Talk:David Anderson

Regarding race / skin tone
In Mass Effect, a common theme is that humans are becoming less ethnically diverse (likely to explain why Shepard can have any facial structure and skin tone you want). See also discussion of Hendel Mitra's appearance in Mass Effect: Ascension. Given that, I'm not sure it's possible to successfully identify individual characters' race based on their appearance, and with "pigment pills, hair tinting and contact lenses", as Kahlee Sanders says, there's no way to tell. :) --Tullis 03:11, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

Also bear in mind that in the ME milieu, if you're wealthy enough, you can extensively customize the appearance of your children through genetic engineering. I was always surprised that no one noticed how much Ash looks like Salma Hayek - same coloration, same cheek/jaw structure. To me, that says that often people simply see what they expect to see (a caucasian), not what's actually there (a latina). Stormwaltz 16:36, 22 September 2008 (UTC)
 * I didn't see either one. I just saw Ashley. : ) --Tullis 21:09, 5 January 2009 (UTC)

Accent
I hate the way it says that he holds no regional accent (him being British and the voice actor being American) as if British people all had accents but Americans didn't have accents. Everyone has an accent, so really the page should say that for some reason he ended up with a foreign one (perhaps he was born in London but raised on another planet that had such accents).

Besides, if you do want to live with the rule that some people don't have regional accents with the English language, then surely the English should be the ones to hold the privilage of not having accents seeing as it is the English language.

The English do actually have a lot of regional accents, though. Anderson really doesn't have a regional accent, it's as simple as that. He kinda reminds me of Ben Sisko from ST:DS9, he was the same. It's kind of an upper-class African American accent, but it's not regionally associated as such. --LeathamGrant 10:52, 24 December 2008 (UTC)

Yeah but I mean he has an American accent, but saying that he as no regional accent implies that all British people have regional accents but American people speak accent-less. That's all I was saying really. If he has an American accent then surely that should be noted as odd rather than remarking on his lack of one of the many London accents. It just seems wierd that a Londoner would be brought up with a yank accent.


 * The fact that the article says that he holds no regional accent may simply imply that he has no American regional accent, not that he has no accent at all. I know what you're saying - that saying that he has no accent implies that the American accent is the proper way of speaking. Maybe the fact that he is English but speaks with an American accent should be added to trivia. EliTe X HeRo 21:04, 5 January 2009 (UTC)

Doesn't ME: Revelation include some detail on why he has an Amreican accent. I think it has something to do with e-education. I'll have to dig out my copy and check, if I find anything I'll post. --Hades214 17:35, 25 March 2009 (UTC)

What I always thought was that simply, in this future the world is so blended that a person's place of birth and where they were raised have absolutely to affect on what kind of person they are. I mean, he could have a scottish accent and be raised in Japan bacuase race and country now are two seperate things that in no way effect one another. I think it's supposed to be kind of going against the classic sci-fi thing that ,for example, if someone looks japanese they are immidietly born in Tokyo, like in Star Trek. (Should I not be posting things on discussions that ended months ago like this?)--209.208.106.242 21:30, October 16, 2009 (UTC)

Ug, there is a difference between being born and raised. He may have been born in London, but who is to say he was raised there? He could have been raised in the US or Canada.

First Contact Wars
I can't work out what Unic of the borg was trying to say in this sentence, but it needs to be revised:
 * Removing link to remove from Wanted Pages. --silverstrike 09:43, September 20, 2009 (UTC)

"After the subjugation of Shanxi, Anderson's personally hero, Jon Grissom, whose very mission beyond the Charon Relay compelled him to join the Alliance. Anderson's squad was assigned to make a recon mission to Shanxi to assess the unknown aliens' fighting strength."

