Jack Sullivan

**Lt. Colonel Jack Sullivan**, portrayed by Sherman Augustus, is a recurring antagonist in the fourth season of *Stranger Things*. He is a high-ranking officer in the US Army who believes he can stop the evil in Hawkins once and for all.

## History

### Background

At some point, Sullivan joined the US Army and eventually reached the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He served with distinction in Vietnam and was a recipient of several awards relating to American service there; these awards included the Meritorious Service Medal and Vietnam Service Medal. One of Sullivan's badges indicated he was an officer of the Criminal Investigation Command.

The mysterious events occurring in Hawkins from 1983 to 1985, including the forced cover-ups of Hawkins National Laboratory and the fire at Starcourt Mall, caught Sullivan's attention. Sullivan, being tasked with investigating the deaths of service members (that being the primary mission of the Criminal Investigation Command), would have shown interest in the deaths of military police at Hawkins Lab.

Tension brewed between Sullivan and the former heads of Hawkins Lab (Dr. Martin Brenner and Dr. Sam Owens). Sullivan was aware of Eleven's existence, and that she had survived the events of November 1983 (which Brenner and Owens denied). Sullivan had heard explanations about the Upside Down, but suspected it was a cover story; he believed Eleven was "going rogue" and committing horrific acts of violence.

### 1986

While investigating the events surrounding Chrissy Cunningham and Fred Benson's deaths, he raided the home of Dr. Owens, demanding information regarding Eleven. He believed Eleven was the cause of the destruction and wanted to neutralize her. After his attempts became futile, he ordered an attack on the Byers' residence. Two agents affiliated with Dr. Owens were tasked with protecting the family, with one, Agent Harmon, dying in the line of duty, and the other, Agent Wallace, being captured and tortured on Sullivan's orders in an undisclosed location. Eventually Sullivan managed to pry Eleven's location out of Wallace; the Nina Project, in the Nevada desert, where Owens and Dr. Brenner were trying to bring back Eleven's telekinetic powers.

Sullivan and a squad of heavily armed US Army infantry arrived at the facility on the afternoon of March 27, 1986, with the intent of neutralizing Eleven. After breaching the door, Sullivan and his troops charged into the facility, killing the military police guards up front before spreading out throughout the building. Sullivan found Owens tied to a chain, and realized that Owens and Brenner had been fighting, taunting him by saying "Are mommy and daddy fighting?". Owens once again refused to give Eleven's location, but Sullivan's men in a helicopter located her and Brenner. After they shot Brenner, Sullivan allowed them to kill Eleven, much to Owens's contempt. However, Eleven used her powers to crash the helicopter into the ground. Sullivan was last seen emerging from the facility along with his men, as Brenner died and Eleven fled the scene with her friends.

## Personality

As a member of the US Military, Sullivan is fiercely loyal to the United States and believes his actions are justified in order to protect national security. He is unwavering in his beliefs, going to extreme lengths to find answers, even going so far as to torture Agent Wallace by keeping him in a very hot locked box which is against CIC protocol and highly illegal, showing that he deliberately breaks military law to achieve his goals. At the same time, however, Sullivan is a malicious, dogmatic, hypocritical and paranoid individual. He arrogantly believed Eleven to be responsible for the murder spree in Hawkins, despite her being declared "dead" when she was really living peacefully on the other side of the United States. Sullivan was not above harming American citizens, including children, to achieve his goals.

He is shown to have a slightly understanding side during Agent Wallace's interrogation; he initially considered not harming Eleven for his desired goal. However, upon reaching the Nina Project facility, Sullivan ordered his men to eliminate Eleven and refused to listen to reason when Owens tried to explain Eleven was not the culprit behind the murders.

## Relationships

* Dr. Sam Owens - Fellow government employee turned enemy
* Dr. Martin Brenner † - Fellow government employee turned enemy

## Behind the scenes

His character was first revealed on November 20, 2020 via the show's official social media accounts along with several other new characters.

## Trivia

* Sullivan is the first non-white antagonist to be introduced.
* He is the only antagonist in Season 4 to not be hurt or killed.
* He is the first active duty (American) military character to play a major role in any season of the show.
* Sullivan is shown wearing the standard "Class A" Army Greens service uniform with the male green-gray shade. The Class A Army Greens service uniform entered service in 1954, replacing the earlier "Ike" style jackets worn by officers during and shortly after World War II. Originally, the uniform was worn with a tan khaki undershirt, but in 1979 this was replaced by a green-gray version with Army Shade 415, which was worn by all US Army personnel on their service uniform until the 'greens' were discontinued in 2015. Sullivan also wears the "Aviator" style sunglasses, which are authorized for wear by the Army in accordance with Army regulation 670-1 (Chapter 3, no. 10), which states that personnel may wear dark tinted sunglasses while in uniform as long as it does not interfere with their duties and not indoors.
* Sullivan's patches indicate he has received the following awards and decorations: the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Service Ribbon, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal with three Silver Stars and the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Official Twitter thread revealing new season 4 characters. November 20, 2020
2. ↑ "The Dive"