[2] Fowl was derived from the Irish name Fowler as a play on words to convey the characterisation that Artemis was a nasty or foul individual at the beginning of the series.

The character additionally takes the place of Hans Gruber in Colfer's description of the first book of the series as "Die Hard with fairies".

Artemis manages to blackmail a member of the People into giving him what they call "the Book" which is like their Bible, holding all their secrets, customs, rules, and history.

In the sequel, The Arctic Incident, the 13-year-old Artemis learns that his father was only injured in the attack on his shipping vessel, and is being held hostage by the Russian Mafia.

Artemis barters with the People to receive their aid in rescuing his father in exchange for assisting them in solving the mystery of who was behind a goblin rebellion.

Along with Holly Short and Foaly, Artemis succeeds in healing Butler and ensuring that Spiro does not discover the existence of the People through use of the C Cube.

But to gain the help of Foaly, Holly, and their Fairy technology, Artemis has to agree to Butler's, Juliet's and his own memories being wiped by the People, to avoid future misadventures.

But Opal still seeks revenge on Holly and Artemis, so she traps them in an abandoned amusement park (comprising copies of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World plus four extra monuments determined by the People) with only hungry trolls for company.

With help from Artemis, Butler, and Mulch, Holly prevents Opal from achieving her goal to uncover the Fairy People to humans.

[7] In the fifth book, The Lost Colony, Artemis works with the People to recover a young kidnapped demon imp from the 12-year-old child prodigy Minerva Paradizo.

The team succeed in finding and rescuing the imp-warlock, but Artemis and Holly Short must then work to restore the imp's home, a floating island lost in a space and time Limbo, which threatens to breach its way onto Earth.

[8] In the sixth book, The Time Paradox, Artemis' mother Angeline Fowl becomes gravely ill with a rare fairy disease called Spelltropy.

The only cure for Spelltropy is found in the brain fluid of the Silky Sifaka Lemur, the last of which Artemis sold in a business deal when he was ten years old, resulting in the extinction of the species.

Artemis' 10-year-old self has his mind wiped by Nº1, but retains a brief memory of the existence of fairies,[9] which spurs him to research them, ultimately leading to the events of the first book.

He sacrifices himself at the conclusion of the book to trigger an ancient spell that disperses Opal and her various fairy spirits, but since his spirit was human (apart from some traces of fairy magic from Holly's borrowed eye), his essence endures at the location of the spell long enough for Holly and Foaly to clone a new body for him and transfer his soul into it.

Although the process leaves him with missing memories, the book ends with Butler, Holly and Foaly immediately beginning work to restore them.

Holly herself has now been promoted to Commodore and appears at the end of the novel, the narrative observing that a combined grin and grimace is a traditional expression for anyone who spends prolonged time with the Fowls.

In the third book, The Fowl Twins Get What They Deserve, Minerva Paradizo mentions that prior to meeting her sprite husband and having a daughter with him, she and Artemis had briefly explored a relationship.

The Fowls are a family of "legendary criminals" whose history dates back to at least the Norman Conquest that have amassed a fortune through both legitimate and illegitimate means.

As of The Last Guardian, Artemis has reverted to his image as it was at the start of the series due to being placed in a new body grown by Foaly when he lost his during Opal's attempt to dominate the world and wipe out the human race.

[22] Ultimately, Artemis uses his abilities to help the People because he feels that he owes them for the past trouble he has caused, and he misses the challenges that their problems present.

Also, in The Atlantis Complex, Artemis's alter ego, Orion, confesses his love to Holly and tries to woo her, although she is unnerved by his advances.

Some names include a play on words, such as Dr. F. Roy Dean Schlippe (Freudian slip), Emmesey Squire (E=mc2), Dr. C. Niall DeMencha (senile dementia), and Sir E. Brum (cerebrum).

[26][27] Other identities include Stefan Bashkir (Russian child chess prodigy as well as character from The Supernaturalist), Alfonse Lee (a teenager visiting the International Bank with his father), Malachy Pasteur (French-Irish Extinctionist), Art Fowler (Vending Warehouse Owner, also referenced in Half-Moon Investigations), and Violet Tsirblou (Violets are blue).

[28][29][30] Domovoi Butler usually adapts to the new identities by assuming the role of the father or guardian,[28][29] including Constantin Bashkir and Colonel Xavier Lee.

[33] His professors at Saint Bartleby's School for Young Gentlemen acknowledge that his intellect is beyond what they may offer in the fields of literature, history, science, and mathematics.

[45] Between the events of The Lost Colony and The Time Paradox, Artemis holds a small amount of clandestinely gathered magic from his extra-dimensional travels.

He shows "a nimbleness that anyone who knew the boy would not associate with him"[48] and successfully winded Turnball with a move he learned (but Artemis did not) from Butler.

[49][50] One of his most prized possessions given to him by Holly Short at the end of The Arctic Incident was a fairy coin that she shot a hole through using the trigger finger he and Julius Root helped her to heal, to remind him "that deep beneath the layers of deviousness...[he has]...a spark of decency".

[52] Possessions used in his exploits also include Fowl Manor, a late medieval, early modern castle on 200 acres (0.81 km2), a Learjet (which is flown by Juliet, but he claims to fly), a Bentley Arnage Red Label, a Sikorsky helicopter, and a solar powered Cessna aircraft.