10 Greatest Prison Break Characters - Ranked

Eight years since the supposed Final Break, five of the original Fox River Eight are back on our TV screens.

Michael Scofield, Lincoln Burrows, Fernando Sucre, Benjamin “C-Note” Franklin and Theodore “T-Bag” Bagwell - along with Sara Tancredi and Paul Kellerman - have all (somehow) returned for a once seemingly impossible fifth season of Prison Break.

There's great anticipation in getting reacquainted with some of our favourite characters and seeing what high-octane twists and turns lie ahead for what could be the most spectacular breakout yet. We'll find out how Michael's alive and why he's back in prison, and what brings these characters back together.

So as Season 5 gets underway and we wait to see just what the future holds for them, let's get a rundown on the series' greatest characters: the Fox River inmates who we grew to love and those we hated (but secretly loved too); the shady, survivalist government agents; the fiendish Scylla conspirators; and those that were seeking their own personal redemption from past transgressions.

Seasons: 1 & 2

What a truly fascinating and mind-boggling character Haywire turned out to be. Like Scofield, he possessed a quite brilliant intellect, gaining a doctorate degree in mathematics at Harvard and winning four mathematician of the year awards. Sadly, Haywire's mind imploded and he was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder with bipolar tendencies, which subsequently manifested itself when Haywire killed his parents.

Despite only playing a minor role, Haywire was memorable because he could flip between the manic madman to someone who fixedly stared in an unsettling and sombre manner. As Scofield knew only too well when Haywire took great interest in the former's tattoos by constantly drawing the intricate details on paper and eventually working out its complex and hidden meaning.

Following the Fox River breakout, Haywire goes his own way by stealing a girl's bike and from then on it's clear his efforts at avoiding the authorities are purely a comic relief subplot. True, every show needs its lighthearted moments: when Haywire breaks into a diner and starts gorging on ice cream and soda, building a raft to sail to Holland, oh and remember the Border Collie that followed him? Personally speaking, however, the show's producers could have given his story arc a more meaningful effect.