Solomon Reed (Idris Elba): The FIA Agent in Phantom Liberty
The short version
Solomon Reed is the FIA agent in Phantom Liberty who runs the mission to find Songbird and cure V. Idris Elba voices him and provided the motion capture.
On this page
Who Reed is#
Reed started as a soldier in NUSA SpecOps, then moved to the Federal Intelligence Agency. He is a spy catcher, an expert at pulling information and breaking into hard places. Calm voice, long memory. During the Unification War he ran the FIA cell in Night City against Arasaka.
He recruited a young netrunner named Song So Mi, who became his protege. You know her as Songbird.
Reed in 2077#
He lives in Dogtown working as a bouncer at the Electric Orgasm, a bar owned by the fixer Dino Dinovic. Being an FIA sleeper agent does not come with a paycheck.
Spoilers Reed meets V
President Myers sends V to him after Space Force One goes down, and Reed meets them on a basketball court. He gets Myers out of Dogtown, then works with V and his former partner Alex Xenakis to find Songbird. He learns the Blackwall is killing her, and vows to help her, but on his terms.
Spoilers His quests
Reed's main-line quests are Birds with Broken Wings, Firestarter, and then, depending on the choice, Somewhat Damaged or The Killing Moon.
In Firestarter V can betray Reed to help Songbird, or help him by using an ICEbreaker on her. If V sides with Reed, the quest Somewhat Damaged hunts her to the Cynosure facility and V decides whether to bring her in or end her life. Our endings page, Cyberpunk 2077 endings, lists what follows.
Spoilers What happens to him
If V helps him, Reed is relocated away from Dogtown and ends up with a desk job training new agents. In 2079, V receives their treatment through him, and Reed offers V a job at the FIA.
If V helps Songbird, V and Reed meet again at the spaceport in a life-or-death fight.
If Songbird is taken into custody, a new ending becomes available, The Tower. Reed gets NUSA surgeons to remove the Relic, which deletes Johnny's engram and leaves V in a two-year coma.
Casting#
Idris Elba was revealed as part of Phantom Liberty at The Game Awards 2022. He provided the voice and the motion capture for Reed.
Spoilers Why Reed gets forgiven
Reed is wrong about Songbird in a way that is easy to forgive, and Opinion: that is why the Firestarter choice feels like an actual choice instead of a good option and a bad one.
Tabletop players: he is a ready-made FIA handler. Give your players a spook who is right about the mission and wrong about the person, and watch them split.
The official trailer is the quick pitch. The Songbird page covers the netrunner side and the Blackwall page covers the cause.