Charmed
Advertisement

"I was dead before I met you, I was born the day you loved me, and my love for you will keep me alive, forever."
—Cole about Phoebe Halliwell.[src]

Cole Turner was born in 1885 to the mortal Benjamin Turner and the demon Elizabeth. He was the human alter-ego to the now vanquished demon Belthazor, and the ex-husband of Phoebe Halliwell. He had a son with Phoebe during his time as the Source of All Evil, though the child died before being born after his power overwhelmed the Seer.

In his lifetime, Cole has been a demonic soldier of fortune, a mortal, possessed by the Source of All Evil, an Avatar and a soul trapped between life and death. His soul was destroyed in 2010 after he was stabbed with the Ancient Athame.

History

Early life

Phoebe: "Um, they had a baby though, didn't they? I think."
Clerk: "Yes. A son. Cole Turner. Born in 1885. Never got to know his father, unfortunately."
Phoebe learns more about Cole's past.[src]
Charmed309 153

Cole and Elizabeth after his father's murder

Cole was born in 1885 to California state assemblyman Benjamin Colerige Turner and an Upper-Level demon mother named Elizabeth.[1] Shortly after Cole was born, Benjamin found out his wife was a demon and tried to take Cole from her, but Elizabeth killed her husband with an energy ball and raised Cole herself. Elizabeth taught Cole to despise his human side for its "weaknesses." He suppressed it so completely that he became one of the most powerful demons of all time, under the name Belthazor. The Source of All Evil saw a good deal of promise in Cole and had Elizabeth put him through law school so he could blend into human society as a prominent lawyer. Many upper-level demons seek to infiltrate the mortal world in order to further the cause of evil, and Cole was particularly well suited for this since he was half-human.

Sometime around 1900 or 1901, the Source selected Cole to become a member of the Brotherhood of the Thorn, an elite society of upper-level demons. He was particularly close with two of the Brotherhood's other younger members, Tarkin and Trigg; they were the closest things he had to friends.[2] Over the next century, he made a reputation for himself as a cold, ruthless and methodical assassin who could kill anyone, an athame being his weapon of choice.

Agent of The Triad

Cole Triad

Cole taking orders from The Triad.

Cole was hired by the Triad to get close to and kill the Charmed Ones. The Triad promised to give him his father's soul if successful.[3] The Triad and the Source believed that since Cole was half-human, he could get closer to the sisters than a full-blooded demon could.[4] To do so, Cole was set up as an assistant district attorney in San Francisco.[5]

Cole first meets the Halliwell sisters in the year 2000 when he investigates the attack on the sisters' friend Darryl Morris. The sisters witnessed the attack and foiled the assailant, Emilio Smith, who was possessed by a Guardian in a plan to spread evil in the San Francisco area. When he arrives there, the youngest Charmed One, Phoebe Halliwell, is immediately taken with him. Cole calls the sisters in as witnesses for the man's trial, but the judge, William Hamilton, acquits him. Hamilton, it turns out, is an upper-level demon who is assigning Guardians to criminals. He sends Emilio after Cole, but Prue and Phoebe manage to save Cole. At Emilio's next arraignment, Piper freezes the innocents in hopes of smoking out whoever is assigning the demons. Cole only pretends to freeze; in the midst of the ensuing struggle he shimmers to Hamilton's chambers and kills him by sending him up in flames.[5] Within the next few months, Cole becomes very close to Phoebe, and they begin dating. Cole had done extensive research on the Charmed Ones, and he set his sights on Phoebe because he believed that, as the youngest sister, she was the most vulnerable.

Cole Vanquishing William

Cole vanquishing Hamilton.

Cole first strikes against the sisters when he gets word that Piper and Leo are planning to marry, despite the Elders' vehement opposition to allowing the wedding. He alerts the Triad, who, in turn, alert the Elders. This doesn't appear to make sense at first, but it turned out both the Triad and the Elders feared that if a Whitelighter were allowed to marry a Charmed One, the concentration of power would be massive enough to irreparably damage the Grand Design. Later, he makes two attempts to steal the Charmed Ones' Book of Shadows.

After his first few attempts to assassinate Phoebe and her sisters, he starts protecting them against other demons so that his assignment can continue. Eventually, his human half falls deeply in love with Phoebe. His growing love for Phoebe soon overwhelms his demonic nature. Demons can't handle human emotions. Eventually, he stands up for the sisters and protects them, even though they do not know that Cole and Belthazor are the same person.

Under pressure from the Triad, Cole employs the help of Andras, the demon of rage, to turn the sisters against each other and strip them of their powers. A distraught Phoebe then goes to Cole's apartment. Cole slips an athame into his pants, intending to kill Phoebe, but can't bring himself to do it. Andras is watching, and threatens to rat him out to the Triad.

Cole Try Kill Phoebe

Cole's love for Phoebe prevents him from killing her.

When Cole threatens to kill him, Andras angers him enough to cause him to turn into Belthazor, then possesses him and forces him to attack the sisters. However, Prue deflected an energy ball back at Belthazor, ejecting Andras. Belthazor then vanquishes Andras, but Piper manages to gash off part of his flesh so she and her sisters can create a vanquishing potion. The Triad attempts to kill Cole for his treason, but Cole turns on them, killing them before fleeing back to his apartment to recuperate.[6] When the Source found out about this, he sent Krell, a Demonic Bounty Hunter, to kill Cole unless he came to his senses and killed the Charmed Ones.

When Phoebe goes to see Cole at his apartment, she finds that Cole is wounded and calls Leo to heal him. Leo tries to heal him but realizes that something is terribly wrong when he finds that he can't heal all of him, only his human half. He warns Phoebe that Cole is at least part-demon, and might very well be Belthazor. Phoebe doesn't believe him at first but grows more suspicious while searching Cole's apartment. When Prue and Piper, who are working with Krell, break into Cole's apartment, Cole transforms into Belthazor, grabs Phoebe and shimmers to the mausoleum, proclaiming his love for her.

