History Fridge / PROTOTYPE

* Alex immediately going after Dana as soon as he remembers her in order to save her from Blackwatch, not only because he needs her, but because she's his sister -- naturally, he loves her. From the very beginning, whatever other faults Alex has, it's clear that he cares about her safety. [[spoiler:Which seems totally normal, until you realize that ''the real Alex is dead'', and he ''never'' cared about Dana beyond [[ItsAllAboutMe what she could do for him]]. In other words, this is the first sign that the [[TheVirus Blacklight Virus]] is already developing beyond the [[CompleteMonster monster]] that the original Alex was. Granted, it takes a chunk of time for anything resembling a conscience to develop beyond that, but considering that Blacklight-Alex isn't even ''human'', even though he doesn't know it yet, that's a pretty big plot point]].

** The exact same could be said for ''DeadSpace'', what with all of the necromorphs' materials being made out of the Ishimura's ex-inhabitants. It gets especially disturbing at the several points in the game where you are made to wade through shin deep growths/pools of the stuff.

[[AC: FridgeLogic]]
* Why does Alex start with interrogation with [=McMullen=] rather than just consuming him? Even when the gun is out, Alex could have simply used Whipfist to grab [=McMullen=] and make him drop the gun (if he can force trained Marines to drop their guns every time he grabs them, it can't be any more difficult to make a scientist do the same). Alex misses out on valuable information because he didn't make efforts to completely secure [=McMullen=]. Though considering that he was fairly quick about taking care of Randall, at least he obviously learned from his mistake.
** It just plain didn't occur to Alex that the good doctor would choose suicide over being consumed; once the gun was no longer being used to threaten ''him'', it ceased to be relevant. And as far as he's aware [=McMullen=] is responsible for the state of Manhattan and Alex's memory-loss, so Mercer could afford to make him squirm a bit with such an overpowering advantage. As you say, Mercer learned his lesson and made sure to disarm and knock down Randall, consuming him before he got any bright ideas, but in a way underestimating other people is Alex's FatalFlaw; Greene, Cross, Karen, the Supreme Hunter and Randall all turned Alex's confidence against him in various unpleasant ways.

* Why does Alex start with interrogation with [=McMullen=] rather than just consuming him? Even when the gun is out, Alex could have simply used Whipfist to grab [=McMullen=] and make him drop the gun (if he can force trained Marines to drop their guns every time he grabs them, it can't be any more difficult to make a scientist do the same). Alex misses out on valuable information because he didn't make efforts to completely secure [=McMullen=]. Though considering that he was fairly quick about taking care of Randall, at least he obviously learned from his mistake.

* Wait a second, why would [[spoiler:Cross]] arrange for Mercer to destroy [[spoiler:the Bloodtox blowers]]? And then turn around and tell Mercer to [[spoiler:protect the Bloodtox pump]]? And why aren't the Blackwatch shooting at Mercer while he's being manipulated into protecting the... oh. ''[[XanatosGambit Oh.]]'' Clever, ''clever'' bastards.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Prototype}}'', this troper was left confused as to why [[spoiler: Cross]] of all people would want Mercer to destroy the Bloodtox blowers, and then turn around and have him ''protect'' the Bloodtox pump. Then I noticed that while protecting the Bloodtox pump, the Blackwatch didn't shoot at Mercer unless he was the only person there, and they immediately broke off the second Mercer broke contact. Then, that and everything else, like the comm chatter in the previous missions about how important it was to protect the Bloodtox blowers, came crashing together. [[spoiler: The mission to destroy the Bloodtox blowers was only to convince Mercer to trust Cross, who would then manipulate Mercer into protecting the Bloodtox pump to expose and kill Greene, which was the Blackwatch's primary objective all along.]] Talk about one ''hell'' of a XanatosGambit. --UnknownTroper

** It wasn't a hospital, it was "in military custody". Possibly a surgical instrument of some sort.

{{Prototype}} practically runs on FridgeBrilliance. Considering its storyline is primarily conspiracy-driven, maybe this was intentional.

* In ''{{Prototype}}'', this troper was left confused as to why [[spoiler: Cross]] of all people would want Mercer to destroy the Bloodtox blowers, and then turn around and have him ''protect'' the Bloodtox pump. Then I noticed that while protecting the Bloodtox pump, the Blackwatch didn't shoot at Mercer unless he was the only person there, and they immediately broke off the second Mercer broke contact. Then, that and everything else, like the comm chatter in the previous missions about how important it was to protect the Bloodtox blowers, came crashing together. [[spoiler: The mission to destroy the Bloodtox blowers was only to convince Mercer to trust Cross, who would then manipulate Mercer into protecting the Bloodtox pump to expose and kill Greene, which was the Blackwatch's primary objective all along.]] Talk about one ''hell'' of a XanatosGambit. --UnknownTroper

* In ''{{VideoGame/Prototype}}'', the infected strongholds are said to be made by incorporating biomass into the buildings' structure. Okay, yeah. [[ItGotWorse Then]] you stop to think about where said biomass came from. In the game, just about the only constant source of biomass is the citizens of New York City itself. Let's put it this way... that giant zit growing out of the side of the warehouse? Its made of ''people''.
** The exact same could be said for ''DeadSpace'', what with all of the necromorph's materials being made out of the Ishimura's (ex) inhabitants. It gets especially disturbing at the several points in the game where you are made to wade through shin deep growths/pools of the stuff.

