The following contains spoilers for Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Episodes 1-10, now streaming on Netflix.
Cyberpunk is a role-playing game franchise from Mike Pondsmith that has spawned a series of tabletop games, popular video games like Cyberpunk 2077 and an anime series, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. Set in the fictional Night City, players assume various roles when playing as different characters on missions. Many of the well-known roles in the Cyberpunk universe include Corporate, Cop, Fixer, Rockerboy, Media, Mercenary, Netrunner, Nomad, Solo (Hitman) and Techie.
While many of the roles in Cyberpunk are pretty self-explanatory like Corporate, Cop and Techie, some are less clear, and others are not what they sound like. A Fixer, for example, is not a mechanic or someone who does any kind of repair job. They are, instead, a fencer -- someone who hires Mercenaries to perform jobs for high-paying clients that are often illegal in nature. Fixers are often "the middle man" between Mercenaries and clients. Similarly, a Mercenary in the Cyberpunk universe isn't necessarily a person who gets hired to murder people; they can do any kind of job a client needs. Mercenaries also often work in teams.
The Edgerunner in Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Is a Cross Between Three Different Roles
As a love letter to the Cyberpunk franchise, examples of the various roles players assume are depicted throughout the Cyberpunk: Edgerunners anime, but only one is primarily explored: a new role known as "Edgerunners." While the anime doesn't define nor clarify what an "Edgerunner" is, judging by the lifestyle the main cast of characters lead, an Edgerunner blurs the line between three popular roles in the franchise: Nomad, Netrunner and Mercenary.
Like traditional Mercenaries in the Cyberpunk games, Edgerunners are hired by Fixers to perform various jobs, but are often chosen for their ability to hack computer systems and steal information from databases. This aspect of the Edgerunner lifestyle makes them similar to Netrunners -- hackers who specialize in browsing the internet for data systems that contain valuable information they can sell to a Fixer. Netrunners are often equipped with brain-computer interface implants that allow them to run applications that are not available to regular internet users. These implants are what allow Netrunners to download and steal information.
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' David Martinez Fills a More Traditional Mercenary Role
The third aspect of being an Edgerunner working in teams and spending a lot of time traveling on the road. This lastly makes Edgerunners similar to Nomads -- people who were formerly employed and have since joined street families or motor gangs. Like traditional families, Nomads are loyal to their group and have each other's back. They never leave a member of their group behind and always come to the assistance of anyone who experiences trouble. The main cast of characters in Cyberpunk: Edgerunners fulfills each of these roles.
In the team originally led by an Edgerunner named Maine, there are two Netrunners called Kiwi and Lucy who are tasked with hacking into the computer systems of megacorporations like the Arasaka Corporation and Militech. Also on Maine's team are a Techie named Pilar and his trigger-happy sister, Rebecca, who delights in murdering people. As a Techie, Pilar specializes in building, repairing and modifying hardware, especially cybernetic implants. Maine also has a getaway driver named Falco.
Though he describes himself as an Edgerunner, Maine behaves more like a traditional Mercenary in that he often gets hired by a Fixer named Faraday to perform various jobs for high-paying clients. Maine's partner Dorio also behaves like a Mercenary as his second-in-command and newest recruit, David Martinez, starts out as a muscleman before climbing the ranks within the team. After Maine and Dorio die, David becomes the new team leader and takes on the more traditional Mercenary role.