Joel
Information
Gender	Male
Race	Human

Joel is the playable character and one of the primary protagonists of the upcoming video game The Last of Us. He is voiced and mo-capped by Troy Baker.^[1][2] He is a ruthless survivor of the Cordyceps unilateralis plague that has decimated mankind.

BiographyEdit

Background & Early lifeEdit

Little is known regarding Joel's life preceding the plague, although it is suggested that he maintained a normal, mostly prosaic lifestyle that wasn't so different from the majority of other Americans living at that time. In the teaser trailer, we see him lamenting over the loss of such luxuries, but he is also quick to accept it.

The plague began sometime when Joel was around his early 20's.

Events of The Last of UsEdit

Twenty years after the initial plague that eliminated millions of people across the United States, Joel is known as a man who runs drugs and weapons through the quarantine zone in Boston. At some point he also became acquainted with a woman known as Tess, who maintains the underground market (of the local Boston area) and specializes in contraband. The two appear to work with each other frequently, and they seen to have a respectful alliance at the start of the game.

At an unknown time, Joel promised a dying friend he would rescue Ellie, a fourteen-year-old orphan, from a nearby boarding house and bring her to a secretive group known as Firefly for an unknown reason. Some time after the escape, military authorities find out and begin pursuing them as they commence their journey west across what remains of the United States.^[3]

Personality and TraitsEdit

Joel has been described as a "violent thug, a brutal killer, and a torturer."^[4] During the aftermath of the epidemic that struck the country, he's resorted to working in black-market dealings and smuggling items/people of interest through quarantine zones or other designated areas.^[5] Because of this, he's accumulated valuable knowledge in regards to surviving the post-apocalyptic environment and is a ruthless killer when presented with hostile enemies. He has also revealed to Ellie that he's "been on both sides" in response to having known about a third-party ambush, and this dark past likely contributed to his experience as a hardened survivalist.

Described as being in his late 40's, Joel knows what the world looked like before it was devastated. Over time, he's begun to become less bound by morality and more bound by doing whatever is necessary to survive. "What he wouldn't do in the past is almost a daily occurrence at this point," Bruce Straley, the game's director, notes.^[6]

AbilitiesEdit

Joel is an expert survivor and has many abilities that help him. He has experience with firearms and can use them ably. He also has an enhanced sense of hearing that can be activated by holding R2, it turns the world to gray-tones, and anything within Joel's range of hearing is outlined. He is an expert strategist and can operate well in stealthy situations. He is also adept at crafting improvised weapons and tools, although all these can depend on the player too.

WeaponsEdit

• Revolver (Main Weapon)
• Machete
• Throwable Objects (Planks, Bricks, etc.)
• Shotgun
• 9mm Pistol
• Rifle
• Bow and Arrow
• Pipe
• Bomb
• Smoke bomb
• Axe
• Hatchet
• Molotov Cocktail
• Shiv
• Switchblade

TriviaEdit

• It has been confirmed by Naughty Dog that the player will control Joel throughout the single player adventure.
• Joel comments that he was never fond of video games before the plague. This is ironic as he is the star of a video game.

GalleryEdit

Concept art from Game Informer

Joel Full-Body Concept Art

More Concept Art

Concept art of Joel in an old abandoned diner.

Add a photo to this galleryAdd a photo to this gallery

ReferencesEdit