Rufus Shinra

Rufus Shinra acted as Vice President of the Shinra Corporation through Before Crisis and through most of the Midgar chapter of Final Fantasy VII. He operated out of the Shinra's secondary headquarters in Junon.

During Sephiroth's attack on the Shinra Headquartrs in Midgar, the Shinra executive Palmer called Junon for help, Rufus responding by hopping a helicopter to Midgar. By the time he arrived, mostly everyone in the building was dead, including President Shinra, Rufus' father.

After a brief face-off against Cloud Strife, Rufus flees the building. It is eventually restored and Rufus resumes normal operations as the President of the Shinra Corporation. Unlike his father, who ruled with money and power, Rufus claims that he will rule by fear.

The next time Rufus is seen by AVALANCHE is when they board his cargo ship from Junon to Costa Del Sol. He never interacts with them.

His attempts to take control of Cid Highwind's Tiny Bronco airplane are foiled when Cloud's crew help the pilot escape.

Rufus is encountered again when he is confronted by Cloud at the Northern Crater which the Shinra believe to be the Promised Land. Afterward, he tries to have Tifa Lockheart and Barret Wallace publicly executed to help calm the panic from Sephiroth's summoned Meteor. His plans are foiled when Emerald WEAPON attacks Junon and causes enough confusion for the two to escape on the Highwind.

Rufus is seen one last time in Final Fantasy VII when he has the Sister Ray cannon moved from Junon to Midgar in order to destroy Diamond WEAPON and and the barrier surrounding Sephiroth. When he launches the cannon, Diamond WEAPON launches his own attack on Midgar, which hits on level with the President's Office, which he is overseeing the operation from. Due to the damage, no one can reach the office to find a body, so he is simply presumed dead.

In Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, Rufus is discovered to be alive and under the protection of the Turks. He spends his time in a wheelchair, covered by a white sheet which is supposed to be hiding any disfigurement given to him by WEAPON's attack. He, like most people present in Midgar during Meteor's descent, has the disease Geostigma. He is the final stages of the disease and near death.

In reality, Rufus is a little more durable than he seems. Near the movie's climax, he removes the sheet and stands from the wheelchair. The sheet seems to have only been around him to hide the head of Jenova from Kadaj. He has something of a shootout with the villain.

Like most of the characters, he is cured of Geostigma at the end, prologning the life of the Shinra family.