has a prosthetic leg. As the show has had two {{Time Skip}}s by the time this is revealed, it's ambiguous how long he's had it.
* TheCynic: Tends to have this attitude when on missions, much to Leon's ire.
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Kinda fits the bill in episode 6 when he used his Strider to [[spoiler:headbutt ''Nemesis'', AND surviving said rogue Holon tossing his 'mech across the field, which also, by the way, happened because he fired point-blank into its face. Comic relief or not, the guy's got guts.]]
* DeathBySex: [[spoiler:He's killed an episode after he has sex with Miranda when the HAMMER system is fired.]]
* DoggedNiceGuy: [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]]. While Jodie does have a [[FriendsWithBenefits sexual relationship]] with Miranda, his attempts to force a RelationshipUpgrade have consistently been shut down by her at every turn. Miranda forbids Jodie from even ''speaking'' during sex as it spoils the mood for her.
* ForgottenFallenFriend: Despite [[spoiler: perishing in the same battle as Kazu, nobody even bothers mourning or mentioning him after the fact, making his death by friendly fire even worse.]]
* GenderBlenderName: Jodie is a unisex name, so it's not always easy to tell the gender of someone with this name. Typically, the 'Jody' spelling is female and the 'Jodie' spelling is male, but that's not always guaranteed to be the case.
* MeaningfulName: There is an old saying in the military that "Your girl is back home with Jodie" which refers to someone hitting on your LoveInterest while you're not around, fitting for a guy who hits on every woman he meets. Becomes more meaningful in "Second Birthday", when it's implied that he started a relationship with Miranda during the four years Chase was thought dead.
* SecondLove: After Julian's presumed death, it took Miranda a long time to move on. However, she did so and is now in an ambiguous relationship with Jodie. This later subverted in Season 2, where Miranda makes it clear that she and Jodie are only FriendsWithBenefits and harshly rejects any of his attempts claim that they're a genuine couple.
* ThisIsGonnaSuck: Feels this way when he sees Miranda and Leon exchanging a look during the Union Base raid in Georgia, commenting that whenever they get like this, they all end up doing something stupid.

!! Civilians
[[folder:Roberta Chase]]
!!'''NAME:''' CHASE, ROBERTA

->Voiced by: Shari Belafonte

Chase's mother, a resident of New York City.

* AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents: Tells Miranda a story about how four-year-old Julian rubbing a cookie on his skinned knee due to misinterpreting her statement that the cookie would make him feel better.
* CallingTheOldManOut: [[spoiler:Both her daughter and the digital remnant of her son call her out on her blind adherence to the Omnifaith and clearly dangerous Union, which she only responded with by face-slapping the former and saying the latter didn't just understand.]]
* DespairEventHorizon:[[spoiler:Implied to have hit this hard after the death of her husband, seeking solace in the comforting stories of the Union's Omnifaith and converting in the hopes it would keep her children safe and reuinite with them in a peaceful afterlife despite all evidence to the contrary.]]
* FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler:Aligned with the Union some time before the events of the series, and used this connection to protect herself and Driana during the attack on New York. That said, she doesn't force her views upon Driana and Julian prior to that point and afterwards, though she's reluctant to let her go, does eventually allow Driana to leave when she refuses to accept the Union's beliefs. She admits to the Julian-variant that would get turned into Nemesis that she did once believe in the Polity, but that was mainly because of her husband's own steadfast belief in it, and after he died, she found she couldn't continue believing in them anymore, and instead found solace with the Union. Rather than being villainous, she genuinely wanted the best for both her children and thought that the Union was the best way of achieving that, and is willing to convince them to accept the Union voluntarily, rather than forcefully.]]
* SupremeChef: In the first scene of the series, she cooks some [[FoodPorn delicious-looking dishes]] that make Julian and Miranda wish they were there in person.
* UncertainDoom: She is presumed dead after the attack on New York in 2068. [[spoiler:She is confirmed to have survived the attack in season 2, but the same episode that reveals this reveals her to be part of the Union, and towards the middle of it, she is revealed to have 'ascended' through the Union nanotech sometime during the 4-year timeskip, with it being an InUniverse question whether or not those who do so actually have their minds assimilated by the nanotech or die for good.]]
* UnflinchingWalk: Her reaction to the Union attack on New York. [[spoiler:Because she was prepared for the Union invasion ahead of time, though she's clearly upset by the deaths that occur regardless]].

