Characters / Mass Effect 2 Early Party Members

Mass Effect Main Character Index
Mass Effect: Commander Shepard | Party Members (Kaidan Alenko | Ashley Williams | Garrus Vakarian | Liara T'Soni | Tali'Zorah | Urdnot Wrex) | Antagonists | NPCs
Mass Effect 2: Early Party Members (Miranda Lawson | Jack) | Late Party Members | Secret Party Members | Main Antagonists | Secondary Antagonists | Normandy Crew | Council Space NPCs | Non-Council Space NPCs
Mass Effect 3: Party Members | Antagonists and NPCs | Multiplayer Characters
Mass Effect: Andromeda: Pathfinder Ryder | Party Members | Crew of the Tempest | The Andromeda Initiative | The Kett | The Angara | Other Characters | Multiplayer Characters

This page is for listing the tropes related to party members who first appeared in the second Mass Effect game. Specifically, the early half of the game and DLC.

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Party Members

Character-Specific Pages

• Miranda Lawson
• Jack

Grunt

Urdnot Grunt

I am pure krogan; you should be in awe.

"Grunt is... not a stabilizing element, Commander."

—Joker's description

Voiced by: Steve Blum

A young lab-grown krogan with a violent attitude who believes that might makes right.

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• Action Genre Hero Guy: He has the harsh-sounding monosyllabic name, the orphan background (even if he doesn't care about Okeer and finds a Parental Substitute in both Shepard and Wrex) and the no-nonsense personality, and judging from the way his unfused head plates extend to his chin they're the krogan equivalent of a buzzcut.
• Alcohol-Induced Idiocy: During the Citadel DLC for 3, Grunt decides to celebrate his "birthday" by having a wild night out on the Citadel. Much property damage and hilarity ensues.
• Appropriated Appellation: He took the name "Grunt" from one of Okeer's last words. It's noted that there were some more impressive words to use as a name, but he liked "grunt" for its simplicity (and because it has no greater meaning).
• Asskicking Leads to Leadership: How Grunt asserts his command of Aralakh Company (essentially a collection of the best warriors from every krogan clan on Tuchanka) in Mass Effect 3.
• Ax-Crazy: Subverted. As prone to violence as he is, Grunt makes a point of saying that he requires meaning in his life, and seeks to challenge and fight strong enemies. It's the fighting and glory he's after, not the death.
• Badass Boast:
  • "I don't need luck. I have ammo."
  • During his Last Stand: "My turn, heh heh heh."
• Badass Bookworm: The Shadow Broker dossier reveals that Grunt has taken a liking to the works of Ernest Hemingway, with the sole exception of A Farewell to Arms (See Genius Bruiser entry.)
• Become a Real Boy: The goal to secure his loyalty.
• Beehive Barrier: His Fortification power.
• Big Eater: Overlaps with Extreme Omnivore. In the Citadel DLC for Mass Effect 3, some people try to coax their way in to Shepard's party with offers of food:
  "Fishdog Food Shack Delivery? Sure... wait a minute. Nice try! No."
  "Yes, I like pie, and no, you can't come in."
  "You're selling cookies? Uh... well... no, I shouldn't let you in. Damn."
• Blood Knight: Even more so than normal for a krogan. Given the conditions on Tuchanka, with children and women deliberately separated from the fighting males, it's likely that he's had more exposure to the krogan warrior culture than usual for a krogan his developmental age.
• The Berserker: Eventually matures into a relatively stable (by krogan standards) blood knight.
• The Big Guy: Personality of a Class IV with the intelligence of a Class V. Definitely one of the strongest combat specialists. Just a wee bit unpredictable.
• Big Guy Fatality Syndrome: His mission in 3 is a perfect example of this, down to him saying "I'll hold them off," but it's subverted if you completed his Rite of Passage.
• Boisterous Bruiser: Any time there's a fight in the offing, Grunt will be all but jumping up and down with glee.
• Born as an Adult: Or a teenager, anyway — he's designed to look younger than other krogan (e.g, his head-crest hasn't merged into a single plate yet, and his skin is lighter-colored than other krogan).
• Bring It: Standard for a krogan, but highlighted during his Last Stand with the rachni.
  Grunt: My turn. Heh heh heh.
• Brutal Honesty: One of the most blunt and forward squad members, which can often be a source of unintentional comedy. For example, here's his reaction when stepping onto Tuchanka for the first time:
  Grunt: This is the great krogan homeworld? This is the land of the Kregak, Shiagur, and Veeoll? This chunk of rock is barely even worth standing on! Never thought I'd miss the tank...
  • If Morinth tries to hit him up:
  Grunt: Go away, asari slut.
• Buffy Speak:
  • When he talks, if it's not Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness, it's this.
    Grunt: See, now we're having fun! Me remembering good deaths and you, with your... funny human thing.
  • On getting into cover:
    Grunt: We should hide behind... stuff.
• Can't Hold His Liquor: If Shepard throws a wild party in the Citadel DLC, Grunt ends up passed out on the floor of their shower before the night is half over.
• Character Development: A terrible choice to act as a fireteam leader in his debut appearance, by 3 he has become a highly capable combat leader who (though rough) very much cares for the lives of the krogan under his command. While it is possible for them almost all to die, it's due to circumstances out of his control.
• Child Soldier: By krogan standards, but he revels in it.
• The Chosen One: Okeer created him to be a perfect krogan. Grunt eventually gets the mindset as well. The Urdnot Shaman seems to think this too, sending an email to Shepard demanding that they not get themself and Grunt killed.
• Clone Angst: Somewhat. He stops angsting about it once he's accepted by other krogan.
• Clones Are People, Too: Some of the less sympathetic krogan view him as an abomination, but others, such as Wrex and the Urdnot shaman, see him only as a fine specimen of a krogan, tank-bred or not.
• Coming of Age Story: His loyalty mission.
• Defeat Means Friendship: He tries to kill Shepard until they demonstrate their worthiness to command him.
• Does Not Like Spam: Doesn't like ramen, apparently, though he will eat almost damn near anything else—see below, though his objection is mostly based on its appearance rather than its taste. By 3, particularly in the Citadel DLC, he seems to have acquired a taste for it as well.
  Grunt: This what passes for food out here? My tastes run more along the lines of "edible". Looks like worms. Dead ones. This a Human thing? Ugh. I'll pass. I'll eat almost anything, but I stress 'almost'.
• Do Not Go Gentle: If he dies in 3, he's going out the way Krogan were meant to: in combat. He'll rack up a serious body count in the process too.
• Enemies Equals Greatness: This is why he follows Shepard so loyally. Anyone who has made the kind of enemies that Shepard has made has earned his respect.
  Grunt: This is why I follow you Shepard. BIG THINGS!
• Establishing Character Moment: Bursting out of his tank, pinning Shepard to the wall and demanding that he be given a purpose. Then giving a small laugh of amusement when Shepard either reveals they've been holding a gun to Grunt's stomach all this time or actually shoots Grunt in the armor a few times to get him to back off.
• Evil Laugh: When things are about to get/already are violent, he has this low-pitched slow "Heh heh heh" laugh, as if he is giddy with anticipation in his own little way at the prospect of a fight.
• Extreme Omnivore: Gets hungry at certain scenes of violence, to the disgust of his teammates. In Citadel he even ate a lamp while drunk.
• "Facing the Bullets" One-Liner: In 3, when faced with hundreds of rachni husks, he quips "Heh... my turn." Subverted if he was loyal in 2, in which case he comes out covered in their blood and none the worse for wear.
• Fantastic Racism: He hates turians, thanks to the tank's images. However, as he can explain to Shepard, this doesn't apply to Garrus, since he's part of Shepard's "clan".
• Father to His Men: In 3, to Arlakh Company. If Shepard frees the Rachni Queen, Grunt will be visibly upset and growling "Damn you, Shepard!" because it'll certainly mean the death of his men to Hold the Line. Despite being a Blood Knight, his people aren't expendable.
• Foe-Tossing Charge: In the 3rd game, while his squad is pinned down, you get to watch him charge a Ravager, pick it up and throw it off a cliff.
  • A short time later, he does it to cover Shepard's escape, killing half a dozen Ravagers in seconds before tackling one off a cliff. And if you have his loyalty? He survives it.
  • Does this in his introduction, charging into Shepard full force and violently elbowing them into the wall by the neck. If it had been any human other than Shepard, they most certainly would have died.
• Gameplay and Story Integration: He's the only party member in 2 that uses Armor instead of Shields or Barriers for protection. On Tali's recuitment mission, he's consequently uneffected by the sunlight's shield-and-barrier-draining effect.
• Genius Bruiser: He had the military knowledge of several krogan warlords imprinted into him while he was being created. He's also a fan of Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness, although he's rather young and doesn't always have the words he needs to describe things.
  • And now, in Lair of the Shadow Broker, you find out he's reading (audiobook) Hemingway! He's finished The Old Man and The Sea and For Whom the Bell Tolls, and is working on The Sun Also Rises. Not a fan of A Farewell To Arms however.
  • He also apparently loves dinosaurs; he was apparently doing an extranet search on Urdnot Wrex, when he encountered entries on Tyrannosaurus Rex - and that got him into looking into Earth dinosaurs. The Old Man and the Sea apparently also got him interested in sharks.
  • He might possibly be an Otaku as he makes a Cowboy Bebop reference while drunk in the shower and might be a fan of that anime.^note Also doubles as an Actor Allusion; Steve Blum also voiced Spike Spiegel.
  • He also possibly makes a Harry Potter reference and might be a fan of the book series as he asks "are you a wizard" also while he was drunk in the shower. He most likely read the Harry Potter book series on audiobook.
  • Note that his spelling isn't perfect. Logical, though — he was educated in a tank, and the Earth books he read were audiobooks.
• Grievous Harm with a Body: Uses pieces of the Reaper-enhanced rachni as weapons while buying time for Shepard and the Rachni Queen to escape in 3.
• Hard Work Hardly Works: Every other teammate has gone through various forms of hell to be worthy of joining the team — Grunt is actually born in the Normandy SR-2's cargo bay ready to kick ass alongside them. He's actually kind of bothered by this, mourning his "thousand weaker brothers" who were sacrificed to make him an Uberkrogan and feeling like he hasn't earned his abilities.
• Healing Factor: Grunt's passive skill gives him continuous regeneration. Fully upgraded and combined with his massive HP pool, this makes him exceptionally hard to kill even on Insanity.
• Heroic Sacrifice: In the third game. He stays behind to fight off the indoctrinated rachni and falls down a cliff after tackling one. And, if he's loyal, he actually manages to survive his sacrifice. As the team gets ready to head out to their next assignment, Grunt comes out, covered in rachni-husk blood, and asks a simple question.
  Grunt: Anyone got... something to... eat?
• Hold the Line: In 3. Whether he survives or not depends on if you completed his loyalty mission.
• Icy Blue Eyes: One thing that differentiates Grunt from other krogan are his brilliant blue eyes. It's not explained, whether it's just a part of Okeer's genetic engineering, or young krogan have blue eyes (since other teen-equivalent krogan have not been seen.)
• If You Ever Do Anything To Hurt Him: After Grunt is inducted to Clan Urdnot, the Shaman sends Shepard a very stern email telling him to make sure Grunt survives, because he's very important to the shaman and Urdnot as a whole.
• Incendiary Exponent: Mentioned, though not seen, in the Citadel DLC. During his drunken night out on the Citadel, he mentions that riot foam didn't stop him because he was on fire due to stealing a burning C-Sec squad car.
• Incredibly Lame Pun: "Turians, I guess you have to work the blade. I don't see much point to it, though." Beat "Heh, much point... oh, never mind."
• In Love with Your Carnage: He's very appreciative of Jack's escape from Purgatory if you take him with you, specifically the bodies she's leaving behind.
• The Knights Who Say "Squee!": Thinks highly of both Shepard (especially Paragon Shepard) and Wrex.
• Laser-Guided Tyke-Bomb: Okeer created him to lead the krogan against his personal enemies. However, his "programming" failed and Grunt could not care less about Okeer's goals.
