Agent 47
From Hitman Wiki
Agent 47 is the main character in the Hitman series, of which four games have been released to date. His name is a barcode tattooed on the back of his head (640509-040147), the last two digits of which are 47. An assassin by trade, he is consistently recognized as the world's deadliest assassin. He has been known to work under aliases and adorn disguises during missions; the earliest example of an alias is Tobias Rieper (a play on 'Grim Reaper'), which he traveled under during first installment of the series. Other aliases include Mr. Metzger (German for butcher), Flech Fisher, Mr. Julio, Mr. Byrd, Mr. Johnson, Jacob Leiter, and Dr. Cropes (an anagram of "corpse"). Even though Mr. 47 has a global reputation, he doesn't really seem to show much concern towards it. In his words, "The best assassin, in my opinion, is the one who doesn't appear to exist – or at least one considered only an urban legend." Because Mr. 47 has such a flawless success rating, mixing up how he carries out the hit is commonplace, keeping things interesting for clients and avoiding public investigators. Mr. 47 is also known to pull off the best form of assassinations – those that appear to be accidents in the eyes of those who investigate.
Contents |
[edit] Appearance
Mr. 47 is described as a bald, pale, Caucasian male who is slightly over six feet in height. His most distinguishing feature is the barcode embedded into the back of his head, just above the end of his spine. It lists his date of creation and identification number: 640509-040147. His facial features are quite imposing, with a long face, large cheekbones, prominent brow, and recessed forehead. Mr. 47, when completely focused, could be described as death in his cold chilling appearance.
His appearance is modeled after David Bateson, an actor who has voiced 47 in every game. He always wears his trademark black designer suit, red tie, and black leather gloves to his missions.
[edit] Background
Mr. 47 is a genetically-enhanced clone, the culmination of decades of secret research into gene augmentation. His creation was funded by a cabal of criminal masterminds who donated their own DNA to the project.
In the 1950s, five men of various nationalities served in the same unit of the French Foreign Legion. After their stint was finished, four of those men returned to their respective countries and founded their own criminal empires. The remaining one, Dr. Otto Ort-Meyer, ran a mental institution, which he used as a cover for genetic experiments. In exchange for research funding, Ort-Meyer provided his former comrades with donor organs harvested from clone bodies, which significantly extended their longevity. In Hitman: Codename 47, each of Ort-Meyer's accomplices are said to be 60–70 years old, but appear 10–20 years younger.
The men whose DNA contributed to 47's creation are often referred to within the series as the "Five Fathers", consisting of Otto Ort-Meyer, Lee Hong, Pablo Ochoa, Franz Fuchs and Arkadij Jegorov. Otto Wolfgang Ort-Meyer is a discredited German scientist living in Romania, whose radical theories were deemed insane by his peers.[1].
Ort-Meyer believed that genetic recombination and human cloning could be used to produce a perfected version of the human species, superior in strength and mind and unburdened by conscience. His ultimate goal, unbeknownst to his associates, was to create an army of flawless and unquestioningly obedient supermen.[2] When Ort-Meyer's associates became suspicious of his motives, he employed 47 to systematically eliminate each of them. When 47 discovered Ort-Meyer's plans, he managed to eradicate his latest series of clones, known as the Mr. 48s, and snapped Ort-Meyer's neck.
Ort-Meyer's research produced many failed attempts and aborted mutants, including Agent 17, but ultimately he managed to perfect the process enough to produce an assembly line of genetically augmented clones. Mr. 47 belonged to Ort-Meyer's fourth series of clones, possessing a 47th chromosome which, when combined with DNA harvested from the world's most dangerous criminals, endowed him with levels of strength, speed, stamina, and intelligence significantly above the human norm. In real life, possessing an extra chromosome can lead to problems such as infertility, Downs syndrome and premature death. However artificial chromosomes are currently being pursued as a method of inserting new genetic material into genetically modified organisms.
