- "I know it's a little odd to find the thanks coming from the Olo'eyktan leader... and it is alien to you."
- ―Jake Sully offering gratitude to Ninat
| Jake Sully | |
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| Biographical Information | |
| Name: | Jake Sully |
| Born: | August 24, 2126 |
| Nationality: | United States of America |
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| Physical Description | |
| Species: |
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| Gender: | Male |
| Status: | Alive |
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| Loyalty: |
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| Behind The Scenes | |
| Portrayed By: | Sam Worthington |
Jake Sully (born August 24, 2126) is the Omaticaya Olo'eyktan. Born on Earth, Jake had joined the United States Marines Corps where he recieved a wound to the spine during the conflict in Venezuela, becoming paraplegic. When his twin brother, Tom, was killed on Earth, Jake agreed to replace him in the Avatar Program on Pandora, in which humans remotely control human/Na'vi hybrids to safely navigate the planet.
He was originally assigned to gather intel that would help Colonel Quaritch find a way to force the Na'vi to leave Hometree, or destroy it if necessary. The Na'vi occupation of Hometree was blocking the RDA's access to a very large deposit of unobtanium underneath the tree. After spending time with the Na'vi, Jake abandons his original mission and stops reporting to Quaritch. Jake learns the ways of the Na'vi hunters from Neytiri and falls in love with her. He is eventually accepted into the Omaticaya clan and becomes Neytiri's mate. He turns against the RDA and, after becoming the sixth Toruk Makto, leads the Na'vi in a battle to drive the RDA off Pandora.
Early History[]
- "Sorry son, we... we can't help you with your spine."
- ―Jake Sully hearing the news of his disability
Earth[]
Jake and his younger twin brother Thomas were born on August 24, 2126, to the parents of Camille and Damin Sully in Detroit, Michigan. Camille was a Army nurse who was stationed at Sam Houston hospital in Detroit while Damin Sully was a Resources Development Administration representative. Both twins had grown up hearing about Pandora from their father who would come home, sharing stories about the alien world that existed beyond their own solar system.
Thomas, Jake's twin bother, dreamed of visiting Pandora during his life and decided to pursue a career that would take him there. Jake meanwhile saw what the world was. The realily of Earth was filled with war, terrorism, sorrow, corruption, enviromnental disasters. He felt it was his life to bring some amount of peace within a world that suffocated by the evil deeds of the human condition.
Military Service[]
Jake on Earth.
Seeking a life in military service, Jake had signed up with the US Marines shortly after graduating from high school. He became part of the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion as a Corporal where he saw engagements in the Balkans during the food riots of 2147. In early July of 2147, his battalion was part of the NATO Coalition to stop USAN (Union of South American Nations) from embarking an invasion force into Mexico after the Fascist Revolution of 2120. Several NATO nations picked a few countries that were deemed a 'threat' to Mexico and set out to send a military force in hopes of stopping those countries from sending a pre-emptive strike against Mexico.
The United States had picked Venezuela. The 1st Recon Marines were the first foot soldiers on Venezuela where Jake and his squad were ordered to destroy several shanty towns to make room for the invasion force. This had lead to an al- out skirmish between the Marines and the Venezuelan military. Jake had suffered a bullet shrapnel wound to the spine when the Venezuelan were retreating.
After the battle, Jake was pulled out from active duty and was sent to a military hospital in Miami, Florida where doctor's managed to remove the pieces of shrapnel from his lower spine. However, due to the shrapnel severing several nerves, the doctor's were unable to repair the damaged nerve endings without him paying more out from his pocket. Outraged, Sully had contacted his commanding officer to find out why the military wasn't covering the bill. His CO was unware of the event and asked Sully to seek more information from the Pentagon.
The Pentagon took note of the issue and told Sully that his benefits did not cover the cost to repair his spine. This ultimately left Sully paralyzed from his waist down and with no options left, Jake had returned to Detroit in which he became part of Veteran's of Foreign Wars in hopes of regaining his ability to walk again.
