"Nero Blackstone" & "Shadow Man" - Character Inspirations

[Guest]

It even has the "what evil lurks in the heart of man." and a squid/ octopus/ tentacle thing! Theres no way these aren't the influence for Shadows of Evil.

[NaBrZHunter]

It even has the "what evil lurks in the heart of man." and a squid/ octopus/ tentacle thing! Theres no way these aren't the influence for Shadows of Evil.

 

 I've been listening to a bunch of the episodes. They are always introduced with "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows! Buahahahaha."

[Guest]

It even has the "what evil lurks in the heart of man." and a squid/ octopus/ tentacle thing! Theres no way these aren't the influence for Shadows of Evil.

 

 I've been listening to a bunch of the episodes. They are always introduced with "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows! Buahahahaha."

I looked into it and its really interesting me now. You literally just have to search "The Shadow" and you find this guy, the fact he is a comic book character as well. I wonder just how important he is to the story. It would be funny if hes meant to be the zombies universes equivalent of the Shadow and was created by the Weasel.

[Kill_All_Monkeys]

Do you guys think we'll actually see Weasel again? He found a way to break the cycle, and MotD while an amazing map was quite separate from the ongoing story in BO2 and pretty much the rest of the maps as well. But I would love to see them tie it more directly to the larger story. Bringing Weasel back would be the perfect way to do so, and maybe explain how/why Rictofen has those blood vials.

[Guest]

I think he will be mentioned in a passing quote at some point, maybe by the Shadow Man.

[Kill_All_Monkeys]

I've been looking into it a little more and Robert Picardo, who is said to be playing The Shadow Man, bears some resemblance to The Shadow as well. Which may mean we'll actually see the Shadow Man in person at some point too.

Edited September 28, 2015 by Kill_All_Monkeys

[PINNAZ]

So I made a video on this. A high quality production!!!  Haha

 

 

[NaBrZHunter]

So I made a video on this. A high quality production!!!  Haha

 

 

Man, the channel has an 'informative/archive' vibe. I think this video honored that. Good work! I actually would like to see more like this. 

[PINNAZ]

Alexander (magician)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_(magician)

 

Claude Alexander Conlin (1880–1954), also known as Alexander, C. Alexander, Alexander the Crystal Seer, and Alexander the Man Who Knows, was a vaudeville magician who specialized in mentalism and psychic reading acts, dressed in Oriental style robes and a feathered turban, and often used a crystal ball as a prop.

Between 1915 and 1924, Conlin, under the stage name "Alexander, The Man Who Knows," was a popular and highly paid stage mentalist. Alexander promoted his psychic act as a form of mental telepathy or mind reading. Audience members gave him sealed questions, which he answered from the stage. His techniques were not revealed during his lifetime.

[Guest]

The posters with the devils talking to him on the shoulder? Theres no way its a coincidence, this is actually mind blowing. I wonder if it means anything like if the other characters relate to real people?

Come to think of that, I'd almost wager that the Femme Fatale (aka Jessica, if I recall), would almost be like Marilyn Monroe and perhaps some other models of the time?. (The other two I'd be lost on)

Not sure. She reminds me of the character the actress plays in Bowfinger to be honest.

[DeathBringerZen]

When I was at the Glasgow Comic-Con on Saturday past, I stood at the front of the stage while Robert Picardo was getting interviewed at at one point the interviewer discussed his role in the Call of Duty series (apparently he has voiced in other BO or CoD titles) and they asked him about his role in Black Ops 3 to which he replied...

 

"Unlike my previous roles in the series, this time around I am a character within the zombie mode. A shadowy figure aptly named 'The Shadow Man'. I cannot say too much about the role as I am sworn to secrecy but my character is an unseen figure who guides these 4 damned characters who are trapped in hell set to the backdrop of a city set in the 1940's. It's a brilliantly dark film noir setting."

 

"The one thing I can say though is that my character likes to give out advice and it is not always wise to listen or follow their orders".

 

That is all he said before they moved back on to his TV and film work. I did take note that he said the characters were trapped in hell, which kind of makes sense that it is tied to MotD but could just be him meaning the game just being a hellish nightmare of sorts. Then there is him saying the character gives out advice that should not always be followed. Makes me think he will be the narrator of this map. Not overly related to the thread but worth a mention nonetheless.

[NaBrZHunter]

"Unlike my previous roles in the series, this time around I am a character within the zombie mode. A shadowy figure aptly named 'The Shadow Man'. I cannot say too much about the role as I am sworn to secrecy but my character is an unseen figure who guides these 4 damned characters who are trapped in hell set to the backdrop of a city set in the 1940's. It's a brilliantly dark film noir setting."

