Jack Bauer

For the naval historian, see K. Jack Bauer.

Jack Bauer
24 character
Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer
Portrayed by	Kiefer Sutherland
Appearances	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Redemption, 7

Jack Bauer is A BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASSSSSSSSSSSTTTTbest agent CTU has. Bauer's job usually involves him helping prevent major terrorist attacks on the United States, saving both civilian lives and government administrations. On many occasions Jack does so at great personal expense, as those he thwarts subsequently target him and his loved ones. Actor Kiefer Sutherland portrays Jack Bauer in the television show and video game, and in 2006 signed on for at least three further seasons.

Concept and creation

24 co-creator Joel Surnow commented that they did not have any actors in mind for the part; "We didn't really know who it was. We were casting a lot of people and then we heard Kiefer Sutherland's name and thought, that's Jack Bauer." In 2000, Sutherland was contacted by his friend, director Stephen Hopkins, who was working on the pilot for the experimental real-time TV show and offered him the lead. Initially Sutherland had reservations about playing Bauer, stating, "I thought, 'This is really clever and different, so there's no way they're going to pick it up. But I could use the money, and no one will ever see it'."

Sutherland must produce around 18 hours of film each season, "which is like making 12 movies, so there are going to be mistakes along the way, but I am incredibly surprised by how many things work well as a result of working at that pace."

Sutherland signed a contract to play the role of Bauer for three more seasons for $40 million. Sutherland is also an executive producer of 24.

Characterization

Jack Bauer was born in Santa Monica, California, on February 18, 1966, to Phillip Bauer, who placed his livelihood in his company, BXJ Technologies. The name of Jack's mother is unknown. Jack had one brother, Graem Bauer. Philip originally planned to give the company to Jack, but as Jack said in Day 6, "I just had to go my own way."

Jack has a Bachelor's Degree in English Literature and Arts from the University of California at Los Angeles and a Master's Degree in Criminology and Law from the University of California at Berkeley. He entered the U.S. Army and eventually joined the elite Delta Force (Among his honors are the Silver Star, the Purple Heart, and the Legion of Merit). He left the Army with the rank of Captain, according to his service record. Following his career in the Army, Jack worked for both the Los Angeles Police Department's Special Weapons and Tactics unit and for the Central Intelligence Agency as a case officer in the clandestine service. He was recruited into the Counter-Terrorist Unit (CTU) by Christopher Henderson.

He has demonstrated a high proficiency with firearms, explosives, electronic devices, resistance to interrogation, and the ability to understand Spanish and Russian.

He is also shown to be capable of flying planes (Season 2) and helicopters (Season 3 & 5).

Appearances

As the protagonist and central figure of 24, Jack Bauer is the only character, other than Aaron Pierce, who has appeared in every season of the series.

24 Season 1

During season 1, Bauer's wife Teri and his daughter Kim are kidnapped by Victor Drazen, a man Bauer believes he killed in a covert mission called Operation Nightfall in Kosovo two years earlier. Jack must try to rescue them, while simultaneously preventing an assassination attempt on presidential-candidate Senator David Palmer. Erroneously believing that Kim is murdered by Drazen, Jack kills Drazen and his associates. As Bauer is returning to CTU, Nina Myers, whom he knows to be a traitor, kills Teri to facilitate her escape. Jack cries with Teri in his arms to end the first season.

24 Season 2

Eighteen months after the events of Day 1 and the loss of his wife Teri, Jack is asked to be brought back into action by George Mason and CTU at the request of the NSA. Jack, who is still seemingly overwhelmed by his wife's death and the fact that his daughter Kim wants nothing to do with him, refuses as he holds CTU responsible for what happened to Teri. However, at the request of now-President Palmer, he goes to CTU, where he learns that there are terrorists in Los Angeles who plan to detonate a nuclear bomb in the city sometime within the course of that day.

24 Season 3

Three years later, Jack returns from an undercover sting operation of Ramon Salazar, a Mexican drug lord. While the operation is a success and results in the arrest of Salazar, it comes at a heavy price. Bauer ends up with a heroin addiction in order to maintain his cover with the Salazars, and attempts to fight it by going "cold turkey". Ramon's brother, Hector, insists that Bauer be kept alive to buy the Cordilla virus and resell them to underground organizations worldwide for a one billion dollar profit. Eventually Bauer wins the trust of Ramon Salazar but learns that another buyer is in play, headed by Nina Myers. The sale of the virus goes bad, but Nina Myers is taken into custody and is eventually executed by Bauer after he deems her useless. He then learns that the man behind the distribution of the virus and the attacks is Stephen Saunders, one of Jack's former team members presumed dead from Operation: Nightfall in Kosovo. Eventually Jack and Chase Edmunds capture Saunders and retrieve the vials of virus. On their last retrieval, Jack is forced to make a decision to cut off the hand of Chase using an axe to gain the final virus device; Chase had fastened the device to his hand with a titanium clamp to prevent the escape of the suspect carrying it. After leaving the hospital following Chase's decision, Jack takes a moment in his parked SUV. For the last remaining minutes in the 24 hours since the day began, Jack sits alone in his car, crying.

