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For other characters named Marcus, see Marcus (disambiguation). |
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Marcus is the elderly super mutant sheriff of Broken Hills in Fallout 2 and mayor of Jacobstown in Fallout: New Vegas.
A survivor of the Unity, his once fervent dedication to the Master's cause has since softened into a more tolerant attitude. A strong leader through the decades, he played an integral role in the founding of the towns of Broken Hills, Black Mountain, and Jacobstown. He is a potential companion to the Chosen One in Fallout 2.
Background[]
A burly old mutant with a weary cast to his face, Marcus' toughness and vigor[1] seem at odds with his long history and fundamental belief in the goodness of people. He does not have any regrets about his transformation into a mutant. In fact, he prefers his existence as a super mutant, as he is free of the petty character flaws regular humans suffer from.[2]
He served in Unity with distinction, a firm believer in his vision and philosophy. For Marcus, the Master's plan was a chance for elevation of humans above internecine conflict and war, to break out of the vicious cycle of war. Marcus believed that humans could never elevate themselves alone, that the Master's actions were a necessary step in the advancement of humanity.[3] The destruction of the Unity by the Vault Dweller hit him dearly. As a result, the Vault Dweller was initially an object of his hatred, for whom he eventually developed a healthy respect. After all, if all humans fought for their beliefs with such conviction, the Master would not have had to come into being. Still, he missed his friends, the best that humanity had to offer.[4][5]
After the fall of the Unity[]
Following the fall of the Master, Marcus took to the wastes. Around 2185, he came across Jacob, a Brotherhood knight. The two fought for a couple of days, before realizing the futility of the fight. As the pair laughed, Jacob abandoned his sworn oath to destroy mutants and joined Marcus in his travels. As they traveled together, discussing Brotherhood doctrine and the Unity (in particular, the neurolink between the Master and the Cathedral computers), people gradually started following them. After all, it doesn't get any safer than a Brotherhood knight and a super mutant veteran. Marcus led the growing group to the site of a pre-War uranium mining town he knew about from old maps. There, he and Jacob founded the settlement of Broken Hills in the fall of 2185.[6]
After ensuring that the town survived winter, Jacob said his goodbyes and moved on. Marcus stayed, as mayor and sheriff, though he missed his friend dearly, particularly, the arguments between him and Jacob on dipping and how the latter "would've been a great mutant."[7][8] His steady hand in managing the affairs of the town led it to prosperity. Uranium found its way to numerous clients in the wastelands, including Vault City.[9] Marcus' positive opinion of humanity, inspired by Jacob, eroded as he saw the petty hatred and jealousy tearing apart his people. He mused that the Master's plan could have succeeded with better candidates. But would it be able to succeed against the human tendency to tear down the exceptional men and women among them? In his heart, he knew that the Master was right. But he soldiered on.[3][10]
Rumors of an anti-mutant conspiracy did not help. Chasing shadows, Marcus eventually asked a tribal wanderer to help him investigate. That tribal was the Chosen One. After successfully exposing the conspiracy and saving Broken Hills' mine from closure, the old mutant decided he was far too old for settling down and joined the tribal.[11] They fought side by side on Control Station Enclave, saving the world from destruction, eventually vaporizing the oil rig in nuclear fire. Marcus never returned to Broken Hills. Instead, he headed east into the Rocky Mountains, inspired by his tribal friend. His goal: finding other mutants like himself and creating a place they could call home.[12][Non-game 1] He never heard of the Chosen One again, but he had a feeling everything turned out well for his friend in the end.[12]
A safe haven[]
Marcus turned out to be a charismatic leader, gathering a sizable following of super mutants. Eventually, he and his followers reached Black Mountain, a pre-War satellite facility, irradiated by a direct nuclear strike. Scavengers avoided the place due to high amounts of radiation. However, this did not deter the super mutants, who claimed Black Mountain as their new home in 2277. The machines were in serviceable condition, enhancing its appeal.[13]
However, it did not turn out to be the safe haven Marcus imagined it as. The biggest and most long lasting problems came from the nightkin that accompanied him. Tabitha, a former high-ranking member of the Unity and a nightkin suffering from a particularly severe case of Stealth Boy-induced schizophrenia, was a constant problem. After Rhonda, her robot companion broke down, her mental condition deteriorated. Attempts to distract her with a journal project failed when she discovered Black Mountain's radio station and managed to get it repaired.[14][15] Broadcasting her message consumed her attention and exacerbated her mental issues, leading her to ignore Marcus' leadership. After all, for her, he was a first generation super mutant, just a step up from the second generation imbeciles all too common in the settlement.[16]
