Liam Dunbar

**Notice:** This **article** uses content directly taken from the Liam Dunbar **article** at the Teen Wolf Wiki, and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License.

## Liam Dunbar

* Human
* Werewolf

## Biographical Information

### Occupation

* Member of the McCall Pack (Currently)
* High School Student (Graduated)

### Species

* Human (Originally)
* Werewolf (Currently)

## Family Information

### Family Members

* Mr. Dunbar (Father)
* Dr. Geyer (Step Father)
* Mrs. Geyer (Mother)
* Selena Mikaelson (Ex-Girlfriend)
* Athena Mikaelson (Daughter)

## Physical Appearance

### Eye Color

* Blue (Human)
* Glowing Yellow (Werewolf)

## Appearance

### Played By

* Dylan Sprayberry

**Liam Dunbar** is a former supporting character and a current main character in the fourth, fifth, and sixth seasons of MTV's *Teen Wolf*. Though Liam originally attended Devenford Preparatory Academy, he was expelled at the end of his first semester of freshman year, which required him to transfer to Beacon Hills High School, where he went on to join the lacrosse team. It was through lacrosse that Liam met Scott McCall and Stiles Stilinski, as Stiles was suspicious that Liam was supernatural due to his phenomenal lacrosse skills, a suspicion that was ultimately incorrect. However, they did not truly start interacting regularly until *Muted*, when the Scott saved his life after a Wendigo named Sean Walcott threw him off of the roof of the hospital; unfortunately, in order to do so, Scott had to give Liam the Bite, which led to Liam successfully surviving the process and becoming Scott's first made Beta Werewolf.

The transformation initially terrified Liam due to fear that his parents would find out and look at him like he was a monster, but Scott eventually convinced him that being a supernatural "monster" did not mean he was compelled to do monstrous acts, and that they could choose to be good just as any human can. Liam later proved to be an exceptionally strong Werewolf despite being a newly-bitten Beta, but the anger that made him so much stronger than Werewolves his age also made it much harder for him to control his transformations. Even still, after over half a year of practice and training, Liam has become a very proficient Werewolf, though he still has difficulty controlling himself on full moons, especially during supermoons.

After Season 4 and throughout Season 5, Liam grew closer to all of the members of his new pack, especially Scott, Stiles, and Hope Mikaelson, but he was initially afraid to confess his new supernatural identity to his human best friend Mason Hewitt. His long time friend and later girlfriend, Selena Parker turned out to be a witch so it was easy for him to be the real him. However, Liam eventually conquered this fear after he was forced to shift in front of him, and he was relieved when Mason accepted his confession with excitement and joy rather than the fear and revulsion he was expecting. The two then helped the McCall Pack deal with the Dread Doctors and their newly created Chimeras. Unbeknownst to anyone, Theo Raeken, a Chimera masquerading as a true Werewolf who claimed to have returned to Beacon Hills after a long absence to join Scott's pack, was actually manipulating all of the members to turn against Scott, Liam included.

When Liam's then-failed-Chimera girlfriend Selena was near death due to a mercury overdose and Scott refused to give her the Bite out of fear of killing her, Theo used the anger Liam already felt and the effects of the impending supermoon to convince him to kill Scott so that he could become an Alpha and give Selena the Bite himself; Liam was too overwhelmed with anger and grief to realize that Theo needed Liam, as the True Alpha Scott's only bitten Beta, to kill Scott and steal his powers so that Theo could then kill Liam and take the powers for himself. Though Liam's attempt to kill Scott failed, the two were estranged for some time before they finally reconciled after both realized the extent to which Theo had manipulated everyone. Ever since this point, Liam's relationships with Scott and the pack at large are stronger than ever, and they were able to defeat the Dread Doctors, Sebastien Valet/the Beast of Gevaudan, and Theo himself as a team.

In Season 6, Liam became even more involved in the supernatural world, as his Alpha and close friend Scott would soon be leaving for college, forcing Liam to step up in preparation to take over the leadership of the pack in Scott's absence. Despite his insecurity, he learned a lot about what it takes to be an Alpha and successfully defeated a Hellhound in one-on-one combat, all while suffering from the effects of the Anuk-ite's fear-inducement powers. He has since become an essential member of the pack as he prepares for his own graduation from high school.

