  |
This article's content is marked as Mature Ethan Mars contains mature content that may include coarse language, sexual references, and/or graphic violent images which may be disturbing to some. Mature articles are recommended for those who are 18 years of age and older. If you are 18 years or older or are comfortable with graphic material, you are free to view this page. Otherwise, you should close this page and view another page. |
| “ | You are the best thing that's ever happened to me in my life. I want you to know that whatever happens, I love you more than anything in the world. | „ |
| ~ Ethan to Shaun. |
Ethan Mars (born Sep 1978) is the main protagonist of drama/crime Heavy Rain.
He was played by and modelled after Pascal Langdale.
Biography[]
According to dialogue in the prologue, he met a girl named Grace in high school, and the two later married and had two sons, Jason and Shaun. In concept art from the game's artbook, it is stated that he was given the title of "Young Architect of the Year" for his work on residential complexes. In the prologue, he helps Grace prepare for Jason's 10th birthday party. Later that day, he and his family go shopping at a very crowded mall. Ethan watches Jason while Grace and Shaun browse a shoe shop. However, Jason wanders off and finds a clown selling balloons.
He begs Ethan to let him have one, and Ethan pays the clown $2 for the balloon after searching for his wallet in his pockets. Afterward, he finds out that Jason has run off again, so he searches through the mall for him. Ethan eventually finds Jason outside on the other side of the street. Hearing his father call out to him, Jason runs back across the street to him, not noticing an oncoming car. Ethan realizes the car is going to hit Jason, and he rushes at him to try to push him out of the way. He is too late, however, and both of them are hit by the car.
Jason is killed, while Ethan is plunged into a six-month coma. Ethan awakens from his coma and later moves into a duplex in another city. Two years later, he and Grace are divorced. Ethan picks Shaun up from school. During this chapter, a rift is seen between Ethan and his remaining son; Shaun is quiet and melancholic, and Ethan is plagued by guilt over his failure to save Jason. At the end of the chapter, it's revealed that Ethan suffers strange blackouts where he loses consciousness, presumably as a result of the accident. He can later tell this to his psychiatrist in "The Shrink".
After school, in an attempt to cheer Shaun up, Ethan takes him to the park. He has the opportunity to play a few games with Shaun and buy him sweets. Shaun eventually asks if he can get on the carousel, to which Ethan obliges and buys him a ticket. While watching Shaun ride the carousel, Ethan blacks out and awakens later to find the park empty, and Shaun missing. The next day, he reports Shaun's disappearance to the police and is asked questions by Carter Blake (and possibly Norman Jayden). Afterward, he has a short conversation with Grace.
Later, Ethan finds an envelope addressed to him containing a locker ticket for Lexington Station and a mysterious letter. Discovering that a swarm of journalists has crowded in front of his house, he manages to get to his car and drive off. Once in the station, he is overcome by his intense fear of crowds that he developed after Jason's death. He attempts to make it through the crowd, but to no avail; his stress triggers a hallucination where he sees Jason running through the station looking for him. After recovering from the hallucination, he unlocks the locker and departs, checking into the Cross Road Motel instead of returning to his house. He begins to suspect that he has developed a split personality that is taking over and making him commit the murders.
In the motel room, Ethan opens the box he found in the locker and discovers that Shaun has been kidnapped by the Origami Killer. Fortunately, Ethan has a chance to save his son by completing trials sent by the killer; each trial completed rewards him with a set of letters that will gradually reveal the address where Shaun is being held. With this knowledge, Ethan leaves to begin the first trial. Ethan eventually crosses paths with Madison Paige at the motel, and she becomes his confidante over the course of the game, tending to his wounds after each trial. With help from Madison, Ethan can evade being captured by the police, who suspect him of being the Origami Killer. If Ethan is caught, he will be broken out by Norman.
During the fourth trial, Ethan confronts a man named Brad Silver, whom he has been ordered to kill. Brad attacks Ethan and shoots up his own apartment to defend himself from him, but Ethan eventually corners him in a bedroom, where Brad reveals that he is also a father - the bedroom belongs to his daughters Sarah and Cindy. Ethan can either shoot him or spare him. Either way, Ethan becomes distraught in his next chapter. If Madison is alive, she arrives to comfort him, and Ethan has the choice of kissing her. If he doesn't kiss her, Madison apologizes and leaves. If he does, they have sex, but he will discover her notes when trying to leave, and this will lead to him arguing with her about her profession. Ethan then has the choice to forgive or reject Madison.
