COH was chock full of references/homages to IPs that run the gamut of comics/tv/songs etc and we have all stumbled across many of them even if we hadn't realized it at the time. What are some of the references you have stumbled across?
One that really stands out to me is the "Discouraging Words" To Hit Debuff enhancement sethttp://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Discouraging_Words (http://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Discouraging_Words) between the name and the image of the buffalo on it I'm gonna say with great certainty its a reference to "Home on the range"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_YK7ebcZ2o (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_YK7ebcZ2o)
I was tickled when I discovered that the names of the Detectives were references/homages to tv detectives!
Detective Fish's name is a reference to Detective Phil Fish, a character played by Abe Vigoda on the TV shows Barney Miller and Fish.
Detective Hutchinson's name and appearance are a reference to Kenneth "Hutch" Hutchinson on Starsky & Hutch.
Detective Davids' name and appearance are a reference to David Starsky on Starsky & Hutch.
Detective Basinns' name and appearance are a reference to Rico Tubbs from Miami Vice.
Detective Croquette's name and appearance are a reference to Sonny Crockett on Miami Vice.
Detective Becktrees' name and appearance are a reference to Pep Streebeck in the 1987 film, Dragnet.
Freitag's name and appearance are a reference to Joe Friday in the 1987 film, Dragnet. "Freitag" is "Friday" in German
Detective Frasenbacker's name, appearance, backstory, and style of speech all reference Constable Benton Fraser (and his wolf, Diefenbaker) from the Canadian television series Due South. While standing near Frasenbacker, barking can be faintly heard.
Detective Junkers' name and appearance are a reference to Deckard from Blade Runner.
The two obvious ones are the mission where you rescue Penny Yin's dad and the Rescue Dr Frank N Scott radio mission.
In the Faultline mission, the lost bosses are Ant of Atlas, Gruesome of Galaxy etc and are references to the occupants of the cars in Wacky races (Muxley also with his dialog earlier in the arc).
Frank N Scott is an amalgam of Frankenfurter and Dr Everett Scott from the Rocky horror show, some versions of the end of mission dialog involved preventing a timewarp.
The detectives were a neat easter egg. Though I was always especially keen on the guest appearance of Optimus Prime. :D
There was also the Steel Canyon detectives, Rogers and Martins, named for Roger Murtaugh and Martin Riggs of Lethal Weapon fame.
Quote from: Iron_Emerald on November 11, 2013, 09:32:58 AM
The detectives were a neat easter egg. Though I was always especially keen on the guest appearance of Optimus Prime. :D
I'm still sad they changed those trucks, cause they were awesome.
Dr. Stephan "I'm just a doctor" Fayte. Nuff said.
Croatoa. Croatoan is the Indian name for what is now Hatteras Island. That is what was carved on the post of the settement abandoned by the "Lost Colony". That is where they have believed to have gone.
Some of the references to the Amber series by Roger Zelazny are probably my favorite. The devs confirmed that Benedictech Arms, manufacturer of technology enhancements, was a shoutout to Prince Benedict of Amber and his mechanical limb.
Also, Mortimer Kal shared several physical similarities with King Oberon of Amber, and his relationship with his daughter Fiona is not very different from the latter's dealings with Princess Fiona. And the Well of the Furies had some parallels with the Font of Power in the Keep of the Four Worlds with it's pesky tendency to carve out an imbiber's moral compass to make room for more cosmic power.
Primal Earth's central relationship with regard to the shape other world take and its extensive traveling to alternate world also mirror's Amber, especially since the central powersource for all versions of humanity seems to be tucked there.
If some of these seem a little tenuous, I'd just like to point out that apparently Positron (Matt Miller, not the character. Probably,) was introduced into City of Heroes by Synapse while playing the tabletop game based on the Amber books.
Let's not forget Axel F from the Sister Psyche TF. AKA Axel Foley, from Beverley Hills Cop.
No mention of the Princess Bride reference in the Doc Quarterfield TF?
Inconceivable! ;D
Quote from: Shenku on November 12, 2013, 05:49:12 PM
No mention of the Princess Bride reference in the Doc Quarterfield TF?
Inconceivable! ;D
Or the Princess Bride reference on the first mission of the Twinshot arc. ;D
Quote from: Stone Daemon on November 12, 2013, 03:58:23 PM
Let's not forget Axel F from the Sister Psyche TF. AKA Axel Foley, from Beverley Hills Cop.
I definitely caught the reference but I think that freak tank was a reference to the 80s synth pop hit "Axel f" named after Axel Foley and on the Beverly hills cop soundtrack
On a another note the TV missions were filled with lawsuit-proof quasi-abstract references to x-files, Pokemon and other shows
There are are a few arcs with Firesign Theatre shout-outs: Rocky Rococo, Nick Danger, Betty Bialofsky (known to everyone as Nancy), and Lt Bradshaw.
