The Most Tragic InFAMOUS Character

Half as long... Get 20% when buying G Fuel: https://www.gfuel.com/THATBOYAQUA My main channel @ThatBoyAqua Happy Monday and Happy Pride month everyone. Today, I want to talk about what I believe to be the most tragic character in the InFAMOUS series, and that is the one, and only, Mr Zeke Jedidiah Dunbar. Zeke is Cole's best friend throughout the series and his role in the story is important because he represents the player. I think we’d all love to pretend that if we lived in the InFAMOUS Universe we’d be getting powers and that we’d be the protagonist, but the truth is, the vast majority of us would end up like Zeke, just being someone who is caught in the crossfire of a war fought between titans. Hell, the closest I’ll ever get to being like Cole is going bald, and that isn’t exactly shooting electricity. Zeke's journey across the game showcases a morally complex character, who while meaning well, often, due to reasonable selfishness or stupidity, makes colossal mistakes. I know a few of you might be raising your eyebrows at the whole “reasonable selfishness" thing here, so let me explain what I mean. By far the biggest mistake that Zeke makes, and the one he spends the rest of his life trying to atone for, is his reactivation of the ray sphere. Caught between his best friend, and said friend's arch nemesis, Zeke envisions a future where he could be the one with the power to enact change, to do what he wants, and to finally be something, and he chooses to push the button activating the ray sphere. It doesn’t work, so no blood is technically on his hands, but the fact Zeke, believing that this action would kill thousands, just so he could get a shot at power, is enough to make us hate him. However; if you’ll allow me to be John empathy for a moment; I like to think that this is not an unreasonable decision for Zeke to make. There's a lot of context to his character in the game that’s mostly glossed over in dialogue, and it’s further expanded in the comics, but essentially, Zeke is a nobody. His greatest achievement in the eyes of the public, who most of the time never see him, is in being the best friend of Cole Mcgrath. Because of this, I don’t entirely blame him for wanting to essentially be the main character. He would be an evil character, sure, and I’m not trying to justify his actions, but the point is that I think it’s completely within reason for him to make that call, and then further go with Kessler, even if it was unbelievably stupid. Another part of what makes Zeke feel like such a great character is that he takes accountability for his actions, and the game is pretty good at conveying him and Cole's strained relationship throughout the game's sequel and its comic run, which covers the events between InFAMOUS 1 and 2. If you want me to make a video going over that comic run, then let me know and I’d be more than happy to. Anyways, the important part is that, once the game is over, after Zeke helps us in our final battle against Kessler, Cole is still, as you’d imagine, angry. Him and Zeke talk plenty and he even says that shooting Kessler a few times won’t erase his ultimate betrayal. He’s left in a position where he’s in constant debt to Cole, simply for not being killed in retaliation. Fun fact, Zeke was supposed to be the one who kills Trish in exchange for powers, but this was later scrapped as, I assume, it would be too hard to justify forgiving Zeke from the player's perspective. Interestingly enough, despite Cole not forgiving Zeke that much, at least, not until the end of InFAMOUS 2, plenty of people including myself love the character, and I think that’s because, even if he did intend to kill thousands when attempting to activate the ray sphere, he didn’t, and since he didn’t have the conduit gene, he would have just evaporated in the blast. But Cole isn’t the only person Zeke has a weird relationship with, as Kessler too interacts with Zeke. Once again in the comic tie-in, we are told that there are moments where Zeke, being held prisoner by Kessler, gets to briefly interact with the man. Kessler never says much, and typically only stumbles drunkenly into Zeke's cell to stare at him. Eventually he thanks Zeke, and tells him that he’s a good friend, and that’s the last Zeke hears from him.