Fallout cultural references

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This page lists all cultural references in Fallout.

• The content is not described in full detail on this page. For details, please see the respective articles.
• For cultural references in other Fallout games, please see "Cultural reference".
• For an overview of Fallout content, please refer to "Portal:Fallout."

All Quiet on the Western Front

A paladin will ask the Vault Dweller what they have to report, to which the Vault Dweller responds, "All quiet on the western front." This references All Quiet on the Western Front, a novel by German World War I veteran Erich Maria Remarque.

Batman (1989 film)

In the Hub Old Town, the thugs guarding the Brotherhood initiate prisoner (quest-related) will attack the player on sight and one of them will sometimes say: "Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?", a recurring line of the Joker in Tim Burton's Batman.

Christianity

The image and title of the perk Lifegiver is a Vault Boy presented in a manner consistent with representations of Jesus Christ.

Conan the Barbarian

Barney Black is most likely a cultural reference to Arnold Schwarzenegger. Unlike his brother Arnold Black, Barney is a reference to another character played by Schwarzenegger, Conan the Barbarian.

Doctor Who

The random encounter Unusual Call Box involves the player finding a blue telephone box; as the player approaches it, a light on top begins to spin and it dematerializes. This is the TARDIS, a time-traveling ship from the UK TV series Doctor Who.

Dune

• In Frank Herbert's Dune, mentats are humans trained to process information and calculations at speeds usually reserved for (banned) computers. The Mentats drug is named after them and the color of the pill is likely a nod to the red-stained lips of a mentat, caused by consumption of sapho juice.
• If the player speaks to Rutger in the Hub about transporting water, Rutger will ask how much the player needs and where it's going. The player can respond, "I need it all! Some day, I'm going to transform the face of the planet. You'll see!" This is likely a reference to the Fremen's plan to terraform Dune, which first required stockpiling large amounts of water.

Fallout developers

• Chris Avellone is an inside joke, from Jess Heinig, about how Chris Avellone has neither a past nor a future.
• "Jason is a living god! Only the nullified may pass!" is a float line from the Psykers Gideon, Wiggum, Moore and Lucy that references Jason Anderson.
• Boyarsky is a reference to Leonard Boyarsky.
• Far Go traders is a reference to Brian Fargo, boss of Interplay.

George Burns and Gracie Allen Show

The "The attack crushes the temple. Good night, Gracie" critical hit message from Fallout is a reference to this show and the Good Night, Gracie legend.

The Incredible Hulk

From Marvel Comics' The Incredible Hulk.

• The image for the perk Mutate! is an allusion to Bruce Banner and his alter-ego the Hulk.
• The image for the perk Bonus HtH Damage is an allusion to the Hulk's anger and strength.

Mutate!

Bonus HtH Damage

The Ink Spots

• Dane sings a version of the first line of "I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire" by The Ink Spots. It is the only sign that the song was originally intended as the title song.

Internet

The "Interweb" used in Vault 13 is a reference to the Internet.

Lucky Luciano

Frank Charles Luciano is named after Charles "Lucky" Luciano, a 1920s gangster.

Mad Max

Mad Max, especially Mad Max 2 The Road Warrior, was an influence on the entire Fallout series; most obviously his dog and the design for the leather jacket (both the double sleeve and single sleeve variant).

Max in turn was influenced by Harlan Ellison, in his post-apocalyptic short stories A Boy and His Dog and Eggsucker, and his script for the graphic novel Vic and Blood.

Monty Python's Flying Circus

In the Hub, there is a librarian named Mrs. Stapleton. In the British Dental Association skit, there was also a librarian named Stapleton.

Nine Inch Nails

The song Ismarc sings is a cultural reference to the Nine Inch Nails song "Head Like a Hole" which goes:

Head like a hole
Black as your soul
I'd rather die
Than give you control

The Planet of the Apes

The line "I can't believe those bastards finally did it. Damn them all to Hell." in Captain Maxson's diary is strikingly similar to Charlton Heston's famous outcry ("We finally really did it... You maniacs! You blew it up! Ah, damn you! God damn you all to hell!") from the final scene of the Planet of the Apes.

Pink Floyd

The Pink Floyd song "Mother" is referenced by Dane, with the line "Mother, did you think they'd drop a bomb?".

Pulp Fiction

Just outside the entrance to Vault 13 is a corpse. Examining the corpse provides the message: "You see Ed. Ed is dead." This is a reference to the line from Pulp Fiction's "The Gold Watch" story: "Zed is dead."

Robin Hood

Loxley, the leader of the Circle of Thieves is a reference to one of the names given to the famous outlaw Robin Hood: Robin of Loxley. Loxley's fake British accent and anachronistic clothing are part of the reference.

The Simpsons

The intro movie shows a television set with the brand name Radiation King, which is the brand of television The Simpsons family have in their home.

South Park

If Deputy Kenny in the Hub dies in battle, the player character will exclaim "They killed Kenny! Those Bastards!" (Alternatively, if the player kills Deputy Kenny, the message "You killed Kenny! You bastard!" will appear in the message box). This is a reference to the running joke of Kenny dying in numerous episodes of the popular TV series, South Park.

Soylent Green

When the Vault Dweller is trying to blackmail Iguana Bob Frazier, one of the dialogue options is to say "Prime Choice Select is made of people!!!! It's made of people!!!". This is a reference to Charlton Heston's famous line from the film Soylent Green.

Terminator

Arnold Black's first name and catchphrase indicate that he is a cultural reference to Arnold Schwarzenegger and his character the Terminator.

Tool

In a lot of buildings in Fallout (and Fallout 2) there are posters that are actually representing Maynard from Tool. The poster is part of the album art from the band's first album "Undertow" from 1993.

They Live

• The crack assault paladins who accompany the Vault Dweller to the Mariposa Military Base will say "I'm here to kick ass and chew bubble gum. I'm all out of gum." This line is from the 1988 film They Live.
• The monitors in the Cathedral repeat three one-word phrases (Unity, Pray, Follow) which are similar thematically to the single word messages that "Nada," using the sunglasses, could see in the movie.

Vampire: The Masquerade

Camarillo and Gehenna are likely references to Camarilla and Gehenna in Vampire: The Masquerade RPG system.

WarGames

Slappy, a peasant of the Hub says "Let's go play Global-Thermal Nuclear War". This is a reference to the 1983 film WarGames.

Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The

Lucy in the Los Angeles Vault, quotes The Wonderful Wizard of Oz while pacing in her cell.

Wasteland

• Dugan might be named after Bill Dugan, one of the designers of Wasteland.
• The toaster repair mentioned by Dane is an allusion to the Toaster Repair skill of Wasteland.
• Tycho is a part of the Desert Rangers of Nevada. This is a reference to the faction of the same name from Wasteland and have appeared in every Wasteland game.
• Tycho mentions that Gizmo reminds him of a "fat freak" from Las Vegas his father told him of. This is a reference to Fat Freddy from Wasteland.

The following is based on Fallout cut content.

• The alien blaster was to be referred to as "Firelance" in cut dialogue with Jason Zimmerman. This is a reference to the identically named Martian weapon appearing in the Wasteland Paragraphs, in the red herring Mars plot.

End of information based on Fallout cut content