(SPEC) Cornwall: The Kerosene, The Tar, The Trains...The Villain

[BretMaverick777]

 

Ladies and gentlemen, meet....

Mr. Cornwall.

 

This guy.

We know he's likely to be not only A villain, but THE villain.   Mr. "You Venerate Savagery."   Always hanging out with his hired goons from the Blackrose bounty hunter agency, including that scoundrel Edgar Ross.   Some have already surmised that makes him an officer of Blackrose himself, the leader of the agency.   But if he's a bounty hunter, where are his guns?  This guy doesn't venerate savagery....he pays somebody else to make bad people die savagely.  

 

So....what if this guy is actually the guy who hires Blackrose instead?  Because he has tons of money to spend?  And he has tons of money to protect?   Historical footnote:  when real-world outlaw gangs like the James-Younger gang, Doolin-Dalton gang, and Butch & Sundance's Hole-In-The-Wall gang took to robbing banks, trains and stages, the companies they targeted took to hiring Pinkerton detectives to track them down, find their hideouts, and shoot them.   Pretty reasonable that's what's going to happen in RDR2 as well, with Blackrose standing in for the Pinkertons.   A guy with a lot of money and a lot of assets stands to lose a lot of money with the robberies from Dutch's gang.  What if they're targeting his bank accounts, his trains, his stage coaches, and more...? 

 

What do we know about "Cornwall" at this point?   For sure:  it's a landmark in New Hanover, marked "Cornwall Kerosene and Tar."  In other words, an oil field.  (Heartlands Oil Fields are very close by.) 

 

We also know "Cornwall" is a major rail company operating in the game, in multiple locations.   And it's clear that these guys are serious about protecting their trains:  look closely, and you'll see these cars are armored and protected by shutters and rifle ports in the roof.   A Cornwall train ain't gonna be easy to rob.

 

 

Hell, a pre-order collectible item even features a lock box with an engraved plate from "Cornwall Commodities and Freight."  So CC&F is obviously gonna play a huge part in the game.

Edited July 14, 2018 by BretMaverick777

[BretMaverick777]

So.....what? 

Cornwall is a big company that manages oil fields, trains, commodities.  The CEO is dead serious about protecting his assets, and is apparently going to butt heads with the gang all through the game.  But how big is this guy's role? 

 

Let's take a look at this scene from Trailer 3, and see. 

Lenny is walking Mr. Cornwall at gunpoint into the camp to face Arthur and Dutch.  Edgar Ross is watching Cornwall nervously.   Other members of the gang stand by, hands on their guns.  Is Cornwall a captive?   Maybe.  More likely:   it's a parlay.    Why do I say that?   Take a look at the reaction shot from the rest of the camp.  The whole Dutch Gang camp.

This is a real "holy sh**" moment for them.  (And us.)  They're all like:  "How the hell did he find us?!  How the hell did he just waltz right in here?! What do we do...shoot him, or run like hell?!"

 

It looks like Cornwall is coming to negotiate with Dutch.  Negotiate what...? I have no idea, but it must be big.  Surrender?  Plea bargain?  A big payoff to leave his trains alone?   Whatever it is, it's HIGH DRAMA.   Hero vs. Villain.  Nemesis vs. Nemesis. 

 

Ladies and gentlemen:   meet Mr. Cornwall. 

[BretMaverick777]

So.....what's Cornwall's game plan?  

My bet is he's looking to expand his railroad out of New Hanover and into Blackwater to create a major rail hub.  From Blackwater, he'll be able to then expand westward into New Austin and find the most fertile oil fields, including places like Plainview.  

 

Take a look at the West Elizabeth map in 1899 (RDR2)....

 

...versus West Elizabeth in 1911 (RDR1):

 

They *look* similar, but if you check the legend on the leaked RDR2 map, ROADS are shown in black, but RAILROADS are shown in yellow.  Therefore, the leaked RDR2 map shows that there are NO RAILROADS in West Elizabeth in 1899.   So....enter Cornwall.   They're going to build the railroads we ride (rode) in RDR1, and build the Pacific Union Railroad Camp, which does not exist yet in the 1899 map.   To do that, Cornwall will need lots of money, manpower, and supplies, which likely means a huge deposit in the Blackwater Bank.  

 

And so, here begins RDR2.   The devs have already told us the early part of the game launches with the legendary Blackwater Massacre that resulted in the deaths of 22 outlaws and 15 lawmen, with the legendary Landon Ricketts being one of the few survivors wearing a badge.  So now, we have a pretty good indication what sparked that massive shootout:   Dutch's Gang robs the bank to steal Cornwall's money, and it doesn't go well at all. 

 

Not convinced yet about the Cornwall story line?   Here's another plot point to consider.

 

The Grizzlies, RDR2's version of the Rocky Mountains, is shown to be divided into two parts...the main region covering the northeast part of the map, then one much smaller section marked "The Grizzlies (Intro)."   There's also a dashed purple boundary dividing the two regions.  Obvious explanation is that "Grizzlies (Intro)" marks the very beginning of our game -- the tutorial, if you will -- with a very limited playing area at the outset.  There's only three landmarks here -- the Adler Ranch homestead/rustling activity (gotta be Sadie's spread, or at least her kinfolk); Granite Pass, which the railroad passes through; and Colter, a caravan camp which marks our first gang hideout. 

