Ender's Game characters

Also known as Andrew Wiggin

Appears from the start

A brilliant, deeply empathetic six-year-old boy, the rare third child in a family in a future where population law allows only two. He was permitted to be born because the military hopes he will become the commander who can save humanity from a feared third alien invasion. He combines an unusual capacity to understand others with a willingness to answer a threat with total, decisive force when he believes he has no choice, a combination that both his teachers and his enemies exploit.

Appears from the start

The officer in charge of Battle School, who selects Ender and takes personal responsibility for shaping him. Convinced that humanity's survival depends on producing one great commander, he deliberately isolates Ender and keeps him under constant pressure, willing to be cruel and to make himself the boy's enemy if that is what forging a leader requires.

First appears in chapter 2

Ender's older brother, as gifted as anyone in the family but cruel and domineering, rejected by the military for being too ruthless. He torments Ender and their sister and is driven by a hunger for power and control.

First appears in chapter 2

Ender's older sister, as intelligent as her brothers but gentle and compassionate, and fiercely protective of Ender. She was passed over by the military for being too soft, and she is the person Ender loves and misses most once he is taken away.

First appears in chapter 6

A capable boy among the young recruits at Battle School who becomes a genuine friend to Ender, joining his extra practice sessions and offering him rare warmth and loyalty in an environment designed to keep him alone.

First appears in chapter 7

The proud, hot-tempered commander of Salamander Army, the unit Ender is assigned to while still very young. Jealous of Ender's talent and obsessed with his own honor, he refuses to let Ender fight in the battle-room games and comes to hate him.

First appears in chapter 7

One of the few girls at Battle School and a top soldier in Salamander Army. Defying her commander, she befriends Ender and secretly trains him as a marksman, becoming an early ally and one of the students he trusts.

First appears in chapter 8

A respected older soldier and leader in Rat Army who mentors Ender and speaks openly about his doubts, suggesting that the teachers may be manipulating all of them and that the coming war may not be what the children have been told.

First appears in chapter 10

A very small, exceptionally clever young recruit placed in the army Ender is given to command. Ender recognizes in Bean the same isolation and promise that the teachers once saw in himself, and singles him out for hard treatment and greater responsibility.

First appears in chapter 14

The legendary commander who saved humanity by destroying the alien fleet during the previous invasion, long believed dead. He reappears as Ender's stern and demanding final teacher at Command School, drilling him relentlessly for the war to come.

Also known as Formics

Appears from the start

An insectlike alien species governed by hive queens whose two earlier invasions nearly destroyed humanity. The dread of a third invasion is the reason Earth's governments train gifted children like Ender to lead the coming war, and defeating the buggers is the purpose behind everything the schools do.