Any ideas? --LeathamGrant 10:54, 24 December 2008 (UTC)


 * I've removed the sentence because it simply doesn't make sense. Anderson was a member of the N7 program so he was already a member of the Alliance, Grissom had gone through the Charon Relay years before, and I don't remember any mention of a recon mission to Shanxi. Grissom just tells Anderson to prepare for war in the Revelation prologue. --Tullis 11:18, 24 December 2008 (UTC)

Article name
Is it convention to name character articles by their full name, rather than by their in-game designation? In other words, aren't users more likely to search "Captain Anderson" than "David Anderson"? I know it's not really important, but I just like everything to be kept to convention. If there is one. EliTe X HeRo 20:22, 5 January 2009 (UTC)
 * If you run it through the search bar, 'Captain Anderson' redirects here automatically. --Tullis 20:41, 5 January 2009 (UTC)
 * I know. I was just wondering what the convention for naming this kind of article was. Sorry, I should make my questions clearer. EliTe X HeRo 20:49, 5 January 2009 (UTC)
 * There's not really 'a convention', but we generally go by first name / last name. Compare with Donnel Udina: we never hear his first name but that's the name of the article. Similarly we don't call Liara's article 'Dr. Liara T'Soni', just Liara T'Soni. --Tullis 20:54, 5 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Thank you for the guidance, I'll make sure I keep to that from now on. EliTe X HeRo 20:59, 5 January 2009 (UTC)

Rank Insignia?
I've noticed through a couple playthroughs of ME that the Alliance military uniforms 1) look really cool and 2) apparently have rank confusion. David Anderson is a Captain, and his uniform has three gold/bronze stripes on the epaulet area. At first, I thought that was ok, just the System Alliance rank for Captain.

Then I noticed after Shepard becomes a Spectre that when you talk to the military soldier (the one who gives you the Cerberus quest chain) in the Citadel Tower, he's ranked at Rear Admiral but only has one gold/bronze stripe on his epaulets. Am I missing something concerning the rank insignia or...? --Spectre 9 02:33, 16 August 2009 (UTC)


 * I think there can be some confusion with rank in games if, for no other reason, the designers didn't put enough effort into it. However, there is a possibility that the more stripes you have, the lower rank you are. For example, in Star Wars, the imperial rank badge has a captain with 1 cylinder on his left, a commander with a cylinder on both sides, and lieutenant commander with 2 cylinders on both sides of his badge.

--Effectofthemassvariety 07:53, December 3, 2009 (UTC)


 * Maybe this will help: US Navy rank insignia. Note how a Captain has 4 thin stripes and a star on the sleeves, while a Rear Admiral (depending on whether it's an 0-7 or O-8) has either one thick stripe and a star, or one thin and one thick stripe and a star. So there is more than likely some RL basis behind this. :) SpartHawg948 12:06, December 3, 2009 (UTC)

Wanted Images
What sort of images are we looking for in this article? I uploaded about eight shots of Anderson some time ago, and I assume we are looking for some other variations of the character shots. Is there something specific? --silverstrike 09:04, September 18, 2009 (UTC)
 * A lot of those shots were heavily cropped (presumably to remove Shepard) but it would be nice to get standard images of him in the Embassies, maybe outside or on the Normandy, etc.
 * While I remember: while some of the shots you got with a bird's eye view were spectacular (Noveria, I'm looking at you : ) ) can I ask that you not use the bird's eye camera unless it gives a really good pic, and focus on ground level angles? Mass Effect's designed to be viewed from ground level after all, and as our Ilos pics show, using that to our advantage can give some amazing images; to my annoyance I've had to delete a few of your images because they were just zoomed out too far when a ground level angle would have been amazing. Would that be okay? --Tullis 12:20, September 18, 2009 (UTC)
 * RE: Anderson shots: I'll stop cropping images and let you do that if there is a need. Also, I'll try to take better shots of him in someplace new - I plan to take a shot of him getting shot.
 * RE: Bird's eye views: I went a little overboard with those shots, but I still don't understand how to take the shots from ground level. I'll try taking a few shots from various angles, and let you comment on them.
 * Also, I tend not to know what shots are best and upload allot of near duplicate images. In this case, either you decide what to approve and delete the rest, or I decide myself (which is extremely difficult for me - I like them all) and let you comment if there something wrong or if you want something a little different. The problem is, that I used to be a photographer, and I tend to search for an interesting shot, rather then something suitable to show on a wiki. --silverstrike 12:40, September 18, 2009 (UTC)
 * Think both about a) how to showcase the area best for someone who wants to see it as a player, and b) how the devs intended it to be seen (because that's how spaces are designed). For example, overhead shots of Flux mean you lose all the drinks behind the bar, the people dancing, and the sense of the place; same with the Consort's Chambers because the sense of intimacy is lost. But those Noveria pics worked really well.
 * The problem I have with uploading a lot of duplicate images is that it takes me a long time to sort through them, delete the unused ones, and categorise what remains. Handling all the wiki's images takes a lot of work and a large chunk of my editing time. I just did a mass-deletion yesterday and ended up deleting over seventy images, one after another. From my point of view, it's much easier to see the images somewhere else, then pick and upload the ones that are best for the wiki, because then I can categorise and caption as I go. --Tullis 13:16, September 18, 2009 (UTC)
 * I kinda like the points of view you generally can't see in the game, it gives something new (like the shot of the wards from outside). But regarding the multitude of redundant images, I see your point, most of the images I upload finishes at the recycle bin (so to speak), I'll first upload the images somewhere, and let you decide on what makes the cut.
 * BTW, have anything to comment on the image adjastments? I tend to fix the image level before uploading and also make some fixes to colors (like those from Chora's Den) --silverstrike 13:25, September 18, 2009 (UTC)
 * Occasionally I find them to be a little desaturated, but I think that's usually a feature of their location rather than image colour or resolution. I know ME is meant to use a lot of saturated colour. Most images on here have their original gamma set too high (like the recent weapon pictures) so I usually fix that. --Tullis 14:09, September 18, 2009 (UTC)

