Michael Marks

Michael Marks
Biographical Information
Appearances	Saw II, Saw III, Saw IV, Saw 3D
Also Known As	Mike
Status	Deceased
Died In	Saw II
Cause of Death	Skull impaled by the Death Mask
Profession	Police Informant
Role	Minor Character
Reason Tested	Spying on other people for Eric Matthews
Relationships	Eric Matthews (client)† Jill Tuck (doctor)† John Kramer (abductor)† Lawrence Gordon (abductor) Amanda Young (fellow patient)† Cecil Adams (fellow patient)† Donnie Greco (fellow patient)† Gus Colyard (fellow patient)† Troy (fellow patient)† Paul Leahy (fellow patient)†
Portrayed by	Noam Jenkins

“	So far in what could loosely be called your life, you've made a living watching others. Society would call you an informant, a rat, a snitch. I call you unworthy of the body you possess, of the life that you've been given.	”
	— Jigsaw tells Michael why he's tested

Michael Marks, also known as Mike, is a fictional character from the Saw franchise. He serves as a minor character in Saw II, Saw IV, and Saw 3D.

He was portrayed by Noam Jenkins.

Biography

Early Life

Michael witnesses the fight

Michael Marks was a young man who was addicted to drugs. At one point in his life, he became a patient of the Homeward Bound Clinic, a recovery clinic for drug addicts ran by Jill Tuck under the motto "Cherish your life." One day, he witnessed a brawl between two of the patients, Cecil Adams and Gus Colyard, but was too afraid to intervene. The fight came to an end when Jill's husband, John Kramer, separated them. Eventually, Michael became acquainted with Detective Eric Matthews, a homicide detective who worked for the Metropolitan Police Department, and started working for him as an informant. (Saw II, Saw IV)

Abduction

Gordon hides the key

Due to his work for Eric, he was ultimately targeted by John Kramer, who was, in fact, a wanted serial killer known as Jigsaw. After his abduction, an accomplice of Jigsaw, Dr. Lawrence Gordon, performed surgery on the young man, during which he placed a key behind Michael's right eye. This key would later become the only way for Michael to save himself from one of Jigsaw's traps, a so-called death mask. After finishing their preparations, Michael's abductors seated him on a chair in the middle of a room. (Saw II, Saw 3D)

Death

Michael looks at the x-rays

About two hours after the surgery, Michael finally woke up and immediately panicked when he saw his bloody, swollen eye in a small mirror. When he jumped up from the chair and screamed for help, a TV turned on in front of him, and a mechanical ventriloquist puppet appeared on-screen. It confronted Michael with his work as an informant, stating that he was unworthy of his life. While the doll scolded him for his dishonesty, the video switched to a recording of Michael's surgery, and he was informed that the key to unlocking his trap was right before his eyes. Upon seeing an x-ray of his head, Michael realized that the key to the mask was hidden in his orbital cavity. Within 60 seconds, he had to cut out his eye to obtain the key. Otherwise, the two halves of the mask, which were both spiked with nails, would close in on his head and kill him.

Michael tries to cut out his eye

When the TV turned off, Michael panicked again. However, when he tried to remove the mask with brute force, a metal pin was pulled out of the deadly device, thereby setting off the timer. Realizing that his game had begun, Michael spotted a toolbox lying on the floor. Upon opening it, he found a scalpel inside. Ridden by fear and adrenaline, Michael stepped to the mirror and tried to cut out his eye. However, he couldn't bring himself to endure the pain and ultimately gave up. With only a few seconds left, Michael fell on his knees and started to cry while desperately screaming for help. When the timer went off, the mask closed on his face, killing Michael in the process. (Saw II)

Post-Mortem

Kerry and Eric at the crime scene

After his death, one of his abductors cut a jigsaw piece from his skin to symbolize Michael's lacking survival instinct. His corpse was found the next day during asbestos disposal in the building. When Detective Allison Kerry arrived at the scene, she found a message written at the ceiling, which said, "Look closer, Detective Matthews," referring to Eric Matthews, her former partner with whom she used to have an affair. Their relationship had ultimately resulted in Eric's alienation from his son, Daniel, and his wife, who subsequently filed for divorce. The first officer who arrived at the crime scene told Kerry that Michael might have been one of Eric's informants. However, as the officer wasn't entirely sure about this, Kerry decided to call Eric for help. Although the latter wasn't happy to see her, he agreed to take a look at the corpse. Due to a tattoo on his leg, Eric was able to identify Michael and confirmed that he was his informant. However, when he saw the jigsaw piece cut from Michael's skin, he realized that the murder had been committed by Jigsaw. As he neither wanted to have anything to do with the case nor with Kerry, he was about to leave but was held back by his former partner, who told him to "look closer." When he asked her what she meant, she pointed at the message written at the ceiling. Michael's corpse was then taken to the morgue, where Dr. Adam Heffner performed the autopsy on his body. (Saw II, Saw VI)

Personality

Not much can be said about Michael Marks' personality due to his short screen time.

Trivia

• According to the Saw II commentary track, Michael's badly-stitched eye was originally going to pop out once the Death Mask closed, but the idea was dropped when the effects team were unable to make the effect look realistic.

Appearances and References

Films
Saw	Saw II	Saw III	Saw IV	Saw V	Saw VI	Saw 3D	Jigsaw	Spiral	Saw X
Absent	Appears	Archive & Pictured	Flashback	Mentioned	Absent	Flashback	Absent	Absent	Absent