Life after the War[]
In early 2148, months of trying to lobby for the government to give him veteran's health care, Jake moved closer to his parent's apartment in the second tier of Detroit. When his father was diagnosed with cancer, Jake had contacted Tom in hopes of seeing what he could do. Thomas returned to Detroit after having graduated with a doctorate's degree in Xenobiology and at the time was currently also working on his training, but the return was too little too late. Their father had passed away when Thomas arrived the day of his father's death.
Jake, who was already angered by what little the hospital's could do became enraged against his younger brother and forced him to leave their home. Tom had left for Atlanta, Georgia to return back to his training in the Avatar Program. Having been accepted to become a driver, Tom vowed to make amends with his brother and mother by returning to Detroit during his break in his training within the Program.
Jake wandering the streets of Detroit.
By this time, Jake had moved into his own apartment next to his mother's and began volunteering his time at the local VFW to help those who were returning from the wars in South America. Hearing that Tom was coming for a visit, Jake became infuriated, not against his brother but towards himself as he saw that his brother was going on to do great things while Jake saw himself as nothing more than a man sitting on a wheel chair.
On August 2nd, 2148, just a day shy from his brother coming to visit. He went wandering the town, seeking refuge in bars to drown out the emotions that had built up that week. His friends had called him over to one local bar he had never been too. There, Jake fooled around with his friends by playing a few drinking games and trying his hand at impressing a few of the ladies that were there that night.
One of them was a young blonde that had gained Jake's attention. Talking to her, Jake had found out that the woman was not impressed by his disability and refused to talk to him again. Annoyed by this, Jake returned to his table where he continued to play a few more games before heading out for the night. However, when another man had walked into the bar, he began harassing the woman that Jake had talked to earlier. Seeing this, Jake immediately went into action and began assaulting the man.
A few seconds later, Jake was thrown out of the bar onto an alley along with his wheel chair. Disillusioned by the situation, he sang a Marine cadence before two RDA agents appeared before him. Realizing this was the man they were looking for, they told Jake that his brother had been murdered by a mugger.
Agreeing to leave for Atlanta, Georgia, Jake had left with no possession in hand and found himself staring face to face with his deceased brother inside a cardboard box coffin. He watched with guilt as his brother was cremated. Since Jake was genetically identical to his brother, the RDA sought out that they get him to join the Program in an effort to replace his brother as the operator of Tom's Avatar. With compensation, they also agreed to pay for the cost of the surgery that was needed to repair his spine.
Finding that he needed to repay his brother in some way, Jake agreed in helping the RDA out by being his brother's replacement.
A month later, Jake was placed into cryosleep aboard the ISV Venture Star that was heading for Alpha Centuari A.
Pandora[]
Arrival[]
Jake arriving at Hell's Gate via Valkyrie.
After five years, nine months and 22 days of travel, Jake awakens from cryosleep aboard the ISV Venture Star as it orbits above Pandora. Jake, along with the other new arrivals, disembarks from a Valkyrie shuttle at Hell's Gate, where he has his first contact with Pandora's hostile climate. Upon landing, Jake and the other passengers are briefed on the use of exopacks: personal rebreather units that filter the toxic Pandoran atmosphere. Exopacks are required for survival outside of internally pressurized RDA facilities.
When he enters the Administration Building, Jake meets Colonel Miles Quaritch, a seasoned ex-Marine who was in charge of Pandora's entire paramilitary defense force - Security Operations. In a security briefing for the new comers, he explains to them all the dangers of Pandora, stressing that the biggest threat is an indigenous population of humanoids called the Na'vi. He makes it clear that he is not willing to tolerate any resistance from the Na'vi and has very little patience for the scientists working on the Avatar project.
Finding this routine, Jake settles down by visiting some of the areas within the facility. He is met with the lanky yet friendly scientist by the name of Norm Spellman who greets him to the rest of the crew on the Avatar Program.
After settling down, Jake and Norm test out their new Avatar's, thus beginning a new chapter in both of their lives.
On the first scientific expedition to the forest, pass the Akat Mountains, Jake became lost with his science group and was eventually met by Neytiri who then brought him before the Omaticaya people. It was here that Jake's own personal life and destiny had finally culminated into a different path for the Marine.
