"Power is a fragile thing." Powers Boothe reprises his role as Roark in Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, a character spotlighted in the latest character poster. First seen in 2005's Sin City, Senator Roark is a rich, corrupt politician, who holds most of Basin City in his grip. This latest one-sheet comes along with a set image featuring director Robert Rodriguez behind the camera, shooting a scene between Joseph Gordon-Levitt's Johnny and pop superstar Lady Gaga as Bertha the Waitress.

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For Powers Boothe Poster
Sin City: A Dame to Kill For Lady Gaga photo

Senator Roark is the main villain of Sin City. He is a rich and corrupt politician, who largely holds Basin City in his grip. These privileges are inherited by his son, Roark Junior. Senator Roark once beat his wife to death with a baseball bat, for which he was never arrested, even though (by his own admission) he left his fingerprints all over the crime scene. He is the younger brother of Cardinal Roark; the third brother serves as the US Attorney General (not featured in the story).

Senator Roark hopes for his son to one day become President of the United States, but Junior has a serious problem: he enjoys raping and murdering pre-teen girls. Senator Roark frequently uses his police connections to cover up his son's crimes, but when Junior kidnaps 11-year-old Nancy Callahan, Detective John Hartigan intervenes and shoots off Junior's ear, hand, and genitals.

Senator Roark then visits Hartigan in the hospital, smugly explaining that he actually has no intention of killing him whatsoever. Instead, he plans to finance Hartigan's medical treatment to keep him alive; his ultimate plan is to frame Hartigan for Junior's crimes while Junior slowly recovers from surgery. He also says that he can and will kill anyone to whom Hartigan tells the truth. Hartigan serves eight years in prison until he finally confesses to Junior's crimes, with the Senator personally appearing at his parole hearing. During these years, the Senator had recourse to alternative medicines in order to heal his son and restore his reproductive organs, to eventually obtain an heir for his dynasty.

By the end of the story, Hartigan exacts his revenge on Junior; he then commits suicide, rendering Senator Roark unable to have his own revenge. In the final narration, Hartigan mentions that the Roark family line is ended, and the Senator's plans for a legacy destroyed (though there remains the third Roark brother, the Attorney General, he is not featured and has no visible connections with the city or his brothers, meaning Roark's nephews by him presumably would and could not fulfill Junior's role): Hartigan reflects as he dies that, with the Roarks eliminated, it is more likely that Sin City may one day change for the better.

Senator Roark is portrayed by Powers Boothe in the movies Sin City and Sin City: A Dame to Kill For. The role was also offered to Christopher Walken and Willem Dafoe, who both turned it down.