Richtofen's Portrait in "Five" Theories

[RadZakpak]

So I went back to play "Five" today and check out the scenery for a bit, and then I remembered the infamous Richtofen portrait in the panic room. For a while people questioned why exactly a portrait of him would be in the Pentagon, then after a while people stopped caring because the DLCs came out, and now "Five" is pretty much insignificant in the grand scale of things. But I thought I'd revisit this little minute detail for a moment to share my thoughts on the possibilities for why it is there.

 

Theory #1: We have seen on many occasions books written by Edward Richtofen, sometimes in the weirdest places. They appeared in Nuketown, and in the rendition of Nuketown from 2025, pretty far off from 1945. My theory is that Richtofen was a far more influential and well-respected scientist than we give him credit for, at least in these particular universes. It's possible he may very well have had a pretty extensive career in science before Group 935 and the war. Hence his portrait in the Pentagon, which would be the equivalent of putting up a portrait of Einstein. This might explain a couple of things:

- Why Dr. Maxis would keep Richtofen in Group 935 despite feeling extremely uncomfortable around him, as shown in the Black Ops terminal:

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Edward has grown impatient. He insists on accelerating our projects. Regardless of the fact that the 115 is limited. He grows angry. Short. It was a mistake to invite him. He cannot be trusted. He watches me. He watches Samantha. He watches Sophia and his latest creation, the monkey. It screams when set aflame. Then again, perhaps it is the 115 affecting my mind. I can no longer discern.

- Why Dr. Maxis would confide in Richtofen about the pact with the Nazi party before anyone else. It isn't really established they are friendly with each other before that point, just colleagues.

- Why there are books written by him in places all over the world and all around time.

- His massive ego

 

Theory #2: Dr. Edward Richtofen was working with the Americans. This theory can go one of two different ways. One: When Richtofen created Griffin Station and rogue members of Group 935 backed him up, he may have enlisted the help of some American scientists to conspire against Maxis, potentially at Area 51. We know from a Der Riese radio that the US had a supply of the element at the base in Nevada:

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Our operatives in America have informed us that the US have a large supply of the element at the Nevada base, so time is of the essence if we are to stay ahead of them.

It's possible much of the testing their and the technology using 115 we see in "Five" may be all because of Richtofen's conspiracy. He knew Group 935 would fail if the US came ahead, and Maxis would be pinned for it. He also never had any allegiance to the Nazis or Germany whatsoever. While Nikolai always spouted his hatred of Fascists, Richtofen never spoke politically ever. His only goal in life is power for himself, and himself only.

The second direction this theory can go is that "Five" and Ascension are in an alternate timeline where Richtofen never touched the MPD, never going insane, and may have been taken in by the Americans to work for them during the Cold War. The infamous Space Race is all because of Nazi researchers being taken in by the American government to share their expertise. I see no reason Richtofen, having no political allegiance, wouldn't have worked for the US after the war, thus a portrait being made in his honor in the Pentagon.

 

Let me know what you guys think of the theory. It isn't all that relevant now, but I think it gives a little more insight on the original Richtofen's backstory.

[anonymous]

I like theories like this. But a bit off topic: Why is there a teleported to Griffin Station in Area 51 in the first place? Because of the moon base, Group 935 had enough 115, so they didn't need Nevada. Weird.

[RadZakpak]

16 minutes ago, anonymous said:

I like theories like this. But a bit off topic: Why is there a teleported to Griffin Station in Area 51 in the first place? Because of the moon base, Group 935 had enough 115, so they didn't need Nevada. Weird.

Well Maxis didn't know about the Moon base as far as we know, otherwise he would know about the MPD, and Richtofen wanted the power of it for himself. So Richtofen was keeping it for himself rather than sharing with 935.