History Characters / MassEffect2MainAntagonists

[[caption-width-right:350:Click [[labelnote:here]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Harbinger_890.png[[/labelnote]] to see his true form.]]

* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Being a Reaper and all. He's also apparently the oldest and most powerful Reaper. [[TheJuggernaut Considering even one regular capital Reaper can wipe out an entire organic fleet and depopulate a city in under an hour]], [[BiggerStick Harbinger]]'s power must be incredibly impressive. Too bad we never see him tearing through other ships.

-->'''Harbinger:''' '''"Shepard! You have become an annoyance!"'''

* TragicVillain: See AndIMustScream.

* TransformationSequence

* AndIMustScream: What happens to the beings that he's received, including the abducted human colonists.

* NonstandardCharacterDesign: Compared to other Reapers, who's strange Cthulhu shape isn't even close to the humanoid appearance of the Human Reaper-Larva. It was [[WordOfGod eventually revealed by Bioware]] that the Larva would be the core of a Reaper "shell", which is the tentacled form we know from Harbinger and Sovereign, and that all other Reapers (perhaps with the exception of Harbinger) are made like this, preserving a sort of "effigy" of the race used to create it within each one. Concept art has the Human Reaper's spine and arms eventually becoming three of the reaper's arms.

* TheReveal: The Reapers have been kidnapping entire human colonies to create the biological component of this new Reaper.

'''VideoGame/MassEffect2:''' [[Characters/MassEffect2EarlyPartyMembers Early Party Members]] ([[Characters/MassEffectMirandaLawson Miranda Lawson]]) | [[Characters/MassEffect2LatePartyMembers Late Party Members]] | [[Characters/MassEffect2SecretPartyMembers Secret Party Members]] | '''Main Antagonists''' | [[Characters/MassEffect2SecondaryAntagonists Secondary Antagonists]] | [[Characters/MassEffect2NormandyCrew Normandy Crew]] | [[Characters/MassEffect2CouncilSpaceNPCs Council Space NPCs]] | [[Characters/MassEffect2NonCouncilSpaceNPCs Non-Council Space NPCs]]\\

-->'''Harbinger:''' '''"FOCUS ON SHEPARD!"'''

[[center: [- [[Characters/MassEffect Main Character Index]] | [[Characters/MassEffectCommanderShepard Commander Shepard]] | [[Characters/MassEffect1PartyMembers Party 1 Members]] | [[Characters/MassEffectKaidanAlenko Kaidan Alenko]] | [[Characters/MassEffectAshleyWilliams Ashley Williams]] | [[Characters/MassEffectGarrusVakarian Garrus Vakarian]] | [[Characters/MassEffectLiaraTSoni Liara T'Soni]] | [[Characters/MassEffectTaliZorah Tali'Zorah]] | [[Characters/MassEffectUrdnotWrex Urdnot Wrex]] | [[Characters/MassEffect1Antagonists Mass Effect 1 Antagonists]] | [[Characters/MassEffect1Npcs Mass Effect 1 NPCs]] | [[Characters/MassEffect2EarlyPartyMembers Early Party 2 Members]] | [[Characters/MassEffectMirandaLawson Miranda Lawson]] | [[Characters/MassEffect2LatePartyMembers Late Party 2 Members]] | [[Characters/MassEffect2SecretPartyMembers Mass Effect 2 Secret Party Members]] | '''Mass Effect 2 Main Antagonists''' | [[Characters/MassEffect2SecondaryAntagonists Mass Effect 2 Secondary Antagonists]] | [[Characters/MassEffect2NormandyCrew Normandy Crew]] | [[Characters/MassEffect2CouncilSpaceNPCs Mass Effect 2 Council Space NPCs]] | [[Characters/MassEffect2NonCouncilSpaceNPCs Mass Effect 2 Non-Council Space NPCs]] | [[Characters/MassEffect3PartyMembers Party 3 Members]] | [[Characters/MassEffect3AntagonistsAndNpcs Mass Effect 3 Antagonists and NPCs]] | [[Characters/MassEffect3MultiplayerCharacters Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer Characters]] | [[Characters/MassEffectAndromedaPathfinderRyder Pathfinder Ryder]] | [[Characters/MassEffectAndromedaPartyMembers Party Andromeda Members]] | [[Characters/MassEffectAndromedaCrewOfTheTempest Crew of the Tempest]] | [[Characters/MassEffectAndromedaTheAndromedaInitiative The Andromeda Initiative]] | [[Characters/MassEffectAndromedaTheKett The Kett]] | [[Characters/MassEffectAndromedaTheAngara The Angara]] | [[Characters/MassEffectAndromedaOtherCharacters Andromeda Other Characters]] | [[Characters/MassEffectAndromedaMultiplayerCharacters Multiplayer Characters]]]]-]