Aftermath[]
The first war, or to the Na'vi -- "The Great Sorrow" -- had ended with Jake and the Na'vi being the victors in the conflict against the RDA. It was no surprise then that Jake chose to transfer his consciousness to his Avatar body, especially after that Tsu'tey claimed for him to be the new leader of the Omaticaya.
Reluctant to take on the new title of Omaticaya, Jake agreed in his own personal effort to rebuild and reconnect the Omaticaya. It was during this time that Jake spent more time learning the political nature of the Na'vi tribe; a different dimension than the troublesome human politics of Earth. The People came first and foremost than him, as his own needs were always met by Neytiri herself.
Eventually, Jake grew accustomed to being the Olo'eyktan of the Omaticaya, but guilt still held a tight grip on the man who rallied the People against a common foe. The Toruk Makto, the born leader that was to lead the People out of a great sorrow was suffering guilt about his own decisions he had made.
One of which included the decision of accepting his role as the Olo'eyktan. A role he neither defied against Tsu'tey or the People, but a role none the less he felt was not of his own. He suggested to Neytiri once that the role of Olo'eyktan shoudl have gone to someone more elder than himself. A suggestion Neytiri wholeheartedly disagreed with.
Personality & Traits[]
Jake always puts others before himself, taking care of the needs of others before his own. He has, as Neytiri said when they first met, a good heart. Yet as a Marine by attitude, Jake will have a tendancy to flank his friends and colleagues with a stoic and callous way; riddled with sarcasm that only bit and not bite.
Such an attitude was birthed shortly after becoming paralyzed, a defensive nature that was sharp to deter those who were willing to pick on him. Even while he was on Pandora, Jake assured to everyone that he did not need the help due to his disability. He showed he was strong even when he had no use of his legs, but it went only so far as Jake had suffered more trauma mentally than he did physically.
In new environments and people, Jake is never shy to be open and unwavering to be the person that people can trust. While he becomes familiar with his surroundings and that of those around him, the trust he had for others that was once reluctant steadily grew.
He is courageous, determined, passionate and possesses exceptional strength of character. In his own words, "I can pass any test a man can pass". He later also proves that he can pass any test a Na'vi can pass, being one of the few to bond with a great leonopteryx and the only avatar to ever accomplish the feat.
Having very little knowledge of Pandora, Jake's own belief of the world was that of a foreign war torn land, where the indigenous were dangerous and the animals were equally if not more dangerous. Pandora was another field that he needed to operate in.
A fast learner and an adaptable individual, Jake quickly assumes his role within the Na'vi way of life. Eventually becoming a member of the Omaticaya clan in a mere three months. Though he notes that with Neytiri, it is "learn fast or die", he relishes the challenges she provides him with and refuses to give up on them no matter how hard they are.
Gradually over the course of months that he has been on Pandora, Jake truly begins to appreciate life in an entirely new way that Neytiri and the Na'vi have presented it.
When Eytukan is killed during the RDA's assault on Hometree, Jake is saddened and tries to comfort Neytiri despite having been rejected as a traitor. When Grace is shot by Quaritch during the avatar team's escape from Hell's Gate, Jake does everything he can to ensure that she doesn't die. However, when Grace succumbs to her wound and dies, Jake feels pain and sorrow, but uses these emotions to solidify his determination to stop the RDA. He also prevents Quaritch from killing Neytiri during the final battle and fights against the Colonel despite Quaritch being in an AMP suit at the time.
The Omaticaya's trust for Jake is shattered when they learn about his initial mission. Jake regains their trust by risking his life to tame a toruk. He displays leadership skills and charisma when he unites the Na'vi clans and leads them into battle against the RDA. However, when Tsu'tey is gravely wounded in the final battle and wishes for Jake to take the title of Olo'eyktan, Jake is hesitant to accept, feeling that he was not "officer material", and is unwilling to kill Tsu'tey despite his urging of Jake to end his pain. Jake does so with much sadness and wishes his spirit to go with Eywa.