History Characters / HalfLifeButTheAIIsSelfAware

* CastFromMoney: According to Bubby, the Helicopter Heap was "all the government funding [the military] could muster!"
* HealingFactor: It regenerates from all damage.

* HopelessBossFight: Rocket launchers had no effect on it.

->''Grab a soda, it'll make you see faster!''

* DrinkBasedCharacterization: A [[TheStinger post-credits scene]] reveals that he enjoys a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mint_julep minut julep]] on a hot summer day, showing there is more to him than his {{Manchild}} exterior.

* AmbiguousDisorder: In later episodes and the Act 3 Commentary, he suffers from some symptoms of PTSD.

* AmbiguousDisorder: There is something very, very wrong with Benrey, [[spoiler:which is probably a result of him being an EldritchAbomination.]] To list, he’s delusional, has a SelfServingMemory, his thought process runs on InsaneTrollLogic and BlueAndOrangeMorality, and he rarely emotes.
-->'''Gordon:''' [[LampshadeHanging Dude, you are a fucking]] ''[[LampshadeHanging anomaly.]]''
* AdaptationalVillainy: Subverted. Gordon initially assumes he is [[VideoGame/HalfLifeBlueShift Barney]] [[VideoGame/HalfLife2 Calhoun]], but he quickly clarifies his name is ''Benrey'', not Barney.

* [[ArtificialStupidity "Artificial" Stupidity]]: Doesn't seem to realize that the Barnacles aren't ropes, no matter how many times he gets captured by them. He also frequently experiences voice line priority overrides, where whatever he's saying will be interrupted by a line the AI perceives to be of higher pri-[[SelfDemonstratingArticle HELLO, Gordon!]]

* LuddWasRight: He is convinced that there's too much information in the world, prompting him to destroy {{Wiki/Wikipedia}}'s servers as well as any military intel the party discovers. Borders on EvilLuddite from Gordon's perspective.

* DitzyGenius: Tommy has a childish demeanor, an obsession with soda, and nonexistent trigger discipline, but he is a fully-capable nuclear engineer (according to the standards of [[EvilInc Black Mesa]]) and [[BioAugmentation bio-engineer]]. He also routinely reads books and Wiki/{{Wikipedia}} articles for leisure.

* WeaponOfChoice: A rocket launcher and a M249 SAW [[ICallItVera he calls "the big one".]]

* AffablyEvil: In ''AI Crushes All Banks'' he’s become far more amoral and violent (and a bank robber), while also being far more cheerful and friendly than he had been originally. Downplayed, since he comes off more as a LovableRogue than anything.

** Chuck E. Cheese is a ''restaurant'', not a family entertainment center.

---> '''Gordon:''' Let them know our pain! ''FUCK THE TROOPS!''

* ButtMonkey: He’s subject to dealing with the Science Team’s abuse and harassment of him, alongside dealing with the horrific effects of the Resonance Cascade.

** On a meta level, when the series was being livestreamed, Wayne of wayneradiotv framed his performance as needing to be in character for the "AI" to respond properly to him. This is for the most part edited out of the official Act uploads of the series, but still leaks out on occasion when the antics of the Science Team leaves him Corpsing, or moments such as [[spoiler: when Coomer and Bubby reverting to default scientist [=NPCs=] during ''The End'':]]
->[[spoiler:'''Wayne:''' (''As Gordon'') ...What is fucking going on!? (''whispers, as himself'') ''What is going on with the AI?!'']]

---> '''Gordon: DUDE-D-DON'T TOUCH MY SLOTS!!''' ''What if I win this one, Asshole?!''

* HeWhoFightsMonsters: In the Act 3 Commentary video, he expresses his belief that this has happen to him, noting that he is “barely human”.

** In the first episode, he mentions he’s a father and shows off a picture of of his infant son Joshua.
** He’s a big fan of Music/ElvisPresley, and [[NotSoAboveItAll geeks out when he meets Elvis’s ghost.]]

