Difference between revisions of "Storyline"

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(The Mann family)
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{{Quotation|'''Elizabeth''' pulling strings|Who I '''am''' does not concern you.}}
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[[File:Australians.png|right|thumb|Australians in the 1890's]]
 
Although ''[[Team Fortress 2]]'' has no story mode or single-player campaign, the '''storyline''' and back story of the game has been revealed through several [[comics]], [[Meet the Team]] videos, and major updates over time. The [[October 29, 2009 Patch|Halloween Update]] of October 2009 (and the [[October 27, 2010 Patch|Halloween Update]] of October 2010), the [[December 17, 2009 Patch|WAR! Update]] of December 2009, and the [[Engineer Update]] of July 2010 have all offered to add to the official Team Fortress continuity in one way or another. [[Hidden pages|Hidden links]] in these pages as well as the examination of the ''Team Fortress 2'' comic book pages serve to contribute various dates in the timeline.
 
Although ''[[Team Fortress 2]]'' has no story mode or single-player campaign, the '''storyline''' and back story of the game has been revealed through several [[comics]], [[Meet the Team]] videos, and major updates over time. The [[October 29, 2009 Patch|Halloween Update]] of October 2009 (and the [[October 27, 2010 Patch|Halloween Update]] of October 2010), the [[December 17, 2009 Patch|WAR! Update]] of December 2009, and the [[Engineer Update]] of July 2010 have all offered to add to the official Team Fortress continuity in one way or another. [[Hidden pages|Hidden links]] in these pages as well as the examination of the ''Team Fortress 2'' comic book pages serve to contribute various dates in the timeline.
  
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''Team Fortress 2'''s backstory begins in 1850 with the wealthy Englishman [[Zepheniah Mann]]. Mann was the owner and proprietor of Mann & Sons Munitions Concerns, later known as [[Mann Co.]]. Later, he traveled to the United States with his two adult sons, [[Redmond Mann|Redmond]] and [[Blutarch Mann|Blutarch]], to expand their munitions business. When they arrived, they discovered the {{botignore|[[Gravel Pit|gravel pits]]}} and {{botignore|[[dustbowl]]s}} were useless; in addition, Zepheniah had contracted numerous illnesses in his age. With his last will and testament, Zepheniah set up the events of ''Team Fortress 2'' by leaving half of his land to each of his sons, for them to fight over for the rest of their lives.
 
''Team Fortress 2'''s backstory begins in 1850 with the wealthy Englishman [[Zepheniah Mann]]. Mann was the owner and proprietor of Mann & Sons Munitions Concerns, later known as [[Mann Co.]]. Later, he traveled to the United States with his two adult sons, [[Redmond Mann|Redmond]] and [[Blutarch Mann|Blutarch]], to expand their munitions business. When they arrived, they discovered the {{botignore|[[Gravel Pit|gravel pits]]}} and {{botignore|[[dustbowl]]s}} were useless; in addition, Zepheniah had contracted numerous illnesses in his age. With his last will and testament, Zepheniah set up the events of ''Team Fortress 2'' by leaving half of his land to each of his sons, for them to fight over for the rest of their lives.
  
===The last will and testament of Zepheniah Mann===
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[[File:BluTeamOriginal.jpg‎|left|thumb|The original BLU Team]]
To his maidservant, Elizabeth, a shrewd and angry looking woman, he left all of his funds, plantation, and estate; to his tracker, the burly Australian Barnabus Hale, he left the Mann & Sons company, and to his "brain-defective" sons Redmond and Blutarch, he left the useless land they had found, ordering them to find a way to compromise and share it. Finally, Zepheniah also left an important, scribbled-out duty to an unknown person who is blurred out of his family portrait. Another Mann family member, Silas Mann, is revealed to be part of the family portrait, although he is not the blurred individual. Unsatisfied with this arrangement, both sons began forming a team of mercenaries to kill the other and take the land for themselves.
 
