V for Vendetta/Characters

V
The main protagonist is an Anti-Hero that nevertheless goes by very idealistic anarchist creeds. Appearing as a dark figure in a Black Cloak and wearing a Guy Fawkes mask, V's real name is just as unknown as his face that is only described by Dr Surridge as being "pathetically ugly". Swearing to bring down the repressive order that now rules England, he builds the Shadow Gallery with art pieces he saved from destruction and uses it as his headquarters. From then on, he patiently and skilfully destroys various symbols of power, disrupts Norsefire's orwellian surveillance system and emits subversive tracts and TV appearances.

A Warrior Poet, V is a philosophical, eccentric yet generally unflappable man with a quirky sense of humour that even his protégée has a hard time getting.

Later, we learn

After taking Evey in and raising her as an heiress,


 * Affably Evil
 * Alternative Character Interpretation: Freedom fighter who has the best interests of the people of Britain to heart, and a compassionate mentor figure to his sidekick Evey? Or terrorist who's mentally psychotic, and takes pleasure in making his enemies,  suffer, and who destroys buildings to prove a point? Or maybe both? It should be noted that Alan Moore intended this ambiguity.
 * Ambiguously Evil
 * Anti-Hero: Type IV or Type V, depending on your interpretation.
 * Anti-Villain: Type III
 * Badass Normal
 * Badass Bookworm: Has an enormous book collection, and has a particular passion for Shakespeare.
 * Badass Long Robe
 * Becoming the Mask: Justified in that, due to the experiments, he can no longer remember his past or his own name.
 * Black Cloak
 * Byronic Hero
 * Celibate Hero: Whether or not he's Asexual is never brought up. When Evey makes sexual advances to him, he kicks her out of the Shadow Gallery.
 * The Chessmaster
 * Coat, Hat, Mask
 * Cold-Blooded Torture: He has very inventive ways of tormenting his victims.
 * Cool Mask
 * Covered With Scars:
 * Crazy Prepared
 * Cultured Badass
 * Cultured Warrior
 * Dark Messiah
 * Dual-Wielding
 * The Kindnapper: He kidnpaps Evey twice, both times out of benevolent intentions.
 * Knife Nut
 * Knight Templar
 * Man of Wealth and Taste: Very much so. He even utters this very line in the graphic novel.
 * Magnificent Bastard: In the movie mostly.
 * Malevolent Masked Man
 * Mind Rape: What he does to Lewis Prothero, and to a lesser degree, to Evey Hammond.
 * Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness
 * Sociopathic Hero: A heroic terrorist.
 * Villain Protagonist: Or Anti-Hero
 * Warrior Poet
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist
 * Wicked Cultured
 * The Wonka
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist
 * Wicked Cultured
 * The Wonka

Evey Hammond
A 16 year-old girl who was saved in extremis by V from the bloodthirsty "Fingermen", the state's police force. V then takes Evey in the Shadow Museum and becomes her mentor, educating her according to his anarchistic beliefs. A gentle, naive but temperamental girl Evey, is intrigued by her mentor but initially agrees to stay under his wing, shielded in the Shadow Gallery. She then tries to learn more about him but he evades her and eventually leaves her out in the outside to fend for herself.

She meets Gordon Dietrich who eventually takes her in and becomes her lover. Finding herself jailed,. This is where she meets Valerie,

Evey eventually fathoms.


 * Action Girl:
 * Break the Cutie
 * Closer to Earth: Played straight and subverted. She says that she doesn't want to kill people but when
 * Does Not Like Shoes
 * Her Heart Will Go On
 * Legacy Character
 * Naive Everygirl
 * Never a Self-Made Woman
 * Tender Tears
 * Tender Tears
 * Tender Tears

Eric Finch
The main antagonist of the series is an officer from Scotland Yard, now renamed "The Nose". Melancholic, somewhat jaded, Eric Finch is still determined to find and punish V, even more since. Otherwise without ambitions and rather pragmatic, he simply believes that order is better than chaos.

Still, by the end of the series,


 * Anti-Villain
 * Determinator
 * Hero Antagonist
 * Ineffectual Loner
 * Knight in Sour Armour: His jadedness at his surroundings makes him one of these.
 * Punch Clock Villain
 * Smoking Is Cool

Commander Adam Susan
The cold, merciless and dictatorial head of the state is in fact a derisory and deluded man who has long fallen in love with the Big Brother-like computer that controls the entire administration of his country: Fate.

