Storyline
| “ | Who I am does not concern you.
— Elizabeth pulling strings
|
” |
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.
Contents
1850
The Mann family
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.
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
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 his 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
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 the last class 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, the Madame Dixie, 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 {obscured) I leave the entirety of my (obscured} |
| (obscured) |
| (obscured) |
| 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 |
| Date | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 18th Century | ||
| 1788 - December 18th | Old Nick turns his boat around to conquer the South Pole while on a voyage to Australia | Link |
| 19th Century | ||
| 1808 | The company that produces the scrumpy that the Demoman would become a fan of over a century later begins production of their product. | Link |
| 1814 - June | An editorial cartoon is published in the Gentle Manne’s Monthly, entitled “An Editorial Cartoon of Some Insighte,” starring the editorial’s mascot, the Gentle Manne of Leisure, and his Companione. | Link |
| 1850 | The Last Will and Testament of Zepheniah Mann is written and enacted. | Link |
| 1850 | Australia becomes the world's most advanced country. | Link, Link |
| 1857 | Abraham Lincoln invents stairs, replacing rocket jumping. | Link |
| 1862 - August 5th | Scientists in Australia "nervously assure the world" that there is "no gold after all." Gold prospectors turns gaze to Canada. | Link, Link |
| 1865 | Abraham Lincoln holds his Second Inaugural Address, stating, "I say this to you with unvarnished factualism of plain talk: I love Arena Mode." | Link |
| 1865 - April 20th | The War Department published a wanted poster for John "Tower of Hats" Booth, for the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. | Link |
| 1869 | Shiny's Bullion is established. | Link |
| 1880 | Emily begins her search for Australium. | Link |
| 1890 | Blutarch Mann commissions Radigan Conagher to build a life-extending machine. | Link |
| 1890 | Emily requests Conagher to build one for Redmond Mann as well. | Link |
| 1890 | Biggs starts producing steel rods. | Link |
| 1894 - April 14th | Radigan Conagher finishes a Life Extender Machine for an undisclosed party. | Link |
| 1894 - July 17th | Radigan Conagher finishes building a Life Extender Machine for Blutarch Mann. | Link |
| 1894 - August 3rd | Radigan Conagher finishes another Life Extender Machine for Redmond Mann. | Link |
| 1895 - January 25th | “Hills Discovered!” In Australia, “Mysterious New Geographic Lumps Confound Men of Australian Science." | Link |
| 1895 - March 6th | “War, Mate!” Two months later, the king of Australia declares war on hills, stating “There will be time to study these so-called hills after they are dead.” | Link |
| 1895 - April 5th | “King Conquers Hill!” It is reported that the “Coward Mound Surrendered Without a Fight.” | Link |
| 20th Century | ||
| 1900 - January 23rd | "Mann Co Invents 'Ro-Bot'" Here it is revealed that Mann Co., at the turn of the century, is now an "Australian Weapons Giant." In the article, Mann Co. officials attempt to soothe public concerns over their "Ro-Bot," stating that "these automatons will only be used for violence." On a minor note, a poll shows that "Robin" is the most popular Australian girl’s name. | Link |
| 1900 | Australia tried to colonize space by this time. They seem to have failed. | Link |
| 1901 | Newell and Sons debuts "turnless" board game Teams and Fortresses 2, with explosive "real-time" game-play. | Link |
| 1921 | Franklin D. Roosevelt loses both of his legs while rocket jumping. As a result, he perfects the modern staircase. | Link |
| 1923 | Red Shed beers are distilled in Tougaloo. | Link |
| 1937 | Redstone is established. | Link |
| 1941 - September | The Heavy's father, a counter-revolutionary, was killed. Heavy and his family was deported to a North Siberian Gulag. | Link |
| 1941 - December | The North Siberian Gulag burns to the ground with all its guards tortured to death and all prisoners, including Heavy and his family, escapes. | Link |
| 1949 | The Soldier, on his Nazi-killing spree in Poland, finds out the war has been over for four years. | Link |
| 1961 | Saxton Hale’s Thrilling Tales first arrives on newsstands. | Link |
| 1962 | Saxton Hale's Jungle Brawl debuts in the U.S. | Link |
| 1963 | Only four items are being produced for the elderly: hats, meat, caskets, and Saxton Hale's Mildly Thrilling Tales. | Link |
| 1964 - March | The first and only issue of Saxton Hale's Mail Storm is published. | Link |
| 1965 | The Engineer creates several mechanical contraptions, including the Sentry Gun, while under contract with TF Industries. | Link |
| 1968 | Boy's Adventure with Saxton Hale comes under fire from the Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency. | Link |
| 1968 - June | The main setting for Team Fortress 2 | Link |