Phoebe Fake Vanquishes Cole

Phoebe fakes Cole's vanquish.

He tells her that being with her reawakened his human half; over the years he'd forgotten what it meant to be human. Phoebe is heartbroken, but when Cole kills Krell before he can kill Phoebe, Phoebe fakes Cole's death and tells him to run.[4]

Outlaw

Cole does not return until two months later and gets in touch with Phoebe. He tells her that he wants to turn good and suppress his demonic side for her love. However, Phoebe doesn't want anything to do with him. Shortly afterward, Prue is kidnapped by the warlock Zile and the dark priestess Dantalian with the intent of forcing Prue to marry Zile in a dark binding ceremony.

Cole Coming Back

Cole telling Phoebe that he is back.

The ceremony would have not only turned Prue into a warlock, but also contaminated Piper, Phoebe, and the Book with evil as well. Dantalian, like most other upper-level dark dignitaries, has the ability to cloak her activities from good beings. Unable to find Prue, Phoebe turns to Cole for help. Cole finds out about Dantalian and goes back to warn Phoebe. By this time, the dark binding ceremony has turned Phoebe into a warlock. However, Cole is unwilling to have Phoebe as evil; he tells Phoebe that evil romances are based on lust and gratification, not love. Piper and Phoebe eventually find Prue and kill Zile and Dantalian, restoring them to good.[7]

Phoebe initially isn't willing to give Cole a chance, fearing that the pull toward evil will be too strong. However, a week later Phoebe discovers she is psychically linked to Bo Lightfeather, a half-Indian brutally murdered 127 years earlier. The townspeople were cursed into a time loop to help them learn to help Bo without fear. Cole goes back with Prue to help Bo, making Phoebe realize she still loves him.[8]

Cole becomes a very close ally of the Charmed Ones. He even witnesses Piper and Leo's wedding, and helps clear Prue of murder charges.[9] Determined to rid himself of his demonic nature forever, he asks Phoebe to make a potion that will permanently strip his demonic powers, leaving only his mortal side. Later, when Cole and the Charmed Ones find out that Cole's old friends in the Brotherhood are planning to take over most of the world's Internet traffic, Cole offers to go undercover.

Darryl and Cole at Piper and Leo's Wedding

Darryl and Cole at Piper and Leo's wedding.

The Charmed Ones and Leo don't like this idea, believing Cole's hold on good is too tenuous. He does manage to help foil the takeover, only to be kidnapped by his old mentor, Raynor. Believing that Cole's love for Phoebe is the only thing keeping him good, Raynor goads Cole, both magically and verbally, into killing a witch the sisters are protecting. This temporarily destroys Cole and Phoebe's relationship. However, after Cole saves Phoebe from being permanently turned into a Banshee, Phoebe believes there's still good left in Cole after all. At considerable risk, she finds Cole in the underworld and throws a potion at him to suppress his demonic side.

Cole Manipulated Raynor

Cole is manipulated by Raynor into killing a witch.

While at Prue's funeral, Cole is attacked by two demon bounty hunters but he quickly kills them. He and Phoebe then go to check on a girl they met at the funeral, Paige Matthews, after Phoebe gets a premonition of her being attacked by Shax, the same demon who killed Prue. While watching her, they see Paige orb out of the way of Shax's air blast. Cole does some recon work and discovers the Source sent Shax after Paige because she's not only a Whitelighter-witch hybrid, but Prue, Piper, and Phoebe's half-sisterā€”another Charmed One. Later, after the Source turns his attention to turning Paige evil, Cole focuses on the Source's aura (as all demons can) to track the Source down. He is nearly killed in the process by the Source, but Paige and Leo heal himā€”all of him this time.[10]

About a week later, Piper's bottled-up anger over Prue's death causes her to turn into a Fury, a demonic vigilante who takes great pleasure in killing anyone considered an evildoer. Knowing that Furies make evildoers hear the cries of their past victims, Paige suggests using Cole as bait to attract them to the manor. Phoebe doesn't like this idea at all, believing the cries of Cole's many victims could kill him. However, Cole is willing to atone for his crimes in order to save Piper. He is nearly paralyzed from his victims' cries, but as planned, it lures Piper to the manor which gives Phoebe, Paige and Leo the chance they need to turn her human again.

4x01-PhoebePrueFuneral

Cole and Phoebe at Prue's Funeral.

Later on, Cole discovers that the Source has sent a Chameleon Demon named Alastair to spy on the Charmed Ones. Once uncovered, Alastair is attacked by the sisters and flees. The Source kills Alastair and takes his place as the sisters hunt him down. The Source then kidnaps Piper and takes her to the Underworld, where he uses his mental powers to create a fantasy world where Piper is a patient in a mental institute, hoping to trick her into giving up her powers. Cole and Leo travel to the Underworld to track down Piper while Phoebe and Paige uses a spell to project themselves into Piper's mind. Cole allows himself to be captured in order to find the Source, but is rescued by Leo who vanquishes one of the bounty hunters through a trick, waking up Cole and allowing him to vanquish the other one. As Piper is about ready to relinquish her powers, Cole bombards the Source with energy balls as he stands immobile controlling Piper's mind. Cole is eventually able to wound The Source, but as he attempts to kill the Source, his attack is blocked by the Source's Oracle, who dies so the Source can escape.[11]

Cole becomes Human

Sometime later, the sisters become aware of a demon who is killing witches. After Piper scries for the demon from slime they find, Phoebe and Cole attempt to track the demon down. They are attacked by a Scavenger Demon, which is feeding on the remains left by the killer. It is at this time that Cole asks Phoebe to marry him in a spur of the moment. When Cole has to embrace his demon side in order to defeat another demon, a potion is used on him to strip him of his demon side, leaving him merely human.[12]

Shortly after, Cole and Phoebe are possessed by the spirits of Frankie and Lulu, a criminal couple who find their way to the present through a time portal. They go on a crime spree, stealing a diamond ring and a wedding dress, all so they can get married. At the church, Cole is shot by Darryl and Frankie's spirit escapes, only to be captured by a spirit named Clyde and sent back in time through the time portal. Then Phoebe accepts Cole's marriage proposal.[13]

Cole Becomes Human

Cole is stripped of his demonic side.