24 Season 4

Three months later, Jack is fired by Erin Driscoll due to his heroin addiction acquired prior to Season 3. He finds employment with the Department of Defense and becomes involved in a relationship with the daughter of the Secretary of Defense, Audrey Raines. Eighteen months after Day 3 Jack is called back in CTU to help them stop a terrorist mastermind named Habib Marwan, Audrey witnesses Jack interrogate her estranged husband Paul Raines, which makes her question whether or not she can be in a relationship with him. Later in the day, Jack is told by former President David Palmer, whom Charles Logan brought in as an advisor, to invade the Chinese consulate and extract a man named Lee Jong who has key information. However, the Chinese consul was accidentally killed by friendly fire. The Chinese soon learn that Jack was behind the attack, forcing Jack to fake his own death and go into hiding in order to avoid being taken into Chinese custody, and also as protection from being killed by U.S. government elements to prevent his revealing of military secrets to the Chinese.

24 Season 5

After Michelle Dessler and David Palmer are killed, and Tony Almeida is presumed dead by assassins, Jack is forced out of hiding. He discovers that the assassin's plot was to frame him for the murders. Chloe O'Brian is saved by Jack as assassins attempt to kill her as well. Jack interrogates the assassin and retrieves information that they were setting him up. Terrorists take over an airport terminal, but CTU learns that the hostage situation was a decoy to obtain military-grade Sentox VX1 Nerve Gas. Jack follows a series of leads which takes him to Christopher Henderson, a man Jack used to work under at CTU. Jack goes undercover when the terrorists try to release a canister at the Sunrise Hills shopping mall, and he stops the attempt against the orders of the President. At the end of the season Jack is captured and imprisoned by the Chinese for his actions from Day 4. Despite being repeatedly tortured, Jack refuses to come forth with any information.

24 Season 6

Over the last 11 weeks, the United States has been a target of non-stop terrorist attacks and bombings, in public buildings and transportation. Jack is released from China 20 months after his capture at the end of Day 5. It is revealed that he is being released only to be handed over to Abu Fayed. However, Jack manages to escape by biting out a man's jugular vein and tries to warn President Wayne Palmer of Hamri Al-Assad's innocence, a man whom Fayed convinced the US was behind the attacks. Jack saves Assad from an air strike, and the two are able to thwart a bombing attempt on a subway and rescue a civilian family held hostage. As the events unfold, painful memories of his murdered squadron leads Curtis Manning to attempt to kill Assad, leaving Jack no choice but to shoot Curtis in order to get more of the information they need from Assad, sending Jack into an emotional state of overwhelming grief. Jack attempts to quit from CTU, but a nuclear bomb explodes, destroying Valencia, California. He realizes he cannot stop what he's doing until he stops Fayed once and for all. New leads point to an involvement with a company run by his father Phillip Bauer and brother Graem. Jack interrogates Graem for information, but before he can get a lead Phillip Bauer sees his son as too much of a risk to reveal his involvement and kills Graem himself (under the impression Graem had a heart attack from the drugs). Jack discovers his father's involvement and trails him to a hotel, where he is holding his grandson Josh Bauer hostage. Phillip agrees to trade Josh's life for Jack's. As Phillip is about to execute his son, Jack makes a last sentiment, claiming that he became what he did for his own reasons, and not to spite his father. Phillip leaves before shooting Jack, who eventually manages to thwart Fayed's nuclear plans, killing him before any more bombs could detonate.

Jack is told that Audrey Raines died looking for him in China, but later discovers that she has actually been kidnapped by the Chinese. He completes an exchange with the Chinese and manages to save Audrey, as well as his nephew who gets mixed up in the events when Phillip Bauer returns. Audrey has lost her memory and does not remember Jack. Jack tearfully bids goodbye to Audrey after being told by her father, James Heller, that he cannot give her good enough care. The season ends with Jack staring out into the horizon, uncertain of his future.

