User:Cockney Heroes/Characters/Emile Danko

Emile Danko
Portrayed by	Željko Ivanek
First appearance	Under the Bridge, Part 2
In-story stats
Known ability	None
Alias	Jakob Pradasa
Nickname	The Hunter
Gender
Home	Washington, DC
Residences	Apartment in Washington, DC
Occupation	Senior Agent of Homeland Security
Significant other	formerly Alena

Emile Danko, also referred to as "the Hunter", is a senior agent of the Department of Homeland Security, who currently serves as the leader of a team of soldiers hunting evolved humans. He was originally doing this on behalf of his superior, Senator Nathan Petrelli, but since Nathan's ability has been exposed, he no longer answers to him, leaving Danko in full charge of the operation.

Character History

Graphic Novel:Under the Bridge, Part 2

When two of Nathan's bodyguards try to apprehend Donald Essex, they are subdued by Donald's ability. Danko sprays an unknown spray into Donald's face, which causes Donald to lose consciousness. Soon after, Nathan arrives and asks if Donald is dead. Danko says that it is hard to tell, and Nathan says to wrap it up and head back to New York. When Danko asks what to do with all the water in the room (which is actually Donald's dissolved remains), Nathan says to pour it away into the Mississippi River.

A Clear and Present Danger

Danko and his team capture Tracy at her home. He then tells Nathan that he has captured the first of them. Later, Danko gets into Mohinder's cab, right after Peter Petrelli leaves it and forces him to drive to a car park where Danko's team is waiting. Mohinder overpowers Danko and starts to run away, but is intercepted by Noah, who makes out like he is there to help but instead he brings Mohinder back to Danko. Danko delivers the posthumans to Nathan at an aircraft hanger and informs him of Sylar and Claire.

Trust and Blood

After the plane crash, Danko orders an air strike, much to Nathan's frustration. Danko and Nathan begin to argue, with Danko comparing the evolved humans to rabid dogs, and that they must be "put down". After Daphne is shot by Danko's team, Matt manages to control the mind of a soldier and escape. Danko manages to shoot the soldier, and capture Claire. He threatens Claire and blames her for the deaths of many soldiers, before pulling out his gun and almost shooting her in the back of the head. Nathan quickly stops Danko, and sends Claire home. Danko and Nathan argue again, and Danko continues to label the evolved humans as animals. When Nathan and Tracy meet out in the woods, Nathan secretly brings Danko and Noah; even though he promises to meet Tracy alone. When Peter reveals himself out in the open, Danko and Noah prepare to aim at Tracy and Peter. Noah is persistent in shooting Peter, and tells Danko that he doesn't have the proper shot on Peter. When Peter flies away and escapes, Danko is frustrated and stares at Nathan coldly before leaving. According to a file Angela read, he was linked to civilian deaths in a Angolan coup.

Building 26

Danko is in the control center of Building 26, discussing surveillance efforts and the status of their operation. He stares at a wall of photographs of evolved humans, while telling his men that Claire is "on probation" — for now. Nathan comes in and clarifies he wants this operation to be as gentle as possible, which is the opposite to what Danko wants. There is palpable tension between the two men. Later, Danko and Nathan meet Abby Collins, who informs them that their operation is worrying the president's handlers, and Homeland Security are now overseeing their team. Danko resents the intrusion of yet another politician, while Nathan suggests a tour and talks to Abby alone. After Tracy kills Mark Leggett, Nathan talks to Danko revealing that he knows Danko let Tracy escape deliberately. Danko says he did it to protect the agency.

Cold Wars

After Noah being drugged by Peter, Mohinder and Matt, Emile Danko becomes concerned that Noah hasn't checked in, and orders his team to find him. Nathan is surprised they are having Noah under surveillance, but Danko also reveals they are doing the same to him. Danko says Noah and Nathan's connections to Claire Bennet and Peter, who they have been somewhat partial to, compromises their decision making. At the storage unit, Peter begins procuring weapons and gear, all the while being watched by Nathan's agency due to a security camera. Danko has his men move in, but Peter manages to distract them with a flash grenade and flies off with the weapons.

Matt decides to discover more about Danko, and delves into Noah's mind once more. In a flashback one week prior, Noah is seen paying a visit to Danko's house. The two seem to be at odds, but Noah assures him he'll obey his orders. Peter flies off to confront Danko, while it is also shown Danko's men are mobilizing outside the hotel. Before Danko can give the order to move in, he is stopped by Peter. Danko tries to get Peter to shoot him to prove his point that people like him are dangerous, but Nathan arrives at the scene (Danko is surprised how he got there so quickly). Peter shoots Danko in the arm, but Nathan warns Peter that by killing Danko he will effectively be writing a kill order on all people with abilities. Nathan also informs Peter of the imminent raid on Matt and Suresh, causing Peter to fly off. Danko then orders his men to move in.