• Last Stand: In 3. Unlike Dagg who gets immediately overwhelmed, he managed to shrug off being stabbed by a Ravager and whacks it, and the rest, with a Ravager cannon that he ripped off from its corpse earlier and tackles another one at the edge of the cliff. If he's not loyal, this is how he dies... but if he is, he'll walk out under his own power.
• Late to the Punchline: Grunt finally starts giggling when he figures out some of his imprinted memories, like the image of a dead turian disfigured horribly (specifically, a krogan prying off the turian's face plates with a claw hammer). He thinks of it as hilarious because he "finally gets it": turians suck. When he tries to explain why it's funny, Shepard is nonplussed.
• Lightning Bruiser: The most durable squadmate, and with the Claymore shotgun, he deals out a ton of damage. Even capable of doing the infamous krogan charge. And the charge? If he does it to another krogan, he'll push them back. This includes the considerably larger warlord on his loyalty mission. Also, Scions.
• Lonely Piano Piece: During his Last Stand.
• Meaningful Name:
  • Despite choosing his name for the fact it doesn't have any greater meaning, Grunt endures a lot in order to prove himself worthy of the respect of other krogan, who look down on him for the manner of his birth. In that respect, he does indeed start out as a Grunt.
  • Eve mentions that the first noise a krogan makes becomes their name. Grunt is a kind of noise.
• Murder Is the Best Solution: Blood Knight standard procedure.
• Neural Implanting: The "imprints" he was given by Okeer when he was being grown in the tank. This is how he knows how to breathe, walk, talk, and kick ass. Unfortunately, the imprints were often without context.
  Grunt: Like holding a book for a child. Just "remember this," picture after picture. No help with finding a reason to care.
• Non-Standard Character Design: His boulder-like forehead. No other krogan with a head structured like this is ever encountered in the entire franchise. Word of God offers a doylist explanation in that it's meant to resemble the unfused skull plates of a human baby, but no watsonian explanation has yet been offered in or out-of universe. Every krogan immediately calls him "young one" or "whelp", indicating that he's instantly recognized as a juvenile by other krogan.
• Not in This for Your Revolution: Unlike most of the team (the other exceptions being Zaeed, Kasumi, and Jack, who are all paid mercenaries), he couldn't care less about saving people from the Collectors. He just wants a good fight.
• One-Man Army: Specifically designed by Okeer to be a krogan "lance" as opposed to their regular horde-based tactics.
  • If he's the only squadmate left to Hold the Line against the Collectors on the Suicide Mission, he can do so himself and come out alive.
  • His Heroic Sacrifice in 3 has him going toe to toe with a small army of Reaper forces (including many Ravagers) to buy Shepard's team time to shuttle the Rachni Queen to safety. Assuming his loyalty was gained in the last game, he survives this stunt.
• Only Mostly Dead: In the third game, if you earned his loyalty. After said cliff-dive, he shows up just as the shuttle's about to leave, limping and covered in gallons of blood, but alive (and wondering if anyone has something to eat).
• Optional Party Member: While his recruitment mission is mandatory, you don't actually have to release him from his tank.
• Parental Substitute:
  • Shepard, particularly Paragon Shepard, acts as one to him. Particularly in the Citadel DLC for 3, where Shepard has to bail him out with C-Sec after his wild night out on the Citadel.
    Shepard: Grunt, you apologise to the nice man for setting his car on fire.
    Grunt: Fine, I'm sorry for setting your car on fire...
    [notices Shepard's look]
    Grunt: ... and I won't do it again.^note Later, Shepard can tell Grunt, "You're my hero."
  • Wrex also takes a shine to Grunt and adopts him into clan Urdnot, with an attitude of almost grooming Grunt to take over as the leader of clan Urdnot when he dies.
• Playing with Fire: He, like Jacob (and possibly Shepard) has regeneration-stopping Incendiary Ammo.
• Precocious Crush: Given his actual age and frequency to behave like a child, and some things he says about Liara in the Citadel DLC, he may have one of these on her.
• Proud Warrior Race Guy: Eventually. Being accepted into the Urdnot clan really heals his tattered ego.
• Psychopathic Man Child: Many of his mannerisms come across as rather child-like at times. He also plays with action figures on his spare time when he's not busy killing stuff, eating and reading Hemingway. Make sense since he's less than a year old. His actions in the Citadel DLC (and Paragon Shepard's response to them) also point in this direction.
• Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: I. AM. KROGAN!
• Really Was Born Yesterday: As stated, you essentially witness his birth when you release him from his tank.
• Replacement Goldfish: For his "father" Warlord Okeer, who was originally meant to be recruited on the Suicide Mission, but sacrificed himself to ensure Grunt's survival.
• Sealed Badass in a Can: He's tank-bred, so he was actually created in the "can" rather than being initially sealed in it. When his tank is obtained, it's left up to the player when to open the can and let the badass out. He even plays the "neutral" part of the trope straight; he doesn't care much about morality, only asskicking.
• Shotguns Are Just Better: While he's good with rifles and will use them when necessary, he seems to prefer shotguns. In 2, he's one of only two squadmates with a unique weapon: the Claymore heavy shotgun. In 3, he can be seen wielding an Eviscerator throughout the Rachni Caves mission.
• Signature Laugh: Grunt's low, drawling "Heh...heh...heh".
• Slasher Smile: Accompanies the laugh.
• Sociopathic Hero: He couldn't care less about saving humanity. He just wants a good fight. And he laughs quite maniacally as he's tearing into your opponents. He gets better in 3, particularly if Wrex is the Urdnot leader.
  Kelly Chambers: I don't know what to feel about Grunt. My psych reports were for Okeer. We have no guarantees that Grunt is mentally stable. I get the feeling he just doesn't care about anything, including who lives or dies.
• Smarter Than You Look: On top of being a krogan, a race not exactly known for its smarts, trailers made him seem quite basic in personality, but in fact he's conflicted, knowledgeable, and can talk with surprising eloquence on both these things and his frustration with the former. If he sounds less than intelligent, it's because big words have no "meaning" for him; that is, they're a waste of energy.
• Smug Super: He was designed to be the perfect krogan and is very self-assured about this. Although, several conversations imply that deep down he doesn't really see himself as such, leading him to overcompensate as a result.
• Stone Wall: He can become this if you level him right; maxing out his Fortification power and giving him the Krogan Pureblood power can increase his health and defenses to the point where he will almost never die, but he won't do as much damage.
• Super-Soldier: Grown in a vat to be the "perfect" krogan.
  • Part of his loyalty mission involves killing a Thresher Maw on foot. Alliance handbooks tell you to take on a Maw with a few tanks and even then expect losses.
  • His status as the "perfect" krogan likely contributed as to how he handled the Ravagers much better than Dagg, his replacement, did. And managed to No-Sell being stabbed in the back and fight through more of them.
• Super-Strength: Comes with being a krogan. His genetically inferior "brother" manages to lift a metal sheet◊ massing nearly four metric tons before we meet him, for comparison. This comes up in gameplay as well, as Grunt is one of only three members of the team who can use weapons with arm-breaking levels of recoil, like the Claymore. The others are the cybernetically-enhanced Shepard and the fully-artificial Legion.
• Sweet Tooth: Grunt apparently has a special fondness for cookies, as well as pie.
• This Cannot Be!: If taken to the plague-infested part of Omega (Mordin's recruitment mission): "I do not get sick!"
• Took a Level in Badass: While he was always a terrifyingly effective fighter, his leadership skills improve massively between the second and third games. In the former, he's flagged as one of the poor choices for fireteam leader. In the latter, he ends up leading a multi-national squad of elite krogan soldiers, keeping them in line with a combination of good leadership and Asskicking Leads to Leadership.
• Trailers Always Spoil: The recruitment mission was clearly intended to make the player think they were getting Warlord Okeer as a squadmate. Getting Grunt instead was supposed to be a minor twist, but it was ruined by the pre-release trailer. Averted with Grunt's personality, however. Until the game was leaked, there was no indication that he was anything other than a typical krogan Blood Knight.
• Troll: Enjoys saying "no" to party crashers a little too much.
• Übermensch: He was created to be one, although he has little interest in it.
• Ultimate Life Form:
  • Along with being the perfect warrior, this was what he was meant to be for the krogan species.
  • If you kill the Thresher Maw as part of his Loyalty quest he becomes one of two krogan in a thousand years to kill a Maw on foot. The other was Wrex (though Grunt, unlike Wrex, didn't do it on his own).
    Grunt: I am pure krogan. You should be in awe.
• Undying Loyalty: Even before his mission, he seems to have nothing but respect for Shepard, his "Battlemaster". He even threatens Uvenk for spitting on Shepard's name. This is because he loves to fight, and Shepard brings him along to fight "BIG THINGS".
  Grunt: Shepard is my battlemaster. He/she has no match.
  • More pronounced with a Renegade Shepard. Grunt is clearly bristling at some of Shepard's commands, and really doesn't like it when Shepard speaks for him in front of Uvenk, even admitting Shepard's pissed him off more than once, but still says the above line.
  • Exemplified when Shepard commands he abandon Aralakh Company to help free the Rachni Queen. Despite being a Father to His Men and cursing Shepard, he still does it without a second thought.
• Unstoppable Rage: Constantly. Apparently this is the default state for his species. The Rite of Passage was devised simply to help teenage krogan get a handle on it — kind of like a young human's father taking him to a strip bar, except with guns and monsters. The sex comes afterward if a female is suitably impressed by the display. The Codex notes, however, that the rage only became so commonplace after the krogan devastated Tuchanka in nuclear war (before that, it was extremely rare and regarded as pathological). Admittedly, the Codex is an in-universe resource.
• Warrior Poet:
  • According to the Shadow Broker's dossier on him, he's become a fan of Hemingway.
  • Heck, even his dialogue from the beginning. His word choice is exquisite. This appears to be intentional on Okeer's part. Okeer similarly is surprisingly eloquent, even poetic, when speaking to Shepard upon their first meeting. It's entirely possible he programmed Grunt likewise.
• We Have Reserves: He was engineered by Okeer to be an aversion to this trope; were Okeer to cure the genophage, the krogan would go back to spawning like mad and covering the galaxy with their hordes. Okeer believes the true future of the krogan is to have superior, elite warriors rather than cannon fodder, hence why he made the Super Prototype, Grunt, and threw away the thousands that did not meet his standards.
• What Would X Do?: In this case, 'X' being both Shepard and, if he survived the first game, Wrex. Grunt's development into a competent and caring (if rough due to krogan philosophy) combat leader by the time of 3 displays that he learned a lot from both of them and works to live up to their examples.
• Worthy Opponent: One of the first indications that he views Shepard as one is the little smirk he gives when he realizes Shepard had quietly pulled a gun and had it trained on Grunt the entire time Grunt had them pinned against the wall.
  Grunt: Hah! Offer one hand, but arm the other. Wise, Shepard.
  • He comes to see the Collectors as this, stating that he "won't disrespect their strength by doing anything less than the worst to them."
  • In 3, he notes that Okeer took pains to ensure he knew about and respected the rachni this way.
• Younger Than He Looks: He's The Big Guy and a damned good one, but he's a Designer Krogan grown in a Krogan Jar and trained by Neural Implanting. You don't recruit him so much as "inherit" his Krogan Jar. When you crack it open and start chatting, you're basically witnessing his birth. It's emphasized during the Citadel DLC when he behaves like a rowdy high school or college student during his "rampage", and is chastised like one by Shepard.
• You Shall Not Pass!: During his mission in 3 — whether you choose to save his team or the rachni, he has to escort you out of the caves and hold off a wave of Ravagers. He survives if you completed his loyalty mission.