* NiceGuy: Whenever he’s not extremely stressed out or arguing with Benrey, Dr. Coomer, and Bubby, he’s actually pretty nice and gets along well with Tommy and Darnold. By ''AI Crushes All Banks'', he’s become far more friendly with the Science Team, though by this point he’s become a violent bank robber.

** His argument with the G-Man over whether Chuck E. Cheese is a restaurant or not also shows this.
* OnlySaneMan: He’s the only one in Black Mesa who has a lick of sense, and is the sole voice of reason amongst the Science Team. Even after he goes ''insane'', he ''still'' comes off as the sanest person around.

** Downplayed in ''AI Crushes All Banks'', by which point Gordon has clearly gone insane and at some points comes off as crazier than the Science Team, but, being the Science Team, most of the time he’s relegated to being the OnlySaneMan.

* TokenGoodTeammate: Played straight and then downplayed. He’s the only one to object to the Science Team’s more amoral actions, but following his SanitySlippage he becomes far more amoral and unhinged, but he still continues to object to things like shooting civilians.

* TraumaCongaLine: ''Oh boy.'' First the Resonance Cascade, then watching multiple people die at the hands of his teammates (and then they die themselves), having the military try to shoot him down, [[spoiler: gets betrayed by some of the only people he has and loses his arm, learns that the world might be fake via Dr. Coomer's clones, is mauled by Bubby's protoypes, and in the end fights for his life with an alien god Benrey.]] [[invoked]] [[IronWoobie Poor fucking guy.]]

* ActuallyPrettyFunny: He starts cackling maniacally after Gordon quips “Damn, you wait for no one.” after Benrey jumps off an elevator.
* AlmightyIdiot: [[spoiler: [[WordOfGod According to Wayne]], he may not even be conscious of his own actions until spoken to.]]

--> '''Gordon:''' [[LampshadeHanging Dude, you are a fucking]] ''[[LampshadeHanging anomaly.]]''

* AmbiguousSituation: It's not at all clear what [[spoiler: Benry actually is, his relationship to the skeleton, or even if the Benry everyone is familiar with is the real him]]. His brief [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness OOC moment]] in part 3 after [[spoiler: the skeleton falls asleep]], appearance in the credits, and InsaneTrollLogic in the climax all point to [[spoiler: the skeleton being his "true form" and the security guard being just [[BodySnatcher an unfortunate victim of it]]]], but it's vague to say the least.
** His Sony fanboyism in later episodes. CharacterDevelopment, [[spoiler: reverse-BrainwashResidue from his host body]], or something he's always had and is only just now revealing?
** Also, [[spoiler:the Skeleton is seen peacefully attending Tommy’s birthday party, muddying the issue even more. Did the Skeleton undergo a HeelFaceTurn, was the Skeleton the one brainwashed by Benrey rather then the under way around, or was said Skeleton a separate entity?]]
** Muddying issues ''further'' [[spoiler: A security guard model can be seen at the concession stand during the FramingDevice of the first cast commentary in a FreezeFrameBonus. Is it just a random guard, or is it Benrey BackFromTheDead? The Act 3 commentary video reveals that it's indeed Benrey, but opens the question of if he's real or a figment of Gordon's fevered imagination.]]

* BadBoss: [[https://youtu.be/FQZ562S94Zg?t=780 According to Dr. Coomer,]] he's the Security Chief. He still insults other guards in front of their faces, claiming that they don't pay attention on the job and stand around thinking about Froot Loops all day. After the Resonance Cascade, he belittles and kills the guards he meets for no reason.

* BigBad: [[spoiler:He turns out to be the series’ equivalent to the Nihilanth, and it’s implied he caused the Resonance Cascade on purpose.]]

* TheChewToy: If any of the Science Team is going to be maimed, injured, or killed and Bubby isn’t around, it’s likely to be Benrey. [[spoiler:After Gordon gets his ArmCannon, it gets even worse, since Gordon goes out of his way to injure or kill Benrey out of revenge.]]

