| Artemis Fowl character |
| Artemis Fowl II |
 |
| Gender |
Male |
| Hair colour |
Raven-colored |
| Eye colour |
One blue, one hazel as of The Lost Colony |
| Species |
Human |
Artemis Fowl II is the main character of the fictional series Artemis Fowl by the Irish author Eoin Colfer.
Personality
Colfer has said that he based Artemis on his little brother, who he describes as "a mischievous mastermind who could get out of any trouble he got into". When he saw a picture of him in his first communion suit, he thought he looked "like a little James Bond villain".[1]
Artemis is introduced in the first book of the series as an extremely smart, cold, calculating and cynical human individual. He possesses a dry, sarcastic sense of humor and a ruthless, almost psychopathic nature. However, he is very concerned about his missing father's whereabouts. He also exhibits pity for Holly Short and harbors some feelings of guilt with regards to his actions, although he hides them well.
In the second book, he has become a somewhat less selfish individual and goes so far as to join forces with Holly and the LEP to help them defeat the villainous Opal Koboi and her partner-in-crime Briar Cudgeon in exchange for them helping him rescue his father from the Russian Mafia. When he finds his father and after Holly Short has confirmed that he is alive, Artemis sinks to the ground with sobs of relief, even if only for a few moments.
In the third book, he is even less hard-edged and actually breaks down into tears when Butler is nearly killed.
In the fourth book, after being mind-wiped he has reverted back to his previous personality but with slightly more compassion and remorse than he did before. This is a result of the positive influences subconsciously absorbed from his time around the LEP. When his memories are restored he goes back to the more human personality he had acquired in the third book and retains this personality in the fifth book. However, he is still just as obsessed with accumulating money and power, even though he is more concerned about others than himself.
In The Lost Colony, he also meets Minerva Paradizo, a twelve year old evil genius with many similarities to the way Artemis was in the first book. Artemis is disturbed by her disregard for others' well-being as well as his similarities to her but believes that there is hope for her. There are also sections that lead the reader to believe that Artemis may have a certain affection for Minerva, though mostly in a romantic way. Later, Minerva stops her criminal ways much like Artemis and becomes friends with Domovoi Butler Artemis's revealed best friend (in The Artemis Fowl Files) and bodyguard.
In the sixth book, Artemis is more friendly than ever, and most definitely shows feelings for Holly that she reciprocates, shown when they kiss after Holly heals him from a mortal wound, and when Holly kisses him on the cheek before leaving at the end of the book. However, they seem understandably unsure as to how to deal with their feelings for one another, since they aren't even of the same species.
Character history
The Fowl family is an Irish criminal family which date back at least to the Norman Conquest, which has amassed a fabulous fortune through both legitimate and illegitimate means. These fortunes have been placed in danger by Artemis' father, Artemis Fowl I, who invested a huge amount of the Fowl fortune in founding new shipping lanes to the country of Russia, following the breakdown of communism there. Artemis Fowl I is injured and held hostage following an attempt on his life by the Russian Mafia.
Artemis, who was ten at the time his father disappeared, decides to regain the Fowl fortune. Following leads on the Internet, Fowl discovers the existence of an underground world of fairies, and at age twelve, attempts to, and succeeds at stealing their gold.
He also uses pseudonyms to hide his identity; most reflect his intellectual level. They include "F. Roy Dean Schlippe" (Freudian slip), "Stefan Bakshir" (Russian child chess prodigy as well as character from The Supernaturalist), "Emmesey Squire" (E = mc2), "Dr. C. Niall DeMencha" (senile dementia), "Sir E. Brum" (cerebrum), "Malachy Pasteur" (French-Irish Extinctionist), and "Violet Tsirblou" (Violets are blue).
Skills and Abilities
Artemis is a child prodigy and is known to have the highest IQ in Europe. He can type Paradise Lost in under 20 minutes.citation neededHe plots many complicated schemes, and he is an expert in psychology. He steals some magic in the end of Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony, but quickly uses it up when he attempts to heal his mother in the next book. Artemis is ambidextrous; however, his left hand is slightly steadier than his right. In book 5, he is also revealed to have perfect pitch.
