| Augustus Cole | |
|---|---|
| Gears of War character | |
 Augustus Cole as he appears in Gears of War: Ultimate Edition (2015) | |
| First appearance | Gears of War (2006) |
| Designed by | Cliff Bleszinski |
| Voiced by | Lester Speight |
Augustus "Cole Train" Cole is a fictional character in the Gears of War media franchise. He first appeared in the first video game of the series as a supporting character, and has since appeared in some capacity for every mainline and spin-off installment of the Gears of War franchise. Cole is voiced by Lester Speight in all of his video game appearances.
Within the series, Cole is a former star athlete in his youth who participated in humanity's war with the Locust Horde on the planet Sera by enlisting with the Coalition of Ordered Governments ("COG"), a supranational and intergovernmental military collective who are the dominant human political force on Sera. Cole has spent most of his military career alongside his close friend, Damon Baird; unlike Baird and most of Cole's team mates, who are often dour or cynical in temperament, he is usually depicted as a vibrant, enthusiastic character known for his brash humor and infectious energy.
As one of the most well known characters in the Gears of War series, Augustus Cole has earned a mostly positive reception, but also criticism and accusations of racism by some sources. The character was the subject of legal action launched by Lenwood Hamilton, a former National Football League player who claimed that his publicity rights was infringed upon because the video game character had a number of features he alleged were identified with him or his public persona. Various merchandise for the character, as with other of the series' characters, has been released.