* Why was there a butcher's knife in the hospital room where [[spoiler:Greene gave birth?]]

* FridgeHorror: Hunters are spawned from infected water towers, which explicitly act as incubators. While all other infected are clearly former humans, hunters are shown being born straight from infected biomatter. Let the meaning of "incubator" sink in. That 10-foot-tall, bloody, muscle-bound, naked, rampaging behemoth that just punched your tank across the street? That's only a ''baby''.

* How is it possible for Alex Mercer, a single man (to some degree), to be able to drive a tank while normally it requires 4 operators? Then you remember some of Mercer's more [[CombatTentacles 'interesting']] attacks, and then you realize that he probably just mildly shapeshifts himself while he's inside to do everything at once.

** And you know why you can only absorb pure genetic material if you destroy the water tower before the hunter is born? Yeah...

* Alex repeatedly states that revenge is the only thought he considers his own. That's because literally the final thought of Alex Mercer before [[spoiler:he was shot and killed, releasing the Blacklight Virus, was "If I'm going down, I'm taking you all with me" or something to that effect.]] The same goes for Elizabeth Greene. She was [[spoiler:pregnant when her body was taken over by the virus, so it not only copied her form down to the genetic level but also replicated her maternal instincts and thoughts. Thus, the state of their previous selves at the moment of infection make Copy!Alex a revenge-driven sociopath and Copy!Elizabeth a brood mother]].

* FridgeHorror: Hunters are spawned from infected water towers, which explicitly act as incubators. While all other infected are clearly former humans, hunters are shown being born straight from infected biomatter. Let the meaning of "incubator" sink in. That 10-foot-tall, bloody, muscle-bound, naked, rampaging behemoth that just punched your tank across the street? That's only a ''baby''.

** This troper always saw that as a completely different moment of FridgeBrilliance. He's been absorbing the biomass of all these people (and at least 2 by the time you get to water), so his mass would be incredibly high. He would simply WEIGH too much to swim. -Arzeef

* We're used to [[SuperDrowningSkills games restricting areas with water]], sometimes with SuperDrowningSkills, sometimes by adding some threat to the water so the player doesn't reach any areas where the developers stopped shaping the world. No surprise Prototype does something similar right? Then you realize [[spoiler: it's due to him being the virus and the virus can't cross bodies of water - which also keeps the setting in one place]].

* In ''{{Prototype}}'', this troper was left confused as to why [[spoiler: Cross]] of all people would want Mercer to destroy the Bloodtox blowers, and then turn around and have him ''protect'' the Bloodtox pump. Then I noticed that while protecting the Bloodtox pump, the Blackwatch didn't shoot at Mercer unless he was the only person there, and they immediately broke off the second Mercer broke contact. Then, that and everything else, like the comm chatter in the previous missions about how important it was to protect the Bloodtox blowers, came crashing together. [[spoiler: The mission to destroy the Bloodtox blowers was only to convince Mercer to trust Cross, who would then manipulate Mercer into protecting the Bloodtox pump to expose and kill Greene, which was the Blackwatch's primary objective all along.]] Talk about one ''hell'' of a XanatosGambit. --UnknownTroper

* Massive, ''massive'' one here: You keep hearing people saying that [[spoiler: ZEUS/]]Alex is something ''else''. He's not under the HiveMind influence of Elizabeth Greene, and he's not a "Runner" (an infected carrier that is independent of the hive and highly intelligent) either, because all Runners are female. You then hear a WOI node explaining that the Blacklight virus has such a high mortality rate (99.999%, with Greene being the only known exception) because it introduces radical mutations in the body which are incompatible with life. ''Then'' you find out that Alex Mercer improved the virus' effectiveness tenfold during his work at [=GenTek=]. ''Finally'' you find out that Alex [[spoiler: died and fell over the shattered Blacklight vial he was carrying, and the virus found its way into his dying body]]. Then it ''hits'' you: [[spoiler: Mercer was already dead or dying when he hit the ground, but not completely, and since the virus was 10 times as effective, it had ''just'' enough time to infect his body and reanimate/clone it with his final memories and thoughts intact, just before it died completely]]. Similarly, [[spoiler: Greene was a one-in-a-million case of compatibility with the virus, her biology allowing the virus to achieve it's full potential, the effects of which manifest in the next generation (the "Hope children" manifested mutations, while the parents were unaffected at first). Thus, ''her'' child, PARIAH, was a manifestation of the virus' true potential, established in a new generation, and that is why he's so powerful]].