League should have a "Cody" type of character.

ModCaptainMårvelous··8 votes·1,545 views

https://www.fightersgeneration.com/nx2/char/sfxtk/cody-sfxtekken-white.jpg

#Who is Cody?

Cody is a character in Street Fighter and Final Fight. Basically, he's just a guy who loves fighting so much that he ends up getting thrown in jail for it. He breaks out, sure, but that's all he really enjoys doing: A good fight.

#Ok but why does this matter?

See, Cody is an interesting case. You see: Cody, in a world of demigod fighters and grandmasters who have trained their whole lives, is one of the strongest characters by virtue of...well, just being a fluke of nature. Cody hits like a truck. Cody is holding back in every single fight. Oni (The powered-up god form of Akuma) tells Cody that he might have a chance of winning if he stops holding back. Cody is able to knock out series protagonist Ryu when he stops holding back in a single punch.

Cody is the embodiment of an argument stopper. He's the kind of guy that always pops up on tier-lists of canonical power level that confuses everyone with his inclusion until people start explaining why. He's a divisive character, yes, but it's done in a way that's hilarious and endlessly entertaining. To see a dude who just loves street fighting taking on demigods and monster men.

#So why does League need this type of character?

Well, first of all, it'd be hilarious to have the tier list of canon power levels be composed of Aurelion Sol, Bard, Zoe and Chet Punchington.

In a less joking manner, I find this character boundlessly interesting. Whether by some one-in-a-infinity genetic combination or by sheer virtue of being someone who has an anomaly with their upbringing, the idea that there's this unstoppable force hiding in the slums of Zaun or in some drunken stupor in Bilgewater really gives me a big, stupid grin. The idea that for all these gods and demigods with insane strength, there's some guy just chilling in a prison cell who can go toe-to-toe with them. Maybe even win.

Plus, I think story-wise it could be very interesting to see a character who sparks the interest of even the most powerful creatures. Someone the void, darkin and Shadow Isles look to and go "Ok if this dude ever takes us seriously, he could be a problem."

#But what about Jax?

Eh. Jax is possible but honestly without new lore it's hard to say. Right now all we know is that he's a godly fighter when it comes to human-vs-human combat. We don't know much about him beyond that, nor do we know how much he's trained. Part of the fun/mystique of a Cody-type character is that he's not even trying and actively holding back. Jax always seems like he's giving everyone a fair and honest shot as well as being trained in every weapon known to man.

Maybe if Jax gets a lore change to be a carefree dude who just happens to be god-level by random chance, it could be fun. That type of lore change could be ill-suited to someone who has built a career on being a weaponsmaster, however, and it wouldn't be fair to Jax fans to turn a beloved character into a power-level-argument-meme.

23 Comments

GreenLore2 votes

Overall I feel like a character like this could be very entertaining(personally I'm more thinking of Saitama from One punch man or Escanor from nanatsu no taizai).

Though I do feel like they would need to justify his/her extreme power with something,they don't need to do it right away,but they could explain it later on.

However a character like this can be very tricky to write,as they can easily come off as a mary (or marty) sue.

Ebonmaw Dragon2 votes

I know that you already mentioned Jax... But... What about Olaf Olaf?

He is like a normal dude who really likes fighting and wants to die doing so... and he literally fought against an undead monster just for fun.

Considering that he wont die in a fight as he wants to, technically, he could defeat Bard, Xerath or Chogath for example... because... well, he cant die like that.

ModCaptainMårvelous5 votes

That's a good example. Olaf being able to win every fight/come out alive because of pure, stupid luck and the prophecy that he'll die old.

Fasmodey1 votes

No, it just means Olaf will never meet Bard, Xerath or Cho'Gath ever. His propechy is just his future, not a indicator of his powers.

Even if they met and he didn't die, it doesn't mean he would defeat them. How can he even do that? Someone ordinary trying to hit Xerath with axe means death. Same person hitting Bard means nothing.