[[folder:Driana Chase]]
!!'''NAME:''' CHASE, DRIANA

-> Voiced by: G.K. Bowes

Chase's little sister.

* AmbiguousSituation: She is seen in the Ether in Episode 4; so she's clearly alive and somewhere with Internet access, and yet her brother and Holcroft both believe her to be dead. Where she is and why her fate is unknown in-universe has not yet been explained.
* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: To Julian, and manages to be such to Miranda despite she and Chase not even being engaged yet.
* BrokenPedestal: [[spoiler:Is not happy with the revelation that her mother is a part of the Union.]]
* IUhYouToo: Familial example; when Julian and Roberta share "I love you"s, it is followed by this:
-->'''Julian:''' [''glaring''] Yeah.\\
'''Driana:''' [''glaring back''] Uh-huh.\\
'''Julian''' [''smiles and winks'']
* InSeriesNickname: Dri.
* UncertainDoom: Julian assumes she is dead. Shortly afterward, however, she can be seen in the Ether, spotting and recognizing Julian just before the Vanguard's connection goes out. [[spoiler:She is confirmed to have survived in season 2.]]

! The Union
[[quoteright:310:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_unions_flag.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:310:''[[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans We can LEAD the world WITHOUT compromise.]]'']]
The Great Union of the Fourth Turning Republics, colloquially referred to as the Union, is an antagonistic autocracy that seeks to unite Earth under a regime of suppression. They are the main antagonist group of the series.

[[folder:In General]]
* ApocalypseCult: Season 2 highlights the Omnifaith as one, operating as a ChurchOfHappyology using comforting tales to appeal to the hopeless and dispossessed millions created by the past Resource Wars that plans to spread its teachings of "ascension" (mass suicide through nanomachines) in the hopes of leaving the awful earthly plane for a paradisiacal digital afterlife. Any who aren't into the faith call it suicidal bunk with some such as Chase decrying the Omnifaith and by extension the Union as "zealots marching to their deaths for fairy tales".
* ArtificialAfterlife: Season 2 shows that they're a theocratic society with a belief system built up around their nanotechnology allowing a physical ascension into an afterlife that exists within it. How true this is ambiguous, given that they acknowledge gen:LOCK technology as unique in its capacity to upload minds.
* AttackDrone: The Union favors combat drones, both in the form of their spider tanks and airborne combat drones. They are also adept at hacking purely robotic systems, forcing the Polity to use human-operated vehicles and remotely controlling their own robots with hardline cables.
* BrainwashedAndCrazy: Yaz comments that the Union has a tendency to do this to prisoners, particularly in the case of Nemesis.
-->'''Yaz''': Knowing them, they probably brainwashed you, damaged or wiped portions of you, and then aimed what was left back at us.
* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: They seem very aware of optics; deadly nanotech mists are [[PurpleIsTheNewBlack purple]] smoke, while season 2 shows that this "flow" used for benevolent purposes such as their ascension ritual is an [[EverythingsBetterWithRainbows iridescent]] glowing mist. There's also their Nemesis-specific variant of Nanotech coloured Red and Black, allowing Nemesis to create solid objects and barriers whilst looking demonic as hell.
* CreativeSterility: According to Holcroft, the Union is very bad at innovating new technology on their own, hence their preference to subvert the technology of their enemies and force enemy scientists to work on technology for them.
* TheEmpire: The Union is an autocracy with the goal of world domination.
* FailsafeFailure: [[spoiler:The Union troops and sympathizers use a signal to tell the nanomachines not to attack them. Weller managed to duplicate this during the Anvil attack before his HeroicSacrifice, but the red nanotech used by Nemesis is patched to resist it]].
* FreudianExcuse: The Polity struck first and even before then critics of the Omnifaith went as far as terrorism against them. Their response was beyond disproportionate but it didn't come from the void either.
