| The Veteran | ||
|---|---|---|
| ||
| First appearance | S1E02: Sacramentum Gladiatorum S2E01: Fugitivus S3E01: Enemies of Rome | |
| Last appearance | S3E10: Victory | |
| Profession | Gladiator (House of Batiatus) Escaped Slave Rebel | |
| Race | Greek | |
| Relationships | Spartacus (Leader/Friend, deceased) Quintus Lentulus Batiatus (Dominus, deceased) Oenomaus (Doctore, deceased) Crixus (Friend, deceased) Rabanus (Friend) Acer (Friend, deceased) Pollux (Friend) Donar (Friend, deceased) Agron (Friend) Rhaskos (Friend, deceased) Brictius (Friend, deceased) | |
| Status | Active | |
| Actor/Actress | Shayne Blaikie | |
The Veteran is a former gladiator from The House of Batiatus, and later a rebel under Spartacus' command.
Appearance[]
The Veteran is a middle-aged fighter who is notable for being one of oldest of the Gladiators. Initially balding, he later grows short grey hair and a thin beard. The Veteran fights with a sword, and later a bow. He boasts a surprisingly muscular build for his age, and later dorns a leather cuirass, similar to Spartacus throughout Vengeance and War of the Damned.
Combat Prowess[]
He is one of the more capable fighters in the ludus and remains as such when in the rebel army. The Veteran portrays adept skill in using a sword and shield; and later becomes skilled in using a bow, making him a deadly addition to the rebel army.
A true testament of his strength is that he survived the entire rebellion from the beginning, in spite of his older age.
Blood And Sand[]
The Veteran standing beside Gnaeus.
The Veteran is a gladiator in Batiatus' Ludus, and appears older than the other gladiators. Despite his advanced age, the Veteran appears to be one of the more capable of the gladiators.
Upon the arrival of Spartacus and his recruitment class, he would first show indifference to them while the others would be shouting obsenities and treating them with contempt.
The Veteran beside Segovax.
He appears to have a degree of respect, as seen from him blending in quite easily with the other gladiators and seen training with Crixus on occasion before praising Spartacus' progress. The Veteran is never seen fighting professionally in the arena, although it is assumed he is more than capable of surviving on his own. He does, however, normally carry a single sword, possibly hinting at a murmillo or thraex background.
When Spartacus and Crixus lead a revolt against the ludus, the Veteran takes up arms and tries to attack Oenomaus but is easily pushed back by him. He then turns his attention to kill many other Romans, soldiers and citizens alike before escaping the ludus to follow Spartacus in taking their revenge on Rome.
Vengeance[]
The Veteran joins in the rebellion with his fellow gladiators following Spartacus, to take part in the fight against the Romans.
He is present, alongside Spartacus, Agron, Pollux, Donar, Sophus and Tychos in fighting off many of the Roman mercenaries sent by Seppius to capture them.
The Veteran with Spartacus.
The group later takes a villa, south of Capua and use it as a small base of operations. After Crixus and Agron engage in a brawl, over Agron's lying about Naevia dying, the Veteran restrains Crixus with aid of Tychos. After Agron leaves the group to enter Vesuvius, The Veteran is among many of Spartacus' group to follow in Agron's wake.
After Spartacus successfully retrieves Naevia, albeit with the loss of over half his group, Agron finds him in the woods, with the Veteran alongside.
He, along with many other escaped Slaves, would learn archery from Lucius Caelius, following the finding of their sanctuary in the heart of Vesuvius. He would also reserve himself to fortifying the temple, as well as aid in the training of other slaves in the ways of a gladiator.
The Veteran kills a Roman.
When the forces of Varinius and Glaber assault the temple, the Veteran goes to its defense and kills many Romans, using a bow alongside Mira, before being forced to retreat to Mount Vesuvius, along with the rest of the remaining rebels.
The Veteran would then witness the death of Ashur at the hands of Naevia and cheer her on along with the other rebels present.
