Lyle Tiberius Rourke is the main antagonist in Atlantis: The Lost Empire. He is an army commander and mercenary.
He is voiced by James Garner.
History
Origin
Rourke, growing up, was brought up in the military life by his father. Rourke's father was killed during the Civil War while Rourke was only a child. After multiple expulsions from boarding school, Rourke joined the military as a teenager, where he exhibited a talent for leadership. As an adult, Rourke briefly married, but his wife left him shortly afterwards.
Throughout the years, Rourke would lead multiple expeditions during his career, including a mission to Iceland, where he assisted Milo Thatch's grandfather, Thaddeus, in his search for Shepherd's Journal.
Atlantis: The Lost Empire
During the expedition to find Shepherd's Journal, Rourke learned of a giant crystal which he used to convince the others on the expedition to find it and sell it on the black market. In the later expedition, joined by Milo Thatch, Rourke was the commanding officer during the search for Atlantis.
Upon discovering Atlantis, as well as a civilization still living there, Rourke held firm to maintain the plan of finding the crystal. After Milo learned of his true intentions, Rourke turns hostile, and fatally injures King Kashekim Nedakh in his search for the crystal. The crew then discovers the Heart of Atlantis, and Princess Kida is bonded with it. Rourke promptly orders Kida sealed in a container, ignoring Milo's warnings that taking the Heart of Atlantis will kill the Atlanteans. When the rest of the crew turns against him, expect Helga Sinclair, Rourke abandons them and makes off with Kida.
Rourke and Helga attempt to escape in a hot air balloom, but Milo and the crew arrive and engage in a gunfight with Rourke. One of the balloons is destroyed, causing the balloon to lose altitude. Rourke betrays Helga and throws her off in order to lighten the balloon, and he and Milo fight each other. The fight is interrupted when a dying Helga shoots the hot air baloon with a flare. An increasingly unstable Rourke attacks Milo with an axe, but Milo slashes Rourke with a crystalline shard, causing him to transform into a crystal.
Despite this, Rourke survives and continues to pursue Milo. However, he is finally killed when he collides with the propeller blades, causing him to shatter into pieces.