Sam Fisher
Sam Fisher in Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist.
Biographical information
Full name	Samuel Fisher[1]
Nickname(s)	Sam
Known aliases	Jean-Pierre Martin[2]
Born	1957[3][4][5][6] Towson, Maryland[5][6][7]
Citizenship	American
Family	Regan Burns† (ex-wife) Sarah Fisher (daughter)
Physical description
Hair	Brown (Graying)[6][7]
Eyes	Green[6][7]
Height	5′11″ (CT[4]) 5′10″ (DA1[8] and DA2)
Weight	170 lbs (CT[4], DA1[8] and DA2)
Career information
Occupation	Third Echelon Splinter Cell (SC, PT, CT, DA1 and DA2) Leader of Fourth Echelon (B)
Rank	Lieutenant Commander[7]
Affiliations	United States Navy Central Intelligence Agency Victor Coste Douglas Shetland Irving Lambert National Security Agency Third Echelon Anna Grímsdóttir Fourth Echelon
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell series information
Appears in	See Appearances in Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell media
Voice actor(s)	Michael Ironside Eric Johnson (B)
Motion capture actor(s)	Eric Johnson (B)

"Few presidents have ever granted the Fifth Freedom. It's the right to defend our laws, by breaking them. To safeguard secrets, by stealing them. To save lives, by taking them. To do whatever it takes to protect our country. The Fifth Freedom is mine alone. I am Sam Fisher. I am a Splinter Cell."

— Sam Fisher in the "Official Fifth Freedom Trailer" for Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist.^[9]

Sam Fisher is the main protagonist and player character of the Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell series of video games developed and published by the independent French video game developer and publisher Ubisoft and endorsed by American author Tom Clancy. Fisher was a field operative of the "Splinter Cell" program for Third Echelon, a top-secret initiative within the National Security Agency.

Sam Fisher was created by JT Petty^[10] and designed by Martin Caya.^[11] He was voiced by actor Michael Ironside in all the Splinter Cell games from the first to Conviction. In Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist, Eric Johnson is the performance capture actor for the role.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Navy career 3 Profile 4 Operational history 4.1 1989 4.2 1991 4.2.1 Operation Desert Storm 4.2.1.1 Highway of Death, Diwaniya, Iraq 4.2.2 Umm Qasr, Iraq 4.2.3 Operation SCARAB TOOTH 4.3 1992: Operation Selva Verde 4.4 2004: Georgian Information Crisis 4.4.1 Recruitment 4.4.1.1 Version 1 4.4.1.2 Version 2 4.4.2 Crisis in Georgia 4.5 2005 4.6 2006: Indonesian Crisis/LAX Incident 4.6.1 NSA mole and stolen weapons cache 4.7 2007 4.7.1 NYC Cyber Attacks/East Asian Crisis 4.7.2 Hallucinogenic testing 4.7.3 Sarah's kidnapping 4.8 2008: JBA Deep-Cover Operation 4.8.1 Endings 4.8.1.1 Version 1 4.8.1.2 Version 2 4.9 2009: After JBA operation/Last Goodbye 4.10 2011: Third Echelon Conspiracy 4.10.1 Nexegen Technologies/RDEI Incident 4.10.2 Man of Conviction 4.10.2.1 Version 1 4.10.2.2 Version 2 4.11 2012: Fourth Echelon and The Blacklist 5 Expanded Universe 5.1 Operational history 5.1.1 1980s 5.1.2 1991: Mauritania-Senegal Border War 5.1.3 2003: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Checkmate 5.1.4 2004/05: East Asia Assignment 5.1.5 2005: Babylon Phoenix Crisis 5.1.6 2006: Operation Barracuda/MRUUV Incident 5.1.7 2008: Operation Fallout 5.1.8 2008/09: Korfovka Mission 5.1.9 2009/10: The Search for Sam Fisher/Doppleganger Factory Arms Conpiracy 6 Relationships 7 Abilities 7.1 Athletic skills 7.2 Stealth tactics 7.3 Close combat 7.4 Handedness 7.5 Expertise 7.6 Shooting technique 8 Quotes 9 Developer commentary 10 Appearances in Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell media 10.1 Games 10.2 Novels 10.3 Comic books 11 Trivia 12 References in popular culture 13 References

Early lifeEdit

Sam Fisher majored in Political Science. During the mid-1980s he was working in the CIA in Eastern Europe under the cover of being deployed as a diplomatic aide.^[12] Sam met NSA cryptanalyst Regan Burns in the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic. They had a "stormy" affair and Regan got pregnant. After learning of the pregnancy, they had a small, quiet wedding at a U.S. military base in Germany, where Sarah was later born on May 31, 1985.^[13] It was a distant, difficult marriage. Sam and Regan eventually separated after three years of marriage.^[14] Regan went back to the United States and took Sarah with her, reclaiming her maiden name and changing Sarah's. Sam became estranged from Regan and Sarah as he dedicated himself to his work, operating extensively in Germany, Afghanistan, and the Soviet satellites in the years leading up to the collapse of the USSR. Regan later died from ovarian cancer when Sarah was fifteen, circa 2000.^[15] Sam became Sarah's legal guardian and he took a bureaucratic job with the CIA in the United States.

Navy careerEdit

A combat veteran of a hundred silent wars, Sam Fisher is one of the most experienced and highly respected covert operators in the U.S. intelligence community. Fisher was an officer in the U.S. Navy, where he rose to the rank of Lieutenant Commander (O-4)^[7] while serving in the Navy SEALs. During his time in the Navy he spent nearly three years (2 years, 11 months) as an intelligence analyst.^[7] At one point he was awarded the Defense Distinguished Service Medal.^[7] He retired from the Navy circa 1996.^[16]

ProfileEdit

For two decades, Fisher has been involved in numerous armed conflicts throughout the world, many of them unconventional. Over the course of his extensive service career, he has served in hot spots such as the Persian Gulf (i.e. Iraq, Kuwait, etc.), Iran, Colombia, Senegal,^[17] and Afghanistan as well as taking covert assignments in North Korea, South Korea, Russia, Panama, the former East Germany, Myanmar, China, Japan, and the former Soviet Republic of Georgia amongst several others. He has not only survived, but has also excelled in the field of covert operations through hard work, insatiable curiosity and brutal honesty. Combat, espionage and constant training have defined his adult life; his tactical experience has become part of his instinct. He is quiet, instinctive, and observant: somebody who watches from the outside. Even outside of work he is most comfortable on the fringes of society, keenly observant but still removed.

