Augustus Cole
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Augustus "Cole Train" Cole is a fictional character in the ''
Gears of War ''Gears of War'' (also referred to as ''Gears'') is a media franchise centered on a series of video games created by Epic Games, developed and managed by The Coalition (company), The Coalition, and owned and published by Xbox Game Studios. The ...
'' media franchise. He first appeared in the first video game of the series as a supporting character, and has since appeared in some capacity for every mainline and spin-off installment of the ''Gears of War'' franchise. Cole is voiced by
Lester Speight Lester Speight (born August 28, 1963), also known as Rasta, is a former American football player who has had subsequent careers as a Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and then actor. He achieved significant recognition for his portray ...
in all of his video game appearances. Within the series, Cole is a former star athlete in his youth who participated in humanity's war with the Locust Horde on the planet Sera by enlisting with the Coalition of Ordered Governments ("COG"), a supranational and intergovernmental military collective who are the dominant human political force on Sera. Cole has spent most of his military career alongside his close friend,
Damon Baird Damon S. Baird is a fictional character in the ''Gears of War'' franchise. He first appeared in the first and eponymous video game of the series as a supporting character. He has since appeared in every mainline installment of the ''Gears'' fran ...
; unlike Baird and most of Cole's team mates, who are often dour or cynical in temperament, he is usually depicted as a vibrant, enthusiastic character known for his brash humor and infectious energy. As one of the most well known characters in the ''Gears of War'' series, Augustus Cole has earned a mostly positive reception, but also criticism and accusations of racism by some sources. The character was the subject of legal action launched by Lenwood Hamilton, a former
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player who claimed that his publicity rights was infringed upon because the video game character had a number of features he alleged were identified with him or his public persona. Various merchandise for the character, as with other of the series' characters, has been released.


Creation and development

Cole is named after Phil Cole, a level designer at
Epic Games Epic Games, Inc. is an American Video game developer, video game and software development, software developer and video game publisher, publisher based in Cary, North Carolina. The company was founded by Tim Sweeney (game developer), Tim Sween ...
. Cole is concepted as an ex-professional player of Thrashball, a contact sport heavily inspired by
American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...
, prior to the events of the video game series. Cole and Baird's roles were originally reversed, with
David Beckham Sir David Robert Joseph Beckham ( ; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Primarily a right winger and known for his range of passing, cross ...
as the inspiration for Baird as a sports star. Former The Coalition studio head
Rod Fergusson Rod Fergusson is a Canadian video game producer, best known for overseeing the development of the ''Gears of War'' franchise, originally at Epic Games and then as head of The Coalition. More recently, Fergusson moved over to Blizzard Entertainm ...
revealed in an interview that Cole was originally going to be named "Gus the Bus", but the developers were concerned that they would infringe on the nickname of a
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football player who matched the Bus reference; as a result, the studio went with the name "Cole Train" instead. Fergusson noted that players would be able to pick up references about "Gus" if they have played the original game, as the voice actor of series protagonist
Marcus Fenix Marcus Michael Fenix is a fictional character and the primary protagonist from the first three games in the ''Gears of War'' video game series. He first appeared in Gears of War (video game), the first game of the series, released in 2006. Appe ...
John DiMaggio John William DiMaggio ( ; born September 4, 1968) is an American actor. His various voice roles include Bender on ''Futurama'', Jake the Dog on ''Adventure Time'', Marcus Fenix in the ''Gears of War'' series, Dr. Drakken on '' Kim Possible'', ...
was instructed to say the "Gus" line with Cole, but the studio did not do much more from a dialogue perspective. The development team later used
Jamie Foxx Eric Marlon Bishop (born December 13, 1967), known professionally as Jamie Foxx, is an American actor, comedian, and singer. Known for his work in both the screen and music industries, his accolades include an Academy Award, a Grammy Award ...
's character from the
sports drama A sports film is a film genre in which any particular sport plays a prominent role in the film's plot or acts as its central theme (arts), theme. It is a production in which a sport or a sports-related topic is prominently featured or is a focus o ...
movie ''
Any Given Sunday ''Any Given Sunday'' is a 1999 American sports drama film directed by Oliver Stone and produced by Clayton Townsend, Dan Halsted, and Lauren Shuler Donner from a screenplay by Stone and John Logan based on a story written by Logan and Da ...
'' as Cole's archetype. For ''
Gears of War 3 ''Gears of War 3'' is a 2011 third-person shooter video game developed by Epic Games and published by Microsoft Studios for the Xbox 360. It is the third installment of the ''Gears of War'' series, and final game in the original trilogy. Origina ...
'', Cole was originally meant to play a more prominent role; players were supposed to be able to swap between Fenix and Cole throughout the progression of the single player campaign. Cole has a daughter named Hana who first appears in the ''Hivebusters'' comic series to support the eponymous squad in their endeavours. The developers originally intended for Hana to appear in the main campaign of ''Gears 5'', but due to story changes during the game's development, her character no longer fit into its narrative; instead, she is redesigned as a scientist who develops a method for infiltrating and destroying enemy Swarm Hives from within in the spin-off ''Hivebusters'' comic, which takes place in parallel with the events of ''Gear 5''. Cole is Lester Speight's first role in the video game industry. Speight said the character's popularity led to many fans identifying him as Cole, and they would regularly express their excitement towards him and his work via social media sites, websites and in person. Dan Ryckert from ''
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'' have noted the real-life resemblance of Speight, a former footballer, to his character, commenting that "casting choices don't get much easier than this".


