BEWARE OF SPOILERS. Due to the nature of the show, with its many Walking Spoiler characters, twists, and turns, the only spoilers whited out are those for the current season "24: Live Another Day". Proceed with caution!
Antagonists
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Multiple Days
Sherry Palmer
Sherry Palmer
"Complex problems sometimes have the simplest solutions."
Played By: Penny Johnson Jerald
"When I say I can make something happen, you better believe I can."
The wife of David Palmer until their divorce. She had two children, Keith Palmer and Nicole Palmer. Her brother-in-law was Wayne Palmer and she had a sister-in-law, Sandra Palmer.
- Ambition Is Evil: Sherry is motivated almost entirely by her utterly vicious, relentless quest for political power.
- Arch-Enemy: To her own husband, David.
- Bait the Dog: At the beginning of her appearance in Season 3, Sherry seems calmer and even nicer. She even seems slightly heroic while facing against Alan Milliken...And then she kills him, going further than ever in his evil, and leaving no doubt of what kind of person she truly is.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: While initially she appears as David Palmer's devoted wife, she's actually a political animal willing to do whatever it takes to further her own goals through blackmail, intimidation and outright murder.
- Blackmail: Her usual weapon of choice.
- Catchphrase: "Let me help you..."
- Character Death: She's gunned down by Julia.
- Evil Is Petty: For all her talk about what's good for David Palmer and what's good for the country, Sherry is very concerned about how she's treated.
- Evil Matriarch: Of the Palmer family until David divorces her for numerous reasons.
- Fatal Flaw: Her manipulative ways end up backfiring.
- Faux Affably Evil: Prior to the revelation of just how ruthless she can truly be, Sherry seemed like a pleasant and charming woman.
- Karmic Death: Her lying and scheming came back to bite her in the ass at the end of season 3 when Julia, one of the many people who's life was ruined because of her, takes revenge and kills her.
- Manipulative Bitch: Sherry has been manipulating her own family for years on end.
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Moral Event Horizon: Her first touch is when she puts Kim life in danger. Later, when she gets involved in the Nuclear conspiracy. But she truly crosses it when she causes the death of Alan Milliken. - Murder by Inaction: She does this to Alan Milliken by withholding his medicine when he suffers a heart attack. Managing to convince his wife to do the same.
- Lady Macbeth: To David Palmer, which she claims is necessary. Many of his poorer decisions were due to her influence.
- Necessarily Evil: She claims to be this. Her husband thinks she's just a bitch, and he's probably right.
- Pet the Dog: Even though she kinda blames Jack for what happened with her marriage (Palmer divorced her because he was disgusted at her putting Kim in danger) she helps him stop Kingsley because she still loves David.
- Psycho Supporter: To David during Day 1; she wants to help him become president but she uses manipulation and blackmail to do so.
- Pyrrhic Victory:
- Sherry's goal of seeing David become President of the United States did come to fruition. Unfortunately for her, David decides to divorce her just before the election after finding out just how devious she really is.
- She did manage to get her ex-husband to drop out of his race for reelection, and to "ruin" his political career...shame it took her death for it to happen.
- Talking the Monster to Death: Verbally reams a man so hard that he has a heart attack and dies. It's possibly her Evil CMoA.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: See above entry.
- Token Evil Teammate: Her ex-husband keeps calling her back into service for pretty much exactly this reason, and they both know it.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Season 3 takes Sherry's bitchness and assholery into outright evil when she kills Alan Milliken.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Until Day 3 when she sold David out for discarding her again.
- Xanatos Speed Chess: Sherry is fully capable of shifting to this mode with changing circumstances.
- Yandere: She still loves David even after their divorce and would love to stay in his life and "help" him any way possible... even if it means either ruining his career or pulling some down right dirty tactics that could result in other people's lives getting ruined.