Later, the Seer betrays the Source by contacting Cole and giving him the Hollow to help defeat the Source. The Seer and Phoebe then use their combined abilities to put the Hollow back in its crypt and return Piper and Paige's stolen powers.[14]

Possessed by The Source

However, neither Cole nor the Charmed Ones know that the Seer intends for Cole to become the next Source. When the Source died, the Seer told the sisters that his powers went "into the void." She was referring to the void inside of Cole where Belthazor had once been. She believed that the Source's essence would enter that void and completely take Cole over.

4x13-Cole-Source

Cole's eyes blacken now that he is the Source.

Cole soon starts having nightmares of becoming the new Source, and begins flaming under the Source's influence. He tries to fight the evil growing in him, to no avail. Within a week of the Source's vanquish, it has almost completely taken over Cole. Phoebe senses something is wrong, especially after she thought she felt a premonition coming on (not knowing that the Source was blocking it). She casts a spell to hear her heart's desire, which summons her future and past selves to the present. Older Phoebe refuses to tell Phoebe about the events of the future for fear of changing things for the worse. Learning a young and vulnerable Phoebe is in the present, the demon Kurzon attacks little Phoebe, but Cole protects her. Kurzon attacks again, this time wounding older Phoebe. He is vanquished by the Charmed Ones, but not before Older Phoebe tells Phoebe to marry Cole. This returns the older and younger versions of Phoebe to their own time. As it turned out, the Seer engineered these attempts on Phoebe's life, believing Phoebe could influence Cole back toward good. Cole threatens to kill the Seer if she betrays him again.[15]

By this time, virtually the only thing remaining of Cole's humanity is his love for Phoebe. The Source believed (much to his chagrin) that without Phoebe's love, Cole's soul would die and the Source itself would cease to exist. Rather than renew the previous Source's war against the Charmed Ones, Cole planned to use Phoebe's love for him to turn her evil and permanently shatter the Power of Three. To that end, Cole orchestrates a number of events to sabotage his own wedding and trick Phoebe into marrying him in a dark wedding. This is done after the Seer tells him that he could lose everything if he marries Phoebe in a white wedding. Additionally, she has foreseen Phoebe giving birth to a powerful magical child. The child would have been a powerful good witch similar to his mother and aunts if Cole and Phoebe had been married in a normal way. As a result of the dark wedding, however, the baby would be pure demon and contain nothing of Cole or Phoebe.[16]

Shortly after the wedding, Paige sees Cole using demonic powers. Realizing that Paige has become suspicious of him, Cole hires a power broker to imbue within her a demonic power in order to distract her and her sisters so he can impregnate Phoebe with his evil spawn. Once alone with Paige in the manor, he plays mind games with Paige, nearly driving her insane if not for her sisters' intervention.

4x16-LaserBolt4

A paranoid Paige attacks Cole.

At the last minute, upon seeing Phoebe distraught over losing another sister, Cole gains enough control over The Source to save Paige by having other power brokers take the power out of her. Later, the Source and the Seer talk about why he saved Paige, and the Seer believes that it was Cole who saved Paige. She also sees that the Source can't overcome Cole's love for Phoebe and that the Source might even love Phoebe. While Paige is convinced that Cole has somehow turned demonic again, Piper, Phoebe and Leo initially disregard her theories.[17]

Cole persuades Phoebe to move into a penthouse suite, ostensibly so they can have peace. However, this is part of Cole's plan to separate her from her sisters. He then begins uniting the various demon and warlock factions in preparation for formally being crowned. The vampires want in on the new alliance, hoping that Cole will end an exile imposed by the previous Source. Although Cole had worked with vampires fairly often when he was Belthazor, he rejected their request for amnesty almost out of hand. Enraged, the Vampire Queen sends several of her minions to bite Paige and make her a vampire under her thrall. They believe that having even one Charmed One on their side will give them enough power to take over the Underworld before Cole can consolidate his power. An enraged Cole declares war on the vampires, and secretly hopes Paige dies in the process.

4x19-PhoebeCole

Phoebe joins Cole as his queen.

He personally hunts down and kills the Queenā€”but before Paige can seal her conversion by drinking blood. During this time, Piper grows more suspicious of Cole, and is more willing to listen to Paige's concerns. Even then, she is only willing to believe that Cole is working hand in glove with demons, but isn't a demon himself.[18]

After defeating the vampires, Cole begins the final preparations for his coronation as ruler of the Underworld. At this coronation, he is to lay his hand on the Grimoire and receive his full powers. Hours before the ceremony, he is attacked by an evil Wizard who schemes to seize the Source's powers. Phoebe tells Cole that she's pregnant. His personal assistant, a demon named Julie, suggests that Cole make her his queen instead, out of concern that Phoebe's influence on him will grow during the pregnancy. It turns out that Julie is actually working for the Seer, who still opposes the idea of a Charmed One as Queen of the Underworld. The Seer warns Cole that he risks losing everything if his love for Phoebe grows much stronger.

Shortly after that, Phoebe comes up and tells Cole that she threw fire while she and her sisters were fighting demons, and she didn't like how it felt. As Cole comforts her, Phoebe gets a premonition of him throwing fireballs, killing demons and working with the Seer and other demons. Horrified, Phoebe runs out of the apartment. Realizing that Phoebe now knows he's a demon, Cole decides to give up his powers to the wizard. However, guided by the Seer, Phoebe uses her new fire throwing powers to kill the wizard before the transfer is complete. The couple is then coronated as rulers of the Underworld.

