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1->'''''From Australium to Zepheniah Mann'''''\
2''[=TF2=] didn't start with a lot of story. There wasn't room for one. But as the updates got more ambitious, we found the perfect way to explore the mercs' world: comics. Over the years, the comics have spawned ancillary characters, then assistants to the ancillary characters. Companies mentioned in passing became global empires three generations old. The game that started as a handful of guys in a desert shooting at each other slowly blossomed into the most labyrinthine story in Valve history. ''
3-->--'''The [=TF2=] Team'''
4
5[[foldercontrol]]
6
7[[folder:Cross-Media]]
8* AuthorAvatar: Many of the items are credited in supplemental material to "TF Industries", based in the same place as Valve.
9* FollowTheLeader:
10** ''H.A.V.E. Online''/''Microvolts'', a Korean [[BribingYourWayToVictory free-to-play]] game, has a trailer that shares '''a lot''' of similarities to the "Meet the X" videos. Gameplay itself is actually different (it's third person, there are no classes - only customizing weapons and appearance, it's got more in common with ''VideoGame/UnrealTournament'' or ''VideoGame/GunzTheDuel''), but there's still a lot it owes to [=TF2=] (giblets and the weapons).
11** ''VideoGame/FinalCombat'' is a much more shameless one.
12** ''VideoGame/{{Brink}}'' is partially this. Also to ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare'' as well.
13** ''VideoGame/MondayNightCombat'' is fairly obvious in taking inspiration from ''[=TF2=]''.
14** ''VideoGame/AgeOfGunslingersOnline'' is also obviously inspired from [=TF2=], especially classes.
15** Creator/BlizzardEntertainment's ''[[VideoGame/OverWatch Overwatch]]'' is obviously inspired by [=TF2=], quite heavily in some places. The most similar feature is Torbjörn's turrets, which are functionally identical to the Engineer's sentries in [=TF2=].
16* RippedFromTheHeadlines: The weekend before "Meet the Spy" was released, it was accidentally leaked due to a loophole in Website/YouTube privacy settings not being applied to devices like the iPhone. In response, Valve [[http://g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/696431/Opening-The-Valve-The-Gabe-Newell-Interview.html#ixzz0ICpWoQaO&C added a gag about it to the video itself]] (and asked users to "act surprised" when officially releasing the video), created an "[[SelfDeprecation achievement]]" for themselves screwing up, and posted [[http://www.tf2.com/post.php?id=2515 a]] [[http://www.tf2.com/post.php?id=2516 series]] [[http://www.tf2.com/post.php?id=2518 of]] [[http://www.tf2.com/post.php?id=2519 blog]] [[http://www.tf2.com/post.php?id=2520 posts]] about Robin Walker firing every employee in the company that [[http://www.tf2.com/post.php?id=2525 continued into the next day's announcement]] and even [[CrossOver crossed over]] to the ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'' [[http://www.l4d.com/blog/post.php?id=2526 blog]] (which is an in-joke: the ''[=L4D=]'' dev team is also composed of people from the ''[=TF2=]'' dev team). It came to the point where people started to put "leaked" in quotes under the belief that Valve had [[ThePlan planned it all along]].
17* ShipTease: Scout and Miss Pauling. He's trying to woo her, and she's not exactly averse to him, if he can just get his JerkAss tendencies under control a little better.
18* SlidingScaleOfSillinessVersusSeriousness: The very, ''very'' rare moments of sadness and sweetness in the games' storylines are preceded and followed by broad comedy, shocking violence, and most often, a mix of both extremes at once.
19* YouMeanXmas: "Smissmas." See OurLawyersAdvisedThisTrope below.
20[[/folder]]
21
22[[folder:The [=TF2=] Blog]]
23* AnachronismStew: Lampshaded in the post about the Boston Boom Bringer, a boombox for the Scout.
24* AndYourRewardIsClothes: The BrokenBase over the hats was mocked in a [[http://www.teamfortress.com/post.php?id=3692 fictional Dev Diary]] where a wide-eyed young programmer designs a brilliant and balanced tenth class, only for his entire idea to be scrapped because there were no hats. When he calls the team out for only caring about hats, [[GenuineHumanHide he is murdered and his skin turned into a (sentient) beret]].
25* AprilFoolsDay: In April 1st, 2013, [[http://www.teamfortress.com/post.php?id=10307 a blog post was added]] claiming Team Fortress 2 has secretly bought {{Website/Reddit}} and that Reddit-related items would be added to the game. ([[http://blog.reddit.com/2013/04/reddit-buys-team-fortress-2.html The Reddit blog]], on the other hand, states the opposite.) Later {{subverted|Trope}} in that the items were [[http://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/Conspiracy_Cap actually]] [[http://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/Public_Accessor added.]]
26** Previously {{subverted|Trope}}, though: the [[UrineTrouble Jarate]] [[http://www.teamfortress.com/post.php?id=2391 was announced]] on April 1st, 2009.
27* DistinctionWithoutADifference: In the introduction for The Second Annual Saxxy Awards:
28--> What you don’t know is that we’ve decided to make the Saxxy’s a lot more like an illegal underground martial-arts bloodsport. That’s right: This year ''there are no rules.'' There are, however, a whole bunch of brutal laws, traditions, commandments and decrees, [[ByNoIMeanYes plus some rules]].
