All characters are fictional.
Hagen – big gladiator from Germania
Hagen or Haken (Harken) was a man from Germania who became a slave under Proximo. Hagen eventually became the instructor of the gladiator slaves under Proximo.
Hagen beat up Maximus several times as Maximus refused to hold the sword and refused to become a gladiator at first. Hagen became one of the gladiators that entered the Colosseum of Rome with Proximo.
Hagen eventually started to follow Maximus after the first gladiator battle at the Colosseum that reenacted the Battle of Zama, the battle between Hannibal from Carthage and Scipio Africanus from Rome.
Hagen realizes that Maximus was the commander of the Roman armies of the North and led the Roman victory of the Germania Campaign.
Maximus did feel uncomfortable because Hagen with a high chance became a slave because he was one of the prisoners of wars during the Germania Campaign that Maximus led.
Still, Hagen trusted Maximus and even started to taste his food ahead to stop Maximus from being poisoned. Hagen sacrificed himself against the Roman Praetorian Guards so Maximus could escape from prison,
Zuba – Numidian Hunter that saved Maximus
Zuba is a hunter from Numidia, however the slave traders possibly kidnapped him and lied that he was bought from a salt mine in Carthage.
There aren’t any salt mines in Carthage and Numidians during the Roman Empire of Commodus’s reign weren’t black and had different ethnic races in reality.
Zuba cured Maximus’s severe wounds with maggots and herbs and became a pair with him during the first gladiator tournament at Zucchabar.
Zuba became one of Maximus’s closest friends and went through the Battle of Zama reenactment at the Colosseum. Zuba was captured after the rebellion of Maximus and the gladiators failed.
Zuba carried the corpse of Maximus after Commodus and Maximus both died at the final gladiator tournament.
Zuba was freed and he buried the wooden figures of Maximus’s son and wife and bid him a farewell in the afterlife.
Cicero – Maxmus’s servant
Cicero was the servant of Maximus that was present when Commodus murdered the emperor Marcus Aurelius. While Cicero was sent for an errand, Maximus was captured and sent for execution.
Cicero managed to survive and watched the gladiator tournaments of Maximus and confirmed the survival of his former master.
Cicero contacted Maximus and informed him that the 4th Legion of Rome, the Felix Legion that Maximus once commanded is located at Ostia.
Ostia was the major port of Rome just outside the outskirts of the at the capital of Rome. Maximus shared his plan to escape the gladiator prison with Cicero.
However, Lucius, the son of Lucilla unintentionally spoiled the plans of the coup de tat to Commodus. Cicero was captured and he was used as a decoy to lure Maximus and Cicero was choked to death as he hung to a tree.
Gaius – Senator that had women problems
Gaius was one of the senators that followed the senator Gracchus. Commodus would mock him in the senate as Gaius had women problems.
After Commodus found out of the coup de tat that his sister Lucilla plotted, Commodus assassinated Gaius with venomous snakes.
Gracchus – Senator of Rome
Gracchus wasn’t fond of Commodus’s ignorance of the plague and administrative work. Gracchus did admit that Commodus’s consecutive gladiator tournaments dazzled the mob and people of Rome and it was an effective policy to keep the people ignorant.
Gracchus and senator Gaius raised concerns on the continuous gladiator tournaments being held but he didn’t take much action against Commodus.
Later, Gracchus finds out that Commodus has been using the reserve grain to fund the consecutive gladiator tournaments and decides use Maximus Decimus Meridius for a coup de tat.
However, the treason was revealed and Gracchus was captured by Commodus.
However, as Maximus successfully assassinated Commodus, Gracchus tried to fulfill the will of Marcus Aurelius and Maximus and restore the republic of Rome.
Gracchus would honor Maxmius by carrying his corpse. However during the timepoint of Gladiator 2, Gracchus’s attempt to restore the Republic failed.(This all has no historical accuracy).
Falco – Senator of Rome that supported Commodus
Falco was one of the Roman Senators along with Gracchus and Gaius that met Maximus at the victory party. Falco, however was one of the senators that believed Commodus could become a worthy emperor.
Falco would become the main advisor of Commodus and urged Commodus to take quick response after learning of Lucilla’s plot to use Maximus to cause a coup de tat against Commodus.
Falco would tell a tale of a sea monster that would wait until the final most lethal moment to attack its enemies. Falco implied that Commodus should be patient enough so all the traitors could be rallied up and caught at once.
Lucilla – Sister of Commodus
Lucilla was the daughter of Marcus Aurelius and the sister of Commodus. Lucilla married a man named Lucius Verus who passed away and named their son Lucius Verus after his father.
Lucilla gradually felt the frenzy and madness of Commodus who longed for attention and developed a sick obsession with purity.
Commodus constantly threatened Lucilla’s life and her son and even attempted to show his desire for incest over his obsession with a royal ‘pure’ bloodline.
Lucilla eventually plots a coup de tat against Commodus by using Maximus’s old legion by helping Maximus escape the gladiator prison and reach the old Felix legion.
However, Lucius Verus unintentionally spoiled the plot and Commodus held Lucilla and her son Lucius hostage. Lucilla attempted to fulfill her father and Maximus’s dream after Maximus and Commodus’s death.
Lucilla and Maximus’s relationship and Lucilla’s desire for power and politics
Maximus and Lucilla were once lovers in the past. However, unlike Maximus who wished a peaceful life and didn’t have interest in politics and power, Lucilla had the desire of politics and power although she was a woman that had difficulties in such active politics participation during the Roman Empire.
Lucilla had an affection for shifting powers so even though she knew Commodus’s twisted desires in power, she stood by until Commodus started to threaten her and her son Lucius Verus.
Lucilla always wanted to inherit her son Lucius Verus the throne of the Roman emperor, unlike the old customs to inherit the throne to a worthy person.
After Lucilla’s position was threatened and she even felt her brother Commodus’s twisted sexual desires, Lucilla plants to use Maximus to eliminate Commodus.
Lucilla and the senators of Rome’s cause for the coup de tat – Mere Politics not for Justice
Lucilla and the senators of Rome were not protagonists and they’ve decided to overthrow Commodus not for the fate of Rome but for their own safety. Surely, the senators did show concern of Commodus’s administration.
However, they were seeking a cause as they felt threatened by Commodus’s ambitions rather than taking immediate actions when the fate of Rome was at stake.
Commodus did mention that the senators of Rome only worried of their own stake and only desired to enjoy their power. The senators of Rome did enjoy their leisure and never took much action.
Not until they’ve discovered Maximus, the revenge thirsty once-noted revenge general of Rome, did they plot to overthrow Commodus.
Maximus was the perfect person who could pursue all the dirty work required and he was the perfect scapegoat if the coup de tat failed as well.
Although there were story lines to link, eventually after Maximus’s death, Lucilla nor Gracchus failed to restore the Republic and the Roman Empire became worse.
*Everything isn’t historically accurate in the movie Gladiator.
