Johnny Silverhand

Johnny Silverhand is a central character throughout the Cyberpunk series, as well as an influential Rockerboy and the lead singer of the band Samurai before the breakup in 2008.

Overview
Johnny Silverhand, originally born as Robert John Linder, is a very well-known and influential artist in America. An ex-US military veteran who defined the rockerboy movement to what it is today. He was the lead singer of the band Samurai and one of the most prominent figures that fought against the corrupted US government and the Megacorporations. Johnny concentrates most of his anger to the Arasaka Corporation, due to them kidnapping his girlfriend leading to her supposed death, which may or may not have been his fault. He's charismatic and quite the charmer. However Johnny is also known to be irrational, impulsive, and a manipulator often being described as a terrorist.

Johnny has a temper and seems to always be on edge, mostly due to his history in the Central American Conflict. His dedication and ambitions are what keep him going, but at the end of the day he doesn't care much for the people around him as long as they are used to accomplish his goals.

In 2077, Johnny is still as ambitious as ever. He has his own agenda he wants to accomplish and plans to use V to get to it, it's up to them whether Johnny is to be trusted or not.

2000s
Robert John Linder was born November 16th, 1988, and later enlisted into the US military at a young age, and it didn't take long to see some action. The Central American Conflict started in 2000s. The conflict was devastating, as the war was run by a corrupt and manipulative government. However when their secrets were exposed, many of the American soldiers dropped their banners as they fought back by deserting the military. The government used its influence to create powerful propaganda campaign to make the American public hate deserters.

John was also one of the men who decided he wouldn’t fight a corrupt war that ultimately led to him losing his arm. He went back home to Night City and began his life anew. The military and the war had changed his life forever, to forget his past he even changed his name to Johnny Silverhand. His last name would represent the cybernetic arm that replaced already missing limb. Johnny began his mission of rebellion to expose corruption by starting a band.

The name of the band was Samurai. Johnny started this band with his friend Kerry Eurodyne, originally only playing in backstreet clubs. In 2003, while playing in a bar called Rainbow Cadenza, a producer by name of Jack Masters discovered them and signed them up with Universal Recording. Samurai was comprised of the co-founders Johnny and Kerry as well as Denny, Nancy/Bes Isis, and Henry. His music became revolutionary, starting the rockerboy movement and becoming an overnight sensation. He rose to the top of the US carts in record time with his band. However despite their success, Samurai struggled as personal issues made it to the surface.

Keyboard player Nancy was in an abusive relationship at the time. She reached a point where she couldn't take anymore abuse, and pushed her abusive boyfriend out of a window. After the NCPD discovered the body she was arrested and taken to prison. Without her, Samurai struggled and finally split up in 2008.

Johnny Silverhand was still one of the most popular musicians at the time. He planned to use his star power to begin a solo career and continue to push his anti-corporation and anti-government message. DBS Music wanted to sign him so desperately that they blackmailed him, threatening to reveal his true identity, as a deserter of the Central American Conflict.

Instead, Johnny Silverhand signed with Universal Music again, and released an entire album called ' SINS of Your Brothers'  admitting that he was a deserter, and revealing all the terrible things the government ordered. The album was wildly successful, and changed public perception of what it meant to be a deserter.

In 2013, after a concert Johnny went on a walk with his girlfriend, Alt Cunningham, when she was suddenly kidnapped by gangers hired by the megacorporation Arasaka. Alt in the company of Toshiro, was treated to a drink and told she was a valuable asset to the corporation. They wanted her to develop a software called the Soulkiller that would be able to download any netrunner’s mind. It was a dangerous software, that would have killed anyone whose brain they wanted to download that she previously developed for her employer, ITS.