Though fully aware and confident of his abilities, Fisher understands that his survival has often been a gift of chance. He knows he is human and fallible, and he does not want to die. Highly-trained, skilled and experienced, Fisher possesses a distinctly dark sense of humor, which he uses to control his fears and keep himself calm while in the field. Personality-wise, Fisher is abrasive and honest, and has little patience for niceties and even less for lies, especially when the immediate problem presents itself. Unlike younger operatives, he is not a blind idealist.

But in order to achieve the discipline required for his work, Fisher has had to bury certain aspects of himself. His ability to detach himself emotionally from the immediate situation in order to better achieve his objectives is an exceptional attribute. Though, on rare occasions, his emotions have been known to surface. A man of few words, he is truly himself only when he is on the job – he has, in a sense, become what he does. He has acquired an admirable collection of scars, war experiences, and a place in military history. He has little left to prove to the world and he has no interest in glory. If he fights, it is because he believes he is capable of provoking positive change.

Operational historyEdit

Sam Fisher has been into the most sensitive areas around the world. Since his recruitment in August 2004 (the 1990s in the novels and Essentials^[18]), Sam proved himself to be one of the most valuable assets in Third Echelon's arsenal, from his first official mission in 2004 during the Georgian Information Crisis, to his last operation in 2008 when he went undercover as a convicted felon to infiltrate the domestic terror organization John Brown's Army.

1989Edit

Fisher took part in Operation Just Cause, when he was part of a CIA raiding team that went into a bank in Panama searching for Manuel Noriega's drug money. He later spent most of the rest of the year "sleeping in a ditch on the road between Baghdad and Kuwait".^[19]

1991Edit

Sam Fisher is a veteran of the Gulf War (1990–1991), during which he participated in SEAL operations throughout the Persian Gulf.

Operation Desert StormEdit

Highway of Death, Diwaniya, IraqEdit

Sam Fisher was rescued from a hostage situation during the Liberation of Kuwait campaign by fellow SEAL team member Victor Coste (callsign "Husky") after being captured by Iraqi Republican Guard soldiers following an ambush that killed two of his men (one from an IED, the other was shot to death) while leading a four-man SEAL team on a patrol through a highway in Diwaniya leading out of Kuwait back towards the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.

Umm Qasr, IraqEdit

On March 4, 1991, Sam Fisher had his first contact with Douglas Shetland.

Operation SCARAB TOOTHEdit

On March 12, 1991, Sam Fisher had his second contact with Douglas Shetland in Kuwait.

1992: Operation Selva VerdeEdit

Main article: Operation Selva Verde

On 2–3 May 1992, Sam Fisher had his third contact with Douglas Shetland, then a SEAL liaison on loan to the Colombian Army, during Operation Selve Verde in Norte de Santander, Colombia, where he single-handedly rescued Shetland, who was captured after his unit was ambushed by FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) guerrilla forces.

2004: Georgian Information CrisisEdit

Main article: Georgian Information Crisis

RecruitmentEdit

Version 1Edit

On August 7, 2004, former Navy SEAL Sam Fisher demonstrated that he possessed the necessary skills to be a Splinter Cell when he successfully completes an "assault course" and a series of tests at "The Farm" in Camp Peary, Virginia, after which he was approached by Colonel Irving Lambert, who personally welcomed Fisher into the NSA.

Version 2Edit

On October 7, 2004, newly-recruited Splinter Cell Sam Fisher undergoes training at "The Farm" in Camp Peary, Virginia. Somewhere in the Pacific, Sam is deep-sea diving with his daughter, Sarah. While there, a ship comes alongside his fishing boat, he meets Vernon Wilkes, Jr. who puts him into contact with Colonel Irving Lambert, who informs Sam via cochlear implant that his mission is to bring back two missing CIA agents (Alice Madison and Robert Blaustein) who disappeared during their mission in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia.

Crisis in GeorgiaEdit

In October 2004, the CIA contacted NSA officials regarding the loss of contact with Agent Madison, a CIA operative monitoring widespread communication shortages plaguing the former Soviet Republic of Georgia, A second operative, Agent Blaustein, was inserted into the Georgian capital of T'Bilisi to locate Agent Madison, only to drop from contact four days later. Fearing for the lives of the American agents compromised at the hands of a suspected terrorist effort, Third Echelon activated Fisher for his first official mission as its first Splinter Cell operator to locate the missing agents and evaluate the situation.

On October 16, Fisher was inserted into the city of T'Bilisi and ordered to find CIA contact and NSA liaison Thomas Gurgenidze, a booking clerk working in the T'Bilisi fourth police precinct. He had to enter a nearby building, which had been set on fire by Nikoladze's men. Fisher found the contact, and is informed that Blaustein hid a black box in his apartment which contained proof that would mean war. After that, he sets out to find Gurgenidze's dead drop in Morevi Square. From there, Fisher entered the fourth precinct through the back entrance to find the bodies of Agents Madison and Blaustein in the precinct's morgue with their subdermal implants removed. He then accessed the precinct's security surveillance room to find out who took the agents' subdermal implants. Fisher then ex-filtrated from the precinct.