Nina Myers
Nina Myers
Played By: Sarah Clarke
A distinguished agent at CTU Los Angeles, who was nevertheless a deep-cover mole with connections to Victor Drazen during Day 1. She covertly sold government information to several buyers. She was multilingual and conversant in English, Serbian, German, and Arabic.
During Day 1, she was put to work by the Drazens and subsequently exposed as a mole and traitor. She killed several people while attempting to keep her cover and escape, including Jamey Farrell and Teri Bauer. However, she was captured and arrested at the close of the day.
During Day 2, she remained in custody but was granted a presidential pardon for giving up the location of her contact Mamud Rasheed Faheen. Later, while questioning Faheen, Nina acquired whereabouts of Syed Ali. She was granted immunity in advance for the murder of Jack Bauer and for Ali's location; however, after giving up his location, she was wounded and apprehended before she could kill him. President Palmer decided to honor the original agreement and she was released afterwards to exiled immunity in North Africa.
On Day 3, after attempting to buy the Cordilla virus on behalf of an unidentified client, she was captured by CTU. Though she tricked Jack into activating a hidden worm in CTU's systems, Nina's plan was stopped by Chloe O'Brian. She later attempted to escape, but Kim found her and Jack eventually shot her, and when she was wounded Jack stood over her, sent Kim out of the room and determined she did not have any information that could help them—with that he finally took his revenge and fatally shot her.
- Arch-Enemy: To Jack Bauer. She shares the role with both Charles Logan and Cheng Zhi for the series, though she's killed off early on in the series and always appeared as a hired Mook for the season's Big Bad while never reaching that status herself, unlike the other two.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: One of the most upstanding, loyal members of CTU... except that's all a lie, and a cover for someone who's really a violent sociopath who doesn't care who she hurts if it means furthering her own ends.
- Chronic Villainy: Nina just can't stay away from crime no matter how many times she's been caught.
- Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: This ends up being her undoing, alongside her greed. Nina is willing to betray everyone and everything. This reaches a point in season 3 where Jack, after all the backstabbing and deception, has no more reason to trust in her, and seeing trough her lies, kills her.
- In season 2, it made a bit more of sense to try and double cross Jack, considering he was barely containing his urge to kill her. But in season 3, her double crossing and lack of cooperation becomes more stupid, and she overplays her hand.
- Defiant to the End: Even after being fatally wounded by Jack she tried to reach for her gun and take him with her. A second round to the chest kept her from doing so.
- Dirty Coward: She likes playing cool, but when she is facing death, she shows herself for the weaseling coward she really is.
- The Dragon: Often fulfils this role.
- Dragon Their Feet: In Day 1. While she was never actually The Dragon in the series, Jack only discovers she's The Mole and captures her after he had coldly executed Big Bad Victor Drazen. Subverted in Season 2, in which, although she outlives the season's Big Bad, she is just a Karma Houdini who was released from prison as part of a deal, which happened offscreen. We last see her midway through the season still in custody, and she doesn't appear at all in the final act. And finally subverted in Season 3, when Jack finally kills her in the middle of the season after she tries to kill Kim.
- Evil Counterpart: To Jack. Also to Michelle.
- The Exile: Nina was given "shadow asylum" at the end of season 2, but she came back the next season.
- Flat Character: Despite her importance, she is fairly one dimensional in personality and motivations after her cover blows.
- Fatal Flaw: Aside from her greed and Pride, her constant lying and double crossing. In a more particular note, not to piss off Jack Bauer.
- Faux Affably Evil: She maintains a polite tone in her interactions with others, but her massive ego and contempt for others is always obvious.
- Femme Fatale: She was able to seduce both Tony, whom she was in a "relationship" with during Day 1, and Jack, before the series began, nearly breaking up his marriage, with neither realizing she was The Mole, furthering her goals in CTU.
- Greed: Her Fatal Flaw.
- It's All About Me: She doesn't care about anyone other than herself. It reaches ridiculous levels in season 2, when all she can think is about her safety when there is a nuclear bomb about the explode in the USA.