Eventually, the situation deteriorated. As the nightkin clashed with Marcus' fellow first generation super mutants, he found himself unable to broker a peace. Rather than aggravate the conflict, he chose to leave along with those mutants loyal to him and found another community in 2279, but not before smashing Black Mountain's radio transmitter in an attempt to hamper Tabitha's efforts.[17] The radio did not remain broken for long, however. Raul Tejada, a wandering ghoul mechanic from Mexico, had been attracted by the broadcast's sudden disappearance and offered to fix it, but much to his dismay Tabitha decided to imprison him for his efforts and keep him around to be on hand to fix other broken things.[18] With her voice back on the airwaves, Tabitha was free to implement her utopian project. The State of Utobitha was born, broadcasting a rather peculiar, if not insane and rambling, radio message throughout the wasteland.[19][20] A permanent element of the program was the harassment of Raul, who was constantly threatened with execution if he didn't fix anything and everything around the complex.[21][22] Having gained a firm foothold, the nightkin from Utobitha started harassing travelers and merchants on the I-15 for supplies and food. Although the victims reported the matter to NCR Rangers, they were unable to divert men and resources to take care of the problem.[23]
In the meantime, Marcus and his remaining followers traveled to the resort at Mount Charleston, where they founded another settlement. Marcus named it Jacobstown to honor his old friend. The place was perfect, far away from human settlements to remain peaceful and big enough to house the mutants and their crops. Marcus' ultimate goal was to establish it as a valuable trading partner and an example of human-mutant cooperation: A second Broken Hills.[24] Marcus has also founded a research project together with Doctor Henry of the Enclave, trying to find a cure for nightkin schizophrenia. His promise of cure attracted nightkin leaders such as Keene and Davison and their followers to the town, but as the research dragged on, the nightkin began to lose their patience.[25]
By the time the Courier arrives, Davison had left with his followers, while Keene's patience was teetering on the brink. Something had to be done, quickly.[Non-game 2][26]
Interactions with the player character[]
Fallout 2[]
Interactions overview[]
| Interactions | ||
|---|---|---|
  |
This character is a permanent companion. | |
  |
This character has a talking head. | |
  |
This character starts quests. | |
  |
This character is allied with the following faction(s). | |
Quests[]
- Find the missing people for Marcus: Marcus has noticed people disappearing from Broken Hills lately. He wants the Chosen One to find them.
Effects of player's actions[]
- Marcus can join the Chosen One after completing these quests:
- Fix the mine's air purifier
- Any of:
- Find the missing people for Marcus
- Snitch on conspirators in Break Manson and Franc out of prison
- Snitch on conspirators in Blow up the mine's air purifier
- Positive Karma is also required.
He is skilled with big guns and large energy weapons. However, sometimes his use of burst weapons are as devastating to the team as to enemies. Also, like all other super mutants (barring those in Fallout Tactics), he is incapable of wearing armor which leaves him somewhat vulnerable. However, Marcus does have innate armor statistics that increase as he gains in abilities, thus mitigating his inability to equip armor. At his highest level, he has the equivalent of a suit of combat armor. The ammunition for his big guns can be a problem, too. This can be dealt with by arming him with a non-burst weapon like a turbo plasma rifle.
- Having Marcus in one's company will generally deny the Chosen One's entry into the inner sections of Vault City (though not the southern courtyard), so he has to be left outside and picked up on the way out. Becoming Captain of the Guard lets the Chosen One pass the guards, First Citizen Joanne Lynette however, will not be too pleased, resulting in exiling the Chosen One.
- Should the Chosen One be accompanied by Lenny and Marcus at the same time, Marcus will occasionally say things like "Nice to have another evolved human in the group, Lenny," "Hey Lenny! Ever been to Broken Hills?" and "Lenny! Let's get somethin' to drink!", indicating that the two have known each other in the past, or simply that Marcus considers their shared mutant status confers on them a brotherhood of sorts.
Other interactions[]
- Taking him to Dr. Troy in Vault City to be healed will get him purged of the various bullets embedded in his thick skin, which Troy will then give to the Chosen One. Giving 20 7.62mm, 40 .44 Magnum JHP & FMJ, 50 5mm JHP, 10 .45 caliber, 24 10mm JHP, 50 .223 FMJ, and 20 9mm ball. He has been shot by a lot of people. This can only be done as Captain of the Guard, otherwise Troy will go hostile for someone bringing a mutant into the city.
