Booker DeWitt

""Bring us the girl, and wipe away the debt," that was the deal. The details elude me now, but the details wouldn't change a goddamned thing."

- Booker DeWitt

Booker DeWitt is the protagonist of BioShock Infinite, whom the player controls throughout the game. He is a private investigator and, prior to his reluctant arrival in Columbia, was a former disgraced Pinkerton agent. Booker is offered a deal to wipe away his gambling debts if he goes to Columbia and retrieve a girl imprisoned there. Through his vocalization, DeWitt reveals his past experiences, and shows his ability to make decisions for himself. Unlike the other BioShock protagonist characters, DeWitt has his own identity.

History
Booker DeWitt was born on April 19, 1874. At the age of sixteen, he was part of the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army, and was present at the Battle of Wounded Knee. Due to his gruesome actions at Wounded Knee, other members of his regiment gave him the nickname: "The White Injun", because of his taking trophies from his victims (as Native Americans are infamous for).

After the Battle of Wounded Knee, Booker attended a river baptism, led by Preacher Witting, to be reborn a new man and absolve his past. However, Booker rejected his baptism before it could be completed.

Between 1891 and 1892, Booker DeWitt was married. By 1892, at the age of eighteen, his wife had become pregnant with their child. However, Booker's wife died in child birth, while giving birth to their daughter, Annabelle. Mixed with the scars of Wounded Knee, the grief of his wife's death, and the stress of becoming single father, Booker slipped into alcoholism. Booker later became a Pinkerton Agent, but was disgraced due to his use of extreme methods on the job. As a member of the Pinkerton Agency, DeWitt had been tasked with breaking up union strike efforts. Following his discharge from the Pinkerton Agency, he became a private investigator, but his alcoholism and gambling addiction remained. Eventually, Booker was in debt to individuals one would not want to owe money to.

On October 8th, 1893, a mysterious man offered a strange deal to Booker, brought by Father Comstock. Comstock offers to wipe Booker's debt away if he sells his daughter to them. Reluctant, he hands Annabelle over to the man. Moments later, Booker filled with regret and chased the man down to the back of an alley where the man stood with Comstock and Annabelle with a woman ordering them to hurry into a strange portal. As Booker catches with Comstock and Anna, the portal closes just as Annabelle reaches out to Booker, severing her pinky finger and losing her to Comstock.

Filled with regret, Booker furthered his alcoholism and gambling, eventually branding his hand with Annabelle's initials, "A.D.". Nearly twenty years later, on July 6th, 1912, another strange portal occurs in his office. When Booker enters the portal, his mind becomes confused and begins creating new, different memories from the old. Booker turns memories of selling of his daughter into a mission he has just received to enter Columbia and retrieve the girl, Elizabeth, from her tower. With the demand, "Bring us the girl, and wipe away the debt," still in his head from twenty years ago, he remembers this as his mission objective rather then his actual past. Booker is then found by the mysterious man and the other woman that took Annabelle twenty years ago. They discuss how Booker's confused memories confirm the man's theory about memory confusion upon trans-dimensial travel, claiming they have lived this before. Booker is then put on a row boat and taken out on the Coast of Maine to a distant lighthouse.

Events of BioShock Infinite
During the events of BioShock Infinite Booker arrives in Columbia in a Shuttle taken from the lighthouse at the surface. In the beginning, he explores the different areas of Columbia and its annual Raffle & Fair. Booker's main objective at first is to find the girl at her tower on Monument Island. During his travels, he is contacted and guided by Rosalind Lutece and her "twin" brother, Robert, who both are quantum-pyschicists responsible for the floatation of Columbia. Booker discovers that Zachary Hale Comstock is the leader of Columbia's political and religious parties, namely the Founders. Booker is then eventually found wanted by the police because Booker's branded hand is the same of the prophesied "False Shepard" by Comstock who will "lead his lamb astray."

Booker reaches Monument Island and enters to discover that the girl has been imprisoned and observed here all her life. When finding Elizabeth, she reveals an ability Booker was made unaware of, which is her manipulation of the strange shimmers and portals. With her desire to go to the city of Paris, Elizabeth transforms her painting of the Eiffel Tower into an actual street in Paris during 1983. Booker then follows Elizabeth into her room where she first attacks and fears him, but is then relieved by his presence. Booker then helps Elizabeth escape her tower, but not before they are chased and attacked by a giant bird creature.

