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"Mature Content!" |
| “ | You taught us kids to turn the other cheek, not fight back. Problem is that don't work, not in the real world. | „ |
| ~ Lincoln to Father James. |
Lincoln Clay is the main protagonist of the 2016 video game Mafia III and its 3 DLCs. He is a veteran returning home from the Vietnam War who becomes a criminal after learning of his foster family's financial troubles and conflict with a Haitian Mob. He also forms connections with the Marcano Crime Family.
After Sal Marcano and his son Giorgi Marcano betray Lincoln and kill his entire family, Lincoln sets out on a quest for revenge, to take down Sal Marcano's entire empire. He does so with the help of his friend and fellow veteran/CIA operative John Donovan, Father James, a friend of Lincoln's family and a mentor to Lincoln, as well as several underbosses that run and manage the various rackets Lincoln takes control of from Marcano.
The three most prominent are Thomas Burke, father of Danny Burke, another friend of Lincoln's killed by Sal, Cassandra, leader of the Haitian Mob, and Vito Scaletta, protagonist of Mafia II.
He was voiced and motion-captured by Alex Hernandez.
His Good Ranking[]
What Makes Him Admirable?[]
- Despite his ruthlessness toward his enemies, he's an otherwise easygoing and kind-hearted person, even after his family's tragic deaths. He's shown to still have a sense of humor, specifically when interacting with Donovan, and still cares deeply about the few friends and family he has left, even if they actively discourage and antagonize him for pursuing revenge.
- While his primary goal is to kill Sal Marcano, he also systematically dismantles his entire criminal empire to prevent a power vaccuum.
- Each racket that Lincoln takes from Marcano he goes out of his way to improve to make it more humane for the everyday people involved in them.
- He frees several women from forced prostitution, sabotages various trailers containing blackmail on dock workers, dismantles several drug manufacturing and trafficking rings, and kills Marcano's underbosses who are responsible for funding the Dixie Mafia's slave trade.
- He isn't fond of killing unnecessarily, particularly people whom he believes deserve a second chance, as well as innocent civilians and women.
- Donovan claims Lincoln once saved a Vietnamese women from being executed despite her killing several of his fellow army men.
- He chose to spare Olivia Marcano after he critically injured her, because he claimed that killing her "isn't worth the trouble".
- He also spared Marcano's lieutenant Enzo Conti after Enzo showed sympathy for Sammy and Ellis' deaths.
- Depending on player choice, Lincoln can also spare many of the informants he interrogates.
- Although he can kill police officers and civilians in free roam, this is completely optional. Additionally, Lincoln can only perform non-lethal takedowns on law enforcement and non-combatants.
- After finalizing his plans to take down Marcano's Empire, he offered several former associates of Marcano the chance to get their payback.
- Depending on player choice, Lincoln can recruit informants of Marcano to join his rackets, giving them a chance to work for a good cause.
- He chooses to save Alvarez from Marcano’s men, despite gaining nothing from it.
- He consistently challenges the status quo. Being set in 1960s Southern America during the Civil Rights movement, the game touches on heavy themes of racism, discrimination, hate crimes, segregation, etc. Lincoln goes out of his way to fight for Civil Rights, with a large portion of the story being dedicated to wiping out the Dixie Mafia, a white supremacist group located throughout New Bordeau.
- When he finally confronts and kills both Giorgi and Sal Marcano, Lincoln shows remorse and sympathy for them.
- When he kills Giorgi, he exclaims that Giorgi's betrayal hurt him just as much as losing his loved ones did. After killing him and making his way upstairs to kill Sal, Lincoln accepts Sal's offer to have a drink, and the two calmly discuss the events leading up to their final meeting before Lincoln inevitably kills him too.
- Depending on the player's choices, the story can end with Lincoln accepting Father James' advice and leaving town to start a new life. Or, alternatively, Lincoln can replace Marcano and continue running his various rackets alongside his underbosses. In this ending, it's stated that Lincoln gave generously to the people of New Bordeaux, funded better infrastructure, and did more to help the city than Sal Marcano ever did.
- In the game's 3 DLCs, he commits even more heroic acts, such as killing Walter Beaumont, the racist and corrupt sheriff of Sinclair Parish, stopping the Ensanglante Cult, and helping Donovan prevent Connor Aldridge from waging nuclear war.
What Makes Him Inconsistent?[]
- He is a vengeful vigilante and mobster who has (determinantly) killed hundreds of people. Regardless of whether the player spares most enemies they encounter, Lincoln still canonically murders all of Sal Marcano's family and lieutenants, many of whom in brutal fashion.
- While Lincoln claims killing all of Marcano's family and subordinates was necessary to prevent a power vacuum, it was also motivated by sadism, since he told Father James at one point that he wanted to make Sal watch as everyone and everything he ever cared for was taken from him.
- Due to his experience in war, Lincoln often uses psychological warfare to torment Sal and his associates, such as the time he killed Ritchie Doucet and hung him on the Ferris Wheel at Baron Saturday's Fun Park, when he killed Sal's brother Lou, gutted him, and left his body tied to a stature commemorating a Confederate soldier, or when he crucified Remy Duvall on a burning cross.
- While it is never stated, it is heavily implied that Lincoln enjoys killing people.
- He doesn't completely dismantle most of Marcano's criminal rackets (with the exception of the Slave Trade and Forced Prostitution), he just repurposes them to make him and his three underbosses the most amount of money possible.
- He claims this is so he can afford the assets necessary to take down the Marcano Crime Family, but the ending in which Lincoln continues running the various rackets, essentially taking Sal Marcano's position, makes this claim a point of contingency.
- He often contradicts himself and is a hypocrite. When Father James points out to Lincoln that what he's doing is no better than what Sal's doing, Lincoln refutes it by saying it could be worse, and that "turning the other cheek" never works in the real world.
- He also says he has to systematically destroy Marcano's empire by killing anyone involved in order to prevent a power vacuum, despite not doing that very thing when he killed Baka, the leader of the Haitian Mob, earlier in the game's prologue.
- In the Rule Together Ending, while it's stated he helped improve the living conditions of the people of New Bordeaux, Father James also says Lincoln became addicted to drugs and hookers, and cut ties with all of his close friends and family in the process.
- Once Lincoln has successfully taken control of an entire district's rackets, there's a sit-down meeting between Lincoln and his three underbosses. In this meeting, Lincoln must decide who to give control of the newly claimed rackets to. Depending on the player's choices, Lincoln can be completely biased and assign newly-gained territory to one or two specific people, and negate the rest. Doing this too much will cause the neglected underboss/underbosses to betray Lincoln, unlocking alternate missions where Lincoln is forced to kill them.
- In the second alternate ending, the Rule Alone Ending, Lincoln can kill all three of his underbosses and take the throne of the city for himself.
External Links[]
- Lincoln Clay on the Heroes Wiki
- Lincoln Clay on the Villains Wiki
- Lincoln Clay on the Villainous Benchmark Wiki
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 Inconsistently Admirable
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Tommy Angelo |
Vito Scaletta |
Lincoln Clay |
John Donovan | ||