President Charles Logan is one of two main antagonists (alongside Phillip Bauer) of the 24 franchise. As Vice President of the United States, Logan became President of the United States after John Keeler was grievously wounded when Air Force One crashed during Day 4. However, he later used his power and influence to coordinate terrorist attacks from the office of the Presidency.
During Day 5, Charles Logan sponsored the Sentox nerve gas conspiracy with good intentions. However, after the plan failed, he resorted to terrorist activity to cover up his involvement, with the help of Phillip Bauer and his son, Graem. After briefly attempting to change his ways during Day 6 by helping to stop the nuclear suitcase conspiracy instigated by Phillip Bauer, Logan soon returned to his evil ways. On Day 8, he began working with the new President, Allison Taylor, and his influence corrupted her into covering up the crimes of the Russians, committing numerous crimes herself and disgracing her presidency. Although his legacy was tarnished and he was defeated, Charles Logan ultimately resulted in the events of the rest of the series occurring.
He was portrayed by the late Gregory Itzin, who also played Ilon Tandro in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
Biography[]
Prior to Day 4[]
Charles Logan was the son of a distinguished military and political leader who abused him as a child. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Princeton University. Prior to his vice-presidency, he served as the CEO of Western Energy Coal & Reserve. In politics, he served in the California State Legislature for the city of Santa Barbara, became the Lieutenant Governor of California and served as a United States Senator from California. While serving in the State Legislature, Charles met his future wife, Martha, who became his most trusted advisor. While he was serving in the senate, Logan's son, only in his twenties, died suddenly. This resulted in great distress to both Charles and Martha. Martha suffered extreme mental trauma and was institutionalized due to her grief. In Season 5, Charles can be seen carrying a small chain in his pocket, a gift from his late son. At some point prior to Day 4, Logan was selected by presidential candidate John Keeler to be his running mate. After David Palmer dropped out of the race, Keeler easily won the presidential campaign, and Logan became Vice President.
Day 4[]
Martha is not seen in this season, and it is entirely possible that she was still institutionalized at this time. During the events of Day 4, the United States suffered from a series of terrorist attacks coordinated by a man named Habib Marwan. President Keeler called Logan and informed him that Air Force One had been targeted by Marwan, and that he needs to be prepared to take the office of presidency in the event of his death, as per the 25th Amendment. Air Force One was later shot down, and Logan was sworn in as the president of the United States. A member of Marwan's conspiracy, Joe Prado, had been arrested. After Bill Buchanan asked Logan for permission to torture him, Logan flatly refused, stating that he had no prior criminal record. Counter-terrorist agent Jack Bauer tortured Prado as a private citizen to get Marwan's location and, despite this plan succeeding, Logan was so enraged at this disobedience that he called for Bauer's arrest. Bauer was arrested by the Secret Service despite being in the middle of a covert operation. Logan's irrational anger resulted in Marwan escaping, which enraged Jack and embarrassed Logan, who felt ashamed. In light of this crippling mistake, Logan's chief of staff, Mike Novick, suggested for him to bring in an advisor, who would make most of Logan's decisions, and Logan reluctantly agreed. Former President David Palmer accepted Logan's offer. With Marwan once again loose, a Chinese national and one of his associates, Lee Jong, was their only lead to him. Jong fled to the safety of the Chinese consulate. David Palmer called Consul Koo Yin and asked for his cooperation. Yin was willing to give up Jong, but his superiors would take two to three hours to order Jong's release from the consulate. Palmer realized that was too long (as Marwan had launched a nuclear missile towards a major American city) and he authorized Jack Bauer to take a team into the consulate and take Jong by force. The covert operation was successful, but Consul Yin was killed in friendly fire. After learning that the consul was killed, Logan was furious, claiming that he had enough problems without provoking a nuclear superpower behind his back. Logan irrationally accused Palmer and Novick of creating an alliance against him, despite Palmer's insistence that they had no other options. The Speaker of the House questioned Logan's leadership skills, feeling that Palmer was making most of the decisions. As the next in the line for the presidency, Ashton posed a threat to Logan; and Novick decided to handle the situation. Logan called a meeting with the Cabinet members designed to make Palmer looked foolish and Logan look strong. With sunrise imminent, Logan had a breakdown, claiming that the missile was going to hit its target. Logan angrily told Palmer that he failed his country before leaving. Fortunately, with Palmer's help, Bauer did manage to find the missile and stop it from hitting Los Angeles, its intended target. Once the situation was over, Logan cockily accepted all the credit for the success. However, the situation with the Chinese was still unfolding. Cheng Zhi and the Chinese government agreed to avoid a war if Logan handed over Bauer, whom they blamed for the consul's death. With no other choice, Logan agreed to Zhi's terms and would have Bauer transported to him. Logan's chief of staff, Walt Cummings, suggested that Bauer be killed, as he could give up sensitive National Security information. Logan indirectly authorized Cummings to go through with it. Palmer tried to appeal to Logan to stop Cummings, but Logan flatly refused, stating that Palmer had served his purpose, and it was time for him to leave. Palmer contacted Bauer and told him that a Secret Service agent was going to kill him. Bauer faked his death, with the help of his friends, Tony Almeida, Chloe O'Brian and Michelle Dessler. Jack then went into hiding after a final phone call with David Palmer.