Ebonmaw Dragon3 votes

{quoted}

No, it just means Olaf will never meet Bard, Xerath or Cho'Gath ever. His propechy is just his future, not a indicator of his powers.

Even if they met and he didn't die, it doesn't mean he would defeat them. How can he even do that? Someone ordinary trying to hit Xerath with axe means death. Same person hitting Bard means nothing.

I said that he COULD since they would not be able kill him, but i know that it doesnt mean that he is more powerfull than them... After all, they could defeat Olaf without killing him like Sejuani did. The thing is that he would survive, and that alone is impresive.

Solo Josh2 votes

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ModCaptainMårvelous1 votes

I disagree. A Mary Sue isn't just an absurdly powerful character. If this was the case, most characters would be mary sues.

A Mary Sue is less someone who is strong and more so someone without faults who always warps the story around them. Somebody loved and adored by everyone except bad guys because they're so pure and innocent. They also happen to be strong but it's not always physical strength.

Cody doesn't really fit the bill. While he's incredibly strong, he's also a mess of a human being and a lot of people hate him. He ruins his relationships, he's always doing bad shit and people see Cody less as this supergod that can punch buildings and more like a criminal convict who can't stop fucking figthing for one second. Cody has faults. Cody has problems. Not everyone actively likes Cody. Cody just happens to be a guy who is strong in addition to being a dude who won't stop fighting.

Solo Josh1 votes

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ModCaptainMårvelous1 votes

Well, Cody is just...strong. There's no real answer to how or why, he's just somehow incredibly strong. Maybe it's genetics, maybe it's something he ate, who knows. Still, if we ever did get a reason, it'd probably be related directly to his body. (Sort of like how Superman is absurdly strong because of being kryptonian on a yellow planet, not really by training or science).

Pantheon, conversely, was once a normal guy....and then he got taken over by the aspect of war and is a god in a human's body. Doubly relevant because if you look at Aurelion's color-story, Pantheon was a girl at the time. She then got vaporized so Pantheon found a new host in another person. It's true for every celestial: They're less powerful by nature of being them, more so because they're sharing a body with a god and being given a portion of their power.

Arammus1 votes

"final fight" dude pls. dont remind me of that

kattzkitti1 votes

Jax is the only (currently existing) champion that could fit this archetype, because his existing lore is already halfway there. They just need to flesh it out a bit more, and he'd naturally result in being exactly what you want because there's no other natural direction his lore can go.

I would love to see that happen as part of a VU for him (don't think he needs a full VGU).

Asudurga1 votes

You forgot Xerath on that list of power. By all means Xerath is one of, if not, the most powerful characters in lore. That would make it funnier to know a character can go toe to toe with the likes of Xerath by sheer force of chance.

HonestJohnTheCon1 votes

He also forgot Kindred, the literal grim reaper. I wouldn't read too much into it.

Blaiz Fenix1 votes

I do like the idea, but this doesn't really fit the landscape of the newer characters they are trying to make. He could have interesting stories with other characters but there is a lack of depth to his character that would make story telling boring.

Of course you could add an in-depth story and gave him deep rooted motives, but I feel it would lose the charm that Cody has in the SF series.

Fasmodey1 votes

No thanks, I don't want Saitama in LoL cuz "LUL".

I don't want LoL to be hilarious and fucked up. I don't want well written powerful characters getting rekt by a joke character.

Another Zoe haha, even reading thread makes me cringe.

I really wouldn't expect it from you.

ModCaptainMårvelous1 votes

Thing is that a lot of these characters aren't joke characters. It's all about presentation. Cody doesn't come off as a joke, Cody comes off as this awesome, out-there character who is absurdly strong. Saitama might live in a comedic world but there's no denying he's a badass. The funny part is that nobody really realizes it until you explain it to them.

Besides, there's nothing to say that a character like that can't be written well. Using the same Saitama example, he's an earnest person who has his own hang-ups despite being godly strong. He's apathetic and rather depressed because he can't find a worthy fight. There is good writing in Saitama, even if the whole premise is a joke.