Appearances

In ''Gears of War'', Cole and Baird are first encountered by Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago as the surviving members of Alpha Squad. Cole joined Delta Squad after the rest of Alpha Squad is confirmed to be killed in action, and he would remain with Delta Squad throughout the original ''Gears of War'' trilogy. He is well known as a sports celebrity in Sera for his career as a Thrashball player prior to "Emergence Day", when the Locust Horde first emerged from their subterranean lairs to wage a genocidal war of attrition against humanity 14 years before the events of the first and eponymous video game of the series. In the ''Gears of War 3'' single player campaign, Cole is a playable character from Act One, Chapter 3 until the beginning of Act Two, where he leads a small force to search for supplies in his hometown of Hanover. In '' Gears of War: Judgement'', a prequel set a few months after Emergence Day, Cole appears as one of the game's playable protagonists and a member of Kilo Squad along with squad leader Baird, Onyx Guard cadet Sofia Hendrick and former UIR soldier Garron Paduk. By the events of ''
Gears of War 4 ''Gears of War 4'' is a 2016 third-person shooter game developed by The Coalition (company), The Coalition and published by Microsoft Studios for Windows and Xbox One. It is the fourth main installment in the ''Gears of War'' series, and the firs ...
'', which is set more than two decades after the conclusion of the war with the Locust Horde, Cole is regarded by the public as a respected war veteran. He appears in the opening sequence of the game with Victor Hoffman and Samantha Byrne during a speech by COG First Minister Jinn. He appears in the last act to aid Marcus and his son J.D., along with their associates
Kait Diaz Kait Diaz is a fictional character in the ''Gears of War'' franchise. She first appeared in ''Gears of War 4'' as a supporting character, and is the main protagonist of ''Gears 5''. Within the series, she is originally a member of the Outsiders, ...
and Delmont "Del" Walker. He also appears in ''Gears 5'' as part of the war effort against the Swarm, the successor to the original Locust Horde. Cole has remained at the rank of
private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...
throughout his entire military career as he has rejected every military promotion that has been offered, under the grounds that having rank is not going to affect how many enemies he can kill. Doctor Hana Cole appears as a supporting character in the ''Gears 5''
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expansion pack, ''Hivebusters''. Hana tells Team Scorpio that her father was the one who connected her with Colonel Victor Hoffman for the Hivebuster operation and that Cole's introspection on the military and the war had kept her away from the military industrial complex of the COG administration, which is what Cole had wanted. Unlike her father, she takes after her unnamed mother with regards to her lack of interest in sports. Cole is available as a playable character in the franchise's spin-off titles: '' Gears Pop!'' and in ''
Gears Tactics ''Gears Tactics'' is a turn-based tactics video game developed by Splash Damage in conjunction with The Coalition and published by Xbox Game Studios. It is a spin-off of the ''Gears of War'' franchise and a prequel to the first game. The game wa ...
'' as a pre-order exclusive.


