Talk:Odessa Cubbage

I don't know about anybody else, but I got the distinct impression that this supposed colonel is, in fact, a coward. Notice his reluctance to take part in the battle against the Combine Gunship, hiding in the basement on the radio during the whole episode. Also his bombast about not being able to rescue Eli Vance himself seems particulary ironic. Not nearly the tough military leader of a fierce band of rebels. Perhaps this should be mentioned? Just my observation after playing through the Highway 17 chapter recently.

I've seen the same theory put forward a few times but to be honest I don't see it myself; in fact if he is an experienced resistance leader as his apparent knowledge as well as liaison with the "G-Man" and other units would tend to suggest, it wouldn't really make sense to put him at the forefront of the action (however often it might seem to happen in Hollywood!) I suspect at least part of the "coward" theory may just be different interpretations of his accent, since I have seen this used as evidence against the character on occasions (another Hollywood reference again, perhaps - "English" accent = baddie/coward? Just a theory, anyway)

I got the clear impression that Cubbage is a coward even before reading Marc Laidlaw's blog post in which he tells the story of how Odessa came into existence and the transformations he suffered when his intended role didn't pan out. He says "Initially, Odessa was rather a tough guy. When gunships show up to attack his town, he rushes out and takes a few shots, demonstrating to the player exactly how to bring one down; but then he was to die, leaving the player to carry on. However, ultimately, the issue of Odessa dying became a sticky tangle. It proved necessary to have him remain in his basement, giving orders but never straying outside. From that point, it was a fairly small step to decide that Odessa Cubbage was actually a royal coward. He ordered his starry-eyed contingent about but never exposed himself to any actual danger. We gave him a fake English accent to make the player suspicious, and in the final detail work, we put a little dye in his hair. Everything about him reeks of the dubious. In some ways, the legend of Odessa Cubbage is as much fun to create as the legend of Gordon Freeman." Read the whole thing here, from the horse's mouth. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Pwpig (talk • contribs) 11:46, 6 December 2015 (UTC)

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I wouldn't call him, a coward. A coward would join the combine not lead a rebels against them. As many people who are in any armed forces know, a commander is no good to anyone dead. No doubt he has a side-arm and is ready to cap Combine when and if it comes to it.

About Odessa Steps

As I know, it is historical fact. --GolerGkA 20:38, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

That it may be, but both the link and the conclusion drawn from it seem rather tenuous.

References to "cowardice"

This claim seems rather speculative at best and isn't NPOV so I've removed the text referencing it from the main page. Shouldn't we keep conjecture about the nature of the character's personality to the "discussion" page until such a time as any verifiable information is presented? (Summary in edit history should, of course, read "non-NPOV") 194.247.53.233 19:26, 5 March 2006 (UTC)

Check out this article about how they came up with the character. It does mention that they made him a "royal coward" and gave him a fake English accent. http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/sep2006/id20060914_230177.htm?chan=innovation_game+room_features Catzdan 19:43, 12 November 2006 (UTC)

Woot! Laidlaw saw this Wiki article! :P MarphyBlack 20:20, 12 November 2006 (UTC)

Cubbage's Daughter

I thought it was a female rebel who claims that Cubbage was her father, not Alyx. Can someone double check this?

It's Alyx. Turn on your subtitles. Alyx's subtitles are always pink so therefore Alyx said that.

U of R Jacket

Regarding:

He wears a jacket with emblems on it indicating that he was, at one point, a security officer as part of the University of Rochester Security Services.

While his jacket is undoubtedly of the type that would be possessed by a security officer, how do we know that a) it's from the University of Rochester Security Services (it looks quite generic to me- perhaps a higher-resolution picture is needed?) and b) that it's actually his? If anything, I think the jacket simply makes his title/rank of "Colonel" more suspect (i.e. if he's an actual Colonel, why would he be wearing a security jacket instead of a uniform or apparel more suited to a soldier?).

The emblem on his arm is the same emblem seen on the University of Rochester Security Services site: http://security.rochester.edu/. However, I guess it's a bit assuming to, well, assume that he was actually some sort of security officer there. You're welcome to change or reword it as you see fit. MarphyBlack 03:30, 9 August 2006 (UTC)

Background speculation

Much of Cubbage's self-proclaimed history is questionable. His slightly askew mustache suggests it isn't real, and many resistance members believe his British accent, along with his supposed military accomplishments, is fake. He is also known to remain in his basement headquarters during any times of danger, preferring to give orders to others and never personally exposing himself to any actual harm.

This sounds as speculation to me. It is never stated ingame that he is believed to fake his British accent and that he isn't a military. Also, the "fake moustache" story... I suggest we take this out of the article.

All this information comes from the HL2: Official Prima Game Guide. It even specifically points out his "slightly askew mustache". If Valve tells us that the resistance believes his British accent and military history is a sham, and that his mustache is fake, then it is Valve's intention. MarphyBlack 22:21, 9 August 2006 (UTC)

I suggest that we make a note citing the source of the claim. 67.172.204.135 14:09, 14 September 2006 (UTC)

Gunship

In what part of Episode One is it mentioned that Cubbage took down a gunship, supposedly taking credit for Gordon's work?

It's one of the random idle sayings that citizens will occasionally use. Here's the relevant subtitle line looks from the closed caption file:

"ep1_citizen.cit_youknowodessa_male" "Hey, Dr. Freeman, I heard you were there when Odessa Cubbage took down the first gunship? That must have been a real honor for you. I'm proud to say I met someone who knew Odessa Cubbage."

There's also a female citizen version, as with almost all sayings. I don't believe there's any way you can intentionally coax this particular line out of any character, however. MarphyBlack 16:38, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Current picture is dark

The face picture of Colonel Cubbage is good but it was taken while standing in a shadow, giving it a dark and unprofessional look to it. I can't edit very well, just pointing out that someone might want to think a out finding a new one.