A plot twist that would redeem everything...


Aett_Thorn

 

Posted

This is another one of those wacky (but awesome) ideas that wanders into my head, and I love it so much and it would largely if not totally redeem the current Crazy Well/Cosmic Cole plot.

What if this entire time Emperor Cole wasn't quite who he said he was? What if Cole was actually dead? And the sentience inhabiting his body was...Hamidon?

If the Well really is attracted to will, ambition, and power...I think Hamidon is a far better recipient of its favor than Cole. And yet the Well empowers Cole...

From Cole's bio on the GR site:

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The creature quickly healed the injury and then responded by projecting a tangible beam of psychic energy at Cole, rendering him as helpless as a rag doll. A battle of wills ensued, and the world held its collective breath for what seemed like hours.

Then, with a clap of thunder, the energy field around Cole shattered and the great beast shuddered, lumbered away, and then collapsed. Cole had defeated the beast, but he had also learned much more from his brief joining of minds.

The effect was palpable to the world. Devouring Earth attacks decreased dramatically, and in some places halted all together. The world had turned a corner. The people cried out for the creature to be killed, and Cole agreed completely. However, nothing they did would kill the creature. It seemed to be tied to the Earth itself. The best they could do was contain it.
A psychic attack? A joining of minds? Hmmmmmm.

But why would Hamidon willingly support an empire of technology and humanity? Because he gets a number of benefits from it.

1) Two of the greatest scientific minds in the world, working on potential useful projects. Such as the introduction of portal technology, allowing him to see and access more worlds yet to be devoured. There's also the question of just what technology powers Neuron's ability to clone Cole and his Incarnate-level power...

2) A puppet army to bait Primal Earth with. What better way to intentionally yet invisibly cripple the remaining strength of Praetoria by egging Primal Earth to come kick its butt. And if the IDF can weaken Primal Earth in the process...

3) A large chunk of the remainder of humanity, all in one place, and nice and oppressed. Enriche keeps their minds docile, allowing for easy introduction of the Will of the Earth when the time comes...

4) The Devil's greatest trick was convincing the world he was whupped by a tyrannical pretty boy, and locked away behind "totally reliable" sonic fencing, and turned into not much more than a boogeyman to scare people into putting their trust and faith in, oh yeah, the Devil.

In short, what I am in fact saying is...it's all a Hamidon Plot.


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Posted

This was suggested when Tyrant's bio first came out

Although, I'm not sure what actually needs redeeming - except Tyrant's soul


@Golden Girl

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Posted

You are not too far off the mark.

form Paragon Wiki. . .

Quote:
In a Q&A done by Razer, developer Black Scorpion implied that Hamidon had somehow been able to tap into the Well of The Furies and turned himself into an Incarnate, which could explain his appearance and massive power


 

Posted

Hamidon is, I think, far more "deserving" of massive power than any of the Statesmans. He actually made an effort to acquire power, and is constantly using it, even successfully in a few cases, to further his agenda. Whereas Statesman and Recluse drank some funky water and now sit around bickering like an old married couple.

Hamidon is also far more...well a "force of nature" would probably be the best way I can put it. An artificially created one, sure, but he might be able think like one instead of thinking like a human, and such he'd probably be more easily attuned to another primal force such as the well.


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Posted

Bring on the hami wars!


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Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by IanTheM1 View Post
What if this entire time Emperor Cole wasn't quite who he said he was? What if Cole was actually dead? And the sentience inhabiting his body was...Hamidon?
Or along that line maybe he is possessed by Hami but not fully dead, and so certain actions like casting Praetorian's out at level 20 or some of the more questionable tactical decisions of his invasion are a subtle act of rebellion against his master. Basically he is *hoping* people will come back in and finish him off so he can finally die free.

Quote:
Enriche keeps their minds docile, allowing for easy introduction of the Will of the Earth when the time comes...
Its probably already the secret ingredient. Would that be considered natural flavoring?


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Posted

That would, indeed, be much better. Hami in a form other than the magnificently un-terrifying blob form would be nice, too.


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Originally Posted by Zwillinger View Post
GG, I would tell you that "I am killing you with my mind", but I couldn't find an emoticon to properly express my sentiment.
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Originally Posted by Captain_Photon View Post
NOTE: The Incarnate System is basically farming for IOs on a larger scale, and with more obtrusive lore.

 

Posted

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Originally Posted by Techbot Alpha View Post
Hami in a form other than the magnificently un-terrifying blob form would be nice, too.
You might get you wish with the Praetorian Hamidon Trial


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Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ironik View Post
"It's one thing to question the official bio. It's another thing entirely to make wild accusations, or insinuate, that I'm some sort of gelatinous supervillain. The truth is... I am Hamidon." -- Marcus Cole
So Tyrant is Robert Downey Jr? Everything makes sense now! And hey, goatee.