In Hitman: Blood Money, it is explained that American interests had repeatedly attempted to replicate Ort-Meyer's success, but were largely unsuccessful. 47 is the first and only successful healthy cloned specimen, and nothing has yet come to parallel him; while other attempts have come close, they were plagued by problems such as albinism and extremely short lifespans. Ort-Meyer's research was distributed among many covert cloning labs, but is insufficient; a sample of 47's bone marrow is needed to fill in the DNA gaps, making him an extremely valuable and rare specimen.
[edit] Training
Born on September 5, 1964 (45 years old) in Romania and tagged with the identity 640509-040147 on the back of his head, Mr. 47 was raised with the other "Series IV" clones by the asylum's staff. From the beginning, Dr. Ort-Meyer identified 47 as his most promising creation. While maturing, 47 was quiet and showed little social behavior, his only display of affection being toward a runaway laboratory rabbit he adopted, much to Ort-Meyer's displeasure. 47 also had a fairly negative relationship with the asylum staff, attributed to his chronic uneasiness stemming from his regular medical checkups and frequent injections. On one occasion, 47 stabbed a doctor repeatedly with several needles, prompting Ort-Meyer to increase the security assigned to him.
Along with the other clones, Mr. 47 was trained from youth to efficiently kill. Instructed in the use of firearms, military hardware, unarmed combat, the use of disguises, and the use of more classical tools of assassination like the infamous fiber wire or W2000 Sniper. 47 can wield virtually any weapon with ease when on a mission, showing he can improvise and use common tools of every day life with deadly precision. During his training, he was noted for his exceptional marksmanship, as well as for attacking the asylum staff with homemade slingshots, all of which were promptly confiscated.
To pull off a solid hit, an assassin must rely on stealth, in which Mr. 47 has repeatedly displayed his knowledge. Trained to an extensive length in the study of human anatomy, Mr. 47 has shown to pinpoint attacks in order to insure maximum damage is done. Mr. 47's application in the art of death goes to show the level of training he has undergone. He is able to infiltrate highly secured areas and perform exceptionally well during gun fights when his cover has been blown. He also pulls off truly masterful hits, sometimes recorded in virtual history as "accidents". Mr. 47 prides himself in the application of the fiber wire. Mainly because there is no evidence, but also because it's completely silent – his target dies without being able to sound an alert, something the world's deadliest silent assassin can't allow.
After 30 years of relentless training under the tutelage of Dr. Ort-Meyer, 47 discovered a gap in the asylum's security defenses. After escaping his cell and killing a security guard, Mr. 47 disguised himself in the guard's uniform and escaped from the asylum grounds. Unbeknownst to him, his escape was deliberately orchestrated by Ort-Meyer, who concluded that 47's escape into the outside world was the final challenge in his advanced training.
[edit] Employment
Mr. 47 was soon employed by the International Contract Agency, a clandestine organization providing assassination and mercenary services for a sharp fee, depending on target and level of difficulty surrounding the overall mission. With a lifetime of training and genetically augmented physical abilities, Mr. 47 swiftly rose to become the Agency's most efficient, and most requested assassin. 47 is responsible for high profile assassinations in locales such as a Chilean winery, a Paris Opera, Thermal Bath in Hungary, and a mafia owned villa in Italy, among many others. He retired for a span of roughly two years, before returning to their ranks.
[edit] Personality
Though 47 is meant to be a heartless killing machine, he demonstrates signs of morality and humanity despite his bloody line of work. For example, in Hitman 2: Silent Assassin he confesses his sins to Father Vittorio, a cardinal to a church 47 was using as a base of operations throughout his missions. He also performs the sign of the cross as he leaves to assassinate his first target. Another example is his strict code of killing only the targets, leaving the innocent unharmed, even though extra casualties are highly unnecessary in most cases and arouse unwanted suspicion.
[edit] References
- ↑ "I discovered the true power of 47 chromosomes. Do you think that was easy? As always, I was ahead of my time. They shook their bony little heads, looked at me with those beady little eyes and said I was crazy. You, my friend, are living proof that I'm not!" – Ort-Meyer, Hitman: Codename 47
- ↑ "Man was made at the end of the week's work, when God was tired. I quickly improved on all of the built-in flaws. I'll show the whole world who's right – and decide who will be left!" – Ort-Meyer, Hitman: Codename 47
