Alright, next part of my SBURB Cole Session thing coming up. This time, it's Good Cole. Kessler is coming up next.
Cole MacGrath
Knight of Hope
Knights are typically defined as those who exploit their Aspect in service of themselves and others, using it to protect and uphold their team. This pretty accurately reflects Cole's character arc. To start out, he only ever uses Hope to serve himself. Good deeds keep Moya off his back, help improve his relationship with Trish, and get people to stop throwing bricks at him. Net win. He doesn't like doing it, or even really want to do it, but his hands are tied. Other Knights in canon , such as Dave and Karkat, start much the same way. The initially rejected their Aspect, only using it because they had to and only really to their own benefit.
"I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU THINK. BECAUSE I'M THE LEADER. LEADER. ME. END OF DISCUSSION."
"Maybe I don't want to be the Knight of Time. Maybe I just want to be the Dave of Guy."
"I can't solve all the world's problems, Moya."
Over time, they learn to accept and embrace it, using it to protect their friends, support the team, and be a better person in general.
"FRIENDSHIP ISN'T A DISEASE, DUMBASS. IT'S SOMETHINGYOU FEEL WHEN THE TRUST PEOPLE PLACE IN YOU IS EARNED."
"It's not about what I want. Not anymore. It's about keeping the people of this city safe."
Knights are the protector class. They support the team, protect their friends and generally do most of the heavy lifting. Knights are seldom seen sitting around and waiting for stuff to do. When you want something done, you call the Knight. Cole is always running around, helping people out, and actively working to solve the problem. He's the working man, the heavy, he always has a lot on his plate and he' always working double time to deal with it. Fix this, heal them, save her, stop him, catch the monster, disarm the bomb, save the day. Cole spreads Hope to almost everyone he meets. He rallies the police and people to fight threats. He saves people, and people trust him for that. He goes running by and suddenly the world looks a little less hopeless. His end of inFAMOUS 1 speech may as well be a thesis on what a Knight of Hope is.
Land of Reflections and Heroes
LORAH was a rather idealic place once upon a time. It was straight out of a classic superhero story. Costumed heroes effortlessly subduing incompetent villains, preaching all the typical mores of 'don't do drugs' and 'stay in school kids' before shouting a catch phrase and flying off triumphantly into the sunset. Mirrors appeared in the landscape all over the planet, but they were often ignored. No one knows what they did, so they were just… there. One particular villain has been studying them quite closely, however…
No one knows who he is or where he came from, the know only his name. The Denizen. He had mastered the mirrors secrets. He discovered that the mirrors could create copies of whoever looked at them long enough. Copies that acted on all their repressed feelings and valued only their own interests. So, The Denizen began accumulating wealth and power. He eventually became so rich and wealthy, that he could grant anyone their dreams if he so wished. So he did exactly that to the Heroes of the world. He offered them their hearts desires, in exchange for them to give up their powers and allow him to create a copy of them with his mirrors. "You've done so much for us already. Now's the time for you to relax and live out your dreams. I'll have a copy ready to replace you. The people will hardly notice."
Soon, The Denizen and his evil clones conquered the world. The copies were kept in line by promises of their innermost desires and the people were cowed by fear. Their heroes had betrayed them, subjugated them. Taken off their benevolent masks and revealed themselves to be the vile monsters. Taken the harmless villains they used to bully and mercilessly executed them for all to see, swearing to do the same to all who would oppose them. The retired Heroes simply surrendered, for they had no powers with witch to fight with. Hope was gone, The Denizen had won.
But whispers and rumors still spread. Legends from long ago, swearing that when the world needed him most, a Hero would arrive. A Knight who commands the thunder in the skies and uses it as his sword and shield. A being who brought Hope to his home and would bring Hope to theirs. As long as those rumors lasted, a small glimmer of Hope remained.