Day 5[]
During the events of Day 5, eighteen months after Day 4, Logan was still president. As the day began, he prepared to sign an ambitious anti-terrorism treaty with Russian President Yuri Suvarov, which he planned to be the hallmark of his Presidency. However, the morning also began with David Palmer being assassinated. Logan was enraged because it could negatively impact the treaty, which he refused to postpone. Around this time, Tony Almeida, Michelle Dessler and Chloe O'Brian were targeted with car bombs, which ended up killing Michelle. This chain of events drove Jack Bauer out of hiding. In reality, Logan sanctioned all of this, and he only created the anti-terrorism treaty for personal interests. Logan planned to kill the Russian terrorists with the Sentox VX nerve gas that his administration secretly sold them. This would allow Logan to cancel the treaty and increase American influence in central Asia, resulting in lower oil costs for American citizens. Soon after, Russian terrorists seized a terminal at the Ontario, California Airport. The terrorists were part of a Russian separatist group called the Dawn Brigade, and they announced that they would kill the hostages unless the signing was canceled. Logan, again, refused to cancel the signing and went ahead with it anyway. Fortunately, the hostages were rescued, and Logan takes credit for the rescue operation. Walt Cummings soon comes to Logan and admits his complicity in Palmer's murder and the airport incident, and further confesses his involvement in an imminent terrorist attack involving the dispersal of nerve gas. Cummings claims that the attack will justify a stronger U.S. presence in Asia, and promote a greater acquisition of oil from the region. He also says that the American agent monitoring the attack has gone dark and is now beyond Cummings' reach. Logan is apparently appalled by Cummings' actions. Meanwhile, Bauer, who has emerged from hiding to investigate Palmer's assassination, discovers that Cummings knows more about the plot than what he let on to Logan. After convincing Secret Service agent Aaron Pierce to let him speak with Logan, Bauer confronts Cummings and forces him to confess. Logan promptly orders Cummings arrested. Unfortunately, when government forces move in on the location of the nerve gas, they find it missing and the American agent dead. The terrorists had apparently discovered Cummings' plan. Shortly after reinstating Bauer at CTU, Logan learns that Cummings has committed suicide. Meanwhile, the terrorists plan to release the nerve gas in a Los Angeles shopping mall. CTU head Lynn McGill urges Logan to allow the terrorists to succeed—potentially killing up to nine-hundred Americans—in the hopes of catching them and safeguarding the remaining canisters. Despite Audrey Raines' insistence that such a decision would be immoral, Logan agrees to McGill's plan. However, due to Bauer's last-minute intervention, the attack only kills eleven people. Immediately thereafter, separatist leader Vladimir Bierko gives an ultimatum to Logan, demanding President Suvarov's motorcade route or else face the release of the remaining nerve gas. Ultimately, Logan caves to their demands. Unbeknownst to Logan, Martha joins Suvarov's motorcade in a successful attempt to have the route changed. After CTU thwarts the planned attack, Logan's vice president, Hal Gardner, suggests that he declare martial law until the end of the crisis. Logan does so, much to the dismay of Martha and Novick. It is revealed that Logan has collaborated with former CTU agent Christopher Henderson in orchestrating the day's attacks. When CTU finally defeats the terrorists, Logan turns his full attention to eliminating all evidence of his crimes, ordering Henderson to stop Bauer and Wayne Palmer from retrieving an audio tape incriminating him in David Palmer's assassination. Logan has Bauer framed for the murder and issues an executive warrant for his arrest. When questioned, Logan claims to have evidence which he will disclose after Bauer is in custody. Once Jack retrieves the tape, he heads to Van Nuys Airport to hand it off to Secretary of Defense James Heller, with the intent to bring down Logan. Once Heller