Borderlands pop culture references

There are a number of pop culture references (memes, movie references, etc) in the game:

Books and Comics

A Brief History of Time

Graffiti found on walls: "Turtles all the way down"

The phrase "Turtles all the way down" comes from a tale most popularly related in Stephen Hawking's book A Brief History of Time:

A well-known scientist (some say it was Bertrand Russell) once gave a public lecture on astronomy. He described how the earth orbits around the sun and how the sun, in turn, orbits around the center of a vast collection of stars called our galaxy. At the end of the lecture, a little old lady at the back of the room got up and said: "What you have told us is rubbish. The world is really a flat plate supported on the back of a giant tortoise." The scientist gave a superior smile before replying, "What is the tortoise standing on?" "You're very clever, young man, very clever", said the old lady. "But it's turtles all the way down!"

Additionally, this could refer to the children's book Yurtle the Turtle by Dr. Seuss. In the book, the king of the turtles, Yurtle, rules all he sees, but being a turtle, he can't see very far. He then has the idea to have all of his subjects, other turtles, climb up onto each other's backs, with Yurtle finally being on top, enabling him to see farther. Yet because all these turtles are piled on top of each other, they get very tired and hungry and start to complain, and eventually one plain little turtle named Mack burps, and all the turtles come tumbling down. This has often been compared to any sort of dictatorship and its eventual collapse.

The Canterbury Tales

Weapon: Lady Finger

The Canterbury Tales is collection of stories by Chaucer, about a group on pilgrimage to Canterbury Cathedral. This serves as a frame for shorter stories about the individual characters. "The Prioress's Tale" tells the story of Madam Eglantine, who wears a ring with the inscription "Amor vincit omnia", which translates into "love conquers all". The flavor text of the Lady Finger, Omnia Vincit Amor, means the same. The name Lady Finger may refer to the fingers of the prioress, where the ring was worn.

Steven King Novels

Character: Roland

Roland shares his name with the protagonist from the series of books "The Dark Tower", written by Stephen King. Many other themes and terms are shared, such as the Hunter's fighting bird (David in The Waste Lands).

Coincidentally, Mordecai's Gunslinger COM improves the use of Revolvers, which not only are Roland's (Dark Tower Roland, not BL) preferred weapon, but also affixes the title of Gunslinger, by which DT Roland is formally addressed.

Dragon Ball

Character: Crazy Earl

Crazy Earl is referred to as a "turtle hermit," and Tannis claimed to have given him her underwear. This is a direct reference to Master Roshi in the Dragon Ball comics. Master Roshi sometimes wore a turtle shell, and he collected women's underwear.

Fight Club

Character: Chuck Durden

Chuck Durden refers to Fight Club. Chuck Palahniuk wrote the book, and its main character is Tyler Durden.

Frankenstein

Enemy: Tankenstein

The name Tankenstein is a reference to Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley. Its appearance matches the widely accepted appearance of the creature. Tankensteins are healed by Shock damage; in the book Dr. Frankenstein uses power harnessed from lightning to reanimate a corpse.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy franchise

Claptrap (Old Haven): "I think you ought to know I'm feeling very depressed."

A phrase often said by Marvin, the depressed robot in Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The entire speech of this Claptrap is very similar to how Marvin feels in the book and the rest of the series.

Taylor Kobb's Hacked Claptrap: "... OR... I could stick an electrode up my back panel and call it paradise."

Refers to a ploy by Ford Prefect, one of the main characters, in which he disables a security bot by short circuiting its decision making processes, located in a back panel, causing it to find everything impossibly pleasurable.

How Much for Just the Planet?

The "How Much for the Planet?" challenge may refer to How Much for Just the Planet?, a humorous Star Trek tie-in novel by the late John Ford.

The Lord of the Rings

Enemy: Helob

The Spiderant Helob refers to the giant spider Shelob from the The Two Towers.

Zombie TK Baha: "Boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in a stew"

A reference to the film version of The Two Towers, where Sam is preparing dinner and trying to explain to Gollum what 'taters' are.