Led by Oenomaus, the rebels would storm down and attack Glaber's forces from the mountaintop when Spartacus, Crixus, Agron and Gannicus scaled down the mountain and flanked the Roman. Next to Rabanus, he would charge in through the forest and continue the fight into the temple, often taking leading positions in the front. The Veteran then lives to see the defeat of Glaber and triumph of Spartacus.
War of the Damned[]
The Veteran remains a capable soldier in the rebel army in the months following their defeat of Glaber and Varinius.
When the Rebels besiege the Roman city of Sinuessa, the Veteran takes part as one of the many invaders. He slays many Romans before Spartacus announces that they have taken the city.
After Crixus spurs the rebels to slaughter the surviving Roman prisoners, the Veteran takes part in the conflict. Alongside Brictius he would attempt to stop Saxa from seeing surviving Romans to Spartacus, but is easily beaten back by her.
Spartacus later commands that the rebels cease and admonishes them, much t
The Veteran in War of the Damned.
o the chagrin of the Veteran and the others. He would berate and insult the Roman prisoners after they are freed by Spartacus. He shows his contempt by spitting upon them like many of the other Rebels.
The Romans soon take siege of the city and the Veteran comes to its defense, but eventually he and the other rebels and forced to abandon the city and take retreat to the cold mountains.
The Veteran survives in the snowy mountains and escaped through Crassus' wall. He later fights off the soldiers sent by Crassus. When Spartacus and Crixus eventually decide to take separate paths, the Veteran chooses instead to go with Crixus in hopes of taking more vengeance from the Romans and see the city of Rome fall.
He participates in the many battles led by Crixus, slaying many Romans in the process. When the Rebels come up against the forces of Arrius, the Veteran fights valiantly, slaying all Romans that face him. The victory is cut short, however, as the forces of Crassus appear. Taken by surprise, the Rebels are outnumbered, surrounded and defeated by the Roman army. The Veteran survives the battle and is taken as one of 500 prisoners.
After the negotiations of Spartacus and Crassus are made, The Veteran returns with the other captured Rebels in rejoining the army of Spartacus. The Rebels all gather at a funeral pyre prepared for Crixus. Spartacus begins to speak to the Rebels about their reunion, nodding to the Veteran in reference to the return of fathers to the rebels, and the Veteran then nods back in newfound respect and admiration. As Crixus' pyre is set ablaze, the Rebels call out the names of the fallen to honour them. The Veteran shouts the name of Acer. Finally, all the Rebels shout out the name Crixus together as the ceremony ends.
The Veteran participates in the final battle with the rest of the Rebel army. He goes into battle wearing a Corinthian style helmet with a large gold plum. He is very close by when Caesar fights Naevia and is the last Rebel soldier seen fighting alongside Gannicus before Gannicus is surrounded and captured.
The Veteran is last shown pushing one of the Romans out of the struggle. After dealing with his assaulter, the Veteran manages to escape the battlefield and join other survivors in escaping over the Alps, finally embracing true freedom.
Trivia[]
- While never named, the Veteran is a prominent background character throughout the series, and had a successful fighting career, as well.
- He stands portrayed by New Zealand stuntman Shayne Blaikie, who is 183 cm tall.
- The Veteran, Leviticus, Tyronius, Lydon, Pollux, and Agron are the only gladiators from the House of Batiatus known to survive the Third Servile War in its entirety.
- Actor Shayne Blaikie confirmed that his character survives the final battle and escapes the battlefield to into the Alps.
- The Veteran may have had a family at one point. During Crixus' funeral, Spartacus speaks of the joyous return of loved ones to the rebels, including fathers. At the mention of fathers, he nods to the Veteran, who nods back. This may mean the Veteran had adopted a fatherly role for some of the rebels, or that he currently has or once had children. It may be that his child or children were lost under the same circumstances as he was apprehended and enslaved by the Romans, though it is also possible they lived.
Quotes[]
"For Acer!" (during the Crixus' pyre)
"For Crixus!" (during the Crixus' pyre)