Some time later during the operation, Fisher uncovers a campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Muslim population of Azerbaijan by an invading Georgian military, led by President Kombayn Nikoladze. Following NATO intervention, Nikoladze goes underground and declares war on America. Using sophisticated computer algorithms, Nikoladze dismantles America's electronic infrastructure and is able to smuggle a nuclear device on American soil (codenamed: the ARK) in the ensuing chaos. During the war against Georgia, American soldiers were captured on the front. Fisher was deployed to locate

and save the captured soldiers. While conducting recon at the Chinese embassy Fisher gathered intelligence of a potential link between the country of Georgia and a Chinese General. Leading to potential speculation that the Chinese were providing aide to Georgia in their war campaign against the United States. Based on that intel deliberate action was carried out and the General was targeted and captured by Fisher. But succumb to poisoned alcohol. Following a mission to neutralize Nikoladze, Fisher learns the "ARK" is a powerful nuclear suitcase bomb already in place on American soil but puts the crisis to an end by assassinating the only person capable of activating the device.

2005Edit

Later, while infiltrating the Severomorsk region in Russia, Fisher assassinated Canadian hacker and architect of the dangerous algorithm, Philip Masse.

2006: Indonesian Crisis/LAX IncidentEdit

The U.S. installs a temporary military base on East Timor to train the developing defense force of the "world's youngest democracy." Resistance to the U.S. military presence in Southeast Asia is widespread and passionate, but the threat the Indonesian militias pose to Timorese democracy was deemed as sufficient justification. At the same time, the U.S. doesn't mind having an excuse to install active military personnel within easy reach of both North Korea and the largest Muslim population in Asia. Anti-U.S. resentment comes to a head under the leadership of guerrilla militia leader Suhadi Sadono (former CIA-trained combatant of Communist ideology in the region), acting with the unofficial support of major corrupt factions of the Indonesian government. Sadono's men attack and occupy the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, taking hostage dozens of civilian and military personnel. Splinter Cell Sam Fisher was sent in to destroy a top-secret document held in the embassy before Sadono's men could access it.

Sadono then smuggles numerous ND133 bombs containing the smallpox virus (codenamed: Pox Box) onto U.S. soil that are designed to detonate if Sadono is ever killed or captured. In an effort to combat the nationwide menace of the ND133 bombs, Third Echelon establishes a sub-branch within the organization named Shadownet to hunt down and disable the weapons, under the watchful protection of a PMC group called Armed Guardian Services (ARGUS). With the ND133 devices disabled, Fisher is sent to capture Sadono alive. Later, Third Echelon learns that rogue CIA agent Norman Soth has smuggled a final ND133 device into LAX International Airport in Los Angeles, California, and dispatches

Fisher. He successfully eliminates Soth and the LAPD bomb squad disables the "Pox Box" before it's deployed.

NSA mole and stolen weapons cacheEdit

In August 2006, shortly after the incident at LAX, Sam Fisher is sent on a mission to discover the NSA mole, and anyone who was behind the plot to steal an NSA weapon cache to sell to foreign terrorists. He infiltrated a steel factory in Warsaw, Indiana, eavesdropped on Ernest (then knocked him out), and captured Agent Frasier for later interrogation. He successfully located the weapon cache.

2007Edit

NYC Cyber Attacks/East Asian CrisisEdit

After the controversial decision to establish its own Information Self-Defense Force (I-SDF) headed by Admiral Toshiro Otomo, Japan's shipping routes in the Yellow Sea are blocked by naval vessels from the Chinese and North Korean fleet; forcing the United States to intervene. Fisher is dispatched to Peru to investigate reports of a computer hacker's attempt to re-engineer the devastating computer algorithms developed by Philip Masse, now considered to be the superweapon of the 21st century. War between North Korea, South Korea and the United States sparks when a North Korean "Super" Silkworm missile destroys the USS Clarence E. Walsh (CG-80), an advanced U.S. information warship, on July 4 of 2007. Following claims the missile launch was unintentional, Sam investigates and discovers a PMC group named Displace International, headed by Fisher's old friend and comrade Douglas Shetland, had been recruited by Japan's I-SDF to utilize the "Masse Kernels" and orchestrate the attack on U.S. forces in order to re-militarize Japan and ignite World War III.

Fisher learns that Otomo is forcing the Japanese SDF to repeal the post-war constitution with the threat of using a North Korean missile against a major Japanese city. Given the "Fifth Freedom," with everyone but Otomo, Fisher is tasked with capturing Otomo, who commits seppuku to spite him. U.S. officials want to interrogate Otomo and ask Fisher to save the Admiral from his own hand. Fisher complied and was successful in capturing Otomo alive and preventing World War III, ending the Crisis in East Asia.

Hallucinogenic testingEdit

In the fall of 2007, Sam Fisher had been somehow "kidnapped and detained in a old German bunker in Normandy, France". Since CIA agent Hisham Hamza of the Defense Department's Interdepartmental Operative program and Third Echelon had managed to "track Fisher's position" and contact him via his subdermal implant, they monitored Sam while he was on an unknown hallucinogenic drug for one week. During that time, he barely escaped his captors and saw Hamza. In reality, Sam was still at Third Echelon Headquarters in Fort Meade undergoing hallucinogenic drug resistance testing after he had signed himself up a few days before, even though Lambert had tried to persuade him not to take part in the experimental exercise. Sam claimed that he had no memories about that but hoped that his memory would come back.

Sarah's kidnappingEdit

Sam Fisher learned that Sarah and two of her friends were kidnapped coming home from a club in Washington, D.C. They were stashed in a van, and taken aboard a cargo ship, thus prompting Sam to take the initiative to go after Sarah's kidnappers. He managed to sneak aboard the ship before being contacted by Lambert, who asked why he's going on his own. Fisher explained himself and Lambert complied to help his friend. After Fisher retrieved his daughter and her friends alive and in security, he discovered that arms dealer Raheem Kadir was the one who ordered the kidnapping and the target was actually the daughter of a high ranking diplomat. Fisher managed to take down the kidnappers and escape the boat before police arrival.

