The Consul
|
The contents of this article have been cut. |  |
|---|---|---|
The subject matter of this article contains in-development information that was cut from the final version of an official and/or canonical source and appears in no other canonical source. It may also contain incomplete information since not all cut material is publicly known. |
This article is about the early character. For his successor, see Wallace Breen. |
| |
| The Consul | |
|---|---|
| Biographical information | |
| Homeworld | |
| Function(s) / Belongings | |
| Rank / Occupation |
Consul |
| Equipment | |
| Physical description | |
| Species |
Transhuman |
| Gender |
Male |
| Cybernetics |
Combine artificial life-support system |
| Chronological and political information | |
| Era(s) | |
| Faction | |
| Game information | |
| Designer(s) |
|
| Voice sample(s) | |
|
| |
The Consul[1][2] is a character cut from Half-Life 2. He is the predecessor to Dr. Breen's character.[1]
Contents
Overview[edit]
In the early stages of the game's production, Breen was not known as the "Administrator", but rather as the "Consul", who was a slightly different character,[1][3] more in the vein of Big Brother from the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. He would have first been seen on posters plastering the train during the original opening sequence with propaganda phrases such as "The Consul says... relax" and "The Consul says... report". On these posters, he is described as having an owl-eyed solemn face that watched over the passengers.[1] He would later be formally introduced in Eli's slideshow, shown in an image standing at the foot of a radio tower, wearing a headset, hands raised high to Dropships as he proclaimed Earth's surrender.[1] During the course of the game, only the Consul's face would be visible to the player on monitors throughout the city, eventually leading to a reveal at the end in which it is discovered the Consul had sacrificed much of his body to begin the process of becoming immortal through Combine artificial life-support technology.[1]
In the playable Half-Life 2 leak files, the only models being identified as that of the Consul models are a giant statue and a bust, which actually appear to be Wallace Breen. Sound clips for the early Breencasts can also be found in the files, in the folder /sound/C17/. Sound clips for a possible Citadel confrontation finale can also be found in the folder /temp/alyx/. In these lines, Alyx Vance lectures the Consul about him being "just another cog in the Combine machinery" and not a part of humanity anymore.[2] The sound clips for the other characters in this scene are not present. In the WC map pack, a prototype of his Citadel office depicted in concept art by Viktor Antonov can be found in the map proto_citadel_consul.[3]
The Consul statue might be inspired by that of Lenin that was to stand above the never completed supertall skyscraper Palace of Soviets in Moscow. The Skyscraper is also inspired by Stalinist architecture, being based on the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw. His name may be a reference to the consul title used in the Roman Republic and Empire.
Gallery[edit]
Consul[edit]
The Consul pressing a red button.
The Consul tapping on something while being held at gunpoint by Gordon Freeman while Elena Mossman is holding Alyx Vance.
The Consul statue.
Propaganda[edit]
"It's great to be part of the greater good" - Consul / Metropolice propaganda poster, partially based on the black and white concept art bust portrait, and originally used in Half-Life 2 as the older version of
paperposter003a.
Second Consul propaganda poster, missing from the Half-Life 2 leak and featured in concept art, and the older version of
paperposter005b.
Monitors of the Consul in front of the City 17 Trainstation in the map
C17_01_13.
Consul / Metropolice posters in the Combine Factories neighborhood in the map
c17_01_15.
Consul / Metropolice posters on the City 17 Trainstation in the map
c17_01_13.
Street with Consul poster and Metrocop in the map
c17_old07.
Poster on the Manhack Arcade building, in the Half-Life 2 leak map
c17_05_06.
Poster inside the Manhack Arcade building, in the map
c17_05_06.
Poster on the Manhack Arcade building, in the map
arcade_06.
Early Breencast[edit]
Concept art for a Breencast device variant with cluster-like compound eyes.
Concept art for another Breencast device variant.
Fixed map of the same early Breencast, located near the Manhack Arcade.
Monitor image for the early Breencast, based on the black and white concept art bust portrait and used in the previous concept art.
Ditto.
Ditto.
Consul's office[edit]
Viktor Antonov's concept art of the Consul's office.
The same area in the early prototype map
proto_citadel_consul.
Ditto.
Ditto.
Ditto.
Hallway leading to the office.
Ditto.
List of appearances[edit]
- Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar (Non-canonical appearance)
