A list of characters from Blackburn.
Rebecca "Eris" Stone
“Go to hell? Child, we’re already in hell.”
An ex-cop who snapped after the weight of Blackburn's vileness was too much for her, Rebecca Stone channeled her misanthropy and rage and became the infamous terrorist Eris. She's responsible for deaths of thousands and the creation of a dangerous ideology with followers from around the world.
- Big Bad
- Chessmaster: Expertly manipulates the Mavericks and BCPD into following false leads throughout most of the book, and her true motives to actually murder of all Blackburn aren't discovered until the very end.
- Clone Army: Her inner circle is comprised entirely of clones of herself raised from birth to do her evil deeds.
- The Dreaded: Every single character in the book, even other villains, are terrified of her presence or at least exercise extreme caution. Considering she ends up killing dozens during the riots and destroying much of the city, it's justified.
- Evil Is Hammy: Eris takes every opportunity she has to chew the scenery and monologue.
- For the Evulz: Eventually revealed to be a case of this. Her anarchist ideology is nothing more than excuse to murder as many people as possible.
- Freudian Excuse: Stone's partner in the BCPD was killed after it's implied they were both tortured by the Vipers gang for some reason. It can be inferred she saw enough of Blackburn to break her spirit."Fine! You want the truth?! I am a fucking sadist, because people are animals and should get slaughtered like animals!"
- Lawman Gone Bad: From cop to Big Bad.
- Misanthrope Supreme: Doesn't like anyone, not even her own followers.
- Straw Nihilist: Loves going on angsty rants about the nature of humans and the state of the world."All it took to reduce the ‘best of society’ to animals was a few chemical changes in the brain. Humans are savage beasts, and in a few days you will realize this."
- Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?: Played With. Even though she goes through a bit of Evil Gloating before shooting Gilda, she does do it. Gilda survives.
- She quickens her pace when she goes to execute Shade. It doesn't work.
Jessica "Shade" Stone
"I'll never compromise!"
Jessica is a clone of Eris, part of her personal army until she defected after realizing what a monster Eris and her followers really were. Ended up joining the Mavericks to prevent her mother from causing further pain.
- Black-and-White Morality: What Jay comes to follow after her Heel–Face Turn and near murder at Eris' hands. She follows her principles religiously, there is no gray area in her mind.
- Clone Angst: Is not happy about her origins as a clone of Eris.
- Despair Event Horizon: By the end of the book Jay has reached this point. While she was able to save the city, she had to murder her own mother to do so, losing an eye and her faith in humanity in the process.
- Good Is Not Nice: She's decided to repent for helping her mother, but that doesn't make Jay any less of an unpleasant, impatient person.
- Handicapped Badass: After losing her eye to Eris, Shade simply puts on an Eyepatch of Power and gets back to work.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Has a moment of this when she realizes she's wasted her life serving a horrible human being.
- Verbal Tic: "Hmph." It's implied she gets it from her mother.
- White Sheep: Is the only Stone we've met that isn't pure evil.
Scott "American Spirit" Pierce
"I took an oath to defend the Constitution and the people of this country. It’s not something I can just walk away from."
An older superhero who is an ex-SEAL, Scott lost his legs in Afghanistan but came back stronger as the superhero American Spirit.
- Badass Normal: Has no superpowers, just a jetpack, a rifle and some robotic legs.
- Captain Patriotic: He wears an outfit based off of a minuteman after all.
- Hero Does Public Service: When he's not fighting crime Scott often spends him time helping out the community or championing political causes.
- Military Superhero: Served in the Marine Corps in Afghanistan and then the SEALS, and eventually did work for the government as a superhero.
- Superhero Packing Heat: Uses a rifle primarily, though one with a non-lethal option.
Marigold
"I’m fine, dude! Just, like, trying to keep up. You’d think people would recognize us as the good guys and just go along with it…”
Half plant, half woman, all heart, Marigold cropped up out of the blue in Blackburn to help out and protect the citizens of her new home by joining the Mavericks.
- Good Thing You Can Heal: Takes a lot of damage that would kill or maim other Mavericks.