Source Cole in crystal cage

Cole in the crystal cage, about to be vanquished.

To complete his plan to turn Phoebe evil and destroy the Power of Three, Cole orders the Seer to give Phoebe a prenatal tonic that will not only strengthen the baby, but destroy Phoebe's good side. However, even under the twin influences of the baby and the tonic, Phoebe still can't bring herself to choose between Cole and her sisters. She tries to play both sides, even going as far as to help her sisters protect Greg Conroy, an innocent Cole had marked for death. This severely undermines Cole's support in the Underworld. Several demons are already upset that Phoebe killed several of their compatriots. Under threat of a coup, Cole disguises himself as Phoebe and tricks Piper and Paige into bringing Greg out of hiding, then drops his glamour and kills him with a fireball. Phoebe eventually finds out about the tonic, and Cole admits ordering the Seer to give it to her, claiming that he wanted to spare her the pain he'd felt while having dueling natures fighting inside each other. He talks Phoebe into drinking a glass of the tonic. As they embrace, Cole tells Phoebe he personally killed Greg. This is the final straw for Phoebe; she sides with her sisters and helps them vanquish Cole when they storm the penthouse.[19]

After being vanquished, Cole and the Source finally end up as separate beings in the Demonic Wasteland, where demons usually go after being vanquished. As Cole was born half-human (and was in fact fully mortal at the time of his first vanquish), he has a soul while full-blooded demons have no souls. His soul is stuck in the wasteland and has to face a giant monster feeding on the powers of the vanquished demons. The only person Cole believes can help him is Phoebe.

Cole's Return

4x22-PhoebeColeWasteland

Cole with Phoebe in the Wasteland.

Cole begs Phoebe to use a spell in the Grimoire to bring him back to life. However, Phoebe is unwilling to use dark magic ever again and asks him to move on. Cole, now without hope, initially decides to meet his fate, when he accidentally steps on a power from a vanquished demon. Realizing that he can absorb the powers of vanquished demons, Cole kills the beast of the Wasteland and acquires various demonic powers. He briefly returns to Earth to save Phoebe from a bullet, by switching her position with that of a witch hunter who was shooting at her. He tells her that he isn't giving up on them.[20]

Cole returns several months later, just as Phoebe is in the process of getting a divorce. He tells Phoebe that he now has a massive arsenal of demonic powers, but wants to use them to atone for his many crimes as Belthazor and the Source. However, by this time, Phoebe and her sisters are unwilling to accept him anymore, and Phoebe angrily tells him that it's over. He persists, and Phoebe slashes him with a letter opener. To her horror, drops of his blood start bubbling on a piece of paper; his blood has turned acidic. She later discovers that his blood has eaten away the tip of the letter opener, further alarming her.[21] Later he talks to Paige and Darryl, who convince him to let Phoebe be if he really does love her, and he finally agrees. Shortly afterward, a heartbroken Phoebe is turned into a mermaid.

Cole changed for Phoebe

Cole tries to show Phoebe he has changed.

Paige tracks down Cole, believing he might be able to save her. He disagrees but Paige casts a spell to show him how much Phoebe loves him. He goes to save her, and helps her turn human again. Although Phoebe admits she still loves Cole, she tells him they can't ever get back together again.[22]

When an evil witch tries to manipulate fairy tales in order to kill the Charmed Ones, Phoebe automatically suspects Cole and refuses to believe that he is innocent. When Phoebe is turned into a pumpkin and nearly smashed by Adam Prinze (who is under the witch's spell), Cole saves her and knocks out Adam before taking the pumpkin to the Manor. Piper vanquishes the evil witch, reversing the spell. Phoebe apologizes to Cole, who forgives her as he knows he lost her trust a long time ago. Cole takes her to Adam and tells her that he wants her to trust herself again so she can trust him.

Cole tries to prove that he is still good so that Phoebe will take him back. He saves a future Whitelighter from a fire started by a Siren and is hailed as a hero by all but the Charmed Ones. Although Phoebe believes Cole is sincere about wanting to be good, she also knew that since Cole had been fully mortal since Belthazor's vanquish, he could not handle having any powers at all in him no matter how much he tried. Because of this, she believes that it's only a matter of time before the evil growing in him from his new powers will overwhelm him. Just as Phoebe wonders if she's being too hard on Cole, her fears are justified when he is seduced by the Siren. His demonic powers protect him from the deadly effects of the Siren's kiss, but they also cause the evil in him to overcome him and nearly strangle Phoebe to death. Phoebe is saved when Piper (who has switched powers with Leo) orbs in and tries to fight Cole off while Leo takes on the Siren. Piper is unsuccessful in breaking Cole's grip, but Leo manages to vanquish the Siren with Piper's molecular combustion, breaking her hold on Cole. Piper is then able to save Phoebe from near death with Leo's healing power. This causes Cole to realize just how dangerous he is and decide not to use his powers.[23]

5x05Cole witches in tights

Cole threatens Miller if he exposes Phoebe.

After Edward Miller, a slumlord, starts trying to evict his tenants, Cole turns to Phoebe for help, but she refuses at first. However, when she finds out several of her readers have asked for help, she threatens to expose Miller in her newspaper. Later, Cole is surprised to find Phoebe, a superhero, dangling Miller over a roof to scare him into canceling the evictions. Realizing that they were married, Miller goes to Cole to blackmail Phoebe. Seeing no other choice, Cole kills Miller and tells Phoebe that he is "taken care of", alarming her. Phoebe tells Cole to stay away from her.[24]

Barbas starts manipulating Cole into fearing he was evil in order to get him to give up his powers. With the help of Paige and her power stripping potion, it works and Cole's powers go into Barbas, reviving him and making him invincible. With Cole powerless, Paige and Piper consider him an innocent but Phoebe still behaves coldly towards him. Cole hoped to start his life anew, but in order to stop Barbas, Cole is forced to take his powers back (which he only does to protect Phoebe) and he vanquishes Barbas with an energy ball.[25]

5x09-4

Cole goes mad and kills two mortals in a bar.

