I'd like to introduce Hank Johnson, the Enlightened leader whom our protagonists, Makoto and Jack, meet in India. He's a character connected to two factions in Ingress, and he reveals important plot twists.
【Ingress】Before Introducing Hank Johnson
Source: Ingress © "Ingress" Production Committee
Ingress: The Animation follows the setting of the real-life game, so I'd like to begin by briefly touching on that setting. INGRESS is a smartphone game that has been distributed in over 200 countries and regions worldwide since its official launch in 2012, and has achieved over 20 million downloads. It is a game linked to reality, in which players compete for bases called Portals, which are located at real-world landmarks and historical objects.
Worldview and Setting
Source: Ingress © "Ingress" Production Committee
CERN, the Swiss nuclear research institute that also featured in the original work in which the heroine is unable to escape her fate of death, has discovered a substance called "Exotic Matter (XM)" that responds to human minds and abilities. Humanity is divided into two camps: the "Enlightened," who accept XM and seek to use it for human evolution, and the "Resistance," who view XM as a threat and seek to control it.
Sensitives and Ingress in the Game
People who are sensitive to XM and possess superhuman abilities are called "Sensitives." Sensitives' abilities are amplified within fields connected by portals acquired by the faction selected in Ingress, but are suppressed within fields of a different faction. Ingress, like real life, is distributed as a game worldwide, and even ordinary players who are unaware of the existence of Sensitives and XM compete for territory as part of the game.
【INGRESS】Introduction to Hank Johnson
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Hank Johnson is a collaborator in the discovery of XM and a leader of the Enlightened, whom the protagonists Makoto and Jack meet in India after their plane crash-landing. A former SpecOps (US Special Forces), he currently discovers and researches power spots that can connect to XM portals. In the story, he takes refuge with the Azmati, an Enlightened tribe.
【INGRESS】Hank Johnson chooses the Enlightened faction
Source: Ingress © "Ingress" Production Committee
Hank Johnson is a leader of the Enlightened faction. As such, he is highly respected by the Enlightened tribe, the Azmati. Although ideologically he is on the side of the Enlightened, it seems he does not completely view the Resistance as an enemy. Incidentally, the real-life leader of Ingress is not Hank, but a researcher named Roland Jarvis.
[Ingress] Who was the model for Hank Johnson?
Source: Ingress © "Ingress" Production Committee
The model for this character is believed to be John Hanke, who left Google and is now CEO of Niantic, Inc., responsible for the development and operation of Ingress and Pokémon GO.
In other words, he is the creator of Ingress.
【Ingress】A quick introduction to Hank Johnson's story!
Source: Ingress © "Ingress" Production Committee
Our protagonists, Makoto and Jack, travel overseas to rescue Sarah, but their plane crash-lands in India due to the efforts of Huron Company assassins. There, the two are held captive by a mysterious militia. That's when Hank Johnson appears.
The two are released from detention and the situation explained.
Source: Ingress © "Ingress" Production Committee
The reason the two were detained was due to the presence of Jack, a member of the Resistance, and the AR goggles he was wearing, manufactured by Huron. The militant group was a clan called the Azmati of the Enlightened. Huron, which has ties to the Resistance, had forcibly taken over their sacred land and built a mining camp there, and they were fighting to reclaim it.
He speaks out about the organization behind it all
Source: Ingress © "Ingress" Production Committee
The group is then attacked by an enemy militia. After somehow escaping the situation, Hank learns about the existence of the organization behind it all, the "COLLABRATORS."
To get them to escape...
Source: Ingress © "Ingress" Production Committee
Afterward, Makoto and Jack are relentlessly attacked by the enemy. Hank then launches a suicide attack on the enemy militia in an attempt to somehow free the two.
【INGRESS】Hank Johnson Summary
Here's a summary of Hank Johnson, the Enlightened leader who appears in Ingress. Ingress is a work that keeps laying the groundwork from the beginning to the middle, and suddenly becomes interesting at the end. Hank's fate will be revealed later, so it's a work that you should definitely watch!
