 ✓
| ||
|
This Villain was proposed and approved by Villains Wiki's Pure Evil Proposals Thread. Any act of removing this villain from the category without a Removal Proposal shall be considered vandalism (or a futile "heroic" attempt of redemption) and the user will have high chances of being | ||
  |
This article's content is marked as Mature The page contains mature content that may include coarse language, sexual references, and/or graphic violent images which may be disturbing to some. Mature pages are recommended for those who are 18 years of age and older. If you are 18 years or older or are comfortable with graphic material, you are free to view this page. Otherwise, you should close this page and view another page. |
| “ | Van der Linde! You don't know me... but you keep robbing me. My name is Leviticus Cornwall. I am not a man to be messed with by the likes of you. Get out here, before I have these men killed! | „ |
| ~ Leviticus Cornwall confronting the Van der Linde gang. |
| “ | Cornwall: Your impudence will be your undoing, sir. Dutch: I'm undone already. Even my best friend here, he thinks I'm crazy... and like this poor fellow you are talking to... my feelings are hurt. Cornwall: You robbed me, sir. Dutch: And you robbed him. Funny world. Cornwall: You shows a criminal's grasp of sophistry, sir. I did no such thing. Dutch: You kill, I kill. You rob, I rob... Only difference I can see is I choose... whom I kill and rob... and you destroy everything in your path. Cornwall: I've heard just about enough. Dutch: I'll tell you what. You give me this ship, ten thousand dollars and... safe passage out of here. I'll let you live. Cornwall: [mocking] I'll do no such thing. Dutch: You sure? Good, I prefer it this way. |
„ |
| ~ Dutch explaining the differences between him and Cornwall before executing the latter. |
Leviticus Cornwall is the overarching antagonist of the 2018 western action-adventure video game Red Dead Redemption II.
He is a wealthy industrialist and influential businessman who ran numerous enterprises in the U.S states of New Hanover and Lemoyne as well as a financial supporter and client of the Pinkerton Detective Agency. He is also one of the archenemies of the Van der Linde gang.
He was portrayed by John Rue.
Biography[]
Background[]
Leviticus Cornwall is a very wealthy man who owns a majority of businesses in New Hanover and its surrounding states, but his presence is mostly known in the city of Saint Denis, where he accumulated his greatest wealth. He is also a major funder of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency.
Sometime prior or around 1899, he proposed to Colonel Henry Favours and the U.S Army to force the Wapiti Indian tribe off their reservation, being supposedly oil-rich. Despite the federal government not wanting any conflicts with the Indians, Cornwall undermined their authority, allowing Favours and his regiment to persecute, starve and oppress the tribe. Cornwall also built up connections with Alberto Fussar, the tyrannical governor of the island of Guarma for the sugar plantations.
Prior to 1899, Cornwall also destroyed or sabotaged the Oil Derrick in The Heartlands, after failing to buy the derrick to a Mr. Varley.
Events of Red Dead Redemption 2[]
Colter Chapter[]
Cornwall is first mentioned by the Van der Linde gang after they attack the O'Driscolls stationed at Ewing Basin, near their camp at Colter. They find information about one of Cornwall's trains that the O'Driscolls intended to rob and decide to attack the train for themselves. Cornwall is then mentioned by one of the guards stationed on the train to the gang, who ignores it, although many elements found on the train indicate that Cornwall is very wealthy and has many connections. After this, Cornwall hires the Pinkerton detective agency to track the gang, thus sending corrupt agent Andrew Milton and his partner Edgar Ross on their back.
Horseshoe Overlook Chapter[]
At the end of the second chapter, Cornwall tracks down the gang in Valentine, where he and some henchmen hold John Marston and Leopold Strauss as hostages, as retaliation for the heist in the previous chapter. He demands Dutch and Arthur Morgan to get out of the saloon before ordering his men to take care of the problem and leave. A vast shootout between the gang, Cornwall's men and the law ensues in the town, with the gang victorious. These events, including that Cornwall is a major funder and client for the Pinkerton agency he sent on the gang makes him one of their most dangerous enemies along with Agent Milton.
Clemens Point Chapter[]
Arthur, Uncle, Bill Williamson and Charles Smith decide to rob one of the stagecoaches that often cross the region of Scarlett Meadows. However, as the vehicle is stopped, the driver reveals he works for Cornwall Kerosene & Tar before numerous Cornwall's guards arrive to ambush the gang. Arthur will later state that they must stop robbing Cornwall's businesses, as it will only make him even more aggressive.
Saint Denis Chapter[]
Invited by Italian mobster Angelo Bronte at Saint Denis mayor's party, Dutch, Arthur, Bill and Hosea Matthews takes this opportunity to search for eventual jobs and robberies and if Milton and Cornwall are aware of the gang's presence in this part of Lemoyne. During the party, Cornwall angrily telephones the mayor's residence to order that Mayor Lemieux sign some papers. Dutch catches the mayor's butler informing his boss about this and asks Arthur to follow the servant, who goes to Lemieux's office where he locks a drawer which contains the mayor’s ledger - and documents that Cornwall wants Lemieux to sign. Once the servant is gone, Arthur steals the documents.
Death[]
Later in the story, during the Beaver Hollow chapter, Dutch and Micah Bell (with Arthur's reluctant participation) decides to personally confront Cornwall and to pay him a "social call". Arriving in the mining town of Annesburg on his private boat, Cornwall has a brief meeting with Agents Milton and Ross, scolding them for their lack of progress, claiming that Dutch is still out there "laughing at him" and even threatens to pull off his funding. The duo leaves and Cornwall starts berating a union leader for the miners about the wage strike. Dutch then shows himself and confronts Cornwall on his bad deeds, before asking for safe passage out of America, his boat and 10 000$. Cornwall mocks Dutch and says he will do not such thing. Dutch then declares he prefers it this way before drawing out his gun and shooting Cornwall, who fells in the water.