- Karma Houdini: Ultimately averted. It was originally considered that Nina would escape CTU in the third season, but ultimately it was decided that Jack had to kill her.
- Karmic Death: Dies in the exact same room where she murdered Teri Bauer. It’s even more karmic considering how she was effectively home-free, courtesy of being granted "shadow asylum", but in the end, she just couldn’t help herself when it came to indulging her greed, which ultimately leads to her demise.
- Manipulative Bastard: A fairly good one.
- The Mole: A Double Subversion. She is first suspected at the end of the second episode, but this proves false, then it's confirmed at the end of the penultimate episode of the first season.
- Number Two: She was Jack's right-hand, which made her betrayal even worse.
- Only in It for the Money: As Jack says "You don't even have a cause; you don't believe in anything. You would sell anyone and anything out to the highest bidder."
- Psychopathic Manchild: For someone so heartless, she is ridiculously childish in her behaviour, acting more like a pouty child than a professional.
- Smug Snake: She is a fairly successful liar, and knows how to manipulate, but she acts smugly and thinks she is untouchable and in control of everything. Which is a fairly stupid attitude to take with Jack Bauer (Worst thing is, she knows Jack is going to kill her the moment he has the chance...but she keeps acting the same way as always...and we know how that ends).
- The Sociopath: One of the best examples in the show.
- Stupid Evil: She falls into this quite a few times. Before she tells Jack the lie about Kim having died, Jack was going to attack the Drazens anyway, which means she blew up her cover for no reason. Killing Teri is an even worse example. She knows first hand what Jack is capable of, and yet, she stills shots Teri and her unborn child. In season 3, she has many chances of backing out before being captured, and after being captured, she tries to destroy CTU's operative system, and when it fails, having run out of useful data, she tries to kill her way out of CTU, and when cornered by Jack, she tries to lie to him while reaching for a gun. No wonder Jack kills her.
- Taking You with Me: See her Defiant to the End entry for further details.
- Terrorists Without a Cause: Nina only works with different terrorists for the sake of profit, she couldn't care less about any cause they might have. Jack goes as far as to lampshade this during Day 2.
- Walking Spoiler: Everything changes after she's revealed to be a bad guy.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: How she dies.
Mandy
Mandy
"Well, they're heading back in. Looks like my neighbors died for nothing."
Played By: Mia Kirshner
A professional assassin for hire who participated in two conspiracies to assassinate President David Palmer (Days 1 and 2) and assisted Habib Marwan during Day 4. The name, Mandy, was the alias that she most frequently used.
Over the years, Mandy proved to be a formidable adversary to the agents of CTU Los Angeles. She seemed to have spent most of her time completely under the radar, surfacing only to cause havoc at a critical moment, then vanishing into obscurity once more. She alternately collaborated with an international oil consortium and fundamentalist Islamic terror cells, apparently loyal to none but herself.
On Day 4, Mandy was finally apprehended by CTU for her role in helping Habib Marwan kidnap Secretary of Defense James Heller. In exchange for her cooperation in stopping Marwan, she was granted a presidential pardon for her many crimes, including the attempted assassination of President David Palmer.
- Dark Action Girl: A highly skilled professional assassin.
- Depraved Bisexual: To an extent. She is a bisexual assassin, but there is nothing to indicate they are particularly linked.
- Enemy Mine: She and Jack are forced to work together in the novel "Deadline".
- Enigmatic Minion: Very little is known about her. 'Mandy' is unlikely to be her actual name. In Day 4, she isn't even referred to by name, only as "the hostile".
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: While she kills both of her male lovers, the woman she's with on Day 1 is implied to be her actual girlfriend. She genuinely seems to care for her, and even cries after she is killed.
- Karma Houdini: She's last seen after bargaining for her freedom like so many antagonists do. The only real loss she's shown to suffer is the death of her girlfriend, Bridgit, early in the series.
