Corporal Toombs
The first one of these that's introduced is Corporal Toombs, who I believe is at least a reference to Toombs from the Pitch Black series. I mean, it's not exactly a common name. Anyway, in Pitch Black, Toombs was a Mercenary that hunted Jack and Riddick as a bounty hunter, eventually reuiniting them in Crematoria [a prison], where the once normal young girl had become a veritable b@d****. In any case, he was an integral character that linked Pitch Black to The Chronicles of Riddick and helped them flow together well, as well as linking the main character [Riddick, of course] to Jack. Similarly, in Mass Effect 1, Corporal Toombs is an Alliance soldier gone rogue. He is living proof that the "Sole Survivor" choice about Akuze is at most half true, well, that is if you don't let him kill himself at the end of the mission. In any case, he is another survivor of the thresher maw attack at Akuze, apparently the only one other than Commander Shepard. Unfortunately, his psyche didn't handle the trauma quite as well as Shepard's. Long story short, Corporal Toombs finds out, whether true or otherwise, that Cerberus was behind the thresher maw attack on Akuze. Finding out that he was in the know, the organization apparently kidnapped and experimented on Toombs. He went on to start hunting Cerberus scientists. Aaanyways~, that's not the important part. Their most basic roles in the story is the beauty behind the reference: The fact that they connect the first to its sequel [Pitch Black to The Chronicles of Riddick through Crematoria (a supermax prison) as well as Mass Effect 1 to Mass Effect 2 through Cerberus and Purgatory (also a supermax prison)] and the main character to Jack, who is the next order of business.
Jack
This is the other major reference that I found to Pitch Black within Mass Effect's storyline. I have to disclaim this~ however: the two characters are not~ the same and I am, in no way, shape, or form, claiming that it is ripped off, copied, etc. I simply point out a reference that I believe the artists~ that mad Mass Effect put in as, in my estimation homage to inspiration. Anyways, back to the point. For those of you that don't know, Jack is a tomboyish, rough-and-tumble survivor who tags along with Riddick in Pitch Black. Eventually, she becomes a criminal and is thrown in a supermax prison with a supposed "zero chance of escape". Most importantly, prison life, and life away from Riddick, changed her. It sharpened her both physically and mentally, though it could be argued that the same sharpness is a result of her shattered psyche, which, in my opinion, is the primary connection between the two stories. Kyra, the Jack that Riddick meets on Crematoria, looks nothing like Jack from Mass Effect, but the one from Pitch Black sure does. Jack in Mass Effect has tattoos, which, in my estimation, represent the harshness of her story and life before Shep. They both definitely carry themselves with a similar demeanor and both are the thing of nightmares if you get them angry. But, like I said, the most interesting part of their connection is the development of their psyches as members of a caste of people that have an upbringing few can empathize with and even fewer can sympathize with. Jack from the Pitch Black series was young and idealistic before the traumatic events involving Riddick. She probably had a chance at a normal life had she not been forced to endure the gauntlet that she and Riddick did facing not only the deadly predators that they fled but the deaths of those who were, at least temporally and temporarily close to them. Similarly, Jack in Mass Effect probably had at least a chance at a normal life before Cerberus [as well as scientists and prison guards gone rogue] had their influence on her. Both characters were shaped by these altered upbringings however. It made them stronger. It allowed them to surpass normality and leave their role as "the kid" or "the troubled girl in trouble" that is so common in movies with particularly b@d**** main characters [which Shep (particularly Renegade) and Riddick fit to a T.] In both stories, Jack has an interest in Shepard, both in a way that is driven and sexually charged as well as that of a child, at least emotionally, seeking wisdom and guidance from someone she feels knows the world better. The beautiful part is that our actions players have an impact on the outcome of our Jack [as Shepard]. I don't feel like there was good emotional resolution in Mass Effect 2, however, so I hope they do a good job of expanding upon that in the third installment of this brilliant series.
Also, I feel like I remember a part in the Mass Effect series where a character says something along the lines of "You know, it's true what they say... about the sudden stop." Which would also be a Riddick reference. I, however, don't at all know whether or not I'm remembering correctly. If anyone knows what part I'm thinking of, post it! If not, I might be thinking of something else anyway. In any case, hope a few of you were thinking some of the same things and wanted to discuss.
Modifié par arcsPanacea, 04 mars 2012 - 11:35 .
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