Marcus

> Imagining yourself a hero? One final act to make you the martyr you've always seen yourself as. Then what are you waiting for?
>
> Silco to Marcus as he contemplated killing himself and Silco, ultimately unable to bring himself to do so, *Everybody Wants to Be My Enemy*

*Marcus'* was the corrupt Sheriff of the Piltover Police Department.

## History

Marcus had always been overzealous in acting on his duties as an enforcer. He looked down on Zaunites in general and aggressively went after them.  When four children from the undercity caused an explosion in Jayce's workshop, Marcus joined Sheriff Grayson in investigating. They went to see Vander, with whom Grayson had a deal with to maintain the peace between their districts.  Marcus did not care about their deal however and, when pressured by the Council, tried to look for the children on his own, moreso when the crime lord Silco approached him with a deal.

Marcus went to The Last Drop and ordered his men to search the place. Grayson confronted him for this, and though she'd felt it was too late to stop their retaliation, they received the pneumatic tube capsule she'd given Vander when they had someone who would claim responsibility for the explosion. Vander's daughter Vi tried to turn herself in,  only for Vander to stop her and surrender himself in her place. Before they could return to the upper city, however, Silco had his beast kill Grayson. Silco told them that the terms of their deal have changed and threw him his money.

Later, Marcus kidnapped Vi. Silco had expected, and possibly ordered, Marcus to kill her, but he instead threw her into Stillwater Hold without a trial or details of her crimes. Marcus had to bribe the warden on at least one occasion to ensure Vi's stay in the prison.

Marcus kept up his dealings with Silco. He was also eventually promoted to Sheriff in their department, making him even more useful to Silco. With his position, Marcus and other enforcers managed to aid Silco's business by letting his shipments through the Hexgates go through with no problems. He also interfered when other enforcers tried to investigate Silco's dealings and shut them down. Marcus also had deals with the merchants in the city, one that was secretly sanctioned by most members of the Council.

He was not without his doubts about his deal with Silco, particularly when Silco's daughter Jinx caused the deaths of his officers. Once, he visited Grayson's crypt and remembered Grayson's time as Sheriff and how good the woman had been. Nonetheless, Marcus toed the line of doing right by his men and having to work for Silco, now needing to find someone to answer for the explosion as Silco would be unwilling to give up his daughter. Silco told Marcus to pin the explosion on the Firelights. For a moment, Marcus considering blowing himself up along with Silco using Jinx's bomb but was ultimately unable to do so.

When Jayce Talis, very recently appointed a Councilor, ordered him to tighten security at the Hexgates, Marcus tried to warn him and advised him to consult the Council first. True enough, Jayce would later need to take this back when he learned from Mel that the decision was poorly received. Jayce was not happy about this though and, in frustration and in hopes of getting ahead of further attacks from—as Marcus relayed—the Firelights, Jayce took his joking suggestion to form a blockade at the bridge and search everyone who would attempt to pass seriously.

When Caitlyn tried to cross the bridge back to Piltover, now with evidence against Silco, Marcus threatened to shoot her. He hesitated and was ultimately not given the chance to decide whether he would go through with it or not as Jinx's weaponized firelight bombs surrounded them and went off. Marcus survived long enough to try and pass on a message to her daughter through Caitlyn but succumbed to his injuries before he could finish his sentence.

With this, the Council was finally made aware of his partnership with Silco, though Caitlyn tried to somewhat save his reputation by clarifying that he did it not primarily for what he would gain but for what he had to lose.

## Characteristics

### Personality

Marcus is shown to be aggressive towards Zaunites and arrogant towards his peers, especially after his elevation to Sheriff. He often dismisses the concerns of his inferiors, i.e. Caitlyn, and does not hesitate to assert his authority when needed. An example of this is assigning the graveyard shift at the Progress Day festival to Caitlyn when she disobeyed his orders.

Although he is depicted as being unfeeling and apathetic to people's suffering, he is shown to have a soft spot for his daughter or whenever her safety is concerned. Silco uses this weakness to manipulate him by threatening to harm her if Marcus doesn't comply with his orders. Even though he is corrupt, occasionally he is shown ruminating and regretting his harmful actions - but never takes actions to repent for them.

## Appearances

 "Happy Progress Day!":**Appears**
 "The Boy Savior":**Appears**

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Council Archives - Vi's Records ("The Warden's Write-Ups")
7. ↑ Council Archives - Caitlyn's Files ("The Grand Conspiracy")