- Talking to Lenny in the Rawhide Saloon will change his reactions. Lenny will insult the Chosen One as a slave, telling them to tell Marcus, their apparent master, what Lenny's name is, asking Marcus as a brother mutant why he's hanging out with a human slug or insult Marcus as either a "butt-kissing mutie Tom" or "tame mutie".[27]
Statistics[]
- Marcus makes a number of comments as he levels up:
- "Wow! I feel as if I've passed some arbitrary experience value and gained more power!"
- "Aaagggh! Muscles... bulging... Stats... increasing.... Gaining level..."
- "Gimme a diploma and a silly lookin' hat with a tassel, 'cause I just graduated!"
- "Hey, I feel more powerful! Does that mean I get a pay raise?"
| Statistic | Stage 1 | Stage 2 | Stage 3 | Stage 4 | Stage 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strength | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Perception | 08 | 08 | 08 | 09 | 09 |
| Endurance | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Charisma | 03 | 03 | 03 | 03 | 03 |
| Intelligence | 07 | 07 | 07 | 07 | 07 |
| Agility | 08 | 08 | 08 | 09 | 09 |
| Luck | 09 | 09 | 09 | 09 | 09 |
| + Secondary Statistics | Stage 1 | Stage 2 | Stage 3 | Stage 4 | Stage 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hit Points | 145 | 165 | 175 | 190 | 205 |
| Armor Class | 18 | 18 | 18 | 29 | 29 |
| Action Points | 10 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| Carry Weight | 275 | 275 | 275 | 275 | 275 |
| Melee Damage | 12 | 14 | 15 | 18 | 18 |
| Damage Resistance | 30% | 30% | 30% | 40% | 40% |
| Poison Resistance | 50% | 50% | 50% | 50% | 50% |
| Radiation Resistance | 20% | 20% | 20% | 20% | 20% |
| Sequence | 16 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 18 |
| Healing Rate | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Critical Chance | 20 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 24 |
| + Tagged Skills | Stage 1 | Stage 2 | Stage 3 | Stage 4 | Stage 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Guns | 115% | 129% | 137% | 147% | 163% |
| Energy Weapons | 87% | 91% | 101% | 109% | 118% |
| Unarmed | 112% | 125% | 130% | 140% | 145% |
Fallout: New Vegas[]
Interactions overview[]
| Interactions | ||
|---|---|---|
| |
This character starts quests. | |
Quests[]
- Unfriendly Persuasion: Marcus informs the Courier that there is a band of mercenaries outside of Jacobstown and that their intentions are less than desirable towards the residents.
Other interactions[]
- Upon entering Jacobstown for the first time, Marcus will approach the Courier and initiate dialogue and give them some tips on being in Jacobstown.
Fallout: New California[]
 | The following is based on information from Fallout: New California. |
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Marcus can be found randomly when taking a card from the loot deck. When the player character has him as the active companion and performs a test that uses Strength, Endurance, or Intelligence, he can be exhausted to gain one hit on the test.
When the player character performs the camp action, he will become unexhausted. However, if the player character does not have at least three SPECIAL tokens at this time, he must be discarded.
Inventory[]
Fallout 2[]
| Apparel | Weapon | Other items |
|---|---|---|
| Super mutant leather armor | CZ-53 personal minigun | 1x Flare 2x Antidote 120x 5mm JHP |
Fallout: New Vegas[]
| Apparel | Weapon | Other items | On death |
|---|---|---|---|
| Super mutant armor |
Notes[]
- In Fallout: New Vegas, Marcus is one of the only characters outside Caesar's Legion (along with Easy Pete, Follows-Chalk and Salt-Upon-Wounds), to pronounce Caesar /ˈkaisar/ - in the classical Latin pronunciation - rather than /ˈsiːzər/, the morphed Zar pronunciation.
- Marcus in Fallout: New Vegas has a unique face compared to other super mutants, as he is the only one in the game not to wear a leather facial brace to hold up his lips.
- In Fallout: New Vegas, Marcus may eventually die due to random cazador attacks on Jacobstown.
- In Fallout: New Vegas, Marcus is the only character with only one tag skill.
- Marcus is one of the most intelligent super mutants in the Fallout franchise. He is able to speak fluent English and would rather reason than fight.
Notable quotes[]
Fallout 2[]
- "Long story. Want it short or the whole thing?"
- "That was Jacob, from the Brotherhood of Steel. He'd sworn some oath to destroy muties. We tussled for a while – probably a day or two. After a while, we just started laughing. What was the point?"
