List of Manhunt characters

This is a list of Manhunt characters who appear in the 2003 video game Manhunt and the 2007 video game Manhunt 2.

Manhunt

Major characters

James Earl Cash

Convicted and sentenced to death, James Earl Cash had spent the past three years on death row awaiting sentencing and tonight was his night, justice was served and Cash had met his fate. Or so the rest of the world believes. A director by the name Starkweather has given Cash a reprieve, a second lease of life - but at a price. Cash must partake in a heinous game of life or death, hunt or be hunted is the mandate, death, torture and misery is the goal and all for the pleasure of others.

Lionel Starkweather

The antagonist of the game and the man behind the whole scenario, the Director communicates to Cash through an earpiece until after "Kill The Rabbit". According to bonus material, he was once a prominent director who fell out of favor in Hollywood due to some unknown indiscretion and went insane, turning to slasher films and underground pornography to rebuild his funds and using it to turn his enemies into "extras", later using Valiant Video Enterprises as a front to distribute snuff films. He tells Cash where to go and sometimes gives special instructions on murdering certain people. He hides deep within his mansion where Cash confronts him, mutilating and killing him using Piggsy's chainsaw at the end of "Deliverance". His name may be a reference to the famous serial killer Charles Starkweather. His voice was provided by Brian Cox.

Supporting characters

The Reporter

A reporter and journalist who has been researching Starkweather's activities for some time, and it is hinted that Starkweather is onto her. During "Press Coverage", Cash must lead her back to her apartment so she can collect evidence on the snuff ring, protecting her from the police force along the way. If she is left on her own too long she will come running to find Cash, which puts them both in danger. She is last seen on the news doing a news bulletin exposing Starkweather's snuff film ring. A bonus soundfile of an audio transcript from the Manhunt website reveals that the aftermath has made her paranoid, unable to cope with witnessing so much violence and the whole concept of people willingly participating in such a depraved sport for the amusement of others. She is being interviewed by a doctor in a mental institution who says the reporter was found wandering the streets with a knife in her hand. There is a slight controversy as to what her name is. In the cutscene before Border Patrol, the prefix "Rob" can be seen if subtitles are turned on. Her name could possibly be Roberta or Robyn. Voiced by Kate Miller

Ramirez

Ramirez is seen giving orders to various gangs throughout the game. He was Starkweather's leading man, since Cash was intended to be killed in "Kill The Rabbit". Cash encounters Ramirez at the apartment building with the Wardogs during "Divided They Fall". Ramirez has orders to make sure that Cash is killed and by the end of the scene, Ramirez is killed by Cash as he attempts to request reinforcements. Voiced by Chris McKinney, who also voiced the Wardog #4.

The Tramp

In "Drunk Driving", Cash must lead the tramp through the city to the cemetery, protecting him from gang members along the way. He is an alcoholic homeless man and is constantly swigging liquor. He seems oblivious to the danger he is in. Bonus material in the game suggests that he is Kenneth Jesperson, the former leader of the Smileys who has the secret identity of Scarecrow. Voiced by Mark Margolis

Gary Schaffer

Though he never appears in person in the game, he is the chief of the Carcer City Police Department, and is in collusion with Starkweather. Upon the discovery of Starkweather's snuff film ring, and his involvement in it, the reporter claims that he plans to plead "not guilty" at what is presumably his upcoming trial. Though the results were not mentioned in the game, Gary Schaffer was ultimately found innocent. His voice can be heard during the cutscene before "Press Coverage". This wasn't the only game he was mentioned or heard in. On the Lips 106 radio station in Grand Theft Auto III, a news journalist talks about him getting free of charges since some witnesses disappeared without a trace before trial. This indicates that he had been in legal trouble before the events of Manhunt since Grand Theft Auto 3 happens during 2001 while Manhunt happens during 2003.