2008: JBA Deep-Cover OperationEdit

In September 2007 (Version 1)/January 2008 (Version 2), Sam Fisher is sent on a mission to Iceland. After obtaining a list of the launch of a warhead (Version 1)/a list of buyers for Red Mercury (Version 2), Fisher is quickly pulled out only to find out from Lambert that his daughter, Sarah, was killed by a drunk driver. After her funeral, Fisher disappeared from sight.

Unable to cope with his mounting personal losses, Fisher is relieved of duty as a Splinter Cell. Later, Lambert reassigns him to a high-risk, deep-cover operation to infiltrate the ranks of John Brown's Army (JBA), a domestic terrorist organization founded and led by Emile Dufraisne. After agreeing to take on "the most dangerous mission of his career", Sam's first step was to win the group's trust by freeing one of their members, Jamie Washington, from Ellsworth Federal Penitentiary in Kansas. He went undercover as a convicted felon and prison inmate in order to befriend Jamie and help him break him out of Ellsworth. After proving himself, Sam was introduced to Dufraine's organization and offered membership.

He accepted, becoming a double agent within the JBA.

During the course of his assignment, Sam discovered that the JBA and their allied terrorist groups had obtained Red Mercury, a substance capable of nuclear weapon-caliber damage planned to launch attacks against three major cities, two of them being Los Angeles and New York City.

EndingsEdit

Version 1Edit

In New York City, Emile offers Sam a gun and the chance to prove his loyalty once and for all by shooting Lambert, who had been captured inside the JBA compound and beaten. Sam reluctantly complies, taking the gun and shooting Lambert, maintaining his cover. However, Lambert is still alive and gives Sam his last orders to stop the bomb before falling unconscious. Dufraisne and his second-in-command Carson Moss are both killed by Sam before either is able to detonate a Red Mercury device on U.S. soil. Fisher also kills Washington and Lambert dies of his wounds.

Version 2Edit

In New York City, after leaving the headquarters in New Orleans for the final time, Emile discovers that Sam is a traitor and orders all JBA members to kill him on sight. Sam has to work his way through every single one of them, including the high-ranking members, and disarm all three Red Mercury bombs within New York city. After Emile dies and the last bomb is disabled, Enrica is shot and killed by a Splinter Cell sent by Assistant Director Lawrence Williams. Sam, who had grown close to Enrica, kills the Splinter Cell out of rage. Williams swears that the NSA will find him and that he can't hide from them, to which Sam replies, "Watch me." 

2009: After JBA operation/Last GoodbyeEdit

Main article: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Essentials

In January 2009, Sam Fisher visits his daughter's gravesite at Elysian Fields Cemetery in Washington, D.C. before being captured and interrogated. He was suspected of helping Emile Dufraisne with several terrorist attacks, and the NSA wanted to find out if that was true. Sam was forced to explain himself over several key points during his career before and during his time in the Splinter Cell program which didn't seem to match up with Third Echelon's records. One of the arresting agents, who believed he was innocent, tells of Sam's rescue of Douglas Shetland during Operation Selva Verde in May 1992.

With the help of Anna Grímsdóttir, Sam learns that his records had been tampered with by Lawrence Williams, Third Echelon's acting Director of Operations, in order to frame him as being a rogue agent, with each of those events rewritten to make Sam appear as if he had completely disobeyed orders or was involved in committing treason and/or acts of terrorism against the United States. Anna Grímsdóttir and William Redding explain what really happened during the events. Williams discovers that his hacks to the record had been discovered, and stole the CD containing the evidence from Grímsdóttir. Sam escaped his captors, and infiltrated the National Security Agency Headquarters in Fort Meade, Maryland. After sneaking into Williams' office and recovering the evidence, he confronts Williams, explaining he would expose him. Sam then escaped, taking the evidence with him.

2011: Third Echelon ConspiracyEdit

Nexegen Technologies/RDEI IncidentEdit

Main article: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Digging in the Ashes

Three years after the incident that took place in New York, Sam Fisher, now retired from Third Echelon, is under attack from an unidentified infiltration team. 3 days prior to this pursuit, Sam arrives in Vancouver to meet with former Voron agent Ruslan Lupul. Lupul requires Sam’s help for a freelance job concerning stealing some DVR technology from a Korean electronics firm called Nexegen Technologies. In return, Lupul agrees to provide Sam with a file he has concerning the death of Sam’s daughter, Sarah.

During the infiltration of the company headquarters, Sam becomes suspicious, and Lupul admits that Nexegen is actually a front company for the North Korean RDEI (Research Department for External Intelligence). After completing the data transfer Sam is double-crossed by Lupul, but manages to evade security and escape the premises. Sam then confronts Lupul at his mansion and forces him to provide the file on Sarah. Before Lupul is able to provide Sam with the name of his source, he is killed by a sniper bullet. Back to the pursuit, Sam manages to escape the mansion unharmed after disabling several Korean squad members.

Twenty-four hours later, Sam is in Valetta, Malta, having a phone conversation with an unidentified source in order to learn more about his daughter’s death in exchange for some Voron intel Sam procured from Lupul’s home.

Man of ConvictionEdit

Main article: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction

Version 1Edit

After learning that Sarah's death was plotted, Sam decides to investigate who murdered his daughter and why. While at a cafe in Malta, Sam receives word from Grim that a local gang was hired to kill him. Shortly after eliminating the hitmen, he brutally interrogates Dmitri Gramkos, the gang's leader who gave the order, and finds out that an arms dealer and drug trafficker named Andriy Kobin was the man who drove the car that killed Sarah. Fisher then sneaks into Kobin's mansion, eliminating several of Kobin's men as he does so. Sam reaches Kobin and interrogates him. Right before Kobin is about to talk, Splinter Cells storm in and surround Fisher, during which he is convinced by Grímsdóttir to go with the agents who take him away.