* DeadpanSnarker: With extra emphasis on the deadpan, but Benrey can occasionally break out a snark every now and then, usually at Gordon’s expense.

* EldritchAbomination: [[spoiler:Turns out to be one. The G-Man even says that Benrey’s exact species “is on a need-to-know basis".]]

* EvilAllAlong: [[spoiler: He turned out to be "the space god" that the Science Team was hunting down. It is also implied that ''he'' was the one who caused Resonance Cascade all along.]]

* FauxAffablyEvil: There are a few rare moments where he seems to show that he genuinely considers the Science Team to be friends and comes off as downright amiable, but his actions at the end of the series makes it clear that it’s just an act. Though with Benrey, it is impossible to tell what his motivations or true feelings are.

** [[spoiler: Turns out, it's all but confirmed that the skeleton is Benrey's true form.]]

* IRejectYourReality: He’s convinced Gordon is a murderous, thieving {{Jerkass}} and he’s a friendly, normal person, and ignores all evidence to the contrary.

* MaliciousMisnaming: He starts calling Gordon “Gordon Feetman” after trying to take a photograph of his feet, though this quickly descends into him revealing his very weird obsession with Gordon’s feet.
* {{Manchild}}: While usually a PsychopathicManchild, on occasion he acts like a pre-schooler, like cheerfully shouting “ROAD TRIP!” while Bubby attempts to drive the Science Team out of Black Mesa, and believing [[WesternAnimation/{{Cars}} Lightning [=McQueen=]]] is real and gets into a fierce argument with Gordon for pointing out that Lighting [=McQueen=] is a fictional character.

* MoralMyopia: After finding Josh's corpse, Benrey begins mourning ([[TheStoic as much]] [[DullSurprise as Benrey]] [[TheComicallySerious can mourn]]), only to immediately shoot another guard [[InsaneTrollLogic “for symmetry.”]]

** [[spoiler: [[WordOfGod According to Scorpy]], Gordon did leave his fly open, but didn’t notice, and Benrey immediately crouched down and zipped Gordon's fly while in the middle of harassing him over his passport.]]

--> '''Benrey:''' Behold, the reflection of perfection.
* NerdInEvilsHelmet: [[spoiler: He's a homicidal MadGod and also a total [=PlayStation=] and Sony geek.]]

* ObsessiveHobbyEpisode: In a way. In later episodes, he becomes really obsessed with Playstation Plus, and ''VideoGame/HeavenlySword'', to the point that [[spoiler: his MotiveRant basically consists of rambling about wanting to get an account so he could play it]]. Notably, it seems to appear (or at least begin dominating his conversations) only after his OOCIsSeriousBusiness moment, detailed below.
** There’s also his weird obsession with Gordon’s feet that pops up in the last two episodes.

-> [[SincerityMode Yeah, I'm sorry, we’re kinda fucked.]] (drops dead)
* OneWingedAngel: [[spoiler: His player model grows [[AttackOfThe50FeetWhatever giant]] when they reach Xen [[BodyHorror and starts to contort grotesquely]] in his boss fight.]]
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: [[spoiler: After [[KickTheDog mocking Gordon for his severed hand throughout all of Act Three: Part Three,]] as soon as the skeleton falls asleep after he checks its passport, he stands back up, looks around, and with a genuinely confused/concerned tone of voice says [[WhamLine "Where'd- Why are we here? What happened to your arm?"]]]]
* PetTheDog:

** [[spoiler: During the final battle, he tells his skeletons to let go of Tommy. [[LampshadeHanging Gordon and Dr. Coomer are both surprised that he's choosing to be nice.]] This one was a case of miscommunication however as according to]] [[invoked]] [[spoiler:[[WordOfGod Word of Scorpy]] he was trying to tell the science team to just ''let Tommy die.'']]

* TheQuisling: [[spoiler: It's heavily implied that he's with the Marine Corps. Later reveals make it seem as if the HECU marines are the Quislings in the equation.]]

* RedOniBlueOni: Judging by what he says, he seems to have been the calm Blue to Josh’s violent Red.

