John Sheridan (Babylon 5)
John Sheridan is a male television character who features in Babylon 5.
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Biography
Origin
John Sheridan was a male human born on Earth in the year 2215 as the son of prominent diplomat David Sheridan and his mother Nancy Sheridan. (Episode: Points of Departure)
Shortly after the Dilgar War, he was noted to had joined Earthforce where he felt it was the patriotic thing to do and that he wanted to be part of something bigger than himself. (Episode: The Deconstruction of Falling Stars)
He was then offered a position on-board the EAS Prometheus' where he was to serve as first officer. However, Sheridan turned down the post as he was loyal to his current captain Roger Sterns and also because he was uncomfortable serving under the commanding officer of the Prometheus. Afterwards, the Prometheus was involved in a disastrous first contact situation with the Minbari which saw the death of one of their leaders. As a result, the Minbari Federation declared war resulting the Earth-Minbari War. During this time, Sheridan served as the first officer aboard the EAS Lexington, a Hyperion-Class warship. When the Lexington's captain was killed in a Minbari ambush, Sheridan assumed command of the crippled vessel. Thinking quickly, he devised a daring plan to defeat the technologically superior Minbari flagship, the Black Star: he ordered nuclear mines to be planted in a nearby asteroid field and then used a faked distress signal to lure the enemy ship back to their position. When the Black Star closed in, Sheridan detonated the mines, destroying the Minbari vessel and securing Earth's only major victory of the entire war. Afterwards, Sheridan was involved in a secret, failed peace negotiation attempt with a rogue Minbari faction member, an event during which he was briefly captured by the Minbari and released after he spoke the word Isil'zha (Minbari: "the future") as instructed by the dying peace broker. (Movie: In the Beginning)
Babylon 5
Sheridan assumed command of Babylon 5 amidst tension and uncertainty where he arrived on the station and quickly began the process of settling into his nwe position. He began by meeting the primary command staff—specifically Chief Security Officer Michael Garibaldi, and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Stephen Franklin where he immediately established his no-nonsense, pragmatic command style by addressing the skepticism surrounding his appointment, particularly from Lieutenant Commander Susan Ivanova, who viewed him as a potential replacement for her lost captain, Jeffrey Sinclair, and was wary of his reputation as the 'Starkiller' during the Minbari War. Sheridan’s arrival on Babylon 5 was quickly complicated by the rogue Minbari cruiser Tragati. After the warrior Kalain broke into Delenn's quarters and was subsequently captured, he committed suicide in his cell using a poison tooth to create a political incident. The Tragati then launched fighters and demanded Kalain's return, attempting to provoke the station into firing first so the crew could die 'honorably' in battle and potentially restart the Earth-Minbari War. Sheridan, suspecting a trap because the station's sensors could unusually lock onto the Minbari fighters—implying they had intentionally disabled their stealth technology—ordered the station's defenses to hold their fire even as the enemy fighters closed to point-blank range. Simultaneously, he used a tight-beam laser to send a signal through the jumpgate to another Minbari warship he knew was searching for the renegades. This second Minbari ship arrived and disabled the Tragati's engines to prevent its escape. Refusing to surrender to their own people, the crew of the Tragati chose to self-destruct their vessel with all hands. Sheridan concluded the episode by successfully delivering his traditional 'good luck speech' to an empty C&C, fulfilling a personal command ritual. (Episode: Point of Departure)
Confronting with his wife, Sheridan had her taken to the infirmary so that Dr. Franklin could conduct tests to determine if she was genuinely Anna Sheridan. He then confronted Delenn over her claims that Anna had died and was angry that they were not sure about her death. During this time, Sheridan had talks with Anna about her disappearance where spoke about how she had been Z'ha'dum after remaining there since the research expedition to it. She claimed that the Shadows were misunderstood and that she could only fully explain what happened to her if John accompanied her to Z'ha'dum. In this time, he received a medical report from Franklin regarding Anna Sheridan where it indicated that his wife had implants that made her a pilot to a Shadow vessel. This confirmed his own beliefs as he knew his wife and despite being biologically Anna he found that her soul seemed to be missing. Sheridan resolved to secretly go to Z'ha'dum where he had Garibaldi ship two thermonuclear warheads onto the Whitestar and in the cover of night departed with Anna Sheridan to the Shadow homeworld. He did not inform the command staff of Babylon 5 of his departure and left pre-recorded messages for them after which he made the journey. Upon arriving on Z'ha'dum, he took a shuttle to the surface where he met further human agents of the Shadows that included Mr. Morden. They explained the purpose of the Shadows in that they were one of the two caretakers of the younger races that had been left behind by the First Ones with the others being the Vorlons. The Shadows believed that strength grew through conflict and though some died they said that the survivors grew stronger as a result. They attempted to persuade to join their cause but then Sheridan confronted them about his wife. He revealed what he knew what was done to Anna and said that his wife would never have agreed with the Shadows methods. The representatives then confirmed that she did in fact refuse and they forced her into becoming the processor of a Shadow ship but that the moment they learnt who she was they pulled her out of the craft. However, once inside a Shadow ship, the mind was no longer what it was and that the Anna Sheridan that was John's wife no longer existed with instead a new personality being in her body. The Shadows then attempted to force John Sheridan's compliance leading to a fight where he managed to escape deeper into the planet. Wounded, he was cornered on a ledge where the form of Anna Sheridan once again attempted to persuade him to join them whilst being flanked by two Shadows. John Sheridan then programmed the White Star in orbit to come crashing to his location in order to detonate the two bombs hidden in its cargo bay. Before it crashed, Sheridan heard a voice that told him to jump and he leaped from the ledge as the explosion killed Anna Sheridan along with the Shadows at the site above. This dealt a critical blow to the Shadows who pulled back their forces from their planned assault on Babylon 5. (Episode: Z'ha'dum)
Interstellar Alliance
Overview
Personality and attributes
After his destruction of the Blackstar, the Minbari gave him the name of Starkiller. (Episode: Points of Departure)
The seeming death of his wife Anna Sheridan was a difficult experience to overcome and took sometime to move on from her. (Episode: Z'ha'dum)
Powers and abilities
Notes
- John Sheridan was portrayed by actor Bruce Boxleitner where he featured in the setting of the Babylon 5 universe.
Appearances
- Babylon 5:
- Babylon 5: The Lost Tales:
External Links
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