- "Right. Well, never really HATED humans. We just had a better way. These new governments, they think they've got all the answers. Blah, blah. Been there, seen that, got the scars."
- "Don't forget, I knew the folks involved. They were the best humanity had to offer. Your people are going to tell the story a different way, right?"
- "My memories of being a human aren't as clear as they once were, but I remember pettiness, hatred, jealousy... I prefer being a mutant."
- "Nope. Well, not now. It takes a few years after bein' dipped to get the juices flowing again. Why?"
Fallout: New Vegas[]
- "Welcome to Jacobstown, human. You're free to walk around, just don't stare at the nightkin. They don't like people looking at them."
- "Was a resort pre-War. I renamed it to Jacobstown after an old friend. Died a long time ago."
- "Was part of super mutant army, ran a town, walked the wasteland with a tribal. Now I'm here."
- "Long story, so here's the short version. The Master created the super mutants and nightkin."
- "The Master thought he could unify everyone. No more differences, no more war. Didn't end well."
- "Town was Broken Hills. Bunch of super mutants, humans, and ghouls all living together peacefully. Well, most of the time."
- "We were looking for a GECK to save the village of Arroyo. Eventually, we did. Nuked an oil rig in the process."
- "We went separate ways after that. I went east into the Rockies, looking for other mutants like myself."
- "Don't know what happened to my friend. I've got a feeling it turned out all right in the end."
- "Caesar thinks he can change human nature. Most of the Legion is following Caesar, not Caesar's ideals. When he's gone, it'll crumble."
- "Might not happen overnight. Might take a few decades. But it'll happen. Basic human nature - greed, ambition, jealousy - will see to it."
Appearances[]
Marcus appears as a companion and a talking head in Fallout 2, and in Fallout: New Vegas as a non-player character. He is voiced by Michael Dorn in both. Marcus appears as a companion in the New California expansion to Fallout: The Board Game. In Fallout: Wasteland Warfare, Marcus appears as a unit in the Super Mutants faction. He is also mentioned in the Fallout Bible.
Behind the scenes[]
Marcus's voice actor, Michael Dorn, in the voiceover booth for Fallout: New Vegas
Fallout 2[]
- Colin McComb, who also worked on content for Broken Hills as a whole, contributed to the design of Marcus as he appeared in Fallout 2.[Non-game 3][Non-game 4]
- While Marcus says that he is no longer sterile in New Reno, Chris Avellone confirmed that Marcus was only joking and that super mutants remain entirely sterile.[Non-game 5]
- During combat, if Marcus is hit by an enemy weapon, he may occasionally cry out, "I am NOT a merry Mutant!" This is a reference to Michael Dorn's role as Worf on Star Trek: The Next Generation, specifically the episode "Qpid", in which Worf protested to being given the role of a "merry man" in Q's Robin Hood recreation.
- Marcus might say when unarmed and attacking: "one fist, two fist, red fist, blue fist." This is a reference to the Dr. Seuss book One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish.
Fallout: New Vegas[]
- Marcus as he appeared in Fallout: New Vegas was written by Jeff Husges, basing his speech patterns on the character's dialogue in Fallout 2.[Non-game 6]
- Colin McComb, who helped design Marcus in Fallout 2, said of Marcus's appearance in Fallout: New Vegas that he recalled "being quite happy with the deepening of Marcus's history and future."[Non-game 4]
Bugs[]
- Marcus will be granted a minigun by the game if the player turns him hostile.[verification overdue]
- Marcus will turn hostile if the player spawns him and a Black Mountain super mutant with console commands. This may be because he is scripted to turn hostile if another nearby mutant (except Keene) is hostile, and the developers simply did not bother to edit it to not include Black Mountain mutants since they are not supposed to meet each other in normal gameplay.[verification overdue]
Gallery[]
Fallout 2[]
Fallout: New Vegas[]
Tabletop Games[]
.png "Fallout Magic Marcus, Mutant Mayor (Extended Art).png (273 KB)")
References[]
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Non-game
- ↑ Fallout Bible 0:
"5. Why in the final scene in Fallout 1 and 2 nothing is said about players friendly NPCs ? I'd love to know what happened to Marcus, Tycho, Ian, Cassidy or Vic afterwards. - Kreegle
Fallout 1: I don't know why. Tim and the Troika crew apparently ended up doing this for the NPCs in Arcanum, though.