Mission: Purple Juice!

The first mission that Thirsty the Midget offers references the names of the hobbits in The Lord of the Rings:

Restore Brandybuck, Took, Gamgee, and Underhill pumps.

Merchant of Venice

Psycho: "Now it's time for my pound of flesh!"

Refers to Shylock's line in the play Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare. In the play, a "pound of flesh" is to be the payment to Shylock from his client for defaulting on a loan.

Moby Dick

Mission: T.K.'s Life And Limb

Baha is Ahab backwards, and in the book, Ahab was driven mad to find and kill the White Whale after his leg was taken from him. Scar also has several weapons embedded into his head, and is extremely tough. Moby Dick was described as having several harpoons in his head, and numerous scars from where many sailors tried, and failed, to kill him.

Games

BioShock

Guardian Angel: "Would you kindly give him a hand?"

This quote is the trigger to the first Claptrap Rescue mission. The phrase "Would You Kindly" was the trigger phrase used by the main antagonist of BioShock, another game published by 2K Games, to force the player's character to perform actions. As with Bioshock, the storyline will not advance until you have completed this mission.

Blaster Master

Blaster Master Outrunner color

The name for this color is a reference to an NES game with the same name, featuring a buggy-like tank with a red color scheme.

Brothers in Arms

Area: Road's End

Upon nearing the armory, a sign reads "Road to Hill 30 ." Another proclaims "Hell's Highway ."

Call of Duty

The Circle of Duty in Secret Armory of General Knoxx is based on Call of Duty. The final Circle of Duty mission is called Circle of Duty: Medal of Duty which is a combination of Call of Duty and Medal of Honor, two famous FPS series.

Diablo

Weapon: Hyperion Butcher

Special weapon effect: "Ahhh.... Fresh meat!"

The name and red text is a reference to Blizzard Entertainment's recurrent Diablo character, The Butcher, a bloated monstrosity with the opening announcement, "Ahhh... Fresh meat!".

Enemy: Rakkinishu

A reference to the Diablo 2 mini-boss, Rakanishu, that you face before entering Tristram. Rakkinishu drops a shield called Cracked Sash, a common item from Diablo 2.

Paint Scheme: Lancer - Diablo

The red colour of Diablo's titular end boss is repeated in the "Diablo" colour scheme of the Lancer.

Gauntlet

Mission: Earl Needs Food... Badly

In the old coin-operated arcade game Gauntlet, each of the four characters would receive a unique spoken warning when running low on life. The Elf's warning message was "Elf needs food, badly!".

Half-Life

Mission: House of the Ned

Towards the end of the mission, the player has to wait for a slow elevator while fighting off zombies, something that happens fairly often in the Half-Life titles. Dr. Ned pokes fun at the situation by implying this isn't the first time you'd likely have waited for an elevator during a zombie outbreak.

House of the Dead

Mission: House of the Ned

House of the Dead is an arcade game developed by Sega. Players take on the role of agents trying to kill the monsters created by Dr. Curien, a scientist who tried to discover the nature of life and death, but his experiments resulted in dangerous monsters.

Left 4 Dead

Challenges: I hate dogs; I hate bugs

The challenges title might be a reference to Francis from Left 4 Dead. The biker is famous for his "I hate ___" quotes.

Ratchet and Clank

Weapon:Maliwan Rhino

Example: http://ratchet.wikia.com/wiki/RYNO_V

The most powerful weapon in the Ratchet and Clank series, it is commonly a mini gun rocket launcher with numerous barrels (An overkill weapon). R.Y.N.O in the Ratchet and Clank series means: “Rip You A New One”, it is known to be the 'deadliest weapon in the known universe' according to GrummelNet. In Borderlands it is the brand name for the most powerful rocket launchers made by Maliwan as an homage to the Ratchet and Clank series (it is also the most powerful rocket launcher brand in the game, following the tradition of the RYNO series).