Regardless of his decision, Madison leaves. After she leaves, Ethan must flee the motel to avoid getting caught by the police again. If he is caught and Norman is dead, or if he was caught twice, then Ethan will be in police custody for the rest of the game. Otherwise, he goes on to complete the final trial. Depending on whether or not he has completed all of the trials, he may have to guess the correct location where Shaun is held. If he completed them all, he will automatically go to the right location. In Madison's chapter "Killer's Place", if Ethan isn't in police custody, Madison can choose to call him if she found the address. If he doesn't already have the address, Madison will give it to him.
What happens in the game's final chapter - if Ethan makes it - depends on whether he arrived alone, or with Madison and/or Norman. Then, Ethan will get an ending.
Endings[]
Ethan has the most possible endings of any character. It should be noted that Ethan will always commit suicide if and Shaun dies. Also, if Ethan doesn't forgive Madison for lying, or doesn't kiss her in the first place, then they won't become a couple.
While it is possible for all four protagonists to die at the end of the game, it is impossible for all four to survive - even if they have survived their in-game chapters, all three male protagonists can still die in the epilogue.
In order for Scott to survive his epilogue, Lauren and at least one protagonist must die. If Ethan gets to the warehouse alone, he must choose not to shoot Scott, and will be gunned down by the police as he leaves. If Norman/Madison arrives at the warehouse, he/she must lose to Scott and be killed by him. If nobody arrives at the warehouse for non-lethal reasons (either by being imprisoned, or not finding the address), then Ethan and Norman will die in the epilogue.
Ethan[]
- Ethan's Grave (Ethan dies) - Shaun cries over Ethan's grave, looking back at it one last time as he leaves with Grace. If Madison and/or Scott are still alive, they will be watching from afar.
- A New Start (Shaun lives; Madison is dumped or killed) - Ethan and Shaun prepare to move into their new home. Shaun then tells Ethan that they will be together forever, and Ethan playfully chases Shaun.
- A New Life (Shaun lives; Madison is forgiven) - Ethan, Madison and Shaun prepare to move into their new home. Madison tells Ethan that they've earned their peace, and someday it will feel like a bad dream. She then laughs as Ethan plays with Shaun.
- Origami Blues (Shaun dies; Madison is dumped or killed) - Sitting in his motel room, Ethan takes the gun from the Shark Trial and shoots himself.
- Tears in the Rain (Shaun dies; Madison is forgiven) - At Shaun's grave. Ethan is visibly distraught, but Madison tries to console him, encouraging him to start a new life with her, saying she loves him. Ethan asks Madison to wait for him, then pulls out a gun and shoots himself, leaving her to cry over his body.
- Helpless (Shaun dies; Ethan is imprisoned) - Ethan is framed as the killer and imprisoned with dozens of origami figures in his cell, where he hangs himself.
- Innocent (Shaun lives; Ethan is imprisoned) - Ethan's innocence is proven and he is released from jail. He is greeted by Shaun and Grace, where they try to mend their relationship.
Madison[]
- Dead Heroine (Madison dies) - Britney Sanders stands at Madison's grave, reporting her death, then shows her actual indifference afterwards. If Ethan is alive and not jailed, he is seen watching from afar.
- Heroine (Madison reaches the warehouse; Shaun lives; Ethan rejects Madison, is imprisoned, or dies) - Madison saves Shaun and is praised as a hero. She appears on a talk show and writes a book titled Heavy Rain about her experience. At a book signing, someone named Vincent says that she deserves a more "ferocious" adversary. When she looks up, he's gone.
- Square One (Madison doesn't reach the warehouse; Ethan is imprisoned, or dies) - Madison's insomnia worsens as she can't tell reality from her dreams. After a worried Sam leaves another message on her phone, intruders from her first scene surround her.
Norman[]
- Uploaded (Norman dies) - Cpt. Perry invites Blake to Norman's funeral, but Blake immediately declines and soon equips Norman's ARI glasses. He sees Norman in the simulated environment, much to his shock. This implies that Norman's persona, through overuse of ARI, was "uploaded" to it, and still lives after death through the glasses as a digital ghost.
- Smoking Mirror (Shaun dies) - Norman is in an ARI environment without the glasses, talking with an off-screen voice about his guilt over not saving Shaun. The voice warns him about the dangers of using Triptocaine as a solution, and that the drug may have already affected him more than he knows. The voice is revealed to be a copy of Norman, and the scene transitions to Jayden in a motel room, on the floor, dying of a drug overdose.
- Resignation (Norman doesn't reach the warehouse) - Unable to resolve the case, Norman resigns from the FBI, saying that he wants to live a normal life. His boss says he can keep the ARI glasses, as a newer model will become standard issue next month. Norman declines, saying they won't help him now.
- Case Closed (Norman reaches the warehouse) - Norman is hailed as a hero and appears on a talk show. Later, he is seen in a bathroom, flushing a vial of Triptocaine down the toilet, overcoming his addiction. He is later in a new office working with ARI, and sees mini tanks appear on his desk. He sees them again even after he takes the glasses off, implying that Triptocaine and/or ARI have damaged his brain.