Pictures
As I've put in edit summaries, I think we should leave out the images of Anderson at C-Sec / dealing with Udina. There's no canon path, so we can't just have one, and putting both images on feels a bit awkward. --Tullis 20:17, October 24, 2009 (UTC)

Annoying? Or is it just me?
I don't know about the rest of you, but I found Captain Anderson to be the most annoying character in the game. First of all, he is the least realistic looking of any of the characters, his dialog is s***, and... idk, he's just annoying. When he asked me whether he should risk his life against armed guards, or break into Udina's office, I recomended he risk his life, just hoping he'd die. Sure, he's a nice character. He's the obvious paragon choice of Council candidate, and he supports Shepard the whole way through the game, but he's still my least favorite character, especially after multiple playthroughs.--Effectofthemassvariety 08:01, December 3, 2009 (UTC)

I didn't find him annoying at all, but thats just me. What, may I ask, was so annoying about him anyway?--209.208.106.233 23:45, December 3, 2009 (UTC)

Admiral?
Just curious as to the source of Anderson's promotion to Admiral, as I haven't really seen anything. Also, was he actually promoted to Admiral, or just to another flag rank? What I'm driving at here is: Is he a Rear Admiral, or did he somehow skip that and get promoted straight to full Admiral. Regardless, the main point is, what's the source? SpartHawg948 18:49, December 10, 2009 (UTC)


 * Never mind, found it. Although in the future it'd be nice if sourcing for recently disclosed info for an upcoming game would be included with the edit, so as to not appear speculative. :) SpartHawg948 18:55, December 10, 2009 (UTC)
 * I'm curious as to him being promoted to Admiral. Do you think that is only if you put him on the council?--Xaero Dumort 19:18, December 10, 2009 (UTC)


 * No idea, but if I had to wager, it'd be no. If it was conditional to him being placed on the Council, they probably wouldn't have announced it yet. Again, that's just my opinion, as there really isn't any hard fact about it yet. SpartHawg948 19:50, December 10, 2009 (UTC)
 * It's funny how he got promoted for sitting around and punching Udina in the face, as opposed to Shepard who almost died saving the Citadel, then died saving his crew, and got nothing. Even Ash/Kaidan got promoted. He can't get any love from the Alliance. Prismvg 09:49, February 18, 2010 (UTC)
 * Well, for starters, depending on what choices you made, he didn't necessarily punch Ambassador Udina, and who is to say the promotion wasn't in the works even then? He seemed a bit long in the tooth to be a Captain in the first game, and everyone acknowledged it, even him. And he hardly just "sat around", he was basically the military attache to the most prominent human ambassador in the galaxy. As for Ashley and Kaidan, again, their promotions may have been in the works, and regardless, they had two years in between to earn their promotions. Shepard, on the other hand, was dead. As in dead. Kind of hard for a dead person to rack up the accolades and earn those promotions, isn't it? :) SpartHawg948 10:15, February 18, 2010 (UTC)
 * Ok, maybe I exaggerated a bit on Anderson's activity, but that's not the point. I don't know the specifics of military ranks and promotions and stuff like that, but when somebody is KIA, he usually gets promoted posthumously (in my country at least). Keeping that in mind, I think Shepard has done quite enough to get himself a freakin' promotion, even before dying. Prismvg 10:30, February 18, 2010 (UTC)
 * No, as has been extensively discussed (on the Talk:Commander Shepard page) posthumous promotions are not that common, at least not in the US military, and as rare as they are, they are even rarer for officers (such as Commander Shepard). And Shepard was killed one month after the events of the first game. Even when someone is selected for promotion, it still takes time for it to actually take effect. When I was promoted to Staff Sergeant, I didn't actually get the promotion till 7 months after finding out I'd made it. Promotions don't happen over night. SpartHawg948 10:33, February 18, 2010 (UTC)
 * Well, if you say so. As I said, I'm not really in the position to argue. Prismvg 10:56, February 18, 2010 (UTC)

