John Clark (Ryanverse character)

John Clark (né John Terrence Kelly) is a character created by American author Tom Clancy. He has been featured in many of his Ryanverse novels, often alongside its main character Jack Ryan. While Clark first appeared in The Cardinal of the Kremlin (1988), his origin story is detailed in Without Remorse (1993).

In comparison to Ryan, Clark has been described by Clancy as "Ryan's dark side" and "more inclined to take physical action than Jack is." A former Navy SEAL, he became an operations officer for the Central Intelligence Agency, and at one point served as Ryan's driver and bodyguard. During Ryan's first term as president of the United States, Clark served as director of a multinational counterterrorism unit codenamed Rainbow. After retiring from CIA and Rainbow, Clark worked for The Campus, an off-the-books intelligence organization created by President Ryan, later acquiring a position as director of operations.

In film, Clark has been portrayed by Willem Dafoe, Liev Schreiber, and Michael B. Jordan, the latter in a planned series including adaptations of Without Remorse and the in-development Rainbow Six. Clark has also appeared in the Rainbow Six series of video games.