Later on, Sam obtains equipment such as a portable EMP generator, Sonar Goggles, grenades, and sticky cameras (which are now thrown by hand), all courtesy of Sam's old friend, Victor Coste, and a Third Echelon employee named Charlie Fryman. During his investigation, he discovers that his daughter is alive. He learned from Grim that her "death" was orchestrated by Lambert to lead him to uncover a huge mole in the NSA, Tom Reed, who was soon appointed as Third Echelon's new Director. At the White House, Sam is captured and Grim seems to have gone over to Reed's side. She takes him to the Oval Office, where he is futilely interrogated by Reed. However, this was just a ruse as she later helps Sam take out Reed's Third Echelon bodyguards and rescue President Patricia Caldwell, whom Reed was about to kill and blame Sam for her death. Sam grabs Reed and interrogates him about the whole conspiracy. Sam [the player] chooses to spare or kill Reed, if spared that prompts Grim to kill Reed which ends the conspiracy. If Sam didn't kill Reed then Sam tells Grim how he has chosen to "walk" away.

At the end the game implies that Sam was in the middle of freeing Victor Coste from captivity by Black Arrow.

This is shown to be true; during the credits of Splinter Cell: Conviction, a conversation between Sam, Victor (and possibly Sarah) at a restaurant plays. They speak of a time when the three of them were offered to buy an elephant, to which Sam replied, "Sorry, I already have one."

Version 2Edit

Sam Fisher is contacted by Grímsdóttir at the marina, and has to work his way up to the marketplace, where she has hid an ear piece for him under a telescope. After he found the ear piece several men enter the market place to capture him. One of them shoots an RPG at the fountain at the center of the marketplace destroying it. Sam goes further into the marketplace, where a SUV drives up with more men. After dispatching them Sam enters a dockside building, and is chased to a boat where he escapes.

Sam enters another part of Malta, where Grímsdóttir sends him to a lighthouse to turn off the reflector. After disabling the reflector. A helicopter finds him at the top of the lighthouse, and asks for orders. Reed orders the pilot to fire on Fisher. A missile is sent into the top of the tower, and Sam barely escapes by diving into the sea below. Climbing back onto to shore, he works his way along the beach and works his way to the market hall. Sam stealthily takes out several more men, and then interrogates the "Sentinel". Sam convinces the Sentinel to send a message that the place is all clear. However, Gramkos sends reinforcements anyways. A boat docks on a nearby pier, and several men, including Gramkos step out. Gramkos orders them to take out Sam Fisher. Sam defeats them and interrogates him, he tells him about Kobin, and sends him to a museum on George Street. Avoiding the police, he makes it to the museum. Seeing that the way was heavily guarded, he created a diversion by dropping a banner on top them, and then made his way into the garden. Grímsdóttir overloaded the power grid, to turn off the lights, so that he could sneak through. The path to museum was long, and Kobin had men on every street, and a sniper setup in position to ambush Fisher. After taking out the sniper, Sam made his way into the museum, and interrogated Kobin. Other Splinter Cells repelled into the room, and took Kobin away. Grim explained that she was a mole inside of Third Echelon working for President Caldwell.

Heading to Washington, D.C., Sam met up with Victor Coste, who gave him "[his] favorite pistol" and a portable EMP generator from DARPA. He helped Sam infiltrate White Box, MCN Headquarters, where secret Third Echelon Headquarters was also located. Sam first knocked out the power to the surrounding compound. He made his way into the security booth, to disable the security in the building, and took out the satellite antenna's on top of the roof. He then disabled the satellite dish on the roof, and made it inside the building via an elevator into building. Inside he tracked down where Kobin was being held. Sam saves a scientist from some Black Arrow mercenaries, and who tells him about Robertson. After witnessing some more Black Arrow mercenaries murder a scientist, Sam interrogates a Splinter Cell for a keycard into Third Echelon Headquarters, and saved some scientists that were being held hostage. Grímsdóttir contacted Sam, and had him help her hack into the computer systems. Sam discovered Kobin inside Third Echelon Headquarters, eavesdropping on him contacting Reed. Sam interrogated Kobin, learning more about the EMPs, and more about his daughter. He then contacted Grim to learn more from her.

Sam made his way to the rooftops of the complex, where Coste contacted him to let him know he was inbound in a helicopter. But Reed had sent another helicopter to intercept him. Reed had the chopper fire a missile at Sam, destroying the doorway behind him. Sam made his way across the roof avoiding the helicopter. Finally reaching some RPGs, he fired them at the chopper, and then sniped the pilot (causing it to crash into the roof). Sam then made his way back into the building to regroup with Coste.

With the crash Third Echelon Headquarters was in flames, with splinter cells and Black Arrow mercenaries trapped inside, and security system going haywire. Sam made his way through the building to find an exit, meeting Coste halfway. They make there way to the exit before the buildings explode. Coste gives Sam data leading to the location of the EMPs, before they separate.

Both Sam and Coste head to hidden missile base on the shores of the Potomac River in order to disarm the EMP missile being prepped there. As they make there way to the base by boat, they are chased and fired upon by Black Arrow and splinter cells in boats and humvees on the shore. Clearing the way Sam lets Victor off, while he makes by boat to shut down generators powering the search lights of the base. Switching off the generator alerts the base. Sam is chased back to Victor, who takes out the boats with an RPG. They make there way and disable the last few generators. At the last one, Sam interrogates a Black Arrow mercenary who tell him about Prentiss, and the EMP. Sam and Coste then make their way to the missile silo. Sam cleared the forces around the silo, and attempted to disarm the EMP. But the missile was fired.

Sam and Coste quickly few their helicopter to the white house just as the EMP exploded causing them to crash. Black Arrow and splinter cells were already inside the white house trying to capture and kill the president. Sam made his way inside. Inside, Grim contacted him letting him know that they were almost closing in on the president in the Oval Office. Coste also contacted him to tell him that he was inbound with his daughter. Sam ran into Grim, who shot him, to get him closer to the president. Splinter cells enter the room and then escorted him to Reed. After a long speech, Sam got his chance, grabbing Reed, and killing the five splinter cells guarding him. Sam interrogated him, and Grim killed him. His daughter walked into the Oval Office and they were finally reunited. Both walked away from Grímsdóttir.