With Elizabeth's intent on staying in Columbia and enjoying her freedom, Booker lies to Elizabeth about claiming that the First Lady's Aerodrome will take her to Paris when his actual motives lie on taking her to New York. Along the way, Elizabeth reveals her ability can manipulate the portals called Tears, and that they are windows to other worlds and can manipulate the objects within them. When finally reaching the Aerodrome, Elizabeth discovers Booker's plan to bring her to New York and knocks him unconscious. Elizabeth then leaves Booker and the Aerodrome to the Vox Populi, the rebellion of multiple races and nationalities of workers against the Founders. Booker is then presented to their leader, Daisy Fitzroy, who will grant Booker his Aerodrome back by completing several tasks for their cause. Booker and Elizabeth reunite, but realize that they must enter into Tears that lead into new versions of Columbia to complete the Vox's tasks. This results in the Vox gaining the upper hand because another version of Booker in this new universe died for their causes. Daisy confused by Booker's presence, attempts to kill him but is then killed by Elizabeth. The two then claim back their Aerodrome which is then crashed by the Songbird.

After crash landing, the Lutece twins reveal that a special flute while playing the notes C-A-G-E can control the Songbird. Booker and Elizabeth then set course for Comstock House. Through the use of Tears, Booker and Elizabeth discover that Elizabeth is not the child of Comstock and his wife. Rosalind and Robert Lutece apparently made the Siphon, a machine that opens tears to other worlds. Comstock utilized this to become a true Prophet through the use of science. However, the machine caused him to age and become sterile. It was revealed that Elizabeth was simply taken from another universe where Comstock had conceived a child. When Lady Comstock discovered this, Comstock murdered his wife and framed it on her servant, Daisy Fitzroy, which sparked the Vox Populi movement. When the Lutece twins wanted to stop Comstock's future onto Elizabeth, the twins plotted an attempt to send Elizabeth back to her original universe. Comstock discovered this, however, and sabotaged the machine which results in the Lutece twins being present in all realities and causing Tears to appear all around the city.

Booker and Elizabeth then enters Comstock's House, but the Songbird recaptures Elizabeth. Booker is then pushed through time to where Elizabeth was indoctrinated by Comstock and fulfilled his prophecy by having her attack New York City with Columbia in 1983. This elderly version of Elizabeth sends Booker back in time before Elizabeth is cured of her ability along with instructions to control the Songbird.

Booker and Elizabeth are back in 1912 and set after Comstock. Comstock reveals that everything that has happened to her was because of Booker, including her missing pinky. This causes Booker to murder Comstock. Booker and Elizabeth then discover that the only way to leave Columbia for good is to leave through a tear out of the city, but this ability is prohibited by the Siphon back at the remains of Monument Island. Elizabeth uses the instructions that Booker was given to control the Songbird and have it destroy the Siphon. Elizabeth then transports herself, Booker, and Songbird to Rapture where Songbird dies in the waters. Elizabeth reveals to Booker that there are infinite worlds around them branching from Booker's choices, and that Comstock is not dead because in other worlds, he is still alive.

On a quest to stop him, Elizabeth back tracks through tears to stop Comstock, which reveals Booker's true history. Booker is brought back to his baptism and the sale of his daughter. Booker is revealed that Robert and Rosalind Lutece were the mysterious couple who ordered his daughter and took him to the lighthouse, and that Elizabeth is actually Booker's daughter who gained her abilities when the closing tear severed her pinky. Booker is then determined to end all of this and wishes to prevent everything that has happened to him and Anna-Elizabeth. Booker demands that they go back to when Comstock was an infant and smother him in the crib. It isn't until Anna-Elizabeth brings Booker back to his baptism that he realizes what has occurred. When he rejected the baptism, it created a whole new world where he accepted it and divulged into a life of Christianity and went on to build Columbia. It was from Booker's alternate rebirth that he becomes Zachary Comstock. Multiple and alternate versions of Anna-Elizabeth appear to reveal this to Booker. As Booker discovers this, the only way to prevent the events that occurred is to die. Anna-Elizabeth and her other forms drown Booker and prevents him from being reborn into Comstock, erasing all other versions of Anna-Elizabeth and the events that occurred in Columbia. And by killing Comstock, he never comes to bargain for Elizabeth and the cycle ends.