The White Rabbit

Found at the end of the asylum, he is a man in a white rabbit suit who is paid to hold the key needed to escape the asylum and is paid triple if he survives. He is a homage to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland as well as the Bunnyman of Clifton, Virginia. The Rabbit is supposed to be the end of the line for Cash, and after he is killed, Starkweather stops giving Cash directions, effectively betraying Cash. He is encountered during "Kill The Rabbit". An easter egg in Manhunt 2 shows the same white rabbit, only hanged and dead. Whether he committed suicide or was murdered is unknown. He can be found during the episode "Broadcast Interrupted". Voiced by Renaud Sebbane

The Cerberus Leader

The Leader of the Cerberus. During parts of the game, he and his team capture Cash and place him in a different location. He is killed by Cash, trying to hide from both him and Piggsy in Starkweather's mansion during "Key Personnel".

Piggsy

Piggsy is the final boss in the game. He wears a pig head over his own (hence the name) and uses a chainsaw to kill his victims. He was Starkweather's main star before Cash and has since been kept in Starkweather's attic. He is killed by Cash in "Deliverance". Voiced by Hunter Platin, who also voiced the Cop #4

The Cash Family

Not much is known about the Cash family, it is believed that they represent his mother, father, brother and sister. Through Starkweather we find out that Cash and the rest of his family weren’t exactly what you would call ‘close’. The Cash Family are captured by the Wardogs in the scene "Strapped For Cash". Despite the family not being close, Cash does seem to express an assertive concern for the well-being of his family members, telling them sharply and snappishly to run and to trust no one. The player is only required to save one of the Family members. Regardless of how many family members Cash rescues, all of them are killed off by the ending of "View of Innocence', and which Cash is out for Starkweathers blood after that.

Mr. Nasty

The ever evasive Mr. Nasty is the man behind it all, he is believed to be the financial backer and producer of the snuff ring under his company name; Valiant Video Enterprises. He runs his business under strict scrutiny, reserved strictly for members, selling all manner of things from gimp masks to explicit movies from the hunts. Not much information is known of Mr. Nasty but he appears to like to dress up like a member of the Hoods. On the project manhunt website, it said that Mr. Nasty shows up at the end of "Doorway To Hell".

Gangs

The Hoods

The Hoods are "weekend warriors" who are mostly in the hunt for money, and thus not as aggressive as the other gangs. They consist mostly of off-duty police officers and local thugs whose appearance consist of dark colored clothing, as well as balaclavas and tights worn over their heads. They can be heard talking about things which have nothing to do with the hunt on hand, mostly complaing about better things they can be doing, making it evident that they are under-estimating the danger they are really in. They are generally unorganized and unfocused, and do not always work together, making them easy to pick off one by one. They are the first gang Cash encounters.

The Skinz

A gang of white supremacists and neo-Nazis, they are often heard shouting derogatory racial remarks about Cash's supposed mixed-race heritage. They are armed with knives, nail guns and metal baseball bats and are found throughout the junkyard. Some members have the stereotypical skinhead look wearing form fitting t-shirts, army boots, shaved heads and suspenders, while others wear a hockey mask, and are covered in tattoos. Some even wear what looks like a swastika on the back or front of their shirts. It has a red background with a white circle and a complex black design in the white.

The Wardogs

A group of war veterans mostly from Vietnam and the Gulf War, hunting enthusiasts, and survivalists who are among Starkweather's most efficient killers, using tactics such as flanking, baiting, and full frontal assaults. They are outfitted in camouflage along with ghillie suits, combat boots, and face paint (although some wear scarves over their faces) and carry tranquilizer rifles, machetes and knives.

The Innocentz

The only cult in the game, these guys are very dangerous, located in the shopping mall and various other parts of the city. They are the first gang encountered who use firearms but are also armed with knives, hatchets and sickles. The Innocentz have two different types of gang members: the Skullyz, a group of demented goths hoodlums who wear skull masks and hoodies, and the Baby Faces, who are overweight and wear bright flowered shirts and doll-like masks.

