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Main characters
Gabriel Logan
Former Army Ranger who was recruited by the Agency after getting involved in an operation in Afghanistan.
- Anti-Hero: Pragmatic Hero mainly. He's borderline Unscrupulous Hero in 2 and maybe Omega Strain, but goes back to Pragmatic by the fifth game.
- Dark Is Not Evil: He's usually seen in dark gear throughout most of the games, but is neutral at worst.
- The Dreaded: Gabe's efforts in crippling Black Baton and negating World War 3 made him "Undesirable Number One" for The Agency. He was so feared in Syphon Filter 2 that The Agency kept sending Spook field operatives and their top rank agents to subdue him, attempting to destroy the bridge with explosives so Gabe could never leave Colorado alive, using a sick Lian Xing as a bargaining chip, and planting a mole in form of Jason Chance as a psychological warfare to get under Gabe's skin. Gabe had served in the U.S. Army in a covert operation during Soviet Afghan War and he was directly recommended by Benton who had witnessed Gabe's capability of countering ambush after ambush and disabling a battle tank. Gabe had shown potentials to become embodiment of this trope even before he joined The Agency.
- Good Is Not Nice: Armed or not, if you are complicit with Syphon Filter virus development, Gabe will not show you mercy.
- The Hero Dies: Shot to death by Trinidad at the end of Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow, as confirmed here
. - Non-Lethal K.O.: Defied. Unlike his fellow stealth operatives Snake, and Sam Fisher, Logan doesn't believe in non-lethal takedowns, as all of them involve killing his enemies (including hand-to-hand takedowns where he either throws them off balconies or using maneuvers, aimed solely, at killing his foes). Even his EDT (which is mainly used to incapacitate targets) have him fry his opponents to their deaths with it.
- Perpetual Frowner: Gabe's natural expression, even when he makes some sassy words.
- Pretty Little Headshots: How he canonically kills Shi Hao with a Sniper Rifle, according to Syphon Filter 3 opening.
- You Didn't See That: Gabe's backstory when he was still a U.S. Army officer in 1980's. Gabe's group was deployed in Afghanistan to help Benton (who claimed to be a CIA agent, but actually worked for The Agency) transferring weapons and supplies for Afghan rebels. However, it was revealed that Benton's contact was actually a KGB officer, who was eventually killed by Benton for unknown reason. According to Gabe's testimony, Benton told him to leave the weapons for the rebels and "forget what he had seen, for his own safety".
Lian Xing
Former Chinese army agent also recruited after getting involved in Afghanistan.
- Anti-Hero: Same as Gabe.
- Chronic Hero Syndrome: She cannot stand to see oppression in front of her. In Aljir Prison levels, Lian sees the prison warden abusing helpless prisoners and decides to make helping prisoners her personal mission, even though her primary objective is to rescue Gregorov. When she witnesses the prisoners getting killed in a riot, Lian almost falls to Heroic BSoD until Gabe tells her that she cannot expect to save everyone in her limited time and she must stay focused on taking Gregorov to safety.
- Dark Action Girl: During her MSS days. Also implied in 3's multiplayer mode quotes.
- Lian: "Get on your knees and beg."
- Incurable Cough of Death: She has this for a big chunk of 2 due to getting infected with a strain of Syphon Filter virus. Her coughing fit stops after Gabe obtains the vaccine for her.
- The Lancer: Can be considered as Gabe's right hand person.
Teresa Lipan
Former Agency operative. She met Gabe when she was an ATF officer.
- Brainy Brunette: Has dark brown hair and is one of the smartest individuals in the series.
- Deadpan Snarker: Even in dire situations, Teresa almost always finds an opportunity to say something sassy to help lightening the mood.
- Indian Maiden: A gorgeous young Native American woman with strong sense of justice, strong enough that she talks back to Gabriel Logan on multiple occassions.
- Meaningful Name: Shares the same given name with Mother Teresa.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: When Teresa has no smart comeback words to say, that means the situation is disastrous and possibly beyond repair.