After Phoebe saves her new boyfriend Miles from the Angel of Death, the warlock Bacarra comes back in time from six months into the future to tell Cole that Phoebe dies saving the man. Bacarra also informs Cole that in the future, he becomes the leader of the Underworld again. Cole doesn't believe him and instead tries to protect Miles and Phoebe secretly.[26]

Cole Goes Mad

After many months of loneliness, Cole goes insane due to the weight of the powers he has absorbed and Phoebe's constant rejection of him. He is determined not to be evil, but is now convinced the Charmed Ones will never accept him as good no matter what he does, leading to him killing two murderers with his powers without remorse, telling them that it felt natural to do so. In the midst of his despair, he tries to provoke the Charmed Ones into killing him by sending a Tracker to kill Leo, Paige and Piper's half-Whitelighter baby (though the baby is saved due to its ability to protect Piper even in the womb). In return, Cole promised to let the Tracker finish off Paige's father, Sam Wilder.

5x09-45

The Charmed Ones were unable to vanquish Cole.

However, just as the Tracker is about to kill Sam, Cole kills the Tracker insteadā€”he wanted Sam alive so he could heal Paige, believing that his massive powers meant only the Power of Three could put him out of his misery. As Cole expects, the Charmed Ones storm the penthouse, intent on vanquishing him once and for all with three of their most powerful potions. However, Phoebe sees through the game after Piper and Paige throw their potions, and isn't willing to help Cole commit suicide. Cole flings Phoebe's potion at himself, only to discover he is now invincible; not even the Power of Three can kill him.[27]

Shortly into 2003, Phoebe is kidnapped by Jeric, an ancient Egyptian demon who wants to use her body as a host for the spirit of his lover, an evil witch named Isis. Unable to find her, Piper and Paige turn to Cole for help, even when they witness him making several attempts to kill himself. However, Cole instead works hand in glove with Jeric so they can both get their lovers back. Phoebe's body is breaking down from the weight of having two souls in it, and Cole offers to transfer Isis' soul into Paige's body, in exchange for having Jeric mummify Phoebe until he can figure out how to make her love him again. When Piper and Paige find Phoebe in Egypt, Cole forcibly teleports Piper back to the manor and helps Jeric transfer Isis' soul into Paige's body.

5x10-14

Cole attempts suicide.

Cole tells Piper that she can only save one of her sisters. Isis is the only person who knows how to de-mummify a body. However, Paige's body is breaking down, and Isis won't revive Phoebe unless Paige's soul is expelled. Piper turns the tables on Cole and Jeric when she casts a spell that sends Isis into the afterlife rather than Paige. Having learned the necessary spell from Isis, Paige revives Phoebe. Piper vanquishes Jeric and Cole understands he lost this time. When Phoebe asks what's happened to him, he tells her that he's "gone mad," and leaves. A disillusioned Phoebe realizes that Cole has succumbed to evil again, just as she feared.

Gradually, Cole's obsession with Phoebe consumes him, and he vows to get her back at all costs. He even goes as far as to stir up legal difficulties for the Charmed Ones in hopes of tricking them into giving up the manor. His plan is to get the Nexus underneath the Manor, intending to use its power to not only turn Phoebe evil, but reorganize the underworld under his leadership and take control of the city. All this accomplishes is to make Phoebe hate him with a passion. When Cole manages to briefly get control of the manor, Phoebe bluffs her way into the basement and banishes the Woogyman just as Cole is taking him in. She then tells Cole to his face that she no longer felt anything for him, that she was officially freeā€”and she won't feel a thing when they finally figure out how to vanquish him.

Changing Reality

Colestrip

An insane Cole begins using shapeshifting strippers to turn into Phoebe for him.

In late 2002, Cole was approached by the Avatars, powerful beings that are neither good nor evil, about joining them. He refused at first, but changed his mind in 2003, believing their ability to warp the fabric of reality offered him one final chance to win back Phoebe. Cole then uses his newly minted powers to alter reality so that Shax killed Paige in 2001, before Piper and Phoebe ever realized she existed. Cole believes Paige was responsible for turning Phoebe against him. Alpha, the leader of the Avatars, warns him this spell is foolish, but Cole refuses to join with the Avatars until he sees this through.

While this is all happening, Paige catches a cold, and every time she sneezes, she orbs into a void outside of space and time where beings like the Avatars live. At the exact moment that Cole changes reality, Paige sneezes and thus survives the change. In this new reality, the Power of Three was never restored, and Piper has gone rogue in an effort to hunt down Shax.

Alpha granting avatar to Cole

Cole is made an Avatar.

Cole is the Source's right-hand, and is married to Phoebe. At first, Cole is content, even after Alpha tells him that because of the changed timeline, he has lost his Avatar powers (except for being able to undo this altered reality) and the powers he picked up from the Demonic Wasteland (including his invincibility). Instead, he is Belthazor. Cole realizes this leaves him vulnerable, but considers this an acceptable risk; he now believes that he and Phoebe were at their best when he was still half-demon. However, he discovers Phoebe has long since fallen out of love with him in this reality too. She is only still with him to protect Piper from the Source. He also learns that in this reality, he and Phoebe openly cheat on each other. Cole is stunned that their relationship went so far south after they were so fiercely in love, but Phoebe tells him that she doesn't think they were meant to be.

ColeFinalVanquish

Cole's final vanquish at the hands of Phoebe.

When Paige realizes what's going on, she tracks down this reality's Piper, Phoebe and Leo, then convinces them of who she is and what Cole has done. Piper and Paige make the Belthazor vanquishing potion, which falls into Phoebe's hands. Cole is convinced she would never throw it, but Phoebe does so without any doubts or sorrow. When Cole dies, the spell reverses, and the rightful timeline is restored. Cole dies on his 118th birthday in 2003.