  
===The battle begins===
+
===Beginnings===
[[File:BluTeamOriginal.jpg‎|200px|thumb|The original BLU Team]]
+
Comprised of [[Scout|Billy the Kid]], [[Soldier|Stonewall Jackson]], [[Pyro|Abraham Lincoln]], [[Demoman|Alfred Nobel]], [[Heavy|John Henry]], [[Engineer|Nikola Tesla]], [[Medic|Sigmund Freud]], [[Sniper|Davy Crockett]], and [[Spy|Fu Manchu]], Blutarch had his crack mercenary team set, and was eager to claim his land. The RED and BLU teams proceeded to enter a massive stalemate as they attempted to destroy the other team and take the land for their respective Mann sibling.
While the members of the original [[RED]] Team are unknown, the members of the original [[BLU]] Team were various famous historical figures from the mid-to-late 1800s, many of whom were not even alive at the same time. The team was made up of Billy the Kid (the original [[Scout]]), Stonewall Jackson (the original [[Soldier]]), Abraham Lincoln (the original [[Pyro]]), Alfred Nobel (the original [[Demoman]]), John Henry (the original [[Heavy]]), Nikola Tesla (the original [[Engineer]]), Sigmund Freud (the original [[Medic]]), Davy Crockett (the original [[Sniper]]), and Fu Manchu (the original [[Spy]]). The RED and BLU teams proceeded to enter a massive stalemate as they attempted to destroy the other team and take the land for their respective Mann sibling.
 
 
<br clear="all">
 
<br clear="all">
  
 
==1890==
 
==1890==
===Loose canon===
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===A Loose Canon===
 
[[File:RadiganConagher.jpg|thumb|200px|Radigan Conagher accepts Blutarch's request]]
 
[[File:RadiganConagher.jpg|thumb|200px|Radigan Conagher accepts Blutarch's request]]
Forty years later, Redmond and Blutarch were still engaged in their unwinnable war. As Blutarch neared death from old age, he called in an Engineer named [[Radigan Conagher]] to "make [him] a monster" by artificially extending his life with a machine. Radigan agreed, but then encountered a descendant (presumably daughter) of Elizabeth, who asked Radigan to build Redmond a life extending machine as well. As payment, she gave him a hundred pounds of [[Australium]], a powerful transformative element found only in Australia which had caused the nation of unintelligent savages to become extremely intelligent, developing [[Teleporter|teleportation]] and [[Invisibility Watch|cloaking]] techniques and other incredible scientific advances. Radigan agreed, and became super-intelligent with the Australium. He then developed life extending machines for Redmond and Blutarch (as well as an unknown third individual).
+
Forty years later, Redmond and Blutarch were still engaged in their unwinnable war. As Blutarch neared death from old age, he called in an expert craftsman named [[Radigan Conagher]] to construct for him a machine that would allow him to live on, to "make [him] a monster" by artificially extending is life. Radigan agreed, Upon returning to his store that evening, Radigan found a stranger who had already made her way past his locked door. Knowing she couldn't convince Radigan to change his mind about building Blutarch's life extender, this stranger asked Radigan to build Redmond a machine as well. As payment, she gave him a hundred pounds of [[Australium]], a powerful element found only in Australia, which had caused the nation of unintelligent savages to become extremely intelligent and develop such technological marvels as [[Teleporter|teleportation]] and [[Invisibility Watch|cloaking]] techniques.  
 +
 
 +
Radigan agreed, and became super-intelligent with the Australium. Radigan went on to develop life extending machines for Redmond, Blutarch and a third individual.
 