29* EvilOverlooker: The RED team fill this role on [[http://www.teamfortress.com/images/posts/battleofbothworldsfinalPoster.jpg this poster]].
30* ExpospeakGag: Commenting on the first prize winner for [[http://teamfortress.com/post.php?id=3253 the propaganda contest]], the team wrote that "It's funny, it looks great, and it makes us want to kick a Demoman in an extremely precise area (that the bean counters won't let us mention because they're all such huge extremely precise areas)."
31* FourthWallMailSlot: The Administrator/Announcer, the Soldier, the Scout, the Sniper and Saxton Hale have all posted on the ''[=TF2=]'' blog. Also the Heavy, who replaced the Soldier when he was on jury duty. The Pyro has also made a post.
32--> '''Administrator:''' [Re: the Propaganda art contest] I must grudgingly admit an astonishing amount of talent on display. I hasten to add, however, that I find it astonishing only because, in observing how you comport yourselves in-game, on the forums, and presumably in your day-to-day lives, one would be forgiven for assuming you bereft of the cognitive skills needed to operate a mailbox.\
33\
34'''Soldier:''' This is the problem with the youth of today: too much time inventing nonsense words, not enough time taking a bullet in the lung defending a hill. I don't have to know what the hell twitters and texting and body sprays are to understand that they're not the sort of thing men should be engaged in. Like conversations, or painting things that aren't a house.\
35\
36'''Saxton Hale:''' First, let me [/] COMMEND [ ] SWEAR VIGOROUSLY AT you...
37** Going so far as to have an actual mail slot, during several of the larger content patches and updates for the game there would be order forms for the in-game items that players could print out and send to Mann Co. These people would then get an invoice from Saxton Hale stating that the item they requested is out of stock, but something else was usually thrown in with the letter (a Scout keychain for the FAN order form, and a picture of Saxton Hale if the coupon was sent during the Sniper vs. Spy update).
38*** They had to close this mail slot for legal reasons: the fans' order forms included actual payment for the items (that didn't exist).
39* FunnyForeigner: [[http://www.tf2.com/post.php?id=2525 This announcement]] of the announcement of The Ambassador. Australians in general, both in-universe in the comics and in the blog.
40* HypocriticalHumor: They think Music/MenWithoutHats have a "unthinkably offensive name" and were stunned when the ''VideoGame/{{Portal 2}}'' team mentioned they didn't put any hats in ''Portal 2''. These same people created the [[YouHaveResearchedBreathing Hatless Options for Scout, Engie, and Sniper]], and created the [[http://www.teamfortress.com/hatless/ Hatless Update]].
41* ItWasWithYouAllAlong: Parodied [[http://www.teamfortress.com/post.php?id=7072 here]].
42--> '''''BUT THE GREATEST GIFT OF ALL...''' was ''inside you all along.'' It's blood! Turns out you can sell it! See you at the plasma center! Merry Smissmas, everybody!''
43* LargeHam: Whoever's posting as the [=TF2=] Team. From one of the Smissmas updates:
44-->" 'Wait, which holiday?' you may be wondering. "Australian Christmas? Or Smissmas?" Both! [[http://www.teamfortress.com/asmissmasstory/ Read this comic]] to find out what happens when holidays collide! Two special days enter the squared circle! ONLY ONE LEAVES!"
45* MundaneMadeAwesome: How Valve counteracts backlash to new features that are far outside the realm of anything in the game before:
46** When revealing that the Heavy's final unlockable weapon was in fact a sandwich, Valve prepared a video and a purchasable poster celebrating it.
47*** They later {{lampshade|Hanging}}d this, saying that they'd originally claimed that the video would be "our magnum opus," "over four hours long" and "make ''Film/CitizenKane'' look like something dumb a complete idiot would make."
48** Before revealing that [[SarcasticConfession they were not kidding]] and that the Sniper's final unlockable item would be throwing jars of his own urine, they had the then-recently-introduced and fan-embraced MemeticBadass Saxton Hale, Australian CEO, [[http://www.teamfortress.com/post.php?id=2528 encourage players before reading to take a solemn oath that they utterly and wholly endorsed every aspect of what lied on the next page]], which featured a crude, Charles Atlas-esque [[http://www.teamfortress.com/sniper_vs_spy/day07_english.htm comic detailing the origins of Jarate]].
49* NoodleIncident: It appears that the ''[=TF2=]'' development team are so mired in disaster that they're on a FirstNameBasis with the police, the fire department and "the nasal extraction emergency response team at Overlake Hospital".
50** The last nasal extraction emergency involved someone with a peanut M&M lodged up their nose, mentioned in an attempt to explain the delay of the Heavy update.
51* OurLawyersAdvisedThisTrope: [[http://www.teamfortress.com/post.php?id=6770 This blog post]].
52-->''"All the signs are there. When you kill a man, you can actually see his last breath hanging in the chill mid-November pre-specialness air. Turkeys have retreated to their bunkers in a vain attempt to weather the upcoming onslaught of holidays devoted to gleeful turkey slaughter. And are those sleighbells we hear? Because our legal department assures us they aren't. That's right, [=TFers=]. It's beginning to look a lot like an upcoming holiday our legal department won't let us mention, but that rhymes with 'Smissmas'."''
