Stanley Poole

"I uh... met with Sinclair today, of 'Sinclair Solutions.' - And he's got work for me, right? I ask what, and he flashes me these thousand dollar Steinman teeth, sayin' this job'll quote 'change history' end quote."

- Stanley Poole

Stanley Poole is a character in BioShock 2. A former reporter for the Rapture Tribune, Stanley was used by Andrew Ryan to spy on Lamb's Rapture Family prior to the Civil War. He was instrumental in the fall of Dionysus Park, and was put in charge of it for some time. He enlists the aid of Subject Delta to clear up the area and his own personal problems.

History
While working for the Rapture Tribune, Stanley Poole became associated with Augustus Sinclair, who was paying Stanley to not report any of Sinclair's secrets. Sinclair offered Stanley a job that would "change history", which involved providing Andrew Ryan proof that Sofia Lamb's ideology was more than a private religion: It was a political movement that needed to be subdued. Ryan wanted Lamb's activities in Dionysus Park stopped, and Lamb herself out of the picture.

To do that, Sinclair used Stanley to infiltrate Lamb's cult inside the park. Stanley convinced Simon Wales, one of her higher ranked members, that the Rapture Tribune was suppressing his planned novel about "what's what". Even Lamb seemed to be convinced that he genuinely wanted to join. While in the Family, Stanley was under intense pressure from Ryan's goons (who wanted immediate results), and from Eleanor Lamb, who was becoming suspicious of him. Nevertheless, Stanley anonymously reported Sofia Lamb's attempts to take control of Rapture, resulting in her detention.

Around the same time, a deep sea diver from the surface accidentally discovered Rapture while surveying the area in an advanced diving chamber. This man was accepted into the city and became somewhat of a celebrity for his heroics, gaining the nickname "Johnny Topside" in articles in the Rapture Tribune. However, Andrew Ryan did not trust this story and was convinced that the explorer must be a government agent sent to spy on Rapture. Stanley Poole, despite his great respect for "Johnny Topside", turned the man in to Ryan, who immediately had him incarcerated at Persephone Penal Colony.

After Lamb's disappearance, Stanley was put in charge of Dionysus Park, and he used his new privileges to throw wild parties at Lamb's expense. When Eleanor threatened Stanley that she would tell her mother what he was doing, Stanley sold Eleanor to a Little Sister's Orphanage, not knowing her fate would be that of a Little Sister. Then came word that Lamb had escaped her detention. Fearing that members of The Rapture Family would tell Sofia Lamb of his conduct in the park, once she returned from prison, Stanley exploited a flaw in Dionysus Park's construction, flooding the park and killing all witnesses to what he had done there.

After Andrew Ryan was killed, Stanley found himself imprisoned within his lie and ended up working for Lamb while keeping a low profile.

BioShock 2
After Subject Delta drains Dionysus Park, the Little Sisters begin exploring the park for ADAM to bring back to Sofia Lamb. Stanley refuses to allow this, as ADAM absorbs memories from its previous users, and with the park having been flooded by Stanley years earlier, he fears his secret will be revealed. Stanley enlists Subject Delta to stop the Little Sisters from gathering ADAM. To make Delta comply, he locks himself in the control booth of the Atlantic Express station in Dionysus Park to prevent Delta from advancing until he completes this task.

With Eleanor's help, Delta views the memories within the ADAM, seeing the events as listed above. Once all the Little Sisters are gone, Stanley re-opens the train for Delta to proceed. Delta and Stanley discover that Lamb knew of Stanley's actions all along and had forgiven him. His actions in having Eleanor turned into a Little Sister later became a blessing in disguise for Lamb's plan. However, in helping Delta, Poole doomed himself by interfering with her plans for Eleanor. Lamb calmly informs Delta that Stanley was the one who turned Johnny Topside in to Ryan, condemning him to life as a Big Daddy. Giving Delta the option to have his revenge, it is left up to the player whether or not Stanley should live or die. The result of this decision will have an impact on the game's ending.

When the Subject Delta takes control of a Little Sister much later on in Persephone he sees a statue depicting the way he treated Stanley. If Delta has spared Stanley, the latter will be kneeling before Delta, who in turn will be holding his hand in a show of mercy. If Delta has instead taken his revenge upon Stanley, Delta will appear to be choking him with one hand.

Audio Diaries

 * Ryan Amusements
 * Working for Sinclair


 * Pauper's Drop
 * Mole


 * Dionysus Park
 * Patronage
 * Gotta Keep it Together
 * Lamb Flouts the System
 * A Plan


 * Cult of Rapture
 * House of Cards (from Dionysus Park)


 * Removed Audio Diaries
 * Thinking on the Fly (from Dionysus Park)

Trivia

 * In one of the original concepts for Stanley, he would have worn a Hawaiian shirt, as stated in this quote by Colin Fix, Senior Character Concept Artist, 2K Marin, from the Deco Devolution artbook: "We had some challenges with the BioShock 2 characters, especially with appropriate costumes. We would do a lot of research but sometimes things wouldn't quite fit, like Dermot had an earlier version of Stanley in a swanky Hawaiian shirt that was in the time period, but it felt out of place in Rapture. It felt really modern even though it wasn't."
 * Stanley is currently the only nonplayable character seen injecting an EVE Hypo.
 * If the player chooses to kill Stanley, and uses Winter Blast to do so, Stanley will shatter instantly, without the use of a weapon or melee attack to shatter him, and will leave behind a Lockbox. A single sting from the Insect Swarm will also kill him, as well as even being killed by Hypnotize.