Jacob Taylor

Somebody's got to take down the bad guys. Cerberus keeps that line, I'm on their side.

"Jacob is way too nice a guy for the number of ways he knows how to kill people."

—Joker's description

Voiced by: Adam Lazarre-White

A biotic and former marine who joined Cerberus to protect humanity, although he dislikes their extreme methods. He first appeared as the protagonist of the iPhone game Mass Effect Galaxy. He is a romance option for a female Shepard in Mass Effect 2.

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• Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder: He and Dr. Brynn Cole are together in 3 whether or not you romanced him.
• Anti-Advice: It's subtle, but almost every single recommendation that he makes in 2 where Shepard has a choice of what to do is the wrong thing. He advises going to get the Reaper IFF right away (before you've completed all recruitment and loyalty missions, which will result in people getting killed during the Suicide Mission), he recommends spacing Legion without turning it on (while you can't actually space Legion, reactivating him is optional but critical to brokering a peace between the quarians and geth), and he volunteers himself to go through the pipes in the Collector base, which will get him killed. The only exception is asking him about upgrades; he correctly points out that the Normandy's current armor isn't going to cut it against the Collectors, and if you fail to heed his warning Jack will end up dead before you even fire a single bullet.
• Anti-Hero: Either a Knight in Sour Armor or Pragmatic Hero.
• Ascended Meme: Jacob's ripped appearance during his romance scene with Shepard in 2 became something of an in-joke with the fandom. His files in the Shadow Broker DLC contained his insane workout routine and then by the Citadel DLC in 3, he can get in a push-up competition with Vega, and then the morning after the party Shepard will wake up to find Jack and Jacob engaged in a tense morning workout.
• The Atoner: In 3 for his time with Cerberus.
• Beware the Nice Ones: One of the most non-confrontational, baggage-deprived guys on your squad, but check out his loyalty mission's Renegade ending for what he's capable of when pushed.
• Black Dude Dies First: Potentially. He does volunteer for an assignment he's not geared towards, but it's possible to have already lost up to three people at that point. It really comes down to the player.
• Broken Pedestal: He respected his father once. After his loyalty mission, never again.
• Brutal Honesty: Similar to Ashley, Jacob is fairly direct with his opinions when asked. This will extend to Shepard as well.
  The Illusive Man: Jacob's never fully trusted me, but he's always been honest about it.
• Calling the Old Man Out: Was pretty pissed to find out what his father had been doing for the past 10 years.
• Canon Immigrant: From Mass Effect Galaxy.
• Character Witness: If he survives into 3, he convinces Brynn Cole to trust Shepard. Without him, Shepard has a slightly harder time convincing her they're not with Cerberus and out to kill her people.
• Chick Magnet: He's had a past history with Miranda, Kasumi totally digs him, and he can possibly romance a Female Shepard. Continues into the third game, where he has a new girlfriend regardless of whether he was with Shepard in the previous game or not.
• Crutch Character: Jacob's ability layouts favor two specific niches; his incendiary ammo (which can be upgraded to Squad at max, giving the whole party access to it) helps to deal with Armored enemies, which are everywhere on Omega, and pull, which can be used to set up Biotic Explosions. Later in the game you get to recruit other characters (or unlock the powers yourself) reducing Jacob's utility.
• Deadpan Snarker: He has his moments, particularly in the Citadel DLC where he effortlessly trades banter with Shepard and ribs them quite a bit.
• Demoted to Extra: Went from being the main character of Mass Effect Galaxy to a party member in Mass Effect 2 to an NPC in an optional mission in Mass Effect 3.
• Derailing Love Interests: In 3, if you previously romanced him, he's already moved on to another woman he plans to settle down with.
• Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life: Several characters in 2 peg him as being uncertain about what he really wants to do with his life. By the time of 3, he's decided being with Cole is what he wants.
• Determinator: Early in his mission in 3, Jacob gets shot in the stomach protecting some ex-Cerberus scientists. While he gets briefly treated, Jacob continues to power through the mission while injured.
  Shepard: You should get that wound looked at.
  Jacob: I'm good. I mean, I will.
• Disappeared Dad: For 10 years and counting... at least, until his loyalty mission.
• Dogged Nice Guy: Inverted — female Shepard has to work to get him to open up to the possibility of a romance.
• Don't You Dare Pity Me!: He doesn't want anyone thinking of him as a "baggage guy" or trying to "figure me out". You can actually convince him to break off the romance if you keep pushing him.
  Jacob: Even if you were right, how small would my problems be if you could 'fix' them with grad-school psych and a crying jag?
• Disappointed by the Motive: In his loyalty mission, Jacob isn't disappointed as he is outraged over the fact that his father spent 10 years on a remote planet, indulging in what he calls "a juvenile fantasy."
• Even the Guys Want Him: If both were romanced in the previous games, Kaidan subtly hints that he finds Jacob attractive.
• Everyone Has Standards: Dislikes mercenaries and assassins, which causes some initial friction when Thane comes aboard. Though he says nothing about the far more mercenary Zaeed due to the latter being a DLC addition.
• Expert Consultant: He refuses reinstatement in the Alliance Marines after being rescued on Gellix, feeling his time with Cerberus disqualifies him. Instead he becomes their consultant on Cerberus tactics.
• Female Gaze: There's a point early in the romance in which the camera seems to switch to Shepard's POV, and pans up from his groin to his face.
• Forgot About His Powers: A relatively minor example in 3: He still handles guns well when Cerberus attacks the defectors' safehouse, but apparently completely forgets he has biotic powers, specifically Barrier, which would have prevented him from receiving the wound that puts him out of action for most of the mission. In fact, he never once discusses being a biotic at all until the party in Citadel, where it might get brought up depending on whether the party is noisy or quiet.
• Form-Fitting Wardrobe: Almost to the same degree as Miranda.
• The Generic Guy: One of the most straightforward party members with the least amount of baggage. The Shadow Brokers files later reveal that this is his speculation on why Jacob was specifically recruited by the Illusive Man to join the squad.
• The Heart: He and Miranda serve as the foils/voice-of-reason towards Shepard. Jacob is the paragon-voice point, supporting actions that are morally right but risky.
• Hero of Another Story: Literally, with Mass Effect Galaxy. This put him in the rare position of a previous player character stuck as second-fiddle to another one.
• Hidden Depths: Apparently he's good at arcade games if the Citadel DLC is anything to go by.
• Hypocrite:
  • Despite acting as a hired gun himself, Jacob hates assassins and doesn't hesitate to make his feelings known to Thane.
  • He is livid if you dump him for another guy in 2, but cheats on you with another woman in 3.
• I Can't Believe a Guy Like You Would Notice Me: He seems rather surprised when female Shepard tries to start a romance with him, but eventually runs with it.
• I Have No Son!: Inverted. He disowns his father after discovering what he did.
  Jacob: I don't know who you are, because you're no father that I remember.
• I'll Pretend I Didn't Hear That: When Grunt starts talking about how appetizing the smell of burning plague victims is.
• Informed Attractiveness: Depicted as being a Chick Magnet, but is an extremely unpopular choice for romance amongst players. In polls over favorite romance options, he rates lower than Morinth !
• Insecure Love Interest: With both Shepard and Miranda, he doesn't believe he's good enough for them.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Implies this towards Miranda. "She... requires a better man than I."
• Jerkass Ball:
  • He's openly hostile toward Thane when the guy joins the ship. Unlike the conflicts between Jack and Miranda, or Tali and Legion, Thane isn't confrontational towards him. Jacob just really hates assassins.
  • Also happens if you romanced him in 2, as he winds up becoming the only love interest in the entire series to cheat on Shepard. And while he'll acknowledge that his actions are wrong, he's still not particularly apologetic about it. Alleviated a bit if confronted about this in the Citadel DLC, as he'll give a more sincere apology and make his guilt more known.
  • Jacob's response to Shepard ending their romance in favor of pursuing Garrus. While it is understandable for Jacob to be unhappy in that situation, he becomes the only love interest in the series to ever call one of his romantic rivals a racial slur.
• Jerkass to One: While reserved, he's still polite and friendly to the other members of the squad. With Thane however, he doesn't hesitate to make his dislike known. He also throws a few insults at Tali when she's brought aboard, and will drop a turian racial slur if Femshep has been flirting with both him and Garrus but chooses to go with the latter.
• Knight in Sour Armor: He's generally a nice guy, but displays a lot of cynicism regarding the Alliance and Citadel governments after the events of Mass Effect Galaxy which led him to join Cerberus in disgust. Not that he's altogether fond of them, either.
  "Saved the Citadel, but... what's the saying? A good deed's like pissing in dark pants. Warm feeling, but no one notices."
• The Knights Who Say "Squee!": He's a bit of a Shepard Fanboy.
• The Lancer: A position he shares with Garrus and Miranda, hence why he and they are the only ideal candidates for leading the fireteams on the Suicide Mission.
• Leave Behind a Pistol: At the end of his loyalty mission, the Renegade conclusion is to give a gun to his father to kill himself rather than face a court-martial or be killed by males driven to violence by the local flora.
• Luke, You Are My Father: In his loyalty mission, Ronald Taylor has been living in his own fantasy world for so long that he doesn't even recognize Jacob as his own son until Jacob directly introduces himself.
• Magic Knight: Both a capable soldier and a powerful biotic.
• Man Hug: How he assures Shepard he's ready to go post-loyalty mission.
  Jacob: I'm good, Shepard! Ready for anything. We live, we'll get loud, spill some drinks on the Citadel!
• Military Maverick: He left the Alliance because he couldn't handle all the Obstructive Bureaucrats. Having said that, he also gets the prize for the other half of the trope: of all the party members, he holds himself to the strongest level of military behavior, and is the only person on the ship aside from Kelly (and a loyal Miranda, once if not romanced) who actually salutes Shepard.
• Mind over Matter: Jacob is the closest Shepard's squad gets to an average human biotic.
• Mr. Exposition: Early in 2. Justified because he's the only person around Shepard can talk to, and Shep's been dead for two years. He also lampshades and lightly deconstructs it by reacting incredulously to Shepard wanting to play twenty questions while they're being shot at.
• Mr. Fanservice: Why, hello there, Mr. Unnecessary In Camera Focus Shirt Removal Ripped Guy. His abs are rendered with more detail than some character's faces. Shadow Broker info shows that he's earned those abs with an insane workout schedule. His taut ass is also prominent in some shots (the same camera angle as Miranda's Ass Cam, no less).
• Nice Guy:
  • One of the nicest members of Cerberus Shepard meets. Though he does show some anti-alien sentiments against some of the non-human members of the team aside from Mordin and Grunt (the former he respects, and the latter he's simply not dumb enough to antagonize).
  • This trope becomes downplayed in the last game if you had romanced him before, as Jacob is revealed to have cheated on Shepard, which he only passively apologizes for. The Citadel DLC helps bring him closer to this trope though where he can make a stronger effort to rebuild bridges with his ex.
• Not Good with Rejection: If Shepard starts a romance but breaks things off and hooks up with Garrus, he takes it poorly, hurling an anti-turian racial slur and making it clear that he has lost all respect for Shepard (despite her being completely honest and open with him). He reacts similarly badly if Shepard leaves Jacob for Thane, with Jacob's word choice ("the drell?!) implying that his displeasure is less due to his personal dislike of Thane and more that Shepard is romancing someone outside her species. It comes across as especially hypocritical given that he automatically cheats on Shepard in 3 and expects her to simply be okay with it.
• Not in This for Your Revolution: He doesn't care for Cerberus's agenda or their insanely dodgy ideas. He's with them because at the moment, they're doing something about the Collector abductions.
• Oblivious to Love: Not only does Shepard pretty much have to explicitly state her interest in him for it to register, but, by all accounts, he also doesn't seem to realize that Kasumi wants to jump his bones. Of course, since she's a downloadable character, he has no dialogue related to her so it's hard to tell.
• Only Sane Man: The Illusive Man placed him on Shepard's team for relative emotional stability as much as skill.
• Overshadowed by Awesome: Never commented on, but while Jacob is an excellent soldier, he's easily outclassed by every other squadmate in terms of exceptional feats.
• Platonic Life-Partners: With Miranda and a Female Shepard who befriends him but doesn't romance him.
• Playing with Fire: Aside from Grunt and Shepard themselves, he's the only one with Incendiary Ammo.
• Plot Armor: Despite being the least exceptional character in the Player Party, he's also one of the safest: if he doesn't die at the Collector Base, he doesn't die. He is, in fact, the only member of the Suicide Squad who is guaranteed to make it to London if you do their Side Quest in the third game.
• Precision F-Strike: An "S-Strike", to be more accurate. Shortly after the cutscene where Shepard releases Jack from cryo, as the squad enters a wrecked room with a few Blue Suns enemies fighting off escaped prisoners, Jacob will blurt out "Holy shit!" in face of all the chaos and destruction.
• Privateer: A former member of the Corsairs, a black ops unit that the Alliance could disavow knowledge of if they were caught.
• Properly Paranoid: Can be closed off and guarded, Shepard having to do some prodding just to get him to talk, but if called on it he apologizes, saying it's a requirement working with Cerberus.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The easy-going and polite red to Miranda's closed-off and frigid blue.
• Remember the New Guy?: He makes a few passing references to having fought the geth on Eden Prime, but he's neither seen nor mentioned in Mass Effect 1, despite Shepard's squad having cleared the entire op zone.
• Shell-Shocked Veteran: Bring him along to the Derelict Reaper and you'll learn that he hasn't gotten over Eden Prime as much you initially thought. During the Citadel party, he'll mention that he still has nightmares about the Collector base.
• The Stoic: He tends to express less emotion than most of the characters.
• That Man Is Dead: His opinion of Ronald Taylor; no matter how the mission plays out, you'll hear some variation of it. "I've already mourned the man he used to be."
• Token Good Teammate: Jacob is nowhere near as shady as most Cerberus operatives are, and he knows it. More importantly, so does the Illusive Man; Jacob was placed aboard the Normandy specifically as a stabilizing element. ...And to make Cerberus seem more trustworthy.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: In 3, if romanced previously he is shown to have cheated on Shepard with Dr. Cole in the six months she was incarcerated. Even he admits he was a bastard for doing so if Shepard chooses to call him on it (though in a fairly casual manner).
• Transhuman: Par for the course when one is able to project mass effect fields from your body.
• Unknown Rival: Jacob actively tries to get a rise out of Thane, for no obvious reason. Somewhat humorously, Jacob claims to be loyal to "more than his next paycheck," despite both missions Thane undertakes during 2 being pro-bono. Thane remains unbothered by his behavior and does nothing to provoke Jacob in return.
• "Well Done, Son" Guy: He does a good job of not showing it, though.
• What the Hell, Hero?: It's downplayed, but he'll show discomfort if you go out of your way to be vindictive (even if the "victim" is an intel trader who once sent Jacob into an ambush). Played for laughs in the Citadel DLC; pick James's side in the "physique vs biotics" argument, and he'll call it the first questionable decision he's ever seen you make. Keep in mind, Jacob is the most physically fit member of the Normandy aside from James, since Shadow Broker reports show he does strenuous workouts.
• What You Are in the Dark: His backstory is full of this. He doesn't mind so much.
  Jacob: Good deed's like pissing yourself in dark pants. Warm feeling, but no one notices.
• Working with the Ex: In his words, his previous work with Miranda "got a little close — then it got really far apart." They're still on good terms, and she gives him the plot hook for his character mission to keep a promise. If he could only remember which promise...
  • And in 3, with Shepard, if you romanced him in the last game.
• You Don't Look Like You: Looks completely different in Galaxy.

Kasumi Goto

I'm the best thief in the galaxy, not the most famous. Need to watch my step to keep it that way.

"I like Kasumi, but why do I feel like I need to check the Citadel for parts she may have pawned?"

