From SGCommand

"What are you? Captain Kirk?!"

—Dr. Rodney McKay

John Sheppard is an officer in the United States Air Force and, since 2004, a member of the Atlantis Expedition, commanding the expedition's military contingent for much of that time.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Alternate realities 3 Behind the Scenes 4 External Links

[edit] Biography

By the time he was introduced to the Stargate program, Sheppard had already visited every continent on Earth, and had amassed an (in places) impressive resume. While in the Air Force, he had operated the Apache, Black Hawk and Cobra helicopters, as well as the V-22 Osprey and F-16 Fighting Falcon. However, he also demonstrated a tendency to disobey orders, including one incident in Afghanistan when he attempted to rescue a fellow officer who had been shot down, losing his own helicopter in the process. This tendency led many of his peers to doubt he would ever advance beyond the rank of Captain.(ATL: "Rising", "The Intruder", "Phantoms")

Sheppard came to the attention of the Atlantis expedition members while serving at McMurdo Air Force Base in Antarctica. While he was flying General Jack O'Neill to the Ancient outpost nearby, successfully evaded a rogue drone weapon that had accidentally been launched and targeted his helicopter. It was then discovered that Sheppard possessed the ATA gene that gave him an innate ability to control Ancient technology. This led Doctor Elizabeth Weir to insist on his addition to the team. Sheppard was less than enthusiastic about the prospect of traveling through the Stargate to another galaxy, but agreed after O'Neill personally intervened.

Soon after arriving on Atlantis, Sheppard was assigned to a team that came into contact with the Athosians, who were led by Teyla Emmagan. Not long after their arrival, he witnessed the "culling" of the Athosians' village, in which both Teyla and Colonel Marshall Sumner, Sheppard's immediate military superior, were captured.

Eventually, Sheppard lead a team to rescue Sumner and the captured Athosians. They escaped with nearly everyone, but Sheppard was forced to gun down his own commanding officer in order to keep him from suffering further from the life-sucking power of the Wraith. Sheppard was also able to kill the Wraith Keeper, allowing the Tau'ri and Athosians to escape, but with the unfortunate result of awakening the Wraith from their hibernation cycle fifty years prematurely.(ATL: "Rising")

With the loss of Colonel Sumner, Sheppard was left to command the military contingent of Atlantis. He also took up the command of the expedition's flagship exploratory team, spearheading the expedition's efforts to explore the Pegasus galaxy.

When a Genii strike force under Acastus Kolya tried to take Atlantis, Sheppard waged a one-man war on the invading Genii, systematically sabotaging their efforts and killing fifty-five Genii soldiers by activating the gate shield. The Genii eventually decided to retreat, trying to take Weir and McKay with them. Sheppard was able to save Weir by hitting Kolya in the shoulder, but the incident was the begining of a long animosity between the two soldiers. (ATL: "The Eye", "The Storm")

Within a year, the Wraith descended on Atlantis, hoping to locate Earth and ending the "uprising" that the Expedition had caused. Shortly before the Wraith attacked the city, Sheppard was relieved by Colonel Dillon Everett, who commanded the defense of the city. The fighting became desperate enough that Sheppard chose to take one of the Puddle Jumpers on a suicide mission to destroy one of the Wraith hive ships in orbit. The mission was successful, and Sheppard was saved by the timely arrival of the Daedalus. With Everett critically wounded by Wraith feeding during the battle, Sheppard worked with Colonel Stephen Caldwell of the Deadalus throughout the remainder of the siege. (ATL: "The Siege")

Not long after the thwarted invasion, Sheppard returned to Earth with several other senior members of the Expedition. At this point, the Pentagon's intention was to replace Sheppard with another, higher-ranking officer with a less spotted record, with General Hank Landry indicating that Colonel Caldwell was the preferred candidate. At the insistence of Doctor Weir, however, Sheppard was instead promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and appointed the expedition's permanent military commander. (ATL: "The Intruder")

In the aftermath of his promotion, Sheppard continued to lead Atlantis's campaign against the Wraith, forming new alliances and making various discoveries, such as recruiting Ronon Dex as a member of his team, discovering the Orion, forming an uneasy alliance with the Wraith known as 'Todd' on several occasions, and helping Atlantis escape destruction at the hands of the Asurans (ATL: "Runner", "Inferno", "Common Ground", "The Return, Part 2", "Lifeline").

The military's view of Sheppard seemed to improve in the following years, with Colonel Abraham Ellis going so far as to suggest that he, rather than Doctor Weir, should be in charge of Atlantis. (ATL: "First Strike") After Weir's capture by the Asurans, Colonel Samantha Carter informed Sheppard that his name was on the short list of candidates to replace her. In both instances, Sheppard replied that he didn't want the job. (ATL: "Reunion")

It is unclear whether Sheppard remained as military commander after Carter was assigned to the base, as he would no longer be the highest-ranking officer assigned there. Since Carter was assigned to fill Doctor Weir's administrative duties, it is possible that Sheppard retained at least some of his prior responsibilities.

[edit] Alternate realities

• In an alternate reality John Sheppard traveled to Atlantis, while the power began to fail and the city began to be flooded by the ocean. Upon finding the bay of Puddle jumpers, he suggested they be used a escape vessels. Sheppard, Elizabeth Weir, and Radek Zelenka boarded a jumper different from the others: it was carrying a time machine in it. Sheppard activated the time machine, sending them back to the time of the Ancient-Wraith war, when the city was under seige. They came under attack by a pair of Wraith Darts. Though Sheppard managed to take out one of the darts, the other shot them down. Sheppard and Zelenka were killed in the crash, but Weir survived. (ATL: "Before I Sleep")

• In an alternate reality John Sheppard is active with the Mensa club on Atlantis. He keeps reminding Rod McKay of his intelligence, making the Rodney McKay of our reality modest by comparison. (ATL: "McKay and Mrs. Miller")

[edit] Behind the Scenes

• John Sheppard is played by Joe Flanigan and has appeared in every episode of Stargate Atlantis to date.

[edit] External Links

• Lt. Col. John Sheppard on the official MGM website.
• GateWorld's article on Sheppard, John in The Stargate Omnipedia
• Stargate SG-1 Solutions' article on John Sheppard in The StargateWiki
• John Sheppard on Wikipedia