 

Actually, I think his choice of words is interesting. "Unseen" is kinda...specific and perspective-oriented. Once again, sounds like The Shadow.

[Kill_All_Monkeys]

Does this mean he won't actually appear at all or literally just be shrouded in shadows the whole time? And I guess that's some good advice for solving the EE I suppose too?

[Rissole25]

Sounds like he'll be like Oz in Descent from Exo-Zombies. Conversing with the characters but also being the Announcer as well.

I still have no idea if we're going to get these guys for more than one map or not.

[NaBrZHunter]

Does this mean he won't actually appear at all or literally just be shrouded in shadows the whole time? And I guess that's some good advice for solving the EE I suppose too?

Did you ever have a chance to check out that episode? I think I've asked you a couple times, but it's pretty mind-blowing. lol

I would think so...and hope so. 

@Rissole25 D-: Not an Exo Zombies comparison... :-P How could you. LOL!

[Guest]

Depending how many maps he is in for, I bet his identity will be a secret till right at the end. I want the SoE characters in a Carnival and a Vampires Lair type map if they ever continued in other maps. I think the 40s jazz noir thing would fit those settings and the characters perfectly. 

[Kill_All_Monkeys]

Does this mean he won't actually appear at all or literally just be shrouded in shadows the whole time? And I guess that's some good advice for solving the EE I suppose too?

Did you ever have a chance to check out that episode? I think I've asked you a couple times, but it's pretty mind-blowing. lol

I would think so...and hope so. 

@Rissole25 D-: Not an Exo Zombies comparison... :-P How could you. LOL!

I have not yet, I've been working almost every day and college has been somewhat rough this semester but I don't think I can really deny the connection at this point. Clear inspiration was drawn from this and it's amazing it was found out this quickly.

[Lenne]

So I made a video on this. A high quality production!!!  Haha

 

 

Nice one, Pinnaz. :)

Really enjoyed that. 

[NaBrZHunter]

So, came across another interesting factoid today...

So, in Alcatraz, Brutus has been known to say "CRIME NEVER PAYS!" (at 23 seconds, below)

The end of The Shadow radio intro always states that "crime does not pay."

 

[PINNAZ]

I love finding the real life inspirations that Treyarch use in COD Zombies. 

 

Here is an image I found on the DewDoritos site. And the Magic posters they have used in the background. (or close to)

 

 

[Guest]

All of these "The Shadows Within" things perfectly match that whole Shadows radio thing. Like they are the same kind of thing. Theres no way its coincidence now.

[Shootinfish]

Great thread BTW

Not really a theory , more of an observation

"He will predict the future"

"Nero knows all"

Also some of the other posters made me think there is a slight possibilty there is a connection with the stargate project as that was to do with remote viewing and its got a link for stargate in the CODEX (AKA PDV)

[yourmapper]

I just wanted to point out some inspiration/connections with the 1930's Shadow radio series and comic books.  Maybe the OP can be updated with some of this info.

Lots of similarities including the time period, the setting, the style, the name, etc.

One thing I noticed today was the opening shot of the Alec Baldwin Shadow movie. 

Look familiar?  There's even the elevated train (ie, Chicago).

 

In the radio series, the Shadow was played by none other than Orson Welles.

And based on the trailers so far, the quote "who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows" plays right into the Shadow Man and his all-knowing narration and the murderous evil in our 4 character's hearts.

The theme music was Camille Saint-Saëns' Le Rouet d'Omphale ("Omphale's Spinning Wheel", composed in 1872).  Maybe it will show up in game.

At the end of each episode, The Shadow reminded listeners, "The weed of crime bears bitter fruit. Crime does not pay.... The Shadow knows!"

Then there is this episode from 1939, which deals with a time machine, and the user can go back to any point in time in the last 24 hours:

https://youtu.be/sDTquiIB3vU?t=9m50s 

 

[NaBrZHunter]

@yourmapper did you see some of the comics @PINNAZ had posted awhile back? They were more of that railroad, skyline, etc. Also, a couple posts up I had posted Brutus' quotes. He apparently says 'crime never pays.' 

So far, everything in this thread seems to be lining up perfectly with The Shadow. 

[PINNAZ]

I came across one of Al "Weasel" Arlington's quotes where he says -

 

"I toured the dustbowl with the Circus for 6 Months, the Great Magnifico had a Magic Cabinet alot like this Box"

 

 

The quote is titled - vox_plr_3_wpck_snipe_d_3

(This refers to getting a sniper rifle from the mystery box)

 

And we know what happens when you get a Sniper Rifle & look through the scope on the roof -

 

 

 

Is the Mob of the Dead Jumpscare really Nero?