Exposed

In Building 26's control room, Danko is informed of Parkman and Peter's intrusion into the building. Despite being warned by Noah not to go after them, he attempts to hunt them down. However, his hunt is cut short when he suddenly finds himself at gunpoint - two of the guards are being telepathically controlled by the intruders. Noah formulates a strategy to counter the telepaths, and Danko helps capture Parkman.

Later, Nathan makes a deal with his brother - all of the information that he stole in exchange for Parkman and Daphne, but Danko refuses to hand over the prisoners, saying that he takes his orders directly from the President. The exchange becomes a trap, and Danko looks on through the sights of a sniper rifle as Peter arrives at the agreed meeting place. He takes a shot at Peter, causing him to stumble over the edge of the roof. Danko and Noah watch in disbelief as Peter appears to fly off unharmed, seemingly unaware that it was Nathan who saved him.

The footage stolen by Peter is picked up by local news outlets. Danko watches from Building 26. After re-examining the paintings found by agents in Isaac's loft, Danko is inspired to make them come true, strapping an explosive vest to Parkman and dropping him off, dazed and drugged, before the Capitol building.

Shades of Gray

Danko's plan of strapping Matt with explosives is discovered by Nathan, who flies to the Capitol to help him. In Building 26, Danko and an analyst watch the events on screen and try to detonate the bomb, but Rebel hacks into the system to stop them. Danko manages to regain control, but not before Matt Parkman has disarmed the device. Later, Nathan tells Danko he will attempt to have him removed from the agency, but Danko responds by playing some video footage of Tracy Strauss shouting that Nathan is "one of us."

Danko brings Tracy in for questioning but Nathan meets with her first and urges her to not to divulge anything. When Danko enters her cell to ask if Nathan has an ability, she replies she has no idea, adding that Nathan was "lousy in bed". Later, Danko talks with Noah Bennet, who suggests confronting Angela Petrelli about Nathan. Noah then warns Angela that Danko has set his sights on her. Danko meets with Angela in a New York restaurant, and asks her about ability heredity, pointing out that Nathan's brother, parents, and daughter all have powers. Angela refuses to confirm Danko's theories, and says she has known many men like him: their lack of friends and family make them disposable. She also mentions Danko's involvement in an incident in Angola that resulted in many civilian deaths. At this, Danko is visibly stirred and leaves. Afterwards, Nathan tells Danko that he's been fired, after consultation with the President. Danko confronts Nathan with a gun, but instead of killing him, he shoots at the window behind Nathan and pushes him through it. Nathan activates his ability to stop his fall, but in clear view of Danko; Nathan then flies away, leaving a furious Danko to ask Noah if he knew about Nathan's power.

Later, Danko arrives home and discovers a stuffed rabbit in his apartment, and Sylar is shown hiding behind a wall.

Graphic Novel:Puppet with No Strings

At Doyle's Marionette Theatre, Danko has Eric Doyle tied up and interrogates him about the Primatech Research explosion and who survived. When Doyle talks about Sylar and Rebel, Doyle tells him that there is no Rebel, and thanks him for the tip about Sylar. He then leaves, with Rachel Mills and Jason Pierce following him, and they Danko sets the theatre on fire. Outside, Danko tells Jason to follow up on a lead, and does not notice when Rachel teleports back into the theatre to save Doyle. After Rachel returns, Danko tells her to get back into the van, and they drive off.

Cold Snap

Danko is shaving in the bathroom of his apartment when an alarm goes off, saying that his front door is open. He wipes his face, grabs his gun and goes to investigate. In front of the living-room window he finds Eric Doyle, hanging like a puppet on strings with curtains on either side of him and a big bow and gift tag attached. The gift tag says "My Gift To You."

In Building 26, Danko brings Mohinder to a room marked "Human Resources", which is full of drugged and unconscious evolved humans on hospital beds. Mohinder is shocked and asks why Danko doesn't do it the old fashioned way and dig a ditch. Danko calls it gun control; he sees everyone in the room as dangerous, including Mohinder. Mohinder asks why Daphne has been moved from the medical facility, but Danko says there was the American taxpayer to consider. Mohinder examines her and says she needs to be taken to the hospital because he can't help her here, but Danko explains that he doesn't want Mohinder to help her - he only brought him to this room so he wouldn't have to carry him. An operative tasers Mohinder and Danko says to hook him up to an IV and prepare a bed for Tracy.

