Cowboy Cop: No matter the alignment he chooses, Marcus tends to be loose in morality and conduct to the point that he is willing to do morally questionable acts for his goals. This can be seen in Informant Missions, in which many of the missions are given by an unlicensed cab driver, a female pimp, and his gangster father in exchange for pieces of information about the case (if the player fails the interrogation) and game progress.
Fatal Flaw: His tendency to seek revenge and be exploited by people who only use him as a means to an end. He was groomed by his father to join his gang and depending on player choice, can continue to be his muscle.
Heel–Face Turn: Almost being killed by a prison guard on Kev Lar's orders and killing both men involved cause him to leave his father's gang behind and become a police officer, partially thanks to Terry Higgins saving his life.
Honor Before Reason: He does not like traitors. When Kev Lar pays off a prison guard to kill him and his father, he hunts him down and kills him. In the bad ending, once he finds out that Terry was alive this whole time and behind the corruption in the police department, he shoots him point blank in cold blood.
Motherfuckers with no loyalty don't deserve to live.
Like Father, Like Son: He was a member of his father's gang before becoming a member of the New York Police Department.
Reformed Criminal: From a gangbanger for his Pop's gang—also a planned successor to boot—to being a cop for the NYPD. Depending on your playstyle, he can regress into his old habits.
Noble Demon: Commends his son's redemption in the Good Cop ending.
Odd Friendship: A kingpin of a gang while friends with the cop Terry.
Warrior Poet: His description of New York City as he describes it as a beast that swallows you whole while spitting out your bones.
Terry Higgins
Character Death: Shortly after the beginning. In reality, he faked his death. However, he dies for real by either being in an exploding subway car (Good Cop) or being shot in cold blood by Marcus (Bad Cop).
Like a Son to Me: He was mentored by Terry once he left the streets for law enforcement.
Manipulative Bastard: Turns out to be manipulating Marcus into wiping out the gangs so he can ride off into the sunset with all of their money.
Odd Friendship: A high-ranking inspector for the NYPD while close to the criminal Isaiah.
The Mole: What he actually is at the end of the game, where he was responsible for planting evidence on Victor Navarro in order to bait the law enforcement away from his operations.
Walking Spoiler: His sudden appearance at the end of the game basically caused the revelation of the plot's origin involving Reed's rampage on four criminal organizations.
Starter Villain: He was the first villain that the player has to contend with. Though he didn't do much as he lay wounded in a garbage disposal before being given a coup-de-grace by Marcus.
The Starscream: He is responsible for attempting to kill Marcus and his Pop in order to ascend the ranks despite being one of their noted members. Unfortunately, the failure of the attempt resulted in Marcus's decision to murder him and his followers.
