Amazon Prime’s Reacher, based on the same-named character from best-selling author Lee Child, chronicles Jack Reacher’s adventures. Still, it also features many supporting characters, both friends and enemies.
According to Reacher’s narrative, he currently roams the country as a permanent vagrant after serving as a major in the US military police. Reacher is a troublemaker who always finds himself facing new enemies and alliances.
By 2024, Jack Reacher had made 29 appearances. Unsurprisingly, he has met a wide range of interesting people on his travels, from devoted friends from his time in the military police to vile crooks of the greatest caliber.
As a result, a wide range of characters are required to feature in the Alan Ritchson-led series on Amazon Prime, which has so far only adapted the events of Bad Luck and Trouble and Killing Floor.
10Leon Garber
General Leon Garber is one of the most pivotal recurring characters in Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series. As Reacher’s de facto father figure and trusted professional mentor, Garber plays a crucial role in shaping the legendary drifter’s path.
Beyond his military influence, Garber is also the father of Jodie Garber, a brilliant New York lawyer and one of the most memorable love interests in Reacher’s storied romantic history. His dual impact as a mentor and father adds depth to the series, making him a fan-favorite character who deserves more recognition.
General Leon Garber is a cornerstone of Jack Reacher’s world, profoundly influencing his personal life and military career. As one of Lee Child’s most notable characters, Garber’s presence is essential to Reacher’s development, making his absence from the live-action series a missed opportunity.
Introducing Garber could enrich the storyline and offer a chance to reimagine him for the screen, perhaps as a younger, dynamic version of the mentor fans know and love. Even though Garber’s journey in the books ends with his passing, his legacy makes him a must-have addition to Prime Video’s Reacher series.
9Victor “Hook” Hobie
Jack Reacher meets one of his most memorable villains in the 2000 film Tripwire. This villain is a strong contender to be one of Reacher’s future adversaries. Eventually, Victor “Hook” Hobie—a cunning loan shark who preys on unsuspecting business owners—is revealed to be Carl Allen, a soldier who took on the persona of Hobie to evade punishment after the latter perished in a horrific helicopter accident in Vietnam.
The hook-handed doomsday planner, Victor “Hook” Hobie, stands out as one of Lee Child’s most iconic antagonists, brought to life in one of the series’ most suspenseful novels, Tripwire. Hobie’s chilling persona and twisted schemes leave a lasting impact, making him a fan-favorite villain.
Beyond his criminal exploits, Tripwire delves into the emotional devastation caused by Allen’s adoption of Hobie’s identity and the tragic loss of the real Hobie, creating rich opportunities for dramatic storytelling in a live-action adaptation. Excluding Hook from future seasons of Prime Video’s Reacher would be a missed chance to showcase one of the series’ most complex and memorable villains.
8Svetlana And Lila Hoth
Reacher’s thirteenth episode, Gone Tomorrow, takes place following a startling event in which he sees a woman on the New York City Subway shoot herself for no apparent reason.
Reacher’s search for her death is chronicled in the 2009 book, which ultimately brings him to Svetlana and Lila Hoth. Despite their initial friendliness, Reacher suspects that the two are a Russian mother and daughter because of the disparity in their physical characteristics and demeanors.
The “Hoths” are revealed as ruthless terrorists, cementing their place among Jack Reacher’s most vicious enemies. Known for their horrifying crimes, the duo tortures and murders victims on video with chilling precision. Lila Hoth even promises Reacher a similar gruesome end when he uncovers their sinister deceit.
These sadistic siblings stand out as two of Lee Child’s most heinous villains, offering a formidable challenge for Alan Ritchson’s live-action portrayal of Reacher. Introducing the Hoths in future Prime Video’s Reacher seasons could deliver some of the series’ most intense and unforgettable moments.
7Michelle Chang
In 2015’s Make Me, one of Jack Reacher’s most terrifying journeys, the drifter discovers a labyrinth of lies and deception concealed behind the unassuming exterior of Mother’s Rest, a sleepy Midwestern village. He meets Michelle Chang, a former FBI agent now a private investigator looking for her missing coworker.
Make Me is one of Child’s darkest works, with a nefarious organization masquerading as a euthanasia clinic that utilizes potential clients in horrifying snuff films. Therefore, it’s good that Chang, one of Reacher’s most interesting allies, is in the book.
Relentless, shrewd, and courageous, Michelle is one of the more memorable short-lived romantic interests the former military police officer has yet to experience, and she would be a valuable supporting character if Reacher decides to adopt one of Child’s best-loved books in a future season.
6Paulie
The character of Reacher encounters what has been controversially regarded as the most difficult test of his physical in 2003’s Persuader, which chronicles his efforts to find an enemy from his past.
A prime candidate for the former military policeman’s most formidable opponent, Paulie is the epitome of said test. Paulie is a massive bodybuilder who serves as a security guard for Reacher’s most recent target, Zachary Beck, and is a supporting antagonist in the book’s story.