Danko brings Noah Bennet to the same room, saying that it's important that they get along. He shows him Doyle's unconscious body, and says that he thought Noah might like to see the puppet master strung up, after what he did to Sandra and Claire. When Bennet asks how Doyle was captured, Danko takes the credit himself. Bennet asks to return the favor by bringing in Rebel, and suggests using Tracy Strauss as bait. Danko doesn't like the plan at first, pointing out that Tracy is a killer. Noah promises to kill Tracy himself if the plan goes wrong and chalk it up to self-defense. Danko agrees. Later, Noah tells Danko that the team lost Angela Petrelli. Danko believes someone tipped her off, but Noah points out that Angela can see things coming, and that she can still be tracked using her cellphone.

After Tracy's "cold snap" kills a squad of his agents, Danko walks up to her frozen body and shoots her point blank, making her fall to pieces on the ground. When Noah arrives, Danko asks if there was any sign of Rebel and HRG says no. As Danko walks away, the remains of Tracy's face wink.

Into Asylum

Danko and Noah Bennet go to a house in Arlington, Virginia. Agent Jenkins tells Danko that his teammates were shot when they came to arrest James Martin, and throws up in shock. When Jenkins has gone, Danko tells Noah that James Martin's DNA is in the national database but they don't know what his ability is. Noah lectures Danko, saying that they should never go in blind and every ability requires a different tactic. Danko argues that his orders are to take in all evolved humans, and goes out to his car. He turns on the radio and is about to light a cigarette when Sylar suddenly appears in the back seat. He asks whether Danko received the "gifts" he left -- the stuffed rabbit and Doyle. He and Danko both want the same thing -- to kill evolved humans -- so he offers his help in tracking James Martin. Danko slowly reaches for a gun, but Sylar disappears before Danko can pull the weapon.

Back at Building 26, Danko delivers a speech about how the three agents' deaths will not be in vain, and places Martin's photograph at the top of his list of targets, swapping it with Sylar's picture. Danko tells Noah that the team badly needs a win and asks for ideas, and Noah suggests the "one of us, one of them" approach. When Danko asks how it's even possible to work with the enemy, Noah says that Danko has experience of exploiting the locals in his covert emergency operations in Cuba and Afghanistan. Danko denies any knowledge of this, but listens to Noah's reasoning that evolved humans can be viewed as assets; weapons to be mobilized. When Noah says that Sylar may be in D.C., Danko brushes off the idea of pursuing him, and gives Noah Angela Petrelli's file instead.

Agent Jenkins comes to Danko's office to thank him for his speech and shakes his hand. A cellphone rings on top of a cardboard box and Danko answers it. When he finds it's Sylar, he excuses Jenkins. Sylar tells Danko to look in the box, and he does so, finding the severed head of Agent Jenkins. Sylar reveals that James Martin is a shape shifter, and has replaced the real Jenkins. Danko looks up to see the fake Jenkins leaving the office, and Danko and several men go running after him. They pursue Martin through the parking lot, but Martin shapeshifts into the form of a janitor and manages to get away, to Danko's annoyance.

That evening, Danko finds Sylar in James Martin's home. Danko has read Sylar's file and tells him that he's predictable: he wants James Martin's ability, because he's desperate to be anyone but himself. He also knows how to kill Sylar, and boasts that bringing him in would be an impressive achievement. Sylar reminds Danko that he's only one of a long list of targets, and offers him a deal -- he could help find all the other evolved humans, then Danko could kill him. Danko hesitates but lowers his gun. The two then search for clues to Martin's motives, and Sylar comments that Danko is a "shape shifter" too: he has nothing in his home that defines him. In Martin's closet, Sylar finds costumes for various professions, all men in positions of power. He hands Danko some photographs of different men with attractive women, and Danko works out that all the men are Martin. Finally Sylar and Danko both find matchboxes from a nightclub called Garden of Eden, so they go there and look around the crowd. To Sylar's amusement and Danko's shock, Martin has taken Danko's form and is embracing a woman. Danko doesn't understand why Martin would pretend to be him, but Sylar says that he must think Danko possesses power. Martin spots the real Danko through the crowd and runs off, with Sylar and Danko in pursuit.

Danko finds Sylar again and tells him that Martin has gone and they should leave. Sylar follows him to the door but suddenly pulls a gun. A trigger goes off, but it's Danko who has turned and shot James Martin, who is posing as Sylar. The real Sylar arrives, and Danko explains that Martin is still alive, so Sylar can take his ability, though Danko requests that he does it without leaving any marks. Sylar grins and Martin whimpers in fear.