[[center: [- [[Characters/MassEffect Main Character Index]] | [[Characters/MassEffectCommanderShepard Commander Shepard]] | [[Characters/MassEffect1PartyMembers Party 1 Members]] | [[Characters/MassEffectKaidanAlenko Kaidan Alenko]] | [[Characters/MassEffectAshleyWilliams Ashley Williams]] | [[Characters/MassEffectGarrusVakarian Garrus Vakarian]] | [[Characters/MassEffectLiaraTSoni Liara T'Soni]] | [[Characters/MassEffectTaliZorah Tali'Zorah]] | [[Characters/MassEffectUrdnotWrex Urdnot Wrex]] | [[Characters/MassEffect1Antagonists Mass Effect 1 Antagonists]] | [[Characters/MassEffect1Npcs Mass Effect 1 NPCs]] | [[Characters/MassEffect2EarlyPartyMembers Early Party 2 Members]] | [[Characters/MassEffect2LatePartyMembers Late Party 2 Members]] | [[Characters/MassEffect2SecretPartyMembers Mass Effect 2 Secret Party Members]] | '''Mass Effect 2 Main Antagonists''' | [[Characters/MassEffect2SecondaryAntagonists Mass Effect 2 Secondary Antagonists]] | [[Characters/MassEffect2NormandyCrew Normandy Crew]] | [[Characters/MassEffect2CouncilSpaceNPCs Mass Effect 2 Council Space NPCs]] | [[Characters/MassEffect2NonCouncilSpaceNPCs Mass Effect 2 Non-Council Space NPCs]] | [[Characters/MassEffect3PartyMembers Party 3 Members]] | [[Characters/MassEffect3AntagonistsAndNpcs Mass Effect 3 Antagonists and NPCs]] | [[Characters/MassEffect3MultiplayerCharacters Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer Characters]] | [[Characters/MassEffectAndromedaPathfinderRyder Pathfinder Ryder]] | [[Characters/MassEffectAndromedaPartyMembers Party Andromeda Members]] | [[Characters/MassEffectAndromedaCrewOfTheTempest Crew of the Tempest]] | [[Characters/MassEffectAndromedaTheAndromedaInitiative The Andromeda Initiative]] | [[Characters/MassEffectAndromedaTheKett The Kett]] | [[Characters/MassEffectAndromedaTheAngara The Angara]] | [[Characters/MassEffectAndromedaOtherCharacters Andromeda Other Characters]] | [[Characters/MassEffectAndromedaMultiplayerCharacters Multiplayer Characters]]]]-]

* ArchEnemy: Much of ''Mass Effect 2'' establishes how obsessed Harbinger is with destroying Shepard, sensing the human is a threat that ''must'' be dealt with to prevent any chance of the Reapers being defeated. This despite the Reapers' arrogant boasts they are infallible EldtritchAbominations indicates an [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness uncharacteristic investment in a singular individual]], especially from the Reaper armada's leader. The trilogy seems to build up to a final confrontation between the two... [[SubvertedTrope only for Harbinger to leave upon mistakenly thinking it finally killed Shepard]] at the end of ''3'', with Shepard's final interactions being with fellow humans and [[GreaterScopeVillain the Catalyst]], who Harbinger is [[DramaticIrony implied to not even know about.]] The big guy doesn't even have a single line of dialogue throughout the entire third game, which is amusing considering how talkative it was in the previous one.

* ArchEnemy: Much of ''Mass Effect 2'' establishes how obsessed Harbinger is with destroying Shepard, sensing the human is a threat that ''must'' be dealt with to prevent any chance of the Reapers being defeated. This despite the Reapers' arrogant boasts they are infallible EldtritchAbomination|s indicates an [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness uncharacteristic investment in a singular individual]], especially from the Reaper armada's leader. The trilogy seems to build up to a final confrontation between the two... [[SubvertedTrope only for Harbinger to leave upon mistakenly thinking it finally killed Shepard]] at the end of ''3'', with Shepard's final interactions being with fellow humans and [[GreaterScopeVillain the Catalyst]], who Harbinger is [[DramaticIrony implied to not even know about.]] The big guy doesn't even have a single line of dialogue throughout the entire third game, which is amusing considering how talkative it was in the previous one.

* EvilCounterpart: Of a sort to Shepard, as both are the leaders on their respective sides. [[spoiler:This ultimately ends up [[SubvertedTrope subverted]], as it's revealed the Catalyst is the true overseer of the Reapers and Harbinger ultimately does its bidding, thus making it Shepard's true counterpart. In the Control ending, Shepard can even take the Catalyst's place and order Harbinger around along with the rest of the Reapers. '''[[{{Irony}} ASSUMING CONTROL OF THIS FORM]]''' indeed.]]

* ItCanThink: At first glance, EDI isn't even certain whether it's alive (for want of a better term) or not. Once Shepard shoots out the tubes, it turns out that, yep, it is just alive enough. And Shep just made it angry.

* DemonicPossession: '''"ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL."''' Haringer is better at it than Sovereign too; while the latter keeled over and got utterly wrecked after feedback from one interrupted possession, Harbinger can spam them in succession because he's performing them through his intermediary, the Collector General.