2012: Fourth Echelon and The BlacklistEdit

Main article: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist

In 2012, Fisher became commander of a special operations unit called Fourth Echelon, with Grímsdóttir as the unit's technical operations manager. The unit was mandated to prevent a series of escalating terrorist attacks against U.S. interests known as "the Blacklist".

Expanded UniverseEdit

Operational historyEdit

The following operations in which Sam Fisher is involved take place in the Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell series of novels. Although several details from the novels have made it into the games, their overall level of canonicity to the game series is unclear.

1980sEdit

In the 1980s Sam Fisher saw action during the Soviet War in Afghanistan, where he was forced to hide under dead bodies to avoid being killed in the middle of an operation.

1991: Mauritania-Senegal Border WarEdit

Sometime between April and July 1991, Sam Fisher and a squad of Navy SEALs was sent to the African country of Senegal to hunt down a French black market arms dealer who had been arming both sides of a brush war between Mali and Mauritania. Fisher and his SEAL team tracked down the arms dealer in Dakar where they eliminated him after weeks of searching through the jungles along the Senegal-Mali border.^[20]

2003: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: CheckmateEdit

Main article: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Checkmate

While preparing to test a new DARPA product, code-named the Goshawk, Sam Fisher is called to intercept a cargo freighter speeding towards the eastern seaboard. The freighter, named the Trego is loaded down with radioactive material. Fisher boards the ship and quickly reaches the bridge to find one Middle-Eastern crew member. Fisher attempts to disable the man and does so, but not before the man enters the command to speed the boat up further. Fisher proceeds to slow the ship by disabling her engines. Meanwhile the residents of Slipstone, New Mexico begin showing the symptoms of and then dying from radiation poisoning.

2004/05: East Asia AssignmentEdit

Main article: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell (novel)

In late 2004 – early 2005, Sam Fisher was on assignment in the Far East for three months. He was in Hong Kong preparing for the Macau job. He collected data from a casino's computer, and killed several individuals, including Kim Wei Lo.^[21]

2005: Babylon Phoenix CrisisEdit

Main article: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell (novel)

In the spring of 2005, an Iranian terrorist group known as "The Shadows", led by Nasir Tarighian, planned to use a weapon of mass destruction codenamed "The Babylon Phoenix" against the city of Baghdad as revenge for the actions taken by Iraq against Iran during the 1980s. While there really isn't much benefit to the group today, Tarighian attempts to sell the scheme to his organization by claiming that it would also create further disorder in Iraq and in the Middle East, which would inevitably cause the people to turn against the "West", namely the United States since Iraq is currently under their watch. Tarighian, a former "great warrior" during the Iran-Iraq War and often proclaimed hero in Iran, hoped that by doing this the Iranian people would rejoice and urge the Iranian government to invade and conquer Iraq after the U.S. is forced out of the region. Most of the members of the Shadows disagree with the course of action, feeling that the result is extremely unlikely and that the scheme is nothing more than a 20-year-old vendetta by Tarighian to get back at Iraq for the death of his wife and children during the war. These members feel the same effect of destabilization in the region can be achieved by attacking either Tel Aviv or Jerusalem in Israel.

Meanwhile an arms dealing organization known as "The Shop" has taken the liberty of assassinating Splinter Cells whenever possible thus to increase their profit margin by keeping the shipment of arms from falling into unwanted hands. The Shop is one of the few organizations in the world that is aware of Third Echelon, who deploys Sam Fisher to the Middle East to uncover the truth about the murder of a Splinter Cell and track down the source of a shipment of arms seized by the Iraqi police. There he surveys and infiltrates numerous locations relating to both the Shop and the Shadows, all the while unaware that the Shop has targeted him and his daughter, Sarah.

2006: Operation Barracuda/MRUUV IncidentEdit

Main article: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Operation Barracuda

Taking place almost a year after the Babylon Phoenix Crisis, the plot picks up with Third Echelon attempting to search and bring to justice the members of The Shop, an international arms dealing ring that played a large part during the crisis. While Sam Fisher is working to collect information on The Shop in Ukraine and Russia, Third Echelon is continuing its investigation into how The Shop had previously managed to gain the identity of a number of Splinter Cells and assassinate them as well. However, when a German scientist named Jeinsen, who defected to the United States from East Germany long ago, goes missing and then reappears dead in Hong Kong, heads begin to turn. Jeinsen had developed a new submarine vehicle for the United States Navy, that could theoretically carry a nuclear weapon. Sam Fisher is sent to learn why the scientist was in Hong Kong and who killed him; it is suspected that a local group of Triads named "the Lucky Dragons" had involvement. What Third Echelon does not yet realize is that Jeinsen, the Lucky Dragons, The Shop, and a traitor inside their own government are all part of a much larger picture involving a rogue Chinese general named Lan Tun, with ambitions to invade and conquer Taiwan. With Fisher not even aware that he is the world's only hope of stopping an international crisis, he has to balance his job and a new romantic relationship that he is hoping will finally bring happiness to his life. Ultimately, General Tun threatens to use the submarine vehicle to detonate a nuclear weapon off the coast of California, destroying L.A. with a massive tsunami, unless America abandons Taiwan when it is invaded by China. Fisher manages to foil the plot, and all the conspirators involved including the traitor, the general, and The Shop are killed. However, no one realizes that the true mastermind behind the entire plot to weaken America was none other than the head of the Senate Oversight Committee, Senator Janice Coldwater.

2008: Operation FalloutEdit

Main article: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Fallout

Soon after undergoing unfamiliar espionage techniques training in the streets of San Francisco in a joint exercise between the CIA and Third Echelon, Sam Fisher is summoned to Maryland by Irving Lambert. Turns out, Sam's estranged brother, Peter (real name Pyotr Limonovich), has been found barely alive off the coast of Greenland. Sam is told that Peter has developed a strange disease and has few days to live. It is soon revealed that Sam's brother died of poisoning caused by plutonium hydride-19, or PuH-19. This deadly powder is 1,000x finer than flour and is capable of wiping out New York's entire population with just a cup's worth of the chemical.