Sonic the Hedgehog

Paint Scheme: Racer - Blue Blur

Sonic the Hedgehog, from the self-titled series, is as his name would suggest, a hedgehog. Sonic is capable of phenomenal speed, provided he doesn't stop or collide with anything. One of Sonic the Hedgehog's nicknames is 'The Big Bad Blue Blur', and the Racer's Blue Paint-Scheme is thus named after him.

Super Mario Bros.

Achievement: My Brother is an Italian Plumber The eponymous "Mario Bros," Mario and Luigi are Italian heroes known for their jumping skills (Mario was at first named "Jumpman"). Though modern depictions rarely feature any elements of plumbing besides Warp Pipes and the brothers' signature overalls originally in the arcade game Mario Bros. Mario and Luigi were tasked with purging a sewer of turtles and crabs through jumping onto or into the pests.

Gaming Jargon & Memes

All Your Base

Mission: Dumpster Diving For Great Justice

Based on part of a popular internet meme stemming from wrongly translated phrases in the game Zero Wing. The Japanese to English translation resulted in such sentences as, "All your base are belong to us". The phrase "For Great Justice" was supposed to be "Our hopes for the future..."

Mission: Athena Set Up Us The Bomb

The title of this mission likewise mimics the Zero Wing mistranslation, "Someone set up us the bomb."

Ding!

Achievement - Ding! Newbie

In many RPG, CORPG and MMORPG games, players develop characters through a series of increasingly difficult levels. Thresholds in character development are marked by character levels and increases in level are often marked with a bell or electronic chime sound. Players commonly mimic such sounds by verbalising, or typing, the word "Ding!" to announce their character's level increase to their teammates.

Group LF Healer

Achievement - Group Lf Healer

Some games, particularly MMORPGs, have support archetypal characters. These 'healers' are often highly valuable parts of a party's composition, resulting in many groups waiting for healers and advertising with lines such as, "Group LF Healer!" (Abbrev: Group looking for healer)

Music

I'm on a Boat

Achievement: You're on a boat!

A reference to the song I'm on a Boat by The Lonely Island.

Master Exploder

Achievement: Master Exploder

Is a reference to the song Master Exploder by Tenacious D.

The Meat Puppets

One of psychos' battle yells is "Time to pound some meat puppets!" This could be a reference to the rock group the Meat Puppets, or to subsequent uses of the term. Cyberpunk author William Gibson was inspired by seeing the name of the band in print to borrow the term to apply to a form of prostitution in which the prostitute had a neural cut-out chip installed that would let someone rent out their body under computer control while their mind was occupied in cyberspace. More recently, the term has been applied to a form of "sockpuppet" (a participant in an on-line discussion under false pretenses).

Sabotage

Mission: Schemin' That Sabotage

Possibly a reference to the song Sabotage by The Beastie Boys, more specifically the line "You're Scheming On A Thing That's Sabotage".

Smoke on the Water

Eridian Weapon Description: Smoke on the water...

A reference to the song Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple.

Psycho Killer

Dahl Penetrator Description: Sniper Killer, Qu'est que c'est?

Reference to the song Psycho Killer by Talking Heads, using lyrics from the song's chorus.

Baby Got Back

Dahl Anaconda Description: Long and Strong

Reference to a line in the song, "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-A-Lot.

Getting Better

Roland: "Getting better all the time!" (On level-up)

Reference to "Getting Better" by the Beatles.

Places

Grassy Knoll

Location: Trashy Knoll

The Grassy Knoll is a small, sloping hill inside the plaza that became famous following the John F. Kennedy assassination. The knoll was above President Kennedy and to his right (west and north) during the assassination. Several witnesses reported hearing shots from its direction. In Borderlands, the Trashy Knoll is located in the north-eastern part of the Rust Commons East. Here, you have to kill Slither.

Arthur Treacher's Restaurant

Location: Treacher's Landing

Being a seafaring town, this may be a reference to Arthur Treacher's fast sea-food restaurants.

