What makes the Illusive Man evil?

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Vern5

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Squarez said:
Vern5 said:
SaneAmongInsane said:
But I played Mass Effect 2, he doesn't come across as evil or racist.
Is that not the mark of a truly evil man? To be able to enact or enable horrible things and yet seem charming and level-headed at the same time; that is a very sinister presence.

Also, he's voiced by Martin Sheen who ended up spawning Charlie sheen. The evil isn't on the surface but it is inherently present.
Did you just imply (even slightly) that Martin Sheen was anything but a pure force for awesome?

Get out.
No, no, no. Martin sheen will always be awesome. I don't think I could ever come closing to proving otherwise. However, one of his sperm did create Charlie Sheen so I don't know what happened there.
 

Squarez

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Vern5 said:
Squarez said:
Vern5 said:
SaneAmongInsane said:
But I played Mass Effect 2, he doesn't come across as evil or racist.
Is that not the mark of a truly evil man? To be able to enact or enable horrible things and yet seem charming and level-headed at the same time; that is a very sinister presence.

Also, he's voiced by Martin Sheen who ended up spawning Charlie sheen. The evil isn't on the surface but it is inherently present.
Did you just imply (even slightly) that Martin Sheen was anything but a pure force for awesome?

Get out.
No, no, no. Martin sheen will always be awesome. I don't think I could ever come closing to proving otherwise. However, one of his sperm did create Charlie Sheen so I don't know what happened there.
Haha, I was just pulling your leg.

OT: I think this is what's great about the character of the Illusive Man is that it's totally ambiguous. I would totally call him evil. Maybe it's because I'm a black guy, so the fact that there's a guy who'd stop at nothing to make sure his own race (humans in this case, but it doesn't take a genius to spot certain other parallels) is dominant over all others makes me a little uncomfortable. But if others think differently, that that's fine too.
 

callfy

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In order to understand why the Illusive Man is "Evil", you need to look into the expanded Universe. The Illusive Man will do any thing for Humanities interests, ANYTHING. Read both Mass Effect: Ascension and Retribution.
 

Bigsmith

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Frotality said:
he's evil because bioware apparently wants to make him a villian in ME3, so just like every warcraft villian, he's gonna lose all character sympathy and moral ambiguity so we can have a boss fight with him.
And he still won't stand up from his chair.
 

TheDarkestDerp

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SaneAmongInsane said:
I'm not gonna say he's salt the universe, he's not. But I played Mass Effect 2, he doesn't come across as evil or racist. He and Cerebus are pretty much what they flat out say they are, an organization for humanities best interest.

It doesn't seem like he wants to go out of his way to harm the other species, but he's not going to put anyone or anything else above his mission goal. He also seems fairly reasonable, no matter what choices Sheppard chooses he throws in his two cents but lets the decision stand.

So whats the clear indication that the Illusive Man is evil?
Agreed. Playing through the game with friends several times, seeing the multiple endings I would hardly say I saw him as evil. He's direct in his goals and will do whatever it takes to see his species survive in a very cold and violent galaxy of wars and upheaval on all sides.

Seemed to me like he was only 'the bad guy' because Bioware said so.
 

Zhukov

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Ask Jack.

I'm sure she would have some choice words on the subject.
 

Boom129

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Cerberus did a lot of bad shit, and almost (Pragia) everything Cerberus has done, TIM has had a hand in it, case in point, the Akuze tragedy.
 

ENKC

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He's the personification of "the end justifies the means". Which may not be outright evil, but is certainly an ethically dubious position which quickly leads to all manner of corruption and tyranny here in the real world.
 

dkyros

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SaneAmongInsane said:
I'm not gonna say he's salt the universe, he's not. But I played Mass Effect 2, he doesn't come across as evil or racist. He and Cerebus are pretty much what they flat out say they are, an organization for humanities best interest.

It doesn't seem like he wants to go out of his way to harm the other species, but he's not going to put anyone or anything else above his mission goal. He also seems fairly reasonable, no matter what choices Sheppard chooses he throws in his two cents but lets the decision stand.

So whats the clear indication that the Illusive Man is evil?
and to you I quote bleach
"The betrayal you can see is trivial. What is truly fearsome, is the betrayal that you don't see..." -Aizen
 

Prof. Monkeypox

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He was never meant to be strictly evil, he's much more complex than that. I could see his point, but I still disagreed with his sentiments, and more importantly, with his methods.
 

Sniper Team 4

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Anyone who is willing to sacrifice, and kill, innocent people just to gain information or data--on a regular basis--can not be trusted in my book. How long before he decides your death is "worth it"? A family's death? A country? A planet? An entire system? He walks a slippery slope, and he's already well on his way down. He hasn't hit full blown evil yet, but he's well into the realm of corporation evil. Like Lex Luthor in the beginning, and we all know how evil he is now.
 

Jfswift

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I thought the Illusive man deliberately caused humans to have biotics, by exposing them to something harmful. That comes across as evil to me, forcing something unwanted onto someone else, regardless of the end result.
 

Denamic

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He's ruthless and puts humanity's best interest first.
That is, humanity's and only humanity's best interest.
Any alien casualties are acceptable.
 

ultratog1028

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He's no more evil then G-man. He is just suspicious and is using the main character to further his own plans, though those plans are for the most part kept secret. He's looking out for the best for humanity but disregarding other species and individuals as a whole.

He's not evil, his methods are simply unorthodox.
 

Rettosu

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I always saw Illusive Man as being True Neutral, actually. The only thing he wants is his race, his group, on top at any cost. Within those parameters, he's quite unpredictable. When will he support you? When will he betray you? You never know. Remember: not all villains are evil. Being a villain, or an antagonist if you prefer, just means opposing the goals of the protagonist.
And while we're on that subject, Paragon doesn't mean good, and Renegade doesn't mean evil. The way I prefer to define them is as heroic and anti-heroic, respectively. No one would say that Wolverine of the X-Men is evil, but neither would anyone doubt that he's a straight-up Renegade.
 

Spencer Petersen

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Because hes a person in great power who has very limited control over an organization that has proven that it is more than willing to sacrifice innocent people for goals of questionable scientific value, engage in clandestine military acts with malefic goals and has killed many innocent people in an effort to keep their ops secret. He has created a monster and has no remorse or goals to end at any time soon. He is also a racist and xenophobe.