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Jack Reacher is the protagonist of a series of crime thriller novels by British author Lee Child,^[1] a 2012 film adaptation, its 2016 sequel, and a television series on Amazon Prime Video. In the stories, Jack Reacher was a major in the U.S. Army's military police. After leaving the army, Reacher roamed the United States, taking odd jobs, investigating suspicious and dangerous situations, and resolving them.

As of 24 October 2023^[update], there are 28 novels and short stories in the Reacher series. Four of the novels were adapted for cinema and television. Two of the adaptations are films starring Tom Cruise as Reacher: Jack Reacher (2012) from the ninth novel, One Shot; and Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016) from the eighteenth novel, Never Go Back.

The third adaption, Reacher, is a television series on Amazon Prime Video, starring Alan Ritchson. The first season, adapted from the first novel, Killing Floor, premiered on 4 February 2022. The second season, from Bad Luck and Trouble, premiered 14 December 2023. The series was renewed for a third season. Season 3 is based on the book 'Persuader' and will premiere in early 2025.

Lee Child was unemployed when he wrote Killing Floor after being fired as a presentation director for Granada Television.^[1][2][3]

Some^[who?] have said that the character is an antidote to stereotypical male antiheroes. Otto Penzler wrote that Reacher's character reflects the chivalrous knight errant of medieval lore, as opposed to an anti-hero tormented by addiction and haunted by past misbehavior.^[4]

The character's name first came to Child while he was in a supermarket when an old lady, noting the span of his arms, asked for his help in reaching a can of pears. Many have commented on similarities between Child and his fictional character.^[1] Child tends to agree with such observations: "I was huge as a kid and Reacher's stature is me translated as a kid."^[5] Malcolm Gladwell wrote in The New Yorker of a difference between the symbolism of the Reacher character and of traditional Western characters:

The traditional Western was a fantasy about lawfulness: it was based on a longing for order among those who had been living without it for too long. The heroes conduct themselves according to strict rules of chivalry. They act—insofar as it is possible—with restraint. In the world we live in...we are overpoliced. Our contemporary fantasy is about lawlessness: about what would happen if the institutions of civility melted away and all we were left with was a hard-muscled, rangy guy who could do all the necessary calculations in his head to insure that the bad guy got what he had coming. That's why there are rarely any police in Reacher novels—or judges or courts or lawyers or any discussion or consideration of the law.^[6]

Others are critical of the various implausibilities and contradictions present in the character and his behavior. The Washington Post journalist Kevin Nance wrote:

The unlikelihoods and outright impossibilities stack up. Ever a frugal sort... Reacher travels mostly by hitchhiking... even though the practice is roughly as current as bellbottoms and even though his appearance is, as previously established, notably simian... (A)lthough he's a loner who seems never so happy—rather like Agent Cooper in "Twin Peaks"—as when sitting quietly in a diner with a cup of black coffee and a piece of pie, he has an uncanny knack for stumbling into the worst kinds of trouble, almost none of it connected to himself."^[7]

Michael Cavacini concurred, saying unlike traditional whodunits, where a detective "simply solves a problem because it's his job", Reacher has no formal reason to be involved in anything and consequently "seems to always wind up in a situation where something goes wrong and he must make right".^[8]

Child views Jack Reacher as a "happy-go-lucky guy. He has quirks and problems, but the thing is, he doesn't know he's got them. Hence, no tedious self-pity. He's smart and strong, an introvert, but any anguish he suffers is caused by others."^[2] He was asked about the casting of Tom Cruise in the role of Jack Reacher. Cruise's casting as Jack Reacher was met with criticism from fans of the book series, primarily because the disparity in their heights. Reacher is portrayed as 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) tall and weighing 250 pounds in the novels, while Cruise is 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m).^[9][10] Child replied that "Reacher's size in the books is a metaphor for an unstoppable force".^[11] In physique and appearance, Child has compared him to rugby player Lawrence Dallaglio.^[12]

Lee Child said that he drew inspiration from his own life as he developed stories for Jack Reacher's accomplices and family.^[13]

Jack Reacher was born on a military base in Berlin, on 29 October 1960.^[11] His mother, Josephine Moutier Reacher (née Moutier), was French. Jack speaks some French. His maternal grandfather was at the Battle of Verdun in the First World War and in the French Resistance in the Second World War.^[14]

Reacher's father was in the military. Reacher himself enrolled in the United States Military Academy at West Point. Commissioned as an army officer, he was assigned to the military police and, as a major, ultimately led a special unit that was tasked with difficult cases.^[15] Reacher won numerous awards during his military service^[16] and his commanding officer, Leon Garber, promoted him twice in 18 months.^[17]

After leaving the army, he became a drifter.^[1] After the September 11 attacks, with restrictions on wire transfers in the light of fraud he was obliged to carry an ATM card^[7] and photo ID in the form of a (generally expired) American passport.^[18]

Reacher, who has no background in studying genetics, claims that he is genetically predisposed to a vagrant lifestyle in Never Go Back. He says that some populations have a "natural wanderlust" such as the British Empire, the Vikings, and the Polynesians. He recognizes the economic reasons for their voyages but argues that "some of them could not stop" traveling. He believes when prehistoric humans lived in small bands a gene evolved to prevent inbreeding. As a result "every generation and every small band had at least one person who had to wander" leading to "mixing up of gene pools" being "healthier all around."

Reacher is proficient in hand-to-hand combat. While not a master in any discipline, he tends to incorporate moves from various styles. He also has strong deduction skills and is an exceptional investigator.