Scott[]
- Origami's Grave (Scott dies) - Lauren stands at Scott's grave. She damns him for his actions and spits on his grave before walking away. If Lauren drowned, it instead shows John Sheppard's grave and later Scott's grave.
- A Mother's Revenge (Lauren lives) - Lauren confronts Scott on the street, and honors her promise to her son by shooting him dead.
- Unpunished (Lauren dies) - Scott walks through a crowded, rainy street, getting away with all of his crimes.
Appearance[]
Ethan is 5' 11" (1.81 m) tall and weighs 164 lbs (74 kg). Of the four protagonists, he is the second shortest. In the PlayStation 4 remaster, his eyes and hair are darker.
Trivia[]
- "Under Arrest" is the only chapter where Ethan appears as an NPC.
- He is the only protagonist not to appear in the Blue Lagoon nightclub.
- Ethan's chapters used a different loading screen in an early preview build.
- Ethan is the only protagonist who never introduces himself using his full name.
- His penis can be fully exposed through an unusual glitch during his shower scene.
- He is given a stainless steel Taurus PT92 by the Origami Killer to use in the Shark Trial.
- The "Father and Son" loading screen is different from any other that Ethan appears in.
- Two years before the game's release, Ethan's house was depicted as being much smaller.
- He is the only playable character who will die no matter what if he goes to the warehouse alone.
- In the trophy list, 24 trophies are directly related to his chapters, giving him the most trophies connected to him.
- He is playable in 20 chapters, the most of the four protagonists (compared with 16 for Scott, 13 for Norman, and 10 for Madison).
- His first name means "firm, strong, enduring, and long-lived". His last name means "war", as it is associated with the Roman god of war.
- Game Informer voted him #11 on "30 Characters Who Defined A Decade." He was also featured on one of the covers for the December 2010 issue.
- He and Madison are the only protagonists who can take a shower in the game, though Norman can resist his Triptocaine addiction by sitting in a running shower).
- After Jason's death, the area around Ethan has much less color than normal. It is possible that it doesn't truly look like this, but is symbolic of his depressive state.
- Ethan owns a 1986 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale, and will also drive a 1995 Pontiac Sunfire (and possibly a 1995 Chevrolet Lumina) throughout the course of the game.
- He only kills two people, both of whom are optional. This makes him tied with Madison as the least murderous of all four characters (not counting the events of The Taxidermist).
- Ethan's storyline is similar to Kara's in Detroit: Become Human. Kara's character trailers also evoked the driving question of Heavy Rain, stating "How far am I prepared to go for love?".
- Ethan appears to like basketball, as he has the option of playing basketball in the backyard of his duplex during "Father and Son" and states in his thoughts that it helps him clear his head.
- In the E3 trailer, Ethan did not have a beard. Early footage showing a clean-shaven Ethan is also present in a PlayStation video released in 2013. This footage likely came from a pre-release build.
- It is often believed that Ethan's storyline is the saddest, most depressing, and the most likely to induce crying. Some surveys have shown that 35% of women and 10% of men who played Heavy Rain cried at least once.
- Ethan shares his first name with two protagonists who lose a finger (or a hand) throughout the course of their games: Ethan Thomas from Condemned: Criminal Origins, and Ethan Winters from Resident Evil 7: Biohazard.
- Ethan is one of two protagonists (the other being Madison) to be playable in another character's chapter. He is playable during one of Norman's chapters ("Welcome, Norman") and three of Madison's chapters ("First Encounter" / "The Nurse" / "Fugitive").
- Out of the four protagonists, Ethan has the fewest deaths in the game, although he has the highest number of epilogues ("Helpless" / "Origami Blues" / "Tears in the Rain") in which he dies. The only chapter in which Ethan can die is "The Old Warehouse".
- Pascal Langdale and Bryan Dechart, who portrayed Connor (Detroit: Become Human), have stated that Ethan and Connor are similar because the player has the greatest control over their storyline and decisions when compared to the other characters.
- Ethan is usually called by his last name by the other characters except for Madison and Scott, who always call him "Ethan". Blake, Ash, and Norman call him "Mr. Mars" during "Welcome, Norman" - Grace can also call him this if he flirts with her in the prologue.
- Ethan crosses paths with Madison numerous times, Norman four times, and Scott twice: once in "The Mall" (which is revealed in the final chapter) and once in "The Old Warehouse", although the latter chapter is the only time Ethan confronts Scott in person.
- Being a family man, he is not a trained fighter, getting involved in fewer fights than the other three protagonists. He fights Brad Silver, a team of police officers, a taxi driver (to steal his car and escape the police), and Scott (if only he and Madison are at the warehouse).
