I’ve got a theory that each Mercenary is based off an animal, and I thought making a thread about this could lead to some cute discussion.
Here is my list of Mercs and their theorized animals: (Rhino, Turtle, and Jackal are obviously off the list)
Phantom | Shark:
- Not only does Phantom refer to himself as a shark, but his design and gameplay is shark-like: his cloak is just like a shark hiding underwater, and his armor (particularly the shoulder pieces) look like shark fins.
- The straps on Phantom’s mask and his katana point upwards like a shark fin peeking above the surface.
- The effects on his invisibility are blue like water and create ripples when damaged.
- Additionally, I believe his double pony tails are meant to reflect a shark tail.
- Phantom refers to himself as a “shark on land”.
Thunder | Snail
- Thunder’s original design was a Merc named “Slugger” (Slug) due to his slow nature and ability to slow targets.
- Thunder apparently keeps everything he owns within his backpack akin to a snail shell.
Nader | Chicken
- She comments on her grenades as eggs, and her white/red design is similar to a chicken.
- Furthermore, her hair is shaped like a chicken comb, and her previous tattoos featured dragons and other reptiles (who are distantly related to birds).
Phoenix | Pigeon
- A large part of Phoenix’s character is his ego: he’s a cosmetic surgeon who hides his face and body with masks and ponchos, telling everybody how rich and handsome he is. It’s only fitting he would hide behind the visage of a greatly admired mythological bird.
- Like a pigeon, Phoenix won’t die - if you get rid of him, he’ll come back to pester you.
- Pigeons are known to carry diseases: Phoenix jokes that his sneezes heal people.
Aura | Black Cat
- Black Cats are considered unlucky
- Aura is a character who centers around misfortune: she lost her job and all her documents regarding her identity save her student loans. Desperate, she took up Mercenary work in the UK as a way to pay off her debts and test out her Health Station. It’s also implied she’s homeless and living in a van.
- Her personality and gameplay is “cat-like”: She’s a close quarters combatant with an attitude, and her agility is unmatched by any other character (Sparks may have the same sprint speed, but she’s interrupted with Revive aiming and dropping medpacks. Aura just needs to drop a healing station and do whatever she likes).
- Aura appears to be superstitious: she has voice lines regarding shrines.
- One of her taunts mentions fish for like, no reason.
Sparks | Dove/Crow
- Sparks is a the complete opposite of Aura down to her gameplay and design: it’s implied Sparks stole Aura’s identity and became a Mercenary to test out Aura’s stolen blueprints for the Revivr Rifle (which was later built by Proxy).
- Spark is voiced by Anna Koval, whose most recent role before Dirty Bomb was voicing a humanoid crow named Ornifex in Dark Souls 2.
- The Angel of Ire trinket depicts Sparks as an Angel, but its implied she’s anything but.
- Thematically speaking, it would only make sense for Sparks to be a bird to contrast Aura: Sparks is a long ranged combatant, wears white, mirrors Aura’s hairstyle, and fails to copy Aura’s voicelines.
Proxy | Rat
- Proxy is Dirty Bomb’s poster girl and represents London better than the other UK Mercs. Additionally, she’s a small, petite woman with a large ponytail who isn’t afraid to get dirty. As such, it’s fitting that her animal would be the common rat.
- Her lore implies she has a large family, and she managed to save them using scavenged scraps.
- Just like rats, Proxy is a fast Merc intended to infest a map with her mines and objective speed.
- She’s a “rat” due to betraying the other Mercs (building the Revivr using Aura’s stolen information, and ruining Aimee’s life).
Aimee | Vampire Bat
- Aimee’s previous designs showed her as a much too fashionable Mercenary; one of her alternate skins features her with warpaint dripping from her mouth.
- The Snitch is basically a robotic bat: it has the ability to fly and hang from ceilings. Furthermore, it negates healing.
- Aimee is never seen in daylight during her comic - she spent mornings and afternoons within buildings and alleyways to hunt for Proxy.
- Many of Aimee’s voicelines imply savagery and cannibalism (killing somebody over a croissant, making soup out of eyes, wearing ears as jewelry , and skinning people into rugs).
- Aimee has access to the Kukri: aside from utility, it’s considered a “blood weapon” for it’s bleeding capabilities (the handle is designed to not let blood drip onto it).
Kira | Squid
- Kira appears to reference Cthulu and Lovecraft mythos than traditional squids.
- She’s clearly intelligent for her age (and displays neurodivergent behavior), and her lore describes her as a knowledge seeker; Kira spent her life seeking out “classified information”, resulting in her stealing the Orbital Satellite.
- Lovecraftian lore revolves around the danger of knowledge; there’s things in this world (both in the sea and in space) too deep for normal people to comprehend, turning them mad. Victims end up in psychotics and begin worshiping otherworldly, tentacled creatures with laser abilities capable of leveling cities.
- Kira’s satellite has eight “arms” reflecting a squid’s eight tentacles. Furthermore, when the laser is fired, Kira will tell everybody to worship it. She also mentions a lot of seafood for seemingly no reason.
- Kira appears to have a mythological emblem on the back of her jacket with Latin words.
- A part of Kira’s character is her pride as a Japanese woman and retaliating at racism done to her, and it’s fitting that she would take Cthulu’s role to spite Lovecraft’s racially questionable views.
- Also her laser obscures your vision like squid ink would.
Stoker | Fire Ant:
- One indicator for his already ant-like design is his outfit - unlike the other Mercs, it appears Stoker wears a uniform and goes by the name “Harold Sands” in reference to fire safety warnings.
- This may imply there’s other “Stokers” using the name “Harold Sands” as someone might use “John/Jane Doe”. Just like ants, there may be multiple versions of Stoker.
- This example can be seen in Tempo, where Stoker’s design is derived from one of the common enemy types.
Sawbonez | Dog
- Dogs are loyal animals, and although Sawbonez has a harsh personality, he chose to risk his career to save an unknown soldier in his bio.
- Unlike the other Mercs, Sawbonez is normal: he’s just got guns and medpacks. Everybody else has bombs, lasers, and magic. There’s nothing remotely remarkable about canines, just like Sawbonez.
- He’s got “bone” in his name.
And here’s my list that I’m having trouble exploring:
Fragger | Bear:
- Fragger looks like a bear if you know what I mean.
Arty | Armadillo:
- They’re both thick and armored.
Fletcher | Dog or Hyena
- He’s a playful dude who loves balls and laughter
Redeye | Some sort of bird or flying animal
- Redeye and Phantom are total opposites just like Aura/Sparks and Proxy/Aimee.
- If Phantom is a shark, it would make sense for Redeye to be some sort of bird.
- To me, Redeye’s smoke may refer to clouds (he even calls his smoke clouds).
- Or his smoke refers to fog (Redeye’s CG art depicts him in a rainforest).
Skyhammer | Bird?
- He’s got a plane.
Vassili | Meerkat
- I tried to think of the most pathetic animal I know.