<br clear="all">
 
<br clear="all">
  
 
==1968==
 
==1968==
===The modern war===
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===Modern War===
Team Fortress 2 takes place in 1968. Nine individuals - the [[Scout]], the [[Soldier]] (real name Jane Doe), the [[Pyro]], the [[Demoman]] (real name Tavish DeGroot), the [[Heavy]], the [[Engineer]] (real name Dell Conagher), the [[Medic]], the [[Sniper]] (real name Mundy), and the [[Spy]] - are recruited by Reliable Excavation & Demolition (RED) and Builders League United (BLU) to continue Redmond and Blutarch's never-ending war to seize their father's land. A descendant of Elizabeth, named [[The Administrator|Helen]], now acts as the Administrator of the battle, secretly overseeing both teams, something the Mann siblings are likely unaware of. Additionally, [[Saxton Hale]], a descendant of Zepheniah Mann's friend Barnabus, to whom he gave Mann & Sons Munitions Concerns, is now in charge of Mann Co., which acts as a subsidary of the Administrator's shadowy company, [[TF Industries]].
+
During the Summer of 1968, nine individuals - the Scout, the Soldier, the Pyro, the Demoman), the Heavy Weapons Guy, the Engineer, the Medic, the Sniper), and the Spy - are recruited by Reliable Excavation & Demolition (RED) and Builders League United (BLU) to continue Redmond and Blutarch's never-ending war to seize the land left to them by their deceased father. [[The Administrator|Helen]], a descendent of Elizabeth, acts as the overseer of the large-scale battles fought amongst these nine mercenaries. Descendent of Barnabas Hale, [[Saxton Hale]], acts as the propitiatory owner of the renowned weapons and [[headwear]] business Mann Co., which acts as a subsidiary of the Administrator's shadowy company, [[TF Industries]].
 +
 
 +
===Recent Developments===
 +
[[Image:Announcer.png|thumb|100px|The Administrator]]
 +
Our first major plot event occurs when the RED Demoman and BLU Soldier meet and become friends at an explosives convention, which severely angers the Administrator. With the help of Saxton Hale, she misleads both men into thinking the other is trying to kill them, sparking [[The WAR! Update|a bloody war]].
 +
 
 +
The next major event occurs when Blutarch Mann realizes his life support machine is breaking. Blutarch contacts our BLU Engineer, the grandson of Radigan Conagher, to [[Engineer Update|fix it]].  
  
===Recent developments===
+
Later, Saxton Hale discovers the Internet (which notably did not exist in the 1960s) and uses it to [[Mann-conomy Update|open]] the online [[Mann Co. Store]] for players to purchase weapons and items.
[[Image:Announcer.png|thumb|200px|The Administrator]]
 
The first major plot event occurs when the RED Demoman and BLU Soldier meet and become friends at an explosives convention, which severely angers the Administrator. With the help of Saxton Hale, she misleads both men into thinking the other is trying to kill them, sparking [[December 17, 2009 Patch|a bloody war]]. The next major event occurs when Blutarch Mann realizes his life support machine is breaking. He desperately calls in the BLU Engineer, the grandson of Radigan Conagher, to [[Engineer Update|fix it]]. Later, Saxton Hale discovers the Internet (which notably did not exist in the 1960s) and uses it to [[Mann-conomy Update|open]] the online [[Mann Co. Store]] for players to purchase weapons and items.
 
 
<br clear="all">
 
<br clear="all">
  
 
==Mysteries==
 
==Mysteries==
 
===Pyro's identity===
 
===Pyro's identity===
The Pyro's identity has been the subject of much debate since the game's release. As the Pyro is one of two classes to not yet receive a [[Meet the Team]] video (the other being the Medic), little is known about his or her personality and history. Up until the Engineer Update, a popular theory claimed the Pyro was a woman (and thus, the only female class), in large part because of a frilly flower handbag in the Pyro's locker. Additional evidence supporters note include the Pyro's feminine humiliation stance, the ''[[Director's Vision]]'' taunt, and domination lines from other classes that use derogatory female terms.
+
The identity of the Pyro has been the subject of much debate since the game's release. As the Pyro is one of two classes to not yet receive a [[Meet the Team]] video, little is known about his or her personality and history. One popular theory claims that the Pyro was a woman, in large part because of a frilly flower handbag found in the Pyro's locker on several maps. Additional evidence supporters note include the Pyro's feminine humiliation stance, the ''[[Director's Vision]]'' taunt, and domination lines from other classes that use derogatory female terms.
  