Cole's Afterlife

Instead of going back to the Wasteland, Cole ends up in a cosmic void between life and death as punishment for his crimes. It is here that Piper sees him after she was attacked by a Thorn Demon and as a result, was hovering on the brink of death. Cole explains that he is there to help Piper get Leo back after he is taken away by the Elders to be punished for his joining the Avatars.

Piper is initially wary of Cole, as she believes that he has ulterior motives. He reveals that, in fact, he does; by bringing Piper and Leo back together, Cole hopes to restore Phoebe's faith in love as she had not been able to successfully find it after their relationship, and did not want her to end up like him thanks to that. Cole is able to gain Piper's trust and convinces Piper to give into death to call out to an amnesiac Leo, restoring the couple.

Cole Cosmic Void

Cole's first appearance in the Cosmic Void.

It is revealed that Cole was the one who arranged for Drakeā€”a demon-turned human that the Charmed Ones recently aidedā€”to become human and meet Phoebe. Cole speculated that Drake would renew Phoebe's faith in love and the fight for life. Cole also arranged Piper's attack by the Thorn Demons, as he had to "risk everything for this one."

It seems as though Cole has finally found at least some inner peace and redemption. His demeanor during his time with Piper shows that he has become a lot more patient, with an air of tranquility and wisdom about him, lacking the madness that characterized his last actions when he was alive, though this could just be that he's come to terms with his fate and is at peace with himself.

Quest for Redemption

Cole: "Looking for one of these?"
Piper: "Cole!"
Piper sees Cole once again.[src]

When Piper was sent into a portal by the first witch, Neena, she was greeted by an Angel of Destiny. However, unknown to both of them, Cole was watching over them.

At one point, Piper swears she saw a man hiding, and attempts to run over to him but he's gone before she even gets there. After the Angel of Destiny leaves the dimension by taking a bite out of an apple, Cole reveals himself to Piper with an apple of his own.

274px-016

Cole greets Piper.

Cole tries to gain Piper's trust so that she can eat the apple without any disastrous results so as to open the portal home. After some urging, and with the impending apocalypse, Piper is forced to trust Cole and eat the apple, allowing her to leave.

After the Warren witches defeated Neena and her army, Cole confronted Penny and Patty Halliwell about lying to the sisters by telling them that Prue had been reincarnated. Cole tells them that he did what they asked and wants his reward. Patty and Penny tell him that if he wants redemption he will have to do something bigger; they want him to find Prue, who has apparently gone missing.

A few months into his search, however, Cole began to interfere in the lives of Phoebe and her husband, Coop. He realized that if Coop used his Cupid power on his family, it could possibly destroy all of his relations including Phoebe, so he sought to protect them. However, Patty comes to Cole and told him to get back on task and find Prue.

Preview 4 Issue 15s

Cole asks for help from Alexi.

Cole then went to Alexi, a Seer and an old friend of his. After some convincing, Alexi was able to tell Cole that the person he seeks was in the place of her namesake. This led Cole to Salem Witch House in Salem, Massachusetts, where he finally found Prue had taken over the body of a comatose witch named Patience.

After Prue explained the reasons for her returning to Earth, as well as the cataclysmic events that would occur if she were to come in contact with any of her sisters, Cole decided to guard her to prevent that from happening. Unfortunately, Paige arrives in order to find Patience's employee Sarah who's a candidate for magic school. Despite Cole pleading with Paige to trust him for once, she orbs into the house, meets Prue, and as a result, the aforementioned cataclysmic events come to fruition. Cole then goes to the Manor in San Francisco to tell Piper what happened when Phoebe and Coop arrive.

As can be expected, Phoebe is livid that Cole is there. Cole attempts to put their personal issues to the side to explain to them what was going on with their powers, though to no avail as Phoebe refused to listen to him at all and demanded him to leave. A while later, Cole goes up to Phoebe and urges her to hear out his apology.

Colephoebe

Cole and Phoebe finally reconcile.

He asks for forgiveness for everything he put her through and apologizes for using evil influences as a crutch for not being a better man. Phoebe ultimately forgives him, telling him that she too had made her share of mistakes during their relationship. Later on, Cole tells Phoebe that he's going back to Salem with Prue to atone for his sins by helping new witches. He also informs his ex-wife that she's once again pregnant.

Unfortunately, a few months later, the Darklighter Rennek has taken control over magic and cut the Earth off from other dimensions, trapping Cole in the Void between life and death. Prue arrives after being mortally wounded in battle and Cole offers to use the strength of all those imprisoned in the void to cut a hole back to the plane of the living, sacrificing his only chance of escaping himself. After the sisters defeat Rennek and put things back to normal, Cole is freed from the Void and is rewarded by the Elders by being made into the messenger of Prue, who is now the Conduit between the realms and the caretaker of the balance between good and evil. They haven't forgiven him for his past misdeeds but after a century's worth of good work, he may be able to finally move on, but, for the time being, he is bound to the Nexus of the All with Prue, in a replica of Halliwell Manor.

Cole-ancient-athame1

Cole gets hit by the Ancient Athame.

Sacrifice

While assisting Prue and her sisters, he comes across two demons, Fritz and Valen, who wanted to stab him with the Ancient Athame as one of the methods to activate its power required the blood of someone hovering between life and death. When Piper intervened and vanquished Fritz, Valen redirected his target to the Angel of Death. Kidnapping one of Paige's charges, Aidel, Cole sets off with Coop and the sisters to save him. While confronting Valen and his undead army, Coop nearly falls to the Ancient Athame. Cole knocks him out of the way, knowing that Coop's death will devastate Phoebe, and sacrifices his own soul in the process. His mind then encounters Belthazor, his former demonic half, who tries to tempt him into becoming a demon again.

Coop holding Benjamin soul

Coop holding part of Benjamin's soul.

