Jack Bauer lives by one simple doctrine: the ends justify the means. The iconic 24 character will end his eight-season run this year, but not without plenty of accomplishments. Sure, he’s saved countless lives and stopped dozens of terrorists, but his biggest legacy will be the lengths he went to in order to protect the country.
There’s nothing Jack wouldn’t do to defend the homeland. He’d torture a terrorist. He’d torture an innocent bystander. He’d torture a member of his own family. If there’s a rule, Jack would break it. Here’s a short list of just how far outside the Geneva Convention he’s willing to stray.
#5. Murdering a Witness
At the start of season 2, Jack Bauer needed to get back undercover with Joseph Wald, the leader of an anti-government militia group, so he did what anyone would do. He found a child porn-loving murderer who cut a deal to testify against Wald and shot him at CTU. And for an encore, he removed the perp’s head with a hacksaw.
#4. Torturing His Girlfriend’s Ex-Husband
Paul Raines wasn’t really a terrorist in season 3, but he was suspicious enough, and the fact that he used to be married to Jack’s girlfriend Audrey didn’t help him. So when Jack though he had information, he broke open a lamp and used the wires to electrocute Paul until he gave Jack the name he was looking for.
#3. Threatening a Department of Justice Attorney
This season, CTU tried to throw Renee Walker under the bus by calling in an attorney from the Department of Justice to make her the scapegoat. But Jack had other plans, like breaking into the interrogation room (after knocking out CTU guards) and choking the Justice attorney.
#2. Torture by a Private Citizen
In season 4, a terrorist with information was rescued by a lawyer who was trying to protect the suspect’s civil rights. But Jack Bauer didn’t care about rights, so he quit. Once the suspect was released, Jack, now a private citizen, knocked out a U.S. marshal and tortured the terrorists until he told him what he wanted to hear.
#1. Kidnapping the President
In season 5, President Charles Logan was actually the bad guy behind the terrorist plots of the day. However, even the president isn’t off limits to Jack Bauer, who hijacked the president’s helicopter, kidnapped him and threatened him at gunpoint. Now that’s bad-ass.
(Images courtesy of FOX)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
John watches nearly every show on TV, but he specializes in sci-fi/fantasy like The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural and True Blood. However, he can also be found writing about everything from Survivor and Glee to One Tree Hill and Smallville.