24: Redemption

Looking for a place where he can 'be at peace', Jack finds himself traveling the world and eventually winds up in the fictional African nation of Sangala. Here, he stays with his old friend and former special forces colleague Carl Benton, who currently runs a school for rescued war orphans. During his stay in Sangala, Bauer is found and subsequently subpoenaed by a state department official to appear before a senate hearing to answer questions concerning his activities with CTU, for which he has been trying to avoid for more than a year.

When a sudden military coup takes place in the country, Jack is forced to help Benton bring the orphans to the U.S. embassy so that they can leave the country and escape rebels who plan to turn them into child soldiers. After Benton is killed, Jack turns himself in to a subpoena executed by US Marines and allows himself to be arrested at the embassy in order to let the children be removed from the war zone.

24 Season 7

Jack Bauer returned in Day 7 of 24, in which he is on trial for torture. At the start of the series he is approached by FBI Agent Renee Walker, who tells him of a possible threat to the country that is being forwarded by Jack's old friend, Tony Almeida, who has been presumed dead for nearly 5 years after the events of Day 5. CTU will not play a role on the show for the first time ever, although both Chloe O'Brian and Bill Buchanan will make appearances in Jack's aid.

In the first act of Season 7, Bauer appears in front of a senate committee answering to the torture of Ibrahim Hadad in 2002. Upon being questioned, Bauer readily accepts that he tortured Hadad (according to the definition set forth by the Geneva Convention) with the view to obtaining details about a planned attack on a bus of civilians. He explains that terrorists do not abide to the same laws as U.S. civilians and as a result, he was forced to adapt to their nature. Whilst prepared to answer to a jury of his peers, Bauer refuses to be judged by the senator who Bauer deems to be unaccustomed to the realities of the War on Terror.

The senate hearing is interrupted by FBI agents who demand to take custody of Bauer for reasons of National Security. Bauer, although reluctant to abide, is taken to an FBI field office and informed that he is needed to resolve an impending threat. Bauer is informed that his ex-colleague and friend, Tony Almeida, is alive and a member of a terrorist group planning to infiltrate the US infrastructure. Bauer refuses to believe that Almeida is alive, him having died in his arms, although his conviction begins to waver when FBI Agent Renee Walker explains that the EMT took Almeida shortly after his apparent death and that Bauer was abducted by the Chinese thereafter. Bauer seems to accept that Almeida is alive after being shown a time-dated photograph of him and upon being informed that his grave was exhumed to find that the body in the coffin did not have DNA matching that of Almeida.

While Jack questions Tony in an FBI interrogation room, Tony silently gives Jack emergency CTU phone code "Deep Sky", which prompts Jack to call the number. Bill Buchanan answers and explains to Jack that Tony is working undercover with the help of himself and Chloe O'Brian. Jack then breaks Tony out of custody and both go undercover to undermine the terrorist threat and expose a government conspiracy.

Tony reinfiltrates Emerson's gang, bringing Jack in with him. Emerson at first wants Jack killed but Jack manages to convince him to accept him onto his team. Jack then assists Emerson in the kidnapping of the Matobo's. Agent Renee Walker, who trailed them is also captured and Jack is ordered by Emerson to kill her. He manages to fake her shooting, grazing Walker in the neck but is ordered to bury her body although later Bill Buchanan and Chloe O'Brian arrive to rescue her. Emerson however is distrustful of Jack and pulls a gun on him forcing Tony into a standoff with him. Tony shoots Emerson in the arm before Jack finally shots Emerson in the neck, who eventually dies from the wound.

Jack reveals his true allegiance to the Matobo's and convinces them to play along to being handed over to Dubaku's henchmen so he can use them to locate Dubaku. Jack and Tony link up with Buchanan, Chloe and Renee Walker who track the Matobo's to Dubaku's base of operations and infiltrate it, dispatching Dubaku's men, destroying the CIP device and rescuing the Matobo's, although Dubaku escapes.

After the operation was compromised the team decide to collaborate with the FBI and government. The First Gentleman Henry Taylor had been kidnapped and Jack follows up several leads with Agent Walker and help from Buchanan and Chloe, eventually leading them to Dubaku's hideout where they rescue the Henry but only after he sustains a gunshot wound. Jack, following another lead with Renee encounter Dubaku's girlfriend, Marika who is oblivious of his true identity. Jack convinces her to be used to track Dubaku. Jack eventually catches up with him after a car accident caused by Marika and apprehends Dubaku, finding a chip imbedded inside of him containing files and names of a large number of US-based conspirators. Marika dies from injuries sustained in the car accident which leaves Renee distressed. Jack reasons that they did what they had to do and that it was Marika's own decision to go along with the plan, which leads to an angry confrontation between him and Renee, who accuses him of not feeling anything emotionally.

