It’s been awhile since our first video exploring the connections between the Fallout
series and the Mad Max franchise, but in that time a lot has happened.
Fallout 4 was released and before that
Fury Road rolled into theaters picking up a ton of acclaim and ten Oscar nominations,
including one for best picture! With that in mind we thought it would be a great time
to jump back into Max’s world and give you a few more connections it shares with Fallout’s
wasteland. Oh and yes, Austin is gone this week.
My name is Andrew AKA Stalli111 and I'm going to be filling in while Austin plans his next big
Rethinking video. It’s hard to overstate the influence that
George Miller’s post-apocalyptic vision of the future has had on Fallout as a whole.
Todd Howard has named Mad Max as one of the pieces of media
that the Bethesda team “soaks up” while developing a Fallout game. So first off, let’s
start by going way back to Fallout 2, where one reference to Max actually has the potential
to get your character killed. In 2, if you’re some kind of terrible monster and decide to
attack Dogmeat, a very mysterious stranger will appear, dressed all in black leather
saying “Ey’e Mate, you screwin with me dog”. This character is not so coincidentally
named Mel. Him and his dialogue are, of course, a reference to the Australian actor Mel Gibson,
who played Max in the first three films as well as lead my ancestors into battle over 700 years ago.
This isn’t the only time Mel shows up though, a very different looking version of the character
appears in Fallout 3. This Mel will attempt to rob you using a sawed-off shotgun with
no ammo in it. Most of us probably know that this weapon is Max’s weapon of choice, but
it goes a bit deeper that, as it’s also a reference to a specific scene in The Road
Warrior where Max threatens a character named Gyro with an unloaded sawed-off shotgun.
One Mad Max movie we haven’t touched on much is Beyond Thunderdome, probably the least
well-received movie of the franchise, but even a few references to that film can be
seen in the series. Kind of all over the place actually, as Bethesda has cited it as a big
source of inspiration when designing the armor in their Fallout titles. In fact, the name
of the Blastmaster helmet is taken directly from Master Blaster, the infamous fighting
duo that Max battles in Thunderdome. And that’s not the only reference to the character, the
achievement “Who Runs Bartertown” is an obscure nod to a line of dialogue that he
says in the film. Even Vault Boy gets in on the action, getting in full Master Blaster
armor in an achievement Oh, and then there’s the little fact that the Fallout 3’s expansion
The Pitt which is basically one huge homage to the film.
Not only are the concepts very similar, but the arena’s slaves are dressed very much
like those seen in the film. In a previous Fallout video, we mentioned
that Codsworth’s long list of names he’s able to say included “Furiosa”, a main
character in Fury Road, but it turns out that that is just the tip of the iceberg when it
comes to Bethesda’s Max fandom. Also included on the list is “Rockatansky”, Max’s
last name, “Toadie”, a minor but memorable character in The Road Warrior. And from Fury
Road there’s "Splendid", "Capable", "Toast", "Dag", "Rictus", "Erectus" and "Slit", Immortan
Joe’s entire harem of slaves who escape with Furiosa in the film. Speaking of Immortan
Joe, his name is included as well, along with the villain of the first Mad Max film, Toecutter.
Oh and here’s a bonus piece of movie trivia for you: those two villains are actually played
the exact same actor: Hugh Keays-Byrne. Anyway, when it comes to naming your character after
someone from a Mad Max movie, Fallout 4 should have you covered.
So now it’s time for our comment showcase, our good comment comes to us from Ace Tellar
who brings up an intriguing theory about the Fallout: New Vegas character Old Lady Gibson,
the proprietor of the Gibson Scrap Yard. Many fans believe her to be a reference to, who
else, Mel Gibson. But sure, the name could just be a coincidence, but the most compelling
evidence comes from the fact she just so happens to carry the single most powerful sawed-off
shotgun in the game, The Big Boomer. So what do you guys think? Is Old Lady Gibson a reference
to the former Max or are we reading into this way too much?
Alright, now we come to this week’s bad comment. Which comes from Spencer Presley
who asks “What if Dogmeat’s a synth?” You know what, Spencer? You just blew our minds.
I really think you’re onto to something here. Keep investigating this and get back
to us. That concludes this episode of Hidden History,
be sure to like, subscribe and share us all over the internets. But before we go we have
to get our trivia question! Last week we asked you what the protagonist of Bioshock Infinite
had branded on his hand and many of you answered correctly: B) A.D. This week we have a tougher
Fallout question for you: Found in Fallout 3, The McClellan Family Townhome is a reference
to the McClellan family found in what famous sci-fi novel?