Characters of The Mass Effect Universe - Commander Shepard

Commander Shepard

Commander Shepard of the Systems Alliance Navy, captain of the Normandy, is the main player character in the Mass Effect trilogy. Shepard's gender, appearance, history, combat-training and first name are determined by the player before the game begins. Shepard is 29 years old in the first game though is biologically 29 or chronologically 31 years old in the second game, and roughly 32 in the third game. The default male Shepard, the model used by BioWare for trailers, is called John while the female default name is Jane; both defaults are of the Soldier class. Shepard is a veteran soldier who begins the game as a candidate to become the first human "Spectre" agent. As the game progresses, Shepard undertakes a series of important missions and is authorized to do whatever it takes to get the missions done. At the end of the game, Shepard kills villain Saren Arterius and helps defeat the Reaper Sovereign. One of the most important decisions Shepard makes is at the end of the first game, and determines the fate of the Citadel Council and humanity's role in the galaxy. Shepard can choose to have the Council saved, resulting in humans being granted a Council seat; Shepard can order Sovereign to be attacked directly, which unintentionally kills the Council and results in a new, human-controlled Council being created; or Shepard can order the Council to be left undefended, which dooms the Council and sets humanity up to be the dominant species in the galaxy.

One month after defeating Sovereign, Shepard's ship, the SSV Normandy is destroyed by an unknown warship, killing Shepard. Shepard's body is recovered by Cerberus, a rogue human agency who has been keeping tabs on Shepard for the Commander's actions in Mass Effect. Over the course of two years, Shepard is rebuilt through Cerberus's Lazarus Project, headed by future squad mate operative Miranda Lawson, which uses a combination of cutting edge cybernetics and nanotechnology. Upon making a sufficient recovery, Shepard investigates the disappearance of human colonies.

Regarding the issue of Shepard's death, BioWare Director Casey Hudson explained that based on decisions made during Mass Effect 2, Shepard can die in some of the game's multiple endings. Hudson stated "If you do die in the ending of Mass Effect 2, it will not come as a surprise, nor will it be random. It will be pretty obvious that you headed into the final mission knowing that Shepard probably wouldn’t make it out alive." Hudson also confirmed that team members would be affected by the player's decisions as well: "You might have an ending where Shepard’s entire team survives, or where the entire mission is a bloodbath and everyone (including Shepard) is killed, or anything in between." Lastly, Hudson revealed that if the player's Shepard dies in the second game, he or she will not appear in the prospective Mass Effect 3; instead, the third game would have to be played with a new Shepard started in that game, or with one who survived Mass Effect 2.

Shepard returns once again as the main protagonist in Mass Effect 3. In this game, Shepard is grounded after the events of the previous game. Suddenly, the Reapers attack Earth, forcing Shepard to flee the planet. The game's main plot sees Shepard travelling across the galaxy and trying to gain support from the alien civilizations to launch a final mission to save Earth and defeat the Reapers once and for all. Apart from building a massive united fleet, Shepard also must construct the Crucible, an ancient superweapon capable of defeating the Reapers. According to BioWare, Mass Effect 3 will conclude Shepard's story and mark Shepard's final appearance in the series.

Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut has four different ways in which Shepard can defeat the Reapers:

• Destroy the Reapers: Shepard shoots a key control panel on the Crucible, which fires a red beam that damages the Citadel and the Mass Relays. All synthetic life - including the EDI, the geth, and possibly Shepard, due to the Lazarus Project implants - will be destroyed. If the player has a low Effective Military Strength, this causes the indiscriminate destruction of both the Reapers and Earth, most organic and all synthetic life in the galaxy, and the Mass Relays. If the player has a high enough Effective Military Strength, the galaxy is rebuilt more easily, and Shepard survives, taking a deep breath in a pile of rubble.
• Control the Reapers: Shepard forsakes his/her corporeal form, becoming the new Reaper master consciousness with absolute control over the Reapers. The Crucible fires a blue pulse that leaves the Citadel intact but damages the Mass Relays. If the player has a low Effective Military Strength, this causes substantial damage to the galaxy. Shepard then directs the Reapers to rebuild and protect the galaxy, and depending on Shepard's morality, the Commander either intends to give its people hope for the future (Paragon), or act as a strong leader that Shepard believes the galaxy needs (Renegade).
• Synthesis: Shepard jumps into the Crucible's energy beam, which transforms all life in the galaxy into a new form of organic-synthetic life. The Crucible fires a green beam that damages the Citadel and the Mass Relays. This option is only available if the player has a high Effective Military Strength.
• Refusal: Shepard refuses to use the Crucible when either attempting to shoot the Catalyst or simply not accepting its solutions. This results in the Reapers completing their harvest of all advanced space-faring civilizations. However, Liara's time capsules enables the next cycle to prepare for and end the Reapers' threat.

Surviving squad members and crew members places Shepard's name on the Normandy SR-2's memorial wall on the Crew Deck, with Admiral Anderson's already on it; if the Destroy ending was chosen and the player has a high enough EMS rating, however, the Commander's name is not actually shown to be placed on the wall. This, coupled with the cutscene of Shepard breathing in the rubble, leaves the Commander's final fate ambiguous.

Many years into the future, Shepard becomes a legendary figure known only as "The Shepard". Implying that he/she may have survived, and his/her Legacy lives on.

The male version of Shepard is voiced by Mark Meer, while Jennifer Hale lends her voice to the female version. Fashion model Mark Vanderloo was the model for the default appearance of the male commander Shepard.