Leverage/Characters: Difference between revisions

== The Team: Leverage Consulting and Associates ==

 

{{quote|''"I'm a functioning alcoholic. The trick is not to get hung up on the "alcoholic," but celebrate the "functioning" part of the sentence."''}}

 

** [[Hurting Hero]]

* [[Amicably Divorced]]: He and Maggie are about as amicably divorced as you can get.

* [[The Big Bad]]: If this is a [[Five-Bad Band]], anyway.

* [[Byronic Hero]]

* [[The Leader]]: Type I--he's even called The Mastermind.

* [[Manipulative Bastard]]: Normally he leaves this part of the planning to Sophie, but when he wants to, Nate can be a very good manipulator in his own right. He's not such a good ''actor'', but can even use that to his advantage.

* [[Official Couple]]: With Sophie.

* [[The Shill]]: To Sophie's Roper.

* [[Would Hit a Girl]]: Cold cocks a nun in "The Boys Night Out Job." {{spoiler|she wasn't really a nun.}}

 

{{quote|''"Thieves find entrances, but grifters? Mm-mm. We make them."''}}

 

* [[UST]]: With Nate

 

{{quote|''"Does anybody wanna do my job, huh? I get punched and kicked!"''}}

 

* [[Hired Guns]]: An ex-mercenary

* [[Invincible Hero]]: For a while early on, Eliot didn't even fight anyone who gave him a challenge. Since then, he's taken a few serious beatings, but has yet to actually ''lose'' a fight. It certainly makes him immune to [[The Worf Effect]].

* [[Lightning Bruiser]]

* [[Omniglot]]: Speaks Hebrew and Arabic and possibly other languages. [[Justified Trope|Justified]] because he is a world traveler with a professional need to speak local languages.

* [[Technical Pacifist]]: Refuses to kill people. Has no problem kicking their knees backwards to make them scream like a girl.

** Also, seriously, start tallying the number of ''innocent people just doing their job'' he has to wade through just to keep the team safe. If he ''did'' kill instead of merely incapacitate/[[Tap on the Head|knock out]], the crew would probably lose any hope of that "good guy" status they're trying to maintain.

* [[Violence Is the Only Option]]: Subverted, for the most part

{{quote|'''Eliot:''' What are you talking about. I only use violence as an appropriate response.

* [[Would Hit a Girl]]: But only if she hits him first.

 

{{quote|''"Age of the geek, baby. We run the world."''}}

 

* [[Black and Nerdy]]: He's a hacker. What do you expect?

* [[Brains and Brawn]]: Often plays the Brains to Parker or Eliot's Brawn.

* [[Butt Monkey]]: More and more so recently. Probably because the production crew is taking advantage of the fact that Aldis Hodge knows how to act as one in an especially funny way.

* [[Catch Phrase]]: "Age of the geek, baby."

** "Oh, ''hell no''!" is a recent development - before that it was "Seriously!? ''Seriously!?''"

* [[Character Development]]: By the third season, he's started thinking about some day running his own crew.

* [[Deadpan Snarker]]:

{{quote|'''Hardison:''' Hey, Eliot, what is that blocking your button cam? Oh yeah, it's your ''ego.''}}

* [[Evil Genius]]: If this is a [[Five-Bad Band]], anyway.

* [[Happily Adopted|Happily Fostered]]: He calls his foster mom "Nana" and speaks of her with great fondness. She was apparently a powerfully positive influence in his life.

* [[Hollywood Hacking]]

* [[Insufferable Genius]]: Interestingly, he's so charismatic by nature that he's generally easy to forgive when he gets into a bragging spiel. The other characters aren't quite as charmed as the audience, though.

*** RIP Lucille.

**** Again.

* [[New Powers as the Plot Demands|New Skills As The Plot Demands]]: While everyone on the show necessarily expands their skill-sets, Hardison is the one who usually gets called upon to do things completely outside the team's experience. In addition to being a hacker, he can make spot-on forgeries and land planes.

* [[Playful Hacker]]

* [[Vitriolic Best Buds]]: With Eliot.

 

{{quote|''"Looks like Parker's gonna have to crawl through the air duct again. God forbid anyone else would have to learn how to fricking crawl on their stomach through a tiny space. It's not rocket science, people."''}}

 

* [[Bunny Ears Lawyer]]: [[Word of God]] is that Parker may have [[Asperger's Syndrome]].

* [[Cannot Spit It Out]]: But Hardison understands.

* [[Classy Cat Burglar]]: Well, a cat burglar, anyway...she has the look, but none of the attitude.

* [[Cloudcuckoolander]]

* [[Dark Is Not Evil]]: She wears a lot of comfy black clothes, even when she's not on the job.