—Joker's description

Voiced by: Kym Lane (credited as Kym Hoy)

A Classy Cat-Burglar who is available in the Kasumi - Stolen Memory DLC pack for Xbox 360 & PC, and included on disc for PlayStation 3. She is so skilled that few are aware that she even exists.

---

• Affectionate Nickname: She calls Shepard "Shep."
• Ambiguously Bi: She deeply loved Keiji, and spies on Jacob while he's working out, but she also makes some admiring comments about Miranda's body, and stares rather openly at female Shepard's cleavage during her loyalty mission. This is taken further in Citadel, where she offers to record Miranda and Jack "working out their sexual tension" (though she does that to a lot of the crew, like Tali, for the ME equivalent of YouTube hits) and roots through Shepard's underwear drawer, regardless of the commander's gender.
• Animal Motif: It's very understated, but Kasumi resembles a bird with her cloak. It's only accentuated when leaping with pigeons flying around her onto Hock's gunship.
• Anti-Hero: Despite being a shameless career kleptomaniac, she was willing to place herself in severe danger to protect a young artist purely on principle. She has a caring side, often showing concern for the rest of the squad. Of course, given that you have a squad of mercs, terrorists, Knights Templars and berserkers, her thieving seems pretty benign in comparison.
  • In Mass Effect 3, she helps the salarian Spectre agent assigned to hunt her down stop an indoctrinated hanar diplomat from dooming his entire species.
  • In the Citadel DLC, she's robbing a casino and intends to give the loot to the war refugees.
• Ascended Fangirl: In-universe; describes herself as a fan of Shepard when she first meets them.
• Backstab: Her signature ability, called Shadow Strike. Less of an actual Backstab, but more "bop people with the omni-tool".
• Blade Enthusiast: You never see her using them in-game, but she gets very...enthused over a selection of knives on Tuchanka, and contemplates "borrowing" them sometime later.
• Calling Card: In her early career, she left a rose in place of what she stole. Her partner eventually made her realize how unproductive this is for a thief.
• The Caper: Her activity of choice. Naturally, her loyalty mission is one.
• Covert Pervert:
  • She admits to using her cloak in order to spy on Jacob while he's working out.
  • Given her rather accurate comments about whoever Shepard chose to romance, it's entirely possible she might have been secretly watching during their romance scene. Case in point — her comment after Shepard sleeps with Miranda:
    Kasumi: Oh, Shepard. The engine room? Really? Down there where Tali works? Okay, I gotta ask... just how genetically modified is she? Because -— wow.
  • In the Citadel DLC for 3, she can be found during the party checking Shepard's drawers to find out what kind of underwear they wear. Apparently she does this with everyone. She spends the whole party reminiscing about Jacob's crunches, admiring James's muscles, and offering to record Jack and Miranda working out their "sexual tension". The only "covert" part is her turning invisible again before they can react.
    • Javik will chuckle it's cute that Kasumi thinks he can't see her.
• Dark Is Not Evil: Wears mostly black but is in fact one of the nicest and friendliest of all the party members.
• Deadpan Snarker
  • On Korlus, regarding Rana Thanoptis:
    Kasumi: She seems nice... in a mad scientist ethics-for-sale kind of way.
  • On the Citadel:
    Kasumi: They're really selling the "geth did it" message. I bet you can't even say "Reapers" without inciting a panic. [airquote gesture] "Reapers!"
• Demoted to Extra: While most of the Mass Effect 2 squadmates have smaller roles in 3, Zaeed and Kasumi suffer the most from it, likely due to being DLC characters. At the very least, having both of them keeps you from choosing between war assets.
• Does Not Like Spam: The Citadel DLC reveals that she's slightly lactose-intolerant, having mistaken the milk in Shep's fridge to be made of soy.^note An unsurprising fact, since 73% of Japanese people are lactose-intolerant.
  "I'm not really lactose-intolerant. I just don't put up with lactose's stupid drama."
• Downloadable Content: She does not appear in the vanilla game at all.
• Eating the Eye Candy: Kasumi certainly appreciates Jacob.
  Kasumi: [Ab] crunches. Lots of crunches.
• Establishing Character Moment: Unlike the other squad members, who meet you face to face, Kasumi insists on talking to you through a hacked Citadel advertisement. She then reveals she's been watching the whole time, and leans over a railing above Shepard to introduce herself in person.
• Face Framed in Shadow: Aside from the glint of her eyes and occasionally, like in the above picture, enough light to tell she looks normal under the hood, we never see the top half of her face.
• Faking the Dead: In Mass Effect 3, after helping you (and another Spectre who's trying to arrest her), she "activates an explosive failsafe" on a terminal and collapses in a bloody heap. The Spectre is fooled, but Shepard sees right through it. A good way to introduce the new Decoy ability.
• Fangirl: "Good to finally meet you, Commander Shepard. Kasumi Goto. I'm a fan."
• Friend to All Children: She's a nice person in general, but she seems pretty fond of children in particular — the quickest way to get on her bad side is to injure or traumatize a child. One of her anecdotes involves a rare wholly charitable act, which was to rescue a child from slavery, and seeing what Jack and other biotic children went through on Pragia is enough to reduce her to tears.
• The Gambling Addict: The only time she's not sneaking around at the party is if you host a card game, where she'll finally settle down and join Liara and James for a hand of poker.
• Genki Girl: Despite being a master thief, she's very enthusiastic and cheerful.
• Glass Cannon: She's excellent at incapacitating enemies up close, but she has low health and shields while her main ability often puts her in dangerous situations. Very inconvenient especially on her loyalty mission, where she is your only squadmate.
• Gossipy Hens: If Shepard talks to her on the Normandy, she gossips about the other crewmembers and talks about rumors.
• Highly-Visible Ninja: In her loyalty mission, she strolls right up to Hock's estate in her Spy Catsuit, not even bothering to take her hood down, and seems surprised when Hock turns her away. She then uses her invisibility to get into the building anyway.
• Hikikomori: If Keiji's graybox was kept and the Synthesis ending was not chosen, Kasumi spends the rest of her days as a shut-in reliving Keiji's memories over and over.
• Hyper-Awareness: While this is probably more likely due to her stealth skills, Kasumi is one of two Normandy passenger who would know Morinth was posing as Samara, if Samara is killed in her loyalty mission.
• Hypocritical Humor: During the Hock heist, she notes that his password, "Peruggia", refers to Vincenzo Peruggia, the man who stole the Mona Lisa back in the 1880's. The Shadow Broker DLC reveals that she has also stolen the Mona Lisa, but is offering it for sale. As well as the Koh-i-Noor Diamond and a number of other alien artifacts that are presumably as valuable.
• In the Hood: Kasumi wears a hood at all times so no one can ever really see her face.
• Invisibility: Uses the same invisibility device as the player Infiltrator.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: She has a crush on Jacob, but will support female Shepard if she decides to romance him. Dump him though and you get this.
  You dumped Jacob? I know you have a galaxy to save, but you have SEEN Jacob. Right?
• It's All About Me: Shades of this in 3 where she resents Shepard's recruiting her for the Suicide Mission and reacts quite hostile when they intend to recruit her for the war effort (something that is important to save the entire galaxy, no less). Taken further if Shepard chose to preserve Keiji's Graybox, stating she would rather spend her remaining time with Keiji's memories, whereas if it's destroyed she'll give a more self-depressive reasoning by noting a thief like her wouldn't be any good with the Reapers (which is justifiable, since everything of theirs has a tendency to indoctrinate people). While she does agree to help the Crucible project in the end, the promise of being allowed to steal some expensive tech for herself was probably a main reason for that.
• Just a Machine: Subtle but present.
  Kasumi: Sometimes [EDI] seems like a person, but when it comes down to it, I can't get past her being a computer.
  
  Kasumi: (on the heretics) Killed or remade, what's the difference? They're only synthetics. Just fancy security mechs.
• Just Like Robin Hood: In "Citadel", Shepard can walk in on her about to pull a heist on the Silver Coast Casino. She's not doing it for the money or the fun. She plans on giving the loot to refugees, since she feels that they need it more than the Casino owners. Also, if she becomes a war asset, it's all but stated that she assists by stealing valuable components from Cerberus and giving them to the scientists on the Crucible.
• Killed Off for Real: If you didn't go on her loyalty mission at all, her death's not fake. Shepard simply looks on and then walks away. Of course, maybe she's faking her death towards Shepard too, but she certainly doesn't join your list of war assets.
• Kleptomaniac Hero: One quality she definitely shares with Shepard. Shepard can convince her to help with building the Crucible in 3 by playing on her kleptomania, saying after the job is done, there will be plenty of expensive tech that won't be missed; Kasumi is especially pleased.
• Kleptomaniac Hero Found Underwear: Literally. You can catch her snooping through Shepard's intimates during the party in Anderson's apartment!
• Lampshade Hanging: When commenting on female Shepard's romance with Garrus, she notes that "a lot of people want to see (them) together". She also lampshades the Turian Councilor's infamous "we have dismissed that claim" moment.
• Le Parkour: Briefly shows off some moves in her loyalty mission.
• The Lost Lenore: She never completely gets over Keiji's death. It actually gets worse in ME3 if you allowed her to keep the greybox. And then proceeds to get much, much better if you choose the Synthesis ending, as Keiji's greybox is affected and he returns to life.
• Lovable Rogue: She's very endearing for a self-admitted kleptomaniac.
• Magikarp Power: She starts out very weak. With the right allocation of skill points, she becomes a devastating Glass Cannon.
• Meaningful Name:
  • Kasumi is a Japanese name that means simply "mist". KASUMI is also the name of a cipher used in electronic security.
  • The Japanese word "goto", the same word as her surname and which is pronounced mostly the same, also means "robber" or "robbery."
• Meet Cute: When examining one of the paintings in her quarters, she'll tell you how she acquired it. She was hired to steal it, and when she went to take it, it had already been stolen. As she was leaving, she saw another thief with the painting, chased him down and tackled him. The other thief was Keiji, and he and Kasumi ended up as partners in crime as well as lovers. Neither of their clients ever did get the painting, because they kept it as a memento.
• Moving Beyond Bereavement: When first introduced, is revealed to be mourning for Keiji Okuda; as such, her loyalty mission is a heist mission to steal back Keiji's graybox from his murderer, ostensibly for the secret that got him killed. Once Kasumi finally makes off with the prize, it becomes clear that she also wants the graybox for the memories of their time together... but then Keiji's final message advises her to delete the contents so that the secret he learned won't endanger her as well, a reveal that leaves Kasumi overwhelmed with grief for the first time in the story. Shepard then has a choice between advising her to abide by Keiji's last wish or to keep the graybox; in the case of the latter, Kasumi will become obsessed with reliving the memories and degenerate into a recluse, while in the case of the former, she will gradually be able to move on.
• Nerf: Her "Shadow Strike" ability, which was basically "teleporting behind an enemy and knocking him down hard", got changed into the "Tactical Cloak" ability in the Citadel DLC.
• Never Bareheaded: She never lowers her hood, and even the upper part of her face is usually framed in shadow.
• Nice Girl: Minus the whole "stealing everything in sight" thing, Kasumi is one of the most openly friendly members of your crew. She spends the entire party in Citadel messing with the rest of the crew. She's far more lighthearted and fun than Jack being a nasty Troll, making Kasumi this.
• The Nicknamer: She calls Shepard 'Shep' on a variety of occasions and designates the Illusive Man as 'Mr. Illusive.'
• Not Me This Time: If you set off the scanners on the Citadel on your first visit with her in your party.
  Kasumi: I swear to God, I didn't touch anything.
• Not in This for Your Revolution: In 3, she's not interested in putting her life on the line to fight the Reapers. Her mind can be changed by simply stating she doesn't need to be on the front lines — her computer skills are a big enough asset, and Cerberus facilities are more vulnerable targets to her predations than the Reapers... that and there is also a lot on the Crucible for her to steal.
• Odd Friendship: As a Spectre, Shepard technically is a galactic lawman, while Kasumi is a galactic master-thief.
• Optional Party Member: As a DLC character. In the Legendary Edition, the DLC comes installed anyway, but Kazumi isn't required to progress in the game.
• Outlaw Couple: With her former partner, Keiji.
• Perky Goth: Her outfit is of a design normally associated with dark, brooding characters, but she's actually usually pretty cheerful and playful.
• The Pollyanna: She always reflects that things could be worse... even when trapped inside a derelict Reaper with dozens of husks that's slowly crashing into a star. Hey, at least it's not full of rats!
  • But take her with you on Jack's loyalty mission, and the thought of children being experimented on horrifies her beyond words.
• Phantom Thief: She's one of the galaxy's best thieves/hackers, but has no criminal record. On her loyalty mission, Kasumi even says that no one knows what she looks like.
• Playful Hacker:
  • She greets Shepard by taking over one of the Citadel's advertising terminals. Her hacking skills are actually on-par with both Legion and Tali.
  • If Shepard ignores her, she has half a dozen humorous comments from being a credit agency for help with collector agents to the offer of a sweet Japanese girl, before getting mad if Shepard doesn't bite.
    Ad!Kasumi: OK, really? How many times can you walk by without stopping?
  • She even starts helping the Spectre sent to arrest her with one of his investigations just because.
  • For that matter she plays around with this at the party in Citadel, from imitating Jacob doing crunches to helping him win a push up contest against James to raiding Shepard's underwear drawer.
  • When Shepard bumps into her in the Silver Coast Casino in Citadel, she casually hacks several Quasar machines to give big payouts to the players, just because she can.
• Recruiting the Criminal: Cerberus seeks her out to use her skills against the Collectors.
• Shipper on Deck: Shipper on the Port Observation Deck, to be exact. Kasumi is one of the more emotionally intelligent squadmates.
  • She points out that EDI and Joker bicker Like an Old Married Couple even before EDI is unshackled, and well before they actually hook up in Mass Effect 3.
  • She comments on how Ken and Gabby are the only people who don't seem to realize how perfect they are for one another.
  • She'll ship Shepard with any of the applicable love interests in ME2, especially Tali and Garrus. Humorously, she makes a point of saying that "a lot of people" want to see Garrus and Shepard together.
• Shown Their Work: Throughout the party segment of the Citadel DLC there's a Running Gag about Kasumi's lactose intolerance. Kasumi is one of few characters in Mass Effect of explicitly Japanese ancestry. It just so happens ethnically Japanese people have some of the highest rates of lactose intolerance in the world at 95%.
• The Smart Guy: Along with Tali and Legion, she's an ideal choice for the Tech Expert during the suicide mission.
• The Sneaky Guy/Stealth Expert: "Now you see me..."
• Spy Catsuit: Her outfit is as form-fitting as Miranda's. She even lampshades it by commenting that one of the Cerberus Security guys keeps watching her; she's used to being eyeballed by security, but they're usually watching her face or her hands.
• Stealth Hi/Bye: Her special ability involves this.
  Kasumi: Now you see me...
• Trademark Favorite Food: She loves ramen, and regrets not having stolen her grandmother's recipe.
• Unrequited Love: She has a crush on Jacob, even by the time of 3, where he is expecting a child by Dr. Brynn Cole.
• Unscrupulous Hero: She's no kind of evil, but she is a thief and a rather selfish individual, with little interest in putting her neck on the line for anyone else. She joins Shepard in 2 to get allies for her own loyalty mission, and in 3, tries to Opt Out of joining the war against the Reapers because it's really not her kind of job.
• What the Hell, Player?: Ignore Kasumi on the Citadel when she's pretending to be a station advertisement, and she'll drop the Spy Speak and call Shepard out to meet with her already, dammit.
• Worthy Opponent:
  • She considers Spectre Jondum Bau one, and, in fact, forwarded the information on the possibly indoctrinated hanar diplomat to him, claiming the galaxy needs more men like him. Even as he's trying to arrest her.
    Kasumi: Nobody's perfect.
  • The feeling's mutual — Jondum openly admires her.
    Jondum Bau: Her intelligence and skill are almost salarian.