Failing to connect to his people, he believes that there is no place for freedom in this world. But despite his stance and apparent insensitivity,


 * Asexuality
 * A Date With Rosie Palms: He masturbates to the the Fate supercomputer.
 * A Man Is Not a Virgin: Averted. He is.
 * Cybernetics Eat Your Soul
 * Evil Is Petty: In the film, he offhandedly abuses his power to put the 1812 Overture (the music V played while destroying the Old Bailey) on the blacklist, simply because "[He] never wants to hear it again"
 * Machine Worship: The Fate supercomputer is the only thing he truly loves. Mixes elements of Cargo Ship in with the worship.
 * Necessary Evil: In the film, after a year of failing to catch V, he tells his propaganda machine not to make people think the Norsefire government is wonderful and blameless, but to remind the people "Why they need us".
 * President Evil
 * The Aloner/ It's All About Me: He is a solipsist, he believes that only he, god, and fate are real.
 * The Evils of Free Will: Believes that individual freedom and personal liberties are dangerous and frivolous and seeks to replace them with a uniformity of thought, word, deed and purpose.
 * Those Wacky Nazis: Alan Moore was obviously inspired by Hitler when he wrote Susan.
 * Villainous Breakdown: Upon.

Derek Almond
The alcoholic, uptight and high-ranking Director of The Finger doesn't figure prominently in the story but his death is a major catalyst to the story of his wife, Rosemary. Being one of the most powerful men in a totalitarian government apparently turned him into an abusive, ungrateful and violent husband to his yet gentle and faithful wife.

Upon trying to stop V from, he didn't realize that he forgot to charge his pistol and ends up killed by V.


 * The Alcoholic
 * Domestic Abuser: A really, really nasty one.
 * Hoist By His Own Petard: Played with. He threatens his wife by pretending to shoot her with an unloaded gun (on the promise that one day, it won't be unloaded). Guess what he forgets to do a few minutes later when he goes after V.
 * : What eventually happens to him.
 * Jerkass
 * Mauve Shirt
 * No Accounting for Taste: Poor, poor Rosemary.
 * Secret Police: The organization he commands, The Finger, is this.

Roger Dascombe
The smart-mouthed and mocking director of The Mouth, which oversees propaganda and media in Britain. In the film adaptation, he appears to be a cynical man who is a part of Norsefire only to increase his own power.

In the novel,


 * Affably Evil: Humorous and happy-tempered but still just as corrupt as the Government he serves.
 * Cheshire Cat Grin: His default expression that he looses
 * Comforting the Widow: What he does to Rosemary after Derek Almond's death, in a very unsavoury way.
 * The Ministry of Truth
 * Mouth of Sauron
 * Propaganda Machine

Conrad Heyer
The good-hearted but weak-willed director of The Eye, the government's surveillance section, is also the Henpecked Husband of the ruthless Helen Heyer who uses him as a means to an end.

Not featured prominently either but he gets his own moment of glory upon


 * Abuse Is Okay When It Is Female On Male: No one felt sympathy for the poor guy, despite him being continually abused by his horrible wife.
 * Anti-Villain
 * Drop The Pincer:.
 * Henpecked Husband
 * Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain
 * Nice Guy: Sort of. He isn't evil per se but he still serves the government loyally.
 * Unrequited Love: Despite being married, Helen feels nothing but contempt for him but he truly loves her.

Peter Creedy
The Director of The Finger after Almond's death. His role in the movie is expanded massively, to the point of becoming The Dragon and even a Big Bad at the end.


 * Animal Motifs: In the film, V describes him as the spider in the heart of the Norsefire government, and even uses this phrase.
 * Complete Monster: His portrayal in the film firmly places him in this category.
 * The Dragon
 * Dragon Ascendant: Tries to become this near the end of the book when.
 * Might Makes Right: Tries to seize control after death using this principle.
 * Moral Event Horizon: In the film's backstory, when he gives the order to infect a primary school with a mutating viral weapon only to create nationwide panic. Hundreds of children, including Evey's little brother, died.
 * Out-Gambitted:
 * Revolvers Are Just Better: His personal weapon is a magnum revolver.
 * Secret Police
 * Smug Snake
 * The Starscream
 * Why Won't You Die?: He screams this at V in the movie.

Lewis Prothero
The former commander of the concentration camp Larkhill, Prothero has gone on to become a political pundit with a state-sponsored TV show in the film.

In the novel, he acts as "The Voice Of Fate", a radio program that passes off as Fate's actual voice to relate the various happenings of the country and give the news flash to the population. His very particular voice allowed him to do this.


 * Complete Monster: So very much. His favorite part of serving at Larkhill was walking among the inmates and hand-picking the subjects for human experiments. Even the other personnel at Larkhill hated him.
 * Confirmation Bias: In-Universe, His "TV show".
 * Cruel Mercy
 * Dirty Coward
 * Fat Bastard
 * Laser-Guided Karma: Although V doesn't kill him, he.
 * Miles Gloriousus: He often likes to play up his Military service, making himself out as a hero. In reality, he was a sadistic bully who got a kick out of beating on innocent people.
 * Moral Myopia: He cares far more about his doll collection than he did about the people he tortured at Larkhill.
 * Mouth of Sauron: In the novel.
 * Psychopathic Manchild: His Doll collection and his often petty and immature personality (Firing a technician for making his nose look big and being mentioned as always needing to get his way in the film) turn him into this.
 * Speak of the Devil: In the film. While Prothero showers, he watches himself on TV, ranting and wishing he could meet "the terrorist" face-to-face. He then turns around, and finds V smirking at him.