However, with the release of the Engineer Update, much speculation has revolved around the idea that Abraham Lincoln, the original 1850s Pyro, is still alive in the role. Three aspects of the update are used as evidence:
+
However, much speculation revolves around the idea that Abraham Lincoln is still alive and continues to play the role of the Pyro from his original 1850's team. Three aspects of the Engineer update are used as evidence:
 
* Abraham Lincoln was the original Pyro in the 1850s.
 
* Abraham Lincoln was the original Pyro in the 1850s.
 
* Schematics on Radigan Conagher's workbench depict a contraption in which a seated man with a beard and top hat is dropped through a trap door and teleported to a desert location. An image of the penny (on which Lincoln is depicted) and the letters "LIN..." are nearby. Some have suggested this schematic may depict a way in which Lincoln survived his assassination by John "Tower of Hats" Booth.
 
* Schematics on Radigan Conagher's workbench depict a contraption in which a seated man with a beard and top hat is dropped through a trap door and teleported to a desert location. An image of the penny (on which Lincoln is depicted) and the letters "LIN..." are nearby. Some have suggested this schematic may depict a way in which Lincoln survived his assassination by John "Tower of Hats" Booth.
 
* Radigan Conagher built a third life extending machine for an unknown individual. While some have cited the machine's construction date of April 14 (the day Lincoln was assassinated) as evidence, Conagher could not have built the third machine until at least 1894, the year he built Redmond and Blutarch's devices. An explanation for Lincoln's possible survival is provided above.
 
* Radigan Conagher built a third life extending machine for an unknown individual. While some have cited the machine's construction date of April 14 (the day Lincoln was assassinated) as evidence, Conagher could not have built the third machine until at least 1894, the year he built Redmond and Blutarch's devices. An explanation for Lincoln's possible survival is provided above.
  
===Zepheniah Mann's will recipient===
+
Another recent theory can argue that the Administrator's secretary, [[Ms. Pauling]], takes the role of the Pyro to keep an eye on the mercenaries for the Administrator. Arguments for this include Pauling seemingly knowing how to handle a [[revolver]] with expertise previously seen only with our mercenaries, as well as her taste in literature.
Zepheniah Mann left an important task to an unknown person in his last will and testament. The line reads "Lastly to [obscured] I leave the entirety of my [obscured] and swear you to utmost secrecy in its keeping." This person's identity has not yet been revealed, but cannot be Redmond, Blutarch, Barnabus Hale, or Elizabeth, as all are mentioned in his will already. The person is likely the individual seen scratched out of the Mann family portrait, whose identity is also unknown.
+
 
 +
===Zepheniah Mann's Unknown Will Recipient===
 +
Zepheniah Mann left an important task to an unknown person in his will. Specifically, the line reads  
 +
 
 +
{| cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"
 +
| style="background-color: #FBB917;" | Lastly, to {obsecured) I leave the entirety of my (obsecured}
 +
|-
 +
| style="background-color: #FBB917;" | (obsecured)
 +
|-
 +
| style="background-color: #FBB917;" | (obsecured)
 +
|-
 +
| style="background-color: #FBB917;" | and swear you to utmost secrecy in its keeping.
 +
|}
 +
 
 +
The identity of this person has not yet been revealed. The person is likely the individual seen scratched out of the Mann family portrait, the identity of which is unknown.
  