Although driven at first solely by vengeance, Sam soon realizes that Peter's death should be the least of his worries as a network of Kyrgyz Islamic fundamentalists have toppled the moderate government of Kyrgyztan and, with the help of the North Korean government, have devised the ultimate antidote against the pervasive influence of the West and its technology: they will try to mutate a species of petroleum-eating Chytridiomycota fungus into a strain capable of making the whole world's oil supply disappear, a threat Fisher and Lambert continually refer to as Manas, in reference to the Kyrgyz epic poem. In order to do this, the terrorists snatch some of the world's leading scientists and force them to cooperate. Sam gets his final lead by tracking one of the abducted scientists in a search that will lead him to a place such as the streets of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, an isolated Kyrgyz community in Cape Breton Island, the Great Rift Valley in Kenya, Pyongyang, North Korea and a Kyrgyz complex hidden in the Tian Shan mountain range.

2008/09: Korfovka MissionEdit

While in Korfovka, Sam saves Ben Hansen's life, by sniping Hansen's field runner Sergei Luchenko.

2009/10: The Search for Sam Fisher/Doppleganger Factory Arms ConpiracyEdit

Sam is on the run and becomes a freelance operative selling his abilities, and taking missions where he can, in order to make money to survive, while staying one step ahead of the Third Echelon.

Sam secretly saves Ben Hansen's life by shooting a dart at a thug in Korfovka, Russia. But leaves before Hansen figures out he is there. A few months later, he takes a mercenary mission in France, but soon alerts Third Echelon to his whereabouts. A group of Splinter Cells lead by Ben Hansen begin pursuit, and Anna Grimsdottir (who has become director of Third Echelon) contacts Sam for help in exposing the corrupt NSA Director, Nicholas Andrew Kovac (a mole in the NSA). Sam ends up protecting Ben Hansen's team, and joins them, together they help expose Kovac. In the end, Grimsdottir offers to allow Sam to return to Third Echelon but he'd turned her down, saying he wanted to finish his vacation at Zahn's villa before making a decision.

RelationshipsEdit

Sam was good friends with Irving Lambert (referred to as "his [Sam's] best friend" by Victor Coste^[22]) as well as with former U.S. Marine Douglas Shetland before the Cyber Attacks of 2007, which resulted in him having to eliminate Shetland.

He is also good friends with former Navy SEAL Victor Coste, whom Sam fought alongside with during the Gulf War. Coste gave Sam equipment and vital information about former Third Echelon director Tom Reed as well as found out the whereabouts of his daughter. Even though Sam is sarcastic, he is shown to be very caring with the people he worked with. Shortly before being sent to his first mission in the Georgian capital of T'Bilisi, Fisher met with Vernon Wilkes, Jr. Their relationship only lasted so far up until the extraction from the Kalinatek building in Virginia, during which Wilkes was killed during a firefight with Russian mercenaries. Even though Sam had only briefly known Wilkes, he showed compassion for the man. He was also good friends with co-workers Anna Grímsdóttir and Frances Coen, both of whom he shared good-humored banter with during missions.

Sam is very loving to his daughter, Sarah, who is his only child. He felt sorry for having to leave at inconvenient times whenever he was supposed to be at home spending time with her, though he would later call her during mission briefings aboard the Osprey. Sarah was supposedly killed by a drunk driver during the JBA operation. Sam's reaction was a downward spiral into depression. After the JBA operation, Sam resigned from Third Echelon and left the country. He went to Valletta, Malta to hunt for his daughter's killer after receiving word that the hit-and-run accident was plotted. He later discovered that she was still alive while stopping the conspiracy within Third Echelon and the U.S. government.

While undercover during the events in 2008, Sam developed a romantic relationship with Enrica Villablanca, a member of the JBA, only with it to end in Enrica's assassination (only in Version 2 of Double Agent). He also developed a romantic relationship with his Krav Maga instructor, Katia Loenstern, who died from being hit by a stray sniper bullet intended for Sam during the MRUUV incident. Sam once toyed with the idea of asking Grim out in the novel Splinter Cell: Operation Barracuda.

AbilitiesEdit

Athletic skillsEdit

Sam Fisher is extremely agile and athletic. He is capable of many different climbing and scaling abilities, such as step-jumping to climb raised walls, performing the infamous "Split Jump", a split leg maneuver, to keep himself supported for a long period of time, as well as being able to hold on tightly to ceiling pipes or even the undercarriage of a moving train. He is also strong enough to lift the body of a full grown man onto his back and carry it around, and can run somewhat faster than the average soldier.

Fisher uses unorthodox climbing techniques (e.g. split jumps, half split jumps, difficult techniques to climb pipes, et cetera). In Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell (novel), Fisher's acrobatic maneuvers extend to using not only walls, but also furniture and even human beings to push off from in order to escape. Strictly speaking these are not unarmed combat techniques – they might almost be some form of the French gymnastic art of Parkour. He also utilizes some aspects of parkour while surmounting obstacles, albeit in a slightly slower and stealthier way.

Stealth tacticsEdit

As the nature of Fisher's job relies on stealth and non-detection, he is highly adept at blending into shadows and moving silently. As an expert in fieldcraft, he is able to sneak up on most opponents undetected and quickly subdue them using either lethal or non-lethal means. During the Third Echelon Conspiracy, Fisher relied on improvised techniques on top of the training he received during his time with Third Echelon. Biometric data indicated that he's actually better at identifying targets, while operating from concealment, which makes him a very dangerous threat to his opponents in dark environments.

Fisher is also skilled in marking and executing multiple targets simultaneously. His standard M.O. starts with a hand-to-hand takedown, after which he picks his targets and positions himself to eliminate them. He's also been known to mark explosives and environment-based traps this way. Even if the enemy thinks he's not targeting them directly, they may still be in the line of fire. Fisher can vanish, flank his enemies and leave them shooting at the spot where they thought he was, right up until the moment he eliminates them. Although enemies are aware of his actual position, Fisher always catches them off guard by making them rely on his last known, which gets them killed.

