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"Mature Content!" |
| “ | Ralph, friends who want to stay friends don't discuss religion or politics, and in my case you can add the war to that. | „ |
| ~ Cole Phelps. |
| “ | You say one more word about him and I will blow your F*CKING head off! | „ |
| ~ Cole losing his cool with Roy Earle. |
Cole Phelps is the main protagonist of the 2011 Rockstar Games video game L.A. Noire.
Following his service in the U.S. Marine Corps in World War II, he returned home and became a member of the Los Angeles Police Department. There, he demonstrated his exceptional skills as a police officer, achieving the rank of detective at a relatively young age. Over the course of the story, Cole takes on various criminal cases across different divisions including patrol, traffic, homicide, vice, and arson.
He was voiced and motion captured by Aaron Staton.
His Good Ranking[]
What Makes Him Admirable?[]
In General[]
- He's an ex-marine who served his country during WWII.
- He's an honorable cop who saved countless lives and stopped numerous criminals.
Work as an LAPD Detective[]
Patrol[]
- Apprehended Errol Schroeder on suspicion of murder.
- Successfully stopped an armed robbery at Westlake Savings & Loans.
- Although Cole used lethal force against the robbers, it was only after he tried defusing the situation and the armed men didn’t comply, making it self-defense.
- Pursued and arrested Wendell Bowers, a serial burglar, for jumping parole.
- Solved the Jewelry Store Murder by successfully interrogating Edgar Kalou, leading him to confess to Everett Gage’s murder.
Traffic[]
- Arrested Adrian Black for committing adultery and faking his death.
- Arrested Gabriel Del Gado for serial auto theft and illegal street racing.
- Arrested William Shelton for accidentally killing Lester Pattison in a Hit-and-Run.
- Ended Steven Bigelow’s auto theft racket, arresting him along with several of his accomplices.
- Apprehended Mark Bishop, a corrupt movie producer, for attempting to kill Jane Ballard and Jessica Hamilton, in addition to being a serial rapist and child molester.
- Despite his horrific crimes, Cole still protected Bishop from Guy McAfee’s goons during their shootout.
- Thanks to the evidence collected during Cole’s investigation, Bishop was indicted for his crimes and sent to prison.
Homicide[]
- Successfully uncovered the identity of the Black Dahlia Killer and pursued him into the catacombs.
- Although Cole ended up killing him, it was in self-defense, and his intent was to capture him alive so he would face justice for his crimes.
- When Captain Donnelly informed Cole and Galloway that Garrett Mason was the half-brother of a very powerful politician, thus his identity had to remain undisclosed to the public, Cole showed clear disdain and advocated that people know the truth. Ultimately, all of the previous Homicide suspects were quietly released due to being framed for their crimes.
Vice[]
- Arrested Fleetwood Morgan and Jermaine Jones for their involvement in Tyrone Lamont and Cornell Tyree’s overdoses.
- Attempted to apprehend Jose Ramez for using his furniture warehouse as a front to sell morphine. However, he was killed by Cole when he escaped and engaged in a shootout with the cops.
- After interrogating Freddie Calhoun, a drug addict and police informant, he suggested the man move towns and start a clean slate.
- Arrested numerous suspects involved in a drug ring who were operating out of Parnell's Soup Co.
- When professional boxer Albert Hammond won a fight he was supposed to throw, causing his manager Carlo Arquero and several bookies to lose lots of money, Cole and his partner Roy Earle tracked him down after his disappearance, fearing his life could be in danger.
- Killed Carlo Arquero during a gunfight (who also murdered Hammond’s girlfriend Candy Edwards) to protect Hammond.
- Interrogated and nearly obtained a confession from Courney Sheldon for his involvement in all of the previous Vice cases. However, he was interrupted by Chief Worrell and Captain Donnelly, and Sheldon walked free.
Arson[]
- Arrested both Reginald Varley and Matthew Ryan for their alleged involvement in a series of house fires, and charged one of them for their crimes. Although, they would later be cleared of all charges after the true perpetrator was revealed.
- Uncovered evidence that a known pyromaniac named Herbert Chapman was responsible for burning a house to the ground and killing an innocent family.
- After Chapman hijacked a tram to escape from Cole and Biggs, he was killed by Cole in a shootout and the tram was successfully stopped, saving countless lives.