* HollywoodHacking: The Union uses remote hacking technology to great effect. One weapon type they make use of is a "hacking gun" which subverts remotely-controlled robots, though this proves ineffective against Holons since they are directly controlled by their pilot's digitized brain.
* InterfaithSmoothie: Their aptly named "Omnifaith" is one massive syncretism of all existing religions as they believe that they are all true. Just their sacred city of Babylon has icons to Zeus, Amaterasu and Christian iconography. Since they're based in the Middle East, there's also definite Muslim influences in their architecture, women wear head coverings, and their holy data repository resembles and is referred as the Kaaba. [[spoiler:When converting Chase into Nemesis, Brother Tate refers to both the messiahs of various religions and the golem of Jewish folklore, saying that he must suffer so all may live.]]
* {{Nanomachines}}: The Union relies on nanotechnology to quickly destroy organic matter in their path - neither humans, animals, or plants are exempt from this. Their nanotech can also be disguised as common items, such as a coin. The nanotech tends to come in two types: purple clouds that spread and move like smoke and consume organic matter and hack electronics, and a red variant that can be shaped into weapons and solid machinery, used exclusively by Nemesis. There's also a third, pure white version used among their own people, used for MundaneUtility and for "ascension" to their ArtificialAfterlife.
* NebulousEvilOrganisation: The Union is ill-defined in the first season; they appear to be half-way through an attempt to TakeOverTheWorld, but why is unknown. They appear to target intellectuals, yet seem able to utilize science in a way the Polity doesn't, likely because they conscript enemy scientists. They appear to oppose the diversity that the Polity celebrates, but the reason for that isn't explored. Season 1 explores the threat the existence of the Union poses to the Polity but doesn't explore what the Union is or what it wants. This is changed in season 2 as the Union is substantially fleshed out.
* PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny: With a name like “The Great Union of the Fourth Turning Republics”, you’d think they were the good guys. They aren’t. And they destroy the Statue of Liberty to prove it.
* PragmaticVillainy: Dr. Weller describes the Union's modus operandi as a preference for minimizing collateral damage when they seize cities, especially the infrastructure. While they do shoot down people who attempt to escape, the Union doesn't shoot down civilians who surrender. However, all bets are off if they unleash nanotech clouds on a population center, as according to Migas, the only people left after a nanotech swarm is released are Union troops and their sympathizers.
* RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver: The Union generally favors a red and black color scheme, and are exceptionally ruthless and brutal in combat. There's also a little bit of yellow and gold in their color scheme, most notably on their lighter troops and spider tanks.
* RevealingCoverup: Their attempt to mask a facility from the Polity's satellites not only draws the Polity's attention to the site but makes them determined to find out what's going on there.
* SilentAntagonist: Their foot-soldiers never speak, even when spoken to.
* SinkTheLifeBoats: A favored tactic is to kill everyone not aligned with them. During the attack on New York, several transports with civilians are destroyed as they take off, and they would have destroyed more if the Vanguard had not shown up. The Vanguard also has to regularly lead sorties to rescue civilians trying to cross the no-man's-land between Polity and Union territory, with the evacuation ships and refugees coming under constant fire.
* SpiderTank: The heavy infantry of the Union. Six-legged machines mounted with two machine guns and a powerful positional cannon.
* TheTheocracy: Season 2 reveals them to be some sort of religious organization. Their officials wear Catholic-esque ecclesiastical clothes, claim to have created a virtual afterlife which followers willingly “ascend” into, and call their enemies "sinful".
* {{Thoughtcrime}}: [[spoiler:Yaz unintentionally outing her parents as 'intellectuals' had them taken away, and then accepting the "ascension".]]