53* OverlyNarrowSuperlative: Used to describe the many [[http://tf2.com/post.php?id=3391 honorable mentions in the Propaganda contest]].
54* PoliticalOvercorrectness: See OurLawyersAdvisedThisTrope above.
55* RepeatingSoTheAudienceCanHear: [[http://www.teamfortress.com/post.php?id=9253 This blog post]].
56-->"What is it, Bidwell. Of ''course'' I can listen to you and type at the same time. Look. Still typing. What? What do you mean they can make the films about ''anything?'' Why would they want to do that? No, it's not arrogance, Bidwell, it's just common damn sense. If you can make a film about ''anything,'' make it about me. What? Because I'm Saxton Hale, that's why."
57* RunningGag: Lately, whoever is writing the game's patch notes must be tired of writing the same "Updated the localization files":
58-->January 17, 2012 - "Did not update the localization files"\
59February 9, 2012 - "Lokalisierungsdateien aktualisiert": "Updated the localization files" in German\
60February 14, 2012 - "Hcqngrq gur ybpnyvmngvba svyrf": rot13 transforms to "Updated the localization files"\
61February 23, 2012 - "언어 파일 업데이트": "Updated the localization files" in Korean\
62March 1, 2012 - "Arquivos de localização atualizados": "Updated localization files" in Portuguese\
63March 15, 2012 - A [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_code QR code]] that translates to "Updated the localization files"\
64March 28, 2012 - "Did not update the localization files that did not need updating"
65-->April 27, 2012 - "sǝlıℲ uoıʇɐʇɐzılɐɔo˥ pǝʇɐpd∩": "Australian" for "Updated localization files"
66** The [=TF2=] Team also like mentioning Dracula.
67* SelectiveEnforcement: The Halloween 2011 blog post states that the development team decided to take the scares out of the Halloween event, although they make an exception [[SelfDeprecation regarding hats]].
68-->"For instance, one playtester thought the Pyro was a little scary, so we’ll probably remove him as a class. Someone else swore he remembered reading something about somebody getting hurt by a gun once. And that sounded scary. So probably no more guns, either. [[ItMakesSenseInContext Then Dracula called from the hospital.]] 'Hey guys,' he said, 'hats are pretty scary.' Well, now, that must have been the morphine talking. So we’re adding more hats just to be safe."
69* SelfDeprecation:
70** After the leaking of "Meet The Spy" from Valve's Website/YouTube account, Valve unlocked the corporate achievement [[http://www.teamfortress.com/sniper_vs_spy/day05_english.htm Welcome to the internets: Fail to understand what 'Private' means on YouTube.]]
71** In one post on the ''[=TF2=]'' blog, the Administrator describes the ''[=TF2=]'' team as "goldbricking simpletons ... picking chiggers out of one another's hair". Robin Walker was depicted as a crazed megalomaniac after the leaked video (See above in RippedFromTheHeadlines) and often as a CloudCuckoolander with strange Australian ways; animator Matthew Russell was accused of laziness in the [[http://www.teamfortress.com/post.php?id=3368 post about]] [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments fixing the Scout's "Crazy Legs"]].
72** Then there's [[http://www.tf2.com/post.php?id=1889 the saga of the Sandvich video...]]
73* SeriousBusiness: The '[[http://www.teamfortress.com/post.php?id=3692&p=1 A Week in the Life of the TF2 Team]]' blog post has it claim the developers are pretty big on hats; less a development team than a hat-obsessed cult.
74* StabTheSky: The Heavy in the "Battle Of Both Worlds" poster.
75* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: The patchnotes for the July 29th, 2011 update read "Definitely did not add cheats for upcoming Free-2-Play Invitational Cup." One assumes they added cheats for the upcoming Free-2-Play invitational Cup. Especially since Valve has a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUeIo_80xbI history of cheating]] when it's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfv8HrTZzkk most hilarious.]]
76* TakeThat: The dev team seems ''very'' aware of how [[BrokenBase broken their base is]], and enjoys poking fun at people who yell about hats, or about "disappointing" updates. One of the more hilarious digs was the Classless Update. The first page of it was basically a long love letter to hats, calling them the ultimate status symbol, and explaining how [[SarcasmMode having a hat made you better than everyone else]]. Each page also said something like "100% free!" "STILL free!" or "Holy crap! Better than expensive! It's free!"
77** One of the Administrator's War Update-{{Foreshadowing}} voice files:
78-->"All you ever do is disappoint and betray me! [[http://www.teamfortress.com/post.php?id=2787 Cheating!]] [[http://www.teamfortress.com/post.php?id=2732 Stealing!]] ''[[ArsonMurderandJaywalking Friend-making!]]''"
79** Also, the page that shows us the [[http://www.teamfortress.com/crafting/ Crafting System]] tells us to "say goodbye to those enjoyable evenings spent complaining on the forums about which item in your inventory was the most useless, spraying anti-Australian racist hate speech all over Robin Walker, his lovely wife, and his beautiful children." They also mention that anyone who loves all the weapons in ''[=TF2=]'' is a "quiet minority", who could at least balance out the whining with a few nice posts.
