Sam Fisher

Lore & Background

Sam Fisher originally appeared in the video game Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell. In this game, Fisher joins the National Security Agency as part of the division 'Third Echelon', sent to investigate two missing Central Intelligence Agency operatives in Georgia. Fisher eventually discovered that they were both murdered under President Kombayn Nikoladze's orders, who Fisher discovered was leading an ethnic cleansing campaign in Azerbaijan, leading to NATO intervention that sent Nikoladze underground.

Fisher was eventually sent to recover data, on technology called The Ark. Nikoladze declares war on the United States, and Fisher eventually discovers a network used by Nikoladze which he traced to Myanmar. He finds captured US soldiers and Chinese diplomats, and discovers that Nikoladze is working with rogue Chinese soldiers. Fisher interrogated their leader, discovering Nikoladze went back to Georgia to activate The Ark, which turns out to be a nuclear suitcase bomb placed somewhere in the United States.

Fisher is about to be executed after failing to secure The Ark, but is rescued. He eventually assassinates Nikoladze, and the National Guard eventually secures the suitcase bomb. In the sequel, Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow, Fisher is sent to gather intelligence on the militia group, Darah Dan Doa, helping to retake an embassy held by the group. Their leader, Suhadi Sadono, escapes, and he later discovers that Sadono is executing a plot called 'Pandora Tomorrow,' where he plans to unleash biological bombs containing smallpox on the United States, having a failsafe to prevent him from being killed or captured.

Fisher is sent to discover the locations of the bombs, and spies are sent to deactivate them. He is sent to take Sadono alive, a decision made due to complications caused by his assassination of Nikoladze. After securing him, one smallpox bomb was set to be detonated at an airport, but Fisher is able to have the bomb safely detonated.

Reader's Guide

Players control Fisher using a 'panther' play style, which involved letting Fisher 'swiftly [go] from kill to kill' before vanishing. In Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist, he is the leader of the 'Fourth Echelon', and the designers made a point of ensuring players could use their preferred play style.

Did You Know?

• Sam Fisher was originally voiced by Michael Ironside in the first five installments of the series.
• Eric Johnson provided the voice and motion capture for Fisher in Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist.
• Fisher was added as a playable character in Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege, voiced by Jeff Teravainen.
• An alternate version of Sam Fisher appears in the 2023 animated series Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix, voiced by Nigel Barber.
• Fisher serves as the protagonist of Splinter Cell: Deathwatch, voiced by Liev Schreiber.