Close combatEdit

Sam Fisher uses Krav Maga exclusively. He was taught back at home in the United States by instructor Katia Loenstern,^[23] who later became his girlfriend but was later accidentally killed.^[24] Fisher's knowledge in Krav Maga is extensive, however in the video games it was not until Conviction that it was demonstrated.

The video games prior to Conviction depicted Sam's hand-to-hand combat skills in a limited capacity. In Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, the only techniques demonstrated were elbow strikes to the face or head. In Pandora Tomorrow, more techniques were shown but still very limited. In Chaos Theory, Fisher knocked out enemies with a palm strike to the nose or punch to the neck. Chaos Theory and Double Agent also demonstrated Sam's ability to kill enemies by breaking their back with his knee while restraining them in a stranglehold.

In Conviction, Sam's proficiency at Krav Maga is showcased for the first time with a large array of techniques including the use of punches and strikes to kill enemies, the ability to disarm enemies before taking them hostage in a strangehold and incorporating attacks with firearms.

The fact that Sam Fisher uses Krav Maga was originally introduced in Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell (novel).

Fisher "exclusively uses Krav Maga" for unarmed combat as well as for split second decisions in combat. Krav Maga or "Contact Combat" is a hybrid hand-to-hand combat system developed in Israel. Israeli military personnel, especially its Special Forces, use them as a way of defense and offense. He has reached the advanced level of 3B under the tutelage of his instructor, Katia Loenstern. This system is widely used by special operators, police, and similar personnel. It also bears mentioning that he had an excellent working relationship with Israeli security services, and he seemed intimately familiar with Israeli weapons (including brand new ones).

HandednessEdit

Fisher was exclusively right-handed in Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell and Pandora Tomorrow. In Chaos Theory and Double Agent he was ambidextrous, which allowed him to switch which hand he fired his weapon with in order to maintain cover without any apparent loss of accuracy. It is unknown whether he acquired and perfected this talent in the time between Pandora Tomorrow and Chaos Theory or he always had this ability (without it being included) in the mechanics of the first two games. In Conviction, Sam returned to being exclusively right-handed and was no longer able to aim firearms using his left hand.

ExpertiseEdit

• Advanced Weapons Training
• Scuba Training
• SAO Qualification
• SQT Training
• HAHO and HALO training
• Krav Maga training

Shooting techniqueEdit

Fisher uses the Center Axis Relock pistol stance in Conviction.

QuotesEdit

Main article: Sam Fisher/Quotes

Developer commentaryEdit

Appearances in Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell mediaEdit

GamesEdit

• Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell
• Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow
• Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory
• Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Essentials
• Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent (Version 1)
• Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent (Version 2)
• Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction
• Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist

NovelsEdit

• Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell
• Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Operation Barracuda
• Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Checkmate
• Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Fallout
• Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction
• Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Endgame

Comic booksEdit

• Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Digging in the Ashes

TriviaEdit

• Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell lead character artist Martin Caya established in early interviews for Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell that during his career Fisher had served in Afghanistan, where he had an experience in which he was forced to hide under dead bodies in order to avoid being killed.
• The end of the training mission in the Xbox/PC version of Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, the first game of the series, established that Sam saw action in Kuwait while serving in the Gulf War (1990–1991) when Lambert tells him "I hope you don't mind I told him [Vernon Wilkes, Jr.] some of your stories from Kuwait." Wilkes makes a comment stating "I've heard crazy things about your work".
• Splinter Cell: Essentials retconned/ignored earlier details stating how long he had been working with the NSA and was one of the "first agents recruited into Third Echelon in the 1990's".[3]. Sam's Splinter Cell training was moved back to the 1990s and he had apparently met Grímsdóttir earlier. It shows in one such mission in 1999 where he was involved during the NATO bombings in Yugoslavia. However, dialogue between Sam and Lambert implies that Sam has been retired since the mid 90's. Ubisoft has not given an explanation for the anachronisms. Essentials may be following the history established in the novels which also places the founding of Third Echelon, Sam Fisher's membership, and his meeting with Grímsdóttir meeting several years before 2003.
• A intermission cutscene in Conviction shows that Sam is still haunted about his decision to kill Lambert in Double Agent when he is in an elevator while at Third Echelon.
• A picture of Sam during his Navy SEAL days shows posing with a FAMAS, a French assault rifle. This is odd, considering that the FAMAS is not a service weapon with the Navy SEALs (nor any other branch of the U.S. military).
• In Version 2 of Double Agent, Sam has a tattoo on his right bicep.
• His signature weapon is considered to be the Five-seveN, as he has used it in every Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell game and Victor Coste refers to it as, "[Sam's] favorite pistol."
• Sam Fisher will be portrayed in an upcoming film by famed actor Tom Hardy, who has appeared in several hit films such as The Dark Knight Rises, Inception, Black Hawk Down, Lawless, Tinker Tailor Solider Spy, and Warrior.

References in popular cultureEdit

• Fisher is mentioned in the "Snake vs. Monkey" minigame mode of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater in which the main character of the mini-game Solid Snake is talking to Colonel Campbell about the possibility of getting someone else such as "Sam" or "Gabe" to do the work. "Sam" is a reference to Sam Fisher while "Gabe" refers to Gabe Logan, protagonist of the Syphon Filter series.
• In Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 2, there is an Achievement/Trophy named "My Name is Sam" for which the player must get five headshot kills in a row while using a silenced weapon.
• Sam is parodied in one of the trailers for Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, at first it appears to be him although it is revealed to be Solid Snake wearing a pair of night vision goggles similar to Sam's trifocal multi-vision goggles.[4]
• In the game "Vanquish", there is an achievement called "Fisher is the other Sam" which can be attained by proceeding on the monorail in Act 3-4 without being spotted by the enemy troops or searchlights.

ReferencesEdit