One more thing. I'm not going to pretend I'm not going there out of concern for my Sarah. If anybody thinks I should be doing something else, you damn well better tell me. 
- ― Frank Breaker, Night Springs
Frank Breaker is a character who was first mentioned in Alan Wake before debuting in the Night Springs comic. He was the former sheriff of Bright Falls, Washington and the father of Sarah Breaker. He was also a retired police detective of the New York City Police Department and a former field agent of the Federal Bureau of Control. After his retirement, both his daughter and later his nephew, Tim Breaker, would also become sheriff of Bright Falls. Sometime after the Altered World Event of 2010, Frank Breaker passed away.
Appearance[]
Frank Breaker is a Caucasian man with black hair and a mustache. He wears a white shirt, brown pants and shoes.
Personality[]
Frank made it a point to not try to control Sarah's life. He knew his daughter could take care of herself as well as anybody. She was tough and smart. It was her choice to be a cop. It was hard work that made her the sheriff of Bright Falls. She made him proud. But he couldn't help worrying. He was a father. He used to carry a badge. He'd seen his share of bad calls, more than most. - ― Excerpts from Departure by Alan Wake
During his youth, Frank Breaker had the reputation of being a "wild man," something he had no problem giving up when he grew older. Nevertheless, at the age of 59, Breaker was still a tough and resilient man. Despite being a retiree, he did not consider himself as such, being this the reason (aside for his daughter involvement in the matter) for his lack of hesitation to accept his Sarah's requests for assistance.[2] He was accustomed to the strangeness that Bright Falls held due to the amount of paranatural phenomena he saw during his time working for the Federal Bureau of Control. While he considered Cynthia Weaver to be an eccentric and delusional woman, he knew that her paranoia was not unfounded, claiming that it was not her fault if no one listened to her warnings.
Breaker was very adamant on not controlling his daughter's life, knowing well she was able to look after herself, and supported her decision of becoming a police officer like him. However, Breaker still cared greatly for Sarah and, despite being proud of her becoming the sheriff of Bright Falls, he wished she had chosen a different path, knowing well due to his own experiences the hardships a career in law enforcement could bring. While he was a profesional man, he was incapable of putting his duty above his family. Nevertheless, he still allowed others to express their objections to this.
Frank also enjoyed crime fiction, especially Alan Wake's Alex Casey novels, which he considered to be "the best thing to happen to crime fiction since James Ellroy."
Biography[]
Early Life[]
- There had been a lot of bad nights in New York. But it was only after a few years in Bright Falls that he started to understand how little he understood about the world he lived in.
- ― Excerpts from Departure by Alan Wake.
During his youth, Frank Breaker grew up in the town of Bright Falls, Washington. By 1976, he became sheriff. During the annual Deerfest festival of that year, sudden storms occurred from the direction of the Anderson Farm, owned by Old Gods of Asgard members, Tor and Odin Anderson, which led to a flash flood. Breaker managed to evacuate the townspeople before the flooding destroyed the festival grounds.[3] Soon after, he was asked by Freya Anderson, Tor's daughter, to check on her father and uncle, who were at the farm rehearsing. When Breaker arrived at the farm, he found the Andersons alive but in need of medical attention: Tor having been struck by lightning while Odin was missing his right eye. The brothers claimed that they had fought and defeated the "dark army of the scratching hag".[4]
Frank Breaker during his time working for the NYPD.
Sometime afterwards, Breaker moved to New York City, where he began working as a detective for the New York Police Department, working there for at least 22 years. During this time, he witnessed the death of one of comrades, who was fatally shot in the chest.[5] At some point in his life, he married an unknown woman and had a daughter named Sarah. Breaker was eventually recruited by the Federal Bureau of Control, a clandestine government agency tasked with investigating paranormal activity.[3]
Frank Breaker facing a creature resembling werewolf.
Breaker would eventually return to Bright Falls, where he bought an apple farm, and began having his first experiences with the paranormal, including seeing a "tree [walking]" and fighting and killing a "man with the head of a wolf" whose body "melted away into black goo that boiled away in sunlight." Due to these encounters, Breaker reunited a group of Bright Falls denizens who also had knowledge about the paranormal occurrences in the area to help in case of an emergency. He was also acquainted with Cynthia Weaver. Despite considering her to be delusional, Breaker nonetheless believed that she was not wrong in regards to her paranoia towards darkness. After becoming an adult, Sarah chose to follow in her father's footsteps and eventually became the new Sheriff of Bright Falls despite Breaker wanting more for her. At some point, his wife passed away. Not long after her funeral, he felt a presence that had the same scent that his deceased wife laying next to him in his bed.[5]
Bright Falls AWE (2010)[]
- Hey, it's Frank Breaker up in Bright Falls... I'm good, but I think we got a situation here. Could be a false alarm, but the alert I got's the one we only use when things get real goddamn serious...