Road's End (Fort Knoxx road sign)

On Road's end, fighting the Crimson Lance on foot, there is a road sign:

"Fort Knoxx

20km"

Fort Knox is a famous "impenetrable" vault in America that holds vast quantities of the country's refined gold.

TV and Film

A Christmas Story

Location: Hidden Basement

A secret room can be found in New Haven. Inside this room is a leg lamp. In the movie, The Old Man gets a lamp shaped like a leg. Furthermore, only in this basement can the Rider be found, another reference to this movie. In the movie, Ralph continuously asks for a Red Ryder BB Gun, to which everyone responds: "You'll shoot your eye out." The flavor text on this weapon (Careful... you might put someone's eye out. ) further adds to the reference.

Aliens

Underdome wave 18: "Game over, man. Game over."

This is a quote from the character Hudson.

Back to the Future

Achievement: 1.21 Gigawatts

1.21 Gigawatts is the power requirement for time travel. Although in the Back to the Future movie series, from which the reference originated, it is pronounced as 1.21 Jiggawatts, perhaps lending itself to mean a much larger amount of energy, as it is seen as almost insurmountable as Doc remarks that "the only thing with that kind of power would be... a bolt of lightning."

Big Brother

Mission: Big Crimson Brother is Watching This mission involves destroying 5 Crimson Lance Security Cameras found throughout the T-Bone Junction. This is simply a reference to the Reality show, Big Brother (see discussion) which itself is based upon the ideas from the novel "1984."

Bloodsport

Brick's last skill, Blood_Sport in the Brawler skill line, Bloodsport, is a reference to the martial arts/action movie.

Canvas News

Challenge: Boom goes the dynamite

19-year old Brian Collins has to replace the regular sports guy, but he fails horribly. One phrase from this broadcast turned into a meme, namely the phrase "Boom goes the dynamite."

Night of the Living Dead

The mission "Night of the Living Ned" is based on the title of the famous zombie cult classic "Night of the Living Dead" .

Deliverance

Quote: "You're gonna squeal before we cook ya"

A random enemy may shout this phrase, referring to the movie Deliverance, where Ned Beatty's character is forced to squeal like a pig during a hillbilly encounter.

Die Hard

Character: Bruce McClane

The name Bruce McClane is a combination of the name of the protagonist from Die Hard, Officer John McClane, and the actor who played him, Bruce Willis.

Dragon Ball Z

Xbox Live / PSN profile information

If a player gets more than 9000 kills online, his Xbox Live profile will read "Kills Over 9000". On the PSN, it sill simply say "Kills: 9000". This is a reference to the famous Dragon Ball Z meme, where Nappa asks Vegeta "What does the scouter say about his power level?" Vegeta's reply to that is: "It's over NINE THOUSAND!" This meme can be viewed here.

Dukes of Hazzard

Runner colour

The General Flee colour on the runners is a reference to the iconic dodge charger The General Lee. The main colour of the body is the same and both feature numbers painted on the side (runners feature a 00 and the Lee features 01).

Evil Dead

Weapon: Boom Stick

In the third movie of this series Bruce's character Ash wields a sawn-off shotgun he calls his "Boomstick". Also, the flavor text of this weapon is Beyond Groovy. "Groovy" is Ash's signature phrase. Also, Baron Flynt, from whom you get the Boom Stick, bears a very strong resemblance to Bruce Campbell, who played Ash.

Fabregé Organic Shampoo

Achievement: "And They'll Tell Two Friends..."

Fabregé Cosmetics ran a television ad for their line of organic shampoo in the 1980's. The famous line from the commercial went: "You'll tell two friends, and they'll tell two friends, and so on..." This quote has also become the slogan for the 'social marketing' advertising philosophy.

Firefly

Character: Jaynis Kobb

Reference to the character Jayne Cobb from the TV show Firefly. In the seventh episode, "Jaynestown", the characters enter a mining town where the locals hail Jayne (who is a violent, amoral gunman who'd tried to steal money from the local magistrate years before) as a hero.

Forrest Gump

Character: Zombie TK Baha

Dead TK talks about all the ways to cook brains, similar to when Benjamin Buford 'Bubba' Blue lists different ways to prepare shrimp.

