John Hancock is the charismatic mayor of Goodneighbor and one of the available companions ofFallout 4. Despite his penchant for violence, this ghoul is committed to making the wasteland a better place, making him the ideal follower for benevolent players. He also has quite the backstory, which cemented his beliefs about the wasteland and the rest of the post-apocalyptic world.
To unlock Hancock as a follower inFallout 4, the player must first travel to Goodneighbor and undertake The Big Dig quest. After which, Hancock will offer his services to the player. Should the player accept and increase their affinity with Hancock, he’ll start opening up about his life and how he ended up as the mayor of Goodneighbor.
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Life Before Goodneighbor
Before he was the ghoul and mayor, John Hancock, he was John McDonough. He lived a simple life with his parents and older brother in a shackby the waterfront near Diamond City. There isn’t much information about Hancock’s parents, but he does talk to the player about his brother. Hancock describes his sibling as a “standard big brother” who was punchy and entitled. Regardless, it didn’t seem like the young Hancock bore any resentment for his sibling as he comments that they had a “pretty happy childhood.”
At one point, the brothers moved into Diamond City. Hancock admits to the player that he’d snuck out of the citya few times to buy chemsfrom Goodneighbor. Meanwhile, his older sibling opted to run for mayor. For his platform, he took an anti-ghoul stance, taking on the slogan, “Mankind for McDonough.” Hancock, though not yet a ghoul at the time, was appalled by his brother’s decision.
The brothers’ relationship only got worse when the elder McDonough won the elections. He’d taken advantage of the richer citizens’ hatred for ghouls, and with them on his side, he hadthe ghouls living within Diamond Citythrown out. When Hancock begged him to stop, the mayor only told him that he couldn’t, that he had nothing against ghouls but couldn’t betray the voters. Not wanting to be anywhere near his brother, Hancock left.
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John Hancock — Of the People, For the People
Hancock tracked down a few of the ghoul families who were cast out and led them to Goodneighbor, making sure to bring them food every couple of weeks. Though, after a while, the families disappeared. Hancock surmised that they “couldn’tget used to the Goodneighbor lifestyle.” At the time, Goodneighbor was led by a man named Vic, a violent man with a small militia behind him to keep the people in line.
During this time, Hancock wasbecoming addicted to using chems. In one line of dialogue, he reveals to the player that it’s an experimental radiation drug that made him a ghoul. He even says that he doesn’t regret it because the feeling it gave him was worth it. Plus, he had no problem with becoming a ghoul. However, this high wouldn’t last long, as Vic and his goons were making it hard for the wastelanders in Goodneighbor to live peacefully. In one instance, they killed a wastelander in front of Hancock for seemingly no reason, but no one did anything.
Hancock detested himself for his inaction, telling the player that the way he acted was spineless. After the incident with the wastelander, he indulged himself in chems and eventually blacked out. When he finally woke up, he was in the Old State House, lying in front of the clothes of John Hancock, whom he describes as the “first American hoodlum and defender of the People.” Hancock then smashed through the glass case andput the outfit on, starting his new life as John Hancock.
Immediately after donning the pre-war outfit, Hancock set out to put an end to Vic’s hold over Goodneighbor. He put together a band of wastelanders,loaned some weapons from the local gun shop, and brought his group out to some nearby ruins to practice their aim. When they were ready, the group waited while Vic and his men drank one night. Once everyone was drunk, Hancock and his band attacked, killing everyone easily. With the threat taken care of, Hancock took Vic’s body and hung it on the balcony of the Old State House.
By then, the gunfire had caused quite a stiramong the people of Goodneighbor, and they were gathering in front of the balcony. Hancock, still in the founding father’s clothes, felt the need to say something to them, so he said, “Of the people, for the people.” On the same day, he became the mayor of Goodneighbor and promised himself that he would never stand by and watch when an innocent needed help.
Traveling with the Sole Survivor in Fallout 4
By the time the player arrives in Goodneighbor, things seem to have calmed down from Vic’s time as the leader. After watching Hancock stab a man who tried to extort the Sole Survivor, the player can then carry out the necessary quests to unlock him as a follower. Whenunlocking Hancock as a companion, he’ll tell the player that he’s been getting too comfortable and that he doesn’t want the power to change him, thus the need for a change in scenery.
Like with any companion, the player can bring Hancock along to complete the main quest and other side quests. Though one of the most interesting interactions occurs after completing the In Sheep’s Clothing quest. This quest will trigger after either being banished from The Institute or nuking it. In it, the player will confront Mayor McDonough after he was seen conversing with a synth from The Institute. Should the player kill him, it will be revealed that he was a synth.
This opens some new dialogue with Hancock, who expresses how much he hates the turn of events. Now, he’s no longer sure whether the brother that he knew wasan immoral man or just a synthwho was doing what The Institute told him to do. He then questions whether he’s been hating Mayor McDonough for nothing all these years.
Hancock is a man with a troubled past and even more troubled family relations. There doesn’t seem to be any way of finding out when Mayor McDonough was replaced in the game, but it’s no doubt had a serious effect on Hancock’s perception of his brother. It adds anextra layer to his already interesting character. Whatever happens next is up to the player.
Fallout 4is available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