- Ethan is similar to Lucas Kane from Fahrenheit. Both are the central protagonists, are being pursued by the police for crimes they didn't commit, and can develop a romance with the female protagonist. However, Madison Paige is optional, but Carla Valenti is canonical.
- If Ethan arrives at the warehouse alone and shoots Scott, he appears bitter and angry. This is in stark contrast to the Shark Trial, in which Ethan vomits from the shock of killing a man if he chooses to shoot the drug dealer, and is brought to tears discussing it in "On the Loose".
- He and Scott are the only two protagonists who cannot die before "The Old Warehouse", but unlike Scott, he can end up skipping one chapter: "The Rat" (if he is imprisoned). This leaves Scott as the only main character who cannot skip a chapter (not counting "Goodbye Lauren").
- It is implied that Ethan's blackouts are the result of a supernatural ability triggered by the trauma of the accident. If this is the case, this would make him the second of three Quantic Dream protagonists to possess supernatural powers, after Lucas Kane and before Jodie Holmes.
- Seven of the epilogues are based around him. He also appears in one of Madison's epilogues ("Dead Heroine"), in which he will be seen mourning near her grave if he is alive. This gives him the largest number of endings, even though three of them involve him committing suicide.
- Ethan is the only protagonist who cannot be directly killed by the Origami Killer. He is also the only playable character who doesn't fight Scott when he confronts him at the warehouse, though they get into a brief struggle over Scott's gun if Madison is present and Norman is not.
- Even though Ethan suspects himself of being a schizophrenic, the symptoms he describes are actually more typical of dissociative personality disorder or very extreme cases of PTSD - the former of which is often wrongly associated with schizophrenia. However, he is never given a definitive diagnosis throughout the game.
- It is implied that Ethan's attempt to save Jason was what gave the Origami Killer the inspiration to begin the murders. The murders began in September 2009, according to a file Norman can look at while using ARI. No date is given for when Jason died, but dialogue in "The Old Warehouse" if Ethan is present implies that the murders started after the accident.
- Ethan is similar in both personality and appearance to Harry Mason from Silent Hill. Both of their storylines revolve around rescuing their children. The outfit Ethan wears in "Father and Son" and "The Park" is similar to the outfit Harry wears throughout Silent Hill. Also, in Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, Harry can shout his daughter's name in a similar fashion to "Press X to Shaun".
- Ethan is the second of four Quantic Dream protagonists to become a fugitive at some point in their games. The other three are Lucas Kane, Jodie Holmes, and Kara. Of them, Ethan is the only one able to be permanently arrested; getting arrested is a fail ending for Lucas and will force the player to restart, while Jodie will use Aiden to help her escape each time she is caught, and Kara will die if the player fails to escape.
- During the early stages of Heavy Rain, Ethan's blackouts were originally playable chapters. During "The Old Warehouse," he would have discovered that the blackouts were caused by a psychic link formed between himself and the Origami Killer during the accident at the mall. Whenever the killer kidnapped or killed a victim, Ethan would lose consciousness, awaken in a submerged house (representative of the killer's memories) and swim through it before discovering the body of one of the killer's victims. David Cage wanted the game to remain centered in reality, so the scenes explaining the cause of the blackouts were removed a few months before development finished. However, references to the blackouts were left in, creating a plot hole.
- Ethan shows greater physical endurance than most of the other playable characters, aside from Scott. Throughout the course of the game, he can potentially survive receiving severe electrical shocks during the second trial with no lasting side effects (being capable of driving and later remaining conscious while Madison treats his wounds), as well as survive a three-story fall without severe injury in "On the Loose." He can also survive being shot up to six times (once by a policeman if he refused to cut off his finger in "The Lizard," four times by Brad Silver, and once by the Origami Killer in the "Ethan and Madison" scenario). In the aforementioned scenario, he is able to run across the docks and climb a crane off-screen (despite briefly collapsing from blood loss) to rescue Madison just as the Origami Killer is about to finish her off.
- Ethan has the fewest causes of death.
- Three of his four possible deaths involve him killing himself after Shaun dies.
- His only death where he isn't shot occurs in "Helpless," where he hangs himself in prison.
- His only non-suicide death occurs in "The Old Warehouse"; he is shot by the police if he goes to the warehouse alone or if Madison fails to warn him when all three characters go.
- Ethan is the only protagonist who cannot be killed by another protagonist, and also the only one who can intentionally take his own life when not being controlled by the player; the dialogue in "Smoking Mirror" suggests that Norman's fatal overdose is accidental.
Licensing[]
This article contains content derived from the "Ethan Mars" article on the Heavy Rain Wiki, licensed under CC-BY-SA.