- Professional Killer: She's usually employed as an assassin.
- This winds up working in CTU's favor, since as a "professional" and not a fundamentalist, she makes a deal when it is in her best interest.
- Psycho for Hire: Unlike many villains on 24 who often have a cause they fight for, Mandy is purely mercenary and turns up working for various other villains throughout the show.
- Small Role, Big Impact: Makes the first kill in the whole series, blows up a plane killing hundreds, infects David Palmer with a virus that almost kills him and scars his hand for the rest of his life, has a big role in Marwan's bomb threat, and even defeats Tony Almeida in a fight easily. All in only seven episodes.
Day 1
Carl Webb
Carl Webb
Played By: Zach Grenier
"Before you finish crucifying me, save some nails for your wife."
An associate of David Palmer during his campaign for president during Day 1. He was a member of the senator's staff, but was fired when David learned about a cover-up.
- Blackmail: Tries this on Palmer over the incident his son was involved in.
Day 2
Gary Matheson
Gary Matheson
Played By: Billy Burke
The abusive husband of Carla and father of Megan. He was the employer of Kim Bauer, his daughter's au pair, during Day 2.
- Abusive Parent: To his daughter, who's terrified of him.
- Ax-Crazy: Kills his own wife, murders a police officer and tries to murder Kim and Megan afterwards before being killed himself.
- Cop Killer: One of his victims is a police officer.
- Character Death: Kim shoots and kills him in self-defense.
- Double Tap: He's shot by Kim twice directly on Jack's orders to ensure he somehow doesn't miraculously survive the first shot and still threaten her.
- Domestic Abuse: Gary is physically abusive toward his wife. He eventually winds up killing her.
- Excuse Plot: He basically exists to give Kim something to do between the rare moments in season 2 that she actually affects the rest of the story.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: Which leads to his abusive, violent episodes.
- Hate Sink: An abusive father and husband who barely hesitates in Jumping Off the Slippery Slope by murdering his wife and later a police officer. Nobody shed any tears when Kim finishes him off.
- Implacable Man: Despite being your average wife-beating scumbag, Gary is practically unstoppable for most of Day 2, due to him being a living Excuse Plot for Kim.
- Jerkass: As per usual for a slimy domestic abuser with rage issues.
- Slimeball: The first sign that he's bad news is how he leers at Kim, complimenting her on her 'great body'.
- Villainous Breakdown: If his secret is in danger of getting out, he becomes more deranged and a lot more willing to kill people to get what he wants.
Marcus, Rouse & Cole
Marcus, Rouse, and Cole
Three crooks who took Kate hostage and threatened to destroy the Cyprus recording Jack needed to prove that the Middle Eastern government was not behind the nuclear bomb threat.
- Asshole Victim: Rouse.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Yes Marcus, destroy the one bit of evidence Jack needs and thus doom a lot of innocent lives all because he killed one of your pals in an incident that resulted from you trying to kill an innocent person.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Cole, who's against Marcus trying to kill Kate and eventually attacks him when he attempts to resist Jack.
- Hero Killer: They murder one of Jack's allies because he's of Arab descent
- Jerkass: Especially Marcus.
- Too Dumb to Live: Marcus. Sure, don't believe that Jack is a federal agent and won't kill you if he has to. It's amazing he doesn't die.
Day 3
Alan Milliken
Alan Milliken
Played By: Albert Hall
One of President David Palmer's earliest and biggest financial supporters, and the chief executive officer of Milliken Enterprises.
- Asshole Victim: While the circumstances of his death are appalling to everyone except for Sherry in-universe, and ultimately confirm Sherry's place past the Moral Event Horizon after two and a half seasons of dancing around it, it's still hard to feel bad for this guy. Especially after his efforts to sabotage David's healthcare plan, which would probably hurt a significant portion of Americans, all because of a petty grudge against Wayne. This is even more infuriating because he himself is a very sick individual. But no, no empathy there.
