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Prototype 2/Headscratchers: Difference between revisions
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** Let's just pretend this Mercer was a clone. It's better that way.
** {{spoiler|I would say that Mercer has an [[Assimilation Plot]] not a [[Kill All Humans]] motive. If he just wanted to kill everyone, I think he could do it a lot easier than the plan he had here. And I didn't feel it was that out of place really, even without reading the comics.}}
** I can understand Mercer viewing the virus as the next step in human evolution. One has to admit that the kind of powers that Alex Mercer possesses are incredible and would be desirable for anyone to want to have. However the problem I have with it is that Mercer was trying to force this evolution using a mass infection that nearly destroyed New York 2 years prior, the same New York that he heroically saved from Gentek erasing it off the map with a nuke. Ideally he should have examined what makes the virus in his body tick and isolate the desirable shape shifting powers he has and remove all the [[Zombie Apocalypse]], [[Eldritch Abomination]] stuff about the Blacklight Virus. That is far more sensible than condemning millions of people in New York and billions more if it spreads outside of New York to death and mutation.
* Even given The Anchor, his methodology really doesn't make any sense. {{spoiler|He says that humanity is dying, but ''he'' rereleased the virus on purpose, which is causing humanity to die. He says that all of humanity deserves to suffer, but is directly opposed by someone who [[Papa Wolf|has a sizable amount of empathy, more than he himself]], and knowing that at least [[What Happened to the Mouse?|Bradley Ragland]] and [[Morality Pet|his sister Dana]] were decent people. He says that all of humanity is corrupt, but [[What an Idiot!|he practically sought out people to prove this viewpoint, whether repentant or not]] and blamed humanity for people [[What Do You Mean It's Not Heinous?|caring about living]] before concerning themselves with people who they might not even know. He says that he will end disease... by infecting all of humanity with a disease, and ''being'' a [[The Virus|walking, talking,]] [[Plaguemaster|Blacklight sample]].}} For these reasons, he decides {{spoiler|to [[Put Them All Out of My Misery|cause]] a [[Zombie Apocalypse]] to [[Artistic License: Biology|"force evolution"]] on the populace.}} If he had thought that through some more, maybe [[We Could Have Avoided All This]].
** Keep in mind that Alex ate Greene, Randall, and hundreds of Blackwatch troops and scientists. I doubt he is entirely sane or rational at this point.
* In the first game, upon Alex's realization that he is "not human" and that Alex is "just a role [he] plays", what made him want to connect with humanity like the Anchor comic would seem to suggest? Does it have anything to do with Alex being "something more" despite being "less than human"?
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** I'll tell you why. To make way for James "I am generic revenge-seeking tough guy" Heller. It seems that, in an effort to improve upon the original, they thought that getting rid of the hero was a good idea.
*** This is sort of the crux of the entire argument. Mercer had already gained so much power that he was more or less invincible (to the point where not even trying to [[Nuke'Em]] actually killed him). It wasn't about "making him think humanity deserved it" in the case of the comic. It seems more like they simply believed that [[Implacable Man|Alex Mercer]] could not be improved upon any further to validate a sequel. Not as a fan of one series over the other, but [[In Famous|their supposed "rival" series]] seemed to do well enough at that by disabling some of their main character's more advanced abilities and giving a different, more powerful antagonist to necessitate gaining new powers (in this case, perhaps a better Stealth Consume, the other Mutations you can gain, Biobomb, Pack Leader, Viral Sonar, and Tendrils, among perhaps upgraded vehicles). Apparently in the case of this series, they didn't consider that option, hence what many consider the [[Sudden Sequel Heel Syndrome]].