80** [[http://www.teamfortress.com/war/part3/index.htm The page]] prior to that has some jokes hidden in the blackboard, most notably "[[RandomDrops DROP]]=Infinity* (Robot/(1-Cat.3))" and "Fire=Q^2" (QQ, an emoticon for RageQuit).
81** In the [[http://www.teamfortress.com/war/demo/index.htm comic]] for the WAR! Update, the Demoman's mother scolds him for his [[WeWait idleness]].
82** One blog post uses a line from the Sniper for its title:[[http://www.teamfortress.com/post.php?id=3727 "Thanks for standin' still, wanker!"]] It's about changes to the [[RandomlyDrops drop system]] and how these changes kill idling.
83* TeasingCreator: [[invoked]] [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]]. See TakeThat.
84* TeethClenchedTeamwork: It happens from time to time, when the [=TF2=] team aren't all focused on hats.
85-->"The whole process came together surprisingly well, considering that the artists haven't been on speaking terms with the programmers since the programmers tricked them into playing VideoGame/SpaceChem ('It's sort of like [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]], but with more post-modern pointalism[sic]')."
86* TomatoInTheMirror: Parodied in the post about Halloween 2011.
87* UnsoundEffect: "Sound of Blog Post Being Posted", {{lampshading}} the user forum's paranoia regarding updates.
88* WritersSuck:
89** The post about "Meet the Sandvich" explains that their draft was the script of ''Film/{{Predator}}'' with the script of ''Film/Roadhouse1989'' in the middle. When this was rejected, the entire video was improvised by the voice actors, and the only lines added by the writers were stolen from those two films and ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''.
90** When the dev team [[http://www.teamfortress.com/post.php?id=4013&p=1 confront the writers with questions]] about how the Mac Update comic fits into the ''[=TF2=]'' world, the writers take fright, shuffle their feet and make "a frantic search through the internet for fancy excuse words" before declaring it non-{{canon}}. The Engineer Update story is apparently intended to fill "a canon-shaped void in the lives of ''[=TF2=]'''s biggest story fans — our writers".
91* YouHaveFailedMe: The Administrator posts on the ''[=TF2=]'' Blog when [[http://teamfortress.com/post.php?id=2262 players]] cheat... [[http://teamfortress.com/post.php?id=2293 repeatedly]]. [[http://www.teamfortress.com/post.php?id=3388 Even during the War of December 2009.]] And [[http://www.teamfortress.com/post.php?id=2732 when people end up stealing stuff.]]
92[[/folder]]
93
94[[folder:Update Pages]]
95* ActuallyFourMooks: In media outside the game, there appears to be only one version of each character. ''Ring of Fired'' suggests there are only 9 mercenaries, yet one of the secret pages in the Pyromania Update notes that the Administrator has to sign 18 paychecks for the mercs. Also, both teams exist, and there are at least two spies. It goes back and forth.
96* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: The Soldier vs Demoman update named several major characters: The Administrator's name is given as Helen; RED Demoman is Tavish Degroot; BLU Soldier is (apparently) Jane Doe; BLU Engineer is Dell Conagher; and RED Sniper is Mr. Mundy.
97
98!!!The Scout Update
99* InUniverseMarketing: the Force-A-Nature announcement page.
100
101!!! The Sandvich Update
102* WritersSuck: The script presented for the "Meet The Sandvich" video is just the script for ''Film/{{Predator}}'' attached to the script for ''Film/RoadHouse1989'', and the writers fail to grasp why everyone else is unimpressed by this. Instead, the voice actors improvise, which the writers grasp as "other people doing all the work for us", though their attempts to join in are just lines quoted from other works (mostly ''Film/{{Predator}}'' and ''Film/RoadHouse1989''.)
103
104!!!Haunted Hallowe'en Special
105* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: All over the place in Scream Fortress. Mann Manor, Cadaver's Cranium, and the Horseless Headless Horsemann to name a few.
106* AllThereInTheManual: The Halloween Update page on the official site contained an EasterEgg link to [[http://www.teamfortress.com/pumpkinpatch/the_last_will_and_testament_of_Zepheniah_Mann/ The Last Will and Testament of Zepheniah Mann]]. In it, it reveals the {{Backstory}} of the game: The founder of Mann Co. was enticed by his sons to purchase a tract of land in the hopes of erecting [[CallForward some sort of pit of gravel]]. Unfortunately, upon arrival, he discovered that it was not full of gravel, but "fool's gravel". As his last act, he [[HowWeGotHere wills both of his sons the same land they convinced him to purchase]].
107* LostInTransmission: The last article of the will reads "Lastly, to ''[obscured by sand]''[[note]]later revealed to be "most trusted Elizabeth"[[/note]] I leave the entirety of my ''[obscured by sand]''[[note]]later revealed to be "'miracle' gravel cache, uncovered with Barnabus during a trip to Terra Australis. My weakling son Gray resurfaced last year and has treathened to {{blackmail}} me for it. I give the gravel to you"[[/note]] and swear you to utmost secrecy in its keeping."