Valuables and Possessions
Artemis Fowl II considered many possessions important throughout the series. Those include his collection of impressionist art, his mobile phone, and later his fairy ring phone, and his computers. Possessions he finds important include his Learjet, the family Bentley Red Label, and the Fowl Manor, a late medieval, early modern castle on 200 acres.citation needed Another of his most prized possessions was given to him by Holly Short at the end of Book II, The Arctic Incident, a fairy coin that she shot a hole through with the finger he and her captain, Julius Root a.k.a. BeetRoot, helped her to heal.[2] He also has a fondness for his C Cube, his inventive amalgamation of stolen fairy technology and cutting-edge human technology, although after he reacquired it in The Eternity Code, he has not mentioned nor reused it since. It is revealed in an interview with Artemis at the end of the British version of the Arctic Incident that his most treasued possesion is Butler.
Role in Books
Artemis Fowl, in which the twelve-year old Artemis attempts to steal fairy gold by kidnapping LEP Captain Holly Short.
Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident, in which Artemis discovers that his father is still alive and, with help from the fairies, tries to rescue him from the Russian Mafia. At the same time, he has to help the fairies put down a goblin rebellion orchestrated by Opal Koboi, a pixie/criminal mastermind rivaling Foaly and an ex-LEP officer, Briar Cudgeon.
Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code, in which Artemis, in what he considers to be his last criminal act before his father completely recovers, creates the C Cube, a mini super-computer which is decades ahead of normal human technology. He plans to make a deal with the Chicago business man Jon Spiro, but faces horrible consequences when Spiro double-crosses him and steals it, so Artemis has to take it back.
Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception, where Artemis has to regain his lost memories after the events in the third book because of the return of an old rival, Opal Koboi. Opal plans to kill all of those who had been against her in the past, starting with Julius Root, Holly Short, Foaly and Artemis, while still remaining undetected by tricking the public into belief of her continued coma.
Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony in which Artemis helps the fairy people to rescue the eighth family of fairy kind, the demons, and prevent them from being exposed to human beings and rescue a young imp (the larval stage of a Demon) from another child genius named Minerva Paradizo. Artemis also gains a small amount of fairy magic in this book. He retains some at the end, but it is unclear just how much he has left. The Lost Colony also contains a humorous sub-plot involving Artemis' struggle with puberty, and a new character is introduced who may well become a girlfriend for Artemis in the form of 12 year old (or when Artemis returns from his 3 year mission on Hybras, 15 going-on 16 year old) Minerva Paradizo, a young master-criminal apparently Artemis's intellectual equal. At the end of the book Butler informs Artemis that she has been visiting regularly, talking repeatedly of Artemis. Artemis is pleasantly surprised to hear so. Though he himself is still 14 due to his journey having taken only a few hours for him.
Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox When Artemis' mother falls ill with a rare fairy disease called Spelltropy, he must convince Holly Short to go back eight years in time to rescue a lemur with a rare brain fluid that can cure Spelltropy. The only difficulty is that Artemis himself made a business deal that involved the extinction of the lemur. When Artemis and Holly arrive, they must confront their most intimidating enemy yet — Artemis Fowl, age ten.
A branch out book, The Artemis Fowl Files, has also been published. This book contains two short stories: "LEPrecon" and "The Seventh Dwarf", as well as several tests and quizzes designed by the author, and a key to the Gnommish alphabet.
Artemis Fowl: The Graphic Novel has also been published. It is a fully colored comic version of Artemis Fowl.
References
- ^ Eoin Colfer interview on NBC's The Today Show on MSN Video(HTML) Retrieved August 2, 2008.
- ^ Colfer, Eoin (2002). Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident, Artemis Fowl (series). Hyperion Books, pp. 274. ISBN 0786808551.
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