 

A snowy railroad pass like Granite would be a GREAT place to stop a train for a robbery.  Right? 

 

So....what if early on in the game, Dutch's Gang hits a train at Granite Pass, that turns out to be FAR more heavily defended than anything they've encountered before?   Carrying FAR more money than they've ever seen before?   And as they begin to learn more about Cornwall, they discover that he's got a TON of money tied up in the Blackwater Bank.   The robbery goes south in all kinds of bad ways, but ultimately, the Dutch Gang rides off with the loot, like they always do. 

 

Only now, they've made enemies of a ruthless oil and rail baron who will stop at nothing to hunt down every last one of these savages to get his money back, protect his investments, and execute swift and lethal justice, either with a bullet or a hangman's noose.  

 

Boom.   Welcome to Red Dead Redemption 2, Chapter 1. 

[Non Funkable Token]

I'm a bit confused about this scene:

 

 

 

 

 

Either they killed all the train guards before threaten the rest of the passengers (civilians), or they are miscalculating the risk so bad here. Guards can shoot from inside with little risk and the gang members have no cover at all. Probably the former, but I wouldn't be surprised if this is a first try against Cornwall and the gang still doesn't know how big and dangerous the company is, and gets both a scary advice and the illusion of taking more profitable scores from it in the future, so the war begins.

Edited July 15, 2018 by Fluffy Sock

[BretMaverick777]

22 minutes ago, Fluffy Sock said:

I'm a bit confused about this scene:

 

  Hide contents

 

 

 

Either they killed all the train guards before threaten the rest of the passengers (civilians), or they are miscalculating the risk so bad here. Guards can shoot from inside with little risk and the gang members have no cover at all. Probably the former, but I wouldn't be surprised if this is a first try against Cornwall and the gang still doesn't know how big and dangerous the company is, and gets both a scary advice and the illusion of taking more profitable scores from it in the future, so the war begins.

Yeah, that's my read. And again, I see that as a very early "tutorial" mission at Granite Pass.  So it's our intro to Cornwall. 

 

I'm not sure this train is meant to be a traditional passenger train at all, but rather a money train.  The guards, ALL of them, are probably holed up inside the armored car, waiting.

 

And yeah, Dutch is probably in for a rude awakening in this scene.

[Non Funkable Token]

By passengers I mean engineers for the most part. Although they can come armed too, who knows. 

[Hunterh-O]

I have my own speculation. Maybe this guy isn't "Mr.Cornwall" but instead Governor Nate Johns, you know the person the elderly ladies mentioned in the first mission (Exodus in America), considering that Dutch's gang was all about upholding the government, and Edgar Ross mentioned Johns in "The Truth shall set you free" mission, he mentioned how Mr.Johns is interested in "Cleaning" the state, but that's just my personal idea.  

[BretMaverick777]

23 minutes ago, BullsonParade said:

I have my own speculation. Maybe this guy isn't "Mr.Cornwall" but instead Governor Nate Johns, you know the person the elderly ladies mentioned in the first mission (Exodus in America), considering that Dutch's gang was all about upholding the government, and Edgar Ross mentioned Johns in "The Truth shall set you free" mission, he mentioned how Mr.Johns is interested in "Cleaning" the state, but that's just my personal idea.  

Interesting.

Pretty sure Gov. Johns will play a visible role in RDR2, maybe an important one.  And the villain is certainly shown in Blackwater. 

 

But here's the thing:  a governor would use state/local law enforcement officers.  Blackwater has its own Keystone Kops police force.  This guy, otoh, is shown surrounded by his Blackrose bounty hunters. Private security. Again, that's the sign of a wealthy businessman hiring professional goons to protect his company; not a politician and his lawmen. 

[SneakyDeaky]

Yeah I agree with Bretmaverick. Plus those women on the train also say Nate Johns' family were "hillbilly trash that came here after the war."

That "Mr Cornwall" is pure landed gentry. Someone needs to clean the state - Nate Johns - so that men like him - Mr Cornwall - can rebuild it in the name of progress.

[BretMaverick777]

Just spotted some reinforcement to the theory.   Wish to god I could get this photo at a higher resolution to read the actual words, but anyhoo, there's this cigarette card in the pre-order collectibles:  

 

 

Same jacket. Same vest. Same cravat.  Slightly unshaven here, but otherwise:  the same villain from the trailers, minus his derby. 

 

In the background?   Oil wells. 

 

***Edit:   The header reads "__________  CIGARETTES."   The caption identifies him by name:  "LEVITICUS CORNWALL."   Nice and biblical....the choice of first name also hints at retribution and punishment.  I'd say it fits perfectly.  

 

Edited July 21, 2018 by BretMaverick777

[Cozzi]

I'm not 100% on this, but i don't think that guy specifically is the guy with the money. I just dont understand why the person with all the money would go out and even be talking with Dutch's gang. He would have like foot soldiers for that wouldn't he?  and also Damn, well, after thinking about it for a few minutes, that's good enough to convince me. BretMaverick, holy sh*t you've done some work here. lol. You should write lore.

He sure does seem like the kind of guy I would want to rob, too...