Noah Bennet later finds Danko kneeling over a body bag. In the bag is Sylar, with a metal blade shoved into the back of his head. A female agent zips up the body bag, and then goes to Danko's car and gets in. Danko is sitting with the radio on, holding a cigarette, and asks the woman how it felt to zip up the body bag. The woman starts groaning in pain and shape shifts back into Sylar. Danko comments that if they go through with their plan, Sylar will be the only one left. He then starts the car, and the two drive away.

Graphic Novel:Cog

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Turn and Face the Strange

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Heroes Evolutions

The Agent

In chapter 1 of The Agent, Rachel Mills learns about Danko and is compared to him while in training. The other recruits call him "the Hunter" for being lethal, focused, and instinctive. She meets Danko for the first time on her first mission at the Flight 195 crash site. Rachel is told to report to him for orders and finds him talking with Senator Petrelli. The senator is arguing with Danko that the detainees are going back into custody--that they are not assassins, but Danko says that the detainees should be killed. Danko also notes that the senator's daughter turned the transport flight into a National security emergency and points to her.

After a fast girl rescues Claire, Danko spots Rachel and approaches her while calling out her name. He tells Rachel to pick three men and follow the main search party. He adds that if that party gets into trouble, her squad is to ignore everything else and capture Claire by any means possible. Rachel asks what if they can't capture her, and he instructs her to shoot her in the back of the skull. He then leaves to make other preparations for the search.

Danko follows the main search party as well. When Gibson gets forced to shoot all the members of the main search party and the other members of Rachel's squad, Danko shoots and kills Gibson just before he can shoot Rachel. He then approaches Claire, pulls out a tie and takes her prisoner.

In chapter 2 of The Agent, Danko sends a male agent to deliver a file to Rachel Mills regarding the "special project" she is working on.

Rachel recalls that Danko has had her searching through some old websites, stuff that used to be run by people with abilities. They were just trying to understand more about how they think when Rachel found the first message. When Rachel reported it, Danko instructed Rachel to keep the project off the grid as he thinks there might be a security breach.

In chapter 3 of The Agent, the day prior to one of the fugitives breaking in to his apartment and almost killing him, Danko is driving a van carrying Jason in the back seat. Danko waits for Rachel Mills when she misses her check-in time. When she finally arrives and enters the van, Danko asks where she was and then hits gas, getting them out of the area before the cops arrive.

Some of the agents started looking at Danko differently after the incident when one of the fugitives broke into Danko's apartment, but Rachel Mills didn't, so he rewarded that loyalty with an assignment following day. Danko finds Rachel Mills and Jason at the shooting range and tells them to get their gear together--that they need to be on a plane to Costa Verde in fifteen minutes. When Rachel prompts him with questions, he explains that their mission is to find and capture Alex Woolsly. In addition, Danko informs Rachel they think that Alex had help escaping them before, and that the cheerleader is in the same town. Regarding the cheerleader, he instructs Rachel to inform him if they can find any evidence that the cheerleader is involved, and await further orders. He then leaves, walking out the door.

In chapter 6 of The Agent, Jason recalls delivering a message from Danko to Rachel Mills the first day he met her. Later, after witnessing Rachel use her ability, Jason tells Rachel that he promised Danko turning Rachel in would go smoothly. Rachel replies that is a lie and that if Danko knew he would be there with a SWAT team, hoping Rachel would make a break for it so he could kill her. Rachel adds that she thinks Danko will kill her after making her suffer. Jason says he thinks she is wrong, and Rachel responds that is cause he is not like Danko or her.

In chapter 7 of The Agent, the site commander for an operation targeting fugitives in an abandoned office building asks Rachel if she has talked with Danko about the mission. He also informs Rachel that Danko has gone off the grid, and that he is asking because he thinks Rachel is Danko's buddy or something.

In chapter 8 of The Agent, Rachel notes to herself that Commander Klassen is one of Danko's most trusted lieutenants. After the fugitives escape, Danko text messages Rachel instructions to report immediately to him.

In chapter 9 of The Agent, Rachel reports to Danko's office in Building 26 per Danko's request. However, a shape shifted Sylar that looks and sounds like Danko attends their meeting in his place.

Memorable Quotes

"How did you catch him?"

"I'm smarter than the average bear."

- Noah Bennet, Danko (Cold Snap)

Trivia

• According to Bryan Fuller, "There was some talk about making Danko gay," but "it was decided it was best to not have our first gay character be a villain." [1]
• After shape shifting into Danko, Sylar notes that he has a mole. (Turn and Face the Strange)

See Also

• For a list of his victims, see Danko's victims.