| “ | Don't you know when to quit, Logan? We'd have made a great team. | „ |
| ~ Erich Rhoemer before his showdown with Gabriel Logan. |
Erich Rhoemer is the main antagonist of the 1999 stealth-action video game Syphon Filter.
He is a German-born international terrorist who leads the Black Baton, a terrorist organization responsible for staging deadly biological outbreaks across the globe. A major key player involved in the conspiracy concerning a virulent bioweapon, Rhoemer and his terrorist network wage an unrelenting and bloody campaign for the development and control of Syphon Filter, a devastating virus that can be programmed to target and eliminate entire ethnic groups. He is the archenemy of Gabriel Logan, who seeks to stop Rhoemer from unleashing the Syphon Filter virus on the United States.
He was voiced by the late Doug Boyd.
Biography[]
Little is known about Rhoemer's life prior to becoming a internationally wanted terrorist. A dossier from the first game's manual established that Rhoemer was born in Leipzig, Germany, in the year 1964. No records of his activities were logged prior to the year 1994, but it was likely around that time during the 90's that Rhoemer founded the Black Baton and began his terrorist operations. Some of his known acts prior to the events of the game include a hijacking of an Gulf Airlines airplane in Istanbul in 1995, and a bombing of a Comms Park building in London in 1997.
In 1999, Rhoemer and members of the Black Baton sought to create a biological weapon that can be programmed to target specific groups of people. To this end, Rhoemer pursued a business partnership with Pharcom, a biotechnology company founded by Jonathan Phagan, to secure assets and funding for the development of the virus. In addition, the Black Baton kidnapped scientists from around the world and forced them to conduct viral research in a laboratory at a plantation in Costa Rica. Rhoemer's actions caught the attention of the Agency, who sent agents Gabriel Logan and Lian Xing to infiltrate the plantation and capture Rhoemer.
During the operation, Rhoemer discovered that one of his associates, Ellis, was an undercover agent who was relaying information to the Agency. With the operation compromised, Rhoemer ordered his adjutant, Anton Girdeux, to destroy all evidence of their activities using his flamethrower. He then ordered his assassin, Mara Armaov, to execute Ellis. Looking to evade capture, Rhoemer boarded a cargo plane filled with plant extracts containing viral samples from the research, but discovered that Logan had given chase and also boarded the plane. In the ensuing gunfight, Rhoemer took multiple shotgun rounds and was pushed out of the cargo plane midair. However, having been equipped with state-of-the-art body armor and a parachute, Rhoemer survived the duel and managed to escape.
Following the incident in Costa Rica, Rhoemer later re-emerged in the United States to launch an all-out assault on Washington D.C. As battles raged in the nation's capital between the Black Baton and the CBDC, Rhoemer scattered viral Syphon Filter bombs around the city to be used against the general population, but were defused in time thanks to the efforts of Logan and the CBDC. Once again being pursued by Logan, Rhoemer fled to the city's underground subway system where he planted two more viral bombs, one of which was, in fact, a powerful explosive device in disguise. Upon Logan's arrival to defuse it, the bomb detonated, the resulting explosion destroying and setting fire to a significant portion of the subway. Yet somehow, Logan survived the blast and continued his pursuit on Rhoemer.
With his grip on the capital weakening, Rhoemer had Mara deal with Logan in the subway in an effort to stymie his pursuit. After planting the last viral bombs at Washington Park, he had Girdeux and what remained of his forces in the capital defend the bombs while he fled the country. Ultimately, his terrorist plot in Washington ended in failure, with the remaining viral bombs defused, Mara wounded and captured (although she later managed to escape) and Girdeux killed in a duel with Logan at Freedom Memorial. This setback prompted a change in plans, as Rhoemer later betrayed Phagan and had him captured and extracted to his stronghold in Uzhhorod, Ukraine, where he and other captives were used as test subjects for the Syphon Filter virus.
