Jack (Mass Effect)

"I WILL DESTROY YOU!"

- Jack's catch-phrase Jack is a character from the Bioware video game series ''Mass Effect. ''Though she is a recruitable party member in the second game and has a genuinely tragic and sympathetic backstory, Jack is still morally and ethically a villain when first encountered, being a violent, bloodthirsty, and largely unscrupulous individual who is by far one of Shepard's most morally lacking companions. That said, with the proper amount of care and positive influence, the player can help Jack to change for the better, causing her to become more of an Anti-Hero.

Early Years
Jack was taken from her mother at a very young age and raised by Cerberus in a nightmarish facility that saw Jack and the other biotic children there horribly tortured and experimented on in such a way that most of the children perished, with Jack meanwhile being conditioned to love fighting, violence, and killing. The other biotic children in turn were taught to hate Jack with a passion, leading to mutual antipathy.

One day though Jack, for reasons she cannot adequately explain, was able to escape from her cell and then killed all who stood in her way before making her way off-planet. Tragically by this point in time years of torture and abuse had molded Jack into a cynical, bitter, nihilistic, and bloodthirsty individual, who from then on transformed into a violent and deeply disturbed criminal. She would go on to commit all manner of crimes and misdeeds before she was finally caught and imprisoned on the ship ''Purgatory. ''

Mass Effect 2
Jack would later be recruited by Commander Shepard for his/her mission to stop the Collectors. Though initially suspicious, hostile, and distrustful, Jack was still ultimately convinced to join Shepard's crew and from there can undergo a change in personality should Shepard make the effort to connect with Jack and help her through her deep-seated trauma. Part of this involves the cathartic experience of destroying the facility Jack was tortured in, and afterwards Jack will become loyal to Shepard's cause in full. It is also possible for a male Shepard to romance Jack, with the Renegade Shepard being interested in the union purely for the sexual pleasure while the Paragon Shepard will instead pursue a more genuine, lasting, and heartfelt romance.

Mass Effect 3
Should Jack survive to Mass Effect 3 she will become a teacher at Grissom Academy for new biotic students, now having changed under Shepard's influence to a better (but still gruff and cynical) individual. However, should Shepard fail to complete the Grissom Academy mission in time Jack will be recaptured by Cerberus and turned into a Cerberus Phantom that Shepard and their allies will then be forced to kill.