108* OurGhostsAreDifferent On the other hand, Zepheniah Mann willed a curse that he would haunt those who "shoot over his bones" ... and he does exactly that on KOTH Harvest's event version.
109
110!!!Sniper vs. Spy Update
111[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Sniper_vs_Spy_title_9059.jpg]]
112* AscendedExtra: The [[http://www.teamfortress.com/sniper_vs_spy/day04_english.htm camera beard]], which was dismissed by the spy as being "ridiculous"... 3 months before it was given to him as an accessory.
113* {{Homage}}: The comic for the introduction of the [[http://www.teamfortress.com/sniper_vs_spy/images/07_comic_large.jpg Jarate]] is a riff off [[http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/5725/1242867681697.jpg this one]].
114* ISOStandardUrbanGroceries: [[http://www.teamfortress.com/sniper_vs_spy/day04_english.htm One of the products available in the Dapper Rogue catalog is a "silk shopping bag with a realistic-looking baguette sticking out of it".]]
115* InUniverseMarketing: ''Dapper Rogue'' magazine, as well as "The Insult that Made a Jarate Master out of the Sniper".
116* ParodyCommercial: The wording of all the item descriptions.
117* VillainousBreakdown: In 'The Insult That Made a Jarate Master out of Sniper', Sniper covers Spy with Jarate. The normally verbose and deadpan Spy responds with:
118--> '''Spy:''' Aaaaaaaaaaaaa''AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA''
119** This also made it into the game. If you hit a Spy with Jarate (or are a Spy yourself), there's a chance the Spy will scream "Jarate? NOOOOOO!" or ''"I have been shown who is the boss!"''
120
121!!! The WAR! Update
122[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/War_update_2350.jpg]]
123* ApesInSpace: Poopy Joe the monkeynaut was supposed to be one, but he tragically died in an explosion that [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial was not caused by Mann Co.]]
124* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: The Administrator before a round during the update: "All you ever do is disappoint and betray me. Cheating. Stealing. ''Friend-making''!"
125* BodyCountCompetition: Between opposing Demomen and Soldiers. Whichever class could kill the most of the other class by the end of the war gets a pair of shoes.
126* RousingSpeech: The BLU Soldier and the RED Demoman have one on their respective update pages.
127* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: American Monkeynaut Poopy Joe was given the Eyelander, Buff Banner, and Equalizer before his journey into space. Mann Co. claims they were nowhere near the launch site of Poopy Joe's aircraft and had nothing to do with the explosion that occured moments later, and those three items were obtained in entirely innocent circumstances. Also, the company's seemingly rushed sale of a high-precision rocket launcher was not in any way connected with Poopy Joe's tragic death.
128* RightHandVersusLeftHand: The update revealed that both RED and BLU are controlled by the same Administrator. The whole war was started just to prevent this fact from getting out.
129* TakeThat: In true TrollingCreator fashion, the headlines from the official update page:
130-->(Soldier)''"Most overpowered enemy of all time still finds way to lose, complain"''
131-->(Demoman)''"BEGINNER'S LUCK ABOUT TO RUN OUT. World's easiest class slightly ahead"''
132* TheVJDayKiss: Parodied. The blog has a picture of the Heavy kissing the Scout's mom.
133
134!!!The Mac Update
135[[quoteright:285:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Mac_Update_showcard_6119.png]]
136* AbortedArc: Played with. The comic promises a continuation... which we will never see, due to its non-canon status. We also [[TheFaceless never see the face]] of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs Saxton Hale's mysterious business rival...]]
137* AnachronismStew: The Mac Update gives out [=iPod=] earbuds to mercenaries from the mid-twentieth century. The supplementary comic goes even further; the RED team finds an Apple store that includes flatscreen televisions, [=iMacs=], and ''miniguns that set up blogs and post blog entries when they are fired''.
138** When the comic Loose Canon was released, the blog announced that [[http://www.teamfortress.com/post.php?id=4013&p=1 the Mac comic is officially not canon.]] However, the earbuds still exist to wear, so it isn't completely averted.
139* CanonDiscontinuity: [[http://www.teamfortress.com/post.php?id=4013&p=1 The release of the Loose Canon comic]] confirmed that the Mac comic is not considered canon.
140* FlexingThoseNonBiceps: The Scout tries to impress Jessica, the female employee. He has to really push it to show ''any'' muscle at all.
141* KirbyDots: [[http://www.teamfortress.com/macupdate/comic/ Seen coming from the Firewire-powered pig.]]
142* LastSecondWordSwap: The Soldier is cut off twice, once when his beloved shovel bursts into flame, and once when Jessica shows him the Firewire Pig.
143-->'''Jessica:''' You'll like this, sir.\
144'''Soldier:''' I will not! Keep pushing me sister, and I will plant my carbon footprint so far up your IS THAT A PIG?!
145* RememberWhenYouBlewUpASun: The Apple employees are quick to apply a certain incident in which the moon gets blown up to Saxton Hale after it gets announced on a newscast.
146* RussianReversal: {{Inverted|Trope}} in which the American Soldier tells the Russian Heavy in the Mac comic:
147--> '''Soldier:''' In America, comrade, we do not blame the tool. [[TakeThat We blame the man.]]