[[folder:Brother Tate]]
!!'''NAME:''' “BROTHER” TATE
!!!'''RANK:''' UNKNOWN
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/genlock_brother_tate1.JPG]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''Through Ascension, you join our Ancestors. You become One in the True Community.'']]

->Voiced by: Creator/AngusSampson

The mysterious leader of the Union.

* AffablyEvil: He is actually quite polite and well-spoken, and is even friendly and a seemingly good boss. However, he is also the figurehead behind a massive death cult that is trying to conquer the world.
* AntiVillain: He genuinely believes in the Union's purpose. When [[spoiler:he has to break his promise to Chase to ascend him]] he is genuinely heartbroken and only did so in response to the Polity's own copying of him.
* BadassBookworm: He's the General of Union's forces and the only one in Union command with military experience, and he's also an experienced scientist and religious demagogue that holds sway over millions.
* CassandraTruth: He bemoans this in his first appearance, having been given video evidence that Holcroft was lying about the Mars terraforming project to help placate the Polity's citizens whilst they unlocked the extent of gen:LOCK's technology to better fight against the Union, noting that if the Union were to release said evidence, it would be seen as a digitally created lie [[UnreliableNarrator concocted by them]] to weaken morale, so he can't simply pass it on even when he knows the truth.
* TheCorrupter: He was seemingly the one responsible for [[spoiler:turning the original Chase into Nemesis, and for converting his mother to the Union.]]
* DeathbyIrony: [[spoiler: Ironically the Twilight program lead to his death when the fused version of it consumes Tate. Ultimately, his belief lead to his downfall.]]
* DarkMessiah: Presents himself as one in the vein of a ruthless Jesus-Buddha figure, having sworn to have survived an intense metaphysical experience that brought him a vision of paradise, and now wishes to share that paradise with the rest of humanity like a Bodhisattva through the Omnifaith, no matter the cost. To that end he will exterminate any heretic who gets in his way, likening it to "thorns in his crown" that he must endure for the sake of bringing mankind his idea of salvation.
* FreudianExcuse: His homeland of Australia was consumed by fire in the climate collapse, taking his entire family along with them. This drove him to the Omnifaith and its promises of immortality.
* LawOfChromaticSuperiority: He apparently wears a mantle that seems to contain a white Nanite cloud named "Flow" that he can give orders to, having it perform delicate tasks like picking up leaves off a Eucalyptus tree to give to Mr. Cook.
* OutlivingOnesOffspring: Watched his children die during the Australian wildfires.
* PuppetKing: He's described as a figurehead, which raises the question of who is really controlling the Union. [[spoiler:We finally see his superiors in Season 2. It appears that he is the only one of a twelve-person council who hasn't ascended, and is their arm on Earth. They also show little respect for him, referring to him as a brutish "Spartan" among civilized "Athenians" due to his military background.]]
* RightHandCat: He has an old pet Koala named "Mr. Cook" that bears several scars.

[[folder:Brother Sugiyama]]
!!'''NAME:''' “BROTHER” Sugiyama
!!!'''RANK:''' UNKNOWN

->Voiced by: Paul Nakauchi

Brother's Tate second-in-command in the Union.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: He concedes to Brother Tate that Dr. Jha's sceintific perspective from the Polity may not be a bad idea when she was able to rework the Twilight project.
* NumberTwo: The next person to command the Union after Brother Tate.

[[folder:The Spy]]
!!'''NAME:''' UNKNOWN/“SINCLAIR, ROBERT”

!!!'''CURRENT ASSIGNMENT:''' TOP SECRET//GL
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fakesinclair.PNG]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''We should be fighting them together. But no, you were weak. You don't know how good you had it.'']]

->Voiced by: Blaine Gibson

A Union spy who assumed Sinclair's identity.