===Third life extender machine===
+
===Third Life Extender Machine===
After building Blutarch Mann a life extending machine on July 17, 1894, and a second for Redmond Mann on August 3, 1894, Radigan Conagher built a third machine on April 14 of an unknown year. The recipient of this machine is a source of speculation. Some have suggested Abraham Lincoln, the original Pyro (see above), due to the fact that it was built on the day he supposedly died, while others have theorized the unnamed descendant of Elizabeth who enlisted Radigan to make the devices in the first place may have requested one for herself, and is Helen, the current Administrator. Still, others hypothesized that it was this unknown recipient from Zepheniah Mann's last will that have received this life extending machine.
+
After constructing Blutarch his life extending machine on July 17, 1894, and a second for Redmond Mann on August 3, 1894, Radigan Conagher built a third machine on April 14 of an unknown year. Some have suggested Abraham Lincoln, the original Pyro (see above), as the owner of this machine due to the fact that it was built on the day he supposedly died. Others have theorized the unnamed descendant of Elizabeth who enlisted Radigan to make the devices in the first place may have requested one for herself, and is currently acting as the Administrator. Still, others hypothesized that it was this unknown recipient from Zepheniah Mann's last will that have received this life extending machine.
  
 
== Detailed timeline ==
 
== Detailed timeline ==

Revision as of 01:05, 1 June 2011

Who I am does not concern you.
Elizabeth pulling strings
Australians in the 1890's

Although Team Fortress 2 has no story mode or single-player campaign, the storyline and back story of the game has been revealed through several comics, Meet the Team videos, and major updates over time. The Halloween Update of October 2009 (and the Halloween Update of October 2010), the WAR! Update of December 2009, and the Engineer Update of July 2010 have all offered to add to the official Team Fortress continuity in one way or another. Hidden links in these pages as well as the examination of the Team Fortress 2 comic book pages serve to contribute various dates in the timeline.

1850

The Mann family

From left to right: Barnabas Hale, Blutarch Mann, Zepheniah Mann, Elizabeth and Redmond Mann. A mysterious man is also seen just out of shot on the far right side

Team Fortress 2's backstory begins in 1850 with the wealthy Englishman Zepheniah Mann. Mann was the owner and proprietor of Mann & Sons Munitions Concerns, later known as Mann Co.. Later, he traveled to the United States with his two adult sons, Redmond and Blutarch, to expand their munitions business. When they arrived, they discovered the gravel pits and dustbowls were useless; in addition, Zepheniah had contracted numerous illnesses in his age. With his last will and testament, Zepheniah set up the events of Team Fortress 2 by leaving half of his land to each of his sons, for them to fight over for the rest of their lives.

The original BLU Team

Beginnings

Comprised of Billy the Kid, Stonewall Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Alfred Nobel, John Henry, Nikola Tesla, Sigmund Freud, Davy Crockett, and Fu Manchu, Blutarch had his crack mercenary team set, and was eager to claim his land. The RED and BLU teams proceeded to enter a massive stalemate as they attempted to destroy the other team and take the land for their respective Mann sibling.

1890

A Loose Canon

Radigan Conagher accepts Blutarch's request

Forty years later, Redmond and Blutarch were still engaged in their unwinnable war. As Blutarch neared death from old age, he called in an expert craftsman named Radigan Conagher to construct for him a machine that would allow him to live on, to "make [him] a monster" by artificially extending is life. Radigan agreed, Upon returning to his store that evening, Radigan found a stranger who had already made her way past his locked door. Knowing she couldn't convince Radigan to change his mind about building Blutarch's life extender, this stranger asked Radigan to build Redmond a machine as well. As payment, she gave him a hundred pounds of Australium, a powerful element found only in Australia, which had caused the nation of unintelligent savages to become extremely intelligent and develop such technological marvels as teleportation and cloaking techniques.

Radigan agreed, and became super-intelligent with the Australium. Radigan went on to develop life extending machines for Redmond, Blutarch and a third individual.