148* UnsoundEffect: From the Scout with FLEX and PAINFUL FLEX.
149** Also the usual gems from Saxton Hale: PROPERTY DAMAGE! and BRAVE PRESS! (pressing a button).
150
151!!!The Engineer Update/[[http://www.teamfortress.com/loosecanon/ Loose Canon]]
152[[quoteright:339:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/339px-Engineer_Update_Logo_3425.png]]
153* UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln: the identity of the original 1850-era BLU team Pyro. According to the artist of the "Loose Canon" comic, this was one of the few specific characterizations that they wanted for the team's design.
154* CharlieAndTheChocolateParody: The Golden Wrenches during the update.
155
156!!!Mann-Conomy Update/[[http://www.teamfortress.com/bidwells_big_plan/ Bidwell's Big Plan]]
157* EarlyBirdCameo: Maggie is hinted at well before her official debut in "Ring of Fired," thanks to some of Darling's dialogue towards Saxton:
158--> '''Darling''': "You were my best student once. Before you gave it all up. For ''her''."
159* LiteralCliffhanger: Saxton Hale hangs on the edge of Charles Darling's plane before being kicked off.
160* TheRival: Charles Darling is Saxton Hale's former mentor-turned arch-rival. Their ideals used to match what Saxton's are today, but somewhere down the line, Darling found it more profitable to hold animals captive instead of having fights to the death with them.
161* SkywardScream: As Charles Darling kicks Saxton off his plane, Saxton shouts, "[[SayMyName DARRRLING!]]"
162* SuperWindowJump
163* TakeThatAudience: The comic compares community-made content to companies conning their customers by selling things other customers made.
164* UnsoundEffect: The usual beauties for a Hale comic. Darling gives Hale a NEMESIS KICK!, which sends him plummeting.
165* WavingSignsAround: The hippies outside.
166
167!!!The Replay Update/[[http://www.teamfortress.com/meetthedirector/?p=1 Meet the Director]]/[[http://www.teamfortress.com/saxxyawards/winners.php The Saxxy Awards]]
168[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Replay_update_titlecard_9918.jpg]]
169* AwardShow: The winners of the contest were announced "live" (one winner every 5 minutes). The main page featured a countdown timer between announcements, and a subplot about how...
170* BearsAreBadNews: Saxton Hale accidentally let a bear loose during the ceremony. During the live-updating of the Awards page, the image of Saxton presenting the awards would occasionally refresh to reveal said bear slowly approaching the stage, only for it to get beaten to a pulp by Saxton himself.
171
172!!! 2011 Halloween Update/[[http://www.teamfortress.com/bombinomicon/ Bombinomicon]]
173[[quoteright:285:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Very_Scary_Halloween_Special_showcard_3759.png]]
174
175!!! [[http://www.teamfortress.com/truemeaning/ True Meaning]]
176* CallBack: The rocket is similar to the one in "Grordbort's Crash". It contains weapons as well.
177** They were both part of the same promotion with "Dr. Grordbort's", a prop weaponry company run by WETA ([[Film/TheLordOfTheRings yes]], [[Film/{{Avatar}} that]] [[WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfTintin2011 WETA]]). A third promotion is coming eventually, with weapons and cosmetic items for Scout and Medic, but these are yet to be released.
178
179!!! [[http://www.teamfortress.com/asmissmasstory A Smissmas Story]]
180* JokeItem: The wrapping paper...
181** LethalJokeItem: ...which, when coupled with an ornament from a nearby tree, makes a handy bludgeon. (In the game, the fragments of ornament allow a bleed effect.)
182* PointyEars: The Scout gets a pair of pointed ears as part of his outfit as a Christmas elf.
183
184!!!The Pyromania Update
185[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pyromania_title_8121.jpg]]
186* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: Most of the non-single-word items introduced in the update have alliterative names.
187* AlternateRealityGame
188* ArtifactOfDoom: In a [[http://www.teamfortress.com/pyromania/soldierhome/ hidden page]], Merasmus complains about the Soldier using his headwear as a bowl, as it's a Hellish device that feeds on souls.
189** CallBack: In that page, there's a picture of MONOCULUS! on the wall.
190** CrazyHomelessPeople: According to the same page, the Soldier's homeless because he's a terrible roommate, which is fitting with his item set introduced in this update.
191* EarlyBirdCameo: The Balloonicorn that appears in "Meet the Pyro" is first seen as an ornament in "True Meaning", and the Scorch Shot was introduced in a blog post a few days before the update.
192* EscortMission: In the game mode Special Delivery, the team must take fake Australium up a slow-moving elevator to a rocket for a space-chimp named Poopy Joe.
193* GladIThoughtOfIt: The first blog post claims that immediately after hearing [[Music/DefLeppard "Rock of Ages" from the album "Pyromania"]] they shut off their radio and came up with the update's name [[BlatantLies with no help from the music]].
194* SugarBowl: On day 3 of the update, based on Meet The Pyro.
195* TakeOurWordForIt: [[http://www.teamfortress.com/pyromania/thepoopyjoefiles/04.html Whatever the Administrator is doing with the Australium she stole]] instantly gets the interrogating Senator to quit talking and immediately run home to his family while he still can.