Quote from: Chance Jackson on November 12, 2013, 11:43:37 PM
I definitely caught the reference but I think that freak tank was a reference to the 80s synth pop hit "Axel f" named after Axel Foley and on the Beverly hills cop soundtrack
Basically this, but I simplify things:
Quote from: Paragonwiki
Axel F a Freakshow boss on Sister Psyche's Task Force is a reference to the song of the same name by Harold Faltermeyer, which is the theme tune of the film, "Beverly Hills Cop", and is named after the protagonist: Axel Foley.
Honestly this whole thread is right there in
paragonwiki, save a couple newer references that were put in between i23-24. Still, it's nice to see what immediately comes to peoples minds.
Quote from: Stone Daemon on November 13, 2013, 06:03:19 PM
Basically this, but I simplify things:
Honestly this whole thread is right there in paragonwiki (http://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Ingame_References), save a couple newer references that were put in between i23-24. Still, it's nice to see what immediately comes to peoples minds.
Thanks for the link its a very interesting read
2 that aren't in the paragonwiki:
Dr Don Gee that appears in a radio mission is a reference to Dr John Dee http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dee, an occultist who if you believe Call of Cthulhu translated the Necronomicon.
Dr Roberta Todd (Moonfire TF) could well be a reference to Bob Todd who was Benny Hill's straight man. She's a kin who speed boosts people, Benny Hill was famous for his speeded up chase sequences.
You should add that to the wiki
Spaulding!
Quote from: Chance Jackson on November 16, 2013, 11:37:48 PM
You should add that to the wiki
Seconded, and also to everyone else who recognizes references that aren't in the article. Just because the game's closed, doesn't mean we can't keep the wiki up to date. :)
Saw an operative Lo Pan once as well as Archon Benetar (which made me think of Pat Benetar. Probably just me...) Both radio mishes I think.
A lot of the minor NPCs in the shadow shard are apparently named after attendees of the Omega Sektor fan meetup in the UK.
Dunno if this was already mentioned, but I'll bring it up as it was so darn obvious to me.
The Manticore - Batman parallel.
Billion dollar playboy with a huge mansion with secret passages and an underground cave beneath. Wears a mask to inspire fear into evildoers, and has a penchant for vigilante justice.
Here's another I recently thought of...
(https://images.weserv.nl/?url=images3.wikia.nocookie.net%2F__cb20060307004223%2Fparagon%2Fimages%2F6%2F6f%2FMs_Liberty_Comic.jpg)
(https://images.weserv.nl/?url=static.comicvine.com%2Fuploads%2Foriginal%2F6%2F67173%2F1633908-supergirl_flying_over_metroplois.jpg)
:o
Quote from: LadyShin on November 18, 2013, 05:00:47 PM
Dunno if this was already mentioned, but I'll bring it up as it was so darn obvious to me.
And States was heavily lifted from SuperMan (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AlternateCompanyEquivalent). CoH was pretty trope-tastic, but that was never a real problem for me.
I'd like to "third" keeping the Wiki updated. It's not like the game is physically gone and the Wiki can be used to help other projects.
-Manticore was like what if Bruce Wayne became Green Arrow
-Statesman had a role like Superman or Captain America but an Origin more similar to New 52 Shazam/Captain Marvel. Recluse was pretty much his Black Adam
-Nemesis was like Doctor Doom
-Crey was kind of like Lex Corp
-Malta was kind of like Cadmus
-,PPD and Freedom Corps both had elements of SHIELD
-Vanguard was kind of like SWORD
I remember hearing an NPC quote Silverado on a couple occasions:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0TzyC45B_Y
here's another....
Hamidon...
(https://images.weserv.nl/?url=www.longshadows.net%2FPrairieDawn%2Fimages%2FPD%2520vs%2520Hamidon%2520008.jpg)
Seed of Hamidon...
(https://images.weserv.nl/?url=www.cityofheroes.ca%2Fglobal%2Fincludes%2Fimages%2FIssues%2Fissue-21%2FScreenshots%2Fseed_hamidon.jpg)
Galactus...
(https://images.weserv.nl/?url=www.fightersgeneration.com%2Fnp7%2Fchar%2Fgalactus-clouds.jpg)
Seed of Galactus...
(https://images.weserv.nl/?url=images1.wikia.nocookie.net%2F__cb20110923182331%2Fmarveldatabase%2Fimages%2F8%2F87%2FO150.jpg)
Synapse...
(https://images.weserv.nl/?url=fc01.deviantart.net%2Ffs38%2Ff%2F2008%2F334%2F2%2Fd%2FSynapse_by_Quasi_agent1.jpg)
Flash.
(https://images.weserv.nl/?url=static.comicvine.com%2Fuploads%2Foriginal%2F12%2F128032%2F2973706-0907917857-76924.jpg)
Neuron...
(https://images.weserv.nl/?url=a.imageshack.us%2Fimg689%2F910%2Fneuronweb800.jpg)
Reverse Flash...
(https://images.weserv.nl/?url=media.dcentertainment.com%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fcharacter_bio_576_reverseflash1.jpg)