Born the only child to Sandra and Jack Reynolds of Brooklyn, New York, there was a certain work ethic that was engrained in Spencer Reynolds from even the youngest age. A third-generation American-born from Irish immigrant grandparents, Jack often reminded Spencer that at one time they had come from nothing. This was probably too abstract of an idea for the youngest mind, but learning from example was something Spencer would be very good at. It went beyond chores and responsibilities, where the generations older than himself carried with them a great sense of pride not only in their heritage, but of their country.

Spencer would learn these things as he grew older, coming from two generations of proud US Military veterans. His grandfather, Stuart, had fought proudly in World War II, and his father had enlisted in the 1960's, when so many were trying to come up with any way possible to dodge the draft. It was almost expected of Spencer that he follow suit, but more the "we'd be disappointed if you don't... but it's your choice." kind of expectation. It was something that Spencer would contemplate when he got older, long after he was allowed to just be a kid.

The years of his youth were spent in a seemingly picture of Americana. Brooklyn toughened him up as he grew up all rough & tumble around the fellow boys in his neighborhood. He was six when he first got into a scuffle with some bigger boys, but his triumphant, bloody lipped grin as he came home signaled his "win". His father would be the one to tell him it was always right to stand up for himself and others, but not to arbitrarily get into fights over every little thing. Spencer had in him a sincere desire to understand things, and with that came actually listening when his elders tried to impart wisdom.

Spencer was fifteen when his father died; it was an event that shook their family to the core, and hit Spencer perhaps harder than most. His parents had tried to keep his father's cancer a bit of a secret for a while, which worked for the better part of a year. Jack eventually became sicker, and with his disease came a kind of angry bitterness that wasn't like the father he knew. When Jack died, Spencer had a whole mixed bag of emotions, choosing ultimately to remember the man that he was, and not who he became in the end. Sandra was the epitome of strength in the years that followed Jack's death, working twice as hard to make sure their family made it.

When time came for college, Spencer had a nagging at the back of his mind telling him more and more that he should enlist in the military. It was something his father would have wanted, and in a way, he wanted to be closer to the memory of the man he'd looked up to for most of his life. He was eighteen when he enlisted in the US Army, and spent the next four years fulfilling his commitment, but more importantly growing into a man. The Army taught him discipline and purpose beyond what he'd known, and instilled in him a greater need to matter. Spencer thought seriously about making a career out of his time in the military, but inevitably felt the pull of home.

It felt natural for Spencer to put himself into the police academy, and felt like the entirety of his career throughout the military had prepared himself for it. There was a personal delay when he returned home from active duty, when his mother was in an accident. She was on life support for two weeks before Spencer had to make the painful decision to take her off. With no other viable option, he buried his mother just a few days later. New York had always been home to him, but at twenty-two, he needed to not be reminded of the family he'd lost. Spencer moved to Boston, where he entered the police academy and threw himself into his training.

He became the head of his class from all that maximum effort and was offered a permanent position with the Boston Police Department. Life as a rookie suited him well, even as he learned the new city he was calling home. He put himself on the track to work in homicide after working some time on the beat with detectives. He worked his way up through the ranks over the next decade he spent with the BPD, and eventually earned himself a promotion to lieutenant detective with the homicide department. He hopes to make captain within another couple of years.