196
197!!![[http://www.teamfortress.com/mvm/ Mann vs Machine]]/[[http://www.teamfortress.com/bloodbrothers/ Blood Brothers]]/[[http://www.teamfortress.com/fateworsethanchess/ A Fate Worse than Chess]]
198[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/MvM_logo_6758.jpg]]
199* ChekhovsGun: The Damaged (Barely-Melted) Capacitor from the Pyromania ARG was one of only two items that was not destroyed during Pyromania. In the Mann vs. Machine ARG, it became one of the main factors in solving the ARG.
200* Foreshadowing: The [=ARG=] leading up to the update made reference to "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches", a Literature/SherlockHolmes mystery involving TheReveal of a previously unknown heir to a sizable inheritance. Gray Mann fits that description perfectly.
201* MadeOfExplodium: The Sentry Buster robots.
202* ManVersusMachine: The name of the update, even.
203* MechaMooks: The human-sized robots in the trailer appear to be this, or the mercenaries are really, really good at staying alive.
204* MoneySpider: Parodied; the robots run on piles of money. {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d by Miss Pauling, who tells the mercenaries she doesn't know how or why this is, but they're entitled to whatever the robots drop.
205* MyFriendsAndZoidberg: From [[http://www.teamfortress.com/mvm/decoy/ Decoy's]] update page:
206-->'''Soldier''': ''We will lure the robots to this house of lies, and we will destroy them with our very real weapons and whatever it is the Scout does!''
207* PaperThinDisguise: The [[http://www.teamfortress.com/mvm/decoy/ update page]] for the map Decoy has the RED Soldier disguising a couple of shacks as Mann Co. headquarters.
208-->"This '''is''' Mann Co. Headquarters. This is '''not''' a trap for robots."
209** Saxton Hale's disguise as "Dr. Joanbaez" consists of a jacket and a flower in his hat.
210* PunBasedTitle
211
212!!!Spectral Halloween Special/[[http://www.teamfortress.com/doommates/ Doom-Mates]]
213[[quoteright:343:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/SpectralHalloweenSpecial_428.jpg]]
214* CallBack: One ad on the [[http://www.teamfortress.com/wizardcon/ hidden page]] mentions a "Rent the Alamo" service.
215* CasanovaWannabe: [[Characters/TeamFortress2Offense We can't imagine who could have written]] this personal ad on [[http://wiki.teamfortress.com/w/images/4/40/Halloween_2012_Teufort_Reader.png the hidden page]]:
216--> ''"'''DINNER IS SERVED, LADIES''' -- [[CallBack Grass grows, birds fly, sun shines,]] [[LastSecondWordSwap and girls, I am your Prince Frickin' Charming over here]]. '''Extremely''' handsome man, [[MoneyDearBoy lots of money]], sick body, seeks lady friend who's smart enough to know a frikkin' catch when she's got one. [[FlexingThoseNonBiceps I work out]]. Stop somebody on the street and describe me, and they are gonna tell you that you would be nuts not to date me. FiveFiveFive-1103. If you get a busy signal, that's just all the other ladies calling, so keep trying."''
217* FiveFiveFive: Every phone number on the hidden page.
218* MeaningfulName: Merasmus's Wizardcon apparently took place in Duluth, Minnesota; as well as being a ShoutOut to the ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'' mod [[http://www.left4duluth.com/ Left 4 Duluth]], one of the town's suburbs is named Lakeside, the same name as the map on which Merasmus is the BossFight for Scream Fortress 2012.
219* PunBasedTitle
220* RageBreakingPoint: The Soldier goes beyond it when he taunts Merasmus.
221* TrailersAlwaysLie: If one considers the comic a trailer to the event, Merasmus is much friendlier and hammier in-game than suggested in the comic.
222* ZombieApocalypse: The robots get reskinned into flesh-and-bone zombies for a Halloween-themed [=MvM=] mission.
223
224!!!The Mecha Update/[[http://www.teamfortress.com/shadowboxers/ Shadow Boxers]]
225[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/MechaUpdate_8526.png]]
226* BilingualBonus: {{Averted|Trope}}. The update page text either says the same thing as the English or is related flavor text.
227* HumongousMecha: According to the update page, the Engineer robot will be over a hundred feet tall! ...While the parenthetical text says otherwise. The real reason is that the image is based on a movie poster -- see ShoutOut below.
228* PlayerGeneratedEconomy: This update added the Steam Community Market, an organized trading system for game items and money.
229* ShoutOut:
230** The topmost image of the update page is directly based off the movie poster of the Japanese sci-fi {{kaiju}} film, ''Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla II''.
231** Further down on the update page, the screen with the Mecha-Engineer says, [[VideoGame/ZeroWing "Hats. All your ha"]]
232
233!!!Robotic Boogaloo/[[http://www.teamfortress.com/roboticboogaloo/comic.php Death of a Salesbot]]
234* AuthorAppeal: Cat Bountry has a soft spot for Engineer and Pyro being bros, Pomeranians, and the Heavy x Medic pairing. Naturally, Engie gets focus, a Pomeranian named Sir Butternubs is President, and Heavy and Medic are standing next to each other (she apparently asked The Heartsman, the artist, to draw them close together, and he did.)
