Characters that appear in the Battlefield: Bad Company duology.
open/close all folders
Bad Company
In General
Bad Company
"We want you to do what you do best. Be unorthodox. Be lethal. Can you do that for me?"
— General Braidwood, Bad Company 2
The titular squad.
- Action Survivor: Preston Marlowe; also a Badass Normal along with the rest of the squad, but he's clearly softer than they are, and his blog video for the first game had him telling his little brother back home about his intention to be this. Most evident when Bad Company starts, but still visible even as he starts growing out of it, notably in Bad Company 2.
- All of Bravo-2 fits, actually. While Haggard loves to blow shit up, when things escalate wildly out of control in the second game, he declares that he's not really all that keen on pushing forward against impossible odds. Redford is pissed that his squad keeps getting the short end of the stick with missions because he doesn't want to die. Sweetwater notably points out several times that they're pretty far off-mission in their escapades, and while they're surviving, the odds are definitely against them. But when the shit hits the fan and they're the only ones that can make a difference, they all still pull out all the stops to save the day (Haggard needs to be convinced to save the cheerleaders, though).
- Do-Anything Soldier: Haggard and Marlowe are especially this. Marlowe can operate all sorts of military vehicles, and can even use a captured Russian artillery cannon, despite being an infantryman. Haggard might technically be a demolitions expert, but he can double as a spotter as observed in the second game.
- Hidden Badass: B-Company is where all the screw-ups in the Army go to be used as cannon fodder since they're good for little else. The main characters of Bad Company are easily just as competent as a spec-ops team, but they're winging it without any advanced training.
- By the second game, Bravo-2 have earned something of a Living Legend reputation among the US Army, and are treated with the same respect (and sent on the same kinds of missions) as an actual special ops team even though they actually aren't. Note that this is partly because there are hardly any real Special Forces operators left - it's strongly implied that the war is going very, very badly for the United States and her allies.
- Karma Houdini: The Squad in Bad Company 1&2. Over the course of the game, they mutiny once, go AWOL once, and, at the end of the game, steal a truckload of gold bullion and desert from the army, driving off into the sunset. Not only are they not put on trial, by the second game they're back on duty, and being trusted with important assignments - both because they have a reputation for surviving just about anything, and because the war is just going that badly.
- The Squad: Your buddies in Bad Company.
- Surprisingly Elite Cannon Fodder: Command keeps sending them on suicide missions that they refuse to actually die on.
- With Friends Like These...: The rest of The Squad before the game starts in the blog posts for the original Bad Company had Sweetwater being more worried of his squadmates killing him then the enemy, but they were otherwise reasonable friends.
Preston Marlowe
Private Preston Marlowe
"That thing about always darkest before the dawn? Sometimes you just need to turn on a light..."
"Wars are fought for any number of reasons. Sometimes, if the ones they give you aren't good enough, you have to find your own. And, maybe, if you're lucky, you get out in one piece. But in the end, I guess it's really about the guys next to you."
Voiced by: David Menkin
The newest member of the squad, and the main protagonist of both games.
- Captain Crash: Marlowe gets behind the controls of a helicopter twice. The first crash was his fault while he was shot down in the second try.
- The Determinator: Despite the seemingly impossible odds of their missions, Marlowe refuses to throw in the towel and give up. This is perhaps best exemplified in Bad Company 2's Darkest Hour, when his squadmates nearly give up after Kirilenko successfully test-fires the Scalar Weapon.
Marlowe: Fine. I'll go my fuckin' self!
- The Quiet One: Marlowe doesn't talk as much as his squadmates. In fact, he doesn't speak at all outside of cutscenes, and even then he still doesn't talk much.
- Universal Driver's License: Zizagged. In gameplay, Marlowe can use any vehicle, ranging from golf carts, armored vehicles, and a customized Hind gunship without any problem. However, story-wise, a subversion comes from when he smashed a Black Hawk into a general's limo. Then again, he's mostly learned in between the backstory and first game how to fly. Only mostly though.
Samuel Redford
Sergeant Samuel D. Redford
"This is gonna get real ugly!"
