One of the greatest villains in the Mass Effect series is not a monstrous alien or a terrifying robot, but rather a man with grandiose ideas for humanity's future. He is the Illusive Man, the mysterious but seemingly omniscient leader of the Cerberus organization. But even he had to get started somewhere.
By the time that Commander Shepard is revived with Project Lazarus in 2185 and meets the Illusive Man, the Cerberus boss is already at the top of his game. He's running a powerful organization that almost rivals the Salarian STG with its ability to spy on, infiltrate and sabotage its enemies. How did the Illusive Man pull this off?
Jack Harper's Experience In The First Contact War
The Illusive Man's true name and childhood experiences are totally unknown. It is not clear where he was born or who his family was, and his earliest known activities involve the First Contact War, or the Relay 314 incident, as the Turians and other aliens call it. The Illusive Man went by the name Jack Harper at the time, and he was a mercenary fighting for General Williams to defend the Shanxi colony.
Jack gainED some life-changing insights into humanity, aliens and technology during this time. Jack and his friends Ben and Eva Core got mixed up in a Turian general's efforts to uncover a powerful and strange artifact. This acted like a precursor to the Reaper indoctrination that would alter Saren Arterius' character arc and that of the Illusive Man.
General Desolas Arterius, Saren's brother, tried to control forces beyond his ken, and he and his men suffered for it. Ben, in particular, became a monstrous cyborg, and Jack was powerless to help his friend. In fact, General Arterius started using Ben as a tool even after the First Contact War ended, and Jack and Eva ended up first on Illium, then on the Turian homeworld of Palaven during the events that followed. Jack watched in horror and fascination as General Arterius tried in vain to create a cult of powerful cyborgs there on Palaven. The project soon got out of control. Jack was the only human to escape this incident, and during that experience, he saw both humanity's greatest problem and its solution.
Jack realized that the galaxy was an even bigger and scarier place than the young Systems Alliance government realized, and that the aliens and technology out there were incredibly powerful and strange. Either those forces would destroy humanity's young space nation, or augment it, if harnessed properly. Jack isn't the type to just destroy a threat. He will see its potential and attempt to tame it for his own use. So, Jack Harper gave up his mercenary life and started dreaming big.
The Illusive Man And Cerberus' Early Days
The Illusive Man didn't come up with that name himself. Instead, he began circulating emails throughout human space to rally more sympathetic people to his cause, and the Alliance began to call him "the illusive man" out of convenience. That name stuck, and the man known as Jack Harper became the Illusive Man to his friends and enemies alike. At that time, the Terra Firma political party was already active, a group based on anti-alien sentiment and the view that humanity must succeed or fail entirely on its own. The Terra Firma party was controversial even back then, and the Illusive Man backed it however he could. He even sent assassins to ensure Charles Saracino's rise to the top of the Terra Firma party.
Meanwhile, the Illusive Man founded his new organization, Cerberus, with all the talented people he had recruited. Soon enough, Cerberus broke away from the Alliance entirely. The Illusive Man kept tabs on the Alliance's actions and political atmosphere, but otherwise, Cerberus kept it at arm's length and vice versa.
The Illusive Man also had direct oversight on each of Cerberus' ongoing projects, ensuring that everything proceeded according to his plans. That proves the Illusive Man is a highly intelligent and diligent, but somewhat paranoid person who must either control or destroy everything around him. He can't stand the idea of other people acting independently or in secrecy. He will even betray and destroy his followers, such as Paul Grayson, if they become problematic.
The Illusive Man reached out to a variety of private investors to fund Cerberus, demonstrating how resourceful he is, and that includes Henry Lawson, the "father" of the Illusive Man's top agent, Miranda Lawson. The Illusive Man also oversaw the creation of several shell companies to disguise Cerberus' actions, which likely includes the construction of the Normandy SR-2. He is indeed highly illusive, and no one can penetrate the shroud of mystery that surrounds him. That's simply how he operates.