Cordell Walmsley/Tropes

This is a list of tropes that describe Cordell Walmsley, his character and his actions.

Tropes

 * Anti-Hero: Even prior to him getting drunk with power, Cordell had a knack for manipulating people and playing onto their desires in order to get what he wanted out of them. After he had begun to be recognized as a hero by the people and a leader by his subordinates, he became convinced that he could do anything he wanted as long as it brought an end to the current Aethian government.
 * The Atoner: This is the reason why he takes in a young Kaitlyn Holmes and finishes raising her up to be a young woman. He felt ashamed and horrified at having realized that he was killing innocent people as well as the enemy.
 * Believing Their Own Lies: He genuinely believes that whatever he's doing and will do against the Loyalists is for the good of the people.
 * Break The Badass: He is shattered when he realizes just what exactly he's doing, and becomes even more broken when his fellow ringleaders just up and leave him (although not without good cause).
 * Destructive Savior: At first. Then his ego gets in the way, and the only thing left is the "destructive" part.
 * Determinator: Horribly deconstructed. His stubborn resolve in destroying the Loyalists combined with his "holier than thou" attitude that he started to gain ended up destroying what he had created. His closest friends leave him out of disgust, the people abandon their support for the Insurgency, the majority of his forces have been imprisoned or executed, and he's left mentally shattered from the entire ordeal.
 * Fatal Flaw: Cordell ultimately ended up failing because of his overzealous desire to see himself as a hero.
 * Glory Seeker
 * Heroic BSOD: Even after he took Kaitlyn in, he was very much broken by what he had done and had transformed from the confident man to a weary and mentally weakened one. It would take several years for him to get over himself.
 * Heroic Wannabe: He had a strong drive to become a hero of the people, but as soon as he acquired that status, he became this. It ends very horribly and tragically.
 * Knight Templar: Just as it appears as if he's got everything he's wanted, he becomes this. It ends up turning on him with a vengeance.
 * Shell-Shocked Veteran: The events of the Aethian Civil War had come to haunt him for several years afterwards.
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist: He becomes this in the later stages of the war, and manages to end up destroying the very thing that he had worked so hard for.