Archbishop Anthony Lilliman
Once a priest in the Larkhill camp (he provided "spiritual support" for the guards) he is a child molester and now promoted to Archbishop of the Anglican Church.


 * Acceptable Religious Targets: He's Anglican, but still falls in the "pedophile Catholic priest" category.
 * Asshole Victim
 * Complete Monster
 * Dirty Old Man
 * Laser-Guided Karma: Just like Prothero, he is given an ironic way to die,
 * Pedophile Priest: Every Sunday night, he rapes a different pre-teen girl (teenage girl in the movie).
 * Sinister Minister
 * Sinister Minister

Dr. Delia Surridge
The Chief Medical Officer of Larkhill, she did human experiments on the prisoners. After Larkhill's destruction, she became consumed by guilt over what she had done. She used to be in a relationship with Finch.


 * Anti-Villain
 * Apocalyptic Log: She leaves one behind, and it explains why V is the way he is.
 * The Atoner
 * Because You Were Nice to Me: Since she had been by far the gentlest and more considerate of the three, V rewards her.
 * Deadly Doctor: Delia used to be this. One of her experiments on a lesbian woman made her grow vestigial fingers from her calf.
 * Death Seeker: Upon learning that V has come to kill Her,Her only response is "Thank God."
 * Face Death With Dignity: The only victim not to break down or cry for mercy when They face V.
 * My God, What Have I Done?: In a way, she created V.
 * Out, Damned Spot!
 * Playing With Syringes
 * Playing With Syringes
 * Playing With Syringes

Rosemary Almond
The gentle, demure but abused wife of Derek Almond. After his death, she is left to fend for herself, the Government refusing to give her any pension for being an official's widow. She resorts to going out with the sleazy Roger Dascombe,. She is eventually expelled from the high society she used to acquaint with and ends up being a showgirl to support herself. Blaming the Government for having ruined her life and her marriage,.


 * Beware the Nice Ones: Who could have thought the sweet, gentle and enduring Rosemary would ever snap so radically?
 * Break the Cutie
 * Broken Bird
 * Deus Angst Machina: After all what she's been through, it's really justified.
 * Domestic Abuse: The poor woman really did nothing to deserve this.
 * : She knew full well what would happen to her.
 * Lifetime Movie of the Week: Her own arc looks very much like this, except it's done well.
 * Shrinking Violet: Before Derek's death.
 * Widow Woman
 * The Woobie: Poor, poor Rosemary.

Helen Heyer
The scheming, arrogant and domineering wife of Conrad Heyer, in stark contrast to Rosemary, is a Magnificent Bitch who plans to take control of Norsefire through her husband, with her being the power behind the throne.

Manipulative, fairly attractive and extremely shrewd, she uses bribery and sex to get men to do her bidding and is pretty good at it. Still.


 * Ambition Is Evil
 * Break the Haughty: What ultimately happens to her after.
 * Ice Queen: Of the total bitch variety.
 * Lady Macbeth
 * Magnificent Bitch
 * Manipulative Bitch: Oh so much, and oh so skilled.
 * Pretty in Mink: Never seen without her expensive mink coat.
 * Rich Bitch
 * The Vamp: She has no problems with using sex as a weapon.
 * The Woman Behind the Man
 * Woman in White

Dominic Stone
A sergeant at the Nose and Finch's sidekick.


 * The Lancer: To Eric Finch.
 * Naive Newcomer

Valerie Page
An unseen character (besides some clips on a movie screen) that is only talked about throughout the novel. A lesbian actress who gained substantial acclaim in her day, she was among the people that were first taken to the Larkhill concentration camp. She was actually  She was subjected to the same human experiments as V, but didn't survive it.


 * Break the Cutie
 * Bury Your Gays
 * Flower Motifs: The purple rose is her emblem that V took for himself.
 * Not Quite Dead: One fan theory holds that she actually is V.
 * The Unseen: Although we see V watch some clips of her in the beginning.

Gordon Dietrich

 * Bury Your Gays: He is gay in the movie. In the graphic novel he is Evey's lover.
 * Deadpan Snarker: In the movie as played by Stephen Fry.
 * Shallow Love Interest: In the novel, to Evey.

Alistair Harper
A vicious Scottish crook who starts off as a player in the Black Market, he and his men are recruited by Creedy to be Creedy's private side army, a group of thugs who can do anything without being obviously linked to the government. Creedy has fond dreams of using the force of the Fingermen and Harper's thugs to push himself to the head of the government.


 * Black Market: Appears to more or less control what we see of it.
 * Cruel and Unusual Death: Implied to have inflicted one on, who pleads for a quick death. Harper refuses, saying "I wouldn't waste the bullet" and goes to work with his knife instead.
 * The Dragon: To Creedy. In the overall power structure, probably closest to being The Brute.
 * Faux Affably Evil: Has a superficial layer of charm, but there is a very nasty and cruel bastard hiding beneath the surface.
 * Knife Nut
 * The Starscream:
 * Violent Glaswegian: Although he is more clever and self-controlled than is normal for this trope, he is a Scotsman with a mile-wide violent streak, so still counts.