Does he likes Shepard
In the cast video he sounds like he doesnt like Shepard anymore?91.78.132.74 13:57, December 15, 2009 (UTC)


 * Funny thing about being promoted is that new jobs generally come with greater (and usually more numerous) responsibility, leading to stress. We know Anderson gets promoted, either to Admiral or Councilor, so it's logical to assume he'd be at least a little bit busy with stuff from either of those positions, and probably stressed out. There wasn't nearly enough dialogue of him talking to Shepard to make any sort of call on how he feels personally about Shepard, especially in light of the fact that he could just be stressed out, in a hurry to get somewhere, or simply having a bad day. Don't read too much into such tiny snippets of dialogue. SpartHawg948 20:59, December 15, 2009 (UTC)

Proposed Trivia VA standard
So, here's the deal. The David Anderson trivia section was getting too long and too irrelevant, with people just adding more games and roles he's appeared in/as. This was the only character article where this was being done, and it's not something we can reasonably implement across the wiki, as there are some people here with quite a few roles under their belts (Fred Tatasciore, Lance Henriksen, etc), and the trivia sections for the relevant characters would become quite long. So, my idea is: Only keep acknowledgments in the trivia section for games that have some sort of connection to Mass Effect. For example, while Call of Duty:Modern Warfare 2 and Saint's Row have, to the best of my knowledge, nothing to do with ME, Halo 2 and 3 were published by the same studio, Microsoft Game Studios. So, those games seem good to stay. Of course, as this is just an idea at the moment, input from other editors would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, SpartHawg948 21:09, January 12, 2010 (UTC)
 * An additional thought: if we're just going to ladle on every role people have had, what's the point in having an IMDB link at the top? And doesn't that mean all VA "trivia" should be removed, because their roles are already given there in much greater detail than we can do? --Tullis 21:14, January 12, 2010 (UTC)
 * Well, it does call into question the IMDB link, but I wouldn't say their roles are given in greater detail there. More of their roles are listed, but we honestly provide as much, if not more, info about the roles we highlight here. Good point, though. SpartHawg948 21:16, January 12, 2010 (UTC)
 * Just on Modern Warfare 2, while I'm not necessarily arguing it should be put back in, I think people are adding it because the game also features Lance Henriksen, also in Mass Effect, who plays a character called 'Shepherd'. So there are a couple of tiny links to Mass Effect that are probably what's motivating the addition of MW2.
 * Remember the part where General Septimus in ME1 says that Shepard would make a fine general himself? Maybe IW play Mass Effect too, probably as Renegades CsAtlantis 07:33, February 11, 2010 (UTC) 0733 11 February 2010 (GMT)
 * Also, if we are going to have this policy perhaps the connection to Mass Effect should me mentioned in the Triva. Just having 'Keith David was also the Arbiter in Halo 2 and 3' lacks the context required for it to be added. It should be something like 'Keith David was also the Arbiter in Halo 2 and 3, games also published my Microsoft Game Studios'. JakePT 05:51, January 14, 2010 (UTC)
 * Well, the CoD stuff is coincidence. I do see your point though about the Halo/Microsoft Game Studios thing. It's a good point. The only reason it isn't there now is because it was removed when someone added it in there but stated that it was "ironic" that Keith David had provided voices for two different Microsoft Game Studios games. It is, of course, not ironic in any sense of the word. SpartHawg948 05:55, January 14, 2010 (UTC)
 * I put the note about the common publisher in, as I saw that the CoD connection came up again. Boter 17:27, January 21, 2010 (UTC)
 * Good call! SpartHawg948 21:43, January 21, 2010 (UTC)