Ghostbusters

Character Dialogue: Mad Moxxi - "You... you've earned it."

Occasionally, during the Intermission while Moxxi drops party favors, she'll remark "You... you've earned it." In the movie Ghostbusters, Bill Murray's character (Dr. Peter Venkman) says the exact same line while rewarding Egon Spengler with a Baby Ruth candy-bar.

Godfather

Character Dialogue Crazy Earl - "Gave me an offer I couldn't refuse"

When first meeting Crazy Earl explains is the reason for all the current defenses: "Krom heard about it and stopped by about a year ago. Gave me an offer I couldn't refuse. Why do you think I barricaded myself in here?" , Just like Don Vito in Godfather Part I and in subsequent sequels

Godzilla

Enemies: Skagzilla and Mothrakk

The names of these enemies refer to Godzilla, a giant monster, and Mothra, a giant moth, respectively.

Idiocracy

Claptrap repair kit

A claptrap repair kit can have the description "It's got what claptraps crave". This refers to the drink "Brawndo" that completely replaces water in the movie Idiocracy. The slogan for "Brawndo" is "It's got what X craves", where X could be replaced by anything.

Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade

Achievement: "You call this archaeology?"

In the movie, while fighting a Nazi officer, Indy's father (Henry Jones Sr., played by Sean Connery) spouts this line in protest of the uncharacteristically violent nature of his son's occupation.

Jem

Character: Lilith

Lilith resembles the titular character of the animated TV series, "Jem". They both appear as women with heavy make-up and they have bright colored hair. The achievement Truly Outrageous, which can only be acquired with Lilith, is a catch phrase; in the opening theme Jerrica states that Jem is "Truly Outrageous".

Lethal Weapon

Character: Mad Mel

Before your showdown with Mad Mel, you are warned that he is a 'lethal weapon in any vehicle'. Mel Gibson plays Sgt. Martin Riggs in the movie Lethal Weapon.

Weapon: Torgue Friendly Fire

In Lethal Weapon, Martin Riggs upstages his veteran partner at the shooting range by firing a smiley-face pattern into a paper target at nearly twice the range before remarking "Have a nice day..."

Looney Tunes

Achievement: "Rootinest, Tootinest, Shootinest"

In Warner Brothers' 'Looney Tunes' franchise, the character of Yosemite Sam introduced himself thusly: "Ah'm the rootinest, tootinest, shootinest bob-tailed wildcat in the west!"

Mad Max

Character: Mad Mel

The name Mad Mel is a combination Mad Max, a character from the similarly named movie series, and Mel Gibson, his actor. The look of the game is also similar to the world Mad Max is from.

Skill: Master Blaster

In the third Mad Max movie, two characters named The Master and The Blaster, who can combine into Master Blaster. (However, this could also refer to the villain from the '80s cartoon Kidd Video, who also went by that name. Not to be confused with the Blaster Master video game references.)

DLC: Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot

The title of the third Mad Max movie is Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, in which the protagonist is conscripted to fight in deathmatches in an arena called the Thunderdome.

(See also the Mystery Science Theater Three Thousand reference, below, which cites a MST3K joke that itself references Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome.)

The Madness of King George

Weapon: Atlas Cyclops

The flavor text "I have you in my eye, sir." is a quote from this movie.

The Matrix

Character: Claptrap

During the mission Claptrap Rescue in Fyrestone, when Claptrap is incapacitated by a bandit vehicle attack, it is heard to moan "Oh... I can see the code!" This is likely a reference to the films eponymous computer program.

This can also be heard by any incapacitated Claptrap (except the one in Lockdown Palace, who is locked in place, not injured) around Pandora.

Merry Melodies

Weapon: Whitting's Elephant Gun

The flavor text for this gun, "Why don't you go shoot yourself an Elephant" is a line spoken by Bugs Bunny to Elmer Fudd during the 1951 Merry Melody short "Rabbit Fire".

