Jeff "Joker" Moreau

Do-Gooder
Full Name	Jeff Moreau
Alias(es)	Joker
Origin	Mass Effect
Occupation	Flight lieutenant of the Alliance Marine, Pilot of the Normandy
Powers / Skills	Master pilot, High intelligence, Amateur gunman
Hobby	Wisecracking
Goals	Help Shepard stop the Reapers
Family	No information
Friends / Allies	No information
Enemies	No information
Type of Hero	Disabled Military Pilot

“	I'm not good. I'm not even great. I'm the best damn helmsman in the Alliance fleet. Top of my class in flight school? I earned that. All those commendations in my file? I earned every single one. Those weren't given to me as charity for my disease.	„
	~ Jeff "Joker" Moreau

Jeff Moreau, more commonly known by his nickname Joker, is a major protagonist in the original Mass Effect video game trilogy. He is the pilot of the Normandy, and a longtime friend and ally of Commander Shepard. He is arguably the most significant character in the series who isn't a squadmate, due to the fact that he is with Shepard for almost the entirety of the series, combined with the fact that he temporarily becomes a playable character in Mass Effect 2, making him the only character the player takes direct control over other than Shepard.

He is voiced by Seth Green.

About

Joker is the first and only pilot of the Normandy. He alongside Shepard travelled the galaxy, and fought Sovereign and his indoctrinated former Spectre Saren Arterius. Joker was actually the one who had sent the Normandy in to defeat Sovereign after his defences were lowered, and is technically the one who defeats him, as well the one that either saved the Council or thousands of humans (depending on who Shepard chooses). In Mass Effect 2, he tried staying behind during the Normandy's destruction, that until Shepard convinces him to leave. After the two years of Shepard's death, he comes back with the resurrected Shepard aboard the Normandy under Cerberus's wing, and the two with help defeat the Collector's in the suicide mission. Then the two come back in Mass Effect 3 where Joker and the rest of the team take down the Reapers. Joker is the one of few characters that couldn't die no matter what the player chose (aside from choosing the fourth ending to Mass Effect 3's Extended Cut DLC). However his life does change, as if you choose the Synthesis ending he starts a life with EDI. Also, Joker's sister was killed in the Reaper war, as she and an Asari later shown on the Citadel were avoiding Reaper forces before she was killed to not be detected by the forces.

Personality

“	Joker: We could use some heavy hitters in the biotics department. It'll be good for them too. Biotics face a lot of discrimination. Maybe if they save the galaxy, people will get over their issues. Shepard: I didn't expect you to be sensitive about that. Joker: Hey, I'm just tired of them stealing the spotlight from people with actual disabilities. I break ribs if I sneeze too hard. Being able to move crap with your mind is not a handicap.	„
	~ Joker comparing himself to biotics

Jeff is mostly a funny guy, and a comedic relief, frequently wisecracking and making smart ass remarks. However, he is shown to have a harder side, and it almost comes across as dark humour as his life hasn't been the easiest. In flight school, he was teased for having Vrolik's Syndrome, an extremely rare variation of brittle bone disease, which makes the bones in his legs practically hollow, rendering him unable to walk without a limp. He got the nickname Joker for never smiling, but around graduation day when everyone lost to the crippled kid with the best scores, he was the one smiling. Joker is also full aware of his incredible piloting skills, as well as extremely confident, explicitly calling himself the best helmsman the Alliance fleet has to offer, a claim he backs up time and time again throughout the trilogy.

Joker is shown frequently to have a very strong attachment to the Normandy: when it gets decimated by the Collector ship, he refuses to evacuate and even makes a futile attempt to save it. While he can be convinced that it's not worth throwing his life away, his decision ultimately results in Shepard's (temporary) death. He also takes a disliking to EDI at first, even referring to her as 'ship cancer' and believing the original Normandy worked just fine without an AI telling him what to do. The two often argue throughout the second game, until Joker gets tired of it and simply uses the mute to keep EDI from talking. Their relationship improves significantly after he unshackles her to allow her to save the Normandy, since she has proven that she can be trusted, and he even starts referring to her with female pronouns. He also gets really happy when she acquires a robot body, which makes her somewhat uncomfortable.

As someone who's had to live with a disability his entire life, Joker is rather annoyed by the discrimination biotics face, believing that being able to throw things with your mind is not a handicap and they're just taking the spotlight from people with real disabilities. For the most part, however, Joker doesn't particularly care about his disability, or has at least learned to live with it; if Shepard expresses concern about it, he insists that it in no way inhibits his ability to pilot, since he doesn't have to use his legs. That said, he's not above using his disability as an excuse at times, such as when he brings it up in an attempt to get out of dancing with EDI during the group's party in Anderson's apartment.

Although the nickname Joker started off as ironic (as mentioned above, he got it from a flight instructor for never smiling and it ultimately stuck), it gradually becomes more appropriate overtime, particularly after he and Shepard reunite as members of Cerberus, during which he has become considerably more light-hearted. After the failed mission on Thessia, however, he admits that much of this is to keep Shepard's spirits up, as well as a way to hide his guilt over Shepard's temporary death, believing it never would have happened if he had just accepted the original Normandy was lost.

Unlike some members of Shepard's crew (Ashley, Navigator Pressley etc.), Joker never has any problem working with aliens and is in general very tolerant of most races. However, he really hates the geth. While he doesn't mind working alongside them if they survived and even thinks it's great to have two fleets for the price of one (the other being the quarian fleet), he is ultimately indifferent towards their annihilation, having never overcome his prejudice towards them unlike Tali. When EDI expresses despondence over Shepard's decision to let the geth die, Joker get very annoyed at her, reminding her that, unlike other species, the geth joined the Reapers of their own free will and some of them even worshipped them as gods, and so he and Shepard can't be blamed for not trusting them. Notably, this is the first and only time he ever gets angry at EDI since her unshacklement.

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