Retro Replay Retro Gaming History, Reviews & Emulation
The Cole Train has survived plenty of trouble in Gears of War. Add a likeness lawsuit to the list. In 2017, former football player and wrestler Lenwood “Hard Rock” Hamilton sued Epic Games and others, claiming Augustus Cole borrowed his appearance, voice and persona without permission.
Hamilton thought the resemblance was obvious. The courts weren’t persuaded that it entitled him to stop the character. Cole kept his armour, his attitude and his job fighting the Locust. Hamilton got a considerably less exciting court result.
The man who saw himself in Cole
Hamilton had performed as Hard Rock Hamilton in Soul City Wrestling, his family-friendly wrestling organisation. He also knew Lester Speight, the actor who voices Cole: Speight had wrestled with the organisation. That connection made the complaint more specific than a stranger deciding a game character looked vaguely familiar.
There were similarities to discuss. Cole is a big former athlete, and his “Superstar Cole” outfit includes a hat and sunglasses. The district court’s opinion includes photographs comparing the wrestling persona with Cole’s alternate appearances. Hamilton believed the resemblance went well beyond coincidence.
The problem with “that’s me”
The comparison got harder once you left the wardrobe department. Hamilton performed in a wrestling ring. Cole fights the Locust on Sera. Similar build, yes. Similar working conditions? Only if wrestling had taken a very strange turn.
Hamilton also objected to Cole’s personality and violence. He said the character behaved in ways he didn’t approve of. You can understand why that would bother him if he believed people were seeing his likeness. But it also gave the courts another reason to distinguish the fictional soldier from the real person.
Judge Anita Brody ruled for the defendants in September 2019. As Loeb & Loeb’s case summary explains, the court treated Cole as a transformative use protected by the First Amendment. In ordinary language, the character had enough of his own identity and fictional setting to defeat this claim, even allowing for the alleged resemblance.
The appeal didn’t stop the train either
The Third Circuit upheld that result in September 2020. It acknowledged similarities but found substantial differences. Crucially, the ruling didn’t establish that Hamilton actually inspired Cole. It said that even if he had, the character was sufficiently transformed.
Hamilton then asked the Supreme Court to hear the case. Its docket records that the petition was denied on June 21, 2021. That left the appeals ruling in place; it wasn’t a new Supreme Court decision on the merits.
So yes, someone really tried to take the Cole Train to court. It turned out that looking a bit like the passenger wasn’t enough to claim the whole train.
Sources
- District court opinion, September 26, 2019, including the comparison exhibits.
- Third Circuit opinion, September 17, 2020, for the appeal outcome and reasoning.
- Loeb & Loeb: Hamilton v. Speight, the destination of the supplied shortlink.
- Supreme Court docket 20-1123, recording the denied petition.
More #RetroReplayFYI
For another story from behind a game character’s voice, read about the “Shriveled Snake” recording blooper that nearly slipped into MGS4. Or meet another tough guy who passed on a fictional villain: Arnold Schwarzenegger and the King Koopa role.
