| “ | The Creator does not care what happens in this world. Nobody has heard from Him since He marked Cain. We are alone. Orphaned children, cursed to struggle by the sweat of our brow to survive. Damned if I don't do everything it takes to do just that. Damned if I don't take what I want. | „ |
| ~ Tubal-Cain |
Tubal-Cain is the main antagonist of the 2014 film Noah, an adaptation of the classic Biblical tale of Noah's Ark from the Old Testament. He is a Biblical blacksmith and leader of the Descendants of Cain as well as a direct descendant of Cain himself. He comes into conflict with Noah.
He was portrayed by Ray Winstone, who also played Carlin in Scum, Captain Teague in Cold Mountain, Soldier Sam in the English dub of The Magic Roundabout, Arnold French in The Departed, George McHale in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Ares in Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, Admiral Orlock in Killzone 3, Bad Bill in Rango, Tyson in The Queen's Gorgi, General Dreykov in Black Widow and Papa Bear in Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. As a young man, he was portrayed by Finn Wittrock, who also played Dandy Mott in American Horror Story: Freak Show, Harvey Morell in Criminal Minds, and Cameron Tyler in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
Biography[]
At some point, Tubal-Cain develops an affinity for smithing and chemistry. He also becomes the leader of the Descendants of Cain. The film begins on a hill, and on that hill, we are introduced to Noah and his father Lamech. Lamech was about to pass down the skin that was originally from the Serpent from the Garden of Eden to Noah. As he was passing it to Noah, a young king named Tubal-Cain arrived with a large crowd, with the intention of making the hill a mine. He then murders Noah's father, and takes the Serpent's skin. Noah runs off in fear.
Years later, when construction on the Ark was nearing completion, Tubal-Cain and his men started to consume human flesh because food was low. Tubal-Cain then tries to invade the Ark through force, but he retreats because the Watchers, banished angels trapped in stone-like flesh, forced him to. When the flood waters began to fall upon the Earth, Tubal-Cain suddenly stops smithing weapons and begins questioning why God never speaks to him. He then fills his rocket propellent with ammunition and decides to take fate into his own hands and survive the upcoming genocide. He leaves the tent and re-establishes amongst the Descendants of Cain, by declaring to the Descendants of Cain that they are meant to die in this flood and that they should instead take the Ark and survive.
Tubal-Cain and the Descendants of Cain launch a full scale collective attack on the Watchers defending Noah's tribe within the Ark. Tubal-Cain, using tactical thinking, slips beneath Samyaza, the leader of the Watchers and fires his rocket propellant at him, damaging the Watcher's body. Tubal-Cain then begins piercing Samyaza's rocky hide. As Samyaza lay there dying helplessly, he begged God to forgive him for his misdeeds.
As Tubal-Cain opens up Samyaza's golem body, instead of dying, he bursts out of his body, severely injuring Tubal-Cain and killing a number of the Descendants of Cain as he ascends back to Heaven. The other Watchers become motivated to help Noah and his tribe stay safe until the flood waters arrive, given that God has granted them an opportunity to redeem themselves and ascend back to Heaven.
Tubal-Cain manages to endure his injuries and crawl onto the Ark and he used his hand axe to enter the Ark unnoticed, except by Ham. He plays with Ham's anger towards his father for letting Na'el, a woman he just met, die when she got her foot ensnared in an animal trap. This ensured his survival would remain a secret until further notice. By now the Flood waters have arrived at the site of the Ark and drowned all of the Descendants of Cain, except Tubal-Cain who was already inside the Ark; and all the Watchers had ascended back to Heaven, all the while bidding farewell to Noah and his tribe.
As time goes on and Tubal-Cain recovers, he even begins teaching Ham his knowledge, beliefs and even his skills, all the while plotting to take over the Ark with Ham and kill only Noah. After the flood waters had stopped falling via rain, Ham lures his father to the edge of the vessel, and he and Tubal-Cain engage in mortal combat. The Ark hits a mountain, and Tubal-Cain is thrown through the shattered wall of the vessel. While injured, Tubal-Cain manages to make his way back onto the Ark. When it finally seemed like he would kill Noah, a repentant Ham fatally stabs Tubal-Cain in the back of his ribcage.
