Barret Wallace

Barret Wallace is the leader of the eco-terrorist group AVALANCHE. He first appears in Final Fantasy VII, as one of the main characters and a party member. Barret has subsequently appeared in several titles within the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII. Barret's trademark is his gun-arm, which he has in place of his missing right arm, and he can use it to shoot at targets. He has a daughter named Marlene, whom he deeply cares for, in spite of having a brash personality.

Barret is the first black playable character in the Final Fantasy games. His appearance, speech, and personality is comparable to that of 's.

Final Fantasy VII
In Final Fantasy VII, Barret is introduced as the leader of AVALANCHE. Situated in the city of Midgar, his group opposes Shinra's use of Mako energy as a power source, as it would drain the Planet of its natural resources. At the start of the game, Barret leads an independent cell of AVALANCHE consisting of himself, Tifa, Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie. When the game starts, they have just hired the mercenary Cloud Strife at the behest of his childhood friend and AVALANCHE member, Tifa. With Cloud's help, AVALANCHE is successful in their mission to bomb down the No. 1 Reactor. Back at 7th Heaven, AVALANCHE's secret headquarters, Barret makes it clear that he does not get along with Cloud, especially because of his expensive fee, and wishes for Cloud to leave. Because of Cloud's skill and Tifa's insistence, Cloud remains on their team.

The next morning, Barret leads another mission to plant a bomb at the No. 5 Reactor. Upon arriving there, the group is confronted by President Shinra, who sends the Air Buster to attack them. When it explodes, Cloud is separated from Barret and the rest of the group.

Shinra eventually discovered that Sector 7 is the location of AVALANCHE's base, and send the Turks to go out and destroy the Sector 7 plate. Hearing of this plan, Barret goes to the Sector 7 plate, along with Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie, to try and stop them. While climbing the plate, Barret is the only person in the group to reach the top. However, he is reunited with Cloud and Tifa, and they engage in a boss fight against Reno. Despite the trio's effort, Reno manages to destroy the Sector 7 plate, resulting in the complete destruction of the Sector 7 slums. Barret, Cloud, and Tifa manage to escape, although the other members of AVALANCHE are killed in the resulting tragedy, further fueling Barret's need for vengeance. Barret's concern for Marlene's safety is consoled when Tifa assures him that Aeris helped Marlene escape before the Sector 7 plate collapsed. Later, once the group has escaped from Midgar, Cloud is chosen as the group's new leader, which Barret grudgingly accepts.

As the group travels along, they stumble upon North Corel, Barret's hometown. Here, the townspeople greet Barret with scorn. Because of this, Barret reluctantly begins to explain his past to the party. He tells them that he was orginally a coal miner. When Shinra wanted to build a nearby Mako Reactor, Barret agreed that it would be good for North Corel. However, when the Mako Reactor exploded, Shinra accused North Corel of being associated with AVALANCHE and proceeded to kill many of the citizens, including Barret's wife Myrna. Barret and his old friend Dyne were the only survivors because they were not in North Corel when the attack occured. Later, when the two of them tried to return, they were attacked by Shinra troops led by Scarlet. Barret's right forearm was hit by gunfire and rendered useless when he unsuccessfully tried to prevent Dyne from falling off a cliff. Assuming Dyne to have been killed, Barret adopted Marlene, Dyne's daughter, and had a gun prosthetic grafted to his arm. Barret traveled to Midgar seeking revenge on Shinra, and would eventually become the second leader of AVALANCHE.

Back in present time, when the party separates at the Gold Saucer, Barret seemingly went on a rampage, which landed him and the rest of the party into Corel Prison. There he learned that Dyne had survived his fall, and his hand was also replaced with a gun. Dyne, who is trauamatized over the loss of his family and home, was the actual person who went on the killing spree in Gold Saucer. He had taken over Corel Prison, so the party tries to get his permission to leave. When Barret tells Dyne that Marlene survived, he is attacked by Dyne, who wishes to kill Marlene so that his wife will not be lonely. Barret is forced into a showdown with Dyne. After losing to the showdown, Dyne gives the party permission to leave the prison and then commits suicide.

Following Dyne's death, Barret admits his grudge toward Shinra is solely for revenge, and that his earlier claims of saving the world were to falsely convince himself that he was fighting for the greater good. Barret's new motive for fighting was on behalf of Marlene and a legitimate desire to save the Planet.

Later, once the Weapons have been activated, both Barret and Tifa escape on the Highwind with the help of Shinra. The two of them were brought to Junon as captives. A week later, Barret and Tifa were scheduled for public execution. However, Yuffie and Cait Sith break into the prison and save the two from being executed.

When Cloud became severely affected by Mako poisoning, Barret had the opportunity to become group leader again. Although he wanted the title, Barret felt he was unfit, so he elected Cid as the group's new leader. Some time later, the party must rescue North Corel from a runaway train. If they successfully stop the train, the citizens of North Corel forgive Barret and regard him as being a hero. If they do not stop the train, he is held in further contempt.

In the climax, Cloud (who has mentally recovered), Barret, and rest of the party go to the Northern Crater for a final battle against Sephiroth. With their combined efforts, the group manages to defeat Sephiroth entirely. Holy is then summoned, and it destroys the Meteor descending upon the Planet.

Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII
In Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII, Barret's role takes place during the past events in North Corel that he tells to the party in Final Fantasy VII.

Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII
In Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII, Barret has a smaller role. His most notable appearance is during the World Restoration Organization's conflict with the Deepground organization, where Barret drives one of the assault trucks. Later, he is one of the characters who helps Vincent Valentine stop Omega WEAPON from destroying the planet.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, a Mii Gunner outfit of Barret was included in the Round 8 of Mii Costumes, which had a release coinciding with Sephiroth's introduction as a fighter. Barret's outfit depicts him wielding his Gatling Gun. At the same time, in the version 10.1.0 update, Barret was included as one of the spirits on Sephiroth's Spirit Board, along with several other Final Fantasy VII characters.

Trivia

 * Barret's name is a Japanese transliteration of the English word "bullet".