Lawrence Mujari
Former member of the ANC. Works incognito in the US as a mortician.
- Black and Nerdy: Mujari is an expert in pathology and medical.
- Malcolm Xerox: At least on his ANC days, Mujari believed that his murdering spree in Pugari missions can be justified, as his team's mission is rescuing slave workers.
- Scary Black Man: Used to be one on his ANC days.
- Thou Shall Not Kill: Downplayed. Post-ANC Mujari has strict no-killing policy for himself, but he never makes any attempt to stir his comrades into believing his ideal.
- Took a Level in Kindness: Formerly a member of ANC group who killed without hesitation, then turns a new leaf, leaves ANC and becomes a pathologist with strict no-killing policy.
- Notably, his multiplayer quotes in 2 contain more snide remarks than 3 which uses Mujari on his ANC days and can sound downright malicious.note
- Trust Me, I'm an X: Near the end of 2, Mujari tells Gabe to trust his medical diagnosis on Lian (at this point any kind of treatment is useless without the vaccine) because he is a pathologist. But since Mujari is not a hematologist, he does not have a detailed understanding about Syphon Filter's full effect on a living person's blood cells.
Mara Aramov
An infamous Russian assassin. She is initially one of Rhoemer's underlings but she is revealed to be taking orders from someone much higher.
- Art Evolution: Mara was a redhead in the first game. The artist who designed her in the sequel never played the game so she got redesigned as a blonde.
- Dragon with an Agenda: Mara suddenly turns against Rhoemer in part 1. She is revealed to be working for Vince Hadden and treats the Agency as brainless boobs.
- Gameplay and Story Segregation:
- Played straight in 1. Mara is supposed to be one of the more dangerous villains, but as she is the first official boss character (not counting Kravitch), her accuracy is only slightly better than average mooks and Gabe can easily outgun her 9mm by equipping either Shotgun or M-16.
- Averted in Dark Mirror if Stoneman fails to kill Mara in one shot, she will immediately spot him and Stoneman will be forced into a gunfight. Mara poves to be a challenge with her constantly strafing while equipping semi-automatic gun, although Stoneman still has an advantage due to the high ground.
- It's Personal: Mara earns Gabe's hate by killing his friend Ellis at the start.
- Karma Houdini: She keeps escaping certain death in the original trilogy.
- Karma Houdini Warranty: She is eventually dead at the hands of Gary Stoneman, under Gabe's order. Bonus point that it happens during her leisure time, when she thinks Gabe is no longer targetting her.
- Master of All: Downplayed, Mara is capable of handling different kinds of one-handed weapons in the orginal trilogy. She equips 9mm in "Main Subway Line" and some cutscenes of 2, HK-5 in "Expo Center Dinorama", .45 in "Costa Rican Plantation", and G-18 in " DC Subway".
Dr. Elsa Weissinger
A PHARCOM doctor who took part in Syphon Filter production in the past and is the primary scientist tasked with observing the virus' effects and developing it into the next level. Later hired by the IPCA.
- Blue-and-Orange Morality: Gabe does not think Weissinger is evil by definition. Worse, Gabe thinks she is disturbed in a way he can never understand. While Gabe wants to think that Weissinger is a victim of circumstances due to her getting corrupted by the Agency conspiracies, Gabe can still remember, and obviously has not forgive yet, about how Weissinger drugged him in the Agency Bio-Lab in 2, and could possibly killed him if she wanted.
- Herr Doktor: An unhinged doctor fascinated by the effect of a deadly virus on a living ill person, who happens to be a German.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Her death at the hand of Gary Stoneman in Dark Mirror is well-deserved, especially after betraying Gabe—the one who gave her a chance of redemption.