* [[The Dark Chick]]: If this is a [[Five-Bad Band]], anyway.

* [[Friend to All Children]]: Not just orphans, either. In "The Wedding Job," she is seen teaching a young girl how to pick a lock. [[Dead Little Brother|There are]] [[Parental Abandonment|pretty]] [[Dark and Troubled Past|specific]] [[Abusive Parents|reasons]] she is drawn to kids.

* [[Green-Eyed Monster]]: She becomes jealous when Hardison is a little too friendly with other women. This was most notable in "The Double-Blind Job."

* [[Heroic Comedic Sociopath]]

* [[In Harm's Way]]: She's a heck of an adrenaline junkie.

{{quote|'''Eliot:''' She is hot.

'''Hardison:''' Hot.

* [[Unresolved Sexual Tension]]: With Hardison.

** {{spoiler|They're now together as of "The Long Way Down Job"}}

** She's also rather [[Moe|adorable when]] [[Perpetual Frowner|she pouts.]]

 

 

== Allies ==

{{quote|"Nate, you can't just make people do what you want."}}

 

* {{spoiler|[[The Bus Came Back]]: Returned in the season 4 finale.}}

* [[UST]]: Still seems to have some with her ex-husband.

 

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Tropes associated with Tara:

* [[Replacement Scrappy]]: For a while, an in-universe example, until the team learns to trust her.

* [[Sixth Ranger]]: While Sophie is on her [[Journey to Find Oneself|Journey To Find Herself]], Tara fills in as the Grifter.

 

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Tropes associated with Archie:

* [[Fake Brit]]

* [[Faking the Dead]]

* [[Grandpa What Massive Hotness You Have]]

* [[Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping]]

* [[Papa Wolf]]: Don't disrespect Parker in front of him. He might just taser you.

 

Police detective with whom the Leverage group occasionally crosses paths. Played by Robert Blanche.

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* [[Reasonable Authority Figure]]: [[Word of God]] notes that {{spoiler|he knows Nate brought down the guys who shot him up, and if you're Irish or Italian from Boston, you do not let that just slide.}}

** In "The Boys Night Out Job," Bonanno reveals that he's definitely well-aware of Nate's activities (even [[Continuity Nod|knowing about Nate's escape from prison]]) but isn't particularly interested in bringing Nate down. He's even on good enough terms with Nate to join him for a poker game at Nate's place.

 

Two FBI agents Leverage Consulting & Associates tends to come across from time to time. They're not aware of the Leverage group, however, as they believe that Parker and Hardison are FBI superiors. Played, respectively, by Rick Overton and Gerald Downey.

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* [[Those Two Guys]]

 

An investment banker with a large number of addictions, he steals from a charity in a flawed attempt at helping them, making himself the target of one of Leverage's cons. He proves to be an alright guy underneath everything, and returns in a later episode. Played by Drew Powell in "The 12-Step Job" and "The Boys' Night Out Job."

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* [[Anti-Villain]]: He wants to help people, he just has no idea how.

* [[Big Fun]]/[[Fat Bastard]]: Toyed with. He tries to be the former, appears to be the latter, and falls somewhere in the middle.

* [[Kindhearted Cat Lover]]: He notes in his second appearance that he has bought a cat.

 

A friend of Parker's whom she met while on jury duty, Peggy is the only person outside of the team whom Parker regularly talks to. Appears in "The Juror #6 Job" and "The Girls' Night Out Job."

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* [[Frying Pan of Doom]]: Beats a Venezuelan bomber up with one.

* [[Kindhearted Cat Lover]]: Meets guys through websites about cats. One of the flat-out nicest people to ever appear on the show.

* [[Nice Girl]]: If rather frustrated when it comes to dating. Oh, and don't touch her kitchen knives.

 

 

== Recurring Antagonists ==

 

The first antagonist of the series, Victor Dubenich of Bering Aerospace brings the Leverage team together to steal files from a rival of his, while claiming that they were originally his. His attempt at murdering the team to cover up his own tracks makes him the victim of their first con; {{spoiler|he returns in the Season 4 finale to get his revenge}}. Played by [[Saul Rubinek]].

* [[Smug Snake]]

* [[Starter Villain]]

* {{spoiler|[[You Killed My Father]]}}

 

{{quote|"You know your entire plan depended on me being a self-serving, ''utter bastard."''}}

 

* [[Ambition Is Evil]]

* [[Badass]]: '''[[Word of God|Sterling. Never. Loses.]]'''