* CaffeineBulletTime: He believes that soda allows a person to "see" faster. As Gordon later realizes, he is actually experiencing caffeine overdoses. Somehow manages to summon cans of soda from the ether long after the science team have lost access to vending machines.

* KillItWithFire / KnifeNut: During [[spoiler: the Bank Heist]], Benrey wields a flamethrower (that he claims is powered by his hatred for Gordon) against the police, as well as a kitchen knife, which he jabs repeatedly at Gordon's eyes and slashes at obstacles with when frustrated.

* TheLostLenore: Parodied. He had a wife, "but they took her in the divorce".

* SixthRanger: Joins the gang in Act 4. [[spoiler:For about thirty seconds, anyway.]]

* ThePeterPrinciple: Taken UpToEleven. Everyone in the organization is an idiotic {{Cloudcuckoolander}} with no sense of self-preservation.

* FisticuffProvokingComment: He balls his fists in rage when he learns that Gordon doesn't have his passport.

* NiceHat: Starts wearing a propeller hat in Act 4. When he gets it, Gordon comments that [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall he feels like Tommy's always had the hat and he only just now noticed]], referencing the fact that Tommy's worn one in all of the highlight reel thumbnails.

* LaughablyEvil: Benrey is a freaky anomaly but he at the same time he is prone to acting like a pre-schooler, taunting Gordon for [[spoiler:losing his hand]], and [[spoiler: his primary motive is that he couldn't play [=PS3=] with his friend]]. Benrey's antics will usually elicit [[{{Corpsing}} baffled laughter from Gordon]].

* {{Flanderization}}: ''AI Crushes All Banks'' ditches his LawfulStupid traits in favor of playing up his hatred for Gordon and his delusional view of the world. Justified, as by this point Benrey is committing bank robbery, so it wouldn't make sense for him to carry on his LawfulStupid schtick, but it's still somewhat jarring to not hear him bring up passports and the like.

* FiveManBand:
** TheLeader: Gordon
** TheLancer: Benrey
** TheSmartGuy: Bubby
** TheBigGuy: Dr. Coomer
** TheHeart: Tommy

** [[spoiler: [[WordOfGod According to Scorpy]], Gordon did leave his fly open, but didn’t notice, and Benrey immediately crouched down and [[FoeYay zipped Gordon's fly while in the middle of harassing him over his passport.]]]]

* LaughblyEvil: They're all a bunch of goofballs, sillyheads, and freak-monkeys who are nothingless out for the blood of all Black Mesa personnel, with the Science Team naturally included, and have orders to kill them on sight.

** On a meta level, when the series was being livestreamed, Wayne of wayneradiotv framed his performance as needing to be in character for the "AI" to respond properly to him. This is for the most part edited out of the official Act uploads of the series, but still leaks out on occasion when the antics of the Science Team leaves him Corpsing, or moments such as [[spoiler: when Coomer and Bubby reverting to default scientist NPCs during ''The End'':]]

* MoralDissonance: Benrey mourns his death (insofar as [[SmugSnake Benrey]] [[DullSurprise is able to mourn]]), but then immediately executes another guard in the same room [[InsaneTrollLogic "for symmetry"]].

* ActuallyPrettyFunny / LaughingMad: Over time, he seems to come to find humor in his companions' antics, at least some of the time.

* BreakoutCharacter: In the first couple of episodes, while his eccentric nature made him stick out like a sore thumb, he was no more important then the rest of of the science team. After the livestream of Act 3, Coomer was given a theme titled 'There's Nothing There' for the abridged version, and was later given 'Hello, Gordon! (Dr. Coomer's Bumpin' Mix)' for the finale's credits, making him the only character to receive two character themes, with [[BigBad Benrey]] receiving just one. And while he didn't appear in ''WebVideo/RealTimeFandub'''s take on ''VideoGame/UntilDawn'', his VA played a snarkier {{Expy}} called 'Dr. Green Z. Hill', who [[NoodleIncident claims to]] have [[ActorAllusion worked with Coomer once]].