| “ | There can be ONLY ONE! | „ |
| ~ Proclamation of winners of The Game. |
Connor MacLeod, also known as The Highlander, is the titular hero of the Highlander film series, and consequently Highlander: The Series, and Highlander: The Animated Series. He is portrayed by Christopher Lambert. Connor MacLeod is an Immortal, beings that live forever unless killed by each-other.
Early Life
Connor MacLeod was born in 1518. Connor was raised as a warrior by his clan, which was at war with the neighboring Frasier Clan. In 1536, during a battle between the clans, Connor was stabbed by an immortal who went by The Kurgan. The wound was mortal and so Connor was taken home to Glenfinnan to be given his final rites. Connor was visited by his family on his deathbed, who came to see him in his final moments. Connor slipped away into his first death but then, awoke believing it was a miracle. Connor's clan/family believed the revival to be some form of witchcraft however. While tradition called for him to be burned at the stake for being touched by witchcraft, as a previously honored clan member, Connor was instead banished from Glenfinnan by Chieftan Angus MacLeod.
Conner wandered the highlands in solitude, trying to come to terms with a life without a clan. After two years of wandering, Connor would meet Heather MacDonald, the two fell in love and eventually wed. The two found an unclaimed piece of land and made it their own, Connor building a modest house for them to live in on it. The house was eventually complete and the couple began living a simple life together. Eventually their land was discovered by Connor's former clan and subject to several raids. The Glenfinnan clan had lost their conflict with the Frasier Clan and had come to blame Connor for it, as a bedevil clan member who had been allowed to live. Connor fought off his former clan but while doing so learned his mother was to be punished as well for her association with him.
Connor returned to Glenfinnan to save his mother Connor was captured during his attempted rescue. He was forced to watch as his mother was burned at the stake, unable to do anything as she died because of his perceived witchcraft. The grief drove Connor mad. In his rage he broke free by slaughtering everyone who stood in his way, this including his old friend Jacob Kell, who was son of the clan's holy-man. A great battle raged as Connor did, ultimately the funeral pyres were over turned and burned down the town.
Training for The Game
Connor gave his mother a proper burial and returned to Heather with a heavy heart. In 1541 he encountered a man known as Juan Sánchez Villa-Lobos Ramírez. Ramirez was also immortal and informed him Juan Sanchez was just an alias, he was actually named Tak Ne and had been born three thousand years prior in ancient Egypt. Ramirez shared his experience with Connor - teaching him what he know of being an Immortal and the rules of The Game. The Game was a contest between the immortals, the only way to kill one was if another one slew them after challenging them to formal combat, engaging in the fight meant acceptance and the winner would absorb the other's "Quickening" - immortal essence. Through Ramirez, Connor learned to fight him in new styles of combat. Through the mentorship Ramirez and Connor became fast friends.
Upon hearing of the background, Ramirez told Connor of The Kurgan. The Kurgan was an immortal from Russia who was particularly cruel to the point of sadism. If The Kurgan won The Game then mankind would surely suffer an eternity of torment from The Kurgan. Training to beat Connor devoted his life to prepare for The Game and slaying The Kurgan, to the point where it consumed his every waking moment. In his obsession Connor ceased his construction of his and Heather's house. Thanks to Ramirez's training, Connor became an adept swordsman - trained in various forms that Ramirez had mastered while traveling through-out "the Far East", likely The Orient. One fateful night though, The Kurgan finally attacked Ramirez while Connor was away. After a heated battle The Kurgan slew Ramirez and absorbed his Quickening. Furious that he did not find Connor their too, The Kurgan raped Heather and destroying the MacLeod home to the ground.
When Connor returned, he found grieving Heather and the body of Ramirez. Connor buried Ramirez's remains honorably. Heather did not tell Connor of what The Kurgan did to her. Connor would find out of his wife's violation over four hundred years later. Heather grew old and as she faced death Connor stayed with her until the end. After Heather's death Connor buried her in the Highlands and burnt down his house - for with no ties remaining, completion of The Game and slaying of The Kurgan, became Connor's raison d'etre.
Skills and Abilities
Connor is immortal unless killed by another Immortal, at which point his life-force is absorbed by the victor, conversely, Connor can kill other Immortals and absorb their essessnce - becoming imbued with their strength. Connor was raised on Celtic brand seige warfare, but with Ramirez's training became proficient and sword styles from across Asia, and appears to know so pseudo form of Kendo. Connor has also picked up European fencing styles. His shear experience has made him very adaptable to all forms of combat and though he is no tactician he can still improvise quickly with a combination of refined training and survival techniques still culturally instilled in him.
Trivia
- Highlander II and Highlander III pose different (and contradictory) accounts of Connor's life post-1985, but both hold to the original film's assertion that Connor is the "only one" remaining after the events of The Gathering.