*** Mercer wasn't invincible, the nuke would have killed him had he not gained enough distance away from the explosion, besides powerful viral entities like the Supreme Hunter are capable of consuming him and enough damage from conventional weapons can still kill him in game play. Besides there is still the threat of PARIAH that would have validated Mercer becoming even more powerful than ever before, the first game had a ton of foreshadowing how if Mercer and PARIAH ever met it, "could be the end of the world." PARIAH could have been like The Beast from [[In Famous]], an overshadowing threat that the protagonist must prepare himself for to save the world, The Beast is foreshadowed in Infamous and then appears in Infamous 2 justifying Cole's increase in powers. For a so-called rival series Prototype didn't follow that model very well. James isn't as invested in the back story and overall story arc of the game as Alex Mercer is.
**** If they felt Mercer was so powerful then what the hell will they do about Heller if they do a third game? Make him evil? Because any other option they go with will have people asking why they didn't do that with Mercer.
* Regarding the comic book that elaborated on the time spent between the original Prototype and 2; are we honestly supposed to take the {{spoiler|romance he had for a human female}} seriously? How can Alex Mercer have anything resembling a normal human relationship {{spoiler|especially in a romantic sense}} and spend his life casually with all these powers? Was he expecting the white picket fence life style where {{spoiler|he and his love interest would live peacefully,}} he just gets to settle down and not have to worry about the horrifying implications of what his powers have done to his humanity? I find it silly that he would even think along those lines when he claimed that he had become something, "more than human", and even more silly that his face heel turn is based off of things ending badly with {{spoiler|with his love interest,}} one bad experience ruins his entire perception of humanity [[Sarcasm Mode|that's good writing.]]
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*** No, it doesn't make Heller "Sueish" because there's a lot more to being a Sue than just "character is more powerful!". (that and [[Mary Sue]] is so distorted by now that it has as much relevance to characterization as custard pie has to railgun research. Use a ''real'' term to describe a character!) I just pointed out ''why'' it would make sense: Heller started close to where Mercer was originally, and Mercer hasn't been aggressively improving his combat abilities and focusing on controlling the Infected, and Heller has been aggressively eating all of the Evolved with new and unique mutations to rapidly make himself stronger. Mercer's greater experience is reflected in his ability to control the Infected. And what do you mean, "it doesn't seem realistic"? We're talking about a fictional supervirus that alters biomass to allow you to tear apart tanks, leap over buildings, and telepathically control millions of infected zombies and mutants. Going on about things being "realistic" is ridiculous when we're dealing with a reality-warping psychic viral infection whose exact mechanisms are entirely unknown. We don't really have enough data to say that it is "realistic" or not.
*** Alternatively, it could be a case of diminishing returns or just a hard cap on how strong Evolved can be. Mercer reached the peak of power for Evolved over a year ago, Heller reached it just before the end of the game, they're on a par with each other and Heller wins through sheer determination and better close-combat skills.
*** There is no point in arguing about any of this if we can't put a decent limit on what is possible for the virus to do and how probable it is for it to advance at a particular rate, whether a certain ability comes from technology, biology, or magic there needs to be some sort of rule to let the audience know how it ticks, otherwise it comes off as an ass pull. Saying, "It's a fictional virus, it can do whatever it wants!", is a lame cop out. Mercer evolved at a fairly incredible rate over the course of 3 weeks in the first game so I don't even mind James becoming as powerful as he does, Alex proved that something like that could be done, it just seems strange that he would give up on doing the exact same thing that made him powerful the first time around. Plus aren't these Evolved entities coming directly from Mercer in the first place? How does he not have access to the collective power of the Infected if he is their Hive King? Did Mercer become lazy, complacent? Did the nuke do permanent damage? Something?
*** ''Alex proved that something like that could be done, it just seems strange that he would give up on doing the exact same thing that made him powerful the first time around.'' Once again, he ''didn't'' give up on evolving, he simply ''shifted his focus''. He's not focused on combat, he's focused on controlling an entire army. Heller started close to Mercer's level and kept on getting more powerful by charging around, aggressively killing and eating and fighting, while Mercer focused on controlling his army and directing the Whitelight plan and Gentek/Blackwatch infiltration.
