- "Oh, you're right, Kane. I'm not a soldier. A soldier follows orders. But a warrior follows his heart."
- —Joseph Turok
Joseph Turok, commonly referred to as Turok, is a former member of Wolf Pack, Roland Kane's former protege, and a current member of Whiskey Company. He is the titular protagonist of Turok.
Appearance[]
Joseph wore armor unlike most of Whiskey Company, being fully sleeveless and filled with pouches, and belts. Featuring a gray coloration. He bore a mohawk, an unconventional hairstyle compared to both his allies in Whiskey or Wolf Pack.
History[]
Little is known about Joseph Turok's early life past his Kiowa descent. At some point he was being transferred to a different military prison along with other military criminals, however he was pulled aside by Roland Kane, alongside a few others. Kane saw potential in the prisoners, stating that with his guidance they could become unrivaled killing machines, with that potential being perfect for Wolf Pack. Joseph mocked Kane's comments to the others, with the latter telling him to step forward. As Kane guessed at his heritage, that of the Kiowa Indian tribe, Turok became more defiant, and a nearby guard raised his shotgun to strike him, with the prisoner efficiently knocking his captor out.
Following this, Turok would then go on to be trained under Kane and John Grimes' watchful eye, becoming extremely efficient with both the knife and bow in combat. He would finish his training after a sparring match with Kane, who would use his own knife to give him a scar. Wolf Pack, Turok included, would then be sent on a mission to Colombia. The cartel stationed there would be eradicated, and Turok would accidentally mortally wound a young girl. Not willing to kill her on Kane's order, the latter would execute her, and Turok, disillusioned with Wolf Pack's ways, would end up abandoning his unit. At some point during this conflict, Robert Slade would perish.
Turok would then be transferred to Whiskey Company, all of whom were being sent to a backwater planet in an effort to capture Roland Kane, who had gone AWOL three years before their arrival. After a briefing, The company's ship would then be shot down, with Turok surviving and attempting to assist many members of Whiskey at his immediate crash site. He would link up with Henderson, who would fall prey to a Utahraptor attack within minutes, before finding Slade; the two forming a fragile alliance in an effort to reach the main crash site. Turok and Slade would travel through the jungle, encountering the planet's titanic Tyrannosaurus rex, and the latter would eventually confront Turok on his abandonment of Wolf Pack, revealing Robert was his brother.
The duo would then make their way through the dark jungle, an enormous MG base, and a desolate valley before managing to link up with Reese and subsequently, the remains of Whiskey. At the crash site Turok would meet up with Cole, who stated Joseph needed to find the ship's comm unit. While hesitant to drop the hunt for Kane, he would oblige and head into the jungle alone in search of it. Grimes would eventually hunt Turok down, holding him at knife point and offering him a second chance to rejoin his old companions; Turok refused, and Grimes would leave as quickly as he arrived. Joseph eventually found and rescued Cowboy, saving him from the local Mendel-Gruman threat, although the latter would be struck by an arrow. The rest of Whiskey would arrive shortly after, with Slade accusing Turok of having fired it. Eventually, Cowboy would be taken back to camp, and Logan would send Turok, Foster, and Gonzales into Mother Superior to look for the comm unit.
While his two allies would quickly fall to a sniper and a T. rex attack, Joseph would locate the comms unit, fighting Mama Scarface and her kin in her nest for it. Successfully retrieving it but unable to finish off the T. rex, he would travel back to camp through the same location where Grimes met him before, finding his way back in the dead of night. Slade would become intensely angry with the loss, Gonzales being his best friend, and he would challenge Turok to a knife fight before Jericho would break it up. Grimes would then return, deflecting an arrow off of Turok's quiver to strike and kill Cole, with a massive firefight breaking out in the camp site. Although it would be unsuccessful, their position was revealed and unsafe, with Logan taking command. Turok, Slade, and Carter would then be tasked with investigating a loud noise in the forest.
The trio would arrive at an abandoned Mendel-Gruman outpost, encountering an unknown assailant capable of killing large dinosaurs. Slade would uncover Kane's plan to create a bioweapon involving an insect's toxin, and Turok would relay the position of a possible ship to escape the planet back to camp. Suddenly, the very insects Kane was taking advantage of would attack, killing Carter and dragging Turok and Slade underground, splitting them up. Joseph would fight through the winding subterranean caverns, eliminating swaths of the giant insects, before finally locating Slade, who was terrified and hiding from an enormous eel-like creature. Killing it and saving him, Turok would jokingly mock Slade, who begrudgingly lightened up following the encounter.
Slade and Turok would then find their way back up to the surface, fighting their way back to Whiskey. While Slade had stopped pressing his aggression, Logan became increasingly paranoid and hostile, eventually drawing his handgun on Turok. The remnants of Whiskey would be forced to hide as Mendel-Gruman forces arrived, however, Logan would alert them to Whiskey's presence through a heated argument with Turok and Cowboy. Logan would perish in the firefight, with Turok destroying a helicoper and subsequently assaulting the nearby base with Shepard and Jericho.
Turok and Shepard would eventually rendezvous with their teammates, and while they'd finally reach the ship's location, they'd find it destroyed. Another MG helicoper would split the group up again following this, and Joseph would make his way through a volcanic hellscape with Shepard, reconvening with the rest of Whiskey at the foot of a nearby, enormous Mendel-Gruman base. Reese would be picked off by Grimes at this point, much to Turok's shock. Successfully invading the complex, and setting up explosives, Turok and the remnants of Whiskey would then be captured by Kane and Grimes' men. Kane would greet Turok with disdain, the latter remaining defiant in spite of his position; eventually killing Cowboy as he spoke up and out of turn. Before the two could continue their meeting, the C-4 detonated, killing Grimes and forcing Kane to retreat.
The final three would then escape the base, slaying many Mendel-Gruman men and rogue dinosaurs and insects. They would find a serviceable ship in a nearby hanger, although Turok would state his intention to stay behind to stop Kane, with Slade supporting him. Turok alone would fight through a small squadron of Mendel forces before finally meeting Kane once more, unknowingly losing his knife in the process. He would finally engage in an intense melee with Kane, persevering and slaying his former mentor with his own blade. The region's T. rex would then return, attracted by the commotion. Turok would end her as well, planting a grenade in her skull which violently detonated, leaving Turok the last man standing.
Shepard and Slade would both return to pick Turok up following this, with the three getting ready for a long journey home.
Production notes[]
Joseph's design changed dramatically over the course of Turok's development. Originally, he possessed an aesthetic much more rooted in his Native American ancestry, with a look that was much more traditional and consistent with the Turok franchise's portrayal of the culture. This character design would eventually be dropped, although Turok 2 would revive the idea, with the game's untitled trailer showing Joseph possessing a much more traditional look. Also fitting this, Joseph was voiced by Gregory Norman Cruz, a Native American actor.
Gallery[]
Developmental images[]
Screenshots[]
List of appearances[]
- Turok (First appearance)
- Turok (mobile)
- Turok 2
Characters of Turok | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whiskey Company | Carter • Cole • Cowboy • Foster • Gonzales • Henderson • Jericho • Joseph Turok • Logan • Lewis • Parker • Reese • Shepard • Slade • Unidentified prisoner | ||||
Wolf Pack | John Grimes • Robert Slade • Roland Kane | ||||
Miscellaneous | Alpha Team • Beta Team • Bravo Team • Colombian drug cartel • Delta Team • Gamma Team (Whiskey Company) • Gamma Team (Mendel-Gruman) • Mendel-Gruman scientists • Mendel-Gruman Corporation • Unidentified Colombian girl • V-M |