Epilogue
"Anna. Anna!? Anna? Is that you?"

- Booker DeWitt

Booker awakens in his residence, the date October 8, 1893&mdash;the same day he lost Anna&mdash;and opens the door next to his desk, where his daughter's crib is, while calling out her name.

Voxophones

 * Shanty Town
 * Drawing Dead


 * Fink Manufacturing
 * All Debts Paid
 * Apology

Behind the Scenes
195 POUNDS OF WEIGHT A WHITE MAN WITH GREEN EYES BEARS A SCAR OVER THE RIGHT EYE"
 * As tradition with the hands of BioShock's protagonists featuring a distinct mark or tattoo, the back of Booker's 228px-Kit-bi04.jpg hand has the scarred initials "A D".
 * These initials might've been branded by Booker himself as a reminder of his daughter Anna DeWitt (A.D.).
 * Wanted posters, first shown on the cover of EGM, list some of his specific features:"A MALE OF 37 YEARS 6 FEET OF HEIGHT

- EGM Wanted Poster


 * The scene depicting Booker with his belongings is very much resemblant of the scene featuring Jack opening his suitcase in Bioshock.
 * Before Troy Baker was hired to be the voice of Booker DeWitt, Irrational Games had Stephen Russel (the voice of Garrett in the Thief games) voice the part.
 * Booker DeWitt is stated to have been a Pinkerton agent before the events of Columbia. The Pinkerton National Detective Agency (now Pinkerton Government Services, Inc.) was founded in 1850 by Allan Pinkerton; throughout its history its services have ranged from security personnel and private investigations to private military contracting work
 * Booker's Pinkerton badge number is 727 as seen in the menu loading screen.
 * Booker served in the United States Army; he even owns a box engraved with his name saying that he served in the 7th Cavalry Regiment.
 * During his time in the Army, he held the rank of Corporal.
 * Originally, the early version of Booker's arms were seen covered by sleeves from a pin striped coat. This version remained in most of the early gameplay footage, even after the artwork debut of his appearance from the EGM cover, which had him appear with rolled shirt sleeves. It wasn't until the 2012 Beasts of America trailer that Booker was finally given rolled sleeves to match his artwork appearance, along with the initials "A D" branded over the back of his right hand.
 * Booker's contract as a Pinkerton agent expires upon his death as shown in the loading menu.
 * Although it is never mentioned or confirmed in-game, it is implied that Booker himself may be part Native American. On one voxophone belonging to Comstock, someone made an acusation that his family tree "shelters a few teepees" while another voxophone reveales that DeWitt is capable of speaking the Sioux language.


 * If you decide not to draw your weapon or decide to do nothing at the ticket booth in Battleship Bay, the man behind the counter will stab Booker in his right hand. For the rest of the game, Booker will sport a hand-wrap with a small blood stain on his right hand. However, during certain animations, such as acquiring a new Vigor, his hand is shown without the wrap or the stab wound.


 * On Monument Island in the Columbia statue, shortly after seeing Elizabeth's first tear into Paris when watching her through the one way glass, Booker says "This job's getting worse all the time". This is likely a reference to Lando Calrissian's famous line in the Star Wars trilogy, "This deal is getting worse all the time"
 * This is supported by the fact that while in the tear, a movie theatre is shown to be playing "The Revenge of the Jedi", a working title for the 1983 film "Return of the Jedi".
 * Some have theorized that Booker is actually an alternate universe version of Jack from the first BioShock, due to the "Man and a Lighthouse" theory presented at the end of BioShock Infinite. The same could also be said for Subject Delta from Bioshock 2.  Some also interpret Elizabeth to be the Columbia universe version of Little Sisters/Eleanor Lamb with Songbird serving as Infinite's version of a Big Daddy.
 * Fans have also theorized that the plot of BioShock Infinite is actually Booker's 123rd attempt at rescuing Elizabeth. The code for entering Columbia is 1-2-2, possibly signifying that he has done this 122 times before. Also, there are 122 tally marks on the Luteces' chalkboard before the coin flip, and they add another one after the coin flip has been performed. The tally marks are all marked under "heads" rather than "tails," which is likely because they are simply recording the same coin flip in 123 different universes.
 * It is likely the surname 'DeWitt' is a reference to the theoretical physicist Bryce DeWitt who pioneered the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics.