Sander Cohen

From BioShock Wiki

Sander Cohen
Health	2500 (Fort Frolic) 1750 (Olympus Heights)
Damage	80
Location	Fort Frolic and Olympus Heights (will only attack if provoked)

"Cohen's an artist, says some. He's a Section Eight, says I. I've seen all kinds of cutthroats, freaks, and hard cases in my life, but Cohen, he's a real lunatic, a dyed-in-the-wool psychopath..."

―Atlas

Sander Cohen is a poet, composer, sculptor and playwright residing in (as well as ruling over) Fort Frolic. Following the descent of Rapture into chaos, he went mad and became sadistically impassive to the deaths and suffering of others. The Splicers within his dominion are subject entirely to his whims, whether in life or death. All around Fort Frolic can be seen examples of his 'art'; plaster models of splicers who are in fact horrifically murdered splicers coated in plaster. If the player looks carefully at their necks, most of the statues seem to bleed from there, suggesting that their throats were slit. (It should be noted that any plaster statues in the shape of Little Sisters seem to be actual statues, as when they are whacked or harmed, they do not bleed or make the appropriate sounds. This is probably because Sander Cohen would have had to fight a Big Daddy to get through to its Little Sister.).

Contents 1 Achievements Related to Cohen 1.1 Both Xbox 360 and PS3 Specific 1.2 PC Specific 2 Cohen's Gifts 3 Audio Diaries 4 Videos 5 Trivia

Cohen runs Fort Frolic after having locked the area down to prevent its remaining inhabitants from escaping, and he is the main antagonist of the level of the same name. As with the Medical Pavilion's Dr. J.S. Steinman, he is insane, driven so partly by Plasmids and out of frustration for the lack of appreciation for his work (an Audio Diary reveals that he regrets his decision to move to Rapture). He was given the key to operate the level by Andrew Ryan. His character was inspired by "the man who owned Broadway" George M. Cohan, an American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer and producer in the 1900-1920s.

Before Rapture descended into chaos, Cohen was still an important factor in Fort Frolic, owning a gallery of art, as well as producing several theatrical shows, one of which, named "Patrick and Moira", was obviously an inspiration for Fontaine and his alter ego. Cohen was the most notable enemy of another singer/actress, Anna Culpepper, who called him "Ryan's songbird". He used his contacts with Ryan, who specifically chose Cohen to join him in Rapture, to "Put the bump" on her, as said by Security Chief Sullivan, who had to do the dirty work. Anna Culpepper's body can be found in her bathtub in her apartment in Olympus Heights. With the competition gone, Cohen experienced a rare era of extravagance before his downfall into insanity.

During the time between New Years Eve 1959, and the time that Jack arrives, Cohen apparently had four disciples, although he may have had more. The first was apparently either Silas Cobb, Martin Finnegan, or Hector Rodriguez. Cobb was a member of Cohen's inner circle before the '60s, probably because he sold Cohen's records in his Store. He practically worshipped the "Musical Genius" that he saw Cohen as. That is, until Cohen deemed him "unworthy" and shut him in his own record store. When Jack arrives, Cohen sends him to kill and photograph Cobb, to complete his masterpiece. Before he is killed by Jack, he reveals in a diary that he thought Cohen was a genius because, as he said, "You (Sander) paid the rent, you ancient hack!"

Hector Rodriguez was most likely a man who spoke out against Cohen and his lot during the days of sanity. However, he was likely given a chance to repent by Cohen as his disciple. His idea that art was "all grift" remained the same, and like the rest, was vengefully put in the freezer of Poseidon Plaza. He frequented the strip Club at Eve's Garden, and when the Plasmids drove him mad, he apparently created the delusion that the place was still up and running, although with slightly worse service. Jack finds him there when he is prompted to photograph his corpse for Cohen's masterpiece.

Martin Finnegan was a shady fellow, who apparently had no problem using drastic measures. After being tossed in the freezer for being deemed unworthy, he dominates the others, making himself a Plasmid cocktail, and calling himself "the Iceman". He freezes his victims and puts them in dramatic poses. He attempts to do so with Jack as well, but ends up dead and photographed on Cohen's masterpiece.

Finally, the last certain Disciple was a young man named Kyle Fitzpatrick. Cohen chains him up to a Grand Piano in Fleet Hall, the theater in Fort Frolic. Cohen commands him to play his masterpiece perfectly, and when Fitzpatrick refuses to play anymore, Cohen detonates the TNT attached to the Piano. As it turns out, the masterpiece was apparently written as a requiem, for Cohen was readily prepared for his failure and had Jack photograph his corpse, as if it were all part of his plan.

If the player shot the piano, it will blow up, prematurely ending the session. Cohen will then say something along the lines of "that was earlier then expected", then goes on as usual. More proof that Cohen had every intention of using the TNT indefinitely.

He has Jack photograph Fitzpatrick's corpse, then hunt down and kill his three ex-disciples and take pictures of their bodies to finish his "masterpiece". After the player completes his Quadtych, as the work is known, Cohen reveals himself, amongst a host of spotlights and confetti and congratulates Jack on his work. Cohen then rewards Jack by opening one of the glass cases nearby the stage.

Ryan later states in Hephaestus that Cohen remained there, appreciating his Quadtych. This suggests that he remains in Rapture until his death.

[edit] Achievements Related to Cohen

[edit] Both Xbox 360 and PS3 Specific

Where the player chooses to kill Cohen affects which achievements one can obtain. If the player lets Cohen live in Fort Frolic, they will be able to gain access to a secret area in his living quarters in Olympus Heights later in the game. Entering the second floor of his apartment will give the player an achievement and an otherwise unattainable Power to the People vending machine, as well as an addition achievement/trophy: 'Found Cohen's Room'

To gain access, simply disrupt the two dancing Houdini Splicers in his apartment either by attacking them, knocking over their record player, or playing the piano; Cohen will then come down to kill the player. Obtain the second achievement by taking a photo of his corpse.

An easy way to kill Cohen is to place a number of Proximity Mines at the top of the stairs after Napalming the two dancers, then run into the room to the right of the stairs and wait.

If the player wants to get back at this psychopathic thespian promptly, one may attack him in Fort Frolic. He is relatively strong and uses a similar attack pattern to a Houdini Splicer except with more health, and a much larger teleportation range. When the player kills him, search his body to find some EVE Hypos and a key, which will grant one access to the second glass case containing the muse box, for some money and items.

To receive both achievements quickly, simply save in Fort Frolic after Cohen has revealed himself, but before one attacks him. The player may then initiate a fight. Once he is dead, take his photo to unlock the achievement and then reload one's save to before having attacked him. Then allow him to live, and leave the level without attacking him.

Note that if one chooses to wait to kill him in Olympus Heights, the player may return to Fort Frolic after killing him, set the Quadtych on fire, and he will reappear in a rage. This is either a "known issue" or an odd story dynamic; if Cohen is related to Ryan, he could use a Vita-Chamber--he can certainly use the bathysphere, as there is no other known way to Olympus Heights from Fort Frolic, and he beats the player there--and it would explain his sudden reappearance.

Xbox 360: Sometimes, when killing Cohen in his apartment, he may randomly fall through the small stairs by the entrance to his apartment, making him impossible to reach. Not PS3 tested yet.

[edit] PC Specific

Killing Cohen in Fort Frolic is sadly pointless, because there are no special achievements in the PC version and the treasure inside the muse box is pathetic. Although, if the player does not attack Cohen in Fort Frolic, they will be able to gain access to a secret area in his living quarters later on in the game in Olympus Heights which in turn will give them access to an otherwise unattainable Power to the People vending machine. To gain entry to the second floor of Cohen's apartment, simply disrupt the two dancing Houdini Splicers in his apartment, Cohen will then come down to kill the player.

If one waits to kill Sander in his apartment in Olympus Heights, the player may still salvage the key to his Muse Box at Fort Frolic. Simply return to Fort Frolic via bathysphere to claim the disappointing treasure.

[edit] Cohen's Gifts

The Victims are the same in the PC , PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 version.

Victim 1: Kyle Fitzpatrick, on the stage of Fleet Hall. Reward: Crossbow. Steel-tip Bolts can be bought from the Ammo Bandito in the Cocktail Lounge (across from Marquis D'Epoque Tobacco), as well as at 3 Vending Machines in Poseidon Plaza. Incendiary Bolts can be bought at 5 machines in Fort Frolic.

Victim 2: Martin Finnegan, in the Frozen Tunnel. Reward: 10 Antipersonnel Auto Rounds, $20, 3 First Aid Kits. Bonus: Frozen Field tonic on Finnegan.

Note: One probably doesn't want to visit Eve's Garden before posting Silas' picture. Once the player activates Hector at Eve's, a hard-charging suspenseful beat starts that can last a long time; also, the pointers tell the player where Hector is, even if one is after Silas.

Victim 3: Silas Cobb, in Rapture Records. Reward: 5 Electric Buck, $20, 20 Electric Gel. After the player posts Cobb's picture but before they get their reward, Sander throws approx. 20 splicers at them. They are comparatively easy to kill, and have a bit more loot than usual (First Aid Kits, Frag Grenades, Buck, etc.).

Victim 4: Hector Rodriguez, in Eve's Garden. Reward: Cohen opens his Muse Box containing Medical Expert 2 tonic. Bonus: Cohen's office is now open and contains Electric Flesh, 2 Antipersonnel Pistol Rounds, 3 Armor-Piercing Pistol Rounds, 1 EVE Hypo, and 10 Film

The player can kill Cohen in Fort Frolic at this point, but if they do, they won't get access to his Power to the People machine in Olympus Heights.

Victim 5: Sander Cohen, in the Mercury Suites of Olympus Heights. Reward: $100, 8 Incendiary Bolts, and 3 Spider Splicer Organs in Cohen's Muse Box (back in Fort Frolic). Bonus: $87 and 36 Antipersonnel Auto Rounds on Cohen, and the Power to the People machine and a fair amount of ammo up in his room.

Victim 6: Sander Cohen - again - after burning his Quadtych in Fort Frolic. Loot: five Trap Bolts and twelve Film - and another Muse Box key. (NOTE: Even if the player kills Cohen at Olympus Heights in his apartment, he still appears in Fort Frolic when burning his Quadtych)

[edit] Audio Diaries

• Fort Frolic
  • Musical Insult
  • The Wild Bunny
  • The Doubters
  • Requiem for Andrew Ryan

[edit] Videos

[edit] Trivia

• Sander Cohen and Andrew Ryan are the only characters in Bioshock with their own unique and specific character models rather than a reused and slightly tweaked Splicer model.
• Cohen is the only Splicer to sport a gold/bronze rabbit mask rather than the common white/grey ones.