* ItsPersonal: It becomes increasingly obvious as the games and battles rage on that Shepard's touched a nerve in him, to say the least. He goes so far as to make planetfall and try and blast Shepard to Kingdom Come himself during the climax of 3. He hates you ''that'' much.

* TheJuggernaut: Like other Reapers.

* CrazyPrepared: Even after sending the Collectors to destroy the ''Normandy'', he has them make an effort to retrieve Shepard's body to make sure the attack worked, only failing because the Illusive Man got it first. This gets taken UpToEleven in the ''Arrival'' DLC, where it's revealed that the Reapers were plotting an invasion through the Alpha relay at the same time that Shepard was dealing with the Collector threat.

* TheDreaded: To ''Shepard''. You can hear his/her hesitation and concern upon hearing that Harbinger is physically coming to the battlefield and basically tells Hammer Group to haul ass to the Conduit.

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: In the Control Ending Shepard becomes the guiding intelligence of Harbinger and the rest of the Reapers - in other words s/he ASSUMES DIRECT CONTROL of him.

* NoNonsenseNemesis: Despite his many verbal taunts, Harbinger does not fuck around with Shepard. He has the Collectors ambush and kill Shepard in the first ten minutes of the second game and then spent years attempting to acquire his/her body to be completely sure that s/he's dead. Afterwards, he pulls all the stops and traps possible to kill Shepard again. This culminates in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', when he abandons the space battle over Earth to personally come down and blast Shepard himself.

* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Averted. Harbinger has his Collector goons simply destroy the ''Normandy'' and kill Shepard in the first ten minutes of the game. [[NoNonsenseNemesis No drama, no gloating, just surprise and overwhelming firepower.]] And while it's not clear if Harbinger could have known about Cerberus' plans to resurrect Shepard, he did try to verify Shepard's demise by buying their dead body from the Shadow Broker. It didn't pan out, but he wanted proof and didn't [[NeverFoundTheBody just assume Shepard was dead]]. Played ''literally'' when doing a VillainOverride. He's trying ''to kill Shepard himself''. In the third game, he wastes no time firing at Shepard with his main gun. In the low EMS endings anyway; if the EMS is high enough, he won't fire at Shepard until after his/her squadmates have evacuated the battlefield. But either way, he hits his target with ease and it's a miracle Shepard survived the blast at all.

* ContrastingSequelAntagonist: To Sovereign. Sovereign regarded all sapient life with total disgust and seemed to regard the Reapers' actions as merely TheRightOfASuperiorSpecies. Harbinger is just as arrogant but sincerely regards organics as being worthy of, if not love, then certainly the Reapers' [[BlueAndOrangeMoralty benevolence]]. Their choice of minions is also opposite, with Sovereign acting mainly through the synthetic geth and Harbinger through the organic Collectors.

* BadassBoast: '''"I WILL SHOW YOU TRUE POWER."''' '''"THIS IS WHAT YOU FACE."''' And many, many more. [[https://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Harbinger_(Collector)/Battle_Quotes Here is a complete list.]]
** You can listen to it [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=re9C1-CdKUE here]], at the 58 second mark. (Warning: ''[=ME2=]'' ending spoilers.)

* BigBadEnsemble: While he's the top dog, the [[ArcVillain Shadow Broker]] (in ''2'') and the [[TheHeavy Illusive Man]] (in ''3'') are still separate threats in their own right.

* ContrastingSequelAntagonist: To Sovereign. Sovereign regarded all sapient life with total disgust and seemed to regard the Reapers' actions as merely TheRightOfASuperiorSpecies. Harbinger is just as arrogant but sincerely regards organics with, if not love, certainly worthy of the Reapers' benevolence. Their minions are also opposite, with Sovereign acting mainly through the synthetic geth and Harbinger through the organic Collectors.

* MindControl: Indoctrination". This is where it's revealed that Reapers can do it even when they're dead.

* SayMyName: Harbinger himself will land by the transit beam, and will boomingly say '''SHEPARD''' with its ''real'' voice.

* WeHaveReserves: '''"KILL ONE AND ONE HUNDRED WILL REPLACE IT." "LEAVE THE DEAD WHERE THEY FALL."''' "THIS FORM IS IRRELEVANT."'''

* CrazyPrepared: Even after sending the Collectors to destroy the ''Normandy'', he has them make an effort to retrieve Shepard's body to make sure the attack worked, only failing because the Illusive Man got it first.

* ContrastingSequelAntagonist: To Sovereign. Sovereign regarded all sapient life with total disgust and seemed to regard the Reapers' actions as merely TheRightOfASuperiousSpecies. Harbinger is just as arrogant but sincerely regards organics with, if not love, certainly worthy of the Reapers' benevolence. Their minions are also opposite, with Sovereign acting mainly through the synthetic geth and Harbinger through the organic Collectors.