Damon Salvatore
Damon Salvatore (played by actor Ian Somerhalder) is the manipulative and antagonistic older brother of Stefan. He is a 170 year old vampire who will forever possess the chiseled good looks of a man in his mid-twenties. He is often seen dressed in black, with dark hair and smooth, milky white skin. His pale blue eyes are filled with malevolent humor, casting a chilling gaze on anyone who looks into them.
Damon personality speaks of a sociopath who delights in the manipulation and torment of others, especially his brother. His moods swing drastically between a disarming goodhearted charm and explosions of hatred and violence.
Damon is a very powerful vampire, and has strength and abilities far beyond those of Stefan. He can create and control mist at will, and summon a crow to observe people from afar. With just a glare he can invade the thoughts and dreams of humans, bending their actions to his will. Unlike his brother, Damon views humans as nothing more than puppets, to be used for feeding and amusement and then tossed aside. He has no issue with killing, and takes great pleasure in feeding from people, leaving corpses in his wake with no remorse.
Returning to the small town of Mystic Falls hot on the heels of his brother, Damon seems to have a veiled agenda, though his end-game is a mystery to Stefan. Since his arrival, Damon has shown a keen interest in Elena Gilbert, and the budding relationship developing between her and his brother. Damon is bent on inserting himself into the life of Elena, using his powers of suggestion to forge an intimate relationship with Elena’s friend and rival Caroline Forbes. He seduces her easily and is not subtle about his manipulations and existence as a vampire. He uses her for the occasional feeding and sexual purposes, and as a tool to squeeze himself into situations with Stefan and Elena.
He has also taken an interest in Vicki Donovan, another friend of Elena. During a party in the woods Damon attacks and feeds from Vicki, but covers his tracks and leaves her alive with altered memories of what actually occurred. He then periodically toys with her mind, using her as a tool to provoke and torture his brother. At one point he even offers Vicki to Stefan, threatening to expose his brother as a vampire unless he gives in to his repressed nature and drinks human blood. He later encounters Vicki when he is starving for blood and feeds from her again, bringing her very near the point of death. Damon keeps her alive with the healing properties of his own blood, using her for entertainment during daylight hours when he is stuck indoors. Much like a drug, his blood is very addicting to her and she opens up to Damon, revealing her sadness and insecurities to him. Damon listens intently, seemingly identifying with her troubles. He then promptly snaps her neck, beginning the process of turning her into a vampire.
The bad blood between Damon and his brother goes deep, and is rooted in their past with another vampire named Katherine, whom them both were in love with. It seems that Katherine herself was very manipulative, and after turning both brothers into vampires she played them against one another. It is implied that Damon’s personality and demeanor may have developed out of a direct result of his interaction with Katherine. Elena is almost a mirror image of Katherine, as revealed by old pictures in Stefan’s journal, and seems to be the reason that both brothers are waring over her, opening old wounds and repeating events from their past.
Slideshow pictures of Damon Salvatore