- Although no one else believed him, Cole kept investigating into what he believed was a larger conspiracy, and ultimately uncovered a plot involving the Suburban Redevelopment Fund.
- When a giant industrial explosion goes off in the middle of the city, Cole and Biggs rush to the scene.
- When Cole spots two armed robbers looting during the disaster, he chases them down. After they open fire on him, he kills them in self-defense.
- Attempted to apprehend Vernon Mapes for his involvement in the murder of an unnamed Lockheed Employee, whom Mapes killed in order to secure the aluminum polish process for Hughes Aircraft. However, Maps resisted, leading to a shootout resulting in his death.
- Investigates the murder of Dr. Harlan Fontaine and uncovers his involvement in the Suburban Redevelopment Fund, a fund propagated by Leland Monroe, which sets out to build new homes for ex-marines in the suburbs of Los Angeles. However, to speed up the construction process, they hired arsonists to burn down the homes of residents that refused to move or sell their land.
- After learning that Elsa Lichtmann has been kidnapped by the “Bug Sprayer Arsonist”, Cole, with the help of his partner Biggs and D.A. Investigator Jack Kelso, works diligently to find her, eventually learning she’s been taken underground within the LA Tunnels.
- Upon entering the tunnels, Cole is confronted by his former comrade Ira Hogeboom, who was actually the one responsible for all of the fires committed on behalf of the Suburban Redevelopment Fund.
- Cole rescues Elsa from Hogeboom and allows Jack to mercy kill him, due to Ira's trauma from war preventing him from living a normal life.
- While escaping, the tunnels begin to flood, and Cole sacrifices his life to ensure Elsa makes it to safety.
What Makes Him Inconsistent?[]
- During WWII, he was a very strict commander toward his subordinates and was abusive toward their POW’s. He also made many morally-dubious decisions, including one that accidentally led to the deaths of many innocent women and children. He then had his fellow comrades cover up the atrocity.
- However, Cole felt tremendous guilt and remorse for this, and this guilt haunts him throughout the story, which is the primary reason Cole doesn’t like to talk about his experience during the war.
- He's very arrogant and prideful, especially in the second half of the game's story, when Cole begins making headlines and garnering notoriety due to his involvement in solving cases, resulting in the fame going to his head.
- His overconfidence sometimes leads him to pursue cases without fully understanding them and jumping to conclusions during investigations.
- He also shows impatience toward his partners and acts superior to them on several occasions, often disregarding their input and ordering them around when they're meant to work together as equals.
- He sometimes goes too far in interrogations by being abusive, manipulative, or exploiting suspects’ vulnerabilities. For example, he insulted Valdez, accusing him of being a pedophile with no evidence, just to rile him up, and threatened to arrest a suspect's pregnant wife for being an "accomplice", although he was mostly bluffing.
- While he often uses lethal force in self-defense or to protect others, he sometimes uses violence or even kills suspects when it may not be necessary.
- In the Patrol case Warrants Outstanding, Cole pursues Wendell Bowsers and corners him on a rooftop, where the two engage in a fistfight, ending with Cole knocking Bowsers out before arresting him. During the fight, however, the player has the ability to knock Bowsers off the roof, causing him to fall to his death. If this happens, Cole faces no consequences for the incident nor shows any remorse for his actions.
- In free-roam, he can potentially kill multiple suspects when there are alternative solutions available, like firing warning shots or tackling them.
- He had an affair with Elsa Lichtmann and was subsequently divorced by his wife, Marie, after it was made public by the press. However, he shows remorse for this and rejects Elsa's advances from that point onward.
- He can sometimes act erratic and displays unprofessional and dangerous behavior on a few occasions, such as the time he threatened Roy Earle by holding him at gunpoint after Roy insulted Country Sheldon upon finding his dead body.
- In free-roam, Cole can break numerous traffic laws, damage property, and even endanger pedestrians while driving.
Trivia[]
- He is the only character in L.A. Noire to be Inconsistently Admirable.
External Links[]
- Cole Phelps on the Heroes Wiki
[]
 Inconsistently Admirable
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Grand Theft Auto & Manhunt Bully Red Dead L.A. Noire Max Payne See Also | ||