* AffablyEvil: He's quite chatty on the transport over to the Anvil whilst discussing cairns and the like with Cammie and the others, and he seems pleasant enough until the truth is revealed.
* CruelAndUnusualDeath: After his attempt to steal a Holon fails, "Sinclair" begins bleeding from his nose and ears as the corners of his eyes and the upper half of his head redden. Everyone is unsettled as he dies screaming in agony, except for Weller, who watches expressionlessly and later likens the whole thing to "putting your brain in a microwave".
* DidntThinkThisThrough: Weller lets "Sinclair" try to upload to a Holon because, even in the one-in-a-million chance he was gen:LOCK compatible and didn't instantly fry his brain, he still would have had to get past Chase, safely retrieve his body, ''and'' somehow get the Holon into Union hands before his uptime ran out. Needless to say, his plan really didn't stand a chance in hell.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Lots of this for several reveals:
** Several hints were dropped about the impostor reveal:
*** Character Teaser #4 is framed as a conversation between Col. Marin and Dr. Weller. During the conversation, Sinclair's picture is darker than the other recruits and the camera zooms in on him. At the end, one of the Union's [[SpiderTank spider tanks]] appears instead of the Holons that are associated with the other recruits. The teaser ends with a slow zoom on Sinclair's profile before the message "CALL INTERCEPTED" flashes over it, implying that's how the Union finds him.
*** The official poster for season 1 shows all the Holons the gen:LOCK recruits will have. However, despite there being six recruits, there are only five Holons depicted.
*** The opening only has one brief shot of Sinclair, in isolation from the other recruits, indicating he's not being treated the way the marketing implies. His coin is also shown before he is, foreshadowing the fact it's a weapon rather than a real coin. The song lyrics also reach the line "just a lesser evil, born unequal" when he is shown in the opening credits.
*** During the show itself, "Sinclair" appears to be the most excited to pilot a Holon and the one who has the least trouble understanding Weller. When Cammie demands to know if the other recruits are having as much trouble as she is in keeping up with Weller, he only raises his hand when he spots everyone else has raised theirs.
** Several hints were dropped about events that lead up to the season's climax:
*** "Sinclair" telling Chase's tank that he knows someone who'd very much like to say hello, is also foreshadowing. [[spoiler:The scene initially looks like he's mocking Chase with the implication that Chase's family has been captured by the Union. A few episodes later, Chase's sister Dri is seen in the Ether, calling out Chase's name. However, the season later makes it clear that "Sinclair" wasn't talking to Chase, but to Chase's ''body''. He knows the truth about Nemesis, and that Nemesis wants his body back.]]
*** None of the new recruits know what they're signing on for, and the existence and appearance of the mechs are a revelation for them. Despite this, "Sinclair" knows that the correct name for these things is Holons. This implies the Union has detailed knowledge of the project, which is how they can send a spy in. The obvious culprit is the real Sinclair. [[spoiler:The true culprit is Chase. Nemesis is a prototype Holon that was captured by the Union before the show begins, containing Chase's mind and everything Chase knew about the project up to the moment of his capture.]]
*** "Sinclair" states after locking himself in the lab that he intends to leave with a Holon, one that's running his mind on its cyberbrain. Before Weller shushes her, Colonel Marin begins to point out that uploading to the Holon [[RemoteYetVulnerable would leave his lifeless body at their mercy.]] [[spoiler:The theft and mass-production of Chase's mind and its corruption into Nemesis -- coupled with Nemesis trying to take Cammie's cyberbrain when it ambushes her -- all but states that the Union isn't concerned if their gen:LOCK pilots have a body to go back to at all.]]
*** During TheStinger, it's revealed the Union has engaged in other activities that have been foreshadowed: [[spoiler:When captured by the imposter, Weller speculates the real Sinclair must be dead by now. Earlier in the episode, the report that tips off the Vanguard to the imposter's presence states that an unidentified body has been found in Sinclair's residence. TheStinger reveals that Sinclair is still alive and is trying to escape from Union-controlled New York.]]
* GoryDiscretionShot: He starts screaming his head off and bleeding from those nose & ears after his attempt to steal a Holon fries his brain. The camera [[GoryDiscretionShot cuts away]] from "Sinclair" until it shows his convulsing legs gradually coming to a halt.
* KillAndReplace: "Sinclair" never answers Weller's question about the fate of the real Sinclair. [[FreezeFrameBonus The report Colonel Marin gets]] reveals that the real Rob Sinclair went missing 72 hours prior to the fake's arrival at the Anvil and that the military police sent to apprehend him for going AWOL found signs of a struggle and an unidentifiable corpse in his quarters. [[spoiler:A post-credits scene in the season finale reveals that whoever the corpse was, it wasn't the real Sinclair, as he's alive and currently on the run disguised as a Union trooper]].
* TheMole: Is one for the Union, having killed or captured the real Sinclair and impersonated him somehow.
* NoNameGiven: We never find out his real identity.
* SacrificialLion: [[InvertedTrope Inverted]] for the spy posing as Sinclair, since he is a villainous character that got offed by one of the protagonists as both a show that said the protagonists aren't messing around and to demonstrate just how deadly gen:LOCK technology can be.
* StarterVillain: The fake Sinclair is the first antagonist introduced in the show, introducing the lengths the Union are willing to go to in order to get their hands on Dr. Weller's research.

[[folder:Nemesis ''(UNMARKED SPOILERS)'']]
!!'''NAME:''' CHASE, JULIAN
!!!'''RANK:''' N/A
!!!'''CURRENT ASSIGNMENT:''' UNK
!!!'''CALL SIGN:''' NEMESIS
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/genlock_nemesis.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''C-C-Copy... K-Kill the copy...'']]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:Click here to see the upgraded Nemesis]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/genlock_upgraded_nemesis.jpg[[/labelnote]]]]

->Voiced by: Creator/MichaelBJordan

A dangerous mech used by the Union that is capable of controlling nanotech and going toe-to-toe with the Holons.

In truth, it is a copy of the original Julian Chase in a heavily modified Holon, driven mad from exceeding its uptime and being tortured by the Union. It now seeks to kill the current Chase so it can claim the original Chase's body as its own.

->Voiced by: [[Characters/RoosterTeethTheOriginalSix Matt Hullum]] (S1) / Kiff [=VandenHeuvel=] (S2)

* MismatchedEyes: Since his natural eye color is brown and his holographic eye color is blue, a flaw in his projection makes his left eye brown and his right eye blue. [[spoiler:It's symbolic of him doing a SplitPersonalityMerge with the original Chase's memories, and later with every Nemesis copy.]]

* ArtificialLimbs: His nude scene in Season 2 reveals that he has a prosthetic leg. How long he's had it is left completely ambiguous.