is in possession of the recording, he attempts to cut a deal with Logan, requesting he step down quietly, and in return the recording will never see the light of day. Logan prepares to sign his resignation with Gardner being his witness before Henderson reveals he has retrieved the recording from Heller's men and Jack. Logan then asks Heller to tender his resignation. Later, Logan is told by one of his co-conspirators, Graem, that Martha must be silenced. Logan confesses to Martha his culpability in Palmer's death and implores her to remain quiet for the good of the country. Logan tries one final time to control the situation, when Bauer hijacks a 727 plane being co-piloted by the man who has the recording. Graem fakes a distress signal from the plane, giving Logan the pretext to shoot it down. When the plane makes an emergency landing, Novick talks Logan out of shooting it down. Jack escapes with the tape. Logan and Graem agree that the president must commit suicide, reasoning that his trial would do irreparable damage to the country. After apologizing to Martha, Logan prepares to shoot himself. Before he can, Logan receives a call from Miles Papazian, telling him that he will prevent the U.S. Attorney General from hearing the tape. Once he learns that Papazian has erased the tape, he cancels Bauer's arrest warrant. Logan meets with Aaron Pierce, whom he had taken prisoner before he could meet with Martha several hours earlier. Pierce refuses any deal with Logan, and Logan orders Adams to kill Pierce, although Pierce subsequently escaped with help from Martha and Mike Novick. Martha stalls her husband by sleeping with him, allowing Bauer to sneak aboard Marine One. Once he is aboard, the president is kidnapped and interrogated by Bauer. Jack is unable to extract a confession from Logan, and is arrested by authorities. However, unbeknownst to Logan, Jack secretly placed a microtransmitter which later records him confessing his deeds to Martha. Logan is consequently arrested by U.S. Marshals during his eulogy of David Palmer and is led away while Martha and Novick look on. Karen Hayes speculates that Logan may be granted clemency for his actions in exchange for his immediate resignation in order to protect the country from the embarrassment of a trial. Hal Gardner was then expected to be sworn in as the new president. It was revealed during Day 6 that Logan resigned from office after pleading guilty to obstructing justice and was placed under house arrest. His role in Palmer's assassination and the events of Day 5 were not widely publicized for years to come.
Day 6[]
Because he was removed from office and his plans were foiled, Charles Logan failed to cancel the Russian anti-terrorism treaty, the Russians continued to share their technology with the United States. This inadvertently led to five suitcase nukes being sent to the United States for decommissioning on Day 6, two years later. These nukes later fell into the possession of terrorists. Wayne Palmer, the brother of David Palmer, had assumed office as the President and Logan was living under house-arrest in a secret location. Logan had apparently found religion as he read from the Bible daily and had crucifixes hanging up in his home. Logan wanted to prove to Martha that he was a changed man in hopes that she would take him back. He called Jack Bauer and told him that he could help him find Dmitri Gredenko, a terrorist who was plotting against the U.S. and was planning to detonate five suitcase nuclear devices. Logan was granted temporary release by Wayne Palmer, where he travelled to the Russian Consulate and confronted the Consul, Anatoly Markov. Logan was right, and Markov was in contact with Gredenko, although was reluctant to admit it and would not break when Jack interrogated him. This led him to travel to the residence of his ex-wife, Martha, whom he claimed was good friends with Anya Suvarov, the First Lady of Russia. Martha had still not forgiven him for his involvement in the conspiracies of Day 5, and subsequently stabbed him in the shoulder, almost killing him. After this, he realized Martha would never forgive him for the events of Day 5, and began to regress to his old self again.