Mordin Solus

Lots of ways to help people. Sometimes heal patients; sometimes execute dangerous people. Either way helps.

"No surprise, Mordin acts superior to everyone. Like he's got tenure at FU."

— Joker's description

Voiced by: Michael Beattie (2), William Salyers (3)

Salarian doctor. Former member of salarian Special Tasks Group. Recruited by Shepard to combat Collector technology.

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• Action Film, Quiet Drama Scene: Personal mission involves one. In which Mordin considers actions. Reasons for becoming Atoner also stated. Done fairly well.
• Affectionate Nickname: Referred to by Urdnot Wrex as "Pyjak". Don't know whether to be insulted or honoured...
• Amazing Freaking Grace: Recording of him singing this on his Citadel DLC datapad. "Still prefer patter songs."
• Angst? What Angst?: invoked Heavily affected by loyalty mission, fine by return to Normandy. Salarians possess short lifespans, learn to deal with emotional burdens efficiently. Came to terms during shuttle ride. Concern appreciated, however. Third game suggests not as "over it" as previously claimed, when chance to finish genophage cure is presented.
• The Atoner: Upgraded genophage. Argues that it was correct choice; does not truly believe it. Perfect reason to atone for. Ultimately zigzagged. Considers act inexcusable, after deliberation. Also considers act inevitable and necessary. In Mass Effect 3, fights to save female krogan and cure the genophage. Does what needs to be done. *Sharp inhale* Proud posthumously.
• Awesomeness by Analysis: Quickly able to deduce Shepard arrived in clinic to find him. Obviously working for Cerberus. Disembodied voice on Normandy clearly belongs to an AI.
• Badass Bookworm: Salarian doctor. Among smartest ever. Also highly skilled killer. Broken cranial horn and facial scars due to attack by krogan. Stabbed krogan with pitchfork through eye. Continued with mission despite injuries.
• Badass Labcoat: Wears labcoat over commando gear. *sharp inhale* Awesome.
• Badass Normal: Weaker than normal humans, and on team composed of mostly of superhumans and psychics. Still managed to kill a krogan with farming equipment.
• Because You Can Cope: Paragon solution if loyalty lost in Dummied Out material.
• Beige Prose: Naturally. Tried... to... slow... down. No. No no no, can't do it. Too much to do.
• Berserk Button:
  • Playing with Syringes. Hates reckless science. Especially pointless wastes of life.
  • Also metaphors. No time for metaphors. Requires explanation. No time to waste.
  • Also can't stand the thought of Creative Sterility. Species cannot evolve without art in culture. No art, no life. Collectors have no art, can barely be considered truly alive.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Ran clinic on Omega. Mercs tried to extort a protection racket. They all ended up dead. Was gone five minutes. Hung their bodies on display. *Sharp inhale*. Never bothered again.
• Bizarre Alien Biology: Salarians need little sleep. Have almost perfect recall of any learned information. Egg-laying, have little understanding of romantic interaction.
• Black Eyes of Evil: Averted. Salarian eyes black, but not evil. Merely ruthless.
• Blood from the Mouth: Third game, if murdered by Shepard. Cough up blood from gunshot wound during final crawl towards console.
• Blue-and-Orange Morality: When brought on Legion's loyalty mission, others see no moral difference between destruction and rewriting of heretics. Personally believe if geth are alive, rewriting kinder. Change, not death, like Genophage. Although willing to consider notion that rewriting into obedience immoral.
• Book Ends:
  • Introduced in the second game working to cure a plague on Omega. Cure distributed airborne with Shepard's help. May potentially end the same way in the third game. Worked together with Shepard to distribute the cure to the Genophage airborne via the Shroud. For the last time.
  • Played significantly more tragically if Shepard decides to kill Mordin. Gave an M-6 Carnifex to Shepard as token of goodwill during first meeting. Shepard uses that same Carnifex to shoot Mordin in the back to stop him from curing the Genophage.
• Bond One-Liner: Non-lethal example, since victim was merely obstinate STG agent, not actually an enemy.
  Mordin: Objection noted.
• Break the Comedian: Easily most deliberately funny member of team. Loyalty mission and encounter with the consequences of attempted Genophage cure destroys sense of humour, leaves very sombre and depressive... but appears to have recovered by return to normal, claiming faster lifespan allows to process emotions quicker. Third game suggests was lying.
• Catchphrase:
  • "X is/likely to be...problematic."
  • "Had to be me. Someone else might have gotten it wrong."
• Celibate Hero: Inherent to salarian biology. Quite knowledgeable regardless.
• Combat Medic: Technically. Performs medical research on ship, on ground Shepard provides in-game medic abilities.
• Cool Old Guy: 30 years old. Salarian life expectancy forty. Roughly same age as Shepard. Find this amusing.
• Covered in Scars: From time spent as STG operative. Clue as to not being as harmless as it might seem.
• Crazy-Prepared: Ready to give The Talk for any kind of interspecies romance. Ran clinic on Omega — advice likely necessary there. Many species, many tastes.
• Crisis of Faith: Studied many religions as means to atone. Looked for answers. Found questions. Declares Reincarnation popular with salarians. Deeply spiritual still. Shepard expresses surprise.
  Shepard: I didn't expect spirituality from you, Mordin.
  Mordin: Genophage modification project altered millions of lives. Then saw results. Ego, humility, juxtaposition. Frailty of life. Size of universe. Explored religions after work was completed. Different races. No answers. Many questions.
  Shepard: Sounds like you were trying to deal with a guilty conscience. The doctor who killed millions.
• Cruel to Be Kind: Helped modify krogan genophage after species adapted to original. Did so for the good of entire galaxy - including krogan. Models suggested krogan resurgence would result in deaths of thousands, and krogan extinction. Modifying genophage only answer. Painfully aware of the contradictions in this argument. Resolving said contradictions a major part of character arc.
• Cultured Badass: Believes culture needs art. Otherwise not culture. Actively fears Creative Sterility. Uses as evidence for Collectors not being... alive. No art, no expression. No expression, no soul. *sharp inhale* Also did Gilbert and Sullivan.
• Dating Catwoman: Hinted at. Has history with crime boss Aria T'loak. Circumstances unclear, but open fondness of Mordin on her part remains. Wrote Self-Insert Fic about breaking Omega's only rule - in more ways than one.
• Dead Guy Junior: If Wrex is krogan leader and Genophage cured, will suggest honoring Mordin's sacrifice by naming one of his children (maybe a girl) after him. Tone suggests lack of seriousness about endeavor.
• Deadly Doctor:
  • Thought he was harmless, did you?
    Mordin: Advantage of being salarian. Turians, krogan, vorcha - all obvious threats. [sharp inhale] Never see me coming.
  • Subversion, actually. Has killed many times, but never with medicine (says so himself during loyalty mission). Shepard can challenge whether upgraded genophage killing with medicine or not. Likely asked himself same question in past. Paralysing nerve gas followed by lethal projectile to cranium is acceptable, however.
• Deadpan Snarker: Found several surveillance bugs. Destroyed some. Returned expensive one to Miranda.
• Death Faked for You: If Wrex and Eve dead, can be convinced to fake genophage cure and help with Crucible project. Wreav too dangerous as leader without Eve to stabilize him. Pretend to have died in explosion.
• Dead Man Writing: From Citadel. In event of death, STG colleagues to deliver datapad to Shepard. Contains greatest hits. Hope Shepard finds them informative, amusing, educational...
• Defiant to the End: If murdered by Shepard at end of third game, spends last moments crawling towards console to cure genophage.
• Determinator: If Shepard forced to shoot him. Manages to crawl toward console despite lethal wound. Almost reaches console before collapsing. Makes it further than replacement if dead in second game.
• Dirty Business: Guilt for actions major part of character.
• Dying Moment of Awesome:
  • If deploying genophage cure, quietly hums Scientist Salarian while going about work. Facility collapsing around. *sharp inhale* ...Exhilarating.
  • Inverted if Shepard shoots in back. Crawl to workstation. Die before temperature change ruins cure. Senseless death. Even Shepard disgusted with self.
• Establishing Character Moment: Recruited on Omega. Deduces Shepard's allegiance and intentions within seconds, if not told. Simple logic; process of elimination. Offers cure for plague - and new gun. Also dismisses entire mercenary squad as "minor" attack on clinic. Solid reasons for this.
• Et Tu, Brute?: Third game, if Shepard sabotages genophage cure. Disappointed. Betrayed. Possibly subverted if Shepard changes mind at last minute. Also subverted if Wrex and Eve dead; can be convinced Wreav too dangerous to allow access to cure. Downplayed if Shepard honest about reasons for sabotage; decision understandable, if not acceptable.
• Everyone Has Standards:
  • Hates unnecessary waste of life. Only kills problematic people. Always careful with medicine. Never carries out research on species capable of calculus unless subject volunteers. Protege... *sharp inhale* not so principled.
  • If taken on Jack loyalty mission, repeatedly disgusted by surroundings. Experimenting on children not acceptable.
• Evilutionary Biologist: Downplayed. Involved in modification of genophage. Generally well-intentioned, regardless - even towards krogan. Strong ethical guidelines. Ruthless when guidelines are breached.
  Mordin: No testing on species capable of calculus. Simple rule. Never broke it.
• Expert Consultant: Found at Salarian Tasks Group facility on Sur'kesh despite having retired from STG. There as consultant on genophage, working for an actual cure since no one else has expertise, experience or motivation for it. Has to be him, someone else might get it wrong.
• Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: Third game if Shepard sabotages genophage cure. Try to figure out why Shepard is delaying transmission of cure. Realize sabotage likely. Only plausible culprit... Shepard.
• Face Death with Dignity: Stands tall and proud while Shroud exploding around him.
• Faking the Dead: Third game. If Eve dead and Urdnot Wreav sole krogan leader, can be convinced krogan not yet ready for cure. Will disappear to work on Crucible. Shepard lets krogan believe everything went as planned.
• Fire, Ice, Lightning:
  • Incinerate, check. Cryo Blast, check. Neural Shock? Close enough!
  • In the third game, proves capable of inflicting electric shocks with omni-tool. Only in cutscene, though.
• The Fettered: Believes strongly in scientific ethics, refuses to experiment on sapient life.
• Film Noir: Authored novel in this style. Protagonist, lone STG operative on a mission. Broke number one rule on Omega... in more ways than one. Semi-autobiographical? Leave up to audience to decide.
• Frontier Doctor: Reminiscent. Omega resembles frontier setting. Limited resources, hostile factions, difficult for physician of lesser capability to practice. *sharp inhale* Missed working for operations with a budget.
• Gibbering Genius: Dictates thought processes in real time. Avoids infinitives. Irrelevant if heard saying inconvenient thought out loud.
• Glass Cannon: Three skills, purely offensive. Also low defence rating. Death during suicide mission likely. Preferable choice for escorting Chakwas and other crew members back to Normandy.
• Good Is Not Soft: No hesitation in purging dangerous elements for greater good. Sees no contradiction in killing some to safeguard others. Genophage tests this mentality to the extreme.
• Go Out with a Smile: Restored future of krogan species. Good reason to smile in face of death.
• Headbutting Heroes: Previously part of squad under Captain Kirrahe to deliver genophage modifications. Numerous disagreements on mission parameters. Repeatedly called each other 'cloacas'. Earned respect by end of mission.
• Heroic BSoD: Upon discovering pupil performed tests. Dangerous and reckless, even if misguided.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Third game, salarian sabotage to Shroud revealed. Stay behind to fix it. Die in the process. *sharp inhale* Conscience clear. Still... would like to have run tests on the seashells.
• Hidden Depths: Double subverted. Discussion with Shepard regarding Collectors. Disgusted with lack of culture. Personal interest negligible; anger scientific in nature. Culture sign of philosophy, growth, life. Still dabbled in singing Gilbert and Sullivan. "♪I am the very model of a scientist salarian!♪"
• I Did What I Had to Do: Subverted. Insists this repeatedly during loyalty mission. Obviously trying to convince self, not companions.
  • Still resolute it was right action. Even against Shepard's best arguments. Invokes Grey-and-Gray Morality. Actions not unjustified.
  • Worth remembering alternative was genocide. "Save galaxy from krogan. Save krogan from galaxy."
  • Also made peace with self after mission. Mind clear. Hands washed. No guilt. Free to focus on task at hand.
  • Until sequel. True guilt revealed... and again overcome.
• I'll Kill You!: If Maelon spared after loyalty mission, made plain former student not forgiven. Will kill if ever encountered again.
• Insistent Terminology: Genophage sterility plague. Not murder.
• Insufferable Genius: Some hints of this. For example, when joining Crucible in 3: "Exciting atmosphere, galaxy's most brilliant minds working together towards common goal. Read their solutions to engineering problems on the way over. Looking forward to correcting them in person."
• Ironic Echo: If survived ME2, can die while curing genophage in ME3. Uses same lines about how others would have gotten it wrong.
• Irony: For all claims of "It had to be me, someone else might have gotten it wrong" regarding Genophage, Padok Wix was able synthesize cure in case of death.
• If It's You, It's Okay: No interest in Shepard romantically. If ever explored, Shepard optimal. Either sex. Ahem.
• It's Personal: Deliberately invoked in order to anthropomorphize fight against Collectors and Reapers.
  Mordin: Hard to imagine galaxy. Too many people. Faceless. Statistics. Easy to depersonalize. Good when doing unpleasant work. For this fight, want personal connection. Can't anthropomorphize galaxy. But can think of favorite nephew. Fighting for him.
• Keet: Described as being like hamster on caffeine. Salarian metabolism much faster than most other species', but fast even for salarians.
• Kick the Dog: Questions Paragon Shepard's willingness to spare batarians who threatened assistant, sketchy asari neurospecialist as well. Second chances noble, not pragmatic, open possibilities for future betrayals. Correct about Rana Thanoptis. Should have killed her.
• Killed Mid-Sentence: "I am the very model of a--" BOOM
• Kill It with Ice: Uses omnitool to freeze enemies solid. Thaw quickly, but bodies fragile!
