All the little references you have caught over the years

[Chance Jackson]

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 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

[healix]

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.

[Minotaur]

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.

[Iron-Emerald]

The detectives were a neat easter egg. Though I was always especially keen on the guest appearance of Optimus Prime. 

[JetFlash]

There was also the Steel Canyon detectives, Rogers and Martins, named for Roger Murtaugh and Martin Riggs of Lethal Weapon fame.

[General Idiot]

The detectives were a neat easter egg. Though I was always especially keen on the guest appearance of Optimus Prime. 

I'm still sad they changed those trucks, cause they were awesome.

[blackjak]

Dr. Stephan "I'm just a doctor" Fayte. Nuff said.

[OzonePrime]

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.

[Phaetan]

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.

[Stone Daemon]

Let's not forget Axel F from the Sister Psyche TF. AKA Axel Foley, from Beverley Hills Cop.

[Shenku]

No mention of the Princess Bride reference in the Doc Quarterfield TF?

Inconceivable!

[Stone Daemon]

No mention of the Princess Bride reference in the Doc Quarterfield TF?

Inconceivable!

Or the Princess Bride reference on the first mission of the Twinshot arc. 

[Chance Jackson]

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

[crashpositron]

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.

[Stone Daemon]

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:

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.

[Chance Jackson]

Basically this, but I simplify things:

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.

Thanks for the link its a very interesting read

[Minotaur]

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.

[Chance Jackson]

You should add that to the wiki

[Maressa]

Spaulding!

[Blondeshell]

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.