Day 8[]
After Logan survived Martha's attack, he was pardoned by President Noah Daniels because of his help in stopping Gredenko. Logan was released from house arrest. Several years later, during Day 8, he was reluctantly called in by President Allison Taylor, by recommendation of her chief of staff, Ethan Kanin. His relationship with the Russian Government could ultimately save the peace treaty between Russia, the U.S.A. and the Islamic Republic of Kamistan. Later, Jack Bauer learns of Logan's involvement in the government cover-up of Russian involvement in the death of the Kamistani President Hassan when he checks the recent calls of the assassin of Renee Walker. In the following hours, Logan attempts to prevent information about Russian involvement in Hassan's death being released, in order to protect himself and to prevent it undermining the treaty. As in his final hours as President, Logan is willing to go to any lengths to protect himself, including sanctioning murder, torture and press censorship. Logan persuades Taylor to have CTU mole Dana Walsh quietly tortured for the location of the evidence by men hired by him rather than grant her a pardon, and arrest journalist Meredith Reed to prevent her publishing the evidence given to her by Bauer. He also has Taylor place his aide Jason Pillar in charge of the hunt to find Jack Bauer, allowing Pillar to pass on information to Russian agents who will then kill Bauer. Numerous attempts to kill Bauer prove unsuccessful, however, increasing the pressure on Logan. In the meantime, Logan's private escort is attacked by Bauer, who kidnaps him and takes him underground. Bauer threatens to kill Logan unless he gives up the names of those behind the day's events: Logan names Novakovich, the Russian foreign minister. Unbeknown to Logan, Bauer also places a microtransmitter on him; Bauer listens in as Logan incriminates himself further in a conversation with Russian President Yuri Suvarov. Bauer leaves him there unconscious, only fifteen minutes before Novakovich is found dead. Logan is in a hospital bed when the episode ends. Bauer later finds Logan again, intending to use him to lure Suvarov into a trap so Bauer can assassinate him, although he then abandons the plan. When Bauer is eventually captured, Logan makes arrangements for him to be murdered, taking President Taylor's silence as tacit approval. However, at the last moment she refuses to sign the peace treaty and rescinds the order for Bauer's death. Realizing that his plans to kill Jack Bauer and return to political power have failed, Logan murders his right-hand man Jason Pillar and then shoots himself in the head. However, he survives. EMTs responding to the scene believe that he will suffer permanent brain damage.
Personality[]
Charles Logan is cowardly, self-serving, egotistical and treacherous. In addition to the crimes he committed against his country, he physically and psychologically abused his wife, gaslighting her into believing she was insane to cover up his criminal activity. TV Tropes wrote: "Logan appears ineffectual, cowardly and actually pretty funny in his incompetence. The truth is that he's an incredibly dangerous man." Series star Kiefer Sutherland also noted that people like Logan who are underestimated can become very dangerous because it gives them a sort of cover. President Charles Logan has been described as an evil counterpart to President David Palmer, with Christopher Henderson serving as an evil counterpart to Jack Bauer. Logan possesses several poor characteristics that diminish his capacity to serve as president. In contrast to Palmer, Logan is seemingly incapable of making hard decisions independently, relying on the recommendations of his advisors. If none are available, Logan tries to withdraw himself from the situation entirely. Additionally, his resolve is weak, as he rarely stands behind the decisions he makes. Furthermore, he boasts of his achievements after a crisis is over, even if his claims do not reflect the reality of the situation. Charles Logan is remarkably complex character. Unlike other 24 villains such as Phillip Bauer, Logan is not a sociopath. Despite his many severe character flaws, Logan genuinely believed he was doing the right thing during the fifth season. Despite his abusive behavior towards his wife, Martha, Logan also clearly loved her greatly. He was extremely saddened when Martha told him that his terrorist activities broke her heart, and she regretted marrying him. After being sentenced to house arrest for his crimes, Logan became a devout Christian and spent most of his time reading the Bible and praying. During this time, Logan also wore simple clothes and spent most of his time working on the ranch he owned. In a character trait that is unique to 24 villains, Logan did attempt to change his ways during the events of Season 6. This has been criticized by some viewers, but it is clear that Logan reverted back to his old ways after he realized that Martha would never forgive him. Since gaining Martha's forgiveness was his primary motivation to be a better person, he simply gave up after Martha tried to kill him. Logan's actions in Season 8 showed that he had not only reverted to his evil ways, but actually became worse. Unlike prior seasons, his plans in Season 8 were only to benefit himself and no one else. The complexity to Logan's actions is unusual for 24 villains and is likely the result of development that actors Gregory Itzin and Jean Smart, came up with, according to the commentary for the show's fifth season DVD. Logan was abused by his father as a child, which he references twice in the Season 5 finale, first when Logan points out to Jack that he is stronger than Walt Cummings at resisting torture and, second when he warns Martha that she doesn't know what pain is. Itzin also stated that Logan's son had died in his twenties several years prior to Season 5, which was presumably the cause of Martha's mental breakdown. Throughout Season 5, Logan carried a small chain in his pocket which had been a gift from his late son, though most shots that show the chain (such as when his pockets are emptied when Jack interrogates him) were cut for time. Itzin commented that David Palmer was also a friend to Logan's son and visited him extensively. With this backstory, one can easily surmise that Logan is desperate for approval and validation from the public at large and viewed anyone who did not like him as an enemy. This is also a trait that was notoriously suffered by Richard Nixon, one of Logan's inspirations. There are some subtle hints that he was extremely jealous of the respect and admiration that David Palmer received during their interactions in Season 4. Many of Logan's ultimately destructive actions are to achieve great things to receive the love he craves to boost his low self-esteem.