**Liam** is a member of the **Dunbar Family** and **McCall Pack**.

## Early Life

Little is known about Liam's very early life, including the names of his biological parents. However, it is known that Liam was raised by his mother and step-father, a Harvard-educated doctor at Beacon Hills Memorial Hospital named Dr. Geyer, and he battled significant anger issues throughout his childhood. *(*According to Liam, his step-father told him that children deal with anger in one of two ways: by hurting themselves, or by hurting someone else. Liam typically dealt with his anger by hitting things, thereby hurting himself, but also occasionally took his anger out on others by getting into physical fights. However, when he started his freshman year at Devenford Prep, his lacrosse coach benched him for getting too many red cards, and Liam was so overwhelmed with rage that he destroyed his coach's car with a crow bar and carved "THIS IS YOUR FAULT" across the side.

This reaction got him expelled from school and sent to a psychologist for an evaluation. The psychologist diagnosed Liam with intermittent explosive disorder, otherwise known as I.E.D., and prescribed him Risperdal, also known as Risperidone, to manage the symptoms. However, the medication caused Liam to be so tired that he couldn't play lacrosse, which was one of his few healthy outlets for his anger, and he eventually quit taking the medication completely. Afterward, Liam enrolled at Beacon Hills High School for his second semester of freshman year, just in time for lacrosse try-outs.

When Liam was in sixth grade, he got into a fist-fight in the hallway of his school with another male student. Hayden Romero had the misfortune of walking into the hall at the wrong time and accidentally got punched in the face by Liam, who broke her nose in the process. Furious at Liam, Hayden punched him in the face and broke *his* nose to get back at them. Unfortunately for both of them, this fight occurred on school picture day, and both Hayden and Liam had to have their picture taken with black eyes and taped-up noses, causing the two to develop a rivalry that lasted until their sophomore year of high school. Liam also seemingly had a rivalry with Brett Talbot, a fellow lacrosse player at Devenford Prep, that almost bordered on bullying, but the two repaired their friendship when Liam transferred to Beacon Hills High School and became a Werewolf.

## Personality

When Liam was first introduced, he appeared to be outgoing and overconfident teenage boy, but it was quickly revealed that his character was much more complicated and nuanced than he appeared at first glance. After the initial shock of his transformation into a Werewolf, Liam demonstrated that he is also a very supportive and loyal friend to those who he truly cares about, such as his best friend Mason, his girlfriend Selena, his Alpha and good friend Scott, and the rest of his pack. He's also shown that he is incredibly brave and quite intelligent despite being considered to be more brawny than brainy.

However, despite all of these good qualities, he does have a few more negative traits, mainly his difficulty controlling his anger. Liam was diagnosed with intermittent explosive disorder as a freshman, which causes him to be incredibly impulsive (which can lead to irrationality and poor judgment), as well as possessing a quick temper that causes him to be eager for a fight when angered. Though his transformation into a Werewolf amplified this to an extent, as lycanthropy can cause anger issues in those who have been transformed by the Bite or a scratch, Liam's inclusion in the McCall Pack and the good influence of his close friends has helped him get better at controlling his temper and staying in control of both his human and werewolf sides.

Despite this general improvement in Liam's anger and personality in general, he is still prone to bouts of irrationality and violence in certain circumstances, such as the most recent supermoon, when the effect of the moonrise combined with his anger toward Scott and fear of Hayden's impending death made it easy for Theo to manipulate him into killing Scott to the point that he actually believed that he *wanted* to do so at the time. Afterward, however, Liam was so horrified by his behavior that he has dedicated himself to making up for it, and has demonstrated a much better sense of control over his emotions ever since, due in part to his reconciled relationship with Scott and his romantic relationship with Hayden.

By Season 6, Liam is almost to his senior year of high school, and, faced with a large portion of his friends soon leaving for college (including his close friend and Alpha Scott McCall), Liam matured a great deal and took on more responsibility with both the McCall Pack and the lacrosse team, ultimately becoming team captain of the latter and being groomed to lead the younger pack members in Scott's absence. He soon proved himself capable of quickly coming up with plans, standing up for his loved ones and the town at large even in the face of fear and adversity, and refusing to give up, even when the outlook is grim. In many ways, he has modeled himself after his Alpha and in the process, he lost many of his more immature traits, though his residual anger issues will always remain a struggle for him, as demonstrated during the Anuk-ite's time in Beacon Hills, when the entire town was affected by its power to induce fear.

