ZFT (Zerstörung durch Fortschritte der Technologie)
ZFT - "Destruction Through Technological Progress"
Tropes associated with ZFT:
- For Science!: Thier entire goal.
- Irony: Two out of three ZFT leaders all happen to be Broyles' (former) closest friends.
- Western Terrorists: Whilte comitting terrorist acts, they appear to be entirely Western.
- Well Intentioned Extremists: They cause most of the crazy shit from the first season, but in preparation for a war against another universe.
David Robert Jones
- "You’re very serious, do you know that? Your friend’s life hangs in the balance. Is that it? And you want me to save him. I gathered as much from your note."
Portrayed by Jared Harris
The first season's Big Bad. A high-risk criminal and biological-terrorist, Jones is directly responsible for many of the incidents involving the Pattern at the beginning. In truth however, it was revealed that he was using the ZFT manuscript for preparation of soldiers to combat the alternate universe.
Tropes associated with Jones:
- Affably Evil: Very polite and courteous to a fault.
- Big Bad: Of Season 1.
- Body Horror: Is a big fan of these. And then suffers it.
- The Chessmaster: Highly cunning.
- Deadpan Snarker: Sardonic to a fault.
- Diabolical Mastermind: A criminal mastermind to the last.
- Evil Brit: His evil is enhanced by his English accent.
- Evil Versus Evil: His de facto enemy, Walternate, may be a thousand times more evil than he could ever be, but the guy is still pretty evil.
- Karmic Death: Being severed in half by his own portal.
- Manipulative Bastard: Plays everybody like a fiddle.
- Might as Well Not Be in Prison at All: Remains an evil force even behind bars.
- Shout-Out: His name is actually the birth name of David Bowie.
- Portal Cut: How he meets his end, as Half the Man He Used to Be.
Mitchell Loeb
- "Do you not understand the rules? What we're up against? Who the two sides are? Tell me at least you know that!"
Portrayed by Chance Kelly
An FBI agent and old friend and war buddy of Broyle's, Loeb joins the Fringe Division shortly after Olivia and the Bishops. Unknown to them, however, many of the cases that they're working on have been set in motion by Loeb himself and Jones.
Tropes associated with Loeb:
- Body Horror: Infects himself with a heart-attaching parasite that quickly takes over one organ after another.
- Genius Bruiser: He may not have been the Diabolical Mastermind like Jones, but he sure as hell knew how to work the very same technology that Walter and William Bell developed.
- Giant Mook: Very big.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Like the rest of ZFT.
Sanford Harris
- "These are the people you surround yourself with: A traitor, a criminal, and a lunatic. What does that say about you?"
Portrayed by Michael Gaston
Former Marine buddy of Broyles, Harris has a very sour history with Olivia: During their time in the military, she had him investigated and court-martialed on sexual assault charges. Ever since then, he's had a very low and biased opinion of her, and always made her job harder.
In the background, however, he was affiliated with ZFT, and was working on leftover Coretexiphan experiments.
Tropes associated with Harris:
- And There Was Much Rejoicing: No-one seems particularly bothered by his death.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Some terrible sheep clothing, but he still held the pretense of being in the side of good.
- It's Personal: Claims to hold no grudge against Olivia. Yeah right.
- Hate Sink: An insufferable asshole who does whatever he can to make Olivia's job harder because she got him court-martialed for being a sex offender, and he holds a grudge against her for that. Also a terrorist.
- Jerkass: Abrasive and an asshole.
- Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: And deep down, a terrorist.
- Karmic Death: He was experimenting on a girl who could conjure fire with her mind. Connect the dots.
- Kill It with Fire: Has been manipulating subjects with pyrokinetic abilities.
- Obstructive Bureaucrat: Deliberately so, as exemplified by his image caption.
- Smug Snake: His arrogance is insufferable.