-> Voiced by: Creator/DavidTennant (Weller's data; exterior until S2E7) / Judah Mackey (Chibi Caliban; exterior from S2E7 onward)

* LastNameBasis: He is addressed by his last name far more often than his first, even by those closest to him; his first name is reserved for particularly intimate moments, such as when Dr. Weller is breaking bad news to him, or when Miranda [[spoiler:addresses Nemesis as Julian to plead with it]]. A one-off writing flub even saw his ''sister'' call him Chase, though for obvious reasons she usually doesn't.

->Voiced by: Creator/KoichiYamadera (adult), Creator/JennyYokobori (child)

-> Voiced by: Creator/DavidTennant (exterior) / Judah Mackey (Chibi Caliban)

* CorruptCorporateExecutive:[[spoilers:Reveals himself as this by the end of Season 2, banking on using Gen:Lock to create a new afterlife where only the rich will be afforded immortality and new awareness from nanomachines, while the rest of humanity are left to die on a dying Earth.]]

* AtLeastIAdmitIt: [[spoiler: Season 2 shows her giving the order to commit actions that border on being evil, much like the Union. In sharp contrast to Tate, who has shown next to no regret for any of the horrors he's perpetrated, she knows full well that she's no hero in this. Best shown in the battle to reclaim the Anvil. While both sides are willing to kill their own people to claim victory, Tate is almost rabid in unleashing smoke to kill everyone on the battlefield. Marin, on the other hand, solemnly notes that it's a difficult choice to make in order to win.]]

* SlashedThroat: [[spoiler: Her throat gets slashed by a vengeful Sinclair which kills her for kidnapping and using him as the pilot for Odin.]]

* MorallySuperiorCopy: [[spoiler:[[PlayingWithTropes Played with]]. The original Julian Chase was captured and corrupted by the Union, transforming the once noble Lieutenant into the vicious, violent Nemesis. The Polity, however, made a clone of Chase, who, due to not ever being captured by the Union, retains his heroism and battles Nemesis, effectively taking his original's place as the true hero of the Polity. It's worth noting that the Nemesis version of Chase actually had parts of his memories deleted or altered to make him susceptible to the Union's intentions, taking advantage of the fact that he was literally a digital brain, leaving it ambiguous whether or not Chase could maintain his heroic nature if his mind had remained whole. The comic and Nemesis' example does indicate that Chase is TheCorruptible, so it's unclear how much difference there is between Chase and the Nemesis versions of him]].

* RomanticismVersusEnlightenment: The Romanticism to Marin's Enlightenment. In one of the character trailers, he notes with audible disappointment that the designs for Chase's and Yasmin's Holons are quite "Utilitarian". He later comments to the recruits that they've been forced to use a single model design because he hasn't had time to develop customized ones.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: She's no-nonsense and stern, impatient with Weller's antics and scathing of the recruits he's chosen for the project. However, she also cares about the lives under her command and does soften towards the people she's communicating with when they need it. It's also implied that she's turning a blind eye to Chase's and Miranda's relationship prior to the Battle Of New York.

* SlashedThroat: [[spoiler: Her throat gets slashed by a vengeful Sinclair which kills her.]]

* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:After Kazu died along with growing distant from her team, Cammie was consumed by grief, this lead her to go the Union and doing an unauthorized Ascension just be with her biological family again.]]

* DarkSecret: Despite being the "good guys", the Polity have some skeletons in their closet.

* NebulousEvilOrganisation: The Union is ill-defined in the first season; they appear to be half-way through an attempt to TakeOverTheWorld, but why is unknown. They appear to target intellectuals, yet seem able to utilize science in a way the Polity doesn't, likely because they conscript enemy scientists. They appear to oppose the diversity that the Polity celebrates, but the reason for that isn't explored. Season 1 explores the threat the existence of the Union poses to the Polity but doesn't explore what the Union is or what it wants. This is changed in season 2 as the Unon is substantially fleshed out.

* PuppetKing: He's described as a figurehead, which raises the question of who is really controlling the Union. [[spoiler:We finally see his superiors in Season 2. It appears that he is the only one of a twelve-person council who hasn't ascended, and is their arm on Earth.]]

* RuggedScar: The four years of war after Julian's disappearance gave her a scar running from on her neck up to her right cheek, and a smaller one on the same side coming upward from her chin. Her nude scene in Season 2 reveals that they're much bigger than we previously knew, actually starting on her chest and back.