History Characters / Daemon

* BadAss: Let's sum up; At his peak, he is a sociopathic cyborg computer hacker armed with laser gauntlets, semi-intelligent machete-wielding motorcycles, driving a bulletproof sports car and backed up by an AI Nazi Oberstleutenant. Okaayyy... [[Literature/SnowCrash Raven[[? Step aside. Your Badass slot has been usurped.

* BadassBiker

* TokenEvilTeammate: He recognises that he has become this as the Darknet's growth to encompass so many normal people has removed the need for sociopathic hatchetmen like himself.

-->'''Matthew Sobol''': ''Detective Sebeck. I was Matthew Sobol. Chief technology officer of CyberStorm Entertainment. I am dead. I see you’ve been assigned to the Josef Pavlos and Chopra Singh murder cases. Let me save you some time; I killed both men. Soon you’ll know why. But you have a problem: Because I’m dead, you can’t arrest me. More importantly: You can’t stop me. Since you have no choice but to try and stop me, I want to take this moment to wish you luck, Sergeant – because you’re going to need it.''

* DeadManWriting: '''Literally''' the only way he can communicate, as the first paragraph of the series is his ''obituary''.

* MyDeathIsOnlyTheBeginning

Gragg is first introduced setting up a date rape of a teenaged girl at a rave and framing one of his associates to take the fall for a data theft he committed. As he gains power in the Daemon's network, he goes FromBadToWorse. The Daemon picks him because it has need of a CompleteMonster for some of its less savory plans.

* Well-Intentioned Extremist: while his methods are cruel, his motivations are rather good-natured.

Merritt was part of the elite Hostage Rescue Team tasked with infiltrating Sobol's mansion at the beginning of the story. The rest of his team was killed by the various boobytraps before they were even able to get in the front door. Despite being set on fire by a gasoline-armed sprinkler system, he managed to breach the back door and make his way far enough into the mansion to trigger the self-destruct mechanism. Even with all this, he survives, albeit significantly scarred from the experience. His epic run is recorded by mansion security cameras and passed around the darknet as inspiration. They christen him "The Burning Man" as a mark of honor and he becomes a folk hero and legend.

Gragg is first introduced setting up a date rape of a teenaged girl at a rave and framing one of his associates to take the fall for a data theft he committed. As he gains power in the Daemon's network, he gets worse. The Daemon picks him because it has need of a CompleteMonster for some of its less savory plans.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: When [[WorthyOpponent Merritt]] is assassinated in front of him, Gragg makes his singular mission to find and ''destroy'' the person responsible. This is probably his only saving grace.

The detective initially put on the Daemon case. The Daemon seems to take specific delight in torturing him and sets him up to take the fall for the massacre at Sobol's mansion. He is demonized (no pun intended) by the media and executed for his alleged crimes. However, his story does not end there...

* VideogameCrueltyPotential

Gragg is first introduced setting up a date rape of a teenaged girl at a rave and framing one of his associates to take the fall. As he gains power in the Daemon's network, he gets worse. The Daemon picks him because it has need of a CompleteMonster for some of its less savory plans.

Merritt was part of the elite Hostage Rescue Team tasked with infiltrating Sobol's mansion at the beginning of the story. The rest of his team was killed by the various boobytraps before they were even able to get in the front door. Despite being set on fire by a gasoline-powered sprinkler system, he managed to breach the back door and make his way far enough into the mansion to trigger the self-destruct mechanism. Even with all this, he survives, albeit significantly scarred from the experience. His epic run is recorded by mansion security cameras and passed around the darknet as inspiration. They christen him "The Burning Man" as a mark of honor and he becomes a folk hero and legend.

Genius founder of Cyberstorm Games and the creator of the Daemon. His death from cancer is what kicks off the entire plot when his Daemon programs read his obituary and start causing chaos. Far from the CompleteMonster he appears to be at the beginning, you learn that he is truly a WellIntentionedExtremist who [[IDidWhatIHadToDo did what he felt he had to do]] because UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans. [[TheExtremistWasRight It worked]].

* AlasPoorVillain

The detective initially put on the Daemon case. The Daemon seems to take specific delight in torturing him and sets him up to take the fall for the massacre at Sobol's mansion. He is demonized (no pun intended) as a CompleteMonster by the media and executed for his alleged crimes. However, his story does not end there...

* TearJerker: His last action after The Major shoots him in the back and before having his brains blown out by The Major is to look at the two pictures of his daughters he carries with him all the time. ''Try'' to read that scene with dry eyes. ''[[EvenEvilHasStandards Even Gragg is horrified.]]''
* TooCoolToLive

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: CompleteMonster or SociopathicHero?

* JerkassWoobie: In the end, he is stripped of his power, has had his eyes and tongue cut out and his fingertips chopped off and failed to stop The Major and collapses into a crying mess at the realization of his failure. The rest of the darknet recognize that he was used by the Daemon probably more than anyone else and treat him with sympathy instead of contempt.

* CompleteMonster: The Major recalls some of the horrifying things he's done in his career with fondness.

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: CompleteMonster or HeroicSociopath?

The detective initially put on the Daemon case. The Daemon seems to take specific delight in torturing him and sets him up to take the fall for the massacre at Sobol's mansion. He is demonized (no pun intended) as a CompleteMonster by the media and executed for his alleged crimes.

* LonelyAtTheTop: He recognises in ''Freedom™'' that despite his top Darknet level he has no friends.

The detective initially put on the Daemon case. The Daemon seems to take specific delight in torturing him and sets him up to take the fall for the massacre at Sobol's mansion. He is demonized (no pun intended) as a CompleteMonster by the media and executed for his alleged crimes. HeGetsBetter.

* MajorlyAwesome: He may be pure Evil but [[VillainousValour he does make a good account of himself.]]

* LawfulGood

* ChaoticEvil: (arguably)

* ChaoticGood

* LawfulGood

Genius founder of Cyberstorm Games and the creator of the Daemon. His death from cancer is what kicks off the entire plot when his Daemon programs read his obituary and start causing chaos. Far from the CompleteMonster he appears to be at the beginning, you learn that he is truly a WellIntentionedExtremist who [[IDidWhatIHadToDo did what he felt he had to do]] because UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans. AndItWorked.

* AndItWorked

* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: Gragg thinks this of him in ''Freedom™''.

* LonelyAtTheTop: He recognises in ''Freedom™'' that despite his top Darknet level he has no friends.

* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: He doesn't bother telling anyone his real name.

* MajorlyAwesome: He may be pure Evil but he does make a good account of himself.

* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: Gragg thinks this of him in ''Freedom''.

* LonelyAtTheTop: He recognises in ''Freedom'' that despite his top Darknet level he has no friends.

* IHaveManyNames: Was an identity thief.

* TearJerker: His last action after The Major shoots him in the back and before having his brains blown out by The Major is to look at the two pictures of his daughters he carries with him all the time. ''Try'' to read that scene with dry eyes. ''[[EvenEvilHasStandards Even Gragg is horrified.]]''

* CompleteMonster

* HeroicSociopath

* XanatosSucker