Less Pissed Off?
Would it be possible for us to get a pic at the beginning that makes him seem less...Well pissed off? I makes him seem like more of a bad guy.
 * I like it! It says "Look! You better sit down and shut up because I'm not going to take your crap!" :P It's a sneer combined with a look of gritty determination. I do see your point though, that maybe it depicts him as being that way in general, when that really isn't the case. SpartHawg948 00:08, February 20, 2010 (UTC)
 * I think there should be another pic of Anderson as well, the current one looks like he is in a constant bad mood. Omni-Tool 21:05, March 5, 2010 (UTC)
 * I don't suppose you have any pictures in mind that will work? (ie properly sized so as not to mess up the infobox?) B/c you can opine all you want, but nothing gets it done like doing it! :) SpartHawg948 21:32, March 5, 2010 (UTC)

Omni-Tool I changed the pic, if you guys/gals don't like it feel free to undo it or upload a new one. I looked through the other pics but this was the only other decent close-up. 22:39, March 5, 2010 (UTC)
 * I gotta say, he may look angry in the current pic, but in the one you added he looks... how can I phrase this politely? He looks... slow. I'd rather have an angry Anderson than a dopey Anderson who doesn't look like he comprehends the world around him! :P SpartHawg948 01:32, March 6, 2010 (UTC)

It's the kind of picture that says "You sit right down now and finish your Noodles or I'm gonna SMACK YOU WITH A DONKEY, YOU HEAR ME!?!?!?" --TheKingofPies 21:26, December 21, 2010 (UTC)

Ender's Game
I believe that it is very likely that Anderson is a tribute to the soldier of the same name in the sci fi story "Ender's Game".

Both are tasked with finding and upbringing humanity's champion.

85.178.222.16 15:27, July 13, 2010 (UTC)

Canon Rank/Position?
Just wondering is Anderson's rank as an Admiral in Retribution and Udina as Councilor are to be taken as the canon for these characters? And if so, should that not be annotated on their pages?SPRHLYWD21 22:58, August 14, 2010 (UTC)
 * That is an interesting question. We really should try to get some clarification on that from the writers. What I would say is that, pending clarification from the writers (preferably from either Mr Karpyshyn himself or from Mac Walters), it should be noted in the articles (preferably in the trivia section) that the book states that Udina is the Councilor, but that it not be stated as canon in the articles. Not yet, at least. SpartHawg948 23:02, August 14, 2010 (UTC)
 * Addendum - I just sent an email to Mr. Karpyshyn asking if he could shed some light on this matter. His site says that he generally tries to respond to all emails within two weeks, so it could be a while yet. And, knowing that saying 'well I got an email from him saying ___' isn't really a credible source, I also asked if it would be possible for this clarification, if forthcoming, to be posted by a BioWare staff member on the official forum. So now, we'll just have to wait and see. SpartHawg948 23:16, August 14, 2010 (UTC)


 * I'm no military man and of course have no intimate knowledge of how the Alliance operates, but could it be possible that Anderson could retire with rank/title of Admiral and still be referred to as such? Even if elected to Councilor? And Udina still maintains a diplomatic role even if not recommended by Shepard, so it doesn't seem too out of place for him to still be referred to as Councilor even if he isn't the "Head" Councilor. Not that is seems to matter all too much seeing as how Anderson seems to quit his representative role regardless on what level it is. --The Illusive Man 00:47, August 15, 2010 (UTC)
 * Yeah, that's true. In many cases and in many countries, even when retired, Admirals and Generals, particularly higher-ranking ones, are still subject to recall, and even if they aren't, they will often still be referred to as 'Admiral' or 'General'. I'm not so sure about the Councilor bit though. The book does seem pretty clear on this one, however. After all, on page 109, it does state that "She [Aria T'Loak] recognized Anderson's name: he was an adviser to Councilor Donnel Udina, and one of the highest-ranking diplomatic officials in the Alliance.' I don't really see Anderson being referred to as an 'adviser to Councilor Donnel Udina' as having any meaning other than that Udina is the human Councilor. SpartHawg948 00:55, August 15, 2010 (UTC)