- ― Barbara Jagger and Frank Breaker
Frank Breaker receives the "Night Springs" message.
On the night of September 10, Breaker was re-reading Alan Wake's latest Alex Casey novel, The Sudden Stop, when he received a call from Wake's literary agent Barry Wheeler. Wheeler explained to him that he had been instructed by Sarah to contact him, and a number of other people, to deliver the message "Night Springs", which Breaker immediately understood.[5][6] After talking with Wheeler, he grabbed his gun and flashlight and departed on his truck. On his way to the town, Breaker contacted FBC agent William Kirklund and alerted him of a possible Altered World Event taking place in the Bright Falls area, requesting for backup. Unfortunately, he was told that reinforcement would not be able to arrive on time.[5][7] He was then attacked by a flock of Taken ravens, which confirmed that this was not a false alarm. Arriving in town, he reunited with the group of people contacted by Wheeler - which included Pat Maine and Deputies Mulligan, Thornton, Janes and Grant - and was informed of the current state of the situation. Breaker proceeded to set up a plan of action: Maine would return to the KBF-FM Radio Station in case an evacuation needed to be coordinated; Deputies Janes and Grant were instructed to remain in town to maintain order; Deputies Thornton and Mulligan were sent to the Cauldron Lake Lodge to check on Dr. Hartman, who Breaker suspected to be involved with was happening. Breaker then departed to help his daughter, who had gone to the Bright Falls Light & Power along with Alan Wake to meet Cynthia Weaver, but not before asking his comrades if any of them had an objection about his decision, however, none of them opposed.
Breaker reaches the Well-Lit room.
Arriving at the L.t. William T.G. Randall Memorial Bridge, Breaker was forced to continue his journey on foot. He attempted to contact his daughter, but his call was interrupted when he was attacked by an ax-wielding Taken. Nonetheless, he managed to dispatch of using his flashlight and gun. After crossing the river and reaching the power plant, he discovered that it was empty, but deduced that Weaver must have used her secret tunnel, which led to the Bright Falls Dam. Stealing a truck from the power plant, Breaker made his way to the dam. On the way there, he noticed the crashed rescue helicopter nearby. Hoping for the best, while also expecting the worst, he continued forward. However, he was taken out of the road by a possessed truck and briefly lost consciousness. He was then confronted by the Dark Presence in the form of Barbara Jagger, who warned him to stay away as the conflict between it and Wake was none of his concern, but Breaker objected as his daughter was already involved. Jagger claimed that she would die if she protected Wake, to which Breaker responded by lighting a flare in its face. He was then surrounded by a horde of Taken. Despite his best effort to fight back, Breaker was soon overwhelmed by them. However, at the last moment, the night suddenly turned to day as a result of Wake using the clicker, dispersing the horde of Takens and saving Breaker's life. When he finally reached the dam, Breaker saw Wake running away. He tried to call out for him but passed out once again. After waking up, he entered the dam and reached the Well-Lit Room, where he reunited with his daughter.[5]
Death[]
At some point between 2010 and 2023, Breaker passed away under unknown circumstances. After his death, Sarah left Bright Falls to become a Federal Agent with an undisclosed agency, while her cousin, Tim, took over as the new sheriff.[8]
Appearances[]
- Night Springs (first and only appearance)
- Control (mentioned)
- Alan Wake 2 (mentioned)
Behind the scenes[]
- There are various signs that Frank was going to make an appearance in Alan Wake back when it was planned to be an open world game.
- The Breaker Apple Farm was listed as a location in early maps, and its layout still remains in the proper location out of bounds.
- Rudolf Lane's textures are named "frankbreaker", meaning that his model was originally made for Frank before being repurposed for Lane.
Trivia[]
- Frank Breakers role as an FBC agent was first alluded in his debut appearance before being confirmed by in-game documents in Control.
- In the Night Springs tie-in comic, Frank remembers the 1970 earthquake and Thomas Zane as a poet.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ Night Springs page 2 gives his age as of the events of Alan Wake as 59. This puts his birthday in the range of 1950—1951.
- ↑ Night Springs page 2
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Control: AWE, file "Bright Falls (1976) Summary"
- ↑ Control: AWE, file "Bright Falls (1976) Supplment"
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Night Springs
- ↑ Alan Wake: Episode 5: The Clicker
- ↑ Control: AWE, file "Bright Falls Summary"
- ↑ Alan Wake 2