Promotion and reception

Like other characters in the ''Gears of War'' franchise, Augustus Cole has been subject to various merchandise. In 2011, Epic Games released a "Cole Train Thrashball statue" depicting Cole wearing a Thrashball-themed sports uniform. It is made out of pure resin and weighs 6.4 pounds. Cole has received a mostly positive critical reception, and is noted as a fan-favorite character. In August 2007, North American game-related cable TV channel G4 awarded Speight "Best Voiceover" for his performance as Augustus Cole. Staff of the gaming section of the Australian publication ''
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'' ranked Cole #12 on their list of Top 50 Xbox characters of all time in 2008, praising the character for injecting a much-needed dose of comedy and personality into the series. In 2011, Cole placed #46 on a reader's poll organized by ''
Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...
'' for the top 50 video game characters of all time. In an article published by
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, Pete Dreyer included Cole in his list of 10 video game sidekicks who deserve their own games. The character has received some negative reception, with most of the criticism accusing the character of serving as a negative racial stereotype. Marc Nix from IGN argued in favor of this point, contrasting Cole's stereotypical speech patterns to Captain Anderson of the ''Mass Effect'' series or Dr. Eli Vance of the ''Half-Life'' series; Nix noted that both characters have African American heritage, though neither speak in dialog written specifically for a black character, and are simply presented as video game characters that happen to be black. Bitmob criticized Epic Games for designing Cole as a culturally insensitive character who perpetuates outdated ideas of African-Americans, and drew an unfavorable comparison to Dominic Santiago, who is a coded as a Latino character and is depicted as "cool and level-headed" by comparison. Allistair Pinsof from ''
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'' criticized the story segment in the single player campaign of ''Gears of War 3'' where the player assumes control of Cole. Pinsof opined that Cole's sudden flashback is abrupt and ends with no real meaningful ties to the main ''Gears'' narrative, noting that what little backstory it provides for Cole is shallow at best, and that the character's behavior puts everyone including himself in serious danger. A
rap song Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...
performed in-character by Speight for the game's end credit has been positively received. Tamoor Hussain from ''
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'' praised a new version of the track which was featured in a trailer promoting the release of '' Gears of War Ultimate Edition'' in 2016. Hussain compared it to the song Dead Presidents II by JayZ.


Legal issues

In January 2017, former American football player Lenwood Hamilton sued Epic Games, Microsoft, and Speight, alleging that the character of Augustus Cole is taken from his own likeness and voice without his consent. Hamilton claimed that Speight had approached him around 1998 about a video game, though Hamilton had turned it down due to the violence that would be in the game. The lawsuit contended that elements of Cole's character, including his ethnic background, Cole Train nickname, renown for playing professional sports, and clothing were all elements representative of Hamilton, and alleged that voice analysis shows that Speight's delivery of Cole's lines matches closely with Hamilton's speech patterns. Lenwood was ultimately unsuccessful in his bid: according to a Pennsylvania federal court, a motion by Microsoft, Lester Speight and the other defendants for summary judgment on First Amendment grounds was granted, and that the defendants' First Amendment right to free expression in creating the Augustus Cole character that allegedly resembled plaintiff outweighed plaintiff's right of publicity."


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, Augustus Black characters in video games Fictional male sportspeople Fictional military personnel in video games Fictional privates Fictional soldiers in video games Fictional war veterans Gears of War characters Male characters in video games Science fiction video game characters Video game characters introduced in 2006