Ok, just an update. I did get a reply from Mr. Karpyshyn, and I must say that while it was a very nice reply and he seems like a cool guy and all, it isn't going to do anything to settle this issue. He said that he didn't want to get into the whole canon thing, saying simply that the book "is what it is", the game also is what it is, and the movie, when it comes out, will be what it is. So yeah... this one doesn't look like it'll be getting answered any time soon... maybe with ME3? SpartHawg948 20:30, September 1, 2010 (UTC)
 * I just emailed Mr. Karpyshyn seeking some further clarification - I appreciate if he writes back with the same thing again that there are obviously things he can't talk about. As to Udina's Councilor status, to my mind it's either a massive oversight by the author or Bioware (not likely) or else a deliberate (though rather clumsy and strange) attempt to get Anderson off the scene and establish Udina as the human representative in ME3. Presumably so there can be some storyline about him and his political maneuvering. I'm a little concerned about this attempt to set canon in concrete, though - it doesn't bode well for any future novels or the film. I'll wait for a reply from Karpyshyn. Bronzey 11:26, September 3, 2010 (UTC)
 * Another possibility. If you recall, Mass Effect doesn't actually save your choice, hence having to make it again. Perhaps at one point in development, while the novel was being written, they decided to make Udina the councilor, since there wasn't a save to get the players choice from. After all, why would the person Shepard liked be the one to actually get the job? Just because that's who the player chose doesn't mean that's how things worked out. However, maybe they decided that would be confusing, and anger fans, so they ended up making it so the player could choose again and have the game follow the player's choice, but by this time the novel was already well underway and too late to change. Problem with this theory is that I'm guessing the council decision would have been made very early, and it's highly unlikely, given the release date, that the novel was anywhere near being unchangeable at that point. I still vote for oversight.JakePT 12:04, September 3, 2010 (UTC)
 * I also vote for oversight, especially with the ME save thing. However since Retribution takes place in 2186, a year after ME2, Anderson could have resigned, if you chose him as Councilor, and Udina took over as Councilor, and he asked Anderson to say on. With the other path, it is easier to understand. I guess we will just have to wait and see on this, either way it will be interesting. Lancer1289 14:19, September 3, 2010 (UTC)

So... did no one read the bit where I stated that I already emailed Drew Karpyshyn about this very subject and he declined to give an answer, stating he didn't want to get into the whole canon thing? After all, part of the reason I made this fact so public was to prevent his being bombarded by emails on this very subject. I figured if we got an answer from him and it was made public here, that would kind of settle it. Guess not... seems my emails suddenly aren't good enough. :( SpartHawg948 19:57, September 3, 2010 (UTC)
 * I think that Bioware pulled a Gene Roddenberry on us, for those of you who dont know hes the man who made Star Trek. Gene Stated Several times that cannon in Star Trek was made on a point to point basis and it caused many continuity errors in the show. Basically in Star trek and possibly in Mass Effect due to the extreme size of both universes errors do occur and that these Errors shouldn't be taken to seriously just because in a official Bioware book Anderson isn't counselor doesn't mean in your game he isn't both are right and any canon errors such as this shouldn't be taken to seriously because game/book/movie/tv show makers are more focused on making a fun product then making sure every thing matches up with every possible outcome. Some Random Anon whos going to get yelled at for not singin his post 16:19 September 25, 2010

To reignite this possibly, I emailed Drew about this topic (not knowing about this discussion) and received the same answer as everyone else. What I'd like to do though is bring up a possibility - Anderson is the human representative on the Council, just not in public. I mean how would it look if Humanity - already seen as aggressive by other races - appointed an Admiral to be their representative? Plus one with no diplomatic training. So therefore he makes the calls, but Udina is there to be the public face of humanity. Another alternative could be that Anderson is the Councillor and the reasons that Udina is referred to as such is because, as the closest advisor to Anderson, that's more-or-less what he is? He's not the Ambassador anymore afterall, what else would you call him? --Captain Obvious au 04:54, September 29, 2010 (UTC)
 * Mr. I can't for the life of me see why Udina would be called a Councilor if he isn't a councilor. They could simply call him "Mr. Udina". As for the other possibility, that Anderson is the "secret" Councilor... I have to also say no. Maybe if the only references to Udina being Councilor and Anderson being Admiral came via public broadcasts or statements, but they don't. In fact, none of them do. It all comes from the narration of the book. Unless of course by "just not in public" you really mean "just not to the readers of the book". This is just way too implausible. SpartHawg948 05:17, September 29, 2010 (UTC)