Afterwards, Tony informs Jack that there is another attack planned and that Senator Blaine Mayer's chief of staff, Ryan Burnett is invovled. This lead takes Jack into the White House where he apprehends and tortures Burnett to reveal the target of the next attack, but he is arrested by Secret Service before he can get the answer. As Jack is being transferred out of the White House by Secret Service, Buchanan is informed by the FBI that the next target is the White House and General Juma is personally leading a commando team to attack. Buchanan enlists in Jack's help to protect President Taylor. Jack manages to escort Taylor to a lock-down room and seal the door just as Juma and his men arrive. Juma eventually captures the President's daughter and threatens to torture her, which pushes President Taylor into ordering Jack to open the door and give themselves up. Initially Jack refuses, but complies after Taylor asks him if he has a daughter of his own and if he would allow her to be tortured himself.

Prior to exiting the lock-down room Jack had released enough natural gas to cause an explosion if a gun was fired near it. As Juma's men prepare the President for her "statement," Bill informs Jack that he saw Juma talking to a co-conspirator on a phone and asks Jack to investigate it further, before Bill grabs a gun and sets off the explosion, sacrificing himself to save the President and the hostages. Afterwards Jack is visibly upset by Bill's death as Jack had intended to be the one to set off the explosion. Honoring his friend's last wishes, Jack resolves to continue interrogation with Ryan Burnett, even while an assassin named John Quinn prepares to silence Burnett. After being framed for the murder, Jack flees.

With the help of an unlikely ally, Senator Mayer, Jack begins to piece together the connection between the Sangalan terrorism and Starkwood, a private military company owned by Jonas Hodges. Mayer is killed by the assassin and nearly shoots Jack, who later kills Quinn, an employee of Starkwood, and discovers an address. He then calls Tony and tells him to be at the Port of Alexandria, where a shipment of bio-weapons will soon arrive.

Jack and Tony get into a shootout at the Port of Alexandria, and Jack is able to escape in the truck with the weapons. Bauer notices that one of the canisters has been damaged, and he seals off the canister. In doing this, he becomes exposed to the bio-weapon. After 11 pm, he's taken back to FBI headquarters. In transit, the CDC determine that he's infected, but not contagious. Once back at headquarters he's debriefed by Renee Walker, and before midnight oversees the assault on Starkwood with her from comm.

While helping Tony and Agent Moss by leading them from FBI headquarters, Jack experiences shakiness in his hands, which leads to a sudden seizure. The doctor gives him an array of shots that he can use to counter the shakiness and seizures he will experience as a result of his exposure to the pathogen. When the doctor mentions a possible new treatment option out of Brown University that may help Jack be cured, Renee is very interested, but Jack will not even give it a thought, as it would involve his daughter donating stem cells. When Renee presses the issue further, Jack tells her that he and Kim don't speak. Renee tells him that it should be Kim's choice if she wants to donate the cells or not. Jack tells her that it's his choice because he's the one dying and doesn't want Kim involved.

However, Renee later tells Jack that she contacted Kim and she is waiting for him down the hall. Jack is angry for a moment that Renee went behind his back and told Kim what was going on, but when Renee tells him that Kim had been trying to track him down for some time, he eases up. He goes to the room where Kim is. She tells him that she has been trying to find him for some time, but each time she got an address or phone number, Jack was already gone. Jack apologizes for everything that has happened between them. Kim tells him that it doesn't matter and she acted immature and selfish the last time she saw him. She tells him that she heard about the treatment and wants to help. Jack refuses to let her and asks her to leave.

After Larry is killed and Galvez - the Starkwood operative, escapes with the bioweapon canister, Jack accompanies Renee into the field and helps her to co-ordinate the search operation. It is Jack who see's through Tony and Galvez's plan to lure the FBI teams into a C4 wired building and manages to warn them. Although many of the agents were killed or wounded in the explosion, his warning saved several as well, including Renee who was personally leading the search for Galvez. Jack later becomes aware of disrepencies in Tony's story and realises that Tony is playing them all. Jack confronts his former friend at gunpoint, but has a seizure allowing Tony to escape.