• Kill It with Fire: Uses omnitool to incinerate enemies. Incredibly deadly. "Flammable! Or inflammable? Forget which. Doesn't matter!" (Same thing. Really doesn't matter.)
• Lampshade Hanging:
  • Meeting Shepard for first time. Attempt to work out why Spectre is here. Renegade interrupt offered. If not taken Paragon interrupt suggested. On board Normandy third interrupt option available. [sharp inhale]. Allows Shepard to interrupt when heard enough.
  • Alternatively, can ignore interrupts. Made up for with hilarious scene:
    Shepard: Do you ever pause for breath?
    Mordin: Sorry. I'll... try... to... slow... down. No-no-no. Can't do it. No time.
• Light Is Good: Wears white in keeping with doctoral nature. Also good. Help people. Cure genophage.
• The Load: Second game. Primary contribution to Suicide Mission intellectual. At Collector Base, poor choice for vent shafts and fire team, even if loyal. Also poor defense value for rearguard. Best assigned to escort surviving Normandy crew to safety.
• Mad Scientist: Not mad. Usually irritable. Sometimes affable.
• Mad Scientist Laboratory: Granted personal lab on Normandy. Cerberus spared no expense. Removed by Alliance during Normandy retrofit. Pity. Medical Bay will have to suffice. Proves convenient by that time, however. After all, working on genophage cure.
• Major General Song: "I am the very model of a scientist salarian."
  • Voice actor had previous role. TV movie production of The Pirates of Penzance. Makes it funnier.
  • In third game sings another version. Asari-vorcha crosses have allergy to dairy.
• The Matchmaker: Tries to hook Eve up with Garrus. Scars, intelligence, aggression. Would've made good match for Eve. Eve declined repeatedly.
• Measuring the Marigolds: Planned to walk on beach, collect seashells on retirement. Shepard asserted would go crazy within hour. Amended plans to run tests on seashells.
• Mercy Kill: View effort to defeat Collectors as this. Protheans gone, Collectors just final insult.
• A Million Is a Statistic: Trope discussed. Galaxy too broad, too many people, too many variables. Impersonal. Can't fight for whole galaxy. Can picture favorite nephew; can fight for him.
• Morally Ambiguous Doctorate: Good but conflicted. Did what had to do. Necessary, but still regrets.
• Motor Mouth: Speaks too fast when met in Omega. Can be halted with renegade interrupt. Can attempt to slow down, but incapable.
• Murder Is the Best Solution: Mission important. Talking takes too long. At least one way to help people.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Horrified by personal work on genophage. Still feel it had to be done.
• My Greatest Failure: Treats work on genophage as this, though not failure, strictly speaking. Justifies it incessantly. Had to be done. No other option. Only correct and logical course of action...
  Mordin: I made a MISTAKE! Focused on big picture. Big picture made of little pictures. Too many variables!
• My Sensors Indicate You Want to Tap That: Cross-species body language awkward; makes for easy misunderstandings. Movements of Shepard's lower eyelids suggestive by salarian standards. Good to clear air. Also identifies incumbent romantic relations between Shepard and love interests,; offers pertinent medical advice. Scandalized if Shepard views advice as being in jest.
• Never Trust a Trailer: Some fans confused initially. Felt Fight For The Lost trailers implied Mordin Clint Eastwood style lone ranger. In game, quickly proven wrong.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
  • Narrowly averted. Had cure ready for Joker's Vrolik Syndrome. Luckily double checked in middle of night. Discovered that humans do not have two livers! *Sharp inhale* Would have caused liver failure. Problematic.
  • Paragon Shepard repeatedly insists this is the case with genophage modification project. Vehemently disagree! Had to be done!
• Nightmare Fetishist:
  • Foremost expert in medicine and bioengineering in the galaxy. Knowledgeable of diseases, sexually transmitted or otherwise, of all major sapient races. Often muses about such diseases out loud. Also does experiments.
  • Intrigue at squad's potential survival on Horizon present even if part of squad.
• Noodle Incident: Lethal proficiency with farming equipment. Never explained until discovery of Shadow Broker database; Skinny salarian doctor killed charging krogan by driving pitchfork through head. Disappoints fans, who imagined combine harvester.
• Not That Kind of Doctor: Primary specializations genetics and biochemistry. Still often found working in medical fields. Mostly shares intimate knowledge of biology of wide variety of species with people with actual medical expertise, though.
• Odd Friendship:
  • With genophage-immune krogan female. Call her Eve. Part of reason wish to cure genophage.
  • Also eventually establishes one with Wrex. Is mourned by Wrex after dying for genophage cure.
    Wrex: (approvingly) You've got a quad on you, Doctor! Keep her safe.
• Old Soldier: Elderly by salarian standards. Chronologically same age as Shepard. Find this amusing. Based partly on older Clint Eastwood, in fact.
• Omnidisciplinary Scientist: Primary focus biomedical. Constantly forays into other sciences. Mechanical expertise surprising. He is the very model of a scientist salarian. One exception: limited experience with security systems. Assignment as Tech Specialist unwise.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Pausing while speaking. Long, complete statements. Use of first-person pronouns. All likely indicators of serious topics.
  • If genophage is to be cured, dialogue with Shepard before they part ways for good:
    Shepard: I'm sorry, Mordin.
    Mordin: I'm not. Had to be me... Someone else might have gotten it wrong.
  • If genophage cure was to be sabotaged instead:
    Mordin: I MADE A MISTAKE! ^note  Quadruply serious. Never admits mistakes. Or shouts. Or uses determiners. Or refers to self with first person pronouns.
• Pet the Dog: Loyalty mission. Packed with these moments. Notably absolutely horrified at dead female krogan test subject. States that species doesn't matter. Acknowledges work as a cause.
  Shepard: I didn't expect you to be disturbed by the sight of a dead krogan.
  Mordin: [surprised] What? Why? Because of genophage work? Irrelevant. No, causative.
• The Professor: Nature of mission irrelevant. Know something about strange thing.
• Redemption Equals Death: Dying while curing genophage only redemption for modifying it previously.
• Retired Badass: Formerly served in special forces. Now doctor. Return to combat not a problem.
• Retirony:
  • "Would have liked to run tests on the seashells."
  • In Extended Cut, if alive, spends final years finding the time to cure the genophage.
• Sacrificial Lion: In third game. End of first story act, first major character to die. Clear sign no-one else safe. *inhale* No-one. If killed by Shepard, good sign of how far they have fallen.
• Science Hero: Uses vast scientific knowledge to help Shepard against both Collectors and Reapers.
• Seen It All: Has encountered much in the galaxy. Little surprise. Reaction to Javik: "Ah, a Prothean. Excellent."
• Self-Demonstrating Article: Terse talker. Speaks in sentence fragments. Emulated in this character trope list.
• Self-Insert Fic: Enjoys writing them.
  Mordin: Broke Omega's one rule, in more ways than one.^note Rule in question: "Don't fuck with Aria." Implies sexual activity.
• Sherlock Scan: Good at analysis. Displayed when first met Shepard. Deduces Cerberus affiliation even if not explicitly stated. Recognizes EDI as AI just as quickly.
• Shipper on Deck: Ready to offer medical advice for Shepard and their romantic partner. Available to offer gels and instruction manuals for possible cross-species intercourse.
  • Admits worries about implications of Joker/EDI, however.
  • Knew that krogan females find scars attractive. Tried to set "Eve" up with Garrus Vakarian. Apparently she wasn't interested. Will do this even if Shepard in relationship with Garrus. Awkward.
• Shoot the Dog:
  • Has no problem killing one person. To save ten others, of course. Even created new strain of genophage. Krogan adapted to previous one. Does feel regretful about the latter. Started clinic to atone. All life precious.
    Mordin: Lots of ways to help people. Sometimes heal patients; sometimes execute dangerous people. Either way helps.
  • Also at end of loyalty mission. Discover former STG agent curing genophage. Must be killed. Can be stopped with Paragon interrupt.
    Mordin: No! Not a murderer. Thank you, Shepard.
  • Possibly on receiving end in third game. If not convinced to go along with sabotage, Renegade Shepard forced to shoot him to stop genophage cure.
• Silver Fox: In final decade of life. Considered attractive by salarian standards. Especially by other species. Receive come-ons constantly.
• The Smart Guy: Runs tech lab. Cannot purchase upgrades without him aboard.
• Sophisticated as Hell: Noted in Shadow Broker Dossier. Example adequate:
  "Specialist Solus suggests Commander Kirrahe has a foreign object in his cloaca^note he has a stick up his ass. [...] suggests that cloacal obstruction is in fact Kirrahe's cranium.^note  he has his head up his ass."
• The Spock: Usually goes with more logical path. Belief in killing those who present themselves as threat. Deconstructed during Loyalty mission. Genophage involvement becomes source of conflict.
• Squishy Wizard:
  • Skills quite useful in combat, but shields and health quite weak. Survival requires support.
  • Despite special forces training and career, implied to possess weakest combat capabilities of any of the ground team. Lowest combat score and survival priority of any loyal teammate in holding the line against the Collectors. Lower than even Jack and Tali, who both are specialized at fighting enemies other than Collectors. Escorted duty recommended. Alternately, take to final confrontation. Tech abilities effective against armored targets. Collector forces feature many armored opponents. If loyal, will definitely survive if taken with Shepard.
• Strange-Syntax Speaker: Obviously. Speaks mainly in sentence fragments, never uses first-person pronouns. Possible defence mechanism to avoid taking responsibility for genophage enhancements - only breaks established pattern when admitting own mistakes.
• Stupid Good: Third game, if Wrex and Eve dead. Blinded by need to atone for genophage enhancements. Unable to see threat Wreav would pose without genophage or Eve to keep in check unless Shepard provide wake-up call.
• Suddenly Shouting: Third game. Rare loss of emotional control in regards to genophage enhancements.
  "I MADE A MISTAKE!!!"
• The Talk:
  • Shown here, on Interspecies Romance. Try not to "ingest". Offers for all romances. Promises to "probe" Jacob/Miranda. Cerberus could have bugs anywhere...
  • Third game takes this step further. Offers Joker advice on proposed robosexual liaison with EDI. All part of profession.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: With Urdnot Wreav. Mutual dislike obvious. Cooperation necessity for curing Genophage. Payback acquired during tissue sample collection.
  Wreav: He failed to mention how he was gonna take his tissue sample. This ship doesn't have enough painkillers for where he cut me!
• Technobabble: Constantly. Combines with Terse Talker, Motor Mouth. Some complain of difficulty understanding. Get doctorate! Have real conversation!
• Terse Talker: Talks fast and short. First part natural to salarians. Second part peculiar to himself. Likes Techno Babble dialogue. Always Thinking Out Loud. Reading Self-Demonstrating Article right now. *sharp inhale* May help you understand.
• Thinking Out Loud: Constantly. Annoying to krogan female in 3.
  Mordin: Who's that? Pilot? No. Synthesized voice. Simulated emotional inflections. Could it be... no. Maybe. Have to ask. Is that an AI?
• Too Much Information: Gives scientific advice on interspecies sex before even asked. Provides helpful booklet of diagrams, exercises, inventive activities. Also advises against oral contact with drell skin (may cause mild hallucinations) or ingestion of turian tissue (may cause anaphylactic shock).
• Underestimating Badassery: "Advantage of being salarian. Turians, krogan, vorcha, all obvious threats. Never see me coming."
• Unfinished, Untested, Used Anyway: Make no mistake. Brilliant scientist. Not perfect, though. Seeker swarm countermeasure developed hastily. Tested only on Horizon.
  Shepard: We're groundside. Mordin, you sure those armor upgrades will protect us from the seeker swarms?
  Mordin: Certainty impossible. But in limited numbers, should confuse detection, make us invisible to swarms. In theory.
  Squadmate: In theory?
  Mordin: Experimental technology. Only test is contact with seeker swarms. Look forward to seeing if you/we survive!
• Unwanted Harem:
  • Found attractive by many species. Bemused at this. Saved many lives. May be desire for Glad-to-Be-Alive Sex with savior.
  • "If wanted to try human, would try [Shepard]." Shepard's sex irrelevant.
• Utility Party Member: No non-combat gameplay skills in series, but still fits role aboard Normandy. Mediocre squadmate, barely useful in Suicide Mission. However, technical expertise useful for combat and ship upgrades, and for seeker swarm countermeasure vital to surviving on Horizon.
• Verbal Tic:
  • Talks in sentence fragments, thinks aloud, Techno Babble, answers own questions, One-Liner, No time to breathe, Salarians Are As Mayflies, entire race Workaholics, *sharp inhale*... work even harder. Must note. No other salarians share tic. Unique to Mordin.
  • Refers to self with first-person pronouns very rarely unless singing, mostly when statements would be nonsensical without an "I". Usually can, does avoid it. Happens if Shepard questions decision to cure genophage after working on it for so long.
    Mordin: I made a MISTAKE!
• Vitriolic Best Buds:
  • Mutual respect, mutually derogatory banter with Kirrahe evident in STG mission report, spent whole time referring to the other as a cloaca. Mocks Kirrahe's constant "Hold the line" speeches, nevertheless has deep respect for former captain.
  • Friendship with Shepard has aspects of this. Mutually respect each other. However, recognise Shepard often becomes exasperated with salarian thought process. Permit them to interrupt when they've heard enough.
• We Are as Mayflies: Inverted. Salarian lifespans much shorter than human ones. He himself already 30. Human equivalent 116.^note Humans in setting can live to be 150. Modern human equivalent: late 70s. Will die soon, even if survive suicide mission and Tuchanka arc in 3.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Believes past actions necessary. Feels guilty regardless.
• What Could Have Been: Invoked. Would have liked to run tests on the seashells planned on collecting.
• What the Hell, Hero?: In the third game, realizes that genophage cure was sabotaged. Also that Shepard knew, said nothing.
• The Wonka: Thinks out loud. Mental processes seemingly random. Techno Babbles constantly. Described as "Hamster on coffee".
• Would Be Rude to Say "Genocide": Absolutely refuses to admit that Genophage was a slow genocide in second game. Eventually realizes being wrong in third game.
• "X" Marks the Hero: Apparently received scar from krogan killed with pitchfork. Ruined right cranial horn.
• You No Take Candle: Obviously highly intelligent — infinitives waste time!