Johnny made a plan that required precise timing. He gathered a strike team to infiltrate the Arasaka offices so that he could save Alt. On top of that, he called in a favor from all the members of his old band. Samurai gathered together and performed an entirely free show. The show was right in front of the Arasaka Tower in Night City. This led to a riot on the tower as troops were called in to control the situation. In a panic Toshiro used the Soulkiller on Alt while the assault took place. Johnny and team consisting of his ex-girlfriend Rogue and media reporter Thompson infiltrated the Tower while Alt was still trapped in the computer trying to get back to her body. The team made it to the bar where Toshiro, Akira, and Alt were. Johnny looked over Alt's body and presumed her dead moments after killing Toshiro out of anger. He turned to gather up Alt's still warm body in his arms off the couch disconnecting her. Behind the wall of monitors, a disembodied Alt screamed to him, but Johnny didn't hear her.

In 2014, Johnny continued his rebellious campaign this time in Japantown during his famous free benefit concert to bring attention to brutal methods the NCPD used to quell the the Homeless Riots of the same year.

2020s
In 2023, Johnny, alongside Rogue, Morgan Blackhand, Shaitan, Thompson, and Spider Murphy led a Militech assault team on the Arasaka American HQ in Night City, with the intention of ending the Fourth Corporate War by destroying the tower with a mini nuke. Johnny had another reason for going back to the Arasaka offices, he wanted to find Cunningham, but there were more than a few obstacles in the way. The biggest obstacle was a Borg, Adam Smasher, a once man who was now more machine than flesh.

Johnny was presumed dead, gunned down Adam Smasher. His body was never found, because of the mini nuke dropped into the Arasaka Tower, in the aftermath there was nothing left to find. Johnny was not actually killed at Arasaka Tower, but was recovered and interrogated by Arasaka security and later by Saburo Arasaka himself with a techie. He would be subjected to the Soulkiller program, his consciousness scanned and stored on an engram.

Legacy
Ever since he disappeared, people have mourned Johnny Silverhand. There is graffiti all throughout Night City that simply says, “Where’s Johnny?” Even decades later, people hold out hope that Johnny Silverhand is somewhere out there, ready to raise some hell and lead the revolution.

Development
During the E3 2018 trailer, several pieces of graffiti can be seen asking "Wheres Johnny?", alluding to the false reports of his death. During the E3 gameplay reveal, V can be heard listening to Johnny's song, Chippin' In, as well as wearing a Samurai jacket.

At the Microsoft E3 2019 conference, Keanu Reeves was revealed to be playing Silverhand. He shows up at the end of the 2019 Cinematic trailer, helping V after they were left for dead in a dump site. In interviews it was revealed he had been approached a year prior to the announcement.

Campaign
Silverhand acts as V's guide to the city and will be with him or her for most of the game. Throughout the game, the player will be haunted by the "digital ghost" of Silverhand, suggesting that he is physically dead. The full gameplay scope of Silverhand's involvement with the character is not fully known, but he will make comments on the player's actions through voiceover, and will occasionally appear in game as a hologram. Figuring out the mystery of Johnny Silverhand's digital ghost is a large part of the main plot line.

Trivia

 * Mike Pondsmith's original inspiration for Johnny Silverhand was David Bowie from 'Labyrinth'.
 * Johnny Silverhand is portrayed by two people in 2077, his face is modeled after Keanu Reeves who also does his voice throughout the game. The Samurai Soundtrack Johnny is portrayed by Dennis Lyxzen from Refused.
 * Johnny first appears in the Cyberpunk 2013 supplementary booklet, Welcome to Night City, within the mini adventure Never Fade Away.
 * In many interviews Mike Pondsmith has mentioned, Johnny Silverhand may be one of the main characters, but he is far from being the good guy in the story. In Cyberpunk there are no good guys.
 * Johnny Silverhand writes all of the quest descriptions in V's journal, often using second person language for side quests and switching to first when he is directly involved. This is similar to the Witcher series of games, also developed by CD Projekt RED, where the bard Dandelion writes all the journal entries for quests using second person language and switching to first when the quest involves him.