The Monitor

"I have seen the power of the Anthem destroy entire civilizations. For generations our people struggled just to survive. The Javelins allowed us to fight back the chaos. Walls protected our families. Loved ones. But the Anthem still rages, and walls can only do so much. But with the power of the Anthem at my fingertips, I will end all this needless suffering."

- The Monitor

The Monitor is one of Dominion commanders and special operative tasked in leading his forces at Bastion. He serves as the main antagonist in 2019 online multiplayer action roleplaying video game Anthem.

Background
Ten years prior to the events of the game, the Monitor, alongside Doctor Harken, led an assault on Freemark, seeking to secure and utilize Cenotaph through which they can harness the game's titular preternatural force Anthem of Creation. Monitor briefly fought the Freelancer Jani who then forced to retreat with a civilian girl. Unfortunately, Doctor Harken soon lost control over the relic, inadvertently unleashing the devastating cataclysm called Heart of Rage, decimating most, if not all of invading Dominion forces and wiped Freemark off the map. The Monitor however, survived the ordeal, presumably alongside a handful of survivors. Neither he nor the rest of his forces were seen again for the next decade.

Resurgence
The Monitor's Dominion forces made their presence known through their activities that aggravated Scars throughout Bastion, with the actual encounter between the group and their ancient nemesis Freelancers eventually takes place at the cavern between Valley of Tarsis and Eastern Reach. At that time, he tries to convince a Regulator (who is actually a Corvus agent) into giving up the Shaper relic in her possession after telling one of his soldiers to stand down and stating that negotiation is the best option to deal her. As soon as said soldier found it however, The Monitor changes his mind and casually executes the Regulator on the spot, angering The Freelancer, the main protagonist of the series, that he/she jumped out of the hiding and open fire on him. Remarking this fateful encounter an awkward one, The Monitor makes his leave, but not before having his soldiers attacking The Freelancer and his/her friends. After the Freelancer defeated all his soldiers, including his lieutenants, the Monitor cuts in on the Freelancer's link with his cypher Owen and mocks his/her before cutting the connection when his foe tried to mock him back.

Search for Javelin of Dawn
After The Freelancer enlisted aid from his old friends Haluk and Faye, The Monitor appears before the Freelancer via. cypher projection just as he/she found the tomb of General Tarsis. He proceeds to converse with him/her, offering to spare the people of Bastion in exchange for the Javelin of Dawn so that he might control the Anthem of Creation, all the while trying to trace the Freelancer's location. Thanks to Faye's warning, The Freelancer lied to the Monitor that there's no javelin and walked through his projection, causing it to vanish.

However, Owen, spiteful towards the Freelancer for keeping him from his dream to be a Javelin pilot, freezes his/her Javelin and took the Javelin of Dawn for himself as a bargaining chip to convince The Monitor that he accepted his offer. Fortunately, Owen didn't account that Faye managed to scan the Javelin's crucial component, Shield of Dawn, during his betrayal, which allows Freelancer and his/her companions to reverse-engineering the module so he/she can enter the Heart of Rage with his/her own Javelin. Simultaneously, the Monitor punished Owen for such mistake by scarring his face, though the traitor has managed to escape his wrath with Javelin of Dawn in his possession.

Final Battle at the Cenotaph and Defeat
Believing he has everything he needed to take the Anthem (having understood the system of Javelin of Dawn's shielding despite the aforementioned setback), the Monitor mobilizes the Dominion to take the Heart of Rage. He takes his time taunting the Freelancer as he fights his way for him and Cenotaph before tapping the device, merging with Anthem of Creation itself. By the time The Freelancer catches up with him, he/she finds his Valkyrie javelin empty save for his lifeless husk that evaporates into dust and assumes him dead, only for Monitor appears and presents himself with stronger body encased within a giant, horned version of his discarded Valkyrie javelinjavelin before luring the Freelancer to the final battle.

An epic battle between the Freelancer and Monitor ensues, with the latter has greater advantage with the power of Anthem in his command. However, despite his great powers, the Freelancer emerged victorious, with his/her weakened nemesis is unceremoniously crushed by Haluk and Faye with their strider, killing him. Afterwards, the two and the Freelancer then silenced the Cenotaph, putting an end of the devastating Heart of Rage and succeeding what they and their comrades failed to do long ago.

Personality and Traits
"He's ruthless, driven, and savage, an incredibly powerful cypher and a brilliant pilot. He frightens even his own people"

- Tassyn about The Monitor The Monitor claims to have witnessed firsthand the destruction of civilizations in the world due to the Anthem of Creation through the ill-fated invasion on Freemark. He plans to use the Anthem for his own destructive desires, though claimed that with its power under his control, he could bring an end to humanity's suffering.

True to Tassyn's description about him, The Monitor is a ruthless and driven in his ambition to claim the power over Anthem, so much that his own allies feared him. He also able to remain uncannily cool under pressure no matter the situation, along with great deal of confidence to the boot. He is also shown to have a pragmatic side, as he opted to negotiate with the Regulator and may or may not considering to spare her before he changes his mind.

The Monitor also has a power hungry side, as he sought to harness the power of Anthem regardless of its repercussions under the claim that he will use it to end humanity's suffering.

Powers and Abilities
In addition of charisma and authority over an army of Dominion forces, The Monitor is a powerful adversary who is unique for his capability in functioning as both a Cypher and a Lancer simultaneously. His signature Javelin is a heavily upgraded Valkyrie which endowed him following abilities:
 * Cypher Projection: The Monitor can conjure a projection of himself to communicate with others from a considerable distance. It is through said projection that he can pinpoint others' locations, though it took him sometime to do so.
 * Elemental Manipulation: Thanks to the connection with Anthem, The Monitor can manipulate elements; fire, lightning, ice, and acid. After becoming one with Anthem itself, his powers becomes increased to almost god-like level, able to summon volatile meteors, creating lightning storms, and conjures spherical golems comprised of corrosive substances.
 * Force-field Generation: The Monitor can conjure force-field which is strong enough to deflect bullets.

Quote
"Freelancers boast of courage they never have. It's why they're extinct."

- The Monitor about Freelancers in general