Cole's memory of Phoebe begins to fade as he resists and comes close to accepting when Phoebe's voice reaches him, allowing him to conquer Belthazor's attempt and his soul disappears in peace. Prue, Piper, Phoebe, Paige, Leo and Coop all mourn him. Before Cole's untimely demise, he told Prue about his plan to resurrect his father. Prue then gave one half of his father's soul to Coop to honor his last wish.

Resurrecting His Father

Main article: Benjamin Turner

Coop, feeling indebted to Cole, came up with a plan with Henry and Tyler to recover Benjamin's other half-soul. They ventured to the Demonic Wasteland and barely returned safely. Benjamin's soul accidentally possessed Coop's body when he dropped the fragments. Prue then removed the soul from Coop and resurrected it in Cole's body.

Powers and Abilities

Active Powers
  • Dusting: A form of teleportation in which the user teleports in gray dust-like particles.
  • Sensing: The magical ability to locate a person that is alive, anywhere in the world.
  • Mediumship: The ability to see and communicate with ghosts. However, Cole used it to communicate with beings on other planes.
  • Invisibility: The ability to make oneself unseen by the naked eye.
  • Telekinesis: The ability to move objects and beings with one's mind.
  • Suggestion: The ability to plant subliminal thoughts into the mind of another, effectively bending them to one's will.
  • Intangibility: The ability to alter one's molecular structure to move through physical matter.
Other Powers
Natural Abilities
  • Extensive Magical Knowledge: Having been raised in the magical world his entire life with a century of experience, Cole had extensive magical knowledge. He was particularly knowledgeable as a demonologist and fully understood the workings of the Underworld. He knew things the side of good didn't, giving him a rare perspective and a unique insight that no one else had, including even Leo.
  • Master Strategist: Cole was an astute strategist and tactician. His tactical wit and penchant for elaborate plans was legendary in the Underworld. He had orchestrated various schemes in an attempt to eliminate the Charmes Ones, and would have been successful had not his human feelings for Phoebe cloud his better judgment.
  • Master Manipulator: Cole's affinity for deception was almost as legendary as his strategic mind. Cole was able to successfully seduce Phoebe and feign himself as an ordinary mortal; deceiving even the Charmed Ones until they eventually found him out. He was effective in exploiting mental weaknesses, and use to his advantage.
  • Expert Hand-To-Hand Combatant: While rarely displayed, Cole had shown technical skills in both hand-to-hand combat and swordsmanship. He had personally mentored Phoebe for a time, and easily overwhelmed her during their sparring sessions. He likely received his combat training under Raynor.
  • Knowledge of Law: Having legitimately went to law school to gain an upstanding in human society, Cole had genuine skill and expertise as a lawyer. He was considered to be very prominent in his field of profession.

Appendices

Book of Shadows

Main article: Belthazor
Cole'sHumanFormPage

Cole in the book.

3x21-ColeBook

Cole in the book.

Cole's Human Form

Cole likes walks in the park,
jazz, fine wine. He's ticklish
(toes and waist especially) He's
an excellent salsa dancer, pretends
otherwise. He likes steak,
medium rare, and artichokes.
He's great in bed. Good stamina.
Belthazor/Cole Turner
Born 1885
Father: Benjamin (Human)
Mother: Elizabeth (Demon)

Laptop

3x10-LaptopTextAboutCole

Shortly after allowing Cole to escape by faking his vanquish, Phoebe researched Cole's ancestry and made notes on her laptop about his personal life.

("We All Scream for Ice Cream," Laptop text:)
  • Subject: Cole Turner
  • Current Occupation: Assistant District Attorney
  • Birth: 1885
  • Father: Benjamin, State Assemblyman (Dead)
  • Mother: Elizabeth, Demon (Still alive???)
  • Alter Ego: Belthazor - Demonic Soldier of Fortune
  • Known Powers:
    • The ability to channel unearthly balls of energy
    • The ability to shimmer (transport from place to place)
  • Evil Allies:
    • Triad
    • Andras - Spirit of Rage
    • Troxa - Invisible Demon
    • Vinceres - Lesser Demon

Physical Appearance

Cole's appearance hadn't changed as much as the sisters', or even Leo's. However, it did dramatically change from time to time - especially when the dark magics would take him over. In Season 3, he wore power suits at work and casual clothes away from work, like any other lawyer. While in the Underworld he would wear full black. After Phoebe faked his vanquish, he grew facial hair but shaved it off quickly. His appearance in Season 4 didn't change at all, until he got possessed by the Source. By "The Three Faces of Phoebe", his appearance got a drastic change. He would look worn out, and his eyes were bloodshot due to what appeared to be a losing battle to keep the Source from taking him over. After he got vanquished as the Source at the end of Season 4, he grew short facial hair again and a mustache due to the fact he was stuck in the Demonic Wasteland.

In the Season 5 season premiere, his appearance went back to the way it was in Season 3, aside from shorter hair. As he descended into madness, he gradually grew a beard. By "The Importance of Being Phoebe", he shaved off his facial hair, and wore suits again. His next appearance in Season 7, showed Cole to be much thinner, and with much shorter, highlighted hair.

Personality

"Good or evil, Cole's usually smart."
—Piper[src]

Due to his evil upbringing, Cole grew up to become a calculative, resourceful, manipulative, and cunning individual, even amongst demons. He had learned to adapt to any environment and use his extrasensory abilities to his advantage. His training in law school through the Underworld network helped him learn much about the ways of the human world and keep up with the modern times. He could connect with humans due to his half-human side, which granted him the added ability to feel emotions. He was also prone to fits of anger and acts of violence if provoked.

When he fell in love with Phoebe, he experienced happiness in ways he had never felt before, which was enough to inspire him to turn to the side of good in hopes of being with her forever. He was even willing to give up his powers so his enemies would no longer be able to trace him as a way to fake his death. After losing his powers as Belthazor, Cole had a temporary identity crisis as he didn't how to adapt to life as a mortal, but his love for Phoebe kept him determined to try, even though it made him defenseless against dark forces and therefore unable to protect Phoebe.

