Cage is the son of Mount Weather's (former) president, Dante, whose father was president before him. The implication is that Mount Weather's political system is a monarchy, or something close to it, and that Cage was brought up with both a sense of entitlement and responsibility. Cage has spent his entire life underground, in an elaborate fallout bunker built inside a mountain. This bunker was prepared well in advance, and in some ways is a last bastion of culture and society from before the nuclear bombs. It has a wealth of written information and worldly knowledge and an established, fairly traditional educational system.
Presumably before Cage was born, his grandfather, then the current president, declared the surface safe and brought his people out of the bunker. This turned out to be premature and a massive mistake; Dante was on the surface for five minutes before the radiation started to kill him. He survived along with his father, but Dante's mother and aunt were both killed, along with a large portion of the population. This mistake likely had a huge impact on the culture inside Mount Weather. Paranoia became a driving force behind societal and political decisions. Fear became the basis of many traditions; fear of the surface, fear of the survivors (grounders) who were capable of living on it, and above all, fear based on their lack of a future. The population dropped by fifty people within a few weeks; given that the current population is below 400, this was a huge percentage. The bunker had previously been a temporary solution, but now they realized that the predicted timeline was horribly wrong — the Earth was not safe, and there was no guarantee that it ever would be.
More aggressive tactics were established to increase their odds of survival. The bleeding program (referred to as the Harvest) is the most obvious and longstanding, which involves capturing grounders and using their blood for transfusions, thereby leeching some of their natural resistance to the radiation and boosting the Mountain Men's immune systems. Cage eventually became the head of security, and as such was in charge of the Cerberus Project. It isn't clear whether or not he spearheaded the project, but it's implied that it's been going hand-in-hand with the Harvest, which has been intact for at least two generations. The project is responsible for capturing grounders and torturing them into obedience. Its purpose is to facilitate the Harvest, giving the Mountain Men a means by which to access the surface (via the brainwashed grounders, known to others as reapers) and forcefully take more grounders for bleeding.
Personality:
Growing up in this environment has, predictably, had a huge impact on Cage's personality and motivations. His loyalty is first and foremost to his people's survival. While his father seems to focus more on humanity as a whole, showing more sympathy towards the outsiders, Cage remains hyperfocused on his people and his culture. This is made up, in part, by the sense that they're superior and the last true hold out of humanity's prior accomplishments. It's also fueled by a powerful perception of injustice; Cage believes they have every right to survival, and to the surface, and is willing to go to any length to restore that right. Regarding the grounders, specifically, Dante himself has helped instill Cage with a prejudiced perception of their culture. Cage views them as savages. This plays into his belief that they can't be reasoned with, and his first approach is violence when it comes to dealing with them.
He serves as a primary villain throughout the second season of the show, and there's no question that Cage has compromised his morals and gone to unforgivable lengths in order to achieve his goals. It's important to note, however, that he doesn't seem to relish any of it, often acting out with a sense of spitefulness or bitterness, and at times expressing regret — though whatever reservations he does have, while humanizing, are never enough to keep him from crossing ethical lines. His motivations are similar to his father's, but the contrasts between them serve as good examples of Cage's character. When 47 of the original 100 are taken by the Mountain Men, Dante is fairly quick to interact with them. He forms personal connections with some of the kids, and ultimately decides protecting them is just as essential as protecting his own people.