Monty Python

Achievement: There are some who call me... Tim

Upon being asked for his name by King Arthur in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Tim the Enchanter answers with: "There are some who call me... Tim."

Weapon: Maliwan Crux

The flavor text for this gun, Bring out your Dead, is a quote from Monty Python and the Holy Grail where a body cleaner is saying this phrase throughout the street.

Roland's Medic Phrase: "It's just a flesh wound!"

Roland states this phrase (among others) when he revives a team mate. This loosely refers to the Black Knight when he says "Just a flesh wound", despite having both his arms lopped off.

Mortal Kombat

Said by Master McCloud or one of his goonies

"Death Is the Only Way Out" is a possible reference to Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, said by Cyrax, right before Sonya and Jax get schooled.

Toasty - Get 250 kills with Incendiary attacks An allusion to a well known sound clip from the game Mortal Kombat. This sound clip happens occasionally when you uppercut your opponent.

Mystery Science Theater 3000

Achievement: Can't We Get BEYOND Thunderdome?

Refers to a joke referencing the movie Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, told by the robots Crow and Tom Servo in episode 706: Tom: "You see, if you live long enough, eventually, someone's going to say the word Thunderdome in your presence." Crow: "That's right, and I'm guessing most of you aren't equipped with a snappy comeback." Tom: "Well..." Crow: "We're gonna give you one." Tom: "We'll act it out for you. Ahem... Boy, I still think we really screwed up on that whole Thunderdome-fiasco." Crow: "Oh, come on, can't we get BEYOND Thunderdome?" This scene can be seen here.

Not Without My Daughter

Mission: Not Without My Claptrap

This mission may also be a reference to other movies or series, possible others are Pirates of the Carribean and South Park. This movie is the most likely the mission refers to.

Pulp Fiction

Mission: I've Got A Sinking Feeling...

The names of the ships you have to sink (Righteous Man, Great Vengeance and Furious Anger) refer to the fictionalized version of Ezekiel 25:17 Samuel L. Jackson's character recites. This scene can be found here.

Mission: Ned's undead, baby, Ned's undead

Reference to the line "Zed's dead, baby. Zed's dead." This scene can be seen here.

The Royal Tenenbaums

Character: Mordecai

In the movie, Richie has a pet falcon called Mordecai. This is also reflected in Mordecai having a pet Bloodwing, a bird not too different from a falcon.

The Running Man

Quote: "Who loves you and who do you love?"

Character: Mad Moxxi

In the movie The Running Man, Richard Dawson's character, Damon Killian, uses this phrase as his catch phrase during the movie. Mad Moxxi uses this phrase at different times during any round.

Saturday Night Live

Enemies: Hanz and Franz

Hanz and Franz are based on Hans and Franz, two characters from "Pumping Up with Hans and Franz". They spoofed Arnold Schwarzenegger by using padding for fake muscles, drab gray sweatsuits, weight belts, and Austrian accents. They are known for saying "We are here to, pump you up".

Sesame Street

Menu Screen: Claptrap

Claptrap hums, "Nooney-nooney-noon..." as he rolls by in the background of the Menu Screen. This is a possible reference to the Typerwriter Cartoon from classic 1970's era Sesame Street.

Slumdog Millionaire

Achievement: Pandora-dog Millionaire

In the movie, a boy from the slums, who manages to make a lot of money from a television quiz show. To get this achievement, you'll have to collect $1,000,000, similar to how the slumdog from the movie earns a lot of money from the show.

Space Balls

Location: Ludicrous Speedway

In the movie, there is a speed "Ludicrous speed", which is faster than both Light speed and "Ridiculous speed".A reference to spaceballs

Challenge: Hot! Too Hot!!

Reference to the scene where Dark Helmet is drinking coffee and exclaims "HOT! TOO HOT!"

Challenges: Who made that man a gunner? and Keep firing

In this scene Dark Helmet first comments on the gunner, telling him "shoot across her nose, not up it." Upon finding out the gunner is crossed eyed, he asks: "Who made that man a gunner?" Later in the same scene, after finding out everyone on the bridge has the surname "Asshole", Dark Helmet directs them to "keep firing, Assholes!"