- Redemption Failure: In Omega Strain, Gabe recruits her to join IPCA as a scientist despite others warning him against it. As IPCA scientist Weissinger helps Mujari creating cure for Syphon Filter Omega, the new strain of the virus Gabe had been fighting against for years. However, when Gabe assigns her to attend an important event hosted by WHO, Weissinger does not return to IPCA headquarters after the event ends. Her deposition notes reveals that Weissinger does not find any satisfaction in saving people from the strain with her knowledge; she only thinks of it as a beginning for something new. She also has a dark ambition of changing the world, which drives Gabe bitter about the possibility of getting betrayed again. The sequel Dark Mirror shows that Weissinger returns to Mara Aramov's side, proving Gabe's suspicion.
First Game
Edward Benton
Lieutenant to Markinson. He recruited Logan when he was an Army Ranger in Afghanistan.
- Big Bad Wannabe: He seems to have a personal connection with Gabe yet he can be killed with a simple headshot.
- General Failure: Benton handled the operations in Costa Rica and the DC terror attack and it resulted in many deaths.
- The Mole: He was working alongside Aramov.
- Posthumous Character: Benton drives a truck which Logan and Ellis must protect in part 3's "Convoy" mission.
- Scary Black Man
Anton Girdeux
"Look around, Logan. This mosaic contains the entire history of your country's wars of aggression. We will make an addition to it."
Rhoemer's major henchman. He is the first boss of the game.- Call-Back: Twice in part 2. In Interstate 70, Gabe can use an improvised flamethrower to kill some spooks just like Girdeux used to. His charred remains are found later in the Agency Bio Lab morgue.
- Flamethrower Backfire: Gabe can't use his explosive weapons without triggering the nearby bomb. However, Girdeux's also using a flamethrower and has a huge tank of fuel strapped to his back. A few well-aimed shots to his fuel tank later, and Girdeux's toast.
- French Jerk
- Kill It with Fire: He totes a giant flamethrower.
Thomas Markinson
Gabe and Lian's superior
- Benevolent Boss: Markinson is the mentor type of boss who always speaks in a detailed but still polite manner when briefing Gabe and Lian for their missions, but it is later subverted. See Manipulative Bastard entry below.
- Disney Death: Markinson is shot and then falls off the missile silo.
- Evil All Along: He manipulates the whole thing in order to acquire Syphon Filter virus for the Agency. His motive to do so, however, is unclear.
- Foreshadowing: When Gabe makes a radio call with him about Lian's potential demise at the hand of Rhoemer in Kazakhstan, he speaks so nonchalantly that he had already prepared a pick up for Gabe at the entrance gate of Rhoemer's military base. It is one of the early signs about how the Agency views their operative agents. And when Phagan later tells Gabe that Lian is still alive, there is no sign of surprise from Markinson at all despite him hearing everything through Gabe's radio call, as if he already knew what is happening.
- In the Back: He is shot in the back by Rhoemer after he reveals his true nature to Gabe in the final mission.
- Manipulative Bastard: Markinson withholds information from Gabe early in the game. He knows that Benton is a double agent who works with Mara and Rhoemer, but he does not tell anyone else in the Agency because he does not want to risk Benton knowing that his double agent role was discovered. He also tricks Gabe into killing a bunch of viral test subjects.
Jonathan Phagan
"Please don't kill me! I'll pay you. How much do you want?"
CEO of PharCom involved in the manufacture of the Syphon Filter virus.- Can't Kill You, Still Need You: He's only kept alive for most of the game because he possesses information the other characters need. He is shot by Aramov once he tells her the location of the missile silo. His body is kept on life support so the Agency can extract his plasma and they pull the plug once its finished.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: Phagan always believes that money can solve everything. He also manages to seal deals with various important figures across the world, using his accumulated wealth with his pharmaceutical company Pharcom as a front. Too bad for him, Mara Aramov is too unhinged to be bribed into letting him live.
- Rich Bitch: He often resorts to bribery to save his own life.
- Spanner in the Works: Had he never helped Logan rescue Lian, he never would have found out about the Agency's true agenda.
Erich Rhoemer
"The missile was my idea! Markinson came here to stop it but he was too late. As are you."