* [[The Chessmaster]]

* [[Evil Brit]]

** {{spoiler|And Nate admits they were friends!}}

* [[Wild Card]]: Whose side he's on generally depends on which side will serve him best. So basically his own.

 

Did I mention that '''[[Rule of Three|Sterling. Never. Loses?]]'''

 

{{quote|"Hardison? I heard you sucked! Guess I was right."}}

 

* [[Villain of the Week]]: Twice

 

 

Name unknown, origin unknown. What is known is that she has a lot of behind-the-scenes power (she can keep Nate out of jail and in Boston after he has escaped a Massachusetts state prison), and has blackmailed the team into taking down the world's most powerful criminal banker. Played by Elisabetta Canalis.

* [[No Name Given]]: As stated above, name unknown, origin unknown.

 

 

The world's most feared criminal banker and target of Season 3's [[Myth Arc]]. Played by Goran Visnjic.

* [[Evil Cannot Comprehend Good]]: Seems to keep trying to figure out ''why'' the Leverage team are ruining his life without considering that maybe he just deserves it.

** Well, he also has ''no idea who they are''. Which triggers [[Fridge Logic]] given the team's reputation in "The Two Live Crew Job".

* [[Faux Affably Evil]]

* [[Hey, It's That Guy!]]: [[ER|Dr. Kovac!]]

{{quote|'''Moreau''': Who ''are'' you?!}}

 

 

A professional investor who's been keeping tabs on Leverage Consulting since their run-in with Dubenich, Latimer repeatedly tries to get the team to work for him. A recurring menace, he is played by Leon Rippy throughout Season 4.

== Other Characters ==

 

{{quote|'''Hardison:''' "Have you ever ''been'' to Kiev? The ''Cake Maker'' of Kiev could whup all our asses, and this is ''[[The Butcher]]''." }}

 

* [[Slasher Smile]]: Only has two facial expressions--grimacing and this.

 

{{quote|"They told me you'd be tougher than this."}}

 

* [[Talk to the Fist]]: Belts Eliot mid-threat.

* {{spoiler|[[The Bus Came Back]]: Returned in the season 4 finale.}}

* [[Why Won't You Die?]]: Demands to know why [[Determinator|Eliot]] won't go down and stay down.

 

Nate's former boss at IYS, and the man who let his son die. Serves as the final mark of Season 1. Played by Kevin Tighe.

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* [[Wicked Cultured]]

 

A superb grifter and forger who operates out of Europe. He shows up in "The Two Live Crew Job," where his and Nate's cons cross paths. He plays both The Mastermind and The Grifter on his team. Portrayed by Griffin Dunne.

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* [[Smug Snake]]: Of the "failed Magnificent Bastard" variety. He's very good, but just not up to Nate's (or presumably Sterling's) level, and makes the key mistake of trusting Chaos.

 

A former [[Mossad]] agent who serves as The Hitter in Marcus Starke's crew. Has a [[Foe Yay]]-filled confrontation with Eliot. Portrayed by Noa Tishby in "The Two Live Crew Job."

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* [[Only in It For the Money]]

 

Starke's Thief, Apollo specialises in infiltration, corporate espionage, and bypassing physical security. Played by Apollo Robbins in "The Two Live Crew Job."

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* [[White Collar Crime]]: Nate lists this as his specialty.

 

The Mayor of Belbridge, Massecheussets and apparent [[Final Boss]] of Season 2. Played by Richard Kind in "The Three Strikes Job" and "The Maltese Falcon Job."

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* [[Screw the Rules, I Have Connections]]: Uses his status as an FBI snitch to stay abreast of state police investigations into his activities and keep law enforcement away from Kadjic's business.

 

Mayor Culpepper's partner-in-crime and the real brains of the operation, Kadjic makes his living running guns from Third World countries to American gangs. Portrayed by Paul Blackthorne in "The Three Strikes Job" and "The Maltese Falcon Job."

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* [[True Final Boss]]: Of Season 2 (unless you want to give that position to [[Hero Antagonist|Sterling]]).

 

A psychotic doctor in the employ of Wakefield Agricultural who conspires to unleash a blight on the world's wheat so that the company can benefit. Portrayed by Lisa Brenner.

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* [[The Sociopath]]

 

Nate's father, and a former South Boston bookie, loan shark, and fixer, Jimmy has a strained relationship with his son. He appears as the villain of the "Three Card Monte Job," and is played by Tom Skerritt.

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* [[Taking the Heat]]: Went to prison because the Three Families needed him to. Their refusal to pay him what was owed him for this plays a major role in "The Three-Card Monte Job".

 

{{quote|"The ''great'' Eliot Spencer, heh."}}

 

* [[Would Hurt a Child]]