Reacher is a skilled marksman and the only non-Marine to win the U.S. Marine Corps 1000-yard Invitational rifle competition.^[19]

Reacher has a love for music, especially blues.^[20] That affinity inspires Reacher to get off the bus at the start of Killing Floor. He also speaks of it to detectives investigating an early-morning suicide on a near-deserted New York subway near a blues club on Bleecker Street.^[21]

He is scathing in his dismissal of traditional religious proselytizing.^[22]

In A Wanted Man Reacher admits that he is a bad driver. He doesn't have a driver's license.^[23] In Without Fail Agent Froelich searches various databases for Reacher, only to discover he is rendered nearly untraceable because, without a driver's license, he has no photograph or address in government records.^[24] Reacher admits to indulging in casual sex.^[11][25][26]

Reacher is described as being 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 m) tall, weighing 210–250 pounds (95–113 kg) and having a 50-inch (130 cm) chest.^[9][11] In Never Go Back, he is described as having "a six-pack like a cobbled city street, a chest like a suit of NFL armor, biceps like basketballs, and subcutaneous fat like a Kleenex tissue."^[27] In his youth, his physical appearance was likened to that of a "bulked-up greyhound".^[28] He also reveals that his size is purely genetic; he says in Persuader^[29] and Never Go Back that he is not much of an exercise enthusiast.^[27]

He has various scars, including some roughly stitched on his abdomen following a bombing in Lebanon.^[30][31]

The 2012 action thriller film Jack Reacher was adapted from the ninth novel, 2005's One Shot, and stars Tom Cruise in the title role.^[32] The film was directed by Christopher McQuarrie.^[33] Cruise reprised the role in the sequel, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, an adaptation of the 18th Jack Reacher book, Never Go Back, which was directed by Edward Zwick and released 21 October 2016.^[34]

Tom Cruise's casting was met with criticism from fans of the book series, primarily because of the disparity in their heights, with Reacher portrayed as a blond, 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) tall, 250-pound man in the novels, while Cruise is 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) tall and has brown hair.^[9][10] In 2012, Child commented on Cruise's casting, "Reacher's size in the books is a metaphor for an unstoppable force, which Cruise portrays in his own way."^[35]

On 14 November 2018, Child announced a deal with Skydance Television and Paramount Television to produce a Jack Reacher series based on Child's novels and that there would be no more Reacher films. He also said that Tom Cruise would no longer portray the character and that another actor would be cast in the role, citing the height difference between the fictional character and Cruise remarking that he was going to try and find the perfect guy.^[35]

Amazon was chosen to develop the series for Prime Video with Nick Santora as the showrunner.^[36] On 4 September 2020, Alan Ritchson was cast to play Reacher.^[37] The first season of the series, Reacher premiered on 4 February 2022^[38] with all episodes released simultaneously. On 7 November 2023, Amazon Prime Video announced that the first three episodes of Season 2 would be released on 15 December with more to follow in January 2024.^[39]

• Jack Reacher (book series)
• Jack (hero)
• Military brat

Explanatory notes

Citations

Jack Reacher (book series)

• Child, Lee (1997). Killing Floor. New York: Putnam. ISBN 0515123447. OCLC 38994823.
• Child, Lee (1999). Die Trying. New York: Jove. ISBN 0515125024.
• Child, Lee (2002). Without Fail. New York: Putnam. ISBN 0399148612.
• Child, Lee (2003). Tripwire. New York: Putnam. ISBN 978-0385336666.
• Child, Lee (2003). Persuader. New York: Delacorte Press. ISBN 978-0440245988.
• Child, Lee (2004). The Enemy. New York: Delacorte Press. ISBN 0385336675.
• Child, Lee (2004). One Shot. New York: Delacorte Press. ISBN 978-0385336680.
• Child, Lee (2007). The Hard Way. New York: Delacorte Press. ISBN 978-0385336697.
• Child, Lee (2007). Bad Luck and Trouble. New York: Delacorte Press. ISBN 978-0385340557.
• Child, Lee (2008). Nothing to Lose. New York: Delacorte Press. ISBN 978-0385340564.
• Child, Lee (2009). Gone Tomorrow. New York: Delacorte Press. ISBN 978-0385340571.
• Child, Lee (2010). 61 Hours. New York: Delacorte Press. ISBN 978-0385340588.
• Child, Lee (2010). Worth Dying For. New York: Delacorte Press. ISBN 978-0385344319.
• Child, Lee (2011). The Affair. New York: Delacorte Press. ISBN 978-0440339359.
• Child, Lee (2012). A Wanted Man. New York: Delacorte Press. ISBN 978-044033936-6.
• Child, Lee (2013). High Heat. New York: Delacorte Press. ISBN 978-0345546647.
• Child, Lee (2014). Personal. New York: Delacorte Press. ISBN 978-0804178761.
• Child, Lee (2016). Night School. New York: Delacorte Press. ISBN 978-0804178808.
• Child, Lee (2017). The Midnight Line. New York: Delacorte Press. ISBN 978-0399593482.
• Child, Lee (2018). Past Tense. New York: Delacorte Press. ISBN 978-0399593512.
• Child, Lee (2019). Blue Moon. New York: Delacorte Press. ISBN 978-0399593543.
• Child, Lee (2020). The Sentinel. New York: Delacorte Press. ISBN 978-1984818461.
• Child, Lee (2021). Better Off Dead. New York: Delacorte Press. ISBN 978-1984818508.
• Child, Lee (2021). No Plan B. New York: Delacorte Press. ISBN 978-1984818546.

Further reading

• Curtis, Bryan (20 December 2012). "The Curious Case of Lee Child: Before Tom Cruise could become Jack Reacher, Jim Grant had to become Lee Child". Grantland. Retrieved 5 September 2015.

• Lee Child's official website