The Smileys

The Smileys are a group of crazed psychotics who make their turf in the derelict Darkwood Penitentiary, which is a combination of a prison and a mental asylum. They wear yellow smiley face masks, usually with things such as "kill" and "please stop me" scrawled messily across them in blood. They are covered in tattoos and blood stains and sometimes wear blouses and dresses. Some of them tend to be topless, donning tattoos of words and phrases (inked in the opposite color of their skin tone, depending on white or black) such as "Kill Me", elaborate face paint and mohawks. Many of them can be heard screaming and ranting talking about a chaotic dinner party and an unfaithful drunken husband named "Barry", who it is implied they have killed for cheating. Some even mumble on about their shoes being stolen, making it evident that the Smileys are bordering on total lunacy. They also seem to have an obsessive fascination with what they call "head juice". This is most likely a reference to brain matter and blood. In and after chases, The Smileys can be heard screaming "head juice" and mentioning how Cash is leaving behind a trail of head juice. The Smileys occupy the Darkwoods Penitentiary mental asylum carrying meat cleavers and knives which they stole from the asylums kitchen, pistols, and shotguns from the guards armory.

Carcer City Police Department

After Cash evades the Wardogs for the last time, Starkweather has the chief of the Carcer City Police Department, Gary Schaffer, who is working for Starkweather, send out his men to capture Cash and the reporter. The CCPD could technically be considered Starkweather's pawns as they have no knowledge of the snuff film ring, the chief's involvement in it, or even of Cash's true identity (they're under the impression that they're hunting a homeless man). There are hints that the police are quite brutal in their methods, being heard bragging about past "hobo hunts," complaining about "liberal" cops, and mentions of shooting first and asking questions later. They are armed with nightsticks, handguns, shotguns, and sniper rifles. Normally they will chase after the player, but if they find one of their own dead, they will shoot on sight.

SWAT team

The SWAT team is armed with Desert Eagles, MAC-10s and shotguns. They also wear body armor and can take more bullets than the average cop. They have been dispatched during "Wrong Side Of The Tracks".

The Cerberus

A group of mercenaries on Starkweather's payroll, they are the most dangerous enemy in the game. The Cerberus are equipped with Desert Eagles, shotguns and M16 rifles. They usually work in groups. Over the course of the game, they ambush Cash and bring him to a new area, taking his weapons when they do so. They guard Starkweather's mansion and the grounds, and also make an appearance at the end of the asylum level. Unlike the other gangs, the Cerberus know what Cash is capable of, having watched him kill many people, and some express fear or admiration of his abilities.

The Monkeys

A maniac group of men in monkey suits appearing in the zoo in a bonus game, "Monkey See, Monkey Die." The story has it that they are indeed real monkeys and have an appetite for flesh due to banana shortage. They are extremely fearful, carry shotguns and machetes, and go berserk upon spotting the player or hearing noise.

Removed characters and gangs

Binbag

The leader of the Lost, not much is said about him, other than the fact he was originally intended to be a boss character for the Lost and very aggressive. He was dressed in trash bags, hence his nickname.

Scarecrow

Once the headhunter of the Smileys, Scarecrow was ultimately stripped of his rank following the unexplained "Piggsy debacle." He now desperately sleeps in the slums of the arena in the far off chance that he can confront Piggsy again and kill him to redeem himself. It is hinted that the tramp Cash must escort is in fact Scarecrow himself. In the bonus features, Scarecrow is shown holding a makeshift, sickle-like weapon that is a wooden stick with a curved metal blade tied to it.

The Clowns

The most notable gang that was ultimately dropped from the game, they were described as being "as vicious as the hunt allows." They were supposedly replaced by the Smileys, as in the bonus content the description said the Smileys had been barred due to gross disobedience, and also mentioned a fierce rivalry between the Clowns and the Smileys (with the Smileys being the dominant hunters in the rivalry). They snort amphetamines, although it is debatable whether or not this would enhance their performance. They are sponsored by James W. Gacy, head of Carcer City's art galleries and museums. It is notable that he has both the same initials and surname (Gacy) of real-life American serial killer John Wayne Gacy, nicknamed "The Killer Clown."