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Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by IanTheM1 View Post
What if this entire time Emperor Cole wasn't quite who he said he was? What if Cole was actually dead? And the sentience inhabiting his body was...Hamidon?
Even better, what if they had switched minds like in some sort of whacky 80s comedy?


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Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dr_Darkspeed View Post
Even better, what if they had switched minds like in some sort of whacky 80s Saturday morning cartoon?
Fix'd.


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Serpine View Post
Or along that line maybe he is possessed by Hami but not fully dead, and so certain actions like casting Praetorian's out at level 20 or some of the more questionable tactical decisions of his invasion are a subtle act of rebellion against his master. Basically he is *hoping* people will come back in and finish him off so he can finally die free.
Me likeses all of this.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Serpine View Post
Its probably already the secret ingredient. Would that be considered natural flavoring?
HAHA (I bet it would be)


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Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Eva Destruction View Post
Wait wait, I've got it! What if....bear with me here....Preatorian Hamidon IS ACTUALLY PRAETORIAN NEMESIS!?!?!?!
Lady, you may can consider my mind now blown.


 

Posted

Praemidon: the dessert that comes back with a vengeance.


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Posted

I seriously dig this idea. Completely. Maybe its because it has a whiff of the whole Onslaught story from X-Men (and that was one of the first stories I got into when I started collecting comics)

It sort of justifies the Well's choice of who to empower as well, why didn't it choose Reichsman instead right? It's not like Tyrant is the only dimensional doppelganger of States to try taking over our dimension.


 

Posted

I think villains are more intriguing when they're human, personally.


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Posted

I for one welcome our New Hamidon Overlord(s).


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Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Eva Destruction View Post
Wait wait, I've got it! What if....bear with me here....Preatorian Hamidon IS ACTUALLY PRAETORIAN NEMESIS!?!?!?!
This I actually find interesting, because it would give quite a bit more depth to what is currently a pretty shallow narrative. Yes, we have a world of about five character personalities and a plot that's about as deep as the actual gameplay gets, but at its heart it's a fairly standard "good guy turned extremist turned bad guy" turned cosmic abomination for some reason. Having an actual plot TWIST to the story might make it feel more like a legitimate story.

Bringing the Nemesis into the picture adds a lot of such potential plot unexpected twists. However, adding Nemesis into the pictures also adds the EXPECTATION for unexpected plot twists, which often defeats the purpose. So, adding a Nemesis who is not the Nemesis, and was perhaps forcibly converted into a Devoured is an interesting concept. One has to wonder how the Hamidon is able to retain his memories and control the Devouring Earth, and if it's not possible for another to do the same if one showed enough will and initiative.

In fact, just reading the suggestion gave me all sorts of interesting ideas, not least of which being an Infested Kerrigan style takeover, where a recently-devoured but very strong-willed person is able to wrest control of the group overmind. This has potential!

---

At its heart, Praetoria is a political story, and I feel a lot of us who've grown bored with it so quickly feel that way for precisely this reason. It's plot, yes, but it reads like presidential debates, or Marxist-Leninist theory, or Fox News. But - at least to me - it no longer reads like a story, so much as like description of a setting. Throwing in a few left field plot twists may actually make it a bit more exciting than the omnipresent "Resistance vs. Loyalists" duality that I had enough of back when it was the "Longbow vs. Arachnos," instead.

In fact, it's more than a little amusing how much more depth both Longbow and Arachnos have been given when they were thrown into a conflict that has more than two sides.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Arcanaville View Post
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Posted

I can only imagine the steam-powered Devoured Earth that would be created here. Swarms of flying nano-bots? Machines that could disguise themselves as trees? Steampunk rocks? Machine gun-wielding fungi?

Sounds like fun to me!


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Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Aett_Thorn View Post
I can only imagine the steam-powered Devoured Earth that would be created here. Swarms of flying nano-bots? Machines that could disguise themselves as trees? Steampunk rocks? Machine gun-wielding fungi?

Sounds like fun to me!
He doesn't have to be steampunk, really. Nemesis was originally skilled as a toy maker, as I understand it, and extrapolated his technology from there. But what Nemesis is the most skilled at appears to be long-term planning and short-term micromanagement, or in other words: The creation of evil schemes. I have no reason to believe he couldn't pull these off with the Devouring Earth at his beck and call, as opposed to an army of people and robots.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Arcanaville View Post
Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.