1968

Modern War

During the Summer of 1968, nine individuals - the Scout, the Soldier, the Pyro, the Demoman), the Heavy Weapons Guy, the Engineer, the Medic, the Sniper), and the Spy - are recruited by Reliable Excavation & Demolition (RED) and Builders League United (BLU) to continue Redmond and Blutarch's never-ending war to seize the land left to them by their deceased father. Helen, a descendent of Elizabeth, acts as the overseer of the large-scale battles fought amongst these nine mercenaries. Descendent of Barnabas Hale, Saxton Hale, acts as the propitiatory owner of the renowned weapons and headwear business Mann Co., which acts as a subsidiary of the Administrator's shadowy company, TF Industries.

Recent Developments

The Administrator

Our first major plot event occurs when the RED Demoman and BLU Soldier meet and become friends at an explosives convention, which severely angers the Administrator. With the help of Saxton Hale, she misleads both men into thinking the other is trying to kill them, sparking a bloody war.

The next major event occurs when Blutarch Mann realizes his life support machine is breaking. Blutarch contacts our BLU Engineer, the grandson of Radigan Conagher, to fix it.

Later, Saxton Hale discovers the Internet (which notably did not exist in the 1960s) and uses it to open the online Mann Co. Store for players to purchase weapons and items.

Mysteries

Pyro's identity

The identity of the Pyro has been the subject of much debate since the game's release. As the Pyro is one of two classes to not yet receive a Meet the Team video, little is known about his or her personality and history. One popular theory claims that the Pyro was a woman, in large part because of a frilly flower handbag found in the Pyro's locker on several maps. Additional evidence supporters note include the Pyro's feminine humiliation stance, the Director's Vision taunt, and domination lines from other classes that use derogatory female terms.

However, much speculation revolves around the idea that Abraham Lincoln is still alive and continues to play the role of the Pyro from his original 1850's team. Three aspects of the Engineer update are used as evidence:

  • Abraham Lincoln was the original Pyro in the 1850s.
  • Schematics on Radigan Conagher's workbench depict a contraption in which a seated man with a beard and top hat is dropped through a trap door and teleported to a desert location. An image of the penny (on which Lincoln is depicted) and the letters "LIN..." are nearby. Some have suggested this schematic may depict a way in which Lincoln survived his assassination by John "Tower of Hats" Booth.
  • Radigan Conagher built a third life extending machine for an unknown individual. While some have cited the machine's construction date of April 14 (the day Lincoln was assassinated) as evidence, Conagher could not have built the third machine until at least 1894, the year he built Redmond and Blutarch's devices. An explanation for Lincoln's possible survival is provided above.

Another recent theory can argue that the Administrator's secretary, Ms. Pauling, takes the role of the Pyro to keep an eye on the mercenaries for the Administrator. Arguments for this include Pauling seemingly knowing how to handle a revolver with expertise previously seen only with our mercenaries, as well as her taste in literature.

Zepheniah Mann's Unknown Will Recipient

Zepheniah Mann left an important task to an unknown person in his will. Specifically, the line reads

Lastly, to {obsecured) I leave the entirety of my (obsecured}
(obsecured)
(obsecured)
and swear you to utmost secrecy in its keeping.

The identity of this person has not yet been revealed. The person is likely the individual seen scratched out of the Mann family portrait, the identity of which is unknown.

Third Life Extender Machine

After constructing Blutarch his life extending machine on July 17, 1894, and a second for Redmond Mann on August 3, 1894, Radigan Conagher built a third machine on April 14 of an unknown year. Some have suggested Abraham Lincoln, the original Pyro (see above), as the owner of this machine due to the fact that it was built on the day he supposedly died. Others have theorized the unnamed descendant of Elizabeth who enlisted Radigan to make the devices in the first place may have requested one for herself, and is currently acting as the Administrator. Still, others hypothesized that it was this unknown recipient from Zepheniah Mann's last will that have received this life extending machine.

Detailed timeline

Legend
Important event