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DXMD trophy Fresh out of the Package "I once thought I could save the world... now look at it"
— Spoilers for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided follow!
DXMD trophy Fresh out of the Package


Joseph Manderley is a major character in Deus Ex and also appears in Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, as and the director of UNATCO and Task Force 29 respectively.

Biography[]

Manderley is a talented field agent and administrator, who demonstrated quick thinking, negotiating skills, and accurate analysis. After retiring from field duty and taking up command responsibilities behind a desk, these skills served him well in early mechanical augmentation debates at the various government agencies he worked at. The fact that he was also a master manipulator, pulling strings from behind the scenes, certainly helped, resulting in a long, illustrious career in public service.[1]

Unofficially, Manderley was an enforcer for the Illuminati and later Majestic 12 throughout his career, acting on direct orders from Lucius DeBeers and later Bob Page, to create a totalitarian world beholden to the whims of his masters.[2]

FEMA[]

In 2027, Joseph Manderley worked for FEMA, bearing the title of Advisor to the Deputy Administrator, National Preparedness.[3] This unwieldy title disguised his true role as an executive officer for the black operations undertaken by the military-industrial complex of the United States, including administrating clandestine internment camps for American dissidents, burying evidence of Tyrants' operations, and intimidating lesser officials using the provisions of the Revised Homeland Security Act as a bludgeon.[4]

Interpol[]

By 2028, Manderley was appointed by the UN as Director of the newly formed Task Force 29, an anti-terrorist intelligence and response team overseen by Interpol.[5] Second only to the Interpol Secretary General, Manderley oversaw Jim Miller, Christian Jarreau, and other directors of field offices. In 2029, he transferred Adam Jensen from TF29's North American Division to its Central European Division in Prague, to control him in a less familiar environment than Jensen's native America. Six months later, he also assigned Delara Auzenne to the facility, ostensibly to help Jensen work with PTSD, but in reality to tighten control over Jensen.

After the bombing of Růžička Station, Manderley ordered Miller to pin the bombing on the Augmented Rights Coalition, together with other attacks. The order came directly from Bob Page, whose plans involved completely undermining the augmented cause, and lead to the enactment of the Human Restoration Act. Its passage would bring the Illuminati significantly greater control over augmented people.

UNATCO[]

Manderley sided with Page in his coup, joining Majestic 12. His loyalty was repaid with an appointment to UNATCO as its Chief Administrator. Manderley wasted no time in advancing the cause of his master, leading a combined Interpol/UNATCO raid on the Paris headquarters of the Knights Templar in 2051. Officially targeted for blackmail, extortion, and illegal financial operations that collapsed entire markets in their wake, the elimination of the Templars wiped out a rival cabal of conspirators and strengthened Majestic 12.[6][7] Beyond that, Manderley's role at this point was focused primarily on giving UNATCO an urbane, diplomatic face, rather than aggressively pursuing their hidden agenda. He was just another bureaucrat in Walton Simons' deck of cards, to be shuffled, used, and discarded when needed.[8]

Manderley proved reliable for the most part, but miscalculated when it came to augmented agents. The advent of nanotechnological augmentation demoralized mechanically augmented agents, who preferred to retire, rather than become expendable shock troops.[1] Nanotechnologically augmented agents have also become his biggest headache. Paul Denton was supposed to be just another unwitting tool in Page's mission of achieving global control. However, the "Primary Unit", as MJ-12 called Paul, began underperforming after a string of initial successes. The failed assassination of Tracer Tong in Hong Kong capped off a steady decline and raised suspicions about Paul's true loyalties. The arrival of JC Denton at UNATCO HQ coincided with Paul's return from Hong Kong and a failed NSF attack on Liberty Island. Manderley was given a final opportunity to prove his worth: rein Paul in, if possible, and ensure the loyalty of JC. Manderley did the best he could, entrusting JC to the command of Anna Navarre, an agent loyal beyond doubt or reason, and assigned him to missions where risk of exposing him to dissident ideas was minimized. As for Paul, the loss of his "pet project" upset Manderley's standing in Majestic 12, and doubly so with Simons.[9]