A German terrorist and Big Bad of the whole game.- For the Evulz: Rhoemer plans to launch to a missile strike and incite a third world war for no reason.
- Nigh-Invulnerability: He is invulnerable in the final mission and can only be killed with a gas grenade. This is retconned in part 3 by saying that he was wearing the same armor as Chance.
- Posthumous Character: In part 3.
- Say My Name: He screams Gabe's name as he lays dying after Gabe thwarted his plan in Kazakhstan and killed him in his own missile silo.Rhoemer: "LOGAN! *cough* LOGAN! *cough* *drop dead*
- Your Princess Is in Another Castle!: Gabe's mission from the beginning of the game is to eliminate Rhoemer. However, Rhoemer has a lot of expendable mooks to stall Gabe and he is rather good at covering his tracks. Gabe would not encounter Rhoemer until the last level of the game.
Second Game
Steven Archer
An old colleague of Gabe. He is in charge of the mop up operation after Gabe's plane is shot down.
- Apologetic Attacker: "Sorry, Logan. If it were up to me, I'd let you live. Agency orders."
- Arc Villain: Archer is the main antagonist throughout disc one.
- Big Bad Wannabe: After all his big talks, he gets killed by Gabe, just like Benton. Archer is worse than Benton in a sense, Benton had a semi-automatic G-18 equipped and was ready to face Gabe one on one, while Archer can only issue orders to his underlings from his helicopter, and he tries to flee by hanging onto his helicopter instead of facing Gabe after Gabe mows down all his underlings.
- Disc-One Final Boss: He is literally the last character to die in disc one.
- Evil Former Friend: He likes to think he is this to Gabe.
- Mook Maker: He spends most of the game riding in his helicopter and dropping off mooks.
- The Neidermeyer: He was obsessed with promotion and has no problem sacrificing his own men to complete an operation.
- Professional Butt-Kisser: He is described as a brown noser by Gabe.
Jason Chance/Unit One
"How many men did you kill to get here? All of them, they were just doing their job! Did they deserve to die? I'm just doing what I was trained to do."
The head of the CBDC agent squad. He is also an undercover Agency operative, codenamed Unit One.- Bait-and-Switch: Unit One has a different voice so it is quite a surprise that he was Chance in disguise.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Chance at first is the friendliest and is the closest to Gabe. He later reveals that he does not care about getting his own men killed.
- Black Knight: In the final mission, he wears black kevlar armor and a tinted helmet to hide his face.
- Brick Joke: At the start of the game, Agency mooks are told to use concussion grenades only. Chance complains later that the grenades are making his ears ring.
- The Mole: He tipped off the Agency about Lian's location, their position on the mountain, their direction on the highway and the train.
- Nigh-Invulnerability: His armor is explosion proof. Gabe must use the UAS-12 shotgun to push Chance into the rear propellers of the helicopter.
- "Not So Different" Remark: He tells Gabe that they both killed men because it was what they were trained to do.
- Reports of My Death Were Greatly Exaggerated: Logan assumed that Chance was killed in the Bio Lab along with Ramirez. He instead emerges as the final boss.
- Trojan Prisoner: He pretended to be a prisoner in the Bio Lab and Gabe tells him the location of his helicopter which he then tells Stevens.
Uri Gregorov
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Official of the SVR and old friend of Lian Xing.- Bait-and-Switch: Implied to have turned traitor only to be revealed to be an imposter. The real Gregorov was being held in Aljir Prison.
- Glorious Mother Russia: His multiplayer quotes in 3 portray him as a stereotypical Russian anti-capitalist, though in 2 he is much more moderate.
- Noodle Incident: Lian mentions in 2 how she and Gregorov are not close enough to be considered friends, but they respect each other. Lian's Kabul mission in 3 shows Lian, still an agent of MSS, taking a photo of a map which indicating Gregorov's troops movement during Uni Soviet's occupation of Afghanistan. Lian also mentions how she used to be held captive in Aljir prison. There is no clear information of how Lian and Gregorov meeting each other before 2, though.