I too received the same email as everybody else (Karpyshyn was very polite) - which tends to support the idea, in my opinion, that the ME3 storyline (for whatever plot-related reasons) will require Udina to be the Councilor and for Anderson to have taken a much more active role against the Reapers ("there are people I can turn to... both in and outside of the Alliance", p 351). Though I understand why they'd need to sort out Anderson's/Udina's roles for ME3, especially if they're going to play a large role, there would've been ways and means to accomplish this without sacrificing the ambiguity which has thus far helped the books avoid defining 'canon'. Where does this leave the article? Presumably we need to assume that Udina is now the Councilor (and was by the end of ME2, somehow) and Anderson is not. Bronzey 12:28, September 30, 2010 (UTC)

Retribution
Hi everyone. Have made a start on Anderson's actions in Retribution. Please consider this a first draft and edit away any of my mistakes/ poor phrasing. I've avoided defining Anderson's role (just said that he resigned from it) on the Citadel because of the controversy (see above) untl we have a more definitive answer.

--ElDutchio 15:58, September 7, 2010 (UTC)


 * What about his rank? Can we safely assume that he -- by the time ME:Retribution takes place -- has been promoted to Admiral?
 * That said, does ME2 explicitly state (in-game) that Anderson's still a captain during the events of ME2?
 * — Pepoluan 10:58, September 30, 2010 (UTC)
 * Yes, Retribution does say he's an Admiral. If I remember correctly, in ME2 he's either Councillor or an Admiral in the Alliance (if Udina is Councillor). I could be wrong about the ME2 rank. Bronzey 12:10, September 30, 2010 (UTC)
 * No you are correct about Anderson's ME2 rank. If Anderson isn't selected as Councilor, then he is an Admiral while Udina is Councilor. This will be interesting to see what happens. Maybe Anderson left after or during the events of Mass Effect 2, or any number of things, so ME3 will hopefully answer this question. Lancer1289 12:35, September 30, 2010 (UTC)

So, I have a question relating to this slightly. Is he canonically a Council Member? Because according to Mass Effect Fanon, this is canon, and it says he steps down in the supposed canon supporting timeline there.--BriNg iN DeR FLAmeS?! 03:04, October 19, 2010 (UTC)
 * What "Mass Effect Fanon" says doesn't matter. Fanon is fan-fiction. Fan fiction is not canon. All that matters is what official sources say. And official sources say that, as of the events of Retribution, Anderson is not Councilor. I could care less what fanon says, as it is not a valid source for anything in these articles. SpartHawg948 03:07, October 19, 2010 (UTC)
 * Indeed. Fan sites aren't valid here as they aren't canon material and also links to them, as they play wild with canon, aren't allowed here either. Canon sources only please. Examples of canon sources: comics, books, games, BioWare. Lancer1289 03:10, October 19, 2010 (UTC)

What I was saying is: They said, cannon wise no matter what, from this book, that he steps down. There saying it's what is accepeted by all. And i have my doubts.--BriNg iN DeR FLAmeS?! 04:33, October 20, 2010 (UTC)
 * "They" being who? The developers of the game? Or people who write fanon? Because one is canon, the other isn't. I could just as easily say that the book demonstrates that Anderson was made Councilor, died of a heart attack, Udina became the Councilor, then they cloned Anderson, but since there's already a Councilor (Udina), the clone Anderson became an Admiral. This is what is accepted by all. So yeah, unless "they" are people who can speak from some sort of position of authority (i.e. BioWare staffers involved with the ME franchise), it's not canon. SpartHawg948 04:41, October 20, 2010 (UTC)
 * Yep we need someone who can speak with some authority on this matter, and currently the one we contacted, Drew Karpyshyn, didn't want to get into it is the term I think was used. Anyway we don't allow fanon on this site for a good reason, because it isn't canon information. We need dev confirmation that can be verified by an independent source for something like this. Lancer1289 04:51, October 20, 2010 (UTC)