This land reflects Cole's inner struggle. He can't live a normal life anymore. He can't just go home, chug a beer, and watch westerns every day. Because he has a responsibility to uphold. He's seen what would happen if he ignored it. To further hammer this home, each retired hero would have retired because they wanted something Cole did. A normal life, more time to spend with their friends, their significant other to be kept happy and healthy. But it's not something he can have. Furthermore, he'd initially be received much like he was back in Empire City and New Marias. He'd be despised, distrusted, rejected. Just another Hero looking to glory hound, how long until this one turns on us? Basically, Cole's stuck fighting against an ultimate evil on behalf of people that hate his guts because destiny said so. Again. Only this time, people will keep going on about how 'a Knight of Hope will save us' without realizing that he is the Knight of Hope there to save them and they should really stop throwing rocks at him. Cole " I never asked for this shit" MacGrath. The twisted Hero copies once again reflect Cole's "twisted body" dilemma. After fighting a few of them and hearing about their pasts, he'd likely think the exact same things he thought about after his fight with Sasha. Cole's relationship with his Denizen would be more interesting this time around. The Denizen offers Cole all the things he wanted back in inFAMOUS 1, and when he refuses, he'd compare Cole to Kessler. Likely even mock him for his lack of self agency. He never does anything for himself, he lives for other people. Time and again, he's sacrificed for his friends and gotten nothing. Trish died as soon as they began to reconnect, abandoned him over nothing but accusations. Zeke threw him under the bus to get more powers, and Kuo betrayed him out of nothing but fear and selfishness. Even here, the people he saves despise him. "Why do you fight for people who abandon you? For people who don't care for you? All you'll ever be to them is the Demon of Empire City."
"I'm sorry. I've been treating you like crap lately."
"Hey, man. I don't call you brother because I like the way it sounds."
"You made the right choice. Hell, Nyx made the right choice. I was… I am scared."
"I know. I am too."
"Abandoned? Maybe once. Betrayed? Yeah. But at the end of the day, we're brothers for a reason."
God Tier
Let me paint you a picture:
"You think would be used to being nearly dead by now. But still, sitting on that slab, blood draining from my body, it felt different. It felt dark and genuinely cold. It was scary, watching the world fade away. But waking up… that was something else entirely. It reminded me of The Blast. While fading into unconsciousness, I could hear, no, feel the voices of the dying. The voices of people I hadn't saved clawing at my very soul. If this had happened to me a year ago, I would've just been disturbed. Now, I felt guilty."
"C'mon, brother. You're not gonna die here. You got work to do."
"When my eyes opened, the first thing I noticed was the glow. The second thing I noticed was that I was floating. The third thing I noticed was the gaudy costume. Admittedly, the cape was a nice touch, but the bright gold was almost painful to look at. The sky seemed a bit brighter now, the clouds were parting around me. Storm clouds circled me. Gently, almost welcomingly. Everyone could see it, the glow that encompassed my floating form. I know they could, I could feel it. Because for once, they felt Hope, faith in their savior, faith in me. I could only imagine the discomfort and confusion of The Denizen and his cronies, wondering why everyone suddenly stopped acting scared. Why no one is walking with their heads down any more. Only for them to look up and see the glow, see me, and realize just who showed up at their doorstep.
I never asked for this. To be the savior of some weird aliens on some weird planet. But, hey, when did ever ask for anything? Besides, it's practically my job now. Because, somewhere, in some world far away, I could feel it. An old friend looking up at the sky with a beer in his hands, seeing a flickering glow between worlds, and knowing exactly who it is. Smiling that cheap smile and talking about how he knew death wouldn't keep me down. I'll be home soon, Zeke, I just have a few more people to save first."
As the Knight of Hope, Cole will be capable of literally using Hope to protect people. Faith in him, belief that he'll save the day and solve their problems, will empower him. And in return, he'd be able to literally make people stronger by giving them Hope. Whatever team he's on will become stronger by virtue of their own confidence thanks to him being there. He is a Knight and Hope is his sword. He didn't choose the path of a Hero, but now he guides others right down the middle of it. He will protect. For he is The Knight of Hope.