Zaeed Massani

A stubborn enough person can survive just about anything. Rage is a hell of an anesthetic...

"Zaeed is like you, but takes checks. As long as it's not my money, we're good."

—Joker's description

Voiced by: Robin Sachs

A character who is only available through the Cerberus Network Downloadable Content content, free with every new copy of the game. He is the best bounty hunter in the galaxy and has been hired to help Shepard.

---

• 0% Approval Rating: Back when he was commander of the Blue Suns, he was so hated by his men that Vido's coup was able to go off without a hitch. However, it seems that he still has friends in the Blue Suns if you take him on Garrus' recruitment mission.
• Anti-Hero: A Nominal Hero in Mass Effect 2. Becomes an Unscrupulous Hero in Mass Effect 3; he's started restricting his ruthlessness to Cerberus, who definitely deserve it.
• Atomic F-Bomb: Drops one during the quiet party in Citadel, describing how an intruder will feel when taking a dip in Shepard's bathtub (which he had just rigged):
  Arma-Fucking-geddon!
• Bad Boss: The Shadow Broker DLC hints that his willingness to throw his allies under the bus and his inability to inspire loyalty was a major factor in the Blue Suns betraying him. Keep this in mind if you get it in your head to make him leader of the fireteam during the Suicide Mission.
• Badass Normal:
  • A regular, mostly unaugmented human, and one of the most effective fighters on the team thanks to his gear and great skill in weapons of all kinds. In the 'Hold the Line' sequence on the Suicide Mission, he actually has the second highest combat rating fighting the Collectors of any team member, despite most of them possessing various superhuman attributes he doesn't. The only one higher is Grunt.
  • One of his war stories is how he killed a krogan commander with a knife. Krogan, it should be noted, are strong enough to bench press cars and tough enough that bullets may occasionally outright bounce off their faces. Damn.
• Berserk Button: Don't call his fixation with taking Vido down a 'grudge' or imply that he needs to let go.
• The Berserker: To rival your average krogan ^note one of whom he indeed killed in melee combat, and whom he is implied to have had experience torturing. In fact, his indifference to collateral damage and his ability to shrug off staggering injuries resembles the actual historical berserkers, a caste of Norse warriors who fought in a trance-like state during which they could ignore pain but couldn't distinguish friend from foe. Harbinger even has a possible line of dialogue during Collector fights where he compliments Zaeed's "Aggression factor."
• The Big Guy: He, Grunt and Garrus have the highest "hold the line" scores. Their base value is higher than any other loyal squadmate — with loyalty, they're each worth four points. He also has the second highest survival priority of any squadmate in that sequence, just above Garrus and below Grunt.
• Black Humor: The man runs off of it. He has a seemingly-inexhaustible supply of hilariously gruesome anecdotes about that one time his entire team died horribly, or that other time his other team died horribly, or... This doubles as foreshadowing, hinting that he's a bad pick for squad leader during the Suicide Mission.
• Bounty Hunter: Best in the business.
  Warden Kuril: I got sick of seeing prisoners escape justice. Bounty hunters... aren't reliable.
  Zaeed: Then you aren't hiring the right ones.
• Catchphrase: The man likes to say "Goddamn", that's for sure. Lampshaded by Javik in the Citadel DLC.
• Cluster F-Bomb: Goes into this when playing an arcade game. A claw machine to be precise. While trying to win a plushie toy. For an asari girl.
• Cool Old Guy: In casual conversation, he'll tell stories about his previous adventures. If he's still alive by the Citadel DLC, he's mellowed out considerably and spends most of the party snarking with the other hardasses (Grunt, Wrex and Javik).
• Cold Sniper: Very effective with an Incisor, and utterly detached from his deeds.
• Crack Pairing: In-Universe, he tries and fails to hook up with Samara.
• Crutch Character: Downplayed but still present. He gets recruited immediately upon Shepard's arrival in Omega and provides a serious boost in power due to having better health and weapon skills than Jacob or Miranda. He never actually becomes useless, but once you're able to recruit a larger and more diverse team he becomes far less useful since he lacks Grunt's overwhelming durability and exclusively uses Combat powers instead of having Tech or Biotic powers that benefit from power upgrades like Garrus or Samara.
• Deadpan Snarker: Kind of a default way of stating things for him. Among other things, he can say an asari ex-girlfriend selling him out to the Blood Pack mercenaries "put a sour note on the whole relationship".
• Demoted to Extra: While all of the squadmates introduced in 2 suffer from this in 3, Zaeed and Kasumi get the worst of it, likely due to being DLC characters.
• Determinator: He credits his survival from a point-blank headshot to this (See pic quote.)
• Disappeared Dad: In Mass Effect: Andromeda we learn that he was one. It's unclear if Zaeed even knows that his son, Bain, exists.
• The Dog Bites Back: After negotiations with a Cerberus contract go sour post-2, he starts taking jobs which disrupt their operations.
• Doom Magnet: He seems to have an unnatural tendency of getting people around him killed. Works as a subtle warning against choosing him as a fireteam leader on the Suicide Mission.
• Downloadable Content: Zaeed makes no appearance in the vanilla game.
• Establishing Character Moment: When you first meet him, he's roughing up a batarian who repeatedly claims to be innocent for the crime Zaeed is capturing him for. After you're done talking to him, the batarian tries to run, so Zaeed casually kneecaps the poor bastard.
• Even Evil Has Standards:
  • He's hardly a pleasant man, but what ethics he has are largely responsible for his "leaving" the Blue Sun; he disapproved of their hiring of batarians, whom he saw as terrorists. He also expresses disgust at Cerberus' imprisonment of biotic children if taken along on Jack's loyalty mission. He dislikes corporate security, preferring to work for his contracts and care who he's killing, and doesn't find torture worth it. Also, take him with you whenever the Collectors are involved and he is clearly disgusted and horrified by what he sees.
    Zaeed: "Cheaper labor," he said. "Goddamn terrorists," I said.
  • Speaking of Cerberus, this is all he has to say on how Cerberus offered him a new contract just as they went off the deep end between 2 and 3.
    Zaeed: Negotiations ended badly.
  • If brought to Jacob's loyalty mission, upon seeing what Ronald Taylor has done, Zaeed states that anyone who does this to their own men deserves a knife to the spine. Though if you talk to him afterwards on the ship, he's less judgmental.
  • In 3, apart from working against Cerberus, he's also very disgusted when Din Korlack tries to bargain when lives are at stake and he has barely anything to gain; however, it's more of a Good Cop/Bad Cop with Shepard (or Bad Cop/Bad Cop if Shepard takes a Renegade route.)
• Evil Counterpart:
  • According to Joker, Zaeed is Shepard if they were Only in It for the Money. This gets stressed in Zaeed's loyalty mission, in which he does what Shepard's other Foil (Saren) did: use an oil refinery fire to get a target, sacrificing lives. Of course, a key difference is that where Shepard is renowned for their unparalleled leadership skills, Zaeed's ability as a leader leaves much to be desired.
  • Zaeed is also one to Garrus, with their loyalty missions almost being perfect mirrors of each other. Both are searching for the men who wronged them and left them for dead, both suffered facial wounds as a result of that betrayal and both are willing to put Revenge Before Reason, unless Shepard either talks them down or chooses to let them indulge in it. Notably, Shepard doesn't need to put in any further work to keep Garrus' loyalty if they keep him from indulging in his vengeance in contrast to Zaeed.
• Exactly What I Aimed At: Pulled off during his loyalty mission, although it isn't quite as successful as he'd hoped.
  Zaeed: Fry, you son-of-a-bitch!
• Expy: His background as a (dreaded) mercenary, Token Evil Teammate status, endless supply of war stories, combat-focused build, facial scars, gunmetal gray hair, and tattooed arms recall Canderous Ordo, another BioWare character.
• Fantastic Racism: He especially hates batarians, as noted during his first encounter with Shepard.
• Foreshadowing: He will happily tell you many, many stories about previous jobs he's worked where his allies met horrible deaths, but Zaeed himself made it out with a new scar or two. This indicates that Zaeed is a great pick to hold the line during the Suicide Mission, but an awful pick for the squad leader. He's a survivor, not a commander.
• Friend to All Children: Despite his rough exterior and potty mouth, he still had time to help a random kid in a crane game when Shepard meets him again in the Citadel DLC. One of his stories about his old mercenary days involves him and his squad rescuing an eight year old escaped slave.
• Get a Room!: Zaeed's reaction when FemShep and Garrus start flirting while he and Garrus are boobytrapping Shepard's apartment during the Citadel DLC.
  Zaeed: Oh, go get a room. God knows this place has enough of them.
• Glass Eye: One green, the other one a replacement cybernetic prosthesis for the eye that (likely) got blown out when he was shot in the head.
• Good Scars, Evil Scars: His extensive scars make it immediately clear he's not a morally squeaky-clean individual.
• He Who Fights Monsters: Paragon Shepard actually punches him and holds a gun to his head in order to hammer this point into Zaeed. By wanting to let innocents die in order to satisfy his need for vengeance, he's become no better than Vido.
• Heel–Face Turn: In Mass Effect 3, after some "bad negotiations" with Cerberus, he's been actively taking jobs working against them.
• Hidden Depths:
  • In the Citadel DLC, if part 1 of the party was calm and part 2 was lively, and Samara is also invited (who he is also trying to put moves on), he says something surprisingly poetic about an... abstract piece of art in the dining room. Samara more or less labels him with this trope.
    • Similarly, in another version of the party, he gets confused by a different abstract painting. Upon being told that it's art, he quickly declares that he likes it.
  • In the same DLC, if he's the only one invited, he'll tell a FemShep that he always thought she was beautiful.
• Hypocrite: Despite expressing his distaste for torture aboard the prison ship Purgatory, he is first introduced on Omega physically torturing his unarmed, hapless batarian quarry without hesitation.
• I Call It "Vera":
  • Jessie, his old rifle. His attachment to it is quite strong, despite the fact that it 's been broken beyond repair for five years.
  • A message on Liara's information terminal in the third game shows that he's bought a parts kit for a discontinued assault rifle, indicating that he knows the Reaper War is going to be so bad that he'll need the most reliable weapon he ever owned by his side again.
• Ink-Suit Actor:
  • Resembles his voice actor, Robin Sachs◊.
  • Although his physical appearance is definitely based on Sgt. Bob Barnes from Platoon.
• Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique: He describes the best way to get a krogan to talk: Stick a knife behind his forehead plate in just the right spot and pry it right off. The thought of it apparently drives them mad. In the Renegade end of his quest in 3, you can suggest he try this on Korlack. All he actually has to do is crack his knuckles.
• Karmic Death: If Shepard leaves him to die on his loyalty mission, mostly because Shepard doesn't even kill him, just refuses to help him as he burns in the fire. The irony is noted by Shepard as well.
  Shepard: You started this fire, Zaeed. It makes sense that you'd burn in it.
• Kick the Dog: His loyalty mission is basically just one long kick the dog moment, to the point that many fans view it as a Moral Event Horizon Crossing. In particular this line:
  Zaeed: Let these people burn! Vido dies whatever the cost!
• Kill It with Fire: He gets powerful Inferno Grenades when you earn his loyalty.