Fans of Child’s series are lucky since one character’s appearance in the series has already been confirmed. Huge bodybuilder “The Dutch Giant” Olivier Richters has been confirmed to play Paulie in Reacher season 3.
Therefore, the show’s next appearance will follow Persuader’s plot. This makes it seem almost certain that one of the most thrilling and vicious battle scenes in Child’s books will be adapted for the big screen.
5Susan Turner
In the 2016 film Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, Cobie Smulders brought Major Susan Turner to life. Prime Video’s Reacher offers the perfect opportunity to reintroduce this fan-favorite character with a fresh perspective. As one of Lee Child’s most well-known recurring characters, Turner debuted in the 2010 novel 61 Hours and took center stage in Never Go Back (2013).
Currently serving as the commanding officer of Reacher’s former military unit, her sharp intellect and commanding presence make her a compelling addition to the live-action series. Reviving Turner in the show would honor her rich backstory and bring a strong, dynamic—or adversary—into Reacher’s world.
Turner is the closest thing to a female Reacher without the former military policeman’s monstrous physique and detachable toothbrush. The two have a strong bond that would probably only make Reacher better. Unfortunately, given Reacher’s efforts to disassociate itself from the canon of the Tom Cruise-led Jack Reacher films, her character is unlikely to appear anytime soon.
4Elizabeth Devereaux
The Affair, a prequel novel written before the events of Killing Floor, the first book in Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series, is a chronological anomaly because it is the sixteenth book to include the character. The Affair follows Reacher’s investigation into the vicious rape and murder of a young lady close to an Army Ranger base. As he learns more about the incident, the major meets the stunning and powerful Elizabeth Devereaux.
One of Reacher’s more notable sidekicks and romantic interests throughout this realistic origin tale is Devereaux, a former Army Ranger with a gritty streak a mile wide. If Reacher were to convert The Affair into a later season, it would offer a fantastic chance to examine the early circumstances that shaped America’s James Bond-like character into the sexy mystery he is today. This situation would not be complete without Devereaux.
3Julia Lamarr
In the fourth book of Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series, The Visitor, published in 2000, the drifter investigates a string of killings committed by an enigmatic serial killer after he is questioned as a suspect in the case. With no forensic proof at the scene, the murderer, who only targets female military personnel, abandons their victims nude in a bathtub covered in army camouflage paint.
The murderer is revealed as FBI agent Julia Lamarr, a supposed Reacher ally throughout the book, in an exciting race against time. By forcing her victims to swallow their tongues, the cunning Lamarr uses her skill at hypnotism to suffocate them and leave no evidence of a murder weapon.
Lamarr, one of Reacher’s most evil and Machiavellian enemies, would make a fascinating counterpoint to Ritchson’s character portrayal. The Visitor’s compelling serial killer-centric idea makes it a strong contender for a future adaptation, especially after Reacher was renewed for season 4.
2Beau Borken
In 1998’s Die Trying, the sequel to Lee Child’s first Jack Reacher film Killing Floor, Reacher confronts a fanatical militia seeking to separate from the US after becoming unintentionally involved in a kidnapping. Holly Johnson, the kidnap victim, was eventually identified as the current President’s goddaughter and the daughter of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Beau Borken, a violent psychopath with grandiose delusions, is one of Child’s most colorful villains and the mastermind behind the kidnapping. Borken, who has proclaimed himself the commander of the breakaway militia, intends to use Holly as leverage in his evil schemes before Reacher’s arrival throws a wrench in the works.
Because of his disgusting personality and bizarre past, Beau is a very interesting antagonist and, should Reacher decide to modify the events of Die Trying, a surefire success story in the making.
1Jodie Garber
Jodie Garber, the daughter of Reacher’s mentor Leon Garber, is controversially the most serious love interest of Jack Reacher in all 29 of his books. A wise lawyer who has always harbored feelings for the massive vagrant who first appears in 1999’s Tripwire, Jodie and Reacher continue their romance until she relocates to London following a promotion at her legal practice in 2000’s The Visitor.
Jodie’s appearance in a later season makes perfect sense, given that she is one of the most notable and influential love interests in Lee Child’s novel series. Jodie is a strong contender for Reacher’s must-see love interest later on because of their extensive personal history, which includes her involvement in multiple adventures and Reacher’s bond with her father.
About Reacher
Developed by Nick Santora, Amazon Prime’s Reacher is an American action crime streaming television series based on the books of Lee Child.
Starring Alan Ritchson as Jack Reacher the show revolves around a murder investigation in the small town of Margrave, Georgia. When Jack Reacher is arrested for a murder he did not commit, he finds himself in the middle of a deadly conspiracy full of dirty cops, shady businessmen, and scheming politicians. He needs to figure out what’s happening using his wits and escape out of this embroilment.
The show has been renewed for a second season and will premiere on December 14, 2023.
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