Agent Jeffries is a minor antagonist and an anti-hero in the film Mask of Death. He is the corrupt/psychotic member of the F.B.I and the one who forces Detective McKenna to undertake plastic surgery in order to impersonate the deceased Lyle Mason, American muscle for the Russian mafia, in an effort to recover a microchip that has fallen into the hands of gangster Frank Dalilo.
He was portrayed by Billy Dee Williams, who originally played Harvey Dent in the 1989 Batman film.
Biography[]
Agent Jeffries first appears as an FBI agent trying to recover the microchip from Dalilo and Lyle Mason by having an agent put a bug on Frank's boat. Unfortunately, Mason, who is always cautious, discovers the bug with help from his associate, interfering with the entire operation. Mason, believing this to be a setup and wanting the chip so badly, escapes with Dalilo while Jeffries and the F.B.I are in pursuit.
During the chase, Detective McKenna, his wife, Detective Cassandra Turner, and Joey were on the island preparing for a boat ride. However, Mason took McKenna's wife, Turner, and Joey hostage in order to get the F.B.I off his back. McKenna is able to save Turner, however, Joey died and his wife was taken hostage. McKenna tries to save his wife only to get shot in the face by Mason and Mason dies in a car crash caused by McKenna's wife. However, Frank is able to escape and is forced to leave behind the money that Mason was going to pay him with for the microchip.
Jeffries, after seeing how Mason's lawyer though McKenna was Mason in the hospital, asks McKenna to undertake plastic surgery in order to impersonate Lyle Mason. Originally, Jeffries intended to make a deal with Mason in an attempt to recover the chip, however, he decided to pick McKenna instead. Jeffries' acts are considered to be questionable after forbidding Turner from seeing her partner and lying to the entire police department that McKenna died. Jeffries ordered McKenna to be ruthless as he was impersonating Mason and even made him attack innocent civilians without showing remorse. When McKenna was escaping from the hospital as Mason and accidentally knocked over a patient holding onto to crutches, Jeffries ordered McKenna not to help him up and to leave him behind.
While impersonating Mason, McKenna starts to have doubts after killing a fellow police officer and has a talk with Jeffries about it fearing that he might be turning into Mason. Jeffries, still wanting to do whatever it takes to get the chip back, reassures McKenna that he is on the right side. To Jeffries, the ends must always justify the means. McKenna wants his old life back such as having his face returned to him and Lyle Mason's corpse not being in the same grave as his wife. Jeffries then promises him that.
However, after the events where McKenna kills Frank, Danielle, and the rest of Frank's associates, Jeffries still refuses to keep his word since Jeffries was outraged that McKenna destroyed the chip in the process. Knowing that there is nothing that the law can do, Jeffries laughs at McKenna and leaves with the rest of the F.B.I while McKenna finds a way to get his face back.
Trivia[]
- He is very similar to Amanda Waller from Arrow in which he always cares more about the bigger picture. Although he is an F.B.I agent, is very brutal to the criminals and is willing to protect the United States, no matter what the cost such as a police officer being killed in the line of duty. Like Waller, Jeffries has no honor because he promised McKenna to take care of his partner Cassandra, however, he didn't keep his word when Cassandra was assaulted by one of Frank's men.
- He is very similar to Ulysses Feral from Swat Kats: The Radical Squadron in which he is arrogant, very rude to his men and gets annoyed very easily. However unlike Feral, Jeffries has no honor and believes that people must be sacrificed for the United States. Like Feral, Jeffries prefers using choppers during emergencies and believes being on the field to supervise his own activities.
- He is played by Billy Dee Williams, who originally played Harvey Dent in Batman 1989 and voiced Harvey Dent's villainous alter ego in The Lego Batman Movie.