235* CanonDiscontinuity: In [=KritzKast's=] interview with the team that created the Robotic Boogaloo update, the comic's creators clarified that the comic is non-canon, but can be viewed as a possible AlternateUniverse.
236** To clarify: the fact that the mercs have flawlessly defended Mann Co. for over a year, and that Grey is rapidly going bankrupt, is all canon. The half-hour's worth of events actually depicted in the comic are not.
237* DartboardOfHate: Gray uses the cover of a magazine with Saxton Hale's portrait as a dartboard.
238* DumbassHasAPoint: Even the robots think that running on money is a bad idea.
239* FutureBadass: The Engineer.
240* MoneyToBurn: The mercenaries have destroyed so many robots that they don't know what to do with all their money. The Pyro is shown shoveling a pile into the fireplace. The Soldier even eats a money sandwich!
241* OminousMessageFromTheFuture: Future Engineer arrives to warn the mercenaries not to open the crates, but the Soldier misinterprets the message [[SelfFulfillingProphecy and begins to open them anyway]].
242* ShaggyDogStory: Just before Future Engineer arrives, Soldier was about to open one of the crates. After Future Engineer leaves, Soldier continues to open one of the crates. In other words, Future Engineer literally accomplished nothing by going back in time.
243* StatingTheSimpleSolution: Scoutbot tells Gray Mann maybe he could try building new robots that run on something other than money. Gray responds with what is either a DeathGlare of "but that's NOT HOW IT'S DONE!!!", or an epiphany of a completely unrelated, still-completely-ridiculous plan.
244* SchmuckBait: The time-traveling Engineer's warnings to the team not to open the crates just makes them want to open them.
245* TimeSkip: Takes place almost a year after the Mann Vs. Machine update.
246* UnexpectedlyRealisticGameplay: What happens when your army of robots [[MoneySpider runs on money]]? You go broke trying to replace them.
247* UnsoundEffect: "TIME TRAVEL SOUNDS"
248** "TIME-TRAVEL SOUND AGAIN"
249* VictoryIsBoring: A year of destroying robots has made the team grow bored, and now they have so much money they don't know what to do with it.
250
251!!![[http://www.teamfortress.com/twocities/mannhattan/ The Two Cities Update]]
252* BackFromTheDead: One of the new powers Medic gains in this update, and displayed beautifully in a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome from the trailer.
253* ItRunsInTheFamily: Medic is apparently descended from a long line of resident mad doctors.
254** On the update page, the sign behind Medic reads "Humboldt's Pharmacy: Leeches, baboon hearts, radium suppositories, humor balancing, phrenological exams." possibly giving us his family name, as well.
255* SmokeShield: Thanks to Medic's new shield upgrade.
256* TorchesAndPitchforks: Something Medic's family was (and still seems to be) on the receiving end of for generations. Seems to be a BrickJoke to the flavor text of ''Meet The Medic'':
257-->Not every mad doctor lives in a castle surrounded by villagers with pitchforks. Sometimes they live in the trenches, where there's plenty of spare parts flying around and a pressing need to get inventive with them.
258
259!!![[http://www.teamfortress.com/loveandwar/ Love and War]]
260
261!!!Scream Fortress 6/[[http://www.teamfortress.com/bloodmoney/ Blood Money]]
262* AmusementParkOfDoom: The setting for this year's event. Complete with carnival games and bumper cars! Possibly subverted, because it's not quite haunted yet (though the mercs will be quick to fix that) and Merasmus ended up using very un-spooky sandalwood scented candles for the ritual.
263
264!!!End of The Line
265* BreadEggsBreadedEggs: Soldier is horrified when the train threatens to crash into explosive barrels placed next to a kitten store. And an orphanage. And a kitten orphanage.
266* CanonDiscontinuity: Just like "Robotic Boogaloo", this update, or at least, the video it's centered around, is entirely non-canon.
267* CuteKitten: Soldier is concerned that these may be one of the many casualties if the enemy train reaches their base.
268* LiteralCliffhanger: Where Sniper's camper van ends up for most of the short. James [=McVinnie=], the short's main animator, [[ButtMonkey confessed he likes to pick on Sniper, since he makes an easy target]].
269* TheNotLoveInterest: The Heavy and Medic subplot is described as "romance action" in one of the update blurbs, before clarifying that it's more like "bro-mance action". James [=McVinnie=] said he intentionally left the video sans dialogue, so a lot of it could be interpreted however the fans wanted.
270* SilenceIsGolden: No voice actors, in order to let the animation and music carry the mood.
271* SmartPeoplePlayChess: Medic does, and tries to teach Heavy, but his hesitation in making his first move results in Medic [[FlippingTheTable flipping the board over in frustration]].
272* TrainStopping: When Spy and Medic can't come to an agreement on how to prevent the enemy train from crashing into their base, Heavy takes it upon himself to do this, [[{{ComicBook/Superman}} Superman]]-style.
273* TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior: At the end of the short, an orphan is seen hiding his (and his cat's) cigarette smoking habits from Soldier.

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