The Jury

Another gang that didn't make the final cut, the concept of a gang whose members don hockey goalie masks was recycled for the Skinz.

The Lost

The original Junkyard gang that was ultimately dropped from the game in favor of the Skinz (though this was not necessarily a replacement as the Skinz were already a confirmed featured gang at this time in development). They are depicted as resourceful, using anything in the Junkyard to their advantage, such as metal plating for armor, and lead pipes for weaponry (the pipe was also a dropped weapon that was shown in early artwork). Their armour assembled from scrap metal makes perfect camoflauge for their environment, but on the downside, their armour is also very heavy and noisy, making it hard for them to pursue Cash.

Manhunt 2

Major characters

Daniel "Danny" Lamb

The main playable character. He was a former scientist with "The Pickman Project" but ended up locked away in the Dixmor Asylum for the Criminally Insane for six years. A lead researcher and scientist, Daniel's recent invention of the drug Cortexa was revealed in an audio recording of a clinical session. The drug is used to help Danny temporarily recover from his amnesia. When the Project lost its funding, Danny volunteered to be a test subject for the "Pickman Bridge." His family was not supportive of this, but it is implied that he was deeply in debt and his family needed the money. The process seemed to be a success, but the killer personality implanted in him - Leo Kasper - was able to act too freely on his own. Leo convinced Danny to burn any records of their past, unknowing that Leo was really attempting to start a new life in Danny's body. The final link to Danny's past was his family, so Leo took over once more and murdered Danny's wife. Danny was captured and put in Dixmor for six years, when the game begins. He has no recollection of who he was before the Project started. Leo - whom he thinks is an actual person - is Danny's only link to his past. After working with Leo for a long time after escaping, Daniel learns that Leo killed his wife and attempts to defeat Leo in his own mind. If the player plays as Daniel, Daniel kills Leo several times but he keeps coming back, not being human after all. The ghost of his wife comes and tells him to bury her body in his mind to end it all. Once he does this, Daniel smashes Leo in the face with a shovel until he is dead. After this, Danny wakes up on the side of a road in the middle of nowhere. His memory has been wiped clean and in his hand is a note giving him a new name, David Joiner, and a fresh start. After reading the notes he looks around, curious about what happened to him, before he walks down the road.

Leo Kasper

The antagonist of the game and the second playable character, playable only in flashback missions such as "Assassination" and a bonus level. A psychopath who was also put in the asylum by the Project. He was once a government agent and has expertise in combat, evasion, infiltration and assassination techniques. He helps Daniel Lamb escape and teaches him his own well-honed tricks of the trade. At first Leo appears to be a real person but in reality he is a personality created by the Project and implanted into Danny while remaining separated from Danny's own mind by the Pickman Bridge. However, the Pickman Bridge was not perfected yet and it resulted in Leo being able to freely talk to Danny inside Danny's head. His personality also took over at times when it was not called upon. More than anything, Leo wants the Pickman Bridge removed so he can take over Danny's mind and body forever. Leo helps Daniel a long way, but with the ultimate goal of trying to get Daniels body, even going so far as to murder Daniel's wife to sever another tie to his past. In the normal ending, Leo confronts Daniel in his mind. In an alternate ending, Leo fights Daniel and wounds him with a gun. Cursing the Project and those involved in it, Leo steps on Daniel's neck, killing him. Leo shouts aloud that he won and is then awakened by Dr. Laura Whyte in Daniel's body, she explains she removed the Pickman Bridge, thinking he is Daniel. Leo tells her to gather the staff to resume work on the project.

Supporting characters

Dr. Laura Whyte

High ranking medical practitioner within "The Pickman Project" and a friend of Danny. She often disagrees with Dr. Pickman's methods, including hiring mercenaries to kill Danny and Leo. She believes that Danny should be captured alive and cured of Leo with therapy sessions. At the end of the game she instructs Daniel to go into his mind and defeat Leo.