## Physical Appearance

Liam is a short-statured young man with an athletic build. Due to his intense workout schedule, both out of love for lacrosse and an eagerness to help control his anger, Liam is quite muscular for his age, and he has honey-blond hair, tanned white skin, and blue eyes. He prefers comfortable clothing such as hoodies, baseball shirts, jeans, and sneakers, though he has shown to wear more trendy clothing like leather jackets and boots when going to Sinema with Hope and Mason. As the seasons progress, Liam's hair becomes darker and grows longer, and by the end of Season 6, it was nearly long enough to tuck behind his ears.

## Powers and Abilities

### Powers

Liam possesses the standard powers of a Beta Werewolf, though he is considered to be exceptionally powerful for his age and rank as a result of his anger, which boosts his strength considerably. Additionally, as he is Scott's first bitten Beta, Liam is one of the only three people who can steal or inherit Scott's Alpha spark, the other two being Selena Parker and Hayden Romero.

### Abilities

Aside from his werewolf powers, Liam possesses several abilities that have helped him throughout his time on the series.

* **Athleticism**: For example, even prior to his transformation into a Werewolf, Liam was exceptionally athletic, to the point where Scott and Stiles suspected him of being a shapeshifter despite being only a human at the time. Coach Finstock has referred to Liam as the most talented lacrosse prodigy he has ever coached in his career, and his lacrosse skills have only improved with the addition of his Werewolf powers.
* **Photographic Memory**: Liam has also been shown to have an excellent memory, with the ability to recall conversations and even small details when it is important. For example, he was able to remember the conversation he had with Scott McCall during his first full moon about his anger and recalled how he explained to Scott what his step-father told him about how angry kids acted in order to help himself attempt to escape from the well where Garrett trapped him. He also remembered the leaf pendant necklace he found in the hole he fell into in the Beacon Hills Preserve and was able to identify it as belonging to Tracy Stewart after seeing a photo of her wearing it, an important observation that helped the McCall Pack learn that being buried alive in the woods was part of the Chimera transformation process.
* **Intellect**: Though Liam is more commonly lumped into the "brawn" side of the pack (such as Scott McCall, Derek Hale, Malia Tate, Kira Yukimura, etc) rather than the "brain" side (such as Lydia Martin, Stiles Stilinski, and Mason Hewitt), Liam has demonstrated an above-average intellect that has helped him as he slowly gained a leadership role in the pack. He also mentioned he has a love for history (much like his ally Derek Hale), which has helped him quite a bit during his time in the supernatural world; for example, as he used his knowledge of Mykonos, Greece to help him with his battle strategy against Monroe's Army and seemed to have paid close attention during the pack's fight against the Werejaguar Kate Argent due to his knowledge of the Aztec jaguar god Tezcatlipoca.
* **Expert Combatant**: Though he doesn't seem to have formal training, Liam has shown that he is a great fighter by combining his Werewolf powers with his instincts, particularly when angered or afraid. His style of combat is more similar to the brawling style also utilized by his packmate Stiles Stilinski. During the supermoon, while empowered by its power and his own rage, Liam was able to overpower and almost kill Scott (though Scott was weak from wolfsbane and was trying not to hurt Liam, which prevented him from defending himself properly).

## Weaknesses

Liam possesses all the standard weaknesses associated with Werewolves, including wolfsbane, mountain ash, electricity, ultrasonic and subsonic frequencies, full moons/supermoons, lunar eclipses, and heightened emotions.

## Name

* **Liam**: Liam is a short form of the Irish name William, a derivation of the Frankish name Willahelm. The name breaks down into two Old German elements-- *vila* ("will," "desire," "resolution") and *helma* ("helmet of will," "guardian"). In Arabic, the pronunciation equivalent to Liam means "harmonious in opinion or feeling," while in Persian, the name is of a plant in southern Iran whose name means "protector and supporter," a fitting title, considering that as a member of the McCall Pack, Liam Dunbar is both a protector and a supporter. In Hebrew, Liam can be translated into "my nation" or "my people." Because of the Norman conquests, Saxon names were replaced by an influx of French names that were quickly adopted by the English, Welsh, and Irish in the region. Related names are William, Wilhelm, Will, Bill, Gwilym, and Guillermo.
* **Dunbar**: Dunbar is a Scottish habitational name from Dunbar, located on the North Sea coast near Edinburgh. It is a combination of the Gaelic words *dùn*, meaning "fort," and *barr*, meaning "top" or "summit." It can also mean "castle headland" due to the fact that the town of Dunbar is at the mouth of the Frith of Forth in Scotland, so named for the fact that it is situated on a rock that overlooks the sea. It is also the name of a Scottish clan hailing from the Lowlands of Scotland.