*** ''Plus aren't these Evolved entities coming directly from Mercer in the first place? How does he not have access to the collective power of the Infected if he is their Hive King?'' Because the virus does not appear to work that way. Once you create something, it evolves on its own and the only way to gain its genetic mutations is to consume it yourself. The Evolved developed their own unique mutations but Mercer couldn't access them without eating his own minions.
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== Why infect Heller at all? ==
Is there any reason, aside from carrying the [[Idiot Ball]], that Alex decided to infect Heller? It seems that by that time he already had most of his evolved in place. Aside from overtly screwing with Blackwatch, what could Heller really do for Alex? Seriously, giving anyone the potential powers he gave to Heller's weird; but giving them to someone who really, really wants you dead is just stupid. In addition, after giving Heller these amazing powers, does Alex closely monitor him to ensure Heller's not going to learn what he's up to? Naw, just sit back and don't do anything until after Heller eats a mad scientist you were discussing your evil plans with, no way that could ''possibly'' backfire.
* Maybe Alex just wanted someone to succeed him in case he was somehow killed and destroyed. Second, Roland isn't exactly powerful enough to control the Evolved. So Alex just needed another second in command. Turns out, {{spoiler|Heller in a way is Alex's legacy, as he is now the most powerful person in the world.}}
* It is entirely possible that Mercer figured Heller would come over to his side after Blackwatch tried to experiment on/kill him, and indeed, Heller ''does'' favor Mercer's viewpoint at first. However, he eventually turns on Mercer, and once Mercer notices that Heller is acting against him, he immediately tries to kill him.
* Considering how {{spoiler|Koenig, Gallagher, and Roland}} were completely devoted to Mercer and his cause, maybe this is a [[More Than Mind Control|known side-effect]] of the viral evolution, and Mercer was expecting it to work on Heller as well? In which case, the reason for choosing Heller is obvious - Mercer needed a [[The Dragon|Dragon]], and Heller is a highly skilled melee fighter and ridiculously tough even before he gets the virus. He killed a Brawler with a combat knife while already exhausted and wounded!
** It's simpler than that: {{spoiler|Galloway}} clearly state that all but two evolved are mind controlled by Alex, and those two are herself and Heller. She also say pretty much say that making evolved is not an exact science. She got an advanced version of the "viral sonar" and isn't under Alex control, {{spoiler|Roland is under Alex control}}, but he has a spiked shield no one else demonstrate, that evolved girl with the whipfist etc. Whenever Alex is making an evolved, he's playing russian roulette as far as what the evolved capabilities will be, and he simply got the loaded chamber with Heller.
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== Where's the Bloodtox? ==
* Okay, Blackwatch - you have a substance that is in no way harmful to humans, is toxic to the virus and has proven to be easily distributed in both a liquid and vapor form, not to mention having had enough of it in Prototype 1 to PUMP IT INTO THE NEW YORK UNDERGROUND. ''Why are you not using it?!''
** Alex grew an immunity to Bloodtox in the first game and {{spoiler|he's the cause of the outbreak in the second game, seeing as how he released the virus directly from himself}} so maybe Blackwatch already tried, but the new infected inherited the immunity?
*** Right, and keep in mind that their plan for {{spoiler|Whitelight}} was largely the same; pumping large amounts of the aerosolized chemical in order to kill the infected. If it hadn't been for {{spoiler|the evolved sabotaging it, Blackwatch apparently would've deployed it in the same manner as bloodtox}}.
*** When did Alex gain an immunity? Not even Greene had an immunity. She had to make that huge shell around her to protect her from Bloodtox. Alex was always affected by Bloodtox, he just got rid of the dispensers. The use of Bloodtox was still a plausible route.
**** To be specific, he was growing an immunity. It's pointed out during one of the conversations with Cross/Supreme Hunter. Besides, one of the above Tropers already stated that Whitelight was created to do roughly the same thing.
**** I think the Bloodtox was originally going to be in the game but got dropped part-way through development. The concept art booklet includes a Blackwatch truck full of chemical drums, labelled "bloodtox transport".
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