Dr. Pickman

Head of "The Pickman Project." The Project is named after him. After the government cut funding off for his work due to its inhumane methods, he went underground and continued his research. He is a heartless and cruel person, caring little about the suffering that his experiments cause on his test subjects. He created the "Pickman Bridge," the final product of the Project, which would implant a separate personality with an expertise in killing into an unknowing subject. Using codes hidden in the broadcasts of a television station that the Project runs, the subject's separate personality would trigger and perform their duty, afterward reverting back to the subject's real personality. Danny was the first successful recipient of the Pickman Bridge, but after the bridge malfunctioned and Leo proved to be uncontrollable, Pickman ordered his capture. After Leo killed Danny's wife, the Project finally caught him. Daniel was then locked away into the Dixmor Asylum for six years while Pickman and Dr. Whyte worked to undo the damage. After escaping the asylum and killing off the Project's hunters, Daniel breaks into Dr. Pickman's lair only to be put in a sedative state when Pickman recites a phrase from the Shakespearean play The Tempest over the intercom. Danny eventually regains consciousness and finds Pickman in the T.V. studio. When Pickman is finally confronted, the player must sedate him with a tranquilizer gun, as he is needed alive.

Pickman wakes up strapped to a chair, and Leo demands that he remove the bridge so he can be free, not realizing that if this were to happen, Leo would die, as he is not the dominant personality. The doctor attempts to initiate a hypnotic state a second time, but Leo manages to grab a scalpel and stab him several times in the heart before succumbing.

Dr. Deborah

Dr. Deborah acted as the Project doctor for patients Daniel Lamb and Leo Kasper. Not much is known about Dr. Deborah beyond her working for the Project, after her death she was superseded by Dr. Whyte, who is known to be a clinical psychologist so it can be assumed that Dr. Deborah was also of the same pedigree. Through a patient therapy session between Dr. Whyte and Leo it is revealed that Leo killed Dr. Deborah prior to the events in the game. Leo says that he broke free from the chains that restrained him and strangled her to death just as she was about to ask him about his actions, primarily concerning the death of an un-named character, Dr. Whyte later informs Daniel that Deborah has taken a "leave of absence"

Judy Sender

A fellow scientist that has connections with various clubs and brothels that recruit test subjects for the Project. Danny and Leo confront her for answers, but she is shot and killed by a sniper before revealing any worthwhile information.

Michael Grant

Danny's best friend and fellow scientist in the Project. He was murdered by Leo years ago because he informed the Project that Leo was taking over Danny's mind.

Mrs. Lamb

Danny's wife who is uneasy about Danny engaging in The Project's psychological experiments. She is killed by Leo in the Lamb household, 6 years prior to the game's events.

Gangs

The Asylum Staff

The orderlies at Dixmor Asylum. Being mostly unskilled, brutal thugs who were most likely hired by the Project to keep the Project's former test subjects quiet, they have little interest in the well-being of the asylum patients, and are not above using unnecessary physical force and excessive sedations. The orderlies have no weapons and no real talent for hunting, but what they lack in that, they make up for in brutality. They will be in big trouble should Danny escape from the asylum.

The Watchdogs

The Project's "clean-up" crew. They are sent to kill anyone who knows too much about the Project and destroy any evidence that may reveal the Project's existence. They wear black suits with various masks to conceal their identity, ranging from ski masks, fedoras, black bandanas, sunglasses, and surgical masks. Some even wear a "phantom of the opera" type mask. The Watchdogs chased Daniel six years ago when the bridge first malfunctioned, and are no strangers to the violence he is capable of. Their dialogue hints that all of the old squads have been reactivated this time, due to the severity of the situation they are in a few missions like "Ghost House" and "Safe House".

