Roberto Gratas

Identity

• Canonical name: Roberto Gratas
• Role: Second chair of the Lombardy Convocation; ascends to the chair after Dobrev's apparent death; principal antagonist of Acts III–V. Killed at the island dock by the dolphins after Hera knocks him into the water.

Background

• Long-tenured Convocation member, holding the second chair under Dobrev
• Reads, correctly, that Dobrev's hold is weakening, and positions accordingly
• Takes the chair after Dobrev's "death" and immediately moves on Charlie
• Demands the Nazi-gold cache as the price of peace
• Brings a small detail to the island for the handover; the cache is empty; he reacts; Hera drops on him; he goes into the water; the dolphins finish

Personality / energy

• Sharper, hungrier, more openly transactional than Dobrev
• Surface manners excellent; underlying aggression visible to anyone watching closely
• Treats power as a transaction; impatient with Dobrev's long game
• Dies with his expression closing into a flat, controlled mask — the book's single most contained antagonist death

Physical description

Sources do not give detailed visual canon. Synthesized for visual consistency (mark as interpretive):

• Italian or southern-European-coded — the surname "Gratas" and the Lombardy Convocation setting suggest the cohort he comes out of
• Mid-fifties; lean, fit, well-groomed
• Dark hair greying at the temples; close-trimmed; clean-shaven or with a deliberately maintained close beard
• Sharp facial features; eyes alert; the kind of face that smiles only when it has decided to smile

Outfit / clothing notes

• Convocation: an immaculately tailored Italian suit in dark charcoal or midnight blue, with luxurious-but-restrained accessories — a watch worth a small house, polished black shoes, no flash
• Island handover: tailored linen — pale stone or off-white trousers, an open-collar shirt, a dark blazer; the look of a man who travels well

Visual motifs

• Standing — Gratas is rarely seated; the visual of a man who arrived second and intends to move into first
• Mid-distance compositions — a figure framed against architecture, never centered close like a portrait
• A pale linen jacket against turquoise water — the dock-handover signature image
• Hand inching toward a comms unit at his hip

Power / signature

• Institutional position; willing to use force; commands the Convocation's combat assets
• His signature beat is control — until the cat takes it from him

Chapter appearances

14 (named), 16–17 (Convocation), 20 (back-channel as new chair), 23–25 (the handover and his death)

Source references

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starter_Villain
• https://www.audible.com/blog/summary-starter-villain-by-john-scalzi
• https://booksthatslay.com/starter-villain-summary-characters-and-themes/

Confidence

High for role and death. Medium-interpretive for face and styling.