They, being Gnostic and everyone on his side supposedly. It's just annuying, I ask him to put his name after his article because it's not true everywhere, and he denys it, sayong everyone else should, not him.--BriNg iN DeR FLAmeS?! 19:39, October 21, 2010 (UTC)
 * And their opinions are their opinions. They are not facts and we can't accept opinions as such, and I really hope that we don't have to explain why. We need concrete proof from a source, i.e. BioWare, Mac Walters (Lead Writer), Drew Karpyshyn (Novel Author), or someone in authority. We can't take the word and someone's opinions as fact and what article are you referring to anyway? If you are talking about one on the Fan Fiction wikis for ME, then it is fine there, as it is fan fiction, but not here. We only accept facts, not speculation, interpretation, or opinions. Lancer1289 19:47, October 21, 2010 (UTC)

I'm just asking for help. I can see you guys aren't going to. I was never asking to put it on an article; ever. Just to come over there and help out, for they follow stuff the right way; it's fanfiction, but there are limitations. If we continue this, it should probably be on a blog over there.--BriNg iN DeR FLAmeS?! 20:38, October 21, 2010 (UTC)

Still Captain in ME2?
I recently starded new game and put Udina on the Council (to follow the "canon" from Retribution), but when I came to talk to Anderson and the Council, he shows in subtitles as Captain Anderson. Can anyone clarify what his rank in ME2 is? Or is it just oversight from developers? --AriesCZ 08:01, December 11, 2010 (UTC)
 * Probably an oversight as everything else says that Anderson is an admiral. Lancer1289 08:06, December 11, 2010 (UTC)

Atlanta?
Is there something I'm missing here? This is the second time in a few days someone has mentioned the city of Atlanta in relation to David Anderson. Now, I'm not sure where this Atlanta stuff is coming from. Maybe there's something I've missed, or a source I've forgotten about. I do know, however, that if you look on page 15 of Mass Effect: Revelation, you will find that David Anderson was "born and raised in London". Maybe London is a suburb of Atlanta? :P SpartHawg948 01:45, January 16, 2011 (UTC)
 * Well according to everything I've read, there is no city/town/anything named London in Georgia. I am also puzzled by this sudden mention of Atlanta and yet I don't think I missed anything either. The reference to Atlanta is coming from Anderson's SB dossier as the location where his wife lived at some point, or currently. It is a little vague on this point. However I think people are misinterpreting this as he was born and raised in Atlanta, which of course contradicts canon. People can move from their birthplace, and Spart I think you did for one example. Ohio to California right? Lancer1289 01:53, January 16, 2011 (UTC)
 * Yup. Actually, more like Texas to Florida to South Carolina to Florida to Ohio to Arizona to California. And, as it just so happens, many of those moves were military-related. And David Anderson does have a bit of a history with the military. SpartHawg948 01:56, January 16, 2011 (UTC)
 * Yes he does doesn't he. And that is one long list of transfers. And from what I understand of the military, that isn't that uncommon. Lancer1289 02:02, January 16, 2011 (UTC)
 * No, it's not uncommon at all. Especially not for officers. In today's US Military, officers get new assignments about once every two years. This may well have changed by the 2180s, but it may not have, either. And after all, it's his ex-wife who lives in Atlanta. And she appears to live with someone named Henry, likely a new husband/boyfriend. That right there opens up all sorts of possibilities. After they split up, she may have gone home to Atlanta. Or she may have married a guy from Atlanta. There are plenty of possibilities that don't even include Anderson ever living in Atlanta. And we definitely know he isn't from Atlanta. SpartHawg948 02:11, January 16, 2011 (UTC)

New scrinshoot from ME3
http://www.bioware.ru/biogallery/me3/screenshots/me3_anderson_1.jpg — 195.128.55.178 09:49, May 4, 2011 (UTC)
 * This screenshot appeared in the Game Informer issue, which is just about a month old at this point. Lancer1289 13:44, May 4, 2011 (UTC)