After learning of Rhoemer's whereabouts following the attack at Washington, Logan was dispatched to a base in Kazakhstan where Rhoemer was stockpiling missiles. During the mission, however, Rhoemer managed to locate and kidnap Lian, then sortied one of his choppers to eliminate Logan. After the base was destroyed, Rhoemer took Lian to his catacombs in Ukraine and infected her with the Syphon Filter virus. Later, after interrogating and gathering needed intel from Phagan, Rhoemer and elite regiments of the Black Baton prepared to leave Ukraine in search of Pharcom's warehouses in Kazakhstan. Meanwhile, Logan had infiltrated Rhoemer's stronghold and its catacombs, where he rescued Lian with the help of Phagan. Phagan himself was later killed by Mara, who then switched sides and aided Logan and Lian in their mission to eliminate Rhoemer.
Back in Kazakhstan, a fierce battle unfolded between Rhoemer's men and Pharcom's paramilitary guards over the control of the latter's warehouses. Penetrating deep into Pharcom's defenses, Rhoemer uncovered an underground missile silo containing a nuclear warhead. Refitting the missile with the Syphon Filter virus, Rhoemer planned to launch the missile towards an unspecified target. At that moment, it was revealed that Rhoemer was secretly colluding in part with the Agency, who sought possession of Syphon Filter for their own heinous goals. But after Rhoemer's betrayal, the Agency's director, Thomas Markinson, pursued Rhoemer to stop the terrorist from launching the missile.
After confirming Rhoemer's involvement with the Agency to Logan, Rhoemer appeared and killed Markinson in front of Logan. Before leaving, Rhoemer boasted to Logan that both him and Markinson were too late to stop the missile from launching. Although unable to stop the launch, Logan managed to salvage the missile's self-destruct codes prior to launch, which he activated at the silo's command center after battling through Rhoemer's guards. With the missile destroyed and the threat of World War III averted, a furious Rhoemer ambushed Logan with a grenade launcher. In their final showdown, Logan defeated Rhoemer after lobbing a gas grenade at his adversary. Engulfed in poisonous gas, Rhoemer yelled Logan's name several times before choking to death, bringing his global campaign of terror to a definitive end.
Quotes[]
| “ | Rhoemer: They are coming! Go, torch it! Burn it all! Girdeux: But what about the serum? Rhoemer: Leave nothing! |
„ |
| ~ Rhoemer ordering the destruction of the plantation before Logan's arrival. |
| “ | Rhoemer: How much information was smuggled back to your agency? Ellis: I'm not telling you anything. You'll have to kill me. Rhoemer: Very well. Now I will show you how we deal with informants. [to Mara] Kill him. Mara: With pleasure. |
„ |
| ~ Rhoemer before having Ellis executed. |
| “ | Rhoemer: [to his henchmen after capturing Lian] Dump her body! Logan: [attempting to contact Lian] Lian!? Rhoemer: Rip out all of these controls! Logan: LIAN! Rhoemer: [to Logan over Lian's comm] Logan, I'm afraid she won't be giving you a ride. Logan: Rhoemer! Rhoemer: But don't worry. I was kind enough to send one of my choppers. |
„ |
| ~ Rhoemer to Logan after kidnapping Lian and sending a chopper to kill him. |
| “ | Rhoemer: [after killing Markinson] The missile was my idea. Markinson came here to stop it, but he was too late. As are you! Logan: Who's the target, Rhoemer? Rhoemer: Does it matter? |
„ |
| ~ Rhoemer revealing to Logan that the missile's launch sequence has begun, as well as not caring where the missile ended up hitting. |
| “ | How would it feel to watch your partner die a slow and horrible death? | „ |
| ~ Rhoemer taunting Logan about Lian's exposure to Syphon Filter during their final duel. |
| “ | Logan! | „ |
| ~ Rhoemer's last word before his demise. |
External Links[]
- Erich Rhoemer on the Syphon Filter Wiki
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 Villains
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The Consortium The Agency Black Baton Others | ||