- Not to mention his implied murder of a guy, because he was going to testify against her for a hit and run he commited.
- On the other hand, his death is kinda pathetic and pitiful.
- Character Death: Sherry practically talks him to death. Their confrontation is so heated that he dies from a heart attack.
- Death by Irony: He was trying to fuck up David's healthcare plan for the US. He dies by being denied his medicines.
- Rich Jerk: He makes demands of the damn president just because he's rich.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Money!: It seems to be his general attitude toward life. He paid off the father of his hit-and-run victim and uses his cash to manipulate government policy.
- Villain Has a Point: As horrible as he is...He also is right when he says Wayne fucked him up. Wayne actually acknowledges this.
Day 8
Jason Pillar
Jason Pillar
Played By: Reed Diamond
A former FBI agent and Charles Logan's executive assistant during Day 8.
- Alas, Poor Villain: Just when he gave up and was about to save Jack's life, he is killed by Logan. Combined with his previous scene with Jack, it makes it somewhat pitiful, considering also how pointless it ends being (Jack survives, and Logan ends up with brain damage).
- Asshole Victim: Logan executes him when their plans are ruined. Somehow subverted.
- Character Death: He's killed by Logan, seemingly out of sheer frustration.
- The Dragon: For Charles Logan. He seems to be a fairly loyal number two, and sort of looks up to his boss.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Pillar has a six-year-old daughter that he loves. This, combined with a couple of other things, makes Jack spare him.
- Even Evil Has Standards: He knows well enough when to quit and sees no point in senselessly murdering Jack. Logan doesn't agree.
- Graceful Loser: Surprisingly for a 24 villain (and contrasting with his boss), he accepts defeat with a surprising amount of grace and self-control (not unlike Ira Gaines), and does not indulge in petty retribution, being at a second to save Jack's life had Logan not interfered.
- Heel–Face Door-Slam: Just when Pillar is about to accept defeat and give himself up, Logan shoots him. No penance for Pillar.
- Mole in Charge: Has command of CTU transferred to him so he can personally lead the manhunt for Jack.
- Pragmatic Villainy: He knows well enough murdering Jack won't do any good now they have lost.
- Villain Has a Point: Calls out Jack’s hypocrisy when he calls his enemies terrorists and murderers, when, at the time, Jack has become exactly that.
- Villainous Breakdown: When Jack holds him at gunpoint he turns into a blubbering wreck. Jack ultimately spares him after a "Not So Different" Remark.
- Well intentioned extremist: He is an orders follower, but truly seems to believe the cover up is for the greater good.
- Semper Fi: He used to be a marine.
Kevin Wade
Kevin Wade
Played By: Clayne Crawford
A former acquaintance of Dana Walsh prior to Day 8.
- Blackmail: How he gets Dana under his thumb, as he previously knew her as 'Jenny'.
- Character Death: Kevin is killed by his partner-in-douchebaggery Nick.
- Domestic Abuse: He gets physical with Dana more than once.
- Even Evil Has Standards: He's an asshole, but he at least tries to warn Dana and Cole after his Sociopath friend tries to shoot them.
- Jerkass: Smug, selfish, abusive, cruel, greedy, short-tempered, myopic and an all-round unpleasant young man.
- Death Equals Redemption: Downplayed, but he still tries to save Dana and Cole from his partner.
- Pragmatic Villain: For all his shitty qualities, he knows to quit when he is still ahead, and does not indulge in senseless violence. His partner, not so much.
Nick Coughlin
Nick Coughlin
Played By: Michael Filipowich
- Ax-Crazy: Kills his partner and tries to kill Dana and Cole with fairly little provocation.
- Character Death: Shot by Cole after he tries to kill him.
- The Sociopath: Shows hardly any emotion yet shows to be much more ruthless than domestic abuser and all around Jerkass, Kevin Wade.
- Stupid Evil: All the time, making Wade look smart by comparison.
