"You know, I used to think it was awful that life was so unfair. Then I thought, wouldn't it be much worse if life were fair, and all the terrible things that happen to us come because we actually deserve them? So, now I take great comfort in the general hostility and unfairness of the universe."

name: Marcus Cole

is: a Ranger, a disillusioned romantic

wants: to atone for the death of his brother; Ivanova (no! not illicitly! well, maybe -p)

birthday: a nice day in spring (aka i don't know)

family: parents deceased--they were miners on a small colony world. His younger brother William was a Ranger killed in a Shadow attack (the poor dear!-p).

religion: agnostic (just like jms!-p)

strong point: protecting; his pike (den'bok); annoying people (ie. Ivanova, Franklin [hehehe])

weak point: singing (hey, I think it's pretty good!-p)

role: He is a dedicated Ranger, but as Turval notes, he joined for the wrong reason, not to serve but to atone. He blames himself for not listening to his brother when he warned him about the Shadows, and his guilt over William's death is the driving force behind his actions. He refuses to allow anyone else that he cares about die; he is willing to fight Neroon to the death in "Gray 17 is Missing" to save Delenn (which is all very well, you might say, he's sworn to protect the One), and he eventually gives his life to save that of the woman he loves. His actions are very noble, and perhaps he didn't have quite as happy an ending as he deserved, but he did come full circle. For now, he's frozen in Cryo at the request of Commander Susan Ivanova. I think he'll stay that way--but hey, there's always fanfic :)

catch phrase: "I am a Ranger! We walk in the dark places no others will enter. We stand on the bridge and no one may pass. We live for the One...We die for the One!"

what others think of him:

"You have lost much, endured much, sacrificed greatly, but you cling to the memory of your sacrifices, of all the things you have lost or left behind. They drag behind you like chains of your own making. They can have a terrible power over you Marcus, the power of grief, and loss, and regret. Yes, you have let go of the people, the places, the things--but you have not let go of the pain. You have not forgiven yourself." --Delenn

"You know, I never knew what to do with him. He was the most undisciplined, most annoying..."--a broken-hearted Ivanova

shilpa's comments: Marcus is great. He can be dark, annoying, funny, dedicated. He's very loyal. He's obviously tortured by his failure to act in the past and all too caught up in making up for it. He does this by serving quite selflessly--and effectively, I must say. I really enjoyed his interactions with the other characters, especially Ivanova. It didn't quite register that he was really dying when he died. That was no fun at all.

p's comments: momentarily absent