However, Cornwall's death would still be felt in several points. Supposed to weaken the Pinkertons, it only made them even more aggressive and the Wapiti Indian tribe's situation only worsened, with Favours continuing to persecute them, leading Eagle Flies to led a revolt, which causes his own death and the Indians abandoning Wapiti. Cornwall's efforts to search for oil on the reservation land later turned to be fruitless, as minimum amount of oil being was discovered, thus stopping the extraction because of the lack of profits.
Newspaper articles report on Cornwall's death, something previously seen as inconceivable given his wealth, power, and high profile.
Personality[]
| “ | Pierre: Mr. Cornwall was quite insistent, I’m afraid… he shouted down the telephone for several minutes. Henri Lemieux: Mr. Cornwall is a horse’s ass… and a bad horse. I’m a fool for trusting him. |
„ |
| ~ Lemieux’s view over Cornwall’s very unpleasant personality. |
Cornwall is considerably pompous, irritable, vindictive, wrathful, over-the-top and arrogant. He enjoys to gloat about his power, wealth and connections, allowing him to do as he pleases. Opposite to the Van der Linde gang, who chooses who to kill and to rob, Cornwall is indiscriminate and expresses disregard for people, feelings or his workers' safety in favor of accelerating production and making more profits, with no consideration for people working to death to make him even more wealthier nor the environmental or health consequences.
Cornwall has also shown to be unscrupulous and greedy, committing many unethical schemes to drive the Wapiti Indian tribe off their reservation to drill the land for oil or making huge profits from sugar plantations on Guarma, not even caring for the employed means such as genocide, starvation or slavery, as long as he makes more money. His vindictive side is shown when he insists on the Pinkerton to bring down the Van der Linde gang after they robbed one of his trains or when he sabotaged/destroyed a competitor's oil derrick simply because he failed to convince them to sell the derrick.
In fact, Cornwall's actions, constant lawbreaking, justice evasion and indifference towards the people he hurts makes him even more a criminal than the gang who rob him.
Quotes[]
| “ | Get out here, you depraved piece of trash! You think I got where I am by letting scum like you rob from me? Van der Linde, you're done. Now get out here, now! | „ |
| ~ Cornwall ordering Dutch to show himself. |
| “ | Milton: I wanna thank you for your hospitality, Mr. Cornwall. Cornwall: This was a business meeting, Mr. Milton. We are not friends. I have spent a considerable fortune with your agency... and still, nothing. This Van der Linde robs me, and laughs at me. I asked for the best. I paid for the best. Milton: We are very close, Mr. Cornwall. I know you've heard this before... Cornwall: Janson. Send a telegram to Goldberg in New York... tell him I won't borrow at more than three point two percent. Sorry, no. I have heard it before... and get that army man to pay his portage charge. Milton: We are doing all we can within the confines of the law. Cornwall: The law? I think we both know what you can do with your laws. Find me Dutch van der Linde! Bring him here, and leave the laws to them as need them! Good day, sir! |
„ |
| ~ Cornwall scolding Milton and Ross for not founding Dutch, as well as showing his disregard of the law. |
| “ | Leviticus Cornwall: Now, listen up, Didsbury. What's all this about strikes? I bought into this mine because of mismanagement... and I intend to make it a success, no matter what the cost. Didsbury: It's the wages. Folk feel... Leviticus Cornwall: Folk feel? Business doesn't give two figs about feelings, sir. Not two figs. It's a nonsense that will bring a plague on both our houses... |
„ |
| ~ Leviticus berating Mr. Didsbury on the wage strike. |
Gallery[]
Images[]
Videos[]
TBA
Trivia[]
- Although Micah and Milton were the main antagonists of the game and had more presence on the screen, Cornwall was the biggest threat to the gang (even more than the previous antagonists from the previous chapters reunited) as he is a major funder and client of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency (the main antagonists of the game) and that he is the one who hired and financed the agency to track down the gang across the states, thus being indirectly responsible for most of the tragic events and deaths that occurred.
- Cornwall also threatened to stop funding the agency, thus depriving them of means for tracking the gang.
- While Milton considers Cornwall a friend and proves to show respect for him, Cornwall has shown to not care for Milton and reminded him that their relationship was strictly professional and only exists because he hired them to arrest Dutch.
- Just like Alberto Fussar, Cornwall's death received a highly propaganda cover by the newspapers, calling the murderers "evil" and stating that it is "unthinkable why anyone would seek his death as his businesses have put biscuits on the table and provisions in the larder for thousands of families" [1]. Regarding all of Cornwall's actions, he did the very opposite by underpaying his employees and putting them in dangerous work conditions, as well as numerous other unethical actions.
- Cornwall shares similarities with Devin Weston from Grand Theft Auto V, for their wealth, private connections and impact on the game story, although Cornwall himself is considerably far worse than Weston.
- Leviticus is a very ironic name for Cornwall, as it literally means “Book of the Levites” and is the third book of the Old Testament, that contains instructions for rituals, sacrifices, and practices on how to attain spiritual purification, forgiveness, and redemption.
- Leviticus Cornwall is based on several dominant late-nineteenth-century industrialists, his actions during the Horseshoe Overlook chapter and hiring the Pinkertons to destroy the gang based especially on those of E.H Harriman.
External Links[]
- Leviticus Cornwall on the Red Dead Wiki
- Leviticus Cornwall on the Pure Evil Wiki
[]
- ↑ "Cornwall Murdered" newspaper article https://reddead.fandom.com/wiki/Cornwall_Murdered