Cole Matthews

Cole Matthews is the protagonist of the novel Touching Spirit Bear. Though he is the main protagonist, he was originally a villain, thus being a villain protagonist, as was Kaede from Elfen Lied. After his hateful actions cause him to suffer arrest, Cole joins Circle Justice to seek redemption.

Personality and Biography
Cole at first feels that everyone hates him, and thus, he hates everyone and is at first a rogue criminal. He earned his hateful, evil demeanor from when his father beat him with his belt for disobedience, using the metallic end for extra damage. As he tried to escape, Cole pleaded for mercy, but to no avail. His mother tried to save her son from his father's abuse, but this backfired horribly as Mr. Matthews demanded that she leaves before he attacks her with the same belt, and thus, Cole became the psychopath that he was during the first half of the book.

Cole is depicted in the book's first half as a psychotic criminal. He broke the law randomly, and hated almost everyone, his parents included. His demonic anger and hatred led him to attack anyone who tried to report on Cole. Garvey, a member of Circle Justice, tried teaching their impact on someone else's life to Cole, but Cole just shrugged it off.

When he started his Circle Justice program, Cole feigned loyalty. His hatred warped his perception of the world, rendering Circle Justice's advice as pure lies in his mind. His mood was pure joy upon his discovery that Circle Justice could result in his ability to avert prison, which could potentially set him free. His hatred and anger led him to boast about his strength, as he claimed to be able to kill a bear. When Garvey mentioned that the Spirit Bear, a noble bear-like being, makes his home in Alaska and can teach virtues, Cole thought that he could destroy the Spirit Bear.

Eventually, Cole realized that he was wrong, and that his anger and hatred blinded him to the truth. His discovery, first made during a thunderstorm which killed some baby sparrows, whose life Cole worried about, made him change his ways, and he accepted and did what he had to do to seek redemption.

Villainous Acts

 * Destroying and robbing a hardware store, then keeping his distance from the law.
 * Trying to kill Peter Driscal for revealing what Cole did, then laughing as Peter cried from his wounds.
 * Launching demonic curses at those who were trying to help him seek redemption.
 * Attacking the Spirit Bear, then wishing that he would die when that backfired, no longer seeing beauty.