Cage, meanwhile, seems to avoid the kids entirely. He doesn't speak directly to them, and when he speaks about them, it's most often from a tactical standpoint — how they (and their blood) can help his people. But when the Mountain's primary doctor, Dr. Tsing, experiments on one of their own people, Cage visibly struggles with the decision. His first instinct is to protect the subject, and it's only overridden when Dr. Tsing frames it as a matter of one person's life versus the survival of three hundred. Cage's cooperation is given reluctantly, and he expresses disgust with Dr. Tsing's willingness to enact harm on one of her own. Even in the case of the 47, he's initially resistant to the plan. He recognizes that it's unethical and that his father would never approve of it. Once she guarantees that it'll save their people, however, he takes her side. Cage isn't cold or heartless — not all the time. But he is absolutely capable of compartmentalizing to a sometimes horrifying degree, as shown by the way he deliberately detaches himself from the 47 and is willing to butcher innocent kids for the sake of saving his people. Later, when he discovers that one of his own is working against him, he doesn't hesitate to use her as a bargaining piece and put her life at risk. Loyalty is tantamount, and once he's committed to a plan, he won't tolerate anything he considers a threat to it.
When Cage decides that the kids should be killed to give his people a chance at living on the surface, Dante vehemently disagrees. The debate comes to a head with a coup d'etat; Dante is forcefully removed from presidency, and Cage takes over. This isn't a decision he's proud of. Cage genuinely believes he's making the right choice, and he also genuinely regrets that his father can't understand that. The fact that he has the guards' support shows that others are willing to go just as far. That said, it's important to note that this doesn't apply to the entire population. There's mention of an underground group that previously rallied against the Harvest, but their current silence implies that it cost them dearly. It isn't until all out war begins that they side against Cage, just past the canon point from which he's being taken.
On the surface, Cage tends to come off as varying degrees of smug. He presents a front of arrogance and nonchalance, often responding with flippancy to serious issues. This behavior is no doubt encouraged by his entitlement as next in line to the presidency, but it's also hugely defensive. In a word, he could be described as bratty; he believes his people deserve more, and that he deserves more, and he either struggles or refuses to empathize with people who don't have the same priorities as he does. He's an interesting counterbalance to the 100, and Clarke specifically. Both perceive themselves to be more capable of protecting their people than their parents (the former leaders), and both go to extreme lengths for the sake of accomplishing it. The difference is, of course, that Cage's crimes tend to be far more visible and intimate, ranging from the torture of grounders to the murder of a gang of teenagers, and in some ways he serves as a visceral warning of what happens when you sacrifice your humanity in the name of survival.
From his perspective, killing the 47 in order to immunize his people is a quick, dirty solution — but it's a permanent one, and as such better than the similarly amoral Harvest. He isn't interested in cruelty for the sake of it, but he's willing to commit terrible atrocities in the interest of what he believes to be the greater good. TL;DR is that he's a total shitheel but he feels super justified in being a shitheel, and in his very mild defense, he was raised in a pretty messed up system that largely viewed outsiders as resources instead of human beings.
Powers: None.
Suitcase:
- (2) outfits, classy but dated/worn - (6) doses of red/the addictive drug used in the Cerberus Project (but nothing to inject it with) - (1) high frequency tone generator - (1) red coffee mug
Surprise? Yes please! Other Notables: Cage grew up in an extensive fallout bunker, with no or extremely limited access to the outside world. This has had a detrimental impact on his immune system, making him highly susceptible to physical ailments. He's extremely pallid with visible veining beneath his skin, giving him a sickly appearance. He has recently undergone a medical procedure that's strengthened his immune system, but he's still weaker than most people, who have had the luxury of regular exposure to various elements and frequent exercise in an open environment.
SAMPLES
Network Sample:
[ It doesn't take Cage long to hit the network after showing up. He's been keeping to his room, for the most part, trying to stay civil when he doesn't. But he skips the introduction for reasons that are obvious to anyone who knows him, getting right to the point. ]
Living in a confined space has a way of getting to people.
I'm not saying I don't trust any of you to be decent human beings, but if the population's going to keep growing, it might be a good idea to take certain precautions.
We should think about coming up with a security system. Nothing too elaborate, just a way to check in on each other. Maybe lay down a few ground rules that we can all agree on.
[ Like no killing. That's what he's angling for, since fallout's inevitable with a few of the people here — and if there's going to be a debate about it, he'd rather start out with a theoretical one than a public execution. ]
awarewolf
awarewolf