As the reader, we know very little about Donovan Desmond.
We know that he is the Chairman of the National Unity Party of Ostania, making him a dangerous threat to peace if he plans to use his position to reignite the war. Unfortunately, due to his reclusive and secretive nature, itâs unclear where he currently stands on the efforts for peace, thus explaining why itâs necessary for W.I.S.E. to send in one of their top spies to acquire this information.
But so far, we have yet to be introduced to the main antagonist of this story. Yes, weâve been getting by on the Villain of the Week formula since day one, be it acts of domestic terrorism or a simple hurdle at Eden Academy. We also have the slow burn relationship of Loid and Yor, as well as if/when they will figure out each otherâs secret lives. But there is one big piece to this story missing, and it belongs to Anya.
Anya has extraordinary abilities that came about through human experimentation. The narrator said she was âcreated by accidentâ by an unknown organization operating under the pursuit of world peace, and gave her the code name âTest Subject 007â. Somehow, she escaped the facility and was placed in an orphanage.
As the reader, this is all the information we have on Anyaâs origins. Itâs been insinuated that she has repressed most of her memories from before she arrived at the orphanage, including that of her birth mother. She may not even remember her actual age, everyone mentions that sheâs very small for a six year old. But she remembers the scientists, and their cruel and unfeeling treatment of her. Now that she has been adopted by Loid and has learned of his mission, she is trying to use her powers to bring about world peace. One of the only other small clues we have been given of her previous life is that she is well versed in âclassical languageâ. A fact that even Loid thinks is strange, since itâs borderline a dead language and isnât something an average child would have learned before starting school.
But how does Donovan Desmond fit into all of this?
I noticed something strange: while Anya knows the primary mission is to get Loid into Donovanâs social circle, she doesnât actually know who Donovan is. She knows Damian, and she knows that Donovan is a very important man who controls the future of their country. But sheâs never actually seen him in real life, just a distorted version of him from Loidâs mind-play.
Anya missed out on the only other time she could have met Donovan because she fell asleep and was taken home by Becky and her guardian before Donovan arrived. Giving Loid a chance to introduce himself to Donovan when he came looking for Anya.
So how does Donovan Desmond connect to Anya Forger?
What if the human experimentation lab Anya grew up in wasnât your average crime operation? What if it was secretly funded and run by members of the government, sort of in a Stranger Things and Black Widow fashion? Anya remembers the scientist tell her she needed to strengthen her abilities for the sake of world peace. But one manâs world peace is another manâs genocide.
My theory: Donovan Desmond has zero interest in creating a peace between Ostania and Westalis. In fact, he believes that Westalis is inferior to Ostania and wants to wipe it off the map. Itâs been made clear that he has no interest in empathizing with other people, even his own children. So he started and funded these labs in an effort to create super soldiers to fight in the war and to infiltrate Westalis, but Anya was the first and only child to produce inhuman abilities. Even with Donovanâs reclusive nature, if he was the brains behind the operation, he wouldâve made occasional visits to the lab to observe its progress. Meaning Anya would have most likely met him in the past before she escaped the lab.
I believe weâre building up to the big reveal when Anya and Donovan finally meet, that they will remember each other from their shared past. Making it clear to Donovan that not only has Anya been living right under his nose this whole time, but Loid isnât who he claims to be, since he told Donovan he is Anyaâs biological father. This would jeopardize Operation Strix and put W.I.S.E. at risk of being revealed. Donovan may even believe that Loid knows Anya can read minds, and was using her to infiltrate his household through his own son. Either way, Anyaâs life will be in danger. No way would Donovan let Anya roam freely, he would want to get her back. And by extension, he would need to get rid of her fake parents.
Donovan is more dangerous than he appears to be, and has the power to throw the country into war again. This will inevitably boil over into an all out battle between W.I.S.E. and Donovan Desmond for the future of these two countries.