The Pervs

Violent leather mask or animal mask-wearing sadomasochists who work in a sex club. They are hired by the Project to lure potential new test subjects to the "dungeon," a location beneath the club, promising more action. There, unlucky customers are tortured and killed in numerous ways, with video cameras on the other side of a two-way mirror recording it for unknown research purposes. What they lack in intelligence and hunting prowess they make up for with savagery.

The Red Kings

A local street gang. Danny and Leo are forced to trek through their turf at one point in the game. They are not willing to allow people outside of their gang into their turf, and will attack anybody who trespasses. (They are shown attacking and killing a maintenance because he is unlucky enough to be found on their turf.) They have nothing to do with The Project.

The Project Militia

The Project's own private army. It is made up entirely of former death-row inmates whose executions have been faked (similar to James Earl Cash, the protagonist in the original Manhunt). In exchange for their continued existence, they have sworn duty to the Project. All identifiable marks are removed from their bodies, and fingerprints are removed. Even their dental features have been altered to further destroy any trace of their past lives, effectively making them ghosts. Project soldiers owe their lives to the Project, ensuring they remain loyal, as well as the fact that personal relationships are strictly forbidden. The Project Militia unsuccessfully attempted to kill Daniel when he first went berserk, resulting in heavy casualties.

The Bloodhounds

Southern United States bounty hunters who are hired by the Project to track down and kill Danny and Leo. They are very enthusiastic about their jobs and also sport air support from a chopper. They are portrayed as stereotypical far-right southerners and can be heard yelling pro-American, anti-liberal slogans. Some members can be seen sporting klan hoods, as well as tattoos which look vaguely similar to the Hammerskins logo (also featured in the Skinz gang in Manhunt), indicating the Bloodhounds may be immersed in white supremacy as well.

The Legion

A group of Dixmor Asylum inmates in the same part of the building as Lamb in "Awakening". They are seen with large bandages covering certain parts of their body and leather. They wear the same inmate uniform as Danny and Leo. They also mock Danny by saying things like he can fix his brain and that the bridges in their heads are broken and are going to explode. They can be heard reciting Biblical phrases throughout the game.

Pawns of the Project

Non-hunters that may or may not have any connection to the Project, but are nonetheless opponents to the protagonist. Specific factions are listed below:

• Civilians- The civilians that you come across range from residents of the nearby neighbourhood, truck drivers, repairmen and store clerks. They have no affiliation with any group or the Project and only get involved in the hunt if they feel threatened or provoked. They pose little threat and can (for the most part) be avoided.

• Cops- The security guards are a bunch of rent-a-cops brought in by the Project to protect the Project facilities that may be vulnerable to non Project personnel. They are under orders to secure their positions by the Project and are motivated by money. There are also cops that you come across that appear to be straight laced and have little or no affiliation to the Project and are merely trying to do their job. They are seen in the episode "Domestic Disturbance", where they shut down a neighborhood in an effort to capture Leo.

• Dixmor Inmates- The Dixmor inmates are a bunch of over medicated loonies. Serving no use beyond being human guinea pigs, they are detained in the Dixmor asylum after being experimented on by the project. They now serve no purpose beyond being failed experiments left with no objective beyond regular abuse at the hand of the orderlies. Thanks to the power-outage they now roam the halls of Dixmor asylum creating pandemonium for Daniel and the Project.

• Pimps-The Pimps run and operate around Bees Honey Pot brothel. Motivated by money and sexual desires rather than the thrill of the hunt, they appear to be little more than hired hands, possibly made up of ex-members of street gangs. They don't appear to have any sort of ranking within the Project and are seemingly unaware of the recent mishaps to have happened.

• Project Scientists- Although they do not participate in the hunt themselves the Project Scientists are just as unethical as the hunters. Instead the scientists express themselves through ruining the lives of others via ‘medical’ experiments and subjecting them to vile medications.

• SWAT- The involvement of SWAT appears to be purely coincidental; there is no apparent connection between the SWAT team and The Project as such. The SWAT members are heavily armed and wear body armour as well as having an eye in the sky with helicopter aid.

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