Star Wars

Taylor Kobb: "a hive of scum and villainy"

Obi-Wan Kenobi calls the Mos Eisley space port "a wretched hive of scum and villainy" in the original Star Wars movie, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.

The opening scene, where Clap Trap hits his head on the opening gate of Fyrestone is similar to the Storm Trooper hitting his head on the door of the Death Star as they enter the room with C3P0 and R2-D2 (though it could just simply be an unrelated bit of slapstick comedy).

This Is Spinal Tap

The dials on Marshall amplifiers typically have a number range from zero to ten. In the mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap Guitarist Nigel Tufnel boasts that the dials on his amps all go to eleven. This forms the inspiration for the level cap increase by 11 in The Secret Armory of General Knoxx.

Trading Places

Challenge: How Much For The Gun?

In the scene where Louis is in the pawn shop trading in his expensive watch, he notices a revolver and asks the pawn broker, "How much for the gun?"

Trigun

Challenge: Human Tsunami

A two-fold reference to Trigun. The main character was famed (albeit falsely) for being the first humanoid localized natural disaster, resulting in him being nicknamed "The Humanoid Typhoon" due to the unnatural aura of destruction that seemed to follow him. In addition, he also had an advanced prosthetic left arm with a SMG hidden in it that he could use. (An upgrade midway through the series; it had originally been a shotgun) This challenge has players kill 2,500 enemies with SMG's.

People

Kevin Mitnick

Challenge: "My kung fu is best!"

Kevin Mitnick is a computer security consultant and author, and during the late 20th century, was convicted of various computer and communications technology-related crimes. Prior to his arrest, Kevin left the voice-mail message "My kung-fu is best!" to taunt the investigators attempting to apprehend him.

Nikola Tesla

Challenge: Nikola is a friend of mine

Nikola Tesla was a famed inventor in the 19th and 20th centuries, perhaps best known for his advancements in commercial electricity, and, by extension, the Tesla coil. Tesla coils are now used primarily for entertainment, as they can send out huge bolts of electricity into the air when turned on.

Muhammad Ali

Brick's skill, "Sting like a Bee" is a reference to one of Muhammad Ali's most famous quotes, "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee."

Adolf Hitler

Crazy Earl has a moustache identical to Adolf Hitler's. Despite also being worn by comedy icon Charlie Chaplin, the social stigma now associated with the tiny, little moustache means only the most maladjusted would ever wear one again.

Fidel Castro

The image of DLC 4 has a claptrap that looks identical to Fidel.

Lynn Abbey

"Old Lynne Abbey" from Altar Ego: The New Religion may be a reference to fantasy author Lynn Abbey.

J. Robert Oppenheimer

Challenge: I am Become Death

"Now I am become Death, destroyer of worlds," is a famous quote from J. Robert Oppenheimer , who directed the Manhattan Project, the project by the United States government that created the first atomic bomb. The quote itself originates from the Hindu text Bhagavad Gita , but in Western culture it is known much more for its association with nuclear weapons.

Governments and Nations

In God We Trust

Graffiti: "IN GUN WE TRUST"

It is not so easy to notice this one but if you play in high resolution, it is clear that a graffiti says "IN GUN WE TRUST". The phrase is also visible printed on the lids of green ammunition chests next to the gun logo if you look closely.

Republic A-10 "Thunderbolt II"

Paint Scheme: Runner - Mean Green

The red maw and jagged, shark-like teeth on the driver's pod of a Runner with a 'Mean Green' paint-scheme is similar to the pattern on the A-10 attack plane currently used by the United States.

This paint job is also similar to the WW2 P40 Warhawk of Flying Tigers fame.Veggienater 03:50, September 12, 2010 (UTC)

Science

Saturn

The planet Pandora was named possibly after one of Saturn's moons. There are 61 moons around Saturn, which is the same number as the level cap in General Knoxx.