His final failure came with JC's defection to the NSF after Paul's killswitch was activated. Although JC was recaptured in New York, Manderley became a persona non grata at Majestic 12. In recognition of his service, Page and Simons considered putting him in a purely bureaucratic, comfortable position at the Library of Congress. Naturally, Manderley objected to being shoved off into a bureaucratic cubbyhole, but was ignored. JC's escape from MJ-12's facility beneath UNATCO headquarters became the final straw. If not killed by JC, Manderley was subsequently reported to be dead, presumably executed, with his death pinned on JC Denton. Even in death, Manderley would serve Majestic 12's objectives.[10]

Interactions[]

Deus Ex[]

Manderley serves as JC's commanding officer, and will react to the actions taken by JC during his assignments. During JC's escape from the UNATCO Headquarters, JC may confront Manderley, who is having a demotion conference with Simons over holocom. Manderley will appear friendly, but will attack as soon as JC is about to leave the office. Here, Manderley can be killed, knocked unconscious, or ignored.

Whether or not Manderley is killed, an e-mail from Sam Carter reveals that Manderley has disappeared, rumored to have been re-assigned while Simons has taken his place. Subsequent public news bulletins will report that Manderley was murdered by JC Denton, regardless of whether or not he was actually killed by JC. If JC did not kill Manderley, it is possible that Manderley was executed by Majestic 12 to frame JC for his murder.

Notes[]

  • In Deus Ex, Manderley's login is "jmanderley" and his password is "knight_killer". This is a reference to his involvement in the attack on the Knights Templar. 
  • In Deus Ex, soldiers in Brooklyn mention him even though he is already dead by that time.

Quotes[]

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

  • "Officially, all five attacks involved augmented terrorists. Is that clear?"
  • "I'm merely concerned that the rest of the Council may not like your call. They seem... less cohesive these days."

Deus Ex

  • "Don't despise training, my boy. Even you would be worthless without the shaping touch of drills and studies."
  • "And JC, try to follow orders this time."
  • "You Dentons sure hung us out to dry."
  • "I refuse to be pushed into some obscure bureaucratic cubbyhole!"
  • "You'll behave like a professional, that's an order!"
  • "Hey! Who do you think you are?"
  • "Grow up, JC!"
  • "That's enough, Agent!"

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Deus Ex official strategy guide, "Joseph Manderley: UNATCO Chief Administrator": "Manderley is one of the few agents who actually survived to retire from field duty. As luck would have it, concurrent with his being assigned desk duty, the agency began to toy with the concept of mechanical augmentation. In those early, fierce debates, Manderley earned a reputation for fast thinking, sharp negotiating and accurately predicting that pitfalls lay ahead. His ability to manipulate events from behind the scenes was less remarked upon, but similarly impressive. He eventually came to oversee the entire department of augmentation, from choosing likely candidates to handing out assignments. Anyway, that's what it says on his government bio, and who are we to argue?
    There was one thing that Manderley didn't foresee, however. As technology evolved and the "older model" augs became out of date, the previous generation of enhanced agents became demoralized and dissatisfied. Instead of building up an army of augmented agents — each new rank adding new talents and abilities — the older agents preferred to retire than than be demoted to shock-troops for the new "hotshot" agents."
  2. Manderley's position throughout the DX series.
  3. MEMO: PRIORITY LEVEL 1 (e-mail on FEMA Facility computers)
  4. UV (email on a computer in the Detroit Police Station)
  5. The official Deus Ex timeline, year 2028
  6. Datacube transcripts (DX): "Mr. Manderley:
    Just FYI, your new password is knight_killer (I know you led that mission in Paris against that old terrorist organization or whatever it was), Your login is still jmanderley.
    Janice"
  7. UNATCO bulletin terminal: Know Your Enemy -- Templars
  8. Walton Simons: "You aren't a commander, Manderley. We hoped you'd give UNATCO an urbane, diplomatic face -- that's all. We screwed up our priorities."
  9. Walton Simons: "Look, I understand. He was your pet project. But it's out of my hands. Now that the shipment's been lost..."
  10. MOST WANTED: J.C. Denton (news bulletin)


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