A character should be judged based on execution, not on the genre or base-idea you're using. If we judged based on concept alone, Billionaire in a bat suit fighting a chaotic clown man wouldn't ever be as popular as it is today. To add to this, your perception of Zoe (which, I agree, wasn't great) shouldn't be the basis for dismissing an entire character type.

Fasmodey1 votes

Everything about him smells joke. If a character's architype is being absurdly strong with human punches, it means it is joke.

Like, how are you going to explain this Cody guy punching Aurelion Sol and defeating him in one punch? A human, once a baby shitting himself, fucks up a millions of millions years old star dragon in one punch.

That's joke. Literally. That's "It is just a prank bro". If Riot ever releases a champion like this, I leave lore. I really leave it and don't give a fuck what happens to it because it can't go worse.

I don't want LoL to be hilarious, I want to see it in Warcraft, Warhammer 40k level. And in this universes, there are no bullshits like Saitama and Cody.

ModCaptainMårvelous1 votes

I don't want LoL to be hilarious, I want to see it in Warcraft, Warhammer 40k level. And in this universes, there are no bullshits like Saitama and Cody.

Hoo boy, it's super ironic that you use these examples.

Warcraft has characters like Varian Wrynn, Thrall, Illidan Stormrage, Lei Shen, Huln Highmountain and more. There are tons of characters who are absurdly strong for no other reason than "We need a raid boss" or "they're a canonical character".

Warhammer certainly has it's own characters like that but it's more so that they either downplay the power...which is what they do with examples like Saitama or Cody. Yes, Saitama can one-hit KO characters but he doesn't really care enough and is more interested in finding a good fight. Cody is constantly holding back and even if he's a tough dude, he's not immortal. Again, it's all in presentation and I hardly think having characters who can be absurdly strong are a bad thing.

Plus League already has a few of these absurdly strong characters with little and/or hidden justification.

Fasmodey1 votes

None of characters you listed is able to, or even stand, against the strongest characters of Warcraft. Sargeras required an entire Pantheon + Azeroth to be stopped. With Cody, there would just one punch.

The most powerful of LoL characters are not human though, and they don't use punches with mortal flesh to defeat demigods.

Problem is not little or hidden justification, it is who defeats with what. A mortal man, using naked mortal flesh punches to defeat gods. It is far far worse than even what Zoe does.

Professor Ward1 votes

{quoted}

None of characters you listed is able to, or even stand, against the strongest characters of Warcraft. Sargeras required an entire Pantheon + Azeroth to be stopped. With Cody, there would just one punch.

The most powerful of LoL characters are not human though, and they don't use punches with mortal flesh to defeat demigods.

Problem is not little or hidden justification, it is who defeats with what. A mortal man, using naked mortal flesh punches to defeat gods. It is far far worse than even what Zoe does.

have you ever seen canonical sizes of champions? Canon, and realism, shouldnt even be talked about when referencing the creation of characters.

Lee sins kick shouldnt even flinch the dust off of most "canon" champs in league, let alone knock malphite back 50 feet. lelelelele

WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOO1 votes

What would be your vision for this champion?

ModCaptainMårvelous1 votes

Probably along the lines of something I suggested in the OP:

Some sort of thug from Zaun who has been/was chemically altered or infected with some incredibly potent one-in-a-million combination of chemicals with a good zap of hextech. He/She probably just wants to be left alone but when push comes to shove, they bust out an absurdly powerful brawler skillset. Nothing fancy, complicated or spectacular, just a good old fashion beatdown that leaves Zaun's police force questioning who is able to bring down one of their spires with a flick of the wrist.

DariusDemiurge1 votes

No thank you. We already have some what similar ideas in all the basic champs. Like graves and garen for example. It might not say specifically what you desire in their lore but you know thug with a hextech shotgun killing gods and insane monsters in game, close enough.

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