Despite Ham's betrayal, Tubal-Cain grabs on to Ham with anger, but then expresses his pride and satisfaction towards Ham's actions, as he hands Ham the Serpent's skin. He then says his last words to Ham; "Now you are a man.", passing on his memes to Ham. The wicked king then accepts his fate as he succumbs to his wounds and passes away, leaving both Noah and Ham shocked and skeptical of their roles, but also relieved that God has not forgotten them. In murdering Tubal-Cain, Ham had avenged the deaths of his grandfather Lamech, Na'el, Samyaza, and all of the other Watchers that were killed by Tubal-Cain and the Descendants of Cain.
Personality[]
| “ | I am a man made in your image. Why would you not converse with me?... I give life and I take life away; as you do. And I am like you. Am I not? Speak to me... SPEAK TO ME! | „ |
| ~ Tubal-Cain yelling out for God's attention, all the while comparing himself to God. |
Tubal-Cain is a man of complex morality.
On the one hand, he is a murderous madman and a completely depraved man who leads a bloodthirsty army and a morally depraved civilization, guilty of rampant cannibalism, mass murder, and sexual and environmental rape. He can be seen as a man emblematic of all that is evil in humanity.
On the other hand, he saved Cam from being killed and was sympathetic and kind to him, and he is also revealed to be a man tormented by doubt, fear, and intense feelings of abandonment brought on by his belief that the Creator no longer cares about humanity. His main motivation behind his actions is to ensure the survival of his people and himself. For example, what drove him to kill Lamech was to reclaim his lands and give his city a new source of sustenance, and the goal of conquering the Ark was to get his people to safety from the coming cataclysm.
During his time in recovery he accurately noted that Noah could have easily taken hundreds, if not thousands, of families to safety but chose not to. His motivation for killing Noah was initially just to avenge his annihilated tribe but then became more important when he learned that Ila was pregnant and that Noah planned to kill the child, revealing that even Tubal-Cain had a limit when it came to murder.
Powers and Abilities[]
- Superior Strength: According to legend, while all men from biblical times were very strong, Tubal-Cain displayed strength well beyond the strength of any man during his time. His sheer strength was enough to use a spear to tear through a damaged part of a Watcherr's golem body, overpower Noah in combat and even break thought he Ark's exterior with just a hand axe.
- Gifted Intelligence: Tubal-Cain also displayed an unusually high level of intelligence, which he used to not only become the leader of the Descendants of Cain, but to also become the world's first alleged blacksmith.
- Leadership Skills: Tubal-Cain has shown himself to be a remarkable leader of the Descendants of Cain, maintaining order within their ranks and even inspiring them to go up against the Watchers protecting Noah. He was also able to teach Ham his methodology of thinking while he hid in the Ark.
- Smithing: Tubal-Cain is allegedly the first to ever develop the first working brass and many other weapons. He is also allegedly the very first artifact developer and even developed the methods for cold forging any native copper and meteoric iron. Some sources describe Tubal-Cain as the first chemist. He even developed a type of rocket propellant which he used to overpower the Watchers' golem bodies which ended up accidentally releasing the said fallen angels; allowing them to instantly ascend back to Heaven.
- Theological Knowledge: Tubal-Cain possessed knowledge of who and what the Watchers were, as well as the bloodlines of Cain and Seth. He was also aware of Cain being marked by God and that was the last time God ever intervened in humanity's affairs.
- Extended Longevity: Like all human beings prior to the Flood, Tubal-Cain had a greatly extend lifespan. He was still in his prime long 300 years after Noah completed the Ark and the rain began. Even after 300 years, his strength, intelligence and martial prowess had not faded the slightest, although his hair had gone gray with some minor hair still retaining color.
- Indomitable Willpower: Tubal-Cain displayed an extraordinary level of willpower. He refused to accept his fate to be drowned by the Flood, he survived his injuries caused by the Watcher's ascension to Heaven, and he even entered the Ark unnoticed and severely injured. However, when Ham stabs Tubal-Cain with the intention to save Noah, Tubal-Cain accepts his fate and dies.
- The Serpent's Skin: Tubal-Cain even held possession of the Serpent's Skin which had a golden glow. Whether it had any preternatural properties or powers is unknown. He once took out the Serpent's skin when he was questioning why God would not speak to him. He passed the skin on to Ham when Ham killed him.
Trivia[]
- Tubal-Cain is the same name of the biblical blacksmith from Judeo-Christian religions.