"You want to cut out that "sir, yes sir" crap? I'm a Sergeant, not the goddamn President."
Voiced by: Bruce Johnson
The leader of the squad.
- A Father to His Men: Sort of. Redford refers to Haggard, Sweetwater and Marlowe as his "bastard children" in the second game.
- Expy: He looks and sounds a lot like Sergeant Avery Junior Johnson while wearing his hat.
- Retirony: Subverted. Despite always being on his last mission before retirement, constantly Tempting Fate, being the only non-white member of the squad, and the fact that his senior position in the group pretty much saddles him with the Mentor Occupational Hazard, Redford always manages to come alive through everything that is thrown against him. Unfortunately, this apparently also seems to have the inverse effect of getting his retirement constantly postponed.
- Scary Black Man: Redford can be rather coercive, particularly towards Haggard and Sweetwater, whether it's threatening to shoot them when they try coming up with their own plans, or the following exchange after the squad goes AWOL:
Sweetwater: You know these things, and I don't. That's really weird.
Redford: Well, that’s why I’m in charge.
Sweetwater: Yeah, about that – now that we’re AWOL, you’re not really a sergeant anymore, are you, Redford?
Redford: Hmm… either you do as I say, or I’m gonna have to beat your ass into submission!
Sweetwater: Yeah, okay, it was just, y’know, a technical question, Sarge!
Redford: Well don’t ask me no technical questions!
Redford: Well, that’s why I’m in charge.
Sweetwater: Yeah, about that – now that we’re AWOL, you’re not really a sergeant anymore, are you, Redford?
Redford: Hmm… either you do as I say, or I’m gonna have to beat your ass into submission!
Sweetwater: Yeah, okay, it was just, y’know, a technical question, Sarge!
Redford: Well don’t ask me no technical questions!
George Haggard
Private George Gordon Haggard Jr.
"Truckasaurus Rex, here I come!"
"Outta my way! I gotta go save me some cheerleaders!"
Voiced by: Nigel Whitmey
One of Marlowe's squadmates.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Haggard can be rude to his squadmates in both games, and to Flynn in the second game, but when push comes to shove, he'll fight alongside them to the very end, and when the latter gets captured, he's the one to suggest rescuing him.
Haggard: Shit, I don't know about you, but I think it's time to go and rescue us a commie, pinko, liberal pilot called my friend.
- Religious Bruiser: According to idle dialogue in Bad Company 2, he is a Christian, and he kicks a lot of ass.
- Southern-Fried Private: Subverted in Bad Company. Haggard is a pretty good guy that likes explosives and happens to have a Southern accent.
- Haggard seems to follow the stereotype a bit more in the sequel, where he's a bit meaner and calls their rather hippie-appearing helicopter pilot a "hippy", "liberal", "pinko", and some more, but he is later the one to initiate the rest of The Squad to save him later, and is the most immediately and visibly-affected by his death.
- Stuff Blowing Up: This appears to be the reason why he joined the Army in the first place.
Terrence Sweetwater
Private Terrence Sweetwater
"Hey, I just brought that bitch down on a quarter of a dime, so a little respect!"
"Hey, welcome to the sandbox."
Voiced by: Richard Lyson
Another one of Marlowe's squadmates.
- Aroused by Their Voice: As soon as Miss July, a.k.a. Mike-One Juliet, makes her introduction to the group, Sweetwater instantly starts swooning over her dulcet tones. Haggard has another opinion...Haggard: I've been thinking about Miss July. How do you know she's good looking? I mean, I got a cousin who's got a beautiful voice, but a face like a can of dog food.
Sweetwater: Wasn't she the one you dated?
Haggard: Yeah.
Sweetwater: ...Cool. - Badass Bookworm: Good enough with computers to try and upload a virus onto the US military mainframe, also consistently carries the biggest gun in the squad, an M60 MG.
- Stronger Than They Look: He might have the glasses, but Sweetwater is made of much sterner stuff. In the second game, he knocks a Russian soldier over a railing without breaking a sweat.