Trivia[]
- Charles Logan is a fan favorite and is routinely polled as one of the best villains on not just 24, but television in general. Charles Logan was ranked number 4 on Den of Geek's "The 10 Best 24 Villains", number 2 on The Richest's "10 Most Memorable Villains from 24", number 2 on Screen Rant's "The 10 Greatest Villains On 24" and number 1 on The Miami Herald's "The top 10 villains of ‘24’ we love to hate". Logan was also ranked at number 10 on Collider's list of "The 10 Best Characters of '24', Ranked by Likability", and number 20 on Entertainment Weekly's list of "The 24 Best Characters on 24". Collider wrote: "His emergence as a truly weaselly and conniving villain makes him one of the most hateable characters in 24... but he's a love-to-hate sort of character, and improved the show immensely through his presence, being played to slimy perfection by the late Gregory Itzin." Entertainment Weekly wrote: "All respect to Victor Drazen, the cougar, and all the other random bad guys throughout the show’s run, but Charles Logan has to go down as the greatest villain in 24 history." Gregory Itzin's performance was also praised. Screen Rant wrote: "Gregory Itzin's portrayal of Logan is masterful, bringing nuance and depth to a character that could have easily been one-dimensional." The Richest wrote: "Logan and Jack were constantly at odds, even when it appeared Logan was one of the good guys."
- Charles Logan can be considered to be the main antagonist of 24 (alongside Phillip Bauer, who coordinated Logan's actions during the nerve gas conspiracy). Logan and Phillip's actions affected Jack for the rest of his life, causing the events of the rest of the series. Their actions directly and indirectly resulted in nerve gas being used on American citizens, Jack being captured and tortured by the Chinese for two years, a nuclear weapon being detonated on American soil, Tony Almeida's involvement with the Prion Cabal in Season 7, Jack Bauer's murder of Mikhail Novakovich during the events of Season 8, and Jack's arrest by the Russians during 24: Live Another Day.
- Because Logan was a major antagonist in Season 4, the main antagonist of Season 5 and the secondary antagonist of Season 8, he was directly or indirectly involved with several of the show's main antagonists, such as Phillip Bauer, Alan Wilson and Yuri Suvarov, as well as major antagonists such as Christopher Henderson, Walt Cummings and Vladimir Bierko.
- Logan is also generally considered Jack's arch-nemesis (aside from Nina Myers, who killed his wife, Teri, and Cheng Zhi, who tortured him in China and killed Audrey). Logan ordered Jack's arrest on two separate occasions (in seasons 4 and 5), attempted to hand him over to the Chinese in season 4 and attempted to have him killed in both season 5 and 8. Logan also killed two of Jack's closest friends, Michelle Dessler and David Palmer. Michelle's death drove Tony Almeida to become a vengeful terrorist, and Logan's actions led to Jack being tortured in China for two years.
- Charles Logan's appearance, mannerisms and speech are based largely on Richard Nixon, the 37th President of the United States. Both Logan and Nixon were complicit in a major scandal and left office without completing their terms. However, it should be noted that, unlike Logan, Nixon was not a terrorist.
- Gregory Itzin, the actor who portrayed Charles Logan, died in 2022 of a heart attack.
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