9. Jack

Jack and Kaidan are two interesting mirror images of one another. Both are victims of the abuses put on biotics to achieve some imagined version of human superiority, but at the hands of two different institutions. Jack’s mistreatment at the hands of Cerberus led her down a much different path. She had a lot of lives before she joined the Normandy. She was a pirate, a mercenary, and had even joined a cult. Her tattoos all tell the stories of the lives she’s lived, and that elaborate tapestry paints a picture of who she is.

Jack starts out as a foul-mouthed punk who puts up walls, but as Shepard and the crew chip away at her armor, she learns to trust a team of close-knit people once more. When she shows up in Mass Effect 3, she’s a changed woman, mostly. No longer a loner, she’s dedicating her time to building a better future for biotic kids so no one has to go through what she has. Some might take issue with the hokey way she has a swear jar, but I think it’s sweet to see how she is having to adapt to polite society after spending most of her life throwing middle fingers at it. It’s funny!