When the Source possessed him, he regained his calculative and manipulative traits as the Source grew to overpower his will to fight. His love for Phoebe kept him alive and strong, but not enough to be rid of the Source's influence.

After they vanquished him, Cole's soul wound up in the Demonic Wasteland where the Beast consumed the Source's essence, which freed Cole's human soul as well. Despite this and his determination to earn back Phoebe's trust after returning from the Wasteland, her constant rejections and his temptations to the dark side overpowered his love for her until he ultimately turned back to the side of evil with one goal in mind: to be with Phoebe again by any means necessary. He went as far as to become an Avatar to acquire the power to change reality where he believed he and Phoebe were still together until he learned she hated him in that reality. In the end, his love was what destroyed him.

While his soul was trapped in the ghostly realm as punishment for his crimes, Cole watched over Phoebe and came to realize how much happier she was without him, and learned to understand selfless love. His patience and wisdom grew exponentially, though he remained calculative and at times, aggressive.

Gallery

Small triquetra This gallery shows four pictures, randomly selected, related to the subject of this article.
A more complete gallery can be found here. Any future additions should be added there as well.

Notes and Trivia

  • Cole is the first Half-Demon to appear on the show, followed by the Manticore Baby and Sirk.
  • Cole is the first demon to have been truly on the side of good, followed by Drake dĆØ Mon and Kyra.
  • Cole has never met any of the Charmed Ones' children, though he was aware of Piper's first pregnancy.
  • It was revealed that in "Sympathy for the Demon", at least at that time, Cole's greatest fear was that he was evil. Surprisingly, this was also Phoebe's greatest fear at that time.
  • The sisters never truly learned that the essence of the Source of All Evil had possessed Cole. Phoebe did state that she believed Cole to still be good and that he was overtaken by the Source, though she and her sisters did end up blaming Cole. This is especially notable in "The Seven Year Witch" where Piper states that Cole decided to become the Source. Interestingly, Cole does not correct her either.
  • Cole has appeared in twelve Charmed novels: Charmed Again, Spirit of the Wolf, Garden of Evil, Date with Death, Dark Vengeance, Shadow of the Sphinx, Something Wiccan This Way Comes, Mist and Stone, Mirror Image, Between Worlds, Truth and Consequences, and Luck Be a Lady.
  • Cole's counterpart in the reboot series is Parker Caine, a half-demon sent by his father to get close to one of the sisters, namely the youngest one. He eventually fell in love with her and defied his father. Like his original counterpart, Parker's relationship with Maggie did not last and he gave up his powers to lead a human life for himself. Interestingly, the demon form of Parker's father resembles Belthazor, Cole's demonic form; they are both bald and possess red skin and sharp fangs instead of regular teeth and as it happened with Cole/Belthazor, Alastor's human form appeared before his demonic one.
  • In the reboot universe, there have been many generations of Charmed Ones throughout history: one sisterhood had the surname Turner and names starting with "J" as a reference to Cole and Julian McMahon, the actor who played him.
    • In season 2, there was a character named Julian Shea, a wealthy scientist who secretly worked to harness magic in hopes of bettering the world before he realized the error of his ways.
  • Both Prue and Paige had a similar distrust for Cole, both of them believing he was a demon.

Appearances

Cole Turner appeared in a total of 47 episodes and 17 issues over the course of the series.

See also

References

  1. ā†‘ As witnessed in the season 3 episode, "Coyote Piper"
  2. ā†‘ As witnessed in the season 3 episode, "The Demon Who Came in From the Cold"
  3. ā†‘ As witnessed in the season 3 episode, "Sight Unseen"
  4. ā†‘ 4.0 4.1 As witnessed in the season 3 episode, "Sleuthing with the Enemy"
  5. ā†‘ 5.0 5.1 As witnessed in the season 3 episode, "The Honeymoon's Over"
  6. ā†‘ As witnessed in the season 3 episode, "Power Outage"
  7. ā†‘ As witnessed in the season 3 episode, "Bride and Gloom"
  8. ā†‘ As witnessed in the season 3 episode, "The Good, the Bad and the Cursed"
  9. ā†‘ As witnessed in the season 3 episode, "Just Harried"
  10. ā†‘ As witnessed in the season 4 episode, "Charmed Again"
  11. ā†‘ As witnessed in the season 4 episode, "Brain Drain"
  12. ā†‘ As witnessed in the season 4 episode, "Black as Cole"
  13. ā†‘ As witnessed in the season 4 episode, "A Paige from the Past"
  14. ā†‘ As witnessed in the season 4 episode, "Charmed and Dangerous"
  15. ā†‘ As witnessed in the season 4 episode, "We're Off to See the Wizard"
  16. ā†‘ As witnessed in the season 4 episode, "Marry-Go-Round"
  17. ā†‘ As witnessed in the season 4 episode, "The Fifth Halliwheel"
  18. ā†‘ As witnessed in the season 4 episode, "Bite Me"
  19. ā†‘ As witnessed in the season 4 episode, "Long Live the Queen"
  20. ā†‘ As witnessed in the season 4 episode, "Witch Way Now?"
  21. ā†‘ As witnessed in the season 5 episode, "A Witch's Tail, Part 1"
  22. ā†‘ As witnessed in the season 5 episode, "A Witch's Tail, Part 2"
  23. ā†‘ As witnessed in the season 5 episode, "Siren Song"
  24. ā†‘ As witnessed in the season 5 episode, "Witches in Tights"
  25. ā†‘ As witnessed in the season 5 episode, "Sympathy for the Demon"
  26. ā†‘ As witnessed in the season 5 episode, "A Witch in Time"
  27. ā†‘ As witnessed in the season 5 episode, "Sam, I Am"
Advertisement