Well, according to the manual in Fallout 2 (written by Chris Taylor), Ian bit the bullet in Necropolis, and Dogmeat died in the Mariposa Military Base. Tycho and Katja are not mentioned, so it's assumed they didn't join the Vault Dweller. Still, even though it's mentioned in the manual, I'd substitute your own experiences with them and let that be the true history... even though Dogmeat's pretty likely to bite it in the Military Base because of those damn force fields and because you can't tell him to park his doggie ass in a safe place (without locking him in a force field cage).
In any event, I'll try to include alternate endings for these characters depending on what you did in the game. Your actions should make a difference.
As for Fallout 2, Matt Norton and I wrote end text for all of the ones in Fallout 2 using the narrator's perspective (and occasionally the appropriate voice actors), so here's the sections I was able to dig up (and it's not all the NPC allies, but the talking heads of everyone). They just didn't make it into the game, and as I understand it, Ron Perlman already had 5 billion lines to do in 2 hours. It's possible we decided not to do them because we ran out of time... or because Ron Perlman is an extremely muscle-bound fellow who looks like he can crush bricks in his hands."
"In any event, here you go - note that some are personalized for the actor, others are not:"
[...]
"Marcus"
"Inspired by the example set by the Chosen One, Marcus eventually traveled across the great mountains to the east, searching for other refugees from the Master's army. You never heard from him again." - ↑ Fallout: New Vegas Official Game Guide Collectors Edition p.294-296: "[1.10] Jacobstown
Marcus, a mild-mannered Super Mutant sheriff of Broken Hills took it upon himself to find a refugee for the "broken-minded" of his kind: low-intelligence Super Mutants and schizophrenic Nightkin. It proved to be more difficult than holding on to Broken Hills, but he eventually decided Jacobstown was a good spot to set up a community. Despite splinter groups (Davidson and Tabatha), Marcus does his best to take care of Lily and the other Super Mutants and Nightkin at Jacobstown."
(Fallout: New Vegas Official Game Guide Collector's Edition Tour of the Mojave Wasteland) - ↑ Fallout Bible 7: "2. In the Fallout Bible you have written, then FEV cause ghouls and supermutants sterile but in the F2 in the Broken Hills in the Old Ghouls House (or something like that) lives a son of Set. Set cannot have a son because he's a ghoul, so cause FEV sterile or not? (Or is it only a joke?)"
Chris Avellone: "According to designer Colin McComb (who is so tough that [1] he did design on Planescape and [2] lives in Detroit), Typhon was Set's son before they became ghouls and became sterile and mutated and all gross-looking." - ↑ 4.0 4.1 Colin McComb on Twitter
@AnalogBeatdown: "Hi @ColinMcComb! I'm a big Fallout fan and I noticed you were credited with working on Broken Hills in Fallout 2!
That being said, I was curious if you were the original writer for Marcus, and if so, what you thought of his depiction in New Vegas. Thanks!"
@ColinMcComb: "I am generally an Obsidian fan, and more specifically a fan of Josh’s thoughtful work. It’s been a while since I looked at FNV but I recall being quite happy with the deepening of Marcus’s history and future." - ↑ Fallout Bible 0: "2. Does FEV really cause sterility? In Fallout 1 it seemed like the answer was a resounding yes, and a number of reasons for this were given by Zax and Vree. But then in Fallout 2 after you take Marcus to the Cat's Paw he says "I hope she doesn't get pregnant" and says that the FEV doesn't make mutants go sterile, it just makes it take a few years "to get the juices flowing again". Moreoever, the deathclaws in Vault 13 were infected with FEV and yet they are able to reproduce. So, does the FEV cause sterility or not?"
Chris Avellone: "FEV causes sterility in some creatures. FEV does cause sterility in super mutants and ghouls - Marcus' comment in New Reno was a joke only (and it was an inappropriate one, for which I apologize for). For other creatures, however, the FEV does not cause sterility - in fact, it may actually speed up their reproductive cycles (in tandem with potential drawbacks). Known species that can reproduce after being mutated with the FEV include most species of rats, the mantises (who are known to have bred so fast they cover the Salt Lake City area like blankets), the radscorpions, and the deathclaws. This is only a partial list." - ↑ Question: "Why does Marcus speak in clipped sentences, e.g. "was a resort pre-war", "was part of the super mutant army"? Some other characters do this a little, however Marcus' speech uses this with far greater frequency."
Joshua Sawyer: "Jeff Husges (who wrote Marcus for F:NV) based Marcus' speech patterns on the character's dialogue from F2. Marcus has a similar style there, e.g. "Helped build the place.""
(Joshua Sawyer Formspring posts: June 5, 2011)
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