Other appearances

As the principal character in 24, Jack plays a prominent role in the television series as well as the video game. Jack is the main protagonist of the 24 series and the books, and has appeared in every episode to date. Kiefer Sutherland has portrayed Jack Bauer in these episodes, including the prequels and the webisodes. Additionally, he voiced the same character in 24: The Game, 24: Day Zero and 24: DVD Board Game.

24 Prequels

Jack Bauer is also featured in all four prequels, that can be found on the 24 DVD releases and various websites. These prequels are designed to bridge the gap between seasons. They provide backstory into story arcs for upcoming seasons, namely insight into what Jack's actions have been leading up to the next season. Prequels have been made for Seasons 4, 5, 6, and 7.

24 Webisodes

24: Day 6 Debrief takes place 35 hours after the nuclear device exploded in Valencia, California. The series consists of 5 segments, no longer than three minutes in length each. Two agents, Agent Ramirez and Agent Moss, track Jack down to a hotel room and ask him to come to District for debriefing about the recovery of the tactical nukes. The Debrief consists of Agent Ramirez and other agents attempting to discover more about the supposed-death of an undercover agent, Marcus Holt, who disappeared shortly into Jack's imprisonment in China at the hands of Cheng Zhi. Since Holt was involved with the Chinese government, it is believed that Jack leaked information that led to his identity being discovered and execution. At the end of the series, the agents announce that they have no conclusive evidence about his involvement, but Ramirez promises to keep a close eye on him until he is certain. Jack tells Ramirez that if he ever sees him again, he better say "The Lord's Prayer", because it will mean he's come to kill him.

With that, Bauer is released from custody and the interrogation ends.

24: The Game

Bauer in 24: The Game which takes place six months after Day 2.

24: The Game takes place between Day 2 and 3. Jack begins waiting outside the ship where terrorists are going to release a Ricin Bomb in the water supply. A CTU Team triggers an alarm causing Jack and his team to storm the ship. Jack and his team finds the whole ship's crew dead in a cargo hold. He runs into an enemy from his past, known as Peter Madsen. It is unclear what the story is between them, but it is stated that he framed Jack's family for a vile crime, this is hinted with Jack saying to him: "Eight years ago, my family was not involved". Madsen also states that he no longer takes orders from Jack. Most likely it's hinted that Madsen was under Jack's command either in the army or in an SWAT team, and Madsen betrayed Jack. Madsen kidnaps Jack's daughter Kim, and later Kate Warner. Jack finally kills Madsen in the end when he tries to escape by shooting up his speedboat with a Zastava M80 assault rifle, causing it to explode. He also kills Max, who was holding Kate hostage, saving her life. However Max managed to shoot Jack once before dying, the second of two times he was shot in the final hour of the game, the first time being by Madson. As a result, Chase Edmunds takes Jack to the hospital via helicopter.

24 Action figures

In January 2007, McFarlane Toys announced plans for a line of 24 action figures. Both are packaged as boxed sets and re-create scenes taken directly from the series. The first figure was released in August 2007, with the second released in November 2007. According to Sutherland in Wizard Magazine after the announcement, another Bauer figure had been designed at one point in the past and given to him to approve the likeness. the new figure of season 7:

24 Pinball

In 2009, Stern released a pinball game based on the 24 series. Stern 24 Pinball Machine. Pinball News review of Stern 24 Pinball.

24 Comics

IDW has released a series of Comic Books based on the adventures of Jack Bauer and other members of the 24 Cast. 24's Comic License is published by IDW Publishing

• 24: Nightfall — A tale shedding more light on the background and characters of Day 1, including Victor Drazen. Written by J. C. Vaughn and Mark L. Haynes
• 24: Cold Warriors — A original tale of intrigue featuring Jack Bauer and Chloe O'Brian, set in Alaska. Written by Beau Smith and Steve Bryant

Law and politics

American politicians and lawyers have taken to using Jack Bauer and his actions as a way of framing the debate on American interrogation techniques which have come under intense debate due to their contravention of international law and US values and principle. Until after 9/11 such principles had never been questioned in the US military community as an established "we do not use torture" rule-of-conduct for over two centuries.

In the midst of this debate, at a legal conference in Ottawa, Canada, for example, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia took offense at a Canadian judge's remark that Canada did not consider what Jack Bauer would do when setting policy. Scalia shot back: "Jack Bauer saved Los Angeles.... He saved hundreds of thousands of lives... Are you going to convict Jack Bauer? Say that criminal law is against him? 'You have the right to a jury trial?' Is any jury going to convict Jack Bauer? I do not think so."

External links

• Jack Bauer's Official Character Profile

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