Thomas Holman
A junior Agency operative. He and Falkan accompany Morgan in the Colorado missions.
- Blatant Lies: When Lian confronts him, Holman tries to reason with her by saying that he is only stalling Falkan and is waiting for an opportunity to help Lian escape. This is obviously a lie, as Holman is not even walking toward the airbase health facility, the place where Lian was held before an airman help her exit.
- The Bully: Holman is not considered competent and is only used to intimidate lower ranking military personnel.
- Dirty Coward: He lies to Lian about his allegiance.
- Evil Duo: Along with Falkan.
- Face Death with Dignity: He was ready to be killed but, in an act of Cruel Mercy, Lian spares his life.
- Uncertain Doom: It is unlikely that he will be left alive after he gave information to Lian.
Dillon Morgan
Stevens' lieutenant.
- Blatant Lies: When Gabe encounters him in China Exhibit, Morgan keeps talking about how he will do his best to keep Gabe and Lian alive if only Gabe surrenders, he even offers to give Lian the vaccine. Of course, if Gabe approaches him, Morgan would just shoot him with his M-79 Grenade Launcher.
- Dead Man Switch: Has one on him during the Ancient China exhibit mission. Gabe must wait for Teresa to disarm a bomb before Morgan could be killed.
- The Dragon: Lyle Stevens' most valuable subordinate. His death at the hand of Gabe Logan significantly put a dent on Lyle Stevens' plans to subdue Gabe.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: He kills both Phagan and one of the pilots who shot down Gabe's plane.
Lyle Stevens
Head of Agency operations, given the task to continue Thomas Markinson's assignments after the latter's death
- Big Bad Wannabe: Stevens was put in charge to continue Markinson's job after his death in the first game, and despite his high rank, he only succeeds in making a fool out of himself. Stevens lacked the cunning mind and enigmatic personality of Markinson, and Logan was able to move several steps ahead of him. No one took him seriously, not even Elsa Weissinger. As Logan says, Stevens was "just another dead agent".
- Dirty Coward: He is chased by Teresa and eventually surrenders. If Gabe takes too long, Stevens will head shot him.
The GI's
Davies, Dobson, Eschelman, Ferguson, Kowalski, Ramirez, Thompson
The CBDC agents who arrive to clean up the Kazakhstan missile launch situation. They accompany Logan during the Colorado missions.- Badass in Distress: Though they are military, they are outgunned and outmanned by the Agency so they have to be saved constantly by Logan.
- Dwindling Party: There's lots of them at the start but they are killed by the Agency.
- Dobson was taken captive during the ambush in Kazakhstan but he dies later.
- Eschelman is killed when a spook attack causes a cave-in. Ramirez tries to call to him but it is too late.
- Davies is killed when a spook throws a grenade at him.
- Kowalski broke his leg while parachuting out of the plane. He is killed later by spooks.
- Ferguson was killed by the avalanche caused by Archer.
- Thompson was killed when Archer blasted the bridge.
- Ramirez was held captive in the Agency Bio-Lab. He is briefly reunited with Logan but Chance kills him later. Chance taunts Logan that Ramirez thought that he had betrayed him.
- Im Dying Please Take My Macguffin: Kowalski is carrying some C-4. He is dead by the time Logan has to take it from him.
- Killed Mid-Sentence: Kowalski is killed while saying "We're under fire!" over the comms.
- Mauve Shirt: John Ramirez is the most developed of all the GI's but he dies too in the end.
- Posthumous Character: Dobson is never seen alive. His body is found by Lian at the airbase and she's all broken up about him.
- Redshirt Army: They are Logan's only allies at the start but they are no match against the Agency.
- Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome: CBDC are constantly protected in the previous game. Here, they drop like flies.
- Tempting Fate: Ferguson always says that he is fine, that he'll live through the Agency assault. Ramirez later says that he got Killed Offscreen.
