Commander Shepard (M)

Commander Shepard, also known as John, is the main protagonist from the Mass Effect series.
== Charactah Account ==
Shepard is a human Systems Alliance Marine and graduate of the N7 special forces program. In the first game, Shepard is selected to be the first human Spectre, an elite agent of the Council. After stumbling upon a Prothean beacon and Saren's plans, Shepard sets out on a quest to stop Saren and save the galaxy from his attempts to bring back the Reapers.
In the second game, Shepard is killed in a surprise attack by the Collectors. But since they're too valuable to let stay dead, Shepard is resurrected by Cerberus, a staunchly pro-human group with an, at best, checkered history with the rest of the galaxy. After forming an uneasy alliance with the extremist group, Shepard begins building a team for a suicide mission to stop the Collectors and their mass-human abductions.
In the third game, the Reapers began their final assault on the galaxy, and it's up to Shepard to rally the disparate peoples of the galaxy together in their Darkest Hour to repel the threat of extinction.
== Appearance ==
=== Comics ===
* Mass Effect: Conviction
* Mass Effect: Foundation
* Mass Effect: Homeworlds
* Mass Effect: Redemption
=== Video Games ===
* Mass Effect
* Mass Effect 2
* Mass Effect 3
== Trivia ==
* Commander Shepard is named after Alan Bartlett Shepard, Jr., the second person and the first American in space (May 5, 1961). He later commanded the Apollo 14 mission in 1971 and became the fifth person to walk on the Moon.
* Shepard's birthday (April 11) is the same day that Apollo 13 (an American attempted manned moon landing mission that almost ended in disaster) was launched (April 11, 1970).
* In the advertising for Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2, only a male Commander Shepard was depicted. For Mass Effect 3, BioWare created a trailer featuring a female Commander Shepard for the first time. In addition, the box-art for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of Mass Effect 3 was reversible, featuring a male Shepard on one side and a female Shepard on the other. Presenting Shepard uniformly as male was intentional, as the original trilogy was designed to be cinematic and movie-like in nature. Having a singular, titular character that people would recognize spurred this decision.
* The default male face for Shepard is based on that of Dutch model Mark Vanderloo.
* Shepard seems to speak with a hint of Canadian dialect. This may be because Mark Meer and Jennifer Hale, the voices of the male and female Shepard, respectively, are Canadian.
* Both of the actors who voice Shepard have extensive voice work in BioWare's library of games.
** In addition to providing the voice for Male Shepard, Mark Meer also provides the voices for all of the vorcha and hanar characters, as well as Niftu Cal and Prazza in the Mass Effect series. Previously, Meer provided the voices of Zhong and The Watcher in Jade Empire. Meer also voices several characters in the Dragon Age series: Athras, Jethann, the Lothering Merchant, The First, and Tug.
** The female Shepard is played by prolific voice actress Jennifer Hale, who also voices May O'Connell in Mass Effect. Previously, Hale voiced Bastila Shan in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and would later provide the voice for Satele Shan and the Female Republic Trooper in Star Wars: The Old Republicand Krem in Dragon Age: Inquisition.
* When Shepard is inducted as a Spectre, according to Admiral Hackett, Shepard is, technically, still part of the Alliance military (though Captain Anderson claims otherwise). Therefore, Shepard should still be referred to as a Commander, even though Shepard is outside of the Alliance military's chain of command and answers directly to the Council.
** Military ranks can, in some situations, be deferred in favor of civilian ranks. Considering the nature and authority of Spectres, it is likely that this is considered to supersede any military rank.
* The default names of both the male and female Shepard are the names for an unidentified male (John Doe) and female (Jane Doe) respectively.
* It would appear that Shepard has a gift for being a leader. Miranda Lawson draws attention to this, claiming that Shepard has "that fire that makes someone willing to follow you into hell itself". This is similar to the protagonist (Revan) of BioWare's Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic, who is also said to possess such a trait.
* To keep the exact nature of Shepard's return quiet in Mass Effect 2, it is often stated that the Commander almost died, which is not really truthful. The male Shepard would later joke with Jack that he is "technically undead".
* When stopped by a C-Sec officer on their first return to the Citadel in Mass Effect 2, one of the dialogue options has Shepard say that they were "only mostly dead." This may be a reference to Miracle Max's line from The Princess Bride.
* Commander Shepard appears in another Electronic Arts game, MySims SkyHeroes, as a pilot.
* Renegade facial scarring in Mass Effect 2 is reminiscent of the effects of dark side corruption in BioWare's Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, as morally questionable actions adversely affect the protagonist's appearance in both games.
* One early idea for Mass Effect 3 had Shepard self-augmenting with Reaper technology, deepening the rift between the Commander and Ashley / Kaidan.
* BioWare held a contest prior to the release of Mass Effect 3 to allow fans to choose a new default face for female Commander Shepard.
* As of March, 2013, 82% of Mass Effect players play a male Commander Shepard (according to Bioware's statistics).
** According to updated statistics sourced from Mass Effect Legendary Edition gameplay as of July 27, 2021:
*** 32% played a female Shepard while 68% played a male Shepard.
*** 52% are Earthborn, 27% are Spacers, and 21% are Colonists.
*** 44% have the Survivor psychological profile, 43% are War Heroes, and only 13% are Ruthless.
* The mocap for Shepard dancing was performed by Josh Dean, who also voiced Richard L. Jenkins.
* Commander Shepard is briefly referenced in background chatter in the first episode of the Halo TV series: "Commander Shepherd, you are requested at the Skillian Response Center." 343 Industries' Kiki Wolfkill confirmed it as a deliberate Easter egg.
== Gallery ==
File:Commander Shepard (M) Render 01.png
File:Commander Shepard (M) Render 02.png
File:Commander Shepard (M) Render 03.png
File:Commander Shepard (M) Render 04.png
File:Commander Shepard (M) Render 05.png
File:Commander Shepard (M) 01.png
File:Commander Shepard (M) 02.png
File:Commander Shepard (M) 03.png
== External Links ==
* Commander Shepard at Mass Effect Wiki
Category:Characters
Category:Males
Category:Mass Effect