• Lack of Empathy: Big time during his loyalty mission.. and the rest of the time. He's fond of recounting the many horrible ways his former teammates have met their deaths in the same way other people reminisce about holidays.
• Made of Iron: Survives a point-blank headshot.
• Murder Is the Best Solution: His first solution to pretty much everything is violence. It backfired on him prior to the second game, and may hit him again if Shepard plays the cards wrong in his loyalty mission.
• The Neidermeyer: His stories and the Shadow Broker's info on him indicate that Zaeed was a horrible leader who is incapable of inspiring loyalty and was quick to throw others under the bus. This is a pretty big indicator that he's a poor squad leader in the endgame.
• Never My Fault: Somewhat implied from his war stories. On seeing a familiar weapon on the Citadel, he claims that the weapon was so good that its wielder took out half his squad. In general, most of his stories end with him noting the casualties nonchalantly, even when he was supposed to be the squad leader. Of course, it's still up to you whether you want a guy with this attitude leading your squad on the suicide mission.
• Noodle Incident: He once tried to kill Nakmor Drack for an unknown reason.
• Normally, I Would Be Dead Now: He survived getting shot in the head at point-blank range purely by sheer determination AND rage. (See sidepic quote)
• Odd Friendship: Has developed two of them by way of the Citadel DLC:
  • He and Garrus bond over booby-trapping Shepard's apartment of all things. Though, it is slightly less odd when you consider how Garrus spent the two years after you stopped Sovereign (becoming a vigilante on Omega who pissed off all three of the mercenary groups) and the pride they take in their work.
  • Javik thinks he's a Prothean in disguise and they discuss conquering the galaxy together after the Reapers are gone. Note that Javik's interactions with most people of this cycle is to call them primitives and complain endlessly about their shortcomings.
• One Last Job: The money he received from Cerberus as payment for joining Shepard's squad has made him seriously consider retirement. Either that or suicide via blowing his ship up near Omega.
• Only in It for the Money: He and Kasumi are the only members who work for Shepard for a fee. He admits the suicide mission doesn't sound like 'good business,' but believes the absurd amount Cerberus is paying him makes it worth his while.
• Optional Party Member: He's a DLC character, if you didn't get a new copy of the game. Otherwise he's a free download.
• The Peter Principle: While he's a great soldier, he's an awful commander whose survival is implied to be due to a talent for getting others killed in his place.
• Pet the Dog: In the Citadel DLC, he reveals what got him addicted to a skill crane game was trying to make a crying kid happy by winning her a toy. Though it seemed to be more of a matter of pride for him than altruism, given that he keeps at the machine long after the kid leaves, and hands the prize to a random bystander after winning rather than trying to find the kid again.
• Precision F-Strike: Being ol' Sir Swears-a-Lot, he's also prone to this. In the "Citadel" DLC, he's actually enraged to the point of swearing by a children's crane game.
• Psycho for Hire: Albeit a much more subdued and refined version than most. He even gets a bit self-referential — he claims that the only people not to piss themselves when having a gun next to their heads are psychotic maniacs and trained killers. And they can be hard to discern sometimes.
• Rebel Relaxation: In his room on the ship and during the pre-suicide mission briefing; he's the only one not standing at the table, opting to slouch against a wall near the end of the room. His ending in the Extended Cut also shows him relaxing on a lawn chair after the war is over. With his beloved "Jessie" beside him.
• Redemption Equals Death: Possible in 3 if Zaeed wasn't loyal in 2. He dies saving ambassador Din Korlack from the other mercs who had been duped into thinking Din was still a Cerberus sympathizer. If loyal? He kills them all the SECOND Shepard asks.
• Retired Monster: He was once a very vicious merc and co-founded the Blue Suns. Though he hasn't stepped down too far — now he's a Bounty Hunter.
• Retirony: Played with. The Shadow Broker's intel reveals that Zaeed is contemplating retirement after finishing Shepard's mission and he is so annoyed by the thought that the best plan he came up with so far is invoking the trope himself, by committing a Suicide Attack on Omega.
• Retired Badass: If he makes it to the end of 3, his personal slide in the Extended Cut shows him kicking back on a deckchair somewhere, beer in hand. Guess he found someplace he could stand after all.
• Revenge Before Reason: Big time. When faced with Vido again during his loyalty mission, all it takes is a few taunts and he sets the refinery you're in on fire - which not only fails to kill Vido, it causes a Paragon Shepard to delay the chase in order to save the refinery workers, allowing Vido to escape.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge:
  • His real motivation during his character quest, despite his initial claim that he's in it to liberate a factory of workers from the Blue Suns mercenary group, which he co-founded. It's possible for a Paragon Shepard to not only allow the target to escape in order to save the workers, but gain Zaeed's loyalty anyway in a scene that proves good is most definitely not soft and indecisive. As a bonus, he never brings it up again in the third game; presumably, he's learned to let that go, or at least get his priorities straight.
  • Dummied Out dialogue in 3 mention he got his revenge even if Vido got away in his loyalty mission: Denying a Mercy Kill on somebody getting abducted by the Reapers is brutal even by his standards.
• Say My Name: If he's left to die on his loyalty mission.
  Zaeed: SHEPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARD!
• Seen It All: This is not Zaeed's first suicide mission, and so long as he is being paid a handsome sum for his work, he is more than willing to roll with the punches.
• Serious Business: In the Citadel DLC, believe it or not, a claw-machine.
  Zaeed: What could be more important than Zaeed Massani not getting bested by some fucking kid's game!?
• Shouting Shooter: In his loyalty mission, if you pick Paragon.
• Sir Swears-a-Lot: Not as much as Jack, but occasionally. Especially in the Citadel DLC after failing at a skill crane for too long.
• Sociopathic Hero: He has some amusing war stories, but during his loyalty mission, it becomes apparent that he's chillingly ruthless in his pursuit of vengeance. Hell, a lot of his stories are rather horrifying, which gets amplified by his even and detached manner of delivering them.
• Sole Survivor:
  • All of his stories usually result in everyone in his squad but him dying, though rather than a testament to his skills, most of this seems to be more out of his ability to get others killed, either through bad luck or just tossing them under the fire. Keep this in mind when choosing fire team leaders during the suicide mission.
  • In the second worst version of the Extended Cut version of the destroy ending in Mass Effect 3, several planets in the galaxy lie torn and barren from the war and several species are skirting on the edge of extinction. Meanwhile Zaeed is shown to be only one having a somewhat comfortable outcome, having apparently retired to a somewhat untouched, sunny corner of Earth.
• Sweet and Sour Grapes: Cut content from Mass Effect 3 indicates he struck out and got revenge on Vido on his own if you denied him in his loyalty mission in 2.
• Tattoo as Character Type: He has a tattoo on his neck, visible when you recruit him, plus sleeves. Like other members of that organization, it's a Blue Suns tattoo.
• Tattooed Crook: Nothing compared to Jack, but he has full sleeves and a neck tattoo.
• 'Tis Only a Bullet in the Brain: He walked off getting shot in the head. According to himself, he managed to do this by simply being too stubborn to die.
• Token Evil Teammate: Less than a freshly-recruited Jack, and much less than Morinth, should you recruit her but more than Grunt or loyal Jack. In contrast to Tali, it's considerably more difficult to win his loyalty with the Paragon approach, which requires a persuade check.
• Took a Level in Kindness: Not as much as Jack or Miranda, but he's noticeably far more pleasant in 3, particularly in "Citadel".
• Unflinching Walk: During his loyalty mission (if you chose the Renegade path).
• Unstoppable Rage: Provides the page quote. He claims that this was how he survived getting his right eye socket blown off at point-blank range. He enters one again during his loyalty mission.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Gets this from Paragon Shepard in his loyalty mission. The first is a straight-up punch to the face. The second is pointing a gun at him and threatening to leave him to burn for being willing to do the same for civilian factory workers. This will actually earn his respect enough so that he'll still be loyal in the end.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Shepard can leave Zaeed to die during his loyalty mission if the player chooses. However, this requires 1) waiting until after the suicide mission to do his loyalty mission and 2) having at least two other surviving squadmates in addition to Zaeed.
• Younger Than They Look: You wouldn't believe this by looking at him, but according to the official website, he is only 40 years old.

Guest Party Members

Wilson

Wilson

Don't get too attached.

"Miranda? But you're..."

Voiced by: Steve Blum

One of the Cerberus medical officers working on the Lazarus Project. After everything goes to hell, he helps you out after you heal him. When you finally meet up with Miranda, she guns him down for being the traitor who caused this mess in the first place, thus continuing the Bioware tradition of early game sacrificial party members.

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• Asshole Victim: Miranda shoots him for betraying Cerberus the instant she sees him.
• Bald of Evil: Being a member of Cerberus is bad enough, but he's also working for the Shadow Broker to sabotage Project Lazarus.
• Beard of Evil: He's willing to sabotage Project Lazarus for money.
• Death by Materialism: When checking logs on the medical station, Wilson constantly complains that Cerberus pumped 4 billion credits into resurrecting Shepard, and he implies that he isn't getting paid enough. It makes it kind of clear why he betrays Cerberus and Miranda. It turns out he was working with the Shadow Broker, so it seems the Broker paid more than Cerberus.
• Didn't Think This Through: Wilson should have been in a better position than anyone else to understand that it would take more than some mechs to stop Miranda, let alone the newly-awoken Shepard.
• Dirty Coward: Even when in your party, this is very apparent.
• The Engineer: One of his jobs with Cerberus.
• Guest-Star Party Member: He's killed at the end of the first mission. At least you get to see him in action, unlike poor Jenkins.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: He hacked into the station's mechs in an attempt to kill Shepard and sabotage the entire project. One of them shoots him badly enough that he's unable to escape until Shepard and Jacob show up, by which time Miranda's already between him and the escape shuttles. Even more unfortunately for Wilson, she's not in the mood to forgive and forget.
• Killed Mid-Sentence:
  Wilson: Miranda? But you're...
  [Bang!]
  Miranda: Dead?
• The Mole: He started the disaster that led to Shepard's early awakening, but you don't know who he was working for at first. He was working for the Shadow Broker.
• Oh, Crap!:
  • His reaction to hearing that Shepard was still alive after sabotaging the Mechs.
  • He gets an even bigger one after running into Miranda again. Unfortunately for him, it was also a very short one.
• Playing with Syringes: He helps bring someone back from the dead.
• Shock and Awe: His signature move is Overload, which is helpful when fighting the rampant mechs.
• Too Dumb to Live: He had no reason to think Cerberus would let him live after he betrayed them.
• Turncoat: He betrays Cerberus for the Shadow Broker.

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